BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
JUNE 14, 2016
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, June 14,
2016, 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)
County Manager Nicole Guillet
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Deputy Clerk Terri Porter
Chairman Horan gave the Invocation followed
by a moment of silence in reverence of the 49 people killed in the Orlando mass
shooting. Aricka Lively, Technician from the Building
Division who has served in the Army, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
The
Business Spotlight video for Coffee and Canvas was presented.
AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS
Item #1 – A-2222-16
Motion
by Commissioner Henley, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt appropriate
Resolution #2016-R-92 recognizing Paula Johnson, Fleet and Facilities Division,
for 40 years of service to Seminole County Government and its citizens.
Ms. Johnson addressed the Board to express
her appreciation.
Post-Legislative Update
Item #2 – A-2267-16
Representative Robert Cortes addressed the
Board and stated he is here with Representative Scott Plakon and Senator
Simmons to present a Post-Legislative Update.
He mentioned that Representative Jason Brodeur is unable to attend and he
sends his regrets.
Representative Plakon addressed the Board
and stated that his perspective is unique in that he served twice in the State
Legislature, and in the first four years, they had a global economic
meltdown. At the state level at that
time, he felt if they just “hold the course” and keep a low-tax environment,
there would be a better day ahead. He
stated they are now seeing that better day, and because of fiscally responsible
decisions that the State of Florida and the Seminole County Commission have made,
they are now in a position to really help Seminole County. On a state level, it is particularly striking
if you compare their activities during that time with some of the other states
like New York and Illinois that are having very difficult budget crises right
now. In fact during that period, the
State of Florida actually increased their bond rating. He said he believes what they share with the
Seminole County Commission is commitment to a low-tax, high-jobs economy and
because of these decisions, they are now seeing that bear fruit, some of which
they will talk about today. He added
this has been a team effort among all of them in the delegation and with this
Board of Commissioners as well.
Senator Simmons addressed the Board and
stated that this last session was in fact a “home run” for the State of
Florida. He stated the unique
perspective with Seminole County is they work as a team, and they have been
able to accomplish a tremendous amount this last session. He thanked the Board for the teamwork the
Commissioners have had with them as their legislative delegation.
Representative Cortes displayed a
PowerPoint presentation (received and filed) and reviewed Session Highlights
and stated he is happy to say they had a balanced budget that was also on
time. He reviewed “What’s in the
budget?” which totaled $82 billion and then displayed a pie chart stating that
41.7% of the state budget goes to Health Care, which includes the federal
match, and it is the largest portion of their budget. The second largest is education and they had
record funding in education this session, and they saw it locally here with
Seminole State College being a huge beneficiary; they just had the
groundbreaking for the student services building last week.
Representative Cortes covered the remaining
bullet points on the List of Important Projects funded in Seminole County
saying this is one reason they were so excited to come to present to the Board
today. He said Seminole County did
extremely well and he thinks more so than anyone else throughout the
state. He added they received many
emails from the Commissioners regarding SWOP (Seminole County Work Opportunity
Program which was changed to Inspire) and they were able to get the funding for
it after it was vetoed last year.
Representative Plakon congratulated the
Commission for being the first county in the state to directly address the
problem with the bears in the western part of the county, which is the district
that he serves. At the beginning of the
session, he and the rest of the delegation put together the idea that they
could take the fees from the bear hunt and apply those to actually try to solve
the problem. They then wrote proviso
language in the budget and not only got $375,000 but an extra $125,000 to be
applied to counties in the state that have bear ordinances, and Seminole County
is the only county that has one right now.
He congratulated the Commissioners for being proactive on that before
the session started.
Senator Simmons stated with respect to
Seminole State College, in addition to the student center, there was also
another building funded for $12 million.
They were able to help the City of Sanford with $300,000 for nutrient
reduction at Lake Jesup and to allocate $313,060 to Operation GROW at the Seminole
County Work Opportunity Program and $250,000 for Breaking the Cycle Institute
for parents and children of domestic violence.
He added there was $150,000 for the Seminole County Veterans Court. He stated they have been able to work
together with Seminole County as a team to create a tremendous success this
year.
Representative Cortes advised that not
included on the slide is Seminole County high-tech manufacturing that is coming
to Lake Mary High School; they were able to get some funding to get that
going. Also, Altamonte Springs received
some funding for a water project.
Representative Cortes remarked the reason
they are talking about these successes is because when they go back to session
next year, they want to be able to repeat this.
He said they cannot be of service if they do not know what the needs
are, so constant communication from both the cities and the counties to the
delegation is important to let them know what is needed. He added that none of this could have been
done without the tax cuts that were implemented by the Legislature. They were shooting for $1 billion but did not
quite get to that.
Representative
Cortes displayed Important Tax Cuts and said that very important to Seminole
County is $428 million in property tax relief.
He explained they increased funding for schools, and this is called tax relief
and not a tax cut because instead of being a burden on homeowners at a rate of
about $54 per homeowner, the State actually picked up the tab. He then reviewed the list of tax cuts.
Representative
Cortes stated in regard to some of the local impact bills, some of them did not
pass which is a good thing because they would have had a negative effect. He covered the Unpassed Local Bills slide
which included Firefighter Cancer Disability Presumption (CS/SB 456 and HB
345), Red Light Cameras (CS/SB 168 and HB 4027), and Communications Services
Tax (SB 256) stating this one would have been detrimental to Seminole
County. He added that HB 7059 regarding
municipal election dates would not have affected the counties but it would have
made November across-the-board general elections for everything, but the
problem they had with that was it conflicted with a lot of the Charters of the
municipals, but it did not pass.
Representative
Cortes then reviewed local bills that passed including Amendment 1 to HB 989
which will provide long-term funding for the Everglades, Florida’s springs and
Lake Apopka; and CS/SB 416 regarding location of utilities equipment, although
it was a watered-down version which is good. Also Public-Private Partnerships (CS/SB 124)
passed; however, he knows that Seminole County does have a procedure for
this. He stated he knows the Juvenile
Detention Costs (CS/SB 1322) bill is important to Seminole County in an
indirect way. He explained that for
years, every time they asked for the money owed to Seminole County, they would
say until the others were settled, they cannot do anything. So this bill settled with everybody else in
the state; unfortunately, it was passed on the last day of session and he was
not able to get the funding in for Seminole.
However, they made some huge strides coming out of this bill when it was
passed. He indicated they are confident
that Seminole County will be made whole in the next coming year because there
is no longer the excuse that they have to wait for all the other counties to be
settled.
Representative
Cortes advised they had several delegation member bills. He filed HB 155 and it did not pass; however,
he said one good thing that came out of 155 is that it got the discussion going
on local transportation efforts through SunRail and Lynx and other things that
are moving forward. They do also have a
study that is coming forward in about eight months that they will share with
Lynx.
Representative Plakon noted they have an
issue that about 42% of people refuse the DUI test and “life is better for
them.” A bill that he and Senator Simmons worked on regarding this did not pass
but they will be working on it again next year.
Also in terms of other member bills, he worked with the Department of
Business and Professional Regulation that passed a major deregulation
bill. He opined that seems to be a
little bit of a theme in Tallahassee, more deregulation, but it also
streamlines the supply side for pharmacies with some new federal bills that
have passed. In addition this year, with
his prime co-sponsor Representative Cortes, they passed HB 43 regarding
religious freedom, which was one of the first in the country to pass after the
Supreme Court decision last year.
Representative Plakon said being a six-year
member now, he is kind of learning as he goes and he has come to believe that
passing bills is a good thing but stopping bills is sometimes a better
thing. This past year someone was in his
office and pointed to the Florida Statutes, which is about 5 volumes now; and
about 20 years ago, it was only 3 volumes.
He thought that is a lot of laws, and so next year, his personal mission
is to hunt down bad ideas and try to stop them.
So he asked the Commission to contact him if they see bad legislation
going forward.
Senator Simmons stated that going back to
the summer of 2013, he started working on the concept of preserving their
springs, and obviously because of the Wekiva basin, this has a tremendous
impact on Seminole County. People said
he was crazy and nothing would ever get done because they had been trying to do
something in the way of comprehensive legislation to preserve the springs and aquifers
for 30 or 40 years, and due to the differences between those who are in the
agricultural business and the environmental advocates, that it would never get
done. He opined that persistence erodes
resistance, and through 2014 and 2015, he and four other senators put together
a package that not only included protection and preservation but a set of rules
to get the job done here in the State of Florida for the springs, the Floridan
and Biscayne Aquifers, for Lake Okeechobee, and the Everglades. This landmark legislation passed last spring
and will give a time period for the job to be done to clean up the springs and
the Floridan Aquifer. They then went
ahead and funded it at a minimum of $50 million per year, and he explained it
is dedicated funding. He stated this was
a tremendous win for the State of Florida and for Seminole County.
Senator Simmons said he sponsored SB 1534
which deals with housing assistance and the issue of homelessness. They were able to pass that bill without
raising any taxes, allocating a certain amount of the SHIP monies, which are
the State Housing Incentive Partnership program monies that go to local
governments, so they have the flexibility to address the issue of
homelessness. He said the Governor spoke
about how this will change the homelessness issue here in Central Florida. He added in Seminole County there is a
significant problem of families who are homeless and this changes the way that
issue is addressed with rapid rehousing being suggested as the method to
stabilize the family by permitting them to get on their feet and move forward,
because many of them were so affected by the problems of the great
recession.
Senator Simmons stated he has been an
advocate since he was in the House of Representatives of the extra hour a day
for low-performing schools, and for 300 elementary schools, that funding became
permanent this year. It has had a
dramatic impact for those children who are in the low-performing schools which
are schools made up of children who are minorities and in poverty. He mentioned the Legislature chose to make
that funding of almost $70 million permanent for the schools to go an extra
hour a day for intensive reading instruction, and these children can and do
learn when given the opportunity.
Senator Simmons thanked the Board for working
with them and stated there were many more things they were able to pass that
they could talk about, but they have presented a couple of really important
ones that they were involved in.
Commissioner Carey stated the GREY2K USA
Worldwide has gone through a signature process in this county to get something on
the ballot regarding greyhounds. The
County is preempted by State Law, Chapter 550, about regulation of greyhounds;
it is the State’s responsibility. She
noted there are some funds that have been set aside that have been approved in
the appropriation for this coming year for rulemaking. She added that cruelty to any kind of animal
is unacceptable, but it is the State’s responsibility, particularly with the
greyhounds, to govern that and make rules for that. She wondered if they had been having any
discussions about some strict rulemaking for that population of greyhounds.
Representative Cortes advised that anytime
they open a statute that has to do with greyhounds, it opens a statute for
gambling. Pari-mutuel leads to card
rooms and card rooms lead to slot machines.
Even as far as trying to decouple the races, the greyhound folks were in
favor of that. He stated they are not in
any particular discussions right now, but he will make sure he gets any
information to her on that. Commissioner
Carey reiterated there is appropriation specifically for rulemaking to deal
with the cruelty of animals and how it is reported. Representative Cortes explained that he sits
on the rulemaking oversight committee; it can take up to a 24-month period for
the rulemaking process before it comes back to them, and in this past session,
they did not have anything come back to them in the rulemaking process. Commissioner Carey opined she would like to
see it sooner versus later.
Commissioner Dallari stated that it is a
pleasure to work with their legislative delegation and appreciates that it is
easy to reach them and the Board’s phone calls are always returned. He also thanked them for working closely with
the Commissioners on various topics including the rest stop issue on I-4. Representative Cortes expressed that part of
what makes them be of service is the communication with the Commission, and it
is important because if they do not know what is wrong, they cannot be of
help. He added working together as a
team is also what has made them successful.
Commissioner Dallari stated in regard to
the rest stops, they have been informed that Volusia County does not want them
relocated there. They have asked FDOT
for air quality samplings for those two locations and the Board received an
email from them that they will be doing that.
There is an issue right now with the “No Parking” signs that they put up
as far as how to enforce them and where they are installed. Representative Cortes advised the discussions
with FDOT Secretary Boxold continue.
Senator Simmons said they have worked together with the Commissioners on
this to deal with moving the rest stops to another location, which they thought
was going to be in Volusia County. He
noted he represents a significant portion of Volusia County. He understands the issue that has arisen with
respect to the actual location of these rest stops, and Longwood is not the
proper place for these, particularly with the expansion going on with I-4. He opined there is just too much congestion
there to have rest stops and he is committed to work to get them moved. He stated he thought that they were going to
be moved based upon his conversations with Secretary Boxold and others this
last spring. He advised he is going to
request a meeting with the Secretary and ask one or all of the Commissioners to
attend that meeting. Also, he said they
continue to work with the homeowners who are in that area who are active in
trying to solve this problem.
Commissioner Dallari remarked that one of
the issues that has arisen through time is that with the expansion of I-4, they
know that additional stormwater ponds have to be built and he doesn’t think
anyone has an issue with that; the issue is the expansion of the rest
stops. FDOT has agreed not to expand
them but they are trying to reshape them and he believes they should be saving
money if the rest stops should not be there and suggested they just turn them
all into retention ponds if they are needed by I-4 and be done with it.
Commissioner Constantine advised that a
portion of this is in his district and he believes it is very important they
find alternatives that both Seminole and Volusia counties can be comfortable
with. He had a conversation with FDOT
District 5 Secretary Downs yesterday and she indicated that she is going to be
sending a letter to Judge Dom Salfi and others in that area to express again
the DOT’s concerns and commitment to do this.
He stated this is an issue that they could go back a decade or more in
trying to solve and it is hitting a critical mass now, and there is no excuse
now in not recognizing the fact that Longwood and that rest stop at Exit 94 is
not a good location on the east or the west side. The main component, as it always is, is going
to be funding, and funding can only come to the DOT through the Legislature. Commissioner Constantine opined that to spend
more money to put into those rest areas for a long-term commitment is a waste
of money. He added as Commissioner Dallari
indicated, he believes this is going to be one of the most important issues in
transportation that they need to address this next year from a legislative
standpoint.
Commissioner Constantine noted that the
Health and Human Services budget is larger now than the entire State of
Florida’s budget was in 1993 when he was on the Appropriations Committee. He said that number will continue to escalate
with the trend of the aging of those in Florida. He said this will be an issue they will need
to continue to address. As the State
grows and the budget grows, a larger proportion of the budget will go into
Health and Human Services, which is also going to be a long-term issue that
will need to be addressed.
Commissioner Carey stated she has one
reminder that while the toll-within-a-toll project that the Turnpike was
proposing has been taken off the deck, they still have a four-county expressway
authority that has been established. She
expressed that toll roads within the four-county area really should be under
the jurisdiction of the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFEA), so they
need to continue that discussion to talk about the potential purchase or some
way to try to fix the situation with SR 417, particularly in Seminole County,
to get it under the jurisdiction of CFEA.
She added right now they have two sets of policies. She suggested the Turnpike could take the
funds from that asset and put them into any investments around the state and
there is no reason they need to hang onto it.
She added another issue is that the funds that get collected on SR 417
in Seminole County right now get spent elsewhere in the state, and if it was
under CFEA’s jurisdiction, they would be spent in the region. She stated she looks forward to continuing to
work with the delegation on these issues, and she hopes they can get that done
this year.
Senator Simmons stated as the sponsor of
the bill in the Senate that created the CFEA and the fact that it gives
Seminole County a voice in the planning and implementation of the toll roads
here in Central Florida, he is committed to working with the Commissioners. He advised he met with the Executive
Director, and he knows this is an issue that is important to all of Seminole
County. He said they should talk about
it and see what they can do to get done what Commissioner Carey spoke about.
Chairman Horan stated their legislative
delegation works very hard and it has been a pleasure and honor to work with
them. Representative Cortes thanked the
Board for giving them the time to share some information of what happened in
this session. He added they look forward
to doing more of the updates and asked the Board to feel free to reach out to
any of them any time.
Integration of P.A.Y. and Probation
Item #2A – A-2326-16
Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger
addressed the Board to present their overall strategy when it comes to juvenile
delinquency and the delivery of youth services.
He thanked the Board for their support over the years to allow them to
implement these initiatives that he believes have made a tremendous difference
not only in the lives of their youth and families in Seminole County but are
credited with the crime reduction over the years.
Sheriff Eslinger explained he would like to
give an overview of exactly what they do now and how both initiatives would be
integrated into their overall strategy and enhance their overall efforts to
provide these services to the people of the community. He acknowledged the efforts of the County
Attorney’s Office and particularly David Shields in helping them get to this
point today. He added there is no other
agency in the State of Florida, no other sheriff’s office or municipality that
has such a broad, comprehensive approach to juvenile delinquency and youth
services. No other agency provides the
services that they do. He thanked the
Commissioners for their overall support in this endeavor.
Chief Deputy Dennis Lemma addressed the
Board to present a PowerPoint presentation (received and filed) entitled
Department of Youth Services, Juvenile Justice Division and Child Protective
Services. Chief Lemma stated that what
they do extends beyond the traditional expectations of any law enforcement
organization and it really starts with the investment made in the youth of the
community, which benefits them in the future.
Chief Lemma advised they know that crime
and delinquency starts with truancy.
Last year they put together a truancy task force in partnership with
Seminole County Public Schools. There is
a 50/50 split in funding for a truancy coordinator. He explained that when children are away from
campuses, they are taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) where they are
individually assessed and then brought back to the campus because the last
thing they want to do is to take a child that is skipping school and allow them
the flexibility to remain off of campus because they know how important the
educational component is. They are
assessed for needs and services, and contact is made with the parent or
guardian to make sure they are involved in the process.
The Civil Citations slide was displayed and
Chief Lemma stated that what they do here in Seminole County is unique, and
they have one of the highest participation rates in the state because they
evaluate every one of the children that are suspects of crime, specifically a
misdemeanor where a civil citation is appropriate. He said they think there is a benefit to
actually engaging with the child, transporting the child to the Juvenile
Assessment Center, and immediately evaluating the child for needs and services,
and once again engaging the parent or guardian in that process. He added there is a direct correlation
between the criminal act or delinquent behavior and the consequence because
that consequence is administered within the first 48 hours. Sheriff Eslinger added that with civil
citation, it is a pre-arrest diversion that is the decision of the law
enforcement officer or deputy sheriff that is involved in that particular case
as opposed to the prosecutor. He advised
that about 70% to 80% of their children that go through the JAC are diverted to
some type of pre- or post-arrest diversion program, and P.A.Y. is a tool that
is used for that as well.
Chief Lemma discussed Transition
Services. He stated this is in
partnership with DJJ where they assess and help children who are transitioning
back into the community, many times from a commitment program to address those
underlying causes that lead to criminal and delinquent behavior. He noted that the Sheriff has always pledged
that crime is a symptom of another problem, and if they truly want to be
successful, they must address those underlying causes and contributing factors
that lead to that. He listed those risk
factors and stated this mentorship and educational responsibility are not
reserved for only individuals who are court ordered to participate in that
program, but often law enforcement referrals, school board, school social workers,
and parents of students or children have the opportunity to be assessed and
participate in this type of program.
Chief Lemma discussed the Eugene Gregory
Memorial Youth Academy, which is a middle school, high school, and GED program
that is provided at the Sheriff’s Office for children who have been expelled
from Seminole County Public Schools. They
understand that remaining home is probably not where they want people to be
that were expelled from school. These
are individuals who have not only committed a crime but they may have committed
an act of delinquency at the school and that consequence was to be
expelled. He advised they have had
significant success with graduation rates and high school GEDs, so it is a
great success there. He stated another
group that the Sheriff mentioned are those juveniles that are coming in from
commitment programs, from the DJJ, and as opposed to going into the public
schools, they are attending this youth academy as well.
In regard to the Consequence Alternative
Sanctions Unit, Chief Lemma said he underscores the word “consequence” because
when the word “punishment” is used, it suggests law enforcement is doing
something to them, but “consequence” suggests that they have done it to
themselves. He mentioned they have had
great success with this, and this is for youth who have violated terms of
probation or conditional release. They
spend 7.5 hours of instruction inside the classroom combined with 4.5 hours of
community service, actually paying back to society. Sheriff Eslinger added that this is also a
judicial referral; when they violate the terms of conditions of community
control, they go in front of the judge who will then refer them to the
Consequence Unit.
Chief Lemma displayed Project S.W.E.A.T.
(Sheriff’s Work Ethics and Training). He
expounded that this is offered two Saturdays per month and it is an 8-hour
day. Individuals and youth are
fulfilling their community service hours.
When looking at the amount of hours that are offered back into not only
the community directly but to other non-profit organizations, it can be equated
to approximately $30,000 worth of value based upon the minimum wage rate. Again, this is offering a consequence in a
structured environment where staff can offer mentorship and guidance along the
way.
Chief Lemma covered Operation Right Track
stating it is probably one of the most successful juvenile intervention
programs; it is made for youth on the verge of delinquency. It offers them an avenue of intervention so
they do not continue to follow down a path of criminal behavior. He noted this has been in the Sheriff’s Office
for nearly 20 years and it is a 2-day program.
The first day is an academy-style program that lasts 12 hours developing
personality traits and character keys.
More importantly, the second day is when the child and the parent and/or
guardian work together for life skills, mentorship and all those things that
are so important when guiding a child’s behavior away from delinquent
acts. He pointed out that this is
offered as a court-ordered effort, a diversion, or school, social worker or
parent referral.
Chief Lemma reviewed the Benefits of
Sheriff’s Office Administering P.A.Y. He
explained that a law enforcement officer, deputy sheriff, or police officer
makes an arrest which is usually after some initial contact either by behavior
or in the case of juveniles, often times school resource functions. They are then taken to the Juvenile
Assessment Center to participate in a full and thorough screening process to
identify the underlying cause of that delinquent or criminal behavior. If the law enforcement officer supports it,
they are then referred to the P.A.Y. program.
At that time the P.A.Y. program makes contact with the family to offer
services. Often times it is to redirect
them back to services that the Sheriff’s Office is offering already. Some of the most referred services include
Civil Citation, the Explorer Program, Operation Right Track, S.W.E.A.T., or
Breaking the Cycle which is an organization they support both fiscally as well
as by other means.
Chief Lemma displayed a bar chart and a pie
chart stating the Sheriff is one of six sheriffs in the State of Florida that
has taken over child protective investigations which is very unique. He advised their office has handled this for
approximately 16 or 17 years, and that includes all abuse, neglect and
abandonment cases that are called in to Seminole County. This is so they can co-respond or
collaterally respond to be aware initially on all of those significant reports
of abuse. He advised they investigate
nearly 4,000 cases per year, and often times they are seeing many of the same
families over again. A child is 14 times
more likely to display maladaptive behavior if they have been a victim of
abuse, neglect or abandonment. Sheriff
Eslinger added that about 80% of the children that are involved in delinquent
behavior are also subject to these hotline calls. They are called “crossover children” and
everyone recognizes how these wraparound services will truly benefit not only
that child but the child’s family. He
added that not only is the crime rate one of the lowest in Central Florida, but
with the population in the unincorporated area, it is one of the lowest in the
state. Further indication is that their
adult incarceration rate is one of the lowest, if not the lowest, with a
population of over 400,000. They did a
space needs study about 20 years ago that estimated their jail population at
well over 2,500; as of today, they have only 800 adult inmates incarcerated
within their facility. He said he
believes it has worked over the years and how you face the threat of crime and
drugs and social disorder in the community today will determine the success or
failure as a community in the future. He
thanked the Board for their continued support relative to these programs.
Sheriff Eslinger stated in regard to
probation, they have had a great collaborative relationship with county
probation which is unlike any other in the state.
Chief Lemma displayed Benefits of Sheriff’s
Office Administering County Probation.
He stated that what they do at the Seminole County Correctional Facility
extends well beyond the traditional care/custody/control. They believe it is their responsibility to
the community to try to correct behavior.
In criminal justice, the word “rehabilitation” is often used, but they
think that as prevalent is the word “habilitation.” When thinking about rehabilitation in the
purest sense means make what it once was, but for some who are incarcerated,
they were never right in the first place.
So they have to look at non-traditional ways to address those underlying
causes that lead to criminal behavior.
They have various re-entry components and partners and that process
often starts in the facility but it extends back out into the community. He added that probation is a form of community
corrections and plays a significant part in the overall habilitation or
rehabilitation of offenders, so there is a continuation of the services they
receive inside. Some of those services
are the GED or adult education programs, that upon their release, they will
then partner with probation to ensure they continue to be enrolled and
participate in a variety of these programs.
Additionally, not only members of the Sheriff’s Office, but law
enforcement officers working in any one of the municipal jurisdictions have a
great benefit of knowing who the people are in their communities who have
recently been released and what their previous charges are. Again, not to focus on them in terms of their
criminal past but to provide services to ensure they are going to be successful
in their communities.
Chief Lemma pointed out that electronic
monitoring is something they have had great success in with a variety of
programs. Even as a pre-adjudication or
a condition of a sentencing, it has shown great success and minimized the
fiscal impact on some more traditional operations. So, this is why they are partnering with
county probation now; and consolidating that will only streamline the process,
increase communications and ensure that that philosophy of not only corrections
but law enforcement services is shared by all members working in all parts of
this process.
Chairman Horan noted that this item is on
the Consent Agenda today and the Board has been thoroughly briefed. He believes it makes a lot of sense to have
the Sheriff’s Office administer these particular programs. He added as a member of the Juvenile Justice
Advisory Board, he knows how closely these programs work together and how
seamlessly they operate in terms of this, especially through the P.A.Y.
program.
Commissioner Carey stated the partnerships
they have had with the Sheriff’s Office, particularly with the Juvenile
Detention Center, is a model for the state and the nation. She said they have done a wonderful job there
and saved $1 million per year by having them operate it and the outcome is so
much better. She feels that putting
criminal justice and juvenile justice under one umbrella makes more sense to be
able to manage it. She thanked them for
being here.
Sheriff Eslinger replied that the intent
today was to remind them of all the services they do provide that are kind of
non-traditional to a typical sheriff’s office, and there is no other office in
the state that has such a broad, comprehensive approach to this. Chairman Horan thanked Sheriff Eslinger and
stated the Board really values the great partnership they have with his
office. Sheriff Eslinger stated they
have a great team, a talented staff that is totally committed to the overall
strategy who works above and beyond, on a daily basis, to provide services to
the families in Seminole County which has made a huge difference in their
quality of life. He thanked the
Commissioners stating he is proud of their people.
-------
Chairman Horan recessed the meeting at
10:45 a.m., and reconvened at 10:50 a.m.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA
With regard to public participation, no one in the audience
spoke in support or in opposition to the Consent Agenda and public input was
closed.
Nicole Guillet, County
Manager, advised that staff is requesting Item #7 regarding a CSBG Child Care
Services Program Subrecipient Agreement, and Item #11 regarding an FDOT Quiet
Zone Improvement Agreement, be pulled from the Agenda and brought back at a
later date.
Commissioner Henley stated
he would like to pull Item #18 in regard to funding sports event incentive
sponsorships for a separate vote, and he will be filing a Voting Conflict Form
for Item #20, an agreement with Altamonte Hospitality for the Seminole County
Sports Complex.
Motion by
Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to authorize and approve
the following:
County
Manager’s Office
Business
Office
4. Approve the
Interlocal Agreement between Seminole County and the Seminole County Sheriff's
Office assigning duties, responsibilities, and personnel for the Probation Division
to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
(A-2200-16)
5. Approve the Interlocal Agreement between
Seminole County and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office assigning duties,
responsibilities, and personnel for the Prosecution Alternatives for Youth (P.A.Y.)
Division to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. (A-2182-16)
Community
Services
Community
Assistance Division
6. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Modification
Number 1 of Agreement between the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Program and Seminole County to increase
the total amended CSBG allocation amount to $325,721 for FY 2015-2016. (A-2260-16)
7. Pulled
from the Agenda request to approve an Early Learning Coalition of Seminole Community
Service Block Grant (CSBG) Child Care Services Program Subrecipient Agreement to
provide summer daycare assistance to income-eligible households of Seminole
County. (A-2268-16)
Development
Services
Planning
& Development Division
8. Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2016-R-93 establishing a permitting process for the temporary
staging of construction equipment, supplies, sheds and field offices on private
property for federal, state, and county-funded public infrastructure
improvement projects. (A-2251-16)
Leisure
Services
Greenways
& Natural Lands Division
9. Approve a proposed distribution of art created
from “The Senator” cypress tree, approve and authorize Chairman to execute Senator
Artwork Gift Agreements with select entities, and approve a proposed
distribution of art created from “The Senator” as a permanent museum exhibit, traveling
exhibit, and gifts to other entities. (A-2231-16)
Library
Services Division
10. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an
Entertainment Services Agreement with the Brent Gregory Company, LLC to provide
children’s programs at the branch libraries as part of the Summer Reading
Program 2016. (A-2140-16)
Public
Works
Engineering
Division
11. Pulled
from the Agenda request to adopt a Resolution and a Quiet Zone Improvement
Agreement (Amendment Number 1) between Seminole County and FDOT, for additional
improvements required at the railroad crossings located within the geographic
limits of the SunRail Corridor in Seminole County. (A-2197-16)
12. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
the Acceptance by Seminole County of the Monitoring Well Easement from Richard
Hill pertaining to the property located at 1033 Seminola Boulevard,
Casselberry, east of the former Cumberland Farms Store #0980 property located
at 100 North Winter Park Drive, owned by the County. (A-2238-16)
13. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
a Utility Easement between Seminole County and Lake Harney Water Association,
Inc. for the purpose of providing water to the Jolly Gators Fish Camp Bar and
Grill facility on the north side of C.S. Lee Park. (A-2263-16)
Resource
Management
Budget
and Fiscal Management Division
14. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2016-R-94 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#16-063 through the Water and Sewer Operating Funding to reallocate budget in
the amount of $11,500 for an XC2 Software Program. (A-2237-16)
15. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2016-R-95 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#16-065 through the Community Services Grant Fund in the amount of $665,889 for
appropriation of the carryover of un-obligated Year 5 funding into Year 6 of
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Child Mental
Health Initiatives Grant Program. (A-2184-16)
16. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2016-R-96 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#16-067 through the Libraries-Designated Fund in the amount of $1,000 to
recognize contributions received from the Oviedo Women's Club and appropriate expenditures
for additional eBooks for children and teens.
(A-2224-16)
17. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2016-R-97 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#16-068 through the General Fund to appropriate budget of $130,000 from Reserves
for a grant to Leadership Seminole, Inc. to pursue the development of a community-driven
plan to eliminate homelessness in Seminole County. (A-2240-16)
18. Pulled
by Commissioner Henley for a separate
vote.
Purchasing
& Contracts Division
19. Award RFP-602536-16/GCM, Term Contracts (2)
for Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Real Estate Professional Services
to Betty Butz Realty, Inc. d/b/a The Devinney Real Estate Group, Longwood, and
Direct Sell, Inc. d/b/a Weichert Realtors - Hallmark Properties, Oviedo; and
authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the Agreements. (Seminole County will pay commission based on
sales price on each property as stated in the Agreements.) (A-2247-16)
20. Pulled
by Commissioner Henley for a separate vote due to a voting conflict.
21. Approve an increase to the Board-approved
Estimated Term Usage under PS-8005-12/RTB, Final Engineering and Design
Services for Wymore Road Improvements, from the Orange County Line to Spring
Valley Road, by an additional $350,000. (A-2234-16)
22. Approve an increase to the Board-approved
Estimated Annual Usage under CC-0559-15/RTB, Master Services Agreement (MSA)
for Public Works Minor Construction Projects with Costs Less Than $2,000,000,
by an additional $4,000,000. (A-2230-16)
23. Approve Work Order #53 under PS-8148-12/JVP-MSA
(Howell Creek at Red Bug Lake Road Improvements, Segment 1) for CEI Services
for Projects Less Than $2,000,000, with Atkins North America, Inc., Orlando, in
the amount of $130,481.39; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts
Division to execute the Work Order. (A-2167-16)
24. Approve an increase to the Board-approved
Estimated Annual Usage for PS-8148-12/JVP, Master Services Agreement for
Construction and Engineering Inspection Services for Projects Less Than
$2,000,000, by an additional $1,500,000.
(A-2229-16)
25. Approve an increase to the Board-approved
Estimated Term Usage for PS-5738-10/JVP, Design & Environmental Permitting
for a Project Development & Environmental Study by an additional $100,000. (A-2225-16)
26. Approve ranking list; authorize staff to
negotiate rates in accordance with F.S. 287.055, the Consultants Competitive Negotiations
Act (CCNA); and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute
one (1) Master Services Agreement (MSA) for PS-0592-16/RTB, Final Design Services
for SR 434 and CR 427 (Ronald Reagan Boulevard) Intersection Improvements; Estimated
Term Usage $850,000. (A-2183-16)
27. Award RFP-602539-16/GCM, Term Contract for
Traffic Data Collection Services to Luke Transportation Engineering
Consultants, Inc., Maitland; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts
Division to execute the Agreement; Estimated annual usage for this project is
$100,000. (A-2212-16)
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
-------
Item #18 – A-2257-16
Commissioner Henley
advised that he will be voting “no” on this item. Danny Trosset, Sports Tourism Manager, addressed the Board regarding a request for additional
funds to help support the sports event incentives that are provided for sports
tournaments and events. He reminded the
Board that the original amount that was budgeted for this was $200,000 prior to
the completion of the new Sports Complex.
They presented to the TDC (Tourism Development Council) on March 17th
and they unanimously approved adding $135,000 for event sponsorships.
Mr. Trosset advised they do not pay out for events until they actualize
room nights, so just because an event is awarded funding, once the event is
over, they get documentation from the hotels that actualize the total room
nights. In many cases, if event
organizers do not hit their room night guarantee, the amount of funding paid
out is substantially less than what was awarded. He noted that potentially they will have
about 30,000 room nights total for this fiscal year which is a significant
increase in the amount of room nights that they did last year. He added that most destinations across the
state provide funding for large events that generate a substantial amount of
room nights. He pointed out that other
destinations may provide funding prior to the event and they award funding
regardless of the amount of room nights they had.
Ms. Guillet stated that
the request for an additional $135,000 is based upon their anticipated number
of tournaments. They are booked well in
advance and these incentives are used primarily to pay for facility rental
fees, so they actually go back into the complex, and they are used for some
marketing.
Commissioner Carey
remarked that they had talked about the anticipation that this would happen
either in this budget year or the next budget year.
Commissioner Henley
explained that he is concerned about the huge incentives that are given out so
he would like to have staff do some research because they have been giving incentives
for a long time but not at the rate they are now and planning on doing. He said when you give a $25,000 incentive to
come here and play and it returns to the County in the way of sales tax for
around $11,000, it concerns him particularly since for many years they
contracted with the Sports Commission for $120,000 to bring events here and now
they are paying $350,000 plus all this incentive money to do the same thing
that they were hired to do before. He
added that they do not know the drawing power of this facility yet because they
have started to offer these big incentives before they really knew, and once
you start it, you will not be successful in stopping it.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by
Commissioner Dallari, to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2016-R-98 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#16-070 from the Professional Sports Franchise Fund Reserves in the amount of
$135,000 to fund sports event incentive sponsorships.
Districts 1, 2 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioners Constantine and
Henley voted NO.
Commissioner Dallari inquired
as to whether they can have the County Manager have her staff put together a
spreadsheet of various counties that are the same size in a geographic area so
they can see what incentives they are actually doing and what their incomes
are. Commissioner Carey added they need
to look at other facilities similar to the Sports Complex so she believes they
need to look outside the state to see exactly what their competition is. Chairman Horan opined it is a great idea
especially in this competitive environment to see what their competitors are
doing and asked the County Manager to prepare the appropriate document on this.
-------
Item #20 –
A-2248-16
Motion by Commissioner
Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve Amendment #1 to
RFP-602505-16/BJC, Revenue Contract for Food and Beverage Concession Services
for the Seminole County Sports Complex, to Altamonte Hospitality, LP, Altamonte
Springs; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute the Amendment.
Districts
1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioner Henley abstained
from voting and filed a Memorandum of Voting Conflict form (received and
filed).
CONSTITUTIONAL
OFFICERS’ CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to approve the following:
Clerk’s
Office
28. Approve
Expenditure Approval Lists dated May 9, 16 and 23, 2016; Payroll Approval Lists
dated May 5 and 19, 2016; and the BCC Official Minutes dated May 10, 2016. (A-2258-16)
The Board noted, for
information only, the following Clerk’s “Received and Filed”:
1. Pet Rescue Cooperative
Service Agreement with Bull Terrier Rescue of Florida, Inc.
2. Contract for Services
with Terry Myers.
3. Conditional Utility
Agreement for water, wastewater or reclaimed water services with Epic Retail
Oviedo, LLC.
4. Seminole Work
Opportunity Program (SWOP) CDBG Subrecipient Agreements Program Year 2015-2016
with Kathleen Anderson Comprehensive Work Center, Inc. and Hope Helps, as
approved by the BCC on July 28, 2015.
5. 2016 Champions Cup
Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Orange County Soccer Club, Inc. d/b/a
Florida Rush Soccer Club.
6. 2016 Empire Strikes
Back Youth Baseball Tournament Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Nations
Baseball of Greater Orlando, Inc.
7. Adidas Power 32 Super
Showcase Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with D9 Events Management Company, LLC.
8. Copy of fully executed
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Annual Certified Budget
for Mosquito Control, as approved by the BCC on September 22, 2015.
9. Work Order #15 to
PS-0009-15 with CPH, Inc.
10. Work Order #16 to PS-0009-15 with Pegasus
Engineering, Inc.
11. Change Order #1 to CC-0191-15 with TLC
Diversified.
12. Change Order #2 to CC-0194-15 with Prime
Construction Group.
13. Work Order #8 to RFP-0336-15 with Site Secure,
LLC, a Miller Electric Company.
14. Closeout to CC-0482-15 with Proshot Concrete,
Inc.
15. Notice to Proceed for CC-0509-15 with MCG
Services, LLC.
16. Notice to Proceed for Work Order #1 to
CC-0559-15 with Prime Construction Group, Inc.
17. Work Order #2 to CC-0559-15 with Southland
Construction, Inc.
18. RFQ-601545-12 Prosecution Alternatives for
Youth (PAY) Program Counseling Agreement with Harmony Mental Health and
Behavioral Services, LLC.
19. Ninth Amendment to RFP-601745-13 Term Contract
for Pest Control Services with Apex Pest Control, Inc.
20. IFB-602546-16 Term Contract for Purchase of
Network Equipment with Express Supply, Inc.
21. Amendment #3 to Work Order #1 to PS-7333-12
with CPH, Inc.
22. Amendment #1 to Work Order #10 to PS-8146-12
with Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.
23. Amendment #1 to Work Order #42 to PS-8148-12
with Keith & Schnars, P.A.
24. Second Amendment to PS-8146-12 MSA with E
Sciences, Inc. for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
consultant services.
25. Work Order #52 to PS-8148-12 with Keith &
Schnars, P.A.
26. Work Order #54 to PS-8148-12 with CDM Smith,
Inc.
27. Work Order #23 to PS-8286-13 with Kittelson
& Associates, Inc.
28. Change Order #1 to Work Order #6 to CC-9072-13
with BSE Construction Group.
29. Closeout to CC-9140-13 with Sawcross, Inc.
30. Work Order #9 to CC-9184-13 with Affordable
Development.
31. Work Order #10 to CC-9184-13 with Affordable
Development.
32. Closeout to CC-9575-14 with Young’s
Communications Co., Inc.
33. Change Order #4 to CC-9650-14 with Eclipse
Construction.
34. Approval Development Orders #16-30000012, 225
Twelve League Circle, Paul Starbird; #16-30000013, 190 N. Jungle Road, Jay
Atkinson; #16-30000014, 112 Raintree Drive, Richard Wilson and Donna Tucker;
#16-30000015, 201 Springside Drive, Darel and Suzanne Taylor; #16-30000016, 175
Whitcomb Drive, Glen and Tara Casel; #16-31000001, 325 Miller Road, William
McClenney; and #16-31000002, 610 Michigan Street, Bruce Roberts, as approved by
the BOA on April 25, 2016.
35. Approval Development Order #16-30000034, 728
Silver Birch Place, Eric McDonald and Katherine Cacho.
36. Development Order #15-32700001, Camouflage
Communication Tower, 3800 Wekiva Springs Road, First Baptist of Sweetwater,
Inc.
37. Recording of Plats for the project known as
Acuera Lot 38 & Tract C with Attorney’s Title Opinion Letter.
38. Addendum #1 to DCA #16-20500015 for ZDA at S.
Sylvan Lake (AKA Lake Sylvan Oaks) Planned Development.
39. Addendum #2 to DCA #16-20500016 for Preserve
at Lake Sylvan.
40. Florida Public Service Commission, Consummating
Order #PSC-16-0188-PCO-EI in regards to petition for rate increase by FPL,
petition for approval of 2016-2018 storm hardening plan by FPL, 2016
depreciation and dismantlement study by FPL, and Petition for limited
proceeding to modify and continue incentive mechanism by FPL.
41. Florida Public Service Commission, Consummating
Order #PSC-16-0192-CO-GU in regard to petition for approval of Amendment #1 to
Transportation Service Agreement with City of Lake Worth by Florida Public
Utilities Company.
42. Florida Public Service Commission, Consummating
Order #PSC-16-0208-PCO-EI in regard to petition for approval of 2016 revisions
to underground residential and commercial differential tariffs by FPL.
43. Rider to Maintenance Bond #0629310 for a
private road in the amount of $97,184.40 for the subdivision known as Reserve
at Alaqua changing maintenance effective date.
44. Satisfaction of Lien for Case No. 14-51-CEB
against Newbury REO 2013, LLC., as approved by the BCC on April 12, 2016.
45. Bids as follows:
RFP-602539-16 from Luke Transportation Engineering
Consultants, Inc.; Accurate Traffic Counts, Inc.; F.R. Aleman & Associates,
Inc.; Florida Transportation Engineering, Inc.; Traffic Engineering Data
Solutions, Inc.; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.;
CC-0664-16 from Florida Safety Contractors, Inc.;
Central Florida Environmental Corp; Onopa Services, LLC;
IFB-602546-16 from Express Supply, Inc.; and
RFP-602505-16 from Hilton North Orlando, Altamonte
Springs; Fielder’s Choice Refreshments; Red Raider Baseball Est, 1994, Inc.
Sheriff’s
Office
29. Approve the Sheriff’s Office to execute and submit
a Grant Application to the US Department of Justice, FY 2016 Edward Byrne
Memorial/Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program; and authorize the Sheriff to
sign future documents relating to the Grant. (A-2270-16)
Commissioner Carey
noted that the Consent Agenda items were printed as being Item #5 through Item
#28 and her motion earlier to approve the Consent Agenda was stated as being
for Item #4 through Item #28. Therefore,
she is correcting that motion, for the
record, to approve Consent Agenda Item #4 through Item #27, in addition to
the Constitutional Officers’ Consent Agenda Items #28 and #29; and the seconder
agreed.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 voted AYE.
REGULAR
AGENDA
Item
#30 – A-2320-16
Pamela Lynch, Economic
Development Division, addressed the Board to present a request to consider
approval of a Resolution recommending that Allegiant Air LLC be approved as a
Qualified Target Industry (QTI) business; and approval of the County’s required
local financial support of $5,500 over FY 2016/17 to FY 2020/21, as local
participation in the QTI Tax Refund Program.
Ms. Lynch reminded the Board that the QTI Program is administered by the
State of Florida and reviewed the requirements and details of the program.
Ms. Lynch reviewed the
request as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum and stated the request involves
the construction of a 45,000-square-foot training facility. She added the company is also looking at
locations in Ashville, NC; Austin, TX; and Cincinnati, OH. She advised that Allegiant currently employs
403 full-time employees at the Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Ms. Lynch advised that
the required local financial support for this incentive would be 20% or
$11,000; and it is anticipated that the Sanford City Commission will approve
their equal participation in the amount of $5,500 at their June 27th
City Commission meeting.
Ms. Lynch noted that
Bob Turk, City of Sanford, is present to answer any questions the Board may
have.
Commissioner Carey
stated that Allegiant has continued to expand at the Orlando Sanford
International Airport, which is prompting the Airport Authority to look at a
major expansion on domestic travel. She
added that in a short period of time, the makeup of the traffic at the airport
has been significant so she can understand why they would want to look at
putting a training facility here, and she feels a small investment of $5,500
for their participation is very reasonable.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by
Commissioner Dallari, to approve appropriate Resolution #2016-R-99 recommending
that Allegiant Air LLC be approved as a Qualified Target Industry (QTI)
business; and approve the County’s required local financial support of $5,500
over FY 2016/17 to FY 2020/21, as local participation in the QTI Tax Refund
Program.
Commissioner
Constantine requested a friendly amendment that the approval of their financial
support be subject to the City of Sanford approving their portion of the local
financial support in the amount of $5,500.
The motioner and seconder agreed
to the amendment.
With regard to public
participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition to Item
#30 and public input was closed.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman
Horan recessed the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners at 11:10 a.m.,
and convened as the U.S. Highway 17-92 Community Redevelopment Agency.
U.S. 17-92 CRA
Item #3
– A-2120-16
Sonia
Fonseca, CRA Program Manager, addressed the Board to state that some time ago
the Board directed staff to investigate the challenges of stormwater along the
U.S. 17-92 corridor. Subsequently, they
engaged the procurement department and hired CPH, Inc. to conduct that
study. They have completed Phase I of
that study and are here to provide the Board with their findings and next
steps.
Larry Wray, P.E. with CPH, Inc., addressed
the Board and displayed a PowerPoint presentation (included in the Agenda
Memorandum) entitled the Stormwater Master Plan Update. The Project Approach slide was shown and Mr.
Wray stated they set this up in three phases and they are finishing up the
first phase which was just the overall study.
They did a lot of records searches to find the best ways to spend the
money on stormwater improvements in the area.
They are looking now to transition to Phase II where they will do a more
detailed analysis to come up with cost estimates. At the end of that, they will transition to
Phase III where they will actually do the design and permitting, and prepare
for construction.
Mr. Wray displayed an aerial map, CRA
Limits, and stated it extends from First Street in Sanford along the 17-92
corridor down to the southern boundary of Seminole County with Orange County,
and it is roughly 13 miles in length.
The Data Collection slide was shown.
Mr. Wray stated this is a very large corridor and there are a lot of
separate silos of data: the Water
Management District has information, the various cities have information, FDOT
has information, and the County has information. Mr. Wray explained they collected all of that
and put it into one giant database, which helped them visualize what was out
there to come up with the best solutions for moving forward.
The LIDAR and Basin Information were
displayed. Mr. Wray stated the County
previously had LIDAR data which was useful in getting some topographic
information for this corridor; however, it was over 20 years old and in that
time there has been a lot of development in the corridor; and in addition,
technologies have improved. Therefore,
they flew new LIDAR and got much more detailed information which will help in
the next phase to delineate the boundaries of the basins they will be looking
at. He pointed out the five major
drainage basins in the corridor and said it helped them target where they
wanted to start looking at the proposed improvements.
Mr.
Wray expounded on the slide “275 SJRWMD Permits within Corridor” stating they
took the database they created, identified all the properties within the
corridor, and then pulled the SJRWMD’s permits and identified those in
red. He said those are likely to already
have a good stormwater management system since the district did not develop
until the mid-80s. So, they targeted
areas that do not have permits, and with this information, they identified five
major areas where they thought they could do some improvement projects to try
and come up with some regional systems that would improve the stormwater. He displayed Initial Areas which include the Mill
Creek, Airport Boulevard, Five Points, Shepard Road, and Lake of the Woods
areas.
Mr. Wray noted that the Mill Creek area
extends from the Sanford Middle School to the north all the way to where the
Walgreen’s is on 17-92. He advised this
area currently drains to the DOT right-of-way, is picked up in their collection
system and channeled to the west and to the Howell Branch creek system that
ultimately flows north and joins Mill Creek before going into Lake Monroe. He stated that this entire system has no
stormwater treatment; however, it is directly adjacent to the Mill Creek system,
where Sanford has just converted a borrow pit into a stormwater management
system that does have excess capacity.
Therefore, this would probably involve designing a low-flow bypass that
could divert water from the Howell Branch system into the Mill Creek
system. They would then do an analysis
to determine how much stormwater quality they can do, and they would set up a
credit-based system where people in this area could apply for credit for use in
their stormwater as they try to redevelop in that basin.
Commissioner Dallari questioned how the
credit system worked. Mr. Wray replied
that it would be local and something they would permit. They would design the actual ponds and
whatever needs to meet the SJRWMD criteria, establish a certain amount of water
quality in that pond that is reserved for their program, and then as people in
that corridor apply for a SJRWMD permit, they can apply to the CRA for “x”
number of credits. The County would
review that and authorize the use of the credits in the CRA system for that
development. Commissioner Carey asked if
they would pay for them. Ms. Guillet
responded they could do it either way; they could either purchase that capacity
or the CRA could grant it to them.
Area #2, the Airport Boulevard area slide
was shown. Mr. Wray noted it is SR 417
and 17-92, and the old center was where the old K-Mart used to be and it has
been undeveloped for a very long time.
He advised that DOT actually has a drainage system from SR 417 and it
goes through a pipe network that runs through the parking lot behind the center
which is currently all untreated. So,
they would look at either purchasing some property there at the outfall of the
pipe, either putting in a small pond or some sort of outlet control system like
a baffle box. Again, they would
establish a credit system based on the water quality they could provide to
encourage redevelopment of that corridor.
The third area is the Five Points area that
has actually been broken out; Pegasus is looking at this separately. There is an existing lower quality wetland in
the middle of the area and they would look at converting that into a stormwater
system that could be used again to create credits for the whole basin and allow
redevelopment within the Five Points area.
The Shepard Road system (Area #4) goes from
Shepard Road to SR 434 and Mr. Wray stated this area generally drains to the
east. The County has access through
right-of-way and easements over to the old Winter Springs Golf Course. He added that area is looking at redeveloping
so this would be in conjunction with the owner of the golf course. Mr. Wray said they propose putting in a
master stormwater system that would allow drainage from the CRA properties over
to there. Again, they would establish a
certain amount of credits in that pond that could be used for redevelopment
along the 17-92 corridor.
Mr. Wray said the last option they have
identified is #5, Lake of the Woods area, which is at the extreme southern end
of the CRA, and it is very similar to the one at SR 417 and Airport
Boulevard. He stated they would
establish some sort of pond and establish a credit system where people could
redevelop by getting credit into that system.
Mr. Wray stated that Next Steps include
having the Board approve them moving into Phase II of the development where
they will do a more detailed analysis and determine exactly how big the ponds
need to be, how much water quality needs to be generated, and do some
preliminary coordination with the water management districts to get an idea of how
that credit system would be set up. They
will also prepare cost estimates and do a cost-benefit analysis to look at
which of these options makes the most sense to spend funds on. Mr. Wray said one option may be to develop a
grant system where instead of having the County spend money on a regional
system, individuals can redevelop their property and apply for grants to put on
local stormwater improvements just on their piece of property.
Mr.
Wray reviewed the Next Steps chart depicting a timetable of the overall
schedule. They are looking at Phase II
roughly taking 90 days which would take them into October to come up with the
analysis and cost estimate. They would
then bring that back to the Board and take the options that are identified as
the best choice to move forward, and then go into the actual design and
permitting phase which would roughly take them through May of 2017. After that, they would go into the bidding
and award phase. Assuming things follow
through on this schedule, Mr. Wray said they would be able to award some of
these programs by October 2017, which is prior to the sunset of the CRA in
December 2017.
Commissioner
Carey stated she thinks the credit idea is a great idea because even if they
give a grant to do stormwater, what someone can put on that property is so
small that they would not want to tear down an existing large building to do
that. She said it is not financially
feasible from the landowner’s standpoint in her opinion. She added she cannot wait to see the
cost-benefit analysis.
Commissioner
Dallari questioned how much impervious area they will have when structuring the
ponds. Mr. Wray advised that that will
be part of the next phase.
Commissioner
Constantine asked in regard to the credit system whether that is going to be
like the mitigation banking of the State.
Mr. Wray replied it is a similar concept. Commissioner Constantine questioned in regard
to area #3, since most of that is County property, whether they had looked at
that preliminarily to make sure that none of the potential plans the County might
have would be harmed. Ms. Guillet
advised CPH is looking at that. Commissioner
Constantine stated when it comes to the control of stormwater and the
protection of these areas, this is probably the most important thing they can
do and he is fully supportive of this.
Chairman
Horan questioned how much was projected in the CRA for stormwater
improvements. Ms. Fonseca responded they
projected with future income about $8 million.
Chairman Horan asked in order to use the CRA money whether there are any
legal restrictions on that. Ms. Guillet
advised they would need to have formal obligations that can survive the sunset
of the CRA if the Board elects not to extend it.
Ms. Fonseca confirmed that the consensus of the Board is to have CPH
go forward with Phase II.
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Chairman Horan adjourned the meeting of the
U.S. Highway 17-92 Community Redevelopment Agency at 11:26 a.m., and reconvened
the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners.
DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
District 4
Commissioner Henley distributed a
PowerPoint presentation (received and filed) stating it came from a very lengthy
and detailed meeting of the SunRail board where they got complete reports of
everything having to do with SunRail. He
stated the Commissioners should find it interesting.
District
5
Commissioner Carey reported in regard to the Orlando Sanford
International Airport that domestic travel and international travel continue to
be up. International travel is up 24%
over this time last year. The airport
expansion plans are at 60% complete. She
has talked to Diane Crews, who is president of the airport, about coming to
make a brief presentation once they get to 90% or 100% plans, and the Airport
Authority has approved it. She advised
the expansion will provide capacity for 4 million passengers a year; they are
currently serving 2.5 million.
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Commissioner Carey stated she would like to have staff reach out
to the Health Department to talk about the community mobile unit. She knows they had some issues in May and it
wasn’t very active, but she said it would be great if they can get them into
the community a little more often for the uninsured and underinsured.
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Commissioner Carey thanked the County and the City of Longwood
and all the veteran officers who brought the traveling War Memorial Wall to
this community. She said it was a great
display and she thinks that these are the kinds of things they need to do to
remind all citizens and their nation of the ultimate price that is paid when at
war. She gave a special shout out to Ed
Burford, Veterans Services Officer, who always does such a wonderful job.
Chairman Horan stated they have 34,000 veterans in this county
and he thinks it is important that they have some kind of outreach to the
veterans, something that really identifies Seminole as a veterans-friendly
county. They have a higher percentage of
veterans that live in this county than in any other county in the region. He wondered if they could take a look at the
way they market themselves or the outreach that is done. Commissioner Dallari suggested instead of
saying “veterans” they just say “military.”
Commissioner Carey pointed out that the county probably has a larger
population because there was a Navy base here for so many years and many people
retired and stayed here. It was the consensus of the Board to ask the
County Manager to pursue an outreach to veterans and military.
Commissioner Henley suggested they have SGTV devote some time to
interviewing veterans and building a documentary of the Seminole County
veterans and their contributions and experiences, which could be used on
government television and in their public schools to help the children’s
appreciation and increase patriotism.
Commissioner Carey opined there is a lot of good stuff they already have
and could probably take a lot from their library and put it into a
documentary. She stated at a time with
all the craziness in the world, she believes they really need to get back to
American principles. Chairman Horan
stated he thinks the Historical Society and the Historical Commission should
probably be players in this as well.
District
1
Commissioner Dallari thanked the City of Longwood and law
enforcement and anyone that was involved with the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall
this past weekend. He said it was very
moving and he would like to see about bringing it back on a recurring basis,
maybe every couple of years. He said the
setting was perfect and he would like to see if county staff could reach out to
Longwood about this. He’d like to find
out the process and how they could partner with them. Ms. Guillet stated they will work with them
and try to get it on the schedule.
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Commissioner Dallari advised the Board received a letter from
FDOT declaring that they will be doing some air quality measurements at the
rest areas. He wants to make sure staff
is coordinating with DOT because it is not just the air quality of the rest
stops but the air quality in the surrounding neighborhoods. He added that DOT did place “no parking”
signs on the ramps but it just disperses the vehicles throughout the rest stop
and it needs to be revisited. The
vehicles need to be in the actual parking spots and he wants to make sure that
that actually takes place. Chairman
Horan would like this placed on the follow-up for the next meeting.
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Commissioner Dallari announced that he will not be attending the
next BCC meeting due to a conflict with the MetroPlan meeting.
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Commissioner Dallari noted that the annual Amateur Radio Field
Day in Winter Springs will be held on June 25 and 26. He said they did not get it on the agenda but
he is requesting that the Chairman send a letter to them. He provided the Chairman with a copy of the
letter (not received and filed) that was sent in previous years. Commissioner Dallari stated the Amateur Radio
group is extremely important in times of disaster and emergencies because they
are another line of getting the communications out there, not just to the
general public but to other organizations as well. Chairman Horan agreed that this is a great
thing to promote adding it will be held at Central Winds Park.
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Chairman Horan inquired whether there was anything else to
report in connection with MetroPlan. Commissioner
Dallari expressed concern that the Turnpike Authority is planning to put up
more tolls within tolls on their roads throughout Central Florida. He said he thinks it will be very confusing
as time moves on as far as what section of the road you are on, whether it is
under the jurisdiction of the CFEA or the Turnpike, as Commissioner Carey
stated earlier. He added he wishes the
Turnpike would work with the Central Florida Expressway Authority to fix this
because this toll-within-a-toll is getting out of hand. Chairman Horan agreed and opined the Turnpike
Authority and the State DOT have certain senses of ownership and pride in what
they have done in the past and in their jurisdiction and their plans, but in
the situation they have in Central Florida now, they really do have to get the
road network under one authority. He
added that it doesn’t make any sense for people who use the Seminole County
expressway so often to pay a disproportionate amount. He noted he pays as much for his expressway
bill per month as he did when he went to downtown Orlando every day because he
does not get any discounts in Seminole County.
Also, if you do business in Seminole County and have to go cross county
quite a bit, you could pay several hundred dollars a month in tolls. There are no discounts because they are
looking at it and governing it as a statewide system.
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Commissioner Dallari stated that in a past meeting, Commissioner
Constantine asked staff to look into the carriage exhibit and they have gotten
a report back from staff that, at this time, there is no space available. He said he would like them to look deeper
into this. Chairman Horan suggested that
staff work with the Historical Society.
Ms. Guillet advised staff has been working with them for a number of
months trying to find a facility. The
County does not have anything that meets their needs that is available. Her understanding is they need something that
is climate controlled. She indicated if
the Board is interested in pursuing this, they can put together a cost
estimate. Commissioner Dallari stated he
would like to see what it would take to make this happen. Chairman Horan questioned if they can figure
out what the investment would be to add those select items that add value to
their collection. Ms. Guillet noted that
the owner of the collection is unwilling to break up the collection so it is an
“all or nothing” proposition. The consensus of the Board was to have
staff bring back a report to see what they can do to find a facility for the
carriage collection.
Commissioner Carey commented that they have the private school
that has been out at Midway Elementary because she does not believe they are
going to be able to house this at Five Points.
They have this school sitting there with the Charter School moving to a
new location. She stated it may free up
that part of the Midway Elementary and suggested they might want to talk to the
School Board to see if they have a location that could house the collection.
District
3
Commissioner Constantine stated both the Memorial Day
Remembrances ceremony as well as the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall was a
marvelous indication of the dedication to their veterans. He mentioned his cousin’s name is on the wall
and it was very moving for him.
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Commissioner Constantine advised the Historical Commission is
meeting on the 16th and he thinks it is prudent that they do look at
cost estimates (for a facility for the carriages collection) because he does
not want to lose the opportunity, if they have it, for this historically
significant presentation. He added that
at their last meeting, they approved two signs for Wynwood and Rosenwald in the
East Altamonte area for dedications for historical significance.
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Commissioner
Constantine reported that the Fish & Wildlife Conservation meeting is going
to held on June 22 and 23 concerning the bear hunt.
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Commissioner Constantine noted that the walkway in Cranes Roost
Park will be opening up again on June 16.
ITEMS
FOR FUTURE AGENDA
Dom Salfi, Markham Woods Road, addressed the Board to speak in
regard to the Seminole County rest areas and he distributed an information
packet (copy received and filed).
Judge Salfi advised he is present today to request this Board
pass some resolutions that will let the Seminole County citizens and the rest
of the world know that they are concerned about what is happening here. He advised the first item in the information
packet is a letter from FDOT dated July 9, 2001 regarding the “I-4 Eastbound
Richey Green Rest Area Renovation.” He noted
that in 2001, FDOT decided they were going to upgrade the rest areas. He highlighted the section of the letter that
details what they planned to do. He
stated what they are trying to do in 2015/16 is very similar to their plans in
2001/02. He explained that this is
important because back when they tried to do it in 2001, there was a hue and
cry by everybody around, including their county commissioners and their state
representatives, that this should not go forward and that in fact, these rest
areas needed to be moved. He noted that
it was so strong that FDOT, in about nine months, decided to give up on the
program.
Judge Salfi indicated that the second letter in the packet was
sent out by FDOT on June 24, 2002. It
was sent to everybody on the county commission at that time and he believes
Commissioner Henley was on the Board then.
It was also sent to the state representatives and he said that
Commissioner Constantine was in the Senate then. He explained this letter states that they are
going to stop the expansion and close the rest area for a period of time to
check and see what the effect would be.
They also stated they were going to continue to explore the development
of an additional, or possibly a replacement facility, at another location along
I-4. It read they “will attempt to
initiate a dialogue with private interests regarding a potential truck stop
(the P3 was talked about today) located along the corridor.” The letter concluded by stating it will take
time but they will keep the addressees up to date on what takes place. He pointed out that since that letter was
written, there was no attempt by FDOT to keep anyone up to date, let alone with
what was going on in 2013 and 2014 in preparation for the public meeting that
was held in his neighborhood on the 31st of March when they walked
in there and said, “Here is what we are going to do for you all.” He stated the presentation that FDOT made was
identical to the one, with few exceptions, that was done back in 2002. Judge Salfi said he was so shocked at that
meeting because when he stood up and pointed out that FDOT was supposed to have
talked to them, their response was that “they” were not there at the time, and he
stated in fact the people that did the presentation were all new people.
Judge Salfi explained that he then made about six public records
requests directly to FDOT and came up with a list of questions and answers (not
received and filed). He had distributed
those to Commissioners Constantine and Dallari, and said he would be happy to
distribute those to the other Commissioners if they are interested in reading
what FDOT said was going on in that period of time. In addition, he prepared a timeline (not
received and filed) of exactly what has taken place since 2002 all the way up
to the present time. He discovered in
2002 and 2003 that FDOT actually did a study, and the study recommended that
they move the rest stop to Volusia County.
He said they never told him why that study was never followed up on. He has repeatedly asked them and they say it
is lost; they can’t find the actual study.
He added that he knows what it said because one of the people who was
writing about it inside the department told him what the study said.
Judge Salfi recounted that in 2007, there was another study that
was done and FDOT said at that time, they were going to move the rest stops. There was a tremendous amount of literature
the department gave Judge Salfi at that time about moving them. He added they actually had contacted Volusia
County and did a study of Volusia County on SR 44 and they were prepared to go
ahead and do a public-private at that time, but it died. He asked why and they did not know but there
was not enough support for it in 2007.
He noted that in 2013, they ordered another study and that study was
done which basically said they should move it too, but they did not move it. So here in 2015, FDOT told them they are
really going to move it, and when Judge Salfi questioned when that would be, FDOT
advised it would be some time in the next decade.
Judge Salfi read a list of things that everybody, including FDOT
and the Federal Highway Administration and the citizens, have verbally agreed
to (not received and filed) as follows:
(1) the Seminole County rest areas are the most used rest areas in the
State of Florida; (2) they are the only two rest areas in the State of Florida
that abut residential areas; (3) Seminole County rest areas are grossly
overpopulated by trucks and have been for the last 10 years; and (4) Seminole
County rest areas have been and are probably still being used by truckers and
others for elicit activities, teenage prostitution, drug abuse, and criminal
activities. Judge Salfi stated that back
in the late 80s, early 90s, there was actually a public outcry with regard to
the activities taking place at these rest areas and at that time, everybody
said they were going to close it down.
They hired a person to take care of that but obviously it has not
changed at all. Judge Salfi continued
reading the list: (5) trucks who remain
parked in these rest areas are discharging excess amounts of diesel exhaust
into the immediate atmosphere in and around the rest areas and into the
property of residences and churches. Judge
Salfi added there is a church school there and that Wekiva Trail goes right by
there. He stated that everyone knows
that long-term exposure to these toxic materials is causative to chronic
obstructive lung disease and lung cancer.
He noted that there are many people in their area that are suffering
from respiratory illnesses. He has a
granddaughter that is suffering from that and the doctors cannot tell them what
this is about because they do not know what is in their particular atmosphere.
Commissioner Carey left the meeting at this time.
Judge Salfi stated that to date, no state or federal agency has
been willing to conduct the air quality control study. He wondered if they will put something out
there for a month so they can check it over a period of time or are they going
to check it when the trucks are all gone, or when the trucks are there. He stated everyone agrees that the Seminole
County rest areas should be closed, but FDOT is saying the need to close them
is not immediate and it may take a decade.
They are also saying that they want to go ahead and put money into that
rest area. Judge Salfi referenced an
email from FDOT (received and filed) that states the department will be
spending approximately $900,000 for design but they don’t say how much of it
will be for actual construction. They are
putting in drainage ponds for I-4 Ultimate which the citizens have no problem
with; however, the DOT has tried to package these things together when they are
not together, they are coming out of different money sources, just so they can
proceed to do this upgrade to the facility.
Judge Salfi stated he sat on the committee and he knows they will be
spending well over $1 million to do this.
Judge Salfi then read the list of items (received and filed) he
would like to have included in the resolutions he is requesting and expounded
upon several of those items. He advised
that Volusia County is now saying they do not want the rest areas moved to
their county and he understands that someone hired a group to study that and
they came back with this information, but FDOT is saying they were not the ones
to request this study. Right now no one
knows who this group is or why they did this study.
Commissioner Dallari stated that he believes the Board needs to
be a little more aggressive than they have been in this matter and he believes
they should instruct staff to prepare the proper resolutions for approval. He said he would like to move forward by
asking their state legislators as well as FDOT to take the appropriate action
to close the rest stops. Commissioner
Constantine suggested when drafting the resolutions, they need a timeframe as
to when they will eliminate the rest stops.
He added he thinks they should ensure that other than the money that is
spent for what they need for I-4 Ultimate, that the State stops spending money
on those rest areas for expansion. Even
though they are saying they will have air quality tested, he added they should
include something about an air quality study.
Commissioner Dallari added they should measure the air quality at the
rest stops and in the residential neighborhoods because this is a safety
issue. Commissioner Constantine said in
regard to night security, there are certain conditions that they can and cannot
do, but to the full extent of whatever their contracts allow them to do to support
law enforcement and reporting, he thinks that should be done.
Commissioner Dallari stated there is limited parking at these
rest stops and suggested they need to be enforcing the parking. He advised that they actually improved the
shoulders of the roads so people can park on the shoulder. Commissioner Constantine added that they
should also include in the resolution that either FDOT or the Sheriff’s Department
patrol the rest stops and abide by the law.
Commissioner Henley agreed that they should instruct staff to
prepare a resolution with the material provided and discussed today. The consensus
of the Board is to have staff prepare a resolution for the Board’s
consideration. Chairman Horan opined
that 18 years is long enough to wait for this to happen. Commissioner Henley asked that staff ensure Judge
Salfi receives a copy of the resolution.
Commissioner Dallari commented that when looking at the data provided by
some of the residents regarding the air particulate from diesel exhaust, it is
astounding. Judge Salfi thanked the Board
for taking action.
With regard to public participation, no one else spoke in and
public input was closed.
Speaker Request Form from Judge Salfi received and filed.
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
Chairman Horan advised there will be no hearings in Orange
County this afternoon on the Lake Pickett projects. He had planned to attend and present the
Board’s letter and position. The
hearings have been moved to July 12th; however, the Chairman said he
has a conflict and cannot attend.
Commissioners Constantine and Dallari stated they anticipate
attending. Chairman Horan advised that
he did meet with Orange County Mayor Jacobs on this and a number of different
issues. He presented her with the
materials on Seminole County’s natural lands and the investments they have in
the eastern rural areas. He stated she
also had a number of her staff in attendance, so there is an understanding that
it is not just about density and “not in my backyard.” The Chairman stated they are talking about
$25 million of Seminole County’s investments in natural lands and forests and
between the state lands and the eastern rural areas. He added it is an asset that is real and the
region needs to take those things into consideration on these projects, and it
has nothing to do with the merits and demerits of the projects themselves, it
has more to do with regional planning and they need an interlocal
agreement. Discussion ensued about the
need for regional planning in all of Central Florida and Commissioner Henley
added that was the opinion that was drawn at the conclusion of “How shall we
grow?” - that the region and counties work together to solve their problems.
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Chairman Horan noted they approved Item #9 today on the Consent
Agenda that dealt with the distribution of the various art pieces made from the
cypress tree, “The Senator.” He stated they
approved the traveling and permanent exhibits.
Also, there are about 80 items like pens and letter openers; one pen and
one letter opener is dedicated for each commission office. The Chairman advised they need a policy with
regard to distribution of these as gifts to dignitaries. The consensus
of the Board was to direct the County Manager to bring back a proposed
policy for the distribution of those items.
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Commissioner Constantine stated many years ago when the
Legislature proposed that certain DRI (Development of Regional Impact)
situations would be eliminated, he made the statement on the floor that this
would cause unintended consequences because various counties would not have a
say when something was going to affect them, and there may be a situation where
other counties would not allow them to have a say. He added since June of last year, there have
been five instances in Lake, Osceola, Seminole and Orange counties where
various counties wanted to be part of a discussion of a larger project and did
not have a “seat at the table” because of this.
In fact, he said, the Rybolt North project they are talking about, which
is right up against the Seminole border, would have been a DRI in the
past. They are only doing 1,999 units so
there would not be a higher resolve and a “look-see” by the State, because if
they added one more unit, the State would have had to go through a more
extensive look at that project.
Commissioner Dallari asked that the County Manager and the
County Attorney attend the Orange County meeting regarding this. Ms. Guillet and Mr. Applegate stated they
plan to attend.
COMMUNICATIONS AND/OR REPORTS
The following Communications and/or Reports
were received and filed:
1. Copy of a letter dated May 17, 2016, from
Sean M. Parks, Chairman, Lake County Board of County Commissioners, to Laura
Kelly, Executive Director, Central Florida Expressway Authority, re: appointing
Welton G. Cadwell to the CFX Board.
2. Letter dated May 18, 2016, from Stephen J.
Noto, City Planner, City of Lake Mary, Community Development Department, re:
zoning approval of home office use at 116 S. Palmetto St., Lake Mary.
3. Letter dated May 19, 2016, from Sandra J.
Smith, Community Development Director, City of Casselberry, to Chairman Horan
re: annexation of 315 and 351 Concord, Casselberry.
4. Letter dated May 19, 2016, from Patrick F.
Sacbibit, Branch Chief, Engineering Services Branch, Federal Insurance and
Mitigation Administration, to Chairman Horan re: Conditional Letter of Map
Revision (CLOMR).
5. Notice received May 23, 2016, from City of Lake
Mary re: Preliminary and Final Subdivision for the Griffin Farm Town Center and
Griffin Farm David Weekley projects on June 6 and June 16, 2016, at 6:00 and
7:00 p.m. respectively.
6. Letter dated May 25, 2016, from Jane LeVeck,
Social Worker, Life Care Center, Orlando, to Chairman Horan re: adopting a
resolution prohibiting a bear hunt.
7. Letter dated May 25, 2016, from Chairman
Horan, to Ray Eubanks, Plan Processing Administrator, Department of Economic
Opportunity, re: Transmittal of Adopted Text Amendments to the Seminole County
Comprehensive Plan-Expedited State Review Process.
8. Letter dated May 25, 2016, from Chairman
Horan, to Laura Kelly, Executive Director, Central Florida Expressway
Authority, re: designating Commissioner Brenda Carey to serve as liaison
representative for Seminole County BOCC on Central Florida Expressway Authority
for a two-year term.
9. Notice received June 9, 2016, from City of
Lake Mary re: Final Subdivision for the Griffin Farm Town Center and Griffin
Farm David Weekley projects on June 16, 2016, at 7:00 p.m.
COUNTY
ATTORNEY’S REPORT
Bryant Applegate, County Attorney, stated they have been advised
by the Supervisor of Elections that the Grey2K organization has met the
required threshold to have a proposed ordinance on greyhound protection placed
by the Board on the ballot for the November general election. Mr. Applegate added that as soon as he heard
of this, as far back as December and January, he thought it was the honorable
and appropriate thing to do as a member of the Bar to notify their legal
counsel that it was the position of his office that the ordinance is preempted
by state law. There is implied and
express preemption and this is very close to being express preemption. He said that over the last five years, he has
learned how committed this Board is to the welfare of animals. As mentioned earlier, this Commission, with
the guidance of the County Manager, developed a policy on the bear ordinance
that will be a model for not only the State but for around the country. He also noted the support the Commission has
given to Animal Services has been tremendous.
Mr. Applegate stated that although this is a good-intentioned
ordinance, his counsel is they cannot adopt an ordinance or resolution
instructing that a matter be placed on a November ballot that, in his legal
opinion, conflicts with state law and ignores the preemption doctrine. He added the Grey2K group is represented by counsel,
who provided their argument, and lawyers can disagree and that is what courts
are for.
Mr. Applegate read from the pari-mutuel
statute
and said this information is in the memos that were provided to the commission
offices (not received and filed). He
stated that about a month ago, the Legislative Session adopted the Appropriations
bill, and specifically earmarked for pari-mutuel
wagering is the following: “From the
funds in specific appropriations, the Department of Business and Professional
Regulations (DBPR), by and through the Division of pari-mutuel wagering, shall
adopt rules governing the reporting of greyhound injuries sustained at
pari-mutuel racetracks.” Mr. Applegate
noted the proposed ordinance, albeit very well intentioned, attempts to do
three things: provide extensive reports
on injuries, extensive reports on the dispositions of the greyhounds (what
happens to them after they are done with their racing career), and licensing
provisions. He added though that the
ordinance goes a little further and requires the County to enforce these
reporting requirements and prosecute violations thereof. Mr. Applegate explained that, again, that
cannot happen because they do not have the authority to regulate.
Mr.
Applegate stated he believes it would be prudent to instruct his office when
the appropriate time comes to file the necessary legal action for the court to
determine whether or not they are preempted, and he believes they are. Chairman Horan agreed that in this situation,
they do not want to adopt an ordinance that they believe would be preempted and
they do not want to not only spend the money but also put their residents
through an exercise that may be a fool’s errand in voting for a particular
measure that is preempted by the State.
He added there is time for them to go ahead and get adjudication from the
court so they can move with certainty on this matter. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Dallari, Mr.
Applegate advised he has been informed by Mike Ertel, Supervisor of Elections,
that the deadline to have this matter resolved is September 6th,
which would be the final date that they would need to get the proposed ballot
to the printer. He added both attorneys
would agree to expedite and file the necessary motions for the courts to
expedite this. Commissioner Dallari said
he believes if the citizens have taken an initiative, they should put it on the
ballot. Commissioner Constantine asked
if both sides agree on this course of action and Commissioner Dallari replied
that is what he is trying to find out.
Chairman Horan opined this is prudent to do because they have a conflict
between a Charter provision and state law, and they are in doubt as to the
proper action to take, which is why he would want a judge to make that decision
for them.
Bucky
Mitchell, Tallahassee attorney for the committee to protect greyhounds, addressed
the Board and advised he has spoken to Chairman Horan and Commissioner Dallari
on this issue. He stated they do have an
attorney’s disagreement over whether the ordinance is preempted by state law. They believe that at least portions of the
ordinance are not preempted. There is no
injury reporting in state law, and while DBPR has the ability to institute
injury reporting, they have not done so.
There is the proviso language that the County Attorney raised, but again
DBPR right now is taking the position that they are not authorized to adopt any
rules pursuant to proviso language in an appropriations matter. He said as the Chairman pointed out, the
problem they face is that under the County’s Charter, it is their position that
the Board has two options: either adopt
the ordinance or adopt a resolution and put it on the ballot. He added they don’t feel that while the
County Attorney needs to give the Board good advice, that he is in a position
to be the gatekeeper on this issue. He
said he thinks the Charter provision directs them to do one of two things. They welcome the opportunity to have a
declaratory judgment action on this, obviously sooner rather than later,
because he believes the County has to act within 60 days now that the petition
has been verified. Commissioner Dallari
asked about a deadline to which Mr. Applegate responded they will both ask the
court to expedite the hearing as fast as possible.
Commissioner
Constantine stated he agrees they need to get a declaratory judgment if the
County Attorney and his staff feel there is a conflict in law and they are
preempted. At the same time, he shares
Commissioner Dallari’s sentiments that he has empathy for the fact that not
only have the citizens taken an initiative upon themselves to put this on the
ballot, but he shares a lot of their concerns especially when it comes to
injury reports and other things. He commented
that as they are going down this path, he wants to ensure that everyone
understands that this Board is not against the proposal. He added there are other potential avenues
because if the DBPR is not doing certain things that they feel might be a
provision of law that they can do, this Board can then request that they do as
they move down this line, and he does understand that this is the first
step. He would really like to see they,
in due course, do everything they can to help express the opinion of the
citizens. Chairman Horan added if they
believe the State is regulating in the area inappropriately or not as well as
they think they should be regulating, he believes it would be incumbent upon
them to go to their legislators to say that this is the problem they see right
now and this additional regulation is something they think should be done. He opined they all want those animals to be
well cared for and regulated in such a way that they are not abused and that
they are not exploited.
With regard
to public participation, no one else spoke in regard to the County Attorney’s
report and public input was closed.
Speaker
Request Form from Mr. Mitchell was received and filed.
Motion by Chairman Horan, seconded by
Commissioner Henley, to authorize the County Attorney to file a declaratory judgment
on this action.
Districts
1, 2, 3, and 4 voted AYE.
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There being no further business to come before the Board, the
Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 12:38, this same date.
ATTEST:______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
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