A regular MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

July 27, 2021

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 9:00 a.m., in the County Commission Chambers, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Douglas B. Shields; Leslie Campione; and Josh Blake. Commissioners not present: Sean Parks, Chairman; and Kirby Smith, Vice Chairman. Others present were: Alan Rosen, County Manager; Melanie Marsh, County Attorney; Niki Booth, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Gary J. Cooney, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller; Kristy Mullane, Chief Financial Officer; and Josh Pearson, Deputy Clerk.

INVOCATION and pledge

Commr. Campione welcomed everyone to the meeting and said that because the Chairman and Vice Chairman were not in attendance, the Board needed to appoint Commissioners to these positions for this meeting.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Shields, and carried unanimously by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved to appoint Commissioner Campione as Chairman for the current meeting.

On a motion by Commr. Shields, seconded by Commr. Campione, and carried unanimously by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved to appoint Commissioner Blake as Vice Chairman for the current meeting.

Commr. Campione introduced the veteran who would be leading the Pledge of Allegiance, Corporal Christopher Sizemore. She explained that Mr. Sizemore was a Live Release Coordinator for the Office of Animal Services and had been with the County since January 2017.  She said that Mr. Sizemore served in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps from June 2008 to June 2013 and was an aircraft mechanic on the MV-22 Osprey, stationed at MCAS New River with squadron VMM-162. She remarked that Mr. Sizemore served two tours in Operation Enduring Freedom and provided humanitarian aid to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010, earning the Humanitarian Service Medal. She commented that during his first deployment aboard the USS Nassau, he spent 159 days at sea which was, at the time, the second longest any U.S. Navy ship had been at sea without pulling into port. She relayed that the longest record was set by the USS Roosevelt at 160 days, and that Mr. Sizemore was awarded the Certificate of Commendation for his performance and contribution in Afghanistan from 2011-2012. She thanked Mr. Sizemore for his service and for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pastor Tony McCoy with Hope International Church in the City of Groveland then gave the invocation and Mr. Sizemore led the Pledge of Allegiance.

virtual meeting instructions

Mr. Erikk Ross, Director for the Information Technology (IT) Department, explained that this meeting was being livestreamed on the County website and was also being made available through Zoom Webinar for members of the public who wished to provide comments during the Citizen Question and Comment Period later in the agenda. He elaborated that anyone watching though the livestream who wished to participate could follow the directions currently being broadcast through the stream; furthermore, he relayed that during the Citizen Question and Comment Period, anyone who had joined the webinar via their phone could press *9 to virtually raise their hand, and anyone participating online could click the raise hand button to identify that they wished to speak. He said that when it was time for public comment, he would read the person’s name or phone number, unmute the appropriate line, and the speaker would be asked to provide comments. He added that everyone would have three minutes to speak, and after three minutes an alarm would sound to let them know that their time was up. He added that they previously notified the public that comments could be emailed through 5:00 p.m. on the previous day, and those comments were shared with the Board prior to the meeting. He stated that anyone wishing to provide written comments during the meeting could visit www.lakecountyfl.gov/commissionmeeting, noting that comments sent during this meeting would be shared with the Commission after the meeting was concluded.

Agenda update

Mr. Alan Rosen, County Manager, said that Tab 6, regarding Eustis High School, was added after the agenda was first published and for Tab 5, the County received a request from the attorney representing Project TAPS to move that item to the August 10, 2021 BCC meeting; furthermore, if there was no concern, then the County would do this.

Minutes approval

On a motion by Commr. Shields, seconded by Commr. Blake, and carried unanimously by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved the minutes for the BCC meeting of April 13, 2021 (Regular Meeting) as presented.

citizen question and comment period

Ms. Lavon Silvernell, a resident of Lake County, noted that an item on the consent agenda was to recommend approval of an economic development grant for a new business coming to Lake County.

Ms. Melanie Marsh, County Attorney, commented that she was referring to Tab 3, which regarded Project Go West, and that it was an economic development incentive grant.

Ms. Silvernell stated that a large developer that had developments in Lake, Sumter, and Marion Counties could be getting a grant, which she did not fully understand, to decrease their property tax. She stated that she was not sure if it was a property tax for a hospital or residential properties that would be part of the development. She said that she had questions about it and opined that the County should be more transparent.

Commr. Campione replied that the provisions that were in place for these types of grants included vetting at public hearings; furthermore, they had been open to the public to comment or to review, and there had been presentations on the items showing that the Board supported transparency. She commented that the grants were based on ongoing job creation which required certain types of jobs within certain salary ranges along with a significant capital investment of $100 million or more that remained as part of the overall tax base in Lake County. She stated that it was for institutional, commercial, and retail uses, and that residential was not part of that.

Ms. Marsh commented that there was a provision in the Florida Statutes that allowed a developer to request that their information be kept confidential and exempt for economic development reasons. She stated that this was why the name would not be seen on these types of agenda items, noting that they had made that request, and the County was required by law to honor it. She explained that the economic development program had different tiers of eligibility based on the creation of new jobs, investment of money into the infrastructure, and payment of property taxes for a grant amount based on a small percentage of what they paid in taxes over and above what the property was originally taxed at before the infrastructure. She reiterated that, statutorily, they were entitled to protection to make sure another entity did not come in and try to undercut them, and the County had to honor that.

Commr. Campione remarked that the packet specified that residential development or investment did not qualify as a type of investment or capital that would earn someone a tax refund.

Ms. Marsh explained that existing jobs did not qualify but that they had to create new jobs and provide all tax documentation to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (FDEO) before they were entitled to receive any grant payments.

Ms. Silvernell stated that this information was already available in the packet and on the internet, but that the lack of transparency made her uncomfortable.

Commr. Blake added that incentive programs were available to any company to encourage job creation in Lake County.

Ms. Silvernell also expressed a concern that the job holders should be from Lake County.

Ms. Terri Blessing, a resident of Lake County, commented that the Whispering Hills development had been on the agenda at a City of Leesburg planning and zoning meeting on July 22, 2021, and she displayed the agenda items from that meeting; furthermore, she stated that this item had been passed unanimously. She mentioned that it would be going to the first reading with the City of Leesburg on September 13, 2021, and she asked for the BCC’s help. She also submitted a traffic study done by Mr. Seth Lynch, with the Lake County Public Works Department, and the recommendations from the Lake County School District on what this development would mean to schools. She commented that concerns were brought up about the impact on schools and traffic, and the City could not tell them how many students there would be or a plan of the community itself and what kind of housing developments would be within it. She said they were told there might be some 55 and older communities, there would be deed restrictions, three 9-hole golf courses, and an equestrian center which included trails going throughout their entire 1,000 acres which is interesting if they are going to target families, and she said she did not know how many people 55 and older invest in riding horses. She said that their two access points were U.S. 27 and Number 2 Road, commenting that the second road was a significant concern. She stated that she had reached out to the State Advocacy Alliance but was told that she had to appear in front of her County. She added that she was basically told that the State could not help if the County did not help.

Commr. Campione questioned how many units were talked about, commenting that there was an article in the Orlando Business Journal about this project.

Ms. Blessing said there were over 2,000 units and that there were 7,000 dwelling units referenced in the schools in this area of the City of Leesburg.

Mr. David Serdar, a resident of Lake County, made comments related to local government issues.

Commr. Campione proposed going over the Whispering Hills issue with the City of Leesburg. She noted that they had attempted to get a joint meeting with the City of Leesburg, but they had not been able to get that done prior to this going to the City’s board.

Mr. Rosen commented that the County’s staff had been in contact with the City’s staff a number of times trying to get a joint meeting on the agenda, and the City could not find any dates before those meetings.

Commr. Campione remarked that one recommendation was to reach out to the Leesburg City Commissioners individually, which was difficult due to different schedules. She asked how they could get involved in a meaningful way that could result in modifications to a proposed plan and address issues that had raised concerns in residents, along with incorporating features of a proposed project that could protect the rural areas.

Mr. Rosen relayed his understanding that the development was contiguous to their area and did not bring into question the Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement (ISBA) or the joint planning. He did not know if the County had legal standing to get them to change their mind other than going to the meeting individually, as citizens of Lake County, and asking them to listen to their citizens, taking into consideration what their concerns were and moving forward with the development accordingly.

Ms. Marsh remarked that because of the way voluntary annexation was set up, so long as it was contiguous, reasonably compact, and did not create enclaves, they were allowed under state law to annex property. She stated that there was some case law on the part of it being contiguous so long as a substantial portion of a boundary was contiguous, then they would meet that contiguity requirement. She opined that if the County challenged on that ground, it would not be successful. She commented that there was no case law on whether or not this was compact since it brought in multiple parcels. She stated that it created one parcel as an enclave, but that was where it referred to the ISBA which indicated they could annex anything they could annex under state law, and the City of Leesburg could create enclaves so long as they provided services to those enclaves. She said that since the property was vacant, there were no services to provide, but all that was required was for the City to provide services. She commented that the Board could go to the City’s meeting and put all objections on the record, but the only way to legally challenge it was if it was not reasonably compact, was not contiguous, or created an enclave, which the County waived the ability to challenge because of the ISBA. She opined that it would be fairly difficult to win a lawsuit, and, even if the City renegotiated the ISBA, it would not happen before the City considered this item. She stated that since the City’s first reading would be in September 2021 and the second and final reading would be in December 2021, there was time to meet with them between the first and second reading. She said that the Lake County Public Works Department did provide comments to the City of Leesburg about not accessing Number 2 Road. She added that state law indicated that the developer could build if they paid their proportionate fair share. She commented that even if the County denied them a driveway connection, the City may be fine with it because the City’s codes might not require two access points; furthermore, she added that Lake County did not require two access points for a development of any particular size.

Commr. Campione inquired if the County could negotiate and become part of the development planning. She asked if the County could work with the City of Leesburg on this in order to address concerns about impacts to transportation and surrounding property.

Ms. Marsh said that was an option if the County and the City of Leesburg could have a joint public meeting. She added that the Board could attend the City’s meetings in person or advertise it as a meeting of the BCC and use their minutes for the County’s purposes.

Commr. Campione asked if the date of the first reading would be September 13, 2021, and inquired when the second reading was scheduled.

Ms. Marsh stated that the date for the first reading was correct and the second reading was scheduled for December 20, 2021.

Commr. Campione noted that was a large enough gap to send a letter from the Board to the Leesburg City Manager requesting that the September 13, 2021, meeting be postponed and that they work together in an advertised meeting between the two boards and the developer to look at plans and talk about impacts.

Ms. Marsh commented that this could be added to the August 10, 2021 agenda. She said that the County could write a draft, and the Board could vote and authorize the BCC Chairman to sign it. She noted that it was similar to what was done with the City of Eustis.

Commr. Shields inquired if the ISBA was supposed to be renewed every five years.

Ms. Marsh commented that the ISBA was a 20 year agreement, but there was a requirement in state law and in the ISBA that every five years the parties were to review it. She stated that there was no defined process for how to review it, so it was not a renewal but a 20 year agreement. She noted that it did not require the boards to meet or any formal process, but the Board could state in the letter that they would like them to postpone the annexation and initiate the process to look jointly at the ISBA.

Commr. Campione commented that the County could look at what their land development regulations indicated as to what would be appropriate in those areas, compare it to what was being proposed, and use it as a mechanism to jointly plan this project.

Commr. Shields opined that with the explosion of growth in the county, all of the ISBA agreements should be looked at.

Commr. Campione opined that for any of these 20 year agreements that had a five year review, the County should request that they discuss it.

Ms. Marsh stated that the Cities all had 20 year agreements with a five year review frame, and the County had already started discussions with the City of Tavares about their ISBA when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic happened. She added that there were also some initial discussions with the City of Clermont.

Commr. Campione opined that the process should be started, and that for this particular one, the Board could advertise the Leesburg City Council meeting and each County Commissioner could have comments prepared. She stated that she would be reaching out to each Leesburg City Commissioner to get details about what was being proposed to see where they might be able to come up with compromises. She concluded that this item could be put on the August 10, 2021 BCC meeting agenda, and she encouraged the Board to reach out and try to get as much information as possible from their city counterparts and to express concerns.

Commr. Blake opined that any actions the County could take would be nominal because state law would make it the City of Leesburg’s decision.

Commr. Campione pointed out that the County partnered with the Cities on many things and that there was some value in asking them to do the right thing by working together and letting the County have some input.

CLERK OF the Circuit COURT and comptroller’s CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Shields, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller’s Consent Agenda, Items 1 through 3, as follows:

List of Warrants

Notice is hereby provided of having received the 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.

City of Umatilla Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Fiscal Year 2020

Notice is hereby provided of having received the City of Umatilla’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2020.

City of Groveland Community Redevelopment Agency Budget FYs 2020 and 2021

Notice is hereby provided of having received the City of Groveland’s Community Redevelopment Agency budget for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, per Florida Statute 163.387(6).

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

Commr. Campione referred to the discussion on Tab 3 about how applicants were considered based on the project and whether it met the incentive criteria. She stated that everyone had to be treated the same and pointed out that, if they were willing to make those types of investments and meet those requirements, then Lake County benefited because of the jobs that were created for their residents.

Commr. Shields stated that the Board was not told who the applicant was.

Commr. Blake added that they were competing with other counties, other parts of the country, and other areas that provided these incentives, and that the County was trying to be competitive as a destination for economic growth.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Shields and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved the Consent Agenda, Tabs 3 and 4, as follows:

AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Recommend approval of an agreement between Lake County and the developer of record of Project Go West for the Economic Development and Business Incentive program, Developer’s Grant Award, pursuant to Section 7-4, Lake County Code, and authorization for the Chairman to execute the agreement. The fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time but grant payments would be calculated as a percentage of the ad valorem taxes paid on real or tangible property within the Project Go West Developer’s Grant boundary as detailed in the Chapter 7, Lake County Code, entitled Economic Development and Business Incentive, if all requirements are met. Commission District 1.

PUBLIC SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Housing and Community Services

Recommend approval:

1. Of Substantial Amendment of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Action Plan and approval of related Resolution 2021-109.

2. To authorize the County Manager to execute any documents required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There is no fiscal impact.

reports

county manager

update on ARpa funding

Mr. Rosen provided an update on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding grants, noting that staff was working on the following items: vaccine incentives; variable message boards; emergency medical services (EMS) premium pay; and administrative costs. He added that starting soon, they would have the employee mental health program survey to businesses to determine the need, if any, in addition to a North Lake Trail project development and environment (PD&E) study and broadband needs assessment.

commissioners reports

commissioner shields – district 1

city of groveland community redevelopment agency meeting

Commr. Shields said that he was at the City of Groveland Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on the previous night and that they were moving forward.

rowing regatta with the lake county rowing association

Commr. Shields stated that on the previous Sunday, he went to a rowing regatta with the Lake County Rowing Association and that they received second place.

hands of hope america ribbon cutting

Commr. Shields commented that on the previous Saturday, he attended a ribbon cutting at the Hands of Hope America community center for the youth in Four Corners.

meeting with four corners county commissioners

Commr. Shields mentioned that in the previous week, he met with the other three Four Corners County Commissioners who wanted to move forward with doing something together to work on some Four Corners issues. He stated that they wanted to define what the geography of Four Corners was, and, in the following month, bring their managers together for the next step of moving forward.

east central florida regional planning council meeting

Commr. Shields said that he had recently attended an East Central Florida Regional Planning Council meeting.

lake county tourist development council meeting

Commr. Shields stated that he had recently held a Lake County Tourist Development Council meeting.

meeting with ms. sharon keys

Commr. Shields remarked that he had met with Ms. Sharon Keys, with the Lincoln Park South Lake Alliance in the City of Clermont for a briefing on this project.

city of groveland planning and zoning meeting

Commr. Shields relayed that he had attended a City of Groveland planning and zoning meeting where the City approved their first village on Villa Sky Road.

Commr. Campione asked if it was an actual project and if it was approved.

Commr. Shields stated that it was the first one they approved with their new requirement. He said that was how they were moving forward from now on, where 2,000 homes would not appear without services, and that it could include workforce housing and some retail.

commissioner campione –district 4

eustis high school grant for championship rings

Commr. Campione said she made a request for authorization to assist the Eustis High School girls’ softball team that won the 4A State Championship with the cost of their state championship rings. She stated that in previous years, the County had approved offsetting travel expenses for the Minneola High School football team to go to the state championships. She remarked that there was no formal policy because once something was put in place, it could be challenging to take away, but it could be done on a case-by-case basis. She commented that if they started winning more state championships, the County would have to come up with a dedicated funding source, but opined that currently it was an important event that did not happen frequently. She requested that since the Eustis High School girls’ softball team raised their own money to cover the travel expenses, the County could help offset the cost of their rings, up to $5,000, with the County Manager’s authorization.

Commr. Blake commented that he appreciated the suggestion, but he did not feel it was an appropriate use of tax collected funding. He stated he would be opposed to it as it would be more appropriate for a booster club or that type of organization to voluntarily raise funds instead of using funds that were taken involuntarily.

Commr. Campione opined that good sports programs went a long way in attracting families and businesses to Lake County. She also opined that it spoke for the community and could be included in the realm of economic development.

Commr. Shields suggested that the request could be tabled until the next meeting when it would be possible to formulate some policy, and Commissioner Campione agreed.

Eustis city commission meeting

Commr. Campione said that the Eustis City Commission was meeting on July 29, 2021 to discuss the Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) amendments and conduct ongoing discussion about eliminating their rural land use. She relayed her understanding that part of the discussion would focus on possibly creating a different land use that would be an in-between density and that any modifications like this were contrary to them working together on proposals that could help address the County’s concerns and the City’s desire to grow their boundaries. She proposed that the County would continue to put their objections on the record and offer to participate. She stated that she was unsure if the City would be taking public comment, but Ms. Marsh or someone from the County staff could attend to make recommendations.

next bcc meeting

Commr. Campione noted that the next BCC meeting would be on August 10, 2021.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.

_________________________________

SEAN PARKS, chairman

ATTEST:

________________________________

GARY J COONEY, CLERK