BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
AUGUST 23, 2016
The following is a non-verbatim transcript
of the BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MEETING OF SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA, held at 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, August
23, 2016, in Room 1028 of the SEMINOLE
COUNTY SERVICES BUILDING at SANFORD,
FLORIDA, the usual place of meeting of said Board.
Present:
Chairman
John Horan (District 2)
Vice
Chairman Brenda Carey (District 5)
Commissioner
Robert Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner
Lee Constantine (District 3)
Commissioner Carlton Henley (District 4)
Clerk of
Circuit Court and Comptroller Maryanne Morse (late)
County Manager Nicole Guillet
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer
Dr. Paul Anderson, Wekiva Presbyterian Church,
Longwood, gave the Invocation.
Commissioner Constantine led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
The
Business Spotlight video for Hernon Manufacturing was presented.
Ms.
Morse entered the meeting at this time.
AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS
Commissioner Dallari remarked that the
volunteers in this county do more work than the average citizen can possibly
imagine; they have a great staff but they also have great volunteers. He advised that at the last BCC meeting, the
Board approved a Resolution of Appreciation for Elizabeth "Libby"
Harper. He advised that Ms. Harper was a
part of the start of the "Friends of the Library" in 1981 and had
volunteered for over 25 years before she retired from that position. Commissioner Dallari stated he considers it
an honor and a privilege to present this Resolution to Ms. Harper because she
truly has a volunteer's heart and thanked Ms. Harper for all of the years she
gave to the community.
Elizabeth “Libby” Harper accepted the
Resolution and expressed her appreciation.
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Chairman Horan recessed the meeting of the
Board of County Commissioners at 9:47 a.m., and convened as the U.S. Highway
17-92 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
U.S. HIGHWAY 17-92 CRA
Agenda Item #1 – A-2451-16
Nicole Guillet, County Manager, advised
that Item #1, Approval of the Redevelopment and Construction Grant, for
construction of sixteen (16) new affordable senior housing units by Equity
Development, LLC, in the amount of $197,000, will be pulled. She stated
the reason the item is being pulled is staff thinks there may be a more
appropriate funding source to assist with this project and is not a reflection
on the County’s support of the project.
If they are unable to find another more appropriate funding source, the
Board may see this back on the next agenda.
Sonia Fonseca, CRA Program Manager,
addressed the Board to state that the developer has sent a heartfelt thank you
to the Board for trying to find alternative sources that would provide him with
better support for the project.
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Agenda Item #2 – A-2450-16
Ms. Fonseca presented a request to approve a request from Seminole County for reallocation of expired CRA
grant funding to partially fund previously approved Sunland Park improvements
in the amount of $225,000. She
reminded the Board that the CRA funds have a deadline and there is a three-year
expenditure requirement. As a result,
what they are doing by reallocating the funds is starting the clock again
because FDOT has not made it to that area of the roadway; therefore, the
rehabilitation of the project, the park, needs to wait until they make it to
that section of roadway.
With
regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in
opposition and public input was closed.
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve a request from
Seminole County for reallocation of expired CRA grant funding to partially fund
previously approved Sunland Park improvements in the amount of $225,000.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted
AYE.
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Agenda Item #3 – A-2449-16
Ms. Fonseca presented a request to approve the funding request
from the City of Sanford to increase the U.S. 17‑92 Community
Redevelopment Grant for Paw Park improvements from $70,000 to $120,000 for
replacement of park benches and trash cans as well as installation of
additional safety lighting around a new walkway.
Christine Dalton, City of Sanford, addressed the Board to state
that initially they were going to recycle the existing benches and cans in the
park. When they went to actually do that
and rehab them, they were so deteriorated because of the urine from the animals
they were not salvageable. With regard
to the safety lighting, Ms. Dalton explained they expanded the parking, did
on-street parking, and eliminated the parking area. That area did not have lighting before so
they have a need to add lighting in that area along with some other areas in
the park.
Commissioner Carey advised that when this was originally
approved, the Board reduced the amount and stated if they had a need, they
could come back to the Board. Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey as to the hours of operation for the park, Ms.
Dalton stated they are from dawn to dusk.
She stated it is a popular park and there are people waiting. It is the first park they open and last one
they close. It is not open when it is
truly dark out but it is dark enough that it is a safety issue. Commissioner Dallari confirmed with Ms.
Dalton that even though the park is not used after dusk, they still need the
appropriate lighting for security and for safety. Commissioner Constantine questioned whether
the park hours will be expanded with the lighting and Ms. Dalton responded they
will not.
With
regard to public participation, no one else in the audience spoke in support or
in opposition and public input was closed.
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to (1) approve the funding request (Second Amendment to Paw Park
Improvement Project Agreement Between the U.S. 17-92 CRA and the City of
Sanford) from the City of Sanford to increase the U.S. 17-92 Community
Redevelopment Grant for Paw Park improvements from $70,000 to $120,000 for
replacement of park benches and trash cans as well as installation of
additional safety lighting around a new walkway; and (2) adopt appropriate Resolution
#2016-R-131 implementing the associated Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #16-082
allocating $50,000 from the U.S. 17-92 CRA Trust Fund, Contingency Reserve for
Government Assistance to the Paw Park Improvement grant.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman
Horan adjourned the meeting of the U.S. Highway 17-92 Community Redevelopment
Agency at 9:54 a.m., and reconvened as the Board of County Commissioners.
PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
Doug Murdock, 890 Northern Way, addressed the Board to discuss
Item #17, Award of RFP-602600-16 regarding Cancer Specified Disease. Mr. Murdock requested that the item be pulled
from the Consent Agenda for further discussion.
He believes there were four irregularities in the way the Cancer
Specialized Disease RFP was handled.
Mr. Murdock stated the first irregularity was that the RFP
required proposals for a cancer policy and the RFP was very clear on that in at
least four or five places. The winner,
Aetna, did not limit their proposal to a cancer policy but proposed a limited
benefit critical illness plan with a cancer benefit unlike Allstate's unlimited
benefit true cancer plan. The critical
illness plan is a completely different kind of plan from a cancer plan. Mr. Murdock pointed out that Aetna failed to
propose what the RFP asked for and added that Allstate is widely considered to
be the industry-leading critical illness plan, but they did not propose that
because that is not what the RFP asked for.
Mr. Murdock stated the second irregularity was that all
proposers were to complete a deviation page stating "every deviation from
the current plan." The word
"every" is even in bold type.
Aetna did not submit this. That
would have given the employees a more objective way to evaluate what was being
proposed. Mr. Murdock stated the third
irregularity is that the RFP required a specimen contract. The RFP called this a required
attachment. Aetna did not provide a copy
of their critical illness contract.
Instead they proposed an accident and health contract. Mr. Murdock stated he has a copy of Aetna's
critical illness contract and it is very different from what the County was
given.
Mr. Murdock stated the fourth irregularity was that the RFP
required references. Aetna listed
three. Mr. Murdock stated he contacted
all three of the HR departments for those references and they all denied having
Aetna's critical illness contract.
Instead, two of the three have Allstate's group cancer plan; and one of them,
Volusia County, actually has Allstate's cancer plan and critical illness
plan.
Mr. Murdock emphasized that if the County had issued an RFP for
a critical illness plan, Allstate would have provided one. But that is not what happened. He stated that he can understand the
employees' desire to have a critical illness option and thinks that is
understandable. If that is what the
County wants, that is what the County should ask for in the RFP. Allstate is widely considered to be the
industry leader in critical illness plans and would be happy to provide the
County with a proposal. If the County
were to issue an RFP for a critical illness plan, then they could get all of
the major players involved and be able to choose the best buy for the
employees' money but that has not happened so far. Mr. Murdock requested that the agenda item be
pulled from the Consent Agenda and discussed separately. Commissioner Carey and Commissioner Dallari
stated they were planning to pull it for a separate discussion.
Speaker Request Form for Mr. Murdock was received and filed.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA
Nicole
Guillet, County Manager, stated that staff is withdrawing Item #5, Aspire
Health Partners, Inc. Transportation Agreement, and advised it will come back
at a later date. Chairman Horan noted
there are ministerial changes to Items 4, 23, and 24.
With regard to public
participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition to the
Consent Agenda and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari,
seconded by Commissioner Carey, to authorize and approve the following:
Community Services
Business
Office
4. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute the Child Protection Team Services
Agreement between Seminole County and Kids House of Seminole, Inc. for the
provision of medical examinations by the Child Protection Team and provide financial
assistance up to $175 per case for all services provided under this agreement. (A-2551-16)
5. Pulled from the Agenda
request to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Aspire Health
Partners, Inc. Transportation Agreement in the amount of $25,000 to help
transport uninsured Seminole County residents for mental health services. (A-2533-16)
Community
Development Division
6. Approve and authorize the Chairman to
execute the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program Annual Report
and Local Housing Incentives Certification form for The State Housing
Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP) Annual Performance Report (APR). (A-2556-16)
7. Approve and accept the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program (NSP) monthly snapshot/report and properties acquired by
Seminole County Government. (A-2462-16)
Development
Services
Building
Division
8. Issue a Notice of Determination of Public
Nuisance that the unoccupied buildings located at 1067 & 1071 Williams
Street, Altamonte Springs, are a Public Nuisance; and authorize the Building
Official to: (a) serve Notice of this determination, pursuant to Sections 168.5
and 168.6, Seminole County Code; and (b) set a date for a "Show
Cause" public hearing, as prescribed in Sections 168.5 168.7, Seminole
County Code. (A-2459-16)
Planning
& Development Division
9. Authorize the release of Roads, Streets,
Drainage Performance Bond #2197767 in the amount of $249,060.99 for Pinter PD
(Wawa) Commercial Subdivision; Private Roads Performance Bond #1961795 in the
amount of $698,608.43 and Water & Sewer Systems Performance Bond #1961796
in the amount of $136,102.85 for Bellevue Subdivision; Private Roads
Performance Bond #59BSBGY6018 in the amount of $666,846.29 and Water & Sewer
Systems Performance Bond #59BSBGY6017 in the amount of $423,955.62 for Hampton
Estates Subdivision. (A-2508-16)
10. Approve the
minor plat for the Chapman Country Acres Subdivision containing four lots on
5.44 acres zoned A‑1 (Agriculture), located on the south side of East
Chapman Road, east of Alafaya Trail; Stephen J. Ratcliff, Applicant. (A-2503-16)
11. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2016-R-132
vacating and abandoning a 102-square-foot portion of a platted 8‑foot by
75.46‑foot Drainage Easement on
Lot 124, Steeple Chase, as recorded in the Public Records of Seminole County,
Florida in Plat Book 78, Pages 59‑63, more particularly known as 3959
Equine Cove; Colleen M. Conyngham, Applicant.
(A-2472-16)
Environmental
Services
Solid
Waste Management Division
12. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute Certificates of Public Convenience and
Necessity effective from October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017 for the
following: A1 Assets, Inc.; Comfort
House, Inc.; GLE Scrap Metal-Florida, Inc.; and Perma-Fix of Florida. (A-2460-16)
Public
Safety
EMS/Fire/Rescue
Division
13. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the First Amendment to Cooperative Equipment
Loan Agreement between Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Florida Forest Service and Seminole County. (A-2511-16)
Public Works
Engineering Division
14. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute a Purchase Agreement and Holdover Agreement
related to Parcel Numbers 103A and 103B between Roseline C. Clerge and Seminole
County for the early acquisition of property needed for the Dean Road Widening
Project (5900 Dean Road, Oviedo, Florida 32765, Parcel ID: 31‑21‑31‑504‑0000‑0220)
for $540,000 as full settlement of all claims for compensation from which
Seminole County might be obligated to pay relating to this parcel. (A-2518-16)
Resource
Management
Budget
and Fiscal Management Division
15. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute the First Amendment to Restated Agreement
Veterans Treatment Court Program Subrecipient Agreement between Seminole
County, 18th Judicial Circuit Court, State Attorney, Public Defender, and Seminole
County Sheriff's Office awarded to Seminole County by the Department of
Justice. (A-2517-16)
16. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2016-R-133
implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #16‑084 through the 2014
Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund to appropriate budget of $185,570 from Project
Contingency for the recently approved Interlocal Agreement with the City of
Altamonte Springs. (A-2574-16)
Purchasing
& Contracts Division
17. Pulled for
a separate discussion by Commissioner Carey.
18. Authorize staff
to continue using Emergency Procurement Procedures for those events directly
related to the Zika mosquito control activities supported by State funding in
accordance with the Seminole County Code, the Administrative Code, and the
County Manager’s policies. (A-2548-16)
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Agenda Item #17 - A-2539-16
Christina
Brandolini, Human Resources Manager, and Andria Herr, Benefits Consultant,
addressed the Board to discuss Item #17, Award RFP‑602600‑16/BJC,
Employee Benefits: Voluntary Cancer & Specified Disease to Aetna Life
Insurance Company, Hartford, CT.
Commissioner
Dallari stated there is a difference between cancer insurance that they have had
over the past several years and critical illness insurance. He requested that Ms. Herr describe both of
those, how this RFP took place, and how they got here. Ms. Herr explained that when they put the RFP
out, they put it out with two different requests. One was for a policy that matches the current
policy and the other request was for an alternative that addresses the same
issues. They were specific around the
fact that they didn't want to add additional lines of coverage meaning they
would offer coverage for this issue and then other lines of coverage so that
employees would be payroll-deducted for multiple products. Ms. Herr advised that in the industry, the
diagnosis of cancer can be addressed under a critical illness policy or a
cancer policy. They do similar things
very differently. The outcomes may be
different but they still address the diagnosis of cancer.
Commissioner Dallari confirmed with Ms. Herr that this insurance that they offer their employees is paid 100% by the employee. Ms. Herr added that they have always been cautious around the idea of not letting the employees be oversold in terms of payroll deductions and that goes into the thinking of the Human Resources Department as well as the consulting provided. Commissioner Dallari questioned whether there would be any issue if the Board wanted to approve both of them and could they do that. Ms. Herr stated that in her opinion, Aetna will not accept that; so they could do that and ask her to go back to Aetna. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Dallari as to why Aetna wouldn't accept it, Ms. Herr stated that typically they would not offer two policies that do exactly the same thing; and the confusion that would be created by that is worrisome to her. Ms. Herr explained that the Allstate policy covers cancer in a way that the Aetna policy does not. At the point of diagnosis, you may wish that you had one versus the other. The Aetna policy covers things like heart attack and stroke and the Allstate policy does not. She noted that there are employers that offer multiple policies like that but she advised that may or may not be a good idea.
Commissioner
Carey stated she can see the benefit of a critical illness policy but pointed
out that they have over 375 employees enrolled in the cancer policy and over
190 of them have dependent coverage.
What concerns her is that they have so many participants in it paying
100% that they would make this change, especially on the dependent coverage. As she reads the Aetna policy, if you have a
dependent claim, it only pays 50% of the benefit. Ms. Herr confirmed that is correct.
Commissioner
Carey stated that for all of the employees that are paying premiums to have their
dependent coverage, she would have concerns.
She would hope that Aetna may reconsider. She stated that they may need to put out an
RFP for critical illness and let everybody in that business just come compete
for it and maybe that eliminates the cancer policy at some point. She is not comfortable with totally
eliminating Allstate at this point. She
would hope that they consider approving both and let Aetna decide if they want
to participate or not or continuing for a year with the current policy and put
out an RFP specifically for critical illness and see what everyone has to offer
when the RFP is focused on critical illness policies.
Commissioner
Henley stated that he understood Mr. Murdock to say that the RFP called for a
cancer plan and asked Ms. Herr if that was correct. Ms. Herr stated the RFP called for a plan
that covers cancer. She stated her
interpretation of it is different than that and added that most of the
respondents responded with critical illness policies. Colonial, who is one of Allstate's direct
competitors, responded with a cancer policy and as the alternative proposed a
critical illness policy. Commissioner
Henley asked what the language was in the RFP.
Betsy Cohen, Purchasing & Contracts, addressed the Board to state
the language in the RFP was for voluntary cancer and specified disease. Ms. Herr added that in addition they asked
for an alternative. Commissioner Dallari
stated he agrees with Commissioner Carey and is concerned that the family
benefit goes to 50%. He stated he is
also concerned about the premiums. In
looking at the premiums on the spreadsheet that he got from staff during his
briefing, Allstate is cheaper than Aetna and there are no limits of the
benefits and in Aetna there is. Commissioner
Dallari stated the issue is whether it is paid up front or paid as the need
addresses, two different philosophies.
Ms. Herr agreed that it is absolutely two different philosophies. Discussion ensued with regard to the benefit
being up front versus the benefit being spread out. Ms. Herr explained that they also have to
take into consideration the different treatment modalities; the Allstate plan
pays based on treatment modality and the Aetna plan pays based on the diagnosis
and you get the lump sum check.
Commissioner
Dallari stated that unless he gets different information, he is leaning more
towards Allstate and agrees with Commissioner Carey, to approve it for a year
and put out the critical illness so that everyone is looking at apples to
apples and not looking at different scenarios.
Commissioner
Carey stated that with most critical illness plans, it is "one and
done." If you get cancer today, you
get your payment. If you get cancer five
years from now because it came back, you don't get another payment. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Herr
confirmed that is correct and that the Aetna policy is that way. Commissioner Carey confirmed with Ms. Herr
that with the Aetna proposal, if you have a heart attack and get paid and three
years later have another heart attack, you do not get paid again. Commissioner Carey stated if they decide that
the critical care is the direction the Board wants to go, because it kind of
goes hand in hand with some of the other insurance changes they have been
making over the last five years, she believes there is a lot of education that
needs to go into that for their employees before they eliminate something that
so many of them are involved in. She
reiterated that from her perspective, she would be inclined to say let's
continue this for a year, go out for a critical care policy that includes all
of that and see what everybody in the marketplace has to offer, including
Allstate, who has a critical care policy.
She noted that everybody reads an RFP differently. She believes that also gives them a year to
work with their employees to educate them on the differences because clearly
this plan is liked by their employees; otherwise, they wouldn't have as much
participation as they have.
Commissioner
Henley agreed with the comments of Commissioner Carey. He does not like the idea of just arbitrarily
taking the policy away from that many without giving them a choice. He would have no problem going with
Commissioner Carey's recommendation.
Commissioner
Constantine asked Ms. Herr why, after opening the RFP and evaluating all of the
proposals that she had, this one was chosen and why she felt this one was the
one. Ms. Herr stated first of all the
selection was not made by the consultant for the record. They provided the review of all of the
materials and provided it to the committee.
The committee reviewed it together and then provided their
scorings. It is her impression that the
selection was based on the ease of understanding and the fact that that policy
paid for heart attack and stroke. She
stated here is a frequency difference and explained how that difference was
taken into consideration. Ms. Brandolini
advised that the committee was made up of five employees, four from the BCC and
one from the Tax Collector. Commissioner
Carey noted that it sounds like the committee would like to look at other
things besides cancer, which goes back to her comment about maybe they should
look at a critical illness plan. She
believes there are people that compete for those policies that didn't respond
to the RFP because it was kind of written as a cancer policy with an alternate
opportunity. Commissioner Carey
reiterated that she could go with the idea that you approve both of them and if
Aetna says they don't want to do it, then go out for an RFP. She stated she is flexible on this. Then, they have more time to educate their
employees and really do a survey of their employees to see if they had other
options, what would they be, understanding that insurance is complicated. The County has been making changes and they
get a lot of questions about all of the changes, not just the dental and the
other things that are offered as payroll deductions for the employees to select
and pay for on their own but even in the health insurance that the County is
providing to the employees.
Commissioner
Constantine stated he thinks they have all pretty much stated their
positions. He advised that he prefers
the one that Commissioner Carey stated, which is to go back to Aetna and say
would you like to put that policy out there and to also keep the policy they
currently have and give employees the choice, understanding it is complicated
and difficult. He believes that giving
their employees that option is important.
Commissioner
Carey stated if the Board was to approve both and Aetna comes back and says
they don't want to participate, then she would want to see the County go back
out to market for the critical care RFP.
She also would like them to do some surveying and some discussion with
their employees, particularly those who are enrolled in this. She believes they should include those employees
when making these decisions because it is a choice for them. Even though it is nothing that the County is
paying for, it is a benefit that is offered to them through the payroll
deduction process and she believes they should have more input into the choices
that are made.
Upon
inquiry by Chairman Horan as to how many employees currently have the cancer
policy, Ms. Brandolini advised there are 371.
As to what happens to those employees if the County goes with a new
carrier, Ms. Herr explained the current policy with Allstate is a group policy
that has a conversion option. The
employee would have the opportunity to contact Allstate and convert to their
conversion policy. Chairman Horan asked
what the conversion benefit would be and what the conversion cost would be, and
Ms. Herr stated she does not know. Ms.
Brandolini stated that Aetna has agreed to take those that were on the Allstate
plan and give them credit for the time they were on Allstate so there would be
no preexisting for those individuals that were already on the Allstate plan. Chairman Horan questioned how many proposers
there were for the RFP, and Ms. Herr stated there were nine and a couple of
them proposed options. With regard to
how many of the proposers offered a critical illness policy, either as an
alternative or as a main policy, Ms. Herr stated that seven of the nine offered
a critical illness policy and two offered a cancer-only policy. Upon further inquiry, Ms. Brandolini
indicated there were five employees as part of the review process. Ms. Herr advised that neither she nor Ms.
Brandolini were voting members of that selection group.
Chairman
Horan stated he has reviewed the process and thinks the process was fair. He thinks they got a representative sample in
the market of critical illness policies, so he does not really see the benefit
of going out again for a critical illness policy. He questioned why the County went out for an
RFP, and Ms. Herr stated the reason was based on the number of years it had
been since they last looked at the market and for dental. Aetna actually proposed dental and the
critical illness policy.
Commissioner
Carey stated that she is ready to make a motion because it was a fair process
and there was only a one-point difference between Aetna and Allstate so it was
a very close ranking.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded
by Commissioner Constantine, to award RFP‑602600‑16/BJC, Employee
Benefits: Voluntary Cancer & Specified Disease to Aetna Life Insurance
Company, Hartford, CT and American Heritage Life Insurance Company d/b/a
Allstate Benefits, Jacksonville, FL; authorize the negotiations and execution
of the Benefits Plan documents; and to have further discussions about going
back to the marketplace if Aetna declines and after discussion with the
employees.
Under
discussion, Chairman Horan stated he has concerns in that he is always very
hesitant in procurement matters to overturn a fair process that was entered
into by the staff because that sends the message to the market that you can
ignore staff and just lobby at the County Commission level. He does not like doing that and will be
voting against the motion. Commissioner
Constantine stated in lieu of what the Chairman just said, he concurs 100%; but
this is a little bit different in the sense that it is a new policy and they
are dealing with one circumstance in which you have got one cancer care and one
with critical care. He thinks there is
confusion there and he just wants to say for the record that this is not a precedent
setting vote for the very purpose that Chairman Horan has indicated.
Chairman
Horan stated his concern is not precedent, his concern is he does not feel
comfortable substituting his judgment for the judgment of a group of people and
the County's process. Commissioner
Henley stated that decision made by those five people affects a large number
that didn't have any choice. Commissioner
Carey stated she thinks that it is their responsibility to do a lot of homework
and ask a lot of questions. She has
talked numerous times with staff and with their insurance consultant. She has spoken to Mr. Murdock and other
people in County governments that have critical care policies and have made
those changes and how they transition from one to the other, which is the basis
of the comments that she has made and the motion that she has made as well.
Commissioner
Dallari stated that the County asked for a cancer policy and did not ask for a
critical illness policy. In looking at
the spreadsheet that they have all seen, Allstate is cheaper. He advised that it is a judgment call and
Chairman Horan agreed that it is a judgment call.
Districts
1, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Chairman
Horan voted NAY.
CONSTITUTIONAL
OFFICER’S CONSENT AGENDA
Clerk’s Office
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve the following:
19. Approve
Expenditure Approval List dated August 1, 2016; Payroll Approval List dated
July 28, 2016; and the Board Execution of 2015 Property Tax Roll Final Recapitulation
Report identifying the errors, insolvencies, double-assessments and discounts
applicable to the 2015 tax roll. (A-2554-16)
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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The
Board noted, for information only, the following Clerk’s “Received and Filed”:
1.
Public Road Maintenance Bond
#1961830 in the amount of $8,414.07 and Private Road Maintenance Bond
#1961795-M in the amount of $48,765.73 for the Bellevue Subdivision.
2.
Right-of-Way Surety Bond #5214709 in
the amount of $1,666.00 for Spring Tree Village Apartments II, LLC.
3.
Private Road Maintenance Bond
#59BSBGY6018-A in the amount of $50,012.41 and Paving and Drainage Improvements
Cash Maintenance Bond in the amount of $2,432.33 for Hampton Estates
Subdivision.
4.
Irrevocable Standby Letter of Credit
#347022432-L004 and Maintenance Agreement (Road Improvements) in the amount of
$8,035.70 and Irrevocable Standby Letter of Credit #347022432-L006 and Private
Road Maintenance Agreement in the amount of $24,458.20 for the Lake Sylvan Oaks
subdivision.
5.
Florida Public Service Commission
Order #PSC-16-0292-CO-WS, Consummating Order regarding Utilities Inc. of
Florida, Docket #160104-WS, issued July 25, 2016.
6.
Florida Public Service Commission
Order #PSC-16-0270-TRF-EI, Order Approving Modifications to Standby Generation
Tariff regarding Duke Energy Florida, LLC, Docket #160093-EI, issued July 15,
2016.
7.
Florida Public Service Commission
Order #PSC-16-0296-PAA-WS, Notice of Proposed Agency Action Order Granting
Utilities, Inc. of Florida’s Request for Water Rate Increases in Marion and
Seminole Counties, Docket #150269-WS, issued July 27, 2016.
8.
Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with
Nations Baseball of Greater Orlando, Inc. for 2016 Summer Slugfest.
9.
Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with
Prospect Wire, Inc. for 2016 Elite Week/Summers End Classic.
10.
Parks Contract for Services with
Matthew Mero.
11.
Development Order #16-275000016,
Alcoholic Beverage License for Victorio’s Oyster Bar & Grille, 464 S. Hunt
Club Boulevard, Apopka.
12.
Quitclaim Deed for Right-of-Way with
Urgent Care Developers of West Lake Mary, LLC.
13.
Recording of Plats and Title Opinion
for Hardy Plat.
14.
Development Order #16-27500008,
Alcoholic Beverage License for Jimmy Hula’s, 3837 Lake Emma Road, Lake Mary.
15.
“The Senator” Artwork Gift Agreement
with The Lawton House for the art piece known as “Eagle on a Branch,” as
approved by the Board of County Commissioners on June 14, 2016.
16.
PS-0592-16, Design Services
Agreement with Metric Engineering, Inc. re: SR 434 and CR 427 Intersection
Improvements, as approved by the Board of County Commissioners on June 14,
2016.
17.
Third Amendment to PS-9462-14 with
Ayres Associates, Inc.
18.
Amendment #1 to Work Order #3 to
PS-9462-14 with Ayres Associates, Inc.
19.
Amendment #1 to Work Order #44 to
PS-8148-12 with Atkins North America, Inc.
20.
Amendment #1 to Work Order #2 to
RFP-9601-14 with Revere Controls Systems, Inc.
21.
Notice to Proceed with Work Order #4
to CC-0559-15 with Southland Construction, Inc.
22.
Work Order #7 to CC-0559-15 with
C.E. James, Inc.
23.
Amendment #2 to Work Order #14 to
PS-8186-13 with Hazen and Sawyer, P.C.
24.
Change Order #4 to CC-9859-14 with
Gibbs & Register, Inc.
25.
Change Order #2 to Work Order #6 to
CC-9072-13 with BSE Construction Group.
26.
Work Order #59 to PS-8148-12 with
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.
27.
Amendment #7 to Work Order #1 to
PS-5738-10 with URS Corporation Southern.
28.
Amendment #3 to Work Order #1 to
PS-8419-13 with Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson, Inc.
29.
Change Order #1 to Work Order #2 to
CC-0559-15 with Southland Construction, Inc.
30.
Work Order #60 to PS-8148-12 with
CDM Smith, Inc.
31.
Bids as follows:
BID-602623-16
from Santa Cruz Construction, Inc.;
RFP-602600-16
from Lincoln Financial Group; Florida Combined Life Insurance Company; Hartford
Life and Accident Insurance Company; Ameritas Life Insurance Company; Colonial
Life & Accident Insurance Company; Unum; Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company; Solstice Benefits, Inc.; Aetna Life Insurance; Allstate Benefits;
Humana; Liberty Dental Plan of Florida, Inc.; Delta Dental Insurance Company; Renaissance
Dental;
IFB-602595-15
from Crew Labor Maintenance Management Group; P&L Lawn Maintenance, Inc.;
Brightview Landscape Services, Inc.; Duval Landscape Maintenance;
CC-0705-16
from Central Florida Environmental Corporation; and
PS-0592-16
from AECOM Technical Services, Inc.; Bentley Architects + Engineers, Inc.;
Cribb Philbeck Weaver Group; DRMP, Inc.; Gannett Fleming, Inc.; Johnson,
Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc.; Metric Engineering, Inc.; Michael Baker
International, Inc.; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.; and Wantman Group, Inc.
REGULAR
AGENDA
Agenda Item
#20 – A-2496-16
Angi
Kealhofer, Planning & Development, addressed the Board to present a request
for a Special Event Permit for the Festival del Bacalaito Spanish Cultural
Event, 440 Hickman Drive, September 24 and 25, 2016, Alex Torres, Applicant, as
outlined in the Agenda Memorandum. Ms.
Kealhofer reported the hours of operation and stated the estimated attendance
will be approximately 1,500 people per day.
She explained that the Special Event Permit in the Agenda Memorandum
contains the findings and conditions of approval and added that staff is
recommending approval.
Alex
Torres, Applicant, addressed the Board to discuss the goal of this event, which
is to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Mr. Torres described how the Hispanic community is shifting into
Seminole County. He added that his goal
is to create an event that highlights his traditions with the support of the
County to hopefully make the event a long-term partnership.
With regard
to public participation, no one else in the audience spoke in support or in
opposition to Item #20 and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded
by Commissioner Dallari, to approve a Special Event Permit for the Festival del
Bacalaito Spanish Cultural Event, 440 Hickman Drive, September 24 and 25, 2016,
with the findings that the proposed Event is reasonably compatible with nearby
existing development, does not pose an unreasonable safety or health risk for
patrons or neighbors, and with the condition that the Event complies with the
conditions of the Special Event Permit.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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The Board recessed the meeting at 10:30 a.m.,
reconvening at 1:30 p.m., with all
Commissioners and all other Officials with the exception of Clerk of Court
Maryanne Morse, who was absent, and Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer who was replaced
by Deputy Clerk Kyla Spencer, 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, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Seminole County Port Authority
Agenda Item #21 – PH-2016-394
Proof of publication calling for a public
hearing to consider approval of the Seminole County Port Authority FY 2016/17
Budget, received and filed.
Michael McLean, Chairman of the Seminole
County Port Authority, addressed the Board to state they had the pleasure of
working with County Manager Nicole Guillet and Deputy County Manager Bruce
McMenemy in the budget process to give the Board the information they need to
make important decisions through the process.
Andrew Van Gaale, Executive Director of the
Seminole County Port Authority, addressed the Board and thanked Commissioner
Henley for being on the Seminole County Port Authority Board and for his
assistance and guidance through this process.
Mr. Van Gaale explained that for the current year they have operational
revenue of about $1,896,000 with expenses of just about $1.4 million, bringing
them to around $500,000 profit, which is about 26% to 27% profit for the end of
the year. He added that with the current
year, they had a budget of $300,000 surplus funds to go to the County, which
will be coming out of FY 2015/16 in October.
In December they are going to add another $200,000 to make that
essentially $500,000 for this year. Mr.
Van Gaale stated that that will be the same as they get into next year, and
there will be another $500,000 programed to go to Seminole County out of
surplus funds. He noted that they did it
differently this year to get some auditing done, but they will see a $700,000
contribution in this budget for next year.
Mr. Van Gaale referred to the Budget Memo
in the agenda backup. He pointed out
that for FY 2016/17, they are bringing a total budget of $4,394,230; and they
are projecting revenue to be at $1,823,385, which is an increase of about
$25,000 over the current year. Mr. Van
Gaale stated part of that is because occupancy has remained at almost 95% all
year. He noted they are finishing a
build-out on a large facility, so they anticipate moving into next year being
at 100% occupied with a waiting list, so business is good in the industrial
sector. Mr. Van Gaale explained that
with regard to expenditures, they have programmed some significant capital
improvements. They have been working
with the consulting engineers to address their drainage issues. He stated that they are spending close to $1
million next year on a Phase 1 drainage infrastructure project. Mr. Van Gaale added that it will be a two-phase
project; next year they will see major truck lines coming in, and they will
essentially close a lot of the open ditches and go underground with inlets and
a more modern system. It will help with
ongoing maintenance and functionality of the Port. He stated expenditures in this budget are
$2,051,835, which is about a $500,000 increase due to the upcoming
projects.
Mr. Van Gaale explained that for the next
two to three years, they will see the expenditure line item go down
significantly. With that, they do not
anticipate a profit next year. They do
have cash carried forward, plenty of reserves, and have been building up; but
because the expense is going to be higher than the revenues for that year,
there will not be a profit per se.
Mr. Van Gaale reviewed the total cash
budget for FY 2016/17 and noted they will move into October with $2,570,854 in
the bank. He noted that this budget will
close the FY 2016/17 with a cash carried-forward balance of $1,642,404, so they
are still in a strong position to move into the second phase of improvements
that will be geared towards safety, pedestrian access, intersection
improvements, and lighting to bring the Port up to speed. He pointed out that there is a lot of new
development, so they are progressively improving the Port.
Commissioner Dallari confirmed that the
various intersections, sidewalks, and paths Mr. Van Gaale mentioned follow all
the standard DOT regulations. Mr. Van
Gaale noted that the consulting engineers happen to be CPH, and they are aware
of the regulations. He mentioned that
there are major improvements in the port area so they have had the whole port
surveyed; and the roads are undersized for the traffic they have today, so they
look to improve those as well.
Commissioner Carey suggested Mr. Van Gaale
get with staff and talk to them about some of the projects that are programed
for Orange Boulevard because there are some improvements programmed. The Public Works Director, Jean Jreij, could
fill him in on that. She noted the Port
has a long-range plan, especially for the drainage issue, and she is happy to see
that get fixed. Commissioner Carey
pointed out that doing it over a couple years is probably the only way the Port
Authority could afford to do it. Mr. Van
Gaale responded logistically too, they start with the big lines and move up
into the smaller ones.
Mr. Van Gaale stated that they would like
to see some access to the trail system at the Port and believes it would be a
wonderful trailhead. He noted that there
are a lot of bikers that use Orange Boulevard and travel down SR 46. Commissioner Carey stated there has been some
discussion about what happens when Phase 3 of the Riverwalk gets down to I-4
and whether or not there could be a trailhead there to make a connection from
point A to point B. She pointed out that
most of the I-4 right-of-way expansion is going to be taken off the east side
of I-4, not necessarily on the side next to the Port. Commissioner Carey stated they have talked
about different sites in that general vicinity, but she is not sure how they
could get everything connected there.
Mr. Van Gaale replied that they have about 2.5 acres that would work
well if they don't put industrial on it, so they could do something to that
effect. There is also an abandoned
short-rail right-of-way that would get them pretty close to it; so when they do
more master planning, they will do some big markups. Commissioner Carey asked staff to take a look
at that, and stated if the Port Authority is interested in putting a trailhead
out there, it would certainly help. Mr.
Van Gaale agreed. He stated it would
help the tenants such as the deli restaurant and Otters on the River. The Board briefly discussed Otters on the
River.
Chairman Horan asked how much money they
are taking out of reserves and placing into capital improvements. Mr. Van Gaale answered about $600,000 to
$700,000 because they are moving in with $2.5 million; so the Phase 1 is about
$750,000 and that is construction.
Chairman Horan confirmed that all of the reserves that the Port
Authority has will be turned into a capital asset. Mr. Van Gaale mentioned the Port Authority
and the Board has had the discussion about saving the cash so the Port
Authority could get to where they are now.
He explained they won't have to do any financing or bonding, just pay as
they go. He reminded that they also
talked about long range, and that should bring up significant levels of
contributions to the County.
Chairman Horan asked about occupancy
rates. Mr. Van Gaale informed him that
rates are inching up a little bit. He
explained that they do have escalators in their leases that go up about 5%
every two years. The reason they are
only 95% is because they had a big facility split in half, and they are
spending about $300,000 to build out the office and divide the building. Commissioner Carey stated the nice thing
about it is that the one big space at the front entrance on the west side looks
better with the current tenant. Mr. Van
Gaale noted that the recycling business was tough; and it put the Port back a
little bit because they couldn't use the land since it was tied up in taxes and
bankruptcies.
With regard to public participation, no one
in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.
Motion
by Commissioner Henley, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve the Seminole County Port Authority FY 2016/17
Budget, as described in the proof of publication.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Nuisance Abatement/1250 Dunbar Avenue
Agenda Item #22 – PH-2016-389
Liz Parkhurst, Building Division, addressed the
Board to present the request to declare the existence of a Public Nuisance at
1250 Dunbar Avenue as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum. Ms. Parkhurst pointed out that pursuant to
Chapter 168 of the Seminole County Code, a Summons to Appear along with the
Notice of Determination was served on Marcel Thompson, the record property
owner, by the Durham County Sheriff’s Office on July 12, 2016. Staff is recommending the Board issue an
Order declaring the unoccupied structure a Public Nuisance and require corrective
action be taken by October 22, 2016. In
the event the corrective action is not taken, staff is recommending that the
Board direct staff to abate the public nuisance. Commissioner
Carey pointed out that this is part of Bookertown, a historic black community;
and the County has been working very closely with the citizens to help clean up
the community. She mentioned that they
are making progress; however, Dunbar is one of the main streets into the
development, and this house is scary to even get close to because of all of the
things that are outside. She confirmed
that Paul Watson, Building Division, has been in and around the house as much
as he possibly can. Commissioner Carey
stated they have had a couple other houses that they would not think would ever
be habitable again, and they have had owners comment that they want to fix them
up but they continue to be a nuisance while they are in the process.
Paul Watson, Building Division, addressed
the Board to state he went out with the Sheriff's Department to look at this
property about a year ago. They went all
the way through the house and it has no bathroom, no facilities, no water, no
electricity, the roof is falling in in a couple of places, and the floor is not
good either. Commissioner Carey asked if
there was a response from the owner. Mr.
Watson answered that he has talked to the homeowner over the phone and he is
aware of the condition of the house and wishes it to be taken down. Commissioner Carey confirmed there will be a
lien placed against the property if the County is the one to remove it.
With regard to public participation, no one
in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2016-R-134 issuing an
Order to declare the existence of a Public Nuisance at 1250 Dunbar Avenue,
Sanford; to require corrective action by October 22, 2016; and to authorize
necessary corrective action by the County in the event the nuisance is not
abated by the record owner.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Amendment to the Seminole County Code
Chapter 270 “Water and Sewer” Part 9
Agenda Item #23 – PH-2016-263
Proof of publication calling for a public
hearing to consider the adoption of an Ordinance amending the Seminole County
Code, Chapter 270, “Water and Sewer” Part 9, Storm Sewer System Illicit
Discharge, received and filed.
Shannon Wetzel, Watershed Management
Division, addressed the Board to review the item as outlined in the Agenda
Memorandum. She explained that the
original Ordinance was adopted in 1999 as a requirement of the County’s first
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Permit. The revised Ordinance clarifies and updates
the current Ordinance to be consistent with the County’s NPDES permit and
current state regulations. Ms. Wetzel
added that the current education inspection and enforcement programs associated
with this Ordinance will continue to operate in the same manner, and no
additional operating requirements are anticipated based on the revisions to the
Ordinance.
With regard to public participation, no one
in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner
Carey, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to adopt Ordinance #2016-27 amending
the Seminole County Code, Chapter 270, “Water and Sewer”, Part 9, Storm Sewer
System Illicit Discharge, as described in the proof of publication.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Amendment to the Seminole County Code
Chapter 270 “Water and Sewer” Part 12
Agenda Item #24 – PH-2016-260
Proof of publication calling for a public hearing to adopt
the proposed Florida-Friendly Use of Fertilizer on Urban Landscapes Ordinance
amending the Seminole County Code, Chapter 270, “Water and Sewer” by adding
Part 12, “Proper Use of Fertilizers”, received and filed.
Ms. Guillet requested that the Board consider continuing the
item to the September 27th meeting.
With regard to public participation, no one in the audience
spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to
continue to September 27, 2016, at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as
possible, a request to adopt the proposed Florida-Friendly Use of Fertilizer on
Urban Landscapes Ordinance amending the Seminole County Code, Chapter 270,
“Water and Sewer” by adding Part 12, “Proper Use of Fertilizers”, as described
in the proof of publication.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
District 5
Commissioner Carey stated it is interesting
that the Board is finally having the discussions about stormwater and
fertilizer because they started the discussions quite some time ago when the
State started talking about a statewide Fertilizer Ordinance. She and Commissioner Constantine get regular
updates quarterly every time they have a Wekiva Basin Commission because all of
the particular departments for environmental protection have to report on the
status of those things. She added she
looks forward to the Fertilizer Ordinance and noted they just had an update on
August 15th at the Wekiva River Basin Commission.
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Commissioner Carey stated that Noranne
Downs, District 5 FDOT Secretary, has announced her retirement for January 31,
2017, and commended her for being a wonderful leader.
District 1
Commissioner Dallari announced he would
like to see a Resolution of Appreciation to Noranne Downs so the Board can
officially thank her for her dedication the County. Chairman Horan agreed and noted Ms. Downs is
a true professional and it has been a pleasure to work with her.
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Commissioner Dallari noted he went to the
Sikh Temple off Aloma, and they wanted to express their appreciation for all
the things the County has done for them.
District 3
Commissioner Constantine stated he
celebrated the Indian Independence Day at a Hindu Temple with Commissioner Dallari,
and it was a wonderful event.
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Commissioner Constantine also expressed his
appreciation for Noranne Downs.
Regarding the 1-4 rest area, he suggested they bring her in sooner than
later while she is still with FDOT because in talking to her, she is now aware
that Debary is interested in the potential of possibly having a public/private
partnership for a truck stop in their area.
Commissioner Dallari asked if staff could contact Ms. Downs to get that
rest-stop area started. Commissioner Carey
stated that some of the land owners along the corridor have contacted the
Volusia County Commission and indicated to them that they would really like
their board to reconsider their position.
Commissioner Constantine discussed the Wekiva River Basin Commission. He explained that both DEO and St. Johns
reiterated the point about how important the Fertilizer Ordinance is, and he
wanted to note he is looking forward to the Ordinance coming back on September
27. Commissioner Constantine stated in
regard to the rest area, he asked the DEP to look into doing an air quality
study at the I-4 rest area. The DEP
indicated they would get back to him as quickly as possible after they do some
research.
District 4
Commissioner Henley echoed what the other
Commissioners stated in regard to Noranne Downs.
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Commissioner Henley announced that the Bus
Drivers Union of Lynx has filed an unfair labor practice, which Lynx is
responding to. They are trying to renege
on an agreement that was negotiated, voted on by the membership, and approved
overwhelmingly. He added that they want
to use $600 of trustee dollars to pay attorney fees that they had
authorized.
District 2
Chairman Horan congratulated two Seminole
County residents, Jenny Barringer Simpson and Matt Kuchar, for winning bronze
medals in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Chairman Horan stated he attended the
Mayors and Managers meeting on August 16th and gave a report on Zika pertaining
to what the County is doing with their funds, when the applications can occur,
and public information. He explained
there will be some coordination with the cities in terms of their public
information. Chairman Horan mentioned he
also went through the County's recent sales tax presentations and summary, and
invited the cities to participate in those work sessions, and continue to
coordinate their sales tax programs with the County's. He stated that the School Board made a
presentation at the Mayors and Managers meeting that is revelatory because a
certain disappointment was attached to the fact that Seminole County did not
get an A rating for their school district.
Commissioner Carey noted they missed the A rating by two points. Chairman Horan opined that when 3 out of the
67 counties receive an A, there is something wrong with the grading system,
especially in a state with a lot of job development where everyone is talking
about the tremendously well-educated workforce.
Commissioner Henley pointed out that that failure rate was projected
from the moment they adopted that system.
Chairman Horan stated that he thinks it is a disfunctionality that does
not match reality.
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Chairman Horan advised the Board that they
may have received a letter from the Seminole County Tax Collector Ray Valdes in
regard to communicating with Airbnb regarding the information they need in
order to correctly assess the taxes.
This is a follow-up on an item that came up before.
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Chairman Horan announced that there is a
wonderful article on Justice Supreme Court Judge James E.C. Perry in the Florida Bar Journal about his life and
growing up in North Carolina and coming to Seminole County. Chairman Horan confirmed there was consensus of the Board to give
appropriate recognition to Judge Perry at a later metting.
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Chairman Horan requested Ms. Guillet
discuss the Commission on Homelessness report.
Ms. Guillet stated that yesterday she forwarded a Governance Report to
the Commissioners that was prepared by the Commission on Homelessness. She explained that there was a study
commissioned by the Commission on Homelessness to look at the governance
structure for the agencies that address homelessness within the Central Florida
region. There are two primary agencies
right now. One is the Commission on
Homelessness, which is really an advocacy committee more than anything else,
and they have done a wonderful job raising awareness of the issue within the
community. Ms. Guillet stated the other
agency that was reviewed as part of the report is the Homeless Services Network
(HSN), and that organization serves as the Continuum of Care in the Central
Florida region, which is the agency through which HUD dollars are funneled with
respect to homelessness.
Ms. Guillet explained that there has been a
concern growing in the community about the transparency and the governance of
HSN. She opined that the new leadership
there has really done a great job raising awareness and correcting some of the
deficiencies that were in place. There
has still been a concern about the level of accountability. Ms. Guillet stated that right now that agency
is primarily accountable to HUD, although those dollars are distributed in the
community based on community need within Orange, Seminole and Osceola
counties. She explained that the study
took a look at what might be a better approach to managing those funds as well
as all the other resources that are available with respect to homelessness in
the Central Florida region. Ms. Guillet
noted that the recommendations that came out of the report were that they take
an approach wherein the Commission on Homelessness and the Continuum of Care
are somewhat merged together. Regarding
the leadership and governance structure of the Continuum of Care, which is the
vehicle by which HUD dollars are administered, that Continuum of Care board be
made up primarily of elected officials from the area.
Ms. Guillet explained that the model that
they used was the MetroPlan Orlando model where they have actual elected
leadership deciding where the federal dollars are going. She stated that under this scenario, HSN
would still serve as the lead agency, which is the agency that is required to
process the notice of funding availability and request the funds from HUD; but
under the new structure, that governing committee, which would be made up
primarily of elected officials and people that are accountable to the citizens
within the region, would direct how the lead agency put together the funding options
with respect to the HUD dollars. Ms.
Guillet noted that it is also envisioned that the commission, which would kind
of morph into a council, would also serve as a coordinating agency for other
funding options and opportunities with respect to homelessness as well as serve
as a marketing and a fundraising arm to try to integrate all of the various
efforts that are going on in Central Florida to address homelessness. It is not a council that is intended to take
over what everybody else is doing, but it is a mechanism that will provide a
greater degree of coordination much like they see at MetroPlan with respect to
transportation projects. Ms. Guillet
added it will also increase transparency and accountability with respect to the
public dollars that go into addressing homelessness.
Ms. Guillet stated that Chairman Horan is
going to the executive committee this afternoon to talk about the proposal
under this study. She explained that
there was a smaller group meeting last week that she and Chairman Horan
attended with just elected officials to discuss the concept, and it was
received very well. She thinks that
today Chairman Horan is looking for some feedback from the Board with respect
to whether or not they are comfortable with this approach and if this is
something that they would support as a local government.
Chairman Horan stated the executive
committee meeting is today and the full meeting of the board will be tomorrow
where they are actually going to make a decision as to whether they will go forward
with consideration of this governance structure. The basic thing he needs to know is, is the
Board comfortable just in going forward to proceed with a Memorandum of
Understanding and then implementation and so forth down the stream. He explained that as the County Manager
pointed out, this is the end of a pretty diligent process where everyone came
to the conclusion that with $40 million to $50 million on the table (all the
money that the various jurisdictions are spending in the region, the money that
is coming to HUD through HSN, the money that is coming through the Central
Florida Foundation that is leveraging money from Disney and the Florida
Hospital), they are not doing a very good job of governing all of that. Chairman Horan stated consequently, he thinks
everyone has the sense that the accountable people have to be the local
government officials. He explained that
they have had such an HSN-centric type of process where that board is basically
comprised of providers and the HUD process is set up to create a stable
ecosystem of competent providers. In
that process, Seminole County has a more difficult time of getting its
fair-share allocation because obviously the more material providers, the larger
providers, and more influential providers are located in the more urban
areas.
Chairman Horan stated what they are looking
for is a governance structure where the elected officials are all at the table
at the same time and where they allocate those particular resources and
leverage them better, especially in light of the fact that now they don't just
have $8 million coming in every year from HUD through HSN, but they have many
millions of dollars more that must be used efficiently. Commissioner Carey stated HUD has changed
some rules that will allow more of that money to be used for the homeless
issues; but just in thinking about that, one of the issues early on that
Central Florida had with MetroPlan that has changed now over time was that if
there was something that really impacted Orlando and Orange County, the
membership was such that they could out vote the rest of the region by banding
together. She expressed that she wants to make sure that they are really
careful about how it is set up.
Commissioner Carey explained that when she
was the chairman and on the Commission on Homelessness, which was under the
leadership of Linda Lindman Gonzalez, they had a workshop to talk about what
the future of the Commission on Homelessness looks like and how that would
morph; and there has been a lot of changes to the Homeless Services
Network. Commissioner Carey reminded
that the board used to be all providers but has now kind of re-tooled and now
does not have a majority of providers as it was in the past. She believes Martha Are is a very experienced
capable leader; but the Seminole County Action Board and the boards that have
been developed out of the homeless plan that the County has adopted are
concerned about the fair share of dollars and how the money is allocated, so
this is a really critical thing. Commissioner Carey opined that there is a
benefit to the County being able to pool their money and go after bigger
opportunities whether it is not just HUD grant funds but other funds, matched
funds. She stated for example the
Florida Hospital money; things that the County had to do that others were doing
just because they understood how to maneuver through the process. Commissioner Carey stated it is a complicated
process to get through to figure out how to best go get the money. They need the experts like Martha Are;
Phillip Mangano, a representative that the County hired to advise; and
others. Commissioner Carey discussed how
MetroPlan started with all elected officials.
Commissioner Dallari noted transparency is
always a good thing and he likes the idea that they are going to move into a
process where they are going to try to bring more transparency to how money is
allocated. He discussed the MetroPlan
Board and explained it is not just the board and the committees that make it
work, it is also the process. He
believes that in moving forward with this there has to be both a short-term
plan and a long-term plan and a process that can quantify what happens and how
it happens, not just a knee-jerk reaction.
Subcommittees and committees are just as crucial as the main MetroPlan
Board. Commissioner Dallari added there
are elected officials as well as non-elected officials on that board. Commissioner Carey clarified that there is a
Citizens Advisory Board. Commissioner
Dallari replied that is true, but even on the main MetroPlan Board, the Sanford
Orlando Airport sits on it, LYNX sits on it; there are a lot of different
entities that make it up, and there is a whole calculation which is based on
population and sectors of who is involved in transportation.
Chairman Horan stated Commissioner Dallari
portended the content of the report. He
explained that if they look at what was recommended, a very similar type of
structure was recommended in terms of advisory boards and the stakeholders; and
that really is why HSN's role here and the role of the Central Florida
Commission on Homelessness is still important because the marketing and the
awareness and the community building would still be done through the Central
Florida Commission on Homelessness as a committee. HSN would still be the lead agency focused
primarily as its regulations require it to be focused on building that stable
ecosystem of providers. Chairman Horan added
that the providers would be involved, but in terms of the planning, the process,
where they keep their expertise, how they apply that expertise, where they are
going in the future, that would be under the direction of the public officials
and those committees under them.
Commissioner Dallari noted MetroPlan has to review the makeup of all of
the boards every 10 years.
Chairman Horan stated there is a great
slide in the report that shows how much money all the jurisdictions are already
spending on this, and it should be enough to really put a dent in the problem
if it's handled in a way that is structured and planned and processed. Commissioner Dallari stated without reading
the report, he believes that it should be going in this direction; but he would
like to understand the method and the process on how they are getting there and
that's going to be in the details. He
added that he wants to make sure the MOU is transparent enough so they
understand how this is all going to morph into it. Chairman Horan stated that transparency is
one of the most important elements of all of it.
Commissioner Henley expressed he has some
mixed feelings. He stated the report
mentioned MetroPlan, but MetroPlan is a planning agency, and it doesn't
implement anything. He explained he is
concerned that they might be creating another bureaucracy that has to be fed
and that has a tendency to grow. He
agreed the issue is important but the recommendation in the report was to hire
a CEO, then hire a CEO in charge of finance, and hire a CEO for something else;
so before they ever get organized, they are already talking about staff. Commissioner Henley pointed out those are his
concerns because it can get out of hand on a board like that if they are not
careful, and they may wind up more concerned about the organization than the
problem they are trying to solve.
Chairman Horan stated he said almost
virtually the same thing at one of the executive committee meetings.
Chairman Horan stated they have a plan that
is ready to go right now, and they already have a commitment from the Central
Florida Foundation for several hundred thousands of dollars for their
plan. He explained that Orange County
doesn't even have a plan right now; so consequently, what they have is a
situation where they have driven the conversation on this, including the
conversation as to the governance structure, all with the pull-start
consideration being measuring outcomes instead of outputs. Commissioner Henley stated that has got to be
the issue. Chairman Horan noted
Commissioner Henley's consideration is foremost in his mind and foremost in the
mind of everybody because this is a social problem that requires outcomes to be
accomplished; and they know one thing for certain, the human suffering and
homelessness and affordable housing are going to be continuing issues. He added that they know they need an
effective infrastructure to get outcomes, and that is what this is all about.
Ms. Guillet stated with respect to the
structure of the governing board, the COC, which is the vehicle by which the
federal funds are administered, there are specific federal guidelines as to who
has to be on that and providers need to be represented, so there are some
regulatory structures that will have to be considered. She explained that just because it is going
to serve as a COC, that doesn't mean they can't have a broader board. The core board, the COC, would deal with the
issues of coordinating other efforts with respect to homelessness and to issue
awareness, and they could have a larger board with broader representation. So there are a number of different options
that they could pursue with respect to addressing the different needs and the
different concerns. Commissioner Dallari stated he wants to
make sure that they are not hiring a whole new staff like Commissioner Henley
spoke about. Ms. Guillet stated the
Commission on Homelessness has an executive director now that will be leaving
at the end of the year, so really one of those positions could fall into that
slot. And she does agree with Commissioner
Henley and Commissioner Dallari, but they do need some staff. She explained they have staff at the
Commission on Homelessness already so she thinks some of those people might
roll into some of those other roles.
Ms. Guillet discussed fair share. She explained that this proposed governance
structure doesn't solve the fair-share issue.
It is a step in the right direction and she thinks it gets the County
closer to that because of the level of transparency and accountability that
this proposal will generate. Ms. Guillet
noted she wants to be sure that the County doesn't stop talking about
fair-share just because of this.
Fair-share is still a very important issue and she believes this is a
better vehicle to get them there than the existing structure that they
have. Chairman Horan agreed because the
existing structure is really focused on that process and on creating the
ecosystem of providers, where they are really focused on outcomes. He added that when it comes to providers, the
more urbanized areas are the ones that have providers that have more
experience; so when they focus on the process that they have now, the County is
at a disadvantage. This process will
take that disadvantage away and actually quarantine it to that particular
function of maintaining the providers that can be plugged into but not be
handicapped by. Commissioner Carey stated some of the providers are in
specific areas and it is going to be very difficult to expand some of those
because most of the providers are not-for-profits, so it is not going to be cut
and dry and real simple, it is a very complicated issue. She is happy to see an MOU, but it is not
going to be easy to get something that everybody can agree on in the region.
Chairman Horan stated the bottom line is
coming to an agreement with regard to who is going to be in charge, not whether
they are going to give up the ability to address their own problems in their
own county. He explained that right now
nobody is in charge, everybody has their own plans, they are spending tens of
millions of dollars and nobody is coordinating with each other, and there is
absolutely no transparency as far as the HSN process is concerned. Chairman Horan said he believes this is a
step in the right direction.
Commissioner Carey commented that their
issues are all different which is why everybody has their own plan and is kind
of doing their own thing. This County’s
issues are totally different from downtown Orlando’s issues, and the solutions
are totally different. She opined the
most important thing that could happen out of having a structure like they are
talking about would be that the group could agree to prioritize as a region and
look at how they could take the funds that they get and match or parlay those
into something else because the solution cost is totally different. The cost to house a chronically homeless
person is different from housing a family; the wraparound services are also
different. And they know what it costs
to put someone in jail; it’s not very effective and it’s $35,000 a year per
person. She stated she thinks it is
going to be a delicate process to figure out how they are going to make it work
for everybody.
Commissioner Constantine stated when they
are doing it regionally and they are doing it new, it is going to be
complicated. He is sure they can work it
out and thinks Chairman Horan is on the right direction. Chairman Horan expressed he doesn't expect
this to be easy, and it hasn't been so far.
He stated he has been impressed by the good faith of his colleagues in
Orange County and the City of Orlando.
Chairman Horan noted both Mayor Jacobs and Mayor Dyer want a regional
approach. He explained that they
understand the County's fair-share allocation concerns because they now
understand how the HSN process works, and they understand that the County is
spending a lot of money and they are spending it in multiple ways, but they are
not coordinating. Chairman Horan stated
if everyone is okay with the direction going forward towards an MOU, he will
come back with what the process is going to be after they do it. No
objections were voiced.
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Chairman Horan stated Seminole County and
Orange County staffs are talking together with regard to transportation and
stormwater planning in the eastern sector.
He spoke very briefly with Mayor Jacobs about approaching an interlocal
agreement again, so they know that the ball is rolling on that. Chairman Horan explained there is a crucial,
critical massive interest that has been driven by these two projects and there
are all kinds of issues here that might make this a propitious time for getting
some regional planning done.
Commissioner Carey stated she thought that
the response that Mayor Jacobs got from Secretary Boxold about trying to work
together with the Expressway Authority to do some common express lanes in the
SR 50 corridor was kind of interesting.
She explained that Mayor Jacobs asked Secretary Boxold to put it in
writing, which he recently did, and Commissioner Carey suggested the Board see
the letter if they haven't yet.
Commissioner Carey expressed that hopefully they will be able to find
some common ground of how they can work together to move transportation based
on the answer that they got. She stated
that they have given the Expressway Authority direction to look at alternatives
in the event that they can't work it out with the State to coexist in the SR 50
corridor, and the reason given was because there was federal funding involved. Commissioner Carey noted there are several
correspondence letters floating around and she believes they have been copied
to the Chairman's office.
Chairman Horan stated he is happy that they
are getting the ball rolling right now where the staffs are actually talking to
each other. He thinks they just need
direction from the public body and from leaders because the solutions are
there; paying for the solutions is always going to be difficult. He added the County is driving the
conversation, and that is good.
COMMUNICATIONS AND/OR REPORTS
The following
Communications and/or Reports were received and filed:
1. Copy of a letter dated July 29, 2016, from
Congressman John Mica to President Barack Obama re: distribution of Zika funds.
2. Copy of a letter dated August 5, 2016, from
Chairman Horan to Petrina T. Herring, Administrator, Office of Criminal Justice
Grants, Department of Law Enforcement, re: Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Grant.
3. Letter dated August 10, 2016, from Traci
Houchin, Deputy City Clerk, City of Sanford, to the Seminole BCC re: Notice for
Ordinance No. 4388, annexation of 20.19 acres between Lake Mary Boulevard and
SR 417 and between S. Sanford Avenue and SR 417.
4. Letter dated August 10, 2016, from Christine
Dorchak, Esquire, to Chairman Horan re: thanking him for allowing the vote on
the Greyhound Protection Act.
5. Letter dated August 12, 2016, from the City
of Oviedo to property owner re: public hearing on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, at
6:30 p.m., for Zoning Map Amendment.
6. Public Notice received August 15, 2016, from
the City of Altamonte Springs re: Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on
August 9, 2016, at 6:30 p.m., 225 Newburyport Avenue, Altamonte Springs.
7. Notice of Public Hearing received August 19,
2016, from the City of Casselberry to Seminole BCC re: Planning & Zoning
meeting to be held September 14, 2016, 6:30 p.m., City of Casselberry
Commission Chambers.
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There being no further business to come
before the Board, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 2:47 p.m.,
this same date.
ATTEST:______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
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