BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
October 13, 2020
The following is a non-verbatim
transcript of the BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA, held both in person and
virtually, via Communications Media Technology (CMT) made permissible pursuant
to the Governor’s Executive Orders, at 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, October 13, 2020,
in Room 1028 of the SEMINOLE COUNTY
SERVICES BUILDING at SANFORD, FLORIDA,
the usual place of meeting of said Board.
Attending
in person:
Chairman Jay
Zembower (District 2)
Vice Chairman Lee Constantine (District 3)
Commissioner
Robert Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner
Amy Lockhart (District 4)
County Manager Nicole
Guillet
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Clerk of Court and Comptroller Grant Maloy
Attending remotely:
Commissioner
Brenda Carey (District 5)
Deputy
Clerk Kyla Farrell
OPENING CEREMONIES
Dr. Walt
Person, Sanford Church of Christ, Sanford, gave the invocation. Commissioner Lockhart led
the Pledge of Allegiance.
EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT UPDATE
Alan Harris, Office of Emergency Management, addressed
the Board to report on stormwater. Donna
Walsh, Florida Department of Health in Seminole County, addressed the Board to
report on the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Chairman Zembower announced they have extended the
response deadline for the 2020 Census through November to hopefully get more
counts. He urged citizens who have yet
to respond to do so as soon as possible.
CARES
ACT UPDATE
Nicole
Guillet, County Manager, addressed the Board to provide the CARES Act Update
(presentation received and filed). Ms.
Guillet explained as part of the Individual Assistance Program, the County is
paying utilities and landlords or mortgage holders directly, and that's to make
sure that those essential services get paid for and nobody gets cut off. There is a little bit of fuzzy guidance about
direct payment to utilities because there's a concern that CARES Act funds
cannot be used for revenue replacement.
In an abundance of caution, they don't want anybody to mistake direct
payments to the County's utility or to another local government utility as
revenue replacement. Ms. Guillet
requested the Board authorize that based on the findings that are included in
the report that the County Attorney's Office drafted and authorize the
revisions in the overall allocations as presented.
Ms.
Guillet stated the County received $2.2 million in SHIP funds that are tied to the
CARES Act which also have to be expended by the end of the year but require
more paperwork. Staff would like to use
those funds to provide funding for folks who are in even greater dire straits,
who are either facing eviction or who need more than three months'
assistance. It will give an opportunity
to direct those funds where they are needed the most and also tell applicants
they have to provide more information if they are going to get more money. She requested formal approval on that. Also, as they get more clarification to
ensure they are going to get the additional funds from the State, she would
like to continue to pursue other options, direct assistance into the community,
for some targeted groups that may be prequalified through other programs.
Motion
by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to approve the
County Manager's requests for the items that she brought forward today for
CARES Act.
Under
discussion, Commissioner Carey stated in the reimbursement agreements, it
doesn't say what the time frame is they have to apply for the reimbursement;
and the money has to be spent by the end of the year. The Commissioner inquired if the money in those
agreements is obligated, does that count as being spent, and what is the
deadline for them to request the reimbursement.
If this is being done through the end of the year, nobody will know what
their expenses are until they've closed out their books at the end of the
year. She inquired if they will be able
to be reimbursed next year. Ms. Guillet
explained the expenditures have to be incurred by the subrecipients, whether
it's a nonprofit or another governmental entity, before the end of the year. The governmental partners are well aware of
that, and she feels comfortable they will notify the County if they're not
going to expend money. Community
Services staff is working directly with all of the nonprofits and monitoring
their agreements. Staff will get with
them at the end of November, beginning of December to do a status check and to
see where they are in their expenditures.
If they're not going to be able to spend all of the money, it can
certainly be used for other needs in the community. They can submit for reimbursement and be
reimbursed after December 30th, but they have to have incurred the expense and
paid the bill themselves by December 30th.
Commissioner Carey noted there is not any time frame in the agreements,
and she is concerned that somebody will think they're going to get reimbursed
for something and then, because they didn't file it timely with the County,
they lose the opportunity to reimburse.
Ms. Guillet responded putting together some definite time frames would
be helpful.
Chairman
Zembower inquired if there has been any movement or loosening up on the FEMA
front in regards to COVID relief. Ms.
Guillet responded she has not heard that it's loosening up. They are not counting on a lot of
reimbursement from FEMA because they have narrowed eligibility to the point
where it's negligible in the grand scheme of things. FEMA assumes the County is going to use CARES
Act money. Mr. Harris added FEMA has
advised it's for public safety directly responding to COVID, and any mitigation
should be CARES Act.
Commissioner
Dallari requested an update on the school system. He wants to make sure they received the money
and their needs are being met. Ms.
Guillet responded their needs are being met as far as she knows, but they
probably will have some needs that come up that they don't anticipate now. They have started drawing down on the funds,
but they have not received all of them, because a lot of it is on a
reimbursement basis.
Commissioner
Lockhart advised she had a prior meeting with Ms. Guillet and Steve Fussell,
Office of Organizational Excellence, about the prequalification idea. Her concern that she shared with them is when
looking at something like the low-income senior, X amount of additional
homestead exemption, there are many seniors who don't own homes who wouldn't be
able to benefit or be a part of that prequalification. While it makes complete sense that those
folks would be in a prequalification mode because of that deduction, she
doesn't want to unintentionally leave out a segment of the community because
they have a different living arrangement.
Chairman
Zembower inquired if a webinar being put on by the State today will be
recorded, and Ms. Guillet responded it was.
The Chairman requested that be passed on to the Commission so they can
look at it themselves to understand what is being said from the state level. Ms. Guillet advised DEM has assigned every
county a grant person. Seminole's grant
person was assigned last week, and they have been talking with staff every
day.
Commissioner
Lockhart requested clarification on the motion.
Commissioner Dallari stated the County Manager made some recommendations
that needed some approvals, and he made the motion to approve her
recommendations. Commissioner Lockhart
noted they are all written in Attachment A of the report, and she didn't know
if the motion encompasses all of the bullets on Attachment A. Commissioner Dallari responded as presented
today in Attachment A.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted
AYE.
CONSENT AGENDA
With regard
to public participation, Gabrielle Milch, 252 Coble Drive, addressed the Board
to ask for more information regarding agenda Item #4, demolishment of property
located at 115 Wisteria Drive, and staff provided a brief background; no one else
spoke in support or opposition to the Consent Agenda, and public input was
closed.
Motion by Commissioner Lockhart, seconded
by Commissioner Dallari, to approve the following:
County Manager’s Office
Business Office
1. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2020-R-111
recognizing October 15, 2020, as Blind Americans Equality Day in Seminole
County. (2020-2303)
2. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute Funding Agreements between Seminole County
and not-for-profit agencies as follows: American
Muslim Social Services, Inc.; Angels of Mercy Ministries, Inc.; The Church of
God Universal at Geneva, Florida, Inc.; Diocesan Council of Orlando, Society of
St. Vincent De Paul, Inc.; Foundation for Foster Children, Inc.; Foundation for
Seminole State College of Florida, Inc.; Harvest Time International, Inc.; La
Amistad Foundation, Inc.; Oviedo Memorial Post No. 243, The American Legion,
Department of Florida; Lighthouse of Central Florida, Inc.; Making a Difference
By Making a Change Foundation, Inc.; Mission Blue Foundation, Inc.; New Hope
for Kids, Inc.; Nextstep Orlando, Inc.; and Unidos por Ecuador of Central
Florida, Inc. (2020-XXXX)
Office
of Emergency Management
4. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Purchase Agreement between Michael and
Tracy Gore and Seminole County for property located at 115 Wisteria Drive,
Longwood, for a purchase price of $129,814.19.
(2020-XXXX)
Tourism
Development
5. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Sports Marketing and Business Development
Services Agreement with The Central Florida Sports Commission, Inc. d/b/a
Greater Orlando Sports Commission in the amount of $75,000 annually, effective
October 1, 2020. (2020-2302)
Community
Services
Business
Office
6. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Purchase Agreement between Rescue
Outreach Mission of Central Florida, Inc. and Seminole County for property
located at 2105 Hartwell Avenue, Sanford; and authorize the acceptance of an
assignment of the lease for 2105 Hartwell Avenue, Sanford, to be effective as
of the closing of the sale and purchase of the property from Rescue Outreach
Mission of Central Florida, Inc. (2020-2298)
Development
Services
Planning
and Development
7. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the conveyance of a Drainage Easement on a
Seminole County-owned vacant parcel, Parcel I.D 25-21-31-300-0010-0000, to the
Hideaway Cove at Oviedo Homeowner’s Association, Inc., for drainage
purposes. (2020-2275)
Environmental
Services
Solid
Waste Management
8. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute a Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity (COPCN) for Environmental One, LLC; Randy Suggs, Inc.; Load & Go
Dumpsters; and USA Services of Florida, Inc., effective from October 13, 2020,
through September 30, 2021. (2020-XXXX)
Resource
Management
Budget
9. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute a State-Funded Grant Agreement with the State
of Florida, Division of Emergency Management, in acceptance of $6,216 through
the Hazards Analysis Program; and execute appropriate Resolution #2020-R-112 implementing
Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #21-001 through the Public Safety Grant (State)
Funds in the amount of $6,216 to establish funding. (2020-2293)
Purchasing
and Contracts
10. Award
RFP-603925-20/BJC – Destination Marketing Services for Orlando North Seminole
County Tourism, to Evok Advertising and Design, Inc., Heathrow; and authorize
the Purchasing and Contracts Division to execute the Agreement. (2020-2267)
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted
AYE.
COUNTY MANAGER AND STAFF BRIEFINGS
Ms.
Guillet stated she is recommending that the Board authorize the Tax Collector
to begin collection of the 2021 Tax Roll prior to completion of the VAB
hearings, per Florida State Statute 197.323.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded
by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize the Tax Collector to begin collection of
the 2021 Tax Roll prior to the completion of the VAB hearings per Florida State
Statute 197.323.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Ms. Guillet
stated there was discussion at the last meeting about putting together a
process for consideration of acquisition of golf courses, and staff is working
on that. The more they talk about it,
there are more things that need to go on the list. Commissioner Lockhart suggested putting
together a process that could be utilized should this issue come up again. Staff will be bringing forward a policy at
the next meeting to get some direction from the Board. Chairman Zembower stated he wants to make
sure staff follows up with Lake County who has recently worked with DEP and St.
Johns on some modeling of what those cost analyses or benefits may be to the
public.
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Ms. Guillet
advised in regards to the recent Rosenwald presentations, Joe Abel, Deputy
County Manager, has met with most, if not all, of the Commissioners to get some
direct feedback. Staff will be bringing
a proposal forward, possibly by the next meeting, on how to move forward.
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Ms. Guillet
reminded proposals for County-owned property at Red Cleveland and East Lake
Mary Boulevard were received, and the Board directed staff to put together
information to put that out to bid for highest and best use. The appraisal on that piece of property is
expected to be delivered this week, and the Board will be updated.
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The County
received a check in the amount of $227,000 which represents the final closeout
on the Altamonte Springs CRA.
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There was
discussion that started during the English Estates sidewalk project about
project notifications. Some communities
have not felt like they are notified adequately about projects the County might
be doing in their area. Ms. Guillet
advised a task force has been put together to come up with some policies on how
to notify neighborhoods of any type of work the County is doing. They hope to have a comprehensive program
that would apply to Public Works, Leisure Services, and Environmental Services
projects; and that will be brought forward at a future meeting.
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Ms. Guillet
spoke in regards to shoreline protection.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission used to manage any
sort of shoreline clearing or impacts on lakes that were 10 acres or larger. In 2018, they changed their rules and are now
only dealing with lakes that are 160 acres or larger, which leaves about 200
lakes in the county that are no longer monitored by FWC. Staff has been working on a shoreline
protection ordinance. However, there are
some competing interests on what that should look like. It is another level of regulation, so staff
is approaching it very judiciously. That
is something that will be coming before the Board in the very near future. Commissioner Dallari requested to expedite it
if possible.
Ms. Guillet
noted there about 19 lakes where there has been some sort of report of clearing
that may not have been consistent with the former guidelines under FWC. Commissioner Lockhart expressed communicating
the conversation with shoreline regulation is going to be very important with
the community. Most people who live on
lakes who would fall into that category have really good intentions and want to
be good stewards. Education more than
anything is probably going to help ensure compliance with whatever the County
comes forward with. She suggested
thinking about a communication plan to go along with this.
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Ms. Guillet
discussed the remaining meeting schedule for the year. Chairman Zembower stated he would like to
make sure staff is fully up to speed on the governor's orders regarding virtual
meetings for the BCC and other boards. A
discussion ensued regarding allowing the public to continue to attend
virtually, and the consensus was to allow the hybrid meeting model of combined
live and remote meetings for now.
COUNTY ATTORNEY’S BRIEFING
Mr.
Applegate stated his office provided all of the Commissioners with a memo last
week on Brightline and the MOU. That has
morphed into a Resolution of support, which will be brought forward at the next
meeting. The Resolution basically
softens what the MOU had in it, so the Board's approval will follow up from the
MOU approval. Staff will continue to
keep the Commissioners posted by memo during the next two weeks as the working
group progresses.
ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA
Cheryl
Boulanger, 413 Whitcomb Drive, addressed the Board and discussed the flooding
on Whitcomb Drive after Hurricane Irma in 2018 and her concerns of more
flooding.
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Mary
Carls, 431 Daytona Avenue, addressed the Board to discuss her concerns
regarding the Rolling Hills Park plan.
Chairman Zembower recessed the BCC meeting at 10:53
a.m., and convened the BCC work sessions (Agenda Items #11 through #15) at
11:03 a.m.
WORK SESSIONS
Item #11 – 2020-2306
East County Trails/Trails
Master Plan Update
Richard Durr, Leisure Services
Director
Richard Durr, Leisure Services Director,
presented the Trails Master Plan 2020 Update (presentation received and filed).
Chairman Zembower inquired if this has
been on all of the public pushout during the pandemic. Mr. Durr advised they have worked with Ashley
Moore, Community Relations Officer, and her group to push these out at particular
times, and they have been able to keep those messages going out on an almost
weekly basis. It has taken a lot of
coordination because they wanted to make sure they weren't intersecting with
other critical emergency information that is going out. The Chairman confirmed with Mr. Durr they
have coordinated with Bike Walk Central Florida. Chairman Zembower noted one of his concerns
and one he hears from the public is getting the bicycles out of the roadway and
getting them onto dedicated trails along the roadways. The Chairman stated there is a lot of
equestrian interest on the east side, and they should be looking at the
connectability to the state parks in the county and other regions. The east side is still relatively accessible
and open where a lot of development has not taken place.
Commissioner Dallari inquired about the
demographics and emphasized he wants to make sure everyone is being
represented. Mr. Durr responded they are
seeing a good representative cross-section now, and they will be able to
provide the numbers. He noted they are
also getting a lot of website hits from people who do not reside in the
county. Commissioner Dallari requested
when doing the maps, to go to whatever standards are out there in order to
accommodate those who are colorblind.
It's difficult to differentiate when looking at colors, and looking at
different forms of lines is easier. He
wants to make sure they are addressing any disabilities. Commissioner Dallari commented if they can
connect to Orange and other areas in a bigger way, they can get additional
funding from MetroPlan or FDOT. The
Commissioner advised he has noted issues on walking trails with some of the ADA
warning strips at some of the crossings because it's a rubber mat. He has seen in some of the areas around the
country that they use a concrete form and it's a lot easier and more
durable. He suggested staff may want to
look at that. He would also like to get
more permanent counters put in so they can see what the trail volumes are. The Commissioner stated he is glad they are
getting input from the cities and school system, but Seminole State College is
missing. They have a couple of big
campuses that the County should be trying to connect with. The Commissioner suggested looking at
solar-powered inroad LED lighting at the trail road crossings. He also wants to make sure there are limited
clicks to get to the maps on the website.
Commissioner Constantine inquired if they
are looking at expanding the markers on the trails. Mr. Durr explained they are down to every
quarter mile on the main trails. In the
wilderness areas, it has been a multiyear effort working with partners to have
smaller GPS markers. He noted the
markers has helped on emergency response times.
Commissioner Dallari suggested it might be beneficial to figure out if
there is a way to have a mobile bike shop on the trails also.
Commissioner Lockhart expressed concerns
about maintenance and how quickly repairs can be done. Any time there is this type of infrastructure
in place, things are going to happen.
She emphasized it is critical that staff does not hold back in sharing
with the Board what they really need in order to do the quality job to
maintain.
With
regard to public participation, no one spoke, and public input was closed.
Item #12 – 2020-2307
Rolling Hills Trails Master
Plan
Richard Durr, Leisure Services
Director, and Pete Sechler, GAI
Mr. Durr and Pete Sechler, GAI, presented
the Rolling Hills Community Park Master Plan Update (presentation received and
filed).
With regard to public participation, no
one spoke and public input was closed.
In regards to the Public Works project,
Commissioner Dallari stated he would like to see a link to it on the website so
that people understand the two of them are coexisting and working together. He suggested adding a description or outline
of why it's important that they're both happening simultaneously but
separately. Chairman Zembower reminded
that the Board is interested in native foliage and landscaping.
Ms. Guillet advised they have Phase 1 budgeted and
would like to pull the trigger on it.
Motion
by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to move forward with Phase 1 as presented today.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman Zembower recessed the work sessions at 12:08 p.m.,
reconvening at 1:19 p.m.
Item #13 – 2020-2308
Lake Harney Basin Study
Mark Ellard, Geosyntec Consultants
Jean Jreij, Public Works Director
Mark Ellard, Geosyntec Consultants, presented
and reviewed a PowerPoint entitled Lake Harney Basin Watershed Flood Resiliency
Plan (received and filed).
With regard to public participation, Gabrielle Milch, 252 Coble Drive,
spoke in support.
No one else spoke
and public input was closed.
Chairman Zembower emphasized the roadways are an issue, and
this is not designed to fix private property issues. Commissioner Carey commented if the residents
out there support doing something to improve this, she would hope they would
dedicate the right-of-way. She advised
people who didn't realize they bought in a floodplain and continually have
flooding can apply for a FEMA grant for the acquisition of those properties. The Commissioner noted there are a lot of
other areas in the county that flood this time of year, especially when the
water tables are high, and she wants to be cautious about moving forward with
projects.
Commissioner Dallari inquired what the process is once this
is submitted to FEMA. Mr. Ellard responded
the standard line would be anywhere from three to nine months to get it through
FEMA review and process. Once they
conditionally approve, then they go into a public noticing period where anyone
can have the chance to ask questions about it before the maps get formally
adopted. If this package were to be
submitted on schedule next month, they are likely looking at next fall at the
earliest before new flood maps would be issued.
Commissioner Dallari confirmed with Mr. Ellard, they now have a hydraulic
model of the area and inquired what the advantage is of having that. Mr. Ellard explained the hydraulic model is
important to be able to confirm what does and does not need to be fixed and to
be more cost-effective at targeting improvements. Upon Commissioner Dallari's inquiry of what
would be the priority that he would recommend for the five projects, Mr. Ellard
responded it would be in the order he presented them with Whitcomb as the
highest priority and Old Mims and Jungle Road being the last.
Chairman Zembower inquired what kind of impacts they are
dealing with if they make one improvement downstream but don't make the others
upstream. Mr. Ellard responded it's a
cascading system. Everything is trying
to find its way to Lake Harney, so they do have to be careful about unintended
consequences of fixing one area that will then cause an issue either downstream
or upstream. There's a concurrency issue
that has to be looked at. You can
improve one area and then have it not impact other areas. Generally, if you work your way from
downstream to upstream, it helps the process.
That gets factored in on how things are sequenced.
Chairman Zembower inquired if there was anything that led
them to believe that improvements, if performed, are going to cause private
property damage worse than what already exists when they did this
modeling. Mr. Ellard responded no. A specific charge they have when
conceptualizing is to evaluate private property impacts. If they are focused on the roadways, their
charge is to make sure that the conveyance and improvements are done in such a
way that it pulls the risk towards the road and a better managed facility that
may help some of the private properties.
The Chairman stated there was citizen concern about if X is done, it
will shift the problem from Neighbor A to Neighbor C. He confirmed with Mr. Ellard that process was
vetted. Mr. Ellard responded it was, and
it will be reevaluated during final design stage.
Commissioner Dallari inquired if there would be any value in
doing all of the projects at one time from a stormwater perspective. Mr. Ellard answered there would not be any
benefit of doing them at the same time because each project is distinct and
they do not directly impact each other.
Regarding Chairman Zembower's concern of impacts on
infrastructure downstream from improvements upstream and moving the water
faster, Mr. Ellard explained that is part of a permitting threshold. St. Johns limits projects to it not being
increasing peak discharge so downstream properties are not impacted. So even though they are improving
conveyances, it's more to distribute the water and make it flow more efficiently
but not to get it downstream faster because that would not be permittable. Chairman Zembower confirmed with Mr. Ellard
that none of this is going to do anything about when the St. Johns water level
rises and comes back up into the drainage infrastructure. Commissioner Lockhart inquired how frequently
people are having issues because of river levels versus drainage flowing
to. Mr. Ellard explained that is a very
difficult question, and it depends on the conditions.
Chairman Zembower asked how likely is it that St. Johns will
issue permits for this work. Mr. Ellard
advised they have met with St. Johns and discussed each project, so what has
been brought forward has already been vetted through the District with regard
to permittability.
Commissioner Lockhart inquired if they have done other
studies around the county as well. Mr.
Ellard responded they are currently working on updating information in the
Wekiva watershed and Yankee Lake watershed, but they haven't advanced to this
point. Upon inquiry of the Commissioner
of what criteria would fast-track one particular project or necessitate
attention more quickly, Mr. Ellard responded it's all about cost to
benefit. If they do a fix for so much
money, how less often is the road going to be flooded or how many of the
properties inundated will now not be inundated.
Chairman Zembower stated he would like staff to look at
ranking where the most urgent needs are in the county, provide a
cost-of-benefit analysis on which projects related to drainage benefit the most
for the least amount of dollars, and look at whatever grant funding may be out
there. No objections were voiced.
Chairman Zembower noted it is dangerous not knowing where
the ditches are when the roads flood. He
requested support from the Board to have staff provide some delineators or
markings along those ditches. No objections were voiced. Commissioner Carey advised in other areas
that have flooded in the past, the County has gone out and put high reflectors
so people could see where the road is and not end up in the ditch.
Commissioner Carey stated staff could go back and look at
areas that have historically flooded and put some preliminary information
together for further investigation. She
suggested the Board accept this study as information for now and then continue
it for a bigger discussion when they get the rest of the information
together.
Commissioner Lockhart commented the Letters of Map provision
that will be going out is going to change some people's financial situations to
now have to carry flood insurance if they don't already. She inquired if the citizens out there have a
heads-up that that might be coming.
Chairman Zembower responded they were all invited to a meeting and have
been communicating during the public meetings.
Commissioner Lockhart emphasized she does not want anyone who is living
in a constrained financial situation to get hit with a flood insurance bill
that they may not have understood was coming.
Ms. Guillet summarized her understanding of the Board's
comments and direction that they want to put a pause on this study and
understand how it fits in the context of everything else in the county that
they are looking at from a drainage standpoint.
She inquired if they want to pursue the LOMAR before doing the final
meeting with the Board on this report or also pause that and then come back and
talk to the Board as a whole. She
advised staff can come back fairly quickly to provide the bigger picture with
how this study fits with everything else in the county. Jean Jreij, Public Works Director, noted
there are several basin studies being done.
When those basin studies are completed, each one is going to generate
some type of project. Staff can take all
of those projects and prioritize them and bring that back to the Board.
Chairman Zembower expressed his concern that hypothetically
they identify some deficiencies in the Econ Basin, fix that issue which causes
water to flow faster towards the St. Johns, and that then would impact what
happens in Lake Harney. Mr. Jreij
explained every time they do a basin study and develop some type of project,
they make sure they talk to St. Johns Water Management to make sure the project
is permittable and constructible.
Upon the Chairman's inquiry of what his suggestion would be
regarding prioritizing, Mr. Jreij suggested in the meantime to be looking for
grants. If there's a grant available,
they will take advantage of it. They can
prioritize all the projects generated with the basins and see which ones
qualify for grants and then bring that before the Board to make a decision on
how to move forward. Chairman Zembower
stated he believed there was consensus
of the Board to do that. No objections were voiced.
Chairman Zembower confirmed with Ms. Guillet she understood
the Board's direction. Ms. Guillet added
she wants to make sure she comes back to the Board sooner than later with more
information showing everything that is in the works, provide a timeline, and
have the Board make the decisions about the prioritization list. Commissioner Dallari asked if staff can also
provide a map of the county of which basins studies are being done, the dollar
amount to fix each basin, and the frequency of the problems. Ms. Guillet responded they can provide a map. In regards to the cost, some of them are done
and she can provide that information but some of them are still in study right
now. Mr. Jreij advised staff has the
data to generate the information on the frequency of the problems.
Ms. Guillet inquired if the Board would like to move forward
with the LOMAR application on the Lake Harney Basin Study, and there was consensus of the Board to do so.
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Chairman
Zembower recessed the meeting at 2:38 p.m., reconvening at 2:54 p.m.
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Chairman Zembower asked for a date certain to bring the information
back from the Lake Harney work session.
Ms. Guillet answered they would bring it back no later than the November
10th meeting.
Item #14 – 2020-2309
Land Development Code (Session 3)
Eliza Juliano, Canin Associates, Inc.
Rebecca Hammock, Development Services Director
Eliza
Juliano, Canin Associates, Inc., presented and reviewed a PowerPoint entitled
Seminole County Land Development Code Update Work Session #3 (received and
filed) addressing mixed use, infill, redevelopment,
rural standards, and attainable housing.
Ms. Juliano discussed the Board follow-up items of Florida-friendly
landscaping, Planned Development alternatives, and open spaces. Rebecca Hammock, Development Services
Director, discussed Kennels.
Chairman
Zembower recessed the meeting at 3:08 p.m., reconvening at 3:14 p.m.
Commissioner
Carey left the meeting at 3:18 p.m.
Kennels Discussion
Commissioner
Lockhart noted the County Attorney's Office has given staff an opinion that
anything zoned A-1 is exempt from the noise related to animals. She requested confirmation they are saying if
you live on a piece of property A-1 zoned, you can be a bad neighbor with your
animals and that's okay. Bryant
Applegate, County Attorney, stated everyone in his office agrees with this
opinion and A-1 is agriculture.
Agriculture is governed by the State, and the County is prohibited from
regulating it. He noted over the course
of time, subdivisions have been built on A-1.
A solution to that problem would be to rezone them so they're no longer
A-1.
Upon
comment of Chairman Zembower, Ms. Hammock clarified the issue they have had is
not with businesses. It has been an
issue where, for example, there is a resident that is fostering ten dogs, they
have erected a kennel on their property line, and the dogs are barking
throughout the day and night disturbing the neighbor. The County doesn't have a way to regulate
that because they are exempt under Florida statute, because it specifically says
this subsection shall not apply to animals on land zoned for agriculture
purposes. It doesn't say it has to be
utilized for agriculture purposes, just zoned.
Chairman Zembower inquired if there was case law on that, and Mr.
Applegate responded not specific, no.
Mr. Applegate stated if the Board would like, they could ask for an
Attorney General advisory opinion.
Commissioner
Lockhart inquired what would happen if they were to administratively rezone
some of the neighborhoods that clearly are not agriculture neighborhoods and
are suburban developments, what that process would look like, and what type of
negative ramifications could there potentially be. Ms. Hammock responded they could potentially
be administratively rezoned to RC-1.
Chairman
Zembower stated they should start with getting an Attorney General opinion if
everybody agreed. No objections were voiced.
Commissioner Lockhart commented she would like to also talk to the seven
cities. Ms. Guillet advised there is not
any A-1 zoning in the cities. It is an
anomaly the County is dealing with. Mr.
Applegate stated they will get an AG opinion on the kennel issue. They will also look at if they are going to
impact other residences in A-1 that may have two pigs or a couple of horses by
requesting that AG opinion. Ms. Hammock
added staff would like to know if the intent regarding noise and the exception is
only for livestock, farming, and animals related to agriculture or does it also
apply to domestic animals, such as dogs.
Attainable Housing Discussion
Commissioner
Dallari stated he would like for someone to define what transit is and what the
frequency is to make a project workforce compatible for transit. Mary Moskowitz, Planning and Development, discussed
the Affordability Index, which is generally defined as 30% of a household's
income. HUD put together the Housing
Plus Transportation Index, and that should not exceed 45% of a household's
income. In looking at what makes the
availability of mass transit, the two things to look at are the frequency and
access. When LYNX talks about
high-frequency transit, they talk about a bus coming about every 10 to 20
minutes. When talking about the access
to that, that's generally defined as a quarter mile area. Commissioner Dallari inquired when the Board
is looking at a project with a workforce housing aspect, what piece of that
would have to have transit to it and what would that headway and distance be to
actually have workforce housing. Ms.
Moskowitz responded it's not one size fits all.
It's one piece of the tool.
Generally speaking, it would be mass transit with a headway of about 10
to 20 minutes and within a 5- to 10-minute walk.
Rural Standards Discussion
Ms.
Hammock stated staff needs direction regarding the rural design standards for
commercially zoned properties within the rural area and whether that is
something the Board would like staff to pursue.
With
regard to public participation, Nancy Harmon, 752 Pioneer Trail, Geneva
Citizens Association, spoke in support of having design standards in the Geneva
area for new businesses. They do not
want to impose upon existing businesses a standard that could cause a financial
hardship, but would support standards for any future modifications to
them. Commissioner Lockhart stated she
would not want to do anything that would hurt any of the existing businesses
that are out there, and she also does not want to put regulations in place that
would make it prohibitive for a family to sell their property if the
restrictions are so great that it makes the property unattractive for someone
to buy. Ms. Harmon requested the Geneva
Citizens Association be involved moving forward.
Joseph
Humpreys, 883 Cardinal Pointe Cove, commended Canin Associates for their
presentation and spoke in regards to impaired waterways and support of
Florida-friendly landscaping.
No one else
spoke and public input was closed
Chairman Zembower suggested having a community meeting to
inform and notify all of the property owners so they can weigh in and be heard,
and then the Board can decide where to go from there. No
objections were voiced.
Item #15 – 2020-2310
Board Policies and Procedures
Nicole Guillet, County Manager
Ms. Guillet
explained these policies and procedures were sent to the Commissioners in July,
August, and then again last week (received and filed). They have talked quite a bit in recent months
about formalizing some operating policies for the Board. The policies have taken some of the existing
provisions in the Admin Code that relate to the responsibilities of the
Commission, some of the senior staff members, administrative roles, how the
Commission offices are structured, et cetera and revised some of them and
reorganized them a little bit. The
second section is meeting operation policies.
She stated, to her knowledge, the County has never had a handbook on how
to run meetings or take public input. She has looked at what other counties in the
state do regarding their approach to public meetings and how they codify a
procedure. A compilation of a lot of
different existing policies and procedures was circulated (received and
filed). She has been in contact with
each Commissioner regarding comments, questions, and clarifications. The draft sent last week identified a couple
of additional comments. Today she would
like to get some feedback and spend as much time talking about any of the
provisions the Board would like. The
plan is to try to move this forward for adoption as an Admin Code revision on
November 10th.
Chairman
Zembower confirmed with Mr. Applegate he reviewed the policies and
procedures. Mr. Applegate added he
worked with Ms. Guillet on a couple of points.
He advised if the Board adopts these procedures, they will need to be
strictly followed. If they deviate from
them, particularly on ex parte, they may open the door for some issues.
Chairman
Zembower read a list of comments and questions from Commissioner Carey
(received and filed), and Ms. Guillet responded as follows:
In
regards to Section 1.15, this is a proposed policy which is not in place
now. It is a recommendation. The County Manager's Office is currently
working on a new commissioner handbook, and it will be ready in time for any
new commissioners that may be sworn in after the upcoming election. They also intend to do a new commissioner
training coordinating with the County Attorney's Office to do that on the same
day of the annual ethics training. This
will be done regardless of whether the new policies and procedures are adopted
by the Board. Commissioner Lockhart
suggested there be a recommendation that new board members attend and
participate in the Florida Association of Counties new commissioner training. Ms. Guillet responded they can include that
in the training as the next step for them.
Commissioner Lockhart added the time to sign up for the training happens
right after the election and fills up quickly.
She noted that would be something that would be nice for the County
Manager's Office to monitor since they don't know which commission office it
may impact.
Ms.
Guillet explained in regards to Section 1.30(C), there is an existing section
in the Admin Code that deals with mass mailings, and this proposed section is a
revision of that. The existing policy
can create a challenge sometimes when it comes to doing a community meeting on
an issue that has come up at a Board meeting and it precludes even county staff
from helping with notification of that kind of thing. There are some circumstances that perhaps
don't warrant Board approval so they tried to rewrite this to address that
opportunity. The other thing that this
particular provision addresses is there are occasions where a Commissioner may
request assistance from the communications staff to prepare remarks for an
event or something like that, and this clarifies that process. If there's going to be something that is
going to be distributed by County staff, it is suggested to work through the
County Manager's Office. Chairman
Zembower noted it should be a public purpose and he doesn't think the Board
should have to approve every communication going out to constituents. Commissioner Dallari stated he had no issue
with this as long as it says it must be for a public purpose. Ms. Guillet responded she can add the words
"public purpose." No objections were voiced.
Referencing
Section 1.35(C), Chairman Zembower noted this was brought up at a work session
and ratified at a BCC meeting earlier this year. Ms. Guillet stated this
section reflects those discussion. The
provision in here for approval is that it is approved by the County Manager,
but the County Manager would give quarterly reports to the Board. There was discussion among the Board that
travel has been limited this year due to COVID, and there was consensus to continue with the
procedure currently in place. Once
travel resumes, it can be reevaluated if needed. Commissioner Lockhart noted it does put the
County Manager in an awkward situation if there was a Commissioner that were to
take advantage, and they don't want to do that.
She suggested adding a statement that if the County Manager feels they
are being asked to approve something outside of the scope, he or she would go
to the Chairman, which would provide another layer of protection for the County
Manager. No objections were voiced, and Ms. Guillet responded she would make
that change.
Commissioner
Lockhart advised in regards to Section 1.40(A)(5), the current policies and
procedures for the executive assistants are the same ones that she participated
in writing in 2006 and 2007 and have not changed. There is no reason why they could not be
amended. Chairman Zembower stated he is
okay if they want to charge the County Manager with reviewing those policies,
revising those, and bringing them back.
Ms. Guillet explained this policy does not contemplate that the County
Manager establishes those operating policies for the aides and how they all
work together in the office. Although
they are certainly engaged, this is language that is in the existing Admin Code
now that says the Chairman is the administrative manager of the Commission
offices and the Chairman has the authority to put together policies, but that
can be changed. Commissioner Lockhart
opined it was helpful that the aides were actually the ones who wrote it
because they knew what was going on in the offices. To have the County Manager or someone who
isn't working in the day-to-day operations say what they think the policies and
procedures and operating procedures should be could be counterproductive. If the Board wants these to be readdressed,
it would be helpful to have the aides go through them and see what they think
should be changed. Chairman Zembower
suggested having the aides review them, make their own notes, get with the
County Manager, discuss them, and bring them back to the Board. No
objections were voiced.
Commissioner
Lockhart stated there is an opportunity to provide continuity by having the
role of lead aide, which is referenced in these policies, transfer to the
County Manager's Office or to another position because they are completely and
totally administrative and ministerial in function. Ms. Guillet discussed the lead aide
responsibilities and duties and advised they could shift them to the County Manager's
Office and not have a lead aide.
Chairman Zembower stated there was consensus
to have the aides getting with the County Manager who will then decide what
comes back to the Board. Commissioner
Lockhart confirmed with Ms. Guillet she will also work on Section 1.25(B),
Chairman's Executive Assistant.
Ms.
Guillet stated Section 1.45(C) should have come out and that will be taken care
of.
Ms.
Guillet stated they will clarify Section 1.45(F) and identify either the County
Attorney or the Chairman if it's a Vice Chair vote.
Ms.
Guillet advised they can reference the County Manager Policies in Section
1.70(A).
In
regards to Section 1.80(A)(7), Ms. Guillet stated the current practice is to
advise the BCC and Department Directors when the Deputy County Manager is
acting as County Manager, and they can put that in the policies.
Ms.
Guillet advised the plan is to bring this back on November 10th for formal adoption. If any of the Commissioners start thinking
about something after, she requests they provide it to her. She will then send it out in this same format
with the little comment bubbles to show any changes from today. Chairman Zembower inquired if she will also
be bringing back the comments outside of the Board's policies and
procedures. Ms. Guillet responded those
do not have to be done in advance of November 10th in order to be adopted. But they will get with the aides right
away. The Chairman suggested it would be
wise to have them determined before the election.
Commissioner
Lockhart expressed her concern regarding the appointments each Commissioner
makes for boards and committees and possible difficulties of new Commissioners
making those appointments by a certain date.
She suggested if there's a gap, the existing person stays until their
new person is replaced. The Commissioner
inquired if that is addressed anywhere in the policies. Ms. Guillet responded she does not think it
is because some of them are rolling appointments, but they certainly can. Commissioner Lockhart stated one of the BCC
aides is responsible for the boards and committees process, and that is a lot
of work. Ms. Guillet explained there are
different policies and procedures for all of the boards. Her recommendation would be to consider
having a consistent set of bylaws and procedures and attendance requirements
and things like that for all of the advisory boards. Commissioner Lockhart stated she would also
like to talk about the boards and committees and the appointment process at a
future meeting.
Commissioner Carey rejoined the meeting at 4:58 p.m.
With regard to public participation, no
one spoke and public input was closed.
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There
being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the
meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:_____________________________Clerk___________________________Chairman
kf/cc