BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
April 14, 2020
The following is a non-verbatim
transcript of the BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA, held virtually, made
permissible pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Orders, at 1:30 p.m., on
Tuesday, April 14, 2020, via Communications Media Technology (CMT), through the
SEMINOLE COUNTY SERVICES BUILDING at
SANFORD, FLORIDA, the usual place of
meeting of said Board.
Attending
remotely:
Chairman Jay
Zembower (District 2)
Vice Chairman Lee Constantine (District 3)
Commissioner
Robert Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner Lockhart
(District 4)
Commissioner Brenda
Carey (District 5)
Clerk of Court and Comptroller Grant Maloy
County Manager Nicole Guillet
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Deputy
Clerk Terri Porter
OPENING CEREMONIES
Kurt Slakovsky,
SGTV, gave the Invocation. Commissioner Lockhart
led the Pledge of Allegiance.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT UPDATE
Alan Harris, Emergency
Management Chief Administrator, addressed the Board to report on the emergency
management response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONSENT AGENDA
With regard
to public participation, no one spoke in support or opposition to the Consent
Agenda, and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded
by Commissioner Carey, to approve the following:
Budget Division
1.
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2020-R-43 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#20-047/$73,500 through the General Fund to appropriate budget of $25,505 from
reserves, the Fire Protection Fund to appropriate budget of $25,505 from
reserves, and the Water and Sewer Fund to reallocate $22,490 of operating
budget for a comprehensive Nexus Study and Impact Fee program for Library
System Impact Fees, Fire and Rescue System Impact Fees, and an Equivalent
Residential Connection Fee Review Study for Water and Wastewater System
Connection Fees. (2020-1972)
2.
Approve submittal of a Grant Application to the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of
Justice Assistance (BJA) Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court
Discretionary Grant Program, requesting up to $500,000 for enhancement program
support; and authorize the County Manager to execute the grant application and
supporting documents as required. (2020-1974)
3.
Approve submittal of a Grant Application to the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of
Justice Assistance (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program,
requesting up to $750,000 for enhancement of the County's Mental Health Court
program; and authorize the County Manager to execute the grant application and
supporting documents as required. (2020-1979)
4.
Approve submittal of a Grant Application to the U.S.
Department of Transportation BUILD 2020 Grant requesting up to $25,000,000 for
the Reconstruction of SR 426/CR 419 project; and authorize the County Manager
to execute the grant application and supporting documents as required. (2020-1978)
Purchasing and Contracts
Division
5. Approve Amendment #3 to Work Order #53 (Vulnerability Assessment for SCESD Water and Wastewater Systems) under PS-8186-13/DRR - CES - Utility Improvement Projects Agreement, with Hazen & Sawyer, P.C., Orlando, in the amount of $20,549.08. (2020-1977)
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted AYE.
REGULAR
AGENDA
Agenda Item #6
JGI Funding Agreement – Deloitte
Consulting LLP
Tricia
Johnson, Deputy County Manager, addressed the Board to advise that the request
to approve a Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) Funding Agreement with Deloitte Consulting
LLP, providing an incentive of $1,200 per job, for a total of $480,000 for the
creation of 400 jobs, has been pulled
from the agenda indefinitely.
QTI Resolution – GCR,
Inc.
Ms. Johnson presented the request as outlined
in the agenda memorandum.
With regard to public participation,
no one spoke in support or opposition, and public input was closed.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Lockhart, to approve appropriate Resolution #2020-R-44 recommending GCR,
Inc. be approved as a Qualified Target Industry business (QTI); and approve the
County’s required Local Financial Support (LFS) of $300,000 over Fiscal Years
2020/21- 2027/28, as local participation in the QTI tax refund program.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted
AYE.
Agenda Item #8 – 2020-1945
SunRail Phase II
North
Paul Chipok, Deputy County Attorney,
addressed the Board to present the SunRail Phase II North letter (included in
the backup). He noted this is also
commonly referred to as the Thibault letter.
The Board previously saw this during their December 10 workshop, and as
a result, they crafted a letter that went to Mayor Buddy Dyer as chairman of
the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission.
They in turn forwarded that to FDOT.
FDOT responded on January 20th with responses to questions
this Board had raised. Specifically, the
letter indicated that the DOT does not anticipate any negative impact in their
relationship with the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) as it relates
to past, present or future opportunities regarding the terminus in DeBary instead of Deland.
The program capital improvements of SunRail, at least to north DOT, has
pledged approximately $34 million in federal highway funds to the FTA. FDOT, in conjunction with FTA, would be
willing to consider the Rail Commission’s proposals for utilizing those funds
for other qualifying capital improvements.
Mr. Chipok stated the third issue was
regarding the CFX (Central Florida Expressway Authority) agreement on the rail
spurs. There are two rail spurs, the Aloma spur and the Deland spur. Those two spurs will be available for a
30-year option from 2011, so there is still some time for consideration of
that. The other four local government
funding partners have each reviewed and indicated an intent to execute the
draft letter to Kevin Thibault, FDOT.
What that would do is utilize 49 miles of the 61-mile corridor, and then
take those additional funds and have them available for other capital improvements
rather than adding the second route from DeBary to
Deland at this point in time. The
Central Florida Rail Commission had taken this up at their January
meeting. No action was taken by the Rail
Commission at that time. After that
meeting, FDOT asked the jurisdictions to approve some type of indication that DeBary would be the northern terminus for the foreseeable
future, which is what this letter is in regard to. Mr. Chipok indicated they are looking for
direction from the Board to Commissioner Dallari, so he can report back to the
Central Florida Rail Commission.
Commissioner Dallari opined this is a
significant decision so he wanted the entire Board to weigh in on it. He has several issues with going forward with
this and feels there are other areas that need to be addressed first. Board discussion ensued. County Attorney Bryant Applegate explained
the Board will not be waiving the legal argument about when the transition
period actually starts. It will be a
very complicated argument if they ever get to that point. There is an argument that it might be started
when Osceola was finished, and there is an argument that it is not finished
until the Deland station is up and running, if that ever occurs. There are still a lot of questions that need
to be answered. Mr. Applegate said he
does not think there is an assertion by signing this letter that the Board, in
any way, is waiving any argument as to the initiation date of the transition. He noted that Commissioner Dallari has raised
a number of questions during the process that he thinks have really helped get
them to this point.
Nancy Harmon, 752 Pioneer Way,
addressed the Board to speak in opposition to sending the letter. She is concerned about the transition and the
cost that will be incurred by Seminole County citizens. She does not believe the ridership will ever
be enough to pay for itself.
With regard to public participation,
no one else spoke in support or opposition, and public input was closed.
Mr. Chipok stated as far as the cost,
when they had the workshop in December from the budget figures presented at
that time, if they continue to go to Deland, the anticipated annual operating
budget for Seminole County’s share would be $14.5 million. If it goes only as far as DeBary
because of the percentage of track that they will have in the overall system,
the County’s participation actually goes down to somewhere between $13 million or
$14 million, so this does work financially to their advantage because there is
less percentage of overall track in the system.
Commissioner Dallari questioned if
they had given Mr. Chipok in that report any numbers on who is picking up the
O&M for the additional 12 miles in Volusia County that no one wants. Mr. Chipok responded they have the consultant
contract coming forward, and the working group of the five local government
partners and FDOT are currently discussing these future key negotiating terms.
Mr. Chipok explained that Phase II
North is one of the issues and Positive Train Control (PTC) is another; the State
of Good Repair is a third issue. A
fourth issue, in general, is the utilizing of the A-Line corridor. All of those issues interrelate and affect
the cost of the project. So, the 12
miles is an issue on the table; how that is going to be resolved will probably
interplay as one of the pushes and pulls during the negotiation with FDOT as to
who is going to be ultimately responsible for that. As mentioned, the figures of Seminole’s share
right now are estimated at $14.5 million if it goes to Deland, and if it goes
to DeBary and the O&M is put back on the local
government equally, they would be at $14 million dollars. And if FDOT picks that up, it would then be
about $13 million of annual expenses for the County. There is flexibility and variability in that,
and he noted he does not have an exact answer because it still has to be
negotiated, but it is a key negotiating item that will be addressed.
Commissioner Dallari expressed he has
always said that they should not be piecemealing this; that it should be a
holistic approach. He believes staff has
done a good job in working with all these different variables and moving
forward. He also knows the funding
partners are trying their best as well as DOT, but in good conscience he
believes they should not be looking at this item by item.
Motion
by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to deny the
request to sign the letter to Mr. Thibault to remove the 12 miles from the
SunRail active portion.
Under discussion, Commissioner
Constantine stated that at some point, they have got to move forward with
SunRail when they are talking about the decision of the 12 miles. He does not have a problem moving forward and
he thinks there needs to be a situation where, if they do not sign the letter
today, that there is some sort of approach that they will be bringing this back
and moving forward with.
Commissioner Dallari stated he would
like to amend his motion to address
this after the transition team reports back to the Board. Commissioner Constantine as the seconder agreed.
Districts 1, 2 and 3 voted AYE.
Districts 4 and 5 voted NAY.
Motion
passes 3 to 2.
Mr. Chipok asked for clarification in
order for the consultant to have some type of direction. He said that in effect, the Board has said
no, so at this point in time, the consultant has to move forward with figuring
they are operating on a 61-mile system. Also with that, DOT and Volusia County would now have to be
considering putting up their share to build that second portion, which is the DeBary to Deland link.
Mr. Chipok asked how they anticipate that is going to work.
Commissioner Carey remarked that
Commissioner Dallari is their county representative on this committee, and if
the majority of the SunRail Commission votes to approve this request, it would
just show that Seminole County objects.
She thinks that the amendment will go forward. Mr. Applegate confirmed that Commissioner
Carey is correct. Commissioner Dallari
wondered whether they need to have a unanimous vote when it comes to
funding. Mr. Applegate responded they do
not. Commissioner Carey noted the letter
is simply talking about the DeBary to Deland portion
of this, and the other jurisdictions have already approved it. If the SunRail authority decides to move
forward with this, even though Seminole is objecting, this is still going to
occur because it doesn’t have anything to do with the funding.
PROOFS OF PUBLICATION
Motion
by Commissioner Lockhart, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to authorize the
filing of the proofs of publication for this meeting's scheduled public
hearings into the Official Record.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted
AYE.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Item #9 – 2020-0004
Bear Lake Road SSFLU
Map Amendment and Rezone/Heath Kennedy
(Continued from March 24)
Danalee Petyk, Planning and Development Division,
addressed the Board to present the request as outlined in the agenda
memorandum.
The Applicant, Heath Kennedy, joined the meeting at this time.
Ms. Petyk noted in addition to the
transportation and traffic information provided in the staff report, Public
Works has stated that in lieu of requiring access onto Paxton Court, a single
right-in, right-out access onto Bear Lake Road would be permitted with a shared
access easement in favor of the existing convenience store property to the
north in order to consolidate the existing accesses. A final access will be determined at site
plan. Therefore, staff recommends
approval.
Heath Kennedy with Genesis Kc
Development, LLC addressed the Board stating he is representing the applicant
and they are located in Denver, Colorado.
He indicated they will continue to work with staff and the neighborhood
as they move through the development process.
They are willing to accept the right-in, right-out condition, however,
he has a few questions as to how this will be documented and whether there are
requirements or restrictions.
Commissioner Carey stated she knows
there has been conversation with staff about trying to have a shared driveway
access with the convenience store. She
questioned if the Applicant has had any conversations with them, and if they
think that is something they will be able to accomplish if they continue to
work on that. Mr. Kennedy responded they
had made multiple attempts to reach out to the owner; however, he lives in the
country of Jordan. It sounds like
discussions with the tenant of the Quick Serv, the owner comes to the United
States typically in February or March, but with the COVID-19 shelter-in-place
restrictions, he has not been able to fly to the U.S. He refuses to have any discussions or
negotiations regarding the access without meeting Mr. Kennedy in person. From their standpoint, they are more than willing
to continue those discussions. He
believes the issue they will run up against is timing. He expects they will likely be starting
construction before they can have those discussions.
Commissioner Carey stated as a
follow up to that, if they design a right-in, right-out, she is sure Engineering
would want them to keep it as far away from the intersection there as
possible. She questioned whether that would
then be closest to the convenience store so if they do come to a joint use
agreement with the adjoining neighbors, it would be easy for that adjustment to
be made. Bryan Ashby, Engineer with
Kimley-Horn and Associates, also representing the Applicant, addressed the
Board to respond to Commissioner Carey.
He replied in the affirmative saying the plan is to work with the site
plan and construct the right-in, right-out only at the most appropriate place
possible to serve eventually the parcel adjacent to them on the north so that
access can easily be granted without any major site modifications.
With regard to public participation,
the following spoke in opposition: LaDarrius Sanders, 5958 Paxton Court; Jared Davis, 6024
Jessica Drive; Amber Victor, 6032 Jessica Drive; Lisa Pereira, 5943 Paxton
Court; Roy Keeley, 6065 Jessica Drive; Andrew Schneier,
5904 Paxton Court; Benjamin Loving, 5938 Paxton Court; Anthony Cotignola, 5963 Paxton Court; Cindy Leadholm,
6056 Jessica Drive; Kimberly Thompson, 5980 Jessica Drive; Linda Rossel, 2476 Fern Run; Sarah Martinez, 5967 Paxton Court;
Katrina Shadix, 1133 Covington Street; Ratna Joshi, 5920 Paxton Court; Scott Harris, 5961 Jessica
Drive; Christopher Bowman, 5951 Paxton Court; Maryanne Davis, 6024 Jessica
Drive; Aaron Hines, 6093 Jessica Drive; Robert Shomo,
9234 Longfellow Place; Steve Bell, 6054 Jessica Drive; Reanne
Bowman, 5951 Paxton Court; Andre Klass, 3250 Retreatview Place; Randy Leadholm,
6056 Jessica Drive; Kimberly Buchheit, 252 Spring Run
Circle; and Kenneth Leap, 5993 Jessica Drive.
No one else spoke in support or opposition, and public input was closed.
Mr. Kennedy, in rebuttal, stated one
of the comments made was they are a Colorado corporation, and while that is
true, they provide services to dialysis centers across the country and critical
life-saving measures to the residents of this county. The existing clinic is in a modular building
and it is literally separating in half.
It is west of Bear Lake Road on SR 436.
He reiterated they had a neighborhood meeting and at that meeting, only
two major concerns surfaced including traffic onto Paxton Court and the
provision of landscaping along Paxton as well to minimize the visual impact of
the development. With county staff
supporting a right-in, right-out solely onto Bear Lake Road for access and
removing that access on Paxton Court, he said he was under the impression they
would mitigate pretty much all of the concerns that have been raised
today.
Mr. Kennedy then discussed the traffic concerns. He noted the intent as part of the Bear Lake
Woods PUD in 1994 was for this property to be commercial and two-thirds of it
is already zoned commercial. He thinks
the development on Paxton Court did not come into play until 2010. As far as access in and out of the site,
about a third of the patients drive themselves, about a third are brought by a
family member or friend, and about a third are brought in through some sort of
rideshare or other public transportation or skilled nursing facility access
vehicles. He understands the retention
pond was designed for commercial; in fact, it was designed as part of the Bear
Lake Woods subdivision and this property was shown as being commercial and was
planned for it to discharge its stormwater into that. He noted there will not be medical waste
going into the drains or into the sewer; it would be stored in a biohazard room
within the building and a third party would pick that up. Anyone that does go into a renal crash would
go directly to the hospital because this facility is not set up for ambulances
bringing patients there. Treatments are
scheduled via appointments so if somebody does go into renal failure, they
would go to a hospital first and once they have been stabilized, they would be
setting up their appointments at this facility.
He believes medical is a less intensive use than a retail use that could
be placed on this property. They
completed an environmental species study and there were no endangered species
found nor habitat on the property.
Commissioner Carey indicated it is
already zoned commercial and agriculture on the back and that is the only
reason they are hearing this today. She
said she heard the Applicant say that he thought this property that is zoned
commercial was part of the PD that is the Bear Lake PUD and asked when this
property was actually zoned commercial.
Ms. Petyk displayed the zoning map and pointed
out the C-1 zoning along Bear Lake Road that was in place prior to 1974. Commissioner Carey questioned whether the
retention pond is for this site or is it strictly for the subdivision. Ms. Petyk responded
it is strictly for the subdivisions. The
Commissioner then asked if this Applicant will have to design their own
stormwater pond. John Jreij, Public Works Director, addressed the Board to
explain the Applicant claims they may have easements or there is some
accommodation for the site, but during the site plan they are going to need to
provide evidence. Otherwise, they will
have to provide a retention pond onsite.
Commissioner Carey noted somebody mentioned that there is an easement
onto Jessica and she noticed that this property site runs behind the
convenience store and does intersect with Jessica. So even if there is an easement which would
give them legal access with or without the County’s permission, would they be
allowed to use that. She explained she
is asking the question because if you are putting in or allowing a right-in,
right-out on Bear Lake, then somebody coming from the south headed northbound cannot
turn left into the site. She wondered
whether there is an alternative to go to Jessica and turn left and go behind
the convenience store to enter the site.
Mr. Jreij responded no, it is a landscape
buffer easement and they cannot access it.
Commissioner Carey pointed out there
was also a comment made about bears being in the dumpster. She thinks this parcel is in a bear
management area and said wouldn’t they be required to secure their
dumpster. Ms. Petyk
replied yes, the property is in the bear management area and it is actually
stated in the staff report that they will be required to comply with the bear
management overlay, so they will have to secure their garbage and comply with
the ordinance.
Commissioner Carey commented it sounds like they need to have the
Sheriff go out and do some enforcement in this area regardless of what happens
here today. She heard a lot of comments
about speeding and cut-through traffic.
Maybe that could be a request from the District Commissioner to the
Sheriff’s Department.
Commissioner Lockhart remarked that it looks as though part of the
current commercial piece was not cleaned up; part of it is still FLU low
density residential and yet they were able to go ahead and build their store
and operate commercially there. Ms. Petyk explained the convenience store has existed for a
very long time, she believes since the 1960s, so it is pretty much allowed to
operate as is. If they were to redevelop
it, they would likely have to rezone and change the future land use of the
entire site to be C-1, do a site plan and comply with current codes.
Commissioner
Lockhart asked if they were to deny this property the ability to clean up their
parcel and make it all commercial, would they have a Bert Harris claim in some
way, shape or form. Mr. Applegate noted
it is hard to say, but as long as their decision is based on substantial
evidence presented here today and part of the record, he thinks their decision
is defensible. He cannot say what they
would do, but he thinks they could defend that kind of claim.
Commissioner Carey opined that she
doesn’t know that the first part of Commissioner Lockhart’s question was
answered and that was, could this applicant take and just build on the
commercial portion of the parcel and not utilize the piece that is A-1. Mr. Applegate replied if it meets all the
requirements, he does not see why they couldn’t, but again, he thinks it would
be more of an engineering-type question as to what can be done on the
property. Ms. Petyk
added they may be able to accommodate a retention pond in that area, but the
majority of the site development would have to be in the portion that is C-1,
and from her understanding, this applicant needs to utilize the majority of the
site for their particular development.
Chairman Zembower confirmed with Ms. Petyk
that somebody has the right to come in with a commercial entity that could fit
that footprint and would be entitled to build there without any zoning change
to the portion currently zoned C-1.
Commissioner Dallari stated he
believes this area is supposed to be neighborhood commercial and not regional
commercial, which is why it is so small, and that is where his reservation
comes in. The area is surrounded by
single-family homes, and he does not believe the neighbors, from their testimony,
are saying they are opposed to commercial; he thinks they are opposed to regional
commercial.
Commissioner Constantine expressed it
is clear that this is extremely important to the citizens in this area from all
the communications he has received. The
petition had 380 names and the vast majority of them were in the two
neighborhoods that are directly related to this property. He agrees with Commissioner Dallari when he
said this property is clearly intended for neighborhood commercial. Commissioner Constantine shared that he grew
up riding his bike on Bear Lake Road and the traffic was bad then. He went to the site four different times when
there was supposed to be no traffic (due to people staying in their homes
during the current pandemic), and he sat at the convenience store in his
car. He saw children playing on the
streets, but on Bear Lake Road, it was still busy and hard to get in and out of
that convenience store. People are using
this for a cut-through from Maitland Boulevard to SR 436. The only commercial on that street is that
convenience store. Everything else is
off of Maitland Boulevard or off of SR 436.
This is a community of single-family homes and churches. The trail is across the street and there are
houses on the lake itself. He sees this
as a real recipe for disaster. This is
not a new business and there are many places that will be open for very good
rent on SR 436, and he does not think this regional medical facility would be
appropriate on Bear Lake Road.
Motion
by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to deny the
request for an ordinance enacting a Small Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment
from Low Density Residential and Commercial to Commercial; and the associated
ordinance enacting a Rezone from R-1A (Single-Family Dwelling), A-1
(Agriculture), and C-1 (Retail Commercial) to C-1 (Retail Commercial) for
approximately 1.12 acres, located on the west side of Bear Lake Road, north of
Paxton Court; Heath Kennedy, Applicant.
Under discussion, Commissioner Carey
inquired of staff saying this particular use is probably designated under office,
and she wondered if this is an allowable use under neighborhood
commercial. Ms. Petyk
responded that it is; neighborhood commercial allows office, business and
professional uses. Commissioner Carey
said because this could fit into the neighborhood commercial classification,
she will not be supporting the motion to deny.
Commissioner Lockhart asked for
clarification on the answer Ms. Petyk just gave
Commissioner Carey saying the current commercial C-1 use would allow the
neighborhood commercial use as a dialysis center. Ms. Petyk stated
that is correct. The Commissioner asked
if there is a zoning classification that would make it less intense even than
neighborhood commercial, and does the code differentiate. Ms. Petyk advised
their restricted neighborhood commercial (CN) use is their most limited zoning
classification and that allows medical office, but it also has an extensive
list of prohibited uses such as service stations, hotels, banks and
restaurants. She shared her screen to
display a list of permitted uses. Ms. Petyk explained they are requesting C-1 because the
majority of the property is currently C-1, so they were just trying to keep it
consistent with what is currently out there. But if their use is allowed in CN, they would
have to confirm this, but she does not see why the Applicant would not concur
with a CN. Commissioner Lockhart
expressed she is just concerned about taking away the right of a property
owner, so she is not inclined to take that zoning away from them.
Commissioner Carey stated just for
clarification, the majority of the property is zoned C-1 and the reason they
are requesting the A-1 to be C-1 is just to be consistent to what has been
entitled there since the 1970s. Ms. Petyk advised that is correct and they needed to use the
entire site, so they needed to have the back portion that is currently A-1 to
be C-1. Commissioner Carey added they
could have applied for neighborhood commercial and still have an allowable use.
Commissioner Constantine remarked
that no one is taking away any rights of this applicant. If they want to use the C-1 on the property,
they can. The A-1 property would most
likely have gone R-1A or PD as the rest of the property around it is. They want more density on the property and to
increase the A-1 to C-1, and he does not feel that this property is subject to
that type of intensity. He added this
type of regional medical facility would be better elsewhere, and they should be
looking for something that would be more conducive to keeping trips in the
internal area of Bear Lake Road.
Commissioner Carey questioned if
this site was two parcels of property, and Ms. Petyk
replied it is one parcel with three different zoning classifications and two
different future land use designations.
She added they did get a consensual site plan and wanted to mention that
their building size is about 6,800 square feet or an FAR of .14, so it is fairly small.
Commissioner Carey confirmed it is a .14 Floor Area Ratio when a typical
commercial is .35.
Commissioner Constantine expressed
the issue is the traffic and whether or not this is conducive to the community,
and it is not.
Districts 1 and 3 voted AYE.
Districts 2, 4 and 5 voted NAY.
Motion
fails 2 to 3.
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Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Lockhart, to adopt
Ordinance #2020-9 enacting a Small Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment from Low
Density Residential and Commercial to Commercial; and adopt the associated
Ordinance #2020-10 enacting a Rezone from R-1A (Single-Family Dwelling), A-1
(Agriculture), and C-1 (Retail Commercial) to C-1 (Retail Commercial) for
approximately 1.12 acres, located on the west side of Bear Lake Road, north of
Paxton Court; Heath Kennedy, Applicant.
Commissioner Constantine asked whether that includes the requirement
at the request of staff and making sure they do not use the drainage pond that
is part of Bear Lake Woods. Commissioner
Carey said based upon the comments of the County Engineer who said that when
the site plan is submitted, they would be able to clarify if the pond had
actually been designed for a master drainage including for this property, and
they would have to prove that. If they
can’t prove that, obviously they would have to do their own retention. When they read the staff report, they said
they were going to consider the access to be right-in, right-out onto Bear Lake
Road. Her earlier comments to the applicant
were about continuing to work for the joint use agreement. Those are all things that will come to bare
during the site plan approval. Because
this hasn’t been looked at through Engineering, she does not want to put
something in the motion that creates a safety situation. She would rather the County Engineer, who is
a professional, have an opportunity to review it and either approve it or
not. Her suspicion is that the County
Engineer would make the driveway access be as far away from Paxton as possible,
so it would be as close as possible to the convenience store. But they have not seen a site plan and this
is simply a zoning issue at this point.
Districts 2, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Districts 1 and 3 voted NAY.
Motion
passes 3 to 2.
Listing of Speakers and Final Registrants received and filed.
All Commissioners submitted their ex parte
communications into the record.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S REPORT
Regular Agenda Item
#10 – 2020-1992
Electrical Easement
for Fire Station #11
Ms. Guillet explained that Item #10 is a request to approve an
electrical easement for Duke Energy, which is associated with the construction
of Fire Station #11. They have broken
ground and in order to get electrical service, the County needs to provide an
easement.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to
approve and authorize the execution and recording of an easement to Duke Energy
Florida, LLC for electrical service on property owned by Seminole County
related to the proposed Fire Station #11 site.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted AYE.
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Ms. Guillet mentioned that Alan Harris gave an update earlier on their
efforts with respect to COVID-19. She
stated one of the ancillary issues has been the financial impact on the
community, citizens and businesses alike.
One of the things they have been questioned about is the impact through
the Community Services Department. She
advised she sent the Commissioners the latest on that this morning and she
wanted to give a quick briefing. They
received almost 650 applications for financial assistance in the Community
Services Department, and the average request is about $1,250. It ranges from about $900 to $1,500, which is
their cap. In the past they capped
emergency financial assistance at $2,500, but in anticipation of a significant
need, they dropped the max down to $1,500.
If all of the requests they have received were to be approved on that average
of $1,250, it would be a little over $800,000.
They do not expect that everyone will qualify, but even if only 60%
qualify, they would be at over half a million dollars. They have about $365,000 available right now
through SHIP funds and General Fund dollars and some Community Services Block
Grant (CSBG) monies. So, they are
running about $125,000 short of what they anticipate they might need for this
emergency assistance. They are not
asking at this point for the Board to allocate funds, but to be thinking about
it because although they have received about 650 applications, they have only
been able to approve 3 so far. The
reason for that is most of this funding is tied to state or federal dollars,
and there is significant documentation that goes along with that like birth
certificates, social security cards, and proof of residency, so it usually
takes the applicants a little bit of time to pull that information
together. They are starting to get the
documentation in, but she wanted the Board to know why there has been a bit of
a delay.
One of the challenges they face that they don’t normally deal with are
evictions from pay-by-the-week hotels and extended-stay hotels. There are a number of people in the community
that live in those hotels on an ongoing basis.
They can typically afford to pay the rates in those hotels, but the
pandemic has created difficulty for them.
They have had about 20 requests for assistance in that arena, and they
don’t have a pot of money designated for that, and they haven’t been able to
find any money anywhere else. They have
checked with other jurisdictions; Orange County is providing
assistance out of their General Fund, and Osceola and Volusia are not
providing any funding. They checked with
HSN and Dr. Hunter’s group to see if there were other opportunities where they
could find some financial assistance for these people. She noted they have one emergency shelter,
Rescue Outreach Mission, and it is full.
Ms. Guillet advised they did get notification that through the CARES
Act, they will receive about $1.3 million in Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) funds and over $500,000 in Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds. They don’t know when they will receive the
money and before they can utilize the money, they have to update their
Consolidated Plan to tell them what they are going to use the money for. They have reached out to them and asked for a
waiver or to see if there is an opportunity to go ahead and pay for some of
these items that are allowed under the Act and to get reimbursed later, but
they have not gotten a response to that yet.
They did get a waiver on the $300,000 in SHIP funds to use for some
emergency purposes. They are trying to
get clarification to see if they can use those for the folks that are getting
evicted from the hotels.
Chairman Zembower requested that Ms. Guillet have staff put together a
report of what things may look like and circulate that to the Commission on
(unintelligible). In addition, to reach
out to their federal partners as well to see if they can get any assistance
there and some guidance on the monies that have already been given to
them.
Commissioner Carey stated hopefully the stimulus checks will start
going out to individuals in the next week or so and that will help people pay
their rent. If they have had 20 requests
for about $400 to $500 per week, even if the assistance was at $2,000, they are
talking about $40,000 to $50,000. They
have had a lot of communication from their federal lobbyists on the CARES Act,
but she thinks they can’t leave families out there living in their cars again
because of this Coronavirus, and for that insignificant amount of money in the
scheme of things, she thinks they need to do whatever they can to try to assist
them hoping they will get it back or that it will be short-lived.
Commissioner Lockhart said she agrees with Commissioner Carey. The concern she has for a lot of these folks
is the only way you are going to get your stimulus funding quickly is if you
have a bank routing and account number already on file with the IRS. So, if you are someone who does not have a
bank account or has not been filing a tax return, your check could be delayed
quite significantly. She would be
inclined to go ahead and authorize the County Manager to use federal fund
reserve monies immediately to help both those that are in immediate need, and
like Commissioner Carey mentioned, hope that they get reimbursed on the back
end, but if they don’t, she would not lose any sleep over that.
Chairman Zembower stated the County Manager has a certain threshold of
approval for certain things and he would ask that she make the prudent and
appropriate decision. He would like her
to keep the Board in the loop so they understand what is going on. He thinks this is going to be a bigger and
deeper problem the longer this goes on, but he thinks they need to be looking
at the impacts to the County 18 to 24 months from now because with the
downturn, they are going to have the same financial impacts as everyone else. He said he is happy to call some of the
hoteliers, if need be, and at least have a candid conversation about what they
can do to help.
Ms. Guillet stated she is concerned this group of people could fall
through the cracks. She thinks they can
provide some immediate relief for those that may not have anywhere else to turn
if the Board is comfortable using General Fund dollars, understanding this is a
really unusual circumstance. Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Guillet advised her threshold is $50,000 and
she thinks she will have a better handle on it by the next board meeting. Commissioner Carey expressed this is to
prevent eviction from the hotels and not house new residents because they have
a process for them to go through.
Chairman Zembower confirmed there was consensus of the Board.
COUNTY
ATTORNEY’S REPORT
Mr.
Applegate reported he sent a copy of the Attorney General opinion on the FAM
trips. He reminded that his office felt
very uncomfortable approving the use of Tourist Development taxes for those
trips, and the Attorney General opined that the money could not be used for FAM
trips. They may see some correspondence
from tourist groups stating that it is just an advisory opinion, but he could
regale a story of another county that went through an audit over their Tourist
Tax funds and it was a nightmare.
Mr.
Applegate advised he has retained, through his budget, Nabors Giblin out of
Tallahassee to represent the County in connection with SB 410. He is asking for the authority, if the
Governor signs the bill, to proceed immediately with outside counsel to file
the appropriate action in circuit court in Leon County.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Lockhart, to authorize the County Attorney, upon
Governor DeSantis signing SB 410, to proceed with outside counsel, Nabors
Giblin & Nickerson, P.A., to file action in Leon County Circuit Court.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 voted AYE.
Mr. Applegate then read
his letter dated March 27, 2020, to Governor Ron DeSantis regarding the
unconstitutionality of CS/CS/SB 410, a provision related to municipal powers
over Charter counties in connection with growth management and environmental
resources. (See Communications and
Reports.)
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Mr. Applegate indicated
he provided the Commissioners with a copy of a resolution that would adopt the
technology process that they are now using for these meetings. This will ensure the process is consistent
with the Governor’s order and Florida statutes.
Alan Harris, Emergency Management, has also issued an executive order to
that effect. He explained this is an
abundance of caution, an extra step, providing that the County is following the
process outlined by the Governor and Florida statutes.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2020-R-45, Communications
Media Technology (CMT) during COVID-19 Emergency.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and
5 voted AYE.
DISTRICT
REPORTS
District
1
Commissioner
Dallari thanked staff and all the first responders during this difficult
time. He also thanked Bob Pike, Building
Division, for helping with the Certificate of Occupancy in connection with the
FDOT project along I-4 by International Drive.
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Commissioner
Dallari announced they received a letter from FDOT stating they are
accelerating the construction of a significant portion of I-4, the segment
westbound on I-4 through downtown Orlando as well as portions of the 408
interchange.
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Commissioner
Dallari stated he wants to ask the County Attorney and the County Manager to
research about TDC dollars. He was
talking to the GM of the Hilton in Altamonte Springs, and did not know if they
could postpone those dollars. He would
like to know legally if they are allowed to do that because it could help those
hotels to stay open in the upcoming months.
He asked that they respond in writing.
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Commissioner
Dallari said there are a lot of things happening now with shelter-in-place, but
they need to be giving some thought about mental health outreach because the
longer this goes on, mental health outreach will be more significant. He wants to make sure that staff can research
that and bring something back by the next meeting if there is something they
can do like outreach or some type of help for the residents of Seminole
County. Chairman Zembower assured the
Commissioner that Alan Harris and his group are engaged with the healthcare
providers to bring those people together.
Commissioner Dallari asked Ms. Guillet to ensure if Mr. Harris needs
anything or his staff, they will provide additional support.
District
5
Commissioner
Carey stated for clarification on the question posed by Commissioner Dallari,
Tourist Development dollars do not get collected unless there are people
staying in the hotel, and it is an additional tax paid by the people that are
staying there. She does not know why
they would suspend those dollars when they have bonds against that and it is
already going to be impacted.
Commissioner Dallari agreed they do not collect it unless someone is
staying at the hotel, but said it is collected in arrears; they do not pay
anything immediately. Their bond counsel
would be the one to answer that question and not staff, so he wants to make
sure if it is something they can do, they should entertain it. Ms. Guillet stated they can get an answer on
that pretty quickly.
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Commissioner
Carey gave an update on the Sanford International Airport. The terminal expansion project is moving
along pretty well; it is 76% complete and it is still on schedule. March travel was down 46% due to COVID-19,
and April is expected to be down 90% to 95%.
International travel is shut down altogether right now and typically,
their heavy travel months are May, June and July. If the attractions are not open, they are
expecting low travel which would really be impactful on both the airport
operator as well as the Sanford Airport Authority. The best expectation they have of recovery at
this point is through the holidays in November and December. She advised the airline industry has taken a
$252 billion hit during this time.
Ms.
Guillet noted Diane Crews just sent out an email saying that under the CARES
Act, Sanford Orlando has been appropriated $22.7 million. They will have to apply for that and keep 90%
of their workforce by the end of the year.
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Commissioner
Carey reported at the Expressway Authority, the pay-by-plate will still go into
effect on July 1. They also have about six
sites where they are looking at putting solar farms adjacent to the toll
facilities. They had requested eight new
highway patrol officers; they haven’t had any since the Expressway Authority
started. They have the same number they
started with originally. Governor
DeSantis had agreed to appropriate it in his budget, but they do not know the
outcome of that yet.
They
are also going to be instituting a program called the Part-Time Shoulder Use
Program and so during peak travel hours, they are going to test this in certain
areas where drivers will be able to utilize the shoulders of the road during
peak hours to help prevent them from having to build totally new roadways.
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Commissioner
Carey indicated they also started an Environmental Stewardship Committee. That is something that as the chairman of the
Expressway Authority, she thought was important to look at. She thinks that the example of the Wekiva
Basin Commission, that Commissioner Constantine chairs and that she serves on
with him, has been very helpful in the development of the Wekiva Parkway doing
it and paying close attention to environmental issues, which you will always
have whenever you are building new roadways.
So, their board approved developing and starting this committee. Each one of the counties will have an
appointment to that, and it would be a staff person experienced in
environmental issues, as well as three Governor appointees.
Commissioner
Carey remarked the I-4 and 408 interchange that Commissioner Dallari mentioned is
83% complete and they are happy to see that DOT is moving up some of the I-4
projects. She is hoping they will move
up some of the Beyond the Ultimate projects which will impact the northern
portion of Seminole County. She said
maybe they can get some of those done sooner versus later.
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She
reiterated her gratitude to staff and Chairman Zembower in connection with
keeping the public informed about COVID-19 and said all the employees are
working under extremely challenging times.
District
3
Commissioner
Constantine stated in regard to the Governor pushing forward on the Ultimate
I-4, they all hope that he also uses his executive powers to maybe get some of
the bonding issues and more generational shovel-ready projects out there that
they can use throughout the state.
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Commissioner
Constantine advised he also signed a letter on behalf of himself and the
Florida Association of Counties on the requested veto of SB 410. He advised both houses did not get the
two-thirds mandate vote that is required when they are placing mandates on
counties.
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Commissioner
Constantine gave an update on Lynx stating they still have service but it is
reduced. Also, they are not collecting
fares, so all rides are free.
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Commissioner
Constantine shared in the other Commissioners accolades to staff and said all
employees are doing a great job during this time.
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Commissioner
Constantine stated three months ago, they made a decision
to look at the possibility of a swap with the Econ Wilderness area. Since that time, they have received more than
6,000 emails in opposition. Therefore,
he is requesting that they put that back on the next regularly scheduled
agenda, whether it be an open or closed session, whatever the County Attorney
feels is most appropriate, for consideration as to whether to continue down
that path. Chairman Zembower asked Mr.
Applegate for his guidance on that saying he would like to find a way to move
this to a shade meeting as soon as they can.
Commissioner Carey mentioned she would think they would have a shade
meeting and then decide if it were to be placed on the agenda. Mr. Applegate responded he could ask for a
shade meeting if the Board wants to discuss the case further, litigation
strategy, and expenditures. And if there
is a decision by the Board, it would go back to the public meeting for a
vote. Chairman Zembower asked that they
put it on the next agenda. Discussion
ensued regarding whether the meeting should be a shade meeting or a public
meeting.
Commissioner Lockhart
opined her concern from the beginning is that people have more and more lack of
trust with the process and the process with this item is unbelievably important
in her mind. And she thinks maintaining
fidelity of the process will help ensure that when they get to the outcome,
whatever it may be, they can at least look back knowing they maintained an
orderly process. She has read all the
emails and has had a lot of input, but now it has come to them to officially
review and take action. It concerns her if they want to go back into
the shade to discuss something; she would rather have the conversation in a
public meeting. She has a lot of
questions about the environmental studies, and wondered if they have come back;
she has not seen them on the other parcel.
She is concerned that every time they go back to the shade, it puts more
of a cloud of distrust on the process.
Commissioner Constantine said he concurs that he is also willing to do
that in a public meeting. He will leave
that to the County Attorney and County Manager to decide which is the most
appropriate. They have the right to get
out at any time and they have the right to continue on with this process.
District
4
Commissioner Lockhart stated
in regard to the Policy Committee, that is something the majority of the public
does not really understand how that works and how some counties pull together a
policy committee that includes many elected officials, and in our community
Commissioner Zembower represents them as the chairman of that committee. She would like to know if there is some way, in
order to help those of them who are not a part of that committee, to get some
bullet outcomes. There are a couple of
times that she learned about things via the press conference and that has
caught her off guard. Of course, she
understands there is a lot of moving parts and pieces, but it is uncomfortable
as a board member, who is not a part of the Policy Committee, to learn about
things along with her neighbors. Ms.
Guillet responded she appreciates that and sometimes things happen very quickly
and they do try to get the information to the Commissioners. She noted the Policy Committee does not meet
regularly, it is sort of an ad hoc, here is an issue and then they meet. It depends upon what the issues are as to who
gets included. They will certainly try
to give as much advanced notice as they can when things are coming out.
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Commissioner
Lockhart said she noticed how busy a certain store on 17-92 is and she is
appealing to friends and neighbors during this time to shelter-in-place. She knows it is incredibly hard, but
necessary really means necessary, and it is hard for the people who work in
these retail environments that are considered essential. But, if folks are going to the store and not
helping to maintain the social distancing, it is going to be really difficult
for the community.
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Commissioner
Lockhart said she feels adamant that the public be able to comment when they
convene, even if it is something that is not on their agenda. They should have the right and the ability to
talk to the Commission and appeal to them as a group. Ms. Guillet said they are hopeful to be back
to a regular-type of agenda, and she thinks they can make it work. They were not sure whether they would crash
today and did not want to have a lot of people keyed up.
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
Chairman
Zembower expressed his appreciation for all the support and great work during
this time.
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Chairman
Zembower stated there was something on the agenda in regard to JGI funds that
was pulled indefinitely. He would like
some kind of briefing if there is some kind of facilitation, and maybe there is
or maybe there is not, for small businesses (in connection with the Coronavirus
pandemic). If funding is not going to be
used for that process or some other process, he asked if there is something
they can leverage the small businesses in helping them fill the niche between
what may or may not be happening from a federal or state level. He thinks they are doing a pretty good job
with outreach. Seminole State Business
Development is doing a fantastic job in trying to guide people in the right
direction for FBA funding and so forth.
Any of those things they could leverage or accommodate, he would
appreciate if staff could look at that and give him an update on what the
thought process is there.
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Chairman
Zembower noted he had a conversation with the Tax Collector. Right now, they are unable to issue driver’s
licenses; they are doing short-term extensions through the State. They cannot do renewals right now. There also appears to be a need for some
individuals that need some kind of identification card for either legal services
or other things they need. Mr. Greenberg
said his office has the technology, if they desire, and Seminole County could
issue an ID card if the need and purpose is there. He is asking that the County Attorney look at
that to see what the real need is and maybe interact with their people to see
what the thought process is.
COMMUNICATIONS
AND/OR REPORTS
The following
Communications and/or Reports were received and filed:
1. Letter dated March 25, 2020, from Joy Goff-Marcil, Florida House of Representatives, to The Honorable Jay Zembower re: The urging of Seminole County to issue a stay-at-home order due to COVID-19. cc: BCC and N. Guillet.
2. Letter dated March 26, 2020, from W. Jay Zembower, BCC Chairman, to The Honorable Joy Goff-Marcil re: Response to letter dated March 25, 2020, and request to look into the State’s unemployment access capabilities. cc: BCC and N. Guillet.
3. Letter dated March 27, 2020, from A. Bryant Applegate, Seminole County Attorney, to The Honorable Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida, re: Unconstitutionality of CS/CS/SB 410, a provision related to municipal powers over Charter counties in connection with growth management and environmental resources. Attachment: Letter from FAC to the Governor dated March 19, 2020, regarding same. cc: BCC, N. Guillet, J. Abel, T. Johnson, and R. Hammock.
4. Letter dated April 8, 2020, from Jay Zembower, BCC Chairman, to The Honorable Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida, re: Orange County Convention Center as an alternate medical treatment site (AMTS) in connection with COVID-19 and funding by the State.
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There
being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the
meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:_____________________________Clerk___________________________Chairman
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