A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD
OF
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
The Lake County Board of
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE
Mr. Sandy Minkoff,
AGENDA UPDATE
Ms. Cindy Hall,
Mr. Minkoff stated that there
was one item he would like to discuss under the Consent Agenda.
Commr. Cadwell stated that he
wanted to add the request from Mr. Bob McKee, Lake County Tax Collector, to
delay the issuance of the tax notice beyond November 1.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
moved to add that to the Agenda under Commr. Cadwell’s business.
Commr. Cadwell stated that they
needed to appoint the new Value Adjustment Board (VAB), which would be two
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
moved to add the VAB appointments to the Agenda, under Commr. Cadwell’s
business.
Commr. Renick requested to pull
Tab 5 for further discussion.
Mr. Minkoff noted that on Tab 8,
which was a purchase of some property from the Ronald C. Merkley Estate, the
contract price was shown as $72,000, but there was a contingency in the
agreement that required the seller to remove a septic tank and/or a well from
the property. He wanted the Minutes to
reflect that the actual closing price might be $2,250 less than what was shown,
because they were discussing having the County do that removal as opposed to the
seller. He stated that if the County had
to remove them, they would reduce the price at closing.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board
approved the County Manager’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 1 through 9, pulling Tab 5,
as follows:
Budget
Request for approval of the following Budget Change Requests and Unanticipated Revenue Resolutions:
1. Budget
transfer - Public Transportation Fund, Department of Community Services, Public
Transportation Division. Transfer
$60,000 from Contractual Services [Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged
(CTD) Trips] to Contractual Services (Fixed Route). On November 20, 2007, the Board of County
Commissioners approved a request to establish a new account code so revenues
and expenses for the fixed route service could be tracked. At the time, approval to begin the new
2. Budget transfer - General Fund, Office of Budget. Transfer $9,923 from Reserve for Operations to Other Current Charges ($585) and Operating Supplies ($9,338). A transfer is needed to cover costs incurred by the Department of Public Safety related to the Deerhaven Wildfire. Costs include $9,338 in fuel for fire fighting equipment and the balance for ancillary operating costs to support the operation. After this transfer, the balance in the Reserve for Operations account will be $293,367.
3. Resolution No. 2008-143 to amend the General Fund in order to receive unanticipated revenue for Fiscal Year 2007-08 in the amount of $4,468 deposited into Donations and provide appropriations for the disbursement for various operating expenses. VolunteerLake has received donations to assist in funding programs, activities and events specifically for volunteers.
4. Resolution No. 2008-144 to amend the General Fund in order to receive unanticipated revenue for Fiscal Year 2007-08 in the amount of $3,761 deposited into Surplus Furniture/ Fixtures/ Equipment/ Sales and provide appropriations for the disbursement for Operating Supplies. Unanticipated Revenue will be received from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control, for the sale of surplus property.
Environmental Services
Request for approval for Amendment: a) amending the Arthropod Control FY 07/08 Certified Budget due to unanticipated revenue from vehicle & surplus equipment sales, and b) transferring $3,288 from Travel & Per Diem, $853 from Books, Dues and Pubs, and $1,693 from Capital Outlay in order to purchase more chemicals for adulticiding.
Procurement
Request for approval to (1) declare the items on the attached list(s) surplus to County needs, (2) authorize the removal of all of the items on the attached lists from the County’s official fixed asset inventory system records, and (3) authorize the Procurement Services Director or designee to sign vehicle titles.
Public Safety
Request for approval of the
Amendment to the 1988 Cooperative Agreement between
Request for approval of the Leased
Fiber Agreement between
Request for approval of the application to the E911 Board for a Grant for a Regional Routing System and approve the State-provided E911 Networking Agreement. Both of these documents are in use today and approved by the Department of Management Services (DMS).
Addendum No. 1-I. Request for approval of the Tower License
Agreement between
Public
Works
Request for
approval of the
Request for authorization to accept the final plat for Harbor Hills Phase 6A and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Harbor Hills Phase 6A final plat, accept a check in the amount of $97,720.00, and execute a Developer’s Agreement for Construction of Improvements between Lake County and Harbor Hills Development LP, d/b/a Harbor Hills Ltd. Harbor Hills Phase 6A consists of 70 lots and is located in Section 13, Township 18 South, Range 24 East. Commission District 5.
Commr. Renick stated that they had discussed with Mr. Minkoff at the last meeting about leasing space for towers and getting a consultant or expert to help find out what a good price would be. She commented that she was assuming the price mentioned in Tab 5 for the Tower License Agreement with COX Radio, Inc. for the countywide radio communications system has been negotiated by Public Safety. She was wondering if they did not need that same professional consultant service to make sure they were getting the best price for this.
Mr. Greg Holcomb, Department of Public Safety Communications Director, explained that the reason they were looking at the consulting from their side was that the companies or agencies that were in the business of towers and leasing space generally had someone to do some market analysis on what the valuation of what that particular site was, the number of antennas being hung on the tower and the amount of equipment, space, and those type of things. Their goal with the consultant as they leased space was that they would have someone on staff that could do that marketing assessment for them and determine the valuation of what they should be doing. He stated that the companies mentioned in the two items that were on the Agenda were in the tower business and did that. He specified that some towers were extremely beneficial and in an area that they would have problems building towers, while others might be in a very rural location with a low likelihood of attracting someone with a need for it.
On a motion by Commr. Renick,
seconded by Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved
Tab 5, a request from Public Safety, Communications Systems Division, for
approval of the attached Tower License Agreement between
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
approved the
Request for approval to execute the Right
of Entry Agreement between
BUDGET
ADOPTION
OF FEE SCHEDULES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008-09
Mr. Doug Krueger, Budget Director, explained that on behalf of the departments each year, they compile a list of the fees that are charged by the various departments and offices. He stated that this list was provided to the Board in the resolution, and behind the resolution on page 1 was a summary of any kind of major changes in the fees. He mentioned that they failed to include one fee that should have been in Exhibit B, Page B-3, under Public Safety, Fire Services, that is currently in existence for a charge of $100 for more than three false alarms within one year, and that they needed to add that.
Commr. Cadwell asked about the energy surcharge on some of the facilities and whether they would continue to charge that even if the energy prices went down.
Mr. Krueger understood that it was a flat rate until the Board changed it.
On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved Tab 11, the request from Budget for approval of Resolution No. 2008-145 adopting fee schedules for Fiscal Year 2008-09.
Commr. Stivender voted “no.”
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND REDEVELOPMENT
MASTER AGREEMENT WITH ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Ms. Dottie Keedy, Director of Economic Growth and Redevelopment, stated that the agenda item in Tab 12 was the 2008/09 Metro Orlando EDC (Economic Development Commission) contract for services. She noted that it was identical to the contract the Board signed for last year, except for a slight increase in the fee based on the 2007 population.
Mr. Ray Gilley, President and CEO of
the Metro Orlando EDC, reported that they received over 50 applications for the
On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 12, the request from Economic Growth and Redevelopment for approval and signature on the Master Agreement for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 between the Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida, Inc. (EDC) and Lake County.
PROCUREMENT
RENEWAL OF
EXCESS LOSS INSURANCE WITH SYMETRA LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY
Mr. Barnett Schwartzman, Procurement Services, stated that this agenda item represented a normal option extension of the current competitively-awarded contract. He explained that it was brought to the Board as a departmental item primarily due to its dollar effect and because there were some changes in structure in the program, which were described in the agenda item. He related that they recommended approval.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 13, a request from Procurement for approval of the renewal of the excess loss insurance with Symetra Life Insurance Company.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
VACATION PETITION NO. 1138 – EDWARD HOLMES – GROVELAND FARMS
Mr. Jim Stivender, Public Works Director, explained that Vacation Petition No. 1138 was by Edward and Abbie Holmes to vacate a right of way in the Plat of Groveland Farms in Commission District 2. He pointed out the location of the property on the overhead map and explained that there was a grid every quarter mile of those 24-foot roads in the Groveland Farms Plat. He pointed out that a lake broke the property up and clarified that they were clearing title. He stated that they were able to add the entire quarter mile in there as part of the road vacation, and all the property owners worked together. They recommended approval to vacate.
The Chairman opened the public hearing.
There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 14, Vacation Petition No. 1138, Edward E. Holmes and Abbie E. Holmes, to vacate a right of way in the Plat of Groveland Farms and execution of Resolution No. 2008-146.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
REZONING AGENDA
Mr. Brian Sheahan, Director of Planning and Community Design, reported that they have received a request from the applicant for a continuance until October 28 on Rezoning Case No. MSP#08/7/1-3, which was supported by those in opposition in this case.
The Chairman opened the public hearing regarding the continuance.
There being no one who wished to address the Board regarding the continuance, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the postponement of Rezoning Case No. MSP#08/7/1-3, Robert J. Merritt/Dirtworx Excavating, Incorporated, until October 28, 2008.
Mr. Sheahan reported that all the other cases have been properly noticed.
Commr. Stivender announced that she had a conflict of interest regarding Tab 4, Rezoning Case No. 46-08-1, since a relative of hers owned the property.
PUBLIC
HEARINGS:
CONSENT REZONING AGENDA
The Chairman opened the public hearing regarding the Consent Agenda, pulling Tab 4.
There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick, and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Rezoning Consent Agenda, pulling Tab 4, as follows:
Tab 1 – Ordinance No. 2008-62 and 63
Wing Sze Cynthia Cheung/Richey & Cooney
Rezoning Case No. PH38-08-3
Request
approval to remove the northern 71.03 acres from the 134.51-acre Community
Facility District (CFD) and rezone said portion from CFD to Agriculture and
amend CFD Ordinance No. 1998-39 to reduce the acreage of the CFD from 134.51
acres to 63.48 acres.
Tab 5 – Ordinance No. 2008-65
Billy Jackson/Lake County
Rezoning Case No. PH48-08-1
Request approval to rezone one acre from Medium Residential District (R-3) to Agriculture (A) in order to return the property to its original zoning classification of A which was changed to R-3 due to a legal description error recorded in Ordinance 2006-32.
Tab 6 – Ordinance No. 2008-66
Williams Family Scout Reservation
Rezoning Case No. PH37-08-5
Request approval to amend ordinance to rezone Agriculture (Ag) land area (159.16 acres) as CFD zoning for the purpose of expanding the Leonard and Marjorie Williams Family Scout Reservation.
Tab 7 – Ordinance No. 2008-67
Lake County/Millbrook Manor
Rezoning Case No. PH#42-08-2
Request approval of an ordinance to correct a scrivener’s error in the original approval ordinance (#2004-94) that omitted the previously requested short-term rental activity. Approval of this zoning request will supersede Ordinance #2004-94.
The Chairman opened the public hearing on Item 4, Rezoning Case No. PH46-08-1, Mark and Tresa Carter/Lake County.
There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried by a vote of 4-0, with Commr. Stivender abstaining, the Board approved Tab 4, Rezoning Case No. PH46-08-1, Mark and Tresa Carter/Lake County, the request for approval to rezone five acres from Medium Residential District (R-3) to Agriculture (A) in order to return the property to its original zoning classification of A which was changed to R-3 due to a legal description error recorded in Ordinance No. 2006-32, and execution of Ordinance No. 2008-64.
REGULAR
REZONING AGENDA
REZONING
CASE NO. 39-08-3 – V-BRO DEVELOPMENT /BROCKIE HOLDINGS
Mr.
Rick Hartenstein, Senior Planner, stated that this was Rezoning Case No.
39-08-3, V-Bro Development LLC and Brockie Holdings, LLC represented by Leslie
Campione, PA. He specified that the
property was located south of Tavares on County Road 561 across from the
traffic operations and Animal Control facilities and was in Future Land Use of
Employment Center/Urban Expansion and the City of
Mr. Hartenstein explained that the first waiver request is to utilize a private 40-foot wide access utility easement with a two-lane drive aisle that was 24 foot wide and built to County standards for access with the front building setback of thirty feet from the edge of pavement, which would be providing five feet for pedestrian access and five feet for landscaping. He reported that staff had several concerns with that proposal, because it would cause limited pedestrian access from the parking area to the buildings, which would create an unsafe condition, and limited area for road frontage landscaping, which would be an issue with the aesthetics of the industrial park. Staff requested a concept utilizing a 40 foot right of way with two-lane traffic and a building setback of 20 feet from the edge of pavement with no vehicular parking between the front setback and the street, which would allow sufficient area for landscaping and utilities and would promote safe vehicular and pedestrian traffic and still be allowing the owner flexibility with the development of the site. He also explained that the purpose of the second waiver request regarding delay of turn lanes was to allow the owner to proceed with the development and sell one or two of the lots before undertaking such a large expense in developing the infrastructure. In addition, they were proposing utilizing two existing driveway connections on CR 561 as seen in Figure 3 of the staff report, and Public Works comments state that the offsite road improvements would be required when the internal road for the industrial park is constructed, which spreads the cost over the development rather than one potential property owner. He related that staff recommended that the offsite road improvements, the internal access road, the stormwater retention areas, and the CR 561 road frontage landscaping be required with the initial site plan for the park development. He specified that landscaping for each site would be addressed at the time of the site plan approval, which would include any perimeter buffer associated with a given lot, and they were requesting a waiver for the rear building setback to reduce to five feet along the areas abutting the stormwater retention/detention areas, which would allow the structures on those lots to be set back farther towards the rear of the lot. He reported that staff recommended approval subject to the conditions outlined in the attached ordinance. He also noted that staff had not received any letters for or against this request and that the Zoning Board’s recommendation was 5-0 for approval of the request to amend the permitted uses for MP Ordinance 2006-108 for an industrial park to include limited commercial, retail trade and finance, professional office, financial insurance and real estate, light and heavy industrial uses to include a bio-diesel processing and bulk fuel storage facility and associated uses as well as the recommendation of approval for the waivers, excluding waiver 1.
Commr.
Stivender inquired whether the City of
Mr.
Hartenstein replied that the applicants would have to be in touch with the City
of
Ms. Leslie Campione, on behalf of the applicant and the owner, stated that they basically formulated those waivers as a result of doing site planning on the site and found that they needed some additional flexibility, and they were attempting to put some master improvements in place as soon as they actually changed uses or began new development on the site. She explained that when they got that first site plan ready for the first user, at that point they would have to get their turn lanes in, get their master stormwater system in, and get their environmental report done for the entire site. She commented that that would then open the door for the other sites to be developed, and under the current economic conditions, waiting until they got that first user was critical to having the capital to get those improvements in place. She felt that the waivers requested were reasonable and noted that staff agreed, and the only thing they had a disagreement about was the parking issue off of the access road. She clarified that they initially developed a site plan that would have an actual publicly dedicated street that would come into the property and met all County specifications, but they found that it took up a lot of the usable space on this property. They came to the conclusion that if they used a private easement as opposed to a road and they had sufficient width for vehicular traffic, trucks, and emergency vehicles, they could actually create more usable area on the site. She commented that she understood that this could be problematic as vehicles came off of CR 561, but showed a layout of parking spaces that could improve that situation. She also pointed out that the people parking in those areas were going to be employees and not the public coming in to conduct business, because that was not the type of business they were marketing to. She asked the Board to allow them to use the front parking shown in Exhibit F in the staff report for development that is 400 lineal feet from the north entrance and 200 lineal feet from the south entrance, which would entail a 30 foot setback off of the edge of the pavement and a ten foot area for landscaping and sidewalk. She noted that there were some existing uses on the site and that they planned to continue using those existing buildings and structures.
The Chairman opened the public hearing.
There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 2, Rezoning Case No. PH#39-08-3, V-Bro Development, LLC and Brockie Holdings, LLC, requesting approval to amend Planned Industrial (MP) Ordinance No. 2006-108 to include limited commercial professional office, light industrial, and heavy industrial uses (to include a bio-diesel processing and bulk fuel storage facility), as well as the waivers regarding development of the site, denying waiver number one, and with the staff recommendations, and execution of Ordinance No. 2008-68.
REZONING CASE
PH#32-08-5 – LAKE COUNTY/DAVID HANSEN, PUBLIC
LANDS
MANAGER
Mr.
Steve Green, Chief Planner, presented Rezoning Case PH#32-08-5 regarding
Andrews/Lady Lake, and explained that this request was to rezone a 65-acre
vacant property with a current zoning designation of Rural Residential District
(R-1) to Community Facilities District (CFD).
He stated that this piece of property was located north of Griffin View
and west of
Mr. David Hansen, Public Lands Manager, explained that this was a housekeeping procedure for them to rezone their properties to CFD.
The Chairman opened the public hearing.
Mr. Edward Thompson stated that if there were no changes in the plans or usage of this property, which was supposed to be a conservation area only, there has never been any access to this property, and he felt that the County was gaining access to the property illegally by walking across residents’ private property. He pointed out that he was originally opposed to the purchase of this property, because he thought it was a waste of the County’s money to buy something that they did not have access to.
There being no other individuals who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
Mr. Hansen reported that they have been using a swale to stay on their side of the stakes from the survey as best as they could, but they were generally working from an aerial photograph, because the stakes have been pulled out of the ground. He related that they have been offered opportunities from residents there, and he was in the process of looking into that.
Commr. Cadwell commented that they would need to address that access issue when they do their management plan.
Commr. Renick related that in the zoning notes, Ms. Nancy Steinmetz, an adjacent property owner, mentioned that she would like to purchase the property. She asked Mr. Minkoff if they could sell this property to an individual if PLAAC was willing to sell it, with the understanding that they would do a conservation easement on it.
Mr. Minkoff replied that he did not think there were any legal prohibitions on selling the property acquired with PLAAC monies. He pointed out that the proceeds, of course, would have to go back into PLAAC, and there were some requirements on how they sold property.
Commr. Cadwell stated that it would have to be an open sale, and they would do some type of proposal ensuring that whoever was interested in purchasing it would have to agree to a conservation easement and those types of things.
Commr. Renick asked if the Commission would be willing to pursue that and ask that Mr. Hansen take it back to PLAAC to discuss the issue.
Commr. Cadwell stated that they needed to decide what to do regarding the rezoning first, and they could postpone the rezoning and let Mr. Hansen research that or they could approve it. He pointed out that if they rezoned the property, they would then have to change the zoning if it was owned by an individual.
Mr. Hansen stated that it would not be able to be zoned as a CFD, which was a public holding.
Mr. Minkoff clarified that he did not think CFD properties were required to be publicly owned. He noted that they might want to look at the terms of the ordinance, but the land uses authorized conservation that could be public or private.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Rezoning Case No. PH#32-08-5, Lake County/David Hansen, Public Lands Manager, the request to change the Zoning from Rural Residential District (R-1) to Community Facilities District (CFD) to allow for conservation of the property and the execution of Ordinance No. 2008-69.
On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to give direction to Mr. Hansen to discuss with PLAAC the issue of whether or not they wanted to sell this property with the understanding that it would have to have a conservation easement so that it would still be protected.
PUBLIC
HEARING
ADDENDUM
NO. 1-II
TRANSMITTAL
OF 2008 EVALUATION AND APPRAISAL REPORT TO DCA
Mr.
Ian McDonald, Chief Planner, Planning and Community Design, presented the
Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) for the currently adopted Comprehensive
Plan. He explained that they were
required by law every seven years to go through their Comp Plan. He noted that this process was a little
different from the previous processes and that instead of doing a very detailed
assessment, which typically generates a document much larger than the Comp
Plan, the new Statute required them to identify the issues of primary concern
to the County and then look to see how well it addressed those issues and what
changes they intended to make to accommodate any problems or new circumstances
that they would find. He reported that
this document was approved by the LPA (Local Planning Agency) at its August 21
meeting. He specified that they provided
a summary review of the existing elements and identified the major issues of
concern, and the primary issue was protection of environmentally sensitive
areas with sub-issues of the
The Chairman opened the public hearing.
There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request for transmittal of the 2008 Evaluation and Appraisal Report to the Florida Department of Community Affairs and execution of Resolution No. 2008-156.
OTHER
BUSINESS
WOMEN’S
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the ratification of Ms. Harriette Mann and Ms. Mary Annie Morse Nutt as the 2008 Women’s Hall of Fame inductees as selected by the Women’s Hall of Fame Committee.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER STEWART –
DISTRICT 4
PASSIONATELY PINK DAY FOR THE
CURE PROCLAMATION
On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the execution of Proclamation No. 2008-147 proclaiming October 3, 2008 as PASSIONATELY PINK DAY FOR THE CURE for breast cancer awareness, presented by Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Central Florida Affiliate.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
PROCLAMATION
On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the execution of Proclamation No. 2008-148 proclaiming October 2008 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Lake County.
RESIDENTS’ RIGHTS MONTH
PROCLAMATION
On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the execution of Proclamation No. 2008-149 proclaiming October 2008 as Residents’ Rights Month.
ROBOTICS PROGRAM
Commr. Stewart stated that she and
Ms. Dottie Keedy, Director of Economic Growth and Redevelopment, were working
with the School Board and other business leaders in the Community on a Robotics
Program, which utilized math and science technology centered on building
robots. She stated that they were making
great headway for next year, but they did not have enough time to really be
effective this year. She related that
they currently had two teams in the Lake County School System, which were
FOOD BANK DONATIONS
Commr. Stewart mentioned the need
for food bank donations, and encouraged everyone to buy one or two extra cans
of food to put in the drop off bin in the lobby at the
COMMISSIONER CADWELL – CHAIRMAN
AND DISTRICT 5
EXTENSION OF 2008 TAX ROLL
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Mr. Bob McKee, Lake County Tax Collector, for the 2008 tax roll to be extended prior to the completion of the Value Adjustment Board hearings, as allowed by Florida Statute 197.323.
APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS TO
VAB
Commr. Cadwell stated that they needed to appoint a citizen and two commissioners to the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) and recommended that they appoint Commr. Hill and Commr. Stewart. He also related that the citizen that was supposed to serve changed his mind.
Both Commr. Hill and Commr. Stewart accepted those appointments.
Mr. Minkoff related that this year,
because the
On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointments of Commr. Hill and Commr. Stewart to the Value Adjustment Board.
RECESS
AND REASSEMBLY
The Chairman announced a recess until 5:05 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING
APPROVAL OF FINAL MILLAGE RATES AND FY 2008/09 BUDGET
Ms. Cindy Hall,
Mr. Doug Krueger, Budget
Director, stated that according to Chapter 129.200 of the Florida Statutes,
they would identify the millage rates during this public hearing, and he
specified that the tentative Lake County General Fund millage adopted on
September 9 was 4.6511 mills, which was a 10.79 percent reduction from the
rollback rate of 5.2137 mills; the tentative Lake County Ambulance millage was
.4651 mills, which was a 9.72 percent reduction from the rollback tax rate of
.5152 mills; the tentative Public Lands Debt Service millage was .1101 mills, a
44.95 percent reduction from the rollback tax rate of .2 mills; the tentative
Stormwater, Roads and Parks MSTU millage was .4984 mills, representing a 10.81
percent reduction from the rollback rate of .5588 mills; and the Fire Rescue
MSTU millage was .3222 mills, which is a new millage for 2008/09 resulting from
a State Supreme Court decision that prohibits funding for Emergency Medical
Service from fire assessment fees forcing the County to fund this from a
millage. Mr. Krueger referred to a
handout which provided a series of adjustments that they were presenting to the
Board and asking them to approve as part of the final adopted budget, adjusting
the operating budget by $503,287 and their capital project funds by $12.4
million for a total adjustment of $12.9 million. He explained that the reductions that related
to the $503,000 were three additional reductions in positions in the general
fund, one in Facilities and two in Information Technology, GIS Division, and
they were adding two positions based on Board direction for the Early
Intervention program for the Public Defenders Office.
Commr. Cadwell clarified that
the Board wanted to leave that money in the budget for that program, but did
not want them to implement that program until Commr. Hill’s group met during
the first part of October.
Mr. Krueger reported that there
was a reallocation from the fund balance in the current year to next year of
$51,800 for funding for the labor organization, a reallocation of $232,000 from
the 10 percent set aside in the general fund from Public Lands stewardship
funds to the Ferndale Preserve project, and a reallocation from the current
year of $271,366 that was previously earmarked for recreation assistance grants
to cities that were unspent, which would be reallocated to the PEAR Park
project and the North Lake Community Park project. He explained that the balance of the
adjustments that were in the package were technical in nature, such as an $11
million transfer out of the general fund to their Capital Project fund for the
Tavares project. He also noted that the
adjustment relating to Board direction last week of $603,000 that was being
transferred from Public Lands to the Sales Tax fund to be allocated to
Sheriff’s replacement vehicles was also in the package.
The Chairman opened the public
hearing.
Mr. Jack Wallace, representing the
Kiwanis group of Lake and
Commr. Cadwell clarified that their group would need acreage set aside in the facility that the County was partnering with Clermont on.
Commr. Renick related that Mr. Bobby Bonilla, Parks and Trails Division Director, has already put together a conceptual plan, and she sent it out to individuals involved with Little League that had asked for that. She thought there would be meetings for public input regarding that plan, and they could discuss that during those public hearings after the site was acquired.
Mr. Terry Beebe, President of the
Board of Directors of the
Ms. Lesha Coffield, Executive Director of the Early Learning
Coalition of Lake County, addressed the Board about the Big Blue Bus program,
which was operated by the Early Learning Coalition and was partially funded by
the Children’s Services Council. She
mentioned that their most recent bus was donated by the late Sheriff Chris
Daniels and that the program was strongly supported by Sheriff Gary Borders. She related that they currently had an
agreement with the Lake County Health Department to distribute information and
education on the importance of healthy eating, brushing their teeth, and
getting enough sleep, and that all of those things prepare them for learning
and school readiness. They also had
plans of partnering with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department to be able to
offer educational information to the children and parents about sexual
predators and drug awareness. She
commented that more early intervention for children equals less early
intervention for adults. She noted that
this unique program was the only one like it throughout the State of
Ms.
Julie Yandell, who represented District 1 in Leesburg for the Children’s
Services Council, requested that the Board restore their funding of
$93,905. She stated that the Minutes
from the Children’s Services Council’s last meeting on Wednesday, September 17,
reported that 4,623 children would not receive services because of the cuts in
the budget. She opined that running
advertisements which promoted Amendment 1 was the worst thing Governor Charlie
Christ has done as governor so far. She
asked that the Board consider the children in the County.
Ms.
Beth Work, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Lake and
Ms.
Sandy Stura, who served on the Children’s Services Council and the Early
Learning Coalition, asked for the Board to restore the funding for the Big Blue
Bus. She specified that the Early
Learning Coalition bus will serve about 1500 children, and she thought that
number would grow, because less people would be traveling in their cars in the
near future. She reported that it would
cost $25,000 to restore the Big Blue Bus, and she commented that four people
have spoken that have felt strongly about this program.
Ms.
Rebecca Kessinger from Haven of Lake and
Mr.
D.J. Morrill, representing the Constitution Party of Lake County, suggested
that the County could raise over $2 million by charging fees for distribution
of library cards to the 106,000 library card holders in the County to help out
some of the young people in the County.
He opined that there would be difficult times in the future, and he
thought they should do away with the property tax and have a sales tax of 10
percent, which would do away with every county assessor and appraiser, reduce
rents, make it easier for low income people to buy houses, and end government
seizure of homes for nonpayment of property taxes. He also thought this would take power away
from government and give it back to individuals.
Mr.
John Cherry, CEO of LifeStream Behavioral Center in Leesburg, mentioned that
LifeStream was the County’s mental health service provider who provided
services to chronically mentally ill individuals, and they were a vital part of
the public safety system. He pointed out
that they worked hand in hand with the Sheriff’s Office and the local court
system to ensure the safety of all the residents of
There
being no further individuals that wished to address the Board, the Chairman
closed the public hearing.
Commr.
Stewart commented that she had many of the same concerns and realized how
important the County’s children were. As
a teacher, she had seen children that came ill-prepared for school who came
from homes where there was no help for them.
She hoped they could find some money from the general fund, special
reserve, or reserve for operations that the County could contribute so that
they did not hurt the children and the families.
Commr.
Cadwell pointed out that they only had $393,000 in reserve to last them for the
entire year in the general fund.
Commr.
Renick commented that although the Children’s Services Advisory Council had a
very hard job of going through those programs and deciding what needed to be
cut, she asked if they would be able to add to the budget a small amount for
programs that just had to do with health and safety.
Commr.
Cadwell suggested that the Children’s Services Advisory Council make the
decisions regarding the distribution of any additional monies.
Commr.
Stivender added that she thought they needed to give direction back to that
committee to choose programs that had to do with health and safety, so they
knew there was a purpose for what they were doing. She stated that if the Board could come up
with a figure to send back and let them redo it, she thought that would be
acceptable.
Commr.
Hill stated that using the criteria of health and safety, she thought that
$20,000 would cover the supplement that had been cut that had to do directly
with health and safety.
Commr.
Cadwell commented that they would take that action after they do the millages
first.
Ms.
Hall announced that the aggregate rollback millage rate for 2008/09 is 6.0378,
and the aggregate millage that was proposed for Fiscal Year 2008/09 was 5.5621,
which represented a 7.88 percent decrease from the aggregate rollback rate.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2008-151 for the Lake
County Countywide and Voter Approved Debt Service Final Millage Rate of 4.6511
mills and 0.1101 mills, respectively.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2008-152 for the Lake
County Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Ambulance and Emergency Medical
Services Final Millage Rate of 0.4651.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2008-153 for the Lake
County Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Stormwater Management, Parks, and
Roads Final Millage Rate of 0.4984 mills.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2008-154 for the Lake County
Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Fire Rescue/Emergency Medical Services Final
Millage Rate of 0.3222 mills.
On
a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by
a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the recommended changes to the FY 2008/09
Tentative Budget totaling $12,980,703.
Commr. Stivender made a motion, which was
seconded by Commr. Stewart for discussion to put $50,000 back into the budget
and send that back to the Children’s Services Council to decide how to disburse
it, which failed 3-2.
Commr.
Hill, Commr. Stewart, and Commr. Renick voted “no.”
Commr.
Cadwell expressed concern about having a reserve that was too low, and he
commented that he thought the Children’s Services Council did a good job making
the decisions about the disbursement of available monies.
Commr.
Stivender inquired when the last time that they had that little in reserves
was.
Commr.
Hill responded that she did not remember, and they usually had between $800,000
and $1 million in reserves.
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to put $20,000 from reserves into the budget
for Children’s Services and have the Children’s Services Council make the
funding decisions with that money.
On
a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried by a vote of
4-1, the Board approved the adoption of Final Budget Resolution No. 2008-155
for FY 208-09 totaling $455,606,458.
Commr.
Stivender voted “no.”
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:48 p.m.
____________________________________
WELTON
G. CADWELL, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
NEIL KELLY, CLERK