A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD
OF
MARCH 4, 2008
The Lake County Board of
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE
Reverend Earl Wright, of the
AGENDA UPDATE
Ms. Cindy Hall,
Mr. Sandy Minkoff,
Mr. Minkoff stated that there
was a request to postpone Tab 15 because a full Board was needed due to the
difficulty in making a decision regarding the Partial Stipulated Settlement
Agreements for the Hart Parcel and the Corbett Parcel.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved to place the proposed Settlement Agreement with J. Malavar
Construction Company on the Agenda under
the County Attorney’s report.
Commr. Hill asked if the Public
Hearing for the Hart and Corbett Parcel Stipulated Settlement should be heard
at this time.
Mr. Minkoff stated that they could
ask for comments strictly on the continuance.
Commr. Hill asked if anyone
would like to comment regarding same.
Ms. Sarah Logan, an Attorney
with Gray Robinson, P.A., addressed the Board stating that they represent Mr.
Pete Benevides a neighboring property owner in this matter. She commented that they had been reviewing
the Partial Stipulated Agreement and had no problem with the Board continuing
the matter.
On a motion by Commr. Renick,
seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote, the Board
agreed to postpone the Public Hearing regarding the Partial Stipulated
Agreement for the Hart and Corbett Parcels.
MINUTES APPROVAL
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board approved
the Minutes of January 29, 2008 (Regular Meeting), February 1, 2008 (Special
Meeting), February 5, 2008 (Regular Meeting), and February 5, 2008 (Value
Adjustment Board Meeting) as presented.
CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved the following requests:
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
January 31, 2008, in the amount of $220,381.56. Same period, last year:
$203,669.22.
Annexation Notice by the City of
Request to acknowledge receipt of Notification of Annexation
by the City of
Public hearings for this
annexation are tentatively scheduled for February 21, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. and
the second reading on March 6, 2008, at 7:00 p.m., in the Eustis City Hall
Commission Room, 10 North Grove Street, Eustis, Florida.
Clerk of Courts Semi-Annual
Investment Report for FY 07-08
Request to acknowledge receipt
of Lake County Clerk of Courts Semi-Annual Investment Report for FY 07-08 dated
December 31, 2007.
Meeting
Notice – Southwest Florida Water Management District
Request to acknowledge receipt
of Meeting Notice – Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing and
Basin Boards’ Planning Workshop, Tuesday, February 26, 2008, at
Minutes
of Meeting - Southwest Florida Water Management District
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Minutes of the Meeting of the Governing Board,
Southwest Florida Water Management District, held in
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved Tabs 3 through 8 as follows:
Budget
Request for approval of the following Budget
Change Request:
Budget
Transfer – General Fund, Department of Public Safety, Animal Services Division.
Transfer $91,170 from Reserve for Operations to Machinery and Equipment
(project 0001) ($81,710) and machinery and Equipment ($10,000). Additional funds are needed for the purchase
of two impoundment vehicles for Animal Services. In September 2007, the Board approved the
addition of $100,000 to the Animal Services budget to hire two Animal Service
officers to handle the County taking over animal services for the City of
Community Services
Request
for the Board of County Commissioners to sign Proclamation No. 2008-30
recognizing National Community Development Week 2008.
Procurement
Request
for approval of the recommendation that the Board (1) declare the items on the
submitted lists surplus to County needs, (2) authorize the removal of all of
the items on the submitted lists from the County’s official fixed asset
inventory system records, and (3) authorize the Procurement Services Director
to sign vehicle titles.
Request
for approval of the recommendation that the Board award ITB# 08-0811 for one
(1) each ICP Metal Analyzer to Varian in the Amount of $67,421.00.
Public Safety
Request
for approval of (1) Modification #1 to Agreement with the State of Florida,
Division of Emergency Management, reinstate and extend the Agreement to March
30, 2008.
Public
Works
Request
for approval to release a maintenance bond in the amount of $135,503.49 posted
for Windsong at Leesburg. Windsong at Leesburg consists of 185 lots and is
located in Section 24, Township 20 South, Range 24 East. Commission District 3.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart, and carried
unanimously, by a 4-0 vote, the Board approved Tabs 9 and 10, as follows:
Request
for approval of Interlocal Agreements with
Request
for approval to accept a Non-Exclusive Easement Deed signed by Homes in
Partnership, Inc., for Property Located at
Employee Awards
The Vice-Chairman presented the
following Employee Awards, with Ms. Susan Irby, Employee Services Manager,
commenting briefly about each employee’s service to the County:
Presentation
of Award to Employees with Five Years of Service
Amye Fish, Deputy
Director/Growth Management (NP)
Growth Management/Administration
Richard Sullivan, Mechanic (NP)
Public Works//Fleet Management
Presentation
of Award to Employee with Ten Years of Service
Demetri Mouyos, Equipment
Operator IV
Environmental Services/Solid
Waste Operations
Presentation of Award to Employee with Twenty Years of Service
Laura Nichols, Systems Database
Manager (NP)
Public Safety/Communications
Systems
Craig Scott,
Entomologist/Supervisor
Environmental Services/Mosquito
& Aquatic Plant
Management/Mosquito Management
Public Works/Engineering/Survey/Design
Held
over from January’s meeting
Randy Jones, Battalion Fire
Chief (NP)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
BOARD/COMMITTEE
PRESENTATIONS
PLAQUE
Parks,
Recreation and Trails Advisory Board
Jim Myers, Jr. for service from
1991-2007
Commr. Stivender commented that
Mr. Myers was being presented with a special plaque for his services over the
past sixteen years. She stated that he
had been running the program with staff, taking care of all the municipalities
as well as the County. She noted that
when it came to County projects, Mr. Myers showed no partiality. She commented that before she was elected to
the Board, she worked with him as Vice-Chair and that he is a remarkable
person.
Mr. Dave Davis, who has recently
become Chairman of the Parks, Recreation and Trails Advisory Board, presented
Mr. Myers with a football signed by all members of the Advisory Board as well
as the Commissioners. He stated that Mr.
Myers and Commr. Stivender were the founding members of the Advisory Board and
that they appreciated the work they had done.
Mr. Myers then addressed the
Board and members of the Parks Advisory Board thanking them for this
recognition. He stated that he thought
it was time for someone else to take the reigns and felt sure Mr. Davis would
do an excellent job. He commented that
because of budget cutbacks some of their grant programs were no longer
available and hoped that they were only temporarily unfunded. He expressed some of the accomplishments made
over the initial 16 years noting that they started Capital Improvement
Programs, where they partnered with the cities and also the School Board;
completion of many projects for millions of dollars that were leveraged on the
ground; and started the summer program with the School Board funding teachers
and bringing at-risk kids into an organized environment during that period of
time. He again expressed his
appreciation to everyone.
CERTIFICATES
Affordable
Housing Advisory Committee
Vanessa Bean for service from
2006-2007 (NP)
Hilary Cook for service from
2005-2007
Barbara Cosden for service from
2006-2007
Henryka Presinzano for service
from 2004-2007
Children’s
Services Council
Marva Turner for service from
2004-2008
Industrial
Development Authority
Frank Gammon for service from 2001-2007
Local
Planning Agency
David Jordan for service from
2004-2008 (NP)
Sean Parks for service from
2004-2008 (NP)
BUDGET
RESOLUTION
AMENDING FY 2008 FEES FOR GROWTH MANAGEMENT
Mr.
Doug Krueger, Budget Director, addressed the Board and asked for approval of
Resolution No. 2008-31 to amend the
Fee Schedule that was adopted as part of the budget in September 2007. He stated that this Resolution would amend
and add to Growth Management fees - one to offset the costs of processing
prepayments and one to offset refunds.
He stated that the prepayment fee would be $20 per lot and the refund
would be $40 per lot, with an effective date of March 11, 2008.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried
unanimously by a 4-0 vote, the Board approved Resolution No. 2008-31 to amend Fiscal Year 2008 Fees for the
Department of Growth Management with an effective date of March 11, 2008.
ECONOMIC
GROWTH AND REDEVELOPMENT
MASTER AGREEMENT – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
OF MID-FLORIDA, INC.
Ms. Cindy Hall,
Commr. Hill commented that she
was not sure they should suspend the JGI program especially until after the
task force has had a chance to look at and consider it. She stated that their recommendation may be
the same. She commented that she was
willing to freeze the dollars and not accept any new applications, keeping in
mind that they honor those that have gone through the application process. She stated that the Strategic Plan had been
adopted and there is a Strategic Task Force that has discussed redefining the
role of the IDA asking for some specific business titles, and she felt they
could bring that to this particular task force, and let them also make a
recommendation also as to what they feel the IDA might go forward with.
It was the consensus of the Board to bring this matter back at a later date.
PROCUREMENT
MULTIPLE AWARD FOR FURNITURE AT
UMATILLA HEALTH CLINIC
Mr. Barnett Schwartzman,
Procurement Services Director, addressed the Board regarding furniture for the
Umatilla Health Clinic. He requested
approval of a multiple award to Ernie Morris Enterprises, Commercial Design,
Inc., Specialty Office Systems, Inc., and DEMCO, Inc., to provide furniture and
installation for the Umatilla Health Clinic, noting that it was a straight bid
and the award was to the low bidder by item.
He stated further that most of the items went to a single bidder. He mentioned that this item was brought under
departmental business primarily due to the dollar value.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved a multiple award to Ernie Morris Enterprises, Commercial Design, Inc.,
Specialty Office Systems, Inc., and DEMCO, Inc., to provide furniture and
installation for the Umatilla Health Clinic.
RFP 08-0006 AND RESOLUTION FOR
UNANTICIPATED REVENUE
Mr. Barnett Schwartzman,
Procurement Services Director, requested approval to award RFP 08-0006 for a
$10 million bank loan for alternate funding to upgrade the public safety radio
network. Mr. Schwartzman stated that the
RFP went out for bid to get the lowest possible rate for the loan and when it
was first issued it had multiple options including lines of credit, a bank
loan, and loans for various terms. He
reported that they received seven responses and at that point they focused on
the option of a nine year bank loan. He
explained that they requested best and final, and that the request was made
after the federal government cut their rate twice; therefore, he thought they
got the best possible rate. He
recommended approval of the loan.
Ms. Hall mentioned that the bank
loan would be supported by the voted one cent sales tax, and that revenue was
coming in right now at $11 million. She
commented that the County’s portion of the bank loan would be about $1.5
million, making the loan easily affordable since it was the only debt against
that sales tax. She noted that the loan
would be amortized over nine years and would be paid off within that timeframe.
Commr. Hill asked if there were
any other debt obligations towards this sales tax to which Ms. Hall stated
there were not. Commr Hill commented
that she did not think they could get an interest rate much lower than the
2.92% rate for this loan.
Mr.
Clark Morris of
Mr.
Morris thanked the Board for their indulgence.
He reported that he had been working on the 800 MHz communication system
issue since July of last year when he realized the County was spending $34
million for its purchase. He stated that
he had presented his findings to the Board on December 4, 2007. He reflected back to that presentation
stating that he had determined that County staff pushed forward unsupportable
sole source procurement for the 800 MHz system.
He commented that this was done by writing an RFI so tightly coupled to
the system they had currently purchased that all other highly qualified vendors
were excluded from the cost and technical bidding process. He remarked that even after letters were sent
to the Board asking for an opportunity for another vendor to provide a cost
proposal, the County staff would not allow it, and that by some estimations
this may have cost Lake County anywhere from $15-$25 million. He referred to his requests at his last meeting
with the Board as asking the Board to do three things: (1) put an immediate temporary halt to any
further expenditures regarding the 800 MHz upgrade; (2) asked the Board to
extend a new RFP open to all vendors, and that this process be administered by
a neutral communications consultation to oversee the bidding process and the
technical evaluation of all proposals; and (3) asked to transfer the budget
oversight for this project to the Sheriff’s Office so that a single elected
official could oversee the implementation of this important and expensive
project. He reported that the only
response he received from the Board was a very long letter from the Public
Safety and Procurement Departments which did not provide any acceptable
justification for sole sourcing this project to the current vendor, nor did it
provide sufficient reasons for not giving the vendor currently supplying the
entire State of Florida with advance high quality 800 MHz radio service a
chance to bid. At the present time he
stated that he was asking the Board not to authorize this $10 million bank loan
from Wachovia Bank to pay for any 800 MHz communication system costs and
requested a Resolution from the Board to direct the County Attorney to
terminate for convenience the present contract with the current 800 MHz vendor and
reissue an RFP for the system. He asked
that at the re-issuance of the RFP it should be stipulated that all properly
presented RFPs would be evaluated by a neutral third party consultant and not
by County staff. In closing, he stated
that he would not be here if he did not truly believe they could get a superior
radio system for much less money. He
mentioned that the County was $20 million in the hole with Amendment 1 passing
and that this $10 million loan would put them down even more. He asked that the County purchase a radio
system correctly and save those millions for other things the County needs and
must have.
Mr.
Schwartzman responded by stating that the long letter from Public Safety and
Procurement that Mr. Morris referred to contained great detail and a large
amount of proper rationale explaining exactly what they did, how they did it,
and why they did it. He would suggest
that they did take a very tailored, specific and serious approach. The one thing that concerned him the most
about Mr. Morris’ comments was that although he agreed with the fact that it
was a lot of money and that the system was needed, he stated that they did
issue that RFI and rather than what Mr. Morris indicated, he believed it
described their functional requirements in very clear, succinct, and open
terms. He stated that they had a dire
need to communicate with every first responder to an accident scene or other
incident. Given that, he commented that
they did have a requirement that indicated the need for full inner operability
with the majority of the existing systems surrounding them. He explained that the RFI begged for anybody
who could provide that inner operability capability to respond and that they
had responses from only two firms. He
commented that one of the firms indicated, and proved very clearly, that they
could provide the inner operability being requested. He reported that unfortunately, the second
offer did not prove in any way, shape, or form that they could provide the
direct inner operability they felt was needed, and this was the rationale
presented. He stated they did conduct a
full and open competitive RFI, issued it to everybody they knew who could
provide the service theoretically, performed a great deal of market research
and tried to find anybody else who could do this. He mentioned that they went as wide as
possible trying to find anybody, but they proceeded with the one and only
vendor that could meet the requirement of inner operability. He mentioned that the pricing for like items,
the radio gear and some other items that were listed in the competitively
awarded contract by another county were used as a guideline for the pricing and
when negotiating they were told not exceed any pricing in that competitively
awarded contract. He explained that it
was very much their solid opinion that given the marketplace there was one
vendor who could meet the functional needs they described. The RFI did not include anything that would
restrict the competition other than in terms of style, or operational or actual
equipment, and it might have turned out restrictive because of the operational
requirement, but that was the only thing that was in there.
Commr.
Stewart stated that she really had to defend Mr. Kaiser and Mr. Schwartzman
because when Mr. Morris first made his allegations to her, she was on his
side. She stated that she thought that
they may have made an error and she started investigating on her own. She reported that she met anonymously with
everybody involved so they could speak openly and freely with her. She explained that the system was very
expensive, but law enforcement and
Commr.
Renick stated that they were confident Motorola would be able to do everything
that they expected, and in the future they could only hope to look back on what
a great decision this had been and hopefully there will not be any problems
with the system. She commented, however,
that the question here was whether or not the process was open. She stated that it would have been nice to
have ten companies step up, but by the time they eliminated those based on what
was needed, they decided on Motorola and that was approved in September. She stated that this was not an easy decision
for anyone, especially with the cost of this radio system. However, it was also one of those decisions
where interestingly enough it may be the first time that all the Public Safety
entities in Lake County, Police Department, Sheriff Department, and Fire
Departments, thought that the County must have this coverage.
Commr. Hill stated that this was the first time, in her memory,
that this had been done countywide and that everyone signed in on it. She commented that it was a large amount, but
they were covering bases that they had not previously been covered. She mentioned that they were able to come up
with three-quarters of the money, and that because of legislative cutbacks the
$10 million loan was needed.
Mr. Minkoff asked that the
motion reflect authority for the Chairman or Vice-Chairman to sign the
necessary documents when they have been prepared.
Commr. Stivender commented that Commr. Renick stated that
the communication system was for the safety of the employees, and for the
citizens of
On a motion by Commr. Stewart,
seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote the Board
approved to award RFP 08-0006 for a $10 million bank loan; authorized the
County Attorney to prepare the appropriate loan documents for the Chairman’s
signature; and approved Resolution No. 2008-32, amending the Lake County
General Fund in order to receive Unanticipated Revenue for Fiscal Year
2007/2008 in the amount of $10 million from a bank loan to fund the 800 MHz
Radio Network and provide for the appropriation of funds.
OTHER BUSINESS
IMPACT FEE COMMITTEE –
APPOINTMENT OF CITIZEN-AT-LARGE
Commr. Hill stated that there
was a newly added citizen-at-large position on the Impact Fee Committee. She stated that two people had submitted
applications, one of which was a new Assistant State Attorney.
A discussion ensued whereby
Commr. Stivender stated that she would like for Mr. Ralph Smith to be on the
committee.
Commr. Hill stated that she
thought it would be nice to have Mr. James Argento, who is new in the area and
that his background reflected that he had been very involved in his community
in the past.
Commr. Stewart stated that she
thought that because Mr. Smith was such a part of the community and had been
for such a long time, that he would be excellent. She stated that she was very impressed by Mr.
Argento and that he had a great educational background at FSU law school.
Commr. Stivender stated that Mr.
Smith was in her District and she would like to have him involved in the
community in the future.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved the appointment of Mr. James Argento, from District 4, to the
citizen-at-large position on the Impact Fee Committee effective March 11, 2008,
to complete a term ending August 6, 2008, and to serve a consecutive two-year
term.
APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
Commr. Hill stated that the Lake
County Conservation Council nominated Ms. Marie Kiser to represent them on the
Lake County Impact Fee Committee, noting this was an appointed seat.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote, the Board
approved the recommendation to appoint Ms. Marie Kiser to represent the Lake
County Conservation Council on the Lake County Impact Fee Committee to complete
an unexpired term ending August 6, 2008, and to serve a consecutive two-year
term.
REPORTS –
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN
Mr. Minkoff stated that the
Board previously rejected a Settlement Agreement between
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously
by a 4-0 vote, the Board approved the Settlement Agreement between Lake County
and J. Malavar Construction Company regarding completion of the South Lake
Trail/Lake Minneola Trail, Phase II, after removing the $20,000 compensation
payment to the contractor.
PLAAC
PROCESS – MARCH 25, 2008
Mr.
Minkoff reported that the PLAAC Process had originally been scheduled for March
18, 2008. However, one of the
Commissioners will be unable to attend and after speaking with the Chairman, he
suggested scheduling it for the last meeting of this month, the Zoning Meeting
on March 25, 2008. He stated that the
applicants would be notified of the rescheduled date.
MASCOTTE ANNEXATION PETITION
Mr. Minkoff stated that after
speaking with Commr.
REPORTS
–
BUDGET
WORKSHOP – MARCH 7, 2008
Ms.
Cindy Hall,
WORK
SESSION – MARCH 11, 2008
Ms.
Cindy Hall, County Manager, stated that
on March 11, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., a Work Session is scheduled which includes
Fire Assessment Fee Study, Water Discussion, the Downtown Tavares Project and
the Noise Ordinance.
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER STIVENDER – DISTRICT 3
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STEERING COMMITTEE
Commr.
Stivender reported that as the NACO Representative for the Economic Development
Steering Committee she had attended their meeting yesterday in
CHILDHOOD
OBESITY
Commr.
Stivender reported that childhood obesity is a major issue due to low cost fast
food as opposed to obtaining food from a health food store at a higher
price. She commented that low income
families purchase fast food to save money which in turn attributes to bad
health.
Commr.
Stivender stated that as a member of the Florida Healthy Kids Board she
volunteered
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER RENICK – DISTRICT 2
Commr.
Renick reported that the Ibini Tera project was a huge success and that
nineteen thousand pounds of debris had been removed from the participating
lakes. She stated that she was happy
Commr.
Stivender commented that it was important to make sure those people who
Adopt-a-Lake do, in fact, take care of it.
She stated that on the Adopt-a-Road project there is a sign on the
particular road that says a certain group would take care of it, but they still
have prisoners go out and clean up the roads because they are not cared
for. She stated they need to make sure
the lakes are cared for once someone adopts them.
Commr.
Renick suggested that if the adopted lake was not cared for then the signs
indicating the names of the group who adopted the lake should be removed to
prevent them from getting credit for something they were not doing.
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER HILL – DISTRICT 1
Commr.
Hill reported that Commr. Cadwell is in
CITIZEN
QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
Mr.
Roy Hunter, representing the Northeast Lake Chamber of Commerce, addressed the
Board to notify them of the Chamber’s meeting to be held at Spring Creek
Elementary Cafeteria, on March 13, 2008, at 6:30 pm. He noted that Commr. Hill would be a guest
speaker in Rebuttal to Niagara Bottling, LLC, and that Mr. Ron Moore, Branch
Manger, Paisley Library, would present an update on library service and
outreach. Mr. Hunter also mentioned that
the Easter Bunny would be at the
Mr.
Hunter commented that he passed on some information that an anonymous gentleman
gave him which he verified with Frank Royce.
He stated that he heard constantly that Niagara Bottling spent $15
million and that all corporations are separate entities and that Niagara
Bottling did not spend $15 million, but rather American Way, LLC did. He stated that
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.
____________________________________
WELTON
CADWELL, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
NEIL KELLY, CLERK