BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA

DECEMBER 8, 2015

 

     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, December 8, 2015, 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

     County Manager Nicole Guillet

     County Attorney Bryant Applegate

     Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer

 

     Cantor Kim Singer, Temple Shir Shalom, Oviedo, gave the Invocation.  Commissioner Carey led the Pledge of Allegiance.

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

The Business Spotlight video for Atria at Lake Forest was presented.

AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS

Agenda Item #1 – A-1505-15

Pamela Nabors, President and CEO of CareerSource Central Florida, addressed the Board to discuss how CareerSource Central Florida is impacting the businesses and residents of Seminole County.  Ms. Nabors began her PowerPoint presentation and discussed the Who Are We slide, the CareerSource Central Florida Pillars slide, the CareerSource Central Florida Values slide, and the Brand Promise.  She stated that in the last few years, CareerSource has gone through a lot of realignment and discussed their Committee Structures.

Ms. Nabors reviewed the 2014/2015 Highlights and then displayed the Distribution and Expenses charts and discussed the average revenue and average expense for Seminole County.  She discussed the Businesses Served and Total Placements.  With regard to Performance in Seminole County, Ms. Nabors discussed Value to Businesses and Talent Development for Fiscal Years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.  She displayed and discussed Seminole Career Service Model, Helping the Business Community in Seminole Succeed, and Increasing Presence in Seminole County.  Ms. Nabors next discussed Community Partnerships, Economic Development Partners, Seminole Education Partners, Chamber Partners, Education/Community Partnerships in Seminole County, and Talent Pipeline Development Projects/Partnerships.  She described the two youth providers serving Seminole County.  She noted that Raju Daswani is the Career Services Manager in Seminole County and David Lewis and Dana Care are Business Consultants.

Ms. Nabors concluded her presentation by stating they are excited this year to be implementing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and explained that the Act better aligns the workforce system with the needs of the business community.  They will be listening to what the business community in Seminole County needs to ensure that they can develop the talent needed. 

With regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.

Motion by Commission Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Central Florida Area Workforce Development Consortium Interlocal Agreement with Lake County, Orange County, Osceola County, Sumter County, and Central Florida Regional Workforce Development Board, Inc. d/b/a CareerSource Central Florida establishing the Central Florida Area Workforce Development Consortium.

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     Chairman Horan recessed the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners at 9:48 a.m., and convened as the U.S. Highway 17-92 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

U.S. HIGHWAY 17-92 CRA

Agenda Item #2 – A-1510-15

     Sonia Fonseca, CRA Program Manager, addressed the Board to present a request from the City of Sanford to extend the U.S. 17‑92 Community Redevelopment Grant deadline for Paw Park improvements from December 22, 2015 to December 31, 2016.  Ms. Fonseca explained that when the CRA originally approved the grant to the City of Sanford in the amount of $70,000 to do improvements, the design documents were not yet ready.  Now there are design documents and the costs have far exceeded the original projections. The additional time is to allow the City of Sanford to collect revenues they can invest into the park improvements.  Ms. Fonseca stated the Redevelopment Planning Agency (RPA) recommended approval of this item and staff is also recommending approval. 

     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 the First Amendment to the Paw Park Improvement Project Agreement between the U.S. 17-92 CRA and the City of Sanford extending the U.S. 17‑92 Community Redevelopment Grant deadline for Paw Park improvements from December 22, 2015 to December 31, 2016.

Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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Agenda Item #3 – A-1481-15

     Ms. Fonseca presented a request to approve a U.S. 17-92 CRA Redevelopment and Construction Grant to RB Seminole, LLC, to redevelop the property located at 3653 and 3715 South Orlando Drive in the amount of $246,250 contingent on a 20-year extension of the Transit Station License Agreement with LYNX for the super stop located on the property at no additional cost to the CRA or LYNX.  She advised that both staff and the RPA are recommending approval of this item.

     Mike Jones, representing RB Seminole, LLC, addressed the Board to state he, along with Pat Murphy and a representative from LYNX, were available to answer any questions.

     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 the U.S. 17-92 CRA Redevelopment and Construction Grant to RB Seminole, LLC, to redevelop the property located at 3653 and 3715 South Orlando Drive in the amount of $246,250 contingent on a 20-year extension of the Transit Station License Agreement with LYNX for the super stop located on the property at no additional cost to the CRA or LYNX; and adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-190 implementing the associated Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #16‑011 appropriating funding from the U.S. 17‑92 CRA Trust Fund, Contingency Reserve for Catalyst Projects.

Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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Agenda Item #4 – A-1329-15

     Ms. Fonseca presented a request to consider approval of a CRA Interlocal Agreement with the City of Sanford for construction of the U.S. 17‑92 Beautification Project from Park Drive to First Street within the City of Sanford in the requested amount of $1,981,641.82. 

     Jeff Davis, Project Manager for City of Sanford Public Works Department, addressed the Board to advise that he and Jeremy Owens, who is the designer of the project with CPH, are available to answer any questions.

     With regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.

     Commissioner Dallari confirmed with Jean Jreij, Director of Public Works, that the proper coordination between the County’s staff and this project regarding fiber in that area will be happening.  He added he would hate for the County to put in all of this work and then a year or so later, take it out because they need to put a fiber line in.

     Commissioner Carey pointed out that they have been talking about this project for a while and the funds have been set aside for it.  She stated that some of the additional costs that they are incurring on this project are as a result of requests from both the County and from FDOT.  She is glad they are finally bringing this project forward.

     Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve an Interlocal Agreement between the U.S. 17‑92 CRA and the City of Sanford for funding to construct the U.S. 17‑92 Beautification Project from Park Drive to First Street, within the City of Sanford, in the amount of $1,981,641.82; and adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-191 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #16‑004 appropriating funding from the U.S. 17‑92 CRA Trust Fund, Reserve for Capital Improvement.

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 9:59 a.m., and reconvened as the Board of County Commissioners.

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

     With regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition to the Consent Agenda and public input was closed.

     Nicole Guillet, County Manager, stated that staff is pulling from the agenda Item #25, Purchase Agreement with John Noonan, Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando. 

     Commissioner Constantine requested that Item #11, SHIP Program Subrecipient Agreement, and Item #27, Drainage Easement from Nallan and Sitadevi Chari, be pulled for a separate discussion.  Commissioner Dallari requested that Item #38, IFB-602388-15 Term Contract for Street Sweeping Services, be pulled for a separate discussion.

     Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize and approve the following:

     County Manager’s Office

     Business Office

 5.  Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2015-R-192, Management and Employment of Commission Office Executive Assistants, amending the Seminole County Administrative Code, Section 1.5(A)(1) (Organization - Commission Office) and Section 2.5(B) (Powers, Duties and Responsibilities of County Government - County Commissioner).  (A-1572-15)

 

 

Economic Development Division

 6.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Seminole County/Economic Development Commission of Mid‑Florida, Incorporated, Fiscal Year 2015/16 Master Services Agreement for the purpose of providing economic development services in Seminole County.  (A-1528-15)

 

Community Services

Business Office

 7.  Approve and authorize staff to submit the Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) consistent with regulatory reporting requirements, and subject to administrative adjustments per HUD directives, to meet the December 31, 2015 deadline.  (A-1526-15)

 8.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Satisfactions of Mortgage for the following clients who were assisted under the County's SHIP Home Ownership Assistance Program and the Rehabilitation Reconstruction Assistance Program:  Darius D. Jackson, German Palacios and Jessica Palacios, James Pritchett and Pamela Pritchett, Martine Nelson, and Derek R. Sinns.  (A-1519-15)

 9.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2015-R-212 amending Seminole County Administrative Code Section 3.554(4), granting the Community Services Director signature authority to execute Agreements, Loan Documents, Restrictive Covenants, Satisfactions, Amendments or Modifications thereto and other related documents pertaining to the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program in an amount not exceeding $100,000 per transaction; providing for effective date.  (A-1530-15)

Community Assistance Division

10.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Amended Grant Agreement to create a supportive services budget in the amount of $12,700.  (A-1520-15)

Community Development Division

11.  Pulled for Separate Discussion by Commissioner Constantine.

12.  Approve and authorize staff to submit the recommendations of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) for adoption by March 31, 2016 as County policy to lower the cost and/or enhance the development of affordable housing for lower income households.  (A-1523-15)

13.  Approve and accept the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) monthly snapshot/report and properties acquired by Seminole County Government.  (A-1534-15)

 

Development Services

Planning & Development Division

14.  Approve the plat for the Tierra Verde Preserve subdivision containing three single family lots on 6.67 acres zoned A‑1 (Agriculture), located on the south side of Michigan Street, east of Markham Woods Road; Jochen Schmausser, Applicant.  (A-1476-15)

15.  Adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-194 vacating and abandoning the plat of Rockefeller Group Corporate Center, as recorded in the Public Records of Seminole County, Florida in Plat Book 75, Pages 61 through 67; Madden, Moorehead & Glunt, Applicant.  (A-1514-15)

16.  Adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-195 vacating and abandoning 11 square feet of a Drainage Easement on Lot 4, Brynwood, as recorded in the Public Records of Seminole County, Florida in Plat Book 38, Page 85, more particularly known as 213 Brynwood Lane; Nancy Tron, Applicant.  (A-1513-15)

17.  Approve staff appointments to the MetroPlan Orlando Technical Advisory Committee and authorize the Chairman to forward the appointments to MetroPlan Orlando.  The recommended staff members for the primary positions are Brett W. Blackadar, Shad Smith and Bill Wharton.  The recommended staff members for the alternate positions are Jean Jreij, Teresa Cruz, and Matt Davidson.  (A-1543-15)

 

Environmental Services

Business Office

18.  Approve the Release of the original Maintenance Bonds for Water & Sewer Facilities and Cash Maintenance Bonds with Escrow Agreements as follows:  Becknell Industrial Facility, $2,126; Ellingsworth, $21,182.30, #59BSBGP7864; Enclave at Aloma Ph 2, $11,190.60, #1027802; Enclave at Bear Lake, $32,179.10, #1024417; Garden Park Apartments, $964.35; Kandor Dental Spa (Aloma Square), $1,297.82; and Pearl Lake Estates, $56,855.27, #0178087. (A-1482-15)

19.  Adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-196 amending Subsection 3.15.A(1)(d) of the Seminole County Administrative Code to designate the following positions in Environmental Services as code enforcement officers:  Customer Service Representative, Office Supervisor, Program Coordinator, Environmental Program Coordinator, Distribution Technician, Meter Services Supervisor, Inspector, Water Conservation Coordinator, Cross Connection Control Inspector, and Industrial Pretreatment Inspector.  (A-1565-15)

 

Leisure Services

Greenways & Natural Lands Division

20.  Approve and authorize Chairman to execute Easement Agreements with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) as part of their Central Florida Water Initiative at Sylvan Lake Park and the Lake Proctor Wilderness Area.  (A-1459-15)

Tourism Development Division

21.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Tourist Tax Funding Agreement with Elite Clubs National League in the amount of $10,252.75; and approve the expenditure of $24,954 from the Tourism General Fund business unit for the 2015 ECNL Winter National Girls Soccer Event to be held December 28 through 30, 2015.  (A-1485-15)

 

 

Public Safety

Business Office

22.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2015-R-197 renaming State Road 415 to East Lake Mary Boulevard.  (A-1541-15)

 

Public Works

Engineering Division

23.  Adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-198 to accept a Sidewalk Easement between Thomas Cornwall Properties, LLC, and Seminole County for property necessary for the construction and maintenance of a sidewalk along a portion of County Road 46A as part of the County Road 46A Sidewalk Project.  (A-1496-15)

24.  Adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-199 and authorize the Chairman to execute a Local Agency Program Supplemental Agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation relating to the reimbursement funding in the amount of $219,677 for the Construction and CEI Services for the sidewalks along both sides of Snow Hill Road from County Road 419 to Jacobs Trail in the vicinity of Walker Elementary School (FDOT FPN: 429598‑1‑58‑01); and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2015-R-200 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #15‑122 through the 2001 Infrastructure Sales Tax and Public Works Grants Funds in the net amount of $18,318.  (A-1398-15)

25.  Pulled from Agenda the request to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Purchase Agreement between John G. Noonan, as Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando and Seminole County in the amount of $11,000 for property necessary for the construction and maintenance of a sidewalk along a portion of Dike Road.  (A-1494-15)

26.  Adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-201 and authorize the Chairman to accept a Warranty Deed from William Thomas Small, a single person, and Brenda Nogle Small, a single person, for property needed for the construction of a sidewalk adjacent to a portion of West Lake Brantley Road and Citrus Road (A-1439-15)

27.  Pulled for a Separate Discussion by Commissioner Constantine.

 

Resource Management

Business Office

28.  Approve the County’s Workers’ Compensation, Property, Casualty Package, Boiler and Machinery, Cyber and Internet Liability, Storage Tank Pollution Liability Insurance, and Federal Flood Insurance Programs for calendar year 2016 and authorize staff to bind coverages effective January 1, 2016.  (A-1548-15)

29.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Third Amendment to the Subrecipient Funding Agreement with Aspire Health Partners to increase funding by $255,032 to provide additional services and increase the number of participants to residents of Seminole County through the Florida Department of Children and Families ‑ Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program.  (A-1509-15)

30.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Subrecipient Agreement in the amount $324,966 with the 18th Judicial Circuit Court which defines the responsibilities related to the FY 2015/16 Adult Drug Treatment Court Expansion & Enhancement grant awarded to Seminole County by the Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  (A-1427-15)

31.  Approve and authorize the County Manager to execute Service Provider Agreements totaling $246,350 for required support of the FY 2015/16 Adult Drug Treatment Court Expansion & Enhancement grant awarded to Seminole County by the Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with the following:  Aspire Health Partners, Inc.; Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc.; New Life Connections, Inc.; and United Safety Council, Inc.  (A-1428-15)

Budget and Fiscal Management Division

32.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2015-R-203 implementing the Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #16‑012 through the Emergency 911 Fund to appropriate budget of $156,307 from reserves for the procurement of redundant logging equipment for 911 system.  (A-1537-15)

33.  Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2015-R-204 implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #16‑015 through the General Fund to allocate $1,350,036 for the Sports Complex Land Sale Contract with Kirchhoff Trust/Airport Industrial Partners, LLC. The revenue has been received and recorded within the General Fund in FY 2014/2015.  (A-1556-15)

Purchasing & Contracts Division

34.  Award RFP‑602368‑15/BJC, Term Contract for Auditing Services for Seminole County, to Moore Stephens Lovelace, P.A., Orlando; and authorize the Purchasing and Contracts Division to execute the Agreement.  The annual usage for this contract is $240,000 per year for Years 1, 2 and 3 and $246,000 per year for Years 4 and 5 (A-1508-15)

35.  Approve the ranking list; authorize staff to negotiate rates in accordance with F.S. 287.055, the Consultants Competitive Negotiations Act (CCNA); and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute two (2) Master Services Agreements (MSA's) for PS‑0121‑15/RTB, Subdivision Rehabilitation Program; Estimated Annual Usage $900,000.  (A-1457-15)

36.  Approve the Assignment of RFP‑602014‑14/GMG, Contractor Services Agreement for Processing and Marketing of Recyclable Materials, from Sun Recycling, LLC, Davie, to Waste Management Inc. of Florida, Pompano Beach; and authorize the Purchasing and Contracts Division to execute the documents.  (A-1426-15)

37.  Approve Work Order #2, Landfill Leachate System Telemetry under RFP‑9601‑14/AMM, SCADA Asset Renewal, Rehabilitation, and Replacement Services with Revere Control Systems, Inc. of Birmingham, AL, in the amount of $389,481; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division to execute Work Order #2.  (A-1538-15)

38.  Pulled for a Separate Discussion by Commissioner Dallari.

39.  Approve Amendment #4 to SS‑601200‑11/BJC, P‑25 Upgrade Services Agreement with Motorola Solutions, Inc., Schaumburg, Illinois, in the amount of $156,037; and authorize the Purchasing and Contracts Division to execute the documents.  (A-1560-15)

40.  Award CC‑0493‑15/RTB, Construction Services Agreement for Forest City Elementary Sidewalk Project in the amount of $185,996.75, to MCG Services, LLC of Orlando, FL; and authorize the Purchasing and Contracts Division to execute the Agreement.  (A-1542-15)

 

Agenda Item #11 - (A-1524-15)

     Regarding Item #11, SHIP Program Subrecipient Agreement, Commissioner Constantine advised that he has no objection to this item but he will need to file a Memorandum of Voting Conflict and will not be voting on the item.

     Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the SHIP Program Subrecipient Agreement for the Development of Very Low Income Rental Housing between Seminole County and Merritt Street Housing, LP, providing $50,000 of County funding and two Mortgage Subordination Agreements, one in favor of JP Morgan Chase and one in favor of First Housing Development Corporation in regards to The Pointe at Merritt Street tax credit project.

     Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

     Commissioner Constantine abstained from voting and filed a Memorandum of Voting Conflict Form.

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Agenda Item #27 - (A-1423-15)

     With regard to Item #27, a Drainage Easement from Nallan and Sitadevi Chari, Commissioner Constantine reminded the Board that the problem that Dr. Chari has had off of North Street has been a consistent one to both his office and Commissioner Henley’s office for quite a while.  He stated that in working with staff, they were able to alleviate the concern and problem, and this easement is hopefully part of the alleviation.  He congratulated staff for their work in helping to find a solution to this problem.

     Motion by Commission Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-202 and authorize the Chairman to accept a Drainage Easement from Nallan Chari and Sitadevi Chari for property located at 1911 North Street for the purpose of providing functional maintenance of the Easement Area. 

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Agenda Item #38 – A-1555-15

     With regard to Item #38, Term Contract of Streets and Roadways Sweeping Services, Commissioner Dallari stated that in reading the packet, he noted that GPS for street sweeping will be required but he did not see anything that actually said the data must be able to be used by County staff for tracking of the devices in a format that the County can accept.

     Ray Hooper, Purchasing & Contracts Manager, addressed the Board to state the scope of services requires GPS tracking; and he believes the software for that is available online. 

     Commissioner Dallari stated that his issue is if staff can’t use the software, then it is useless to the County.  He stated he wants to ensure in the motion that when the Board approves the contract, it is stated that staff not only has access but also has the ability to use the software.  He pointed out that is not currently stated in the agreement.

     Mr. Hooper noted that the staff can view the contractor’s performance as far as what work they have done on the streets via web access.  He believes the County sets a schedule, tells the contractor the schedule, they do the work, and the County monitors via the website on the GPS. 

     Ms. Guillet stated the purpose of having access to the GPS records is to monitor the performance of the contract.  She stated they can make sure that the contract reflects that the County will have access to the data to a degree adequate to monitor performance.

     Jean Jreij, Public Works Director, stated they will have access to the system and can log on while they are doing the work.  They will be able to download some of the data, if needed.  Commissioner Dallari pointed out if they can’t download the data and can only view it on the website, it is really useless.  Upon inquiry by Chairman Horan, Mr. Jreij stated they should be able to download the data.

     Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to award IFB‑602388‑15/GCM, Term Contract for Streets and Roadways Sweeping Services, to USA Services of Florida, Inc., Longwood, with an estimated annual usage of $125,000 with the caveat that the data must be downloadable for County staff to use; and authorize the Purchasing and Contracts Division to execute the agreement. 

     Under discussion, Commissioner Carey stated that once the work has been done through the GPS process, there is no reason to keep that information.  Mr. Jreij stated they are not going to download data every time they do the work; but if they need to download data, they will be able to do it.  They will not just download data and file it.  Ms. Guillet stated the data will be beneficial in monitoring performance; and also, if they are able to download and keep a record, it will allow the County to analyze the cost per mile for the service.  Discussion ensued regarding the purposes for downloading the data.  Commissioner Dallari pointed out that another purpose for using the downloaded data is for stormwater credits.  Chairman Horan questioned if they needed to download the data for stormwater credits, would they be able to do it.  Mr. Jreij responded that they would be able to do it.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

     Commissioner Dallari requested that staff continue to look into stormwater credits to see if the area needs to be enlarged or the frequency needs to be increased so they can look at more stormwater credits in the future.  Ms. Guillet confirmed with Commissioner Carey that street sweeping is a part of the TMDL program.

CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS’ CONSENT AGENDA

Clerk’s Office

 

Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to approve the following:

41.  Approve Expenditure Approval Lists dated October 26, November 2, 9, and 16, 2015; Payroll Approval Lists dated October 22 and November 5, 2015; and the BCC Official Minutes dated October 27, 2015. (A-1549-15) 

 

     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.    Parks Contracts for Services for the following:  Michael Schefke, Stuart Hicks, Debra Morris, and Fernando Huaroto.

 

2.    Bill of Sale accepting potable and reclaimed water and sewer systems within the project known as Hidden Creek Reserve Phase 2 (Robert Wendorf).

 

3.    Pet Rescue Cooperative Service Agreement for Royal Animal Rescue, Inc.

 

4.    Pet Rescue Cooperative Service Agreement for Central Florida Samoyed Rescue, Inc.

 

5.    Pet Rescue Cooperative Service Agreement for ADL Service Dogs and Training Rescue.

 

6.    Local Funding Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation for the upgrade of two mast arm signals on SR 46 at Mellonville Avenue and Fire Station #41, as approved by the BCC on October 13, 2015.

 

7.    Conditional Utility Agreements for water and sewer service between Seminole County and JES Consulting Property 4, LLC, for the project known as Lake Sylvan Oaks.

 

8.    Conditional Utility Agreements for water and sewer service between Seminole County and Piedmont 500 Townpark, LLC, for the project known as 500 Townpark.

 

9.    Acceptance of the potable and reclaimed water and sewer systems within the project known as Westlake Center Parcels A & B (Dafflyn Corporated).

 

10.    Acceptance of the potable and reclaimed water and sewer systems within the project known as Westlake Center Parcel C (Gratus Investments, LLC.).

 

11.    Conditional Utility Agreements for water and sewer service between Seminole County and Texas Roadhouse Holdings, LLC., for the project known as Texas Roadhouse.

 

12.    Water and Sewer Improvements Cash Maintenance Bond in the amount of $1,004.20; and Escrow Agreement for water and sewer improvements for the project known as Westlake Center, Parcel C.

 

13.    Water and Sewer Improvements Cash Maintenance Bond in the amount of $1,159.80 and Escrow Agreement for water and sewer improvements for the project known as Westlake Center, Parcels A & B2.

 

14.    Water and Sewer Improvements Cash Maintenance Bond in the amount of $901.00 and Escrow Agreement for water and sewer improvements for the project known as Bliss Medical Center.

 

15.    Amendment #1 to Work Order #4 to PS-0009-15; Inwood Consulting Engineers, Inc.

 

16.    Amendment #1 to M-0134-15; GAI Consultants, Inc.

 

17.    Amendment #2 to Work Order #10 to PS-2015-07; Environmental Research & Design, Inc.

 

18.    Work Order #15 to PS-2051-07; Environmental Research & Design, Inc.

 

19.    Work Order #16 to PS-2051-07; Environmental Research & Design, Inc.

 

20.    Amendment #1 to Work Order #5 to PS-3166-08; Inwood Consulting Engineers, Inc.

 

21.    Amendment #4 to Work Order #63 to PS-3914-08; E Sciences, Inc.

 

22.    Amendment #4 to Work Order #2 to PS-4202-09; Dewberry Bowyer-Singleton.

 

23.    Amendment #2 to Work Order #51 to PS-4388-09; Inwood Consulting Engineers, Inc.

 

24.    Amendment #1 to Work Order #76 to PS-4388-09; Inwood Consulting Engineers, Inc.

 

25.    Amendment #3 to Work Order #108 to PS-5120-02; Atkins North America, Inc.

 

26.    Amendment #4 to Work Order #30 to PS-5182-05; S2L, Inc.

 

27.    Amendment #2 to Work Order #7 to PS-5187-05; Dewberry Engineers, Inc.

 

28.    Amendment #1 to Work Order #24 to PS-5706-10; Connect Consulting, Inc.

 

29.    Work Order #12 to PS-6865-11; S2L, Inc.

 

30.    Work Order #35 to PS-8047-12; Universal Engineering Sciences.

 

31.    Work Order #36 to PS-8047-12; Tierra, Inc.

 

32.    Work Order #37 to PS-8047-12; Tierra, Inc.

 

33.    Work Order #14 to PS-8072-12; Albeck Gerken, Inc.

 

34.    Work Order #35 to PS-8148-12; CDM Smith, Inc.

 

35.    Work Order #3 to PS-8595-13; Atkins North America, Inc.

 

36.    Work Order #2 to PS-9462-14; Ayres Associates, Inc.

 

37.    Work Order #6 to PS-9738-14; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

 

38.    Work Order #7 to PS-9738-14; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

 

39.    Amendment #1 to Work Order #2 to PS-9738-14; E Sciences, Inc.

 

40.    Amendment #2 to Work Order #2 to PS-9738-14; E Sciences, Inc.

 

41.    Work Order #10 to PS-9738-14; E Sciences, Inc.

 

42.    Work Order #11 to PS-9738-14; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

 

43.    Work Order #1 to RFP-9948-14; CH2M Hill Engineers, Inc.

 

44.    Third Amendment to PS-8047-12; NODARSE, a Terracon Company.

 

45.    First Amendment to PS-8148-12, Master Services Agreement; Keith & Schnars, P.A.

 

46.    Closeout to Work Order #28 to CC-8199-12; C. E. James, Inc.

 

47.    Closeout to Work Order #5 to CC-9072-13; All-In Construction Services, LLC.

 

48.    Closeout to Work Order #6 to RFQ-5888-10; Wharton-Smith, Inc.

 

49.    Change Order #1 to Work Order #5 to CC-9184-13; Central Florida Environmental Corp.

 

50.    Work Order #20 to CC-9192-13; All-In Construction Services, LLC.

 

51.    Change Order #4 to Work Order #17 to CC-9192-13; Corinthian Builders, Inc.

 

52.    Change Order #1 to CC-9226-14; Halifax Paving.

 

53.    Change Order #4 to CC-9753-14; Construct Co., Inc.

 

54.    Change Order #1 to CC-9899-15; Stagedoor II.

 

55.    Work Order #1 to RFP-0336-15; Site Secure, LLC, a Miller Electric Company.

 

56.    Work Order #2 to RFP-0336-15; Site Secure, LLC, a Miller Electric Company.

 

57.    Work Order #3 to RFP-0336-15; Site Secure, LLC, a Miller Electric Company.

 

58.    Work Order #4 to RFP-0336-15; Site Secure, LLC, a Miller Electric Company.

 

59.    Work Order #5 to RFP-0336-35; Site Secure, LLC, a Miller Electric Company.

 

60.    Seventh Amendment to RFP-60093-10; Lease Agreement with Copytronics, Inc., d/b/a Copytronics Information Systems.

 

61.    Fourth Amendment to IFB-601110-11; Term Contract with Space Coast Fire and Safety, Inc.

 

62.    Twelfth Amendment to RFP-601461-12; Term Contract with Florida Cleaning Systems, Inc.

 

63.    Seventh Amendment to IFB-601516-12; Term Contract with Bound Tree Medical, LLC.

 

64.    Second Amendment to IFB-602230-15; Term Contract with Cypress Supply, Inc.

 

65.    Approval Development Order #15-30000071, Variance, 1964 Kind Arthurs Court, Arlene Ruse.

 

66.    Approval Development Order #15-27500044, Alcoholic Beverage License, Family Food Mart, Musammat Bhuiyan.

 

67.    Approval Development Order #15-30000070, Setback Variance, 131 Donegal Avenue, Arthur and Beverly Boothe.

 

68.    Approval Development Order #15-30000069, Setback Variance, 5118 Tangerine Avenue, Benjamin Akers.

 

69.    Approval Development Order #15-32000015, Special Exception, 700 Universe Boulevard, FPL.

 

70.    Approval Development Order #15-32000017, Amendment to Special Exception and Master Site Plan, 2021 West SR 426, St Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Inc.

 

71.    Approval Development Order #15-32000014, Alcoholic Beverage License, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, 1855 West SR 434, IOA Properties, LLC (Ray Gross).

 

72.    Approval Development Order #15-27500040, Alcoholic Beverage License, 365 Hunt Club Market, Lyong Taek Oh.

 

73.    Approval Development Order #15-27500041, Alcoholic Beverage License, 3607 Aloma Avenue, Starbucks.

 

74.    Approval Development Order #15-2500042, 850 S. Sun Drive, Noodles and Company.

 

75.    Approval Development Order #15-32000016, Special Exception, 730 North Hwy 17-92, Trio Investment Group, LLC.

 

76.    Approval Development Order #15-30000086, Setback Variance, 259 Tollgate Trail, John and Patricia Slavich.

 

77.    Denial Development Order #15-30000066, Setback Variance, 1797 Cinnamon Circle, James and Crystal Fisher.

 

78.    Denial Development Order #15-30000067, South U.S. 17-92, C & L Properties, Inc.

 

79.    Tuscawilla Estates PD Developer’s Commitment Agreement #15-20500017.

 

80.    Addendum #1 to the Jakubcin PD Developer’s Commitment Agreement #15-20500037.

 

81.    Recording of Plats for the project known as Wingfield North by First National Bank of Mount Dora.

 

82.    Letter to BCC from Tax Deed Clerk dated 11/9/15 re:  Lands Available for Taxes List (2), Tax Deed sale of 10/8/15, Parcels #25-20-31-5BA-0000-3740 and #09-21-31-300-0220-0000.

 

83.    Escheatment Tax Deed for Parcels #25-19-30-5AH-0000-002C; 25-19-30-5AH-0000-003D; 35-19-30-513-1200-0020; 35-19-30-518-0100-0030; 11-21-31-508-0300-0040; 25-19-30-5AI-0816-0010; 25-19-30-5AI-0816-0020; 34-19-30-5AK-0A00-047A; 35-19-30-513-1200-0010; 32-19-31-513-0000-2410; 33-19-31-507-0000-1650.

 

84.    Bids as follows:

 

IFB-602373-15 from AmeriScapes Landscape Management Services, LLC; Crew Labor Maintenance Management Group;

 

IFB-602388-15 from Peter Vroutos; USA Services of Florida, Inc.;

 

IFB-602396-15 from HD Supply Waterworks, Ltd; Fortline, Inc; Ferguson Waterworks; and

 

RFP-602390-15 from Premus of Orlando, Inc.

 

Sheriff’s Office

 

     Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to approve the following:

42.  Approve expending $25,000 from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund to provide for funding in support of Midway Safe Harbor.  (A-1546-15)

43.  Approve expending $20,000 from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund to provide for a contribution to The Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools for Take Stock in Children.  (A-1544-15)

 

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

REGULAR AGENDA

Agenda Item #44 – A-1430-15

Patricia Hughes, Planning & Development Division, addressed the Board to present an appeal of the Deputy County Manager's Denial of the Request for Reduction of the Code Enforcement Board lien for Case #12‑82‑CEB on the property located at 102 Sweetwater Club Boulevard, Longwood, Tax Parcel #31‑20‑29‑505‑0G00‑0040.  Ms. Hughes reviewed the background timeline as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum.  She stated that on June 5, 2014, a Warranty Deed prepared by Americas Title Corporation dated May 30, 2014, was recorded transferring ownership of the property to Omar Kudra and Jennifer Brennan.  The current owners requested the $165,750 lien be reduced to $15,000. 

Ms. Hughes advised that the Deputy County Manager determined that the reduction request failed to meet the necessary criteria for a waiver or reduction because the current property owners purchased the property through a Warranty Deed with the recorded lien.  The current owners appealed the Deputy County Manager’s decision to deny their request and contend they were unaware of the lien when they purchased the property and did not cause the original violation.  Ms. Hughes stated that staff’s recommendation is to uphold the Deputy County Manager’s decision.

Commissioner Carey confirmed with Ms. Hughes that the lien was filed with the Clerk's Office. 

Mr. Applegate stated that he was informed by an attorney in his office that the attorney for this item sent an e‑mail (copy received and filed) indicating that due to some conflict, she was unable to attend this morning.  His office responded back asking if she would like the item pulled, but they have not heard anything back.

     With regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.

     Commissioner Carey stated this is a situation where there was a lien recorded and there was a title insurance company involved.  She suggested that the current owners need to go back to the title insurance company for this particular item.  That is what title insurance is for, to make sure that the chain of title is clear.  She stated if the lien was not picked up by the title company, the owners' claim is with the title company, not Seminole County.  She does not believe the County should be forfeiting fines that have accrued because the community had to withstand the situation of the code violation. 

     Commissioner Constantine questioned whether it is prudent to go forward in spite of the fact that the attorney is not here.  Mr. Applegate stated he believes they can go forward.  They asked if the applicant wanted the item continued and did not hear back.  

     Commissioner Constantine stated he wholeheartedly concurs and believes this is a question of going back to the title insurance company.  That is why you get title insurance.  The current owners' concern and problem goes back to the title insurance company.  

     Motion by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to uphold the Deputy County Manager’s denial of the Request for Reduction and deny the Request for Reduction of the Code Enforcement Board lien from $165,750 to the requested $15,000 for Case #12‑82‑CEB on the property located at 102 Sweetwater Club Boulevard, Longwood, Tax Parcel #31‑20‑29‑505‑0G00‑0040, Omar Kudra & Jennifer Brennan, current owners and Nancy E. Brandt, Applicant.

     Under discussion, Commissioner Dallari questioned when the County would be able to collect the outstanding fines.  Mr. Applegate stated since the property is homesteaded, the County would not be able to foreclose.  He added that the title company obviously, according to the applicant, missed the lien being recorded so that is an issue for the title company and the applicant.  Mr. Applegate confirmed with Paul Gibbs, Assistant County Attorney, that the applicant's attorney did not request a continuation. 

     Chairman Horan asked Mr. Applegate whether, if the Board denies this reduction, it is something that could be brought up again.  Mr. Applegate indicated they could rehear it at the discretion of the Board.

Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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Agenda Item #45 – A-1529-15

     Patricia Hughes, Planning & Development Division, presented the request to approve a total reduction of the Code Enforcement Board lien of $141,250 and refund of the $500 Application Fee for Case #14‑23‑CEB on the property located at 230 Cherrywood Drive, Maitland, Tax Parcel #19-21-30-511-0000‑0720, Roger Trizzino, owner and applicant.  Ms. Hughes reviewed the background timeline as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum and advised that staff is recommending that the Board approve the waiver of the lien and refund the $500 application fee.  Commissioner Carey confirmed with staff that this property is Mr. Trizzino’s homestead.

     Roger Trizzino, 230 Cherrywood Drive, addressed the Board to state he agrees with everything that Ms. Hughes stated.  He pointed out that he is a veteran and currently going through a lot of medical problems.  Mr. Trizzino stated he has had the house for 38 years and thought he would retire in the house but now realizes he has to move.  He explained that he has lost everything he has worked 70 years for and now is asking for the Board’s mercy.

     Tricia Masih‑das, ReMax, addressed the Board to state she is representing the seller.  She explained that the property has been on the market for sale for over two years; and in working with Chase, it took them a year and eleven months to approve the sale.  She added the bank will foreclose on the property on February 10 and they are offering Mr. Trizzino some money to move.  Ms. Masih‑das confirmed for Chairman Horan that it is a short sale.

     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 Constantine, to approve a total reduction of the Code Enforcement Board lien, of $141,250 and refund of the $500 Application Fee, for Case #14‑23‑CEB on the property located at 230 Cherrywood Drive, Maitland, Tax Parcel #19-21-30-511-0000‑0720; Roger Trizzino, Owner and Applicant; Release of Lien.

     Under discussion, Commissioner Carey confirmed with Commissioner Henley that the motion includes refunding the application fee for the appeal.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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Agenda Item #46 - A-1522-15

     Pamela Lynch, Business Development Manager with Economic Development, addressed the Board to present a request to approve Axium Healthcare Pharmacy, Inc. as a Qualified Target Industry Business (QTI) and to approve the County’s required Local Financial Support as outlined in the Agenda Memorandum.  Ms. Lynch described the QTI program and noted that the incentives are paid out after the jobs are created. 

     Ms. Lynch gave a brief description of Axium Healthcare Pharmacy and noted that in 2012 they merged with Kroger Company.  She stated that Axium has outgrown its current space in Lake Mary and is looking to expand its headquarters.  She pointed out that Axium’s expansion needs are location neutral since they ship products all over the country.  Axium Healthcare Pharmacy intends to create 225 new jobs over the next five years, which pay an average annual wage of $46,877; and the project is estimated to result in a total capital investment of $25 million.  She noted that Axium is eligible for a tax refund incentive of $5,000 per new job.  The required support for this incentive would be 20% of $225,000.  Ms. Lynch stated the City of Lake Mary approved their equal participation in the amount of $112,500 on December 3 and she is seeking that Axium Healthcare Pharmacy be approved as a Qualified Target Industry business and approval of the County’s required local financial support of $112,550 over Fiscal Year 2016/2017 to Fiscal Year 2024/2025.  Ms. Lynch noted that Mark Montgomery and Bill Bucher from Axium are present; Tom Tomerlin from the City of Lake Mary is present; and Irma Stenman from the Orlando Economic Development Commission is present.

     Commissioner Carey questioned whether the current building at 550 Technology Park will be vacated and sold.  Ms. Lynch stated Axium is leasing the space.

     Commissioner Henley noted that as he read through the Agenda Memorandum, he noticed that Axium is considering “this” or they expect to do “that.”  He submits that good intentions never accomplished anything.  The only reason he supports this item is because of the fact they don’t get their money until they have done what the County expects them to do.

     Commissioner Constantine stated that he whole‑heartedly agrees with the fact that the jobs have to be created before the money is brought forward.  With regard to the eight criteria that he uses with this program, the only one that this does not meet is the fact that this particular company does compete with other companies in the county.  He stated he did ask Ms. Lynch to reach out to those companies to see if they had any concern or problem and questioned if she was able to do that.  Ms. Lynch stated, as the Commissioner knows, the County follows Florida Statute and all of the County's information pertaining to this proposed incentive is a matter of public record; therefore, they are not obligated to reach out to the competitors. 

     Chairman Horan questioned whether the incentives that they have here would be available for any other business that might be in the specialty pharmacy area that wants to expand or make a capital investment; Ms. Lynch responded that is correct.  Chairman Horan confirmed with Ms. Lynch that in terms of the competition, the competition has the ability to compete for the funds on the same basis in terms of job creation and capital investment.

     Ms. Guillet added that it is not really a competition because if they meet the qualifications, they can be considered for it.  The same opportunities are availed to every other similar business or other businesses that meet the QTI definition.  Chairman Horan pointed out that in terms of competition, it is whoever gets there first before the money runs out.  Ms. Guillet stated that it is not that one would have an advantage over the other except to the extent there may or may not be funding available at the time that they request it;  they do have the same opportunity.

     Commissioner Constantine stated the three things that he finds most appropriate here is knowing the company that they have now gone with and what that company does, the company could do this anywhere so there is imminent danger of moving the jobs and jobs do come first; the salaries are above the County average; and they reach seven of the eight criteria that are important to him.

     With regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.

     Motion by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-205 recommending that Axium Healthcare Pharmacy, Inc. be approved as a Qualified Target Industry Business (QTI); and approve the County’s required Local Financial Support of $112,500 over Fiscal Years 2016/17 to 2024/25, as local participation in the QTI tax refund program.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

COUNTY MANAGER’S REPORT

     With regard to the afternoon session, Ms. Guillet announced that the following four public hearings that were scheduled have been cancelled and will come back sometime in January:  Item #47, Floodplain Ordinance; Item #48, Cavlan Voluntary Billboard Agreement; Item #49, Board of Adjustment Appeal for property on Howell Branch Road; and Item #50, Transmission of Proposed Amendments to the Text of the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan.  Upon inquiry by Commissioner Dallari, Ms. Guillet stated there were notice issues on all four items. 

 

COUNTY ATTORNEY’S REPORT

     Mr. Applegate announced that on December 17 there will be a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners to conduct a special annual Ethics/Sunshine and Public Records Law training.  The meeting will be held in Room 3024 in this building at 9:00 in the morning.

     Commissioner Carey stated the Board had asked that all of the members who serve on the voluntary boards be extended an invitation.  She stated she spoke to several people this week regarding appointments and asked if they were planning to attend and several of them did not know what she was talking about.  Commissioner Carey requested that staff make sure that all of those people have been noticed as well as other board members that the Board identified as someone they would like to have invited.  Ms. Guillet advised they do have someone working on the invitations and added she will double check on it. 

     Chairman Horan stated he was told that in addition to the Board, there are 20 confirmed invitees.  Commissioner Carey explained that many of the boards, like the Expressway Authority for example, have additional ethics rules that have been adopted and ethics training is one of those.  Most of the elected officials have to do the training as part of their requirements, but there are Governor appointees on those boards as well who really don't have a place to go for the training.  Commissioner Carey stated she knows they were talking about extending the invitation to them as well. 

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     Chairman Horan reminded everyone that there is a work session regarding the Soldiers Creek conceptual design and cost estimate which will start at 10:55 a.m. 

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     The Board recessed the meeting at 10:42 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, Commissioner Carlton Henley who was late, and Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer who was replaced by Deputy Clerk Terri Porter, who were present at the Opening Session.

PROOFS OF PUBLICATION

     Motion by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize the filing of the proofs of publication for this meeting's scheduled public hearings into the Official Record.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, and 5 voted AYE.

     Commissioner Henley entered the meeting at this time.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

     Chairman Horan advised that there will be only one public hearing today which is Item #51 in regard to the proposed Urban Bear Management Ordinance.  He explained that due to a problem with the noticing of the following items, they have been deleted from this meeting’s agenda:  Item #47, Floodplain Ordinance; Item #48, Cavlan Voluntary Billboard Agreement; and Item #49, Board of Adjustment Appeal/Jim Clifton.  Item #50, Transmission of Proposed Amendments to the Text of the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan, is continued to a future BCC meeting.  Proof of publication for Item #50 received and filed.

URBAN BEAR MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE

Agenda Item #51 – PH-2015-243

Proof of publication calling for a public hearing to consider adoption of an Ordinance amending the Seminole County Code to include a new Chapter 258, Seminole County Urban Bear Management, which addresses refuse collection and other wildlife management techniques intended to reduce human-bear conflicts, received and filed.

Meloney Lung, Assistant County Manager, addressed the Board to state the intent and purpose of the ordinance is to minimize the risk of dangerous interactions between humans and bears in Seminole County by establishing standards for storage of bear-attractant materials within the urban bear management area.  Staff recommends adoption of the ordinance amending the Seminole County Code.

Commissioner Carey questioned whether staff had received anything back from the cities of Sanford, Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, and Longwood.  Ms. Lung advised that Sanford and Lake Mary are fine with the ordinance and she received comments from Altamonte Springs this morning.  Ms. Guillet added that the County Attorney will address their concerns because they had specific, legal issues they raised with respect to the ordinance.

Bryant Applegate, County Attorney, explained that his position is that this is a comprehensive bear management ordinance and pursuant to the County Charter.  He then read from Section 1.4 in relation to municipal ordinances which stated municipal ordinances shall prevail over county ordinances to the extent of any conflict.  He said his understanding is the cities do not have a comprehensive bear management ordinance and in the urban areas that are established by this county ordinance, there are no conflicts.  He added the cities under this Charter provision have the right to adopt their own ordinance or by ordinance, opt out, but they have not done so.

Ms. Guillet stated this ordinance addresses refuse management requiring people to secure their garbage which is consistent with what they have seen across the nation in places that have been dealing with bear-human conflict and encounters.  The proposed ordinance is patterned after an accepted set of best management practices with regard to refuse management as well as bear attractants.  She explained this ordinance requires that garbage be secured within a secure structure or a bear resistant container.  There are additional provisions in the ordinance that relate to other bear attractants such as bird feeders, barbeque grills, and pet food.  Staff created this concept of having urban bear management areas that are identified as having a high incidence of bear-human encounters.  This ordinance establishes the first urban bear management area which is the entire area in Seminole County west of I-4 and also a very small sliver of property along the east side of I-4 because they have seen that bears will traverse under or over I-4 in the very immediate area.  She added their standard processes and provisions are included with respect to enforcement of the ordinance.  They are hopeful that their enforcement efforts will be limited to education because they have seen a great response from the public; they want to do the right thing and keep their neighborhoods safe.  However, they do have a procedure in place for engaging in enforcement.

Ms. Guillet stated the ordinance is intended to cover all of Seminole County including the municipalities; however, the cities do have the ability to opt out.  Staff has put together a community education program and today they will go live with the website, www.bearawareseminole.com.  This site will include the requirements of the ordinance, where people can obtain bear resistant trash cans, and how to contact the haulers.  The site will also outline the requirements on the other best management techniques.  If the ordinance is approved, they will be sending out postcards to all the residential customers within the urban bear management area and they will also be contacting the commercial properties.  In addition, they are working with a billboard company for signage.  They also plan to hold community meetings and speakers will be available to speak to homeowners associations and groups.

In regard to enforcement, Ms. Guillet stated the requirements in the ordinance for securing residential refuse are effective within 30 days of adoption.  However, because of the holidays, they are requesting instead a 60-day initial enforcement period for residential customers.  Commercial customers will also have 60 days because dumpsters will need to be modified.  With respect to how they plan to approach code enforcement, part of this ordinance authorizes the County Manager’s Office to set up an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for code enforcement.  They want to emphasize education in that because she believes most people want to comply and make their neighborhoods safer.  So their primary objective is to educate and gain compliance.

Ms. Guillet explained that if there is an issue in a neighborhood, their first tactic will be to contact whoever is not complying and educate them as to what the requirements are.  If they are still having an issue with a respondent, they will give them a warning before they engage in any formal code enforcement proceedings.  Following that, they will start going through the normal code enforcement process. 

Commissioner Carey commented that a number of the subdivisions already have adopted similar covenants and restrictions and this will give the ability to enforce those.  She added that Heathrow has penalties and fines in their rules greater than the County’s.  Ms. Guillet stated they do not want to enforce, especially the best management practices, with a heavy hand or have neighbors use code enforcement to get back at their neighbors for whatever reason.  In regard to the best management practices with issues like bird feeders and grills, if they receive a complaint of non-compliance, the first step in enforcement would be to contact the FWC (Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) to see if there are any bear issues in the neighborhood.  If no issue has been created with respect to bear activity in the neighborhood, they will advise the resident of the standards they should be following because they live in a bear management area.  If there is bear activity, then they will take a stronger tact on enforcement to ensure that no one is contributing to the potential for a human-bear encounter or conflict.  She thanked the FWC for being a great partner and continuing to help the County with trying to keep neighborhoods safe.

Commissioner Carey noted that one of her concerns is whether there is an appeal process and this ordinance does not speak to that.  She asked Ms. Guillet to explain how a code violation appeal process would work.  Ms. Guillet advised that for any code enforcement action that is taken, the appeal is through the court system.  Fines and liens may be appealed to the Board of County Commissioners, but once there has been a determination that a violation exists and a penalty has been imposed, the appeal is through the court system.  With respect to citations and code enforcement, she stated that a number of jurisdictions have now moved to having citations and she expects that is probably the most efficient way to deal with enforcement of this ordinance for appeal to a special magistrate.  Therefore, they may be bringing something back to the Board early next year for consideration to establish an appeal process for code enforcement violations that would first go to a special magistrate for appeals.  She added, however, that she does not expect there to be a lot of enforcement activity needed and they want to keep things as manageable as possible on a local level. 

Ms. Guillet stated that if the Board authorizes staff to do so, they will also bring back in January a hardship program related to the ordinance.  She explained there is a requirement that garbage be secured either in a bear resistant container or within a garage or shed or some other secure structure.  There are some neighborhoods within the urban bear management area that have smaller homes and lots where residents may not have a shed or garage to store their garbage, which would leave the only option of getting a bear resistant can.  She added that some of those residents may have some income limitations that would make that a hardship for them.  Therefore, staff is working with the Community Services Department and the Solid Waste Division to put together an assistance program/hardship relief program that they plan to bring back to the Board in January for consideration and approval.

Commissioner Carey stated that one of the earlier drafts of the ordinance talked about an assistance program for residents in a low income targeted area.  She cautioned that there are people that are not in a low income targeted area who might face financial hardship if their only resource is to get a bear proof garbage can.  For example, it could be a senior living in a big house that can barely afford to stay there.  She wants to ensure that they have thought through all of the unintended consequences before they adopt an ordinance.  Ms. Guillet stated since they are the first in Florida to do this, they may have to, in a few months, bring back to the Board some tweaks to this ordinance.  They have tried to consider every possible consequence, but they may have to make adjustments to ensure that it operates efficiently.

Commissioner Carey noted there is a list of garbage cans that either of the haulers in this area will accept if someone wants to purchase a bear proof garbage can.  Mr. Guillet advised they also have instructions on how to modify an existing garbage can.  She added that all of this information will be on the www.bearawareseminole.com website and on the postcards that will be sent out.  Also, there will be information with respect to being bear aware.

Ms. Guillet stated if residents decide to go the route of using a bear resistant can, they need to contact their hauler because there is an additional service fee for collection of garbage from a bear resistant can, and the listing of acceptable cans on the website also has the haulers’ contact information.  She noted that utilizing bear resistant cans will be a requirement for any new subdivisions.  Commissioner Carey advised that also on the website are listings from the different haulers and there is everything from a 32-gallon can to a 96-gallon can.

Chairman Horan advised that press kits are available which can be picked up after the meeting that include not only the ordinance but information concerning the types of cans, how to modify an existing garbage can, etc.

Mr. Applegate commended the County Manager and her staff and stated they put forth a lot of time and effort into drafting this comprehensive ordinance, which is the first of its kind in Florida.  He added that throughout this process, Ms. Guillet’s concern, along with staff, was community outreach, education, patience with this issue, and enforcement as a last resort.  He said he is very pleased with what they have done and they did a tremendous job in working with the FWC; it was a great team effort.  Chairman Horan and Commissioner Constantine reiterated Mr. Applegate’s commendation.  Commissioner Constantine added he would like to have seen a 100% bear resistant container program on the west side of I-4, but he also understands this is the first logical step knowing that staff is committed to working with the numbers to try to come up with a 100% program for the most affected area.  He said he is pleased that Altamonte Springs is looking at pursuing that program also and they have the same amount of concerns and policies that they need to work through.

Representative Scott Plakon, 3044 Timpana Point, addressed the Board to state he is in attendance as a constituent that lives west of I-4 and as a representative of most of what is contemplated in the legislation as the urban bear management area.  He stated he moved to this area 20 years ago because he really enjoys the wildlife like deer, turkeys and owls.  He added that 20 years ago, you would occasionally see a bear, but in the recent past, they seem to see them a lot more regularly.  Last year, they had about eight bears that moved in next door to his home, therefore, he has had several interactions with the FWC and they have been wonderful to work with.  He’s had a bear at his front door trying to get in and on another occasion, he was charged by a sow.  He said he applauds the boldness in moving forward as the first county in Florida to do this. 

In conjunction with Senator Simmons, Representative Plakon advised they will be submitting budget language to try to supplement the efforts of what they are doing here in Seminole County and the other 13 counties that have significant bear populations.  The budget language they are in the process of writing contemplates using the $375,000 from the bear hunting licenses to assist in the efforts of counties most impacted by bear issues.  Generally, the language they are proposing will have two conditions for participation in this funding:  (1) a county has a waste management program capable of utilizing bear resistant trash cans, which Seminole County has, and (2) a county has an ordinance in place focused on resolving issues associated with bear attractants and garbage.  Passage of this ordinance today, and if he and Senator Simmons are successful with this budget language, would put Seminole County as being the first and only county so far that would qualify under those conditions.  He explained this language also contemplates allocating the funds on a pro-rated basis based on the number of bear calls that come in through the hotlines.  Seminole County has 15% of the State, Volusia County has 15%, and there are 3 other counties with 10%, so that is 55% within 5 counties of the bear calls.  Their goal is to make the language as flexible as possible so that qualifying counties can use the funds as they see best to solve their local problem.  For example, it could be used to subsidize bear proof containers or even to bolster county ordinances like the one being proposed today. 

Representative Plakon advised that he and Senator Simmons will be making requests for appropriations to bolster the program even more for funds from General Revenue dollars.  He thanked the Board and the FWC saying this has truly been a great collaboration between members of the Legislature, Seminole County, and Fish & Wildlife, and he looks forward to working with the County and getting input as they write the budget language as to how they can best represent their constituents.

Commissioner Carey stated that Representative Plakon stated the allocation of monies is based on the bear population; that is kind of how it is being written right now.  She asked if Seminole County is the only county with an ordinance this coming year whether they would be able to collect 100% of the funds.  Representative Plakon stated that is the way they are writing the language.

Tom Knuckey, 310 W. Hornbeam Drive, addressed the Board to state that his property backs up to the Seminole Wekiva Conservation Area.  He said he applauds the efforts of the Board to start the process but feels it is a half of a step instead of a full step.  Two days after the killing of over 130 bears in their area by the FWC hunt, his wife saw a bear going through the garbage cans in their neighborhood.  He added the real step is to protect their communities and honor Florida’s Natural Choice and to protect wildlife by mandating the use of bear resistant cans.  He believes the issue of enforcement will be very difficult and there is a small window when people put their garbage cans out and bears seem to know that day and come out. 

Susan Paul, 1982 St. Andrews Place, addressed the Board to state “good work” because they have come far to recognize the problem and started doing something about it.  She confirmed with Chairman Horan that they are still waiting for a response from Longwood. 

Ms. Paul stated she has some concerns and she thinks they might get better results if they had a whole program covering everyone in the bear management areas with bear resistant cans and that is the best use of funds that may come available to Seminole County.  She heard today that enforcement efforts and everything else rely on how many bear calls there are.  She has seen that the FWC is now killing the bears; if there is a bear call, they hunt the bear down and kill it, which will make people less likely to call about any bear problem.  She stated she thinks the County should talk to the FWC about that and try to work through it because she won’t call about a bear because of that.  She is also concerned about the assumption that bears do not come out between 8:00 a.m. and noon when the trash haulers are at work, because they do. 

Ms. Paul stated she wondered whether there could be a volume discount for large purchases by HOAs or neighborhoods for the purchase of the cans or the cost of hauling, which is $60 per year.

Ms. Paul commented in regard to the education efforts that it would be good if they had something they could give to HOAs and other organizations to hand out to their neighbors. 

Commissioner Constantine advised that they are still working on the mandatory bear resistant containers and working with haulers to try to reduce that price.  In addition, staff does have informational handouts that can be given to the HOAs and others.  He added that all her concerns are being addressed.

Commissioner Carey stated they have had a voluntary program in place for almost two years now and many of the subdivisions have taken advantage of the $20,000 in grant money the County received from the FWC, which the County used to offset the cost of the cans by $40 per unit for the first 500.  She added that Wingfield North and Wingfield Reserve have both gone to mandatory rules on their own and provided the cans themselves by taking advantage of the grant money. 

Ms. Guillet stated they have staff available after the meeting that can provide Ms. Paul with the educational materials.

Cynthia Payne, 330 Wekiva Cove Road, addressed the Board stating she recently moved here from Orange County.  She has been educating herself about these animals and she loves them very much.  She wants them protected and she wants her second grade child protected and all the other kids that walk and ride bikes to and from school among these bears.  She displayed a photograph (received and filed) and said she took the photo yesterday of a 500-pound adult male bear.  He wandered the neighborhood and got into someone’s garbage cans that were on the side of their home.  She said dawn and dusk are when you expect to see the bears, so they are more cautious then, but this photo was taken at 2:00 in the afternoon.  The bear also broke into a lanai and ate someone’s pet bunny in front of a 16-year-old boy who was home and helpless to do anything, and then drank out of the swimming pool and moved on after taking a nap in someone’s yard.

Ms. Payne stated this is a huge male animal and her child is 50 pounds and if she surprised him, even though he is not an aggressive animal, something bad could happen.  She added the bear’s fate is probably sealed because he is so brazen; he will probably be caught by FWC and tranquilized and killed.  She said this is a very important thing and not to be taken lightly.  She loves these animals but he made her very, very nervous.  She thanked the Board for considering this and said she knows this is a huge undertaking.

Chuck O’Neal, 101 Stag Ridge Court, addressed the Board and stated he is the director of Speak Up Wekiva, Inc. and he is in support of this proposed ordinance.  One of the concerns that remains is one that was expressed by Commissioner Henley in a previous meeting and that was if bears do not have access to food in these subdivisions, where do they go.  He advised there will be legislation introduced to restore the natural food supply of black bears in the forest by making permanent the ban on harvesting of saw palmetto berries and also on the timbering of acorn producing oaks. 

Mr. O’Neal stated he would like the Board to reconsider the portion of the ordinance that states it is acceptable to leave the garbage in a non-bear resistant container after 5:00 a.m.  In his subdivision sometimes the hauler does not come before 1:30 p.m.  He added that bears are very smart and their intelligence rivals chimpanzees.  The bears will learn that food is available between 5:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.  He suggested that they modify the ordinance such that if someone puts out garbage in a non-bear proof container on a regular basis and that garbage is taken for food by a black bear, that that person be warned and that warning be followed by a fine if they don’t purchase a bear proof trash can.  He opined this should be required because the FWC has a rule against intentionally feeding a bear and if you know a bear is going to take that food and you keep putting it out after 5:00 a.m., you are intentionally feeding that bear.  He stated that other than this exception, he is very happy with the ordinance.  He added he asked the Board for leadership two months ago and this Board is showing that today.

Robert Turnage, 7 Trilby Branch, addressed the Board stating he is president of the Markham Woods Association, a voluntary organization of about 3,000 homes.  He is also president of the Trilby Bend Homeowners Association. 

Mr. Turnage stated that if they prevent putting garbage out until after 5:00 a.m., the bears will just adapt to it because they are pretty smart.  He advised he sent a summary of the proposed ordinance to all their members and indicated where they could get a copy of the exact ordinance.  All of the comments he received were in support so he believes it is very well written.  A couple of the comments were that they would like to see bear proof containers for everybody.  He stated that his response was that the Board is working on that but it is a matter of funding. 

Mr. Turnage said there were some concerns about the language about unclean grills.  One person questioned if the code enforcement officer would go into their backyard and into their pool enclosure to inspect their grill to see if it is dirty and might attract bears.  Ms. Guillet stated that this is not something they will be proactively looking for, but if there is an issue with bear activity and bear-human conflict, they will look to eliminate any attractant.  Commissioner Carey added there has been several revisions to that and the storing of the grills has been deleted, so people just need to burn off their grill and basically clean it.  Like all code enforcement complaints, they are typically driven by people contacting their offices and saying something like they noticed their neighbor is doing X, Y, Z. 

Steve DeMoor, 140 Wekiva Park Drive, addressed the Board and advised he is a professional wildlife trapper by trade and has 20 years of field experience.  As such, he is an expert at understanding urban wildlife behavior and resolving wildlife conflicts.  He served on the Board of Directors for the National Wildlife Control Operators Association and was asked by FWC to help draft the laws regulating nuisance wildlife control in Florida.  He is also a lifelong Seminole County resident who lives in the heart of the proposed area.  He added he is in support of supplying bear proof cans to everybody.

Mr. DeMoor stated he does believe they have a problem and that further human-bear conflicts will likely occur.  He does not believe they have seen the last of the attacks and they need to do something about it and take action.  He said he would like to explain why this ordinance is not the answer and it should not be adopted.  The entire ordinance is based upon the presumption that unsecured trash is the primary cause of the bear problem.  He opined that this very foundational premise is false and that is why the goals of the ordinance cannot succeed.

Mr. DeMoor explained that residential trash is not the reason for the bear conflicts, and legislating it will not correct the problem.  There is a well-established population of urban bears that live among them and they live here full time.  Bears do not live in the neighborhoods because of the trash; the problem is the result of population expansion.  He stated they had a population of bears that were allowed to thrive in a limited geographical space; and as a result, the population grew and the bears were forced to expand outward from that space.  Because they are highly intelligent and adaptable, they were able to thrive and survive in the urban zones.  They have established the area as their home and securing trash better is not going to make them move away or solve the problem.  They are here because they need territory and they have made this territory their home. 

Mr. DeMoor stated that you cannot make being stupid a crime and you cannot legislate ignorance; it is stupid for people to leave their trash out in bags or unsecured containers on the side of the road.  Unsecured trash attracts all types of animals for an easy meal including raccoons, stray cats, rodents, vultures, etc.  He added the vast majority of people in Seminole County are not stupid and they keep their trash secured to prevent conflict.  It is the few, the careless and the ignorant that leave their trash exposed and make it an easy meal for all types of urban wildlife including bears.  The problem is you cannot criminalize stupidity no matter how severe they make the penalties because people are going to continue to do stupid things.  Leaving exposed trash is not a criminal act, it is not intentional civil disobedience; it is just an act of stupidity and ignorance, and it has been proven time and time again the most effective way to calm that ignorance is not through legislation, but through education.  He does not believe this ordinance, while well intentioned, will effectively resolve the problem and that there are greater steps that need to be taken.

Mr. DeMoor concluded stating he is in support of the idea of bear proof cans if they do it holistically.

Commissioner Carey stated if they did a holistic approach and took the northwest side of I-4 and distributed garbage cans to every resident there, which is what they have been talking about, what would the bears do.  Mr. DeMoor responded that they would adapt to another food source, but they would not move; they are here to stay.  Upon further inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Mr. DeMoor stated that after a woman was attacked near his residence and within two weeks of that incident, one of his neighbors with livestock had a mother bear with two cubs killing his livestock and tore the door off his shed to get to the feed.  The bear would not turn and run when she was approached and when someone would stumble upon her, she stood her ground and growled.  That behavior is a last warning and she didn’t have any fear of humans.  The neighbor is a professional biologist; and when he called FWC, their only response was to get some electric fence and did not in any way act responsive.  He said the response they are getting to these issues is problematic and the education is not there.  He added there are humans that do not fear bears because the message has been wrong.  For 20 years they have been telling people that there has never been a documented bear attack in the State of Florida. 

Mr. DeMoor stated that the only reason there was a bear hunt was due to the political pressure due to the attacks.  They did not have the guts to actually do population management.  The bears do not fear humans because they are not hunted; they are not hazed or harassed.  Out west they have hazing programs to keep the bears out of human space.  He added that the risk is never eliminated; there are alligators in the waters and sharks in the ocean.  They need to be honest with people so they can protect themselves and be effective in that because this is a real risk and these are large and dangerous animals. 

Guy Wells, 1571 Arden Street, addressed the Board to state he does support the ordinance except the portion about trash pickup times.  He explained that everyone’s garbage is being collected at different times of the day all over the county.  His is picked up before daylight and the bears are active early in the morning, so a hazardous situation is created.  Another citizen mentioned his garbage is picked up in the afternoon, so there will be garbage left out all day.  He proposes they amend the ordinance to say people should not put garbage out more than an hour before pickup and that will solve the problem.

Commissioner Carey confirmed with Ms. Guillet for the public’s benefit that she can put her garbage out the night before because her pickup time is at 6:00 in the morning if she puts her garbage in a bear resistant container.

Shannon Sedigh, 2443 Grandview Avenue, addressed the Board to say very strongly that she is in support of the ordinance.  She said she thinks the most important thing is the safety and well-being of all those involved.  She knows from life experience that when you take away the food source, raccoons are not coming around.  She added they need more education on coexisting together, but this is a very important first step in coming to better solutions.

Peri Sedigh, 2443 Grandview Avenue, addressed the Board to thank them for having several meetings on this issue and doing extensive research.  She also thanked Commissioner Constantine for bringing the issue forward and being a strong force behind it.  She supports this wholeheartedly and she knows that cost is an issue, but she thinks when it comes to human safety and animal safety, that if there is a will there is a way.  She also thinks that the FWC, whose job it is to keep the human and the animals safe, punted the ball.  She added the FWC made a lot of money on the bear hunt and believes the Commission should petition to chip in for the cans. 

Ms. Sedigh stated there are several neighborhoods in New Jersey that had a similar problem, and the same way the bears were lured in, they were also lured out by putting food deep into the forest that they could get.  There was another neighborhood in Florida where all the residents collected their fallen acorns from their trees and kind of made a path leading the bears out.  She thought that was something to consider.  There is also bear birth control which is inexpensive compared to other methods.

Ms. Sedigh commented that since the last bear hunt, they have had injured bears and baby bears that have wandered into neighborhoods that had not done that previously.  She stated the hunt was not a solution; the hunt was a huge problem.  She added the bears that came in had old bullet holes in them and there were cubs that were found starving and hit by cars.  There were three mayors of cities that had written letters stating they were strongly against the bear hunt.  She would like this Commission to do the same because Seminole County is the leader in this.

Ms. Sedigh stated they should educate real estate agents so they can warn people who are moving into those neighborhoods that this can be a problem, and they should educate children in schools and go door to door with flyers.

Shannon Wright, Northeast Regional Director for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, addressed the Board and stated she appreciates the opportunity to speak today.  She said the FWC is very proud of Seminole County in what they have done.  They support the Commission’s efforts to establish an ordinance that is intended to reduce the human-bear conflict by eliminating attractants.  They have and continue to work with Seminole County staff to implement a comprehensive approach to becoming a bear-wise community to maintain human safety in areas that are ideal bear habitats.  In addition to the ordinance, they are working with Seminole County to explore all options to make bear resistant trash cans more widely available for the residents.

Commissioner Carey stated they have a number of nuisance bears in neighborhoods and then relayed the events that surrounded the first bear attack across the street from her neighborhood.  One of the cubs was killed by a car, and the mother bear and another cub were taken away by the FWC, but they were not put down.  She said that not all bears that get trapped in the neighborhoods are actually put down.  She asked that the FWC actually talk about that. 

Commissioner Carey noted that they spent $25,000 to do a mailing to everybody in the northwest corridor to make them bear aware after this first incident happened.  She keeps that mailing at her house and when she has visitors, she tells them not to just walk outside at night thinking that nothing could happen.  They not only have bears, they have raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and everything in that area where they live. 

Commissioner Carey relayed another story about having young visitors in her pool and when a bear walked by, they screamed and the bear did not even turn his head to look because it was that uninterested.  She stated those are the bears that pose great concern for the community.  She asked the FWC what their policy is when they receive a call about a nuisance bear because she has an email from someone who lives in Northridge.  This person called the FWC because of a situation he had and he was told the FWC would do nothing unless there was an attack or a direct confrontation.  She wondered if someone calls, whether they put the bear down or move it to another area.

Mike Orlando, Assistant Bear Program Coordinator for Florida Fish & Wildlife, addressed the Board and stated they do have a comprehensive policy that addresses bear conflicts in all locations including neighborhoods, parks and campgrounds.  They do not kill every single bear that they capture.  There are bears that are wandering streets and getting into garbage and doing certain things that are preventable.  Preventing those types of things requires education outreach.  The FWC strives to reach roughly 20,000 people a year through their education outreach effort.  They also have 2,500 people, law enforcement particularly, throughout the state who are educated on how to haze bears with less lethal devices.  There are a lot of options for bears that are showing up in neighborhoods through less lethal methods to trapping and relocating.

Mr. Orlando advised that if a bear does something fairly egregious like breaking into a house, those are things they do not take lightly.  There is a list of bear issues in the policy; for example, if a bear hurts a person, breaks into a house, repeatedly kills livestock, the FWC will trap and more than likely kill that bear based on its behavior.  With bears that are just getting into garbage and things like that, the FWC will handle that with education and outreach to try and get people to secure their garbage. 

Commissioner Carey asked Mr. Orlando what the FWC does if there is a bear just wandering around in a neighborhood.  He stated they start with education outreach to ensure the bear does not come around the second time.  If the bear continues to make its presence known in a neighborhood, they try to do aversive conditioning, and there are steps they generally try to take.  If the bear still continues to be unafraid and food conditioned and habituated, and the FWC believes it is a public safety threat, they will trap the bear and kill it.  If the bear is just basically just making its presence known, he is habituated but not necessarily food conditioned, meaning people are tolerating him and he is tolerating people, on occasion they will relocate the bear to the national forest. 

Commissioner Carey stated regarding the 700-pound bear that wanders through her neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, that that is his territory.  Wingfield North, where the first attack happened, have bear proof trash cans and the bears are still wandering that neighborhood.  Mr. Orlando stated that the great part of this ordinance is requiring people to secure their garbage through the duration of the week and not just necessarily the morning of the pickup.  Even though bears are smart enough to time the garbage collection, they hear the banging of those trucks and figure that out, the majority of the conflicts occur when people leave unsecured garbage cans on the side of their house the other six nights of the week.  That is when a person has a more likely chance of turning the corner and running into a bear rummaging through their garbage.  He stated just that alone will reduce a lot of the conflicts.

Commissioner Carey questioned what part of FWC’s budget will be allocated to help Seminole County offset some of these costs because as they move forward and try to determine what their next step is, obviously the answer to this question could impact that.  Ms. Wright responded that the FWC is currently working on their next fiscal year budget.  She would have to refer to someone in Tallahassee who is working on the budget to get that, but they can get that information for the Board and let them know.  Commissioner Carey stated she would like her to let them know that as the epicenter, she fully expects that Seminole County will get the biggest piece of that budget. 

Ms. Guillet requested that Mr. Orlando explain for the public’s benefit how important it is to manage the other attractants, especially when garbage is not going to be as readily available.  Mr. Orlando stated they heard from the wildlife trapper earlier and he is correct that a lot of these bears do live in the urban area.  He added that about 50% of them will come and go from the forest; they have radio collars that Commissioner Carey actually helped put on some of these bears.  Some bears, however, are truly urban and do not leave suburbia.  Once the main attractant is secured, which is garbage, the bears will go through what they call an extinction burst, meaning they will try to get other foods to fill the gap of the garbage.  He stressed it is really important for people to take seriously the attractants like dog food, bird feed, and any fruit-bearing trees like loquats, in particular.  They will have continued bear presence in these neighborhoods and that will fall on FWC to manage some of these bears in the neighborhoods either through relocation or aversive conditioning.  Some of those bears, if not most of those bears, will hopefully go back into the forest and maybe even disperse.

Commissioner Dallari thanked everyone for their input and stated staff and the FWC have done a great job.  He expressed concern about disbursement of the bears across I-4 when their food supply is taken away.  He added that he had some conversation with FDOT and they do put up bear management fences. 

Mr. Orlando stated exclusion fences can be seen when driving on east/west SR 46.  Commissioner Dallari questioned whether the FWC has been in discussions with FDOT regarding these fences in light of the work being done on I-4.  Mr. Orlando responded they have had some discussions with FDOT; they have had bears in the rest areas and they currently have bears that cross over I-4 and have been hit by vehicles, so they are naturally disbursing animals and it is part of their home range and they are exploring.  Commissioner Dallari stated he is very concerned about the disbursements across I-4 because when he spoke with FDOT, they had not given the urban bear management issue a thought yet.  Mr. Orlando said they will discuss this with them to talk about where the most likely crossings will be, etc.

Commissioner Dallari stated he knows the FWC is talking with Tallahassee about increasing funding and asked how the Board can help the FWC help Seminole County.  Ms. Wright advised that their budget is obviously presented before the Legislature.  She will be calling Tallahassee to find out how much is set aside for the bear resistant cans.  Commissioner Constantine added that is the first thing, to get it in FWC’s budget because the more money they put in their budget for bear containment and for Seminole County, the more money they can hope to get out of it.  Commissioner Dallari advised Mr. Orlando that there is plenty of money available for the I-4 Ultimate project so FDOT should be able to put up some animal containment fences as well.

Commissioner Dallari questioned Ms. Guillet in connection with what is next regarding education.  Ms. Guillet responded that with respect to establishing the urban bear management area, the website goes live today.  She said there will be quite a bit of information on that site regarding living with bears, what the requirements are with respect to the ordinance, where people can get bear resistant cans and things of that nature.  Additionally, if the ordinance is passed today, they will send out postcards to all of the residential and commercial refuse customers in Seminole County that are in the urban bear management area alerting them that there are new regulations for refuse management as well as bear attractant management.  They are working on scheduling two community meetings over the next 30 to 60 days.  They are also reaching out to homeowners associations, property management associations, and Chambers of Commerce to offer information as well as making themselves available to go and speak to groups to educate them as to what the requirements are with respect to the ordinance.  She added their first goal is to educate people within the urban bear management area.  They will make themselves available to others throughout the county with respect to the information they know.  She stated they will be experts on the ordinance but won’t necessarily be experts on bear management.  If there are things beyond their expertise, they will reach out to FWC to help them.

Commissioner Dallari suggested reaching out to the school district and stated that the use of seat belts is a perfect example of how children can get the adults to change their habits.  Ms. Guillet stated that was not part of their plan but it is an excellent point and she believes it is something they can endeavor to incorporate into the community outreach program.  She added they work with the schools on other environmental issues so they can certainly see how this can fit into that.

Commissioner Carey stated that they asked the County Manager to talk with the schools about the bus stops in some of the areas that are not well lit where the high school students are out there in the dark waiting on a bus.  Ms. Guillet advised they are collecting data with respect to bus stops throughout the county, not just in the urban bear management area, to determine where the bus stops are and what bus stops have lights and what bus stops do not.  Part of the challenge of that is the bus stops change from year to year.  She said they have a pretty good data set right now and are wrapping that up.  Commissioner Carey suggested that is where they need to be in partnership with the School Board to say if the County invests in putting lights up, they would need to make a commitment for X number of years that they are not going to move the bus stop.

Blaine Darrah, 1624 Cherry Ridge Drive, addressed the Board to say he felt it was important to bring to their attention, since this is going to be an ordinance that could have fines, etc., that he found one of the paragraphs to be very confusing relative to the resident refuse container on page 3 of 7 (4th paragraph).  It states, “including waterproof plastic bags” and he interpreted that as meaning there needed to be a plastic bag inside the can.  He contacted Carol Hunter and Johnny Edwards, Environmental Services, who advised the word “including” should be revised to say “and/or.”  Mr. Darrah cautioned that it then would mean the County is agreeing that plastic bags can be put at the curb.  He added that many residents want that because they put out their trash before going to work and don’t want a can sitting there all day long.  He thanked everyone that worked on the ordinance and opined this is a good step forward.  Commissioner Carey thanked Mr. Darrah for adopting rules in his own subdivision.  Chairman Horan stated that staff will make that sentence clear that they are not talking about having to have a bag inside of the can.

With regard to public participation, no one else in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.

Speaker Request Forms were received and filed.

Commissioner Carey stated in regard to the disbursement of bears, one person spoke about actually doing things to encourage bears to go back into the forest with natural feeding and planting things, etc.  She questioned whether there has been any discussion at FWC regarding doing that in the state forest lands.  Mr. Orlando stated she is talking about diversionary feeding and they have explored a lot of these options.  What they do is put food in the forest to draw the bears away from the communities.  It has been moderately successful in other states like Minnesota.  The issue of the long-term outlook is if they are feeding bears away from the communities, while that may be successful by having no bears for a while, the fecundity or the reproductive rate of those bears seems to go pretty high because there is a stable food source.  So, it is not something they are actively engaging in at this point in time.  They also had multiple meetings about birth control.  PZP is something that other states have used in ungulates, but deploying this in bears is much more difficult than with hoof stock like deer.  He added that everything that has been mentioned today, FWC has looked at and will continue to look at in the future.

Chairman Horan stated that Mr. Orlando had explained to him the phenomenon of the urban bears having two or three cubs instead of one due to their size.  Mr. Orlando explained that bears are very food driven so if they have a stable food source like garbage or dog food and they are continuing to get 30,000 to 50,000 calories a day, they get larger.  The largest documented bear in the state right now is 760 pounds and that came from Apopka.  That bear is not a forest bear; it is a bear that was eating garbage and pet food, etc.  When it comes to females, their reproductive success is linked to how fit they are, and so if they are finding a stable food source like dog food, bird seed and garbage, they can have more cubs, which contributes to the population rise especially in the neighborhood areas. 

Commissioner Carey thanked staff, the FWC, the haulers and citizens who have taken time to continually communicate their concerns and ideas.  She stated she is looking forward to getting the information about the collaring program where they were collaring bears and putting video monitors and GPS devices on them to try to understand their habits and habitats.  She added that staff has worked very hard to try to draft an ordinance that really is not going to be so burdensome that it cannot be implemented and monitored. 

Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute Ordinance #2015-33 amending the Seminole County Code to include a new Chapter 258, Seminole County Urban Bear Management, which addresses refuse collection and other wildlife management techniques intended to reduce human-bear conflicts, and for other purposes, as described in the proof of publication.

Commissioner Constantine stated Seminole County is the epicenter.  He believes the holistic approach they are continuing to work towards is the final answer, but putting together this urban bear management area is a major step forward.  He opined that some thought this ordinance might be punitive, but they have had nothing but support from the citizens, which shows the intelligence, education and sincerity of the citizens of Seminole County.  As mentioned by Mr. Wells, they need to keep working with the haulers not only on the price, but also on the pickup times.  He added that Mr. DeMoor brought up the point that eliminating the attractants will not eliminate the bears, which they do not; however, that will eliminate the aggressiveness of the bears proven by FWC and Wingfield North.  With FWC’s support and giving people 60 days to implement this, with education being the most important component, with the acknowledgement that with this measured approach, there will also need to be some tweaks, and with continuing to work on the full implementation of bear resistant containers, he is very supportive of this first step.  He thanked staff, the FWC and all the citizens who have supported this.

Commissioner Dallari suggested they send a letter with a copy of this ordinance to the FDOT Secretary to address I-4.  Chairman Horan confirmed there were no objections from the Board to direct the County Manager to communicate to FDOT the need for exclusion fences on I-4.

Chairman Horan remarked that they can address public safety but they cannot address the conservation issues; that is the role of the State.  He added this is one step in many that will be required to address this particular issue.  He opined all the governmental partners will be cooperating to get this problem addressed in a responsible way, but the most important person in this process is the citizen.

Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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Chairman Horan recessed the meeting at 11:20 a.m. and reconvened at 11:30 a.m.

DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS

District 3

     Commissioner Constantine made the following reappointments:  Marianne King to the Animal Control Board for a one-year term; Mark Wesson to the Contractor Examiners Board for a one-year term; Cecil Tucker to the Historical Commission for a two-year term; Elizabeth Murphrey to the Library Advisory Board for a two-year term; and Jim Vickaryous to the Parks & Preservation Advisory Committee for a three-year term.  Commissioner Constantine also appointed Don Dougherty to the Tourism Development Council for a four-year term. 

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     Motion by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-206 in appreciation of Frank Cirrincione for his service on the Tourism Development Council.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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     Commissioner Constantine reported that he attended the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council this past month. 

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Commissioner Constantine advised there is an FWC/UCF/Wekiva Federal Protection Area film that is being done using the cameras that were put on the bears; however, it has not been completed quite yet.  He added it is very short and believes they would all enjoy seeing it.  He will talk with staff to see if there is an appropriate time to show it.  He pointed out that at one point in the movie, you see a bear that comes to a street in Seminole County and looks both ways, twice, before it walks across the street to steal the garbage. 

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     Commissioner Constantine stated the MPO Disadvantaged Board met on the 12th of last month.  He added the Florida Regional Planning Council sent him to a national conference in South Florida last week concerning the sea level rising.

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Commissioner Constantine stated he and Chairman Horan attended the Florida Association of Counties from the 18th to the 20th this past month.  One thing that was brought up at that meeting, and he has asked staff to start looking into the appropriate concerns, is that the latest mandate the State is looking to do is to tell the County how, if, and why they will be handling fracking.  He stated he understands that Seminole and Orange counties are not in an area that is purported to have much need for fracking, but he knows the concerns the Board has about mandates.  The bill is taking away home rule unless a county already has an ordinance in place.  He recommended that with the aquifer and the concerns about water quality, it would be smart to put an ordinance in place banning fracking; and if the circumstances or need changes, they could change the ordinance. 

Commissioner Carey stated they need to be cautious about spending a lot of staff time and directing staff unless the majority of the Board has an interest in passing ordinances to preempt the State Legislature on issues that do not even affect this county.

Chairman Horan stated he read in the paper today that Orange County has passed an ordinance on this particular item.

Commissioner Dallari noted that he sits on a national board for MetroPlan called NARC and they have had the topic come up.  He stated that fracking is a huge problem in a lot of states; for example, if Georgia is doing fracking, it will affect the State of Florida through the aquifer and the rivers and streams.  He added that fracking is a serious problem that no one is addressing nationally. 

Chairman Horan commented that he had attended, with limited interest, a presentation at the Florida Association of Counties meeting which was a debate between pro-fracking and anti-fracking.  It resulted in the association taking a stand against fracking and it is part of its legislative priority.  The long-range effects of it surprised him for exactly the reason Commissioner Dallari pointed out. 

Discussion ensued as to the action, if any, the Board wanted to take on this.  Chairman Horan questioned whether the Board would like staff to look at an ordinance, whether the benefit exceeds the cost, or whether they just do this through a simple resolution.  The Board voiced no objections.  Chairman Horan added that there is a statement in the FAC legislative package that is pretty good on this. 

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Commissioner Constantine remarked that this County has lost a wonderful man, a great advocate, and a friend to all of them, and someone who has helped preserve the natural beauty of this county for years and years; on Sunday, Russ Moncrief died.  He added that Mr. Moncrief was one of the founders of the “Friends of the Wekiva.”  He announced that there will be a memorial service at Katie’s Landing, which was named after his wife, who is now 90, at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday.

District 4

     Commissioner Henley made the following reappointments:  Stephen Browne to the Animal Control Board for a one-year term; Bernard Johns to the Board of Adjustment for a four-year term; Bill Miller as the Building Contractor and Deana Schott as a Consumer to the Contractor Examiners Board for one-year terms; Carolyn Bistline to the Historical Commission for a two-year term; Herbert Weissman to the Library Advisory Board for a two-year term; Robert Bowden to the Parks & Preservation Advisory Committee for a three-year term; and Cliff Miller to the Seminole County Port Authority Board for a four-year term.  Commissioner Henley also appointed Robert Young to the Code Enforcement Board for a three-year term.

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     Motion by Commissioner Henley, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-207 in appreciation of Luis Diaz for his service on the Code Enforcement Board.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

District 5

     Commissioner Carey made the following appointments and reappointments with terms beginning on January 1, 2016:  appointed Michelle Quick to the Animal Control Board for a one-year term; reappointed Steve Coover to the Board of Adjustment for a four-year term; reappointed Bill Young to the Contractor Examiners Board for a one-year term; reappointed Esther McKean to the Historical Commission for a two-year term; appointed Jennifer Fillmon to the Parks & Preservation Advisory Committee for a three-year term; and appointed George Speake from the Sanford International Airport for a four-year term to the Tourism Development Council.

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     Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-208 in appreciation of Mike Martin for his services on the Parks & Preservation Advisory Committee; adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-209 in appreciation of Diane Crews for her service on the Tourism Development Council; and adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-210 in appreciation of Gayle Hair for her service on the Animal Control Board.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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     Commissioner Carey advised that the Sanford Christmas parade will be this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in downtown Sanford and on Saturday, December 19, at 6:30 p.m. is the City of Sanford boat parade.

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     Commissioner Carey announced that the gavel she displayed at the last meeting that was made from wood of “The Senator” by Bob Hughes of the Ole General Store has been completed.  They will have a frame made for the gavel that locks and it will travel from Chairman to Chairman’s office.  It will then be used for special circumstances like passing the gavel from one Chairman to the next and for other ceremonial reasons.

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     Commissioner Carey wished everyone a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and safe travel.

 

District 1

     Commissioner Dallari appointed John McGrath to the Animal Control Board for the 2016/17 term and reappointed the following:  Michael Harding to the Contractor Examiners Board for swimming pools; Dan Shaw to the Contractor Examiners Board, plumbing division; Eunice Mann to the Historical Board for a two-year term; and Ed Ghiglieri to the Parks & Preservation Advisory Committee for a three-year term.

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     Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2015-R-211 in appreciation of Therese Dickinson for her service on the Animal Control Board from December 2014 until January 1, 2016.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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     Commissioner Dallari stated that Nelson & Company want to develop their land in downtown Oviedo.  They have been working with County staff and the State to exchange .85 acres where the trail runs right through it.  This has been vetted through County staff as well as Oviedo city staff.  He explained they are requesting a letter of support, a copy of which was distributed to each Commissioner’s office a couple of days ago. 

     Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a letter in support of swapping land with Nelson & Company for .85 acres located in downtown Oviedo owned by the State of Florida.

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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     Commissioner Dallari thanked everyone for a great year and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a great holiday.

District 2

     Chairman Horan made the following reappointments: Bryan Wilson to the Animal Control Board; Mike Bass to the Code Enforcement Board; James Depoy and Marti Chan to the Contractor Examiners Board; James Robison to the Historical Commission; Margie Wells to the Library Advisory Board; Jay Zembower to the Parks & Preservation Advisory Committee; Richard Jerman and Michelle Ertel to the Planning & Zoning Commission; Bill Poe to the Seminole County Port Authority (SCOPA); Stanley Weinroth to the Seminole County Industrial Development Authority (SCIDA); and Bruce Skwarlo to the Tourism Development Council.

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     Chairman Horan stated he attended a panel discussion while at the FAC (Florida Association of Counties) Conference.  The panel had three economic development professionals from various counties, two in the Panhandle and one from Palm Beach County.  They had a two-hour panel discussion about economic development and he discussed the successes here in Seminole County and how they went about that and also participation of the private sector.  He thanked staff for helping to prepare him for that and stated it was well received.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Chairman Horan stated he had distributed the list of liaison appointments to the Commissioners.

Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to approve the list of Boards and Committees Liaison Appointments for January 1, 2016 (received and filed). 

     Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS AND/OR REPORTS

1.    Letter dated October 26, 2015 from Noranne Downs, FDOT, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE: renaming of SR 415 in Seminole County to East Lake Mary Boulevard. 

(C:  Rick Morrow; Brett Blackadar; Randall Morris)

 

2.    Letter dated October 27, 2015 from Ray Valdes, Tax Collector, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE: 2015 unused revenue contribution.  (C:  Commissioner Bob Dallari; Commissioner John Horan; Commissioner Lee Constantine; Commissioner Carlton Henley; County Manager Nicole Guillet)

 

3.    Letter and enclosures dated October 29, 2015 from Luis Rodriguez, FEMA, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE:  Case No. 15-04-7579R Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR).  (C:  Tony Coleman; Chadwyck Moorhead; Louis Geys; Kimberly Fischer)

 

4.    Letter dated November 2, 2015 from Beth Porter, Florida Gas Transmission Company, to Seminole BCC RE: Survey Notification, Project: 12” and 26” Pipeline Relocation Project, Wekiva Parkway. 

 

5.    Letter dated November 3, 2015 from Ken Reecy, Florida Housing Finance Corporation, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE: Applications for 2015 Housing Credits.

 

6.    E-mail and attachment dated November 9, 2015 from Governor Rick Scott to Commissioner John Horan RE: Enterprise Florida.

 

7.    Copy of letter dated November 10, 2015 from Chairman Brenda Carey to Ray Eubanks, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, RE: Seminole County Comprehensive Plan Determination.  (C: County Commissioners; Nicole Guillet; Bruce McMenemy; Meloney Lung; Tina Williamson; Rebecca Hammock)

 

8.    Copy of letter only dated November 10, 2015 from Chairman Brenda Carey to Ray Eubanks, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, RE: Transmittal of Proposed Large Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment to the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan – Expedited State Review Process for Suntera Park.  (C:  Board of County Commissioners; Nicole Guillet; Bruce McMenemy; Meloney Lung; Tina Williamson; Rebecca Hammock; Joy Giles)

 

9.    Copy of letter only dated November 10, 2015 from Chairman Brenda Carey to Ray Eubanks, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, RE:  Transmittal of Adopted Large Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment to the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan – Expedited State Review Process for Legacy Pointe.  (C:  Seminole County Board of County Commissioners; Nicole Guillet; Bruce McMenemy; Meloney Lung; Tina Williamson; Melissa Clarke; Seminole County Commission Records)

 

10.    Letter and attachment dated November 19, 2015 from Ray Eubanks, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE: Seminole County Comprehensive Plan Amendment 15-3ESR.

 

11.    Letter dated November 23, 2015 from Marva Johnson, Bright House Networks, to Commissioner Brenda Carey RE: upcoming changes to cable programming lineup.

 

12.    Letter and attachment dated November 23, 2015 from Ray Eubanks, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE:  Seminole County Evaluation and Appraisal Notification Letter.

 

13.    Letter dated November 24, 2015 from Ray Eubanks, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, to Chairman Brenda Carey RE: Seminole County Plan Amendment No. 15-2ESR.  (C:  Andrew Landis; Rebecca Hammock)

 

14.    Copy of approved 2016 MetroPlan Orlando Board and Committees Meeting Schedule.

 

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Chairman Horan noted that included in this meeting’s Submissions is a communication they received shortly after the last meeting from the Governor’s Office concerning support for the continued funding and also economic development efforts of Enterprise Florida, particularly the replenishing of the Enterprise Fund and asking for either a resolution or a letter in support of the initiative as part of the budget.  Chairman Horan questioned whether or not the Board would like to consider a resolution or a letter.  He advised that FAC, in response to the same request, came up with some language that did support this particular initiative but not necessarily in the terms they exactly wanted. 

Commissioner Carey advised she met with the Governor regarding this funding support that he is looking for, and he asked that she and several others reach out to their local delegation, which she has done with the exception of David Simmons.  (She was not able to get in touch with him due to the holidays, but she will continue to try to reach out to him.)  She opined they have been great partners with the State and have been the beneficiary of about 3,000 new jobs from some of the programs that the Governor has supported through the State.  She said she thinks a letter of support would be quicker than a resolution at this point.

Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize the Chairman to send a letter in support of replenishing the Enterprise Fund for the economic development efforts of Enterprise Florida to be sent out immediately.

Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

Commissioner Constantine stated they do not have what FAC wanted in front of them and requested that the Chairman look to see if there is any pertinent information that they may want to include in the letter.  Chairman Horan responded that the FAC statement was something that was substantively and materially spread across the State of Florida.  In other words, the FAC statement addressed an issue that was not pertinent to Seminole County, so he will not include that. 

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Chairman Horan noted he had a discussion with Harry Barley, Executive Director of MetroPlan Orlando, who made him aware of a fact that he found to be very interesting.  Of the 42 elected officials who were in office at the time the SunRail agreements were signed, 8 of those elected officials are still in office and 3 of them are on this Board of County Commissioners; a fourth member of this Board was intimately involved in that as well.  He noted that he brought this fact up because obviously, going forward in the next several years, they will be making some very important decisions about transportation in this region and the institutional memory of a lot of the regional participation exists right here on this Board.  He has been talking with the staff about some of the SunRail issues like connectivity to public transportation, circulatory traffic, and the kinds of things that are discussed all the time at MPO Alliance, LYNX, NARC, etc.  He has asked staff for some suggestions as to how they might go about this.  He wanted to open up the idea of having a work session on these types of issues and the possibility of considering going out on some kind of an RFP or consultancy as this relates to Seminole County.  He added connections need to be addressed in employment nodes like International Parkway, Lake Mary, and Altamonte Springs.  He believes they can discuss those particular issues in a work session so they can do some long-range planning, not just for the benefit of Seminole County, but because what resides on this Commission really is the institutional knowledge of how the region has been going about this for a long period of time. 

Commissioner Dallari advised he sat in on the last SunRail meeting as an alternate and at the end of the meeting, they asked the Board to put together various information; i.e. a timeline, a plan of switching SunRail over from FDOT because there are five and one half years left, which will go by in the blink of an eye.  That information is going to be put together by SunRail as well as MetroPlan and Mr. Bailey is going to bring back to the MetroPlan meeting tomorrow a flow sheet about how that will happen with LYNX, the Expressway Authority, SunRail, and MetroPlan.  He stated the decision for what happens with SunRail happens at the SunRail Board not at the LYNX Board.  He agreed that what Chairman Horan is talking about, other forms of transportation and interconnectivity, should most appropriately be addressed by this Board.  He advised that on the MetroPlan Board, they are discussing BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) in various key locations to get to other locations, i.e. the airport and downtown Orlando.  He added that study money is available at MetroPlan and he believes a work session is quite appropriate. 

Commissioner Henley remarked that it is going to take quite a while and effort to make the transition from FDOT.  They do not have any idea as to all the commitments FDOT made that will be inherited because they have contracts with numerous people and organizations.  They do not know what the impact is going to be on local agencies that will have to assume management and operation of that.  He added that connectivity has been talked about ever since the rail began to roll, but not a great deal has gone on in dealing with the connectivity, other than in Orlando where they are trying to tie into the airport and they want to go to the coast, all of which are reasonable requests from the standpoint of connectivity and the impact upon the region’s economic development.  He stated he thinks it is well to request a work session to sit down and begin to look at what they are going to inherit and the cost. 

Commissioner Henley stated that in regard to future development, he would also like to request that they begin to get some reports on where they stand with the first generation sales tax, what they said they would do, what they have finished or what is still ongoing.  He added they should also include the second generation and the third generation so they can see what they pledged to do and how much they have been able to accomplish.  This might have some impacts on what they want to do in the future as it relates to connectivity and they can see if any of the priorities need to be adjusted. 

Commissioner Carey questioned who the Chairman believes they should include in the workshop and he responded it would first just be with County staff and then it could expand beyond that depending upon what is developed out of the initial workshop.  Initially they will be talking about the kinds of issues that Commissioners Henley and Dallari identified that they have intimate knowledge of because of their participation in SunRail, LYNX and MetroPlan.  He can foresee though in the future that they could have meetings with other parties as well, but getting hold of their own problems first, having a real solid understanding of what the connectivity and circulatory issues are in their own county, how they relate to other counties, and knowing what their own financial resources and needs are going to be is probably the first step.

Commissioner Carey pointed out that the decision they made to support SunRail to move forward and the idea that they would take it over after seven years was based on a set of facts that were going to happen based on the forecast of FDOT.  If those have not happened, which some of them have not, she believes a bigger discussion probably needs to happen, sooner rather than later.  She knows, for example, Xerox has a contract with SunRail, and SunRail has not paid them yet because they have not performed as they are supposed to based on the contract.  On the other hand, the Turnpike just approved Xerox to be the toll collector for the Turnpike Authority. 

Commissioner Constantine stated he applauds the thought and idea of getting ahead of the issue.  At the local level, there is the agreement made with the Signalmen’s Union and the amount of money that will be expended on that.  He has not seen that it has been finalized; it may have been done internally, but that was one of the biggest sticking points during the whole Tallahassee debate.  As hard as it was to pass that legislation, to make any changes on that with the Legislature that would be beneficial to the signatories, would practically be impossible.

Commissioner Dallari stated with regard to ticketing, the back of the house and the front of the house and different multiple agencies do not communicate.

Commissioner Henley stated at the last LYNX board meeting, they had an unsolicited proposal that came in that wanted to move them towards a mobile payment system.  He asked a question as to whether that was compatible with what is going on with SunRail because it would change entirely the way they are doing things because you would be using your cell phone to make payments. 

Commissioner Dallari added that at the SunRail meeting, FDOT was telling them that they were having problems with the platform kiosks because there is fiber at some locations and coax cables, which is antiquated technology, at other locations.  It is not working when trying to use Wi-Fi and they cannot figure out how to make that work.

Commissioner Carey stated there are a lot of operational issues that need to be discussed and worked out, and again, it is supposed to be a fully functioning operating system before they get it.

Commissioner Henley remarked it will take two to three years to make the transition.  He suggested that after the initial work session, the Chairman may want to go ahead and schedule something with the State to let them know they do not want this dumped on them.

Commissioner Henley suggested they revisit the initial agreements that were signed as a kick off. 

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Chairman Horan stated he passed out a list of the liaison appointments.  He reminded the Board members that they are welcome to attend any of these meetings that are appropriately and publicly noticed.

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Chairman Horan wished everyone, for this coming holiday season, love, joy, happiness and peace, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to reappoint Brian Volk to the Sanford Community Redevelopment Agency.

Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.

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Commissioner Dallari asked what the delay was with regard to the Oviedo CRA.  Ms. Guillet responded she does not think they are ready to make an appointment until March or April based on the terms of the agreement.  She will double check that.  Commissioner Dallari expounded that he just wants to ensure they have proper representation when dollars are being spent.

ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

Natalie Hall, 1155 Thunder Trail, addressed the Board to explain it has come to her attention that there is a possibility that the vacant plot of land at Thunder Trail and Derbyshire in Seminole County will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.  She stated that she just purchased the land next door and moved in six weeks ago.  They have just started their family.  She was told that the land next door was going to be given to homeless people; however, she does not believe it is a formalized proposal as of yet.  Her understanding is that there has not even been briefing on this matter, but she just wanted to jump ahead and say they are the immediate next door neighbors.  She believes it is to be donated to Habitat for Humanity with a grant to build lower income homes; but again, she is not really sure where this is in the pipeline.  They are concerned because they believe it would directly affect their investment in their home because the size of the homes in the community are much larger than the homes that would be built for Habitat (1,100 square feet) and the value, she believes, would not exceed $75,000.  She advised the homes in the community are two and one half to four times that value and they would like for that to be considered if in fact it is going to be a formalized proposal to move forward in the future.

Ms. Guillet explained the property Ms. Hall described is owned by the County and has been identified as surplus property.  They do try to utilize surplus property where it is appropriate to meet affordable housing needs.  They are in a due diligence period right now looking at that property to see what the appropriate use is.  She further explained that any disposition of the property would come back before the Board, probably at the end of January, and staff will be in a position to make a recommendation from a staff standpoint. 

Ms. Guillet requested that Ms. Hall leave her contact information with Bruce McMenemy, Deputy County Manager, and they will make sure that Ms. Hall gets notice of the meeting when that item will be considered by the Board if it is something they even advance based on the due diligence they are doing right now with respect to that property.

 

COUNTY ATTORNEY’S REPORT

Bryant Applegate, County Attorney, advised that Melissa Clarke, Assistant County Attorney, has accepted a position with the City of Orlando Attorney’s Office and stated this is a great opportunity for her.  He expressed that all the staff that she has worked with through the years just love her and they will miss her.  He wanted to say publicly how much he personally valued her friendship and support.

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There being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m., this same date.

 

 

ATTEST:______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman

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