A
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
MAY
1, 2007
The Lake County Board of
INVOCATION
AND PLEDGE
Reverend Earl Wright, of the
UMATILLIA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OBSERVE THE MEETING
Mr. Tommy Hayes III, teacher of American Government and
Economics at
MINUTES
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously,
by a vote of 4-0, the Board approved the Minutes of March 27, 2007 (Regular
Meeting) and March 30, 2007 (Special Meeting), as presented.
CLERK
OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda Tab 2, Items 1 thru 8, as follows:
List of Warrants
Request
to acknowledge receipt of list of warrants paid prior to this meeting, pursuant to
Chapter 136.06 (1) of the Florida Statutes, which shall be incorporated into
the Minutes as attached Exhibit A and filed in the Board Support Division of
the Clerk's Office.
Monthly
Distribution of Revenue Traffic/Criminal Cases
Request to acknowledge receipt of Monthly Distribution of
Revenue Traffic/Criminal Cases, for the month ending March 31, 2007, in the
amount of $195,763.21. Same period last year: $222,649.65
Request to acknowledge receipt of Notice of Commission Hearing and Pre-Hearing to Progress Energy Florida, Inc., and all other interested persons. Docket No. 060162-EI. Notice is hereby given, that a hearing will be held before the Florida Public Service Commission regarding the application of Progress Energy Florida, Inc., to recover the costs of its modular cooling tower project, at the following time and place:
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, at 9:30 a.m.
Annexation
Ordinance from the City of
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Annexation Ordinance 2007-05, amending the boundaries
of the City of Tavares, by annexing approximately 11 acres of property located
northerly of Lane Park Road lying approximately .7 miles west of the
intersection of SR 19 and
Lane Park Road. Passed and ordained the
4th day of April, 2007, by the City Council of the City of
City of
Request to acknowledge receipt of the City of
Request to acknowledge receipt of Order Suspending Proposed
Final Rates and Granting Interim Rate Increase.
Docket No. 060368-WS. Order No. PSC-07-0325-FOF-WS, Issued April 16,
2007. Re: Application for increase in water and
wastewater rates in Alachua, Brevard, highlands, Lake, Lee, Marion, Orange,
Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, Sumter, Volusia, and Washington
Counties by Aqua Utilities Florida, Inc.
Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Annual
Financial Report
Request to acknowledge receipt of Southwest Florida Water
Management District’s Annual Local Government Financial Report, and
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), on CD, for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2006.
Southwest Florida Water Management
District Governing Board Meeting Agenda and Minutes
Request to acknowledge receipt of Southwest Florida Water
Management District Governing Board Meeting Agenda for April 24, 2007, to be
held at 9:00 a.m., at the Brooksville Headquarters,
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by
a vote of 4-0, the Board approved the
Community
Services
Request
for approval and authorization for the Chairman to sign the Second Amendment to
the FY 2005-06 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Partnership Agreement
between the Forest Hills-Lake Mack Association and the County.
Request
for approval of Resolution No. 2007-70, recognizing the accomplishments of
Request
for approval for staff to submit an application for the Florida Commission for
the Transportation Disadvantaged Trip and Equipment Grant for FY/2007/2008, as
well as approval of supporting Resolution No. 2007-71.
Request for approval for staff to submit an application to the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged for the Rural Capital Assistance Support Grant Program, and approval of supporting Resolution No. 2007-72.
Request for approval of a Request for Application (RFA)
to the Florida Department of Health, Hispanic Obesity Prevention &
Education (HOPE) Grant in the amount of $10,000.00. This retroactive approval
is being requested due to the timing issue of when they were notified of the
grant opportunity and the application due date of May 2, 2007. If the RFA is
approved for funding, the contract/agreement for funding will be placed on the
Board Agenda for approval following review by the
Growth
Management
Request for approval and execution of a Release of Fine. Property Owner: William
J. Vandertulip, Code Case# 2005070339 - Commission District 1.
Request for approval and execution of a Release of Fine.
Property owner: Angelina Messina & Grazia Messina, Code Case# 2001090097 -
Commission District 3.
Request
for approval and execution of Release of Fine. Unlicensed contractor citation
paid - Commission District 2.
Procurement
Request
for approval and execution of a contract with Prime Electric, LLC to provide
construction of park entry sign walls throughout parks in
Request
for approval to award ITB# 07-0826 for a Heated Asphalt Storage Tanker to
E. D. Etnyre
& Company in
Request
for approval and execution of a contract with Affordable Structures, Inc. to
provide construction of pre-cast restrooms for six (6) Lake County parks: Lake
Idamere Park, Twin Lakes Park, Paisley Park, PEAR Park, Pine Forest Park and
Ferndale Preserve; and approve the transfer of $76,000 from South District Impact
Fees. The cost of the contract is not to exceed $760,000 within a one year
period. The estimated cost of the restrooms for the six parks is $456,000,
based on specific unit pricing for each park. The remaining $304,000 on the
contract will provide a means to add restrooms to
Public
Safety
Request for approval to submit grant application
to the United States Fire Administration Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Program. Application period is March 29th through May 4th with awards given out
prior to the end of the year. Matching funds will be submitted as an
enhancement request in the FY 2008 budget.
Request for approval for Department
of Public Safety Communications Division, in concert with the Fire Rescue
Division, to submit grant application to the United States Fire Administration
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Regional Project. The grant is
administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is available to help
fire service agencies improve the health and safety of the public and emergency
response personnel. The grant program has an application period ending May 4,
2007, with awards given out prior to the end of the year. Applications
submitted by mail must be postmarked by May 1, 2007.
Request for approval for Department
of Public Safety Communications Division in concert with the Fire Rescue
Division, to submit grant application to the United States Fire Administration
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Regional Project. The grant is
administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is available to help
fire service agencies improve the health and safety of the public and emergency
response personnel. The
grant program has an application period ending May 4, 2007, with awards given
out prior to the end of the year. Matching funds will be provided by
utilization of existing 860640 funding from Automation Funds Carry Forward
approved as part of Resolution No. 2007-18 on 2/6/07.
Public Works
Request
for approval to submit a Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Recreational Trails Grant application, for a grant in the amount of $200,000
for the development of a multipurpose paved trail, boardwalk, signage, benches,
and bike racks in
Request for
authorization to accept the final plat for Sawgrass Bay Phase 1B and all areas
dedicated to the public as shown on the Sawgrass Bay Phase 1B final plat,
accept a performance bond in the amount of $1,792,693.12; and execute a
Developer’s Agreement for Construction of Improvements between Lake County and
DeLuca Enterprises, Inc. Sawgrass Bay Phase 1B consists of 114 lots and is
located in Section 14, Township 24 South, Range 26 East - Commission District
2.
Request
for approval to accept the attached list of public right of way deeds that have
been secured in conjunction with roadway and/or stormwater projects - Commission
Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5.
ADDENDUM
NO. 1
Procurement
Request
for approval and execution of a contract with Government Services Group, Inc.
for Fire Assessment Development Studies in the amount of $54,500.
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by
a 4-0 vote, the Board approved the
Request for approval of Second Amendment to Sub-Lease
Agreement between Armory Board and
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
EMPLOYEE AWARDS
The Chairman presented the following Employee Awards, at
which time Ms. Kasie
McAdams, Employee
Services Manager, gave brief remarks about each individual and their service to
the County:
Presentation of Award to Employees with Five Years of
Service
Donovan Miller, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Jared Mielke, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Stephen Cantley, Equipment Operator III
Public Works/Road Operations/Maintenance Area II
Corey Mathis, GIS Analyst
Growth Management/GIS
Paul Githuka, Senior GIS Analyst
Growth Management/GIS
Teresa Conant, Office Associate IV
Public Works/Engineering
Grace Watson, Commissioners Aide
BCC Administrative Support (not present)
Presentation of Award to Employees with Twenty Years of Service
Yancey Peterson, Fire Lieutenant/EMT Public Safety/Fire
Rescue (not present)
Presentation of Award to Employee with Twenty-Five Years of
Service
Carmen Carroll, Building Services Manager
Growth
Management/Building Services
Employee of the Quarter – First Quarter
County
Manager/Information Outreach
Supervisor of the Quarter – First Quarter
Earl
“Ken” Harley
Public Transportation Manager/Community Services
PRESENTATION
RESOURCE EFFICIENT COMMUNITIES
Dr.
Pierce Jones, Director, Program for Resource Efficient Communities, gave a
slide presentation about Resource Efficient Communities in the State of
Dr.
Jones warned about the waste of water by poorly designed irrigation systems and
that a sprinkler that was continuously hitting the side of a house could be a
potential mold hazard. He commented that
most insurance companies only allowed one incident of mold and mildew with a
maximum damage amount of $5,000. He gave
some statistics about water consumption in the county and stated that many
communities were using an amazing amount of water for irrigation of the
landscape, with a conservative number being 100,000 gallons per household per
year. He stated that new technologies
such as smart irrigation and soil moisture sensors, which cost around $75 to
$300, could cut down wasted water use by as much as 50%. He stated that by better planning in new communities
and leaving more natural space and wooded areas with hearty plants that were
drought tolerant and required less watering could cut consumption dramatically. He spoke about a subdivision in Gainesville (Madera),
that used this type of landscaping, and he spoke about three communities he was
working with: Sugarloaf, The Hills of Minneola, and Bella Collina, to implement
the use of water conservation methods within those developments, along with the
St. Johns River Water Management District, who would be reviewing the site
plans prior to approval. He finished by
saying that meaningful reductions in energy consumption, water consumption, and
improvement of water quality could be obtained by following the practices that
were promoted by the various companies he recommended such as Water Star, Energy
Star, Green Built Homes of Florida, and Florida Yards and Neighborhoods.
PRESENTATION
WATER CONSERVATION METHODS
Mr. Gene Caputo, Intergovernmental
Coordinator for the St. Johns River Water Management District, spoke about the different
ways the people of
Mr. Caputo referenced the Home Water
Use Survey contained in his handout, which he said could be made available to
the public to educate homeowners about water consumption in and around the
house. He pointed out that the average
water use was approximately 150 gallons per day, per person, but that there
were developments in Lake County that were using between 900 to 1,000 gallons
per day per person, because of the deed restriction requirements of those
communities. He felt that there was a
lack of education and a lack of concern among the public regarding water
conservation. He stated that he believed
that the biggest challenge was educating society about the water problems
facing us today and that Florida Water Star and WAVE have conservation programs
that could be utilized by the communities.
He described how low flow plumbing, or reduced flow plumbing in toilets,
showers, and faucet heads could help reduce water consumption
tremendously. He stated that over 50% of
residential water use goes toward outdoor irrigation and that we need that to
change. He referred to a booklet that he
had distributed called Water Wise Florida Landscapes that contains lists of
trees, plants, shrubs, flowers and ground covers that grow well in Florida, and
contains information about what to plant, how to plant, where to plant, and how
to maintain those plants. He closed his
presentation by saying that they were there to help in any way they could in
establishing a good, concise, and effective water conservation program.
PRESENTATION
LAKE
Ms. Nadine Foley, Local Planning
Agency (LPA) Chairman, addressed the Board regarding water usage and
conservation. She distributed some
information about Lake County Nursery Best Management Practices, and stated
that there would be three water efficiency workshops held in July, on the 11th,
18th, and 25th of this year, at various nurseries in North, Central, and
RECESS AND REASSEMBLY
At this time, the Chairman announced
that the Board would take a fifteen minute recess.
PRESENTATION
WATER
QUALITY AND THE CLERMONT CHAIN OF LAKES
Mr. Lance
Lumbard, Water Resources Project Manager, Lake County Water Authority, addressed
the Board and recognized Ms. Mary Hamilton, Lake County Public Works, and Ms. Cathie
McGwier, Environmental Services Compliance and Enforcement Lab Supervisor, stating
that they had been doing an excellent job in assisting him collect data for his
presentation. He stated that he was
going to speak about water quality, including stormwater issues, what happens
when it rains and where the water goes. He stated that in August and September
of 2006, his office instructed his staff to go to the local governments to get
support for stormwater retrofits, because they had an algal bloom in the
Clermont Chain of Lakes, which still persists today. He said that they were concerned as this was
the first time they had seen a large algal bloom in these larger lakes, but they
were used to seeing algae in the smaller lakes.
He stated that the Water Authority has some programs that may be able to
eliminate some of these problems. He
showed an aerial photo of the Clermont Chain of Lakes, which he commented were
excellent for skiing, and fishing and just for the scenic views. He pointed out that the water in the lakes
was naturally brown or tannic, which was different from the Harris Chain of
Lakes, which was not tannic but green and had been for some time. He informed the Board that the water quality
historically has been very good in the Clermont Chain of Lakes, because they
have had a very low level of nutrients, which feed things like the algae, and did
not have the invasive plants that are a problem in the Harris Chain. He commented that nutrient balance is very
important and that it is necessary to understand what effects the nutrient
balance, and what happens when it is out of balance. He stated that nitrogen
and phosphorus compounds were the nutrients that they were mostly concerned
about, as well as human caused sources, such as fertilizer, septic and runoff; and
that natural sources, such as those coming from the
PRESENTATION
EARLY
LEARNING COALITION OF
Ms.
Lesha Coffield, Executive Director of the Early Learning Coalition of Lake
County, addressed the Board about their mission of educating people in our
county about the early learning programs for children ages birth through five, stating
that Lake County families were our future and our most vulnerable
resource. She stated that according to a
2005 chart of progress there were over 22,000 family households with related
children younger than age 18, and 8,000 households with children younger than
age five. She informed the Board that
the median household income was $36,900, and that over 8,000 families are below
150% of the Federal poverty level. She stated
that a family with a gross income of $38,700 would spend 27% of their income on
childcare for an infant and a three year old in a child care center. She explained that there were approximately
180 child care providers in
Ms.
Coffield reported that learning begins at birth, that early experiences have a
huge impact on a child’s overall development, and that the brain is at least
85% developed by the age of five. She informed
that the window of opportunity for development of thinking skills is from 0 to
48 months of age; reading skills 0 to 24 months of age, with the greatest opportunity
of enhancement between two to seven years; emotional intelligence 0 to 48
months; motor development 0 to 24 months, with the greatest opportunity of
enhancement between two to four years of age; music 0 to 36 months with the
greatest opportunity of enhancement between three to ten years of age. She added that Mozart began playing the piano
at age three. She stated that it is
documented that increased experiences define the wiring of an infant’s brain and
that 60% of nutrition is used by the brain during the first year of life, and
decreases to 30% by the age of three, which is why there is a high priority for
early education for
Ms.
Coffield pointed out that the Volunteer Pre-Kindergarten Bill (VPK), which was signed
by the Governor in January of 2005,
effective date January, 2006, allowed for each four year old in the State to
have the opportunity to attend a high quality pre kindergarten program for
free. She stated that during the 2006
program year, the Coalition served over 1,900 children in
1.
Children
that spend most of their time playing and working with materials or other
children, and do not wander aimlessly and are not expected to sit quietly for
long periods of time.
2.
Teachers
that work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different
times of the day, not spending all of their time with the whole group.
3.
The
curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need
additional help, and that teachers recognize that because of different
background situations children do not learn the same things, at the same time
or the same way.
4.
Children
should have access to various activities throughout the day with assorted building blocks and other construction
materials, props for pretend play, picture books,
paints, puzzles, matching games and other art materials.
5.
The
classroom should be decorated with the children’s work, including stories and artwork.
6.
Teachers
read books to children individually or in small groups throughout the day, and
not just at group story time.
7.
Children
learn numbers and alphabet in the context of everyday experiences, and learn
about plants and animals in the world.
8.
Children
participate in cooking, taking attendance or serving a snack, providing the
basis for learning activities.
9.
Children
work on projects and have long periods of time (at least 1 hour) to play and
explore. Worksheets are used very
little, if at all. Outdoor play is never
sacrificed, but included in everyday activities.
10.
Children
enjoy coming to school, do not cry regularly or complain, and parents feel
secure about having their children in the program.
Ms. Coffield explained that the Coalition
provides early educational services to make sure children are truly ready to
learn by the time they enter kindergarten.
She closed by stating that research shows how important early learning
is, and that now it was our turn to show how important each of us could be in
the lives of our children.
PRESENTATION
VOLUNTEER
A presentation
of the President’s Volunteer Service Award for VolunteerLake participants was
made, as follows:
Kimberly
Ann Hassall performed 304 hours, and Jennifer Sullivan (not present) performed
284 hours of volunteer service within twelve months to earn gold awards.
Cara Reid
(not present) performed 106 hours, Jose Ojeda performed 104.25 hours, Sheila
Haddadi performed 101.25 hours, Jenica Tutin performed 102.50 hours, and Rakesh
Mathura performed 100.75 hours of volunteer service within twelve months to
earn bronze awards.
COMMUNITY
SERVICES
JAIL
AND JUSTICE SYSTEM ASSESSMENT
On a motion
by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously, by a 4-0
vote, the Board approved a request from Fletcher Smith, Director of Community
Services, for approval to contact and negotiate an agreement with the U.S.
Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections to obtain their
assistance in completing a Jail and Justice System Assessment. Agreement will be returned for Board review
and approval after the negotiations
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
STIPULATED
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF
COMMUNITY
AFFAIRS V.
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously,
by a 4-0 vote, the Board postponed Tab 26, for approval of a Stipulated
Settlement Agreement for the Department of Community Affairs v. Lake County
until the May 22, 2007 Board of County Commissioners Meeting.
Mr. Jim
Stivender Jr., Public Works Director, addressed the Board stating that
Mr. Gonzales
explained that they had two public meetings, one in December of 2005, at which
the public had voiced fears of high speeds if the roadways were widened and improved;
excessive loss of property, in order to provide frontage for the ditches, loss
of trees, traffic noise; and the need for a protective barrier. He stated that the next meeting was in
October 30, 2006 and some of the concerns of the public at that meeting were
about the twelve foot trail, construction on Wolf Branch, and sight distance
coming out of their driveways.
He
informed the Board that the new improvements consisted of leaving it a two lane
roadway, with a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour, with fourteen foot
lanes with curb and gutter on each side, a twelve foot trail on the west side
and a six foot sidewalk on the east side of the facility. He mentioned that the trail could eventually
extend west to SR 44 and Umatilla and east to
Mr. Gonzales
showed a slide of what was presented at the last meeting, and stated that they
had also presented two alternative typical sections, with one providing an
eight foot sidewalk on each side of the facility, and the next one reduced the
sidewalks from eight feet to five feet, thus widening the roadway to twelve
feet, with a four foot bike lane on each side of the roadway itself. He referred to the three drawings that he had
handed out to the Board for them to look at. He addressed the environmental impacts and
stated that scrub jays, as well as gopher turtles, had been spotted in the
area, but that they had already received clearance from the Fish and Wildlife
Commission.
He stated
that they had performed a traffic noise study in the corridor during peak hours
to determine if there were any potential noise problems, and found that they
were under the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) threshold of 67. He opined that traffic over the next 10 years
would increase 100%, which would require traffic signals to be placed at both
intersections
Commr.
Stewart interjected that many of the comments that she had received from several
of the homeowners in the area were that they did not understand why there were
sidewalks and trails when the roads that it connects to do not have sidewalks
or trails.
Chairman
Cadwell opened the public hearing:
Mr. John Brodcheck,
the owner of a parcel of land on
Mr. Mark
Shower, a resident who lives on Britt Road, addressed the Board stating that
the one thing that had not been mentioned was utilities and that there was a
pole in front of his house. He said that
he had mentioned this at some of the meetings, but no one has said what will be
done with the utilities on his street, just that it was another issue. He stated that he would like to know what is
being done about it, and that he does not want a pole at his front door. He agreed that the speed would present a
problem, and stated that he did not want to deal with an eminent domain issue. He stated that he was against a 12 foot path
leading nowhere.
Mr. Rick Johnson,
who lives on
Ms. Glenda
Kirkman, who lives on Britt Road addressed the Board stating that she and her
husband had written into the record stating that she believed everyone had
agreed that Britt Road needed to be widened with twelve foot travel lanes, two
foot paved shoulders, with a type F curb and gutter. She stated that what they did not agree on
was the excessive taking of land for a pedestrian trail and sidewalk that went
nowhere. She stated that at a previous
meeting, it had been discussed that these trails and sidewalks could not
connect to either
Mr. Jim
Stivender Jr., Public Works Director, interjected that the County would
schedule some more meetings to address the issues that the homeowners had
brought up and see about amending the plans without the sidewalks or pedestrian
trail.
Mr. Jake
Crawford, a resident of
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by
a 4-0 vote, the Board postponed a request from Public Works for approval of the
contract amendment for the completion of the design phase of the Britt Road
Project. The Board recommended that the
plans be amended to twelve foot lanes, with curbing and gutters excluding the
sidewalks and trail, to be brought back at a later date.
APPOINTMENTS
TO THE CHILDREN’S SERVICES COUNCIL
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously,
by a 4-0 vote, the Board approved the following reappointments to the
Children’s Services Council:
District 1
- Lorrie Simmons
District 2
- Barbara Howell and Gary Clark “At Large”
District 3
- Linda Lewis
District 4
- Mike Matulia and Trella Mott “At Large”
District 5
- Christopher Watson with Sandra Stura “At Large,” to complete an unexpired
term for Debbie Thomas.
PUBLIC
WORKS
REAPPOINTMENTS
TO THE PARKS, RECREATION AND TRAILS ADVISORY
BOARD
On a
motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by
a 4-0 vote, the Board approved the following reappointments:
District 1 - Hugh Davis
District 2 - Basha Schlazer
District 3 – David Clutts
District 4 – Bobby Gibson
COMMUNITY
SERVICES
APPOINTMENT TO THE ELDER AFFAIRS
COORDINATING COUNCIL
On
a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously,
by a 4-0 vote, the Board approved the appointment of Ann Lewis to the Elder
Affairs Coordinating Council, to complete an unexpired term ending January 31,
2008, representing District 1.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER HILL –
DISTRICT 1
TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE
PRESENTATION
Commr.
Hill reported to the Board that May 9, 2007 was the Transportation Impact Fee
Presentation, which was going to be presented at the Lake-Sumter MPO meeting,
and suggested that they attend.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER STIVENDER -
DISTRICT - 3
NATIONAL COMMUNITY ACTION MONTH
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved Proclamation No. 2007-73, designating May 2007 as National Community
Action Month.
2007 LEESBURG BIKEFEST
Commr. Stivender stated that the
Leesburg 2007 Bikefest was a huge economic boost to Lake County, and that the
safety issues were not a problem like they were last year.
MISCELLANEOUS CELEBRATIONS
Commr. Stivender stated that Cinqo de Mayo was
Saturday May 5th, and she was going to give a welcome in Spanish in
Mascotte; and
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER STEWART –
DISTRICT - 4
JUVENILE JUSTICE TEEN SUMMIT
Commr. Stewart reported that she attended
the Juvenile Justice Teen Summit with Commr. Stivender, and it was
excellent. She stated that they
discussed making good choices, bullying, and not letting the hard knocks in
life get you down. She commented that
the students were well behaved, but that there was not as big a turnout in
XERISCAPE GARDEN DEDICATION
Commr. Stewart stated that she and
Commr. Hill were at
REPORTS - COMMISSIONER CADWELL –
DISTRICT 5
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved Proclamation No. 2007-74 proclaiming May 2007 as Law Enforcement
Month.
CITIZEN QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
Mr. Roy Hunter, East Lake Chamber of
Commerce, addressed the Board and stated that he had seen a statement that
Commr. Hill had made about watering between 4:00 and 7:00 in the morning, which
he believes is correct that the water does not evaporate as much at these
times. He also stated that by putting
bricks in the large toilet tank, people could conserve water and that if you
fill up your gas tank early in the morning when it is cooler, you would get
more, because gasoline shrinks when cool and expands when hot. He believes that the County could save money
by doing this. He stated that he used to
own a gas station and you should not fill up your tank while a tankard is
filling the underground tanks, because you might get some water in your gas
tank.
RECESS AND REASSEMBLY
At
12:00 p.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess until the
Workshop at 1:30 p.m. at the
WORKSHOP PROCESS AND INTRODUCTION OF
LPA CHAIRPERSON
Ms.
Carol Stricklin, Growth Management Director, opened the workshop by giving the
Board an overview of the first three work sessions in their review of the first
Comprehensive Plan and what they were going to do that day. She explained that the work sessions were to
review those elements of the Comp Plan that were transmitted to the Board by
the Local Planning Agency (LPA) late last year. She reported that the next two
work sessions would be on Monday, May 14 at 9:00 a.m. at the
LPA
TRANSMITTAL OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ELEMENTS
Ms.
Nadine Foley, Chairman of the LPA, introduced other members of the LPA that
were present, including Mr. Scott Foley; Ms. Cindy Barrow, the School Board
representative; Mr. Rob Kelly; Ms. Vickie Zaneis, and Mr. Keith Schue. She thanked the Board for their patience, and
noted that they were mindful that they were behind schedule and had been
meeting three times a month since the beginning of the year to get their part
completed. She reported that they had
taken public input and had carefully considered the views of the citizens of
THE PROCESS – FROM EAR TO COMP PLAN
Ms. Amye King, Deputy Director,
Growth Management Department, stated that during the late 1980’s, Lake County
was undergoing recovery from the freezes, and about that time, the Florida
Legislature also passed the first Growth Management Act. She explained that while recovering from the
freezes,
Ms. King related that in 2004, the
Board separated out the Planning and Zoning Commission into two boards; the
Zoning Board would from then on just review rezonings, and the LPA, a
nine-member committee, would be committed solely to the update and rewrite of
the Comprehensive Plan and the LDR rewrite.
She stated that staff started working on population projections, forming
demographic teams, and working with all the departments in the County to
discuss the fundamental data that would support the County’s goals, objectives,
and policies. The County began writing
the Data, Inventory & Analysis in 2004 and started submitting it to the brand
new LPA for review, and in February of 2005, they started a very rigorous
public participation plan, by holding 17 meetings. She related that in May 2006, the LPA started
reviewing the map, a culmination of all the Data, Inventory & Analysis and
all the elements that had been reviewed.
She reported that the next evaluation of their plan was due in August of
2008. She commented that the new Data,
Inventory & Analysis was based on the 2000 census, which was the most up to
date census they had, and that the next census would be coming out in
2010. She also explained that the Board
would be looking at how they had addressed all 400 concerns that were brought
up from the committees in 2001.
DATA, INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS
Mr. Alfredo Massa, Case Manager, Growth
Management Department, stated that his staff agreed with the numbers that were
in the demographic information in the backup, and that the 2005 estimate was
very close to the figures that they had calculated for 2005 as well. He also stated that the municipalities
updated their population projections, and most of those numbers were a result
of the school concurrency work that they had started doing last year. He commented that the big difference that the
Board would note was that the municipalities anticipated a lot faster
population growth then the County had estimated for them, and if the trends
that they had projected proved accurate, the municipalities would probably end
up with more than two-thirds of the population by 2025. He stated that it took them about 1 ˝ to 2
years of working with the various departments within the County and some of the
municipal partners to get the DCA to approve those estimates, and they needed
to continue using those figures until they implemented the Comprehensive Plan. He stated that since 2005 to the present,
there had been about 18,000 acres that had been annexed into the
municipalities, which would necessitate the population figures to be
redistributed accordingly, but they recommended that the Board did that once
they get the EAR part of the implementation.
Mr. Massa referred to the allocation
of the land included in the County shown on the handout, showing that the total
acres in the County was roughly about 749,000 acres, as well as the division of
land between municipalities, lakes, residential, rural, and business. He commented that the Wekiva River Protection
Area and the
Commr. Stivender asked if the SAP
referred to in the handout was State owned properties.
Mr. Massa responded that it referred
to Special Area Plans, which were currently in
PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENT
Mr. Wayne Bennett, Planning Director,
stated that the previous numbers presented set the tone for the Comprehensive
Plan, and he emphasized that the material in the backup were interim handouts,
because the LPA had not concluded its work efforts. He stated that the books given to the Board
contained the first three elements, the draft, and the transmittal elements of
the topics discussed that day. He
explained that the next group of things the Board would receive would be all of
the remaining elements that the LPA had transmitted.
Commr. Stivender asked what the time
frame would be for the Future Land Use with the LPA.
Mr. Bennett responded that the LPA
was trying to complete their activities as quickly as possible, but he did not
know that there was a specific time frame.
He related that there were three meetings scheduled in May, and that he
believed that the mapping work was fairly close to completion, but that there
were still some significant policy topics that they had to deal with regarding
Land Use.
Commr. Stivender stated that she was
currently the liaison to Parks and Recreation, and they were reviewing the
Parks and Recreation element again themselves, because some of the things had
not been done, and she just wanted to make sure they were not duplicating
things and were all working together.
Commr.
Cadwell inquired whether the proposed the level of service would also include
any of those lands purchased under the Land Acquisition program.
Mr.
Bennett stated that it did not figure directly into that particular number as
he understood the recreation element, and that it included acres focused
primarily on community and regional parks, and some of those could include some
types of those lands, but he did not think all of them were included.
Mr.
Bennett opined that the Master Plan was an excellent plan, and most, if not
all, of the objectives and policies contained in this plan were also found in
the Parks and Recreation element, and everyone was on the same page with regard
to direction. He noted that one change
was that the level of service went from .92 acres per 1000 residents to 4 acres
per 1000 people, also noting that
Commr.
Cadwell commented that that was an expensive level of service to have for
parks, and the decisions made in
Commr.
Stivender stated that she was on the original Comp Plan Committee, and the
reason the level of service was originally lower was because of funding
sources, and finding the funding sources to keep that level up was a major
issue.
Mr.
Bennett related that there was a lot of work in the Master Plan process
comparing
Mr.
Bennett stated that the existing plan was the same as the proposed plan in
terms of required open space on PUD’s (Planned Unit Developments). He also commented that, regarding facility
standards, one thing that was included in the existing plan that was not in the
proposed plan was that there were a series of numbers in the existing plan
stating how much should be spent per acre or per group of people for each
particular type of park. He commented
that taking the place of that, this plan contained a number of prototypes of
neighborhood and community parks based upon the acreages that were associated
with that and stating what those kinds of park facilities would cost, and that
this plan offered a better understanding of the costs and benefits of level of
service standards and recreational needs.
He opined that one of the things that he particularly liked about the
Master Plan and what was in the proposed Comprehensive Plan was that
recreational planning areas were established.
He also commented that the Joint Planning Areas would probably be a
concern more and more in the future.
CONSERVATION
ELEMENT
Mr.
Brian Sheahan, Planning and Community Design, Growth Management, stated that
the Conservation element provided a framework for monitoring, management, and
the use of the County’s natural resources.
He commented that the element was interrelated with many of the other
elements by its nature, in particular the Future Land Use, Recreation and Open
Space, Intergovernmental Coordination, and Transportation elements. He commented that the element provided
information and guidelines regarding the suitability of lands for development,
particularly those lands containing or influencing significant or sensitive natural
resources. He also noted that there were
guidelines for establishing open space corridors, nature education programs,
land use compatibility, and acquisition areas.
He pointed out that the element also provided guidelines for the
planning of roadways, such as the
Mr. Sheahan stated that the element
was divided into four broad categories, which were air, water, land, and
environmental systems. He explained
that the air category objectives of the element required the County to implement
State and Federal guidelines to improve and protect air quality and ensure the
County met or exceeded all applicable air quality standards. He specified that the ground and surface
water objectives of the element required the County to coordinate with local,
State, Federal, and regional agencies to protect the quality and quantity of
ground water resource recharge areas and prevent excessive groundwater draw downs. He also described the guidelines regarding
aquifer protection zones, landscape irrigation, monitoring of septic systems, storm
water practices, and land use strategies.
He also mentioned that there were policies for flood plane protection,
wet land conservation, preservation of sensitive lands, mining, and encouraging
green building systems. Mr. Sheahan also
related that the open space definition was similar to the existing one and did
not change the potential density of the property, but did restrict what counted
as open space by excluding residential yards and including land only outside of
fairways on golf courses as open space.
HOUSING ELEMENT
Mr. Alfredo Massa, Case Manager,
Growth Management Department, commented that there were less low income
households in the County during a 2005 survey than there were in 2000, going
from 15 percent below poverty in 2000 to 10.2 percent in 2005. He also commented that the home ownership
rate increased from 70 percent to 80 percent in that time, and that the average
medium income rose to $45,198 for
Mr. Massa stated that in the adopted
Comp Plan, there were a couple of items that were not carried over, such as the
permitting of accessory housing; the requirement that new development reserve a
portion of total units for affordable
housing; and utilizing tax increment financing.
He explained that a study done in 2005 identified that by 2025, there
would be a need of approximately 73,000 additional affordable housing units,
which would account for about two-thirds of the total projected households that
would be created in the County within the next 20-year planning horizon. He stated that some of the challenges they
faced as they went forward were the facilitating of the provisioning of
adequate housing for all the residents that they anticipated would be coming to
the County. He was concerned that the
reduction of the housing market would make it harder to work with developers on
the affordable housing element.
Commr. Cadwell asked what the logic
was in not including the options such as requiring new development to reserve a
portion for affordable housing or some similar program. He was concerned that the practice of setting
up housing outside of new developments for housing would create slums and that
there should be some way of integrating housing.
Mr. Massa responded that the biggest
drawback of including that in there was that it would mean building more homes.
Commr. Hill stated that the County
was supposed to establish a policy regarding utilization of job training and
creating economic solutions in regard to affordable housing, and currently the
County did waivers for affordable housing which the County paid through the
assessment that they collected. She
inquired whether there was another level of affordable housing of low to
moderate for that category of people that were in essential jobs that were
needed in Lake County such as fire fighters, teachers, police, and nurses,
where the County could offer some relief in impact or other fees and if there
was something they were not doing at that level that they could be doing.
Commr. Cadwell commented that that
was more a policy question for the Board, and he had been talking with the
Commr. Hill commented that other
counties have done a type of recruitment to attract teachers by giving them
some type of impact fee incentive if they continue to teach in that particular
school district for a certain number of years.
Commr. Cadwell commented that the
plan he was looking at would only be available to existing citizens of the
County, to help only current residents and not giving incentives for others to
move here. He also stated that the Board
would have further discussions about the affordable housing issue.
WRAP - UP
Ms. Stricklin concluded by stating
that they would like to take away any questions or policy areas that the Board
would like to discuss at future workshops.
She stated that they had been making notes with regard to Parks and
Recreation to make sure they were coordinated with the Comprehensive Plan and
wanted to look at the issue of workforce housing.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the
meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
____________________________________
WELTON
G. CADWELL, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
JAMES C. WATKINS,
CLERK