BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
March 9, 2021
The following is a
non-verbatim transcript of the Board of County Commissioners Meeting of
Seminole County, Florida, held at 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Room
1028 of the Seminole County Services Building at Sanford, Florida, the usual
place of meeting of said Board.
Present:
Chairman Lee Constantine (District 3)
Vice Chairman Amy
Lockhart (District 4)
Commissioner Robert Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner Jay Zembower (District 2)
Commissioner Andria Herr (District 5)
County Manager
Nicole Guillet
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Attending remotely:
Deputy
Clerks Terri Porter and Chariti Colón
OPENING CEREMONIES
Kurt Slafkovsky,
St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Deland, gave the invocation. Commissioner Sheena Britton, Sanford District
1 Commissioner, led
the Pledge of Allegiance.
EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT UPDATE
Alan Harris,
Office of Emergency Management, addressed the Board stating it has been one
year since activation of emergency operations in connection with the pandemic.
Donna Walsh,
Director of the Florida Department of Health for Seminole County, addressed the
Board to present the COVID-19 Update (PowerPoint received and filed). Dr. Todd Husty,
Seminole County Medical Director, addressed the Board to provide his report on
the pandemic, and to talk about vaccinations, antibiotic infusions and
variants. He introduced Fire Chief
Michael Johansmeyer who told of his personal battle
with COVID. All board members along with
the County Manager and County Attorney weighed in with their comments. Mr. Harris responded to Commissioner Zembower’s question in regard to the Johnson & Johnson
vaccine.
COVID
RELIEF UPDATE
County
Manager Nicole Guillet presented the Emergency Rental Assistance Program in
connection with the COVID Relief Update (PowerPoint received and filed). A brief question and answer period
followed. Commissioner Lockhart asked if
there were any staff members in attendance that could respond to Commissioner Dallari’s inquiry about the nine applications that were
denied. Carrie Longsworth,
Community Assistance, addressed the Board to explain that the nine denials were
attributed to people that applied from outside of Seminole County and a few
that were looking for mortgage assistance, which the rental assistance does not
cover. Commissioner Lockhart then
questioned whether those that were denied because they have a mortgage will be
funneled into other funds that might be allocated for that purpose. Ms. Longsworth
replied she believes that is on the agenda today, and they are working on
getting some money set aside for mortgage assistance with the CDBG (Community
Development Block Grant) COVID dollars from HUD. So, they are looking to open a mortgage
program, but obviously HUD would have to fully release those funds to the County
before they can do that. They are
getting a lot of requests from homeowners needing assistance, so they are
looking at allocating at least $2 million towards that to be able to assist
those residents as well. Commissioner
Lockhart wondered if they would have to reapply when that new portal opens for
mortgage assistance. Ms. Longsworth advised they will because it will be a different
funding mechanism.
Ms.
Guillet then gave an overview of the American Rescue Plan Act (included in the
PowerPoint). The legislation passed the
Senate on March 6th and it is scheduled to go back through the House
on the 10th for a vote. There
is $350 billion included in the bill for state and local government relief.
CONSENT AGENDA
With
regard to public participation, no one spoke in support or opposition, and
public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Herr, to approve the following:
County Manager’s Office
Business Office
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Proclamation proclaiming February 11th as Heart of Florida 211 Day in Seminole County. (2021-2571)
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Proclamation proclaiming the week of March 7 – 13 as Women in Construction Week in Seminole County. (2021-2572)
Community Services
Business Office
3. Approve substantial amendments to the 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan and FY 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan (Amendment #4); authorize the Chairman to execute all corresponding documents and signature pages, the Standard Form SF-424 and SF-424D, all certification pages, Subrecipient Agreements, and subsequent Grant Agreements with HUD; and authorize Community Services Department staff to submit amendments to HUD for approval. (2021-2568)
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted
AYE.
Chairman Constantine recessed the
meeting at 11:10 a.m.; reconvening at 11:25 a.m.
REGULAR
AGENDA
Agenda Item #4 – 2021-2577
Seminole County Energy Efficiency
and Sustainability Plan
Markley
Jean-Charles, Purchasing and Contracts Manager, addressed the Board and stated
they will hear six short-listed presentations via Zoom for RFQ-3320-20, Seminole
County Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Plan Development and Implementation
Services.
Commissioner
Zembower said once they have decided, and ultimately there is a consultant
retained, is he understanding the RFQ specifically precludes that person who is
chosen as a consultant from actually performing any of the recommendations or
work or scope that they have reviewed and suggested, if this Board should ever
approve that. Mr. Jean-Charles replied
that he is correct. Commissioner
Zembower noted the companies are all aware of that fact.
The ranking below was presented to
the BCC at the January 26th meeting.
The item was pulled for discussion and the decision was made that the
Board would like to hear the presentations from the shortlisted firms. One consultant, Southface
Energy Institute, declined to continue in the process.
1. HKS, Inc.
2. Hanson Professional Services, Inc.
3. GDS Associates, Inc.
4. CMTA, Inc.
5. Atlantic Energy Concepts, Inc.
6. Southface Energy Institute, Inc. (Declined)
7. Blue Strike Environmental d/b/a EcoShift
Presentations
The order of the companies presenting
was randomly chosen. PowerPoint
presentations from each presenter were received and filed. All presentations were followed by a Q&A
period.
Blue Strike Environmental d/b/a EcoShift presented first.
Kristin Cushman, addressed the Board indicating she is the Founder and
CEO of EcoShift Consulting, the climate and energy
division for Blue Strike Environmental.
Their project management team includes Kristin Cushman, Byron Pakter (Optony), Brian Stern (Glumac - A Tetra Tech Co.), and Roderick Cashe (Tetra Tech).
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Bill
Bradford, Principal-in-Charge of Hanson Professional Services, addressed the
Board to make their presentation. The
following team members also addressed the Board: Colleen Kettles (FSEC Energy Research); Danielle
Rawers, Project Manager and Wade Conlan,
Technical Lead; and Doug Kettles (Central Florida Clean Cities Coalition).
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Chairman
Constantine recessed the meeting at 12:45 p.m.; reconvening at 12:50 p.m.
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Atlantic
Energy Consultants, Inc. was the third company to present. Susan Glickman addressed the Board to start
their presentation. Their team includes Dagney Johnson; Program Manager; Charlie Brewer, Project
Development Lead; Madelilne Fassalari,
Regional Account Director; and Cassandra Drotman,
Thomas Siegelhalter, Johnny Edwards, David Burt and
Randall Owen.
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Nathan
Butler, HKS Principal-in Charge, addressed the Board to begin the presentation
by HKS. Their team includes Tommy Zakrzewski, Project Manager; Rand Ekman, Policy and
Regulatory; Curt Ostrodka, VHB Community Planner; and
Kristy Walson, Senior Sustainability Consultant.
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Chairman
Constantine recessed the meeting at 1:35 p.m.; reconvening at 1:40 p.m.
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Tracy
Steward, Partner and Principal-in-Charge, CMTA, addressed the Board to make
their presentation. Jeremy Smith (Vice
President, CMTA) and Paul Lauria (President, Mercury)
also addressed the Board. Additional
team members include Richard Rodriguez (Pirtle) and Philip Donovan (Little
Architecture).
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Chairman
Constantine recessed the meeting at 3:20 p.m.; reconvening at 3:27 p.m.
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The final company to present was GDS
Associates, Inc. Angela Strickland, Managing
Director and Overall Project Manager, addressed the Board to begin their
presentation. Josh Duckwall
and Mital Hall (Ecopreserve)
also presented. The remaining team
members include Kevin Mara, Rich Hasselman, Melissa
Young, Justin Hey, Warren Hirons, and Sydney Sprague
with GDS, and Alexa Stone and Jessica Wright with Ecopreserve.
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A
brief question-and-answer period was held between the Board members and the
presenters.
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With
regard to public participation, no one spoke in support or opposition, and
public input was closed.
Board Comments
Chairman
Constantine asked for comments from the Board.
Commissioner Zembower opined they
have to ultimately decide as a board on the direction they want to go. He said they heard a lot of good discussion,
a lot of good ideas. There are some
questions that were asked that he is not sure they received answers to or
straight answers to. He thinks they have
some that are outside their expertise and they have some that are trying to be
something that they are not. There are
certainly some that have a lot more credentials and a lot more experience than
others, so he thinks ultimately, they have to decide what direction they go as
they rank these. He would only emphasize
to his fellow Commissioners that this is a new page for Seminole County as they
go down the decision-making process, what this county may be for the next 30
years and what their infrastructure is going to look like for the next 30
years. And they have an opportunity to
make that shift now and get ahead of the curve. As they have heard from some of the presenters
today, there are a lot of municipalities that are doing some of this. Some are dabbling in it. They heard some that are local to here that
have already kicked that ball down the field to get started. He thinks they owe it to the community and
they owe it to the future of this county, that they make the decisions to
consider the energy efficiency and resiliency of this county moving
forward. He thinks they are in the best
position to do it right now.
Commissioner
Dallari stated that Commissioner Zembower said they were turning a page, but he
thinks they are opening up a new book.
It is not even a new chapter; it is totally a new book. It will give them a fresh start on so many
things. When you are looking at a fresh
start and a new book, you really cannot just look locally and sometimes you
cannot even look nationally; you have to look globally. He opined they are behind in several things
globally. The team he is looking for, he
believes, should have global experience because there are a lot of different
things out there. He is not trying to
chase the new shiny bobble. He is trying
to see what is really working and what can be done. To do that, you really have to look globally
and nationally.
Chairman
Constantine noted that he served on the Florida Energy Commission for a number
of years and worked with a lot of individuals within these companies. He is excited about the opportunity they are
putting forth today. It is not just the
right thing to do, but energy is the second highest cost they have after
employees. This raises such a panacea of
opportunities. He said he wants them to
be holistic. They want to look at fleet,
environmental opportunities, renewable energies, biofuels, waste to energy,
solar energy, and they also want to reduce and eventually eliminate their
carbon footprint. He is not saying they
can do that in 10 or 15 years, but he thinks that is a goal they should make as
a group. He also looks at this with
three ideas: (1) the practical
application of this to save money and potentially make money; (2) Aspirational
– look at it from an improvement of the planet by reducing their carbon
footprint and do what they can as a community; and (3) Inspirational – motivate
others to do the right thing, not only in this community, but in other
communities around the state and hopefully the nation. He thinks they should be a leader. He added all six consultants could do a good
job and could do a job that the County could be satisfied with in the long
run. He personally saw three that he
felt were better than the others and could get them, in his opinion, further
along the line. Chairman Constantine said those three, in no particular order, are
Hanson, HKS and Atlantic.
Commissioner
Lockhart said she appreciates the opportunity to have gone through this
exercise today, and she did learn some things certainly. And one of the things she learned is that their
staff did an incredible job of doing the original ranking, because she thinks
what going through this showed her is that they were looking very much at many
of the things she would be looking for.
She added kudos to staff who sat on that committee who have now sat
through it twice. Several things were
said by different companies that caught her attention. She thinks public engagement is going to be
very critical. Many of the companies
mentioned that but some, she thinks, had a bigger emphasis on public engagement
and stakeholder buy-in. Sustainability
will mean different things to different people in this community and it
certainly means different things to different people on this dais. She does not think that there is a one-size-fits-all
approach and she likes that there were some companies that pointed that
out. She certainly appreciated those who
had specific timelines but understood that within those timelines, there was
going to be some flexibility, and she thinks it is important to recognize
that. She appreciated the companies who
pointed out that scalability is important; what may be best of class, best
practice, in another community, may not be applicable here, perhaps. Scalability is going to be important. The microgrid conversation and fixation was
interesting to her. She finds it very
interesting that UCF looked at it very heavily for their downtown campus and
took a pass, mostly because of cost is what they heard. She opined if UCF cannot afford it, she is
not sure where the County’s budget is, what their thought process is and some
of the financing that might be available to them. She is looking at three things in terms of
feasibility. The feasibility of cost for
what it is that they are looking at, the feasibility of implementation, and the
feasibility of stakeholder buy-in. She is very comfortable with the work that
staff did giving them the original criteria and the original scorings and
rankings and hers will be quite similar.
Commissioner
Dallari stated when you look at sustainability, energy efficiency, and a lot of
different aspects of compatibilities, it is far reaching on many different
levels. He has had some experience with
it and has lived in a couple countries that have embraced it more than they
have in this country, and it is important to look outside, not just in the
central Florida area, but globally to see what works and how it actually
works. The building codes in other areas
are more far reaching for sustainability purposes. Commissioner
Dallari indicated the three companies he would like to recommend they move
forward, in no particular order, are Atlantic, CMTA, and Hanson.
Commissioner
Herr expressed she looks at the project quite differently than, she thinks, the
other members of the Board will potentially look at it. She is not convinced that they are in the
ballpark at all; she thinks they are behind.
They are behind local neighbors; and therefore, when they start to
discuss the notion of looking globally for what is working in other countries,
she thinks they are creating an aspirational goal that they will never achieve,
and therefore, will get further and further behind as time goes by. After reviewing all of the proposals and the
material provided to the notion of which firm did she think could move this board ahead in this endeavor, for
her, there was one firm that stood above the rest in terms of being able to
move the conversation very succinctly through the process She thinks they would be able to move their
constituents through the process very well, and move this board forward,
without them being in a perpetual spin of “what are we going to do next.” She said the pursuit of perfection is often
the complete halt to progress, and that is where she sees this going if they
set goals that are too big. They can
dream big, but they need to set goals that are achievable and one firm stood
out in her mind. She advised in connection with her choice of firms that she is at, in
no particular order, CMTA, HKS, and Hanson.
Commissioner
Zembower remarked he thinks one thing they have to remember is they have a
multiprong approach here. He has heard
from his fellow Commissioners that they are not sure they can afford it, not
sure where they are going to go, and not sure what the savings are; resiliency
and things mean different things. The
benefit they have here is by stage four, a plan is going to come back to them
for consideration. And when that plan
comes back to them for consideration, then they, as a commission, have to make a decision whether (a) they can afford it and
what the benefits are; and (b) there are some things that they can do now or
some things that can be done later. Are
there things that are co-opted through other funding partners. He thinks there are a lot of things that have
to happen before they ultimately pull a trigger on implementation of any
suggestions that are going to be brought forward. So with that said,
he has three picks and he will explain.
He stated HKS has been a vendor contractor for this county on many
projects. As heard during his inquiries,
the problem he has with HKS is they are already on the Five Points
project. He believes, and he would like Counsel
to weigh in, that there is going to be a conflict at best, and if not, they are
going to be held up in the process.
Their own folks admitted that the scope of work actually overlaps and
there may have to be some kind of juggling to try to figure out what they are
doing under the existing contract versus what they might do if they are
selected as the person that does the consulting and implementation
management. So, he ruled them out right
out of the box for that reason. Commissioner Zembower stated he picked
Atlantic, CMTA and GDS.
County
Attorney Bryant Applegate stated, in response to Commissioner Zembower’s comments, that he believes staff has already made a determination that there would not be a
conflict. Otherwise, they would have
been ruled out. So, they have been
allowed to make a presentation. He added
he thinks if they were selected, there might be issues down the road, but that
would be something for the overriding staff to make a
determination.
Chairman Constantine summarized that 4 of
the Commissioners mentioned Hanson, 3 of them mentioned HKS, 3 mentioned
Atlantic, 3 mentioned CMTA, and 2 mentioned GDS.
Commissioner Zembower stated Hanson
has already said they are a third-party engineering firm and he does not know
that they have the expertise in the arena of sustainability and
efficiency. He understands they have the
ability to engineer things, but he would say they in no way, shape or form have
the experience of CMTA nor Atlantic.
Commissioner Lockhart commented they would not be there if they were not
qualified. Commissioner Herr mentioned
that staff ranked them second, and one of the things that is bothersome to her
is that they have experts they employ that are typically the selection
committee, and so she will not throw their thought process completely out. Commissioner Lockhart noted the interesting
thing to Commissioner Herr’s point is that with the staff ranking, the delta
between one and two was 1 point, the delta between one and three was 1.5
points, and then the delta between one and four was 4 points, and then they got
down to Atlantic Energy Concepts where the delta was 4.62 points. She looked at it all and watched the presentations
today and took notes, and she thought it was very confirming that she felt
staff did an excellent job and she really was uncomfortable with the idea of
bringing this whole process back to this board anyway, but she was willing to
do it for the good of the order because some people wanted to do it. She is glad, in the end, because it is very
confirming to her that staff did such a great job. She opined Hanson did a fantastic
presentation and she thinks their partnerships were impressive.
Commissioner
Zembower said he looked at the original presentation to their staff and he does
not want staff to take this wrong, but he does not think their staff has much
experience in this realm or why would they even want to go down this path and
have a consultant. He thinks they have
good staff, good engineering people, they have smart people, but when it comes
to energy efficiency and when it comes to resiliency, he would argue that they
do not have the depth in staff that has that knowledge. He thinks they have a cursory surface
knowledge. He is also troubled by the
way the presentations were originally done and then it was right up against the
holiday of Christmas and then there was a big break, and then the grading was
happening long after that, not fresh on the minds. That is why he questioned, when he looked at
several presentations that were actually given to staff, and then the rankings,
he scratched his head, his opinion, how did they arrive at some of these
ratings based on the presentation they watched.
And the presentations he saw today confirmed what his thoughts
were. And that is why he graded them
differently, for what it is worth.
Commissioner
Lockhart asked if it is possible that they are just coming at this from
different vantage points. Commissioner
Dallari replied they could be and reiterated his comments regarding the global
market. Chairman Constantine stated
originally with a recommendation, he like Commissioner Herr, do want to err on
the side of the staff when they bring in recommendations; however, in this case
he thought Commissioner Zembower made a good point. This is something that is extremely important
to the long-term vision of this county.
He thinks that Commissioner Lockhart is correct; every one of them is
looking at this differently. He is
looking at the practical side but also the aspirational and the
inspirational. He is looking at not what
they can do tomorrow, but what they can do 10 and 20 years from now, and he
thinks that is extremely important for this county. He expects more cost savings than the cost of
this contract within the first year.
That is what he wants and that is a practical application. So, when he was listening to this and the
questions, he was trying to look at it from that aspect but also, in trying to
build a consensus.
The consensus of the board was to vote on the consultants one by one.
Motion by Commissioner
Lockhart, seconded by Commissioner Herr, to approve Hanson Professional
Services, Inc. as the number one-ranked firm.
Commissioners
Constantine, Herr and Lockhart voted AYE.
Commissioners
Dallari and Zembower voted NAY.
Motion passes 3 to
2.
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Motion by Commissioner
Zembower, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve Atlantic Energy
Concepts, Inc. as the number two-ranked firm.
Commissioners
Constantine, Dallari and Zembower voted AYE.
Commissioners
Herr and Lockhart voted NAY.
Motion passes 3 to
2.
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Motion by Commissioner
Herr, seconded by Commissioner Lockhart, to approve HKS, Inc. as as the number three-ranked firm.
Commissioners
Constantine, Herr and Lockhart voted AYE.
Commissioners
Dallari and Zembower voted NAY.
Motion passes 3 to
2.
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Motion by Commissioner
Lockhart, seconded by Commissioner Herr, to authorize staff to negotiate rates
in accordance with Section 287.055, Florida Statutes, the Consultants
Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA); and execute one Master Services Agreement,
RFQ-3320-20, with Hanson Professional Services, Inc., with an estimated term
usage of $200,000; and approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate
Resolution #2021-R-36 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #21-042
through the General Fund in the amount of $200,000 from reserves.
Commissioners
Constantine, Herr, Lockhart and Zembower voted AYE.
Commissioner
Dallari voted NAY.
Motion passes 4 to 1.
Commissioner
Zembower clarified if staff cannot come to an agreement with Hanson, they would
then go to the second-ranked consultant and then the third-ranked consultant.
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Chairman
Constantine advised the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has asked for a board
appointment to the Animal Control Board replacing Bob Hunter with Detective
John Monk.
Motion by Chairman Dallari, seconded by
Commissioner Lockhart, to appoint Detective John Monk to the Animal Control
Board replacing Bob Hunter.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted AYE.
MISCELLANEOUS
Chairman
Constantine stated that Commissioner Herr has asked for approval of an annual
Proclamation for the Victim Service Center.
No objections were voiced.
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Chairman
Constantine complimented Commissioner Zembower on his suggestion of a luncheon
for those employees working at Emergency Operations Center. He added it was a fantastic idea and all
board members had agreed to it.
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Chairman
Constantine reported he hosted a Florida Association of Counties (FAC) meeting
in Tallahassee for Legislators that used to be Commissioners, and Commissioners
that used to be Legislators. They had
about 30 attend; but unfortunately, the Legislators
that are now Commissioners outnumbered the Commissioners that are now
Legislators. In fact, he said, when you
are talking about Home Rule and all the bills they do not like, they have less
County Commissioners in the Legislature than there ever were.
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Chairman Constantine recessed the
meeting at 4:41 p.m., reconvening at 4:50 p.m. with all Commissioners and all
other Officials, with the exception of Deputy Clerk Terri Porter who was
replaced by Deputy Clerk Chariti Colon, who were present at the Opening
Session.
Agenda Item #5 – 2021-2579
Budget Work Session #1 – Property
Appraiser
David Johnson,
Seminole County Property Appraiser, addressed the Board to present the FY
2021/22 Major Revenue Budget Work Session #1 as outlined in the agenda
memorandum. He explained the difference
between taxable value and market value is all of the exemptions, with the
primary one being homestead. Mr. Johnson
advised there are some vulnerable parts of the tax roll that have been affected
by the pandemic. Everything from a value
perspective is based on the property statuses as of January 1, 2021, which is
the date of assessment as set by the Florida Constitution. The 2020 tax roll was certified for
collection prior to COVID. The effects
of COVID are being reacted on the 2021 tax roll. Seminole's tax roll is very diverse, which is
good news. For 2021, the 12% of the
total tax roll which is considered vulnerable consists of hotels, restaurants,
retail, and office. Some retail and a
lot of restaurants and hotels have been impacted by the pandemic, but it has
not impacted the office market yet due to long-term leases. The good news for the County is it is a
growing area and did not have an overbuild in the office and industrial
market. Even if there is some inventory
that is let go, the absorption will curve.
Commissioner
Dallari inquired how much of the $500 million of new construction being added
to the tax roll is in the cities, and Mr. Johnson responded half. In response to Commissioner Dallari's inquiry regarding Save Our Homes, Mr. Johnson
explained if an average taxpayer in this county decides to sell their home,
they would on average be able to take $60,000 of portability to their new
home. That number climbs every year
because market value is climbing and the differential becomes more.
Tim Jecks, Resource
Management, stated Mr. Johnson covered property values which generate ad
valorem revenues, and he will be going over five of the major non-ad valorem
revenues that the County relies upon to generate services. Slides 30 through 34 start in January 2019. It shows the percent impact of the economic
shutdown that occurred in March and April of 2020, and it shows how revenues
have been trending since reopening in May.
The arrow on the right shows the most recent collection period in the
books, and the arrow on the left shows the collections from the same period one
year ago.
Half Cent Sales Tax Revenues
Mr. Jecks
explained these support general fund operations. In FY 2020, they collected a total of $25
million, which was approximately equal to the five-year average. They had a 25% reduction during the shutdown
and have been trending about 2% below FY 2019 levels since then. Using that 2% trend, they are forecasting FY
2022 half cent sales tax revenues to be $24 million.
Infrastructure Sales Tax
Locally generated
infrastructure sales tax revenues are not in the general fund. They support county infrastructure, but they
are also based on sales tax. $42 million
was collected in FY 2020, and 25% was lost during the shutdown. However, since reopening, they have been
trending back to the exact same levels that were recorded in FY 2019. That gives an FY 2022 infrastructure sales
tax estimate of $43 million.
Utility Tax
Utility taxes go
in the general fund. FY 2020 collections
were $7.8 million, which was more than the five-year average. These were not impacted by the shutdown and
are up 7% over 2019 collections. The FY
2022 estimate is $8 million.
Gas Taxes
Gas tax revenues
support road and traffic operations as well as the county's mass transit system. For FY 2020, they were $14 million, which was
down from the five-year average of $15.5 million. 29% of collections were lost during the
shutdown and still remain about 10% below FY 2019 levels. This is a trend that is expected to continue
into FY 2022 where $13.5 million is estimated in collections.
Tourism Tax
Tourism tax had
been growing pretty significantly for the two years prior to 2020 with an
average collection of $5.8 million. 62%
of revenues were lost during the shutdown, and collections remain about 45%
below FY 2019 levels. They are
projecting a partial recovery going into FY 2022 with collections of $4.6
million.
General Fund Forecast
This is a very
preliminary five-year general fund forecast that incorporates the estimates
provided by the Property Appraiser as well as other non-ad valorem
revenues. FY 2022 is highlighted in gray
in the middle. They are projecting $8.7
million in additional revenues. On the
expenditures side, they won't have final numbers from BCC departments or the
Constitutional Officers until May; but they can make some assumptions for
personnel and operating growth. Current
projections show about a $5.6 million deficit.
That would leave a 21% ending reserve in FY 2022. Also included in this forecast in FY 2024 is
an estimate for a debt service payment on the Five Points Project. It would be structured around existing debt,
so it would start at $4 million in FY 2024 and would grow as existing debt
payments are paid off.
Chairman
Constantine inquired what is the limit that they could do with regard to gas
tax. Mr. Jecks responded there is an
additional five cents that could be levied.
A discussion ensued regarding hybrid and electric vehicles and how gas
tax revenue will continue to trend down.
Commissioner Dallari inquired if Mr. Jecks could ask the Tax Collector
if it is possible to see how many electric vehicles are registered in the
county, and Mr. Jecks responded he would ask.
Mr. Jecks reviewed the Tentative Budget Timeline. Chairman Constantine inquired if the $5
million budget deficit includes the Constitutionals, and Mr. Jecks responded
yes.
With regard to
public participation, nobody spoke in support or opposition, and public input
was closed.
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Chairman
Constantine announced Item #10, Deer Run Process and Update, will be next,
followed by Item #6, East County Trails/Trails Master Plan Update.
Agenda Item #10 – 2021-2581
Deer Run Process and Update (Not in sequential order)
Richard Durr,
Leisure Services Director, addressed the Board and presented the Deer Run
Process and Update, as outlined in the agenda memorandum. He advised there was a community meeting on
February 9th. Running some numbers right
off the bat and knowing they haven't gone into the detailed due diligence of
running new appraisals and so forth, they had an estimate before going into
this process of what that might cost. On
the low end it was around $90,000, and on the higher end it was closer to about
$138,000. They have gotten the dollar
figure as a placeholder based on conversations with the existing owner of what
it could possibly take to acquire the property.
They do not know the estimate for environmental remediation, and they
would have to have something in the budget to take over maintenance of the
property, so these are very early working numbers. Beyond the purchase of the property, they are
looking at closer to $6 million for doing Phase 1 based on the configuration of
that property as well as some of the items for Phase 1. In the near future, it could be another $5.5
million. They don't believe based on
early discussion that they are going to see the same type of contamination that
was at Rolling Hills. It is a much newer
site and there are certain chemicals that were not used by the time Deer Run
came into existence. The Rolling Hills
neighborhood MSBU basically paid for about 15.3% of the project. Looking at something equivalent at this site
based on these early numbers right now, the ballpark investment is $2
million.
Upon request of
Commissioner Lockhart to describe the funding sources for the property
acquisition at Rolling Hills versus what funds are expected us be used to
purchase Deer Run, Mr. Durr explained the Rolling Hills project had the
dynamics of the Jetta Point site with the State involved in a grant swap and a
relocation of that particular property, so there were dollars that were already
received from a grant with the State for the development of Rolling Hills. There were a lot of different moving parts to
that particular project that are not here for Deer Run. Commissioner Lockhart inquired if they know
approximately how much of Rolling Hills was general fund versus the grant. Mr. Durr advised they could provide that
number down to the penny. Ms. Guillet
added there is an anticipation that whatever was spent out of general fund and
Parks and Natural Lands funds would be repaid on the sale of Jetta Point, so
there was a connection there that isn't present in this scenario. Commissioner Lockhart confirmed with Mr. Durr
that he could provide the breakdown.
They discussed
MSBUs with the community, what it is, what that looks like, and how it
happens. They requested community
feedback after the meeting via email or the online survey that was left open
until March the 1st. 146 people attended
the February 9th meeting in person, and 513 people registered to attend via
Zoom. Mr. Durr reviewed the survey
responses.
Mr. Durr reviewed
the Golf Course Acquisition - Benefit Evaluation Procedure and explained they
are currently at the spot where if they are going to move ahead in the process,
they need to start getting other people like the Property Appraiser involved or
doing the Phase 1 environmental study and going through the due diligence process
like they would on any property that they would be evaluating for
purchase. Based on the list, the cost
range varies between $90,000 at the low end and about $130,000 at the upper
end. Where the variable comes in is if
they are required to do a Phase 2 environmental. The timeline basically says they have about
three and half months to meet the "deadline" where they are able to
ask the existing owner to put his process in abeyance and whether or not they
could answer these questions to bring this back to the Board to make a formal
decision prior to the July 1st deadline.
Commissioner
Dallari stated he thinks it's important to continue moving forward. He wants to make sure they are looking at
this holistically. They need to
negotiate with the property owner. The
Commissioner requested Board support to move forward to the next level and to
ask the community to be involved as they move forward.
Commissioner
Zembower stated he would support Commissioner Dallari's
desire to move forward. He inquired if
the survey was only done to the Deer Run community. Mr. Durr responded three-quarters of everyone
who responded was from the Deer Run community.
The Commissioner added he would like to see a larger survey done from
within the county. Commissioner Lockhart
stated along with the discussion of do you want it, the follow-up question to
that should be are you willing to pay more for it. She wants to make sure they are doing this in
a way that makes the most sense for the most people.
Chairman
Constantine stated he believes there is consensus to move forward. No objections were voiced. The Chairman noted Wekiva is still an active
golf course and is also in the Wekiva Protection Area. He agrees with getting response from a wider
spectrum of the county. He opined they
have to be careful to limit the expectations in the cost. This area is much more than Rolling Hills so
he would like to look at how far they extend the MSBU as they go out. He would like to see this happen, but they
have to be careful. They have to
negotiate to the penny with the owner.
Commissioner Herr
stated she is supportive of moving forward with investigation. She likes the idea of an expanded survey and
suggested moving the dog park on the survey as a listed item. They have to ask whether people are willing
to pay for it, and that needs some quantification because, as an average person
in the community, does that mean $10 a year or $1,000 a year.
Commissioner
Lockhart inquired if the development plans were put in abeyance, did they get
far enough to know how much open space is still required in the PD and how many
homes would be reasonable to request.
Rebecca Hammock, Development Services Director, responded they have
not. They have only been through one cycle
of review. The comments at that time
were the applicant still needed to demonstrate they had the required open
space. They have not done that yet and
have not resubmitted since the first initial round of comments. They have PD zoning as a golf course, so they
are requesting a major amendment on the PD.
In order to do that, they have to demonstrate they have the adequate
open space, but it's an older PD and that is proving difficult. A brief discussion regarding open space
ensued. Commissioner Lockhart inquired
if the appraisal will take into account whether or not
houses could be built. Mr. Durr
responded the appraisal is going to calculate the highest and best use of the
property.
Commissioner
Dallari inquired if consensus was good enough to move forward. Ms. Guillet responded it depends on what they
want to move forward with. Commissioner
Dallari clarified moving forward with Mr. Durr's
recommendation to the next level. Ms.
Guillet advised the next thing they could do easily based on consensus is a
larger survey. If they want staff to
start negotiating a price, the Board will need to give direction to negotiate a
contract. Typically, the more detailed
due diligence items occur when there is a contract for purchase. She inquired if that is the next step. Commissioner Dallari stated there are 11
things Mr. Durr listed to do for due diligence, and he wants to move forward
with all 11 and also adding a 12th item which is the broader survey as Commissioner
Zembower suggested. Ms. Guillet stated
those are typically things that are done once there is a contract for
purchase. She inquired if the Board
wanted staff to negotiate a contract for purchase. She added all of the things listed except
number 1 are going to require cooperation from the property owner. Discussion ensued.
Commissioner
Lockhart expressed concern that the MSBU process is not easy, it is time
consuming, and it requires a lot of staff time.
She feels it would be inappropriate to start down the path of
establishing an MSBU for a property the County doesn't own yet, so that is one
item that probably needs to be staggered somewhat.
Mr. Applegate
stated these are policy decisions, but he would suggest having Ms. Guillet and
her staff contact the property owner to see what they can and cannot do to
begin the process to at least have some information to make a better-informed
decision on what the real big next step will be.
Ms. Guillet
advised they have had discussions with the property owner, and Joe Abel, Deputy
County Attorney, believes they may have an agreement to do these things without
a contract for sale. She thinks Mr.
Applegate's suggestion is a good one.
They can see how far they can go without a contract if the Board is
willing to spend $140,000 in these activities that may be done outside of a
contract that are normally part of due diligence of a contract.
Chairman
Constantine stated he believes staff has direction. The County Manager feels they have a
discussion with the property owner that many of these things can be done
now. He doesn't think they should go any
further into the formal process of the MSBU until they know exactly how much it
will be for the citizens. No objections were voiced.
Commissioner
Dallari requested they hear back from staff in two weeks. Ms. Guillet responded they can advise the
Board in two weeks if they are able to move forward. Chairman Constantine inquired if everybody
understood the consensus of the Commission.
Commissioner Lockhart requested clarification that the consensus is
Letters B2 through B11 on page 21 in the agenda book; and B1, MSBU, will be
delayed. The Chairman responded that is
the consensus. Ms. Guillet advised they have sufficient
direction.
With regard to
public participation, the following spoke in support: Deborah Bauer, 423 Eagle Circle; Kimberly
Warner, 301 Raintree Drive; and Patricia Hannah, 1544 Cuthill Way.
The following submitted
written comment forms in support: John Gembecki, 352 Fairgreen Place;
Debbie Gembecki, 352 Fairgreen
Place; Allen Sutton, 122 Fairway Ten Drive; Randy Stowell, 1588 Pinehurst
Drive; and Toby Bouckhuyt, 1437 Fairway Oaks Drive.
No one else spoke in
support or opposition, and public input was closed.
Public speaker and
comment forms were received and filed.
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Chairman
Constantine recessed the meeting at 6:19 p.m.; reconvening at 6:27 p.m.
Agenda Item #6 – 2021-2580
East County Trails/Trails Master Plan
Update
Mr. Durr addressed
the Board and presented the East County Trails/Trails Master Plan Update, as
outlined in the agenda memorandum.
Master Plan Recap – Building the Plan
Mr. Durr advised
this is recap of the East County Trails Master Plan. They tried to integrate the information from
the 2018 update with this new information.
They last met with the Board in early October and they were partially
through the public review and comment phase.
Since then, they have done a lot more groundwork to make sure they had a
good implementation plan coming forward.
Mr. Durr noted all of this information is still under various county
staff review. After today's
presentation, they will distill all of the Board's comments and make updates
and finalize the plan going forward.
On October 9, they
looked at the original foundation of the trail system, which goes back to the
mid-90s with a vision that talked about linking and making connections
countywide both to existing neighborhoods and future neighborhoods. Part of that system would include recreation;
creating connections to neighborhoods, schools, and so forth; being a part of
our transportation system going forward; and enhancing the quality of
life.
Part 2 of the
steps of updating the master plan was then mapping all of this. They didn't just take a look at what's inside
Seminole County, they took a step backwards and looked at both regional systems
where they plugged into neighboring counties as well as some of the statewide connections
that they will be a part of. The County
portions of all of these are completed, and everyone else is racing to catch up
to connect to the county at this point.
They have created
a trails hierarchy of dividing it up similar to the roadway system where the
signature trails are the "highways" of the system, pathways are the
"interstates," the connectors are the "local roads" in the
system, and then all the way down to wilderness trails. They mapped both existing as well as
proposed. At that point, they had the
2015 to 2018 efforts so they updated those and also talked to each of the
cities to make sure their proposed trail projects were included.
They then opened
it up for public comment. It was
launched just before the pandemic hit, and they adapted and went to an online
platform that had a number of different ways for people to be able to send
comments, participate in an online survey, participate in discussion forums,
and so forth. Overall, between September
5th and October 25th, they had over 6,200 website visits. Commissioner Dallari requested more data on
the total website visits. He would like
to know how many are local residents and how many are non-Seminole County
residents. Mr. Durr responded they would
do that. Mr. Durr reviewed public
participation comments.
Preliminary Recommendations - Review of
the Details
Mr. Durr noted
this was organized in terms of trails hierarchy. He reviewed the characteristics of signature
trails and discussed recommendations for the Seminole Wekiva Trail, Cross
Seminole Trail, Flagler Trail, Lake Monroe Loop, and Central Seminole
Trails. Upon Chairman Constantine's
request, Mr. Durr explained a trailhead is the location where a trail would be
accessed. It's like a small park for a
trail generally with vehicle parking, restrooms, signs, etc.
Mr. Durr explained
that over 90% of the corridors as designated in the Connectors -- Existing and
Proposed map all take place within road right-of-way. These connections and pathways come from
previous maps and new maps where they have made connections from existing
trails to parks, schools, SunRail.
Looking at the roadway system and network of right-of-way in the county,
part of the process looked at and said these are the areas that need pedestrian
and bike improvements. More than 90% of
these corridors all have to do with the destinations, a lot of schools and
parks. This was to complete the sidewalk
and pedestrian network of going from a trail corridor down to a school. The bulk of this would move its way from this
plan into the County's right-of-way/roadway plan going forward. Commissioner Dallari
advised MetroPlan is looking at everything in the
queue starting June 1st for cycle tracks up and down 17-92 and suggested staff
coordinate with them as well.
Next Steps - Finalizing the Plan
Mr. Durr expressed
staff wanted to present this to the Board to get additional comment, ideas, and
input. They will then take all of those
comments as they continue to move forward with this and distill those down into
the final document and then be able to have that for final plan presentation
and review going forward.
Commissioner
Dallari commented other locations are actually highlighting their trails in
different ways, and some have interactive maps with wayfinding purposes and he
would like that reviewed. He would also
like to know which areas could potentially in the future use Wi-Fi. At some point, there will be the need for
additional staff, so hopefully they are looking at that as well.
Chairman
Constantine inquired if the GPS markers are now throughout the trail
system. Mr. Durr advised they are now at
one-quarter-mile increments in the system and in use.
Commissioner
Zembower stated they need to look at the connection between Jacobs Trail to
Willingham Road, which is not on the map.
He would like to see some rendering of equestrian trails on the eastern
loop with some thought given to the fact it's not always safe to interact
bicycles with horses. They also need to
look at the eastern trails that exist now.
There are things like mailboxes, trees planted by homeowners, and all
kinds of other things in those trails that need to be looked at so those
property owners can be put on notice that they should be removing them. Mr. Durr responded specific recommendations
for upgrades or pieces that need be taken better care of going forward are in
draft form now.
Commissioner
Lockhart stated there's a fair amount of equestrian usage in District 5, and
she doesn't know if there are trails usable for equestrians on the west
side. Mr. Durr responded most on them
are all within the state properties or properties the County manages on their
behalf.
Commissioner Herr
commented she was happy to see Goldsboro and Midway listed and they were
prioritized.
With regard to
public participation, Vicki Nelson, 400 Willingham Road, spoke via telephone in
support of converting the Old Chuluota right-of-way vacate to a natural trail
connection; and Emory Green, Midway Coalition, 2240 Church Street, spoke via
telephone in support of including Midway-Canaan in the master plan.
No one else spoke
in support or opposition, and public input was closed.
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Chairman
Constantine suggested due to the late hour of the day that the Board discusses
Item #7, BCC Meeting Configuration, but gets individual staff reports on Item
#8, Mobility Fee - Update on Proposed Schedule (2021-2584), and Item #9, Impact
Fee Studies Status Update, Project Timeline, and Citizen Engagement Plan
(2021-2573). No objections were voiced.
Agenda Item #7 – 2021-2582
BCC Meeting Configuration
Chairman
Constantine stated right now they have one meeting that is supposed to be work
sessions with a little bit of meeting, and the next meeting is supposed to be
the BCC meeting. He proposes to have the
same configuration of times for both meetings with the second and fourth
Tuesday of every month. The first
Tuesday from 9:30 to the break would be a work session, and then they would
start in the afternoon with the BCC meeting with the context they would manage
it so that we weren't having a lot of things in the afternoon. The second Tuesday would be a normal BCC
meeting. Discussion ensued.
Ms. Guillet
explained the reason they switched to a work session day versus a meeting day
is because they would schedule work sessions either at the end of the morning
session or the afternoon session and other business would run long or something
would happen. Staff and/or consultants
would prepare for a work session, and it would be before lunch or it would be
late in the day. The work session items
never really got the attention they deserved and everybody felt rushed. Sometimes there would be something scheduled
in the morning and staff or the consultants would have to wait until the
afternoon for it to be heard. Staff is
requesting if they are going to schedule a work session, however the Board
decides to schedule them, that the Board commit to taking the time to do the
work session when it's scheduled.
Discussion ensued.
Chairman
Constantine stated three Commissioners have agreed to try this new
schedule. It won't take long to see
whether it works or not, and they will go from there. He suggested they discuss it further at the
upcoming retreat if needed.
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Chairman Constantine advised that Jeff Triplett, Sanford Mayor from 2010 to 2020, recently passed away. All of the Commissioners expressed their condolences.
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There being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman
declared the meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:_____________________________Clerk___________________________Chairman
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