BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
MAY 9, 2017
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, May 9,
2017, in Room 1028 of the SEMINOLE
COUNTY SERVICES BUILDING at SANFORD,
FLORIDA, the usual place of meeting of said Board.
Present:
Chairman
John Horan (District 2)
Vice
Chairman Brenda Carey (District 5)
Commissioner Robert Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner
Lee Constantine (District 3)
Commissioner Carlton Henley (District 4)
Clerk of Court and Comptroller Grant Maloy
County Manager Nicole Guillet
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Deputy Clerk Kyla Spencer
Pastor Greg Rice, New Covenant Assembly of
God, Casselberry, gave the invocation. Commissioner
Henley led the Pledge of Allegiance.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
The
Business Spotlight video for A1 Assets was presented.
AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS
Agenda Item #1 – 2016-601
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt appropriate
Resolution #2017-R-78 recognizing Congressman John L. Mica, recipient of
Leadership Seminole’s Leadership Legend Award for 2017.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Congressman
John L. Mica addressed the Board to express his appreciation. Commissioner Henley stated he will always
appreciate the leadership that Congressman Mica has shown.
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Agenda Item #2 – A-3389-17
Motion by
Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt appropriate
Resolution #2017-R-79 recognizing Roy Detwiler, Public Works Department, for 34
years of service to the Citizens of Seminole County.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Roy
Detwiler addressed the Board to thank them for the recognition and thanked everyone
who has helped him through his career.
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Agenda Item #3 – A-3461-17
Motion by
Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt a
Proclamation declaring May 7th – 13th, 2017 as National Correctional
Professional Week.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Sheriff
Dennis Lemma addressed the Board to express gratitude on behalf of the
Sheriff’s Office and commend his staff for their hard work. Commissioner Dallari thanked Sheriff Lemma
for the professionalism of his staff.
Commissioner Carey stated everyone who works at the Sheriff’s Office has
been well vetted and believes that makes a big difference in their office. Sheriff Lemma added it is an honor to serve with
his staff and the Board. Chairman Horan
stated the Sheriff’s Office has a very difficult job that they do tremendously
well.
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Agenda
Item #4 – A-3593-17
Motion by Commissioner Henley, seconded by
Commissioner Dallari, to adopt a Proclamation declaring May 7th – 13th as
National Travel and Tourism Industry Week.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Kevin
Craig, Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, addressed the Board to express
his appreciation.
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Chairman
Horan recessed the meeting at 10:13 a.m.; reconvening at 10:17 a.m.
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Chairman
Horan announced they are going to take a short add-on item involving Honor
Flight.
Donald
Menzel, board member for Honor Flight of Central Florida, addressed the Board
and stated Honor Flight has been a hub in Central Florida for around six or seven
years. Mr. Menzel explained prior to
becoming a board member, he was a volunteer and had an opportunity to
participate in a flight as a guardian that Commissioner Dallari had
participated in as well. Since that
point in time, Mr. Menzel has been director of marketing and leaned on
Commissioner Dallari to point him in directions that are beneficial to finding
guardians and veterans. Mr. Menzel
presented a plaque in appreciation to Commissioner Dallari for helping out in
every capacity. He also presented the
Commissioner with a commemorative coin that Honor Flight had minted this year
and noted it is the first year Honor Flight has presented a commemorative coin.
Commissioner
Dallari discussed his experience with Honor Flight and urged the Board, staff
and citizens to get involved with Honor Flight.
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Agenda
Item #5 – A-3501-17
Jeremiah
Owens, P.E., CPH, addressed the Board and began a PowerPoint presentation (included
in Agenda Memorandum) entitled U.S. 17-92 CRA Stormwater Master Plan
Update. He reviewed CRA Limits and noted
the 13-mile corridor is around 2,900 acres and broken up into five distinct
drainage basins. He discussed Project
Approach, Basin Information, Initial Areas, and Project Ranking Methodology. In regard to Area #1 – Mill Creek, Mr. Owens
explained Alternative 1 was enlarging the existing pond on 20th Street that the
City of Sanford owns to a private parcel to the east. Alternative 2 is a separate treatment,
downstream of the first pond, to the north in a low-lying area. Alternative 3 is a low-flow treatment over to
the Mill Creek stormwater treatment pond.
He stated Alternative 3 is the preferred option. In regard to Area #2 – Airport Blvd Area, Mr.
Owens explained there is a large-parcel owner that owns the center and a bunch
of smaller parcels, so the options they looked at are purchasing a vacant lot
(Alternative 3) and routing all stormwater to it. They also looked at working with the property
owner and trying to get additional treatment.
Mr.
Owens stated Pegasus Engineering looked at Area #3 separately so that one is
not part of his presentation. The next
area CPH was tasked with was Area #4 – Shepard Road. He noted there are two distinct areas, north
and south of a previously redeveloped industrial area. He pointed out Alternative 1 is a little bit
higher on a cost-per-acre basis than the preferred Alternative 3, but it does
pick up some additional acreage. Mr. Owens
reviewed Area #5 – Lake of the Woods and stated this would be a regional
stormwater facility either located on one parcel or multiple parcels. They would have to acquire land or get
easements from the individuals. He
mentioned that unbeknownst to CPH, Alternative 3 ended up being the preferred
option for each area. Mr. Owens
discussed Preferred Alternatives and noted he tried to find a rational nexus of
how do they relate this to regular projects and regular programs. He explained they looked at the total
treatment area they can get and the construction cost of each individual facility. When someone has to redevelop their parcel
that is already developed today, they are hit with current standards for the City,
County and St. Johns.
After
reviewing Normal Development Cost Estimate and Cost Comparison, Mr. Owens
discussed Recommendations. He explained in
regard to moving forward with Area 1, Mills Creek, Alternative 3, they have had
previous discussions with the City of Sanford and it would take counsel
approval from the City because it is the City’s stormwater treatment credit
pond and they wouldn’t want to lose any of their existing credits, but there
appears to be some additional capacity that is located within that
feature. He noted they recommend
forgoing any improvements in Areas 2, 4 and 5 due to cost at this time. Mr. Owens stated the other recommendation is
to develop a Stormwater Grant Program.
The original intent is to help out some of the smaller parcels in
redeveloping. The program could be set
up however the Board deems fit but with more emphasis to help out the smaller
parcels than the larger ones. He opined
they have a barrel of money and they don’t want one person to take all of
it. He suggested if they have a local
jurisdiction that wants to do a regional stormwater facility, they could get an
additional dollar figure per acre over and above what a normal parcel would be
since it would help multiple parcels and multiple owners.
Commissioner
Carey _/ù1__/ú1__#__0%1__0%1_explained anybody that looks at redeveloping
their property knows there would be a cost _061_associated with creating stormwater, and it would make a lot of sense
if the County had some
regional ponds and created an opportunity
for them to buy
into the stormwater
credits. She
pointed out with the CRA sunsetting later, they need to go
ahead and
look at allocating those
dollars for the _0x2_biggest benefit
to opportunities. She
suggested staff look at
something where there would be
some kind of a
credit purchase similar to if you were mitigating a
we_0œ1_tland,
you could go buy credits
from somebody that had
created a mitigation bank. Same thing with
stormwater in that
they could purchase stormwater credits through the regional development
that the County could spend
the CRA dollars to create.
Ms. Guillet stated it would be staff's recommendation that the Board have
staff look at how that
might work if they wanted
to do any of the options that were included in this report or some other
approach to stormwater. She reiterated the CRA is scheduled to sunset at the end of this year and
mentioned staff intends to bring back some recommendations in the next month or
so as to how they think the Board should proceed with that.
Commissioner
Carey _1A1_explained if the Board
makes the decision to
develop the regional _1I1_stormwater
systems now, those funds
are _1S3_allocated in
the CRA;
and even if the CRA sunsets,
people could not come back
and _1l1_buy those stormwater credits after the
fact. That money
could then be used to
generate more capacity in
the corridor because _1~1_that is
the big hiccup with
that area. She discussed the high cost associated with
underground infiltration and noted there are many complications along that
corridor. Ms. Guillet
agreed it is a challenge.
Ms.
Guillet stated Alternative 1 is the most cost
effective if the
Board tries to do anything that
would provide some sort of regional relief. She
reminded it is very expensive to go back
in _1Þ1_and try
to _1á2_retrofit.
She asked the Board if the presentation gave them
the information they were originally looking for. She explained if the
recommendation from the
consultants is acceptable, staff
would work with the _292__#_City of
Sanford because they will certainly be a player in this and then bring something
back to the
Board _2D1_as the
CR_2H1_A Board
at _2K1_a later
meeting.
Commissioner
Dallari stated he likes the idea
of _2X1_doing cred_2[1_its and trying
to figure something _2`1_out on
a _2c2_regional basis. He
asked Mr. Owens if he had looked
at some new ponds that will
be coming into existence if the
County moves forward with
some road construction and mentioned the Oxford Road area as an example. Mr. Owens answered
that was discussed during his
review. That area was
being looked at by
Pegasus Engineering and his understanding is that
that pond was at capacity
and they were out of land there. Commissioner Dallari
responded that the pond hasn't been constructed
yet. Ms.
Guillet explained most of
that facility _2È1_is outside
of the CRA.
There is a very small
portion and that is why the _%_County moved that
catalyst project outside of the CRA catalyst group. Commissioner
Dallari agreed but stated
there are pieces of it inside the CRA
that could be expanded. He asked if _%_Pegasus Engineering
has looked at that. Mr. Owens answered they
were doing the original design on that and he can work with staff and see where
they are at. Commissioner Dallari inquired if anyone has
looked at expanding the DOT
ponds up and down that corridor because there is plenty of vacant land around those DOT
ponds. Mr. Owens
replied not in full detail but that is something he can _3e1__3e1_address with staff. Ms. Guillet
mentioned the properties are
not as constrained on that stretch of U.S. 17-92. Commissioner Dallari stated there are some existing ponds
either owned by City, County or DOT, and he would like to at
least look at those ponds to see if
they can be expanded and then
look at that credit
to _3º1_actually
make that happen. Commissioner
Carey added in regard to the DOT ponds, _%_DOT did whole takes down there which is why they have so much land where the
ponds are not necessarily required to be so big. She
agreed there is
room for some expansion on those ponds, but the question is will they
allow the County to
utilize them _4=1_or the land
that DOT is not utilizing
for _4F1_ponds.
Commissioner
Carey stated in
conjunction with the widening _4Q1_of the road, the County looked at
th_4W1__4X1_e expansion of the pond on CR 427 and Country Club. She
asked if that was ever looked at again
to see if that may be a viable option. She also asked if they have any
idea about what the
cost is going to be for
the Five Points stormwater pond. Ms.
Guillet answered she doesn't know
if staff has a cost on that yet. She explained part of the challenge
with Five Points is they don't have
a _4´4_conceptual
plan yet, so tying
that into how
that would be incorporated into the _%_Five Points
project is part of what they are _4Ò2_struggling with. Commissioner Carey reminded that it is time
sensitive so they probably need to have some discussions and decisions made
about this in the next couple of months.
Ms. Guillet responded staff will get
the Board the information on the Pegasus Engineering study.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Henley, to authorize and approve the following:
Community
Services
Community
Assistance Division
6. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the 2016/2017 Community Services Block Grant
(CSBG) Modification Grant Award Agreement between the State of Florida
Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and Seminole County in the amount of
$439,978. (A-3575-17)
Development Services
Planning
& Development Division
7. Authorize release of the Roads, Streets, and
Drainage Performance Bond #CMS0281390 in the amount of $55,094.79, and the
Water and Sewer Bond #CMS0281391 in the amount of $425,605.51 for the Preserve
at Lake Sylvan Subdivision; Park Square Enterprises, LLC, Applicant. (A-3511-17)
Environmental
Services
Solid
Waste Management Division
8. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for Hubbard Construction
Company d/b/a Mid Florida Materials, effective May 9, 2017, through September
30, 2017. (A-3556-17)
9. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for EcoDepot USA, LLC,
effective May 9, 2017, through September 30, 2017. (A-3524-17)
10. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for Environmental One, LLC,
effective May 9, 2017, through September 30, 2017. (A-3444-17)
Resource
Management
Budget
& Fiscal Management Division
11. Approve submittal of an application to the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), through the FY 2016 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program - Fire
Prevention & Safety Grants, requesting up to $50,000; and authorize the
County Manager to execute any documents associated with the grant application. (A-3545-17)
12. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2017-R-80 implementing the Budget Amendment Request
(BAR) #17-051 through the Emergency 911 Fund to reallocate $8,641 of budget to
procure a 911 network switch. (A-3540-17)
13. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
a grant agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water Restoration Assistance in acceptance of $265,000 to provide
financial assistance for the Wekiva Basin Bear Lake Chain of Lakes - Alton
Drive project; and appropriate Resolution #2017-R-81 implementing Budget
Amendment Request (BAR) #17-054 through the Public Works Grant Fund in the
amount of $265,000 to establish funding for this project. (A-3564-17)
14. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2017-R-82 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#17-056 through an allocation from the Florida Department of Health to provide
domestic mosquito control services in response to a Public Health Emergency
(Executive Order 16-29) in the amount of $394,000; and approve capital purchase
of backpack foggers, trailer, and portable chemical storage shed. (A-3567-17)
MSBU
Division
15. Authorize the Chairman to execute a
Satisfaction of Lien document for parcels #06-21-29-521-0000-0020, #06-21-29-521-0000-0030
and #06-21-29-521-0000-0100 for which the Wekiva Green-Churchill Drive Road
Improvement MSBU non-ad valorem assessment has been paid in full. (A-3527-17)
16. Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate
Resolution #2017-R-83 confirming the Non-Ad Valorem Variable Rate Assessments
for tax year 2017. (A-3512-17)
Purchasing
& Contracts Division
17. Award CC-1313-17/RTB, Midway Utilities
Replacement - Phase 2, in the amount of $842,799, to SanPik, Inc. of Sanford;
and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the agreement. (A-3538-17)
18. Award IFB-602813-17/GCM, Term Contract for
Plumbing and Septic Tank Services for Residential Properties, to Brownie's
Septic and Plumbing, LLC, Orlando; and Pat Lynch Construction, LLC, Orlando;
and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the agreements.
The estimated term usage for these agreements
is $200,000. (A-3533-17)
19. Award IFB-602814-17/GCM, Term Contract for
Electrical Services for Residential Properties, to T. North Enterprise, LLC,
d/b/a Aurora Electric, Sorrento; and Yang, Inc., d/b/a Semco Electric Company,
Orlando; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the
agreements. The estimated term usage for
these agreements is $100,000. (A-3534-17)
20. Award IFB-602815-17/GCM, Term Contract for
HVAC Mechanical Services for Residential Properties, to Aire Tech Mechanical
Services, Inc., Orlando; and Climate Control Mechanical Services, Inc., Ocala;
and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the
agreements. The estimated term usage for
these agreements is $200,000. (A-3530-17)
21. Approve Amendment #1, in the amount of
$88,885.85, to Work Order #24 (SR 429 Wekiva Parkway Section 7A Utility
Relocations) under PS-8186-13/DRR, CES – Utility Improvement Projects Agreement,
with CPH, Inc., Sanford. (A-3541-17)
22. Award IFB-602794-17/GCM, Term Contract for the
Cleaning & Inspections of Water Storage Tanks and Pressure Vessels Program
Services, to Crom Engineering & Construction Services, Division of Crom,
LLC, Gainesville; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to
execute the agreement. The estimated
annual usage for the project is $25,000. (A-3537-17)
23. Approve an increase to the Board-approved
Estimated Annual Usage for RFP-0336-15/RTB, Master Services Agreement for
Security Repairs, Maintenance and Upgrades, with Site Secure, LLC of Altamonte
Springs, by an additional $400,000 per year. (A-3525-17)
24. Award CC-1295-17/RTB, Salt Creek Stream
Restoration, in the amount of $679,000, to Bio Mass Tech, Inc., of Land O
Lakes; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the agreement.
(A-3539-17)
25. Approve the Single Source Procurement,
SS-602860-17/BJC for General Lake Management Services, with Dean Enterprises,
Orlando, at a cost of $30 per hour with an estimated annual amount of $15,000. (A-3520-17)
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICER’S CONSENT AGENDA
Clerk’s Office
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize and approve
the following:
26. Approve Expenditure Approval Lists dated April
10 and 17, 2017; Payroll Approval List dated April 20, 2017; and the BCC
Official Minutes dated March 28 and April 11, 2017; Clerk and Comptroller's
"Received and Filed" is for information only. (A-3571-17)
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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The Board noted, for
information only, the following Clerk’s “Received and Filed”:
1. Executive Order #2017-001 declaring a local
burn ban.
2. Executive Order
#2017-002 declaring State of Local Emergency and establishing a local burn ban.
3. Tourist Tax Funding
Agreement for 2017 Florida High School Athletic Association Tennis
Championships with Florida High School Athletic Association, Inc.
4. Tourist Tax Funding
Agreement for Nexgen Elite Youth Championship with Prospect Wire, Inc.
5. Pet Rescue Cooperative
Service Agreements with Florida Pointer Rescue and United Yorkie Rescue.
6. Parks Contract for
Services for Diane White, Eric Geyer, Richard Scott Allen Jr., Robert Agagnina
Jr., Randy Lee, and Rhett Stanberry.
7. Closeout to CC-0191-15
with Pump Station Improvements.
8. PS-0504-16 with CDM
Smith, Inc.
9. Closeout to Work Order
#3 to CC-0559-15 with Central Florida Environmental Corp.
10. Change Order #1 to CC-0974-16 with Pat Lynch
Construction.
11. CC-1219-17 with Tyrell Enterprises, LLC.
12. Amendment #7 to Work Order #3 to PS-2825-07
with Horizon Engineering Group, Inc.
13. Amendment #5 to Work Order #5 to PS-8286-13
with Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
14. Change Order #1 to CC-9072-13 with BSE
Construction Group and Formal Request Memorandum giving signature authorization
to Olivette Carter, Community Assistance Division Manager.
15. Change Order #6 to Work Order #4 to
RFQ-9093-13 with Wharton-Smith, Inc.
16. Work Order #28 to CC-9192-13 with Corinthian
Builders, Inc.
17. Work Order #20 to PS-9738-14 with E Sciences,
Inc.
18. Sixth Amendment to IFB-601297-11 with
Ameriscapes Landscape Management Services, LLC.
19. Tenth Amendment to RFP-601745-13 with Apex Pest
Control, Inc.
20. IFB-602126-14 with Servello & Son, Inc.
21. RFI-602205-17 with Ten-8 Fire Equipment, Inc.
22. First Amendment to RFP-602536-16 with Direct
Sell, Inc. d/b/a Weichert Realtors-Hallmark Properties.
23. Recording of Plats and Certificate of Title
for the project known as Patriot Point.
24. Recording of Plats and Title Opinion Letter
for the project known as Farms of Southern Oaks.
25. Conditional Utility Agreement for Water,
Wastewater or Reclaimed Water Services with Keith and Joyce Schoening for the
project known as Farms of Southern Oaks.
26. Conditional Utility Agreement for Water,
Wastewater or Reclaimed Water Services with Racetrac Petroleum, Inc. for the
project known as RaceTrac – Winter Springs.
27. Development Order #17-27500011 for Alcoholic
Beverage License for the project known as F&D Cantina, 1125 Townpark
Avenue, Suite 1071, Charles Robinson.
28. Approval Development Orders #17-30000007, 2664
Creekview Circle, Joseph and Kathleen Wheeler; #17-30000008, 310 S. Pressview
Avenue, Sean and Wendy Weiss; #17-30000009, 412 Kimberly Court, Craig
Entzminger; #17-30000012, 2941 W. 23rd Street, Jennifer Brundidge;
#17-30000013, 2740 Bellewater Place, Lot 23; and #17-30000014, 3250 Medina
Court, Meritage Homes of Florida, Inc.
29. Denial Development Orders #17-30000010, 3940
N. CR 426, Ali and Maria Rabah; and #17-30000011, 5301 Justine Way, Jonathan
Pereira.
30. Bids as follows:
IFB-602794-17 with Crom Engineering
& Construction Services, a Division of Crom, LLC; Precon Corporation;
Underwater Solutions, Inc.;
CC-1219-17 with Tyrell Enterprises,
LLC; BSE Construction Group; Glen Holt Aluminum, LLC; Linton Enterprises, Inc.;
and
RFP-1210-17 with National Metering
Services, Inc.; Vanguard Utility Service, Inc.; Nils Humberg Enterprises, LLC
d/b/a Ace Flow Control; Pedal Valves, Inc.
REGULAR
AGENDA
Item #27 – A-3535-17
Patt
Hughes, Planning & Development, addressed the Board to present the item as
outlined in the Agenda Memorandum. She
pointed out staff recommends the Board uphold the Deputy County Manager’s
denial of the request for a total waiver of the Code Enforcement Board lien of $326,866
for Case #13-60-CEB, on the property located at 1470 Swamp Lane, Geneva, Tax
Parcel #01-20-31-5UR-0000-0180, Szilard Szabo, current owner, and Thomas
Farrington, previous owner; and authorize the Chairman to execute the
Satisfaction of Lien upon payment in full.
Szilard
Szabo, Applicant, addressed the Board and explained he purchased the property
because he wants to build a house on the property. He didn’t know there was a lien on it at the
time of purchase and when he found out, he tried to clean up as fast as
possible. In about three-and-a-half
weeks, he was able to bring the property up to compliance. He would like to pay a lower fee on the
property because he cannot get a mortgage to build a house with the current
lien in place.
Chairman
Horan confirmed with Mr. Szabo that he paid about $15,000 to clean up the
property and $6,000 at the tax sale for the property. Chairman Horan asked Mr. Szabo how long it
took him from the time he learned about the lien to clean up the property. Mr. Szabo answered three-and-a-half weeks. Chairman Horan confirmed with Ms. Hughes that
the taxable appraised value of the property is $23,293, the lien is $326,866
and the property has been cleaned up. He
also confirmed with Ms. Hughes that administrative costs are $450.05.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by
Commissioner Dallari, to overturn the
Deputy County Manager’s denial and approve a reduction to the Code Enforcement
Board lien of $326,866 for Case #13-60-CEB, to administrative costs of $450.05,
on the property located at 1470 Swamp Lane, Geneva, Tax Parcel
#01-20-31-5UR-0000-0180, Szliard Szabo, current owner, and Thomas Farrington,
previous owner; require this reduced amount to be paid within 30 days or the
lien will revert to the original total amount of $326,866; and authorize the
Chairman to execute the Satisfaction of Lien upon payment in full;
Szilard Szabo, Owner and Applicant.
Commissioner Carey stated
many times people think they are getting a tax deed or a foreclosed piece of
property and they don’t understand the whole process, and it is unfortunate
that Mr. Szabo found himself in that situation.
She expressed it is admirable that he cleaned up such a mess that
included 50-plus boats. Commissioner
Dallari confirmed with Chairman Horan the reduced amount has to be paid within
30 days or the lien will revert to the original total amount. Chairman Horan suggested Mr. Szabo consult
with an attorney before he buys any more property.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman Horan recessed the meeting at 10:50
a.m.; reconvening at 1:30 p.m., with all
Commissioners and all other Officials with the exception of Clerk of Court
Grant Maloy, who was absent, and Deputy Clerk Kyla Spencer who was replaced by
Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer, who were present at the Opening Session.
PROOFS
OF PUBLICATION
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Henley, 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
HORSESHOE LAKE
(NORTH)
AQUATIC WEED
CONTROL MSBU
Agenda Item #28 – A-3499-17
Proof of publication
calling for a public hearing to consider adoption of either (1) an Ordinance
repealing Ordinance 2012‑15 thereby terminating the Horseshoe Lake
(North) Aquatic Weed Control MSBU or (2) an Amendment Ordinance continuing the
Horseshoe Lake (North) Aquatic Vegetation and Lake Management MSBU, received
and filed.
Kathy
Moore, MSBU Program Manager, addressed the Board to explain that in 2012, at
the request of the lakefront property owners, the Board of County Commissioners
created the Horseshoe Lake (North) Aquatic Weed Control MSBU to provide funding
for lake and vegetation management.
Since that time, the designated public services have been provided by
the County through the Seminole County Lake Management Program. She advised that over the years, there have
been periodic difficulties experienced respective to the liaisons being in
disagreement with professional lake management initiatives. The disagreement has primarily been due to
expressed resistance to the use of herbicide products for managing invasive and
nuisance aquatic vegetation as permitted by Florida Fish and Wildlife
Commission.
Ms.
Moore noted that on multiple occasions scheduled services have been delayed or
denied due to property owners’ temporarily withholding lake access by denying
use of their boat launching facilities.
The combined issues faced over time have delayed treatments, have
altered routine lake management services, and have placed a high demand on the
limited resources available for supporting assessment‑funded services.
Ms.
Moore stated that to promote a broader awareness of the circumstances faced
with implementing services, to ensure a community‑wide understanding
about the assessment-funded service available through the County (which relies
heavily on the use of aquatic herbicide products), and to reconfirm that
services available from the County remain in alignment with the expectation of
the majority of the property owners funding the services, a petition process
was employed. The petition demonstrated
that of the properties assessed for these services, 33 properties (66%) support
continuance of the MSBU and 6 properties (34%) are in support of termination. This support for termination was reflected by
6 properties (12%) responding to terminate the MSBU and 11 properties (22%) not
responding. She added that following
public input, Item #28 offers consideration to either terminate the existing
MSBU or to continue the MSBU through the proposed ordinance amendments.
Commissioner
Dallari thanked Ms. Moore and her staff as well as the individuals in the
Stormwater Division who are responsible for taking care of the County's lakes
and waterways. He noted there was a
public meeting, which was well attended, and a lot a questions asked. Commissioner Dallari then submitted his ex
parte communications, emails and correspondence about this issue into the
record. A copy of ex parte
communications for all agenda items was received and filed.
Commissioner
Dallari noted there have been a lot of questions about this lake and the
management and care of the lake.
Everyone that lives on this lake truly cares about the lake and how it
is maintained. He stated that he was in
favor today of making the motion to continue the MSBU because it did have the
65%. During lunch time, he did receive a
visit by one of the residents, Patricia Searcy; and he took a lot of her input
to heart. He advised she had a lot of
comments and provided written documentation (copy received and filed) about
Exhibit D. There was also concern about
some of the verbiage and dialogue in the ordinance. He advised that he would like to have the
County's attorneys look at that because some of it is pretty technical when it
comes to the operation and maintenance of water bodies. He also wants staff to look at a retention
pond just to the east of the lake. At
the meeting, there was quite a bit of public input that a lot of the water from
that retention pond is flowing into the lake.
He wants to ensure they are looking at this very holistically. Commissioner Dallari stated that because of
these concerns, he would like to continue this item to the next meeting so
County staff can look through all of the documents and vet them to make sure
they are moving in the most expeditious and correct manner. He wants staff to look at the retention pond
to the east as well.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Constantine,
to continue to May 23, 2017 at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible,
the request to adopt (1) an Ordinance repealing Ordinance 2012‑15 thereby
terminating the Horseshoe Lake (North) Aquatic Weed Control MSBU or (2) an
Amendment Ordinance continuing the Horseshoe Lake (North) Aquatic Vegetation
and Lake Management MSBU, as described in the proof of publication.
Under
discussion, Chairman Horan asked if there was anyone from the public that would
like to speak on the continuance only.
Commissioner Carey remarked that it takes a lot of time for people to
come down to the meeting, and there will be some that will not be able to come
back that wanted to provide information for consideration. She would like to hear that. Chairman Horan asked, since there is one
Speaker Request Form for this item on the substance of the issue, whether there
would be any objections in hearing that.
Commissioner Dallari stated he had no objections but he wants to make
sure that whoever is speaking understands that this item is coming back. If this motion passes, the matter will be
coming back to the Board in two weeks.
Charlotte
Williams, 4048 Live Oak Reserve Boulevard, addressed the Board to state that
she understands the motion for continuance and thinks given the circumstances,
it is probably the right thing to do.
Ms. Williams explained that her objection is to the timeliness or
untimeliness of the documents that were presented basically on the eve of the
meeting here today when everyone has taken the time to show up at the meeting
and had this on the calendar for months.
Commissioner Dallari stated the good news is that the MSBU is still in
existence and he really wants to make sure they look through all of the
documents to make the right decision.
Ms. Williams asked if there is any way the Commissioners can put a
timeline on documents that will be submitted for the next hearing because she
would hate for this to happen again.
Bryant Applegate, County Attorney, responded that there is no
restriction as to when somebody can submit a document.
Commissioner
Carey explained that Ms. Searcy could have come to the podium today and
presented new evidence that would have caused the same action. Commissioner Carey stated that because she
saw that there were people here and knows that some people took off from work,
she doesn't want them to have to take off again. She then requested that all of the
Commissioners get a copy of Ms. Searcy's documentation. Ms. Williams wondered when those documents
will be available for the other residents to review. Nicole Guillet, County Manager, suggested
that Ms. Williams contact her office and she will provide her a copy
today. Chairman Horan stated they are
trying to be deliberate and have all of the information in front of the Board
before they make a decision. He pointed
out that the good news is that it is obvious that there is no one who doesn't
care about this lake.
Paul
Janke, 2400 Sterling Creek Parkway, addressed the Board to state he is a
resident on the lake and has been very involved since March 1. Mr. Janke added that he probably has 50 to 60
hours personally involved in this whole process. He facilitated the first meeting on March 7
for all of the community so that all sides could be heard. He has tried to be "middle of the
line" though he had strong personal beliefs and has tried to facilitate
all sides. Mr. Janke pointed out that
every time they have a meeting, they go over the same issues. They have been over them four or five or six
times. He considers his view that of the
silent majority and the silent majority is not 66% but is 66% plus a number of
those that did not vote as well and who are either in agreement or in strong
agreement with continuing the MSBU, which has done an excellent job. Mr. Janke advised that he would like the
opportunity to speak at the May 23 meeting as well.
Commissioner
Dallari asked that the residents not misunderstand him by continuing this; he
does support the MSBU. He just wanted to
make sure that the documents that he received are looked at by all of the
Commissioners and the County's attorneys and that staff vets them to make sure
they have everything right.
David
Kuketz, 4072 Live Oak Reserve Boulevard, addressed the Board to state he also
lives on the lake and has been there for six years. Mr. Kuketz commented that he has lived on
lakes most of his life and understands the environmental concerns. He has been very actively involved with this
lake in particular for over five years and was involved with the initiation of
the MSBU and has supported it all along.
He believes very strongly that the program is incredibly great for the
community and thinks it is good for the community around them. It is good because it is not only about the
environmental quality of the water and the aesthetics of the lake but also
about people who have property on the lake, whether they actually use the water
or not.
Mr.
Kuketz stated he probably has spent over 400 hours with this matter over the
five years. He does not see anything
incorrect about what the biologists and the County folks have done in the MSBU. He thinks they have been on point and right
in everything that they have done so far.
He stated he fully supports the MSBU and hopes it continues.
Patricia
Searcy, 304 & 308 West 11th Street, addressed the Board to state she has
owned property located on Horseshoe Lake since the early 90's. Ms. Searcy advised that she has been an
active participant and supporter of lake management activities and has served
as the lead liaison to the County until March 1, at which time she resigned. She noted that on March 17, she wrote to
Commissioner Dallari, which is part of the public record (copy not received and
filed), to offer another property owner’s perspective. Ms. Searcy stated she is in favor of the MSBU
but just wants to make sure that they get it right for those who follow and for
those who are part of this current MSBU.
Ms.
Searcy stated she is concerned that the scope of the original MSBU ordinance
has increased in the draft. She advised
that her rationale is provided in the documentation that she provided to
Commissioner Dallari. Second, in the
town hall meeting on April 12, they advised Commissioner Dallari that the
current ordinance does not include the retention pond; and they have witnessed
for more than one and one-half years that the retention pond has likely created
some of the circumstances that they are experiencing now. She added that that property owner pays into
the MSBU and believes it seems reasonable that they take the time to get this
matter resolved now rather than needing to come back to the table later.
Ms.
Searcy thanked the County for defining the composition of the representatives
as five members. She asked that they
delete the requirement for the County to approve their liaisons and believes as
a community, they should be able to vet and provide to the County who their
liaisons are and that the liaisons will represent all interests on the
lake. Ms. Searcy referred to Exhibit D
and explained that it is likely precedent setting for the entire county and
urged caution with regard to specificity of the exhibit for the revised
Horseshoe Lake Ordinance. She asked the
Board to consider placing this type of detail into the County's Administrative
Code so it can be used countywide for all MSBUs. She thanked the Commissioners for their time
today and their service to the county.
With
regard to public participation, no one else in the audience spoke in support or
in opposition regarding Agenda Item #28 and public input was closed.
Speaker
Request Forms were received and filed.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
DISPOSITION OF
COUNTY-OWNED REAL PROPERTIES
Agenda Item #29 – A-3306-17
Proof of publication
calling for a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution approving and
designating the inventory of County‑owned real properties available for
disposition or use in connection with affordable housing purposes pursuant to
Section 125.379, Florida Statutes, and providing an effective date deemed
appropriate for use in connection with affordable housing development and
preservation, received and filed.
Valmarie
Turner, Director of Community Services, addressed the Board to present the
request as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum.
Ms. Turner stated that the Florida Statutes requires every county to
prepare and adopt by resolution an inventory of property deemed appropriate for
use as affordable housing every three years.
She noted that they have eight properties that they have identified; and
she read the parcel numbers, as reflected in the Agenda Memorandum, into the
record.
Commissioner
Carey asked Ms. Turner if these properties are part of the program where the
County is going to have someone try to develop on the sites. She asked how they will move forward to get
these properties into the hands of affordable housing. Ms. Turner advised that once this is
approved, the County will do an RFP for non-profit developers to come in and
provide a proposal for developing the properties for affordable housing. Commissioner Constantine confirmed with Ms.
Turner that the eight properties will be put out on public bid to non-profit
homebuilders. Upon further inquiry by
Commissioner Constantine, Ms. Turner advised that all of the properties will be
single-family homes.
With
regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in
opposition to Agenda Item #29 and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Carey, to
adopt appropriate Resolution #2017-R-84 approving and designating the inventory
of County‑owned real properties available for disposition or use in
connection with affordable housing purposes pursuant to Section 125.379,
Florida Statutes, and providing an effective date deemed appropriate for use in
connection with affordable housing development and preservation, as described
in the proof of publication.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
LAWLOR SMALL SCALE
FUTURE LAND USE MAP
AMENDMENT AND PD
REZONE/Stephen Coover
Agenda Item #30 – PH-2016-583
Proof of publication
calling for a public hearing to consider a Small Scale Future Land Use Map
Amendment from Suburban Estates to Industrial and a Rezone from A‑1
(Agriculture) to PD (Planned Development) for general commercial and light
industrial uses on approximately 0.73 acres, located on the northeast corner of
the intersection of Orange Boulevard and Halsey Avenue, Stephen Coover,
received and filed.
Matt
Davidson, Planning and Development Division, addressed the Board to present the
request as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum.
Mr. Davidson stated that the
Applicant is requesting a Small Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment in order to
develop the subject property with uses permitted in the C-3 (General
Commercial) district and the M-1A (Very Light Industrial) district and is
proposing an Industrial Future Land Use with similar uses that are already
permitted in the adjacent Planned Developments.
Mr. Davidson explained that the Applicant
does not currently have an end user for the property and as a result is not
proposing specific hours of operation at this time; however, the Applicant has
stated that any future development on the subject property will be consistent
with the existing Featherlite Coaches facility directly adjacent to the east,
which has hours of operation from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mr. Davidson pointed out that the request is
consistent with the Land Development Code and the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed uses are similar to the uses
that were previously approved in the Planned Developments that are directly
adjacent to the subject property. He
added that staff recommends approval.
Stephen
Coover, 230 North Park Avenue, addressed the Board to state he is here on
behalf of the Applicant. Mr. Coover
advised that he agrees with staff’s findings, recommendations, and the
conditions that are listed in the Agenda Memorandum. He offered to answer any questions that the
Board may have.
With
regard to public participation, no one else in the audience spoke in support or
in opposition to Agenda Item #31 and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded
by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt
Ordinance 2017-16 enacting a Small Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment from
Suburban Estates to Industrial; adopt Ordinance 2017-17 enacting a Rezone from
A‑1 (Agriculture) to PD (Planned Development); and approve a Development
Order and Master Development Plan for approximately 0.73 acres, located on the
northeast corner of the intersection of Orange Boulevard and Halsey Avenue, as
described in the proof of publication, Stephen Coover.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
LAKE FLORENCE
PRESERVE PD
REZONE/Madden
Moorhead & Stokes
Agenda Item #31 – PH-2016-581
Proof of publication calling for a public hearing to consider a Rezone from A‑1 (Agriculture) to PD (Planned
Development) and to approve the associated Development Order and Master
Development Plan for approximately 14.64 acres, located on the north side of
Howell Branch Road, one-half mile west of Dodd Road, Madden Moorhead &
Stokes,
received and filed.
Joy Giles, Planning and Development Division, addressed the
Board to present the request as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum. Ms. Giles stated that the Applicant proposes
to develop a single‑family residential subdivision with a maximum density
of 3.98 dwelling units per net buildable acre for a maximum of 28 lots. The subject property has a Low Density
Residential Future Land Use designation, which allows a maximum net density of
four dwelling units per net buildable acre.
The requested density and minimum lot size are consistent with the
adjacent developments. Ms. Giles
described the landscape buffers and pointed out that the development will be
required to provide 15% open space in accordance with the Land Development
Code. Utilities will be provided by
Seminole County. Ms. Giles reported that
the Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval
and staff is recommending approval.
Commissioner Dallari stated that he has already submitted his ex
parte communication to the Clerk and noted that he will be basing his decision
on the evidence that is presented at the time of this public hearing. Commissioner Carey submitted her ex parte
communications (copy received and filed) for all of the public hearings.
Charlie Madden, Madden Moorhead & Stokes, addressed the
Board to state he is representing the Applicant, K. Hovnanian Homes. Mr. Madden reported that they did have a good
community meeting regarding this project.
He would normally review what was shown at the community meeting, but he
does not believe there is anyone present today regarding the project; so he
will not do that. Mr. Madden offered to
answer any questions.
Chairman Horan confirmed with Mr. Madden that he is submitting
whatever is in the record now (Agenda Backup) as part of the record. Mr. Madden also submitted the information
(copy received and filed) that was shown at the community meeting into the
record.
With regard to public participation, no one in the audience
spoke in support or in opposition to Agenda Item #31 and public input was
closed.
Motion by
Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to adopt Ordinance
#2017-18 enacting a Rezone from A‑1 (Agriculture) to PD (Planned
Development) and to approve the associated Development Order and Master
Development Plan for approximately 14.64 acres, located on the north side of
Howell Branch Road, one-half mile west of Dodd Road, as described in the proof of publication; Madden Moorhead &
Stokes.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE
Meloney Lung, Assistant County Manager, addressed the Board to
present her Legislative Update. Ms. Lung
reported that the Legislature voted on the budget yesterday and she distributed
a list of Seminole County Allocations from the 2017 Florida Legislature
Approved Budget (copy received and filed).
She noted that Alex Setzer is present today and if the Board has any
specific questions, he can answer those.
Ms. Lung advised that she will provide a full report on the bills that
the Governor signs.
Chairman Horan stated the Board appreciates the summaries that
have been provided. They have allowed
the Board to do the kind of job that they are supposed to do to try and protect
the public. He stated they have been
doing a lot of work this year to try and make sure that Seminole County not
only gets its fair share but also so those in Tallahassee understand exactly
and precisely what the local government's job is. Ms. Lung added that it has been a very challenging
year.
Commissioner Carey stated that she thinks when they get a
Legislative Update, it is the perfect opportunity to say that Seminole County's
Home Rule was not protected; Home Rule was stepped all over. She advised that there are things that are
coming on the ballot that sound really good to the homeowner, an additional
$25,000 homestead exemption cut.
However, that is a gift to the residents from the people in Tallahassee
but it will come out of residents' local dollars; so they did not cut State tax
revenue, their money. Commissioner Carey
explained that the State is putting something out there with the amendment that
will impact every local government. For
Seminole County, it is to the tune of about $11 million to the General Fund. Seminole County is the one that provides the
residents' services and pays for it with ad valorem tax. For the State Representatives to come back
home and act like they have done something wonderful, they didn't do anything
so wonderful for the local governments.
She does not believe they should sit here and act like everything was
fine and their Home Rule was protected.
She cautioned there are going to be consequences to the great things
that they did in Tallahassee.
Chairman Horan referred to the 5g cell bill and pointed out that
even though this is a public right‑of‑way that belongs to a city
and county, there is no right to charge a competitive market rate for the
location of the 5g facilities that the cell phone companies use. He thinks that the Legislature just needs to
have a little more confidence in the local governments, that they are going to
compete effectively with each other, that they are going to advance the
technology in a way that would be reasonable and commercially reasonable, and
that every time they want to make things easy doesn't necessarily mean they
have to trample on Home Rule rights. He
believes that is the problem that seems to be cropping up session after session
after session because it is easier to go up to Tallahassee and to get a rule
that basically guts the authority of local governments than to deal with the
local governments. That is not the way
that checks and balances and divisions of authority and power work in the state
and under the state constitution.
With regard to the cell tower bill, Commissioner Dallari asked
Ms. Lung what happens if the pole they are putting the equipment on is not
structurally sound. He questioned who is
responsible then for the operation and maintenance of the pole. Ms. Lung replied her understanding is the
County is. Ms. Guillet stated she is not
sure if the County has to reinforce the pole if the pole cannot support the
equipment. She advised they will double
check it. Commissioner Dallari directed
staff to make sure they look at the wind loading criteria because the wind loading
criteria in the state of Florida has changed over the past several years. Ms. Lung reported that they do have to pull
permits. Commissioner Dallari responded
that he does understand that but reiterated that staff should make sure they
look at the wind loading capability of the pole because the wind loading
criteria has changed per State statute.
With regard to the additional $25,000 homestead exemption,
Commissioner Dallari stated the part that concerns him is what is not being
told to the general public, which is that this county, as well as many other
counties, become donor counties to 28 additional counties who are fiscally
constrained. So if this gets approved,
Seminole County's tax money is now going to other counties to help them
financially. He reiterated that if this
does pass, the ad valorem tax money from Seminole County will be distributed to
other counties that don't have the wherewithal because now it is called
“Socialism.”
Commissioner Carey pointed out there are certainly plenty of
pots of money in the State of Florida.
If state lawmakers wanted to reduce taxes, they had the option to do
so. They could have reduced the penny
sales tax from 6% to 5.5% or 5%. There
are lots of different pots in Tallahassee that they control. She emphasized that they did not cut their
spending. They cut the County's ability
on their ad valorem tax. She thinks they
cannot just sit back and act like everything is fine and nothing really
happened. She believes they have to
educate their voters. Commissioner Carey
reiterated what Commissioner Dallari stated, Seminole County becomes a donor
county. Out of 67 counties in the state,
28 of them are bumping up against their 10 mil cap. When they did the $50,000 worth of homestead
exemption, they wiped out most of their population. Now, if you go to another $25,000 worth of
homestead exemption, it takes off a whole section of housing in Seminole
County; and people that own homes that are $100,000 or more are the ones that
will pay the toll for this. She stressed
that people need to understand what is going to show up on the ballot in 2018,
and the people in Tallahassee need to stop messing with the County's Home
Rule. She added that they don't seem to
respect it anymore, which is pretty disheartening.
Commissioner Constantine stated that he is not going to
reiterate everything that was said because his feelings are the same. He reported that he received an email five
minutes after the agreement was made between the Senate president and the
Speaker of the House from the Speaker of the House lauding the fact that he
just saved you $650,000 million. They
all know why that happened. This is a
vicious shell game. The fact that
somehow money is going to come from heaven and that you are not going to pay
for the services is crazy. He added that
it is going to be incumbent on all of them to understand that this is a
constitutional amendment, that it will take 60%. Commissioner Constantine noted, as
Commissioner Carey stated, the $83 billion budget did not go down; it went
up. But they are trying to tell everyone
that they are trying to save money when what they are really doing is bumping
down the tough decisions to the County.
Unfortunately, the biggest budgets in any budget locally are usually
police and fire. That means you have to
make some hard decisions.
Commissioner Constantine pointed out that it is easy for them to
sit here and say isn't it horrible; but the fact of the matter is when their
State Representatives and State Senator come back home and get in front of the
Chamber of Commerce and Woman's Clubs and say look at what we did, we cut your
taxes, they should call them on it and tell them the truth, that you did not do
this. They simply shifted and played a
vicious shell game and shifted the issue back down to the local government. He reiterated that it is incumbent they not
let them have a free pass and that they should let people know the State did
not give anybody a tax cut. They simply
shifted taxes to those most vulnerable.
If you play out this scenario, the people that own homes are the more
likely to not need the extra $100 to $150.
It is the elderly that are living in assisted living or the young that
are living in the rentals. With regard
to the commercial business, which will have an increase in the ad valorem
taxes, you will just pay more at the retail level; so nothing is going to
change.
Chairman Horan noted that they have a number of very good people
from the eastern rural areas and Geneva area here in attendance today. He added that they had a brush fire out there
a few days ago. They saw
helicopters. They saw a lot of expensive
equipment and law enforcement and public safety and firefighters. Chairman Horan pointed out that the $11
million that the County will lose to their General Fund, if this particular
constitutional exemption is passed, hits that particular public safety
directly. It hits law enforcement. It hits firefighters and that helicopter that
was dumping water and saving homes. That
is where it comes from, right there. He
suggested that they call their friends and neighbors and explain to them that the
Legislature didn't cut your taxes; they just cut the County's revenues.
Commissioner Carey remarked that sometimes if it sounds too good
to be true, it is. That is what people
need to stop and think about. She stated
that she promises that the legislators will come home, and people will not
understand the whole situation, just like many things that happen in
Tallahassee. They rarely get called out
on it. And they will run for whatever
comes next and then go back and do it again.
The fact is there is no respect for Home Rule. They will get punished in this county because
of other counties' misbehavior. Seminole
County has one of the lowest tax millage rates out of the 67 counties and they
are in the top ten millage rates. They
just talked about building a new fire station.
It costs a million dollars a year to staff Station 29. If $11 million comes out of the budget next
year because of this amendment, where will they go to get that money? People need to really stop and understand
what is going on here. She stated she
didn't want this Legislative Update to pass without the Board actually saying
what the issue is.
Commissioner Constantine discussed the last constitutional
amendment regarding homestead. He stated
that not only is Seminole County needing to look at its budget tightly, but
because they are going to protect those fiscally constrained smaller counties,
counties like Seminole County all of the way to counties like Dade (40 plus
counties) are going to have to pay also for those other counties. It is a double taxation there. He remarked the good news is that he thinks
the citizens may just be smart enough to catch this. It passed with 64% the last time. Maybe they can get another 5% to see the
difference there.
Commissioner Constantine pointed out that they want the counties
to act like businesses all of the time.
They talk about governments acting like businesses. However, regarding a $170 billion perceived
potential windfall profit for four or five conglomerate companies, wireless
companies, concerning this new technology for the cell towers, they take the
side of the wireless companies and tell the taxpayers that we, the taxpayers,
are going to have to subsidized the cable companies and only charge $150. Other counties in other states are receiving
upwards to $2,500. $1,500 is the
average. $2,500 is high. He does not understand. Chairman Horan stated that the right‑of‑ways
belong to the local taxpayers and basically the state government appropriated
them for the purposes of the cell phone companies so they could go ahead and
facilitate their installation of the new 5th generation technology. He added that they are all in favor of
advancing that technology but they are just looking to be paid; pay the
taxpayers who own the right‑of‑ways. He stressed that it is the Board's job and
his job to protect the assets of the taxpayer.
Commissioner Constantine stated if they wanted to cut taxes, that would
be a great way to cut the taxes.
Ms. Lung explained that on that particular bill, there were many
people that spoke out against it. She
added there are many localities within Florida that are getting $2,000 a
pole. They have contracts. The cell tower companies reached out to them,
not the other way around. Commissioner
Constantine stated that it is interesting that the sponsor of the bill
represents The Villages and The Villages got exempt. Chairman Horan stated it is also interesting
that the State Legislature exempted all of the State's right‑of‑ways.
Chairman Horan emphasized that the reason they are going into
this tirade is so the camera understands and the people understand that it is
not a free lunch out there. Basically,
what the Legislature has done is not cut their own taxes but cut local
revenues, revenues needed for public health, public safety and to do the kinds
of things that they do on a day‑to‑day basis. That being said though, he stated he wanted
to laude in a very, very difficult environment the work of their legislative
staff and their lobbyist. He sent out a
special thank you to Senator Jack Latvala, who was a great friend of the County
this year and really supported their initiatives in the Florida Senate.
-------
Chairman Horan stated that normally they would go on to District
Reports but he does know there are people here who would normally speak at the
end of the meeting. He asked if there
are any objections to hearing from those people now. No
objections were voiced.
ITEMS
FOR FUTURE AGENDA (Nygren Buggy Collection)
Don Epps, 144 Peacock Drive, addressed the Board to state that
he first wants to recognize some staff members who have put in a tremendous
amount of time putting this effort together; the former museum coordinator, Kim
Nelson, and the current coordinator, Bennett Lloyd. Mr. Epps stated that as president of Seminole
County Historical Society, he is here to advocate for the acceptance of an
offer made by Mr. Bill Nygren to donate a collection of buggies to the
Museum of Seminole County History. He
added that Mr. Nygren's generous donation of these historically
significant artifacts will become part of a new active-learning and
STEAM-learning exhibit unique in this region and designed to complement the
museum's current push for programs geared toward CPALM curriculum standards in
order to satisfy a void left by the dissolution of the student museum. Mr. Epps asked all of the audience members
who are here in support of Mr. Nygren's offer to stand.
Mr. Epps began a PowerPoint presentation entitled "The Bill
Nygren Buggy Collection" (copy received and filed). He displayed the What Is It slide and
described 3 of the 18 carriages that were selected from Mr. Nygren's extensive
collection and showcase the technological innovations of personal transportation
prior to the introduction of the automobile.
Mr. Epps next explained why the collection is important and pointed out
that this facet of Seminole County's industrial and transportation heritage
remains largely untold.
Mr. Epps displayed How Will We Tell the Story and discussed the
sketches, which give an impression of the kinds of activities and space they
wish to create. He added that in
conjunction with the school programs already in development at the museum, they
will work with the school system to customize student visitor experiences to
meet curriculum requirements for a variety of CPALM standards.
Donna Bundy, Chairman of the Seminole County Historical
Commission, addressed the Board to continue the presentation. She displayed and reviewed What Progress Has
Been Made and pointed out that it was concluded that the best solution would be
the complete rededication of the warehouse at 302 Eslinger Way for this
exhibit. She discussed the Plan of
Curation, which was submitted and approved by the Historical Society and
Historical Commission in December of 2016, and advised that the next two months
involved careful study of the probable costs entailed in retrofitting the
building to specifications by the Leisure Services Department. In March, the Seminole County Historical
Society and the Seminole County Historic Commission passed a joint resolution
authorizing expenditures of their own of up to $50,000 in line with the
estimates generated by the Leisure Services Department study, should the plan
proceed forward.
With regard to the Next Steps, Ms. Bundy explained that a six‑month
time frame for evaluation of the potential Nygren donation began in October of
2016 and is now complete; and they must give the would‑be donor an
answer. She stated that those of the
Seminole County Historical Society and the Historical Commission recommend that
the Board give the go‑ahead for transfer of the use of Building 302 to
the Museum of Seminole County History in accordance with the parameters
established in the submitted Plan of Curation (received and filed), and in line
with the current feasibility studies completed, so this essential component of
Seminole County’s development is not lost.
By creating active learning opportunities at their cultural institutions
and by preserving their historical identity, the citizens of Seminole County,
their students, and their heritage will be well served. She asked that the Commission say yes.
David McDonald, 153 Whitcomb Drive, addressed the Board to state
he is the president of the Geneva Historical and Geological Society. They own and operate the Museum of Geneva
History and Fort Lane Park. Mr. McDonald
advised that at the museum they have many unique items that are on display. They bring the second and fourth grade
students from Geneva Elementary School to the museum and teach them not only
about Geneva history but also what it was like throughout time to live in this
area. He advised that he has known Mr.
Nygren for quite a while and is probably one of few people that has been able
to see his entire buggy collection. He
then relayed some details about the collection and emphasized that he thinks it
would be a tremendous asset not only to Seminole County and the residents but
also to the visitors that come to the area to study this buggy collection. In representing the Geneva Historical Society
of over 150 members, he recommended that the County approve this so a lot of
other people, not just a select few, can view this collection and keep it for
many, many years into the future.
Kim Nelson, 124 Krider Road, addressed the Board to state she is
the former museum coordinator of the Seminole County Museum and is here to
speak as a private citizen and also in her former capacity. Ms. Nelson advised that she was the one that
initiated this project because after seeing Mr. Nygren's collection, she was
"knocked out" by its sophistication and just had to have it. She knows that the museum, a nonprofit
organization, has a history like so many other nonprofits of not supporting
itself; it never will. She has been in
the nonprofit administration sector and arts administration sector and has yet
to see in 40 years a nonprofit organization in the arts and cultural arena be
self‑sufficient.
Ms. Nelson thanked the Commission for supporting this museum,
and she wanted to come with hands open to see if they would take her advice and
look at this from a tourism and business perspective. The museum could use some help. This exhibit that is being offered has so
much potential and is a world class exhibit.
She then discussed the only other carriage museum in Florida, which is
located outside of Ocala in Weirsdale.
Ms. Nelson stated she did a marketing survey before proposing this to
the Commissioners to obtain Building 302 as a potential for this exhibit and
then reviewed the benefits that she believes Seminole County will reap from
this new plan. She discussed how this
exhibit will generate more income for the museum and reviewed the admittance
fees for other carriage museums in the country.
Ms. Nelson stated that during her tenure in the museum, she
tried to work with the Convention and Visitors Bureau with very little
success. They did work together back in
2013 for the Centennial, but she never got any traction there. She thinks that is a shame and wanted to bring
that to the Commissioners’ attention because if they do this, she thinks that
they can help spread the word and increase the visibility of this donation at
the museum's location. Ms. Nelson
concluded by stating this is a completely unique and different collection; and
because of its uniqueness, she thinks that the Board should proceed with the
approval of Building 302 as a home and turn it into something they can be proud
of and something that will shine a light on their cultural commitment and historic
preservation role in Seminole County.
Commissioner Carey asked Ms. Nelson how many people a year go to
the Weirsdale Museum. Ms. Nelson replied
that they would not disclose that information.
Ms. Nelson explained that the marketing information is in the packet
(copy received and filed), which she is submitting today. Commissioner Carey referred to the Carriage
Museum of America and asked if there was a reason why they didn't house the
collection there where a lot more people could see it. Ms. Nelson advised that the Carriage Museum
of America does not have its own location; it has no bricks and mortar.
Desta Horner, 652 Forest Cove, addressed the Board to state she
is a member of Seminole County Historical Society, the vice president of the
Oviedo Historical Society, and docent of the T.W. Lawton Museum in Oviedo. For 32 years, she was a history teacher in
Seminole County so history means a lot to her and children mean a lot to her. She discussed a slide presentation on the
history of Oviedo that she makes every year to ten elementary schools in
Oviedo. She talked about how interested
the children are in history and how tactile the 4th grade children are; they
like to touch and they like to see. Ms.
Horner pointed out that by providing this collection at the Seminole County
Museum, it would attract parents to bring their kids there to come and see
three dimensionally the carriages that she shows them on the screen.
Ms. Horner discussed Mr. Nygren's collection and stated that it
is amazing. She added that now they need
to have a place to put them. They will
not fit into the museum that they already have, so they will need a place to
put them. She advised that they, in the
Historical Commission, have agreed to raise $50,000 to finish the inside. If they have this carriage display at some
other building ten miles down the road, it wouldn't serve the best
purpose. They need the collection in a
building right next door to the large and existing museum; it should all be
together. Building 302 is right where
they need it to be. Ms. Horner stated
that the Seminole County Commission can make this happen by letting them have
the use of Building 302. It is as simple
as that for children of Seminole County and for the visitors to Seminole
County. They encourage the Board to
accept Mr. Nygren's generous gift and make it possible for them to put it
there by arranging for this building to be the location of the collection.
Imogene Yarborough, 186 First Street, addressed the Board to
state she moved to her house on October 26, 1949. Ms. Yarborough stated she is one of the
fortunate who has been all through Mr. Nygren's beautiful collection. She has also seen the collection in
Weirsdale. As a teacher, she has been
taught that if you want to teach someone something, you have to tell them that
something at least three times. The
Board has been told twice today by these last two speakers of the necessary
reasons that they feel this is an important gift. They do desperately need Building 302. She added they lost “The Senator” but they
have got a lot of “The Senator” in different ways. This would definitely give Seminole County
another something to come and see and learn from. Education is so important to these
children.
Commissioner Constantine stated that as the representative to
the Historical Society, the last time they broached the subject, he was asked
to take back a request to put together a business plan. He believes they did that, and he believes
that the County Manager accepted that and then came back with some
information. He believes the next step
is to find out what staff has done.
Ms. Guillet stated that Mr. Epps brought her the curation
plan last week, so they sat down and starting going through it. It was very detailed and very interesting and
she appreciates all of the effort that went into it. She advised that what staff did after they
got the plan was take it to their facilities folks and some of their other building
folks who are more involved with respect to the cost of retrofitting. The issue is not so much the use of the space
but rather what it will take to get that space where it needs to be and then
the ongoing cost associated with managing the exhibit if the Board was to
choose to move forward. Chairman Horan
added there is also the cost of moving what is in the building.
Ms. Guillet stated the building is a used building and they have
Telecom and Information Services equipment stored in there, things that they
need to use. She advised they have
looked at clearing out what they can clear out but a lot of it they need to
maintain and it has to be in a climate-controlled environment. They would have to move that equipment out of
that facility and into another facility.
They have another place they can move it to but that would require
renovating the new space to provide a climate-controlled environment so the
equipment is safely stored.
Ms. Guillet stated that they went through some of the numbers
that were included in the curation report and the business report and there
were things that were not considered.
Staff has given the Board some updated numbers. After consulting with the Fire Department,
they determined that if they moved the exhibit into Building 302, it would have
to be "sprinkled and alarmed," which is another $30,000 to $40,000
expense. Ms. Guillet reported that staff
believes the cost to upgrade the building to get it in an exhibit condition
would be about $110,000 initially plus another 40‑some‑odd thousand
dollars to move the equipment and upgrade another space for the equipment that
would need to be moved out of Building 302.
She summarized that they are looking at about $150,000. Of course, they would do their best to keep
the costs down. Ms. Guillet pointed out
that the Historical Commission and Historical Society have committed to
contributing $50,000 towards that cost.
They determined that the ongoing cost to keep this exhibit running and
promoted would be somewhere between $30,000 and $45,000 a year because they will
have to upgrade staffing, which involves taking a part‑time person and
making them full time and giving them benefits.
Ms. Guillet stated she thinks if the Board had asked her what
her recommendation would be regarding this two weeks ago, it would have been
different than what it might be today when they are facing an $11 million hole
in two years in the budget. With respect
to moving forward regarding the way they look at expenditures in the County,
she has directed staff to have no new expenditures that they may not be able to
sustain in two years and that they should focus on essential services; public
safety, keeping the roads safe, keeping the waterways clean. Those are essential to the mission at the County,
not that arts and culture are not important; they are. They are a very important part of the fabric
of the quality of life in Seminole County; but from the County's standpoint,
the mission is essential health, safety and welfare. That is what she has directed staff to focus
on moving forward as they start to prepare budgets and get prepared for this
potential hit of $11 million to the budget.
Ms. Guillet stated this is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. She noted there was a lot of discussion about
education with regard to the exhibit and she doesn't know if there have been
discussions with the School Board or the School Board Foundation. She does not know what is available there and
doesn't want to spend their money for them.
She remarked that space is not the issue so much as the startup costs
and the ongoing costs. In the grand
scheme of the budget, it is not a lot of money; but she thinks that it speaks
to bigger policy questions that they need to address moving forward, such as
what are they going to focus their revenues on, what are they going to focus
their expenditures on. She noted she
would not want to be in the Commissioners' shoes having to make this decision
because she believes this is a very worthwhile project. With regard to when the Board needs to make a
decision, Chairman Horan acknowledged that Mr. Nygren needs to know so he
can move on and look at other possibilities.
Commissioner Dallari wondered if the fire sprinkler system needs
to be a wet system; and if it is a wet system, will it hinder the display or
not. Ms. Guillet replied she does not
know. Commissioner Dallari asked Mr.
Applegate if they have an agreement on the table of what it takes to accept
this donation and whether it is on loan or a permanent gift. He stated he has a lot of questions legally
about accepting this and just wants to know what is on the table. Mr. Applegate replied that his office hasn't
been asked to draft anything on the subject.
Chairman Horan stated they obviously have to insure it; and if you
insure it, you will pay a certain rider.
Ms. Guillet reminded the Board that they are self‑insured. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Carey as to
whether the buggies are stored in air conditioning, Mr. Nygren explained
that the buggies in the living room are and the others are not. He added that the reason he is doing this is
because he can't keep up with maintaining them properly.
Commissioner Carey remarked that she thinks Mr. Nygren has
been very generous to offer this to the County and agreed it is an important
part of history. She voiced some of her
concerns, such as if the collection is given to the County and three years from
now when the County is redoing Five Points and that space is needed as part of
the Master Plan, what happens then. What
happens if they spend $150,000 to build out a building to get it prepared to
house something only to find that when their Master Plan is finished, it needs
to be moved? Timing is everything many
times. With the $11 million hit that
they will probably end up taking and with the other hits that they haven't
talked about yet because the other $11 million is such a big hit, the County's
focus does have to be on essential services.
Commissioner Carey pointed out that if Mr. Nygren needs and
deserves an answer now, they should try to give him an answer. She advised that she cannot support taking a
facility that they may need in their Master Plan, which they haven't seen
yet. She talked about what a great place
the museum is but noted that they have 2,000 people a year that go to the
museum. Even with “The Senator” and
other activities and important displays that they have just recently had out
there, she does not think the participation has gone up markedly. Commissioner Carey reiterated that as one
Board member and knowing they are ready to start the budget discussions, she
just can't in her mind justify making a commitment for something like that at
this time.
Commissioner Dallari stated that he was informed there was a
potential old fire station in Geneva.
Ms. Guillet replied that there was.
She advised that they are working under a deadline; and if they did not
have a deadline, they could continue to work.
Commissioner Carey stated there are multiple museums. Ms. Guillet stated there are several
facilities that are not climate controlled; so if it is an issue of storing
them until they can figure something out, they have the opportunity to do
that. She added it is the investment to
get the exhibit up and running. They
would certainly be willing to work with the Historical Society and the
Historical Commission to look for grant opportunities and to try and find some
other ways to help fund this. She
reiterated if they need to store the buggies, they have a couple of different
places where they can store them that are not climate controlled and they are
willing to work with them. She mentioned
the situation that they find themselves in from a fiscal standpoint and pointed
out this is not the only worthwhile organization that has asked the County for
help; they are all great causes but they are back to making tough choices.
Chairman Horan wondered what avenues of philanthropy have been
looked at and what grants have been looked at and are out there. He talked about when the airport stepped up
to help fund the history book.
Commissioner Constantine advised that he has met Mr. Nygren
and has heard the discussions at the Historical Commission. He stated he thinks Mr. Nygren is frustrated
because he never thought giving away such a wonderful exhibit would take so
much work. Ms. Guillet remarked that you
want to treat it with the respect that it deserves, if you take it. Commissioner Constantine agreed with Ms.
Guillet but stated they have also seen the extent of the passion of the
individuals here. He does not think they
are alone in their passion for this. Commissioner Constantine agreed with what Ms.
Yarborough said, that you have to see something to save it. He pointed out the buggies are outside. He stated the thing that he does not want to
do at this point is deny the opportunity.
$50,000 to an organization that hasn't raised a lot of money in the past
is a lot of money. As the County Manager
requested, he would like to have a little bit more time to put everything
together. If Mr. Nygren has waited
this long, he will wait a little bit longer.
The County Attorney said today that he hasn't even looked at it. Obviously, there are a lot of questions that
have to be answered. He would like to
put it on the agenda at some point in the future with the opportunity for the
County Manager to come back with a full report.
Ms. Guillet stated the use of Building 302 is not the issue here and
wondered if they could find a way to underwrite the cost of uplifting and
moving the equipment that is in the building and covering the recurring costs;
actually being able to use the building is not something that is the bigger
challenge. Mr. Applegate added that
working out an agreement would be the easy part of this whole thing so he is
not too worried about that; it is the other issues the County Manager has
raised.
Commissioner Carey discussed her concerns regarding changes that
might need to be made in the future when the Master Plan comes to the
Board. She added they have so many
things working at Five Points right now that are unknown and that the Board is
waiting on staff to bring back, like the Master Plan. She wondered if there is a place in Geneva
where the collection could be stored or if maybe some other people in the
community have some air-conditioned warehouse space where they could help store
the collection until such time that the Board could settle on what is going to
happen. The County has a limited amount
of space at Five Points and they have to think about what happens 20 years from
now in the county when the waterfront has been developed into something else or
when they don't have parking for the courthouse and have to move the
courthouse. They are looking at moving
the County Services Building. Ms.
Guillet agreed that space is an issue for the County right now. Commissioner
Henley pointed out that that is why they have a space study underway as to what
the needs are going to be over the next few years. He concurred with the point that Commissioner
Carey made from the standpoint that after accepting something like this, which
has historical significance, are they going to able to sustain it and if so,
how long with all of the unknowns that are out there. He does not want to end up being the bad guy
by destroying something that someone has spent a lifetime accumulating.
Commissioner Henley reminded the Board that they have been asked
by the CEO at the zoo for $600,000 because the zoo is struggling. They don't own the zoo but yet they have
helped them for a number of years. He
advised that when they look at all of the requests that come to the Board for
aid and he thinks about all that has happened already with the $11 million
dollar cut in the budget and knowing they are going to have expenses increasing
that they are obligated for, it is not a good situation to be confronted with
now, this request to assume the collection and to be able to make it work. Commissioner Henley stated he thinks they may
be taking on something that they cannot sustain. Chairman Horan stated that is his
concern. He would love to say yes but he
just does not know. Discussion ensued
between the Commissioners, the County Manager, and Mr. Nygren as to how much
time will be needed for the County to review this and be able to give a certain
answer.
Motion by
Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize the
County Manager and her staff to further investigate the Bill Nygren Buggy
donation and come back to the Board with ideas and recommendations as soon as
possible.
Under discussion, Chairman Horan advised Mr. Nygren that if
Seminole County cannot properly curate this particular collection, it would be
a sin to accept it. He added that he
would love to keep this collection here in the county and he knows Mr. Nygren's
desire is to keep the collection in the county.
Chairman Horan stated that he thinks they need to explore this and he
would like to empower and authorize the County Manager to look at what avenues
of funding and grants are out there.
They are talking about $160,000 to outfit this and then $50,000 a year. If there are grants and some kind of support
out there, he recommended that they find out if they can do it.
Commissioner Carey stated it is only fair that they "fish
or cut bait." She added that Mr.
Nygren needs to know because if Mr. Nygren cannot keep it here in Seminole
County, she would hope they would try to come up with other facilities that
might be interested in taking the collection if they knew it was
available.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
District
5
Commissioner
Carey announced that Lauren Rowe, former Channel 6 WKMG news anchor, has taken
a position at the Sanford Orlando International Airport as a communication
director. She added that K‑9
Poeki, who was the airport's drug and explosives sniffing dog, retired and is
being replaced with 2‑year‑old Guinness.
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Commissioner Carey thanked everyone that participated in the
Bookertown Community cleanup, which was held on the 29th of April. She reported that staff and the SER volunteers
did a wonderful job. Waste Pro provided
three roll‑off dumpsters and recycle bins for everyone in the
community. Florida Fish and Wildlife
Commission was there to talk about bears and the Sheriff's Office
participated. Commissioner Carey advised
that a total of 32.5 tons of trash was collected. She also announced there will be a Community
Resource Fair day on May 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and explained it is a
health screening provided by the Seminole County Health Department with
representatives from various vendors.
District
1
Commissioner Dallari reported that
per their concession agreement with the Sports Commission, the Hilton runs the
concession out at the Sports Complex.
Per their agreement with the County, they work with not‑for‑profits
to help them raise money. This past
weekend, they worked with the Winter Springs High School football team, who
volunteered their hours working at the concession stand, and they actually
raised $4,000. He noted it is nice to
see the concession folks giving back and working with the nonprofit. He commended Frank Cirrincione and his group
for doing that and commended the County's group for constructing an agreement
to do that.
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Commissioner Dallari requested an update regarding Jetta
Point/Rolling Hills. Ms. Guillet
reminded the Board that the County was given seven conditions from the State
that they had to comply with. They are
continuing to complete those. Some of
them are done. The biggest one right now
is to address the environmental issues.
She advised they believe they are going to be in pretty good shape. Commissioner Dallari asked if they will be
fine for the closing. Ms. Guillet
responded yes, that they are moving it along and she believes they will stay on
schedule. She reminded the Board that
they did get an extension recently for due diligence. Commissioner Dallari stated he knows they got
an extension but just wants to make sure they are going to be within the time
period of the extension. Ms. Guillet
advised they will be. She added that in
addition to the environmental issue, Mr. Applegate's office is helping resolve
the deed restriction issue and is making good progress on that as well.
District
3
Commissioner Constantine reported that on April 26, he and the
County Manager attended a CareerSource retreat in Seminole County. He added that later that week, he met with
both the Springs Landing Homeowners Associations regarding taking ownership of
over 100 bear‑resistant containers and with Wekiva Hunt Club Association
regarding their interest in pursuing the bear‑resistant containers and
their interest in what is happening with the Public Service Utility.
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Commissioner Constantine congratulated Commissioner Dallari and
everyone at Kids House for their Gala this past week. He announced there is a Leadership Seminole
luncheon on May 19 where they will be celebrating the life and service of
Congressman Mica. Commissioner
Constantine reported that he had the pleasure of welcoming 32 Division 2 tennis
teams from around the country at Route 46 on May 8. He congratulated the County's Parks &
Recreation staff in conjunction with the Central Florida Sports Commission, who
brought the teams together. The national
finals are being held at Sanlando Park.
Commissioner Constantine announced that Charity Challenge will be on May
20 at Camping World Stadium. He hopes to
raise a good deal of money for charity.
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Commissioner Constantine reported that he was in Tallahassee on
May 8 representing Seminole County before the Public Service Commission along
with the County's attorney, Bill Bilenky, who is with Manson Bolves Donaldson
Varn, PA. He stated he believes it was a
good start. They won't know the outcome
until August 2. He advised they
discussed the consolidation of the rates of those 12 utility companies that are
owned by Utilities, Inc. and consolidation in this case means subsidy; Seminole
County's people subsidizing other people.
By statute, the Public Service Commission is to formulate a rate that is
fair, just, reasonable, and not unfairly discriminatory. With Sanlando customers subsidizing the rest
of the 11, that certainly would be unfairly discriminatory. Commissioner Constantine stated he is
specifically requesting silos of service or breaking it up into areas. With 12 services and 9 counties, if they put
those silos of service together, Seminole County's people would not only be
more fairly regulated, but also there would be less of an increase in this $7.4
million request that Utilities, Inc. is making.
Commissioner Constantine then read Mr. Bilenky's email (copy received
and filed) into the record.
Chairman’s
Report
Chairman Horan reported that as the Board knows, they get a lot
of requests for proclamations and resolutions; and of course, they can't grant
all of them. He advised there is a lady
by the name of Jo Howard who has been the head of the perinatal program at
Children's Home Society in Seminole County for 25 years, and they have asked
for a proclamation. He stated he would
like to do a letter for her on behalf of the Board that basically tells her how
much they appreciate what she has meant in the lives of thousands of children.
Motion by
Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute a Letter of Appreciation to Jo Howard with
the Children's Home Society.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman Horan announced the Boys and Girls Club "Be Great"
Gala will be on May 13 at the Hansla estate, the home of Carl and Barbara
Hansla. He stated that if someone is
interested in going, he has the information and it is also on their website.
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Chairman Horan reported that he met with Helen Miller, who is
the regional director of Senator Nelson's office, and talked about outreach in
Seminole County. On May 23, the first
outreach is going to be here at the County Services Building from 11:30 a.m. to
1:30 p.m. Ms. Miller will be present for
anybody who would wishes to talk to her, either constituents or staff,
regarding outreach on federal programs.
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Chairman Horan reported that the Regional Affordable Housing
workshop, which is the first in a series of affordable housing workshops, will
be on May 19 in Orange County at the County Administration Building. He stated he knows they will have some
representatives there as indicated by Valmarie Turner and advised that he has
the agenda. The Chairman added that
Seminole County is pursuing their own affordable housing initiatives through
some private developers here; and if anyone is interested in an update
regarding that, it will be on May 19 in the morning.
COMMUNICATIONS
AND/OR REPORTS
The following Communications and/or Reports
were received and filed:
1.
Letter
dated April 24, 2017 from Senator Bill Nelson to Chairman Horan re: David Bass
letter.
2.
Letter
dated April 24, 2017 from Patrick Sacbibit, Branch Chief, Engineering Services
Branch, Federal Insurance & Mitigation Administration, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, to Chairman Horan re: flood determinations for Pond A at the
intersection of SR-46 and Hickman Drive.
3.
Letter
dated April 24, 2017 from David and Kimberly Kuketz to the Board of County
Commissioners re: MSBU Program for Horseshoe Lake North.
4.
Letter
dated April 25, 2017 from Hatem Aguib, Project Manager, FDOT District Five, to
Property Owner re: Notice of Public Information Meeting for Wekiva Parkway
(SR-429) to be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Lakeside
Fellowship United Methodist Church, 305 S. Orange Boulevard, Sanford.
5.
Letter
dated April 26, 2017 from Dennis Baker of Florida Veterans Foundation, Inc. to
Seminole County Commissioners re: request for a budgeted annual donation of
$10,000.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S REPORT
Nicole Guillet, County Manager, reminded the Board that one of
the issues that was raised at the last meeting was the issue of the City of
Longwood sending out a letter discussing water connection and annexation, and
they had some citizens that were very concerned about that. She stated there was a public community
meeting on May 3 and she and Mr. McMenemy attended. The City has indicated that they are going to
do a survey to try and better gauge what the desires of that community are. They are also giving serious consideration to
doing a sewer project and allowing hookups without the requirement of
annexation. Ms. Guillet stated that is
the latest information she has regarding that issue and she will keep the Board
posted.
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Ms. Guillet stated that the other item the Board requested
follow‑up on was the Heritage Park project that they received from
Sanford. The Board wanted some
additional information with respect to incentives and the scheduling of the
project. Ms. Guillet advised they met
with the City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, and some of their consultants
following the last Board meeting.
Sanford provided some information which was distributed to the
Commissioners' offices. She noted
Sanford is going to refine some of that information to provide a clearer idea
on both incentives and scheduling. The
scheduling plan was not included. Ms.
Guillet added that they will keep the Board updated on the information. The most important thing she learned from the
meeting is that Sanford is initiating a parking study for Downtown Sanford
which they expect to take about 30 days.
The County has asked them to be sure to include parking needs for the
courthouse and the library so the County's facilities are taken into account. She reiterated that staff will continue to
work with them on that and following the study will bring back a recommendation
for a solution with respect to parking at the County's facilities downtown.
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Upon inquiry by Chairman Horan, Ms. Guillet advised there is a
community meeting scheduled on the Lake Monroe Loop on June 7.
COUNTY
ATTORNEY’S REPORT
Bryant Applegate, County Attorney, announced that Deputy County
Attorney Lynn Porter‑Carlton has been invited to join the Seminole Inns
of Court, which is a big honor. Paul
Chipock has been appointed by the Florida Bar to serve on the Continuing Legal
Education Committee that oversees CLE requirements and questions that come
up. Desmond Morrell is the incoming
president for the Florida Paul C. Perkins Bar Association. Mr. Applegate stated he is very proud of
these accomplishments and also believes it is a reflection on the Board for
allowing the attorneys to be involved in these activities.
ITEMS
FOR FUTURE AGENDA - Solar
Sharon Lynn, League of Women Voters, addressed the Board to
state she is here today not just as the Natural Resources chair for the League
of Women Voters of Seminole County but also as the Solar chair. Ms. Lynn stated she has lived in Seminole
County for 20 years, grew up in Florida, and loves this county. She thanked the Board for passing the
fertilizer ordinance, which to her knowledge is the most stringent one in the
state of Florida. Ms. Lynn stated she
believes solar is a natural addition for the county. Sustainability and renewable energy are
creating jobs. Ms. Lynn introduced
Deirdre Macnab, who is the State Natural Resources chair and is heading the
solar initiative in the state of Florida.
Deirdre Macnab, League of Women Voters, addressed the Board to
state she would like to bring the Board up to date on some things that are very
exciting in the area of solar energy.
Ms. Macnab advised that 2017 is going to be the solar year for Florida
and noted that many in the audience are wearing yellow in support. She reported that in this legislative
session, Senator Brandes' bill, SB 90, was just passed and will provide
significant tax breaks for businesses that put solar on their roofs.
Ms. Macnab explained that the League of Women Voters has
partnered with a group out of Washington, D.C. called Community Power
Network. They have two 501(c)(3)s
working together and have created an entity called FLSUN (Florida Solar United
Neighborhoods). FLSUN information sheet
(copy received and filed) was distributed to the Commissioners. Ms. Macnab reported that they have introduced
this in nine counties and Miami‑Date has just given the organization
$75,000 to hire a full‑time person to do six neighborhood cooperatives. She explained how these cooperatives use the
idea of volume discounts so neighbors are partnering with neighbors in order to
create anywhere from 30 to 100 households that come together to get the lowest
prices that they are now seeing anywhere in America. Ms. Macnab emphasized that Florida is the
Sunshine State and the League is determined to make Florida number one in
solar. Solar experts say that Florida
should be number one on the east coast and among the top three in the
country.
Ms. Macnab stated that the Legislature has made some exciting
moves this session; and as the Board knows, citizens passed Amendment 4 by 72%
and sent a resounding "no" to the utility amendment in November,
which they spent $26 million to pass.
She stated they are here today to announce that next week they are
having a press conference and launching Seminole Co‑op so that the
citizens of Seminole County will join their fellow counties (Sarasota, Miami‑Dade,
Orange, Broward, and Alachua). She noted
that Mayor Theresa Jacobs just put solar on her roof using the co‑op. This is a grass roots way to educate the
citizens of Florida about how they can significantly reduce their energy
costs. She talked about putting solar on
her house last year and noted that her last three months’ bills have been $10,
$14 and ‑$1.
Ms. Macnab stated that she, Ms. Lynn and the rest of the League
members are volunteers and are here for no other reason than to get Floridians
to lower their energy costs by harnessing the sun. She invited all who have time to come to
Northland Church and express support for solar energy and support for FLSUN in
Seminole County. They will only be open
for three and one-half months. It is an
opportunity for citizens to see some of the lowest prices anywhere in the country. Ms. Macnab gave an example of someone who has
put solar on their roof.
Ms. Macnab stated they are here today because they want the
County's support and want to recruit them into this effort. They have been very fortunate to get the
support of commissioners and mayors all across the state. She stressed they are not asking for funding
but are asking for their support and for them to come and learn more about how
solar can work for Seminole citizens to help them reduce their energy costs and
keep that money working right here in Seminole County and in Florida using
Florida‑grown energy. She offered
to send the PowerPoint that she was going to show today to the Commissioners or
show it another time. Chairman Horan
suggested Ms. Macnab send the PowerPoint to the County Manager and she will
distribute it.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Dallari, Ms. Macnab stated the
meeting will be at Northland Church next Thursday at 11:00 a.m. She noted that Dr. Joel Hunter has been a
superb supporter and is going to encourage his congregation to learn about
solar. The press conference is on
Thursday and there will be meetings all around the county. She suggested if the County would like to
offer any of its venues for the meetings, they would gratefully accept. Commissioner Dallari stated he sees no reason
why they don’t allow them to use the Extension Services Auditorium. Ms. Guillet stated they will check with
Extension Services regarding scheduling.
Ms. Macnab stated that the Board has really shown a reverence
and a stewardship for Florida's natural wonders. They set a great example for the surrounding
counties and the rest of the state. With
regard to the Legislature, she stated there is nothing better than people who
have served at the county commission and city level to serve in Tallahassee and
who understand the consequences of the decisions they make up there. She encouraged all who are listening and
those at the dais to think about running for a legislative office.
Commissioner Carey stated that the League does have a very
powerful opportunity to help educate people and she hopes that they will try to
educate the voters about this amendment that will be on the ballot in
2018. It sounds good but it definitely
has consequences. Ms. Macnab agreed with
Commissioner Carey and stated they are putting the burden on local government
now for additional taxes in order to cover the services that the citizens have
grown to expect. She stated the League
has a speaker corps all across the state that goes to Rotaries and all
different kinds of groups and talk about the amendments and explain them to
people so they are informed voters. They
are not just about turning out the vote; they are about turning out an informed
vote.
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There being no further business to come before the Board, the
Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 3:51 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
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