BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
February 11, 2014
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, February 11, 2014, in Room 1028 of the SEMINOLE COUNTY SERVICES BUILDING at SANFORD, FLORIDA, the usual place of
meeting of said Board.
Present:
Chairman Robert Dallari (District 1)
Vice Chairman Brenda Carey (District 5)
Commissioner John Horan (District 2)
Commissioner Lee Constantine (District 3)
Commissioner Carlton Henley (District 4)
Clerk of Circuit Court Maryanne Morse
County Manager Jim Hartmann
County Attorney Bryant Applegate
Deputy Clerk Erin Leben
Commissioner
Henley gave the Invocation.
Commissioner
Carey led the Pledge of Allegiance.
BUSINESS
SPOTLIGHT
The
Business Spotlight video for ABB was presented.
AWARDS AND
PRESENTATIONS
Motion
by Commissioner Henley, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt a Proclamation, as shown on page _______, proclaiming
February 20, 2014 as the 125th Anniversary of Florida Public Health
in Seminole County.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Dr. Swannie Jett
accepted the proclamation and expressed his gratitude to the Board. He stated that the Department of Health of
Seminole County has been in existence since 1941 and has done a lot of great
things. He mentioned that the Health
Department is trying to bring more partnerships together to work in areas they
have not worked in before, and to begin helping with homelessness.
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Motion
by Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt appropriate
Resolution #2014-R-35, as shown on page _______, recognizing Betty Newton for
28 years of service and dedication to Seminole County Government and its
citizens upon her retirement as Financial Administrator in the Resource
Management Department, Budget and Fiscal Management Division.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioner Horan presented the
Resolution to Ms. Newton who addressed the Board to express her gratitude. Ms. Newton thanked Maryanne Morse for giving
her a job when she moved here from North Carolina. She stated it has been a great pleasure
working for Seminole County for the past 28 years.
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Commissioner Carey stated that before she was
elected she received a call from Linda Kuhn, State Attorney’s Office, and was
approached for assistance in opening a domestic violence center in Seminole
County. Ms. Kuhn stated that they missed
the deadline to apply for a grant with Seminole County and Orange County was
getting a $12,000 grant. She stated that
if a woman needed to get into the shelter in Orange County and was not a
resident of Orange County, she could not get in.
Commissioner Carey stated that she contacted the
County Commissioners and stated they were only asking for half of the
money. She stated she would contribute
some and requested everybody else do the same.
Discussion ensued and the Board decided to grant the full amount of $12,000
to SafeHouse.
Commissioner Carey commended Jeanne Gold, SafeHouse Executive Director, in transforming the domestic
violence shelter. She stated that even
though Seminole County has great demographics in many ways, there have been
times where they were number one on domestic violence deaths.
Ms. Gold addressed the Board to present the SafeHouse of Seminole Update. She stated she has been with Seminole County
for 11 years. She thanked the Board for
all the help they have given SafeHouse.
Ms. Gold stated that she originally started to put
together a PowerPoint, but because there is so much confidentiality, she
invited the Board to come out and see the center.
Ms. Gold stated that SafeHouse
is a 15,000-square-foot southern-style house.
She said you can’t really see the barbed wire that’s across the fence,
the big gate or that the shrubs are hiding the cars, but everything there is for
safety. She added that even though the
center is hidden, it’s close to the buses, shopping and jobs. She stated that although there are barely any
visible signs that would say that SafeHouse is a
domestic violence shelter, there are some trespassing signs because it is the
law. She also stated that all the
windows have bulletproof glass and there are 48 cameras for the safety of the
women in the center.
Ms. Gold gave a description of the center, stating
that although they have dormitory housing, there is a television, a Wii video
game system and areas for children to play.
Outside in the back there are playgrounds, memorial benches, a huge deck where there are dozens of donated bicycles for
the children to ride. She stated that
Pat Clark, Sportscaster, gave SafeHouse $10,000
towards playground equipment that they have named Imagination Playground. The playground equipment is designed to help
children become more creative, to work together and collaborate.
Ms. Gold stated they have a fully stocked pantry,
closets with clean clothes, and other donations that come from the
community. She added that since 2010
nearly 1,000 women have come into the shelter, 25 percent of them being
pregnant, 250 of them were disabled, and an additional 1,000 children have come
through the shelter, the average age being 5 years old.
Ms. Gold said there are three SafeHouse
women, two of which have four children each, who are in their transitional
program and moving into the Rapid Rehousing Program. She stated they have gone through their Jobs
Initiative Program, they have childcare through the Early Learning Coalition,
and now they are in Rapid Rehousing.
Ms. Gold said that SafeHouse
is like a stepping stone. She stated
they have a career center with computers, a woman who helps with resumes, and they
have collaboration with Christian Health and their Central Florida Jobs
Initiative Program.
Ms. Gold also wanted to tell the Board about the
visitation center that they have named Y.A.N.A.
She felt that the old center was a mess.
She stated that as the money accumulated, it is now a court-ordered
visitation center. She expressed her
gratitude to the Board and staff for their hard work in making things come
through. She stated their goal was to
make the visitation center safe and discreet at the same time. She added that they collaborate with
Community Based Care of Central Florida and InVEST,
which is an enhanced victim service that works with potential murder victims and
law enforcement. She feels the County
has great law enforcement, a great sheriff, and great city law enforcement.
Ms. Gold stated she feels that Seminole County needs
the Healthy Start Program to help their pregnant women get a good start. She stated that SafeHouse
is also working with UCF and now has a $10,000 grant from Verizon to train
firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
Ms. Gold stated that UCF has been kind enough to give them rooms for
their male victims.
Ms. Gold thanked the Clerk’s Office for allowing SafeHouse to open a courthouse advocacy program at the
civil courthouse. She stated the center
has been able to help with injunctions, their ability to go to court and
several other things.
Ms. Gold stated that the Seminole County Board of
County Commissioners annually supports SafeHouse with
about 10 percent of the funding they need to run the shelter. She stated they have had an independent audit
for the last six years with no management comments at all. She added the BCC’s generous support combines
with the Department of Justice, the Florida Coalition Against
Domestic Violence, the Orlando Sentinel Family Foundation, Our Father’s Table,
Disney, Legos, Publix, United Way, and various other sources.
Ms. Gold distributed a packet (received & filed)
that shows the new website, logo and colors.
She added their new tag line is “A way out; A way forward.” She expressed gratitude to the Board in
supporting SafeHouse in providing a way out and a way
forward. She ended her presentation by
sharing a thank you letter from a woman in the shelter who is a journalist.
Chairman Dallari stated he appreciated Ms. Gold’s
update.
Upon inquiry by Chairman Dallari, Ms. Gold stated
the BCC and the County have already been a tremendous help in SafeHouse moving forward and developing.
Commissioner Henley expressed his gratitude to Ms.
Gold for her enthusiasm with SafeHouse.
Commissioner Horan thanked Ms. Gold for everything
she does for SafeHouse and he believes the
organization is successful based upon the competence and enthusiasm she has in
running it. He pointed out the money
being used is not his money; it is the citizens’ money. He added the reason they are able to assist
as much as they can is because of philanthropy, charity, and volunteerism. He believes Seminole County citizens
understand the value of the social organizations that are the fabric of the
social service infrastructure of the County.
He stated the reason they do this is because they have great citizens
and it is part of their culture, practice, and tradition. He thinks it is great to represent people in
the County who want the BCC to do this with their money, and that SafeHouse does such great things with their money.
Commissioner Carey stated that 9 times out of 10
when women come to the shelter, they have nothing, so it is important that
people donate things such as toiletries.
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Chairman Dallari recessed the BCC
meeting at 10:02 a.m. and convened as the U.S. Highway 17-92 Community
Redevelopment Agency.
U.S. HWY
17-92 CRA
Cecelia Monti, Resource Management,
addressed the Board to present request to adopt a
Resolution implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-036 through the
17-92 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Fund in the amount of $5,593,579 to
carry-forward unexpended project funding from the FY 2012/13 Budget to the FY
2013/14 Budget and closeout unexpended/expired projects. Included as attachments is a summary of the FY
2013/14 amended budget, a list of the master plan projects, and a list of the
projects that were closed out, most of them being development grants which are
based on final expenditures. Ms. Monti
advised that staff recommends approval of the request.
No one
spoke in support or in opposition.
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-36, as shown on page _______, implementing
Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-036 through the 17-92 Community Redevelopment
Agency Fund in the amount of $5,593,579 to carry-forward unexpended project
funding from the FY 2012/13 Budget to the FY 2013/14 Budget and closeout unexpended/expired
projects.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Sonia Nordelo, U.S. 17-92 CRA Program
Manager, presented the request to approve a U.S.
17-92 CRA Redevelopment and Construction Grant Agreement with Dark Horse
Properties, LLC, for Colorado's Prime Steaks, Inc., to landscape the property
located at 3863 S. Orlando Drive in the amount of $24,822; and to approve the associated
Resolution implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-031 providing
funding from the 17-92 CRA Fund, Contingency Reserve for Development Grants. Ms. Nordelo advised
that staff recommends approval of the request.
No one spoke in support or in opposition.
Motion
by Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Brenda Carey, to approve the U.S.
17-92 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Redevelopment and Construction Grant
Agreement, as shown on page______, with Dark Horse Properties, LLC, for
Colorado's Prime Steaks, Inc., to landscape the property located at 3863 S. Orlando
Drive in the amount of $24,822; and adopt associated Resolution #2014-R-37, as
shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-031
providing funding from the 17-92 CRA Fund, Contingency Reserve for Development
Grants.
Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.
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Ms. Nordelo presented the request to approve
funding in the amount of $225,000 from the Seminole County Redevelopment Trust
Fund for renovation to Sunland Park, in the amount of $225,000. Sunland Park is a park located at the
entrance of a residential community on 17-92 within Sanford and presently has a
lot of equipment that is beyond its useful life. In order to improve the equipment and to add
parking, staff is recommending the Board approve the grant to complete the
development of the new park facility.
The Department of Transportation has future plans to widen 17-92 and
approached Seminole County in order for them to accept and treat runoff from
the increased impervious area underneath the surface of the park. She stated the plans have been presented and
have been approved by Seminole County, as well as the Natural Lands
Division. She stated the cells would not
hinder normal park activities; they would just be unable to build any
structures on the cells. She stated in
addition to providing them with $500,000 to purchase an easement, there was a
reversionary clause from the original owner that has since been resolved. The commitment for the $500,000 from FDOT is
in place and they just need the balance of the $225,000.
No one spoke in support or in opposition.
Commissioner Carey stated the project has been ongoing for quite
some time to resolve all the issues. She
stated Sunland Park has been there since the early 1960’s and is a frequently
used park. She added she is glad to see
it finally coming to fruition.
Commissioner Horan stated they approved a number of related
items concerning this particular item quite some time ago. He stated when this came in front of the RPA,
the staff did a great job. This was a complex
situation in trying to get the reversionary clause reversed and figuring out
where the easement land would be. He
stated everyone did a tremendous job in getting this going. He believes this is going to improve a
gateway to that community and a very significant portion of 17-92 with some
nice recreational facilities. He commended
staff for the great work they did on this.
Motion by
Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to approve the request from
Seminole County for funding in the amount of $225,000 from the Redevelopment
Trust Fund for improvements to Sunland Park, subject to Board approval of the
17-92 CRA Fund Carry-forward Projects implementing Budget Amendment Request
(BAR) #14-036 appropriating $225,000 in carry-forward funding for the Sunland
Park Project.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Commissioner Carey stated that the CRA will expire in three
years and there are a lot of things that the Board has talked about that needs
to happen in order for 17-92 to redevelop, and one of those is stormwater. She stated she wants to remember that in order
to get things done by that time, they need to consider stormwater. She thinks the answer is to make this a place
that people want to come and redevelop.
She does not want anyone to lose sight of the fact that they are three
years out.
Chairman Dallari agreed with Commissioner Carey. He wants everyone to take into consideration
what is happening to the CRA at the time of its sunsetting.
Commissioner Horan stated in previous months, they’ve done a
black pencil study about how much money they will have and what projects they
have in the master plan. He stated that
the stormwater study is part of the master plan and is presently budgeted at
$250,000. He said a number of the items have
not been put on an agenda yet, but they will be putting that in front of the
RPA sometime during this year and coming up with a more surgical idea of when
these particular projects will be executed.
He stated the stormwater study has to come before everything else
because without the study, they won’t have a really good idea as to where and
how they are going to develop. Also a
lot of the work they have to do is dependent on the Department of
Transportation, their budget, and their projects.
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Chairman Dallari adjourned the U.S. 17-92 CRA meeting at 10:12
a.m. and reconvened as the Board of County Commissioners at 10:17 a.m.
PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
Ken Welsh, 3972 West Eau Gallie
Boulevard, addressed the Board on behalf of Welsh Companies regarding Item 21A. He stated they have been recommended for an award
for the school shelter retrofit projects and they are aware their competitor,
Armor Screen Corporation, has lobbied the Commission to award the project to
them. He clarified the history of the
solicitation and presented credible reasons why Welsh should be awarded this
project as recommended by staff.
Mr. Welsh stated Welsh bid the most cost-effective products, all
screens on all openings as allowed by the RFP, which was the most reasonable
competitive approach allowed. He stated
Welsh gave the lowest price and was both qualified and responsive. He added Armor Screen was $194,000 over
Welsh’s bid, but was recommended for the award based on their use of roll-down
shutters on the first and second floor, and screens only on the storefronts and
the doors.
Mr. Welsh felt that Armor was given an unfair advantage due to the
RFP not being reasonably specific in that only the product Armor proposed was
what the evaluation committee would accept.
Welsh protested on that basis and the County agreed.
Mr. Welsh stated the County then requested Best and Final Offers
and clarified that only roll-down shutters would be allowed on the first and
second floor windows, and only screens on all other openings. He stated this provided for a very
competitive response, as indicated by the close range of bid prices. He also noted that Armor did not change the
product, but lowered their price by $92,000, but still was high by $35,000.
Mr. Welsh stated the County has found Welsh to be the most
responsive and qualified company, so they recommended the award go to
Welsh. Armor protested the award to
Welsh, but was not successful and did not appeal the decision per the County’s
procurement regulations. He stated Armor
continues to claim that the County has requested a Best and Final Offer and
plagiarized Armor’s approach, but this has been clearly addressed by the
County’s response to Armor’s protest.
The Best and Final Offer simply clarified the products the County had
already specified in the RFP and where they would allow them.
Mr. Welsh stated they are excited about being awarded the
project and are glad to bring their years of experience to Seminole County
public-school and municipal work. He
said based on what he has presented, they respectfully request that the Board
award the project to Welsh.
Attorney Jennifer Nix, representing Weatherguard
and Armor Screen Corporation, addressed the Board and thanked the Board for
meeting individually with her clients this week and last week so they could
hear their concerns.
Ms. Nix stated they feel as though there are issues relating to
whether this process has been ethical.
She feels that if the Board knows the whole story, they would understand
and agree. She feels they would also
understand why they did not bother to appeal the decision of the County to
recommend the current vendor, which is Welsh.
Armor Screen submitted a bid, but it is not currently ranked as the
recommended bidder, though they were initially the recommended bidder. They believe that the whole process has been
tainted and that it turned out to be unfair in that favorable treatment has
been given to Welsh.
Ms. Nix stated that Number 9 on Addendum 1 to the original RFP
said that roll-downs were the preferred shutters. She stated that in January 2013, there was an
original RFP for this project. Armor
Screen did not submit for it at the time.
They had given a lot of information that they would have normally been
paid as a consultant for, which was deemed as market research by Ray Hooper,
Purchasing Manager.
Ms. Nix stated that in October 2013, they decided to spend a
great deal of time in submitting a bid.
They attended the site visits and paid attention to the Q&A period
in the addendums. Once the County was
ready to go with the RFP, they submitted their bid that included the money
numbers as well as the very specific specifications that they would utilize if
chosen, and they were then the recommended bidder.
Ms. Nix stated that protests were received by B&C Metals and
from Welsh in response to Armor Screen being the recommended bidder from the
October 2013 RFP. She stated they felt
the arguments were vague and weak without many specifics as to the
inconsistencies from the evaluation committee or otherwise, but they were told
there was no way to protest. She feels
that Armor Screen has played by the rules and has done everything by the
County’s policies in this matter because they were told there was no way to
protest a protest. She stated they sent
a letter to Mr. Hooper explaining the situation as well as reasons they felt
Armor Screen should be given the contract.
Ms. Nix summarized several reasons that Welsh should be disqualified. She also stated her clients did have objections
to the technical specifications of the RFP as well as the email, which is in
the background information
Ms. Nix feels that her clients have been treated unfairly
throughout the process, and the entire process has been disappointing and
unfair.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Horan, Ms. Nix stated she would put
the paperwork she was referencing into the record once she reviews it.
Commissioner Henley stated everything Ms. Nix was referring to
was contained in the notebook distributed before the meeting (received &
filed).
Doug Thomas, owner of Weatherguard,
stated his company has been open since 1982 and he’s been in the shutter
business since 1973.
Mr. Thomas stated he started in this process back in February of
2013, when this first came before Seminole County for an RFP. He stated he toured the schools and saw there
were some problems, which he communicated to staff. He stated at that time they chose not to bid. He believes there were 12 companies
represented at that time and only one ended up submitting a bid which was
declared nonresponsive.
Mr. Thomas feels that they have been forthcoming. He stated they have been consultants to the
County. He feels that some of the
language in the RFP is false and some of the requirements are impossible to
meet. He stated he has been in the
shutter business for 41 years and when he sees inconsistencies like this, he
tries to correct them.
Mr. Thomas stated that Armor Screen and Weatherguard
ranked far higher than the other companies.
Out of the scoring system that goes from low to high, Armor Screen was
awarded 7 points by the evaluation committee and Welsh was awarded 12
points. He stated the evaluation committee
selected Armor Screen as the number one choice of four out of the five responders.
Doug Turner, Armor Screen Corporation, addressed the Board to
state he feels they have put a lot of time, energy, and effort into creating a
solid game plan and methodology to procure the contract. He feels that when they went to the BAFO (Best
& Final Offer) with the adoption of their methodology and the exposing of their
prices, it really opened them up and they felt it made the BAFO unfair. He stated they would like the Board to take
into consideration those things that they have talked about during the
procurement.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA
Jim Hartmann, County Manager, advised that there was an add on, Item #21A, Award RFP-9059-13/AMM – School Shelter
Retrofits to Welsh Construction, LLC. He
stated there were a number of items replaced on Item #26, Approval of Special
Obligation Bonds, since the original publication. He added that Consent Item #18, Approve BAR
#14-033, is Commissioner Constantine’s district, not Commissioner Henley’s.
Commissioner Carey requested Item #8, Approve the Partnership
Agreement between Seminole County and the Economic Development Commission of
Mid-Florida, Incorporated, Item #21 Award IFB-601893-13/TLR – Term Contract for
Landscape Materials and Miscellaneous Related Construction Services, and Item #21A,
Award RFP-9059-13/AMM – School Shelter Retrofits, be pulled for separate discussion and vote.
Chairman Dallari stated that Rick Weddle, Executive Director for
the Economic Development Council, was present and expressed his gratitude for
his attendance.
Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to
authorize and approve the following:
County Manager’s
Office
Human Resources
Division
7. Approve the
Agreement, as shown on page _______, between Seminole County and the University
of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc. for the purpose of supporting the
UCF Business Incubator, City of Winter Springs.
9. Adopt
appropriate Resolution #2014-R-39, as shown on page _______, amending certain
fees set forth in Section 20.26 of the Seminole County Administrative Code
pertaining to fees and charges for services provided by the Seminole County Health
Department.
Development Services
Planning &
Development Division
10. Adopt appropriate
Resolution #2014-R-40, as shown on page _______, amending the Seminole County Administrative
Code to update the schedule of fees collected by the Development Services
Department.
Leisure Services
Tourism
Development Division
11. Approve and authorize
the Chairman to execute the Tourist Tax Funding Agreement, as shown on page
_______, with Florida Half Century Senior Softball Association in the amount of
$20,891 for four (4) Florida Half Century State Senior Softball Tournaments to be
held February 15 & 16, March 22 & 23, August 23 & 24, and September
6 & 7, 2014.
Public Safety
Business Office
12. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity (COPCN) and Non-Exclusive Ambulance Franchise Agreement, as shown on
page _______, for Lifefleet Southeast, Inc. d/b/a
American Medical Response, to become effective February 11, 2014.
Public Works
Engineering
Division
13. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the First Amendment, as shown on page
_______, to an Interlocal Agreement between Seminole County and the City of
Altamonte Springs relating to Road Transfers.
Traffic
Engineering Division
14. Approve and
authorize the Chairman to execute the First Amendment, as shown on page
_______, to the Traffic Signal Maintenance Agreement between Seminole County
and the City of Lake Mary to include the six (6) signals within the City.
Resource Management
Business Office
15. Approve and
authorize the Tax Collector's Office to publish the 2013 Notice of Tax Certificate
Sale and all future tax sales in the Sanford Herald newspaper until decided otherwise
by the Board.
16. Preliminary Authorization for staff, in
conjunction with Seminole Behavioral Healthcare, to submit a request for an
Administrative Hearing to Appeal the Notice of Award for the Florida Department
of Children and Families – Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Reinvestment Grant.
Budget and
Fiscal Management Division
17. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-41, as
shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-032 in
the amount of $22,592, through the FY 2012/13 Homeland Security Grant Program
Funds (SHSGP) (Issue 11) and the FY 2013/14 Emergency Management Performance
Grant (EMPG), for the purchase of equipment and services related to connecting interagency
partners during large scale incidents.
18. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-42, as
shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-033
through the Public Works Interlocal Agreement Fund, to recognize revenue from
the City of Altamonte Springs and establish budget in the amount of $100,000
for the Oranole Road Drainage Improvement project.
19. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-43, as
shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #14-035
through the Public Works Interlocal Agreement Fund, to recognize revenue and
establish budget in the amount of $29,400 for a Developer's pro-rata share of
intersection improvements at CR 46A and Orange Boulevard.
Purchasing &
Contracts Division
20. Approve RFP-601035-10/TLR, as shown on page
_______, Assignment of Concession Operations Agreement for Hot/Cold Vending
Services, from Snack Time Vending, Inc., to Compass Group USA, Inc., d/b/a
Canteen Vending Services; and authorize the Purchasing & Contracts Division
to execute the Agreement.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Request to approve Item #8, Partnership
Agreement between Seminole County and the Economic Development Commission of
Mid-Florida, Incorporated, d/b/a Metro-Orlando Economic Development Commission,
presented.
Commissioner Carey stated the reason she asked that
this item be pulled is because she
feels that they need to get their agreements to match up to their actions. She feels if the County is going to be the
one responsible to provide them an office, then their contract should reflect
that. She also stated if it’s their
responsibility, then the County should ask them to pay that.
Commissioner Carey stated she thinks the Economic
Development Council (EDC) has done a great job and the County has had a great
partnership with them. She thinks
everyone needs to pay attention to all the details, as we are moving into a few
tight budget years.
Rick Weddle, Economic Development Commission
Director, addressed the Board to state he will be glad to respond to
Commissioner Carey’s concerns regarding the office space issue.
Commissioner Carey stated she knows it is
the intent of County staff and EDC staff to work on performance standards and
other things, but she is a stickler for details in contracts. She stated she wants to make sure the
obligations in the contracts match up to what they are really doing.
Mr. Weddle agreed with Commissioner Carey. He expressed gratitude to the Board for the
opportunity to be a part of their Economic Development Program. He stated their job is to bring opportunities
to the region and help communities and counties realize them, and with partners
like Seminole County, their job is a lot easier because of the good work they
do.
Chairman Dallari stated the EDC also does a
great job and the County has a great partnership with them. He added that the Economic Development
Advisory Council (EDAC) would like to see those performance measures as
well. He would like to see Development
Services, EDAC and the EDC get together to recommend what they believe can be
performance measurements that are attainable and measurable, and what the goals
and objectives would be so they can track these. He stated he would like to see an actual
deadline for when these performance measures are put in place because by next
year, when it’s time to renew the contract, if there isn’t a deadline, it
always gets pushed up to that last point.
He added he wasn’t asking them to commit to a date today, but he would
like for them to give it some thought and reach out to staff to come back with
a deadline.
Commissioner Carey stated she hopes to see
this accomplished by this summer at the latest.
Mr. Weddle stated they welcome the idea of
getting the metrics into the contract so they are something that everybody can
keep in mind. He stated they would like
to begin concurrently with the County’s budget process.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Horan, to approve the
Partnership Agreement, as shown on page ______, between Seminole County and the
Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida, Incorporated, d/b/a
Metro-Orlando Economic Development Commission (MOEDC), for the purpose of
providing economic development services in Seminole County.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Request to award IFB-601893-13/TLR – Term
Contract for Landscape Materials and Miscellaneous Related Construction
Services, to LaFleur Nurseries & Garden Center,
Sanford, was presented.
Commissioner Carey stated this bid went out to the
community and only received one response.
She stated a year and a half ago she was under the impression they had
come up with something to standardize the medians using xeriscape
Florida-friendly plants and now they have this contract and only one response
to do the medians. She stated there is a
pretty long list of materials and she feels unsure that the County is doing
what it needs to for the medians; they spend a lot of money on landscaping and
maintenance. She stated she thinks they
need to have some standardization and they need to stick to it.
Commissioner Carey stated she does not have
a problem approving this contract. She
stated she feels more attention needs to be paid to the medians and staff does
not seem to be listening on this particular issue.
Chairman Dallari agreed that there needs to
be consistency, and if there is not consistency, there needs to be updates of
why that is a problem.
Commissioner Carey stated that maintenance
is a real problem in the medians.
Mr. Hartmann stated he will ask staff to provide
a report on the sufficiency of all the medians right now. He stated he is aware they have periodic
problems with some of them and that is because of some of the standards that
were put in place years ago. He is under
the impression Richard Durr, Greenways & Trails
Division, has worked on much of that, but he wishes to get a full and
comprehensive report back to the Board in short order.
Commissioner Horan stated he understands the
contract is rather large in scope and includes materials and labor. Basically, release orders are issued by the
County concerning what needs to be done in the medians.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Horan, Ray
Hooper, Purchasing and Contracts Manager, stated the bid total was roughly $238,000,
but the estimated annual usage came from the department based upon what their
best estimate was for the usage under this contract. He said that was stated in the agenda item so
staff can issue those release orders as stated.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Horan, Mr. Durr, stated this particular contract covers medians and
all other County facilities. He stated
the plan for the County facilities is usually more in a reactive mode in how
they replace existing landscape that has failed or has died. Regarding the medians, he stated they are not
in an active role looking to replant medians because they don’t have the budget
for it. He stated the budget they have
is for anything that needs to be removed for safety, anytime landscape dies
because it reaches its end of life, or for situations where cars move into the
median and wipe out areas of landscape.
He added that the bulk of their budget is to have that landscape removed
completely and then to either replace it with like-plant material or with sod
and some fill.
Mr. Durr stated
that regarding 17-92, next week they will be coming before the Redevelopment
Planning Agency (RPA) with the first in a series of phases to address 17-92 starting
at the south end of how to go in and create a work plan to replace the
landscape that’s in there to install more appropriate landscape that will be
viable so they are not having the weed issues and the burnout, especially in
the summer. He said that will take time,
planning and funds from the CRA to help start up that effort.
Commissioner Horan stated he is looking
forward to that report as this is the most detail he has ever understood on
this particular issue. He stated they have
made a lot of cuts and it might be time to look at an active management program
because they may get more bids.
Commissioner Carey stated the landscape on
17-92 is not conducive to the Florida climate and it is hard to contain; it
can’t take the heat. She stated she
hopes the RPA will focus on that.
Chairman Dallari agreed with Commissioner
Carey and stated when they have had this discussion, they talked about all the
things she has brought up, and they would like for it to be maintained not only
on 17-92, but on any major arteries in Seminole County.
Commissioner Constantine stated he would
like staff to start incorporating the xeriscape, Florida-friendly
landscaping. He agrees with Commissioner
Carey that the medians and the look as you come in or drive through the county
is very important to the overall atmosphere.
He feels that in the report, instead of micromanaging, they should give
a feel of this being something they would like to see more emphasized as they
go forward; relooking at what is important.
Chairman Dallari agreed with Commissioner
Constantine that they need to have a report, but does not agree that the Board
is micromanaging. He believes the
discussion is to ensure that staff sets a policy.
Commissioner Constantine clarified they
would like to get their expert to give them a better way to emphasize the
medians in the report.
Commissioner Henley stated he feels they
are not making their opinions clear enough and sometimes they have changes in
staff and things don’t get passed on. He
pointed out they just approved $24,000 worth of landscaping and as long as they
are going to provide funding for those private projects, they should emphasize the importance of the
xeriscape. He feels that after looking
at some of the places that they have funded, they have overdone it. He stated he would like for them to consider
trying to influence more along the corridor.
Commissioner Constantine agreed with Commissioner Henley.
Commissioner Horan stated he would like this
put into the budget process.
Commissioner Carey stated they have a lot
of partnerships on their medians. She
stated Casselberry and Sanford maintain theirs to a certain level, and Lake
Mary and Sanford both maintain part of Lake Mary Boulevard. She stated that she and Commissioner
Constantine serve on the Wekiva Basin Commission and discuss xeriscape and
other plants that don’t require a lot of water and fertilizer. She stated they have also talked about
amending their landscape ordinances that also don’t require a lot of plant
material that requires a lot of water and a lot of fertilizer. She stated she feels that this is a
continuous discussion that they never seem to get to the end of.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Horan, to award
IFB-601893-13/TLR, as shown on page ______, Term Contract for Landscape
Materials and Miscellaneous Related Construction Services, to LaFleur Nurseries & Garden Center; and authorize the
Purchase & Contracts Division to execute the Agreement.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Chairman Dallari stated in the report he
would like to see the cities’ responsibilities, the County’s responsibilities,
what those standards are, xeriscaping and all the partnerships, as well.
Mr. Hartmann agreed and said he will add
the state that each of the major corridors are in at this time.
Commissioner Horan requested that staff
include in the report what they have in the budget and what they may need in
the budget.
-------
Request to award RFP-9059-13, School
Shelter Retrofits in the amount of $795,521 to Welsh Construction, was
presented.
Commissioner Carey stated that there were a couple
of things in the binder distributed prior to the meeting that bothered
her. She stated roll-down shutters were
always a requirement for the first floor, so if someone responded other than
that, then they probably were not responsive to the RFP. She thought it was interesting that this
started out as a request for proposal and ended up as a hard bid even after the
numbers were out there in the public, which she feels is very unfair.
Commissioner Carey stated that usually when
they get an RFP to approve an item, it has the comments of the evaluation committee,
what the original scope was, and a lot of other things that are in the package
that are not in this particular item.
She stated she found it interesting that four out of five of the evaluation
committee that staff assembled ranked Armor Screen as number one. When they went out for Best and Final, their
scope and their numbers were out there.
She stated she is unsure how the Board wants to deal with this, but she
agrees Armor Screen has been treated unfairly.
Commissioner Carey stated that she is very
disappointed in the way this was handled.
She stated usually when they do a request for proposal, there are a
certain amount of points given for price, a certain amount for approach, and a certain
amount for experience, and that is how they determine how they are ranked.
Bryant Applegate, County Attorney, stated
he thinks they need to hear from the Purchasing Department and Mr. Hooper, who
has been involved with this from day one and they can go from there.
Ray Hooper stated the Board administration
policy has two types of RFPs: a low-price technically acceptable RFP and a best
value. He stated the technical
specifications were written by engineering staff of the County and the School
Board. He stated the technical
specification was the Miami/Dade Wind Standard, and the Florida Building Code
of 2010, and that specification carried through the original RFP, through the
evaluation, through the Best and Final and is part of the award
recommendation. He stated the only thing
that changed in the technical specification was the protection type, which was
mentioned in the original RFP. The protection
type was changed in Addendum #3, which allows for just about any kind of
compliant-type protection.
Mr. Hooper stated the evaluation is not
included in the backup because there were two protests, which were based upon
the faulty evaluation process that led to the recommended firm. He stated he has a lengthy list of all the
statements that were erroneously made and the points that were given during the
evaluation process. He stated he had no
choice but to either start over or to issue a Best and Final. He added in the Best and Final,
it specifically said all the technical specifications in the original RFP
remain with the exception of the clarification for protection type, which they
stated will be shutters on the second floor, shutters on the first floor, and
screens on the storefront. He said if
they meet the County’s minimum standard, as stated in the BAFO, then they were
going to hone in on price.
Commissioner Horan stated he shares
Commissioner Carey’s concern about the process that was entered into. He stated he spent five or six hours talking
to people, reviewing materials, and looking at this. He stated the problem he has with the Best and
Final Offer utilization in this situation was that they were supposed to be
evaluating on an RFP basis and then a Best and Final Offer is supposed to be
used after negotiations, which there were no negotiations.
Commissioner Horan stated he was not
blaming staff. He stated he understands
there was a Federal grant that was going to expire and no time to rebid
this. He thinks they did the best that
they could under the purchasing practices.
He expressed what bothered him is they did not use the Best and Final
Offer in the context in which it is supposed to be used under the Purchasing Code
after negotiations, but it basically is converting an RFP process into what is
basically a hard bid, using what has already been put into public record not
only by the number one proposer, but all of the proposers. He does not think they did anything unlawful
or unethical. He feels the important
thing is that they have a process that is fair and equitable and they get to a
decision that is fair and equitable to all the bidders and in the best interest
of the people in Seminole County.
Commissioner Henley stated he met with
Armor Screen yesterday and received a notebook that contains a tremendous
amount of their interpretation of the things that happened and there are a lot
of allegations in there. He stated he
agrees with some of it and staff stated there were irregularities in the
evaluation process, but a great deal was made of the fact that one of the
bidders interpreted this to be best suited and that’s not what was there. He stated from the very beginning, the
criteria cost had the largest amount of points that could be awarded, so that
would indicate the importance of cost.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Henley, Mr.
Hooper stated that Armor Screen is proposing a vendor that is different for the
manufacture of the shutters than what Welsh has proposed; Welsh is proposing
Shutter Outlet. He stated they are all
Bertha manufacturers, and there are several Bertha manufacturers in the State
of Florida that do the Miami wind standards.
He added they are using two different vendors, so he does not know how
you can shop with two different vendors.
He stated they are also using different suppliers for the screens. He added he doesn’t know how one manufacturer
can copyright another manufacturer when the compliant rules and regulations are
the Miami/Dade wind standards.
Commissioner Horan stated in the original
criteria the approach to the work was worth 20 points, qualifying and
experience was worth 25 points, project delivery time was worth 15, and price
proposal was worth 40 points, which made price worth less than one half of it,
but at the end it wound up being worth 100 percent of it. He stated there was no notice when these
proposers went into this process that they would be competing in a process that
was solely based on price.
Mr. Applegate stated they have three
options: (1) to instruct staff to start all over again, (2) to award it to the
company that is recommended, or (3) to override the recommendation and award it
to Armor. Under the code, Welsh would
have the option of coming before the Board at the next meeting to have a
hearing on that decision. He stated in
considering these options, they have to remember that there is a grant with a
time constraint on it, and this is an issue of public safety, securing schools
that serve as shelters. He stated he
will stand ready to defend whatever decision the Board makes.
Commissioner Carey stated she did not think
starting over was an option because of the timing. She stated the fact that they had three
department directors from Seminole County staff and two directors from the
School Board serving on the selection committee, and price was considered then,
four out of the five recommended Armor to be the number one choice, even though
their price was significantly higher. She
understands what should have happened at that point is they would have gone to
Armor and tried to negotiate a Best and Final Offer based on the
recommendation.
Commissioner Carey stated she does not
think they can compare the two different products to one another because it is
like comparing apples and oranges. She
stated her inclination is to stick with the recommendation they have from their
committee. She opined that every time
they do an RFP, it’s flawed.
Commissioner Henley stated under part four
of the evaluation proposal, there are some statements that deserve
consideration. He does not believe that
when you look at the point evaluation on the criteria, that it was based solely
on price, either on the original RFP or the Best and Final, which has been used
numerous times in their process when there are questions, ambiguities and
irregularities. He stated since they are
dealing with taxpayers’ dollars, which are getting very tight, he cannot
support giving it to the one that is significantly higher. He thinks they need to give price a
consideration, but not only price because there were points awarded on each of
the criteria in the original as well as the Best and Final.
Commissioner Horan stated the spread on the
Best and Final is not significant; it is roughly $40,000 on an $830,000 bid.
Mr. Hooper stated the Best and Final
clarified the protection type and stated what the County standard would be so
they could compare the two. He stated
the Best and Final said they would award based upon the low price, technical
acceptability based upon the original specification in the RFP, and the newly
declared protection type. He stated that
under best value, he does want to state that the evaluation Administrative Code
is very strict on evaluation factors. He
added that when you do “best value,” you as an evaluator are to identify those
attributes of paying a premium price. There
are no attributes of the Board recommendation of the initial evaluation. He stated one of the reasons he threw out the
initial evaluation is because there were no significant advantages to pay a
premium price. Discussion ensued.
Commissioner Constantine stated he is under
the impression that nobody on the Board likes the three alternatives Mr.
Applegate suggested because they don’t have any flexibility. He feels that the worst scenario is awarding
the contract to one of the bidders and having a legal problem come up that causes
them to lose the grant.
Upon inquiry by Chairman Dallari, Tad
Stone, Public Safety Director, addressed the Board to state they can ask for an
extension on the grant after the award of the grant. He stated he thinks there is enough
information to put together a request for a hard bid within the next two weeks,
give it a short timeline, specify clearly what they want, award the bid, then
ask for the extension following the award of the bid. He stated they can probably do that within
the next 30 to 45 days at the most.
Commissioner Carey stated they need to be
specific about what it is they want to bid.
She stated she hasn’t been involved in this or had enough time to study
the differences except that she knows there is a difference between what is
being proposed between the various five vendors.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Constantine,
Mr. Stone stated that regarding the wind portion, it was based upon the
Miami/Dade Building Code, not the American Society of Civil Engineers and their
latest wind resistance code. He advised
there are different wind-resistance codes depending upon the location in the
state.
Commissioner Constantine stated that he
wants to make sure that when they put in the specifications, they are putting
in the standards that are going to protect the citizens at the highest level.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Horan, Mr.
Applegate stated they could start over and instruct staff to go back out.
Commissioner Horan stated he feels the best
option is to make a decision today so that they can begin the process of
extending the grant.
Commissioner Constantine feels that they
need assurances that they can get the whole process done and they aren’t going
to lose the grant because that is unacceptable to everyone.
Mr. Applegate stated he wanted to be clear
that there is no guarantee an extension on a grant will be approved.
Motion
by Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to authorize staff to
award RFP-9059-13, School Shelter Retrofits, to Weather Shield/Armor in the
amount they bid for the Best and Final Offer.
Districts 2 and 5 voted AYE.
Chairman Dallari, Commissioner Constantine
and Commissioner Henley voted NAY; whereupon the motion died for lack of a majority vote.
Motion
by Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to authorize staff to
award RFP-9059-13, as shown on page _________, School Shelter Retrofits, to
Welsh Construction at the amount of the Best and Final Offer.
Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 voted AYE.
District 5 voted NAY.
COUNTY ATTORNEY’S CONSENT AGENDA
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Horan,
to adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-44, as shown on page ______, creating a
new “stand-alone” ethics document as Section 24.1 of the Administrative Code
and Policy Manual.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
-------
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine to adopt appropriate
Resolution #2014-R-45, as shown on page ______, amending Section 3.51 of the
Administrative Code and Policy Manual regarding Commissioner Travel and
Reimbursement of Expenses.
Under
discussion, Chairman Dallari stated he finds the terminology to be somewhat
confusing in Section 3.51(B)(2)(a), “when a County
Commissioner is acting as an official representative of the County.”
Commissioner
Carey explained she thought the statement meant that as an official
representative, you have been appointed by the BCC Chairman to serve on a
committee or you have been asked by this Board to go and represent this
Board. She suggested since not
everything gets approved by the Board, they could add the statement, “as
approved by the Board of County Commissioners or appointed by the Chairman.”
Commissioner Carey amended the motion to add “as approved by the Board of County
Commissioners or appointed by the Chairman” to Section 3.51(B)(2)(a)
of the Administrative Code and Policy Manual.
Commissioner Constantine agreed
to the amendment.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
CONSTITUTIONAL
OFFICERS’ CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to authorize and
approve the following:
CLERK’S OFFICE
24. Expenditure Approval Lists, as shown on page
_____, dated January 6 and 13, 2014; and Payroll Approval List, as shown on
page _____, dated January 11, 2014; approval of the BCC Official Minutes dated
January 14, 2014; and noting, for information only, the following Clerk’s
“Received and Filed”:
1.
Amendment
#6, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #7 to PS-4906-09.
2.
Amendment
#2, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #3 to RFP-6174-10.
3.
Restrictive
Use Covenant, as shown on page _______, for Nvision
Development Management Services, LLC, for property at 1006 Gwyn Circle, Oviedo,
Florida.
4.
CC-9000-13,
as shown on page _______, Contractor Services Agreement, Home Program
Residential Rehabilitation, Black Street Enterprises, LLC.
5.
Amendment
#3, as shown on page _______, to CC-5075-10.
6.
Amendment
#5, as shown on page _______, to CC-5544-10.
7.
Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to IFB-601738-13.
8.
Change
Order #3, as shown on page _______, to CC-8159-12.
9.
Change
Order #1, as shown on page _______, to CC-8459-13.
10.
Memorandum
from David G. Shields, Assistant County Attorney, to Ann Colby, Assistant
County Attorney, regarding Basic Services Agreement Request for Walter G. Robillard.
11.
Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #105 to PS-5120-02.
12.
Change
Order #5, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #2 to RFQ-5888-10.
13.
M-601924-14,
as shown on page _______, Online Music Subscription Agreement, Midwest Tape.
14.
Work
Order #55, as shown on page _______, to PS-3914-08.
15.
Recorded
Satisfaction of Lien, as shown on page _______, 12-95-CEB, Weatherford, as
approved by the BCC on November 19, 2013.
16.
Change
Order #1, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #4 to CC-8199-12.
17.
Recorded
Customer Agreement, as shown on page _______, for Reclaimed Water Rates and
Reclaimed Water Flow Distribution, Deliver and Spray Easement/Colonial Heathrow
Parcel 3 – Verizon Building.
18.
Recorded
Bill of Sale, as shown on page _______, accepting Water, Reclaimed and Sewer Systems,
Ellingsworth.
19.
Recorded
Bill of Sale, as shown on page _______, accepting Water and Sewer Systems,
Enclave at Aloma Phase 2.
20.
Change
Order #3, as shown on page _______, to CC-8501-13.
21.
Associate
Tennis Pro Agreement, as shown on page _______, Jason Thomas Louwsma.
22.
Recorded
Development Order #13-20500020, as shown on page _______, Theodore S. &
Anne Takvorian.
23.
Recorded
Development Order #13-50000001, as shown on page _______, Frederick & Laura
Firnschild.
24.
Change
Order #1, as shown on page _______, to CC-8481-13.
25.
Work
Order #66, as shown on page _______, to RFP-5465-10.
26.
Order
Denying a Non-standard Meter Rider Tariff from the Florida Public Service
Commission regarding Petition for approval of optional non-standard meter
rider, by FPL.
27.
Change
Orders #2 and #3, as shown on page _______, to CC-8247-12.
28.
Special
Counsel Services Agreement, as shown on page _______, Infrastructure Surtax,
Nabors Giblin & Nickerson, P.A.
29.
Recorded
Bill of Sale, as shown on page _______, accepting the Off-Site Water System, Kandor Dental Spa.
30.
Recorded
Bill of Sale, as shown on page _______, accepting the Water, Reclaimed and
Sewer Systems, Coventry at Heathrow.
31.
Recorded
Bill of Sale, as shown on page _______, accepting the Water and Sewer Systems,
Enclave at Bear Lake.
32.
Recorded
Conditional Utility Agreements, as shown on page _______, for water and sewer
service, Pickett Run LLC, Tuska Reserve.
33.
Order
granting Utilities, Inc. of Florida Application for Rate Increase and Final
Order Finding a Partial Interim Refund is Required, Approving Four-Year Rate
Reduction and Requiring an Adjustment to Books and Records from the Florida
Public Service Commission regarding Application for Increase in Water and
Wastewater Rates in Marion, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, and Seminole Counties by
Utilities, Inc. of Florida.
34.
Order
granting Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) Petition for Base Rate Increase for
Extended Power Uprate Systems from the Florida Public Service Commission
regarding Petition for base rate increase for extended power uprate systems
placed in commercial service by FPL.
35.
Amendment
#5, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #15 to PS-5438-10.
36.
Maintenance
Bond, as shown on page _______, #59BSBGP7864, for Water & Sewer Facilities,
Ellingsworth in the amount of $21,182.30.
37.
Maintenance
Bond, as shown on page _______, #1027802, for Water & Sewer Facilities,
Enclave at Aloma Phase 2 in the amount of $11,190.60.
38.
Recorded
Satisfaction of Lien, as shown on page _______, 10-13-CEB, Robert C. Malcomb.
39.
Recorded
Release of Lien, as shown on page _______, 10-54-CEB, Kenneth E. King, as
approved by the BCC on January 14, 2014.
40.
Recorded
Home Program Housing Reconstruction Assistance Mortgage Deed, as shown on page
_______, Willie Hawkins.
41.
Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #9 to RFP-CS01-12.
42.
Development
Order, as shown on page _______, #12-32000016, First Baptist Church of Tuskawilla.
43.
Drainage
Easement, as shown on page _______, with the City of Lake Mary per approval of
Interlocal Agreement on November 19, 2013.
44.
Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #1 to PS-8186-13.
45.
Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #35 to PS-2249-07.
46.
IFB-601879-13,
as shown on page _______, Term Contract for Rental of Electric Scissor
Equipment, High Reach Company, LLC.
47.
IFB-601886-13,
as shown on page _______, Term Contract for the Purchase of Sodium
Hypochlorite, Allied Universal Corporation.
48.
IFB-601860-23,
as shown on page _______, Term Contract for Purchase of Sodium Hydroxide,
Allied Universal Corporation.
49.
Change
Order #5, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #4 to RFQ-5888-10.
50.
Amendment
#5, as shown on page _______, to PS-5190-05.
51.
Change
Order #6, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #4 to RFQ-5888-10.
52.
Change
Order #3, as shown on page _______, to CC-7840-12.
53.
Work
Order #6, as shown on page _______, to PS-7643-12.
54.
Change
Order #1, as shown on page _______, to CC-8457-13.
55.
Work
Order #9, as shown on page _______, to PS-8047-12.
56.
Seminole
County Adopted Annual Budget County, as shown on page _______, for Fiscal Year
2013/2014.
57.
Bids
as follows: RFP-9059-13 and IFB-601893-13.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
REGULAR AGENDA
Paula Halleck, Planning & Development,
addressed the Board to present request to reduce the Code Enforcement Board
lien from $9,250 to $345.54, for Case #10-43-CEB, on property located at 140 Ledbury Drive, Longwood, Tax Parcel
#05-21-29-507-0000-0730; SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. (Current Owner). Ms. Halleck reviewed the timeline as outlined
in the agenda memorandum. Staff recommends
denial of the request.
David W. Ashley, representing SunTrust
Mortgage, addressed the Board to state they became aware of the situation with
the property when they were doing a lien search on the property. He stated at that time the title company lets
them know that there is an existing lien and the requirements to cure it. He explained that in November 2013 they
became aware of the problem with the property, which was a fence that was
improperly constructed by the prior homeowner.
When they were notified by title that it needed to be cured, his firm
immediately contacted the County, made appointments with the Code Enforcement Department,
and hired a contractor to right the wrong.
He said the process took about 45 days, the problem has been taken care
of, and he requested the Board consider lessening the amount of the lien. He stated he understands there are
administrative costs that go along with this and they are happy to pay them.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms.
Halleck stated the correct number of days it took SunTrust to get into
compliance was 53 days. She stated there
was an error in the system they use to calculate the days and fines, and Mr.
Ashley was given the incorrect amount of the fine.
Tina Williamson, Assistant Director for
Development Services, addressed the Board and stated that the spreadsheet they
used to calculate stated the actual amount is $13,500. She stated Mr. Ashley was given the incorrect
amount of the fine due to the error in the paperwork.
Ms. Williamson stated that due to the fact
Mr. Ashley was given the incorrect amount, staff recommends reducing the fine
to the amount of $9,250 that is stated in the staff report.
Commissioner Carey commented on the fine
structure stating that this is about a fence that did not have a permit unlike
an unsecured swimming pool that is a public safety issue. She said she feels $9,000 is excessive, but
that $300 is not enough to make them want to take care of these issues in the
future. Commissioner Horan said he
shares her concern about a sense of proportion.
Mr. Ashley stated that as soon as they were
made aware of the problem, they took steps to fix it. He stated it takes a little time to get a
contractor there, get the inspectors back out there and fix the problem. He added the property is under contract and will
close this week. They put a new roof on
the home and they have an owner/occupant moving in.
Commissioner Constantine stated he feels
$345 for the administrative costs is far too low and suggested that they cut
the $9,250 in half to $4,625.
No one spoke in support or in opposition.
Motion
by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to approve a
reduction to the Code Enforcement Board lien, from $9,250 to $4,625, for Case
#10-43-CEB, on property located at 140 Ledbury Drive,
Longwood, Tax Parcel #05-21-29-507-0000-0730, previously owned by John C.
Clark, II and currently owned by SunTrust Mortgage, Inc.; require this reduced
amount be paid within 30 days, or the lien will revert to its original total
amount of $9,250, and authorize the Chairman to execute the Satisfaction of
Lien upon payment in full.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
--------
Joe Pennisi, Resource Management Director,
addressed the Board to present request to adopt a Resolution authorizing the
issuance of Special Obligation Bonds, Series 2014, to provide financing for the
Sports Complex and renovations to Soldiers Creek Park, in an amount not
exceeding $28 million.
Angela Singleton, Budget & Fiscal Management,
stated that on June 11, 2013, the BCC authorized staff to proceed with a
30-year, $28 million Bond issuance for the Sports Complex and the renovations
of Soldiers Creek Park. She reviewed
what the approval of the associated Resolution will authorize and advised that
staff recommends adoption of said Resolution.
No one spoke in support or in opposition.
Chairman Dallari thanked Gary Akers and his
team for the representation in New York in front of the rating agencies. He also stated he wanted to thank Ms.
Singleton publicly, as well as the rest of the team.
Gary Akers, First Southwest Company,
addressed the Board to state the goals of their presentation with the Chairman
and County staff on January 23rd were to maintain the existing ratings
and to address some concerns that were apparent from the rating agencies in
their questions prior to the rating meetings.
Mr. Akers stated they received Moody’s
rating. He stated they looked at the
issuer rating, which is comparable to a general obligation bond issue if you
had them outstanding, but it is the County’s general credit rating which is an
AA1. He stated that is the highest AA rating
that you can get and at some point in the future, it would be nice if they
could get that rating up to AAA.
Mr. Akers stated they also affirmed the
rating on the outstanding sales tax bonds of AA2, which is one notch down from
the issuer rating and rated this issue also AA2. He added that it is typical of the ratings
not secured by an ad valorem tax; it is not a voted issue, but it is the next
thing to a general obligation issue.
Mr. Akers stated Standard & Poor’s (S&P)
rated this issue a –AA. He indicated
they are one notch off of Moody’s and have been for some time, and they have
attempted to upgrade that at least twice in rating presentations.
Mr. Akers stated they are very pleased with those
ratings.
Mr. Akers summarized Moody’s ratings
(received & filed.) He stated that
in all the questions they had, both rating agencies addressed their concerns
about the draw downs and are looking to the future as to when that mismatch
could be corrected. He stated Moody’s
observation is that the economy is only beginning to recover. He said there have been positive economic
reports on housing. He stated it’s been
extremely volatile as far as the tax base and the sales tax collections. He added they feel there is achievement of a
structural balance given the magnitude of recent cuts.
Commissioner Carey stated when she went up
to New York to make the presentation a number of years back, they gave a lot of
credit to the Board for having done things like putting the infrastructure sales
tax out to the voters.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Mr.
Akers stated that the fact that they let the infrastructure sales tax sunset
was an issue for them because their concern was if that tax could not be
implemented again, the County would start drawing on General Fund reserves,
especially with the size of the transportation capital program.
Chairman Dallari said one of the responses
to that question was actually showing the survey that was done between
Christmas and New Years, and it was presented to both S&P and Moody’s.
Commissioner Carey stated she is sure they
will be watching with great curiosity because they applauded the fact that the tax
had been put out to the voters twice and it passed back to back. She feels there aren’t a lot of communities
that can say that they have a fair tax like that.
Chairman Dallari stated they are very
familiar with what’s happening in Central Florida. He indicated they asked questions during the
presentation on cities and counties around Seminole County as well as the School
Board. He stated they are very
complimentary of the Board about having the foresight to make the hard
decisions.
Commissioner Carey stated drawing down
their reserves is an issue. She stated
they need to figure out how they are going to fix it.
Chairman Dallari stated during the
presentation, Mr. Pennisi showed them a plan that staff is going to be talking to
the Board about. He added the agencies are
willing to listen to that plan and they want to make sure that the Board is
going to uphold it.
Commissioner Horan stated he read the
letters from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s and it seemed to amplify the
conflict they have between establishing a credit rating and good fiscal
management from an operational point of view.
He stated in 2010 if they had posed a financial statement to them
showing that their net assets were going down with no particular loss in
capital assets, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s would have thought it was
good fiscal management to spend down those reserves before going out and
renewing a tax or going out and taxing citizens even more in ad valorem. He stated he thinks there is always conflict
in doing something fiscally correct in terms of operational fiscal management
and what the rating agencies may look for.
He stated the things that may make them look good in the eyes of the
rating agencies may not always be the best thing for the citizens of Seminole
County. He stated he is very comfortable
with what they did in 2011 and that it was in the best interest of the citizens
of Seminole County.
Commissioner Henley stated one of the
strongest arguments they have had when they go for rating is the low millage
rate that they have been able to maintain, which gives them the opportunity to
meet the obligation in case of emergency and he thinks they need to continue to
safeguard that because he doesn’t know that they will have an opportunity any
time soon to build a large reserve.
Commissioner Carey stated she thinks the
rating is important because it determines how much it’s going to cost the
County to borrow money, so they want to do everything they can to protect that.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Horan, to adopt appropriate
Resolution #2014-R-46, as shown on page _______, authorizing the issuance of
Special Obligation Bonds, Series 2014, to provide financing for the Sports
Complex and renovations to Soldiers Creek Park in an amount not to exceed $28
million.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Mr. Akers stated he thinks the rating
agencies have a very good understanding of where Seminole County is, what the
history has been, and the fact that they did build up substantial reserves to
meet a downturn in the economy. He
believes the rating agencies recognize that and are fully knowledgeable of
Seminole County, but they know at some point the budget has to balance and you
don’t deplete your reserves below the minimum requirement.
COUNTY MANAGER AND
STAFF BRIEFINGS
Mr. Hartmann stated on January 16, Chairman
Dallari received a copy of a letter that was addressed to him from Nationwide
Retirement Solutions asking that the County consider a contract extension with
them. Staff has looked at it and
recommends pursuing it. He stated he
would like to bring it back at the next meeting. The
Board voiced no objections.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Horan, Mr.
Hartmann stated he doesn’t think it will preclude them from hiring somebody to
come in and help them evaluate.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
BRIEFING
Mr. Applegate expressed his gratitude to
Arnold Schneider, Deputy County Attorney, for all the good work he has done on the
bond resolution.
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Chairman Dallari stated he would like to
move the work session scheduled for this morning to the afternoon.
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Chairman Dallari recessed the meeting at 12:02
p.m.;
reconvening at 1:30 p.m., with all Commissioners and all other Officials, with
Clerk of Court Maryanne Morse entering late, with the exception of Deputy Clerk
Erin Leben, who was replaced by Deputy Clerk Eva Roach, who were present at the
Opening Session.
PROOFS OF
PUBLICATION
Motion by Commissioner Henley, seconded
by Commissioner Carey to authorize the filing of the proofs of publication for
this meeting's scheduled public hearings into the Official Record.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Clerk of
Court Maryanne Morse entered the meeting at this time.
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
INFRASTRUCTURE
SALES SURTAX ORDINANCE
Proof of
publication, as shown on page ________, calling for a public hearing to
consider an Ordinance imposing a ten-year, one-cent sales surtax on all taxable
transactions in Seminole County subject to referendum approval, directing the
Supervisor of Elections to set a countywide special referendum election on May
20, 2014, and further providing for the process for identification of
infrastructure projects and shared distribution of the tax proceeds among the
County, the municipalities in the County and the School Board, received and
filed.
Jim
Hartmann, County Manager, stated the proposed ordinance will impose a 10-year,
one-cent sales surtax on all taxable transactions in Seminole County subject to
the referendum approval by the voters.
The proposed ordinance will also direct the Supervisor of Elections to
set a countywide special referendum election on May 20, 2014. The proposed ordinance will also provide the
process for identification of infrastructure projects and shared distribution
of the tax proceeds among the County, the municipalities in the County and the
School Board. Staff continues to meet
with the municipalities and the School Board relating to the projects and that
should come back to the Board in early March.
Diana
Evans, 1471 Southwind Drive, addressed the Board to
state she believes a special election will cost a little over $500,000. She said she found out at the CALNO meeting
last week that the reason why this had to be a special election is because it
would help the voters keep their focus on that one issue instead of mixing it
into the other issues that are on the ballot in November. She said many of the residents took offense
to that because they feel they are smart enough to multi-task and handle a lot
of issues at the same time. She added
she also was informed that if the special election is not scheduled in May, it
will not take effect this year. She said
a half million dollars is a lot of money and feels it is just poor planning if
it wasn’t done in time. She said she
sees that the distribution amount shows that 75% will go to transportation and
25% to education. She stated she is
translating that the transportation amount will mostly go to SunRail and the
remaining amount will go to Common Core.
She said she is against both of those and would like to see a full
detailed accounting of what the money is being spent on before she says she
will vote for it.
Chairman
Dallari informed Ms. Evans that she will be provided with that list.
Walter
Osborne, Red Ember Road, addressed the Board to suggest lobbying the sales tax
for four years instead of 10 years and scheduling the election in August as
opposed to paying $500,000 for a special election. He stated the reason he feels that four years
is better than ten is because families will postpone spending for things that
are not critical or are not high priority if the job is uncertain. If the future revenue is a little uncertain
and if the tax is not approved after the end of four years, then there will be
a tendency for the County to save money.
The public and the union will accept that as they will believe that the
County has to be conservative republicans if the voters know about it four
years ahead of time. If the Board would
like to submit this to the voters again after the end of two years, then there
will be no surprise as it can be done in advance. The average voter can’t understand a waste of
$500,000 when three months later, it could have been done for free.
David
Leavitt, 1000 Ridge Pointe Cove, addressed the Board to ask if they really need
the one-cent sales tax and why they would need to do it during a special
election in May. He said he doesn’t
believe that having the special election before the next fiscal year starts in
October is a good enough reason. The
Supervisor of Elections informed him that the last two special elections for
the sales tax had a low voter turnout, and the voter turnout was over 50% at a
typical election in November. He added
based on those facts, he recommended holding the election in November in order
to get a better voter turnout.
Commissioner
Carey requested that staff confirm the numbers for the elections because she
does not believe they have ever had 50% voter turnout. Also, she would like to know whether they
were for presidential or gubernatorial elections.
Kenneth
Thompson, 250 W. 8th Street, addressed the Board to state he is a
taxpayer and they already pay so many taxes.
He stated he feels there should be a cap in spending through the
Federal, State and local government levels.
He listed the type of taxes that the citizens already pay. He said he feels his money is well spent at
the local level and the state level. He
asked the Board to find ways to save money and move money away from the Federal
government back to the local level.
Ed
Riordan, 1793 Seneca Blvd., addressed the Board to state raising the sales tax
from 6% to 7% represents a 16.6% increase of what they are currently paying in
sales tax. He stated this will generate
$64 million for ten years and that is a lot of money. The Board indicated that the money is needed,
but is willing to gamble the $500,000 of taxpayers’ money so it can be
considered in a special election. If the
County already has $500,000 to fund the special election, then why do they need
the money. He said
he doesn’t understand why the County can’t wait until August or November when
the matter can be considered at no additional cost to the County
taxpayers.
Mr. Riordan stated when the public
started to refer to this proposal as a train tax, the Board knew that they
would need to refrain from that discussion as it became apparent that the
voters wouldn’t support an increased tax for the reasons they were told that it
was needed. The Board then reviewed the
polling data to see how they could frame the proposal in a way that they could
get the voters’ support. The Board found
out that if they propose that 25% of the money would go to the school district,
the voters would be more likely to support it.
The Board also found out that the voters may be more likely to support
the tax if the School Board reconsidered lowering the property taxes. It is interesting that the tax proposal is
being framed in such a way that voters will be more likely to approve it and
not based on the reality of sudden and urgent needs. The School Board told the voters that they
needed money for urgent infrastructure needs.
Since the School Board raised property taxes by a mill, they have spent
$380,000 on band instruments, so he said he guesses there are really no
immediate needs there. He added he
doesn’t support the cost of the special election or the tax increase. He said he feels the Board needs to provide
more detail on the reasons for the proposed tax increase and the sudden and
urgent need to spend $523,000 on a special election when only 15% to 20% of the
County voters historically cast ballots.
He concluded by stating the Board also needs to inform the public of
what their “Plan B” is if the issue fails at the ballot.
Linda Trocine, 487 Artesia St., addressed the Board to state she
cannot understand why the County cannot live within their means. She said she would reiterate what has already
been said.
John
Horvath, 1004 Bradford Dr., addressed the Board to state he remembers the
County having a population of 25,000 and now it is over 430,000. Many of the roads were narrow two-lane roads,
with orange groves, cow pastures and woods on each side. There were hard times for some people when the
first taxes were approved in 1990 and 2000, and there is never a perfect time
to do taxes. The County as well as the
School Board have cut their budgets. The
County has to keep up with their infrastructure; if they don’t there will be no
growth or economic development.
Cindy Youell, 351 Prima Vera Cove, addressed the Board to state
she is here to ask the Board when enough is going to be enough. The government in Washington keeps spending
and printing, and anyone who understands knows that when you print money you
debase that currency. They are living in
the days of inflation and she doesn’t think they are seeing the end of it
yet. There are about 100 million people
receiving food assistance from the Federal government and a lot of those people
have a lot of credit card debt and are having trouble putting gas in their
cars. Obamacare is affecting jobs and a
lot of people are losing their jobs.
John Chimbor, Sanford, addressed the Board to state he doesn’t
understand why the County is asking the residents to take money out of their
pockets when they have hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in various
Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR).
He recommended that the Board stop giving out bonuses to the employees
as government does not produce anything.
Warren Kaul, 622 Mockingbird Lane, addressed the Board to ask them
to reconsider having the election for the reasons that have already been
stated. He stated he feels that this
election may be defeated because of the economy and the one thing they need to
consider is the economy. Florida is the
second state with the highest number of long-term unemployment. There are 97 foreclosures in his neighborhood
and adding this burden of an extra tax would not be good. This is not a good time to be raising
taxes.
Gabriel,
1926 East Lake Drive, addressed the Board to state in his discussions with one
of the Board members that it would be a great idea to lower the millage and use
the sales tax to bring in revenue. He
stated he feels they should axe this whole project, and as a business owner,
this is not the time to tax the people.
He said the cities claim they have plenty of money.
David
McCoy, Oviedo resident, addressed the Board to state his main objection is
spending over $500,000 to put this on the ballot early instead of waiting for a
regular election. He stated it appears
to him that the Board would rather have it early to have less people voting than
having more people voting later for fear that it might not pass.
Melinda Akard, Oviedo resident, addressed the Board to state the
reason she came to the podium is to make sure that her name and affirmation of
everything that has been said before her is made part of this record in
opposition of the tax. She stated it is
important to her that the ballot issue be placed on the August or November
ballot.
No one
else spoke in support or in opposition.
Speaker
Request and Written Comment Forms were received and filed.
Commissioner
Carey stated the Board has fought for lower property taxes, and in her term
here she has voted against the County budget on numerous occasions when she
believed that their spending was not in line with what it should be. She stated she also believes that the most
fair way to tax and pay for infrastructure is with a sales tax.
Commissioner Carey reminded
everyone that the voters passed the tax during special elections to fund
infrastructure the first time as well as the infrastructure and schools the
second time. She added the May timeframe
is to allow the School Board to know the outcome of it before they finalize
their budget. The School Board’s one-mill
rate will only affect the property owners, not the 33% of visitors; many of the
people who pay sales tax don’t pay property taxes. The School Board will know the outcome of the
special election in May as they have to finalize their budget by June 30, 2014. Regardless of when they have this election,
the sales tax will not become effective until January 2015. If the School Board is aware of the outcome
of this election, they will see that they will have additional revenue coming
to them from January 2015 to June 2015 and that will give them a strong reason
to consider to either not levy or to lower the millage that they are
considering. That is the reason that she
concluded that they came up with the May timeframe.
Commissioner
Carey reminded everyone of the millage rate when she was elected in 2004. She added when Amendment I came out, the
Board went the maximum to roll the taxes back and they are still lower today
than when the sales tax was passed the last two times. The County has the right to tax up to 10% of
the utility bills, but they don’t, and that has never been increased. The citizens are unaware of the unfunded
mandates from the Federal and State government that the County must pay every
year. The County’s budget averages about
$20 million that they have to fund locally of unfunded mandates that should be
funded at the Federal or State level.
She stated she feels that the people in Seminole County have a right to
decide how they want to be taxed, but most of the property owners are sick and
tired of being the ones of having to pay the burden. She added one mill of property tax generates
about $25 million and the one-penny sales tax generates $63 million. She said there is a reason for having this
election early and hopefully it will have a positive outcome. The Board’s only choice is to either raise
the property taxes to pay for the local government or allow the people to
decide for a more fair tax, which she believes is the sales tax.
Commissioner
Henley stated he echoes what Commissioner Carey has said. The County has lowered the taxes three times
and quite often they don’t stop to analyze in detail what they get for their
money. He asked the citizens to think
about what they get for the taxes they pay.
He reminded everyone that Seminole County has one of the best school
systems in the country, one of the best law enforcement agencies as well as an
outstanding fire department to protect the citizens, a countywide library
system, parks and trails to enjoy, and over 6,000 acres of conservation land
that this Board has accumulated as a result of the citizens realizing the value
of preserving that land. The County also
subsidizes the bus system so that people who do not have a car can get to
work. He declared that SunRail has already
been paid for and people need to understand that this sales tax has nothing to
do with SunRail. He also mentioned the
County Health Department that is available to people that need it.
Commissioner Henley stated the
unfunded mandates hit this county very hard.
Seminole County was fortunate enough, during the good times, to be able
to set aside a tremendous amount of reserves in addition to lowering the taxes
over those years. The County has been
living on that reserve over the last several years. Seminole County eliminated over 140 positions
in order to try to balance the budget and to not deplete all of the
reserves.
Commissioner
Henley stated the CEO of one of the largest companies in Seminole County was
asked why they located their business to this county, and he commented that it
was because of the school system, the road system, the infrastructure, and
because he gets a bargain in this county for the taxes he pays. No one likes taxes and if they did, the
County could have imposed a tax by raising the millage. In order to maintain the quality of life that
they have, unfortunately, it takes more revenue. He added this Board is going to have to start
living within its income rather than depending on the reserves because they are
not going to be there. He asked the
citizens to stop and think about the positive things that they are getting for
the taxes as this County has one of the lowest millage rates in this
state.
Commissioner
Constantine stated the County is going to lay out a list of projects in the
neighborhoods and cities; then the choice will be made by the taxpayers in
Seminole County. He said he believes
very strongly that if this sales tax passes, the School Board will reconsider
what they are intending to do with the ad valorem. The sales tax is a fair tax as the citizens
have a choice as to whether or not to spend the money on what is being
proposed. He added that for every $1.00
that is spent on transportation infrastructure, $7.00 comes back in economic
development. If this passes, it will
ensure that they will be able to maintain and improve the infrastructure.
Commissioner
Horan stated he agrees that everyone pays too much in taxes and they do not
like to pay them. The BCC does not have
jurisdiction over the schools. The
school millage was passed in 2012 by a decisive margin and consequently, it
will sunset in about three years. He
stated the BCC has not received approximately $180 million of revenue because
the Board did not put the renewal of the sales tax before the voters in 2011. The County is providing the same or greater
level of service to its citizens than it did in 2008 and they are doing it with
fewer employees. He stated the way he
figures out what the citizens require of the Board is to set the lowest level
of taxes to meet the adequate level of services to meet their demands.
Chairman
Dallari stated the Board let the sales tax sunset in 2011 because the economy
was down and they felt that it would boost the economy and help everyone when
times are bad. The Board knew that not
all of that money was spent and they would be living off the reserves of that
sales tax and they would not go to the voters until that reserve was
spent. The County periodically has to go
to New York in front of the rating agencies, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s,
and those agencies are amazed at how well this County is run financially. Seminole County does have one of the lowest
tax rates when it comes to property, communication tax and franchise
taxes. The rating agencies believe in
Seminole County because it is a well-run county. Seminole County has a very high rating
because they are able to make hard decisions and save money at the same
time. He said that this county is run
very effectively and very efficiently.
Commissioner
Carey stated the Board has done everything they can do to keep the taxes low
and provide the level of service that people expect for the quality of life
they enjoy.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Constantine to adopt Ordinance #2014-8, as shown on
page ________, imposing a ten-year, one-cent sales surtax on all taxable
transactions in Seminole County subject to referendum approval, directing the
Supervisor of Elections to set a countywide special referendum election on May
20, 2014, and further providing for the process for identification of
infrastructure projects and shared distribution of the tax proceeds among the
County, the municipalities in the County and the School Board, as described in
the proof of publication.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman
Dallari recessed the meeting at 2:32 p.m., reconvening at 2:43 p.m.
ORDINANCE/LAND DEVELOPMENT
CODE AMENDMENT/
Technical Manuals/Seminole
County (Continued)
Continuation
of a public hearing to consider adoption of an Ordinance enacting an amendment
to the Land Development Code of Seminole County to (1) remove specific
technical standards relating to Public Works, Public Safety, and Environmental
Services currently codified as appendices therein; (2) authorize establishing
the aforementioned standards as “stand-alone” Engineering/Technical Manuals;
and (3) establish standards and procedures for the dedication and conveyance of
rights-of-way and easements, as described in the proof of publication, Seminole
County.
Lee
Shaffer, Engineering, addressed the Board to advise that this item was
continued from the January 28, 2014 meeting to allow staff to prepare summaries
of the changes from the Land Development Code (LDC) appendices’ a, b, f and g
to the Public Works - Engineering, Environmental Services - Utilities
Engineering and the Public Safety technical manuals.
No one
spoke in support or in opposition.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Constantine to adopt Ordinance #2014-9, as shown on
page ________, enacting an amendment to the Land Development Code of Seminole
County to (1) remove specific technical standards relating to Public Works,
Public Safety, and Environmental Services currently codified as appendices
therein; (2) authorize establishing the aforementioned standards as
“stand-alone” Engineering/Technical Manuals; and (3) establish standards and
procedures for the dedication and conveyance of rights-of-way and easements, as
described in the proof of publication, Seminole County.
Under
discussion, Chairman Dallari commended staff and the Development Advisory Board
for putting this together.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
EDEN POINT PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT MAJOR
AMENDMENT
AND REZONE/JEN Florida VIII
Proof of
publication, as shown on page ________, calling for a public hearing to
consider approval of a Major Amendment to the Eden Point Planned Development,
including (1) adoption of the Ordinance enacting the associated Rezone from
Planned Development to Planned Development; and (2) approval of the associated
Development Order, Master Development Plan, and Developer’s Commitment
Agreement, for 26.78 acres located on the northwest side of Dodd Road,
approximately 700 feet northeast of Howell Branch Road, JEN Florida VIII, LLC,
received and filed.
Cynthia
Sweet, Development Services, addressed the Board to present the request,
stating the applicant’s intent of the amendment is to allow viewing piers on
the rear of the lakefront lots. The
original development order limited the development to one community dock for
residents’ use. This proposed revision
would also eliminate the one community dock that was permitted by the original
development order and no other changes are proposed. Staff recommends approval.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Sweet advised there are two docks located on
the north side of this particular development.
One of the docks located on the same property is owned by the applicant. The other dock is owned by a property owner
in the development along the north side.
Other docks in the area are being removed within the lakeside
development. The property owners on the
lakefront can have docks if they propose to.
One community dock will be allowed in the Lakeside Estates development
and the front lots can have boat docks.
Upon
further inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Sweet advised since this is a
private lake there will be no restrictions on the lake. The development order indicates that no
motorized boats will be allowed.
Discussion
ensued with regard to what a viewing dock is as opposed to a boat dock.
Richard
German, JEN Florida VIII Co-Manager, addressed the Board to state the community
dock is just a viewing dock where people can fish off the dock. He stated he wanted to eliminate a community
dock and allow the individual lot owners on the lake to have a dock as
community docks cause problems and it is hard for other residents to access it
due to the property configuration. It is
not important to the community since no motorized boats will be allowed on the
lake. Discussion ensued.
Clerk of
Court Maryanne Morse entered the meeting at this time.
Commissioner
Carey stated she doesn’t want to get into defending the definition of something
that the Board hasn’t defined yet. If
the intent is to allow the waterfront lots to have docks, then she would rather
say the residents are allowed to have docks and eliminate the community dock,
then make the residents live by the requirements of what the definition of a
dock is.
John
Horvath, 1004 Bradford Dr., stated Garden Lake is a small lake and it would be
hard to have speed boats on it. He
stated he grew up on a lake and he just went from the land to the water and
never had a viewing dock. He added
everyone needs to watch the water quality.
No one
else spoke in support or in opposition.
Speaker
Request Form was received and filed.
District
Commissioner Dallari recommended approval of the request as submitted to the
Board.
Motion by Commissioner Horan,
seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve a Major Amendment to the Eden Point
Planned Development, including (1) adopting Ordinance #2014-10, as shown on
page ________, enacting the associated Rezone from Planned Development to
Planned Development; and (2) approval of the associated Development Order, as
shown on page _________, Master Development Plan, and Developer’s Commitment
Agreement, as shown on page ________, for 26.78 acres located on the northwest
side of Dodd Road, approximately 700 feet northeast of Howell Branch Road, as
described in the proof of publication, JEN Florida VIII, LLC.
Under
discussion and upon inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Nicole Guillet, Development
Services Director, stated from staff’s standpoint, they do not have a problem
with the term being changed to boat dock.
District
Commissioner Dallari recommended changing the term to boat dock pursuant to the
definition in the Land Development Code and related requirements.
Commissioners
Horan and Carey agreed to amend the motion to make that change.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
ZIMMER PROPERTY LAND USE
AMENDMENT
AND
REZONE/Javier Omana
Proof of
publication, as shown on page ________, calling for a public hearing to
consider adoption of an Ordinance enacting a Small Scale Future Land Use
Amendment from Commercial to Medium Density Residential; an Ordinance enacting
the associated Rezone from C-2 (Retail Commercial) to PD (Planned Development);
and an associated Master Development Plan and Development Order, for 7.8 acres
located on the west side of Old Howell Branch Road, north of Aloma Avenue, Javier Omana,
received and filed.
Joy Giles,
Development Services, addressed the Board to state the applicant is proposing
to build a townhome community with a maximum of 10 dwelling units per net
buildable acre. The applicant is
proposing a 10-foot minimum, 15-foot average landscape buffer along the west
and eastern perimeter. Access will be
provided by old Howell Branch Road and utilities will be provided by Seminole
County. The Planning and Zoning
(P&Z) Commission recommended approval of the request. Staff finds that the proposed development is
compatible with the surrounding development trend in the area and complies with
the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan.
Staff recommends approval of the request.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Giles advised the site has a limited
downstream capacity and it will be required to design or hold a 100-year,
24-hour storm event unless a viable outfall is determined.
Javier Omana, applicant, addressed the Board to state he concurs
with staff’s recommendation. He referred
to a modification to Page 2, Item 3(A) to the proposed development order and
stated that he will be submitting a revised Exhibit B. He explained that the Master Plan shows a
cul-de-sac venturing into the Orange County portion of the project. Therefore, they will amend the plan to depict
that cul-de-sac holding within the county.
He referred to Item 3(G) on the same page and stated staff is
recommending that they maintain a 10-foot minimum, 15-foot average buffer on
the western section. He stated following
discussions with the client and further site plan studies, they would like to
change that to a 15-foot buffer and not an average. Also, they would like to amend the legal
description (Exhibit A) to remove the Orange County portion in that
description.
District
Commissioner Dallari concurred that the buffer should just be 15 feet.
John
Horvath stated the property has been zoned commercial for years and nothing was
ever developed there. The only question
he has is a sign has been posted for the last several months that a convenience
store is coming soon at the empty Shell gas station site on the corner and he
is wondering if anything is going to happen with that. Chairman Dallari stated he has not heard
anything about that location. Mr.
Horvath said he feels that would be a distraction for the proposed Zimmer
property.
No one
else spoke in support or in opposition.
Speaker
Request Form was received and filed.
District
Commissioner Dallari recommended approval of the request with the change of the
15-foot buffer and moving the cul-de-sac, which will be submitted at a later
date.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Horan to adopt Ordinance #2014-11, as shown on page
________, enacting a Small Scale Future Land Use Amendment from Commercial to
Medium Density Residential; adopt Ordinance #2014-12, as shown on page
_________, enacting the associated Rezone from C-2 (Retail Commercial) to PD
(Planned Development); associated Master Development Plan and Development
Order, as shown on page ________, for 7.8 acres located on the west side of Old
Howell Branch Road, north of Aloma Avenue, as
described in the proof of publication, Javier Omana,
per the District Commissioner’s recommendations.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
GREENWAY LAND USE AMENDMENT
AND
REZONE/Corey Stokes
Proof of
publication, as shown on page ________, calling for a public hearing to
consider an Ordinance enacting a Small Scale Land Use Amendment from Low
Density Residential and Commercial, to Medium Density Residential; and an
Ordinance enacting the associated Rezone from R-1 (Single-Family Dwelling) and
C-1 (Retail Commercial) to R-1B (Single-Family Dwelling), for 0.18 acre,
located on the east side of the Greenway, approximately 80 feet north of SR 46
East, Corey Stokes, received and filed.
Cynthia
Sweet, Planning and Development, stated the applicant is proposing to build one
single-family residence on the subject property. The subject property currently consists of
two lots that have different Future Land Uses and Zoning designations. One lot has a Commercial Future Land Use and
C-1 Retail Commercial zoning that does not permit single family
residential. The other lot has a Low
Density Residential (MDR) Future Land Use and R-1 zoning that does permit
single family residential. However, due
to the lot size of the subject property, even after the property is combined
together, the proposed MDR Future Land Use and R-1B zoning designations are
more appropriate because of the non-conforming lot sizes. Per the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan,
the MDR Future Land Use is a compatible transition that provides a buffer
between Low Density Residential and Commercial Future Land Uses. The R-1B zoning classification is consistent
with the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan and is permitted in the Medium
Density Residential Future Land Use. The
MDR and R-1B zoning classifications are compatible with the surrounding
properties Future Land Uses and zoning designations. Staff recommends approval of the request.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Sweet advised the combined lot will be large
enough for a septic tank. She stated
since they have public water, the Health Department indicated that the
applicant would not be required to comply with today’s standards because the
plat was approved prior to 1970.
Boyd David
Sweet, representing the applicant, addressed the Board to state there is no
problem with the septic tank and they have complied with everything.
No one
spoke in support or in opposition.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Henley to adopt Ordinance #2014-13, as shown on page
________, enacting a Small Scale Land Use Amendment from Low Density
Residential and Commercial to Medium Density Residential; adopt Ordinance
#2014-14, as shown on page ________, enacting the associated Rezone from R-1
(Single-Family Dwelling) and C-1 (Retail Commercial) to R-1B (Single-Family
Dwelling), for 0.18 acre located on the east side of the Greenway,
approximately 80 feet north of SR 46 East, as described in the proof of
publication, Corey Stokes.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
REGULAR
AGENDA (Continued)
Lee
Shaffer, Engineering, presented request to consider a Resolution approving the
initial editions of the Public Works Engineering Manual, the Environmental
Services Utilities Engineering Manual and the Public Safety Technical
Manual. Staff recommends approval of the
proposed manuals.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Tad Stone, Public Safety Director, advised he
removed the language under the Public Safety signage under Section 12 and
provided revised language for same.
No one
spoke in support or in opposition.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Henley to adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-48, as
shown on page ________, approving the initial editions of the Public Works
Engineering Manual, the Environmental Services Utilities Engineering Manual and
the Public Safety Technical Manual.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Mr.
Shaffer presented request to consider a Resolution establishing a process to
amend the Engineering and Technical Manuals authorized by Section 5.20 of the
Land Development Code of Seminole County.
He stated staff is proposing to create Subsection 3.32 of the Seminole
County Administrative Code to establish a process to amend the Engineering and
Technical Manuals authorized by Section 5.20 of the Land Development Code of
Seminole County. The process allows for
public comment on the proposed amendments to the manuals and those amendments
will be implemented through adoption of a resolution. Staff recommends approval of the
request.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey relating to Section C, charging a reasonable fee
for obtaining a hard copy of the manual, Mr. Shaffer advised he doesn’t recall
anyone coming in to purchase the manual.
He stated to the best of his knowledge, he believes everyone is
obtaining copies online. Ms. Guillet
advised staff would charge the standard copying rate if someone wants to obtain
a hard copy.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Horan to adopt appropriate Resolution #2014-R-47, as
shown on page _______, establishing a process to amend the Engineering and
Technical Manuals authorized by Section 5.20 of the Land Development Code of
Seminole County.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE
Ms.
Guillet stated the Legislative Session has not kicked in yet as the deadline
for filing bills is March 4. The “Springs” Bill has not been filed yet and staff is not sure
what will happen with that, but will be keeping a close eye on it. The Expressway Authority bill is similar to
the one that moved through last year.
Upon
inquiry by Chairman Dallari relating to appointments to the Expressway
Authority, Ms. Guillet advised the Governor is allowed to appoint six
positions. Each of the County Chairs or
an appointee by the County Chair are members and there will be one appointee from
Seminole, Osceola, Lake Counties and two from Orange County. The mayor of Orlando is a member by
right. Chairman Dallari stated he feels
it would be nice if it were just elected officials as those seem to be more
responsive. Ms. Guillet stated staff
would be happy to advance any recommendations.
There was no response from the Board.
Ms.
Guillet stated there are two different bills, one in the House and one in the
Senate, on reducing the tax rates on commercial leases. The bill in the House zeroes out the sales
tax and the one in the Senate reduces the sales tax by 2%.
Ms.
Guillet stated staff supported the E911 bill last year. The prepaid phone cards will move forward
again this year and hopefully they will have better luck with it this
year. The Communication Service Tax
(CST) is moving through and getting a lot of attention. The House took action to delay implementation
for most of the flood insurance rate increases in order to conduct a
study. That is moving to the Senate. The Federal lobbyist has drafted a letter
for the Chairman to sign to support similar legislation in the Senate.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Henley, Ms. Guillet advised she has not seen a copy of
the bill dealing with the Florida Retirement System (FRS). Commissioner Henley stated he understands
there is a move to split the Public Safety employees and firefighters, etc.
from the FRS and that could have an impact upon the actuarial salaries. Ms. Guillet stated staff will research this
further. She stated there is a bill
dealing with municipal public safety retirement programs.
Commissioner
Horan stated when a bill is filed it automatically comes up under the FAC
Legislative Committee. Commissioner
Henley stated he believes he has some information on that and he will provide
everyone with a copy of same.
Ms.
Guillet stated staff does track the League of Cities website as some of their
issues are very similar.
Bryant
Applegate, County Attorney, stated he will be working with Ms. Guillet to draft
a letter to the Governor, Speaker of the House, and the Senate requesting a
meeting to address the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) issue. The bulk of the letter will address the
history of where they are and how they got there. The Association of County Attorneys is
looking at other strategies as well.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Horan, Ms. Guillet advised staff would use Mr. Brantley
to help them to endorse the issues.
Chairman Dallari requested that Commissioner Constantine travel to Tallahassee
with a staff member to go over the legislative priorities and to report back to
the Board with his recommendations.
Commissioner
Horan stated Senator Hukill filed the CST bill and
there was a lot of interest of getting something done to that bill, but there
wasn’t a lot of traction for movement on that.
He stated it will be interesting to see if there will be any progress on
that bill.
Mr.
Applegate stated he forwards any information he receives on bills from the
County Attorneys Association to Ms. Guillet.
Ms. Guillet stated the Energy and Public Utilities Committee did a
positive amendment and they did an adjustment to the Direct-to-Home Satellite
portion on the revenue sharing so that local governments would stay whole on
that.
Upon inquiry
by Commissioner Horan, Commissioner Constantine advised the passage of a bill
depends on how long it stays in one committee and who really wants it. Commissioner Horan stated it’s not good for
the State, but they have a $1.3 billion surplus and have the ability to pass
any problems down to the local governments.
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
Chairman
Dallari advised that he will be distributing information that staff will
submitting to the Orlando Sentinel relating to the one-cent sales tax, i.e. the
history, what it is and isn’t, the County’s track record and why now. He said he would like the Board to review
same and report back to the County Manager.
A meeting has been scheduled with the Economic Development Advisory
Committee to discuss this issue. They will
be discussing this further with the Mayors and Managers.
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Chairman
Dallari stated he has no issues with the changes to the evaluations for the
County Manager and County Attorney.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Chairman Dallari advised he has finalized the
evaluation forms that he wants to use and he will distribute those to the
Board.
DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
Commissioner Constantine stated
Bernie Machen, University of Florida President, spoke
at the Leadership Seminole third annual Lessons in Leadership on January 29,
2014.
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Commissioner Constantine stated the
Sanford Rotary Breakfast and the Zoo-B-Que were well
attended.
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Commissioner
Constantine stated the Central Florida Zoo will have a ribbon cutting for the
giraffe’s exhibit on February 14, 2014.
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Commissioner
Carey stated there has been a lot of discussion from the media relating to the
bears and bear-proof trash cans. She
stated that she and Joe Forte, Deputy County Manager, met with the Florida Fish
and Game representatives to introduce them to the trash haulers and the media
were very interested in their discussions at that meeting.
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Commissioner Carey stated she
attended the Wingfield North Homeowners Association
meeting to discuss the incident that happened with a bear. The association is waiting on taking a
position of what they want to do. She
said she has been working very closely with Waste Pro, who uses bear containers
in the Panhandle. Waste Pro is putting
together some statistics. She submitted
a draft letter (received and filed) with regard to a $60,000 grant that the
Fish & Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC) applied for and stated, if
there are no objections from the Board, she would like to send it to the FWC. She said $20,000 of that grant will be
allocated to Seminole County. There are
other places around the country that are dealing with bears and it is a
standard for them to have bear-proof garbage cans. The consensus
of the Board was to authorize the
County Manager to execute the letter.
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Commissioner
Carey stated the County owns property on the corner of Lake Mary Blvd. and Red
Cleveland Drive. This is a piece of property
that was left over from the extension of Lake Mary Blvd. She stated the Sanford Airport Authority
approached her about possibly purchasing or trading that property for something
that they may have. She said she has
submitted a copy of the map that the Sanford Airport Authority provided to
Deputy County Manager Joe Forte. She
added there may be a couple pieces of properties that are close to the proposed
Sports Complex that the County may be interested in. Mr. Forte will be briefing the Board regarding
same. The one property is directly
across the street from the Moores Station Road
property and the other is approximately two lots down from the proposed Sports
Complex.
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Commissioner
Horan stated discussions were held relating to the DJJ, the CST tax and
legislative initiatives during the Florida Association of County Regional
Planning meeting and during a telephone conference call. He stated he believes that Mr. Applegate, Ms.
Guillet and Commissioner Constantine will be keeping everyone in the loop with
regard to the legislative session.
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Commissioner
Horan stated he attended the first meeting of the Parks Foundation Board. He stated two of his appointees made a
recommendation for a formation of a separate corporation that will seek
philanthropy to support special initiatives for parks, recreation, natural
lands and everything that is under Leisure Services. The Parks Board will be filing for their
tax-exempt status next month. They have
done a tremendous thing in setting up the ancillary board. He said he is looking forward to really good
things happening in the future.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Commissioner Horan advised this is a private
board that is not under the control of the County. It will be set up like the Friends of the
Library. He said he will provide more
information on setting up that board.
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Commissioner
Horan stated it has come to his attention that the contract for the water and
sewer master plan consultant is coming up for a one-year renewal. He said he would like to place that on the
consent agenda for approval at the next Board meeting.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S REPORT
Mr.
Hartmann stated he and Mr. Forte attended the Florida City and County Managers’
Association meeting. He said he was invited
to assist with the presentation along with Phil Rollins, President of Orlando
City Soccer; Byron Brooks, City of Orlando; and Don Fisher, Osceola
County. He stated they were asked to
tell a story to the city and county managers throughout the state regarding
intergovernmental work and public/private partnership in association with
Orlando City Soccer. He said he feels
this will set a tone for the future about how governments are going to have to
work across borders in order to get good quality regional projects done.
COUNTY
ATTORNEY’S REPORT
No Report.
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There
being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the
meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
er/el