MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

September 18, 2006

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on September 18, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were: Chair Helen Voltz, Commissioners Ron Pritchard, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, Senator Mike Haridopolos, State Representatives Thad Altman, Bob Allen, Ralph Poppell, and Mitch Needelman, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Denver Stutler, Florida Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Kevin Thibault, Viera Company President Steve Johnson, City of West Melbourne Council Member Jan Lieson, City of Melbourne Deputy City Manager Howard Ralls, Melbourne Airport Authority Executive Director Richard Ennis, City of Palm Bay Assistant City Manager Sue Hann, Bayside Lakes Development Corp. President Ben Jefferies, J.B. Kump, Congressman Dave Weldon’s Office; Shannon Meyer, Melbourne/Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce; John Thrasher, Southern Strategy Group; and Bob Kamm, Transportation Planning Office and Metropolitan Planning Organization Director.  Absent was:  Commissioner Truman Scarborough.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz welcomed everybody to the meeting, and asked them to introduce themselves. 

 

State Senator Mike Haridopolos thanked everybody for coming together.  He stated they are here for a reason, and that is to get something done; transportation is an issue because people want to live in Brevard County, but everybody is struggling with the merging traffic issues; and thanked Congressman Weldon for being at the forefront, and the F.D.O.T. Secretary, who not only made it to the meeting, but spent time with him in a helicopter taking a bird’s eye view of the traffic problems facing Brevard County.  He commented the issue is that they want to make sure the quality of life in Brevard County stays the same; and this is a public/private partnership that is essential to the long term vision of Brevard County, let alone the entire Space Coast.  He thanked the F.D.O.T. Secretary for taking the time to meet with them and make sure that they see this as a community effort; stated this is not the Legislature, the Congress, or the County Commission; and this is a team effort of the public and private partnerships that are the future of the State.  He stated today there should be constructive dialogue, in which they propose ideas and make sure the ball is moved forward; too long there has been a lot of in-fighting, but today’s meeting is to get things done, and he is honored to be part of the team in the effort; and thanked everybody for getting involved.

 

   

 

Bob Kamm, Director of Brevard Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Transportation Planning Office, stated they are here to talk about what is now called the St. John’s Heritage Parkway; it has been included in MPO’s project priorities since 1993, and it has changed many times; and it is useful to view the Parkway as not being a single project, but as a major component of a group of interrelated and mutually supported transportation projects.  He noted good transportation projects solve several problems at once and have broad community support; he hopes to highlight the benefits of the Parkway and show the problems that are being solved and hear from community partners on the actions and commitments they have taken to help implement the project; and there are many benefits, and he has focused on three, and would like to elaborate on each of them. He advised the Parkway will create new travel routes, it will improve access to major employment centers and other facilities, and it will help address current and future travel demand in the high growth South County area.  He stated Brevard is a long, narrow County with 50 miles between Titusville and Palm Bay; and because of the ocean, the Indian River Lagoon system, and the St. John’s River Basin to the west, development is confined to long, narrow strips within the County; there are a few continuous north-south routes going through the County, such as I-95, U.S. 1., and A1A; those are critical to maintaining the economic and social unity of the County; and there are also east-west roadways that provide access to the Barrier Islands, and the Mainland to the interior part of the State.  He stated the highlighted junctions on the map indicate key intersections where MPO has been paying considerable attention over the past several years to make sure the junction points function well, because it affects the performance of the whole system.  He noted because of Brevard’s shape there are not a lot of travel maps, and there is very little redundancy in the system; traffic is concentrated on just a few roads, and two of those roads are having concurrency problems; Barnes Boulevard and Wickham Road both have moratoriums on portions of them; and other portions of roads are close to having a moratorium.  He stated the Parkway addresses this issue by adding a completely new travel route; starting at the south, a new travel road is being considered from Micco Road, around the perimeter of Palm Bay, north to Wickham Road, where the Parkway joins with existing roadway systems; and by continuing further north, it will then be possible to go from Titusville to the south part of the County without using US 1 or I-95, and will also tie together some other key roads.  He stated employment centers are another factor; Patrick Air Force Base employs about 6,000 people; and their duties include managing the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  He noted approximately 20% of Brevard’s residents live on the islands, and Causeway access is critical to those residents, as well as getting to the central military installation; access to Patrick Air Force Base from A1A to the Mainland is a four-lane limited access expressway-type road, and the difficulty occurs on the Mainland past US 1; in order to get to I-95, traffic must proceed down congested Wickham Road, and there are 11 traffic signals along this stretch of Wickham Road; expanding Pineda directly west to a new interchange is the proposed solution; and that has been under discussion since 1980.  He stated the second employment center of note is in Central Melbourne, near the Melbourne Airport; the Airport is a full service commercial airport with customs facilities, and is designated as an emerging airport on the State’s Strategic Intermodal System; the Airport Authority owns additional land beyond what is just used for airfield operations; and the Airport leases that land to various tenants.  He noted the Airport is probably the largest industrial park in Brevard County; there are internationally recognized, high-tech firms that are located on the Airport property, including Harris Corporation; and many other firms are located west, off the Airport property, but in the same general vicinity.  He noted this is a high-tech cluster of international significance; access is the problem; some of the roads are very congested, some are two-lane; and an employment center and industrial park of that magnitude deserves a better circulation system than what is currently present in order to successfully compete on the global market place.  He stated the third issue is providing infrastructure to meet the growth demands in South Brevard; the City of Palm Bay is growing faster than just about anyplace else; in 1980 the population of Palm Bay was 19,700, and in 2006 it is over 100,000; and that is a 500% increase in 25 years. He stated most of Palm Bay was laid out by the General Development Corporation, and there are 70,000 platted lots, and less than half are actually developed, so the build-out population could easily exceed 200,000; and unfortunately, like many GDC projects, the road infrastructure is not sized to accommodate the build-out population and more roadways will be needed.  He noted many of the lots in the GDC section of Palm Bay are located west of I-95, and there are thousands of jobs in the Melbourne area, with the residential in Palm Bay.  He stated what they have is a daily tidal flow of persons moving back and forth, to and from Palm Bay and Melbourne, and a reverse commute in the afternoon.  He stated the difficulty is that there are only four places to cross I-95, and it creates serious congestion; the Parkway addresses this by adding other interchange crossings, and that would then allow for the redistribution of traffic along the north-south roads, and it benefits all of them collectively.  He summarized the purpose and need of the Parkway is to create new travel corridors, to improve access to employment centers and provide capacity in a high growth area.  He stated he would like to talk about the key features of the Parkway, and he will briefly highlight the key components; at the southern-most portion of the Parkway, from Micco Road to the southwest corner of Palm Bay a new four-lane road is being proposed with a new interchange at I-95; there is a great deal of development proposed in the area, such that the Parkway segment itself will not be able to accommodate it; and improvements to Babcock and Micco will also be needed.  He stated in the south County there are almost 15 miles between the interchange at Malabar Road and the interchange at County Road 511 in Indian River County; the only other location on all of I-95 where there is an interchange spacing of equal or greater distances is in northern Maine; it is a very unusual situation to have 15 miles between interchanges and it prevents a serious difficulty for emergency response, and there are numerous incidents that do and will continue to occur on I-95; and getting emergency vehicles into the 15-mile segment of I-95 is a challenge.  He noted there is a resolution on file from the Indian River Board of County Commissioners supporting the interchange because it serves northern Indian River County; and the District 5 D.O.T. has evaluated all of the interchanges on I-95 and the study supports adding this interchange.  He commented the second segment of interest is in the southwest section of Palm Bay, from the southwest corner of Palm Bay, north to Malabar Road, proposing a new four lane road; the alignment is somewhat tentative; the City is working with the St. John’s River Water Management District to finalize the alignment; this section of the roadway is proposed to cross the platted part of Palm Bay and will cause difficult right-of-way acquisition because of the small lots; and no funding has been identified for this section at this time.  He stated segment three is a proposed four lane road from the south end of Malabar Road, along the western side of Palm Bay to a new interchange at Ellis Road, crossing US 192; the D.O.T. completed an environmental study on this section of road and it is federally eligible; there are public and private partnerships that may address construction of the road within City limits; the County is under active discussions with property owners along the alignment; there are many who are willing sellers and some who are not willing sellers; and there is likely some eminent domain actions that may be necessary.  He noted the County is beginning to look at consultant services to begin the design of section so the alignment can be fixed and so there is proper documentation if they need to move forward for eminent domain.  He stated segment four is the Ellis Road interchange and the widening of Ellis Road, east of Nasa Boulevard; the D.O.T. feasibility study did support a construction of an interchange at this location; the realignment of Nasa Boulevard and Ellis Road is in the work program now for Fiscal Year 2010; and what it will provide is a continuous four lane roadway from the new interchange, across Ellis Road, to Nasa Boulevard, all the way to US 1.  He commented there are not County funds available at this time for the widening; and the Airport and the City of Melbourne have taken some steps to begin work on the interchange.  He noted Segment Five is the extension from the Ellis Road interchange, north along the west side of I-95, up to the southern boundary of the property owned by the Viera Corporation; on this section of roadway there are several existing pieces of roadway, although it is not continuous; they are looking at a two-lane road; and unfortunately the higher level two-lane road they would like to have may mean the right-of-way that is present may be insufficient.  He commented there are potential environmental issues, because it is very close to the Lake Washington floodplain; there may be some residential impacts to the existing homes along this section of Washingtonia; and because of the DRI Amendment being proposed in the area, and the traffic loadings that will likely occur, the Viera Company may be involved in the implementation of this section of roadway.  He noted Section Six is the Pineda Extension, which has been under discussion since at least 1980; this project has been approved, funded, designed, and ready to be built; the goal is to build the road as part of the widening of I-95; and the section between US 1 and Wickham Road is currently faced with the issue of crossing the Florida East Coast Railway.  He stated the County has requested permission from the F.E.C.R.R. to widen the existing rail crossing from two to four lanes, and the F.E.C.R.R. has withheld that permit and instead is asking the County to build an overpass at this location, which is a $20 to $30 million project; and although there may be some benefit to having an overpass, the County does not have the resources to pay for an overpass, and the completion of the Pineda cannot be achieved until the rail crossing issue is resolved.  He commented Section Seven relies largely on the Viera Company property; and Viera is in the process of submitting and reviewing an amendment to the Development of Regional Impact that will bring the vacant land into their DRI.  He noted part of the DRI transportation system being proposed is a continuation of the Parkway north to connect to the west side of the Pineda Extension, and continue beyond that to Wickham Road, where it would join Stadium Parkway or one of the other existing roads within the Viera project and then connect to the existing transportation system; they need to look at what is being proposed in terms of development to make sure the roadway can accommodate local traffic as well as thru-traffic; and they are going to have to look at the cautionary arrangements that may be necessary between The Viera Company and the County.  He noted they are not that far along in the formulation of the development order to specifically identify what the costs may be.  He stated he would like to hear comments from the individuals of each particular segment and hear any comments they may have.

 

 

Viera Company President, Steve Johnson stated they are very close to a final agreement with the Pineda Extension.  He commented The Viera Company realized how important the Extension was in the early 1990’s and it bought the right-of-way for the Pineda Extension and have had an agreement with the County since 1995 to donate that right-of-way without impact fee credits; they have also been working with Mr. Kamm on the interchange, and they are very close to that commitment also; and on the interchange they have agreed to $4.25 million of monetary commitment, also $2.5 million is being pipelined from their last approval to the interchange, with no impact fee credits.  He commented The Viera Company is also studying what road connects to Washingtonia, either Lake Andrew Drive or Stadium Parkway; they began studying the area in 2004, and looking at how they were going to mitigate their impacts on Wickham Road, and Washingtonia is really the only alternative they could find; they have had engineering work done on what the alignment might look like and working with the County in general; and it is important for the next phase of development for The Viera Company.  He stated they are looking at that at mitigation for Wickham Road; they would connect either Lake Andrew Drive or Stadium Parkway to Washingtonia, and also be a significant contributor to Washingtonia all the way to Eau Gallie Boulevard; but that is contingent on their approval of the next phase of development for Viera. 

 

City of West Melbourne Council Member, Jan Lieson stated she would like to address Segment Four of the Parkway.  She stated the Pineda Extension is wonderful, and it is important, but it is not as important to the City she represents.  She stated the Parkway started from Malabar Road to Ellis Road, to the Airport, and now it has been expanded all the way up to Titusville, and it is going to open the doors for transportation for all of Brevard County; she has found that during hurricanes, good evacuation routes are needed, and she wants a four-lane road on her City’s part of the Parkway; she feels that changing from two-lanes to four-lanes and then back to two lanes does not keep traffic flowing; and it is very key to the beachside and all of the communities in Brevard County that they have good evacuation routes, and both of the proposed roads are going to open the doors for that.

 

Melbourne Deputy City Manager, Howard Ralls stated the City teamed with the Melbourne Airport Authority and have already purchased a five-acre parcel at the intersection of Ellis Road and John Rodes Boulevard; they have also submitted initiating a Resolution to Brevard County to establish a municipal services area which would allow the City of Melbourne to annex areas west of I-95; if they can come to an arrangement with Brevard County and the City of West Melbourne to do that, the City of Melbourne would make a negotiation of a right-of-way a part of the annexation of those parcels, as well as providing municipal services; and they have talked to most of the developers and residents in the area who are interested in municipal services right now, so they are ready to move forward.  He noted their only other interest is if there are federal or state funds available; and if so, are there any extraordinary measures that the local governments can take to move that forward in time.

 

Melbourne Airport Authority Executive Director, Richard Ennis stated from the Airport’s perspective, this is a great plan, and they need the access if they are ever going to grow beyond their status; they look at the 600 acres remaining on the Airport for future development of major corporations; it is critical for future growth that the Airport have easy access to I-95; and the Airport is trying to do the things it can as permitted by the F.A.A., and they recognized that they needed access improvements.  He stated right now they are going through the final stages of a traffic generator study that will be completed within the next 30 days; they have also contracted with the Airport’s engineering firm to move forward with the intersection; and the next step would be to get the interchange dead center in the area.  He stated the Airport Authority looks forward to being a major player and working with the rest of the communities to get this interchange built. 

 

City of Palm Bay Assistant City Manager, Sue Hann stated Palm Bay is part of a coalition that strongly supports the St. John’s Heritage Parkway; they agree with Mr. Kamm’s assessment about the transportation and the economic development benefits of the corridor; and Palm Bay has been pursuing several initatives regarding the Parkway.  She stated they have been working with a public/private partnership to accomplish the actual construction of Segment Three of the Parkway, and the design is under way and they anticipate construction to start next year.  She noted in the south, the City has done a corridor feasibility alignment study for the remainder of the Parkway in Segments Two and One; they had anticipated determining where the corridor will be and incorporating it into their Comprehensive Plan and working with developers and land owners to try to preserve that right-of-way; so that corridor will be available to them in the future; and the segment immediately south of Malabar Road is one in which they have done further work on drainage, floodplain analysis and such that they can identify exactly where it is going to go and start the acquisition process with St. Johns River Water Management District and the Bombardier Corporation.  She noted the next piece of the Parkway is through platted lots, and they are fortunate in that that particular area is not currently open for developments; and while it is a platted lot area, they will have the advantage to acquire that property while it is not under development pressure.  She stated Segment One is going to be done through a public/private partnership, and they are working with Mr. Jefferies to determine the alignment that is suitable for the corridor; finally, they are encouraged and excited about the opportunity to do the interchange project at this end of the Parkway; they are working with Mr. Jefferies in a partnership and will be moving forward with whatever technical analysis they need to do, either the interchange justification report or the interchange modification report, in order to get that document done, get approval from D.O.T. and Federal Highway; and then ultimately they hope to catch up to the I-95 widening project in that area so they can marry the two projects and pursue that opportunity if possible.

 

Bayside Lakes Development Corporation President, Ben Jefferies stated the Parkway has been an idea they have been working on off and on with the City since 1990; his group  has  a series of  property owners  who  were  basically looking at constructing the southern section one entirely, including privately funding the interchange; and they are also looking at three miles from Malabar Road to Emerson that they are working on in another related project.  He commented one of the focus points they have had is with the Micco interchange and hurricane evacuation; from South Florida a lot of traffic from evacuation will come through Brevard County and it will bog down Indian River County and Brevard County to a point where they cannot evacuate if a storm starts approaching those Counties; and with the Micco interchange and the extension of the Parkway, traffic can be diverted onto the Parkway, and then diverted west to Kissimmee.  He stated his group is very excited about the plans.

 

Shannon Meyers, of the Melbourne/Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce stated transportation is one of the leading concerns for the business community, as they seek to recruit and retain high quality businesses; it is consistently brought to their attention that the transportation system is one of those that a business looks at when they think about retaining their business here; therefore, the Chamber of Commerce has made a commitment to being part of the solution by forming a Transportation Steering Committee which addresses these critical issues; and the Committee has representation from both the public and private businesses.  She commented the Chamber of Commerce fully supports the Parkway and the related projects associated with it; and the completion of the projects will just begin to address some of the issues of providing a high quality of life for the employees in the area, as well as adding a positive economic impact to the area.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated he has a monthly meeting with a business advisory group and transportation is one of the items they discuss when talking about managing growth.  He commented transportation is representative of the entire spectrum of the business community; one of the attorneys at the most recent meeting said, “We won’t have any transportation problems if everybody leaves that County and State because of their assessment, insurance and taxes”.  He stated he and others talk about the regional approach to doing anything within the County; they need to stop looking at a segment here or a segment there, and they need to come together and think as a region at what they want to accomplish with the Parkway; and it is a critical component, as well as the Pineda Extension, and they both need to be done as quickly as they can be done, because their completion will relieve congestion elsewhere on the County roads.  He stated there is going to be a critical need for a major north-south arterial that would even be west of the Parkway; there was a presentation done by the Orange County Expressway Authority talking about the construction of toll roads by the private entity and then it would provide the venue for the County to relieve some of the congestion; and he thinks it is something that needs to be evaluated and something that does not take the next 30 or 40 years to be under discussion.  He commented they have the ability to reactivate the Brevard Expressway Authority, which was Board created in 1972, and was never activated; and there may be a need to activate the Brevard Expressway Authority as an umbrella organization that will have the regional approach.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated Wickham Road and Barnes Boulevard are in her District and are the only ones that have had to have a moratorium; and the railroad is a big concern with the Pineda Extension but she understands the Railroad is interested in assisting the County if it plans on having an overpass, but that is out of the question at this point unless there is solid funding for it.  She noted the overall Parkway project is critical, and the only concern she would have is that the County needs to use an integrated approach as it has with Pineda; there are concerns about the area south of Malabar Road in Palm Bay which are private concerns, and then Malabar north, which might be just the County’s concern, so having a Parkway that is going to assist in an evacuation process ought to be looked at; and collectively they are all working together right now, and it would be great to continue that process into the future.  She stated she is very supportive of the Parkway, and wants to make sure they are working from an integrated approach.

 

Chair Voltz stated it is incredible to have the F.D.O.T. Secretary present, and have Senator Haridopolos leading the charge for the Parkway and the Pineda Extension.  She commented it is good to finally see it all come to fruition, and with every player at the table it is an incredible blessing to the Community. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated this meeting is huge and historical and as they can all see, the project is not just South Brevard, it is Central Brevard also; it is a priority to the Board and she is glad everybody could be here.

 

Bob Kamm stated he would like to summarize potential actions the D.O.T. could consider to help the County along; one is to understand the vision and the level of commitment in the community; second, the Viera DRI will be coming forward with a major amendment that is reviewed by the District 5 D.O.T., so some understanding of the larger context would be appropriate during that DRI review; and third is funding, which is a major category, and they have already mentioned the Pineda F.E.C. railroad crossing.  He noted it is his understanding the Department is considering to what degree the Department can assist financially in an overpass; and the County would like the D.O.T. to continue the discussions internally and let it know what the participations will be.  He commented the Melbourne International Airport is an emerging SIS facility (Strategic Intermobile System), and they have long needed a direct connection to I-95; and there is a potential involvement in the construction of the Ellis Road Interchange and the widening of Ellis Road itself.  He noted the County is appreciative of the $10 million for the Parkway project through the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP); the Parkway is significant and eligible for TRIP; and Segment Three of the Parkway from Malabar Road to Ellis Road is eligible for Federal Aid funding, but they are not certain that funds are going to be coming their way or not.  He stated finally, Alternative Funding Guidance and Assistance, there is a good understanding of what is going on in Brevard, but the scope of knowledge is limited; and those at the State level see things that are going on nationally and could perhaps provide the County with some advice and direction on other ways to get the project done. 

 

 

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary, Denver Stutler stated he has been briefed on this issue on more than one occasion by almost everyone on the Delegation; Brevard is a beautiful area and there has been 16 years of work, and they happen to be at a place in time where things are beginning to take shape and become a reality; D.O.T. has a mission, and it is to get goods to market and to get people where they want to go, and mobility is an important component of how they do business; and he has heard a lot of different phrases used in the D.O.T., like regional, partnerships, vision, but no vision

 

can be achieved without partnerships.  He stated the key to a vision is a shared vision because everyone has to give up something for a vision to be achieved; he is a big believer that D.O.T. should be enabling communities that have a vision to reach their vision and not impose the D.O.T. vision on communities and regions of the State; the D.O.T. is excited and have tried to demonstrate a willingness to be a partner on two projects; the key to Authorities being successful is having a project; and that is important because there is so much invested in the start-up.  He noted if an Authority had been created 15 years ago, it would still be in the planning phases, but as they move to implementation, an authority creates options; the D.O.T. would be happy to share information about other things that are going on, and other ways of funding projects; what they are really talking about is what mechanism is best for the region and Brevard County; and there is no question that the mobility Brevard County is trying to achieve has been well thought out and is very focused.  He stated once the vision becomes focused it is capable of becoming implemented, and that is the phase they are in; the F.D.O.T. recognizes and acknowledges receipt of these requests, and have already indicated it will continue to work with Brevard County, the developers, and the community to achieve some of the things such as the F.E.C. and the Pineda Extension; and he would be happy to contact the F.E.C. on behalf of the County to see if it can help with the dialogue. 

 

Representative Mitch Needelman stated this was an issue that was on the forefront of the Delegation prior to the current Delegation; the current Delegation has sat down with the Board and its staff; what they see here today is exactly what the Board has each of them do to make sure the community is working together and that they have a focus and a vision; and the Delegation will continue to work with the D.O.T. Secretary to make this project.  He noted he is looking forward to breaking ground in Palm Bay next year, and he hopes that is only the beginning of a long process in which to get this accomplished.  He stated the Delegation has done its homework and it is time to get the State, Feds, and Locals together so it is completed in a lifetime.

 

Representative Ralph Poppell stated the project has been going on for a long time, but it is costing a lot more per mile to build a road today than it was two years ago; and he is hoping when they get back to Tallahassee, they can start looking at some extra money to put in the funds that the Secretary needs for the flexibility necessary to do some of the projects.  He commented they are all on board and would like to see these things happen; and they are supporting the project, but understand there are still some hurdles out there.

 

Representative Bob Allen welcomed Mr. Stutler to the meeting and stated the D.O.T. Maintenance Office is very responsive when needed, and they do a great job in the area. 

He commented given the emphasis that Governor Bush and the Legislature has put toward taking growth management seriously, this is a chance to have a pilot project model for the State on how it can really do something in Florida; this is a region that is growing and is excitingly fast, and is experiencing things in real time; and if they can demonstrate some real-time attention they could show themselves and the rest of the State how it is done when communities and the State cooperate on a plan that makes growth management a success.  He commented the life cycle they are in right now will make the growing happen in the correct fashion instead of always having to do catch-ups; and  he is  excited about  them  all working together to see if they can bring projects forward and show what happens to an area that operates under the current philosophy of growth management, in that they are ahead of the game, or with the game, instead of behind it.  He noted the area also has a unique relationship with the D.O.T. and the policy of space transportation is under its umbrella.

 

Representative Thad Altman thanked Mr. Stutler for taking the time to be there; stated the D.O.T. has been fantastic to work with and extremely responsive; in the early 90’s the D.O.T. came to Brevard and wanted to fund the planning, design, and right-of-way acquisition for the Pineda Extension; unfortunately there was no support of the local community to do that, so this is an example of a situation where the D.O.T. was ahead of the community and the community should have listened.  He noted the County was warned then that this problem would be what it is today, one that is much more expensive to solve; they are reaching a more critical point in terms of level of service where the roadways are now facing a moratorium; he appreciates Commissioner Carlson’s leadership, and he is confident they will find a solution with the FEC; he has met with the D.O.T.; and it has been very productive.  He inquired if there is a dollar amount on the total project; with Mr. Kamm responding they do not have an exact dollar amount, but good projects attract money and he was more focused on the vision and cooperation than on the money.  Representative Altman stated they must start looking at dollar amounts and funding sources, and it must not just be State dollars; they are going to have to look at bringing as much local match as they possibly can, and when that is done dollars from the State and Federal start coming in, and it shows the community can match the dollars and that they have a project that works; it is hard to say they want Federal State dollars for a project, but they do not have a dollar amount; and they are all protecting taxpayers’ dollars, and they must be able to say they have a project that works, and a project that is fundable and revenue on the local and State level.  He noted it is not pleasant to talk about, but they must talk about it.  Mr. Kamm stated he agrees, but for this general presentation that was a topic he decided should not be getting a lot of attention; he understands they need as much specific information as possible; in some cases he has noted where the County is moving forward with design or feasibility studies in order to get those more refined numbers, and the Cities are doing likewise; and those numbers are coming, but it is not something he felt was imperative in this presentation.  Representative Altman commented they did get $10 million in the budget a few years ago; he is encouraging them to try to maximize the local match as much as possible; what Commissioner Pritchard is talking about is right on target, and he is pleased to hear talk about the Expressway Authority; Legislation for the Authority has been on the books for decades; and this is the first project that could make the Authority work.  He stated it is going to take the community to raise what they need on a local level, and he is glad to see they have this; they need to talk about the tough things such as how they will raise money, such as Local Option Gas Tax, Sales Tax, Referendums and letting the public involve itself; it is the only way the projects will happen, because in the long run the new roadway will save the taxpayers billions of dollars over a lifetime of these projects; and if they do not get the projects, it will cost billions of dollars in terms of loss of economic activity, loss of productivity, and public safety.  He stated the new road is being called a Parkway and that denotes something that has very limited access and is extremely efficient and will carry a lot of traffic.  He inquired if it was really being built as a Parkway, especially on the southern end; and if it is going to maintain access and flow; with Mr. Kamm responding it is certainly something they need to further dialogue among the senior staff of the Cities; when involved in a public/private partnership, there needs to be a balance of who is being served so that both can benefit from it; if it is tilted to one side or another then it is not a partnership, and that is something that they need to discuss at greater length with Palm Bay and what arrangements or understandings they have entered into; and it is in the County’s interest to build a high-speed roadway that will stay a high-speed roadway over time, but they do need to discuss it further with the City of Palm Bay to have an understanding of its vision of the Section within the City. 

 

He noted the question that has not been resolved is of whose road it is going to be, whether it is a County or City road.  He stated it is critical that the roadway has the capacity to carry traffic and is not going to be clogged like the other roadways; he is excited about the project, and he commends the staff of the County and City, as well as the elected officials; and the plan is the best he has seen in his 20 years of experience.

 

 

 

J.B. Kump, Congressman Dave Weldon’s Office, stated if Congressman Weldon was here he would be very happy to see the collection of willing, interested, and energized parties; and they would like to see this replicated in the three other Counties that Dr. Weldon has taken an interest in and it makes his job of getting their federal tax dollars to this area to meet the needs that much easier, in a climate where there is increased scrutiny, and where anything but defense and security is looked at multiple times by multiple people.  He commented the heavy lifting Dr. Weldon has done to commit over $50 million speaks for itself; to say he is supportive, interested and encouraging of the projects is an understatement; and hopefully, the dollar figures are in that context of the difficulty and the challenges faced by the Congressman to get funding here for what he believes is a critical process.  He noted federal funding comes from two primary sources within the federal structure; there is a Transportation and Appropriations Bill; and there is also the Safety L.U. Bill, the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act, a Legacy for Users.  He stated in 2004, the ground work was laid with an alignment by the Federal Highway Administration to make these projects eligible to receive federal highway dollars; and in 2004, the Pineda Interchange and widening was looked at and $1.1 million was appropriated through the Transportation and Appropriations Bill for that project.  He noted Dr. Weldon requested $1.2 million for that project through the Omnibus Bill in 2005; in Fiscal Year 2006 through Safety, $10.4 million was authorized; the Parkway money Dr. Weldon had requested $8 million in the FY ’07 Transportation Bill; currently there is nothing on the Senate side, so they are looking to the Senate to provide an equal amount, or more.  He noted $800,000 is earmarked and included in the Safety Bill for ’05; they received a request from the County and Dr. Weldon agreed that the $800,000 would be a transition to complete the north and south portions of I.J.R.; and it is much more logical to do that first because that is required for construction.  He stated Dr. Weldon remains committed to doing his best to seek federal funding out of tax dollars for these projects, and applauds and encourages the continuation of this kind of process.

 

Senator Mike Haridopolos stated he appreciates all of the good points made by the Delegation and the Congressman; this is a team effort, and he heard words such as cooperation, partnership, marriage, integrated, coordinated, collectivity and unity; this is the key to the issue; and as they get ready to go for their next session after the elections, they will need to have stronger numbers and a viable plan.  He commented in the last few years they have made a lot of progress on the transportation network; and they all know about the teamwork that is put together for I-95 and how important it is to go to three lanes in the next budget process.  He stated they have a proven record of getting things done and this is another opportunity to show they can work as a team.  He stated the Secretary of D.O.T. put it perfectly when he said everybody has to give up something in order to get something bigger than themselves and this is something that is huge and it is a big project that will probably cost $200 million; they should all remember that this is a team effort; and the spirit of cooperation is just starting.

 

 

 

Tuck Ferrell stated the Parkway is a critical need and he spent the weekend driving the roads and seeing dead ends, and it is abysmal; this is a high-tech area and most of the families work and have to drive a half hour or more to work; they are caught in more traffic; and the 30-minute drive is now an hour drive just getting out of Palm Bay.  He noted the roads are inefficient and the Parkway is something that would help the whole road system and he appreciates the D.O.T. and the Brevard Delegation because this needed to be done for the community at large; and he appreciates the time and support they have given, as it is important to the quality of life and it deserves good transportation and good roads.  He commented his Ranch Group has donated a mile and a half of the Parkway, near Lake Washington and near US 192; they are trying to work with the County right now on a private/public partnership and they are working with a lot of other property owners; and many of them are supportive and are donating miles of the Parkway, which will save on cost.

 

Allan Whitehead stated he represents the Platt Ranch, Doug and Carlisle Platt, as well as Janet Platt, the owners of the ranch.  He noted the Platt Ranch has been in existence in one form or another in South Brevard County in the area where the Parkway is going to pass right through their ranch.  He stated The Platts are obviously opposed to the Parkway as it is planned right now; and the alignment that is selected, in Segment Three, passes through the ranch at the worst possible route, totally disrupting the ranch and essentially all of their agricultural concerns on the ranch including the sodding, cattle operation and other vegetable operations that are in existence.  He noted the Parkway will have a devastating effect on the ranch; but the impact could go away if that section of the Parkway were moved further west, to the western side of the Platts’ property; in discussing the issue of moving the alignment to the west, they highlighted some important points that were stated in 1998 by the MPO Board, and designed to meet three primary goals for the road; the first primary goal was to discourage urban sprawl by making it a Parkway, with limited access, and it seems that aspect of the Parkway has been lost; and moving the alignment further west in Segment Three would encourage that goal being met.  He stated the PD&E, which makes the roadway system eligible for funding, was commissioned and started to create a high-speed access to points north in the County; and the current alignment and the current plan does not meet that goal.  He stated thirdly, and most important for the Safety Bill, is having access for hurricane evacuation for points north for those who live in South County; and all of those goals would be met if the Parkway was moved to the west.  He noted in discussing movement of that section of the Parkway, they discussed a number of benefits that would result, and land acquisition cost would be one of those, cooperation from the Platt Ranch would be another benefit, with the movement and alignment further west; and as it stands right now, the Platt Ranch will have no choice but to resist the Parkway with all their strength and all of the legal recourse available.  He thanked everybody for their time.

 

Pat Woodard, Palm Bay City Council, stated he represents 100,000 residents in the City of Palm Bay, primarily those west of I-95 in the northwest section of Palm Bay who have platted lots and difficulties getting to their workplaces.  He stated the Parkway is critical for their lives, and it is important for everyone at the table to know that it is extremely important to Palm Bay.

 

Bill Young stated he is on the Board of Directors for the Windsor Estates Homeowners Association and he is also on the Board of the North Melbourne Homeowners’ Association, which includes a large number of associations in Central Brevard.  He inquired if noise abatement barriers are being considered in the planning of the Parkway, and if the F.E.C. could lose their property by eminent domain.  Mr. Kamm responded the Pineda Extension is a County project and the County does not have noise abatement requirements currently on the books, and it is not being proposed as a component of Pineda Extension; eminent domain concerning the railroad crossing was a question posed to the County Attorney by staff and the Attorney believes the County can file eminent domain, and in discussing it with F.E.C. Counsel, they believe they are protected under interstate commerce clauses and they are exempt from eminent domain.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired of Secretary Stutler if it is advantageous in his perspective to have an authority to work with other authorities since the obvious reason behind the Expressway Authority is to provide funding dollars, and is it something the Commission should be looking at; with Mr. Stutler responding an Authority is going to suggest a toll, so if the County is going to have an Authority, then it made the decision that tolling is one of the best options for funding; and it is the way a lot of things are moving.  He commented the D.O.T. is more than happy to provide an analysis for the Commissions’ consideration and for the community until it makes that decision; one of the challenges for Authorities is start up cost, and if it had been in place for 10 years it would be still spending money on planning; with an Authority, once the decision is made that tolling is the right option, the design is done, and there are a lot of different ways to do it; and he is happy to participate with the County in looking at what options are available to implement it and different combinations.  Commissioner Carlson inquired if his assumption is tolling; with Mr. Stutler stating no, but that is what an Authority would do; and until the Board has made a decision as to the financing plan, he would keep that as a viable option for the future.  Commissioner Carlson inquired about an update on the widening of I-95, and if interchanges being built will slow down the process.  Mr. Stutler responded on I-95 the only thing related to delay is cost; with Mr. Kamm responding he was advised by the District that the Department is considering moving back of the letting of the section of I-95 south of SR 519 in Malabar to the next Fiscal Year because of the cost  and  budget  issues  on the overall Interstate program  at the State level.  He stated I-95 is going to be a design-build project and the actual scheduling of improvements, such as the construction of the interchange, is going to be up to the contractor; and they do not know when it will happen; and a delay of a few months may not make a difference.

 

Denver Stutler stated the Commission needs to stay in contact; and the D.O.T. has just had a bid opening.  He noted the timing issue the Department is looking at is in the 100-day range and that is projects which have 900 days of life in them, so they are not looking at any delays that would be noticeable; and they do have a concern about the increase in cost and materials.  He stated the timing of the I-95 widening should not affect the Pineda Interchange.

 

Bob Kamm stated if waiting two years into the widening project, the inflation will raise the price, versus taking it out and doing it soon, they will lose the economy as a scale, and that will raise the price.

 

Representative Allen stated there is much unity on the advanced schedule for the widening of I-95; that was a wonderful thing, making the five-year advancement and saving lives, and when the Commissioners’, Legislators made that a priority, it was a Godsend, so anything they can do to alleviate the work delay, he would like to be in the front row.   He commented he would like to recognize the issue of the Platt family, who have been in Brevard since before the roads were here; he would like to make sure everyone in the Delegation and everyone present is aware of that issue, and they need to be aware of it in the sense that they can look at some realignments quickly to try to get past that problem so they do not continue to march forward and not have it worked out; the Platts have an important family industry and they represent a lot of things everyone likes in America and they do not want to get the project tangled up in that.

 

Bob Kamm stated the alignment they all see today in Segment Three was developed through the Environmental Impact process; environmental issues drive the alignment decision, and there are other things to consider, but environmental impacts are the most important; and the further west the alignment, the closer it is to the St. Johns River and the deeper into the floodplain and the more environmental mitigation is necessary.  He noted it does not mean there are not other worthy reasons to move the alignment; but environmental impacts are paramount; and the alignment was moved to the east because of the environmental issues associated with being close to the river.  He noted since the alignment has been approved by the Feds, it is now eligible for Federal funds; if there are no Federal funds coming to Segment Three, then the alignment can be moved; they are reluctant to do that because they do not want to cut off that funding option; and they are carrying forward as close as they can with the alignment that has been approved to retain the Federal funding eligibility.  He noted whether the federal funds are coming or not is controlling a lot of the discussions with the property owners in Segment Three, trying to maintain that federal fund eligibility, which was primarily environmentally impact driven.  He advised they looked at an option further west, but because of the environmental impacts it had to be discarded.  Chair Voltz inquired if it is feasible to go further east; with Mr. Kamm responding to go further east, the point of crossing of US 192 becomes critical; they do not want a major four-lane roadway intersecting too close to the interchange, so there is a spacing that needs to be maintained west of the interchange; and the Parkway is as far east as it can get and still stay within the Department guidance.

 

Chair Voltz inquired of Mr. Whitehead if it were possible to put in overpasses so the Platts could get cattle through so they do not lose a lot of land; with Mr. Whitehead responding it is his understanding that it is possible; it radically increases construction costs and then there is an issue as to how many are needed; getting cattle across is only one of the impacts, and there are many other impacts, in particular the whole drainage system that is located on the ranch that serves the ranch and the communities to the east of the ranch that drain to the St. Johns; and that will all be impacted significantly.  He stated the way the alignment is now is going to make it very difficult to deal with the impacts and still keep a ranch.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated he has long advocated for purchasing rights-of-way and establishing at least a proposed route so that people would have an understanding as to where it may go; that was primarily done for speculators, and it was not done for existing enterprises; and that is what the Platt Ranch is.  He commented he has met with the Platt family and Mr. Whitehead and looked at alternatives, and they have a viable interest in where the road is going because they have existing operations; it is an existing business that has been in business for over 100 years; they need to look a little further beyond whether Federal money is available and look toward the enterprise as it exists; and the effect it is going to have and what they can do to help mitigate that effect. 

 

Chair Voltz commented she agrees and if they look at the potential of what they can cause and the expense to everybody in land acquisition and lawsuits, and a number of other things, it could be a potential problem; and they need to weigh out what those costs would be and see which would be the best alternative.

 

Representative Poppell stated in farming and ranching, the smaller the operation, the harder it is to maintain, and the harder it is to be profitable; anytime a piece of agricultural property is segmented, a burden is put on the farmer or rancher, and they all need to look at that very closely; agriculture provides water storage and watershed, animal habitat, greenspace, and it is all great, and the kind of business and environment he likes to see in Florida; and he would like to see what can be done to maintain it.

 

Chair Voltz stated if there is no further discussion or questions, she would like to thank everybody for attending. 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 2:55 p.m.

 

                                                                        ____________________________

                                                                        HELEN VOLTZ, CHAIR

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

ATTEST:                                                         BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

___________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK 

           (S E A L)         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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