BOARD OF
APRIL 8, 2008
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, April
8, 2008, in the SEMINOLE COUNTY SERVICES
BUILDING at
Present:
Chairman Brenda Carey (District 5)
Vice Chairman Mike McLean (District 2)
Commissioner Bob Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide (District 3)
Commissioner
Clerk
of Circuit Court
County Manager Cindy Coto
Deputy Clerk Sandy McCann
Pastor Eugene Smith, City Church of
Orlando,
Commissioner Dallari led the Pledge of Allegiance.
AWARDS & PRESENTATIONS
Motion by Commissioner Henley, seconded by Commissioner McLean to adopt appropriate Resolution #2008-R-91, as shown on page _______, proclaiming April 10, 2008 as “Seminole County Volunteer Appreciation Day”.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
The Resolution was presented to
Administrative Aide, Gretchen Venn, who addressed the Board to express her
appreciation to all the volunteers of
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Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide, seconded by Commissioner McLean to adopt appropriate Resolution #2008-R-90, as shown on page _______, proclaiming April 26, 2008 as “Beta Sigma Phi Founders Day”.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
County Manager, Cindy Coto, presented her Consent Agenda, advising the County Attorney’s Office is replacing the agreement regarding Item #14, Sasvari Way Training Centers, Inc., with a revised agreement.
Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide to approve and authorize the following:
Administrative Services
Purchasing and Contracts
3. Award CC-2945-07/VFT
Contract, as shown on page _______, Rising Sun Boulevard Water Main to C &
C Site Development, Inc. of Osteen, Florida, in the amount of $236,831.30, for
all labor, materials, equipment, tools, transportation, services and
incidentals required for the relocation and retiring of Seminole County’s
existing potable water main, and construction of a new 12-inch diameter potable
water main along the eastern side of Rising Sun Boulevard between Red Bug Lake
Road and La Mesa Avenue. This project is located in the City of Winter Springs.
4. Approve the revised Award Agreement, as shown on page _______, for PS-2564-07/JVP - Miscellaneous Capacity & Safety Improvements with Kittleson & Associates, Inc. (Estimated Usage Not To Exceed $100,000.00 per year for the five year term of the Agreement).
Community Services
Administration
5. Approve the re-appointment
of Gregg D. MacDonald for an additional two-year term as the health care
purchaser to the Board of Directors of the Local Health Council of East Central
Florida, Inc.
Community Assistance
6. Approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute the CSBG Contract modification, as shown on page_______,
with an additional award amount of $5,401.00 to the original contract award of
$230,401.00 for an amended contract award of $235,802.00 from The Department of
Community Affairs, and approval of the additional $1,082.00 in-kind match
required.
7. Approve the appointments
of Danny McKinney and Keith Britton to the Community Service Block Grant
Advisory Board for 2-year terms ending
8. Approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute the Satisfactions of Second Mortgage, as shown on page
_______, for the following households assisted under the SHIP Home Ownership
Assistance Program and the Emergency Repair Housing Program: Cheryl F. Harkcom; Erin L. Mann; Jose L.
& Diana Montalvo; Beatrice Wynn; Michael A. Franklin; Joseph & Dietrich
Freeney; Tracy E. Johnson, Gregory L. Simmons & Kenneth B. Johnson; Daisy
Bell Elliott Laws, Andrew Elliott & Joyce Balkum; Emma J. Lee; Lucille
Long; Mervin McBurse; Ruthie Nathan; Leroy Neal; Zulma I. Reyes; Trudy L.
Robinson; Maxine S. Smith; and Dennis Walker.
Fiscal Services
Budget
9. Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2008-R-93, as shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #08-49 through the Community Service Block Grant Fund in the amount of $5,401 to increase funding and adjust the budget ($2,200.00) for the modification for the Community Service Block Grant program.
10. Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute appropriate Resolution #2008-R-94, as shown on page _______, implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #08-50 in the amount of $120,000.00 through the 1991 Infrastructure Sales Tax and the Arterial Transportation Impact Fee Funds to create and fund the first year of the CR 427 Mitigation project.
11. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Budget Change Request #08-17 for the Water and Sewer 2006 Bond Proceeds Fund in the amount of $235,453.00 to increase funding for the Rising Sun Boulevard Water Main Project.
12. Approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute Budget Change Request #08-19 through the Stormwater Fund in
the amount of $135,000.00 to provide funding for a settlement agreement for the
Lockhart Smith Canal Conveyance project, contingent upon the Board's approval
of the settlement agreement being presented by the
Leisure Services
Parks and Recreation
13. Approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute a Facility Use Agreement, as shown on page _______, with
Dreadhead Soccer Company for usage of
14. Approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute a Facility Use Agreement, as shown on page _______, with
Sasvari Way Training Centers, Inc. for usage of
Planning and Development
Development Review
15. Authorize release of Performance Bond #049-002-335 in the amount of $107,845.95 for water and sewer and Performance Bond #049-002-334 in the amount of $956,279.00 for roads, streets, and drainage and accept a replacement Performance Bond for roads, streets, and drainage (Bond # 070-004-599) in the amount of $64,961.60 for Clayton Crossing Townhomes. (Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc.).
Engineering
16. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2008-R-95, as shown on page _______, and authorize the Chairman to execute a County Deed, as shown on page _______, to replace and correct a scrivener's error in a County Deed approved by the Board at their December 11, 2007 meeting conveying property (FDOT Parcel No. 100) necessary to construct or improve State Road No. 400 (Interstate 4) to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
17. Adopt appropriate Resolution #2008-R-96, as shown on page _______, and authorize the Chairman to execute a County Deed, as shown on page _______, to replace and correct a scrivener's error in a County Deed approved by the Board at their December 11, 2007, meeting conveying property (FDOT Parcel No. 103) necessary to construct or improve State Road No. 400 (Interstate 4) to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
18. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Local Agency Certification Qualification Agreement, as shown on page _______, with the Florida Department of Transportation.
19. Approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute a Purchase Agreement, as shown on page _______, between
Tech Inc. and
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Motion by Commissioner McLean, seconded by Commissioner Dallari to approve and authorize the following:
Litigation
20. Approval of a mediated settlement of the business damage
claim filed by Flightline of Sanford, Inc., relating to Parcel Numbers 103/703
on the County Road 15 project in the amount of $237,835.00 inclusive of
statutory attorney's fees, expert fees and cost reimbursements. The owners of
Parcel Numbers 103/703 are Winston and Camini Singh.
21. Approval of a mediated settlement
with the property owner, John S. Lawlor, and with Land Technologies, Inc.,
relating to Parcel I.D. Number: 16-19-30-5AB-0500-0030 on the Lockhart Smith
Canal Project. John S. Lawlor is the sole officer, director and shareholder of
Land Technologies, Inc. which operates a nursery business on the site and
claimed business damages. The mediated settlement proposed is at $278,897.28
for full settlement, jointly and severally, of all claims for compensation from
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
CONSTITUTIONAL
OFFICERS’ CONSENT AGENDA
CLERK’S
OFFICE
Motion by Commissioner McLean, seconded
by Commissioner Van Der Weide to approve and authorize the Expenditure Approval
Lists, as shown on page ________, dated March 10 & 17, 2008; Payroll
Approval List, as shown on page _______, dated March 6, 2008; and Official BCC
Minutes dated March 11, 2008.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
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The
Board noted, for information only, the following Clerk’s “received &
filed”:
1. Memorandum
to
2. E-mail
from Robert Beach, Director Information Technology Services, to
3. E-mail
to Commissioner Michael McLean, from
4. Recorded
Drainage and Conservation Easement, as shown on page _______, for Richard &
Susan Hanas for Resolution #2007-R-235.
5. Work
Order #16, as shown on page _______, to PS-5182-05.
6. Work
Order #25, as shown on page _______ to PS-0381-06.
7. Change
Order #1, as shown on page _______, to CC-2167-07.
8. Work
Order #70, as shown on page _______, to PS-5150-03.
9. Blue
Cross Blue Shield Florida Combined Flexible Benefits Plan, as shown on page
_______, for Board of County Commissioners as approved by the BCC on September
11, 2007.
10. Blue Cross Blue Shield Florida Combined
Flexible Benefits Plan, as shown on page _______, for Property Appraiser, as
approved by the BCC on September 11, 2007.
11. First Amendment, as shown on page _______, to
Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida Master Agreement, as approved by
the BCC on November 13, 2007.
12. Head Tennis Pro Agreements, as shown on page
_______, for Deborah Coreil and Daniel Keating.
13. M-3212-08 Basic Contract, as shown on page
_______, with Extech, LLC.
14. Water and Sewer Improvements Cash Maintenance
Bond, as shown on page _______, in the amount of $1,149.30 for the project
known as Central Florida Educators Federal Credit Union.
15. Water and Sewer Cash Maintenance Bond, as
shown on page _______, with Escrow Agreement in the amount of $5,201.98 for the
project known as
16. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #5 to PS-5161-04.
17. Work Order #4, as shown on page _______, to
PS-5160-04.
18. Term Contract IFB-600320-08, as shown on page
_______, for Fuel Island Inspection Services with E Science, Inc.
19. Work Order #11, as shown on page _______, to
CC-0012-05.
20. Work Order #73, as shown on page _______, to
PS-5150-03.
21. Amendment #2, as shown on page _______, to
M-0997-06.
22. Work Order #3, as shown on page _______, to
PS-1175-06.
23. Amendment #2, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #6 to PS-1529-06.
24. Recreational Trail Pedestrian Ingress/Egress
Bridge Sidewalk and Utility Easement, as shown on page _______, with the School
Board of Seminole County.
25. QuitClaim Deed, as shown on page _______, for
Florida Department of Transportation relating to SR 417 project.
26. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #2 to PS-5185-05.
27. Amendment #1, as shown on page _______, to
Work Order #5 to PS-5181-05.
28. Certificate of Completion, as shown on page
_______, for CC-1416-06.
29. Change Orders #5 & #6, as shown on page
______, to CC-1416-06.
30. Work Order #4, as shown on page _______, to
PS-0219-05.
31. Tennis Pro Agreements, as shown on page
_______, for Brittany Collins and Taryn Lamonettin.
32. Performance Bond #5032330, as shown on page
_______, in the amount of $500,776.10 for the project known as Savannah Park.
33. Work Orders #1 & #2, as shown on page
_______, to PS-2051-07.
34. Work Order #69, as shown on page _______, to
PS-5150-03.
35. Legal Services Agreement M-3255-08, as shown
on page _______, with Nabors, Giblin, Nickerson, P.A.
36. Amendment #1, as shown on page ______, to Work
Order 21 to PS-1074-06.
37. Change Order #3, as shown on page _______, to
CC-0376-05.
38. Tennis Pro Agreements, as shown on page
_______, for the following: Kimberly
Spell; Peter Stub; Timothy Lynch; Michael Koslik; Robyn Suto; Michael Custer;
Mick Andrews; Ryan Chabot; John Gegenheimer; and Brian Morrissey.
39. Work Order #1, as shown on page _______, to
RFP-2574-07.
40. Second Amendment, as shown on page _______, to
RFP-4245-05.
41. Work Order #56, as shown on page ______, to
PS-5120-02.
42. Work Order #2, as shown on page ______, to
RFP-2574-07.
43. Maintenance Bond and Escrow Agreement, as
shown on page _______, in the amount of $6,473 for the project known as CFE
Federal Credit Union and Private Road Maintenance Bond #21328 and Power of
Attorney in the amount of $10,665 for the project known as Talman Mews Phase
II.
44. Work Order #1, as shown on page _______, to
PS-1742-07.
45. Work Orders #53, #54 & #55, as shown on
page _______, to CC-1267-05.
46. Work Order #22, as shown on page _______, to
PS-1074-06.
47. Letter to
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Mr. McMillan advised there may be a complaint filed in the Circuit Court in the next week or so with regard to the County’s CUP permit requested from St. Johns River Water Management District; and he asked for authorization to intervene in that motion.
Motion
by Commissioner Henley, seconded by Commissioner McLean to authorize the
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Support Services Manager, Meloney Lung, addressed the Board to give an update on the Heroes’ Memorial, advising in December, 2007, the architectural and engineering services for the Memorial was awarded to Herbert-Halback, Inc. (HHI). In March, 2008, a meeting with members of the Sheriff’s Office, Public Safety, Veteran’s Services and County staff was held to review different schemes. Scheme C was recommended; however, after discussions with Sheriff Eslinger with regard to safety concerns, Scheme C was altered slightly. She displayed Scheme C (received & filed) and asked the Board for conceptual approval.
Commissioner Van Der Weide stated a lot of effort has gone into this project in order to get this far; and he believes it will be very nice when it is finished.
Chairman Carey clarified that once the Board approves the conceptual plan, the architect will bring back suggested materials to be used and the budget for same. Then the not-for-profit group will be able to know how much money needs to be raised.
Public Safety Director, Tad Stone,
addressed the Board to advise Baskin & Robbins has worked with the National
Fallen Firefighters Fund for the past several years by doing “scoop night”; and
they have agreed to divert that money to
Motion by Commissioner McLean, seconded by Commissioner Van Der Weide to approve the conceptual plan (Scheme C) for the Heroes’ Memorial; and authorize proceeding with the final conceptual design.
Under discussion, Commissioner Van Der Weide stated the Memorial will be on taxpayers’ property and, therefore, must go through all the County processes. However, taxpayers will not be funding the construction of same because the 501c not-for-profit group will be collecting donations.
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Ms. O’Bryan briefly discussed SB1508 which proposes a reduction of Medicare reimbursements.
Ms. Coto stated that this bill is of great concern to Health Department Director Napier. She said staff will continue to monitor this.
Chairman Carey suggested a notice be displayed in the Health Department advising the public of this bill so that they can voice their concerns.
Ms. O’Bryan advised the County’s Lobbyist will be updating the Board by correspondence every Friday afternoon.
Commissioner Henley advised of a bill that would throw out any petitions to put something on the ballot which were collected by a convicted felon. He said to him this is further disenfranchising the voters and making it more difficult to get something on the ballot as it relates to Constitutional amendments.
Ms. O’Bryan stated she will research the bill Commissioner Henley is referring to and forward any information to the Commissioners’ offices.
Commissioner Van Der Weide commended Ms. O’Bryan for doing a good job.
Upon inquiry by the Chairman, Commissioner Henley gave a brief update on the Commuter Rail funding, stating there was strong support in the House for the rail. He advised that he met with a representative from the Federal Transit Authority who was very complimentary about the cooperation between all the entities.
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The Chairman recessed the meeting at 10:15
a.m., reconvening at 1:30
p.m., with all Commissioners and all other Officials, with Clerk Maryanne Morse
entering late, and with the exception of Deputy Clerk Sandy McCann who was
replaced by Deputy Clerk Carylon Cohen, who were present at the Opening
Session.
Ms.
Coto reviewed the Board direction to staff on March 11 to schedule a work
session to discuss the Commissioners’ travel policy. She stated this item is scheduled today as a
briefing item. She provided the Board
with copies of information (received and filed) on the current travel policy
per the Administrative Code as well as the Florida Statutes that dictate how
travel is handled for elected officials and County employees. She said staff did a survey of other counties
and the city of
Maryanne
Morse, Clerk of Circuit Court, entered the meeting at this time.
Ms.
Coto asked for Board direction on the travel policy.
Chairman
Carey said she thought it was important to have this discussion because their
policy was vague and broad and could be interpreted many different ways. They have a lot of rules in place for the
employees that should also be practiced at the
Commissioner
Henley said the statement regarding overnight stay is very similar to what the
School Board does. They do not allow for
overnight stay in neighboring counties.
He would have no problem with supporting something of that nature for
overnight stay.
Chairman
Carey said she had thought the 60-mile radius applied to the officials as well;
she thinks that would be a good practice to consider. She explained there are times when they have
to travel outside the County and they are all on different times as to who will
travel outside. She doesn’t think anyone
has a problem with that. She has some
concern with the in-County travel.
Commissioner
McLean said in looking at the information Ms. Coto provided, it looks like what
Mr.
McMillan stated there is authority under the Statutes to do that and he thinks
the Board could do it by ordinance. He
explained there has been a stipend in the past.
If the Board wants to do a stipend in lieu of local travel, he thinks
they can do it.
Commissioner
McLean said that idea makes sense to him.
It takes the entities out of deciding what is and what is not
appropriate. He said this would be a
one-time payment and the Commissioners will know that is their travel
money. Outside that, when you have a
purchase card type scenario, that is separate and is for outside 60 miles.
Commissioner
Henley said he supports the idea of trying to standardize what they do to make
it simple and easy to understand. He has
mixed emotions when it comes to charging mileage to meet with their
constituents because that is their job.
He can understand with the prices of gas now, the fairness of traveling
outside the County to do your duties, particularly when the charge is to
represent the Board. They have a lot
more of that now and will have that responsibility from now on. They meet quite frequently; particularly, if
chairing one of those organizations. You
are called on quite frequently. He knows
the Chairman is called on a lot more than the rest of the Commissioners. If that is what the group wants to do, to
establish a stipend with another process for outside County travel and
in-State, out-of-State travel, he thinks there are different scenarios they
need to define and make clear so people having to sign off know exactly what
the rules are as well as the Clerk.
Chairman
Carey said she can agree if they are talking about a small stipend of $100; for
anything more she thinks they should take a different approach. She thinks the question that has come up is
what is their official business. They
need to make sure that is consistent.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide said he thinks of the three suggestions the
Commissioner
Dallari said with tightening of the budget, he knows things will have to change
drastically over the next couple months.
The only real official business he thinks the Commissioners should be
reimbursed for is for any of the boards and if it is outside the County
travel. If the Commissioners meet with
the residents and other organizations, that is part of County business. For example, if a Commissioner sits on
Metroplan board and it meets outside
Chairman
Carey said if they have a stipend, that will eliminate the need for paperwork
and free up their Aides to do other things.
Anything outside the 60 miles could be approved by the BCC.
Mr.
McMillan stated he is not sure the Board can say they will not compensate a
Commissioner for travel that is official business because they have decided not
to. The statutes say if travel is on
official business, you are entitled to be compensated. The Board has to authorize travel and has to
authorize the use of private vehicles.
He said the Board could say that they are not going to authorize
Commissioners’ travel in their private vehicles in the County. They could then get a pool car. It would conflict with the statute if they
say no one can get pay for County travel.
Chairman
Carey said if they put a stipend in place as a trade-off for the 60-mile rule,
that would eliminate the issue of conflict.
Mr.
McMillan said since the Board now controls their salaries and travel, they
could include it as an add-on to the salary as long as they don’t exceed the
cap.
Commissioner
McLean noted that the $100 amount would be within that cap.
Chairman
Carey asked if the Board wants the stipend to be the same for all of them or
different for the Chairman. Discussion ensued about the Chairman getting
now an extra $50 in salary. Commissioner
Van Der Weide said that was related to the job and was not for mileage.
Commissioner
McLean suggested the $100 stipend for the Commissioners, except for the
Chairman, and let that amount be $150 in recognition of the duties the Chairman
has that are separate.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide said the problem is they are in such a budget constraint and
whatever they do, somebody is going to twist it and say they have given
themselves a raise.
Chairman
Carey said she thinks it is a privilege to serve as Chairman and if someone
doesn’t want to take it with the obligations to do the job, then that person
should not be in the role. She advised
if the stipend is the easiest and cleanest way to resolve this, they are
talking about $6,000 a year. That’s half
of the travel budget and that would leave the other half for travel out of the
60-mile radius. Further, she said if the
Chairman approves the travel for the other Commissioners, County Manager and
County Attorney, and the County Manager approves the travel for the Chairman
for anything outside the 60-mile radius, that would make it clear.
Commissioner
Dallari said he looks at a stipend as giving themselves a raise. He believes they should get paid for only the
amount of travel they do outside the County and for the boards they serve and
that’s all.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide asked Clerk Maryanne Morse if she sees the stipend as a much
easier and simpler way to do the travel and to keep the Commissioners out of
trouble.
Ms.
Morse stated it makes it less subjective and she thinks that is a plus from one
standpoint. If the Board is going to vote
in favor of a stipend, then it is up to each Commissioner to track his/her
mileage. The stipend amount will appear
on the W-2 form. However, if they keep
track of their mileage and the purpose of a particular trip, they may be able
to offset that on their personal income taxes.
It will be a lot easier for her office to say this is all you get. Her office will reject mileage on top of what
their car allowance is, whether it is on a “P” card or on a travel
voucher. She thinks it is a
Commissioner’s prerogative to refuse the stipend. As long as her office has in writing that a
Commissioner chooses not to have the stipend, that is acceptable.
The
Board discussed pool cars. Ms. Coto said
there are about 30 pool cars that serve the entire County, and they are not new
vehicles. They are located at Five
Points. She thinks that could be a
problem for the Commissioners.
Mr.
McMillan said they can make the stipend an option for the Commissioners; they
can take it or file under regular travel.
He said one of the big gaps was the fact that somehow the
Ms.
Morse advised the Board that the mileage reimbursement is now at 50 1/2 cents
per mile.
Whereupon,
Chairman Carey asked if the stipend is at $50, would that be a level
comfortable enough.
Commissioner
Henley said to keep in mind that when you serve on a board, you also generally
wind up on a committee and go to additional meetings for that also. Discussion continued.
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide to
approve a stipend to the Commissioners in the amount of $50 a month for any
travel within a 60-mile radius.
Chairman
Carey called for a second to the motion three times without response,
whereupon, the motion died for the
lack of same.
Motion by Commissioner McLean to
approve a stipend to the Commissioners in the amount of $100 a month for travel
within a 60-mile radius.
Chairman
Carey called for a second to the motion three times without response, whereupon
the motion died for the lack of
same.
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide,
seconded by Commissioner McLean, to approve a stipend to the Commissioners in
the amount of $75 a month for travel within a 60-mile radius in the County.
Districts
2, 3, and 4 voted AYE.
Commissioners
Dallari and Carey voted NAY.
Chairman
Carey summarized that based on the motion, there will be a $75 a month stipend
for travel within a 60-mile radius.
Anything outside that would be discussed at a Board meeting. The Chairman will sign off on the travel
outside 60 miles for the other Commissioners, the
Upon
inquiry by Commissioner Henley, Chairman Carey said she thinks prior approval
should be given for travel outside the 60-mile radius; at least it ought to be
brought up before the Board prior to the travel.
Ms.
Coto said there will be some emergency travel and in those cases, she suggests
at the next available Board meeting it be brought up after the fact.
Commissioner
Henley said it is not unusual during a legislative session that things come up
and there is a need to travel right away.
They need a process that doesn’t require prior approval for that unless
the Board wants to authorize the Chairman to designate herself or the
Chairman
Carey said sometimes they are told they are needed when they’re not. She thinks when they know there is going to
be a vote and it is important, they may have people go, as well as be
communicating to know what is going on in the legislative session. She said the Board typically knows a couple
days in advance when there is going to be a vote or when a vote has been
cancelled.
Chairman
Carey asked Mr. McMillan in cases where they have an emergency meeting in
Mr.
McMillan said he would have to check the statutes and report back to the Board
on that.
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
Chairman
Carey advised she received letters of resignation from Brian Overby and Greg
Kern who served on the Metroplan Orlando Citizens Advisory Committee. She recommended Egerton van den Berg to fill
one of the vacancies.
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide,
seconded by Commissioner McLean, to appoint Egerton van den Berg to the
Metroplan Orlando Citizens Advisory Committee.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Chairman
Carey asked the Commissioners to look for a second individual to serve and have
him/her complete an application and submit it to her office.
Commissioner
Henley advised he received a letter recently from an individual who has 20
years experience on rail and is looking for an opportunity to serve. He will pass that on to the Chairman’s
office.
Chairman
Carey said if the individual submits an application, she will bring this back
at the next meeting.
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Chairman
Carey stated she received a letter from Theresa Jacobs, Chairman of the East
Central Florida Regional Planning Council, advising of a water summit on April
18 in
Commissioner
McLean said this was discussed and he can take a look at his schedule to see if
he is available.
Commissioner
Dallari said whoever goes to this meeting should not discuss the pending
litigation.
Chairman
Carey said she thinks it is important to have staff attend. She said it is easy to get drawn into the
conversation about the litigation. She
will meet with Ms. Coto and discuss who she thinks would be appropriate to go. She also advised to not have any discussion
about the pending litigation and the County’s project.
COMMUNICATIONS
AND/OR REPORTS
The
following Communications and/or Reports were received and filed:
1. Letter
dated
2. Memorandum
dated
3. Letter
dated
4. Copy
of letter dated
5. Letter
dated
6. Copy
of letter dated
7. Notice
of Proposed Continuance received
8. Letter
dated
9. Letter
dated
10. Letter dated
11. Letter received
12. Contracts for services, as shown on page
_______, dated March 31, 2008, for the following to umpire and referee tennis
tournaments: Louis K. Keith, Rene
Lebron, Lauren Wolken, Karol Wise, Cecil Wise, DeWitt Hazzard, Rolland K. Shea,
David J. DiFonzo, and Sarah Harkins.
DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
Commissioner
Dallari congratulated Janet Davis, Human Resources Director, who recently
received her Doctorate degree in Public Affairs.
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Commissioner
Dallari said he received information regarding the 4-H Club. The Central Florida Fair is coming to town
the end of this month. He would like to
have the 4-H Club speak at the beginning of the next Board meeting to let the
Board know what they are doing. He wants
to make sure the public realize what the 4-H Club is doing. He said Ms. Frances Yarborough is willing to
come and do that.
Chairman
Carey said that would be great.
Commissioner
Dallari passed to the Commissioners one of the letters (not received and filed)
he received from an individual who is raising a rather large steer.
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Commissioner
Dallari discussed that one of the Commissioners may not be able to attend the
first Board meeting in May and he wants to see if they can cancel that meeting,
if there are no objections, in order to have the full Board in attendance.
Ms.
Coto reminded them of the Board’s decision to move up the dates in May due to
the Memorial Day holiday. She said there
are three public hearings scheduled for May 6, but she would not have a problem
in pushing them to the May 20 date and canceling the meeting for May 6.
Chairman
Carey said she wants to be sensitive to time-sensitive issues. Discussion ensued about the hearings
currently scheduled for May 6.
Commissioner
McLean advised the Board that the Expressway Authority meeting is scheduled for
May 6.
Ms.
Coto said there is no reason why that can’t be moved to May 20.
Commissioner
Van Der Weide said the Board has had meetings before when a Commissioner has
been absent. He would not mind waiving
this meeting if a Commissioner is going to be absent and there was an issue
that was so important that they should reschedule it, but he is not hearing
that. He is not in favor of going for a
month without having a meeting. He
thinks it would be a disservice to the citizens.
Chairman
Carey said the Board knew that Commissioner Henley would not be present on May
6 when they rescheduled the meeting. She
agreed with Commissioner Van Der Weide, stating there are public hearings that
have to do with land issues. The Board
ought to be respectful of the people’s business. She said for now to continue forward with the
schedule as currently presented.
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Commissioner
Dallari said a couple of meetings back they had a discussion with individuals
from a tennis group and he wants to get an update on that.
Ms.
Coto reviewed that staff was requested to provide to the Board information they
used as part of establishing the fees and that was provided immediately after
that meeting. Subsequent to that, she
had a meeting with Beth Barefoot and Sonia Triad (phonetic) last Wednesday
about their concerns. She had some
e-mail communications in an attempt to respond to their questions. She has suggested to them that probably the
most expeditious manner to address their concerns is to schedule a meeting with
Julia Thompson, Parks and Recreation Manager, and Joe Abel, Leisure Services
Director, to address the issues. She
thinks Ms. Thompson and Mr. Abel are looking at the overall league play and
whether or not there should be a separate fee to accommodate the leagues that
are different than the private lessons.
Commissioner
Dallari asked if that meeting did take place, how long after that will the
Board be able to hear something back.
Chairman
Carey said she thinks, after hearing the testimony, the staff is doing right by
looking at team play (league play) to see if there should be a special rate for
those people frequently using the facility in a league-type setting.
Joe
Abel, Leisure Services Director, addressed the Board to state what the original
goal was to be after league play. He
said the league programs are all going to end at the end of April. He probably will meet with them in May and by
the end of May or first of June, he will have some recommendation about the
programs.
Chairman
Carey asked if there is some reason why they can’t have these meetings in the
next two weeks and come back with a recommendation. She said many leagues start up in May.
Ms.
Coto said she believes they have a May 15 deadline for establishing their
leagues. She thinks the April 22 date
may be pushing that, but the May 6 meeting might be appropriate.
Whereupon,
Chairman Carey said they can have an add-on item to the agenda.
Commissioner
Henley said he would like to see if Mr. Abel could get information on the
leagues as to age groups and how many of the users are out-of-County residents.
Chairman
Carey said all those options would probably be good to bring back.
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Commissioner
McLean reported that the Rotary Club of Lake Mary had the “Taste of Lake Mary”
event at the end of March and raised about $20,000 to give to a number of
charities. He thanked those for their
support.
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Commissioner
McLean said he went to
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Commissioner
McLean stated he attended the Budget and Taxation Commission Workshop and there
was to be a vote on the Tabor Amendment.
There were so many people who wanted to speak on the subject that they
changed this to a workshop. He told of a
young lady who spoke on the issue and made the biggest impact. He said the meeting was very interesting and
he hopes to get more information on April 14, 2008.
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Commissioner
McLean announced his daughter, Kaley, was recently a messenger for the Florida
House of Representatives. She came home
with pictures of herself with Governor Crist and others.
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Commissioner
McLean said he discovered in the newspaper recently where Ms. Pacini, Orlando
Sentinel, mentioned they did a comprehensive study of 50 high schools
talking about a number of criteria. The
results were very positive for
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Commissioner
Van Der Weide stated the Board saw the presentation this morning on the Heroes’
Memorial and things are going very well.
The
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Commissioner
Henley said he hopes the Commissioners saw the announcement by Lynx regarding
the fact they received a $2.5 million grant to establish a bio-diesel blending
station. He said
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Commissioner
Henley asked if anyone received a call regarding
Chairman
Carey stated it would be her recommendation for Commissioner Henley to attend
that meeting and represent the County.
Commissioner
Henley said he will contact Noranne Downs and let her know, and he is sure that
County Engineer Jerry McCollum will be present also. The concern has been expressed that the
project is damaging
Chairman
Carey stated the priorities have been set by Metroplan and have been set for a
long time.
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Commissioner
Henley stated he had made arrangements to be out-of-state when the Board moved
the date of the meeting in May and he is comfortable with continuing with the
public hearings as scheduled.
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Chairman
Carey said next Monday night is the annual Seminole County Boy Scouts
Dinner. They will recognize Jeno Paulucci
this year. There are still opportunities
for corporate sponsors and individual tickets to be purchased.
PUBLIC
COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Robert
King,
Commissioner
Dallari suggested Mr. King pay attention to the decibel levels, frequency and
octave bands.
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Cathy
Ash,
Chairman
Carey stated they are trying to return a portion of their cost. It is not even breaking even. She said the County provides all kinds of
services. They have a lot of services to
provide in a decreased budget. After
they had not had an increase in fees in 16 years, the Board took a look at
increasing the fees. They asked the
Ms.
Coto explained the Board is trying to find $20 million to $25 million out of
the General Fund. They are looking at
reducing services and programs and increasing their fees. Many have not been increased for 16 to 20
years. Taxpayers pay for a certain level
of services but when they have to add on, there is additional cost. In order to meet the gap that has been forced
upon them with property tax reform and the votes on tax reform, they are in a
situation of weighing essential services vs. less essential services and will
have to make some very difficult decisions within the next three weeks.
Ms.
Ash said it probably would have been better to cut services rather than say we
will increase the fees or you’re going to sit.
As a citizen, it seems like the service has gone no matter what. She understands they have issues they are
working through. On their side, it
appears that a new person came in to take charge and he was going to turn a
profit.
Ms.
Coto said staff will have a meeting with individuals concerned about these
fees. Prior administrators did not look
at the fees. Mr. Abel was not brought in
to turn a profit, but to put a business perspective on leisure services. They have to look at it and see what the
appropriate dollar amount is for them to serve.
Ms.
Ash referred to a survey (copy not received and filed) that Mr. Abel provided
to come up with charges. She said she
did very little research on this and there are huge inaccuracies in it. She asked to have someone go over the survey
and decide if it was properly done. She
said she doesn’t believe the fees are correct.
COUNTY
ATTORNEY’S REPORT, Continued
Mr.
McMillan advised the Board directed him to draft and forward to Longwood an interlocal
agreement regarding inspections of building permits and construction permits
for the Longwood Hills PUD. He forwarded
that to the City and they countered it with an interlocal that did a series of
things that included if there were any other violations of City codes, they
would file complaints with the County.
That provided that
Commissioner
Henley reviewed the circumstances that got the Board into this initially.
Mr.
McMillan said he thinks within the next two weeks he will get this back again
and he wanted to make sure the issues he made are o.k. with the Board.
Chairman
Carey said she thinks the City wanted the County to review and issue the
permits. Then the County needs to do it
under the codes of
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Mr.
McMillan stated at the last Board meeting, he talked about having a “shade”
meeting at the next BCC meeting. If he
needs to, he will go ahead and schedule that.
If not, he will schedule individual briefings. The key thing to talk about was control of
communications, and the Board had that discussion the last time. Things are moving so fast, and they may or
may not have this meeting the next time.
Chairman
Carey said if something is moving fast and he needs to poll the Board, he can
brief the Board as to the legal situation and how they can handle it; and he
can do that via phone if necessary.
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There
being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the
meeting adjourned at 3:07 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:_______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
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