April 12, 2005

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on April 12, 2005, at 9:10 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Ron Pritchard, D.P.A., Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Helen Voltz, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, Interim County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

The Invocation was given by Pastor Mike Branch, Bethany Baptist Church, Melbourne, Florida.

Commissioner Ron Pritchard led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Commissioners are able to get the Minutes online because they do not see the Minutes but approve them all the time; and are they supposed to go online and read them or just blindly approve them. Deputy Clerk Berni Talbert advised the Minutes are online back to 1995. Commissioner Voltz stated she knows they are online but wants to know if that is where they are supposed to go to read them before they are approved. Ms. Talbert stated the Minutes are sent to the Agenda Specialist and the County Attorney, and the Agenda Specialist in the County Manager’s Office is supposed to send them to all the Commissioners; but her office can do that if the Board wants it to. Commissioner Voltz stated she does not get them; and inquired if the other Commissioners get them in their offices. Chairman Pritchard stated he reads them online. County Attorney Scott Knox advised he gets them online and can forward them to Commissioner Voltz if she wants them. Commissioner Voltz stated they are looking at November 9 and November 30, 2004; at each meeting she does not know which ones are coming up for approval; and sometimes they do not get the Agendas until two days before a meeting. Ms. Talbert stated she could forward the Minutes to Commissioner Voltz. Commissioner Voltz requested Ms. Talbert advise her what Minutes are coming up for approval so she knows which ones to read.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve the Minutes of November 9, 2004 and November 30, 2004 Regular Meetings. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REPORT, RE: AGENDA ITEMS

Interim County Manager Peggy Busacca advised Item IV.B,.1, Approval of Brevard County Fair Association, Inc. and Interim Board of Directors for Development of Brevard County Fair Charter, needs to be withdrawn for additional information; and Item IV.A.2., Waiver of Vegetative Buffer Tract for Buck Run Subdivision, should include “opaque” buffer.

Commissioner Voltz advised Item IV.D.4., Approval of Payment of Award for Employee Innovations Program, is the award given to employees; this award is $450 to an employee who saved the County $9,000 plus another $4,500 a year; and $450 is not enough money. She requested a report from staff to see if the Board can increase the dollars, which will encourage employees to work hard on finding ways to save money. Commissioner Carlson stated she agrees with Commissioner Voltz and would like to have something come back as well.

Chairman Pritchard inquired if it should be a percentage up to a certain amount; with Commissioner Voltz responding it is something they definitely need to look at and it should be a percentage.

REPORT, RE: WEEKLY RENTALS

Commissioner Voltz stated she believes Code Enforcement is not enforcing the weekly rentals issue, even the new ones that are coming in hand over fist; and it seems that the Board said it was not going to allow any new ones to come in and to abate Code Enforcement just on those that are already in the business legally.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised that is correct, and there is a moratorium on new weekly rentals. Commissioner Voltz inquired about Code Enforcement; with Mr. Knox responding they should be enforcing the moratorium Ordinance. Commissioner Voltz stated Code Enforcement seems to think they are not supposed to enforce the Code per Mr. Knox’s office, so that needs to be made clear. Mr. Knox stated he will talk to his lawyers about that.

REPORT, RE: COMMUNITY BASED CARE

Commissioner Voltz advised J. B. Kenna is here; and she distributed a form to the Commissioners regarding the issue of some requests for legislative approval on some stuff.

J. B. Kenna, Director of Community Relations for Community Based Care (CBC), advised during the last two or three years the Board has graciously submitted to the Legislative Delegation as part of its legislative package a request to make sure that Community Based Care agencies are adequately funded to serve the needs of Brevard youth and those across Florida; in February 2005, CBC of Brevard, of which the County is a fiscal partner, executed a Contract with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for approximately $20.3 million a year to serve the needs of children in Brevard County; and as a result of that, they thought the wait was over and they were adequately funded, so the item was taken out of the Legislative Delegation’s package that traditionally goes forward. He stated subsequent to that, a couple of things came up that caused concern to CBC, two specifically; and they are here today to ask the Board to oppose any cost shifts to the lead agencies. He stated it appears that DCF intends to pass on between a $2 to $4 million deficit to District lead agencies, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Brevard Counties; and whatever it turns out to be, Brevard County would inherit 26.41% of that, which would practically devastate their system of care. He stated he believes his Board of Directors would absolutely oppose it; and requested the Board’s assistance in making sure the Legislators in Tallahassee know that is unacceptable. Mr. Kenna advised the second issue is fiscal monitoring; in their Contract, they knew they would be monitored by the State and they are okay with that and okay with being held accountable as any other not-for-profit organizations would be; but the State has estimated the cost to them of somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000. He stated subsequent to that, the State changed the rules slightly and changed the way it is going to do business with contract monitoring by going through the process of procuring contract monitors; and for Brevard County CBC those costs will be in excess of $100,000 a year because the State considers Brevard County high risk because CBC is in its first year of operation. He stated they are okay with the monitoring and okay with the State’s intention to come in weekly although that would be destructive and unnecessary; but their concern is passing those costs to them and making them pay for the State’s requirement. He stated going back to the beginning of discussions with the Board about CBC, it was obviously one of their worries that once they got into the system and once they started doing business with the State, that it would start passing costs to them; so they are requesting the Board forward a letter to the Legislative Delegation opposing any cost shifts to CBC lead agencies.

Commissioner Voltz stated she sits on that board and it is a travesty what DCF is trying to do to them funding-wise; and she would appreciate it if the Board would forward both items and let them go through the legislative process and the Board’s lobbyist. She stated she gave the Commissioners all the paperwork on the position and background and what is going on with it from Dr. Patricia Nellius if the Board wants to attach it to the letter so they know exactly what is going on.

Commissioner Carlson stated it was one of the legislative requests at one time so she does not think there is any real issue; and if the Board can do the letter and attachment, that would be fine. Commissioner Voltz requested it be done expeditiously. Commissioner Scarborough suggested Mr. Kenna write the letter with the particulars for the Chair to sign. He stated he keeps reading about all the windfall; it would be one thing if the State did not have the money, but it does; and it would be nice if it did not wreck the counties CBC’s.

REPORT, RE: RECOGNIZING BOB LAY, EMS DIRECTOR

Commissioner Carlson advised the Board is recognizing those in the Armed Forces who work for the County; and there is another person it needs to recognize who has been with the County for several years and is a retired Army Colonel, Bob Lay, Director of Emergency Management. She stated Mr. Lay was selected to be awarded the National Hurricane Conference 2005 Distinguished Service Award; he was nominated by Stan Tate of the National Hurricane Conference and Frank Kudnick of the Florida Division of Emergency Management; and in a memo Interim County Manager Peggy Busacca put out, it says, “We all know that Mr. Lay does an outstanding job, and now his efforts will be recognized on a national level as well.” Commissioner Carlson stated Brevard County is fortunate to have such talented and hard-working employees as Mr. Lay; and the Board appreciates him tremendously. She stated he has done an excellent job, especially in the very hard times last year during the hurricane season; she knows he will serve the Board well this year; and wanted to congratulate him and express appreciation for all his hard work.

REPORT, RE: SAMPLE OF THE ARTS

Commissioner Carlson advised sample of the arts is sponsored by Brevard Cultural Alliance; and Karen Wilson with the King Center for the Performing Arts Education Theater Program is here this morning.

Karen Wilson, representing the King Center for the Performing Arts as Program Coordinator for the Educational Theater Program, presented documents to the Board but not the Clerk; and stated she will give a quick overview of what the Educational Theater Program is all about. She stated it offers theater opportunities, arts, and education for the young audience; they serve from pre-school through high school students through live theater opportunities; and they try to make the program accessible to all students and as affordable as possible; however, it continues to be challenged in terms of keeping the prices down for the students. She thanked the Board for its support of arts and education in Brevard County and keeping the funds in the budget to help them do what they normally do. She stated in addition to live theater opportunities, they also offer community outreach whereby they can bring artists, students, and teachers together directly in the classroom and try to make an even deeper connection to the arts and education program and the curriculum; and for those efforts they were recently recognized by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She stated King Center and Brevard County School System have been recently selected as the partnering team to further enhance those opportunities for teachers, students, and those in the performing arts; so they are thrilled that the new opportunity is going to bring them to new levels in serving students and the communities, and working with the School District. Ms. Wilson stated Brevard County schools are their primary targeted audience, but all of their programs are available to the general public; in the handout she distributed, she highlighted one of the recent audits in residency programs they were able to present at Stone Middle School in December; and the handout also has a sample of what they will be offering for their summer program this year. She stated the program is in its 12th season; over the last seven seasons, they have seen over 205,000 young people; the program has reached from Titusville to Vero Beach; and they continue to serve average students and trainable mentally special education students who have access to their programs. She stated some of the outreach they have done is to have a national top ensemble from Washington, D.C. and Carlos Roberto, who is an African Brazilian performing artist and educator; and those are just a few of the people they try to offer in terms of bringing arts and educational theater opportunities to the community. She extended sincere appreciation to the Board for continuing to support the program; and stated they look forward to any opportunities for the Commissioners to come into their Center and sample some of the things they offer. She noted it is an open invitation, and they can just call the Center and they will be happy to have them come in and see what they do on a daily basis.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Ms. Wilson is working with the Very Special Arts group that is going to have its yearly festival at the Zoo this week; with Ms. Wilson responding she is going to be working with Janice Kershaw tomorrow on that program. Commissioner Carlson requested Ms. Wilson advise the audience what time it is taking place and the location. Ms. Wilson stated it is going to be presented at the Brevard Zoo from Wednesday through Friday; and they will have a host of different activities. She stated they will have a lot of the students in the Very Special Arts Program; and they will provide many different types of opportunities for them to experience the arts through interactive hands-on workshops and other activities. She stated it is an annual program where they see thousands of kids throughout the School System. Commissioner Carlson stated the Zoo venue has been a very positive one. Ms. Wilson stated it has been because it is very accessible to everyone and is in the middle of the County, so it is a very good location. Commissioner Carlson stated it is exciting to be around the animals also and the kids really enjoy it. Ms. Wilson stated they have some really great programs at the Zoo as well; and they are trying to work on some partnering opportunities with the Zoo.

REPORT, RE: RETURN TO FLIGHT CELEBRATION

Commissioner Carlson stated the next item she has came through the Economic Development Commission; it is “Green for Go” to celebrate the return to flight; there will be a celebration for the return to flight of the space shuttle at the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort; and it is called Community Countdown. She stated admission will be $20; and people can contact any of the District Commission Offices or Economic Development Commission. She stated it is being done with the Tourism Development Council, Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the Melbourne/Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce to countdown with the community; and they are looking for a very successful flight. She presented documents to the Commissioners but not the Clerk.

REPORT, RE: MELBOURNE AIRPORT AUTHORITY FUNDING

Commissioner Carlson stated a letter from Alan Dozier, Chairman of the City of Melbourne Airport Authority came from the Chairman’s office and is asking for dollars for grant opportunities for the Airport. She stated she wanted to see if there was any interest in bringing it back as an Agenda item; it is dated March 21 and says in part, "The County consider, as it goes through its budget process for 05-06, appropriating at least $100,000 for community support to apply for small community grants; and an equal amount will be requested from the City of Melbourne. If these funds are committed, it is possible to receive in excess of $1 million of federal grant money that can be used as a tool to attract new nonstop domestic service for Melbourne.” She stated another caveat included is, “If you appropriate this money, please consider appointing a representative to join the Melbourne Airport Community Task Force.” She stated she guesses it will oversee the grant process; and if there is interest by the Board, she will put it on the Agenda.

Chairman Pritchard stated he is always interested in opportunities, but would like to get the TDC involved in that as it would fall under the TDC’s realm.

Commissioner Carlson stated perhaps the Board could get a report back from staff and see what kind of input the TDC might have; it is a tourism perspective; she agrees it needs to have the TDC address it as well; and perhaps the item can be brought before the TDC, which would be appropriate. She noted she will give it to Ms. Busacca. Chairman Pritchard stated that would be fine.

REPORT, RE: POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER
MANAGEMENT DISTRICT ON 2004 HURRICANES

Commissioner Carlson stated the last item she has is a presentation on the hurricane events of 2004 by Mike Cullum with St. Johns River Water Management District; she saw the presentation and it is interesting to see how the District reacted to the hurricanes because Brevard County had so many of them; and it changed how she thinks of the District in terms of how it retains that water and the flooding capability of the St. Johns River.

Mike Cullum stated in August and September 2004, the hurricane season was one that they hope they will not see again; in the recorded history of Florida, they have never had one like that; and they were challenged, local governments were challenged, and the water management districts were challenged to survive that hurricane season. He stated he is going to talk about the water aspects; the wind aspects were pretty phenomenal in themselves, but he is going to focus on water and talk about the wind on the tail end. He stated it is an informational briefing and if the Commissioners have questions during the presentation, they should feel free to interrupt and ask the questions. He stated he is here at Commissioner Carlson’s request, and hopes they can share some good information.

Commissioner Carlson stated Mr. Cullum’s initial presentation was to the St. Johns River Alliance where they were getting updates on what was going on with the St. Johns River because of the hurricanes; and that is why she thought that all the Commissioners who sit on the St. Johns River Alliance ought to look at this for purposes of the obvious once Mr. Cullum gets through it.

Mr. Cullum stated it was August and September 2004, a very short time frame that they had four hurricanes in, Charley, Frances, and Jeanne came through the Florida peninsula and Ivan came through the panhandle; and Frances and Jeanne are the two he is going to focus on because those are the ones that most impacted the region. He stated the first slide is the Doppler rainfall representation for Frances; the area of Brevard County is in the southern region; and they had six to eight inches of rainfall during those five days. He stated Hurricane Jeanne was shorter in timeframe but also in the southern part of the County with six to eight inches of rainfall; they look at things from a hydrologic perspective in terms of a return frequency; and it is an important concept to understand. He stated those two storms in and of themselves were not extremely severe storms from a rainfall perspective; in South Brevard they had two to five-year return frequency; and what that means is they would expect to have that kind of rainfall every two to five years. Mr. Cullum stated Jeanne was a similar magnitude storm; a return frequency of about two to five years, and that is for a two-day interval; so maximum rain for those two days happens every two to five years. He stated when looking at the 60-day timeframe of August and September, if they take all of the rainfall when Ivan came through the first time and came back through plus the seasonal rainfall plus the hurricane rainfall, they can see that they have, for that 60 days especially in the southern part of the County, between 100 to 200-year return frequency. He stated what that means is on the average the southern part of the County will see that kind of rainfall for 60 days every 100 to 200 years; and the Board can see that other parts of the State and the District fared a lot worst. He stated the red area had in excess of a 200-year return frequency; so even though they had a lot of rain in the area, some of the other parts of the State had significantly more than they did. He showed a close-up of the Indian River Lagoon basin and eastern part of Brevard County; stated in a large part of the County, they had between 50 and 100-year rainfall for those two months; so they had a long period of time with a lot of rain, which caused a lot of runoff into the lagoon and into the Upper St. Johns project. He stated the historic Upper St. Johns project is to the western part of the County; there are a couple of features; the clear area is what is left of the remnant floodplain; and the red line is the proposed area which was the 1975 plan for a proposed series of levees, which he believes Kirby Green may have talked with the Board about. He stated Taylor Creek Reservoir is one of the remnant levees associated with the program; there were only two levees built; and Jane Green Creek is the other one. Mr. Callum stated there were two discharges to the C-1 canal and the C-54 canal; those were discharges during flooding periods; there is a water supply on the west side holding the water and a flood protection plan; and that was it. He stated when the Clean Water Act passed, that all changed; and they had to deal with environmental issues, so they changed the plan.

Commissioner Voltz stated when the District opened the dam or whatever it did during the hurricanes and let some of the water out, some of the people who live on the Sebastian River had the dune system in their back yards totally wiped out when the C-54 canal was opened and the wind was coming from the east; and inquired if the District has a responsibility for doing that and giving those people help. Mr. Cullum stated he has a slide that describes the total magnitude of their discharges and what happened, how they discharged, what they did, and discharges from other sources; and if Commissioner Voltz can hold that question, hopefully he can answer it with the slide. He continued his presentation identifying the liquid heart of the Upper St. Johns River Project and the St. Johns River Water Management District area in pink; stated essentially water flows in a south to north direction; the green is conservation areas; the red is water management and treatment areas; and the water from the south goes through S96D into the St. Johns River Water Management District area and typically discharges out S96B to the west and downstream. He stated when the water levels get too high, they have to discharge through S96 or 96A through the C-54 canal to the east; and it goes into the Sebastian River and then into the lagoon. He stated he will explain the rainfall slides Commissioner Carlson asked him to focus on giving the Board a perspective on the totality of the rainfall, and then will come back to the St. Johns project; the bar at the top is cumulative or added rainfall and focuses on the 30 to 36-inch line; and pointed out Brevard County’s location on the bar. Mr. Cullum stated Tropical Storm Bonnie, which everybody seems to have conveniently forgotten, came through in the beginning of August; Hurricane Charley followed on its heels; they were already getting 18 to 24 inches of rainfall in some places; and typical wet season rainfall, Hurricane Frances got it up to 18 to 24 inches in Brevard County in some areas, certainly over 12 inches; so they essentially got a month with at least 12 inches of rain where the norm is about eight inches. He stated Hurricane Ivan came through the first time and had some feeder bands that hit Brevard County, then turned around and hit it again; Hurricane Jeanne came later, then late rains at the end of September; so the gray area is 30 to 36 inches of rainfall; and there were areas in Brevard County that had 36 inches, but most of the County was within the 24 and 30-inch range. He stated typical of this time of year is seven to eight inches per month; and Brevard County had twice that amount. Mr. Cullum stated getting back to the St. Johns Water Management area, they have some clear guidelines; he chose the black and white slide on purpose because they are black and white guidelines; when the water management area reaches 25 feet, they are obligated to open the S96A structure and discharge to the east; and they discharge up to 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water to the lagoon. He stated if it reaches 25.5 feet, it compromises all the levees to the west; and they are authorized to discharge up to 6,000 cfs, which is a tremendous amount of water. He showed a slide of what they did prior to Ivan and prior to Jeanne; stated the water management area reached 24.5 feet, it was headed straight upwards in terms of water levels; and they were headed into some possible hurricane systems. He stated Ivan turned and wreaked havoc somewhere else, unfortunately Pensacola; but it was headed right for Brevard County and all the farmers were doing what they do best when a hurricane is coming, they were pumping like nobody’s business; and they were faced with an impending imminent 25.0-foot level that they were going to meet within hours. He stated they reviewed the discharges that had previously gone through the Sebastian River; and they took a look at what already had happened due to Frances. He stated discussed the status of the shellfish industry with the industry; and they told the District that because of Frances, which preceded Ivan, the shellfish industry was devastated for the year and they did not anticipate being able to harvest; so the shellfish issue was not an issue in terms of their decision to discharge. Mr. Cullum advised they discussed the pumping practices with the citrus industry; they were going to continue to pump; Ivan was headed their way; their reservoirs were full; and their pumping was overwhelming the system. He stated they reviewed the hurricane status report; everyone was worried about Ivan and also during Jeanne; and on both occasions they opened 96A. He showed a slide of the Sebastian River discharge from August 1 to the end of October; the hurricanes are listed as Charley, Frances, the near miss with Ivan, and Jeanne; the discharges are on the left in cubic feet per second going up to 10,000; and the data is on the bottom. He stated for most of August the District was able to handle the water; there was very little runoff due to Charley because they had a lot of soil storage in the system and did not have discharge out of the river; however, Frances dumped seven to nine inches of rainfall and caused about a 5,000 cfs discharge. He stated the black line shows the total discharges from the north prong, the south prong, the Fellsmere canal, and C-54 canal; they are all the discharges from all the sources into the Sebastian River; and the light blue line is the actual discharge that came out of the C-54 as a result of opening up 96A, which is the District’s discharge. He stated on September 3 he had an urgent phone call from Peggy Busacca asking him to describe to the Emergency Management team how prepared they were to handle Frances; they had about three feet of storage available in their system; the 6,500 acres of the St. Johns was about 20,000 feet of available storage before Frances; so there was no discharge out of 96A when Frances hit because they had filled up the bathtub; and Ms. Busacca was comfortable with that. Mr. Cullum stated everybody calmed down a little bit; they had a good discussion and worked very well with Ms. Busacca on that one; then on September 10 there was the Ivan threat; that is when all the agricultural interests started pumping because their reservoirs were full; so on top of full reservoirs they were getting about 2,000 cfs being pumped into the system out west. He stated that is when they were headed towards the 25 feet trigger elevation and had to discharge; the light blue line is when they discharged for a period of about two weeks or so around 1,500 to 2,000 cfs; but the damage to the shellfish industry had already been done by Frances. He stated the Board can see the relative magnitudes of the 5,000 versus the 1,500 to 2,000 cfs that occurred when they were discharging, so they moved further in time and stopped discharging out of 96A around September 21; then Jeanne hit with a vengeance with another seven to nine inches of rainfall; there was absolutely no where for that rainfall to go except to runoff because the soil was saturated and all the reservoirs were full; and the discharges from Jeanne reached in excess of 9,000 cfs at the peak. He stated that is the historic high for their period of record; that is the highest that they have ever measured or computed for discharges out of the system; and they had to discharge about 1,500 cfs as they were dictated to do, but that 1,500 cfs was part of the 9,000. He stated the damages that were done were probably done during Frances with the 5,000 cfs; and then additional damage if they were done due to water discharge, were done during Jeanne and the 9,000 peak; so they were a very small part of that. He inquired if that answered Commissioner Voltz’s question; with Commissioner Voltz responding no, it does not because while everyone knows what happened, the people who live there were not able to get FEMA money and they do not have that much money of their own to fix their properties in the back from the damages that were done. She inquired if the St. Johns River Water Management District has any responsibility or could potentially have the responsibility to help those people who live there. She stated there is basically a 40-foot drop off from the back of their properties. Mr. Cullum stated they can help the people with FEMA; and if they would contact him, he will try to get them some better help with FEMA. Commissioner Voltz asked Mr. Cullum for a card before he left.

Mr. Cullum stated the tapering off or recession part of the curve from Jeanne occurred in late September and early October; the date of the particular plot is August 14; and the Board can see the south prong of the Sebastian River. He stated the figure on the top of the slide is in the two to four parts per 1,000 of salinity, which is essentially fresh water and goes out to the Indian River Lagoon; it is a surface value so it is slightly saltier; but if the Board looks at the sideways view of the system from B on the left to A on the right, B being at the headwaters of the south prong and A being in the lagoon itself, it will see that there is a saltwater wedge in the blue that goes all along the bottom of the Sebastian River. He stated during Frances, the entire Sebastian River, including the blue area on the bottom of the river was flushed out and was completely fresh; during Jeanne it was flushed even more because of the magnitude of that storm; and that is the reason why they try to avoid discharging if they can and only discharge when they know there are imminent problems. He stated the slide is of the fresh water going into the lagoon on September 17; and in and of itself, the water is not terribly polluted, but it is dark water that shades the seagrasses. Mr. Cullum stated they had a number of phone calls, letters, and emails concerning high water levels; and in the lagoon they calculated that they had about less than a half inch of impact over the entire lagoon from their discharges. He stated when the hurricane was approaching the coast in the area, as it touched the coast, the wind was in a circular counterclockwise direction, so it was coming from the northeast; and when it struck the coast at those high wind speeds, sustained winds reached about 90 mph out of the northeast and pushed water up and down the lagoon; and as the hurricane passed through, the wind then shifted from out of the south and pushed the water back up from the south, but at much reduced wind speed, because once the hurricane hits the coast, the wind speed drops drastically; so the most impact from wind was just before the hurricane hit the coast. He stated they did have 90 to 100 mph winds out of the northeast at that point, which pushed water out significantly; and a three to four-mile stretch of water with 90 mph wind that is sustained can push water up to four feet, which is a significant problem on a barrier island. Mr. Cullum stated he wanted to share with the Board the water levels of Merritt Island West Causeway as an example of what happened during the two storms; Frances is on the left and Jeanne is on the right of the slide; looking at Jeanne, the Board can see that each one of the bars is one day; from the previous graph, the discharges lasted for a fairly long time; however, the wind came through in one day, made its impact, pushed the water up, then left. He stated the relative impact from the wind, looking at Jeanne, went from 1.4 feet up to 3.4 feet, a 2-foot increase and resultant water level increase from 1.4 feet to about 2.2 feet, or 8/10ths of a flood increase. He stated the majority of the high damage in terms of water is a wind-generated damage; there is some minor elevation rise due to water and that was due to all the discharges out of the system; and he did not talk about the C-1 canal today because he does not have time for that, but the slide shows how quickly that water can come up with sustained winds of 90 to 100 mph on an exposed lagoon surface. He stated they believe the Upper St. Johns project worked well and as it was designed to work; there are some misperceptions, especially as Commissioner Carlson found out in the Sanford area about the impacts of the project on the downstream waters in the middle basin; there is essentially no impact from the project downstream; and he has some follow-up slides if the Board wants to see that. He stated the impacts on the Indian River Lagoon were fairly minor based on the design of the Upper St. Johns project; the Lagoon is dominated by wind-driven forces; and with that he will open it up for questions.

Commissioner Carlson stated, from the devil advocate’s perspective, the District was flushing a lot of water to the Indian River Lagoon; and inquired if there is a high point at which they had serious flooding elsewhere where the system that they engineered at the headwaters, which is in Indian River County and south Brevard County, did not work. She stated Brevard County had a very unusual hurricane season; this presentation is good timing because folks have not forgotten the hurricane season from last year as they are still repairing damages from it; but the new hurricane season is only a month away and the implications of how the St. Johns River rises and falls and the winds and all that stuff is very important for those who live near the various 100, 25, and 10-year floodplains. She inquired how does Mr. Cullum see the potential impact for something like this to occur again, and in terms of the amount of water he saw flushed through, how well is Brevard County protected, can he give a very brief summary, has the water gone down to normal or is Brevard County still at a high level, and are there significant threats they need to know about. Mr. Cullum stated they are in an El Nino winter; they had a lot of rain this winter; the system did come down a little bit, but with the rains they had over the last month or two, they are discharging out of the system, which is not normal for a winter system; so they have a very strong El Nino system this year, which happens once every five or six years. He stated it is a pretty standard cycle; they are in that cycle right now; and in terms of when the Board wants to worry about the water, it would be after the storm has passed and the primary danger is gone due to wind and wave setup. He stated if they have a lot of mild rain, typical rain, or a little above average rain during the hurricane season and they get hit with a storm that parks offshore and drenches the system and continues to drop rain, it could be worse than last year. He stated they have historical records from a single hurricane that stalled and dropped up to 20 inches of rainfall. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board sees things from County Government as the floodplain system; things will not happen for 100 years in the 100-year floodplain, 25 years in the 25-year floodplain, etc.; and inquired what potential impact to what floodplains might Mr. Cullum see if they have another hurricane season dumping into what they have right now. Mr. Cullum stated he would think they would have everyone in the 100-year floodplain would be very wet; whether they have built their home pads high enough is a good question; and there was an experience several years ago, which Commissioner Colon was involved in, regarding Deer Run. Commissioner Carlson stated it is sort of a foreboding that the Board is going to be dealing with, but it does not want things to break down; the Board wants to get some assurances; they know they had high waters and a lot of dispersion to the Indian River Lagoon, which does not like fresh water, so more fresh water pumped into the lagoon is bad for the environment; yet they are potentially at risk because there are a lot of homes built in the floodplains; and that cannot be driven home enough in the coming season. Mr. Cullum stated they did have between a 1 and 50 to 1 and 100-year rainfall season last year, and those do not happen every year.

Commissioner Voltz stated she did get a card from Mr. Cullum and will be in touch.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commissioner Carlson advised Karen Wilson with the Education Program is in the lobby if anyone is interested in getting information. She requested the Board bring forward Item II.E. for employees in Iraq, so they can get back to work. Chairman Pritchard stated that would be fine. Commissioner Colon stated she has a resolution for Judge Davidson and would like to read it first so she can go back to court.

RESOLUTION, RE: RECOGNIZING JUDGE LISA DAVIDSON

Commissioner Colon read aloud a resolution recognizing Judge Lisa Davidson for her dedication to implementing a system to help children who are abused, abandoned, or neglected.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution recognizing the accomplishments of Judge Lisa Davidson, commending her for her tireless efforts, and wishing her a successful future. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-085.)

Judge Lisa Davidson thanked the Board for the Resolution; stated a lot of things she did with Dependency Court were because of the support she received from the Board; and they reduced the number of months children were in Dependency Court from 28 to 7 months. She stated when she came here with her staff and needed funds, the Board was there for those children; so nothing she did could have been accomplished without the Board’s support. She stated each time she called, whether it was to Scott Knox, any Commissioner, or anyone working for the County, their hearts were open and their offices were open; and she thanks them on behalf of the court system and the children who are unfortunately in the dependency system. Judge Davidson stated she also feels very humbled here because it is on a day when the Board will be honoring the County employees who are in the military and who are giving their time and commitment to our country; she is very humbled to be here with them and thanks them very much for what they did for everyone and the sacrifices they and their families made; and God bless them all.

Commissioner Colon presented the Resolution to Judge Davidson.

REPORT, RE: MELBOURNE ART FESTIVAL

Commissioner Colon advised Dave Matte is here to give a brief presentation on the Melbourne Art Festival; and noted the key word is “brief”.

David Matte, representing the Melbourne Art Festival, advised he is here to inform the Board and the public of the 21st Annual Melbourne Art Festival and has about five slides to do that. He stated the mission of the Melbourne Art Festival is to organize and present an annual fine arts festival and promote and encourage artistic endeavors, education, and art appreciation in Brevard County; and this year will be their 21st annual event to be held in historic downtown Melbourne. He stated the Melbourne Art Festival is proud to be recognized as Brevard’s premier open air fine arts festival; and the festival will be held the last full weekend of this month, Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. He stated this year A1A Express is providing the park and ride service; it is the shuttle service that is free transportation to the public and helps alleviate the traffic and parking congestion in the downtown area during the festival; and the park and ride location is Florida Marketplace in Melbourne Square Mall. He stated operating hours are 8:00 a.m. to just after midnight for Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday; and the bus stop will be at the west end of the site at the corner of Livingston and New Haven Avenues in the vicinity of the Post office and Henegar Center. Mr. Matte stated their commitment and support of the arts in the community continues through a student art scholarship valued at $3,000, typically given to a local high school student who made a commitment to an accredited institution to further study art; student art workshops for ages 6 through 13; and a student art competition for students from grades 7 to 12, where prize money is awarded around the $1,250 range. Mr. Matte stated the highlight of the festival is the art show with over 250 artists from across the nation participating; and currently the Melbourne Art Festival ranks 24th best fine art festival in the United States. He stated kicking off the two-day festival will be one of Brevard’s largest amateur sporting events, the 18th annual 5K Flamingo Run; runners will participate on a certified course that will take them up and back over the Melbourne Causeway; and they anticipate having 1,300-plus runners and walkers. He stated community assistance for the festival continues through their many generous patrons and corporate sponsors; and they would like to recognize and extend their sincere thanks to the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners for its continued support facilitated through the Brevard Cultural Alliance in the form of grants valued at over $15,000 awarded to the Melbourne Art Festival in 2004. He stated at their main stage on the east end of the festival site, attendees will be able to enjoy a wide variety of musical performers, 14 in all, over the two-day event; this year they are proud to announce they have three feature acts; they will enjoy rock blues, jazz fusion, pop, acoustics, bluegrass, and the Twilight Jazz feature, which will be at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. He stated Melbourne Art Festival is very proud to announce its first Grammy award winner who will be in performance at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Marty Raybon, former lead singer of Shenandoah; and they are proud to have available to all the attendees and their children the popular Kids World where kids from ages 3 to 12 can expect nothing but fun. Mr. Matte stated for all food tastes, their Flamingo Food Court and a variety of street concessions will be onsite during the two-day festival; they are anticipating 60,000 visitors over the two-day event; and based on statistical analysis of the 2004 art festival, they are approximating the following impact strictly from out-of-county visitors—lodging $55,000, and dining $460,000, effectively over half a million dollars in direct economic impact. He stated the borders touch Osceola, Orange, and Indian River Counties; the festival offers a fun-filled two-day open air event that is family oriented; and reiterated it is open to all festival goers on April 23 and 24 with a variety of painting, photography, graphics, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, and other media being offered by over 250 regional and national artists. He stated food, refreshments, concessions, excellent musical performances, kids activities, and student art are some of the many highlights at this year’s Melbourne Art Festival; they continue to seek volunteers to help with the ongoing success of the festival; and anyone interested can call their offices at 722-1964 or visit their website at www.melbournearts.org for more information. He stated as always, admission to the festival and downtown public parking are free of charge; and thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak and invited the Commissioners and staff as well as the public to join them at the festival.

Commissioner Voltz stated there is also a link on her website to the art festival site.

REPORT, RE: AUDUBON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TIME CAPSULE

Chairman Pritchard advised the return to flight was mentioned earlier; Audubon Elementary School celebrated its 40th year and had a time capsule that it opened; the time capsule was put in the ground 40 years go; they opened it and added mementos from this year, so he included a Return to Flight button among other mementos. He noted that will be one of the items brought up 40 years from now.

REPORT, RE: HOUSE BILL 47, CAP ON PROPERTY TAXES

Chairman Pritchard advised House Bill 47 has come up again; and the reason he supports it is because in 1996 the voters overwhelmingly supported capping property taxes 85%. He stated he does not know if the Commissioners had an opportunity to review Representative Needelman’s bill, but that is what it does; it provides opportunity for charter counties to do that; and it is the will of the people. He stated he hopes the Board supports it and gives him permission to send a letter of support of House Bill 47.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to authorize the Chairman to send a letter to Representative Mitch Needelman supporting House Bill 47 that prohibits ad valorem tax levies by counties in excess of amounts specified in their charters.

Commissioner Scarborough stated there were a lot of issues about this particular bill; one of the things is if it states exactly how the voters approved it; and inquired if Mr. Knox reviewed the bill and is it what the voters voted on. County Attorney Scott Knox advised he reviewed the bill and it is not the same as what the voters approved; it is structured differently; and it provides for a cap but the cap can be waived by a four to one vote of the Board of County Commissioners; so it does not impose a flat cap every year.

Commissioner Carlson stated the way it is written, any charter county can put on a referendum to do the same thing that was considered unconstitutional previously when it was put on in 1996; and inquired if that is correct; with Mr. Knox responding yes. Commissioner Carlson stated it does not mean they will automatically have a cap or anything; and she is not voting for the motion because she does not believe the Board needs to put another cap on an exiting cap, as the County already has a ten mill cap at the State level. She stated the way the State is approaching the counties this year, in terms of all the mandates and reducing the number of tools counties have to increase their revenue streams, it may be needed to combat what the State is mandating by giving the counties no funds for the programs or for another hurricane season it cannot afford to do something about, so it is not a wise thing to do; and she does not know how it will fall in the Legislative Branch, but she does not support it philosophically speaking. Commissioner Voltz stated the Board needs to look at its spending strength instead of its funding strength.

Commissioner Scarborough stated since Mr. Knox said in extraordinary situations the Board can overrule it by a four-to-one vote, he could support the motion; but one thing that bothers him is the Board only looks at constant expenditures; expenditures basically remain pretty constant; but when the nation went into a horrific situation after 9/11, there could have been foreclosures of hotels on the beach and other reductions; and they would have impacts on the revenues for counties and the State. He stated the Board could be running along with zero tax increase, taking excess money and reducing indebtedness, and being extremely conservative, yet a horrific event can occur in the State because it depends on certain industries, such as the construction and tourism industries; and both are strong now, but if those things reverse, the Board can find reversal in revenues. He stated as long as there is a four-to-one capacity to look at extraordinary circumstances, he can support it.

Commissioner Carlson stated looking at the State from a global perspective and knowing that she does not always agree with the Florida Association of Counties on all issues, the 67 counties represented do not think it is a positive bill; and there were only 17 of the 67 that are actually charter counties, and most of them are not in support of this bill. She stated some of the Legislative Delegation have been very adamant about trying to reduce some of those tools the Board has like impact fees; and that is not what the Brevard Delegation put out there, but the Board has potential loss of impact fees. She stated Capit, Save Our Homes, and other issues out there and the Board really does not understand the impacts of them; and if they all passed, not that it is going to happen, but if they did, the Board does not understand the fiscal implications to the County. She stated if the Board thinks it is going to be reducing taxes on top of that, it is going to have difficult decisions to make in September. Commissioner Voltz stated FACC is a liberal organization and the Board should use it in that perspective.

Chairman Pritchard stated one thing the Board needs to look at, as Commissioner Voltz mentioned, is its spending stream; if anything, it needs to get out of the mindset that if it is not working, it means they need to put more money into it; he believes they need to have a limitation as to what they are doing, how they are doing it, and even why they are doing it; and frequently they tend to say they have been doing something for a long time, therefore they need to continue doing it. He stated he is not sure they need to continue with that same mindset; and if they realize that there is a limitation as to how much is available, and that limitation helps constrain what it is they are doing, then they may take a different approach. He stated this year the construction industry and property appraisal process is giving the County an additional 15 million dollars and may go above that; most likely it is not going below that; last year it was about the same and next year he would assume the projections would be close to that again; so it keeps building and building. He stated eventually it will flatten out, but the point is how big is big and how much is enough; if the Board can do something that tells the citizenry that it is making attempts to be as fiscally responsible as it can possibly be, then they are going to say it is doing the best it can with what it has; and that is the point the Board needs to make.

Commissioner Carlson stated being fiscally responsible can be looked at in different ways; the Board would not have a $300 million deficit in transportation for road projects if it was really being fiscally responsible; it needs to attack that sort of scenario; and that is one of the big issues that is out there. She stated the Board can be fiscally responsible and take care of its existing problems at the same time; but it has to be willing to say it has to increase taxes or do impact fees or whatever. She stated the County is so far behind the eight ball right now, and talking about reducing and reducing is not going to get it to that quality community it wants.

Chairman Pritchard stated the comment he made at the last zoning meeting was when he started going through the real estate book and contacted a lender to find out where the County was in terms of what people can afford; he was shocked to find out that what he considered a average couple with an average income and average level of debt could qualify for a $300,000 home with a $75,000 income. Commissioner Voltz stated she has information that will counter that.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Carlson voted nay.

APPOINTMENTS, RE: SMALL AREA STUDY GROUPS FOR NORTH TROPICAL TRAIL

Chairman Pritchard advised he is doing a small area study for the areas he will call north North Tropical Trail and south North Tropical Trail, and needs to appoint members to the Small Area Study Groups.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to authorize Commissioner Pritchard to appoint members to the Small Area Study Groups for North Tropical Trail. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: RECOGNIZING BREVARD COUNTY EMPLOYEES SERVING IN
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

Commissioner Carlson advised there was a ceremony in the lobby to say thanks to the employees who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but she wanted to say thanks again to all the employees who have made it back safely and those who are not here today and are still over there. She stated in many ways people take for granted the freedoms they have and do business as usual; Judge Davidson was very eloquent when she thanked them and said she could not do her job without the men and women out there fighting for those freedoms and the justice she applies; so she wants to say thank you to all of them. She thanked Liz Allworth from Parks and Recreation and Duwayne Lundgren from her office who put it all together. She requested when the names of the folks are called that they come up to the front, including those representing others who could not be here. She read the resolution recognizing Brevard County employees serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Afghanistan.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution recognizing Brevard County employees Walter Alianell, Richard Biondi, Curtis Elmore, Larry Fields, Ryan Fischer, Charlie Hatchett, Ralph Henry, Ethan Howard, Talena King, James H. Legg, Joshua Madsen, Randall Martin, Gregory Minor, and Jose Santiago, for their services in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Afghanistan, and urging citizens to pay tribute and recognize the sacrifices of those employees who are still serving and those who have returned, and to remember the departed servicemen and women and the country they gave their lives to serve. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-086.)

Commissioner Carlson presented Resolutions to each employee and/or representative. Commissioner Colon extended her appreciation, stating no words can describe how proud the Board is of them and how thankful it is to them and their families and all the families of those overseas right now. She thanked them for what they are doing and the sacrifices they are making; and requested they not forget that the Board truly appreciates their courage and unselfishness to protect the freedoms enjoyed by all. She stated freedom is not free, but the Board is able to continue business today because of the heroes who went out and did it; there are thousands of them who are so unselfish and who would go ahead and sacrifice everything they have. She thanked all of them, and stated may God bless them and all their families and everyone who is overseas protecting that freedom.

Chairman Pritchard stated anyone in the audience who served in the military should stand and be recognized; and all those persons were given a standing ovation.

RESOLUTION, RE: COMMENDING EAGLE SCOUT KENNETH ESTES, JR.

Commissioner Scarborough read aloud a resolution commending Kenneth Estes, Jr. for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution commending Kenneth Estes, Jr., a senior at Titusville High School with a 4.12 grade point average, a talented musician, member of the Good Shepard Lutheran Church Youth Group as a hospice volunteer and volunteer at Parrish Medical Center’s emergency room, for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout by completing his project of renovating the Brevard County Indigent Cemetery. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-087.)

Commissioner Scarborough presented the Resolution to Mr. Estes who thanked the Board for the recognition. Chairman Pritchard stated Mr. Estes has absolutely outstanding achievements.

RESOLUTION, RE: PROCLAIMING TARTAN DAY

Commissioner Carlson read aloud a resolution proclaiming April 6, 2005 as Tartan Day in Brevard County.

*County Attorney Scott Knox absence and Assistant County Attorney Eden Bentley’s presence were noted at this time.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution proclaiming April 6, 2005 as Tartan Day in Brevard County and encouraging all residents to acknowledge the rich heritage of all neighbors of Scottish descent. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-088.)

Representatives of the Scottish community played songs on bagpipes.

David Spurlock, Pipe major of the City of Melbourne Pipes and Drums, stated it is affiliated with the Scottish-American Society, which is represented today by Rick Shader, Joe Leonard, and Shushi Young.

Commissioner Carlson presented the Resolution to Rick Shader who stated this is a proud day for Brevard County, which is named after a Scott; and on behalf of the Scottish-American Society, he accepts the decree for April 6 as Tartan Day.

The group played its exit song on the bagpipes. Chairman Pritchard advised there are reeds in the pipes and that is how they tune them.

RESOLUTION, RE: PROCLAIMING NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH

Commissioner Voltz read a resolution proclaiming April 2005 as National Fair Housing Month in Brevard County.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution proclaiming April 2005 as National Fair Housing Month in Brevard County, and recognizing the importance of establishing fair housing practices for all residents and the Fair Housing Continuum for its ongoing efforts in the fair housing area. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-089.)

A representative of the Fair Housing Continuum advised this is the 37th anniversary of the passing of the Fair Housing Act; HUD estimates there are over three million people who are being discriminated against in some type of housing-related transaction; and with that staggering number, HUD seeks the assistance of local governments and private organizations such as the Fair Housing Continuum to assist in enforcement of the Act. He thanked the Board for its support of fair housing; and extended appreciation to Don Lusk, Gay Williams and her staff, and Brian Breslin and his tenacity to continue to work for fair housing.

Anselmo Baldonado thanked the Board for the accolade, and stated at present Brevard County does not have a fair housing ordinance; and he would like to speak to each Commissioner of the benefits of having a fair housing ordinance. Chairman Pritchard stated any time.

Commissioner Voltz presented the Resolution to the representative of the Fair Housing Continuum.

RESOLUTION, RE: PROCLAIMING NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, AND PRESENTATION
OF PEN AND INK DRAWINGS

Chairman Pritchard advised he spent a lot of time in the public libraries; Commissioner Voltz has a master’s Degree, and he went a step pass that; and when one does that, one spends a lot of time in libraries. He stated when he went through it, they did not have computers and had to do a lot of page flipping, so he appreciates the Dewey Decimal System. He noted now he can sit at home and do it online. He read the Resolution proclaiming April 10 through 16, 2005 as National Library Week in Brevard County.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution proclaiming April 10 through 16, 2005, as National Library Week in Brevard County, and encouraging all residents to take advantage of wonderful library resources available and thank their librarians and library workers for making information accessible to all who walk through the library doors where there is something for everyone. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-090.)

Chairman Pritchard presented the Resolution to Catherine Schweinsberg, Library Services Director, who presented pen and ink drawings to each Commissioner. Ms. Schweinsberg advised Pat Freeman, Chairman of the County Library Advisory Board, could not be at the meeting to present the pen and ink drawings to the Commissioners in appreciation for their support. She stated every year they take the prints to their Legislators; and speaking for everyone on the Library Board and in Library Services, they are truly grateful for what the Board does for them.

The meeting recessed at 10:46 a.m., and reconvened at 11:01 a.m.

REPORT, RE: EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ORDINANCE

County Attorney Scott Knox advised amendments to the Emergency Medical Services Ordinance were authorized by the Board to be advertised for a public hearing; however, that did not find its way on the Agenda today; and recommended the Board continue the public hearing to April 26, 2005 and put it on the Agenda at that time.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to continue the public hearing on an ordinance amending the Emergency Medical Services Ordinance until April 26, 2005. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - EVA SAVALES, RE: TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

Eva Savales of Melbourne stated they need road improvements as every street in the City of Melbourne are hazards and waiting for tragedy; she has almost gotten killed three times in the vicinity of Harbor City Bank off Wickham Road because there is no extension on the road to turn left and people rush to get to I-95. She stated people in cars behind her cuss her out and she says it is not her fault; and she has her signal on and her arm out the window, yet people rush by to the exit ramp of I-95. Ms. Savales stated the stops signs are dark gray and between trees so they are not visible; three times she notified the Bank that she cannot come in there any more because she does not want to lose her life; and they asked her to speak with Bruce somebody in the County, so she went to see him and he referred her to this meeting to bring it to the attention of the Board. She stated every street has a sign covered by trees and not visible enough; she got a ticket, but knows every street and can drive them with her eyes shut because she is a volunteer and is on the streets every day delivering things where she needs to go; but she has to drive in front of the stop sign to see it as it is not visible and is completely covered by trees and bushes. She stated it is also a safety hazard and she would appreciate the Board making it clear for the public.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what intersection is Ms. Savales referring to; with Ms. Savales responding every street in the Melbourne/Suntree area; and she would appreciate the exit to I-95 to be on Eau Gallie Boulevard because there is no lane to turn from and they hold up traffic all the way down the road.

Chairman Pritchard suggested Ms. Savales talk to Duwayne Lundgren to find out exactly where the problem is; and stated maybe he will be able to help her.

PUBLIC COMMENT - WALTER PINE, RE: ACCESS TO COURTHOUSE

Walter Pine of Titusville stated he is here to speak to the Board about access to the Courthouse that the County is in control of; he has been denied access to the Courthouse twice; and the reason he was denied access was because he asked them to hand check his computer as opposed to sending it through the x-ray machine. He stated x-ray machines can damage computer equipment; he cannot afford to purchase another one; so on the off chance it was to be damaged, he would be out of luck. He stated he has filed the appropriate complaints and when they went through the system, they found that there is no policy that allows for hand check or prohibits hand check; the legal requirement is the most liberal and un-restrictive method; and hand check should have been available. He stated people go through on motorized wheelchairs and babies are pushed through in strollers; he certainly would not want to put a baby’s formula through the x-ray machine; so hand check is a reasonable request and necessary to implement. He requested the Board consider it and look into it because everybody he talked to said the Board sets the policy; at this point and time there is no policy yet the security over there is pretty much left to run the roost; he spoke to Mr. Muller and he is going to look into it; and he was very professional about it and very helpful.

PUBLIC COMMENT - WALTER PINE, RE: HOUSING AUTHORITY ISSUES

Walter Pine of Titusville stated Ramshur Towers is a HUD building where persons with disabilities and the elderly live; they are in the process of selling the building; it is waterfront property; and the typical thing to do is make a few bucks, and it does not matter how bad it hurts the residents. Mr. Pine stated some of the residents have been there for a significant amount of time; they are supposedly building a nice fancy building off the water which will change the view; but one of the major problems the residents are having and what he received calls on is that they are telling them they have to move but they cannot take their furniture. He stated those people are disabled and their comfort has a lot to do with what is around them; some of the furniture they have had since their children were born or perhaps most of their lives; they are being told they cannot take the furniture with them; and they were not given sufficient notice. He stated a lot of the things that have happened with this he would not consider respectful of the tenants; there are certain tenant rights in the State of Florida; they are being told tenant rights do not apply to HUD; and he would argue otherwise. He requested the Board take some interest in the Ramshur Towers and the way some of the properties are being managed and protect those citizens from losing their property. He stated he understands they were told they can take small items like pictures, etc., but some of them are debilitated and their comfort and stress levels are controlled by what is around them, including furniture they had for a long time. He requested the Board look into it and if staff would contact him, he would give them all the information he can.

Chairman Pritchard inquired what is the reason why they cannot take their furniture; with Mr. Pine responding he has not been able to contact HUD and get them to respond yet. Mr. Pine stated he does not understand it either but that is what is being reported to him; there is supposed to be a meeting on April 16, which he is going to; and he has seen written statements from the Housing Authority that says they cannot do that. Chairman Pritchard inquired if the Housing Authority provides furniture; with Mr. Pine responding apparently the new apartments will be furnished.

Commissioner Carlson stated some of those people have lived there a long time and brought their own stuff so why they cannot take it with them does not make any sense; and perhaps some investigation into that would be helpful.

Assistant County Manager Don Lusk stated he heard over the last couple of days the same kind of calls Mr. Pine referred to, not just from Ramshur Towers but also from the project on Merritt Island; so he will follow it up and give the Board some information on what he finds out. Mr. Pine requested Mr. Lusk keep him involved.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board has any authority to make a difference in this situation; with Mr. Lusk responding no, the Board can talk about the Housing Authority again, but it does not have any authority directly. He noted it probably has some leverage over what goes on in Merritt Island because it is in the unincorporated area, but the Melbourne Housing Authority board members are appointed by the City of Melbourne; so all staff can do is check it out from a general perspective for Ramshur Towers. Commissioner Voltz inquired if those people have any options and is there anything the Board can do to help them; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding the Board’s authority in Housing Authority activities is very limited; it does not get involved in that kind of stuff; but there may be some way they can look at it and he will see if there is something the Board can do.

Mr. Pine stated it was brought up by Mr. Baldonado that there is no fair housing ordinance in the County; a fair housing ordinance can approach those types of situations; and it is one of those areas where a fair housing ordinance would seem appropriate. He stated it would be wise for staff to work with Mr. Baldonado and see what they can do.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if there is some reason why the County does not have a fair housing ordinance; with Mr. Lusk responding the last time the Board discussed the fair housing ordinance concept was about seven or eight years ago; at that time the Board did not see the need for it; staff recently met with Mr. Baldonado and C. J. Miles from the Fair Housing Continuum on their initiative to try and do something; and Gay Williams and he are looking at the issues and will bring back opportunities if the Board wants to look at that again. Commissioner Voltz inquired if this issue could be addressed in an ordinance; with Mr. Lusk responding he is just learning about it and would have to defer to the County Attorney to see if it would be appropriate within an ordinance to do something like that. He stated anything that would affect somebody’s equal housing opportunity, be it how they manage the furniture or who they take deposits from and things of that nature, could be handled by a fair housing ordinance based on what he understands.

Assistant County Attorney Terri Jones advised one of the things the Board is going to discuss today is a conflict resolution; and the result they are looking for in the conflict resolution is having a cooperative agreement with the Housing Authority and perhaps the family of housing authorities, which would include Cocoa and Melbourne. She stated this issue can be brought up; and they also included that they might have to bring Cocoa and Melbourne into the conflict resolution because they are searching for a cooperative agreement for the entire County, excluding Titusville because it is separate.

PUBLIC COMMENT - THELMA ROPER, RE: HOUSING AUTHORITY ISSUES

Thelma Roper of Titusville stated she wants to echo Mr. Pine’s concern about the issue with the Housing Authority; part of her concern is because at one point many years ago after her divorce she had to utilize HUD facilities for about a year; and having been in the situation of having to live in one of those homes or apartments in Colorado, and to hear these kinds of tales here, which they did not have of not being able to move furniture with them and so on, it concerns her greatly to hear it coming out now. She stated anything they can do to work towards making it a more comfortable and pleasurable experience for the people who find themselves in a position to avail themselves to those kinds of services is important because many people who never had to do that and find themselves in a position where they have to is difficult enough. She stated some people they know have been there a long time; but that does not make it any easier once they are there; and the Board should make it more pleasant for them if it can.

PUBLIC COMMENT - THELMA ROPER, RE: MEETING ROOM IN NORTH BREVARD
GOVERNMENT CENTER

Thelma Roper stated they have been to meetings at the North Brevard Government Center with the Property Appraiser and went back in there again to try and meet; they were trying to review documents; and were bringing them to a counter that is not really a counter but is like the gate in the County Manager’s office; there is a table there that may be the size of the podium that has a couple of computers on it; and they wanted them to try and utilize that small space to review documents. She stated it is in the middle of a public area; they asked for a room to do it and they do not want them to use the table; they want them to stand at the counter; her knees will not allow her to stand at the counter and review those documents; so she would like for the Board to try and work with them to find some way where there is a room available at the Center in Titusville that can be utilized.

Commissioner Voltz stated the Board talked about this before; and inquired if staff has come up with anything or had conversations with Property Appraiser Jim Ford’s office.

Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten advised that was at the last meeting; and Facilities Department is working on looking for some space for that.

EXTENSION OF COMPLETION DATES, RE: SANDBAG SYSTEM INSTALLATION

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to extend completion dates for sandbag system installation from March 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005, applicable to property owners who were issued consistency letters under the County’s Emergency Orders following Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne; and authorize staff to amend the Order of Delegation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to allow sandbag installation through June 30, 2005. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

WAIVER OF VEGETATIVE BUFFER TRACT, RE: BUCK RUN SUBDIVISION

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to waive the 15-foot vegetative buffer tract requirement in three areas around the perimeter of Buck Run Subdivision, in lieu of the developer proposing a five-foot landscape buffer easement on the lots, erection of a six-foot high opaque fence along with a continuous hedge row and from six to nine live oak trees, depending on the location, and the 15-foot opaque buffer tract be required along the remainder of the Subdivision perimeter. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL PLAT APPROVAL, RE: PALMETTO SUBDIVISION, PHASE 2

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to grant final plat approval for Palmetto Subdivision, Phase 2, subject to minor changes if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and developer responsible for obtaining appropriate jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

UNPAVED ROAD AGREEMENT WITH ALVIN PAULEY, RE: SERNA AVENUE

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Unpaved Road Agreement with Alvin Pauley for a building permit off an existing right-of-way known as Serna Avenue, which has been constructed to the standards of the Unpaved Road Code of Ordinances, Section 62-102. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page
for Agreement.)

WAIVER OF MAXIMUM LENGTH OF UNPAVED ROAD, RE: PONDEROSA ROAD

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to waive the maximum length of an unpaved road known as Ponderosa Road to allow an approximate 200 feet to be built beyond the distance of 1,584 feet applied for by Donald Smith. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

UNPAVED ROAD AGREEMENT WITH GERALD P. MARSHALL, RE: REYNOLDS ROAD

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Unpaved Road Agreement with Gerald P. Marshall for a building permit off an existing right-of-way known as Reynolds Road, which has been constructed to the standards of the Unpaved Road Code of Ordinances, Section 62-102. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page
for Agreement.)

REQUEST FROM ELIZABETH SCHWEICH, RE: WAIVER OF EASEMENT MAXIMUM
LOT REQUIREMENT FOR PARCEL 788

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to waive provisions of Section 62-102, Code of Ordinances, which allows two lots to utilize the same access stem, and allow a third lot to utilize the same easement for an additional building permit for Parcel 788, as requested by Elizabeth Schweich. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

WAIVER OF TIME LIMITATION FOR SITE PLAN EXPIRATION, RE: SUN CASTLE
OFFICE COMPLEX

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to waive the time limitation provision in Section 62-3205 for Sun Castle Office Complex and approve a three-month extension for review and approval of site development plans, from April 21, 2005 to July 21, 2005. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE:
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 22 TO ADD FENCE, GARAGE DOOR, AND
STUCCO CONTRACTORS AS REGULATED TRADES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve the legislative intent and grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 22, Article VI, Divisions 1-4, recognizing the need to license additional trades and make other necessary administrative corrections to add fence, garage door, and stucco contractors as regulated trades. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH FURMAN ROAD, LLC, AND BUDGET CHANGES, RE:
TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE CREDIT FOR ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS
OFF NORTH COURTENAY PARKWAY

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Agreement with Furman Road, LLC in the amount of $4,307.84 for construction of off-site roadway improvements in the FDOT right-of-way off North Courtenay Parkway; and approve all needed Budget Change Requests to implement the Agreement. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages for Agreement and Budget Change Requests.)

USE AGREEMENT WITH VILLAS AT INDIAN RIVER PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION,
RE: LANDSCAPING AND IRRIGATION IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN VENETIAN WAY

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Use Agreement with Villas at Indian River Property Owners Association for installation and maintenance of landscaping and irrigation improvements within the Venetian Way right-of-way between SR 3 and San Remo Way in The Villas at Indian River School Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE FINAL PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION ACCEPTING
IMPROVEMENTS IN TREASURE LAND PHASE II ROAD PAVING MSBU

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider a resolution accepting improvements in Treasure Lane Phase II Road Paving Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU). Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: TERMINATING RESOLUTION 96-51 AND ORDINANCE NO. 95-40,
HABITAT ROAD CONSTRUCTION MSBU

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution terminating Resolution No. 96-51 and Ordinance No. 95-40, terminating Habitat Road Construction Municipal Service Benefit Unit and releasing and terminating any liens created by the initial assessment Resolution No. 96-51. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-091.)

RESOLUTION, MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT, AND AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO
JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION, RE: BABCOCK STREET WIDENING PROJECT

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution and execute Memorandum of Agreement and Amendment No. 1 to Joint Participation Agreement with Department of Transportation for relocation of a retention pond requiring redesign at $8,720 and advancement for right-of-way acquisition to secure the pond site required for widening of Babcock Street. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages
for Resolution No. 05-092, Agreement, and Amendment No. 1.)

RESOLUTION AND AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO EMERGENCY RELIEF PROGRAM
AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, RE:
REIMBURSEMENT FOR DAMAGES AND EXPENSES DUE TO HURRICANES
CHARLEY, FRANCES, AND JEANNE

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution authorizing Amendment No. 1 for reimbursement of funds for damages and expenses due to Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, and execute Amendment No. 1 to Emergency Relief Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages for Resolution No. 05-093 and Amendment No. 1.)

CONTRACT WITH FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, RE: MANAGEMENT
SERVICES FOR FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
INNOVATIVE WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING GRANT

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Contract with Florida Institute of Technology for management services for Florida Department of Environmental Protection Innovative Waste Reduction and Recycling Grant to reduce the amount of construction and demolition waste being disposed of in landfills or being reused or recycled at less than their maximum economic value. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Contract.)

TASK ORDER NO. 9 WITH POST, BUCKLEY, SCHUH & JERNIGAN, INC.,
RE: ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR SOUTH PATRICK AND RIVERSIDE
FORCE MAIN REPLACEMENT

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Task Order No. 9 with Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. to provide design and construction related services for the replacement of the 24-inch South Patrick and Riverside force main. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Task Order No. 9.)

APPROVAL, RE: REALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR UTILITY SERVICES FY 2005-06
CIP BUDGET, AND AUTHORIZE BUDGET CHANGES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve reallocation of funding for Utility Services FY 2005-09 CIP budget, and authorize all budget actions required to implement the reallocation. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND APPOINT COMMITTEES,
RE: DISASTER RECOVERY/DEBRIS REMOVAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, AND
DISASTER DEBRIS REMOVAL SERVICES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to grant permission to advertise request for proposals for disaster recovery/debris removal management services, and disaster debris removal services to undertake cleanup tasks; and appoint County Manager or designee, Roadways and Landscaping Director, Solid Waste Management Director, and Emergency Management Director to the Selection and Negotiating Committees. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT, RE: AUDIT REPORT FOR HOUSING AUTHORITY OF
BREVARD COUNTY FOR YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2004

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to acknowledge receipt of the Audit Report for the Housing Authority of Brevard County for the year ended March 31, 2004. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO BID, AWARD BIDS, EXECUTE CONTRACTS, AND USE STATE,
SCHOOL BOARD, GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, AND COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS, RE: PARKS HURRICANE REPAIR PROJECTS

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize advertisement of bids, award to the lowest qualified and responsive bidders, and execution of associated contracts by the Chairman for park hurricane repair projects, and utilization of State, School Board, governmental entities, and cooperative agreements for the projects. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZATION TO STANDARDIZE PURCHASING, RE: ATHLETIC FIELD
LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize standardized purchasing from Musco Sports Lighting, LLC for athletic field lighting systems. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZATION TO OBTAIN APPRAISAL, RE: T. A. VANI PROPERTY ADJACENT
TO PROPOSED ZOO TRAIL

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize obtaining an appraisal on 10.81 acres owned by T. A. Vani adjacent to the proposed Zoo trail. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF REVISED POLICY BCC-26, RE: ACQUISITION OF CONSULTANT
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approved revised Policy BCC-26, Acquisition of Consultant Professional Services, to comply with Florida Statute 287.055. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Policy BCC-26.)

APPOINTMENT OF SELECTION COMMITTEE, RE: REVIEW OF BANKING SERVICES
PROPOSALS

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to appoint staff from the Finance Department, Fire Rescue Department, Parks and Recreation Department, Utilities Department, and Permitting and Enforcement Department’s central cashier office to review proposals for banking services and make recommendations for award to the Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE RESCINDING
AD VALOREM TAX ABATEMENTS FOR SELECTED COMPANIES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing on May 10, 2005, to consider an ordinance rescinding ad valorem tax abatements for selected companies that no longer qualify under the Brevard County Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: INCREASING EXISTING COMMERCIAL PAPER LOAN AGREEMENT

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution increasing the existing TDT commercial paper loan agreement in order to complete the beach renourishment project; authorize the Chairman and County Attorney to sign the necessary loan documents; and authorize staff to make necessary budget changes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-094.)

PERMISSION TO OBTAIN APPRAISALS, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, TITLE
SEARCHES, SURVEYS, ETC., AND NEGOTIATE WITH PROPERTY OWNERS,
RE: TDO-OPERATED VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER PROPERTY

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize obtaining appraisals, environmental assessment, title searches, surveys, etc. and to negotiate with property owners to acquire property for a Tourist Development Office-operated visitor information center. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: FY 2005-06 TDC CATEGORY B, BEACH CLEAN-UP GRANT
HANDBOOK

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve the FY 2005-06 TDC Category B, Beach Clean-up Grant Handbook, which includes eligibility requirements, eligible activities, match requirements, review process, criteria for evaluation, instructions, and application forms. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: FY 2005-06 TDC REVISED CATEGORY E, CULTURAL EVENTS
GRANT APPLICATION HANDBOOK

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve the FY 2005-06 TDC revised Category E, Cultural Events Grant Application Handbook, which includes eligibility requirements, types of grants available, criteria for evaluation, instructions, and application forms. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RATIFY STIPULATION FOR INJUNCTION, RE: BREVARD COUNTY v. JAMES R.
HELLUMS AND RHONDA J. SPENCER

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to ratify the Stipulation for Injunction in the case of Brevard County v. James R. Hellums and Rhonda J. Spencer, to bring their property into compliance with the Brevard County Code within 90 days. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, RE:
DONATION/AWARD OF HAZ MAT VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Agreement with Florida Department of Financial Services for sustainment funds to assure the operational capability of the County’s Hazardous Materials Response Team for provision of emergency hazardous materials mitigation as a State Regional Response Team. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

AGREEMENT WITH OSCEOLA COUNTY, RE: FIRE/RESCUE AUTOMATIC AID

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Automatic Aid Agreement with Osceola County to allow for fire and rescue protection to the southwestern Brevard County area known as the Fellsmere Grade and the southeast Osceola County area known as Deer Park. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

APPROVE PAYMENT OF AWARD, RE: EMPLOYEE INNOVATIONS PROGRAM

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve payment of $450 to Edward Slattery of Mosquito Control Department for his recommendation under the Employee Innovations Program; and by consensus directed staff to look into a percentage payment system and return to the Board with recommendations. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS, RE: CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to appoint Eddie Cochran to the Planning and Zoning Board replacing Beverly Pinyerd with term expiring December 31, 2005; Chuck Frazier to the EELS Program Recreation and Education Advisory Committee with term expiring December 31, 2005; Wayne Mozo to the Environmentally Endangered Lands Procedure Committee replacing Priscilla Griffith with term expiring December 31, 2005; Brent Dalrymple to the Investment Committee with term expiring December 31, 2005; and Charles Moehle to the Landscaping, Land Clearing, and Tree Protection Task Force, with term expiring August 31, 2005. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: BILLS AND BUDGET CHANGES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve bills and Budget Change Requests as submitted. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages
for List of Bills and Budget Change Requests.)

APPROVAL, RE: STATE FORFEITURE FUNDS IN FY 2005 FOR YOUTH SERVICES

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize budgeting $10,000 of State Forfeiture funds in FY 2005 for Youth Services. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: HIRING OF PERMANENT BREVARD COUNTY MANAGER

Jacklyn Gregory of Titusville advised she has been a resident of North Brevard for 33 years; and she met Peggy Busacca in March 1987 when she was appointed to a CRG to work on recommendations for the Brevard County Comprehensive Plan mandated by the State. She stated Ms. Busacca was their staff coordinator for 18 months and through at least 25 sessions; she kept them on track, listened to them, and answered their questions; and they were successful in reaching consensus on most issues. She stated Ms. Busacca is a loyal and dedicated employee of Brevard County; she was professional in her work while warm and friendly when dealing with people; and in meetings she was always knowledgeable and prepared about subjects under discussion. She stated without exception staff members she spoke to like and respect Ms. Busacca; she knows the operation of Brevard County; she does not need on-the-job training; she is the best qualified candidate; and she has the experience and integrity to lead Brevard into the future. She stated Ms. Busacca is a terrific lady and they are very lucky to have her.

Laurilee Thompson of Mims stated it is no secret that she passionately believes that Brevard County is the best place in the world in which to live; it is obvious that a lot of other people want to live here too; and as the County moves forward to embrace the challenges and benefits to the County that growth and the new residents bring, they need a strong leader who will work to preserve the diminishing quality of life. She stated the laid-back coastal lifestyle and reasonable cost of living are what make Brevard County so attractive; there is no doubt those assets are in jeopardy; and Ms. Busacca is the perfect candidate to lead Brevard County in its efforts to preserve what makes it so special. She stated Ms. Busacca grew up in Brevard County, she has a background in planning; she has vast experience about what is going on in the County’ she knows the people in the community and County employees who work so hard to keep the County such a great place to live; and she has tremendous confidence that Ms. Busacca can perform the challenging job of continuing to bring growth and prosperity to Brevard County while preserving the outstanding quality of life that everyone so enjoys. She stated the Board should hang on to the money it was planning to spend for a search for a new County manager and invest it instead on planning for the future.

Thelma Roper of Titusville stated when Mr. Jenkins left the County Manager’s position, the question of an interim manager came up; they came to the County Commissioners and spoke about some of the people they thought would make a good interim manager; they suggested a couple of people; and although Ms. Busacca does a good job, they did not really feel that she was right for the position. She stated there have been issues in the County that have gone through to the last minute then all of a sudden the County would become aware of them; by County, she means the citizens; and the Board gets a big uproar. She stated appointing Ms. Busacca as permanent County Manager is one of those issues; it was put on the Agenda at the last minute; and there are a lot of people who could not be here today. Ms. Roper stated part of the reason they could not be here today is because they had to take off yesterday to be at the P&Z meeting at 3:00 p.m. so they had to take off of work yesterday; and by the time the word got out that this was on the Agenda today, it was too late for them to take off again to come down here and voice their opinion. She stated many of them would be opposed to it; and the way things come up on the Agendas like that is not fair to the public because they do not get a good public hearing on it and the Board does not hear the whole spectrum. She requested the Board consider when it puts out the RFP or looks for the new County Manager that it really look hard at some of the service members; and they really feel that should be done. She stated if Ms. Busacca is the best candidate for the job, she will stand against other applicants; granted the Board is spending the money, but they feel if the Board is going to look, pick someone, and say that person is the best for the job, then it should really look, do the search, and compare all the possibilities and applicants it might have. She stated at this point the Board does not know if there is someone better out there or not; and requested the Board go ahead with the search and continue on as it voted to do to start with.

Walter Pine of Titusville stated they are philosophically opposed to Peggy Busacca; and he can sum that up in one word, SEAS. He stated what Ms. Roper has said is something she and he have discussed and think is very important; they need the best candidate; and when they came to the Commissioners with suggestions, they picked people who were particularly neutral on all issues including his issues, and some people who did not favor anything and would give them a clean slate and a possibility of a new start, because there has been a great deal of animosity over the years about what has gone on. He stated it would have been a very simple matter to put it on the Agenda that it was a proposal to install Ms. Busacca as permanent County Manager; it did not do that; it said they were to discuss the County Manager; all the discussions up to this point have been how the Board was going to do notice and request; he spoke to many Commissioners about it; and he has been particularly forceful about the veterans issue. He stated the Board just gave awards to veterans; there are currently veterans who are dying; many people make comments that veterans are too rigid, they were not the right people, they were not this, and they were not that; but if they are worthy of dying to defend the Constitution, they are worthy of working here in safety as well. He stated they are building nations; they can build a county; and he believes the notice should go out and the Board should get the best candidate for the job. He stated if it turns out to be Ms. Busacca, then that is who it should be; if it turns out to be someone else, it should be that person; but if the Board does not look, then he believes it is negligent in its duties because it is supposed to be getting the best for the County not just for one view or another view. He stated there is absolutely no doubt that there is not one person here who does not have a particular agenda; and theirs is truth and accountability in government. He stated a lot of people have what they call green agendas, property rights agendas, etc.; but in this situation the Board has the opportunity and he hopes it will seek a candidate who has a neutral agenda and could clean the slate that now exists within the community. He stated there is the north versus the south, who gets funded versus who does not get funded, and all those different things; and regardless of what happens, if Ms. Busacca is appointed, she will carry that baggage with her because that is the nature of the best. He stated the only way the Board will avoid that particular baggage is to bring somebody to the County that has no preconceptions; there is no history to taint that person assuming the position; so he would strongly encourage and personally request, as a citizen of Brevard County, the Board at least look and determine among all the candidates who is the best candidate.

Bea Polk of Titusville stated she is upset with Commissioner Scarborough about all the projects they want to bring up and he says they have to have time; yesterday afternoon was when the public finally found out what was being called from all the offices trying to get this through; this is a very important job that the person will handle; and inquired why is the Board in such a rush. She stated if Peggy Busacca is the best one, she will be the one in the end; she had calls all yesterday afternoon from people who could not come to the meeting and from County employees who said why would Ms. Busacca suggest that she accept it at this quick date. Ms. Polk stated it is time to wait and interview whoever is the best candidate; and they will all be up to speak. She stated it is not that she has anything personally against Ms. Busacca, but the calls she got indicated they do not need this; they need to get something going and working together; and maybe that will cost a few hundred or thousand dollars, but if they get someone and listen to them, they might get other ideas. She stated she thinks they need some changes; it is time that the Board listens and bring them in; and she is very disappointed that something like this would come up on the Agenda at the very last minute.

Joan Wheeler of Titusville stated she does not know Ms. Busacca and is not against her or for her, but she disagrees with Commissioner Scarborough on saving the $25,000. She stated she watched the meeting on Tuesday and all the work that has gone into finding people to help find candidates, the recommended ones, and the ones that look into everything, even going into the barber shop; and she liked that idea and felt that money would not be wasted. She stated if they have $250,000 of Parks and Recreation money to buy a house in downtown Titusville and another $50,000 to clean it up for historic preservation, that is a big chunk of change; and the chunk of change it is looking at for another replacement should not be that expensive. She stated maybe the Board should look for what is the best; and Ms. Busacca would most likely be in the final group. She stated it was said the City of Titusville had a citizens committee doing the search and making the recommendation; she has seen that in Titusville; it does not work too well; it is the “good ole’ boys” tactic; and she does not want citizens getting to select who somebody else wants. She stated she agrees with the newspaper Editorial that said it should be a unanimous decision because every manager knows three people is all the manager has to satisfy to keep the job; and it should not be that way. She stated the manager should have to please every Commissioner; she hopes the Board will find out about the political skills of the people through the firms that will go in and look for past experiences and political savvy of candidates; and inquired if any Commissioner looked at the Editorial this morning.

Amy Tidd of Rockledge stated she had past experiences with Ms. Busacca and was on several advisory boards where she came, gave advice, and worked with them through many very important decisions; and she was very impressed with her knowledge, decisiveness, and ability to think in broad terms. She stated she came today to speak on her behalf; she has seen her in action; and she would feel very comfortable if the Board chose today to appoint Ms. Busacca. She stated the Board has to look at what is good for the County; it talked about veterans; Ms. Busacca is a veteran of the organization; she has moved through the ranks; and it is very important to honor the people who worked for the Board for so long. Ms. Tidd stated it is important to move forward; and if the Board makes the decision today, it can move forward with the budgets and not think about waiting on something that may happen a year from now after it gets a new County Manager. She stated there are problems right now; such as Wickham Road, Barnes Boulevard, and places where they need tax dollars to be spent; they are in dire straits; transportation and other things are important; so she would advocate spending the money on more important projects.

Kay Burk of Viera stated she was here on another matter this morning and had not planned to speak on this issue that says, “discussion regarding hiring a permanent County Manager”; and she believes discussion is appropriate. She stated it has been her privilege over the last 20 years to know Peggy Busacca and to work with her; she has listened with great interest to what has been said; in that 20 years, she worked with Peggy when she was in the Planning Department; and she knows her to be a strong planner. She stated she has learned that Ms. Busacca is ethical, honest, and has great integrity; she listens with an open mind; she knows how to say no when it is appropriate; she knows how to speak to people of all cultures; she works well with others; and she is a team player, which are very important things. She stated Ms. Busacca learns readily; it has been a pleasure working with her; and she is distressed by some of the things she heard this morning that were said about her. She stated she would have no problem working with her as the County Manager and believe this item was to be a discussion about it, and discussion sometimes can be disturbing. She stated everyone has a right to speak about their thoughts and feelings on things; and she wanted to express her personal thoughts on this issue and about working with Ms. Busacca. She stated the community is bursting at the seams; building is going on all over the County; people cannot drive on a road in the County without orange barrels and cones, traffic jams, blocking of roads and bridges, and waiting in line to move into or out of traffic; and they need somebody with leadership who understands those things. She stated they need somebody who is willing to learn and grow as well; and she hopes as the Board makes its decision that it will consider the background and experiences that Ms. Busacca has and that she has been here and worked in the community. She stated it is a difficult decision; and it is very important that the Board consider her background, experience, integrity, and ethics as it makes a decision. She stated it is true that the Board may need to look at people from the outside; it is true resumes can look good; and inquired if the Board would know, based on the resumes and something a headhunter brings from outside, what they are made of and how they really worked in a community. She requested the Board consider that.

Jerry Wall stated this is an important decision; he is speaking as a resident of Brevard County since 1967, so he has been here awhile; he has known Ms. Busacca and dealt with her on a personal level concerning community issues for at least 15 years; and he can say from his head and heart that Peggy Busacca is an excellent candidate for the position of County Manager. He stated he would appreciate it if the Board would take all the comments into consideration in making its decision.

Commissioner Colon stated she is extremely glad this subject was brought to the Agenda; the fact that they are doing it now is even better because some of the things she heard even from those who had some concerns, show the kind of lady Peggy Busacca is; and she only needs three votes from the Board; but she has all the confidence in the world that Ms. Busacca would still treat anyone who had anything negative to say about her today with the utmost respect. She stated that is the kind of lady she is; that is the kind of person the Board needs to lead the County and not take it personal; she has dealt with Ms. Busacca in the last five years; and as she mentioned to the Board before, she has been on the road of picking city managers in the past and they look good on paper. She stated even if they go into the community and ask everyone for feedback from the nay sayers and those close to the elected officials, they would not truly know what they are going to get. She stated one of the concerns is a city manager or county manager who knows how to count to three; one thing she likes about Ms. Busacca is she is not interested in counting three to two; she is so professional that whatever Commissioner calls her, she will manage to respond; and one thing that is wonderful also is her sense of integrity. She stated one cannot read that on a resume; Ms. Busacca has such wonderful integrity; but what she most admires about her is she is able to go into a room and build consensus. Commissioner Colon stated when they were reviewing the SEAS ordinance, which was extremely controversial, she would guarantee that anyone on either side of the issue would not be pointing the finger at Peggy; Ms. Busacca worked to build consensus on anything controversial or something that would not be positive for the community; and she would be the first one to make sure all parties come together. She stated she has worked closely with Ms. Busacca for five years; some of the things people have said are that she is friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and always prepared and experienced; and she has the confidence to meet the challenges coming to the community in the future. She stated one of the things that is unique about Ms. Busacca is that she is able to go into a room, no matter how upset people are, and be a true listener; she has watched that carefully; that is something that cannot be taught; someone either has it or not; and Ms. Busacca has it. She stated the item was not put on the Agenda at the last minute; the public should do their homework; there was plenty of notice that it was going to be on the agenda; and Ms. Busacca could have had the room packed with 500 to 700 people, but she is such a humble individual. She stated she knows that based on the phone calls that came in and talking to the people in the community, both property rights advocates and environmentalists, both groups have one thing in common, they respect her; and those are groups that cannot stand each other, but they respect Ms. Busacca because she is fair. She stated the Board cannot ask more than that; it is hard to find people who do not talk out of both sides of their mouths; one of the things that is wonderful about Ms. Busacca is that if she tells a person something, that person can take it to the bank; she will not lie to the person; and that person may not like the answer she will give him or her, but it will be truthful; so one cannot ask for more than that. Commissioner Colon stated Ms. Busacca has worked her way through the ranks, which she respects; she is not someone who came polished from Harvard or Yale and looks good on paper; she has worked hard to be where she is; so she is extremely happy that it is on the Agenda and thinks the decision should be made today and not be prolonged. She stated each Commissioner who has worked with Ms. Busacca should know that is about as good as it is going to get; and wasting time is what the Board would be doing, as well as wasting money when it has someone in the community. Commissioner Colon stated in the ten years that she has been an elected official, she has never felt as confident as she feels right now about supporting somebody; most of the votes in the community she came from were three to two and never unanimous in everybody picking one person; everyone had a particular candidate that appealed to him or her because of finance background, work ethics, or whether they know how to count to three; and one elected official voted for someone because that person was from his hometown. She stated she feels confident that the decision should be made today; each Commissioner knows the quality and kind of individual the Board has before it; it should not apologize for being that confident; and the citizens of Brevard County deserve the kind of individual Ms. Busacca is. She stated she has never felt more adamant and confident about supporting an individual like she does Ms. Busacca; she is very fair; the community deserves her; that is the kind of human being she is; and she would be honored when it comes time to make the motion or support the motion to make sure that Ms. Busacca is the next permanent County Manager.

Commissioner Scarborough stated since he put the item on the Agenda, he needs to explain it procedurally; Commissioner Colon said a lot; they have all gotten emails and calls; at the beginning he said he would like to consider Ms. Busacca, but would like to have a process where the Board can look at her against a pool of candidates; and that was his original position. He stated then the Board got to the process of hiring a consultant to do the search; he came into the meeting and wanted one that was number one; the Board said no, it needed to look at three firms; and it did that. He stated the number one firm that he really liked turned out not to be as good because it was not doing thorough background checks. He stated some people must have heard his thing about prior experience; the idea was that the only value of having somebody to search was to be able to get in there and really know who is good, not just in the superficial sense, because the County can go to the Sheriff’s Department and get a criminal background, can do credit checks, and can call five of their best friends so they sound good; but what really matters is how they tick. He stated what he means by that is there are certain things that happen or do not happen because of that person’s personality; and the more he heard, the more concerned he became; Commissioner Colon reiterated her thought that the Board should go ahead and hire Ms. Busacca directly; and at one point he and Commissioner Colon had a motion on the floor, not to go out for a professional search, but to do it in-house because he was concerned about the professional search. He stated he left the meeting and had some assurances from the Board that it was going to have an opportunity to look where the real issues were; and at that moment he talked to people about how they felt about Ms. Busacca not only internally but externally, and found a great many people supported her. Commissioner Scarborough stated everybody does not agree with Ms. Busacca all the time, but the question is can she go to a meeting and make the thing tick, and can she extract the best from people. He stated different people have different abilities; some people will say this person can or that person can; but if a person can have that capacity, that is good. He stated he had a conference with the consultant Colin Baenziger who came to his office; they spent about an hour together; and he had no belief at the end of the meeting that anything was changing in his operation of how they would go into the community and do any checks, so he was at the point of should he or should he not proceed in this particular thing. He stated he called Ms. Busacca and asked what she thought; she said she really did not think she wanted him to do this, but to let her pray about it; and they talked again and she said let her think about it; and he was pleased she said she was willing to do it. Commissioner Scarborough stated he thinks it would be a disservice to the community to think that the process is going to provide the type of candidates that people think it is going to provide; and how he knows that is by talking to people who have gone through the process; he did not find many people who, like Commissioner Colon in Palm Bay, have been terribly happy with the results; therefore, he thought why should the Board go through a process that is fundamentally flawed and why not go ahead and proceed with Ms. Busacca who everybody likes and thinks she can make things tick. He stated he doubts that he and Ms. Busacca will agree on everything; they have disagreed in the past; she is not his person, she is the Board’s person or she is nobody’s person; and she either makes the whole community tick or it will not work. He stated he thinks it was about last week at this time that he put the item on the Agenda and faxed it in; he called the Florida TODAY newspaper and emailed it to all Commission Offices; and he guesses he could have given two or three weeks notice, but his concern was they had somebody hired to do the search, so he called Human Resources Director Frank Abbate and told him he was putting it on the Agenda and to call Colin Baenziger and tell him because he did not want him to run out and do a lot of work, particularly advertising and having people making some thoughts that they could fly here when the Board may take some other action. He stated Mr. Baenziger called him back and he explained the situation to him; and he said he would hold everything until next week; so that is where it is tonight; and he apologizes to those who did not have an opportunity to prepare.

Commissioner Voltz stated she has quite a bit to say; one of the first persons who got up said that Ms. Busacca is the best qualified candidate; and she might be, but right now she is the only one so the Board really does not know whether or not she is the best qualified candidate. She stated somebody else said hang on to the money; $17,500 will be worth it for the future of the County; another person said they do not know what they are getting; and that is true, but Mr. Jenkins was hired and stayed 17 years. She stated Ms. Busacca would be an excellent candidate, but she does not know if she is a candidate or not because she never received a phone call telling her she wanted the job, which she did not think was very good. She stated she did talk to Ms. Busacca yesterday; and her comment was she knew how to count to three and she only needed three votes; she did not think that was very fair at all; and she received about a dozen emails, so that leaves a whole lot of people out there. She stated this is not a popularity contest; when she was with the City of Palm Bay on the same exact issue, she thought the Assistant City Manager was the best candidate and said do not spend the money; it came back that he was the best candidate; so they hired him but the next Council fired him; and it happened again with the next Assistant City Manager of Palm Bay who everyone thought was the best candidate and who was fired by the next Council. Commissioner Voltz stated this is the first time she heard that Commissioner Scarborough called Human Resources to stop the process with Colin Baenziger; she does not think that was fair to the rest of the Commissioners, since the Board made the decision to hire his firm to begin with; and for one Commissioner to stop that was not very good. She stated she got information on interview candidates and what they should look at; it says, “If an internal candidate is among the finalists, Board members will occasionally assume they already know the individual and just chitchat instead of actually interviewing them. Doing so is neither fair to the candidate nor to the organization. Unless the same hard questions are asked of the internal candidate as the external candidate, meaningful comparison between candidates cannot be drawn. To select the known quantity is a natural human tendency particularly in public sector recruitment. It feels comfortable and is viewed as safe and may also be exactly the wrong thing to do. We have seen for example boards select individuals with whom they were comfortable and assume the individual will grow into the position. Sometimes the candidate doesn’t. Sometimes he or she does not. If the candidate does not, then a year or so later the same board is struggling with a difficult decision of what should it do with someone who was a valuable employee but who is not providing the necessary leadership. None of the alternatives, continuation in the present job, demotion, or termination of employment are attractive, but one must be selected. The result is that someone who was a perfectly good employee may be lost. Please understand we are not trying to discourage the hiring of an internal candidate, we do believe however that the internal candidate must be examined just as critically as the external candidate.” Commissioner Voltz stated she does not believe she had the opportunity to interview the candidate because she did not know there was an actual candidate; she has a whole list of many questions that she would like to have answered that have been answered; and the direction thus far has not been impressive to her. She stated she has always liked Ms. Busacca and has no problem with her applying for the position, but she is not sure at this point that the Board needs to make that decision without asking the tough questions about the direction the County is going. She stated the Board knows where it came from and it has not always been good; and Ms. Busacca was part of the process; those are some of the things that are on her mind; so she is not going to support a decision right now to hire Ms. Busacca. She stated she may have three votes; and if she does, the Board will see what happens. She stated it should go out for a search; if she was in that position, she would want to know that she was the best qualified candidate for the job; and she would not want to have to count to three with every board.

Commissioner Carlson stated she appreciates what everyone has said and echoes what Commissioners Colon and Scarborough said; she has been on the Board seven years and worked with Ms. Busacca; and she knows the integrity and loyalty that she provides to the community and her ability to build consensus. She stated she wants to use an analogy; she read in the paper about the Iraq War and the issue of how President Bush looks at the troops; that is what the Board is doing here; the President said those veterans that have served previously make the best soldiers out in the field because of their loyalty and responsibility proven through many battles; and being called upon to serve their country again is something they do not take lightly and serve with dignity. She stated she wondered why the President did not open up the draft; his reasoning is what he said; he prefers to bring in old veterans, not old in the sense of age, but those who have served before, because it is a new time, a new era, a new type of war, and they need intelligent individuals not just CIA and FBI intelligent, but real intelligence, ground intelligence, and an understanding of what has taken place in the past and what might take place in the future. She stated she feels the President made his decisions based on known quantities, and knowing he was not sending anyone into the field unarmed. She stated if the Board opens up the draft and brings in all the new candidates, it is going to find that maybe they may be unarmed and cannot serve the community better than having someone who has the experience, understanding, integrity, and know-how as Ms. Busacca has. Commissioner Carlson stated it is uncomfortable for Ms. Busacca to sit here and take this, but she has proven she has a very hard skin and a soft center; she has enormous background experience, ran her part of the organization under Tom Jenkins, and did it very well; and if she took the helm, the Board would find a different perspective over County government. She stated it will be a very positive perspective, so she will support any motion that is made today to put Ms. Busacca permanently in that position.

Chairman Pritchard stated Commissioner Carlson’s analogy reminds him of the Gary Larson cartoon that shows the polar bears eating through the igloo that said, “well, it is crunchy on the outside, but it is so tender on the inside.” He stated he spoke to Ms. Busacca several months ago before he knew Mr. Jenkins was going to leave; he asked if she would ever consider the job of County Manager; and she surprised him by saying no. He stated she is a tough lady and very professional; he means that in all respects; and after he found out Mr. Jenkins was leaving, he asked her if she would be interested in being County Manager and she said no. He stated he asked her about interim and she said yes, she would do that; and after she was interim County Manager for a little while, he asked her if she would be interested in being County Manager, and she said it was beginning to work on her and she found she was enjoying the job, so she just might. He stated he saw where she was working her way into it, and told her he was still interested in going through the process because he thought she was an excellent candidate and told her that the best manager that he ever worked for was a lady. He stated she had a way of cutting through the chase, cutting through the bureaucracy, and she would take a memo that had all the who fors, what ifs, and should we, and would write on it “yep” and send it back to the sender. He noted that was pre-computer days. Chairman Pritchard stated Ms. Busacca is that way and does that; that is why he thinks she is an excellent candidate, but she is a candidate; and that is why he still wants to see the field. He stated the Board needs to see who is out there so it can compare Ms. Busacca to the field; she might come out #1 and has a good shot at coming back #1; but he would really like to know that she is #1. He stated when she came in as the interim County Manager, she came in with new eyes; Ernie Brown came in with new eyes and has done a great job; new eyes are good; and he asked her about her toughness, and she said she does not mind making them cry. He stated that was good because there is a toughness there; but there are questions that he never had the opportunity to ask; and depending on what happens this afternoon, he would want the opportunity to ask those questions because running the County is going to give that person the opportunity to do things that he or she probably never had done before. He stated Commissioner Colon or Commissioner Scarborough said the Board does not do things unanimously; it did vote unanimously to hire a headhunter; and inquired how was Lee Feldman hired by the Palm Bay City Council; with Commissioner Voltz responding unanimously. Chairman Pritchard stated he wants to know the vision for the County, not the external growth, but the internal growth, what is going to happen, what it is going to do about the organization within, the operation within, the structure within, the duplicity within, restructuring within, salary comparisons within, and the study within. He stated the Board will be talking about the MPO salary structure later today and whether or not it will remain within the organization; so there are a lot of factors that need to be addressed. He stated as a person, Peggy is an outstanding woman; and as a candidate, he thinks she will be an outstanding candidate.

Commissioner Colon stated she wants to set the record straight before she makes a motion to hire Ms. Busacca; the Board is the one that sets policy, not the County Manager; the County Manager carries out the policies that the Board sets; so the buck stops at the Board level, and Commissioners cannot blame County staff for decisions the Board makes. She stated she has witnessed in the past where Commissioners wanted to blame staff, but meanwhile they should go back and look at what the set-up was and how they voted and why they supported something; so it is the Board that makes the decisions and sets the policies. She stated she is extremely honored to make a motion to hire Ms. Busacca as the County Manager.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to hire Peggy Busacca as the permanent County Manager of Brevard County.

Commissioner Voltz stated Ms. Busacca may be the best qualified candidate, but she does not know that right now; if the Board decides to hire her, it needs to hold a workshop and begin asking some hard questions about the future of Brevard County; and if she is not satisfied with the answers, which Ms. Busacca should have because she has been here, she will then support going back out for the firm like it originally hired to do the search. She stated she will support the motion, not because she thinks Ms. Busacca is the best candidate, but she wants her to know that the Board supports her in general; she has reservations about how the process has been handled up to this point; and she does not like the fact that Commissioner Scarborough stopped the process because she does not think one Commissioner should have the ability to do that. She stated the Board needs to hold a workshop immediately and begin asking some really tough questions about the future of Brevard County.

Commissioner Scarborough apologized to the Board, but stated he felt it was inappropriate if he felt something, not to bring it to the Board’s attention; everybody reflected on Palm Bay; he was involved in hiring of two city managers in Titusville; and both of them were very successful. He stated one was the Finance Director, and upon his retirement, the City decided to go out on a national search; City Council members went out for a week or more to locations and talked to people who were in opposition in the minutes, and got in-depth reports; and that was the high point of respect for fellow elected officials and the dedication and desire to bring back accurate and complete reports. He stated with the Finance Director moving up to City Manager, they had staff working with a known quantity; when Randy Reed moved in, he hired new staff and insulated himself with people loyal to him; and there was a great escalation in the cost of government because he wanted to bring in his own people and did not have the capacity to move other people out. He stated each Commissioner comes to a meeting and votes their life experiences; and he feels comfortable he is doing the right thing for the County at this moment.

Commissioner Colon stated she does not believe in wimpy support; Florida TODAY did that to her and gave her an endorsement with reservations; and she told the paper what it could do with its endorsement. She stated today the Board is making a very wise decision; and there is a motion on the floor.

Chairman Pritchard stated he does not want Ms. Busacca to have the sword of Damocles hanging over her head so he will support the motion; he thinks she will do an excellent job and has the knowledge, skills, and talent to do it; and he does not want her to think he would not be supportive of her. He stated he does not want her to feel she has to start counting to three when she comes to a Board meeting; that is not his intent; and he looks forward to working with her. He stated Commissioner Voltz made a very good suggestion; the Board needs to have a workshop with Ms. Busacca because they all have concerns and would like to know where her vision of Brevard County lies.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Ms. Busacca advised working with the staff, not just a few of the staff, but generally, has been a great joy; and they really proved to her that the County Manager’s position is such a small part of what the County does because it is staff that makes it all work. She stated they are tremendous and she has more admiration for them than she had ever had before. She stated she would like to meet with each Commissioner separately or as a group to see what they would like to do and what they can move forward; and she is humbled by the opportunity to be the County Manager. She stated Brevard County is her home; she has lived here since she was three years old; and she cares a great deal about the people and the community and would like to do her very best to see it move forward. She noted she does have some ideas, and is very grateful for the opportunity to serve.

The meeting recessed at 12:14 p.m., and reconvened at 1:10 p.m.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE:
ORDINANCE ADDRESSING USE RESTRICTIONS FOR FARM ANIMALS INCLUDING
EXOTIC BIRDS IN AGRICULTURAL ZONING CLASSIFICATIONS

Zoning Manager Rick Enos advised the Board asked staff to look at how to regulate exotic birds, specifically the noise from exotic birds; and what they discovered as they were looking at it was that noise from farm animals is protected by State law and the County cannot establish any kind of regulation on farm animals, which include exotic birds, so that option is not available. He stated the other option is amending the Agricultural classification to remove some agricultural activities on undersized parcels; that is a possibility the Board can consider; he gave the Board a colored map showing all the parcels in the County zoned AU of less than 2.5 acres; and it shows there are almost 11,000 parcels, most of which are concentrated in the Canaveral Groves area, in South Brevard along Grant Road, and in Cape Kennedy Estates area. He stated the large majority of those parcels are vacant, almost 70%; close to 29% are improved with a residence; and those may or may not include associated agricultural uses. Mr. Enos stated another 1% is made up of other uses; and the Board will continue to see development in the areas of the vacant lots, specifically in Central and South County. He stated another option is to consider amending the AU zoning classification to remove some agricultural uses on small lots; it is not going to affect existing agricultural uses; and all those uses that are existing can continue as nonconforming uses. He stated all it could possibly do is prevent the issue of conflicting uses, as some of those lots are used agriculturally and others are used solely residentially. He noted it could prevent new instances from being created.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if 70% are vacant and 30% may have a business on them, can staff make a distinction where someone is using the 1.5 acres for a business and separate that from someone who just has a chicken. Mr. Enos stated they tried to do that by using the Property Appraiser’s records, but there is not a distinction in their records between a house and a house with other agricultural uses on the property. He stated they did find that there are only 11 instances of purely agricultural uses with no house, which is rare; and where there are agricultural uses in areas like Canaveral Groves, the preponderance of those would be someone living on the property as well. Commissioner Voltz advised a gentleman came into her office yesterday; he has 8.5 acres in Valkaria and was using it for chickens and roosters, but a bobcat may have gotten all of them; he has a neighbor with a half-acre lot who has roosters that crow from early morning until dusk, all day every day and the noise does not stop; and she told him she does not think there is much the County can do. She stated it seems like something could be done, but she does not know if the Board can do anything because whatever it does could affect a lot of people; and she was just wondering if there is anything that can be done. Mr. Enos stated as long as the rooster is located in an AU zoning classification, it is an agricultural operation and there is nothing the Board can do about it. Commissioner Voltz stated she could see it if it was a business, but not an annoying pet. Mr. Enos stated they can have a pet rooster in residential zoning, so it is legal in agricultural and residential zoning classifications. Commissioner Voltz stated she suggested they get dog whistles that have a pitch so high that it would stop the roosters from crowing; they have those on the Internet; and she does not know what else to tell the gentleman. She stated she would not want to live like that; and he is ready to sell his property because he cannot stand it any more.

Commissioner Carlson stated her neighbor had the larynx of the rooster altered by a veterinarian; her child had incubated chicken eggs and some came out as roosters, but the child could not part with them; and the parent did not want to take them away from the child, so she had the crowing ability surgically removed.

Jerry Wall of West Canaveral Groves stated he welcomes the chance to speak with the Board; it could prove to be interesting; it has been demonstrated so far it is a subject that is very subjective in nature; and paraphrasing something he heard many years ago, it could be said that noise is in the ear of the beholder. He stated his understanding of the purpose of the Agenda item is for the Board to determine if Codes addressing use restrictions for farm animals, including exotic birds, in AU zoning classifications are to be amended; there are conflicting provisions within County Code; what seems to be in the center of the conflict are nonconforming lots of record, lots less than 2.5 acres in size and usually 1 to 1.5 acres, that are zoned AU. Mr. Wall stated in attempting to get a handle on it, he had a meeting with Rick Enos, who is another excellent example of County staff; this is a very difficult and touchy situation; and to help clarify it, prior to 1975, only a lot one acre in size was required for AU zoning. He stated after 1975, Code changed to require 2.5 acres; after 1975, all lots of 1 to 1.5 acres zoned AU became nonconforming lots of record; so it would appear that the lot size and zoning in question have been in place for the last 30 years. He stated communities from Grant to Scottsmoor and many points in between are faced with a similar situation of how to balance rural areas with the encroachment of suburbia; Valkaria, Grant, and Mims are topics of today in Florida TODAY newspaper, but the question affects many Brevard communities such as Canaveral Groves. He stated it is especially true of paper platted areas such as his community of West Canaveral Groves; and many Brevardians are attempting to maintain their rural lifestyle while trying to keep the everything green looks better under concrete and asphalt crowd at bay. Mr. Wall stated the question was asked what to tell someone who wants to build a $500,000 home and does not want animals next door; the response is tell them to build someplace else; and it is a difficult situation, and sometimes seems to be a question of whose rights are more important, the newcomer who wants to move into a rural community without taking into consideration all the real and perceived negative issues or the resident who wishes to take advantage of the AU zoning of a nonconforming lot. He stated the Board has two choices; (1) to amend the AU zoning on lots less than 2.5 acres, or (2) take no action; and the first choice would adversely affect his community of West Canaveral Groves and other similar communities. He stated on January 11, 2005, the Board approved their neighborhood action plan for West Canaveral Groves; they are an emerging community; they are a rural community and prefer to keep it that way; and to amend the AU zoning would be in conflict with their action plan. He stated if the Board votes to amend the AU zoning classification, it will be in conflict with a substantial number of Brevard County residents; a lot of the lots are vacant now, but they are in communities that wish to remain rural; and urged the Board to vote to take no action on this issue.

Oleta White of Canaveral Groves advised she lives two acres away from the property in question and has lived there about a year; when they first came to the neighborhood, the reason they came to that area was because they were anti-homeowners association and wanted a rural community; and they wanted to be able to maintain and develop their property with minimal restrictions. She stated she respects everybody’s right to do that; however, since they have lived in that area, the noise has doubled and quadrupled. She stated she is pro-animal and was a veterinarian assistant for years; she was also the administrative assistant to the planning director of a rural county and is familiar with the rulings and workings of county government; and she knows how the game is played. She stated obviously the Board cannot please everybody, but something has to be done to try and compromise the rights of everyone; the noise levels at night are unbearable; they have to have their windows closed and air conditioning on because their bedroom faces the direction of the birds that squawk until 11:00 p.m.; and she is not talking about little birds, but big macaws. She stated the number of birds allowed on the property is a major concern to her; when they first moved in, it only appeared to be 20 or 30 cages; that has since doubled; and a couple of weeks ago a U-haul van pulled up in the front yard and they started unloading more cages. Ms. White stated the property is one acre; the structures the birds are housed in take up the back half of the property, which is about a half-acre of land; and inquired how many birds can one person put on a half-acre of land. She stated it is to the point where the cages are being stacked on top of each other; in the interest of health of the birds, she wants to know how they are protected if a hurricane came because they were not protected last year, or in the event of freezing temperatures. She stated the birds were not protected and were not covered; she has friends who are professional bird breeders; they have their aviaries in a residential community not zoned AU; and their neighbors have never complained because at a decent hour in the evening they cover the birds up and at a decent hour in the morning they uncover their birds so they can have sunshine and fresh air. She stated that is what responsible breeders do; they protect the rights of the community by providing that their birds are cared for and are put to bed at night so they do not squawk all night long; and her concern is the noise because of the volume of the business. She stated there has to be a limit on how many animals one can put on a piece of property; if they were horses, the County would logically say they cannot put 100 horses on an acre of land, or put 50 pigs on a half-acre of land; and there has to be a limit to how many they are allowed to have, and how far the setbacks are from a residential home to give a buffer between a sleeping baby and a screaming bird. She stated she respects their right to operate their business in a responsible manner and at the same time respect the peace of their neighbors and try to be a little bit considerate; and suggested if the Board can change the law, it should at least make it so a bird goes to sleep at night when it is covered. She noted if there is a light, the bird thinks it is daytime and time to play.

Anne Schapson of Canaveral Groves stated they have lived in Canaveral Groves for nearly 18 years and for the past five years they have been bombarded day and night by yapping dogs or screeching birds on Vancouver Avenue. She stated in recent months the situation has become worse by the blaring horrendous honking of geese; and the pandemonium has affected every area of their home life. She stated she works from an office at home and there are times she cannot work; most of the time they cannot watch television with the sound at a normal level; and on March 10, 2005, their children and grandchildren were visiting from out-of-town and after a long drive and late night wanted to sleep in, but the screeching woke them up at the crack of dawn. She stated the following night the screeching woke their granddaughter at 3:00 a.m.; night after night she cannot go to sleep because there are one or two of the birds making a racket; and those are only a few of the many instances that disrupt and diminish their right to live in peace. She stated they are not the only ones complaining, which can be verified by letters she previously submitted to the Board; in one letter a neighbor wrote, “This letter is in reference to the obnoxious noise level coming from 4065 Vancouver Avenue. It is our understanding that exotic birds are not included in the Noise Ordinance of Brevard County. We would like to dispute this. The loud obnoxious noises disturb our sleeping, our family time, and almost all activities both inside and outside our home.” Ms. Schapson stated other neighbors stated in their letter, as follows: “This document is intended to support our neighbors with regard to the complaints of Noise Ordinance violations at 4065 Vancouver Avenue, which houses many exotic birds, which produce horrifying screams throughout the day and night. On numerous occasions my husband and I had to vacate our screened-in patio to seek relief from the screams. Admittedly there can be a number of hours when it’s fairly quiet, but it is not enough to offset the times when this horrendous racket continues for three or four hours at a stretch. Besides you can’t spot check in this situation. It takes living there 24/7 to understand what this daily assault does to your peace of mind.” Ms. Schapson stated as it stands now, backyard breeders are not permitted to let their dogs disturb the peace, but there is no limit to the raucous screeching of birds; and those of us who live with this nightmare have no recourse, nowhere to turn for relief. She stated this is not acres of agricultural production, and these are not farms; this is backyard breeding in a highly residential area consisting of one-acre lots; and most of the homes sit 80 to 100 feet back from the road with the backyards butting up to one another. She stated when one of the backyards is teeming with loud raucous noises, it creates serious problems for surrounding homeowners, destroying their peace of mind and the value of their property; they have been told repeatedly that no one would buy their home because no one wants to live next to the parrot jungle; but the ultimate consequence is the effect it has on their quality of life. She stated everyone has a fundamental right to live in peace no matter where they live; owners may have a right to their animals; and inquired should they have the right to allow the noise from those animals to destroy their neighbors’ peace of mind.

Steve Moore of Canaveral Groves stated the biggest thing he sees with the problem the Board is addressing today with the Ordinance it is looking at is that it is not going to help those people who are having the problem; so he does not understand why it is trying to pass an ordinance. He stated the lady is 2.5 acres away from the bird farm that is disturbing her relentlessly, so the setbacks they are talking about inflicting on them are not going to solve the problem; it is not going to be retroactive to properties that have existing uses; so it is not going to help them. He stated why would the Board do it and what would it accomplish are his big issues; and inquired if it is talking about one-acre plotted lots or somebody who owns more than 2.5 acres in an area plotted for one-acre lots and does that qualify them for the agricultural exemption that is in the Ordinance. Mr. Enos stated it can be either way; those details have not been worked out; but the way the Zoning Code would typically look at an issue like this is if someone owns 2.5 acres, whether it is one parcel or two platted lots, they would have enough land to have the unrestricted use. Mr. Moore stated those are the main issues he sees; the Board is dealing with an issue that does not do anything for the people who initiated it; so he does not see any reason to pass a thing that will affect so many other people in a negative way and does not give them anything positive because they are still going to be in the same situation they are in now.

Donna Hamilton of Canaveral Groves stated she is an exotic bird breeder; a few years ago she built a barn on her property; and she had to bring in a lot of fill dirt at a high cost to do it. She stated she moved to agricultural property to have animals; and inquired why the County does not go by the State rules on agricultural property and why they have those battles every few years. She stated she has been to meetings quite a number times in the last 15 or so years on the same issues; she does not want her area rezoned; she spent a lot of money on her lot with fill dirt, cleaning, and building; and she would like to see it stay as is.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Ms. Hamilton gets many complaints; with Ms. Hamilton responding she got no complaints as her barn is partially closed. Commissioner Voltz inquired how many birds does Ms. Hamilton have; with Ms. Hamilton responding about 30 pairs in the barn and one small cage with lovebirds. Commissioner Voltz stated Ms. Hamilton must be doing something right to not get complaints from her neighbors; and inquired if Ms. Hamilton thinks everyone should do as she is doing, which seems to be proper for the birds and neighbors. Ms. Hamilton stated when she moved there, she had the birds on caged racks and in bad weather they were out there feeding them in the rain; she sold one of her rental properties and used the money to bring in fill dirt because the property was very low; and described the rain water that flows to her property from abutting properties.

Commissioner Carlson stated another speaker mentioned that she knew someone in a residential area that covered the birds during certain times to keep them quiet, and Ms. Hamilton’s facility looks open; with Ms. Hamilton responding there is no way she can close her barn, as two feet of the cages stick out to let the birds play in the rain. Commissioner Carlson stated she does not think the Board is battling the real problem of how the treatment of birds keep them quiet when they are supposed to be quiet, and why they are raucous when they are not supposed to be. Ms. Hamilton stated she does not understand that either; her birds have their morning call and evening call right before dark; then they are pretty much quiet all day unless something disturbs them. She stated on the weekends when they are working around the birds, they fuss; she had a lot of her birds for years; and she tells them to be quiet and they seem to settle down.

Commissioner Voltz stated Ms. Hamilton is being responsible in considering her neighbors and her family; and she wonders if everybody could police themselves, which would be the best thing. Ms. Hamilton stated she does not want to disturb her neighbors, but really loves her animals and had them for years and years; and that is why she moved out there. Commissioner Voltz stated her sister-in-law raises birds and she would not move some place where she could not take them all, so she understands it.

Chairman Pritchard inquired how much property does Ms. Hamilton have; with Ms. Hamilton responding a little over an acre.

Dwight Greenberg of Canaveral Groves inquired if the Board has copies of the letters that were introduced by a lady and the names and addresses of those people; with Chairman Pritchard responding he does not have them. Mr. Greenberg inquired if the letters are on file; with Mr. Enos responding he has several letters. Mr. Greenberg inquired if Mr. Enos has the specific letters that were introduced into evidence; with Mr. Enos responding he has some letters but does not know if he has all of them.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board did not receive anything as evidence so what letters is Mr. Greenberg referring to; with Mr. Greenberg responding typically when he sat on the Planning and Zoning Commission if there were letters, they had to be read into evidence and the names and addresses of those who testified to provide they were residents. Commissioner Scarborough stated sometimes people hand letters to the Board, but he did not see any. Mr. Greenberg stated the lady read a couple of letters; and he was curious as to who wrote them.

Mr. Greenberg stated his birds are outside on racks and have tin roofs across the racks; he tries to give five to six feet of open cage space for the birds; they stay outside at night in the winter and at 29 degrees, he goes out there and knocks ice from their water bowls when they freeze; and as soon as he does, his birds are in taking a bath. He stated he has toucans from Costa Rica, Graybills from Sumatra, and a lot of exotic birds; and if one conditions the birds properly, they do not need to cover them at night and do not have to worry about the noise. He stated covering the birds at any time to keep them quiet is not a good strategy because they would have to keep them covered 24/7 for some people; they went to the complainants house after the meeting and sat there for 25 minutes; he heard sparrows, falcon, cockatoo, cockatiel, and other bird noises he could identify; and he heard barking dogs and kids as well as traffic noise from I-95. He stated birds typically call in the morning when they come off roost and when they go to feed so that is why they hear them in the morning; and typically at night they call to bring their flock back to roost. He stated it is about half an hour before sunrise and about half an hour before sunset. Mr. Greenberg stated he and his wife drove down near the complainants house; they heard a macaw, cockatoo, cockatiel, lizard running in the rush, and the falcon again, as well as barking dogs, kids, and someone’s television. He stated he has been breeding birds for years; with his knowledge of birds, he does not think they have continual noise; and he does not want to dispute the complainant’s judgment, but there are some noises that are offensive like a chalkboard being scratched. He stated it is a case of a couple of people feuding and using the County folks to fight their feud for them; he asked County Attorney Knox at the meeting yesterday if there is any recourse available to the plaintiff; and he was told there is recourse, the same for all, civil recourse. He stated the County should stop spending money and trying to change 11,000 lots because two people complained in eight years and let those people take it to court for a decision; and he does not see a compelling reason to rezone 11,000 lots because of two valid noise complaints in eight years.

Commissioner Voltz stated last week she spent the day with the Deputy Sheriff in Canaveral Groves and does not know what street she was on, but did hear birds squawking and saw cages; the noise was horrific and very loud at about noon or 1:00 p.m.; she did not know where she was and does not know if it was coming from the subject property, but they made a right turn off Satellite Boulevard.

Buddy Spakes of Canaveral Groves stated he will give his five minutes to Marlene Waters. Chairman Pritchard stated he cannot do that, but Ms. Waters can have her five minutes.

Marlene Waters of Canaveral Groves stated she has been to meetings a number of times on this issue and another issue and she would like to take the Board back in history; on January 18, 1996, Commissioner Scarborough made a statement to the Board saying they are spending a lot of time discussing remote things such as how much noise comes from exotic birds, but when it comes to the viability of Brevard County it does not have enough time. She stated he went on to say if this is the way the Board is going to act, he is resigning; and he is not going to talk about birds and let jobs leave. She stated he left the podium and his absence was noted; she commended him for that at that time; and that was in 1996. She stated on July 17, 2005, Florida TODAY had an article on the working homeless ranks growing in Brevard County, with 18,545 just in the central area who receive assistance for rent, utilities, and food at the Central Brevard Sharing Center in Cocoa; and just 206 classified themselves as homeless, which means there are thousands teetering on the edge of homelessness. She stated those people are barely making it, but the Board is here again talking about bird noise with one complaint in six years and two in eight years. She stated actually there were 21 complaints from 1994 to 2004, which is ten years; and of the 21, 11 were unfounded, leaving ten in ten years or one per year. She stated on the contrary, there were 455 complaints from October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004 on dog barking noise Countywide; and inquired why are they here again for one complaint per year as opposed to 1.2 barking dog complaints per day. She stated going back in history again, on October 23, 1997, Commissioner Scarborough said he had not had a lot of complaints in agricultural nonconforming lots and he would support a motion to eliminate it and let the people go home; he made a motion and Commissioner Cook seconded it; and they directed staff to not bring back to the Board anything related to grazing of animals on nonconforming lots, and the motion carried unanimously. She stated on July 6, 1999, it was the power plant issue; she admires Commissioner Voltz for her honesty when she said she does not like birds; and she can appreciate that, but she does. Commissioner Voltz stated she likes birds. Ms. Waters stated Commissioner Voltz does not like the noise and does not want to go to her sister’s house because of the noise; and she appreciates that as her personal opinion and her objectivity in the past. She stated on July 6, 1999, Commissioner Voltz stated it is incumbent upon the people buying homes to look at what the zoning is around the homes; in the power plant issue it was light industrial; there were people bordering that who did not know they could get a power plant; and on November 30, 1999, when the bird issue came up again, Commissioner Voltz said she would not want birds next to her, but like an airport, people know it is there and they move there anyway and complain. She stated the zoning was correct; so Commissioner Voltz voted to take no action. She stated every couple of years she is up here defending her rights to have animals on agricultural land; and inquired when is it going to stop. She stated she does not like loud motorcycles; those people are never up here defending their rights to have them; the road noise is tremendous in her neighborhood now; and she hears a lot of loud motorcycles but does not hear people. She stated ATV’s are another big problem in the Groves; she does not see those people up here saying the Board is taking away their rights to have them; but the Board sees a lot of people here saying it is taking away their rights to have animals because of one bird noise complaint in six years. She stated she understands there are just under 11,000 nonconforming lots; she was told by Mr. Enos that would consist of about 90% of the total agricultural land in the County; and inquired if she is correct; with Mr. Enos responding he may have said 90% of the owners. Chairman Pritchard stated probably 90% of the ownership, but he is sure there is a lot more agricultural land in the County. Ms. Waters stated nobody can give her that number; and inquired what is the percentage of nonconforming to conforming lots. She stated the people on residential deed restricted properties, condos, mobile homes, and all those things where they cannot have a lot of birds have hundreds of thousands of choices; and they have very limited choices having agricultural zoning.

Chairman Pritchard stated he has a feeling this subject will be coming up more frequently because the County is growing and as the County grows more and more people will be moving into areas and not realizing what agricultural really means. He stated to him agricultural means more like crops than animals; he said that before; and he was quite surprised to find out what realm agriculture falls in, so he sympathizes on both sides of the issue but is not going to get into forming an opinion at this point. He stated he can understand why people when they move into a neighborhood are surprised to find what agricultural really means; and he understands why in 1996 it was said to not talk about it any more. Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board had talked about it before he said that. Chairman Pritchard stated in 2005 it is back; he would not be surprised that next time it does not take nine years to come back; and it may be back in five or two years and one year after that as more and more people move into more and more neighborhoods. He stated there will be more and more complaints; and it is human nature to do those things.

Commissioner Voltz stated it was amazing what she saw coming back to the Board after being gone for four years and how many things do come back; it picked up right where they left off; nothing changes; and everything was exactly the same. She stated eventually everything will come back.

Lanie Cooke of Canaveral Groves stated she disputes what the first lady said that her birds were not taken in during the hurricane because they were and they were put in a big building; the lady said to cover the birds; her birds are covered with a tin roof; and inquired why should she cover them when there is a spotlight on them at night. She stated she is labeled a violator by the Code Enforcement of Brevard County and yet she has been totally legal in everything she has done except for the wooden fence that she had installed in March 2004; she received a letter in January 2005 from Code Enforcement regarding the fence; and for a year she tried to install it to help with the bird noise. She stated she was cited for not having a permit for the fence and having the fence facing the wrong way; there was an existing fence; and she has no idea how it became an issue almost a year from the time she had the fence installed in March 2004, except for harassment. She stated she came to the Board to plead that the issue end to end the ongoing stress and mental anguish; it is downright harassment by the employees of the County who accomplished it for her neighbor Ms. Ann Schapson; and she has been made out to be the bad guy. She stated breeding birds and having dog noise is totally legal on agricultural property in the State of Florida according to the County Attorney’s memo dated March 28, 2005; her life has been a constant turmoil due to her neighbors and the County since January 2004; the most recent incident was January 14, 2005 when her neighbor complained about her white Doberman barking; she had already given up the dog in order to stop her neighbor from complaining, yet she continued; and the dog was not even there any more. Ms. Cooke stated she told the guys who came there that she had not had the dog for a long time, yet the County continues to come out when her neighbor decides to call and complain about animal noise. She stated it has been over a year that she has been living with undue stress and invasion of her privacy; and she feels she is a victim of unjust and unfounded complaints generated by her neighbor and carried out by members of the County, including the Sheriff’s Department. She stated she has been threatened with being put in jail; Code Enforcement officers have taken pictures of her bird cages and backyard; and now they are public records with her address all over the place. She stated birds are expensive; the County has put her, her birds, and her livelihood in jeopardy; her neighbor has used the County to unjustly harass her; and according to the County Attorney’s Office, Florida State law prohibits the County from enforcing regulations pertaining to animal noises on agricultural property. She stated the County has been out to her property a number of times for dog and bird noises; again she is a victim; the stress and mental anguish have been very bad and affected her health; and inquired what is the Board going to do about it. She stated she is only doing what the State allows her to do on her agricultural property; and inquired if the new restriction on agricultural property of less than 2.5 acres is going to include horses and dogs, as dogs have been more nuisance than any other animal. She stated it is not fair to limit everyone in the County from having animals because of one complaint in six years; it does not warrant taking away her rights to have animals; if the Board approves the restriction, it should not discriminate and should include horses as they are farm animals too; but she cannot imagine the Board voting on it any other way than to take no action. She stated Commissioner Voltz said she was driving by and saw the cages; and she wants her to know that was not her property because no one can see the cages with the high wooden fence. Commissioner Voltz stated it must not have been Ms. Cooke’s property.

Linda Johnston of Cocoa stated like everyone else, they started with one single complaint in six years and today they are looking at the possibility of having their rights to have all their farm animals taken away. She stated she bought property in Canaveral Groves for one intention and that is to have animals; she wants her animals now and five years from now; if she wants to buy a duck, that is where she should have her duck; and if she wanted a donkey, she wants the right to have the donkey five years from now. She stated Mr. Enos made a comment about pre-existing uses; and inquired if the Board goes with the change, would the pre-existing uses continue and could she operate her breeding facility even if tomorrow there are three more birds; with Mr. Enos responding Ms. Johnston has already established that use on her property and can continue that use, although it would be nonconforming. Ms. Johnston inquired if the numbers of birds will not make a difference; with Mr. Enos responding that is correct because the numbers will go up and down as part of the breeding operation. Ms. Johnston stated that was different from what she was told by a different source; but the point is that it is agricultural property; she bought it because it was agricultural; she paid the price to have the privilege of having animals on her property; and five years from now she should be able to have a duck if she wants it. She stated she does not see why the Board is going through this, and recommends it take no action.

Julie Manahan of Canaveral Groves stated she moved into Canaveral Groves 18 years ago with nine Shetland ponies; there were two houses on her street; now there are only four vacant lots; and the community is changing. She stated there are three sets of dogs that bark around her home; there are young men who have ATV’s; they live and let live; and she can hear her neighbor’s peacocks eight acres away so the 2.5-acre theory is not going to work for the setback. She stated two people are having a personal issue; they should either get away from each other or change the routine; but the Board is endangering the happiness and livelihood of a lot of people because two people are not getting along with each other. She stated she has three one-acre lots on one side of the road; her mother has bought two acres across the street; they love Canaveral Groves and do not want to move; and they love having their horses. She stated she has had ponies since she was five years old; and went through 4-H and the whole nine yards; she is sure the Commissioners had contact with horses or had children who experienced and grew up riding horses; and if people want goats or dogs, they should be able to have them. She stated that is why they love Canaveral Groves and Brevard County so much; and she voted for all the Commissioners and need their vote to protect her rights.

Commissioner Scarborough stated if Ms. Manahan voted for all the Commissioners, the Sheriff is going to arrest her because she is not allowed to vote for all of them. Ms. Manahan stated she supported all the Commissioners on things. She stated they like the way they live; if they wanted to live in Miami, they would sell their properties and move; but they like the County and want to live their lifestyle as they have. She thanked the people for coming to the meeting; and noted it is hard for them to take time to come to meeting after meeting on this issue.

Ted Kulik of Grant stated he just found out the Board might change the agricultural properties; he owns two and a quarter acres; the reason he bought it is to eventually raise trees or birds; they have chickens on the property now; and he would hate to get rid of them because the Board is going to change the zoning regulations. He requested the Board do nothing and leave it as it is; everyone seems to be happy with it the way it is; and if the Board can do something about noise, he has a train that runs behind his house.

Darla St. John give up her opportunity to speak.

John Shatzer of Grant stated his property is an acre and a quarter; he lives next door to Mr. Kulik and he has chickens and a rooster as well as railroad tracks; but he has adapted to the noises from the train, highway, boats, and jet skis, but not the four-wheelers that run next door to his property. He stated he has been harassed by the neighbor that runs the four wheeler for the last two years; Code Enforcement has been to his property; and when they put two new residences next to his property, as a favor to his neighbor, he got rid of his hogs. He stated if he decides to do it again, he wants to be able to do that; and requested the Board not take that away from him now or five years from now and to leave the Code alone. He noted it is not broke, so it does not need to be fixed.

Jerry Wall stated he moved off the farm a lot of years ago so he is not up to the latest technology; he appreciates the chance to speak to the Board again; Commissioner Voltz mentioned going out on a bumpy road and seeing somebody’s cages; and then she mentioned Satellite Boulevard, which means she was in his community. He stated in the last two weeks there have been at least two Commissioners who have been in his neighborhood, and that is quite all right, they can come and visit any time, the shotgun is only for real estate agents and carpetbaggers; but in order to go over the bumpy road, they had to work at getting to where Commissioner Voltz saw the birds; and inquired if someone complained about the birds. Commissioner Voltz stated since she did not know where she was, she would not have k own if someone complained. Mr. Wall stated where he lives they believe in live and let live; the lady has been raising birds for years; and as far as he knows, there have not been any complaints. He stated in the discussion he had with Mr. Enos, the question came up about someone next door with birds; when he moved to his community, he did his homework and knew where he was moving, and what the requirements and detractions were; and what a lot of people feel are detractions are plusses as far as he is concerned. He stated if the lady lived next door to him, he would not complain; he sees no point in it; but when folks go out there, if they want to come by and visit, let him know, and they will sit down and have a cup of coffee. He stated if they are going to come out, they may as well meet somebody and talk, not just bump down the road; he does not know if Commissioner Voltz went far enough north on Satellite Boulevard to see the peacocks and peahens; and if they want to hear something that really makes noise, those things scream all hours of the day and night. He stated at 3:00 a.m. it sounds like a woman screaming for her life; so if the Board wants to do something about bird noise, it might take care of those flocks of wild peacocks and peahens. Commissioner Voltz stated when she lived in Unit 6 in Palm Bay, the peacocks were everywhere; and they were probably shipped up to Canaveral Groves. Mr. Wall stated he is not aware of any of those types of complaints in his area; what they are concerned about is maintaining the type of environment where they can have animals; and if they want to come out and visit, they do not have to just bump down the road, but they can come by and have a cup of coffee.

Chairman Pritchard stated changing the Code may be premature; they are not at that point where they can effect responsible change; the people on one-acre lots are there because of what they moved there to enjoy; times are changing; and what was visited in 1996 is now revisited in 2005, and will probably be revisited in 2010 because more and more people are coming to Brevard County. He stated the best example is what Mr. Enos showed, that out of 11,000 parcels, 70% are vacant; and he does not want to throw the baby out with the bath water, so he will support Option 2.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded for discussion by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Option 2, take no action to amend the Code addressing use restrictions for farm animals including exotic birds in agricultural zoning classifications.

Commissioner Carlson stated the legislative intent write-up talks to Chapters 46, 62, and 14; and inquired if there is a way to make those more consistent. She stated she knows they cannot change the agricultural exemption issue by Florida Statutes, but she wants to know if there are other resources they can put in place that will help the nuisance side of things and be a little more understandable in the Code. She inquired if staff had any recommendations other than what they have recommended on the Agenda Report. Mr. Enos stated currently there are three different Code sections, one of which exempts farm animals and the others do not; and since staff has learned that farm animals are exempt from those types of regulations by State law, they may want to amend Chapters 46 and 62 to match what Chapter 14 says. Commissioner Carlson stated consistent application may reduce the issues regarding noise.

Commissioner Voltz stated she will include that in the motion and hopes that when neighbors have a problem they work together rather than fight and bring it to a forum such as this. She stated it does not do anyone any good except cause more angst between neighbors; one man said when he went to the neighbor to keep the noise down, the neighbor went out and bought two more roosters; and that is not the way to work with one another. She stated they need to respect their neighbors and work with them; and that is all the Board can ask. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the suggestion by Commissioner Carlson about inconsistencies is included in the motion; with Commissioner Voltz responding yes.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING UNIMPROVED RIGHT-OF-WAY IN
SECTION 10, TOWNSHIP 24S., RANGE 36E. - ANDREW AND MELISSA BANYAI

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating an unimproved right-of-way in Section 10, Township 24S., Range 36E., as petitioned by Andrew and Melissa Banyai.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution vacating an unimproved right-of-way in Section 10, Township 24S., Range 36E., as petitioned by Andrew and Melissa Banyai. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-095.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENTS IN
BAREFOOT BAY, UNIT 2, PART 10 - JOHN AND MARGARET HALL

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating public utility easements in Barefoot Bay, Unit 2, Part 10, as petitioned by John F. and Margaret Hall.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution vacating public utility easements (Barefoot Circle) in Barefoot Bay, Unit 2, Part 10, as petitioned by John F. and Margaret Hall. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-096.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING UNIMPROVED RIGHT-OF-WAY IN
PLAT OF FLORIDA INDIAN RIVER LAND COMPANY - THOMAS W. ISOM

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating an unimproved right-of-way in Plat of Florida Indian River Land Company Subdivision, as petitioned by Thomas W. Isom.

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff advised there was concern expressed by EEL’s, which controls a lot of property in the area, that vacating rights-of-way could present some issues for it in the future. Commissioner Voltz suggested tabling the item to get something straight.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to continue the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating an unimproved right-of-way in Plat of Florida Indian River Land Company Subdivision, as petitioned by Thomas W. Isom, until April 26, 2005. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 98, PORT ST. JOHN
DEPENDENT SPECIAL DISTRICT, TO SPECIFY APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES
FOR THE ADVISORY BOARD

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 98, Port St. John Dependent Special District, to specify appointment procedures for the Advisory Board.

Martin McClellan of Port St. John stated he was elected to the Port St. John Dependent Special District Board; he attended the last meeting of the board before the election was valid; there were a number of members, two who applied to be appointed to that board; and they expressed the fact that they were not about to go through an election process because it was too terrible to go through for a non-paid board position. He stated he did not find it all that difficult; he went through it and it was not that horrendous; he did not have to put up signs because he was unopposed; but he would have been glad to put up signs if he was opposed. He stated the board lends itself to cronyism, whether Commissioner Scarborough intended it that way or not because it has been appointed time and time again; and some of the people suggested to Commissioner Scarborough to be appointed have been on the board since its inception. He stated it is a two-year appointment; and if the board is to represent Port St. John, that is what it should do; and that is what he is up here to do, represent the people of Port St. John. He stated if the Board keeps the advisory board, it should be an elected board; there is an election for Barefoot Bay in November; they are not so dense in their planning and zoning requests that are different from the standard that they could not wait with the way it has been going until November 8; and if a crisis did come up, then the LPA would have to handle it since there are only two elected members out of a seven-member board. Mr. McClellan stated he does not want to see the board replaced by an appointed board; if it cannot be an elected board, he would rather see it dissolved; and if it is elected, it can continue as far as he is concerned. He stated appointments do not represent the people of Port St. John; that is what he signed on to do, represent the people of Port St. John; and if the Board allows appointments, that does not represent the people. He urged the Board to defeat the ordinance and not allow it to go through. He stated there are issues the board could handle but it has not been given the power to do that; there are other issues such as roads that are of concern to the people of Port St. John; but that may be another matter and another issue. He stated if the Board continues the advisory board, it needs to be an elected board; and even though he would lose his office as an elected member, he would urge the Board to kill the advisory board if it is not an elected board because it should not be an appointed board.

Linda McKinney of Port St. John stated she has done more research on Port St. John; the Property Appraiser could not tell her within the boundaries of Port St. John just how any lots were developed and undeveloped, vacant or built on; she had to do a search for the whole zip code for that area; and 32926 runs from Kings Highway to U.S. 1, to Camp Road out to the St. Johns River; and Port St. John is about half of that. She stated there are 14,178 total lots; most of those are south of Port St. John and not within the Kings Highway, Bridge Road, U.S. 1 to Fay Boulevard, Lake Wilderness Park area; but of those total lots available developed and undeveloped, 3,548 are vacant. She stated she did the research; that is 75% build out; and that includes a lot of vacant land south of Port St. John. She stated the Frontenac area, Hardeeville, and Port St. John are over 80% built out; the board has outlived its usefulness; there is not going to be a need for rezoning issues because there will not be anything left; and it is almost completely built out. She stated she heard a lady say when she moved into her area there were two houses on her street; she has lived in Port St. John since 1987; and their house was one of four on their street; but now there are only three lots available, so they are almost at build out and there will not be a use for the advisory board. She stated there are no zoning issues coming before it because there is no use for it; nobody wants to rezone because everywhere around them are houses; so there is no use for the advisory board. She inquired if the board is so popular, why are there only two people here; where is the support for the board; if the board is so important, why are people not here; and what is the big issue with this thing dying. She stated it is an advisory board but it has caused a lot of trouble; and presented a handout to the Board but not the Clerk. She stated she requested from Commissioner Scarborough’s office the names of the people who expressed an interest in being on the board; it was 30 hours almost to the minute before that list at the back of the handout was hand delivered by a certain Port St. John person; they refused to give the list to her; and she went in person and asked three or four times of Kathy England, Rene Davis, and Liz Lackovich for the list and never got it. She stated she went home knowing there was something there and she emailed a request for the list; she was told by County Attorney Scott Knox if there is no list, they do not have to deliver it; she emailed him back; he reiterated if there is no list they do not have to deliver it; but there was a list and that is a problem. Ms. McKinney stated if the board is going to be following that example, then it must go; so it is time to get rid of that board.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the people are not interested and do not want to run for election, what is the purpose of Commissioner Scarborough appointing them over and over again; with Commissioner Scarborough responding he would have to go back and find out who he appointed and over what period, but it was an elected board. Commissioner Voltz stated it is not an elected board now. Commissioner Scarborough stated when it was first created, the board had an interest in running it, then it began to wane; and with that they were presented two options and a third one here that they need to consider. He stated one option is to reduce the membership and let it be an elected board; the other option is to let the board go away and the rezoning applications go to the P&Z Board, which is also an appointed board; it is an anomaly to have an elected board; and at the time it was created there was belief by some people in the community that they could play a greater role than just zoning. He stated there was a suggestion from one elected member to try one more election; Ms. McKinney said be done with it if there is not enough interest to do it; he does not disagree with her on the number of build outs; but the rezoning requests were not only for units that had to be built, but rezonings from residential to commercial along Fay Boulevard and Grissom Parkway; and that has become problematic and a lot of people in the community did not feel people outside of the community understood. Commissioner Scarborough stated if it goes back to the regular Planning and Zoning Board, it will be problematic for him as well; he used to have someone from Port St. John on that board and currently they do not have anyone on that board; and the question is does Port St. John not have a representative on the P&Z Board because he does not have available appointments for them. He noted Randy Rodriguez ran something in the Happenings and people started contacting the office; but not having this thing resolved, his office was not contacting and saying it was going to appoint them or appoint the other person; they never put anything together for the board; and he apologizes to the people for the problem because they should not have to go through all those gestures to get information.

Commissioner Carlson stated when she first came on the Board, they went through the issue of Port St. John’s incorporation, and that died; it seems that was the real point for having the board; but it has died down since then. Commissioner Scarborough stated Ms. McKinney knows more of the details than he does, but it evolved into the incorporation issue; there were some activities on the part of that board; it had to play a role and there were some issues with sunshine law and other things that Ms. McKinney brought to the Board’s attention; and the County Attorney talked to them. He stated they were elected for limited issues and minutes of its meetings being available.

Commissioner Colon stated there has been some controversy; there are a lot of folks in that area who do not care for one another; every time one person does something, then the other one jumps at it; and it is extremely personal. She stated one thing she found is that having the advisory board gives them an extra set of eyes in making sure the community keeps its integrity; and she appreciates that; so she would support keeping an advisory board and letting it be appointed to give the Board feedback. She stated anyone interested can apply; she likes that extra set of eyes because when there was rezoning going on, they would find out about it right away based on that feedback; and she did not like it that they took it one step further and meetings were happening and all that, but they already covered that issue. She stated the Board was pretty specific on what they can and cannot do; and she does not want to rehash that again because they have already been down that path. She stated she appreciates the fact that there is an advisory board; whoever sits on it is welcome to apply; she does not have any favorites of who should be on that board; but one thing she likes about Port St. John is that the citizens are involved and protect their community to make sure that developers do not come in and rezone everything and create craziness in there. She stated that is her take on what she has seen in the last five years.

Chairman Pritchard stated he is not sure that the advisory board has not run its course; and it has pretty well run as far as it can go in terms of what is left to do. Commissioner Colon requested the item be tabled to get feedback. Chairman Pritchard stated the Board is not done talking about it; he just wanted to bring that out and thinks Ms. McKinney has a good point; like an ad hoc committee, after a while they take on a life of their own even though there is nothing left to do; so maybe the board is at that point.

Commissioner Voltz stated Commissioner Scarborough indicated some people did not trust people outside of their community. Commissioner Scarborough stated they had some problems with what happened in Port St. John; then there was the creation of the North Merritt Island Dependent Special District Board; and essentially they had people voting and there was a lack of appreciation. Commissioner Voltz stated every community does not have a board; and inquired if Commissioner Scarborough appointed someone from Port St. John to the P&Z Board, what would happen to the man who was elected that the community supported. Commissioner Scarborough stated if he had a resignation from somebody currently serving, he would probably want to look to having someone from Port St. John; but right now he has someone serving from Canaveral Groves; and what he tried to do is have someone living north of Titusville and someone living south of Titusville so they could go out there and visit different properties. He stated his appointee for south of Titusville is Ed Coburn who lives in Canaveral Groves; and if they do not have the board, they will not have a member unless Mr. Coburn resigns or his term expires. Commissioner Voltz stated if Commissioner Scarborough is interested in making sure the people of Port St. John are represented, that may be a good way to do it; the board probably outlasted its usefulness and she does not see any reason to keep appointing people if they are not willing to run for election because they know Commissioner Scarborough is going to appoint them. She stated Ms. McKinney is right about where is everybody because there is nobody here. Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not know how many people he appoints, but probably over 100; the Board appoints members to some pretty significant boards with a lot more jurisdictions; it appoints members to the North Brevard Hospital District Board which hires thousands of people, has millions of dollars in its budgets, and deal’s with people’s health concerns, and they are not elected; so he does not know if the election issue would have arisen but for the fact they had people who have stood for election and have gone through the process and other people who have not. Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not have a problem continuing the board and if they would like to be a more open process, to let all the applicants go to all the Commission offices and they all make appointments to the board; he does not have any proprietary interest in it; but there are other people who have found some benefits in the board. Commissioner Voltz stated if there is going to be a board, it should be elected or appointed; and the fact that it started off as elected and the people do not want to run for election and look to Commissioner Scarborough to appoint them is not fair to the people who put themselves out there. Commissioner Scarborough stated the same thing evolved with the North Merritt Island board; they had everybody run, and then they had to go to another direction. Commissioner Voltz stated maybe they should be the same way.

Chairman Pritchard stated the rules for the Merritt Island board have been if they do not qualify, the Board appoints; and what Commissioner Scarborough is trying to do is what the Merritt Island board did originally in 1998. He stated if it gets to the point where they cannot get seven qualified electors, then it should go out of business and the board should sunset; but since this is the first time it came about, Commissioner Scarborough had to make two appointments. Commissioner Scarborough stated he has not made appointments to that board for a while. Mr. McClellan stated Commissioner Scarborough would have to make five appointments. Chairman Pritchard inquired when is the next time it comes up for appointment; with Mr. McClellan responding not until 2006; but Barefoot Bay comes up on November 8, 2005. Commissioner Voltz inquired if the same people are being reappointed rather than running; with Mr. McClellan responding pretty much except for one or two. Chairman Pritchard stated he was not aware Commissioner Scarborough had that ability written into the Ordinance. Mr. McClellan stated it was written such that the elected members of the advisory board had a voice in anybody coming on who was appointed. Commissioner Scarborough stated that is the change because previously the Board did not make the appointments; the elected board would give it nominees of who it would appoint; so the Board was given recommendations. He stated the change is to shift over to what North Merritt Island has; and rather than the advisory board giving the nominees, the Commission would have the nominees. He stated the problem is the advisory board does not have a quorum to give recommendations with only two elected members.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the people of Port St. John voted to do it; with Commissioner Scarborough responding they decided. Commissioner Voltz inquired if it was a referendum issue; with County Manager Peggy Busacca responding it was a straw ballot as she remembers. Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board could do a straw ballot to see if the people of Port St. John want to keep it or do away with it; with Commissioner Scarborough responding it could do that, but what would he do in the interim. Commissioner Voltz inquired what has Commissioner Scarborough been doing; with Commissioner Scarborough responding the problem is if somebody walks in and wants to rezone residential property along Fay Boulevard to commercial, somehow the Board is required to have a recommendation from the advisory board; and inquired if it would go before the body that was elected or is there some other type of methodology where they get to sit on the P&Z Board as his representatives in that environment. Commissioner Scarborough stated that is what he would suggest, go to the P&Z and let those two members stay on until they go back to the election; but what he does not understand is why they are doing one thing on Merritt Island and Port St. John has to go through all those hoops. He stated he has elected people who are supposed to be making decisions, but he is going to make decisions here to usurp their authority and give it to an appointed board; and there is something wrong about that also. Commissioner Voltz stated she suggested it go before the people of Port St. John and what they do in the interim, the Board needs to work out; and recommended a straw ballot to let the people decide. Commissioner Carlson suggested Commissioner Scarborough do the appointments in the interim so they have a full board that can bring back a straw ballot recommendation to the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to direct staff to bring back language adopting the North Merritt Island Dependent Special District Board format for the Port St. John Dependent Special District Board until a straw ballot election is conducted.

Chairman Pritchard stated the way it is done with the North Merritt Island Dependent Special District Board is that if there are no qualified electors, then the Commissioner makes the appointments; and his previous suggestion was after a while those things start falling off the table; and when it does, that is the time to do away with the board.

Commissioner Colon stated the recommendations from the North Merritt Island Board have not been going too well with some of the Commissioners so they have to be careful in regards to that and have to see exactly why they are doing it because they are not agreeing with the advisory board. She stated with North Merritt Island she is glad those folks are there with all the rezoning the Board has seen from North Merritt Island; she is glad to have an extra group digesting everything and spending time looking at it and giving the Board feedback; and she personally likes that. Chairman Pritchard stated it provides less work for the P&Z Board, but it becomes more expensive because staff has to attend all the meetings, but it is a trade off. Commissioner Voltz stated if the Merritt Island board is going to vote no every time, what purpose are they serving; with Chairman Pritchard inquiring where is the liability factor.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 62, ARTICLE X, SURFACE
WATER PROTECTION REGULATIONS

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 62, Article X, establishing Surface Water Protection Regulations.

Natural Resources Management Director Ernie Brown advised for the last two years staff has been working with the citizenry and marine industry to develop a more streamlined and effective way to permit bulkheads and achieve stormwater management in manmade canals.

Charles Rupp of Rockledge stated he supports the ordinance and recommends the Board approve it, as it will keep his property from eroding away and help improve the quality of water in the canals. He stated it has been two years; he wants to express his thanks to Sherry Williams who worked on it through hurricanes and other things; a lot of work went into developing what is in front of the Board; and they came up with resolutions to the problems.

Commissioner Carlson stated page 2 says, “new seawalls and bulkheads shall be prohibited along the Indian River Lagoon system along existing canals in residential neighborhoods”; and inquired if it should be existing “manmade private” canals, as it deals primarily with private canals. Mr. Brown stated it deals with manmade canals, but he would not exclude public canals. Commissioner Carlson inquired if they want to include “manmade”; with Sherry Williams of Natural Resources Management responding they revised the definition of canals to include manmade, linear waterways to uplands for more clarification. Commissioner Carlson stated page 3 under (d) says “extension of the new bulkhead shall meet the least waterward extension of these criteria: (1) no more than 12 inches from the existing bulkhead.” She inquired how does that affect ownership of submerged lands; is that an issue with the State; is staff basically assuming that what is existing is going to be detrimental to the land so they can go out 12 inches; and is the 12 inches within their ownership or is that going to be an issue. Mr. Brown stated (3) tries to speak to that under (d), that it should be located no more than 12 inches waterward of the lot’s recorded property line; and it is an issue staff went around on. Commissioner Carlson stated (d)(10) deals with retention of the first inch of runoff; and inquired if that is the standard for normal development. She stated it talks about increased potential for improving water quality and habitat diversity then refers to the pictures; and inquired if that is exactly what they are doing to promote water quality and habitat creation by using coquina rock. She stated there are two pictures and staff is saying both of those pictures are equally viable to do that. Mr. Brown stated staff was trying to create some flexibility for engineering standards; they presented two examples; and the crux is to try and create some habitat for growth. Commissioner Carlson stated the picture on the top does not appear to have the ability to put rock; rock creates lots of stuff like algae and things like that which fish can feed off, and it creates other things; but the one at the top does not look quite as exciting for habitat creation if that is truly the desire to do that. She stated she knows staff worked hard to find that happy medium to get some of it done; and inquired if there is a need for a betterment plan. Mr. Brown stated those are good segues; item (3) provides for alternative bulkhead designs that may be approved by his office to promote those things; and maybe that is where the Board would want to put that kind of language. Commissioner Carlson stated that would basically be a betterment plan although she is not sure it is in the same context as a betterment plan. Mr. Brown stated it is design. Sherry Williams stated that particular language allows alternative designs; what it says is here are the standards we are trying to achieve; and in some cases coquina rock would not be viable, as Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff will tell the Board, unless it is held back, because eventually it will travel down into the canals and they do not want to maintenance dredge coquina rock on the bottom.

Commissioner Voltz stated it goes from Section 2 to Section 4; and inquired why there is no section 3; with Mr. Brown responding there were no changes in Section 3.

Mr. Brown stated he wants the Board to understand the term seawall and bulkhead conceptually are applications; the preferred method has always been revetments if they want to harden shorelines in that kind of environments; and that kind of application would logically apply in seawall definition for rip-rap revetments, but it is not specifically outlined to allow flexibility for concept and principal.

There being no further comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt an Ordinance of Brevard County, Florida, amending Chapter 62, Article X, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida, relating to surface water, specifically amending Section 62-3666 General Provisions and Section 62-3668 Class II Waters, Outstanding Florida Waters, Aquatic Preserves, conditionally approved Class II Shellfishing Waters, and Class III Waters; providing for the interpretation of conflicting provisions; providing for severability; providing for area encompassed and an effective date. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Ordinance No. 05-13.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: APPEAL BY COLEEN AND JOHN HUGHES OF BUILDING
PERMIT DENIAL

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider an appeal by Coleen and John Hughes of their building permit denial; and requested Mr. Brown give the Board a good segue.

Natural Resources Management Director Ernie Brown advised in October 2004, his office denied the impacts from non-tidal wetlands on individual property based on the current interpretation of the wetland policy in the Comprehensive Plan and Ordinance that stated properties less than five acres created after September 9, 1988 shall not have any impacts to wetlands. He stated that is the current and reigning interpretation of the Wetlands Ordinance. He stated on November 30, 2004, the applicant came before the Board and was provided approval to move forward with the permit; but under a technicality, because it was not addressed through the appeal process, it was rescinded on January 13, 2005, and Ms. Hughes was invited to return under an appeal process to address it. He stated that is the crux of the issue before the Board today; but it revolves around a long-standing issue of whether or not deminimus impacts should be allowed and whether they are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for lots less than five acres created after September 9, 1988.

Commissioner Colon inquired if it is possible to get feedback from Mr. Knox as to whether his office is comfortable with it because if that is the case, the Board can move forward.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised the appeal is properly before the Board today; the Board’s action the last time was to grant dispensation to build the house the way it was originally configured with some wetlands that were removed and with mitigation; and Mr. Brown and he spent a lot of time going over Section 5.2 of the Comprehensive Plan as it pertains to this kind of issue. Mr. Knox stated he concluded, and Mr. Brown may disagree, that if one looks at the overall policy, not just the single subsection that seems to give rise to this residential limitation, it seems to contemplate there is no net loss of wetlands and that in a residential context as opposed to commercial context, it allows for mitigation or replacement of the wetlands when there is some kind of impact. He stated the fuzzy part is how many wetlands were impacted; it was his suggestion to Mr. Brown that perhaps the Board, if so disposed, can make a finding that the section allows deminimus types of impacts on residential properties, and instruct staff to prepare an ordinance that implements that interpretation. He stated the provision of the Comprehensive Plan is susceptible to that interpretation if the Board so chooses.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board settled the issue of not changing the Comprehensive Plan the last time. Commissioner Colon inquired if the direction is to send it back to staff; with Mr. Knox responding the Board can interpret that provision to allow deminimus impacts to residential properties when there are wetlands involved, and staff needs to prepare an ordinance that would reflect that.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to grant appeal of John and Coleen Hughes for a building permit at 115 City Point Road, Cocoa, Florida; and direct staff to prepare an ordinance to allow deminimus impacts to residential properties when there are wetlands involved. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 62, ARTICLE VIII, LAND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS RELATING TO SITE PLANS

Chairman Pritchard called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 62, Article VIII, Land Development Regulations relating to site plans.

Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Lyon advised the proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 62, Article VII, Land Development Regulations relating to site plans has been through the Building and Construction Advisory Committee (BCAC) and the Local Planning Agency (LPA); staff made all the recommended changes from the BCAC; the LPA recommended several changes that staff did not make; and there are three listed on the Agenda Report. He recommended the Board approve staff’s recommendations.

*Commissioner Colon’s absence was noted at this time.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt an Ordinance amending Chapter 62, Land Development Regulations, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida; amending Article VIII, specifically amending Sections 62-3203, subsection (7) to clarify site plan review coordination requirements; amending Section 62-3204, (a) and (b) to substitute development engineer for county manager; amending subsection (e), (e)(1), (e)(1)(a), (e)(1)(b), (e)(2), (e)(3), (f)(1), (f)(3), (f)(4), (f)(5), (g), (g)(2)(a), (g)(2)(d), (g)(2)(f), (g)(2)(g), (g)(2)(h)(8), (g)(2)(h)(10), (g)(2)(i), (g)(3), (g)(4)(a), (g)(4)(d), (g)(4)(g), (g)(7), (g)(8), (h)(a)(b), (h)(c)(1)(2) to create a new nomenclature and new requirements for site plan reviews including mandatory pre-application conferences for certain types of projects, time frames, copies of plans required, eliminating pre-application walk throughs, requiring review and comment, substituting Land Development as the coordinating agency, survey requirements, vicinity map requirements, graphic requirements, as-built informational requirements and requiring digital format, cost estimates, title search requirements, clarifying language regarding modifications on site plans, providing for extensions of time by Land Development; relocating appeals language to Section 62-3206; amending Section 62-3205, subsection (a) to clarify language and references; amending Section 62-3206, sections (b), (d)(a), (d)(b)(a), (d)(b)(b), (d)(b)(c), (d)(b)(f), (d)(b)(h), (d)(b)(i), (d)(b)(j), (d)(b)(l), (d)(b)(n), (d)(b)(q), (d)(b)(r), (d)(b)(s), (d)(b)(w), (d)(b)(bb), (d)(b)(dd), (d)(b)(ff), (d)(b)(gg), (d)(b)(hh), (d)(b)(ii), (d)(b)(jj), (d)(b)(kk), (d)(4), (d)(4)(a)(1)(2)(3), (d)(4)(b)(1)(3)(4)(5)(6), (e)(5), (e)(6), (e)(7), (e)(8) renumbering subsections, adding review by the Land Development Section, reducing the available reduction in paved parking, altering paved parking requirements and parking requirements for certain businesses, condominiums or apartments, adding or altering references to other Codes, clarifying language providing new parking criteria for general retail, specific retail, and business complexes, providing for reduction of required parking in commercial developments under certain circumstances, adding requirements for use of off-site parking, requiring tire stops, providing handicap parking space requirements, clarifying parking access on local and subdivision streets; renumbering subsection (e)(9); renumbering subsection (e)(10); renumbering and amending subsection (e)(10)(b) requiring driveway aisles and loading areas to be paved; renumbering subsection (e)(11); renumbering subsections (e)(12)(13)(14); amending Section 62-3207 adding waiver provisions and changing the timeframes for an appeal; amending Section 62-3208, subsection (2) correcting language in the paragraph.

Chairman Pritchard inquired if the motion includes staff’s recommendations of one space for 200 feet; with Commissioner Carlson responding yes, and one space for 300 feet for automobile rental agencies, and a signed and sealed survey for change of use plans. Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously; Commissioner Colon being absent from the room. (See page for Ordinance No. 05-14.)

RESOLUTION, RE: AUTHORIZING JAIL EXPANSION PROJECT SALES TAX
REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 2005

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution supplementing Resolution No. 93-431 adopted by the Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida on November 10, 1993, as supplemented and amended; providing for and authorizing the issuance of its Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2005 in the aggregate principal amount of not to exceed $14,000,000 to provide funds for the acquisition and construction of certain Countywide improvements; making certain covenants and agreements in connection therewith; authorizing the County representative to award the sale of such bonds based on bids submitted at public sale and approving the conditions and criteria of such sale; specifying the date, interest rates, interest payment dates, provisions for redemption, series designation and maturity schedule of such bonds and establishing a reserve requirement therefor; approving the form of a draft Notice of Sale, Bid Form, Summary Notice of Sale, and Preliminary Official Statement; authorizing the County representative or the Chief Financial Officer on behalf of the County to deem final the Preliminary Official Statement for purposes of Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 15C2-12, and authorizing the execution and delivery of a Final Official Statement; approving the form of and authorizing the execution and delivery of a continuing Disclosure Certificate; designating the registrar, paying agent, and authenticating agent for said bonds; authorizing the County representative or the Chief Financial Officer to negotiate and obtain bond insurance and a reserve account insurance policy if desirable, and providing certain covenants and agreements for the benefit of the bond insurer and the provider of the reserve account insurance policy; providing an effective date for this Resolution; and providing certain other details with respect thereto. Motion carried and ordered unanimously; Commissioner Colon being absent from the room. (See page for Resolution No. 05-098.)

STAFF DIRECTION, RE: SMALL AREA STUDY OUTLINE FOR BABCOCK STREET/
MICCO ROAD AREA

Commissioner Voltz advised they are working on a master plan in her District for her area in the Babcock Street/Micco Road area, so she is not going to do a small area study. She stated it will save some steps; and they will come back with some recommendations.

Commissioner Carlson stated she would like to get Commissioner Colon’s input but does not know where she is. Commissioner Scarborough suggested coming back to the item later.

Chairman Pritchard stated Option 1 is to include properties west of I-95; with Commissioner Voltz stating she has property west of I-95 also to Babcock Street, so the area is going to have to be changed.

Commissioner Carlson inquired how does the Comprehensive Plan amendment that is supposed to be coming forward later in the month affect the area. Chairman Pritchard stated the Board will come back to the item after Commissioner Colon returns.

*Commissioner Colon’s presence was noted at this time.

Chairman Pritchard stated the item is VI.B., Small Area Study for Babcock Street/Micco Road area; and requested Commissioner Voltz bring up the discussion.

Commissioner Voltz stated she just indicated she is not going to participate in the small area study because they are doing a master plan with the City of Palm Bay and Barefoot Bay, Micco, Grant, and Valkaria residents.

Chairman Pritchard suggested taking no action on the item until the two Districts decide how they want to conduct small area plans. Commissioner Colon stated she plans to go forward with a study in her District and mentioned that before. Commissioner Scarborough suggested a motion to proceed with District 5’s study.

Commissioner Carlson stated she is concerned; and although Commissioner Voltz is talking about master planning, she assumes she is getting the Planning staff involved in that. Commissioner Voltz stated Planning and Zoning Director Robin Sobrino is looking at Orange County that is doing it right now and will get information on how it is doing it; and they are going to work accordingly with those guidelines. Commissioner Carlson stated she wants to find out how the amendment impacts what they are doing today.

Planner Todd Corwin advised the Comprehensive Plan amendment that the Board will see on April 26 is the amendment that the South Mainland Long-range Planning Committee approached the Board on last year; it will reduce densities on properties in the Micco Road area; and that property is located east of Babcock Street.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the properties are in District 5; with Commissioner Voltz responding they are in District 3, and she is not supporting it. Commissioner Carlson stated the community worked hard on that plan; with Commissioner Voltz responding the same people are involved with what she is doing. Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the timeframe; with Commissioner Voltz responding they are meeting next Wednesday and will look at a timeframe. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Ms. Sobrino is working with the group to find out if the Comprehensive Plan amendment is going to be changed or stay the same. Ms. Sobrino stated no, what she is working with, through Commissioner Voltz, is a request to understand what Orange County is doing in terms of a master planning type of activity that includes various jurisdictions, city, and county, and property owners together to identify development-related issues that will occur in a particular area and agree that any future development in that area would include provisions to address the growth issues. Ms. Sobrino stated from what she understands, it even had to do with property owners agreeing, for example, that certain roadways might need to be widened or something to that effect; and if they sell their properties to developers, as part of the sale arrangement, the buyer is obligated to participate in whatever type of decision-making the body has come to terms with.

Commissioner Voltz stated it is important that everybody is involved in the process, not just the Board telling them what to do; and she wants to involve all the people down there, landowners, residents, City of Palm Bay and County. She stated if they do not have input from everybody and they do not have everybody deciding what to do, it is not going to work; so she wants everybody to have a say in the decision-making process.

Commissioner Carlson stated she understands that and does not think any Commissioner would disagree with that approach, but she wants to make sure that those that are in the Micco East area of Babcock Street understand that is what is going on and the Comprehensive Plan amendment that is based on a large area study is going to come back to the Board one way or another. She stated as long as they are aware that it is going to come back, they can provide the Board with some input as to how they are going about doing it, and that is fine. She stated she does not have any problem as to how they want to master plan it out because it is going to have to come back to the Board or its approval anyway, but she was just concerned about that.

Commissioner Colon stated in regards to the studies that she was referring to, she cannot believe how time is flying because she started discussing it back in August 2004 and it is only a few months away from August 2005, which will be a year. She stated her concern is she is not trying to stop anything from happening, but there are key things that have to be directed; they already had two major meetings; and after those meetings they were down to a smaller group, which is the Planning Department, key folks from the City of Palm Bay, landowners, and so forth. She stated 90% of the area in question has already been rezoned for 2.5-acre lots, which is compatible with Deer Run; and the thing that was discussed with the City of Palm Bay is how far is enough for it because they are getting to the point where they really want to know if the City is discussing Deer Run. She stated she is not exaggerating when she tells the Board that because the City is looking at property that is half of Deer Run; those discussions have been pretty honest; they have been very good; and some of the concerns they also have are in regards to flooding in the 100-year flood areas there. She stated future roadways are a concern because Babcock and the type of zoning that is about to happen are going to create a major impact to the major corridors; and inquired who is going to be responsible for the infrastructure. She inquired if the City of Palm Bay is coming to the unincorporated area, is it going to provide protection as far as fire, police, etc.; and where are the schools going. Commissioner Colon stated Dr. McEntire, the Assistant Superintendent of Schools in the South area came to their meetings because she wanted him to see exactly what kind of growth they were talking about; and Bob Kamm with MPO was there and gave some direction of the kind of impact they are about to have and gave a lot of good feedback. She stated what happens now is they need the real numbers; they have been discussing it, but do not have the real numbers; and it is important for the Board to give her that kind of flexibility to say yes they will support that study and have concrete numbers of exactly what kind of capacity is going through there. She stated the landowners know her intent is not to stop them but to say who is going to do what; they do not want an entire bedroom community; and they want to know where things are going to be, which means they may have to come back to the Board and rezone some properties. She stated they need areas where there can be a Publix, Winn-Dixie, gas stations, or whatever the case may be; they may have to do almost like a PUD or a DRI and bring all those folks together; that is the kind of planning she is talking about because now they realize they are not in their own little worlds; and that is why it is critical to bring them together because right now they are saying it is a bedroom community. She stated 485 units here and 1,000 units over there is not good planning; they need to realize that it involves all of them; Mr. Stewart and Mr. Golding were shaking their heads agreeing that they did not have a problem with what she brought to the Board in August; but now they realize they need to talk even more; and that is why she appreciates the Board supporting her in the study.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to direct staff to proceed with a small area study in those areas encompassed by District 5 in the Babcock Street/Micco Road area. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

The meeting recessed at 3:09 p.m., and reconvened at 3:26 p.m.

RESOLUTION, RE: APPROVING FINDINGS OF FACT FOR DENIAL OF ANTHONY
LACOURT’S CUP (DIAMOND ZONE BILLIARDS FAMILY SPORTSBAR)

County Attorney Scott Knox advised the Board directed his office to prepare a proposed order with findings of fact denying the application; and that is what is before the Board along with a copy of the record of appeal.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt a Resolution setting forth the findings of fact and conclusions of the Brevard County Commission pertaining to the denial of a request for a conditional use permit for alcoholic beverages on-premises consumption on property owned by Anthony Lacourt.

Commissioner Voltz stated on page 2 it says, “The residences in the area off Duval have values that are estimated to range between $400,000 and $500,000. Appraiser Robert Liechtenberg express his opinion that the value of some houses located on Biscayne Drive would be reduced between ten to fifteen percent if the CUP for alcoholic beverages were approved.” She stated Mr. Liechtenberg is the guy who appraised the Sarno Road Landfill for ten times more than what it was worth, so she does not know if that is findings of fact. She stated on page 3, says, “location of the bus stop which children use in the morning and afternoon and the potential effect that the sale of alcoholic beverages at the Diamond Zone establishment might have on the safety of children going to and from the bus stop.” She stated nobody is going to be drinking in the morning, and the concern she had was serving alcohol before 5:00 p.m.; and that was going to be part of her motion. She stated the value of the homes and the issue of the school children is not going to go anywhere, but wants to say those facts are not really facts.

Chairman Pritchard stated there is a motion to accept the facts as presented; and inquired if Commissioner Voltz wants to accept the facts as presented but raise an objection for the record on the items she mentioned; with Commissioner Voltz responding yes. Chairman Pritchard stated Commissioner Voltz’s objections are so noted; and called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-099.)

AGREEMENT WITH JOHN THRASHER AND SOUTHERN STRATEGY, RE:
LOBBYING SERVICE

Commissioner Carlson stated under the Term, Duration, and Termination section of the agreement, it talks about either party may terminate the agreement without cause by giving the other party written notice at least 90 days prior to the effective date; and inquired why 90 days because usually if there is an issue, they sever the agreement immediately.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised it is arbitrary and capricious and the Board can pick any timeframe it chooses. Commissioner Carlson stated 90 days seems like a long time if they are having a problem.

Commissioner Voltz stated if it says 90 days just before the Legislative Session, he knows he is going to be there through the session and then gone; and inquired what motivation is that to do anything.

Commissioner Scarborough stated he knows where Commissioner Carlson is coming from, but if Mr. Thrasher wanted to back out just before the Legislative Session, how could the County get someone to represent it in a timely manner; that could hurt the County; and the 90 days benefits the County more than it benefits Mr. Thrasher. He inquired if that was Commissioner Voltz’s point; with Commissioner Voltz responding no, it was not. Commissioner Carlson stated her point was general because it seems if there is an issue, they should sever the contract. Commissioner Scarborough stated the problem is Mr. Thrasher can sever it also.

Chairman Pritchard stated he likes the protection for the County; it is a termination for convenience and says without cause terminate the agreement in 90 days; and paragraph (c) is for breach and says with cause.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Agreement with Southern Strategy Group, Inc. (John Thrasher), to provide State lobbying services from February 22, 2005 through February 21, 2006, at $5,000 a month. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Colon voted nay. (See page for Agreement.)

REVISION TO AGREEMENT WITH MPO, RE: BREVARD COUNTY STAFF SERVICES

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board received some input from Howard Glassman; and maybe staff can go over the finer points of that and some input from Paul Gougelman.

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised staff received the information; Mr. Gougelman was kind enough to do some research about whether or not MPO’s can be admitted as members of the Florida Retirement System (FRS); and what he found out is that stand-alone independent MPO’s may not do that; however, the organizations that are not stand-alones, such as Brevard County’s MPO currently, could be part of not only the retirement system but the pay and benefits and all the current processes that the County provides the MPO under its contract.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Sarasota is one of those counties that provided service but was wholly independent and worked in the FRS; with Transportation Planning Director Bob Kamm responding that is his understanding. Commissioner Carlson stated she looked through what Mr. Gougelman provided but does not remember them pointing out where those subtleties were to make it look like something that maybe it is or is not; and requested staff explain it further.

Human Resources Director Frank Abbate advised he is not familiar with the specific intricacies of the Sarasota program, but he can tell the Board what it can glean from that is if they were working as an independent agency and not for the Board of County Commissioners, then unless they are found by the Department of Community Affairs to be a special district, they would not be eligible to participate in the FRS. He stated that is as much definite information as he has; however, if they remain Board employees, then they are entitled to continue as mandatory participants in the FRS.

Commissioner Colon stated what the Board is doing, if this was to be approved, is handing over staff services to the MPO and the MPO would be making decisions and not the Board. She stated all the Board is doing is washing its hands of it; and that is basically what it is doing tonight. She inquired if all the Board is handing it over to the MPO or does it need further direction, and can Mr. Kamm provide the Board some feedback.

Commissioner Voltz stated Mr. Kamm needs to let the Board know what he is doing now and where he wants to go; there is a lot of information; and she does not know where it is right now.

Transportation Planning Director Bob Kamm stated the idea behind Commissioner Carlson scheduling the item on the agenda and even last Thursday was to prepare the Board for the discussion it is going to have Thursday at the MPO meeting. He stated they are going through all their agreements, staff services being one; and since the staff services is a two-party contract between the Board and the MPO, it is prudent to have some understanding of what some of the issues are relating to the staff services agreement. He stated the Board does not need to take action at this time; his thought was that the Board could identify areas of concern where it might see advantages of the separation of the MPO staff from the Pay and Classification Plan and enter into a meaningful discussion on Thursday with the other MPO members. He stated depending upon what the MPO chooses to do on Thursday, they are prepared to bring additional information back through the May MPO meeting, then the Board meeting in May to resolve, clarify, and decide upon what they all agree to do; so he sees this as a preparatory meeting for the MPO meeting on Thursday. He stated he does not believe the Board, unless it chooses to, needs to take any formal action; he believes the discussion it had at the Zoning meeting on many different issues was very helpful to staff; and the FRS issue was one of those.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Mr. Kamm is in the FRS; with Mr. Kamm responding yes, he participates by virtue of being a Brevard County employee. Commissioner Voltz inquired if they separate everything, is what Mr. Kamm has done lost; with Mr. Kamm responding the past two years there has been a strong push from the Legislature to have MPO’s separate from counties and cities and to try and force a separation; and the question becomes how far do they have to separate until they are no longer eligible for FRS. He inquired is it an all or nothing thing, do they have to go independent, and can they be a Board employee clearly under the terms and conditions of the Board’s employment in certain areas, but under MPO responsibilities in others. He stated they are not clear-cut issues; Mr. Abbate and he were talking earlier today about them; there are some agencies the Board deals with such as Agriculture and the Law Library; they have hybrid employees that are kind of Board employees but also kind of not; and it does present some challenges in managing those offices. He stated it is not an easy way to go, but that is the direction the Legislature seems to be pushing the MPO’s. Commissioner Voltz inquired in what way are they pushing the MPO’s; with Mr. Kamm responding last year there was a very active bill being discussed to require MPO’s to separate from their adjacent counties in a space of three years, but it was defeated; and there was another Representative talking about introducing a similar bill this session, but they ran out of time. Commissioner Voltz stated so it may not go anywhere at all and the Board does not need to act on it; with Mr. Kamm responding they are not responding to a Legislative directive.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what are the benefits from the State’s perspective to separate; with Mr. Kamm responding they all had a hard time identifying that and that is why they lobbied so hard not to move in that direction. He stated the concern is that maybe at some locations MPO’s are felt to be too much under the influence of boards of county commissioners, city councils, or regional planning councils and are not seen to have the independence in policy decisions or project prioritization that some feel they should have; and there is a belief that by severing relationships with a parent agency there will be further independence in decision making of the MPO’s. He stated that is the State’s point of view; but he sees profound advantages of being County employees and interacting with his colleagues at County staff level to deal with issues of common interest at the local level.

Commissioner Voltz stated she does not think they need to move in that direction unless they really push it; and if they fought against it last year, probably the Delegation is not willing to move forward. Commissioner Carlson stated that is what Mr. Kamm said; it can be discussed at the MPO meeting, but this discussion is to get a handle on what exactly it means and to be a little more astute about what to do and see where it goes at the MPO level.

Commissioner Colon stated when the Board tries to act like it does not have to do anything, it is just trying to put its head in the sand; the truth of the matter is they know why they are here; they know why they are discussing this issue; she would rather go ahead and discuss it, and if the majority of the Board feels it is the direction it needs to go, then it should go ahead and make a motion; and if it fails, it fails; and if it passes, it passes, but at least on Thursday it will not be the discussion of the day. She stated they are going to ask if the Board is okay with it; it needs to know exactly how it is going in; she would like to go prepared into a meeting; and if Commissioners feel this is not the way to go, that is fine, and they need to respect that; but for those who support it and feel there is no problem, then they need to take action because Thursday is not the day it wants to do it with all the mayors and council members, as it would be like airing out its dirty laundry, which would not be appropriate because at that point it could get ugly. Commissioner Colon stated the best way of doing it is to decide whether the majority of the Board feels comfortable; if it does not feel comfortable, that is fine; at least they will know how they are walking into the MPO meeting; and that is all it needs to do, so she will make a motion to allow staff to go under the MPO. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Commissioner Colon wants it separated; with Commissioner Colon responding yes.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize the Transportation Planning staff to go under the MPO.

Chairman Pritchard stated there is a motion and second, but he wanted to clarify what they are trying to attempt; the MPO would be like the Economic Development Commission for example, a separate and distinct organization yet different in that it would still be under the FRS. He inquired if it is separate and distinct, how would it be attached to the County and under FRS; with Mr. Abbate responding if the Board separates the MPO and creates a new employer as the MPO Board, it will have a variety of issues that are going to be addressed such as pay and class issues, which would be addressed by the MPO Board as well as hiring, discipline, etc.; and they would not be Board of County Commissioners’ employees. Mr. Abbate stated in that scenario, the Board would have an outstanding FRS issue similar to what Sarasota County may be doing; it is pretty clear that the Board may be jeopardizing the FRS status of the employees that are involved; and if the Board continues as their employer, then the issue of the pay and class of how current MPO employees are paid and are they paid proper salary amounts compared to their peers in other jurisdictions is out there. He stated the Board needs to be cautious because it has two issues that are out there, external comparison of employees compared to the counterparts in other jurisdictions, and internal equity, that is staff members of comparable responsibility, secretarial support staff, etc. He stated if the Board separates the MPO and puts it under a separate employer, that employer would make those distinctions and the Board would not have a problem, but if it does something other than that, for example, the MPO would make the pay and class study for them, but they are going to remain County employees for all other purposes, the Board is going to have significant internal equity issues as well as employment issues that have to be resolved. He noted it needs to tread cautiously on those types of areas.

Commissioner Voltz stated the Board does not need to rush into this; Mr. Kamm said there is no decision that needs to be made today; she agrees there is a lot to talk about; and the Board is not the whole MPO, which will be meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue; so she will not support the motion because there are too many unanswered questions.

Commissioner Carlson stated based on what Mr. Abbate said, it is all or nothing; and she does not know if the Board wants to create a motion of consensus saying it would like to look at the separation issue, but wants to be cautious with the FRS issue since they do not know all the issues. She stated there is information from Mr. Gougelman and others that say they have to do a special act; and maybe that way they can deal with the FRS issue. She stated those things are still up in the air, so she does not know if Commissioner Colon wants to do a consensus that the Board would be interested in looking at separation of the MPO at this time, but does not want the FRS issue to affect the employees. Commissioner Colon stated that is fine as long as there is an action that is going to be presented to the MPO. Commissioner Voltz stated the Board is doing a study of salaries so that is definitely an issue.

Mr. Kamm requested the motion be repeated so he will know what the Board decided to do.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board is going to show a sense of consensus that it is interested in severing of the MPO staff from the County staff with the issue of the FRS being an outstanding issue and so cautious optimism is needed; and if there is an unnecessary impact to employees who work for the MPO, the Board wants to make sure they are not hurt.

Mr. Kamm stated the key word is “sever”; and inquired if the Board is speaking just in terms of pay and class or total separation of the whole operation; with Commissioner Carlson responding the whole thing, as Mr. Abbate made it clear it has to be all or nothing. Mr. Kamm noted that is what he thought Commissioner Carlson meant.

Chairman Pritchard stated it could be similar to the Economic Development Commission; with Mr. Kamm responding it could be. Chairman Pritchard stated the Economic Development Commission is a separate and distinct organization; it sets up its salary structure, has its own disciplinary procedures, and has set up a retirement structure; so the MPO would have a similar opportunity to do that. He stated all the MPO revenue comes from State sources; but Economic Development Commission derives revenue mainly from the County and from the private sector; so there are similarities. He inquired if that is what Mr. Kamm wants to do; with Mr. Kamm responding he must caution the Board on the downside of that, which is an item on the Agenda dealing with the Home Depot project on Wickham Road. Mr. Kamm stated he is involved in that as a Board employee; so if the separation is such that he may not be able and his staff would not be able to provide the technical support services directly to the Board as they do now, they have to entertain arrangements whereby those kinds of services could be provided to the Board from essentially independent agencies; and that is the downside. Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board would pay extra to the MPO for that service; with Mr. Kamm responding he does not know what those arrangements would be, but if they are a separate organization and his staff works for the MPO and not the Board, when it comes to Board affairs in transportation planning, they would have to discuss how those would be handled. Commissioner Carlson stated that would come under the service agreement if it were to be an independent MPO; and the Board could contract services with the MPO for those kinds of reviews.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if they lost FRS, what could be put in place of that; with Mr. Abbate responding they could do a 457 thing or something; and several cities have their own small pension plans. Commissioner Scarborough inquired how many employees are involved with Mr. Abbate responding he believes there are eight. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Mr. Abbate would have to create a separate retirement system; with Mr. Abbate responding the MPO would have to do that. Commissioner Scarborough stated he is not going to support the motion; he is more confused at this point than he was Thursday night; and he knows the Board has to respond, but Mr. Kamm feels like he does not know what he is going to end up with at the end of the day. He stated they have historically, as an MPO, opposed this type of movement when it came down from the Governor and Legislature; and now it is doing the exact same thing so it can accomplish the purpose of keeping it, which he thinks is a worthy purpose. He stated the Board is subjecting the whole apparatus of how it interfaces with the County on County projects and how the whole staff gets retirement; he wishes he had a clear answer; and he does not feel good about voting on it right now.

Mr. Kamm stated the underlying difficulty has to do with staff compensation. Commissioner Voltz stated that is the underlying issue with all the Departments; and it is something that needs to be dealt with, but she does not think this is the way to deal with it. Mr. Kamm stated he did not wish to bring to the Board an item that would force it to go into areas it does not want to go, but he is letting it know the underlying driving issue is compensation; and the Board in his view should not consider that; but he knows it is with the actions it directed on Thursday night.

Chairman Pritchard stated when he brought that up on Thursday, his point was to do an adequate compensation and salary study and something more than can be done in-house, and bring in a consultant and spend the $60,000; the Board saved $25,000 so it is now down to $35,000; and the whole point is to bring in an expert to look at the MPO and salary structures in comparable counties. He stated if they do that, there are going to be raises; it also needs to look at other management, other staff, and all County employees and the Board’s compensation; the entire structure needs to be looked at as well as the management incentive package; and all of that needs to be reevaluated. He stated in order to do it properly, they need to bring in an expert that can do it.

Commissioner Scarborough stated there is a motion on the floor dealing with the MPO; and the Board needs to discuss it further. Chairman Pritchard stated he does not think the motion is going anywhere; and inquired if Commissioner Colon wants to withdraw it.

Commissioner Colon stated she does not blame the Board for not supporting the motion; she is in the middle of the Home Depot issue and she might not help it if she is on her own; she may not support her own motion after that; but one of the things that she is trying to do is make sure that on Thursday the Board does not confuse the rest of the County. She stated they are going to look at the Board for direction; she does not know what direction it is going in; so she does not know how advantageous it is to keep it on the agenda. She stated that is just her opinion because on Thursday it is not going to go anyway because they have legitimate concerns, not just from the salary part but how it is going to affect the projects. She stated there is more to it than that; so she will withdraw the motion and see how the discussion goes on Thursday. She stated the Board needs to be conscious of the fact that the rest of the council members and mayors are going to look at it for direction; and it will be the blind leading the blind.

Commissioner Carlson stated it sounds like the Board is going to potentially pursue a staffing study and all that; and that might be the way to address it to the MPO.

Commissioner Voltz stated in the interim, the Board needs to discuss it; the bottom line is it needs to be aware, if it does a study, that people may get raises; and they need to identify up front, not just where the money is going to come from for the study, but where the money is going to come from for the raises. She stated that has to be done before she will support the motion to do something; they have to identify that; and there is no use wasting $60,000 to do a study if the Board is going to put it on a shelf because it cannot afford to do the raises.

Chairman Pritchard stated the motion has been withdrawn; and while the Board is talking about salaries and compensation, it needs to do it and it should identify what it can do with the MPO.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, to direct staff to bring back to the Board appropriate backup information at the earliest convenience of staff and identify funding.

Commissioner Voltz stated staff needs to identify the funding also. Commissioner Carlson stated $60,000 was thrown out there, but she does not know if that is the going rate.

Commissioner Scarborough seconded the motion to get a report.

Commissioner Colon stated she thought at the last meeting the Board had given that direction because it was discussing the amount.

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised staff is currently moving forward; the direction the Board gave it Thursday night was to look at a salary study for directors as a benchmark so the Board could have some sense of what percentages may be out of line with surrounding areas; and staff has begun that work and was hoping to have it done in two weeks. She stated Mr. Abbate has done an analysis of what would be recommended for an out-of-county professional compensation specialist to do it rather than in-house; and they are putting that package together for the Board.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if that would come to the Board in two weeks; with Mr. Abbate responding they are hoping to have the information back from other jurisdictions a week from Friday, and will put it together. Mr. Kamm stated he has some salary information from other MPO’s across the State, which is larger than just the Central Florida area, which he would like to provide to Mr. Abbate. Chairman Pritchard stated please do that.

NOTE: No vote was taken on the motion and the motion was not withdrawn.

RESOLUTION AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS OFF PARK AVENUE, RE: BREVARD
ALZHEIMER’S FOUNDATION, INC.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution authorizing the conveyance of easement interest in County property to Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation, Inc. pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 125.38; execute Drainage Easement; and accept Drainage Easement from the Foundation for construction of the North Brevard Alzheimer’s Daycare Facility located off Park Avenue in Titusville. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages for Resolution No. 05-100 and Easements.)

CLARIFICATION, RE: LAND CLEARING/TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE FOR
LINEAR PROJECTS

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Option 3, exempt all linear projects that are publicly or privately constructed exclusively for public throughway transportation from tree protection and canopy preservation requirements, but still require landscaping Code requirements, including federal, State, and County roadways, such as arterial and collector roads that do not terminate on or at private lands or serve exclusively residential subdivisions or commercial/industrial parks; exclude internal roads for subdivisions, roads that are part of a subdivision or commercial site plan, or other roads proposed for private use and not constructed for the primary purpose of public thoroughfare or commerce transportation; it not be based on ownership of the linear project rather its purpose and overarching public benefit; and expand it to include pedestrian throughways such as public sidewalks, trails, and paths.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if this is one of the things the Board talked about, making ordinances and requirements for others and not living by them. She stated this is something the Board should do, but at the same time, it is something it needs to look at for others also. County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the whole concept is under review by the Landscaping/Land Clearing Committee. Commissioner Voltz stated it should not be just linear projects, but other projects in general.

Commissioner Scarborough stated it says publicly or privately constructed, so they did provide for either way; and while the Board is not going the whole gamut, it has to have sensitivity to the

other projects to the vast extent possible; and sensitivity exists on both the private and public sides.

Commissioner Colon seconded the motion. Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

EASEMENT TO FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY, RE: WICKHAM PARK
STORMWATER PONDS

Commissioner Carlson inquired is the purpose of the Easement to Florida Power & Light Company to bring irrigation out there or is there some other issue; with Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Jack Masson responding the Easement is to allow electric service for the stormwater ponds irrigation.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to execute Easement to Florida Power & Light Company for electrical services to the Wickham Park Stormwater Ponds. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Easement.)

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to recess as the Board of County Commissioners and convene as the Mosquito Control District Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO BID, AWARD BID, AND EXECUTE CONTRACT, RE: REPLACEMENT
OF TRUCK- MOUNTED SPRAY SYSTEMS

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to bid, award bid to lowest responsive and responsible bidder, and execute contract for replacement of the truck-mounded Ultra Low Volume (ULV) mosquito spray systems. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Contract.)

PERMISSION TO BID, AWARD BID, AND EXECUTE CONTRACT, RE: REPLACEMENT
OF HALL ROAD AND ULAMAY IMPOUNDMENT PUMPS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to grant permission to bid, award bid to lowest responsive and qualified bidder, and execute contract for replacement of Hall Road and Ulamay mosquito impoundment pumps. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Contract.)

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adjourn as the Mosquito Control District Board, and reconvene as the Board of County Commissioners. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: INDIGENT BURIALS OR CREMATIONS

Housing and Human Services Director Gay Williams advised staff provided several options for the Board to consider; and one is to immediately increase the burial rate from $600 to $800 or defer the increase to October 1, 2005. She stated the Board could leave the contract rate the same and not provide an increase, put out an RFP to recruit funeral homes that might provide services for a set amount, consider providing cremations only and paying a set cost, or any other options determined by the Board. She stated Mr. Carlson is here and represents North Brevard Funeral Home; and she had several calls from funeral directors supporting the increase.

Commissioner Voltz stated the background information says the program is not intended to provide a family assistance program, then two paragraphs down it says currently Housing and Human Services is promoting cremations, but burials are used at families’ special requests. She inquired if the County is doing family programs or not; and stated she would like to see it do cremations only. Commissioner Carlson inquired if they have families, why could the family not pay the difference.

Chairman Pritchard stated if $450 is the base price, the County could pay that; and if the family wishes to have a burial, they could pay the difference; so the Board should approve paying $450 and leave it at that.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, to approve paying $450 for cremations for indigent persons.

Gil Carlson with North Brevard Funeral Home stated the reason this was brought up is the County allowed $600 per burial for ten years and $450 toward cremation of deceased that do not have the wherewithal to pay for funeral services; checking with other counties, they pay more; they usually lose money for burials; and he agrees with Commissioner Voltz that perhaps cremation is the route to go. He stated there are families that cannot afford a burial and cremation may not be an option for them; and it is difficult to sit with the family and discuss it; however, if that was the direction of the Board, they would do that.

Commissioner Voltz stated the County could give $450 toward a burial if it was going to spend $450 for cremation; and the family can choose not to cremate and pay the difference. She inquired if that would be a problem; with Mr. Carlson responding not really, but he has been in Brevard County for nine years and it is pretty much if it is a County-assisted service, there are no extras; families can have their memorial services on their own somewhere else, at a church or wherever; and as far as physical disposition of the human remains, the burial is a direct burial at Country Acres in Titusville, which is a County cemetery. He stated of the $600 they receive, they have to pay opening and closing of the grave, the liner of the casket, and several other things; the cost has gone up quite a bit; and it got to the point financially where they decided to talk to Commissioner Scarborough about the fact that they need to raise the burial portion or have cremation only at $450. He stated one thing he wants to caution the Board about is Florida Statutes Section 470 that requires the next of kin to sign cremation authorization; there are some cases where they could not find families of the indigent person; and they had to go down the steps to a nursing home supervisor. He stated he understands some counties on the West Coast of Florida will assume and actually sign off on the authorization if they cannot find any legal person; and whatever the Board comes up with, they felt it was time to look into it because it does cost quite a bit.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is legal exposure for the County to sign off on cremations if there is no next of kin; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding probably. Commissioner Carlson inquired if staff knows of other counties that do it; with Mr. Knox responding he does not know. Commissioner Carlson stated Mr. Carlson said Lee County did that; with Mr. Carlson responding he heard of one county that does it but does not know the name of the county; and it does not happen very often, but it could happen. He noted he would be happy to check into that. Commissioner Carlson stated the spreadsheet shows Hernando, Lee, Marion, and Pinellas Counties only help with cremations; Pinellas County contracts only with one funeral home; so it looks like it has been done in the State a few times.

Commissioner Scarborough stated if the Board says $450 for cremation and families want burial and apply the $450 to a burial, they would have to make up the difference; and inquired if that poses a problem to the funeral home; with Mr. Carlson responding it poses a problem in the sense that any family would be free to choose whatever type of burial merchandise they would want; those are people who do not have the funding; and that is why they apply for County funds. He stated he understands what is being said is to have a cap. Commissioner Scarborough stated that is what the motion says. Commissioner Voltz stated she made the motion to go with cremation, but if the other is possible the Board could address that. Commissioner Scarborough stated the County would pay $450; the family could use it how they choose; and if they want a burial, they could apply that to the cost of a burial or pay the full cost of cremation. Commissioner Carlson stated it would have to be directed to a funeral home so that the funeral home does not end up with the problem that the family pocketed the money and left the body that they have to deal with.

Chairman Pritchard inquired what does Veterans Services do; with Mr. Carlson stating if the person is a veteran, they have burial at the national cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, and they provide the grave space, opening, and closing. Chairman Pritchard inquired if it is Social Security that pays a flat amount; with Mr. Carlson responding Social Security pays $255 when there is a surviving spouse. Chairman Pritchard inquired if Social Security does not care if it is burial or cremation; with Mr. Carlson responding it has been that way for many years. Chairman Pritchard stated he sympathizes with Mr. Carlson’s plight, but the families need to come forward; one of the problems the County has is that families think it is government’s responsibility to do everything from cradle to grave; so it is time for government to get out of some of those businesses.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve $450 contribution toward a service of whatever type it might be for indigent deceased persons. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Scarborough stated another problem is if no one signs off on cremation; and the Board needs to determine if there is a methodology otherwise Mr. Carlson will be stuck with the situation and has no authority to cremate, yet the $450 contemplates cremation. He stated the County Attorney needs to come back to the Board to see if there is something it can do; and they should check with Lee County or whatever county is doing it.

Ms. Williams requested the Board give staff some discretion as to unidentified bodies because
they might have to bury those as opposed to cremating them. Chairman Pritchard stated that is what Commissioner Scarborough was talking about, whether they can sign off on them. Commissioner Carlson stated Ms. Williams is talking about an investigative type scenario such as if a John Doe has to be exhumed; and there may be a need for those special purposes. Chairman Pritchard inquired if they could do a DNA swab before burying those persons. Mr. Carlson stated cremation is an irreversible process. Chairman Pritchard stated they could do the DNA before the body is cremated. Mr. Carlson inquired who would assume the liability for the cremation if they cannot find a family member. Chairman Pritchard stated if they do a DNA for a John Doe, if it comes up later, they can find out who that person is.

Commissioner Scarborough stated Mr. Knox can come back with information only on the liability for that; and inquired what if someone comes in after a body has been cremated and says the funeral director did the cremation and did not have authority, and they decide to file a lawsuit. He stated they probably will come back and want indemnification hold harmless from the County for the County to sign off; therefore that is where the liability may lie.

RESOLUTION, RE: QUALIFYING EDAK, INC. AS ELIGIBLE BUSINESS UNDER THE
COUNTY’S TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM

Kevin Gholston, General Manager of EDAK, Inc., advised they have been in business for 18 years as a Florida corporation; the parent company is in Switzerland; it is a family-owned business; and the business is aluminum case manufacturing. He stated the cases are used by the military and homeland security applications; they make something that they put radios, satellite equipment, chem-bio warfare detection equipment, medical equipment, and the like in and transport them all over the world by military forces; and with what happened in the United States with 9/11 and the change in the military focus with a more mobile warrior, they are seeing a dramatic increase in their business because they make something nobody else makes. He stated they give the ability to transport the units in a light two-man carry case; a lot of projects are partnered with Boeing, Harris, Lockheed, and other common name firms; and they are here to expand their business. He stated they have been in the same facility for 18 years and have reached the limits of doing anything else in that facility; they are seeking support to expand and go into a new building, add equipment, and hire new employees; and they are importing jobs as opposed to exporting jobs. Mr. Gholston stated the company headquarters is in Switzerland; with the change in the value of the dollar versus the Swiss franc, it is profitable for them to make things here and ship them to Europe; so there is opportunity for growth for EDAK in the Defense arena plus exporting to Europe with the business they have today. He stated all the products in the brochure were made in Melbourne; it is an exciting time; he just came aboard six weeks ago and has put all the paperwork together during his second week to come to the Board; and he is happy to be here and likes Melbourne, the culture, and people here. He noted he hopes to stay a long time and hopes to see a rocket go off.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if EDAK gets the components and assembles them; with Mr. Gholston responding they manufacture the products from raw materials, but some of the cast and rubber pieces they buy from contractors that make them for EDAK. He stated they do not have a foundry there but they take raw aluminum and do all the cutting, bending, shaping, welding, and so forth. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there are byproducts; with Mr. Gholston responding they have aluminum dust they sweep up and dispose of properly, but they do not have an environmental impact.

Chairman Pritchard stated it looks like a good product; with Mr. Gholston responding it is exciting; it looks boring to make metal cases, but the application and stuff that go into it is a lot of fun. Mr. Gholston stated he experienced 22 years of high-tech and has been working on all the things that go in those cases; and a lot of that comes into play now. Chairman Pritchard wished Mr. Gholston good luck and noted he is glad to have him enjoy Florida.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution qualifying EDAK, Inc. as an eligible business under the County’s Tax Abatement Program; and authorize advertising a public hearing to consider an exemption ordinance. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-101.)

RESOLUTION, RE: QUALIFYING EDAK, INC. AS A TARGETED INDUSTRY

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution qualifying EDAK, Inc. as a targeted industry and requesting the State waive the QTI local match requirement in lieu of the County’s tax exemption program. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-102.)

APPROVAL OF PAYMENT TO SUBCONTRACTORS, RE: COUNTY SERVICE
CENTER COMPLEX IN PALM BAY

Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the process for taking a contractor off the list; with Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten responding the normal process will be for staff to come back to the Board with a request to bar the contractor; and they will be back with a wrap- up of the project and expenses to request reimbursement from the surety and removal of the contractor.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve payment to subcontractors who worked on the Service Center Complex in Palm Bay that were not previously paid by APM Construction Corporation, at $1,190.46 to Lightning Protection by Quinn, Inc.; $14,500 to J&J Millwork, Inc.; $2,400 to Window Interiors; $14,110.51 to Reading Plumbing; $2,950 to Florida Door Control of Orlando, Inc.; $10,755 to Dave’s Drywall; $4,226.42 to World Electric Supply; $11,135 to Ron Kendall Masonry; $45,000 to Gale Insulation; $74,501.81 to ABC Landclearing; $9,832.68 to All Good Commercial Door and Glass; $8,388.66 to DeCasta d/b/a Air Temp; $4,010 to East Coast Architectural Glass; $11,117.10 to Simcon Construction; and $5,525 to Space Coast General Contractors, for a total of $219,642.64. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: ADDITIONS TO 2005 STATE LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE

Commissioner Carlson stated she did not see Bill 1863, the Growth Management bill, as part of the write-up Theda Roberts put together for the legislative updates; she did a very nice job as far as the descriptions of issues, bills, sponsors, and actions occurring on them, but she did not see an update on that bill; and inquired if that could be added so the Board can see the status of that bill. She stated Senate Bill 930 is a holding point for what the Governor wants to see in growth management; House Bill 1965 is what has been vetted out through the Growth Management Committee; and she thinks the two bills are looking to be somehow combined. County Manager Peggy Busacca stated she will have Ms. Roberts provide that information tomorrow.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve addition of the Pineda Interchange at I-95 to the 2005 State Legislative Package. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve addition of implementation of the Independent Coastal Expert Study and correction of Congressionally- authorized Mid Reach length to the 2005 Federal Legislative Package. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REQUEST FROM JOHNNY VALENTINE FOR WAIVER OR ABATEMENT OF COUNTY
CODE 62-4213, RE: RECONSTRUCTION OF MINOR STRUCTURE DAMAGED BY
HURRICANE FRANCES

Johnny Valentine presented documents to the Board but not the Clerk; stated he and his wife Susan are here to request a waiver or abatement of Code Section 62-4213 to rebuild their gazebo that was damaged during the first hurricane, which he believes was Frances. He stated the pictures in the handout are of the gazebo; it existed on their property for some 25 years; and it was basically an asset to the County or at least the Tax Collector because they were paying some of the highest taxes in the County. He stated before he had a chance to rebuild the gazebo the Board passed an Ordinance; he understands there was a need for change in the Ordinance as to height and square footage guidelines that were excessive and disturbing to some of the homeowners in the surrounding area; but as the Board can see, their gazebo was beautiful and basically an asset. He stated people who went up and down the beach would look at it and say it is beautiful; and his wife would sit there every morning. He stated they are in the “no reach” beach; they put in about $25,000 worth of sand to save some of their existing structures that they had when they bought the property that were not covered by insurance; the County and FEMA put in additional sand, which they greatly appreciated; and he would rebuild the gazebo some 25 feet from the existing dune. Mr. Valentine stated they were all devastated by the storms of 2004; all they are trying to do is be a little bit smarter in preparing for the future; they are trying to get their lives back to normal; and their gazebo is a big part of their lives. He stated every morning he goes out there and has his coffee and his wife would join him; at night when he came home she would be sitting in the gazebo watching the sunset and the ocean; and he is requesting the Board to extend them a waiver to rebuild the gazebo so they can once again enjoy the reason they bought their property on the ocean.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Mr. Valentine said he was rebuilding the gazebo 25 feet back from the dune and not where he had it before; with Mr. Valentine responding before it was right on the crest of the dune; and with the additional sand that they and the County put in, it is about 25 feet back from the crest of the dune and approximately ten feet farther in than it was before. Commissioner Voltz stated the County Manager said there is not much the Board can do today and if it wanted to change anything, it would require a change to the Ordinance; and inquired if Ms. Busacca would explain that.

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the Ordinance is very clear that it is prohibited; and unless Mr. Knox tells her differently, she does not know of any waiver provisions to the Ordinance. She stated if the Board directs staff to move forward to either allow the reconstruction of gazebos or do some other type of action, Mr. Knox has in the past advised them that it may be possible to say that under the “Green Light Doctrine.” She stated it is possible that Mr. Knox could advise the Board if that would work, otherwise it will require an amendment to the Ordinance.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised if the Board authorizes the amendment, it can tell Mr. Valentine to go ahead based upon the amendment it is going to adopt. Commissioner Voltz stated she does not have any problem with that, but understands there was some that were built quite big; and if the Board is going to do some changes, it needs to look at the size of the structures. Ms. Busacca stated what Mr. Valentine is asking for is to rebuild an existing gazebo to the same dimensions, so the Board may authorize staff to move forward on that with the intent it could advertise it broadly and then if the Board chose to make other changes to address Mr. Valentine’s issue, it could be conservative enough to allow the Board to have discussions about other items. Commissioner Voltz inquired if Ms. Busacca is referring to the size; with Ms. Busacca responding yes, and height, elevation, etc. Ms. Busacca noted staff can do that if Mr. Knox says it is okay.

Commissioner Carlson stated some of the issues were line of sight issues because of the huge platforms that sort of erupted out of the dunes.

Chairman Pritchard stated Commissioner Higgs brought in a still photo of what looked like a lifeguard stand in Australia; it was an awful structure; and when the Board saw that, it had a knee-jerk reaction that was not intended to stop something like Mr. Valentine’s structure; however, that was the effect. He stated if the Board can approve this type of action today, then he would encourage it to do that.

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to waive provisions of Section 62-4213 to allow Johnny Valentine to reconstruct his gazebo, which was damaged by Hurricane Frances; and direct staff to return with an Agenda Report for permission to advertise a public hearing to consider amending the Code to include size height, elevation, etc. of minor structures. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REQUEST FROM GARY POWELL, RE: EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES IMPACT FEE
EXEMPTION

Gary Powell advised he and his wife Linda have lived in Brevard County since 1995; since 1998 they have owned a home in the Suntree area; and a year and a half ago they started talking about the next place. He stated in June 2004, they signed a contract to build a home in Sawgrass Key, which is now in Suntree proper; and on September 10, 2004, they signed the final contract and paid all their deposits. He stated their builder approached the County to get the exemption for the educational impact fees; and his side of the story is that he was turned away, but he is not exactly sure why. He noted he knows the builder brought in a couple of people with them and maybe they did not qualify. He stated he is a self-employed traveling salesman, and it has taken him a while to get here; and he apologizes, but all of February and March he was on the road trying to earn a living. He stated he started about a week and a half ago going to the County to find out their side and what can be done; and that brought him to the Board to present his case. Mr. Powell stated he was told his builder never came in to make application; but his point is the Board made the rules and regulations, so they do not have to fight over who did what and how it all worked. He stated the booklet he presented has the information that they met every criteria that was there before the deadline; if the Commissioner would review that information, they would see that it is all valid; and requested the Board grant him the exemption that he should have qualified for in September.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if everything is in order; stated this is not precedent setting because the Board has done it before when it was shown that a contract was in place by the prescribed deadline; and inquired are all those things Mr. Powell said true; with Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Lyon responding they reviewed the package that was submitted; he can speculate on the builder’s application; at the time the builder did not own the lot nor did Mr.Powell; but he had a contract to buy the lot, so he had a contract with a builder; and he also made the down payment on each of those, so he believes that would meet the intent.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to grant exemption from educational facilities impact fee for Gary Powell as he met all the criteria before the deadline, but his builder failed to make application for the exemption. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Mr. Powell inquired if he will receive a letter; with Mr. Lyon responding he will provide a copy of the motion to Mr. Powell and will take care of it.

REQUEST FROM GREG HUGHES, RE: BILLBOARD ON MEADOWGREEN ROAD
IN MIMS

Commissioner Scarborough stated Ed Lyon briefed him on this item and said that some minor repairs can be done, but if they go beyond that, they are basically opening Pandora’s box and could have a flood of things. Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Lyon stated they are allowed to maintain the structure in good working condition per the Code. Commissioner Scarborough stated he would like to have a letter from Mr. Lyon restating that Mr. Hughes can make minor repairs, but to go beyond that would exceed the authority.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant permission for Greg Hughes to make minor repairs to an existing billboard on his property at 4490 Meadowgreen Road in Mims pursuant to Section 62-3304 of the Brevard County Code. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING
SECTION 62-933(A) CREATING EDUCATIONAL IMPACT FEE EXEMPTIONS

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Section 62-933(a), creating educational impact fee exemptions.

Chairman Pritchard advised this is to create two additional exemptions, one for affordable housing. Commissioner Carlson inquired if this is a follow-up to that.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised this is not the affordable housing issue, but the tax credit issue. He stated an individual came to the Board saying he applied for exemption and it was too late; he did not meet the requirements of the Ordinance; he was working on a tax credit application for over a year before the Ordinance was passed and was well into the process; and he spent a lot of money getting there. He stated he decided that would be something he would like to qualify for; that is the narrow exemption; and that is what the Board is trying to accomplish. He stated the other issue was an individual who had townhouses and condominiums that were being treated differently from apartments, which had basically the same effect; and in fact he noticed there is an omission in the ordinance that only says condominiums (townhouses).

Commissioner Carlson stated she understands the tax exemption part, but what about the condominium part; with County Manager Peggy Busacca responding if she is not wrong, the Board already gave the two waivers and the ordinance is to catch up with those two waivers. Mr. Knox stated this is one of the “Green Light Doctrine” things.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION, RE: HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BREVARD COUNTY

Attorney Michael Syme, representing the Brevard County Housing Authority, stated he is at a loss and is guessing what the County is going to be discussing; and he assumes it is going to discuss using the Florida Government Conflict Resolution Act and moving forward to try and resolve the dispute that is going on between the County and Housing Authority.

Chairman Pritchard inquired if Mr. Syme would like to hear from County staff first; with Mr. Syme responding he would.

Assistant County Attorney Terri Jones advised the item before the Board is to initiate conflict resolution proceedings; there are three outstanding issues with the Housing Authority; (1) payment of PILT, which is payment in lieu of taxes; (2) the Authority’s claim that the solid waste assessment was wrongfully assessed to it; and (3) an outstanding public records request. She stated they are seeking to start the process; and they have done the same with the City of Palm Bay and other local government entities. She stated another part of it is to continue the contract with the disclosure counsel to continue on this issue.

Mr. Syme stated he thinks this is premature; and he does not have any qualms about the Board continuing its contract with disclosure counsel, but to actually move on to the dispute process is a little early on each of the three issues. He stated at this point they have not had any meaningful staff conversations on the issues; they had a couple, but since the Board engaged a disclosure counsel, roughly a month ago, they had no actual discussions or negotiations; and they have provided to disclosure counsel their entire understanding of the PILT issue, including all the case law. He stated they provided all their understanding of the Solid Waste Act and all their research on that issue as well; and they have gotten no response from disclosure counsel on those topics at this point for a number of reasons, but nonetheless no meaningful conversation has taken place. He stated their hope was they could have that meaningful conversation before being put into a dispute resolution process, which involves not only this Board but their board as well, since they think the parties can reasonably resolve this. He stated it is absolutely their intention and goal to work with the County to resolve the dispute in an amicable fashion. Mr. Syme stated with regard to the public records request, they received one request and pulled all the records that applied to that request; at the time, he met with disclosure counsel and told him by giving them a written public records request and making it narrow in scope, he actually did not get all the documents he was looking for; they met afterwards and he told the counsel to tell him what it is that he would like, and that they should talk about it so they can make sure they pull the records that he wanted; and if it is everything on a particular topic from all the Authorities, to tell him and he will confirm it in writing and have his client pull all of it. He stated instead he got a second public records request that was very similar in scope to the first request and simply added the other two Authorities of Melbourne and Cocoa; he still does not think the County is asking for everything it wants, does not want to keep guessing what it wants, and needs somebody to sit down with him and talk about everything they may or may not have; and they will share with the County all of their records. He stated as an aside and to respond to something said at the last Board meeting of whether they were having documents shredded, the answer is yes and no; they were planning to; the Authority, by sheer luck had gone and scheduled high school students to shred old tenant files that were ten years and old; they were to be shredded during Spring break, which was probably within 24 hours of the date of the public records request; and when they realized what they had scheduled and how stupid it would look, they canceled it and will reschedule it when all of this is done. Mr. Syme stated they did have high school students coming in because they are slowly demolishing buildings and have people’s confidential records with their income and other information; and anything ten years or older they need to destroy. He stated having high school students do it is significantly less expensive to the Authority and taxpayers than any other way; but none of the records at this point have been destroyed; they are in the process of pulling all the documents that were in the second public records request as well as all the documents that Attorney Davis asked him for orally at the last meeting; but they do not want to rush the process. He stated they do believe they can find an amicable resolution; they made a couple of different offers; they are out there in writing; and they got no response. He stated the County is welcome to go with the process if that is its choice; he would hate to be put in a spot that in 30 to 60 days they force the Board to move quickly to appoint when it just wants to meet; and as soon as they meet, he is sure they can work it out. He stated they are trying to be very reasonable with the County and show it everything they have; in fact at the last public records request, they asked if they could meet with the auditors; that was done last week; they had their auditors in and their CFO; and they had all their books so that everybody could see them and ask whatever they needed to ask.

Commissioner Colon stated there has been so much he said/she said that she does not know how appropriate it would be, but it is at a point where they almost need a Commissioner to get involved and actually sit there and witness it and bring it back to the Board. She stated she does not know if that is something that is possible because she heard one say they requested something and another say they never knew about it, and so forth; and maybe it is at the point where they cannot get involved because there are attorneys involved, but it is almost at a point where a Commissioner needs to be involved to hear both sides right there in the office and come back with a report to the Board on exactly what is going on. She stated there is so much back and forth that it is really upsetting because with all due respect, she does not want to see Mr. Syme any more. Mr. Syme stated he would welcome a Commissioner to be involved in that way; and that would be perfectly acceptable to him. Commissioner Colon stated she hopes she is not appointing herself, and maybe it is not appropriate.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised the dispute resolution process initially requires a meeting of typically staffs of the two agencies to present the issues and concerns and have discussions at that point. He stated the Board is free to appoint a Commissioner to attend with staff to go over those issues of dispute; and assuming it can be resolved at that point, then they go on to the second step, which is to have a joint meeting. He stated there is nothing that says they have to abide by the timeframe set forth in the Florida Statutes; and if the two agencies agree to waive those timeframes, they can do that.

Commissioner Scarborough stated he will make a motion to go ahead and proceed; they have discussed this for a long period of time; and the Board can have a Commissioner involved as Mr. Knox said, and Commissioner Colon can be that Commissioner. He stated if the Board says they are going to talk it will be back again; but if it does start this proceeding, it may give more definition to it; so he would make that motion and if Commissioner Colon is willing, he would like to have her be the Commissioner involved.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution initiating conflict resolution procedures pursuant to Chapter 164, Florida Statutes, to attempt to resolve conflicts with the Housing Authority of Brevard County; appoint County Manager Peggy Busacca, Assistant County Manager Don Lusk, Assistant County Attorney Terri Jones, Housing and Human Services Director Gay Williams, Solid Waste Management Director Euri Rodriguez, Attorney Mike Davis of Bryant, Miller & Olive, and Commissioner Jackie Colon to attend the conflict assessment meetings; and authorize additional funds for the services of Bryant, Miller & Olive as disclosure counsel.

Ms. Jones stated not included in the Agenda Report is a request to have someone from County Finance attend those meetings as well.

Commissioner Scarborough amended the motion to include appointment of Stephen Burdett to attend the conflict assessment meetings with the Brevard County Housing Authority; and Commissioner Voltz accepted the amendment.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion as amended. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 05-103.)

DISCUSSION, RE: POSSIBLE HOME DEPOT SITE ON WICKHAM ROAD

Attorney Philip Nohrr, representing Home Depot, stated he is not 100% certain where they are going and it would help tailor his remarks if he could hear from staff first as he is a late entree.

Transportation Planning Director Bob Kamm advised last year the County Attorney determined that driveway permits are development orders and therefore subject to concurrency; and since that time, they have been evaluating concurrency impacts prior to the issuance of driveway permits. He stated there is a proposed Home Depot to be located on the west side of Wickham Road roughly in the area where the County’s Roadways and Landscaping facility is at this time, south of Pineda and north of Parkway; part of the area is in the City of Melbourne; other parts are in the unincorporated area; and the proposed site lies within the City of Melbourne. He stated there is a general agreement between the City, County, and the developer on the amount of traffic on the road right now, how much traffic the Home Depot would generate, and what the maximum allowed volume is on that section of Wickham Road; and the area of concern is how they would tabulate the trips that are in the pipeline that are yet to come onto Wickham Road but which they are well aware are coming on. He stated the City of Melbourne and Brevard County tabulate those permitting trips in different ways; the City looks at site plans and subdivisions, even subdivisions that may be ten years old and have not been built; the City counts those trips as if they are still going to be impacting the roadway; and the County tabulates trips at the building permit stage with a much closer linkage of time between when the structure will be built and when its actual traffic impact will be felt on the adjacent roadways. Mr. Kamm stated both systems are correct; there are arguments pro and con for both approaches; so he is not here to say what Melbourne does is erroneous or what the County does is better or anything like that, it is just different philosophical approaches. He stated the other difference is in how they count the permitted trips and how they treat trips from other jurisdictions; when the County looks at driveway concurrency, it looks at Melbourne trips in this case and trips from the unincorporated area; when Melbourne evaluates it only looks at trips coming from the City and does not include traffic permitted trips from the unincorporated area; so they look at driveway concurrency with their own determination then they rely on the other government agencies in their concurrency determination; and if that is up to snuff, they can issue the driveway permit. He stated he is not certain these different procedures are allowing a proper determination of the traffic impact of Home Depot on Wickham Road because of the differences in their tabulation procedures on how they do the booking on permitted trips as well as whether or not they include other jurisdictions; and when he asked the City of Melbourne staff why it did not include County trips in its evaluation of the concurrency impacts of the project, the answer was that is what it has always done and it is remaining consistent with its previous treatment of other applications and felt it was of importance to do that; so staff wanted to bring that issue to the Board. He stated it is a messy area; there are policy differences, interrelationships between the City and County, technical considerations, etc.; and in discussing this with staff, they are all scratching their heads and saying what really is going to be the traffic impact of the project on Wickham Road. He stated the County has various rules, constraints, and precedence within its processes, but inquired is that really what is going to give them the true indication of what the traffic impact of the project may be. He inquired if the County is being hampered by its own rules and precedence in really getting a true understanding of the project; and stated if the City of Melbourne had included the County trips in its calculation, the project would not pass concurrency; by excluding the County’s trips, it does pass; so there is quite a bit at stake here; it is not an idle exercise; and he hopes he explained that clearly.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Kamm can go one step backward when it came to the neighborhood Wal-Mart that went in on Post and Wickham Roads and how that organization managed to get concurrency at that point because they were coming with something he could accept as they did a more comprehensive traffic study, hired a traffic engineer, etc.; and stated staff was more or less forced to accept it because it was more comprehensive. Mr. Kamm stated there are two fundamental things with the Wal-Mart grocery store or whatever they are naming it; they did a much more comprehensive detailed very thorough analysis of the level of service on Wickham Road and were able to arrive at a very precise determination of what the maximum acceptable value is; the other thing they did was agree to a number of improvements at Post Road intersection that mitigated much of the traffic impact; so the combination of the improvements they agreed to make as well as the rigorous study they performed allowed the Wal-Mart grocery store to go in. He stated they are using the same maximum acceptable value that was determined for the Wal-Mart study as a maximum acceptable value for Home Depot’s analysis so that number is the same and Melbourne and the County agreed on that value of 43,200 trips. Commissioner Carlson inquired what was the road segment; with Mr. Kamm responding from Parkway to Pineda. Commissioner Carlson inquired if that is the same segment they used for Home Depot; with Mr. Kamm responding yes.

Commissioner Carlson stated they are trying to approach this on a friendly basis because they already have the conflicts; she was hoping to ask the Board to get a new engineering firm not supported by the County or the developer, and based on best management practices, see what is truly the level of service on Wickham Road and what Wickham Road is capable of handling in terms of trips. She stated another issue is not only Home Depot coming in but there are homes designed there; if they did cut a driveway permit for it, that would basically give carte blanche to the City of Melbourne for additional trips that it does not count; so that is also a concern. She stated she would like to approach it in an optimistic perspective but would like to understand the true impact to that road system.

Commissioner Voltz stated Commissioner Carlson does not want the Board or developer to support the engineering firm; and inquired if the County hires it, how would it be different. Mr. Kamm stated there is a staff services Agreement between the County and the MPO; that Agreement does allow the County to use MPO consultants; the MPO has a primary consultant, Renaissance Planning Group, which only deals with public sector clients; it has no private sector work; and it has done that on purpose so it is as nonpartisan as the Board is going to find. He stated it is technically capable of doing this kind of study; it can be done as a work order under the MPO Master Agreement; and the Board can use that avenue with the MPO’s approval on Thursday. He stated he has not talked to the firm about doing it, but it is a firm that is readily accessible, does quality work, and only deals with public sector; and the MPO has it under an Agreement.

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff advised one of the advantages of taking that approach is that the Board would avoid the appearance that it would unduly influence the consultant in the process of performing the analysis; and also they would be able to get the firm on board very quickly, would not have to go out and solicit for a new consultant to do that work, and could approach it in an expeditious manner, which would be to everyone’s benefit.

Mr. Kamm stated furthermore, since they are dealing not just with the County, but also the City of Melbourne on a regionally significant roadway, he believes it is a legitimate area for the MPO to be involved in; and it is not just a service to the Board itself, but to multiple jurisdictions. Commissioner Voltz inquired if this is something the Board normally seeks as she does not remember talking about driveway permits before; with Mr. Kamm responding this is the second time the Board has faced projects that are up against the maximum acceptable volume and contemplated a moratorium type of situation. He stated the last one was about four years ago with a shopping center project on SR 3 on Merritt Island; the Board was prepared to move into some rather drastic actions to deal with that project, which would have exceeded the standards; and as it turned out, the subsequent year the traffic count went down on SR 3 so there was sufficient capacity to put the project in without violating the standards. He stated this is the second time the Board is facing a situation like that; and these are new experiences for all of them. Commissioner Voltz stated she cannot see how anybody could not be biased if they are hired by government; and inquired if the City of Melbourne is going to talk about this on Thursday. Commissioner Carlson stated the City already passed it at its planning and zoning level. Commissioner Voltz stated she is talking about the City Council talking about it. Commissioner Carlson stated she does not know if that is going to happen early or closer to the end of the month; but the Board is the one that is responsible for that driveway permit and ultimately how many trips go on that road; so it needs to find a way to have a third party MPO based consultant since it has the firm on board; and she would support doing that. She inquired if there will be additional cost for it; with Mr. Kamm responding yes, but he does not know what that would be. He stated if the Board is interested in moving in that direction, he can contact the firm and get a scope of work; but the Board has to define what it is they need to do so they can cost it out.

County Attorney Scott Knox stated just so the Board has a legal framework to put it in, the Ordinance says that if the County staff does this work and comes up with a number and the developer does a study on its own and the Board is not satisfied with either one of those, it can go out for a third party. He stated that is what the Board is doing here; and that is a basis for doing it, and it is not something just made up. Commissioner Voltz stated she does not have a problem doing it, just being biased.

Commissioner Carlson inquired how many trips is Home Depot generating; with Mr. Kamm responding 1,309 trips per day. Commissioner Carlson stated the County does things based on building permits; there may be subdivisions out there that have been okayed and ultimately this could suck up all the capacity they have out there so some subdivisions that have been okayed through administrative processes at that building permit stage may not have the capacity to be put in. She stated it is not that it is good, bad, or otherwise, but just the way they run business administratively; and that is one of the reasons they are coming to this point because they have conflicts between the City and the County on it. She stated it is a good way to go, so with that she will make a motion to go out and get a new consultant. Commissioner Scarborough stated Mr. Nohrr may want to speak.

Attorney Philip Nohrr stated many facts are not in dispute between Home Depot and the County staff as far as what the counts are, but basically the history is Home Depot has been trying to come on that site for a long period of time; it actually submitted its civil plans to the City of Melbourne in the summer; and in addition to its civil plans, it submitted its building plans. He stated they are on track with the City of Melbourne that if the site plan is approved Tuesday night, they will have a building permit between May 1 and 15 and the store is on track to get up, built, and opened before December 1, 2005. He stated on the basis of that and the basis of the fact that they knew going into this that how the City of Melbourne calculates and the County calculates are different, they prepared two studies and have disclosed those to everyone. He stated their consultant, who is here and willing to answer any questions, showed that they meet concurrency based upon the County methodology that has been in place for a number of years; they also meet concurrency based on the City of Melbourne’s methodology that has been in place for a significant period of time; and they have spent in excess of $500,000 to get to this point. Mr. Nohrr stated it is a $12 million project; they are talking about 200 fulltime jobs; what he is hearing is that Melbourne does it one way and the County does it another way; everyone has known that for a while; and those were the rules under which they applied. He stated the County is talking about going out and hiring a consultant and assumes it is an impartial consultant; they are going to use best management practices whatever that means; that may mean a whole different and new methodology; that may be ultimately what the Board wants to do and maybe the City will buy into it, and that is fine going forward; but to take the Home Depot project at this point, that is far down the road, and change the rules now is inherently unfair. He stated the methodology they submitted to the County meets the concurrency based upon how the County counts trips; it does with the City although the City’s determination is different; and to change the rules now is inherently unfair. He stated when they looked at what is happening on Wickham Road, everybody agreed there is a problem at Wickham and Post Roads; the City mandated, as a condition of its approval by its staff and recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Board, that they have to step up to the plate and be part of the solution on Wickham and Post Roads; and that is going to involve a right-turn lane. He stated they understand that and committed to pay their fair share of that improvement; they have already come up with the calculation of what that percentage is; so they are pretty far down the road with the project. Mr. Nohrr stated they understand that segment of Wickham Road; they understand where they are as far as capacity goes; and he can tell the Board by the County’s calculations the way they have been doing it and using the County’s methodology, they come up with 41,221 trips and the capacity is at 43,200 trips. He stated there are other projects behind them and at some point something is going to have to be done with Wickham Road; maybe the consultant can help there as to improvements that have to be made; but to stop this project at this late date with all the money that has been expended and the timing will be inherently unfair. He stated there has to be a point and time when development can rely on government; they did not set the rules; they did not try to manipulate the rules; they knew what the rules were coming in with this project; they knew they were different from the City’s rules; and they prepared two studies to comply with both masters. He stated if the County wants to hire another party, it can do so, but it should not put Home Depot subject to whatever the consultant comes up with; they can prove to County and City staffs that they meet concurrency the way the rules were adopted and have been in effect for a long period of time; and that is what he is pleading for today.

Commissioner Carlson stated what is inherently unfair is that the County has a JPA with the City of Melbourne; and for the City to make agreements with Home Depot without having the County involved at the same table is inherently unfair, especially when there is a JPA with the City. She stated she would not have a problem now if they knew it was coming; she spoke to those at the City level who said they are going to annex; she does not have a problem with annexation; that is not the problem; and that is part of the JPA; but there is an understanding when they have a JPA that if there are big issues coming down the pipeline, they ought to sit down and talk about them. She stated if the City has not been looking at County trips on Wickham Road, even though it is not its road and is the County's road, that might be inherently unfair to the many developments along that sector of Wickham Road. She stated she does not think they can come to some resolution by doing the outside analysis and saying if it can be done or not; she sympathizes with the developer who has put in money based on what a city has told him; she cannot do anything about that; and this does not stop there, but says look at it from a fair perspective; and it could have gotten done prior to them going through the process; so she does not have any sympathy in that regard. Mr. Nohrr stated he understands that it was not his client; and they did not hide anything from anybody. Commissioner Carlson stated she understands, but Mr. Nohrr is the attorney representing Home Depot; with all the time and expense it has cost, they are at a point in the road where the City has not looked at the trips because it never had a problem; and part of the problem is it has not been looking at the trips. She stated there are two different ways of looking at trips generated on that road; neither one is bad, but they are both flawed from what she can tell because they do not give a true perspective of what they can handle on that road; and she does not think the City Council is willing to switch gears to go from site plan to building permit because it would make the appearance of jumping into the developer’s pocket; so they have to be careful about how they address this and make it as fair for both sides as they can. Mr. Nohrr stated whatever the City and County were or were not talking about was not his client; they tried to play by the rules; and they do not want to get into the crossfire between the City and County because there can only be one loser, which is going to be the developer. Commissioner Carlson stated she appreciates Mr. Nohrr’s dissertation on that for the benefit of his client, but from the County’s perspective, that is where they have to be.

Commissioner Colon stated she is convinced Mr. Nohrr’s clients always come between something major that is about to happen in the County; and she is glad the Board is discussing this because it is not only about Home Depot. She stated she had a meeting last week with the City of Palm Bay, John Denninghoff, and Bob Kamm; they made it perfectly clear that just because of all the rezonings that have been going on in the south part of the County, that did not exclude them from the fact they are looking at capacity and concurrency and does not mean they could approve those driveway permits; so she feels whatever position the Board takes today she wants to make sure the Chairman sends a letter to all the municipalities so everybody will realize that is what the County is going to be looking at. She stated the Board never discussed it before because it never was at that point; but a letter needs to go to every city, elected official, city managers, etc. to make it perfectly clear that the County is not changing the rules; the rules have always been there; and it needs to make sure more than ever that they are working closely on that because this is just the tip of the iceberg. She stated with all the rezonings going on in her area, she discussed capacity with the City of Palm Bay; and all of a sudden now they are asking is that even legal, and everybody is acting like they did not know about it. She stated now they are in 2005 and are going to have to discuss it; and after they make whatever motion it is, she would like to come back and make sure that it is in writing and no one is surprised about the discussions that are going to start happening from here on in regards to driveway permits.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve Option 1, engage a new engineering firm to do an analysis of Wickham Road’s current volumes on the segment where the Home Depot site is proposed, using best management practices, and not being held to either City or County procedures.

Commissioner Voltz inquired how long will that take; with Commissioner Carlson responding it is only for one segment of the Road; and inquired if it will be taken out of context or will they do the north Melbourne segment all together; with Mr. Kamm responding the more they add to the scope the longer it is going to take. Commissioner Carlson stated she understands that and that perspective is important, but in the long run they are talking about trip generation that could impact the entire length of that road; they are not putting the Pineda Causeway in place for a few years yet; and they have that potential that would have taken trips off and relinquished trips south of Pineda, so having the infrastructure in place to absorb some of those trips is pretty critical. Commissioner Voltz stated U.S. 1 will also be open and should take some trips off of Wickham Road.

Mr. Denninghoff stated the count on the site went down 1,400 vehicles per day relative to last year; that is traffic routing back to U.S. 1; and it so happens that the trip generation on Home Depot was 1,309; so if they were dealing with this project last year, it would not have gotten as far as it has, but the count went down so there is sufficient capacity to accommodate the project. Commissioner Voltz inquired what is the timeline; with Mr. Denninghoff responding he is reluctant to give an answer to that. Commissioner Carlson stated it can be done at the MPO meeting. Mr. Denninghoff stated at this point, he does not think the County has developed a scope, but he would suggest the Board approach the Renaissance Group with a scope and hopefully get a response from it by Thursday, if that is possible. He stated perhaps staff can answer by then; he knows it will be after this meeting; but he is reluctant to put a time schedule on that at this time without even the scope being put together.

Commissioner Carlson stated she would like to see the County draft a letter with the Board’s concerns telling the City of Melbourne exactly what it is doing and why it is doing it so it will have it in its hands for its next meeting when the project comes up and they need to be clear about where they are to be fair. She stated as part of the motion she will include that to make it clear for staff.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Colon stated her motion to follow up is to make sure every municipality in Brevard County is notified, and Mr. Knox put together the letter with the right type of wording; and she wants to take it one step further with regard to the Zoning Department and things they are doing to make sure that a letter goes out from here to any developer and any development that is rezoned. She stated, for example, there were three different landowners and they were looking at her like what the heck are you talking about; so the Zoning folks could send that letter or what John Denninghoff and Robin Sobrino can think of to start communicating even better with those folks who are coming before the Board in regards to zoning, like a developer, landowner, or whatever. She stated she will make a separate motion so there is no confusion; and the first one is to the municipalities.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct the County Attorney to prepare a letter to all municipal officials and administration advising of what the County will be looking for, to be signed by the Chairman.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if that includes councilpersons as well as administration; with Commissioner Colon responding yes. Commissioner Voltz inquired if the letter could come back to the Board; with Chairman Pritchard responding absolutely.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct staff to prepare a similar letter to developers and bring it back to the Board for review.

Commissioner Colon inquired if the County Manager gets the gist of it in regards to the example she gave for developers that are under the impression if the Board approves a rezoning they can go ahead and be allowed to develop, but that is not the case; and the letter should come back so the Board can see what kind of notification they are getting.

Chairman Pritchard called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE; RESORT DWELLING ORDINANCE

Commissioner Voltz stated she needs to clarify the weekly rental Ordinance to make sure the people who are being stopped are stopped and the people who did not intend for the motion to have effect need clarification; and requested Mr. Knox explain it.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised it was clear to staff that when the Board enacted the moratorium Ordinance, any new operations opened up after the moratorium Ordinance would be illegal and should be shut down or at least Code Enforcement proceedings should be initiated. He stated the area that was fuzzy is about those that apparently did not have State licenses before enactment of the moratorium Ordinance and seemed to be operating in violation of that Ordinance; and they were not sure exactly how those should be handled. Commissioner Voltz inquired if that is as far as Code Enforcement is concerned; with Mr. Knox responding right. Commissioner Voltz stated she needs to have the Board clarify what was its intention as far as Code Enforcement on those that do not have licenses. Mr. Knox inquired if the Board wants to pursue Code Enforcement against those that staff thinks were in violation of the Ordinance before. He stated the issue they have is whether or not they had an Ordinance that covered some of those; that was another problem; and because of the way the Ordinance was interpreted, vested rights issues are going to pop up once they try to do that.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Mr. Knox is doing a report that will come back to the Board; with Mr. Knox responding yes, a report is being done to determine what the amortization period should be; and staff has been working on that and gathering information. Commissioner Scarborough stated there was a problem in Titusville; people were renting units on the golf courses; and the City Attorney said they were not allowing amortization and were going to let them sue the City. Mr. Knox stated that is a possibility also. Commissioner Scarborough stated that is a municipality taking a different route. Mr. Knox stated the Board can come back and say it does not have to give them any time at all. Commissioner Voltz stated it needs to be clarified for Code Enforcement whether or not there should be abatement for those facilities that are not legal. Chairman Pritchard stated as he recalls the conversations the Board had were that those that were licensed would be allowed to continue because they supposedly had reservations from people through March and maybe even April; and those that were not licensed were not even supposed to be in the business.

Ms. Busacca advised Code Enforcement Director Bobby Bowen heard the comments this morning and sent her a brief email that she would like to read as follows: “Code Enforcement is currently enforcing weekly rentals that violate the Board’s moratorium of December 7, 2004. We have pursued one case and issued a notice of violation for that. As you know, we are not proactive so we wait for complaints. There was a question and Mr. Knox cleared that up regarding abatement of enforcement. There are a number of property owners who are licensed by the State of Florida and engaging in weekly rentals. Those people under the Board’s moratorium are allowed to move forward and there is no Code Enforcement action taken against them. There are also a number of property owners who are engaged in weekly rentals who do not have licenses. The question arose whether the abatement of enforcement applies to those property owners; and the answer was from Mr. Knox’s office that if they are currently engaged in weekly rentals without licenses that the abatement of Code Enforcement did apply to that.” She stated the staff feels that they are clear on what the Board had intended based on conversations; and if that is not what the Board intended, then they need direction.

Commissioner Voltz stated she thought that was what the Board indicated. Chairman Pritchard stated it was his intent that if they were not licensed that the Board would not abate Code Enforcement; the only ones they would abate Code Enforcement for were those that were
licensed, paid their taxes, and operated as a business; and that was his understanding of what the Board had done.

REQUEST FOR WORKSHOP, RE: INTERVIEW WITH NEW COUNTY MANAGER

Commissioner Voltz stated the Board needs to set up a workshop for an interview with Peggy Busacca, the new County Manager; they need to ask some pertinent questions and it would be irresponsible not to ask those questions if they want to look at the future of Brevard County.

Chairman Pritchard stated he would like to set a date maybe six weeks from now because he wants to talk to staff members and Ms. Busacca one-on-one, then the Board could meet with Ms. Busacca and chart the course. Commissioner Voltz stated they need to ask questions.

Commissioner Colon stated to ask questions individually is great, but she is not going to have an inquisition; that is totally different and unprofessional; if the Commissioners have an opportunity to sit down with Ms. Busacca and ask all those tough questions that any Commissioner wants, that is fine; but having a workshop in six weeks is a problem.

Chairman Pritchard inquired if that is a motion; with Commissioner Colon responding it is not her motion. Commissioner Voltz stated she will be asking a lot of questions of Ms. Busacca in private and as well as at a workshop.

REPORT, RE: BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO COUNTY ATTORNEY SCOTT KNOX

Chairman Pritchard advised he forgot to mention earlier today that someone has a birthday; Scott Knox is celebrating the 15th anniversary of his 39th birthday; and wished him a happy birthday. County Attorney Scott Knox thanked the Chairman for the greetings.

WARRANT LISTS

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 5:22 p.m.

ATTEST: __________________________________
RON PRITCHARD, D.P.A., CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
__________________
SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

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