A SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,

THE LAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AND LAKE COUNTY MUNICIPALITIES

DECEMBER 5, 2005

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in special session with the Lake County School Board and representatives of Lake County’s municipalities on Monday, December 5, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., at the Tavares Civic Center, Tavares, Florida, to discuss school concurrency. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Jennifer Hill, Chairman; Catherine C. Hanson, Vice Chairman; Welton G. Cadwell; Debbie Stivender; and Robert A. Pool. Others present for Lake County were: Sanford A. “Sandy” Minkoff, County Attorney; Cindy Hall, County Manager; Gregg Welstead, Deputy County Manager; Carol Stricklin, Growth Management Director; Amye King, Assistant Growth Management Director; Valeria Golden, Administrative Associate II, Department of Growth Management; and Judy Whaley, Deputy Clerk.

The Lake County Schools were represented by School Board members Jimmy Conner, Chairman; Larry Metz, Vice Chairman; Becky Elswick; and Scott Strong; and by Superintendent Anna Cowin and Attorney Steve Johnson.

The municipalities were represented by: Tim Green, Town of Astatula/City of Minneola/Town of Montverde; Elaine Renick, City of Clermont; Frank Royce, City of Eustis; Krystal Stock, City of Fruitland Park/City of Umatilla; Teresa Greenham, City of Groveland; Janet Shira, Town of Howey-in-the-Hills/City of Mascotte; Sanna Henderson, City of Leesburg; Mark Reggentin, City of Mount Dora; and Nancy Clutts, City of Tavares. No one was present representing the Town of Lady Lake.

Commissioner Hill called the meeting to order, called the roll, and introduced the joint meeting facilitator, Mr. Robert Nabors, of Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson P.A.

Mr. Nabors explained that the issues being discussed today are School Siting/Infrastructure Requirements and Joint-Use/Colocation of Facilities. Participants will divide into three groups with each group being represented by the County Commission, the School Board and the cities. He asked each group to discuss the issues for about one and one-half hours and formulate a consensus bullet point sheet that represents the policy objectives to be achieved. Mr. Nabors noted that this is a public, advertised meeting and there will be a public input process at a later meeting.

At 10:10 a.m., the three groups began their discussions on the issues.

At 11:55 a.m., Mr. Nabors asked a representative from each group to report on their agreed upon points. Those points will be distributed to the participants for discussion at the December 14, 2005, joint meeting in an effort to resolve the issues and to develop language to be used in an interlocal agreement.

Group A reported discussion of the following points:

 

Group B reported discussion of the following points:

 

Group C reported discussion of the following points:

 

Mr. Nabors reiterated that the worksheets will be combined and distributed by December 8, 2005, to the working group for discussion at the December 14, 2005, joint meeting. At that meeting, a consensus of the comprehensive list will be developed so the policy decision can be reduced to words that would go into the interlocal agreement and specific criteria so that it could be debated at a future meeting. He noted that the next session deals with District-Wide Concurrency versus Concurrency Service Areas as well as the Standardized Methodology for Capacity Calculations. These and upcoming issues will lead to the development of a Capital Improvement Plan and how that is developed will affect the School Board, Lake County and the cities. Thoughts and a consensus will be developed but no final decisions will be made until the data is done. Data will include population estimates, policies on placement of portables, and student generation figures. Mr. Nabors requested that position statements on the next issues be submitted by December 8, 2005.

Mr. Strong pointed out that the State Legislature has mandated that school districts provide the EHPA (Enhanced Hurricane Protection Area) requirements for the entire district and surrounding area. The school system would have to construct facilities to provide about 10,000 spaces and this will be a huge financial burden, costing millions of dollars. He explained that the cities are allowed to contribute and that the school system has about 8,000 spaces. The County implements the programs and a waiver would be required if the school system varies from the required number. Charter schools are not required to participate.

Mr. Nabors remarked that he may take the liberty of including this issue in a future joint meeting and include discussions on which schools are suitable for shelters and what modifications may be needed. He noted that, because of a conflict, the February 13, 2005, joint meeting will be rescheduled for Wednesday, February 15, 2005. The next joint meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m., December 14, 2005, at Lake Receptions in Mount Dora, Florida.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

 

__________________________

JENNIFER HILL, CHAIRMAN

ATTEST:

 

 

 

__________________________

JAMES C. WATKINS, CLERK