BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
June 26, 2018
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 26,
2018, 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 Lee Constantine (District 3)
Commissioner
Robert Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner Brenda Carey (District 5)
Chief
Deputy Clerk Brent Holladay
County
Manager Nicole Guillet
County
Attorney Bryant Applegate
Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer
Absent:
Commissioner Carlton Henley (District 4)
Pastor Ward Hodges, Lighthouse Baptist
Church, Sanford, gave the Invocation. Chairman
Horan led the Pledge of Allegiance.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
The
Business Spotlight video for LifeBridge was presented.
AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS
Agenda Item #1 – 2018-0796
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to
adopt appropriate Resolution #2018-R-78 recognizing John Didonna as the
Seminole Cultural Arts Council 2018 Artist of the Year.
Districts 1, 2, 3, and 5 voted AYE.
John Didonna, Program Chair and Artistic
Director of Theater at Valencia College, addressed the Board to express his
appreciation.
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Chairman Horan announced that Commissioner
Henley is under the weather and will not be attending today’s meeting.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Regarding Agenda Item #8
Lee Steinhauer, Government Affairs Director
at the Greater Orlando Builders Association (GOBA), addressed the Board and
stated he wanted to echo what was in the joint letter (copy not received and
filed) from GOBA and the Apartment Association of Greater Orlando, which was
provided to the Board last week, supporting the Building Department’s request
for additional positions and additional resources. Mr. Steinhauer stated the homebuilding
industry is in full support of the request and believes it is desperately
needed. He urged the Board to support
the request as well.
Speaker Request Form was received and
filed.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Regarding Agenda Item #18
Phil Taylor, 344 Nebraska Avenue, addressed
the Board and stated he is here to speak on behalf of the Rolling Hills
Community County Park. Mr. Taylor
reported they have been on this journey for four years. He appreciates the County’s diligence,
patience, and activity in doing one of the great activities that the Board will
long be remembered for in Seminole County.
Mr. Taylor requested that someone explain what is being done today, and
County Manager Nicole Guillet stated that the existing County budget does not
have a line in it for the funding of the purchase of the Rolling Hills
property. She noted they are hopeful
they will be able to pursue a closing at the end of July. This money is being moved so it will be
available at the time of closing. Item
#18 is moving the money out of a reserve fund so that it is available when they
move forward to close on the property.
Speaker Request Form was received and
filed.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA
Ms.
Guillet announced that there is an add-on
item, Item #10A, which is the acceptance of a Special Warranty Deed for a
right-turn lane associated with Geneva Elementary School.
With
regard to public participation, no one else in the audience spoke in support or
in opposition to the Consent Agenda and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to authorize and approve the following:
Community Services
Community Assistance
Division
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Central Florida Regional
Workforce Development Board d/b/a CareerSource Central Florida and Seminole
County to coordinate employment and training resources for both parties to
assist residents move toward self-sufficiency. (2018-0785)
3. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with the Homeless Services Network
of Central Florida (HSN) for the Rapid Rehousing Program 2017-2018 with State
Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds in the amount of $36,548 to be
used to provide rental assistance, financial assistance, and housing location
services to homeless households in Seminole County. (2018-0792)
Community Development Division
4. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute CDBG Cooperation Agreements with the
cities of Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Lake Mary, Longwood, Oviedo, and
Winter Springs for continued participation in the Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) Urban County Entitlement Program.
(2018-0784)
5. Approve
and accept the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Snapshot/Report, pursuant to
Seminole County Resolution #2013-R-61, and the HOME Program Activity Report,
pursuant to Seminole County Resolution #2015-R-51, for the month of May 2018. (2018-0786)
6. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute the Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) Subrecipient Agreement (2016-2017) with Kids House of Seminole, Inc. in
the amount of $18,940 to complete a public facility improvement activity to include
the reconstruction of a clubhouse at the agency's site. (2018-0789)
Development Services
Planning and Development Division
7. Approve
the plat for the Goodson’s Grove Subdivision containing seven lots on 39.88
acres zoned A-5 (Rural Zoning Classification/Rural Subdivision Standards),
located on the north side of Lake Harney Road, 1,000 feet west of Harney
Heights Road; Larry Braddy, Applicant. (2018-0783)
Building Division
8. Approve
the creation of nine new positions, approve market-rate pay band reclassifications,
and approve market-rate adjustments in the Building Division; and approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2018-R-79
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #18-057 through the Building Fund
in the amount of $297,651, to recognize revenues and to appropriate the
budget. (2018-0797)
Public Works
Engineering Division
9. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute a Purchase Agreement between George Gay
and Damaris Claude, his wife, and Seminole County in the amount of $5,000 for
property necessary for the Osceola Road Drainage Project. (2018-0763)
10. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2018-R-80 and
authorize the Chairman to accept a Traffic Signal Pole Easement between
Kimberly R. Palmer and Seminole County located along U.S. Highway 17-92 at
State Road 417 on/off ramp. (2018-0775)
10A. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
an acceptance of a Special Warranty Deed from The School Board of Seminole
County to Seminole County for acquisition of additional right-of-way for the
construction and maintenance of a right-turn lane and sidewalk on East Main
Street in conjunction with Geneva Elementary School. (2018-0802)
Traffic Engineering Division
11. Approve and authorize the Chairman to accept a
Speed Cushion Pilot Project Program/Funding for various locations throughout
the County in the amount of $72,000. (2018-0788)
Resource
Management
Budget
& Fiscal Management
12. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2018-R-81 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#18-049 through the 2001 Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund in the amount of
$195,000 from Project Contingency to provide additional funding for the SR 46
Gateway Sidewalk Project. (2018-0800)
13. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2018-R-82
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #18-056 through the General Fund to
increase the budget for the Medicaid payment to the State of Florida and for the
Health Care Responsibility Act (HCRA) in the amount of $96,466. (2018-0754)
14. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2018-R-83
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #18-061 through the 1991
Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund in the amount of $195,000 from Project
Contingency to provide additional funding for the Cumberland Farms Remediation
Project. (2018-0771)
15. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2018-R-84
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #18-062 through the 2001
Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund in the amount of $72,000 from Project Contingency
to establish funding for the Speed Cushion Pilot Project. (2018-0773)
16. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
appropriate Resolution #2018-R-85 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR)
#18-064 through the Disaster Preparedness Fund in the amount of $114,611 to
establish funding for the FY 2018/2019 Emergency Management Performance Grant
(EMPG); and authorize the Chairman to accept and execute a grant agreement with
the Florida Division of Emergency Management that will be forthcoming. (2018-0795)
17. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2018-R-86
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #18-065 through the General Fund in
the amount of $277,117 to increase the Clerk of the Circuit Court Transfer for
Information Technology services. (2018-0801)
18. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2018-R-87
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #18-066 through the General Fund
for the purchase of the Rolling Hills property and associated closing costs in
the amount of $3,975,000. (2018-0798)
19. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
a Federally Funded Subaward and Grant Agreement with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (Matthew) in the
amount of $83,398 for the Public Works Administration Building Wind Retrofit
Project. (2018-0776)
20. Approve submittal of applications to the
Florida Division of Emergency Management, Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) requesting up to
$20,754,539 for funding one Emergency Management project and 11 Public Works
flood-drainage projects throughout the County; and authorize the County Manager
to execute all documents associated with the grant applications. The County
will be responsible for 25% matching funds that will come from the 2014
Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund. (2018-0781)
21. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute
the Notice of Grant and Agreement Award with the United States Department of
Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in the amount of $2,114,350
for cleanup of Seminole County waterway damage caused by Hurricane Irma. (2018-0782)
Purchasing & Contracts Division
22. Approve Amendment #3 to M-1243-17/AEJ,
Architectural/ Engineering Services for Fire Station 29 Repackage Design, with
C.T. Hsu and Associates of Orlando, in the amount of $14,409; extend the
completion time to November 30, 2018; and authorize the Purchasing &
Contracts Division to execute the Amendment.
(2018-0780)
Districts 1, 2, 3, and 5 voted AYE.
CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICER’S CONSENT
AGENDA
Clerk
& Comptroller’s Office
Motion by Commissioner
Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to approve the following:
23. Approve
Expenditure Approval Lists dated May 21, 29, and June 4, 2018; Payroll Approval
Lists dated May 17 and 31, 2018; and the BCC Official Minutes dated May 22,
2018. (2018-0787)
Districts 1, 2,
3, and 5 voted AYE.
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The
Board noted, for information only, the following Clerk & Comptroller’s
“Received and Filed”:
1. Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreement for
the City of Lake Mary, the City of Longwood, the City of Oviedo, and the
Seminole County Port Authority (SCOPA), as amended and restated through
4/27/18, for providing Insurance through Public Risk Management of Florida
Health Trust.
2. Fully executed Florida Department of State
Agreement for Supervisor of Elections Activities Funds (HAVA Funds).
3. First Amendment to the Subrecipient Agreement
with Hope Helps, Inc. for Program Year 2015/2016; as approved by the BCC on
4/25/17, under the submission of the Substantial Amendment to the 2015/2016 and
2016/2017 One-Year Action Plans to HUD.
4. ESG Subrecipient Agreement with Rescue
Outreach Mission of Central Florida, Inc. for Program Year 2017/2018; as
approved by the BCC on 7/25/17 under the 2017/2018 One-Year Action Plan.
5. CSBG Training Provider Agreement with Seminole
State College of Florida for Program Year 2018/2019; the CSBG Modification
Agreement was approved by the BCC on 12/12/17 and this training agreement falls
under this category of funding.
6. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Florida
Rush Soccer Club for the Champions Cup.
7. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with USSSA
Central Florida Fast Pitch, LLC for the Fastpitch Elite Select Softball Tournament.
8. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with D9Events
for the Power 32 Softball Showcase.
9. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with A-Game
Travel Baseball, Inc. for the Boombah Summer Series 1.
10. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Perfect
Game Youth Florida, Inc. for the Tucci Lumber Wood Bat Challenge.
11. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Prospect
Wire, Inc. for the Florida State Championship.
12. Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Prospect
Wire, Inc. for the Southeast Championship.
13. Parks Contract for Services with Jonathan
Jacques, John Jones, and Rebecca Ransom.
14. Associate Tennis Pro Agreement with Brittany
Ann Wheatley.
15. Tennis Developmental Instructor Agreement with
Madelyn Escudero and Marlon Menezes.
16. Maintenance Bond #54-222634 (Streets, Curbs,
Storm Drains) in the amount of $4,381.74 for Danus Utilities, 2320 Beardall
Avenue; McKee Construction Company, Inc.
17. Maintenance Bond #268011282 (Water and Sewer
Facilities) in the amount of $8,800.45 for the project known as Brookmore
Estates Phase 2; Pulte Home Company, LLC.
18. Maintenance Bond #0111956 with General Purpose
Rider (Water and Sewer Facilities) in the amount of $34,887.89 for the project
known as Lake Florence Preserve; K. Hovnanian at Lake Florence Preserve, LLC.
19. Maintenance Bond #60128109 (Streets, Curbs,
Storm Drains) in the amount of $21,188.50 for the project known as Bay Meadow
Farms; MI Homes of Orlando, LLC.
20. Maintenance Bond #B1237946 with Change Rider
(Water and Sewer Facilities) in the amount of $7,727 for the project known as
Vera Apartments; Morrow Construction Company, Inc.
21. Bill of Sale and Warranty Deed accepting Water
and Sewer Systems for the project known as Lake Florence Preserve.
22. Bill of Sale accepting Water and Sewer Systems
for the project known as Brookmore Estates Phase 2.
23. Bill of Sale accepting Off-Site Potable and
Reclaimed Water and Sewer Systems for the project known as Vera Apartments.
24. Developers Commitment Agreement #18-20500006,
Central Parc at Lake Howell Branch Plaza PD; JEN Florida 23, LLC.
25. Development Order #18-27500020 for Alcoholic
Beverage License, Dollar General, 1980 E. McCulloch Road; Dolgencorp, LLC.
26. Development Order #18-27500021 for Alcoholic
Beverage License, Tiger Loves Pizza, 4932 West SR 46; Julien Crozet.
27. Amended and Restated Educational System Impact
Fee Rate Vesting Certificate for Somerset at Sanford Farms.
28. Amended and Restated Educational System Impact
Fee Rate Vesting Certificate for Parkdale Place.
29. Amended and Restated Educational System Impact
Fee Rate Vesting Certificate for Cameron Heights Villages E and F.
30. Amended and Restated Educational System Impact
Fee Rate Vesting Certificate for Broadstone Forest; Hattaway.
31. Work Order #1 to PS-0592-16 with Metric
Engineering, Inc.
32. Amendment #1 to Work Order #1 to PS-0121-15
with Singhofen & Associates.
33. Work Order #9 to RFP-0532-15 with Connect
Consulting, Inc.
34. Closeout of Work Order #16 to CC-0559-15 with
Southland Construction, Inc.
35. First Amendment to PS-0157-15 with S2L, Inc.
36. Amendment #1 to Work Order #1 to PS-0801-16
with Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.
37. Change Order #2 to Work Order #16 to
CC-0559-15 with Southland Construction, Inc.
38. PS-1709-18 (4) Master Services Agreements with
Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.; Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions,
Inc.; E. Sciences, Inc.; and CDM Smith, Inc.; as approved by the BCC on
4/10/18.
39. Work Order #1 to PS-1299-17 with England-Thims
& Miller, Inc.
40. Change Order #2 to CC-1453-17 with Blackstreet
Enterprises.
41. Work Order #1 to PS-1529-17 with Albeck
Gerken, Inc.
42. Work Order #6 to RFP-1294-17 with Pat Lynch
Construction, LLC.
43. Work Order #3 to PS-1522-17 with Tierra, Inc.
44. Work Order #5 to RFP-1294-17 with Pat Lynch
Construction, LLC.
45. Amendment #1 to Work Order #2 to PS-1473-17
with S2L, Inc.
46. Amendment #1 to Work Order #1 to PS-1522-17
with Tierra, Inc.
47. Closeout of CC-1342-17 with Corinthian
Builders, Inc.
48. Amendment #1 to Work Order #86 to PS-4388-09
with HNTB Corporation.
49. Amendment #2 to Work Order #80 to PS-8148-12
with CDM Smith, Inc.
50. Work Order #87 to PS-8148-12 with CDM Smith,
Inc.
51. Amendment #2 to Work Order #48 to PS-8148-12
with Atkins North America, Inc.
52. Amendment #1 to Work Order #59 to PS-8047-12
with Tierra, Inc.
53. Work Orders #85 and #86 to PS-8148-12 with CDM
Smith, Inc.
54. Work Order #51 to PS-8186-13 with Atkins North
America, Inc.
55. Work Orders #48, #50 and #52 to PS-8186-13 with
Reiss Engineering, Inc.
56. Change Order #1 to Work Order #12 to
CC-9184-13 with Affordable Development, a Division of Driveways, Inc.
57. Closeout of Work Order #28 to CC-9192-13 with
Corinthian Builders, Inc.
58. IFB-603115-18 (2) Term Contracts with Metal
Culverts, Inc. and Ferguson Waterworks, Inc.
59. First Amendment to RFP-602871-17 with Advanced
Data Processing, Inc.
60. IFB-603102-18 (2) Term Contracts with Mayer
Electric Supply Company, Inc. and Graybar Electric Company, Inc.
61. First Amendment to IFB-602212-15 (2) with
Chinchor Electric, Inc. and Traffic Control Devices, Inc.
62. First Amendment to IFB-602396-15 with Ferguson
Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Ferguson Waterworks.
63. First Amendment to RFP-602697-16 with
Brightview Landscape Services, Inc.
64. Bids as follows:
BID-603107-18
from Chinchor Electric, Inc.; Waddington & Son Electric; Current Electrical
Solutions, Inc.;
IFB-603118-18
from Advanced Fire Equipment; Borem Fire Protection;
RFP-603138-18
from Analytical & Diagnostic Services, LLC;
RFP-603036-18
from Hurley, Rogner, Miller, Cox & Waranch, P.A.; Conroy Simberg;
Broussard, Cullen & Blastic, P.A.; Jones, Hurley & Hand, P.A.; MKRS
Law, P.L. (Robert J. Rodriguez); Walton, Lantaff, Schroeder & Carson, LLP;
RFP-603113-18
from Rissman, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue, McLain & Mangan, P.A.; Dean, Ringers,
Morgan & Lawton, P.A.; Fisher Rushmer, P.A.; Meier, Bonner, Muszynski,
O’Dell & Harvey, P.A.; Pearson Bitman, LLP;
IFB-603115-18
from Ferguson Waterworks; Consolidated Pipe and Supply; Metal Culverts, Inc.;
IFB-603130-18
from Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc.; Airgas USA, LLC;
PS-1299-17
from CDM Smith, Inc.; England-Thims & Miller, Inc.; Keith & Schnars;
Mehta and Associates, Inc.; Page One Consultants, Inc.;
CC-1719-18
from CTR III Enterprise, Inc. d/b/a Control Engineering Group;
RFP-603016-17
from Hitech Systems d/b/a Pulsiam; Motorola Solutions; Superion, LLC;
Intergraph Corporation d/b/a Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure; TriTech
Software Systems; MobileTec International, Inc.;
RFQ-603170-18
from Aabot Fence, LLC; Commercial Fence Contractors, Inc.;
PS-1566-17
from AECOM Technical Services, Inc.; Carollo Engineers, Inc.; Jacobs CH2M; and
CC-1934-18
from BSE Construction Group; Linton Enterprises, Inc.; Glen Holt Aluminum, LLC.
COUNTY
MANAGER AND STAFF BRIEFINGS
Ms.
Guillet reported on a follow-up item from a prior Board meeting and explained
that Commissioner Dallari had asked that staff look into the opportunities that
were presented by the BUILD grant, which is the former TIGER grant program for
transportation improvements. She advised
that they have reviewed the program and have talked with their federal lobbyist
to try to get an understanding of what is involved in the application. It is an extremely involved application
process and they would require assistance with the preparation of that
application. They have gotten a quote of
$50,000 for technical assistance. Ms.
Guillet noted that the project they were considering pursuing to get some
funding assistance on was the Oxford Road project. They thought they might be able to receive
about $12 million. She added that this
is an extremely competitive process and reiterated that there would be a cost
of $50,000 to prepare the application. They
then would have about a 10% chance of receiving funding and maybe even less
than that. Ms. Guillet stated she understands from their folks in Washington
that this year, at least, the federal government is focusing on rural projects
as opposed to urban projects. If they
were to do an urban project such as Oxford Road, they would have to do an 80%
match and the chances of receiving funding would still be very slim. The consultants did suggest some other transportation
grant programs the County might be more successful in and advised they would be
willing to work with the County on those.
Ms. Guillet indicated she just wanted to let the Board know what the
cost would be to pursue that grant funding as well as the chances of getting
funding through that. She stated that
she is happy to answer any questions and requested some direction as to whether
they should still move down that path or pursue some other opportunities.
Commissioner
Dallari stated he does not think it is appropriate to move forward with the BUILD
grant. Things are changing fast with the
transportation bills up in Washington, and he wanted to make sure the County is
taking every avenue possible. He does not
think the risk and the reward are equal.
The Commissioner advised that he does think they should be looking at
other grants; but he wants to make sure that when they are looking at other
grants, they are not just looking at them but also evaluating the risks versus
the rewards. He wants to make sure they
are looking at it from a financial standpoint as to how much money they need to
put out based on the risk and the reward.
Chairman
Horan stated they all appreciate the fact that Commissioner Dallari brought
this up. He pointed out that
Commissioner Dallari learns about these things because he is on the
transportation committees and national boards.
The Chairman stressed that they need to be pretty surgical about how
they spend $50,000.
Commissioner
Carey stated she does believe there are other grants, both federal and state,
that the County could maybe pursue on some of the projects. All of those grants are very
competitive. She suggested they look at
some of the federal opportunities for transit and other things because it takes
a few years to get into the queue on those.
She thinks there are opportunities and pointed out that they do have
people that represent the County and can identify what those are and what the
odds are. She explained that there are
also programs the federal government has and talked about the TIFIA loan that
the Expressway used to build the last section of the expressway. There is a lot of competition, a lot to go
through, and you have to have experts to help you. Commissioner Carey suggested that Ms.
Guillet, after she gets the budget together, have staff put together a list of
potential grants that could be pursued and what specific projects they would
pursue them for. Then the Board could
evaluate a risk/reward type analysis to see which ones should be pursued.
COUNTY
INVESTMENT ADVISOR REPORT
Scott
McIntyre, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for First Southwest
Asset Management, addressed the Board to present his report. The Seminole County Strategy Review for June
2018 (copy received and filed) was displayed.
Mr. McIntyre stated he wanted to talk first about performance and give
the Board some assurance that they looked at a lot of the counties in Florida (all
of the major counties to the extent that they could find the information), and
they looked at a lot of the major counties in the United States to see how the
performance had been up to this point.
He stated that up to this point, Seminole County's performance has been
very, very good, maybe 20 to 25 basis points better than what the average would
be. He explained that the reason for
that is because the portfolio is very short and the Fed is raising interest
rates.
Mr.
McIntyre stated there is a lot going on in the economy right now and most
people expect that the Fed is going to continue to raise interest rates in
early September another quarter and another quarter again in December and as
many as three times in 2019. He
explained that whenever interest rates are rising, in theory you want to be a
little bit shorter because if you buy securities at lower interest rates and
they continue to rise, the securities that you bought are going to wind up
having unrealized losses. The County is
very short at this point and that means the unrealized losses are very, very
minimal. As a matter of fact, the
unrealized losses that do exist are very long securities that were purchased a
decade ago. Mr. McIntyre talked about
the Fed continuing to raise interest rates and pointed out that there are a lot
of things going on in the economy that could derail things. They don’t know where the trade war is going
to go but all of the rhetoric that he hears on television and reads in the media
suggests that it could have a detrimental effect on both the world economy and
the domestic economy.
Mr.
McIntyre stated that the risk/reward point that was made earlier is very, very
important because they have to decide whether or not they are going to keep a
lot of their money very short and ride it up as the Fed increases rates or step
out with a portion of the money and buy securities to lock in rates in the
event that things get derailed. He
explained the answer to all of that is to diversify and take some of the money
that is liquid right now and invest it in some actual securities. He cautioned that his company does not like
Fannie and Freddie right now. They don't
like the federal agencies as much as they do U.S. Treasuries. They are full faith and credit. A lot of other investments that they could
potentially buy are unsecured; so his company opts for Treasuries instead of
other security types. He added that at
least right now they recommend that.
Chairman
Horan asked what the rate of a two‑year Treasury is and Mr. McIntyre responded
that they are around 2.50% to 2.60% depending on any given point in time. He noted that if you go back to September,
that two‑year Treasury was at 1.25% to 1.30%; so rates have moved up
quite a bit. He explained that what is
happening is the rate increases that are expected are actually priced into the
market as opposed to in September when, if you were to buy, you were not
getting paid for future increases. Right
now you actually are getting paid for the future increases.
Recommendations
Mr. McIntyre
stated the recommendation is that the move to reallocate from some liquid
investments into some fixed maturities be gradual. He stated they are recommending that four
purchases be made, all Treasuries, from six months out to 15 months in three‑month
intervals. He emphasized that the market
is moving all of the time and noted that buying a six‑month Treasury
right now yields anywhere from 2.17%, which it was on Friday, to easily 2.20%
today. A one‑year is yielding
approximately 2.38% to 2.40% and 15‑month is yielding about 2.44%. The portfolio as of today is yielding about
2.12%. There was a major adjustment that
was made when the Fed raised rates in June so some of the securities that the
County has at Florida banks moved up by a quarter percentage point right at
that time. The majority of the money
that the County has is actually in Florida banks secured by the guarantee
deposit program so it is very safe.
Mr.
McIntyre stated what they will do is suggest that the County comes out of
essentially a 2.12% and go into some investments that admittedly are not that
much higher than the 2.12% with the understanding that what they will have will
continue to move higher; but also by coming out of the liquid investments and
going into these set securities, they are actually locking in. They are doing that not because they feel
like they are going to earn significantly more money but because they are
basically trying to protect a portion of the portfolio in the event that trade
wars spiral into recession at some point in time. This is very simply to diversify. He reiterated that the portfolio is doing very,
very well.
Mr.
McIntyre stated they are also suggesting that several other things be
done. There is a maturity in a fixed
pool that is going to happen on the 28th, and they looked at the
reinvestment rates for that particular amount of money to reinvest. In the six‑month area, they are
suggesting that the $10 million that matures on the 28th be reinvested back at
2.35%. The rate that comes off was
1.99%, which shows that the rates are continuing to move higher. In regard to another pool that the County has
money in, which is basically a short‑term bond fund, Mr. McIntyre advised
that as interest rates have risen, this has been slightly underwater up until
this point and now it is at breakeven.
Chairman Horan confirmed with Mr. McIntyre that he is talking about the
FLGIT Fund.
Mr.
McIntyre stated in discussions with the Chairman and the Clerk's Office on
Friday, they decided that it makes sense to move from one fund within that
family to another. The other fund isn't
fixed. The other fund is a floating
rate. They felt like that made some
sense given where rates are going to go; so there is a little bit of
reallocation here. There is nothing that
is being suggested that is dramatically different than what has been done. What they are suggesting as much as anything
else is to diversify or begin diversifying into full faith and credit Treasury
issues. Down the line the County may
decide to take more risk but for right now they feel that given the uncertain
outlook of the economy that the County should basically lock in some
Treasuries.
Ms.
Guillet reported that there was a meeting last week with County
representatives, representatives from the Clerk's Office, and the investment
advisors to talk about these recommendations.
She wanted everyone to know there has been coordination amongst the
various parties that are involved in the investment decisions. Commissioner Carey pointed out that they have
a representative of the Clerk's Office here today and he may want to
comment. She stated it sounds like the
Clerk is in support of the recommendations being made. Brent Holladay, Chief Deputy Clerk, agreed
with Commissioner Carey's statement. Chairman
Horan gave a brief synopsis of the meeting and talked about how successful the
meeting was. The Chairman confirmed with
Mr. McIntyre that he planned on appearing every month to provide a report to
the Board. He then asked if Mr. McIntyre
planned on using the two-year Treasury as a benchmark. Mr. McIntyre explained that the portfolio is
very short; so probably the more appropriate benchmark is the six-month or
one-year benchmark. Mr. McIntyre added
that going forward, if it makes sense to lock in something longer and lock in
some rates because they expect that a recession is on the horizon and they want
to protect some of that income, then they would extend. For right now, he thinks six-month and
one-year benchmarks are more appropriate.
Upon inquiry by Chairman Horan, Mr. McIntyre reiterated that the County
will be getting a continual report from him on that.
Commissioner
Carey noted that there was a meeting ahead of the presentation which is always
good. She wants to confirm that the
intent of the Clerk and the Board is to continue to have these discussions in
advance of the presentation so that they can confirm or at least comment on
their opinion about what is being recommended so everyone is working on the
same team. Chairman Horan advised that
is exactly the intention and that was exactly the spirit of the meeting they
had on Friday. He added they expect that
to continue.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded
by Commissioner Constantine, to accept the Investment Advisor's recommendations
as presented.
Districts
1, 2, 3, and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioner
Dallari stated that even though the report was shown on the monitor, he would
like to have it on the website. Ms.
Guillet stated they can certainly do that.
Commissioner Carey suggested that in the future, they put it on a
PowerPoint presentation so they can "pop it up" on the screen. Commissioner Dallari pointed out that it
should be there before the Board actually takes action. The Chairman stated he thinks that is a good
idea.
COUNTY
MANAGER AND STAFF BRIEFINGS (continued)
Ms.
Guillet announced there is a mini budget work session immediately following
this meeting. It is the last chance that
she will get to talk to the Board as a group before she has to submit the
budget and she wants to run a couple of things by the Board.
Ms.
Guillet reported there was an item on the afternoon session, an adoption
hearing for a plan amendment for the Alta project. They expect that will be continued and they
are reaching out to the citizens that were interested in the project to let
them know that the Applicant has requested a continuance. Ms. Guillet confirmed for Commissioner Carey
that staff is requesting that both the Celery Avenue vacate and the Starwood
Drive vacate be continued as they work out some lingering issues.
-------
Chairman
Horan recessed the meeting at 10:21 a.m.,
reconvening
at 1:30 p.m. with all
Commissioners and all other Officials, with the exception of Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer who was replaced by Deputy Clerk
Terri Porter, who were present at the Opening Session.
PROOFS OF PUBLICATION
Motion
by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to authorize the
filing of the proofs of publication for this meeting's scheduled public
hearings into the Official Record.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
ALTA SEMINOLE LSFLU MAP AMENDMENT AND REZONE/
WP South Acquisitions LLC
Agenda Item #30 – 2018-0004
Proof of publication calling for a public hearing to consider
adoption of an Ordinance enacting a Large Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment
from Medium Density Residential, High Intensity Planned Development
Transitional and Planned Development to Planned Development, and adoption of
the associated Ordinance enacting a Rezone from RP (Residential Professional)
and PD (Planned Development) to PD (Planned Development), for a 243-unit,
multi-family residential apartment complex on 12.53 acres, located on the
northeast corner of West SR 426 and Tuskawilla Road, WP South Acquisitions LLC,
received and filed.
Matt
Davidson, Planning & Development Division, addressed the Board and advised
the Applicant has requested a continuance to the July 24 BCC meeting.
With regard
to public participation, no one spoke in support or in opposition to a
continuance, and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded
by Commissioner Carey, to continue to July
24, 2018, at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, the request to adopt
an Ordinance enacting a Large Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment from Medium
Density Residential, High Intensity Planned Development Transitional and
Planned Development to Planned Development; and an associated Ordinance
enacting a Rezone from RP (Residential Professional) and PD (Planned
Development) to PD (Planned Development); for a 243-unit, multi-family
residential apartment complex on 12.53 acres, located on the northeast corner
of West SR 426 and Tuskawilla Road, as described in the proof of publication;
WP South Acquisitions LLC, Applicant.
Districts
1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
CELERY AVENUE RIGHT-OF-WAY VACATE/
Archie and Debbie Smith
Agenda Item #24 – 2018-0572
Continuation of a
public hearing from March 27, April 10, May 22, and June 12, 2018, a request to
consider a Resolution vacating and abandoning a remnant piece of the public
right-of-way known as Celery Avenue, as recorded in Road Plat Book 1, Page 47,
in the Public Records of Seminole County, Florida, for property located at the
intersection of Celery Avenue and East SR 415, Sanford, as described in the
proof of publication; Archie and Debbie Smith.
Angie Kealhofer, Planning & Development Division, addressed the
Board and
advised the Applicant has requested a continuance to the August 14 BCC meeting.
With regard to public participation, no one
spoke in support or in opposition to a continuance, and public input was
closed.
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to continue
to August 14, 2018, at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, the
request to approve a Resolution vacating and abandoning a remnant piece of the
public right-of-way known as Celery Avenue, as recorded in Road Plat Book 1,
Page 47, in the Public Records of Seminole County, Florida, for property located
at the intersection of Celery Avenue and East SR 415, Sanford, as described in
the proof of publication; Archie and Debbie Smith, Applicants.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5
voted AYE.
STARWOOD DRIVE RIGHT-OF-WAY VACATE/
PEC Surveying and Mapping LLC
Agenda Item #25 – 2018-0400
Continuation
of a public hearing from March 27, 2018, a request to consider a Resolution
vacating and abandoning a portion of a public right-of-way known as Starwood
Drive, being the south 653.95 feet of Starwood Drive right-of-way, lying in
Section 31, Township 21 south, Range 31 east of Seminole County, as described
in the proof of publication; PEC Surveying and Mapping LLC.
Joy Giles, Planning & Development Division, addressed the Board
and advised that staff has requested a continuance to the August 28th
BCC meeting.
With regard to public participation, no one spoke in support or in
opposition to a continuance, and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to continue
to August 28, 2018, at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, the
request to approve a Resolution vacating
and abandoning a portion of a public right-of-way known as
Starwood Drive, being the south 653.95 feet of Starwood Drive right-of-way,
lying in Section 31, Township 21 south, Range 31 east of Seminole County, as
described in the proof of publication; PEC Surveying and Mapping LLC,
Applicant.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
MARKHAM RD AND ORANGE BLVD PD SSFLU MAP
AMENDMENT AND REZONE/Michael Elias
Agenda Item #26 – 2018-0020
Proof of publication calling for a public hearing to consider
a Small Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment from Suburban Estates to Planned
Development (PD), and a Rezone from A-1 (Agriculture) to PD (Planned
Development) for a two-lot, single-family residential subdivision on 1.6 acres
located at the southwest corner of Markham Road and Orange Boulevard, Michael
Elias, received and filed.
Ms.
Giles presented the item as outlined in the agenda memorandum. She advised the property is located within
the Wekiva River Protection Area and the East Lake Sylvan Transitional
Area. Staff finds the request to be
compatible with the trend of development in the area. She noted that water will be provided by
Seminole County and wastewater will be provided by septic. Ms. Giles stated the Planning & Zoning
Commission recommended approval, and staff also recommends approval.
Randy
Bumbalough, 595 Pensacola Lane, addressed the Board and stated he is the
architect for the project and the owner is also in attendance. They agree with the staff recommendation and
think it is a compatible project for the area.
Blaine
Darrah, 1624 Cherry Ridge Drive, addressed the Board and stated he is here
representing the Heathrow Master Association and he fully agrees with the
master plan as presented. He mentioned
the architects have agreed to put a very decorative vinyl fence in that small
10-foot buffer that separates this property and the homes that are located in
Heron Ridge. He also suggested to the architect
that they put the same fence along Orange Boulevard. He added the Heathrow Master Association
supports the project.
With
regard to public participation, no one else spoke in support or in opposition,
and public input was closed.
Speaker
Request Form was received and filed.
Commissioner
Constantine confirmed that this is currently zoned Suburban Estates, A-1. He heard that they were going to use septic
for sewer and asked how far away sanitary sewer is from this property and
whether they have agreed to hook up to sanitary sewer when it is
available. Ms. Giles pointed out the
Comp Plan states that if sewer is available, they must hook up to sewer;
however, it is not close to the project.
She does not have the exact distance for sanitary sewer, but they did
have that reviewed and it was determined that it was not close enough. Commissioner Constantine expressed the last
thing they want to do is put more septic in the Wekiva Protection Area. He understands this is only two units. Commissioner Carey noted the backup
information states a wastewater gravity sewer line is not available for
connection, so she thinks they would probably have to put in a lift station to
accommodate that. Commissioner
Constantine asked if they could do it, would this not be the right time to do
that. He wondered if there is any place
else in that area to work it out so that they would be able to pay back some of
the money that it would cost for the lift station so it could be shared. He is concerned that they could potentially
be putting in septic in the Wekiva Protection Area, especially on the west side
of Markham Woods Road.
Tina
Williamson, Development Services Director, addressed the Board to advise that
Environmental Services did review the project when they came in for
compliance. Under the state statute a
gravity connection has to be within a certain distance in order for sewer to be
considered available, and that is not in place in this location at this time. Commissioner Dallari said the property owner
could volunteer to do it. Chairman Horan
stated perhaps they wouldn’t want to design a system right now without the
additional people there because there will be additional development in this
area.
Commissioner
Carey noted some of the developments that are occurring along Orange Boulevard
are bringing in utilities, but where this property is located there is no other
development to happen. She remembers
they had to go try to find some subdivisions that they could retrofit with
reclaimed even though they weren’t getting any sewer from them because they
still did not have enough units to meet their CUP requirement on the reclaim
retrofit. They had to do five
subdivisions and there were a lot of conditions because they were trying to
change the outcome of what was happening in the northwest corridor because of
the Wekiva. If there was more
development going around it, she would say they should look at running sewer
down there, but there is not much more development to occur. This is an infill piece on the corner; it
backs up to Heathrow and it already has homes built on the other side of
it. She added they have already approved
the development across the street from it and down the street from it and down
Orange Boulevard. There are only a
couple of pieces left on Orange Boulevard potentially to develop out
there.
Commissioner
Constantine asked whether the owner would be amenable to putting in sewer
instead of septic. Michael Elias,
Applicant, addressed the Board and responded that he definitely would be if it
is the ultimate solution for something and if it is feasible. The Commissioner added it would make the
homes more valuable and less expensive.
Mr. Bumbalough stated the problem they are facing is that a 24” force
main is under a great deal of pressure and in order to tie into it, you have to
push into it harder than it pushes back, so it could not be a small residential
lift station. He noted the civil
engineer estimated it at $50,000.
Commissioner Constantine reiterated his concern of going into the Wekiva
area and putting in more septic. He said
eventually the State at one point or another is going to have to do something
and they are already talking about a rule that the DEP is coming down with in
regard to new development. He stated he
just wanted to try and solve a problem before it exists.
County
Manager Nicole Guillet stated it appears that the Applicant is willing to
consider this if it is a feasible alternative.
Her suggestion would be that they sit down and see if that is an
alternative and if so, there is nothing that would preclude him from switching
from septic to sewer if that is something that would work. They can look at what their plans are for the
overall area and sit down with their utilities folks and if it makes sense for
everybody, the County and the Applicant, if they were to grant an approval
today, there is nothing that would preclude him from switching from septic to
sewer. Commissioner Carey stated the
Applicant has made a verbal commitment that they are going to look at it. She added if you read the report, it appears
that they don’t think it is necessarily a good thing for their system because
of the size and pressure and what would be required. Chairman Horan added that was his concern
because someone in his neighborhood in a small cul-de-sac was on a lift station
that malfunctioned, and it backed up sewer into five or six houses. He doesn’t want to be doing something here
from an engineering point of view that doesn’t make any sense. Commissioner Carey said that under a 24”
pipe, it may cause more problems in the County’s system if something were to
fail.
Ralph
Terrero, Environmental Services Director, addressed the Board stating he hasn’t
looked at all of the options but there are actually some individual pumps that
are called low-pressure sewers that could pump into the 24” line, but it would
need to be evaluated.
Commissioner
Dallari stated his issue with this is it is Suburban Estates and they want to
do PD. He noted up and down Markham
Woods Road, the majority of it is all Suburban Estates. He doesn’t know why they are doing PD to put
more houses in unless they are just trying to make more money. Commissioner Carey pointed out that the
subject property is surrounded by PD.
Commissioner Dallari commented that PD is on three sides and surrounded
means all four sides, and he hasn’t heard anything that says why it has to be a
PD.
Chairman
Horan stated this comes with a P&Z board unanimous recommendation and also
with a staff recommendation. It is a
residential subdivision on 1.6 acres.
Commissioner Carey asked that the aerial photo be displayed and
described the area around the property.
Chairman Horan expressed that he is convinced that the area has changed
in nature to support the change in the future land use. The point he was trying to make is that
Suburban Estates is at least one acre and he asked about the lot sizes. Ms. Guillet replied the lots are .44 acres
each and there is a significant buffer along Markham Road. Ms. Giles added there is a 40-foot buffer
requirement. Chairman Horan asked what
is to the south and Ms. Giles replied that is the Heathrow PD and the density
is four units per acre. To the east is
multi-family, the Colonial Grand apartments.
Commissioner
Carey stated this is very much the trend of development in this area, four
units per acre, and in fact this is less dense than what is surrounding
it. It is at a hard corner at a busy
intersection, so much so that a traffic signal was installed there by the
County at Orange Boulevard and Markham Road.
This project is supported by P&Z, the surrounding neighborhoods, the
Heathrow Master Association, and everybody believes that that is a good use for
that corner in the community.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey to adopt an Ordinance enacting a Small Scale Future Land
Use Map Amendment from Suburban Estates to Planned Development (PD); and adopt
an associated Ordinance enacting a Rezone from A-1 (Agriculture) to PD (Planned
Development) for a two-lot, single-family residential subdivision on 1.6 acres
located at the southwest corner of Markham Road and Orange Boulevard, as
described in the proof of publication; Michael Elias, Applicant.
Chairman
Horan surrendered the gavel to Commissioner Constantine in order to second the motion.
Chairman
Horan stated the proposal complies with the requirement of the Comprehensive
Plan Future Land Use 12.2 which states that developments exceeding one unit per
net buildable acre in the East Lake Sylvan Transitional Area must use
clustering to minimize impacts to natural resources. The policy allows a maximum of 2.5 dwelling
units per net buildable acre where it can be demonstrated that the impacts will
not exceed those of an “un-clustered” development with a density of one unit
per net buildable acre. Chairman Horan
stated there are two units here and it is to an acre, so it looks like the
requirements for the change in the future land use would be met, so he is in
favor of approval.
Commissioner
Constantine returned the gavel to Commissioner Horan to resume the duties of
Chairman who called for a vote.
Districts 2 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioners Dallari and Constantine voted NAY; whereupon, the motion failed for lack of a majority
vote; Denial Development Order.
VACATION RENTALS LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT
Agenda Item #27 – 2018-0791
AMENDMENT TO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE FEE SCHEDULE -
VACATION RENTALS (Non-Public Hearing Item)
Agenda Item #28 – 2018-0790
Proof of publication calling for a public
hearing to consider adoption of an Ordinance amending the Land
Development Code to provide regulations for short-term vacation rentals within
unincorporated Seminole County, received and filed.
Jeff Hopper, Planning & Development
Division, addressed the Board to advise that staff is recommending a
continuance to allow them to take in further input. Chairman Horan suggested he present the item
to allow public input.
Mr. Hopper stated Florida Statutes Chapter
509 has created a category of lodging called “Vacation Rental” which is a
dwelling unit rented more than three times per year for periods of less than a
month but is not a time-share. State law
prevents local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating
their duration or frequency; however, local regulations may be adopted to
address compatibility issues with surrounding residential properties including
noise, parking and the number of persons staying at a vacation rental
unit. Requirements of the new
regulations would include maximum occupancy of two persons per sleeping room,
having a landline telephone capable of contacting 911 on a 24-hour basis, and
for each sleeping room in excess of two, an additional parking space must be
provided. The proposed amendments
establish a registration process and require certification by the owner or other
responsible party that all requirements are met while tenants occupy the
units. As a result, County staff will
have a record for each unit of location, maximum occupancy, ownership, and
persons responsible in the event of a violation. Violations would be addressed through the
Code Enforcement provisions of Chapter 53 of the Seminole County Code. Also, the County Manager would have the power
to revoke or suspend the Certificate of Compliance for a vacation rental facility
upon a finding of repeat violations.
Mr. Hopper advised that at the Planning
& Zoning Commission meeting on June 6th, an issue was raised
regarding access by vacation rental occupants to common facilities within a
project such as swimming pools and clubhouses.
There was concern about how the County’s ordinance might affect
that. In response to this concern, a
revision was made to the draft stating that the Certificate of Compliance does
not authorize any person to violate private covenants or HOA regulations.
Commissioner Carey remarked that a lot of
times some of the complaints they receive on Monday morning are about what
happens at vacation rentals over the weekend when Code Enforcement Officers are
not on duty. As far as monitoring and
compliance and enforcement, she asked if there is going to be some instruction
given that Law Enforcement should react because it states that Code Enforcement
is going to be the one to monitor all of this.
She thinks that maybe if they are doing some type of licensing that they
also give some type of notice to the surrounding homes; or if there is an HOA
that they actually put the information out to all the residents so that they
know what to do in the event that it becomes a problem. She added it would be very difficult for the
County to monitor this and possibly even enforce it if all the calls are being
responded to after the fact. Ms. Guillet
said that is a great point and they could add a notice provision to either
notice an HOA or the surrounding neighbors.
Commissioner Carey added it could be a notice that someone has
registered their home so the neighbors know what is going on.
Commissioner Dallari asked about the
process to register and Mr. Hopper explained they have not nailed that down in
detail yet. The Commissioner said he’d
like to have that nailed down before they make a decision of what this process
is going to be. He said there is a
one-time fee so no one has to come back, but he thinks it would be nice to have
them come back every couple years. And
he would like to have some input from Code Enforcement or the Sheriff about
some of these things to make sure that they are enforceable. He pointed out that a lot of this has been
preempted by Tallahassee so they are only taking into account the things that
they can. He summarized that he wants to
make sure it is enforceable, to see how the registration will take place and
how often they will do renewals. Mr.
Hopper responded it would be a one-time application fee until something changes
such as an additional bedroom.
Commissioner Carey stated if you have a
house and it is certified for short-term rentals and then you sell the house to
someone else, that registration would still be out there because it is based on
the address. Then a new owner, for
example, has a family wedding that weekend and all of a sudden the neighbors
are under the impression it is due to an Airbnb and they are calling the police
and the police show up and the wedding is ruined. She opined there has to be some trigger like
a renewal or with the transaction of a house it would be voided and the new
people would have to come back so that they understand the rules.
Chairman Horan explained that in 2011, the
State of Florida’s Legislature enacted a statute that preempted or took away
from local regulation the authority over short-term rentals. Since 2011, there have been a couple of other
statutes that have been passed by the State, but in 2014 the Legislature
reinstated local governments’ ability to regulate vacation rentals within
certain parameters. He added they cannot
prohibit rentals or attempt to limit their frequency or their duration. So they are trying to pass an ordinance that
complies with the state statute and regulates within the ambit of the state
statute that they have to operate within.
County Attorney Bryant Applegate stated
there is no doubt that the Legislature has passed, in his view, a procedural
nightmare onto local governments once again.
He thinks if a house is sold under this current ordinance, the owner of
the home has to submit an affidavit.
Commissioner Carey wondered how they would know that someone registered
the house as a vacation rental. Chairman
Horan opined the only way to correct that would be to require something in the
public record because then if there is a sale, it would show up in a title
search. Mr. Applegate noted they just
recently received a lot of comments from the public. They are trying to come up with a
comprehensive ordinance that will protect the character of the neighborhood and
protect the neighbors from violations and misuse of vacation rentals.
Commissioner Constantine stated he has had
ex parte communications (received and filed) with some citizens that were
concerned. Commissioners Dallari and
Carey submitted all their ex parte communications (received and filed) into the
record at this time.
Commissioner
Constantine said they do understand that there are only three areas that they
can talk about: the noise and the
parking, which he thinks they covered very well, and the registration process. He said he has indicated to staff that he
thinks the frequency of registration should be much more frequent and he
believes they should have a renewal fee every single year. Right now they are looking at a one-time charge
of $150, and the normal fee around the state is $250 to $300 and then in
addition to that, every year they would come back with a fee ranging from $100
to $150 per year. In regard to
enforcement, he thinks it will be neighbor to neighbor as well as the people
that own it, but there could be some costs related to that also when you are
dealing with code enforcement.
Commissioner Constantine asked the County
Attorney to expound on what the HOAs can and cannot do. Mr. Applegate explained granting someone a
certificate to operate a vacation rental does not mean that they can violate a
homeowners’ association’s restrictions, but the enforcement of that is up to
the HOA and not the County; the County cannot enforce HOA restrictions. Commissioner Carey asked if HOAs are allowed
to restrict vacation rentals under the Florida Statutes. Mr. Applegate advised as far as he knows,
they haven’t been challenged yet.
Chairman Horan added as he understands it, the statute prohibits actions
by local governments, but the HOAs, or even a voluntary homeowners’
association, can still enforce those covenants and restrictions in the
subdivision.
George Sellery, 5231 Shoreline Circle,
addressed the Board and said he lives in the Lake Forest subdivision gated
community. He is representing their
association today. He thinks Terracina,
Alaqua Lakes and Alaqua have also weighed in, and he knows Heathrow is here
also. He believes a lot more people
would have attended but they don’t all read that one little legal ad in the Orlando Sentinel, and he feels the agendas
are extremely hard to find, but they are coming up with a group consensus to
fix that.
Mr.
Sellery opined that this commission has a wealth of experience and Seminole
County has always led and not followed.
He thinks this ordinance is a great tool and well needed, but there are
a couple of issues. One is that it
doesn’t apply to HOAs and CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions)
and the proof of that is the Airbnb Lobby, the one that has been preempting
this issue at the state level and actually tried with HB 841 to circumvent any
CC&Rs going forward and that failed.
This has nothing to do with amenities with HOAs; they gave up some
property rights to go into a community and follow certain covenants and
rules. They have their amenities,
private roads and gate codes which they don’t want just anybody in the world to
have. And, they pay their dues for that
privacy and for those roads. Their tax
money that they pay in a privately gated HOA, 90% of those tax dollars go
elsewhere; they don’t go back to them.
They don’t get roads or sidewalks or Sheriff’s patrols except for the
ones they pay for.
Mr.
Sellery stated he thinks they just need more time with the ordinance. He cited verbiage from the agenda memorandum,
“The regulations would not apply to any vacation rental that is owner occupied
on a full-time basis and where the sleeping rooms are accessed via hallway
internal to the facility.” He said that
is the definition of every house he knows.
He then read, “Having a permanent resident on-site helps mitigate issues
and reduces the potential for noise, parking and traffic nuisances.” He opined these are completely contradictory
sentences. Commissioner Carey explained
there was a revision distributed today that added back the HOA language that they
had requested at P&Z.
Mr.
Sellery questioned if the County will post a list of approved vacation rentals
so that if there is an issue, before calling Code Enforcement, someone could
look online to see that they are in fact a permitted Airbnb. Also, he wondered why they would only have a
one-time application fee. Other
counties, Orange, Brevard, Lake, and Volusia, do not have an ordinance. He is hoping Seminole’s is the model for the
rest of them. He added they should have
an application fee, a larger one. These
are money-making opportunities. He
mentioned the Westin and the Marriott and said all these hotels are going to
lose some business here and they all have to pay fees. Is the fee sufficient to offset the
compliance costs? He doesn’t think it is
even close. He worked in the Sheriff’s
Office for 22 years and cautioned there is no way to enforce this after the
fact.
Mr.
Sellery noted he saw an article that said 40 counties have already entered into
tax agreements with Airbnb to collect tourist development taxes and he wondered
if Seminole County was one of those. Mr.
Applegate advised they are not; however, they have been negotiating with them.
In
regard to the County Manager being able to revoke certifications based upon
numerous violations, Mr. Sellery asked what if they are allowing sexual
offenders or people that should not be there.
He feels there is a whole list of things that the owner will not be able
to check. He thinks they need more time
with this ordinance and stated he appreciates the HOA language on behalf of all
the HOAs.
Mr. Darrah stated he is again representing
the Heathrow Master Association. He
thanked the staff and attorneys for putting the HOA language back into the
ordinance that was approved at P&Z.
He expressed they are really trying to do something for a large portion
of the community that was put in place before you had HOAs, and therefore you
have a lot of streets that don’t have some of the rules and regulations. He sees difficulty in enforcing this on a
real-time basis. Code Enforcement seems
to be six months to two years behind in terms of actually trying to get some
enforcement done. He believes they need
support that handles this on a real-time basis and he is confused as to how
they expect Code Enforcement to do that.
It’s obvious if the lawn is overgrown or the house is falling apart, but
if somebody had a loud party or if the tenants’ kids were running loose in the
neighborhood and bothering other residents, how do they control that. He applauds the Board for trying to give
people some help in putting some restrictions in, but he is concerned about how
they enforce it.
With regard to public participation, no one
else spoke in support or in opposition, and public input was closed.
Speaker Request Forms were received and
filed.
Chairman Horan commented there are a number
of different counties that are looking at this issue that don’t have
ordinances. To put this into
perspective, 11,000 people last year in Seminole County registered with Airbnb,
a total of 330 separate residences. In
Lake County, they had 30,000 and in Orange County, there were 235,000
registered with Airbnb. In Osceola
County, there were 358,000. So it is not
of the magnitude that you would have in neighboring counties primarily because
of their proximity to the attractions.
He said he thinks it is important that they don’t make this so
complicated that the cost of enforcing it exceeds the value of what they get
which is why he is a bit wary of this ordinance and how it is going to be
enforced. These types of situations are
typically handled through private enforcement; homeowners’ associations enforce
deeds and restrictions in the neighborhoods.
He voiced his concern that they will spend a lot of time, effort and money
chasing after something that will not pay for itself.
Ms. Guillet stated there has been a lot of
concern expressed about enforcement but she does not have the same level of
concern. They have a lot of code
violations that happen on the weekends, and they coordinate with the Sheriff’s
Office who does the bulk of their on-the-ground code enforcement. If there is a noise ordinance violation after
business hours or on the weekends which is usually when they occur, the
Sheriff’s Office is equipped to deal with that.
She reiterated she thinks Commissioner Carey’s suggestion that they
notify the neighbors as to who they can call if there is an issue is a great
suggestion and will help with those enforcement efforts.
Commissioner Constantine stated that Seminole
County is a hidden treasure and he’s glad they are not in the tourist
corridor. He believes they are being
farsighted in being the first County in this area to be looking at this.
Motion
by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to continue the request to adopt an
Ordinance amending the Land Development Code to provide regulations for
short-term vacation rentals, as defined in F.S. 509.242, within unincorporated
Seminole County, as described in the proof of publication; and approve a
Resolution amending the Seminole County Administrative Code to revise Section
20.10(L), Permit Fees, to add subparagraph (11), Vacation Rentals, as
administered by the Development Services Department, Planning and Development
Division.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
HIDEAWAY COVE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IMPACT FEE
VESTING DENIAL APPEAL/Raymond Harrison
Agenda Item #29 – 2018-0778
Proof of publication calling for a public hearing to consider
an
appeal of the denial of Educational System Impact Fee Vesting for the Hideaway
Cove development, located on the east side of Simmons Road, one-half mile east
of Lockwood Boulevard, Raymond Harrison, received and filed.
Ms.
Williamson reviewed the background timeline as outlined in the agenda
memorandum. She stated staff recommends
that the Board uphold the denial of Educational System Impact Fee Vesting for
the Hideaway Cove development.
Raymond
Harrison, Appellant, addressed the Board thanking them for enacting a vesting
ordinance for this fee increase. He
opined it is very important from a layman’s perspective to look at the vesting
of this as the vesting takes a fee increase and it allows projects that are kind
of trapped in the middle that either had not been completed or have not even
been started yet to be able to transition to absorb the fees as the increase
goes through. When he received the
denial and looked at the criteria that said the preliminary subdivision plan is
too remote from the issuance of building permits, the first thing he did was
ask the question of himself whether that was true. So, he went and found five similar projects
and looked at the timelines for those projects.
When he drafted this appeal, he put this information in as simple
exhibits (included in agenda memorandum).
He stated there are no legal issues to argue over, just what do the
facts tell about the criteria to enact vesting.
Mr.
Harrison stated the first of the criteria, Exhibit A, is the timeline between
PSP and final engineering which he also labeled as Pre-Con. When he looked at those five projects, the
average time frame between PSP and final engineering was three months. When he looked at his applications and where
this project is, preliminary subdivision was in March 2018 and they have their
first round of comments back on the engineering. He advised Chad Moorhead (Madden, Moorhead
& Stokes, Inc.) commented that they were fairly minor and they were
resubmitting those comments any day now.
So the timelines that he put in his original request for vesting all
seem to be coming along the same way, three months from PSP to final
engineering. Secondly, he looked at the
time frame between final engineering and first building permit. In looking at the five projects, he found it
was six months between those two criteria.
To answer the question whether PSP was too remote, he looked at how many
permits were pulled between final engineering and 15 months after final
engineering; he said he used 15 months instead of 18 months since the vesting
ordinance starts in April. The average
number of permits pulled between final engineering is 32, which is a fair
amount of permits. He stated obviously
Hideaway Cove hasn’t been developed yet, but they are getting ready to start as
soon as they have their engineering permits.
If he takes those facts and he takes 15 months from the issuance of the
final engineering, then by the time they get to the end of the vesting period
15 months out from that, they would have extrapolated for Hideaway Cove 32
building permits, which in round numbers is a third of the project.
Mr.
Harrison explained if everything falls out the way they anticipate it to, a
third of the project would pay the old fee and two-thirds of the project would
pay the new fee. He said it seems to him
that this demonstrates the fact that it is unfair to the project to deny the
request for vesting.
Commissioner
Dallari questioned when Mr. Harrison received approval from the Board. Chairman Horan replied February 2018 and Mr.
Harrison stated his rezone application was submitted on September 22, 2017 and
his first DRC was October 17, 2017. The
master development plan was submitted on November 6, 2017. The P&Z rezone was February 7th
and the BCC approval was February 27th and then PSP was March 7th.
Commissioner
Carey indicated he was through the zoning process and was ready to go except he
did not have final engineering submitted and approved which was the threshold
that staff was using for the vesting.
With regard
to public participation, no one spoke in support or in opposition, and public
input was closed.
Speaker
Request Form was received and filed.
Commissioner
Dallari noted in going through the timeline, the Applicant started in September
and went through development review in November. He went to P&Z in February and got final
approval by the BCC in March. He said he
believes that Mr. Harrison can actually show there is enough that was in the
process before the impact fees were actually established.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded
by Commissioner Carey, to overturn the denial of Educational System Impact Fee
Vesting for the Hideaway Cove development, located on the east side of Simmons
Road, one-half mile east of Lockwood Boulevard, as described in the proof of
publication; Raymond Harrison, Delaney Land Company, Appellant.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
DISTRICT
REPORTS
District
5
Commissioner Carey reported the Central Florida Expressway
Authority meeting is usually held on the third Thursday of the month but they
have combined June and July, so the meeting will be held on June 29 at 10:00
a.m.
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Commissioner Carey announced the 4th of July events
scheduled in her district.
District
1
Commissioner Dallari stated the item he would like to talk about
is not in District 1 but it does address many of the areas in Seminole County
along the St. Johns River. He has
received a couple of emails along with the other Commissioners from Pam Sanders
about Wickham Road and the flooding. He
has a photo (not received and filed) that shows the road is actually starting
to flood. He looked at the charts that
were sent to him regarding the staging of the St. Johns River above Lake
Harney, and they are definitely in the yellow mark. Presently on the chart it shows they are
somewhere around 7.6 feet in relationship to the river. He wants to make sure they are making every
attempt possible to ensure people have ingress and egress to their properties. The photo shows the river cresting over the
road last week and in talking to staff, everyone says it is to be expected, but
he thinks they need to see if there is anything they can do to make sure that
people can get to their homes.
Ms. Guillet noted the river is high right now and there are some
folks, especially on Wickham Road and Lake Harney Drive, that are experiencing
unusually high water for this time of year in light of there not being a
significant storm event. They think part
of the issue is the ground is saturated because there has been so much
rain. Their engineering teams have been
out there along with the Roads & Stormwater folks trying to come up with
some sort of preemptive measures to keep it from escalating any further. She knows that they have been “shooting some
elevations” to understand where things might need to be raised. Some of the culvert sizing is not consistent
and so they are taking a look at that area right now to see what they can
do. Commissioner Carey remarked the
entire river is high and she suggests that staff go back and talk to the South
Florida Water Management District people to see if they are releasing any water
from down in Fellsmere, because if there is a storm event in South Florida, two
to three weeks later the water elevation rises here whether they have had a
storm event or not because it takes that long to traverse through the
river. There has been some releasing
from Lake Okeechobee and she is not sure where that is all being released. She added as they come into the hurricane
season and the ground is already saturated, they are probably going to
experience some flooding.
Commissioner Dallari stated he was out there about two weeks
ago. The river is not cresting on the
property; this water is from other areas north of Wickham Road trying to get to
the river. Ms. Guillet advised staff has
been out there looking at it for the last couple of weeks trying to come up
with some solutions. The ground
saturation is a huge issue because there is no place for the water to go. Commissioner Dallari requested an update
before the next meeting if possible.
Chairman Horan noted this is in his district and they just know the
problems right now and unfortunately they don’t know what the solutions are but
they are gathering the data. Not only do
they have a problem with the elevation of the lake but there is a problem with
the entire sector in terms of the groundwater itself; the water table is very
high. They do have staff working on that
and they are in contact with water engineers at the St. Johns, etc.
District
3
Commissioner Constantine reported that on June 15 the Leadership
Seminole board had a presentation from Drew Jeter about their direction with
the Homeless Coalition.
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Commissioner Constantine advised starting tonight through June
26, he and the Chairman will be attending the FAC Annual Conference in Orlando.
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Commissioner Constantine stated on June 27, the FDOT is having a
Truck Parking Availability System ribbon cutting in Brevard County on I-95
southbound near Mims. This tells him that
they can find places for trucks to park other than in Longwood and it is good
to see that they are looking at other areas for that.
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Commissioner Constantine said Ed Burford, Veterans Services
Officer, will be presenting Captain Robbie Roberts with the Veteran of the
Month Resolution at the Brookdale Senior Center in Altamonte Springs. He reminded Captain Roberts is 104 years old
and was one of the first pilots that was actually shot down but evaded capture
right after the Battle of the Philippines.
Commissioner Carey remarked she loved the fact that he fixed his own
plane and then flew out. Commissioner
Constantine agreed and noted Captain Roberts will be in full uniform, his
original uniform, at the event and his entire family will be there.
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Commissioner Constantine announced the 4th of July
events to be held in his district. In
addition, the North Street softball complex will have its 25th
Anniversary on July 12.
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Commissioner Constantine stated he received some disturbing news
that on April 30, Utilities Inc. of Florida filed a Notice of Intent with the
Florida Public Service Commission to once again increase its water and
wastewater rates in Seminole County. If
approved by the FPSC, the rates will increase along with miscellaneous service
charges. So in addition to the more than
50% to 100% increase that those citizens have already received, they will
receive another 3.23% which is ill-timed and ill-conceived. He knows the County still has a court case
right now in the appellate courts. Mr.
Applegate noted this rate increase does not relate to the court case appealing
FPSC’s decision on the main rate increase.
This is called indexing where utilities are allowed to pass on the
increase in cost of doing business like electricity. They are waiting for the First District Court
of Appeal to decide either on oral argument or if they are just going to base
their decision on the briefs.
Commissioner Carey asked if Utilities Inc. will have to escrow any of
the increased funds in the event that they lose the lawsuit. Mr. Applegate responded if they impose the
increase subject to the appeal, they have to escrow those funds. If the rate increase is denied, there will be
a refund.
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Regarding the “Walking Challenge” that was held in the county,
Commissioner Constantine said that 280 teams participated. He asked that Ms. Guillet give an update and
she indicated she will do that at the next meeting.
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
In regard to the Truck Parking Availability System (TPAS),
Chairman Horan reminded that going back about two years ago through the
MetroPlan Alliance, a motion was made for FDOT to do a study. As part of that study, they have come up with
this TPAS. He explained that it detects
available parking spaces at welcome centers, rest areas and weigh stations and
sends alerts to commercial truck drivers via message boards, in-truck sensors,
and mobile apps. The system will
interface with the State’s SunGuide System which will allow the information to
also be available to drivers through the State’s FL511.com system website and
mobile apps.
District
2
Motion by
Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to appoint Brian Hacker
to an unexpired term which is the vacant position on the Seminole County
Industrial Development Authority (SCIDA) which would expire on January 1, 2020.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman Horan stated he will be attending the FAC Annual
Meeting and he is pleased to report that Commissioner Constantine has been appointed
as the Chairman of the Growth, Agriculture, Transportation, and Environment
Policy Committee. Commissioner Carey
mentioned that while they are at the meeting, they might want to talk to some
of their colleagues across the state about the short-term rental situation to
see what some of them have done outside their region. She added she is sure down in Palm Beach and
West Palm, and Broward and Miami-Dade counties, that they have already
addressed some of this. Maybe there are
some good lessons learned that they could capture on that.
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Chairman Horan discussed a “My Word” column in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper from Barbara
Thornton concerning this Board and some kind of proposed ethics ordinance that
was sent to them. Commissioner Carey
advised she asked the County Attorney to set the date for their annual ethics
training, a four-hour training that is offered to all of the other boards, the
cities and the community volunteers who serve on boards. She said the sooner they can set the date the
better so people get enough notice.
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Chairman Horan reported they had a very productive meeting with
the Clerk’s Office concerning investment procedures. Also he received a report which is a roster
of how the personnel in the Clerk’s Office are allocated under the budget. He opined it is very helpful.
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Chairman Horan advised the Orlando
Business Journal, as it does every year, gives a list of its Central
Florida Fast 50, which are the fastest growing companies by percentage over the
last three years. Seminole County has 15
companies that are included on the list.
COMMUNICATIONS
AND/OR REPORTS
The following Communications and/or Reports
were received and filed:
1. Letter dated May 30, 2018, from John Hitt,
President, UCF, to Chairman Horan re: Appreciation of the Resolution adopted
March 27 and presented on behalf of the Seminole County Board of County
Commissioners.
2. Letter dated June 14, 2018, from Traci
Houchin, Clerk, City of Sanford, to Board of County Commissioners re: Notice
for Ordinance No. 4462; 1.05 acres between Harrison Street and West 18th
Street and between Roosevelt Avenue and Dixie Way.
3. Letter dated June 14, 2018, from Traci
Houchin, Clerk, City of Sanford, to Board of County Commissioners re: Notice
for Ordinance No. 4463; 0.93 acres between West 5th Street and
Jewett Lane and between Airport Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
4. Letter dated June 14, 2018, from Traci
Houchin, Clerk, City of Sanford, to Board of County Commissioners re: Notice
for Ordinance No. 4464; 6.56 acres between Onora Street and East Lake Mary
Boulevard and between Ohio Street and Mellonville Avenue.
ITEMS
FOR FUTURE AGENDA
Lee Mangold, 580 Legacy Park Drive, addressed the Board stating
he stays in support of protecting the rural boundary in eastern Seminole
County. In 2004, people voted to protect
their homes and their rural way of life with an amendment to the Home Rule
Charter. The rural area is critical in the
aquifer recharge process and as home to Florida wildlife. Yet the residents face continual assaults on
the protection of this area from those that they elected to represent their
interests. He has watched urban sprawl
take over and he knows what Geneva, Chuluota, and the Black Hammock areas will
look like if developers are allowed to continue that sprawl. He asked the Board to protect the rural
boundaries, prohibit development inside those boundaries, and serve the will of
the people.
Jay Jurie, Sanford, addressed the Board and said in regard to
Commissioner Constantine’s report on water/wastewater rate increases, he
wondered why the County would not explore the possibility of creating its own
utility that might be more cost effective.
Mr. Jurie stated he wants to speak about the urban service area
boundary. He talked about “The Senator,”
the tree that was tragically lost in Seminole County and opined it comes
increasingly to stand as a metaphor for him with regard to this County; all
they have left of that magnificent tree is simply a slice. He feels the people that live in other parts
of the county also have a stake in this because this is the remaining open,
rural conservation-style space they have left in the county and it should be
preserved on behalf and for the benefit of all the residents of the county. He has seen development after development
along Celery Avenue. The urban service
area boundary was put into place for good reason and it should be
supported. He asks that when the River
Cross development comes before them that they deny it as one that would open
the door to further unnecessary growth and development in the eastern portion
of the county.
Katrina Shadix, 1421 Brigham Loop, addressed the Board and
stated after Chris Dorworth’s legal team presented their plans to infect
Chuluota’s rural area with a high density development entitled River Cross, the
people took immediate action to gather as many tools as possible to fight to
protect the rural boundary and their quality of life. One of the tools suggested for their urban
sprawl battle toolkit was that a new rural boundary referendum be placed on
November’s ballot. Over the last few
weeks; however, they have held community meetings and talked with thousands of
people including county commissioners, former elected officials, scientists,
biologists, hydrologists, native plant organizations, state wildlife agencies,
city planners, law enforcement officers, attorneys, community leaders, election
experts, homeowners’ associations, environmental evaluation firms, citizens,
voters, public water supply officials, the Geneva group, the Chuluota group,
and the Black Hammock group. After
compiling the results of those meetings, they have decided not to support a
rural boundary referendum at this time.
There are many more cons than pros to putting a referendum on the ballot. The most important one being that even if
they were to pass the strongest rural boundary ever conceived, Developer Chris
Dorworth’s threatened federal lawsuit would be grandfathered in to contest the
current rural boundary charter amendment.
The people hope this Board will not be intimidated by Mr. Dorworth’s
threat of a lawsuit, and they ask the Board to respect the will of the people
and defend the rural boundary.
Ms. Shadix indicated after the dust from this battle settles,
they would like to work with this commission on two things. One would be a land buying program that would
give the Seminole County large property owners the opportunity to make money by
selling their land to the County to be designated as conservation easements, in
the same manner that Volusia County does it and in the same manner that the
Florida Land Acquisition Program is supposed to be doing it. They would also like the commission meetings
dealing with land use changes scheduled on weeknights or weekends so the people
being affected by urban sprawl development have a fair chance to attend and
speak up.
Kimberly Buchheit, 6500 Swain Road, addressed the Board stating
she appears as an independent concerned citizen, but she has been a land
surveyor for over 35 years which informs her perspective. She started this business in 1991 and also in
1991, a Seminole County Comprehensive Plan Amendment became the precursor to
the creation of the rural boundary. In
2004, she supported the county charter amendment to establish a rural
boundary. They knew then that
development pressures would destroy what they valued most about Central Florida
if they did not act. They are now at a
pivotal point, 14 years later, witnessing the approval and construction of more
and more high density developments all over Central Florida. She stated she has been attending numerous
public meetings and has observed unmistakable favoritism shown towards
developers over members of the general public and that concerns her. For every one that comes forward, there are
hundreds perhaps thousands that do not have time to study the issues, make
these meetings, or take time to communicate their opinions. They voted to keep Seminole County from
exploding and ask that the Board honor the spirit of the rural boundary and the
trust that was placed in them as important decisions come before them. (Ms. Buchheit’s written comments were
received and filed.)
Rick Ashby, 1515 Fort Christmas Road, addressed the Board
indicating he is here to speak in opposition to the River Cross Hi-Oaks
development. He sees it as the
destruction of the rural boundary that the citizens of the county voted
for. He attended a developer’s
information meeting that was held at the River Run Church about a month ago and
noted there were probably about 200 people from the surrounding community there
and every one of them was in opposition to this project. Those are the citizens of this county and it
seems clear cut to him that nobody in rural Seminole County supports this
project. He stated the Board will either
vote with the citizens of this county who elected them or they will vote for
developer profits. He mentioned the
environmental impact because this project would be right next to the Econ
River. You can say there is a buffer and
you can say there are retention ponds, but when they get one of these
thousand-year storms that they seem to be getting every year now, all of that
is going to go right into the river.
Lastly, he asked who would pay for the increased traffic congestion and
the increased service requirements. He
noted the developer will not have to pay for that; the citizens of the county
will get stuck with that bill and they do not support this.
David Bottomlie, 305 Woodbury Pines, addressed the Board and
advised he attended the annual FDOT transportation symposium and the TPAS
session. He said he will get the link to
the Commissioners of the PowerPoints that were presented.
Deborah Poulalion, 1367 Cor Jesu Court, addressed the Board and
described her weekend stating she went hiking on Sunday in the Econ River
Wilderness Area. She said it is one of
Seminole County’s naturally beautiful places.
A brochure for the area states that she should expect parts of the trail
to be flooded in wet season. When she
took her hike and got to the river, it was flooded as it should be. She stayed as long as she could until the
mosquitos chased her away “as it should be.”
She realized she was less than a quarter of a mile away from where
developers of River Cross want to extend McCulloch Road over the Econ
River. She stated she was looking at the
wetlands that they would have to build that bridge on and she asked herself
what would they need to do to make a stable bridge there. And, after they did that, what would upriver
and downriver look like. And, what would
the people who are living a stone’s throw away from the wetlands that she had
just hiked to think about the mosquitos that literally drove her away from the
river. Or what would they do to correct
that, she hates to think. She expressed
these are environmentally sensitive wetlands and this does not change just
because someone wants to build a development.
This does not change after a public university is put there either. The Econ River and the rural area around it
are an environmental treasure for all of Seminole County. She lives in Longwood but feels like this
place is for her also. It is not a
Chuluota issue. She urged the Commission
not to throw away the beautiful natural area to leave them with another
subdivision and strip mall.
Speaker Request Forms were received and filed. A Written Request Form from Shirlene C.
Stuckey was also received and filed.
COUNTY
ATTORNEY’S REPORT
Mr. Applegate advised the Circuit Court was hearing arguments on
the Greyhound Protection Act Ordinance this afternoon. The court has said it’s a complex issue. The judge has heard arguments from both sides
and he is taking the matter under advisement.
Mr. Applegate said they will notify the Board as soon as they hear
something.
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Mr. Applegate stated in regard to the date for the ethics
training, he will work with the County Manager.
Right now he has December 4 tentatively set and will get that
announcement out as soon as possible.
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In regard to the opioid litigation, he knows Commissioner Carey
feels strongly that this County has always been out in front on so many matters
around the state and has led the way. On
this one; however, they are going to recommend formally at the next meeting
that they sit back and see how the other litigation is going and what the
Florida Attorney General’s Office is doing before they expend any money and
cost on this. He opined they certainly
have plenty of time to deal with it.
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Mr. Applegate reported that Fisher Phillips has submitted a
request for a fee increase of $20 per hour and he indicated it seems to be in
line with what the other jurisdictions that they have always checked with are
doing. He went back and looked, and they
spent a grand total of $225 this fiscal year out of his office on labor counsel
which is separate from union matters.
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Mr. Applegate noted he has drafted a response that the
Commissioners can provide to the residents in regard to Sanlando
Utilities. He will get clearance from
outside counsel before he sends it to them, however. He should have it this afternoon.
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In connection with FACA, Mr. Applegate announced the attorneys
will be out of the office tomorrow and Thursday to attend the CLE
conference. They will be checking in
periodically with staff and he noted the Commissioners’ aides have their
contact numbers.
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There being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman
declared the meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
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