A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
november 1, 2011
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 9:00 a.m., in the Board of County Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Jennifer Hill, Chairman; Leslie Campione, Vice Chairman; Sean Parks; Jimmy Conner; and Welton G. Cadwell. Others present were: Darren Gray, County Manager; Sanford A. “Sandy” Minkoff, County Attorney; Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Neil Kelly, Clerk of Court; Barbara F. Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance; and Susan Boyajan, Deputy Clerk.
INVOCATION and pledge
Pastor Brooks Braswell from the First Baptist Church in Umatilla gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Agenda update
Mr. Gray requested to pull Tab 4 under the County Manager’s Consent Agenda and to bring that back to the Board at a later date with a short presentation.
Commr. Parks requested to pull Tab 9 from the consent agenda for discussion.
Commr. Conner informed the Board that he met with Pastor Watkins with regard to the impact of the landscape ordinance, and he would be reporting on that issue under his reports.
Employee awards
Ms. Susan Irby, Employee Services Director, presented the following employee awards:
Five years
Joyce “Jane” Allen, Expo Center/Fairgrounds Program Manager (not present)
Public Resources/Fairgrounds
Eric Anderson, Senior Landfill Supervisor
Public Works/Solid Waste Division
Jason Armstrong, Trades Crew Leader
Public Resources/Parks & Trails Division
Glenn Bidwell, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Andrew Boris, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Lorraine “Honey” Brown, Office Associate II
Conservation & Compliance/Probation Services
Dana Canty, Firefighter/Paramedic
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Gregory Connell, Equipment Operator III
Public Works/Road Operations/Maintenance Area II (Minneola)
Cameron Gegelman, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Christopher Gerbig, Firefighter/Paramedic (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Jason Green, Firefighter/EMT (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Timothy Greenough, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Glen Guzman, Code Enforcement Supervisor
Conservation & Compliance/Code Enforcement Services
Gayla Haight, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Paul Homick, Firefighter/EMT (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Jason Miller, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Keith Perry, Firefighter/Paramedic (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Leon Platt, Information Systems Division Manager
Information Technology/Information Systems Division
Ryan Robbins, Firefighter/EMT (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Jeffrey Sacco, Firefighter/EMT (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Heather Searcy, Firefighter/Paramedic (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Allan Selph, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Isaias Sepulveda Rivera, Laboratory Associate
Public Works/Engineering Division/Laboratory & Hydrogeology
Scott Summers, Firefighter/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Daniel Wallace, Firefighter/EMT (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Christopher Ward, Firefighter/Paramedic (not present)
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Stanley Wilson, Code Enforcement Officer
Conservation & Compliance/Code Enforcement Services
TEN YEARS
Robert Henderson, Equipment Operator III
Public Works/Road Operations/Maintenance Area III (Umatilla)
Dennis Martino, Equipment Operator III
Public Works/Road Operations/Maintenance Area I (Leesburg)
FIFTEEN YEARS
Dondre Collins, Park Ranger
Public Resources/Parks and Trails Division
Harrie Edwards, HLC Gardens Landscape Technician (not present)
Public Resources/Agricultural Education Services
TWENTY YEARS
Chief Jack Fillman, Public Safety, presented the following twenty and twenty-five year employee awards, commenting briefly about each employee’s service to the County:
Bruce Talbott, Firefighter/Mechanic
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
twenty five years
Thomas Mitchell, Fire Lieutenant/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER
Mr. Steve Earls, Information Technology Director, presented the following employee award, commenting briefly about her service to the County:
Sue Carroll, GIS Project Coordinator
Information Technology/Geographic Information Services
team award
Lake County Fire Rescue Honor Guard
Michell Bass, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic
Michael Bass, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic
James B. Blackwell, Fire Inspector
Christopher Croughwell, Battalion Fire Chief
Jeffrey Fabi, Firefighter/EMT
Jack Garofono, Firefighter/Paramedic
Gary Gratz, Firefighter/EMT
Gayla Haight, Firefighter/EMT
Jeffrey Hurst, Firefighter/EMT
Valerie Ligi, Firefighter/EMT
Chris Merz, Firefighter/Paramedic
Thomas Mitchell, Jr., Firefighter/Paramedic
Glen Nicol, Firefighter/Paramedic
Jay N. Ryon, Firefighter/EMT
Steven Race, Fire Captain
MINUTE APPROVAL
On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Cadwell, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of September 13, 2011 (Special Meeting) as presented.
CITIZEN QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
Mr. Vance Jochim, a resident of Tavares who writes a blog on fiscal issues, addressed the Board to comment on the findings of the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee. He noted that he had attended almost all of the committee’s meetings, although he did not think there was structure for the first three or four meetings until they started making the decisions, and he pointed out that the report is about selecting revenues that the Board will be asked to make decisions on. He opined that the $700 million figure for road needs that was suggested actually represented only part of the County’s road needs, and he expressed concern that they received that $700 million figure from staff and did not validate whether that figure was accurate, even though it was used to make decisions and calculate the next 25 years of tax revenue. He recommended that the County have all of the data verified by an independent review.
CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA
On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda, Items 1 through 7, 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.
Annual Financial Audit Report ended FY 9/30/10 for Cascades At Groveland CDD
Request to acknowledge receipt of copy of Annual Financial Audit Report for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2010 for the Cascades at Groveland Community Development District, pursuant to Section 11.45 and Section 198.418, Florida Statutes.
Letter from Shangri-La by the Lake Utilities
Request to acknowledge receipt of copy of letter from Shangri-La By The Lake Utilities, Inc. dated October 3, 2011 to the Florida Public Service Commission withdrawing the Assisted Rate Case.
Annual Financial Audit Report for FY ended 9/30/10 for Estates at Cherry Lake CDD
Request to acknowledge receipt of Annual Financial Audit Report for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2010 for the Estates at Cherry Lake Community Development District, pursuant to Section 11.45 and Section 189.418, Florida Statutes.
Ordinance from City of Clermont
Request to acknowledge receipt of copy of Ordinance 2011-11-M from the City of Clermont adopted by the City Council on September 27, 2011 which annexes a vacant parcel of land into the City limits.
Annual Budget for City of Eustis
Request to acknowledge receipt of Annual Budget for FY 2011-2012 for the City of Eustis.
Southwest Florida Water Management District’s FY 2011-2012 Budget
Request to acknowledge receipt of copy of Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Fiscal Year 2011-2012 budget which was adopted by the Governing Board on September 27, 2011, pursuant to Section 373.536(6)(a)(1), Florida Statutes.
COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA
On a motion by Commr. Cadwell, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 3 through 11, pulling Tabs 4 and 9, as follows:
Community Services
Request for approval and signature of the authorizing Resolution No. 2011-159 by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners for the issuance of Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds by the Orange County Housing Finance Authority in an amount not to exceed $10,500,000.00 for the purpose of financing the proposed development "Fountains at Waterside Pointe" to be located in Groveland. There is no fiscal impact.
Request for approval and signature on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Lien and Note for Easter Seals Florida, Inc., in the amount of $29,508.00 for water tank installation at Camp Challenge. There is no fiscal impact.
County Manager
Request for approval of Fiscal Year 2011 budget change request and Resolutions No. 2011-160 and 161 to reconcile budgeted to actual expenditures in accordance with County Policy LCC-36 and best financial practices. Fiscal impact is $219,565.
Request for authorization to fill one (1) Public Information Officer position within the Office of Information Outreach. Fiscal impact is $64,299.
Facilities Development and Management
Request for approval to demolish mobile home portion including attached porch of the Lake County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) Astor Substation, and perform repairs to existing site built structure resulting from demolition. Fiscal impact estimated at $15,000.
Public Works
Request to approve and accept the list of public right of way deeds that have been secured in conjunction with roadway and / or stormwater projects. No fiscal impact. Commission Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Request to approve and execute Interlocal Agreements and City Annexation Petitions with the City of Clermont for the annexation of the following roads or portions of roads: Portions of Hancock Rd. (#1254); N. Hancock Rd. (#1354); and Hartwood Marsh Rd. (#0854); CR50 (Old Hwy. 50); CR 561A (Lake Minneola Shores); Steve’s Rd. (#1248); Hooks St. (#1346); and Citrus Tower Blvd. (#1350) and all of Excalibur Rd. (#1248B). No fiscal impact.
COUNTY ATTORNEY’S CONSENT AGENDA
On a motion by Commr. Cadwell, seconded by Commr. Conner, and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Attorney’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 12 and 13 as follows:
Request for approval of renewal of Lease Agreement between Lake County and Strickland Warehouses, LLC for Supervisor of Elections Support Center. Fiscal impact $152,113.94.
Request for approval and execution of contract between the District Five Medical Examiner's Committee and Dr. Barbara Wolf for Medical Examiner Services. The Fiscal impact is $780,059.12.
public resources
construction of sports fields in pine forest park
Commr. Campione explained that she worked closely with staff on these sports fields, because this originated from a Pine Lakes community meeting she attended shortly after she became a Commissioner where several people expressed concern about the ball field, and they began the process of looking at the possibility of getting those three fields back on track. She commented that there is a misconception reflected in some e-mails she has received that the proposed baseball, softball, and soccer field would be in scrub jay management area; however, she wanted to clarify that only 28 of the 48 acres that comprised the park was the scrub jay area, and the other 20 acres were purchased specifically for the purpose of building the ball fields. She related that the staff had gotten an environmental report done that showed that there was no scrub jay territorial behavior or inhabitation within the southern park area. She pointed out that the children who lived in Pine Lakes and Cassia currently had to drive a very long distance to participate in organized sports, and this was a great opportunity to fill that need in that area.
Commr. Parks added that they were very sensitive to the scrub jay issue, and the surveys were done in accordance with Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines. He commented that he believed that the issue has been addressed.
On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Cadwell and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 9, the request from Public Resources for approval to complete the necessary environmental studies, permitting and mitigation processes on the south area of Pine Forest Park; approval to prepare design and construction bid documents for the construction of sport fields and support facilities on the south area of Pine Forest Park; and approval to construct the sport fields in phases and as funding becomes available. The estimated fiscal impact in FY 2012 is $95,000 for design, mitigation, and site preparation.
Presentations
recommendations of capital facilities advisory committee
Mr. Jim Stivender, Public Works Director, stated that his department was involved in the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee’s (CFAC) activities and had put together a lot of the background data. He opined that it was an excellent exercise for his department, since so many of the programs have changed in the last five years because of the economy and that the committee did an excellent job. He added that this issue was scheduled for a workshop sometime in December.
Mr. Davis Talmage, Chairman of the CFAC, introduced the members of the committee and explained that their committee was tasked with studying the issues surrounding Lake County’s projected $700 million funding request for transportation needs for the year 2035 and creating portfolio funding recommendations. He added that their committee met twice a month for six months and ultimately formulated a list of recommendations based on the projected funding and transportation needs provided by staff. He related that they also debated and looked at each funding source included in the detailed list of recommendations available now and in the future to the Board. He explained that their recommendations are listed in numerical order as to importance and implementation, and he mentioned that the CFAC reviewed the work of the Transportation Alternative Funding Task Force, who conducted a similar study in 2008, and came to the same conclusion that the County could no longer rely on a singular funding source to meet their current and future transportation funding needs. He then read the Chairman’s letter into the record, which emphasized that the committee strongly suggests that the first recommendation regarding implementation of ad valorem funding is critical and should be enacted, and he noted that the commission must also consider the recommendations in number 6 even after the implementation of the first five recommendations in order to meet the County’s future transportation needs. He also mentioned that each recommendation is followed by either a benefit or possible negative concern about that recommendation.
Mr. Gray related that the workshop session is scheduled for December 13 on this issue as well as the budget in general, which would include transportation matters.
Commr. Conner expressed concern about recommendation number 3, which did not take into consideration the needs of the school system.
Mr. Talmage responded that this was solely focused on the County, since the School Board has its own options.
Commr. Conner commented that he believed there were very good ideas in the recommendations that the Board should consider carefully; however, he opined that excluding the Lake County School System would be very problematic, since he believed nothing will get passed if all three entities of the County, School Board, and municipalities did not work together as a community and that recommendation #3 would cause conflict in the community. He elaborated that the one-third, one-third, and one-third split model for each entity was successful, and he thought it was important to maintain that model.
Commr. Parks responded that he believed that everyone on the committee is equally concerned about making sure schools are funded, but this study was solely and narrowly focused on transportation needs, and he added that communication with the School Board would be key.
Commr. Cadwell pointed out that the committee did exactly what the Board asked them to do, which was to tackle the transportation funding issue, but he believed that Commr. Conner was correct and that the Board should send a message to the School Board indicating that they were all still partners on some level. He commented that he hoped that the school system would continue to spend a portion of that on their safety transportation needs.
Commr. Parks pointed out that the County only gets one-sixth of a penny for roads from this sales tax, and the question would be whether they could use more from the sales tax for this purpose. He thanked the committee members for their time and effort to come up with a fair and equitable as possible portfolio of options across the board for funding transportation.
Commr. Cadwell responded that he believed that they could use a greater portion of the tax on roads, since the County would not need to build any other capital projects for a long time.
Commr. Campione commented that the Board has to make sure the School Board knows that they are in this particular issue together, and she would not be inclined to do something different than they have done in the past as far as it being a team effort with the cities and the School Board. However, she believed that the Board needs to have a discussion about how they can do a better job of focusing on transportation needs using their own one-third share of the funding, and she also believed that it will be important to specify and clarify how the money will be spent to the public.
Ms. Carol MacLeod, Chief Financial Officer for the School District, related that the School Board had a meeting yesterday, October 31, where they presented that report, and she clearly explained at that meeting that this was a recommendation from the committee to the Board but were not actions taken by the Board at this time. She noted that she was the one dissenting vote for recommendation #3, because she felt at the time that it would pit the School Board against the County Commission. She indicated that it was the School Board’s desire to continue to work very closely with the County Commission on all of the activities that affect the citizens of Lake County.
Commr. Conner clarified that although a referendum was recommended for enacting the five cent local option gas tax in 2012, they could also enact that tax with a four-fifths vote of the Board rather than a referendum, and he asked why the committee suggested a referendum.
Ms. Linda Nagle from the Home Builders Association and a committee member explained that there was a strong feeling among the members of the committee that any new tax should be voted upon by the citizens to show that there was support for that taxation.
Commr. Conner commented that the Chairman of the previous Commission could not get that Board to even discuss that option.
Commr. Cadwell directed staff to put together a list of gas prices for counties that have enacted the tax as well as those that do not have that tax, and he opined that the list would show the prices are the same.
Commr. Hill asked if any committee members wished to speak.
Mr. Alan Winslow commented that they were not trying to cut the School Board out of the funding in number 3, but they were just listing potential alternatives. He demonstrated on a graph on the overhead monitor that all of the funding items shown expire in the next two or three years and would have to be renewed, with the exception of impact fees. He opined that they have been overwhelming their highway funding with impact fees and living off of the reserves. He suggested that they prioritize everything in the budget, and he thought that citizens would be shocked to learn that none of their ad valorem property tax money currently goes into roads. He pointed out that all public safety vehicles and school buses use the roads, and there would be no business development without good highways, so he believed that the Board has to make a good case that the highest priority in this county has to be roads. He emphasized that even if the Board follows all of the recommendations of the committee, the County would still come up short of what they say is probably the minimum requirements.
Mr. Gray mentioned that as they went through their budget process, they were aware that this is a definite area that they would have to look at, but he also believed that they needed to start looking at strategies for how to fund a lot of priorities as well as transportation. He noted that the December workshop would look at that as well as look five years into the future.
Ms. Nancy Hurlbert noted that she was also the second-longest serving member on the Impact Fee Committee as well as serving on CFAC, and she was concerned that impact fees were the only source of transportation funding and that there will be no funding of the transportation needs now that the impact fees have been suspended since 2009. She opined that the Board needed to implement ideally all five of the committee’s recommendations and look at item number 6 in order to even come close to funding the $700 million, which does not even address the shortfall. She mentioned that she was the lone dissenter on item number 4, because she did think that the Board could make that decision and believed it was an opportunity for the Board to send the message that transportation was the most important need in this county. She concluded that she looked forward to looking at more detailed needs for the School Board and going through the same process that they went through for transportation.
Mr. John Buxman, a Chamber Alliance representative of CFAC, mentioned that the committee intended that a decision on whether to have a referendum on item 4 was to be made by the Board.
Ms. Nagle noted that two separate votes were taken on Item 5 regarding impact fees and that she was a negative vote in both of those cases. She related that in regard to the second vote regarding tying impact fees to the unemployment rate, she believed that may result in some unintended consequences, in particular the uncertainty for businesses and the possibility of people postponing projects in order to see what the unemployment rate is going to be. She urged the Board to consider those ideas.
Commr. Hill emphasized that the $700 million figure came from a lot of documentation.
Mr. Stivender further explained that they looked at a trend of cost based on the core value of maintaining and upgrading the existing system, without even considering expansion of it except for a certain amount of expansion necessary to enhance the system, as well as a few capacity projects. He also pointed out that they decided to cut a lot of projects out, and a lot of the projects that were in their five-year road program were predicated on developments that were not on the table any more.
reports – county attorney
default of contractor
Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, related that he was planning to bring forward an addendum item next week regarding the default of a contractor who is working on the South Lake Bridge project currently under construction. He explained that they have been working with the bonding company and a second contractor that has been brought in on a plan to assign the original contract to the new contractor. He also mentioned that since this project also involves FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), he did not want to bring this to the Board until they could get FDOT to sign off. He assured the Board that at this point the work is continuing, but they are not sure how long that will go on unless some action occurs.
REPORTS – COUNTY MANAGER
online permitting process
Mr. Gray related that the deadline for the County’s very popular and successful Go Green Rebate Program was September 26, and they still have about $44,000 left over after all of the applications were received and the money distributed. He reported that they have received a little over 100 applications since that deadline date, and he requested to expend those funds on a first-come, first-serve basis to those applications that came in right after the deadline.
The Board gave consensus for him to expend that funding.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER parks – DISTRICT 2
proclamation proclaiming november as hospice month
On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved and executed Proclamation No. 2011-162 proclaiming the month of November 2011 as Hospice Month in Lake County, changing the number of patients in the second paragraph of the Proclamation from 98,961 to 110,377 patients.
addressing long-term water supply needs
Commr. Parks mentioned that a resolution was being passed by several cities in South Lake to work with the County to address long-term water supply needs as efficiently and affordably as possible, and he wanted the County to proactively pursue the idea of forming a task force to identify long-term projects sub-regionally in South Lake such as tying all of the reclaimed water lines together.
Commr. Campione asked if he wanted the County to be a facilitator for all of the municipalities and utility providers to come up with solutions to what they foresee as some major problems in the future regarding their ability to meet their water needs.
Commr. Parks believed that there was a leadership role for the County, but the intent was to approve a resolution, and he asked whether this issue would merit further discussion.
Commr. Cadwell stated that since a lot of unincorporated residents were on septic and well water, the County needed to be at the table during discussion of a long-range solution and water conservation. However, he did not know how they would take the lead on this issue if they are not a utility provider.
Commr. Campione commented that they should also be involved because of the impact on economic development, and she believed that the bigger issue is how that all fits into the region and the state and whether they were protecting themselves from all of the surrounding counties that were getting a larger share of what was available.
Commr. Parks opined that their role was helping the cities with their economic development goals and trying to act in a subregional and regional way, since they want affordable water for their businesses in the future.
Commr. Cadwell directed that they put this issue on the agenda for the November 15 meeting.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER conner – DISTRICT 3
examination of buffer requirements in landscape ordinance
Commr. Conner brought to the attention of the Board a problem that the landscape ordinance, which requires a buffer on all four sides, is causing a church which is building on some property that is adjacent to a road on one side and an orange grove on the other. He opined that this ordinance did not allow any latitude in the way it is currently written, and he believed it was onerous and did not make any sense to require a buffer between an orange grove and another property. He stated that he believed there was some progress made about this issue, and he wanted to make sure the Board agreed with the direction they wanted to go in.
Mr. Brian Sheahan, Planning and Community Design Manager, related that they have discussed this with the pastor of the church, and this property has a CFD (Community Facilities District) zoning ordinance. He explained that these ordinances are typically drafted uniquely for each property, because the conditions vary tremendously depending on where they are throughout the county; however, this ordinance did not address landscaping when it was drafted in 2005, so therefore, it defaulted to what is listed in the landscape ordinance. He reported that one suggestion that he had discussed with Commr. Conner was to bring this forward as a County-initiated rezoning, since technically the County should have addressed this unique issue within that CFD ordinance, which would allow them to clean up the question regarding parking on the property as well. He noted that they also need to include a provision for some administrative discretion on varying the buffers for unique circumstances when they bring forth the landscape ordinance for revision, since those conditions vary depending on the site. He mentioned that meanwhile the project can proceed and was ready for building permits as of today, since the landscaping does not need to be installed until the very end.
Commr. Cadwell commented that this suggestion made sense.
Commr. Campione opined that this was a great way to address it, and staff did a great job finding a solution.
The Board gave consensus for staff to bring that case back for rezoning in December.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
____________________________
jenNifer hill, chairman
ATTEST:
________________________________
NEIL KELLY, CLERK