A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
The
Lake County Board of
INVOCATION
AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commr.
Cadwell gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
INTRODUCTIONS
Commr.
Hill welcomed public officials who were present, Mr. Randy Moye, Mayor, City of
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Pool and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board
approved the
CONTRACTS/TRANSPORTATION
DISADVANTAGED/GRANTS/RESOLUTIONS
Tab 1 - Request from Program Analysis and Contract
Management for approval for the Lake County Office of Program Analysis and
Contract Management Transportation Disadvantaged staff to apply to the Department
of Transportation for Section 5311 Transit Grant Application FY 2005-2006 and
Resolution 2005-6.
Tab 2 - Request from Program Analysis and Contract
Management Transportation Disadvantaged staff to apply to the Department of
Transportation Section 5310 Transit Grant Application FY 2005-2006 and
Resolution 2005-7.
WORKSESSION: BLUEWAY PROJECT UPDATE
Ms.
Blanche Hardy, Director, Department of Environmental Services, addressed the
Board and stated that she is here to give the Board an update on the Blueway
Project. Staff presented a handout to
the Board members that she would be reviewing with them. Ms. Hardy explained that the Board had asked
staff to develop a concept for a program, and it has been an interdepartmental
cooperative effort between Economic Development/Tourism, Environmental
Services, and Public Works.
Ms.
Hardy stated that staff participated in the Orlando Trekkers Annual Jamboree,
which is the largest outdoor water sport event in
The Ideal Blueway
·
Wildlife and
scenery
·
Easy access,
canoe slip
·
Camping,
restrooms
·
Power craft
restrictions
·
Wide clear trail
·
Signs, guidebook
·
Pick up point
(transport) or looped trail
·
Festivals, social
events, guided trips
Ms. Hardy stated that they were able
to get a number of volunteers, from meeting with others, and there are several
people who are willing to help them further develop the program, if the Board
chooses to go forward with it.
Ms. Hardy explained that, through
staff discussion, the Blueway Trail Areas were determined to be as
follows:
Short trails in populated areas with developed
waterfronts suitable for casual or novice users
Transitional “day trip” trails in mixed density areas
offering amenities such as refreshments and restrooms
Remote, undeveloped and challenging offering paddle
and hike or paddle and remote camping opportunities
Ms. Hardy stated that the first
proposed partner in the Blueway Project is the City of
Ms. Hardy pointed out the St. Francis
Dead River, which is an already nationally recognized trail, and stated that it
is one of the “Ghost Town” historic sites, where there are very few buildings,
but the original pilings are there. It
has remote campsites available with bear boxes, and it fits the description
perfectly of the kind of trail that people would use and where they might spend
two or three days in one area.
Ms. Hardy referred to the matrix that
represents all of the people that could be involved in the program and noted
the federal and state agencies that could assist the County with funding, and
the number of municipal, local and national support groups.
Ms. Hardy stated that they would like
to immediately start promoting existing paddle trails within the County, for
example, the
Ms. Hardy explained that the
Ms. Hardy stated that staff would
like to develop and post interactive web pages on BCC and Tourism Information
sites and establish county-city partnerships.
Yesterday the City of
Commr. Stivender wanted to know whether
the Water Authority was involved in any of this process, and to make sure that they
are a part of this overall plan, because they have a lot of resources. Ms.
Hardy explained that the Water Authority worked very closely with County staff,
and they have expressed an interest and have been very helpful in identifying
areas and determining where to concentrate their efforts first.
In terms of cost estimates, Ms. Hardy
explained that the permit will be free.
Most of the costs will be incurred when Public Works becomes involved in
the process, when they make signs. She discussed
the cost noting that other counties are spending about $1,000 for guidebooks
and, since a consultant will have to install the signs, it should not be more
than $25,000. After their meeting on
Mr. Greg Mihalic, Director of
Economic Development and Tourism, stated that the Tourist Development Council
(TDC) will certainly cover the costs for the guidebooks, which will be given
away, because this will be another way to help bring more people to
Commr. Hanson stated that this is a tremendously
exciting and natural way to let people know about the environment. As they talk about public-private
partnerships, it seems like this would open up the door for overnight facilities,
whether it be cabins, rural, or bed and breakfast facilities. She feels that a lot of the burden will be on
the private sector and, as the County moves forward with this project, they
will begin to see the opportunities.
Mr. Mihalic explained that they need
to let people know what they have to offer them, and then they will come and
experience these opportunities. The
private sector will join in when it begins to see the market. Commr. Hanson stressed that they need to be
clear on their regulations and be flexible with their use of some of these
facilities, and Mr. Mihalic noted that a lot of people use these facilities, but
they need to identify these hidden assets.
Commr. Hanson pointed out that they need to make sure their rules allow
for the overnight stays, so they can get back the tourism dollars.
Discussion occurred regarding the
rewriting of the Comprehensive Plan, with it being noted that they have always
had a problem sighting commercial-recreational in the rural areas.
Mr. Mahlic explained that the TDC is
looking at their advertising program and recently
Commr. Hanson pointed out that the
county-city partnerships were mentioned in the report, but she felt that staff
needed to include government and private partnerships, and to make sure they
are flexible enough to allow those to happen.
Discussion occurred regarding
directional signs that had been placed in the lakes by the Water Authority, and
Mr. Mihalic indicated that they now have an opportunity to look at virtual
signage with GIS and others. Commr.
Hanson noted that “Florida Trend” had a whole section on signs that were
promoting healthy lifestyles in the County, and she had sent copies to staff
members.
Ms. Hardy clarified that the permit
requires them to use specific signage, and the permit will give them national
exposure. They have already meet with
Public Works, and they want very explicit signs for camping, parking, sleeping,
etc., so that people can be directed in every way possible within Lake
County. They have already talked about a
uniform signage beyond the requirements of their permit.
It was noted that the meeting on
Commr. Hill stated that the Board is
going to have more discussions on this item probably at the Board Retreat.
CITIZEN QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
Lake County Health Departments
Mr. Travis Whigham addressed the
closing of the three health care facilities and noted that, at the legislative
meeting, there was discussion about having one large health care facility
instead of renovating and reopening these facilities that are already in
place. Mr. Whigham explained that this
would be a major mistake because, with the closing of the Umatilla clinic, many
people need to get to the Health Department, but they cannot afford to travel
the distance, because these people have limited incomes and limited means of
transportation.
Mr. Jim Stivender, Director of Public
Works, clarified that the County has an architect on board to redesign and
enlarge the clinic in Umatilla; they are looking for grant money to go towards
the clinic in Tavares; and they are also looking at expanding the clinic in
Flooding
–
Mr. Whigham addressed the flooding
problems in the
Sidewalk
Construction
Mr. Whigham informed the Board that,
while he was visiting family in
DISCUSSION ON THE CONDITIONS, RIGHT OF WAY STATUS, AND
CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM OF ROAD PROJECTS IN THE MINNEOLA AREA
Mr.
Jim Stivender, Director of Public Works, addressed the Board to discuss the
conditions, right-of-way status, and construction program of road projects in
the Minneola area. Mr. Stivender noted
that Mr. Fred Schneider, Director of Engineering, will be presenting most of the
engineering and right-of-way issues. He
stated that this is a workshop, so staff will be sharing as much information as
they can with the Board, as they work through some of the topics. Mr. Stivender
stated that Mr. Matthew Click, Senior Transportation Planner, the Department of
Transportation (DOT), Florida Turnpike Authority District (Turnpike), has been working
with staff on the road alignment, and he will be watching this closely and will
be working with the developers in the County to see how this is going to
transpire, and Ms. Lynn Morris is also here from the DOT as an observer today. He noted that the DOT is very interested in
the access to US-27, and the alignments, signalization, permitting, and storm water
issues and, by having everybody on board early on in the process, they hope to avoid
having the same type of situation as the one with Hancock Road where schools were
being constructed while they were still working through the permitting process
for drainage, storm water, and the traffic signal.
Staff
presented a map of the region, a 2004 aerial (included in backup), which
Mr. Stivender would be discussing with the Board. Mr. Stivender explained the coding on the
aerial; the areas in “green” are programmed and funded; the areas in “yellow”
are programmed and unfunded; and the areas in “blue” are un-programmed. He pointed out the location of specific facilities
including
Mr.
Stivender stated that two projects were added to the impact fee program list,
as follows: Part 1 – Hancock Road, North
Extension C-1354 from C-50, north on Turkey Farm Road to Grassy Lake Road, west
to US-27; Part 2 – Hancock Road, North Extension C-354 from Phase I, north on
Turkey Farm Road and west on North Grassy Lake Road to US-27. He pointed out the property purchased by the
Lake County School Board (School Board) along
Mr.
Stivender reviewed the south end of the region noting that a signal has already
been warranted at the intersection of
Mr.
Stivender stated that staff has met with Minneola twice to work on the traffic
patterns noting that the time frame for the school is the fall of 2007. He pointed out the property now owned by the
School Board, the boundary of the Lowndes property (Founders Ridge), and the
residences along Grassy Lake Road and Sullivan Road and explained that staff has
considered the possibility of splitting this area and developing a new road
altogether, however, there would be many topography challenges, as he explained
in further detail. He noted that, in
some cases, the County has been asking for 100 feet of right-of-way, and
another extra 50 feet on each side of the road, as temporary construction
easements, so that they can actually build these roads and establish the right
grades. Right now the roads are not at
the right grades, and they do not have proper drainage. He explained the locations where they have
dedicated right-of-way and stated that there needs to be extensive title work
done on this segment of road. Staff also
wants to work with the DOT so they can coordinate the signal locations, which is
also a timely issue, because it is a part of this development. Mr. Stivender stated that the two lane road
would handle the capacity at Founders Ridge, the part that will be coming to
US-27, and the two-lane road would handle the property to the south, as the
traffic flows to Hancock Road, because there is a lot of commercial there, but
it is not going to handle the build-out situation in this area. So they are looking for an 80 foot
right-of-way (a collector road minimum), to a 120 foot right-of-way for an
urban four lane segment, which is the kind of road that
Mr.
Stivender pointed out that, in order for the new school to open in the fall of
2007, the School Board will have to start construction at the end of this year
and, in order for them to use Sullivan Road as a construction road to get to their
site, the depression site on this road will have to be built up, but there is
no right-of-way at this location. They will
also have to address the situation at the intersection of
Commr.
Pool asked whether the homeowners have been approached with some ideas in
concept, and Mr. Stivender responded that the County has not approached them at
this time. Commr. Pool felt that, in
some capacity, the County could take the lead in this but work with both the
developers and homeowners, and the cities, and begin planning together, because
they do not want to look at the need for just today, but the need for the next
25 years in this vicinity.
Commr.
Stivender stated that, as Mr. Stivender had indicated earlier in the discussion,
this road network comes all of the way into Tavares, and CR-561 goes all the
way to CR-455 and through the Sugarloaf area, and it includes Montverde and
Mr.
Stivender informed the Board that the 2025 plan is being worked on through the Lake
Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), to help address and justify a
lot of these plans, but they do not have the details to work on this particular
area, as discussed, but Commr. Stivender stressed that there needs to be a time
frame. Mr. Stivender explained that he
has tried to put as many issues on the table, in order avoid situations like those
that took place on Steve’s Road, and
Commr.
Pool questioned whether the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
(ECFRPC) may be willing to facilitate some meeting and be included in the
conversation, but not actually be given the authority, and Mr. Stivender stated
that he felt the suggestion made by Commr. Pool was, in some way, exactly where
the County needed to be going.
In
talking with the School Board, Mr. Stivender stated that there was a chance
that all of the details will not be worked out for the roads before the school
opens in 2007. He suggested that they
concentrate on the two sections of Sullivan Road, as discussed, noting that,
even though it is only a 20 foot road, it is going to deteriorate from just the
construction traffic, but they may be able to address this problem, if they
require the contractor to maintain it before the school opens. In terms of other access points, there will
be clay and dirt roads, as part of this development area and, in order to keep
high school students from driving on them, as a safety issue, they would
probably want to temporarily close them to better control traffic in the area,
between the time school opens, and the time that all the roads are put in.
Commr.
Stivender stated that, if staff puts together the community meeting with the
School Board and Superintendent Anna Cowin, County staff, and all other parties
that will be involved in getting this done, in the next four months, then everything
can get done. She stressed that fact
that they do not need to drag things along.
Commr.
Cadwell pointed out that no one has said anything about the funding source and,
as pointed out by Mr. Stivender, everything in “yellow” on the map is unfunded. Right now the projects include $2.5 million
on
Commr.
Cadwell wanted to know if the Reserve at Minneola, Founders Ridge, and the
Lowndes property could start developing there today, under the County’s current
concurrency rules, and with the transportation system that is there today.
Mr.
Fred Schneider, Director of Engineering, addressed the Board and stated that
those developments, as referred to by Commr. Cadwell, would require two lane
roads. He feels that, if they were paved
to certain standards and designed to certain standards, the two lane roads that
are there today would be more than adequate for those developments that have
already been approved in this area. He
explained that staff is looking at the future of the area, if it continues to develop
in the way that the developers have described to them. He did meet with Center Lake Properties, the
development to the south, several years ago, and with other developers, to
discuss road alignments in that area.
Mr.
Schneider stated that Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart, Inc. (Glatting
Jackson) was the consultant for Center Lake Properties, and they were working
on providing staff with traffic information, but it never got to that point. Staff is having this workshop today to
provide the Board with information, and to let them know that staff will be
moving forward in trying to communicate with all of the developers. Mr. Schneider stated that physically
Commr.
Pool questioned whether there would be an opportunity to partner with the Turnpike
in some design, or studies, and/or even monetarily, and with other developers
that own these lands, to help connect the US-27 corridor to the turnpike at this
location., and
Mr. Schneider explained that those discussions have taken place, but he has not
been involved in them, and he does not know the outcome of those discussions.
Commr.
Pool referred to a future project, the six laning of US-27, and suggested that
some of these intersections could be modified as that project goes forward, but
Mr. Stivender explained that this would be a long term project, and it is not
included in the funded program. Mr.
Stivender pointed out the key locations for signalized intersections noting
that they just meet the space requirements and, even though they have two lanes,
they need to be planning for those things that they assume will be occurring in
the future. He also clarified that they
need to make sure they have adequate right-of-way to handle the volumes of
traffic that they are talking about in this area, and he sees this as a major
road effort that needs to be done right the first time.
Commr.
Cadwell appreciated the efforts of staff to not piece meal this but, with the
timeline for the school, he wanted to know how
Through
further discussion, it was pointed out that the School Board has purchased the
property for the school, but it has not been before the Board for the rezoning
of the property.
At
Mr.
Matthew Click, with the Florida Turnpike, addressed the Board and stated that
they have not agreed to anything with the development community, and the last
time they talked to them was probably in the excess of a year ago noting that it
was his understanding that they had some changes in their leadership and
agreements. He explained that this is
the location that their consultant showed on their site plan, for the package
they were going to give to the appropriate governed body to review, as well as the
Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
They have not agreed to the fact that this is where the location should
be. In regard to the location of the
interchange, they do know that there will only be one interchange location in
that general 13 mile area where there is currently no access. The Board has two issues before them, one, a
land use development issue, and two, a corresponding infrastructure issue. Mr. Click stated that, as a State agency that
provides transportation infrastructure, they do not really have a lot of say in
the matter; they do not hold any police power over the County’s land
development, nor do they want to; and they are looking for them, as the local
body or, if it is incorporated into a city boundary, for those parties, to get
together with the development community to determine what is appropriate for
their area. Once they have made those
determinations as a community, they are glad to enter the conversation about
how they can help provide transportation infrastructure, to help facilitate the
traffic that will be generated by those land use decisions that have been made.
RECESS
& REASSEMBLY
At
DISCUSSION ON THE CONDITIONS, RIGHT OF WAY STATUS, AND
CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM OF ROAD PROJECTS IN THE MINNEOLA AREA
(CONTINUED)
Commr.
Hill reconvened the meeting and called for further public comment.
Ms.
Lewie Wise, City Manager, City of
Commr.
Cadwell clarified that this group of developers has been looking at this for
awhile, but the Board needs to give some kind of direction to staff for those
developers to officially be at the table, or the County needs to be leading the
effort, as opposed to just going along with everyone else.
Mr.
Howard Lefkowitz, President of Leeds Holdings Southeast, developers of the Founders
Ridge project (located between the Lowdes property and Reserve of Minneola, as
shown), addressed the Board and stated that, after listening to the
presentation made by
Mr. Stivender and Mr. Schneider, it is as if their work was not even brought up
for consideration. In order to put this
into the appropriate perspective, Mr. Lefkowitz stated that he would like to present
a little bit of history. Mr. Lefkowitz
explained that they, as representatives for the Lowndes folks, met with representatives
for the F. Browne Gregg,
Mr.
Lefkowitz stated that he did not want to downplay Mr. Stivender’s presentation
of a master system, because they happen to agree with it 100 percent. He stated that this area needs the full study
that Mr. Stivender wants to implement, but he feels that they can look at this
entire issue, on a prioritizing basis of providing the opportunity for these
schools to open as scheduled, by directing County staff to work with them on
solving the current problems and allowing them to meet their commitments to
install the road systems. The biggest
issue is certainly the right-of- from US-27 to their property. They have put on the table the current
right-of-way maps, which are adopted from maintenance maps, and they reflect the
narrowest point of right-of-way to be approximately 39 feet, in a relatively
small section. They also found that,
from the 16 property owners that abut that section of road, eight of them have
deeds from the original transfer of the property, from Mr. Howey,
Howey-in-the-Hills, that provide for a dedication of right-of-way to the County,
subject to the needs of the County. Because
these date back to the 1930s, in order to address the legality of them, they
had the Akerman Senterfiet firm do some research, which found them to be defensible,
which was also the findings from two title underwriting firms. If they have
County support of this opinion, they can solve all of the right-of-way problems
by having no less than 39 feet from US-27 to their property. Even though that does not solve the entire right-of-way
issue, they can provide a 28 foot standard suburban road section, as defined by
the School Board, to service these high schools.
Mr.
Lefkowitz stated that he is here today to ask the Board to ask County staff to
work with them to provide this particular program, as follows: 1) work with them in the attainment of this
right-of-way program; 2) cooperate with them in the design of their minimum
standard two lane road system, so they know that this two lane road can
ultimately be expanded to be a part of the four lane system; 3) establish a
pragmatic timeline for all of them to work and define the road needs and find
the funding mechanism. He stated that,
because they are really looking at four to five years out before a full road
system is needed, this should be adequate planning time to provide for the
funding and bring the CIP up to date without damaging whatever other plans are
in place. Mr. Lefkowitz noted that the
County will be receiving a tremendous amount of impact fees from this area over
a five year period of time.
Mr.
Lefkowitz explained that, when Mr. Stivender pointed out that the segment from
Hancock Road to Turkey Farm Road was being assessed along the power line
easement, and the power line easement was the alignment that was under
consideration, the County did not take into consideration the fact that there
had been discussions with the representatives of the Caruso and Center Lake
properties and that configuring the road through and around those properties
would have a relatively nominal impact on them, even though there are a couple of private properties that
will be impacted but not to the extent being advertised. Mr. Lefkotwitz stated that the storm water
issue is a challenge on
Commr.
Pool stated that, as Mr. Schneider has said, and the School Board is in
agreement, while the two lane road may not be the end result, it will
work. The School Board has many schools
now on two lane roads, including South Lake and East Ridge, and Mr.Lefkowitz is
saying that they are ready to fund and pay for that corridor and build that
road, if that right-of-way is available, and include the storm water and all other
related issues.
Ms.
Cecelia Bonifay, Akerman Senterfit, stated that she is legal counsel for
Founders Ridge, and they have been working very closely with Minneola, the
School Board, and County staff on this project, as well as other projects, and
with several other developers. They have
sent their research package to Mr. Minkoff regarding the right-of-way between
US-27 and the boundary of Founders Ridge.
Even though it is their opinion, as well as the opinion of two
underwriters, she realizes that it may be difficult to enforce it, but clearly
those deeds are somewhat unique and allows the County to have 20 feet, or
whatever right-of-way is necessary. She
stated that right-of-way in this area is their top priority to move forward
with Founders Ridge, and to meet the timeframe with the School Board. Ms. Bonifay pointed out that, as stated
earlier by Mr. Lefkowitz, his Developer’s Agreement requires them to provide a
north-south access to the school, and Mr. Lowndes has already indicated that he
would be willing to give the right-of-way on that portion that goes through his
property. She noted that Minneola has
indicated that it is moving forward with its wastewater treatment system, which
will be utilized by development in the area.
In regards to the Reserve at Minneola, Ms. Bonifay stated that she does not
represent Mr. Hagan, but he was a part of this consortium. She does, however, represent Center Lake
Properties, the other member of that consortium, and they have spent almost two
years working with staff and, over a year ago, they began vacating a number of
the rights-of-way, which were parts of old plats. In return, they entered into a Developer’s
Agreement with the County, and she is pleased to say that this past week,
Center Lake Properties dedicated that right-of-way along the entire southern
length of their boundary to the County for the South Lake Trail. They are also working on any necessary
realignment for
Ms.
Bonifay addressed the Sugarloaf area, which has been identified with a “blue”
line as unprogrammed and unfunded and noted that they are moving forward with
development, and their staff has met with County staff to discuss an alignment
that will work with their development plan and also give the County some
north-south relief.
Ms.
Bonifay stated that she feels the priorities are
Commr.
Pool wanted to publicly thank Center Lake Properties for that missing link,
because that was a large piece of land that the County needed to connect that
trail, and today the County has the whole corridor aligned and will be starting
soon on that trail corridor. He noted
that it will connect
Commr.
Pool stated that the Board had indicated that it wants to have a meeting with
the cities, School Board, landowners, and homeowners, and he asked Ms. Bonifay
whether they have had a meeting with the homeowners and/or Minneola.
Ms.
Bonifay explained that they have had numerous meetings with Minneola and the
County, and with the County and School Board and, until they knew the County’s
priority, and their timing on moving forward on right-of-way acquisition, they
have not had meetings with individual homeowners. They also were waiting because they did not
want to appear to be representing something on behalf of government that perhaps
was not going to happen.
Commr.
Cadwell agreed that they need to move forward first with Sullivan Road and
Grassy Lake Road, because of the school but, by policy, he wanted to know if
this Board wants to look at that language in those deeds and exercise that language
and take these five acre tracts and homes from these folks, because he felt it
would be bad policy to use it either way, for a couple of reasons. He explained that most of these are five acre
tracts and, understanding that eventually that is going to be a four lane road,
he thinks they are doing those folks a disservice by trying to buy just the
minimum of what they need for right-of-way, and understanding that they are
going from a very small rural road and five acre tracts to be on a four land
road. He thinks they need to look at the
viability of purchasing all of the property, if they are willing to sell it,
because it is definitely going to change their lifestyle. He hopes this Board would not even discuss
exercising the language in those deeds to take that property because, even
though it would move the project along quicker, it would do a lot of damage to
them otherwise.
Commr.
Hill explained that originally, when this was brought forward, the County did a
full cost analysis of the road structure in that area and, at that time, the
School Board had not purchased that property.
Now that they have bought the property, she wanted to know if those
homeowners were contacted and allowed to give their input knowing that there
would be a four lane road there in the future.
Commr.
Cadwell pointed out that the property has not yet been rezoned and, even though
Commr. Hill felt that the homeowners
must have had some concept of a future road network there because of the school
site, the time for that conversation will take place when they request rezoning
of that property. Commr. Cadwell stated
that he assumes the school is going to be built in a quick manner, so the Board
needs to put all of their emphasis on those two roads, and portions of them, as
well as the commitments of the developers.
Commr.
Pool stated they need to work with the homeowners, and he believes a meeting is
in order, and he feels that the Board should at least direct staff to try to
facilitate, or generate, this meeting with the developers, the homeowners, and
the School Board, to talk about what may happen, and what will eventually happen
in this area.
Commr.
Cadwell stated that the Board needs to give staff clear direction on what their
policy should be to those homeowners.
Commr.
Hill questioned whether it was the Board’s responsibility, or the School
Board’s responsibility, to contact the homeowners, at this point.
Commr.
Cadwell explained that the Board is responsible for transportation, and they
should be the ones talking to the homeowners, because the property will be
deeded to the County, and it is going to be a County road. He stated that they need to move forward but
they need to be straight with those folks.
Commr.
Pool agreed that they need to have that meeting to at least bring this issue to
the forefront, because they cannot proceed without that meeting. He stated that they need to see the school
plans and see what they need to do to get a road there, and they need to recognize
that a two lane road is not going to function for the next 25 years; it will
function adequately for two to five years, but not 25 years.
Mr.
Stivender stated that a year ago they discussed getting some modeling done on
the traffic patterns that will occur in this area, as well as the impacts to
US-27, SR-50, and the roads in between them.
He stated that this can be done and presented at the public meetings
through whoever will be in charge of those meetings.
Discussion
occurred regarding material that has already presented to staff from Glatting
Jackson, with Mr. Stivender noting that the information would helpful in
justifying their need to do modeling of the area. He stated that staff feels that they would
need four months to complete the task, which will not exceed a cost of $50,000. The Board members asked that staff review all
information that has been made available to them, and to not create a new study,
if one has already been done, and to utilize the information available to them.
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
Commr.
Pool stated that this is why a meeting is so important because they do not know
how many landowners are not willing to participate and, if staff needs to have
direction from this Board, and the school is moving forward, they need to do
the modeling and try to obtain information as soon as possible and utilize
whatever information they may now have at hand to facilitate the process.
Commr.
Cadwell wanted to know if Commr. Pool, in his motion, was going to include
inviting Minneola to participate in the meeting, and Commr. Stivender wanted to
know if they were going to meet with the property owners in the next two weeks.
Mr.
Minkoff explained that staff needs authorization to start working on the right-of-way
issue in advance of the study. He
clarified that the Board should do everything they have suggested but, in
addition, give staff the ability to go out and start to try and acquire the
right-of-way that is there, which would include paying for some of it because,
as they are going through this process, they are finding it harder to acquire
property through voluntary means.
Mr.
Bill Neron, County Manager, wanted to make sure that staff understands the
intent of the motion, that the Board wants staff to go ahead with the process
to start the modeling and ask Minneola to participate in the funding of it; the
Board wants to, in the near future, have a meeting with all the parties
involved in both road projects, and to begin work on right-of-way on both
projects and, at a minimum, that would include the School Board, Minneola, the
development community, and the property owners in the area.
Commr.
Stivender suggested that they include Montverde, and Commr. Pool indicated that
he was clear on the suggestion, but he felt that they may be included in the
future.
Mr.
Stivender felt that staff needed more time, perhaps until the first of
February, and it was noted that the County could pay their share of costs from
impact fees.
Commr.
Pool stated that he would present this as a motion, because it is covers every
issue, and it includes Minneola, and the landowners that live there; and the
Board is giving staff direction to seek right-of-way and see what is available
there, and then to have that joint meeting and do the study.
Mr.
Stivender requested that Commr. Pool include in his motion that
Commr.
Pool amended his motion to include Mr. Stivender’s request, as noted.
Commr.
Stivender seconded the motion, as amended.
The Chairman called for a vote on the motion, as clarified, and as
amended, and it was carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote.
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER STIVENDER – DISTRICT #3
ESPN
BASS TOURNAMENT
Commr.
Stivender informed the Board that the ESPN Bass Tournament will be held
February 3, 4 and 5, 2005, at
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER HANSON – DISTRICT #4
CAT
PROTECTION SOCIETY INC.
Commr.
Hanson informed the Board that she is going to ask the
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER POOL – DISTRICT #2
DRAGON
BOAT RACES
Commr.
Pool reported that Steve and Glennys Barber provided an opportunity for the
Commission to meet with the Chinese Delegation, to try and encourage
participation in the Dragon Boat Races.
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER CADWELL – DISTRICT #5
MARTIN
LUTHER KING CELEBRATION
Commr.
Cadwell noted that there will be a lot of activity this weekend, in regards to
the Martin Luther King celebration, and that Commr. Stivender will be
representing the Board at the breakfast.
BOARD
RETREAT
Commr.
Hill, Chairman explained that she is putting together an agenda with the County
Manager for the Board Retreat, on February 14, 2005, and it will be presented
to the Board members prior to them meeting.
If there is an issue that any of the Commissioners do not see on it, and
it is something he or she would like to discuss, they will be happy to include
it.
REPORTS
– COMMISSIONER POOL – DISTRICT #2 (CONTINUED)
MARTIN
LUTHER KING CELEBRATION
Commr.
Pool reported that he has been asked by the South Lake New Jacobs Chapel to
participate in their Martin Luther King event on Monday so, regrettably, he
will be unable to attend the main event.
REPORTS
- COMMISSIONER HILL – CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT #1
BOARD
MEETINGS/MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATION
Commr.
Hill questioned whether there was still a need to have a regular Board meeting
on
Mr.
Bill Neron,
Commr.
Hill apologized that she would not able to attend the Martin Luther King
celebrations this weekend, since she will be touring perspective colleges with
her son.
AMERICAN
LEGION
Commr. Hill stated that, under the
Board’s policy manual, the County does not allow solicitation on their
properties, but they have a request from the American Legion for permission to
sell poppies in front of the
On
a motion by Commr. Pool, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously by a
5-0 vote, the Board approved the request from the American Legion for
permission to sell poppies in front of the Judicial Center and the County
Administration Building on February 4, 2005.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the
meeting adjourned at
___________________________
JENNIFER HILL, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
JAMES C. WATKINS, CLERK