BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
The following is a non-verbatim
transcript of the BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF SEMINOLE COUNTY,
FLORIDA, held at 9:31 a.m., on Tuesday, February 24, 2009, in Room 1028 of
the SEMINOLE COUNTY SERVICES BUILDING at SANFORD, FLORIDA,
the usual place of meeting of the said Board.
Present:
Chairman Bob Dallari (District 1)
Vice Chairman Mike McLean (District 2)
Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide (District 3)
Commissioner Carlton Henley (District 4)
Commissioner Brenda Carey (District 5)
Clerk of Circuit Court Maryanne Morse
County Manager Cindy Coto
County Attorney Robert McMillan
Deputy Clerk Carylon Cohen
The Invocation was given by Chaplain Charles
Pitroff, John E. Polk Correctional Facility.
Commissioner McLean led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Awards and Presentations
Motion by Commissioner
Henley, seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt appropriate Resolution #2009-R-30,
as shown on page _______, recognizing Florida’s forestry community for their
commitment to protecting Florida’s wetlands and water resources.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioner Henley presented the
Resolution to Sean Gallagher, Orlando District Manager for the Division of
Forestry, who addressed the Board to state Seminole County is
one county in his district and is one of the few counties that actually has
commercial timber land still so the best management practices are very important. He said statewide, there is a large amount of
state lands on the east side of the County; and they do their best to protect
and preserve them for the future.
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Motion
by Commissioner Van Der Weide, seconded by Commissioner McLean, to adopt
appropriate Resolution #2009-R-31, as shown on page _______, proclaiming the
week of March 1 through March 7, 2009, as “John E. Polk Correctional Facility
Jail Chaplain Appreciation Week.”
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioner Van Der Weide presented the
Resolution to Chaplain Charles Pitroff, who thanked the County Commission for many
years of support.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S Consent Agenda
Commissioner Henley stated
regarding Item #21, Agreement between Seminole County and the County of Volusia
regarding Automatic Aid/Closest Unit Response for Fire and Rescue Services in
the Lake Harney Fire District 37, it concerns him on the number of calls they
have. He said this is a volunteer fire
department and there is no incentive for them to respond at all if they know
that the County is obligated to respond.
He would hope to see some safeguards if those numbers go above what is
anticipated.
Ms. Coto stated the County has
presently a mutual aid arrangement with Volusia County and has been responding
in this area with no compensation like they have with other areas around the
County. She said within the agreement
there are a couple of safeguards the County has, which she reviewed.
Tad Stone, Public Safety
Director, addressed the Board to state the agreement has been in place for
many, many years.
Motion by Commissioner
Carey, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to approve and authorize the following:
County Manager’s Office
2. Approval
by the Board of County Commissioners to reimburse mileage expenses in the
amount of $51.67 for Commissioner Carlton Henley to participate in the Commuter
Rail/Regional Leadership meeting in Charlotte, NC.
Administrative Services
Purchasing
and Contracts
3. Approve
Amendment #4, as shown on page _______, to PS-5191-05/TLR with Brown and
Caldwell, of Maitland, Florida, to increase the total not-to-exceed amount for
the term of the Agreement by an additional $35,848.00.
4. Approve
the assignment of the following Agreements and associated Work Orders, as shown
on page _______, from Boyle Engineering Corporation, of Orlando, Florida, to
AECOM USA, Inc., of Orlando, Florida: PS-1529-06/DRR;
PS-5192-05/DRR; PS-5185-05/AJR; PS-5173-04/AJR; and PS-5152-03/AJP.
5. Approve
renewals for multiple consultants under PS-1529-06/DRR – Master Agreements for
Continuing Engineering Services for Capital Improvement Projects.
6. Approve
Mutual Termination, as shown on page _______, of RFP-600106-06/TLR – Finance
and Development Advisory Services with Stainback Public/Private Real Estate
(SPPRE) Houston, Texas and authorize the County Manager to execute the
document.
7. Award
RFP-600547-08/TLR, as shown on page _______, Grant Consultant Services to
Langton Associates/In Rem Solutions, Jacksonville (estimated $80,000 per year).
8. Waive
the procurement process for Release Orders issued under RFP-600193-07/BJC with
DCR Engineering Services, Inc. (DCR) and approve these Release Orders retroactively
for payments totaling $733,665.10.
Support
Services
9. Approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2009-R-32, as
shown on page _______, and County Deed, as shown on page _______, to the Center
for Affordable Housing Inc., for Parcel #34-19-30-5AK-0B00-001B, 1606 Roosevelt
Ave., Sanford, FL 32771, a single-family structure on a .12 acre lot.
Environmental Services
Solid
Waste Management
10. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity, as shown on page _______, for Anderson Rentals, Inc.
Fiscal Services
Administration
– Fiscal Services
11. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution
#2009-R-33, as shown on page _______, amending Seminole County Administrative
Code, Section 20.16, Community Services – Cooperative Extension Fee Schedule.
12. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution
#2009-R-34, as shown on page _______, amending Seminole County Administrative
Code, Section 20.30, Library Services Fee Schedule.
13. Approval to partner with the University of Florida to submit a
grant application to the US Dept. of Agriculture requesting $225,000.00 through
their CYFAR (Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk) Program for a program at
the Midway Safe Harbor.
14. Approval to submit a grant application to the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection requesting $200,000.00 through their Land and Water Conservation
Program; approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2009-R-35,
as shown on page _______, in support of the project; and authorize the County
Manager to execute the application and other supporting documents.
Budget
15. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate
Resolution #2009-R-36, as shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment
Request (BAR) #09-28 through the 1991 Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund in the
amount of $468,000.00 in order to create and fund the County Road 46A Walls and
Landscaping project.
Planning and Development
Development
Review
16. Authorize the Board to release Performance Bond #070-004-589 for
Water and Sewer Systems in the amount of $79,368.42 for Terracina at Lake
Forest, Phase I, as requested by Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc., applicant.
17. Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2009-R-37,
as shown on page _______, vacating and abandoning a portion of the platted seven-foot-wide
utility easement situated at the east side of Lot 12, Greengate Estates, as
recorded in Plat Book 16, Page 17, of the Public Records of Seminole County,
Florida, and further described as 118 Leon Court, Fern Park, Florida; in
Section 20, Township 21 S, Range 30 E. (Robert J. and Marsha K. Lillie).
18. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the final plat for
King’s Landing at Lake Jesup subdivision located at Black Hammock Road and
Jeslan Court in Section 34, Township 20 South, Range 31 East (E.P. Bruce).
Planning
19. Approve the Satisfaction of Lien in the amount of $1,500.00, Case
No. 90-12-CEB, for 425 East Osceola Road, Geneva, Tax Parcel #10-20-32-3AE-0260-0000,
previously owned by John and Sandra Klauck and currently owned by Sandra and
Jackie Klauck, and authorize the Chairman to execute the Satisfaction of Lien,
as shown on page _______.
20. Approve the Satisfaction of Lien in the amount of $23,000.00, Case
No. 07-129-CEB, for 2144 Deer Hollow Circle, Longwood, Tax Parcel
#23-20-29-5HT-0000-0220, previously owned by Jacqueline Laggan and Andera K.
Mohammed and currently owned by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Satisfaction of Lien, as shown on page
_______.
Public Safety
EMS/Fire/Rescue
21. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement, as
shown on page _______, between Seminole County and the County of Volusia
regarding Automatic Aid/Closest Unit Response for Fire and Rescue Services in
Lake Harney Fire District 37.
Public Works
Administration
22. Approve the reappointment of Commissioner Art Woodruff, City of
Sanford, as a Municipal Representative to serve on the Seminole County
Expressway Authority, pursuant to unanimous recommendation of the seven cities
located within Seminole County.
Traffic
Engineering
23. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate
Resolution #2009-R-38, as shown on page _______, to increase the speed limit
from 30 mph to 40 mph on Fort Christmas Road from Lake Mills Road to the
Seminole/Orange County Line.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
voted AYE.
Constitutional
Officer’s Consent Agenda
Motion by Commissioner McLean,
seconded by Commissioner Carey, to approve and authorize the following:
24. Approval of Expenditure Approval Lists, as shown on page _______,
dated January 26 and February 2, 2009; and Payroll Approval List, as shown on
page _______, dated February 5, 2009; approval of BCC Minutes dated January 27,
2009; and noting, for information only, the following Clerk’s “Received and
Filed”:
1. Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to Work Order #47 for PS-5120-02.
2. Change
Order #6, as shown on page _______, to CC-2167-07.
3. Term
Contracts IFB-600537-08, as shown on page _______, with Gil Manufacturing,
Inc., Adapco Inc., and Clarke Mosquito Control Products, Inc.
4. Letter
from Sally Sheibenberger, Appraisal Director, to Sandy McCann, regarding Zoning
Changes and Land Use Changes, January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.
5. Memorandum
to Sally Sheibenberger from Sandy McCann regarding 2008 Zoning
Changes/Ordinances.
6. Amendment
#1, as shown on page _______, to RFP-2251A-07 with The Center for Affordable
Housing, Inc.
7. Change
Orders #2 and #3, as shown on page _______, to CC-3112-08.
8. Consent
of Surety, as shown on page _______, to Final Payment for Closeout of
CC-2641-07.
9. Re-recorded
Second Amended and Restated Resolution No. 2003-R-47, as shown on page _______,
relating to the East Lake Mary Boulevard Segment II road improvement project.
10. Re-recorded First Supplemental Resolution No.
2003-R-91, as shown on page _______, relating to East Lake Mary Boulevard
Segment II.
11. Re-recorded Third Amended Resolution No.
2003-R-216, as shown on page _______, relating to East Lake Mary Boulevard
Segment II.
12. Work Order #63, as shown on page _______, to
RFP-4214-04.
13. Change Order #1, as shown on page _______, to
CC-3075-07.
14. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #15 for CC-1284-06.
15. Closeout of Work Order #22, as shown on page
_______, to CC-1075-06.
16. Work Order #12, as shown on page _______, to
PS-1020-05.
17. Assistant and Associate Tennis Pro Agreement,
as shown on page _______, with Leanne Yarn.
18. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #14 for PS-5144-03.
19. Parks Contract for Services, as shown on page
_______, with Lynn M. Terito.
20. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #17 for CC-1284-06.
21. Work Order #23, as shown on page _______, to
PS-1501-06.
22. Amendment #4, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #4 for PS-1529-06.
23. Change Orders #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Orders #61, #62, and #63 for CC-1220-03.
24. Closeout, as shown on page _______, for
CC-0751A-06.
25. Amendment #2, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #62 for PS-5120-02.
26. Performance Bond, as shown on page _______, for
Long Pond Subdivision (aka Veramonte) in the amount of $91,385.64.
27. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #13 for CC-2190-07.
28. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #1 for PS-2084-07.
29. Change Order #1, as shown on page _______, to
CC-3077-08.
30. Change Order #1, as shown on page _______, to
CC-3138-08.
31. Change Order #3, as shown on page _______, to
CC-2702-07.
32. Work Order #24, as shown on page _______, to
PS-1501-06.
33. Change Order #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #12 for CC-0012-05.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Regular
Agenda
The Board considered the Lake
Mary High School Swimming Pool and request for direction to staff
on the Amendment to School Joint Funding and Use Interlocal Agreement as
received from the School Board regarding the Lake Mary High School Pool.
Chairman Dallari stated he had a couple of
phone calls, since as late as last night, from a couple of individuals who
would like to see if they could augment some of the costs for this
project. He asked Ms. Coto if this is
time pending.
Ms. Coto stated this is not time sensitive
from the standpoint that they are able to break ground or monies are about to
be spent.
Chairman Dallari said since nothing is
pending, he asked the Board if they would allow the residents to look at private
funding to see if they can offset some of this cost.
Commissioner Carey questioned if the
residents are talking about a significant amount of money. She said this is $1.2 million and a budget
workshop is next week and they have a deficit in this budget. The Commission’s issue was with the agreement
and it was very specific what the money was going to be for, which has now
changed. By the mere fact it is changed,
she thinks the Board has an issue with that alone.
Chairman Dallari said he agrees with
Commissioner Carey, but the fact some individuals would like to see about
putting some private funding together, he thinks they need to try to listen to
them. They would like 30 to 60
days. He would like to see a way to let
the individuals do that.
Commissioner Henley said he received a
couple of calls last night also. One
caller indicated they had a private benefactor who wanted to make a proposal
and the caller asked if this could be put off for two weeks. He responded it wasn’t critical as far as he
was concerned since the Board is not in the process of finalizing the
budget. He made it plain that the
agreement the Board had does not exist.
He said he has no problem delaying this for two weeks. He said he made it plain there would not be
$1.2 million available, in his opinion.
He doesn’t know if it is critical that they get a definite decision one
way or another on this today.
Commissioner Carey said the Board is
looking for money in their budget discussions, and they need to know whether
they will commit the money or not. She
said if it’s two weeks, she is agreeable to that.
Commissioner Henley stated he indicated to
the individual that the Board needs the commitment in writing.
Chairman Dallari said that is what he told
them as well, that the Board needs an agreement in writing. He said he would like to see this come back
to the Board at the second meeting in March.
Mr. McMillan stated the Board currently has
a contract and it is still open. If the
individuals get the money together and will do the contract exactly the way it
is written today, then it is still a done deal.
If the Board wants to say that deal is off the table and the individuals
can come back with a new deal, that’s different. There is still a legal contract between the
three parties. It was drafted in a way
that it would go forward immediately, and there was no termination date. It’s been two years now since that was
executed. If the Board wants to take
that deal off the table, that is fine.
His concern is if they get somebody to come and donate the $100,000 to
the Boosters, the Board can’t get out of the deal.
Motion
by Commissioner Van Der Weide, seconded by Commissioner Henley, to nullify the
current School Facility Joint Funding and Use Interlocal Agreement between the
School Board of Seminole County, Florida, the City of Lake Mary, Florida, and
Seminole County for the Lake Mary High School Swimming Pool; and allow the Lake
Mary High School Athletic Boosters, Inc. the opportunity to develop a new proposal.
Under discussion, Commissioner Van Der
Weide stated he didn’t mind giving the Boosters more than two weeks because
that isn’t much time.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
The Commissioners gave consensus for this item to come back before the Board at the second
meeting in March (March 24, 2009).
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Michele Saunders, Community Services Director, addressed the
Board to present the request to partner with Seminole Behavioral Healthcare to
submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice for their Justice
and Mental Health Collaboration Grant Program. She advised the request is for $250,000 over a
30-month period and it requires matching funds.
She explained that the match can be in in-kind services. She confirmed for Commissioner Carey that the
in-kind services (and no money) will cover the full match amount for the
County. She further explained to
Commissioner Henley that the in-kind services will come primarily from staff
time.
Motion
by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner McLean, to approve to partner
with Seminole Behavioral Healthcare to submit a grant application to the U.S.
Department of Justice for their Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Grant
Program; and authorize the Chairman to execute supporting documents, as shown
on page _______.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Tom Helle, Building Department, addressed the Board to request
authorization to advertise an ordinance amending Chapter 40, Seminole County
Code, to revise the requirements for issuance of competency cards to registered
contractors.
Mr. Helle advised Commissioner Carey that the changes they
discussed will be made prior to the ordinance coming back to the Board.
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide, to authorize staff
to advertise an ordinance amending Chapter 40, Seminole County Code, to revise
the requirements for issuance of competency cards to registered contractors.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Austin Watkins, Planner, addressed the Board to present request
to approve the Final Master Plan and Developer's Commitment Agreement for the Rockefeller
PUD, consisting of approximately 28.31 acres, located at the northeast corner
of the intersection of International Parkway and Wilson Road. He said staff finds the Final Master Plan and
Developer’s Commitment Agreement are in compliance; and they are recommending
Board approval.
Mr. Watkins clarified for Commissioner Carey that the proposed
Final Master Plan has two access points on Wilson Road and one access point on
International Parkway.
Upon inquiry by Chairman Dallari, Mr. Austin stated he was not
sure if there had been discussions between the applicant and FDOT on joint use
of FDOT’s pond adjacent to this site.
Motion by
Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide, to approve the Final
Master Plan and Developer's Commitment Agreement, as shown on page _______, for
the Rockefeller PUD, consisting of approximately 28.31 acres, located at the
northeast corner of the intersection of International Parkway and Wilson Road,
based on staff findings.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
voted AYE.
County Manager’s Briefing
Ms. Coto advised Item #29,
Final Informational Budget Amendment Status Report for FY 2007/08,
and Item #30, Informational Budget
Amendment Status Report FY 2008/09 for the period ending January
31, 2009, are for information only.
Commissioner McLean asked if it would make
more sense to only show on the report the new information instead of the new
with the old information because they have already seen that on a past report.
Ms. Coto said it is up to the discretion of
the Board.
Commissioner Carey stated she would like to
look back during that budget year to see if they have had another project or
already done two or three.
Chairman Dallari stated he would like to
see the entire picture as well.
There were no objections to staff continuing to provide the Budget Amendment
Status Report information as is currently being done.
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Tom Tomerlin, Economic Development,
addressed the Board to state he and Bill Owen, President of Real Estate
Consultants, will brief the Board on the Phase 2 Report for SeminoleWay and
present the next steps.
Commissioner Carey asked if the cities
took any action on the recommendations of the 10 steps.
Mr. Tomerlin stated the cities basically
accepted the report, but there was no formal motion or adoption of any formal
action of the report. The cities would
like to participate on the town hall meetings.
They would like to closely partner with the County in that effort to
communicate this to the property owners in a formal manner.
Commissioner Carey asked if staff
generated a budget for what the 10 steps would cost.
Mr. Tomerlin said he thinks the budget
request would be marginal.
Whereupon, Commissioner Carey said she
thinks their role is to encourage the vision and it doesn’t cost any money to
do that.
Commissioner Henley said Mr. Tomerlin
indicated that the cities want to join with the County, but he noted that all
these intersections are in the city and the County doesn’t have any jurisdiction
over them. He questioned what does
“joining” with the County mean.
Mr. Tomerlin said there has been no
decision made about how each property owner meeting would be conducted. He said the cities should take the lead.
Chairman Dallari stated that before
staff begins doing community meetings, the Board needs to have what will
actually be discussed so the message is all the same and consistent.
Commissioner McLean said he has been
involved in a number of meetings with the SeminoleWay initiative. All the partners have been very much engaged
in the process. It is the understanding
that all parties are going to need to step up when it is appropriate to do
so.
Commissioner Van Der Weide stated he
thinks they have come a long way with the fact the initiative has County money
involved and that is participation in itself.
He said the cities are probably looking toward the County, but they
don’t want to take over the project.
Commissioner Carey stated she thinks
the first step is to talk to the Economic Development Department and point the
cities in the right direction.
Commissioner Carey asked Commissioner
McLean if the cities have taken the appropriate action they need to on their
comprehensive land plans and zonings.
Commissioner McLean stated he doesn’t
believe that has happened yet. One
advantage of this is to have some commonality of how they all do business. That is the goal and is what they want to get
to. That is what all the parties
understand.
Whereupon, Commissioner Carey
discussed that comprehensive plan changes happen twice a year with DCA
(Department of Community Affairs) and she explained how an administrative
change can be done.
Mr. Bill Owen addressed the Board to
give a PowerPoint (copies received and filed) presentation on the findings of the
Phase 2 Report (copy received and filed).
He discussed the following topics:
Approach to the Project; Phase One – Industry and Facility Analysis –
Study Results; Phase One – Industry and Facility Analysis – Recommendations;
Phase Two, Three Parts; Phase Two Findings; Part B – Inventory; Property
Inventory, Tiered Ranking; Study Area Observations; Opportunities for Focus;
Critical Path to Implementation; Technology Convergence; and A New Research
Triangle.
The Board directed questions to Mr.
Owen.
Commissioner Carey said she thinks it
is important that they plan to have community meetings with those who can point
people in their direction. She mentioned
the EDC (Economic Development Commission), the staff people who are actually
out there; the representatives in Orange County who may get a call to go out to
Medical City; and others. She thinks it
is important that all those players are aware of what is available around
them. She included also the real estate
community. She said she thinks they need
at some point to have some information, maybe a brochure or something like
that, sent out to all the real estate people to say the County has this
document and it is available for anyone who is trying to locate or people who
are willing to help facilitate. She
thinks the sooner that happens, the quicker they will see this move forward.
Chairman Dallari suggested Mr. Owen
might want to get on the docket for the quarterly meeting of the Florida
Association of Realtors to give a presentation.
Commissioner McLean said one thing
they have attempted to do is to make this a community-type issue. He had a chance to speak with a couple of
representatives in Tallahassee with the idea of putting together a local bill
to ask FDOT to designate the area as SeminoleWay and have signage on that. He said he will report on that as he has more
information.
Commissioner Carey said one thing
different from SeminoleWay and Innovation Way is they took a corridor where
they know the transportation exists. A
lot of Innovation Way was about why you can’t develop it. She thinks this report makes it very
easy. She told Mr. Owen she thinks he
did a great job in the product the Board received.
Mr. Owen said they did not get into
incentives. It has already been
commented that there are assets more important than just cash, like the
cooperation of the community and quality of life. He stated there is going to be a lot of folks
coming to Lake Nona to be part of Medical City and he thinks there will be a
lot of opportunities to ride the coattails of that whole initiative.
Mr. Owen confirmed with Chairman
Dallari that Black Hammock and the rural area were excluded from this area.
Dori DeBord, Planning and Development
Director, addressed the Board to advise one of the clear goals is to ensure
that this is the cities’ time to make sure all the components of SeminoleWay
are in and planned. The County is
working with the cities to make that happen.
She and Commissioner McLean have spoken and she mentioned it to the
other directors about trying to work through interlocal agreements that would
help with expediting permitting available and other things they can work on and
adopt together. They will handle all
these as one package instead of separating them between two jurisdictions. She said the staff can work on a lot of things
at the same time. They wanted to get
this Phase 2 Report to the Commissioners to make sure they are on the right track
and now they can move forward with a lot of the implementations.
Chairman Dallari reiterated he thinks
it is critical that the same message is portrayed.
Ms. DeBord stated she has offered
herself and her staff to put together these meetings so that they all
understand where they will be going with this.
Chairman Dallari asked about
increasing the density in certain intersections.
Ms. DeBord said she will have to check
on that as they are looking at land uses being consistent with SeminoleWay-type
corridors.
Commissioner McLean complimented Ms.
DeBord, Mr. Tomerlin and their team for doing a good job. He said he wants to make sure the cities are
engaged. They have four partners and it
will not work without that relationship.
He added that he has been very pleased with the meetings he has
attended.
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Chairman Dallari recessed
the meeting at 10:50 a.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 Carylon Cohen, who was
replaced by Deputy Clerk Eva Roach, who were present at the Opening Session.
PROOFS OF
PUBLICATION
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide,
seconded by Commissioner McLean 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.
Maryanne
Morse, Clerk of Court, entered the meeting at this time.
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENT
FOR
STORMWATER
MANAGEMENT
Proof of
publication, as shown on page ________, calling for a public hearing to
consider request for approval of a Non-Ad Valorem Assessment for Stormwater
Management, received and filed.
Kathy
Moore, Fiscal Services, addressed the Board to state the purpose of this public
hearing is to consider adoption of a resolution declaring the Board’s intent to
use the uniform method of collection for non-ad valorem assessments. The uniform method of collection is the use
of the annual property tax bill for billing and collection of the ad-valorem
and non-ad valorem assessments. The
adoption of this resolution satisfies the requirements noted in the Florida Statutes
for providing advance notice to the Tax Collector, the Property Appraiser, and
the public that the Board would collect any such assessment via the uniform
method of collection. The resolution
relates only to the Board’s selection of a method of collection of non-ad
valorem assessment. The resolution does
not require the Board to levy an assessment, but if the Board chooses to levy a
non-ad valorem assessment at a later date for any authorized purpose, the assessment
would be subject to a separately advertised public hearing and notification of
the proposed assessment.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner McLean, Ms. Moore advised what they are looking for is
a method of collection and nothing else.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Henley, Ms. Moore advised if there are any additional
categories for assessments they would need to do that by March 1st.
John
Horvath, 1004 Bradford Dr., addressed the Board to speak in support of the
request. He stated Seminole County’s
budget for stormwater management is under the General Fund and the County
spends around $9 million for stormwater.
He said the non-ad valorem assessment would be based on the square
footage of a housing unit and that is a fair way of assessing tax bills. He said no one likes new taxes or fees but
this is a better way. He added the money
that is in the budget now can be used for other services that are generally
funded and that needs to be looked at.
When the County enacted the fire tax in 1974 or 1975, it was a bad
economic year and that has been proven successful.
No one
else spoke in support or in opposition.
Speaker
Request Form was received and filed.
Motion by Commissioner McLean to
adopt appropriate Resolution #2009-R-39, as shown on page _________, of Intent
to Use the Uniform Method of Collection for non-ad valorem assessment for
stormwater management and other authorized purposes, as described in the proof
of publication.
Commissioner
Carey seconded the motion for point of discussion.
Commissioner
Carey stated the Board has talked about this as being another tool in the tool
box, but due to the economic times, she doesn’t think another tax is a good
idea. She stated it sounds like this is
an indication that there will be a stormwater report and this would be the
vehicle that they would use and that is not her intent. She said having this ordinance on the books
gives the Board an option of using the uniform method of collection and that’s
it. Unfortunately, when the Board takes
action she thinks staff takes a reaction.
She said she wants to be clear that is not her intent.
Cindy
Coto, County Manager, stated when she spoke to each Board member, staff
understood that they would have multiple budget work sessions and they will be
presenting ideas and concepts. The Board
will be providing staff some direction as to whether or not those concepts are
acceptable. If the Board chooses not to
implement the resolution, staff doesn’t interpret it as anything other than a
potential tool at the Board’s discretion.
Commissioner
Carey stated she is in support of using this for this year and they would have
to have it in place, but she is not convinced that this is something they
should do.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
CONSOLIDATED
STREET LIGHTING ORDINANCE
Proof of
publication, as shown on page ________, calling for a public hearing to
consider the Consolidated Street Lighting District Ordinance, repealing
Ordinance #2008-3 adopted January 8, 2008, received and filed.
Kathy
Moore reviewed the proposed request as outlined in the agenda memorandum. She stated the street lighting in Seminole
County is funded publicly through non-ad valorem assessment or privately by
individual associations or other organizations.
The publicly-funded street lighting is coordinated through the MSBU
program. The street lighting is funded
through special assessments levied against properties receiving benefits from
the street lighting. The levy assessment
varies and is determined through cost allocation, calculated according to the
type and number of lighting units and the number of properties benefiting from
the street lights in a specific geographic area. The MSBU program currently manages about 390
street lighting MSBUs and they are governed collectively through a consolidated
street lighting district ordinance. The
ordinance is reviewed, amended and recodified annually. The 2009 revisions include the addition of
five new MSBUs supported through the community-based application and
petitioning process. It includes
improved language to clarify the administrative actions and to ensure continued
integrity between the common benefit and the cost allocation according to land
use, land development and other criteria that is established for assigning and
levying the assessments for street lighting.
It also includes recommendations for improving and ensuring the
integrity between common benefit and cost allocation.
Robert
McMillan, County Attorney, left the meeting at this time.
Ms. Moore
stated the new MSBU supported by the community and initiated applications are
as proposed: Acuera (District 5);
Hanover Pointe (District 4); Markham Forest (District 5); Regency Estates
(District 1); and Sandy Lane (District 3).
The administrative modifications recommended for 2009 are identified and
defined in the ordinance. The MSBU
program is retracting the recommendation to add Shannon West and the merge for
Sterling Park, which was the MSBU’s #037 and 149. If the ordinance is adopted by the Board,
these two action items would be removed prior to execution. The proposed ordinance will repeal the
existing ordinance and an amended ordinance will be established. This includes the existing MSBUs, new MSBUs
supported by community initiated application and petition and the recommended
administrative revisions. If approved,
the ordinance will be effective October 1, 2009. Staff is recommending approval of the
ordinance.
Commissioner
Carey stated there are 24 parcels under Sandy Lane involving Phase I and II,
but then there are 6 individual parcels.
She asked if the six individual parcels requested to be included in
this.
Ms. Moore
advised the petition process included those 30 properties and the petition
carried approximately 55% support within those properties. She stated the six parcels are not part of
the subdivision one and two.
Upon
further inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Moore advised two of the MSBUs are
in that vicinity. One is for Sandy Lane
and that is for all the properties that abut Sandy Lane or access their
property via Sandy Lane. That is the one
that is being requested for approval.
The second MSBU is called Sandy Lane Reserve and that is specifically
for the Phase One and Phase Two properties that are on the individual streets
of the subdivision.
Upon inquiry by Commissioner Carey,
Ms. Moore advised staff sends individual documents to each property owner
benefiting from the street lights and those were given an opportunity to
respond whether they are in favor or opposed to it.
Commissioner
Carey stated her concern is the residents have to drive down Sandy Lane to get
to their subdivision. There are
individual property owners who are not part of the subdivision and many of them
didn’t request to be included in this.
Staff just chose to include them because they felt the residents are
going to benefit from this.
Ms. Moore
stated they benefit according to the guidelines in the MSBU program for
determining benefit, and the lights along Sandy Lane are installed in the
easement along the six properties.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Moore advised the street lights were
installed by the power company without the homeowners requesting them.
Commissioner
Carey stated, theoretically, she has an issue with the whole process. She stated the people along Shannon West did
not vote to have street lights and now they are being included because they
drive through a subdivision that voted to have them.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated obviously all the property owners benefit from this. He stated in all good judgment, he cannot see
how they can have them meet all the qualifications and requirements without
having them included.
Commissioner
Carey stated she understands that when a person buys a house in an MSBU
program, they would know that is part of their financial obligation. The other way is the homeowners association
would come to the County asking for street lights to be added and 65% of them
are willing to pay for it. She stated
these people have not been asked their opinion on this. The Board has the authority to put MSBUs in
place, but there are a lot of people that benefit from it but do not pay for
it.
Mr.
McMillan reentered the meeting at this time.
Commissioner
Henley stated he understands Commissioner Carey’s concern. He stated every MSBU that the Board voted in,
he doesn’t recall any of them being 100%.
A lot of them voted against it, but the majority rules.
Ms. Coto
stated the purpose of this ordinance was to create equity among all the
property owners. When staff reviewed it,
they determined that there were benefits being received by property owners who
were not paying for it. A greater burden
was being placed upon a smaller number.
Staff reviewed it and said these individuals are benefiting from it,
therefore, they should be part of the MSBU for street lighting. She understood that all of those individuals
who may not have been in the MSBU in the past were notified of this action so
they had an opportunity to review it and make the Board aware of their
concerns.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated Commissioner Henley brought up a good point. What he is seeing here is something that
meets all the criteria and if they want to exclude every street or individual
who didn’t vote for the MSBU, then they would really have a mess on their
hands.
Commissioner
Carey stated she is not suggesting that they be excluded. If a homeowner’s association requests an MSBU
and the majority of the association votes for it, then the whole subdivision
would benefit directly. She stated when
individual lots are being pulled in from outside the subdivision, then she
would question why they are doing that.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated they are going into individual tax records whether it is
or isn’t in the subdivision. The
individual property owner benefiting from this is taxed. He said they are benefiting from it and he
doesn’t have a problem with it.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Henley, Ms. Moore advised the light bills have been
paid in the past through the Sandy Lane Reserve MSBU up until a new application
was submitted. She stated they were not
included in the past and did not pay for it.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. Moore advised she doesn’t know the exact
number of years that the lights have been there.
Commissioner
McLean stated he tends to agree with Commissioner Carey’s comments about
individual lot owners not being asked in the process. He stated if they are benefiting from the
situation, then they should share in the cost.
Commissioner
Carey stated she would like to know how the individual lot owners voted on this
when they were asked the question.
Ms. Moore
stated it was done but she does not have it with her.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated he lives in Sweetwater and the homeowners association
directly paid for the street lighting.
It got to be a burden so they went to the homeowners to see if they
wanted to place the street lighting fees on their individual property
taxes. Not everyone voted for it but it
met the criteria.
John
Horvath stated this is an annual update to the street lighting district and
this year they consolidated some in the same subdivision and put them under one
MSBU. He said he feels this is an
official way to operate street lights.
He stated if you look at all the original homeowners in the Howell
Estates subdivision, there were about 5 or 6 original homeowners. If the Board tries to nitpick, they are not
going to satisfy everyone. They have to
take the good with the bad and that is part of living in a democracy. The MSBU program started in 1975 and there
were over 390 districts and that was the same time as the downturn of the
economy. This has been popular over the
years.
No one
else spoke in support or in opposition.
Speaker
Request Form was received and filed.
Motion by Commissioner McLean,
seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide to adopt the Consolidated Street
Lighting District Ordinance #2009-6, as shown on page _________, repealing
Ordinance 2008-3 adopted January 8, 2008.
Districts
1, 2, 3, and 4 voted AYE.
Commissioner
Carey voted NAY.
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
Chairman
Dallari stated he would like to make the Board aware that the attorney for the
VAB has submitted a bill for her fees in the amount of $239.90.
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Chairman
Dallari recommended appointing Dr. Joseph Vaughn to the Animal Control Board
for a 1-year term ending 01/01/10 to fill the vacancy for a Doctor of
Veterinary Medicine.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner McLean to appoint Dr. Joseph Vaughn to the Animal
Control Board to fill the vacancy for a period of 1-year ending 01/01/10.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman
Dallari recommended appointing William B. Carpenter to the MetroPlan Orlando
(MPO) Citizens Advisory Committee for a term ending 01/01/10.
Motion by Commissioner McLean,
seconded by Commissioner Carey to appoint William B. Carpenter to the MetroPlan
Orlando (MPO) Citizens Advisory Committee for a term ending 01/01/10.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman
Dallari stated he spoke to the County Manager with regard to the Board meetings
in May. He stated he and Ms. Coto would
like to eliminate one meeting in May. He
recommended scheduling the one meeting on May 12, 2009.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide to eliminate one meeting in May and
schedule the meeting on May 12.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Chairman
Dallari stated he would like to get consensus from the Board regarding holding
off all of the Employee Program budget items until further notice. He stated he would like Board’s consensus to
ask the County Manager to hold off on all of those expenditures until they can
go through the budget. The Employee
Benefit Program comes up to $86,000 and he would like to see, once they start
the budget work sessions, where they are going.
The shortfall is $41 million and the Board needs to look at every item.
Commissioner
Carey stated she has been going through some of the budget items they have for
the current budget year. She stated in
looking at different departments and different things, she feels that $86,000
is just a portion of it. The items for picnics,
retirement, etc. are worth $18,000 and she would like to see it be a little
broader by holding up on those things.
Chairman
Dallari stated up until the time they have their budget work sessions, he
doesn’t want to spend any money unless it is crucial to perform the duty and
responsibility of those positions.
Commissioner Carey agreed and the Board consented to same.
Ms. Coto
stated staff has already set the date for the employee recognition luncheon and
she would like to know if the Board would like to cancel that. She stated they already expended $1,434.85
for the ink pens and are in the process of ordering the awards, and she would
need direction from the Board to see if they want her to cancel that
process. She added they already received
the ink pens and they need to pay the vendor.
Chairman
Dallari stated that’s fine if staff has already received the product, but he
doesn’t think they should spend money on anything else going forward.
Commissioner
Carey stated a date was scheduled for the volunteer dinner and they scaled it
back. She stated she feels their money
can be much better spent. She added none
of the items are huge amounts, but they need to start somewhere.
Commissioner
McLean stated he feels they need to be careful with statements about money
being better spent. It could be a
situation where they don’t have it to spend.
He asked if there are other commitments for the dollars beyond the
$1,400 that was mentioned.
Ms. Coto
stated she doesn’t know and she would need to check with staff to see if other
items were ordered. If they are in the
ordering process and they have the ability to cancel them, then staff will do
so.
Commissioner
McLean stated he feels they should have that information in order before making
a definitive decision.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated as far as hotel reservations, Ms. Coto needs the
discretion to know the intent of this Board would be to back out of it if she
can.
Commissioner
Carey stated she can remember a time when everyone got recognized with a
proclamation or resolution. She stated
the employees feel that the better use of their money is to keep them employed
and keep their benefits the same. She
said she feels that everyone is concerned about what they are doing with their
dollars and how they can keep this organization strong.
Chairman
Dallari stated the County does have great employees, but the issue is how to
best spend the limited amount of funds they have.
Commissioner
McLean stated he feels the prudent thing to do is to have that information
prior to making a decision.
Commissioner
Carey stated in dealing with some of the hotels over the years for some of the
community events, the hoteliers would work with the County to allow them to put
up a deposit and push it out to a further date.
She said she would like to get a report on that before the next Board
meeting.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated he feels the County Manager has to have the authority to
do this between now and then. The closer
you get to that date, the less apt the hotels are willing to make an exception
because they have plans as well.
Commissioner
Henley stated a year ago, this Board directed the County Manager to reduce
staff significantly and make other adjustments in the budget. He said he feels if they are going to pick
and choose, they should go back to the budget and single out items that they
can do without. He said he feels more
information on those items that are not essential should be given
consideration. He said he agrees that
Ms. Coto needs as much time as possible to undo things if it is the Board’s
intent. He stated he feels they need to
scrutinize the budget and not just be satisfied with this one item.
Commissioner
Carey stated she agrees to a certain degree with Commissioner Henley. She said she heard the number is $7 million
in this current budget year that they are going to have to find and it is
rising. The County can’t wait until
mid-year to adjust the budget and that needs to be done right away.
Chairman
Dallari stated he believes what he is hearing is to ask the County Manager’s
direction and to report back to the Board.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated the County Manager needs the flexibility to do things that
she cannot undo later.
Commissioner
Carey stated if this information cannot be submitted by the March 3 work
session, then it needs to be done no later than the first meeting in March.
Ms. Coto
clarified that staff’s intent on the March 3 work session was to provide an
update of where they stood fiscally, also provide some options available and to
receive feedback from the Board. She said
she will be working with Fiscal Services during the balance of this week to go
through the service levels inventories.
They will be looking through each department and program and they will
be making recommendations as it relates to what is in and what is out. The zero-based budgets the departments are
working on are not due to Fiscal Services until this Friday. Staff will be working with that information
through April, and work sessions are already scheduled in May to present that
information to the Board. She said her
concern is they can piecemeal this or do it holistically, and by May they would
be able to inform the Board of their recommendations as it relates to programs
and expenditures. The department
directors know not to expend dollars, even if it is in the budget, if it is not
absolutely necessary.
Commissioner
Carey stated she knows that laying out the options and zero-based budget, the
Board needs some preparation of what staff’s recommendation is on the $35
million they need to find for next year.
However, in the past week, she has seen invitations come out from
various departments for some of those events.
She added she asked why are these things being done, and their reply was
because it is in the budget. She thinks what
the Chairman is trying to say, even if it may be in the budget, they need to
stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.
She added that she is in support of doing that.
Chairman
Dallari stated he believes there are things that they can continue to cut that
are not essential to the operations.
There are things in the budget that are nice to have but those need to
be frozen. Until they understand where
the budget is and where they are cutting it, they shouldn’t be spending
anything unless it involves essential services to do the job.
Commissioner
Carey stated she would agree with that.
Commissioner
Henley stated he doesn’t disagree with that, but he disagrees with trying to
piecemeal the situation. He said he
feels they need to take a look at the whole picture so they can make decisions
based upon the total picture rather than an item that someone brings up. Then they can set priorities on which they
can put a freeze on it.
Chairman
Dallari stated the Board will be finding out in May where they are in the
budget. He stated some of these items
can be postponed until after May.
Commissioner
McLean stated he feels the Board needs to be careful that they don’t send out
the wrong message. He said he agrees
with Commissioner Henley that they need to look at a holistic approach to that. The process is to have that information in
the main time frame.
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Commissioner
Dallari stated the Board is looking at different ways of doing cost-saving
measures and looking at efficiencies and processes. He said he would like a letter signed by each
Board member sent to all County employees asking for their input.
Ms. Coto
advised they have reached an agreement with UCF to have two graduate students,
throughout the month of March, doing focus groups with all employees. Those students will be presenting a report to
her and then that will be shared with the Board. She stated they will be seeking input on all
the programs and cost-cutting ideas.
Commissioner
Carey stated she feels that is an excellent idea and staff can use that same
letter as a reinforcement of letting the employees know that their input is
important. She said the two graduate
students may not have the opportunity to see all the employees in the County to
get their input. She added she feels
that by sending that message from the BCC, it would make the employees feel
that their input counts and it would reinforce the Board’s support for
them. The letter could be put in their
next pay checks.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated in principal, he doesn’t have a problem with that, but he
feels that would interfere with the County Manager’s day-to-day operation. He believes they can get that information
without going through this process. It
bothers him to move forward with that because he has a concern with where they
would be in interfering with the County Manager’s job.
Chairman
Dallari stated his intent was not to interfere with the County Manager.
Commissioner
Carey stated she feels the employees know that they work for the County Manager
and when decisions are made by this Board on what the funding is going to be,
Ms. Coto will have to work with that.
She stated when they are looking at how things are going to cut costs,
the Board has the final decision. It is
important that the employees know they are free to make any suggestion.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated he is not against anything in principle what they are
suggesting, and he has an open door and open e-mail policy for the employees to
contact him.
Commissioner
Henley stated he feels the County Manager has indicated that they have a
process in place and he doesn’t think they have ever indicated to the employees
that they don’t have the freedom to send the Board e-mails. The County Manager has the responsibility of
preparing the budget. Once it is turned
over to the Board, then it is the BCC’s budget and they make the final
decision. He stated he has every
confidence that Ms. Coto already has a plan in place to get that information to
them. The Board needs to be sensitive to
the fact that the Charter is very plain about the Board doing things that interferes
with the day-to-day operation of County government. He said he is not that concerned that they
will not get that information regardless what the recommendations are. He added he would like to see the Board move
forward in an orderly fashion.
Commissioner
McLean stated perhaps the tone of the letter might be an idea of reinforcing
the initiative that the County Manager has already taken.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Mr. McMillan advised there is no legal reason
why they cannot send a letter of reinforcement to the employees encouraging
their input.
The Board consented sending a letter to the
County employees to get their input with regard to the budget. The Chairman stated he will give the
commissioners an opportunity to review the letter before it is sent out.
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Chairman
Dallari stated there was discussion at the Mayors/Managers meeting with regard
to the schools’ portion of the one-cent infrastructure sales tax going towards
not just infrastructure but also operation.
He said he would like to know if the Board would agree to bringing this
issue to the State to see if they would allow that to happen in the future.
Commissioner
McLean stated this is not a situation where they are talking about additional
monies, but it is a matter of the school districts having flexibility. He said having that flexibility makes sense
and it is something that has a chance of giving them some momentum.
Commissioner
Henley stated he wouldn’t have a problem with requesting more flexibility, but
he doesn’t want to confuse the issue because they have several things they are
trying to promote. Some of them he may
agree with, but there are some that he doesn’t agree with.
Commissioner
Dallari clarified that it is for the existing one-cent sales tax.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Mr. McMillan advised the current legislation
requires the sales tax to be used for infrastructure. He stated he understands that under the
proposal the legislation would be modified to allow it to be used for operation.
Commissioner
Carey stated one of the concerns she and the School Board has is, when this
penny sunsets, the only time they can go back to the voters will be 2010 to
discuss additional funding. If the
School Board is asking for additional ad valorem tax or sales tax and they are
trying to be on the ballot at the same, then they will be doomed to fail.
Chairman
Dallari stated the conversation they had at the Mayors/Managers meeting was
they would have no problem with using 25% of the schools’ portion of the penny
tax for operation.
Commissioner
Carey stated the memo sent to the School Board by the County Manager talks
about the fact that the revenues have not been as great as they thought. She asked if they are willing to do the sales
tax initiative and not pursue the other legislative remedies they are asking
for.
Chairman
Dallari stated that was his understanding at the Mayors/Managers meeting.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Henley, Ms. Coto advised she understood that as well,
but there are other school boards out there as well, and there are a lot of
bills flying around as it relates to this particular subject.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated the school system wanted to participate in the sales tax
initiative and it was agreed that they could participate with the 25%. He stated as far as he knows there is no
legislation that has changed that. He
said what Commissioner Henley is trying to say is they need to nail this down
on what their real intent is.
Chairman
Dallari stated he would be happy to speak to the School Board with regard to
bringing back an agreement.
Commissioner
Carey stated Seminole County needs to see what bills have been passed by the
Legislature. If the Florida State School
Board Association pushes other things and if those bills get implemented, even
though it may not be the intent of the Seminole County School Board to go after
them, once it becomes an option they may want to cover all of their
options. She said she feels it should be
well coordinated from the beginning but they do not need to lose sight of what
they can end up with.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated when the natural
lands went to the voters last time, it was the first time it failed. He stated he doesn’t want to have it where
they don’t have creditability with the citizens in which they start turning
down these initiatives. It has to make
sense.
Chairman
Dallari asked the Board if they want him to come back with something from the
School Board.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated he feels they need to get something showing what their
intent is.
Commissioner
Carey stated Ms. O’Bryan could touch base with the local representatives to
find out what kind of things are being floated out there.
COMMUNICATION
AND/OR REPORTS
The
following Communications and/or Reports were received and filed:
1.
Letter
dated 2/9/09 from Mayor David Mealor, City of Lake Mary, to Chairman Dallari
and Dede Schaffner, Seminole County School Board, re: Lake Mary High School
swimming pool.
2.
Letter
dated 2/5/09 from Pat Lee, Office of the Sanford City Clerk, to BCC re:
re-appointment of Vice-Mayor Randy Jones as a voting member, re-appointment of
Sanford Economic Development Director Bob Tunis as Alternate, and
re-appointment of both Sanford Planning & Development Director Russ Gibson
and Bob Tunis as staff representatives on the U.S. 17-92 RPA.
3.
Letter
dated 2/5/09 from Pat Lee, Office of the Sanford City Clerk, to BCC re:
representation by Mayor Linda Kuhn on the Mayors & Managers Council as well
as on the Tourist Development Council and Joint City/County Advisory Committee
along with Sanford Commissioner Art Woodruff.
4.
Copy
of letter dated 2/4/09 from Michele Saunders, Community Services Director, to
Gregg MacDonald re: re-appointment to the Local Health Planning Council.
5.
Copy
of letter dated 2/4/09 from Michele Saunders, Community Services Director, to
Dr. Marie Jose Francois re: re-appointment to the Local Health Planning
Council.
6.
Copy
of letter dated 2/2/09 from Gwen Keenan, FL Div. of Emergency Management, to
Alan Harris, Seminole County Office of Emergency Management, re: review of the
Seminole County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan on 4/21/09.
7.
Letter
dated 1/31/09 (with attachment) from Sam Stark, Jonathan Mousseau, Tom Hagood
and Bruce Skwarlo, Central FL Sports Commission, to Chairman Dallari re:
December 2008 monthly activity report.
8.
Copy
of letter dated 2/10/09 from Julia Thompson, Parks & Recreation Manager, to
Midge Berrong and Denise Legan in appreciation of donation in memory of Marie
Church.
9.
Memorandum
dated 2/9/09 from Deborah Schafer, Seminole Soil & Water Conservation
District Chairman, to BCC re: 3/5/09 Seminole County Water Conservation Summit.
10.
Copy
of letter (with attachment) dated 2/12/09 from Gerald Paradise, Casselberry
Community Development Director, to Cindy Coto, County Manager, re: voluntary
annexation request for 616 Lake Howell Rd.
11.
Copy
of letter (with attachment) dated 2/12/09 from Gerald Paradise, Casselberry
Community Development Director, to Cindy Coto, County Manager, re: voluntary
annexation request for 350 Anchor Rd.
12.
Copy
of letter (with attachment) dated 2/12/09 from Gerald Paradise, Casselberry
Community Development Director, to Cindy Coto, County Manager, re: voluntary
annexation request for Parcel ID 20-21-300-0A1H-0000, Wilshire Blvd. south of
SR 436.
13.
Copy
of letter (with attachment) dated 2/12/09 from Gerald Paradise, Casselberry
Community Development Director, to Cindy Coto, County Manager, re: voluntary
annexation request for Parcel ID 20-21-30-300-0A1C-0000, Wilshire Blvd. south
of SR 436.
14.
Copy
of letter (with attachment) dated 2/12/09 from Gerald Paradise, Casselberry
Community Development Director, to Cindy Coto, County Manager, re: voluntary
annexation request for 958 Laura St.
15.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 (with attachments) from Donna Gardner, Casselberry City Clerk, to
Chairman Dallari re: annexation of 1635 SR 436.
16.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 (with attachments) from Donna Gardner, Casselberry City Clerk, to
Chairman Dallari re: annexation of 309 Concord Dr.
17.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 (with attachments) from Donna Gardner, Casselberry City Clerk, to
Chairman Dallari re: annexation of 934 Laura St.
18.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 (with attachments) from Donna Gardner, Casselberry City Clerk, to
Chairman Dallari re: annexation of 404 Lotus Ln.
19.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 (with attachments) from Donna Gardner, Casselberry City Clerk, to
Chairman Dallari re: annexation of 477 Lake Howell Rd.
20.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 (with attachments) from Donna Gardner, Casselberry City Clerk, to
Chairman Dallari re: annexation of 571 Ruby Ct.
21.
Copy
of letter dated 2/18/09 from Mike McDaniel, FL Dept. of Community Affairs, to
Chairman Dallari re: Comp Plan Amendment DCA #08-2ER adopted 12/9/08.
22.
Letter
dated 2/13/09 from Sharon Tabori, Rockwell Collins/SEOS Ltd., to BCC re: SEOS Ltd. withdrawal from State of FL
Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program.
23.
Memorandum
dated 2/11/09 from Jane Peterson, Library Services Director, to BCC and
Maryanne Morse, Clerk of the Court, re: Quarterly Library Fines & Fees
Report.
24.
School
Board of Seminole County February 2009 Excellent & Equity Report.
25.
Letter
dated 2/10/09 from Mayor John Bush, City of Winter Springs, to Chairman Dallari
re: Winter Springs approval of Sanford Commissioner Art Woodruff to serve on
the Seminole County Expressway Authority.
26.
Letter
dated 2/11/09 from Janet Dougherty, Sanford City Clerk, to Chairman Dallari re:
endorsement of CALNO recommendation to re-appoint Commissioner Art Woodruff to
the Seminole County Expressway Authority.
27.
Memorandum
dated 2/11/09 from Lorraine Hajeski, Support Services Manager, to BCC re:
current records destruction eligibility list.
DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
Commissioner
McLean complimented the Chairman and staff for doing an excellent job at the
State-of-the-County luncheon on February 13 at the Altamonte Springs
Hilton. He said the attendance was great
and he is looking forward to next year’s event.
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Commissioner
McLean stated the Legislative Committee for Intergovernmental Relations will be
having their next meeting in Tallahassee on March 9 at 4:00 p.m. at the Senate
Office Building. He stated since he will
be there, he will be glad to bring up the County’s legislative agenda. He said since the Chairman brought up the idea
of flexibility with the school districts, he would like to know if the Board is
comfortable bringing that to their representatives attention as well as the
Legislative agenda.
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Commissioner
McLean submitted a letter (received and filed) from the St. Johns County Board
of County Commissioners. He stated the
letter indicates that St. Johns is in support of their public schools and to
looking for any type of revenue funding that makes sense. He suggested that the Board review same to
see if they are comfortable with joining in on this type of issue.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Commissioner McLean explained the reason for
bringing this to the Board today. He
stated he doesn’t have a problem with the County Manager drafting something and
bringing it up at the next Board meeting.
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Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated District 3 seems to be functioning well and the Regional
Planning Council is in the process of relocating to Altamonte Springs. The Planning Council has to get out of the
building due to the widening of I-4 and the lease to the building is up. The County will be saving some money on that.
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Commissioner
Henley stated there has been a lot of misinformation with regard to the bids
for Sun Rail. The bids were opened and
they were satisfactory to FDOT regarding building the train tracks, etc. The Sun Rail seems to be moving along through
the committee process but there still needs to be diligence in trying to
correct all the misinformation that has been thrown out because it is a moving
target. There’s still a big problem in
getting the numbers that are needed. He
stated he would like to see this Board support sending a letter or resolution
to each delegate member regarding the expansion of gambling. There has been a great effort being made in
this County to try to expand it. A
gambling industry from Virginia is trying to submit proposals in which they
guarantee $500 million in addition to taxes.
He said that causes him to think how many people would have to lose
money in order for them to be able to pay that kind of a guarantee to the State
in addition to all the taxes that are being paid. He stated he feels they would be better off
letting the people keep their money rather than going that means to get
it. There have already been efforts in
this County to expand the card rooms and now they are looking at all the dog
tracks opening up and expanding gambling.
The Board needs to be very plain as to what their position is in this
County.
Upon
inquiry by Chairman Dallari, Commissioner Henley advised he has no problem
sending a letter to the Legislative Delegation as well as the surrounding counties. He stated he feels that Ms. Coto and Mr.
McMillan can draft that letter.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated he has had some discussions with Attorney Rick Nelson who
represented the County on adult entertainment.
He stated Mr. Nelson volunteered his services during that time and it
took him a period of 2½ to 3 years but he ended up winning a lot of cases. He is involved with a lot of people and he
knows a lot of people that are opposed to it, and he will be getting back to
the Board.
Chairman
Dallari requested that the County Manager draft a letter and submit it to the
Board for their signatures.
Commissioner
Henley stated the backers are in Debary trying to get horse racing and card
rooms in that area. He stated the County
needs to oppose any gambling expansion that is trying to go through
legislation.
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Commissioner
Carey stated over the last four years she was involved in the Wekiva Parkway
and Protection Act. She said the Dept.
of Health Technical Review and Advisory Panel (TRAP) have been conducting
meetings about septic tanks and their impact to the Wekiva River. There have been a number of studies done and
the Legislature committed $1 million to the Dept. of Health for them to do a
further study. A copy of the Summary
Fact Sheet and Time Line for same was received and filed. The Department of Health (DOH) has decided to
move forward with the rulemaking and not wait for those studies. The DOH’s current proposed rules went to the
TRAP Committee on February 19 and they voted to table the proposed rulemaking
until such time the study just funded last year is completed. She stated this would have a huge financial
impact to the citizens of this County.
There are 13,000 septic tanks within the Wekiva area and it would cost
all the residents of Seminole County almost $200 million to replace them. The new rule is if a new septic tank is
installed or any repairs or modifications are needed to an existing septic
tank, they would need to go with a new system and that would require a lot of
electricity. The way to avoid that is
they go on central sewer by 2012, but that will not happen because no central
sewer is anticipated in Wekiva Basin area.
The other part of that rule states if your property transfers ownership,
before a deed can be transferred, a new septic tank would have to be put
in. There are over 51,000 septic tanks
in the Wekiva Study Areas of Orange, Lake and Seminole Counties and the
citizens would be required to pay $3/4 billion.
Since Orange County took action at their last meeting a letter was sent
to the Dept. of Health identifying those issues. She met with House Representatives Dorworth
and Plankin and Senator Baker about this issue.
She said she also has had correspondence from the Governor on this and
since a lot of the districts are affected by this, she would like to bring this
to the Board in hopes that they can take some action and identify their
concerns.
Motion by Commissioner Carey,
seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide to authorize sending a letter to the
Dept. of Health, Governor Crist, and all the representatives to let them know
that Seminole County would like them to wait on this action until the study is
complete.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Commissioner
Carey stated the other concern she has on this is if the argument is the septic
tanks that are currently being used are not safe for the environment, then the
next thing is any septic system near a
water body is going to be impacted and it would become a standard instead of
becoming an option.
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Commissioner
Carey stated National County Government Week is in May and she wants to be sure
that a Resolution is on the April agenda.
She stated their theme this year is “Greening Our Future”. This is a reminder from NACo about different
things they can do in the community to make sure they are protecting the
environment for future generations.
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Commissioner
Carey stated she attended MyRegion meeting last Friday and it was very well
attended. She stated the Leadership
class from Orlando as well as a number of other citizens interested in this
topic attended the meeting and a survey was submitted asking them to rank the
top issues of transportation. The number
one issue was dedicated funding, and the other issues were educating the public
and connectivity.
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Commissioner
Henley asked if the other Board members received a copy of Mr. McCollum’s memo
relating to the Altamonte Springs post office.
He stated the USPS expressed interest in discussing with the Board about
acquiring this property. He requested
that Ms. Coto pursue that.
Jerry
McCollum, County Engineer, addressed the Board to state he spoke to the
Department of Transportation to be sure that they are trying to work on a
cost-sharing arrangement with all parties. He stated he wanted to make sure that the
County does not do anything to jeopardize the federalization of it. He said he expects to hear something from Mr.
Levitz and he will send a final letter to the post office.
Commissioner
Henley stated Congressman Mica indicated he would help the County in getting
that issue taken care of.
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Commissioner
Carey reported she and Ms. O’Bryan had an opportunity to meet with
Congresswoman Kosmac last week to discuss some of their federal legislative
ideas and to discuss some of the funds that have been appropriated for SR
46.
COUNTY
MANAGER’S REPORT
Sabrina
O’Bryan, Assistant County Manager, addressed the Board to state staff has
received final notification from the Federal Lobbyist (Alcalde & Faye)
regarding the status of the funding request for SR 46 and the commuter rail
stations. In terms of preparation for
this year, that is normally filed and approved in the fall and it was held off
this year until this week. She stated
$570,000 has been identified for the SR 46 expansion project and $1.4 million
for commuter rail bus stations.
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Carey, Ms. O’Bryan advised she has not received word
back on the status of the $500,000. She
said she will check into that and get back with the Board.
Ms.
O’Bryan asked that Mr. McCollum update the Board on the MetroPlan
prioritization of the projects and funding they will receive through the
American Recovery Act.
Mr.
McCollum stated staff has been working with the Department of Transportation
relating to the projects. What is
occurring is a lot of the local city projects are falling out and staff has a
list and they are ready to absorb the monies.
It does appear that they probably will, in terms of the County’s share
of money, get more than they anticipated.
Originally, there was no money for enhancements but they do have a
railroad bridge on the Cross Seminole Trail that needs repair. There is a good chance of getting
approximately $1 million for the repair of that. He stated most of the cities are not
certified, therefore, they cannot do the work.
The city has asked the County to assist in the work. Once staff has received federal authorization
on County projects, with the Board’s direction, he will be happy to help out.
Ms.
O’Bryan stated the Grants Review Team is currently evaluating approximately 100
grant opportunities where federal dollars will be opened up. Announcements will be made on March 9 as to
which programs will be rolling out. She
said staff is evaluating those announcements before they actually come out and
staff will be ready to respond and act on those grant applications. She stated Jennifer Bero, Fiscal Services, is
working very closely with the Grants Review Committee and the Legislative
Groups so they can make sure they will be ready to respond on those.
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Ms. Coto
stated she sent an e-mail to the Board on February 16 as an update on Sun State
Trees. She added based on the action the
Board did on December 9, 2008, she has asked staff to check and see what type
of activity is occurring on this site.
Sun State Trees is continuing to operate at the site. The direction to them was all they can do is
remove items from the site. She said
staff will be bringing that information to the Board to see if there is any
other action they wish staff to take.
Commissioner
McLean stated it appears from the information he has that none of the Board’s
expectation have been achieved. Unless
he sees a scenario where they can move forward to bring this business into
compliance, he is wondering if there is any other way they can go other than a
legal one.
Commissioner
Henley stated this isn’t the first situation they have had with that particular
company. He said they do good work for
the community, but the important thing is they have rules and regulations that
they have to comply with. The problem is
they broke the rules and created problems at the property along Longwood Hills
Road. An arrangement was worked out with
them so they would move off the lake by the school under specific
conditions. He stated the problems still
exist and he doesn’t see any major effort from them of trying to move stuff off
that property. They have the equipment
to clean that site in less than a week.
He added he has concerns that a business continues to ignore the Board
and if they can do it, so will others.
He stated the Board may need to authorize the County Attorney to send
them a letter instructing them that the County will take legal action unless
they comply.
Mr. McMillan
stated he can send them a letter indicating that they need to cease those
operations on the site. He suggested
that they initiate appropriate action if they fail to do that. What they would do is file an injunction to
prevent them from doing that activity since they don’t have a COPCN.
Commissioner
Henley stated he would prefer giving them a notice, and if they do not comply
by a certain date then they will take legal action.
Mr.
McMillan stated he will draft a letter.
Chairman
Dallari stated he believes there is consensus
to authorize the County Attorney to draft a letter, as shown on page ________,
to be sent to Sun State Trees.
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Mr. Coto
stated she received an electronic letter from the City Manager of Casselberry
requesting that he explore the possibility of merging their fire department
with Seminole County. She said she
informed the City that before she would enter into any type of negotiations
that the City would have to submit a letter so she can seek direction from the
BCC.
Commissioner
Henley stated he met with one of the city commissioners a few weeks ago and he
explained to her that based on the information he received from staff, it would
cost the County to do that because their tax base does not bring in enough
money to be able to do it. He said he
indicated to the city commissioner that the County Manager would not have staff
get engaged in this unless the County received a written request for same. Since their tax base doesn’t support that, he
suggested that they may want to go to a hybrid situation where the Board might
want to enter an agreement, but the City would have to pay the County
additional money to subsidize their tax base.
Motion by Commissioner Henley,
seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide to authorize staff to proceed with the
negotiation process of evaluating the possible merger/consolidation of the
Casselberry Fire Dept. with Seminole County to see if something can be worked
out.
Under
discussion, Commissioner Carey stated if this is a losing situation for the
County, then she would not support it.
She stated she doesn’t think they know what the situation is until it is
analyzed to see how it would work.
Commissioner
McLean stated the County is not going to know what those numbers will be until
they actually get involved in it. If
they do have a gap, then they shouldn’t put the citizens in that position. He said he agrees with the thought process.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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Upon
inquiry by Chairman Dallari, Mr. McCollum advised at the last Board meeting
staff brought forth an item for the prototype for (pedestrian) bridges that
dealt with Red Bug and Aloma Ave. He
stated staff met with the city of Oviedo on February 12 to discuss the prototype
bridge and they indicated that they did not know what they wanted. He added he believes the best time they will
get an answer from the City is within 30 to 60 days.
Chairman
Dallari requested that staff hurry this along as they do not have 60 days.
Mr.
McCollum stated he made it clear to the City that what he hears in the meetings
is they need to deal with safety, they need to be cost effective and they need
to look at future maintenance. He said
if there is an enhancement, then the City needs to consider something. The other thing is he would like to bring the
pedestrian overpass at Red Bug Elementary School issue to the Board in
March. He explained the reason why he
would like to bring that issue up is because the prices are good now and there
may be some enhancement money for same.
Chairman
Dallari stated he would like staff to inform the city of Oviedo to follow that
same format.
Commissioner
Henley recommended contacting Congressman Mica and Congresswoman Brown to let
them know that the County would like to receive some stimulus monies for those
projects.
Mr.
McCollum stated he just wanted to bring forth authorization to get that item
advertised.
CLERK’S
REPORT (Continued)
Maryanne
Morse, Clerk of Court, addressed the Board to state she has submitted an
interim audit report relating to a situation at Environmental Services. The consultant, CH2M Hill, refused to provide
a copy of their labor rates. She said
this whole situation has her concerned and she is in the process of hiring a
contracts auditor. She stated she feels
there is enough danger and concern at this time in which they need dedicated
staff on this issue. There are
recommendations on page 3 of the report and five or six of them need to be
brought back to this Board for some type of resolution at the next Board meeting. She requested that the County Manager place
this item under her Clerk’s Report at the next Board meeting.
Commissioner
Henley stated he has read this once and he is concerned about some of the
things that have been pointed out as potential problems. He stated they dealt with one item this
morning and that should never have occurred.
He said he is looking for a fix to make sure the terms and conditions of
the contract are being adhered to. After
reading some of the preliminary findings, he is not sure that is
happening. One of the things that
concerns him is the issue raised around the fixed fee basis. He stated he doesn’t think the County Manager
has had a chance to review this. He
added he has great concerns about the fixed fee since they are refusing to
provide information as to how they arrived with their figure. He said he would like to make sure that the
qualified people are involved in this.
Commissioner
Carey stated she feels they have the right to audit most of the contracts and if
they find that they have been overcharged, then they have the ability to go
back and be reimbursed. She stated she
has concerns when their own staff cannot come up with rates that should be part
of any contract, and work orders are being issued that don’t have enough
documentation to be specific about what they are doing.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated he has some major concerns as well. He said he is wondering how they got to this
point and how much involvement the Purchasing Department had. He stated in his opinion, he feels the
Purchasing Department is pretty efficient and he is surprised that some of
these things were not pointed out during the process.
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There
being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the
meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m.
Attest________________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
cc/er