A
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
JULY
10, 2007
The Lake County Board of
INVOCATION
AND PLEDGE
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
AGENDA
UPDATE
Ms.
Cindy Hall,
Commr.
Hill stated that she would like to bring one item up under her business
regarding the impact fees. She commented
that she did not think that they would need a vote, but just consensus and
information.
Commr.
Stivender stated that she would like to place a request from the cities on the
Agenda under her business in regard to the Parks and Recreation funding that
would require a vote.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to place the request from the cities on the
Agenda
Commr.
Cadwell stated that under his business, he had a letter he wanted the Board to
allow him to send to the Local Planning Agency (LPA), and he requested that
they place in on the Agenda, and they could discuss it under his business.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to place the discussion of Commr. Cadwell’s
letter to the LPA on the Agenda.
MINUTES
Commr.
Renick stated that she had some changes to the Minutes of June 5, 2007, which
were changing Page 1, Line 24, from Commr. Stivender to Commr. Renick; and Page
5, Line 48, from Commr. Renick to Commr. Stewart.
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a
vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Minutes of June 5, 2007, as corrected, and
the Minutes of June 18, 2007, as presented.
CLERK
OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously,
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda, Tab
2, Items 1 through 8, 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.
Monthly
Distribution of Revenue Traffic/Criminal Cases
Request to acknowledge receipt of Monthly Distribution of
Revenue Traffic/Criminal Cases for the month ending May 31, 2007, in the amount
of $188,591.64. Same period last year:
$190,055.49.
Proposed
Operating Budget for Country Greens CDD for FY 2008
Request to acknowledge receipt of Proposed Operating
Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 for Country Greens Community Development District.
Proposed
Operating Budget for
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 for
Arlington Ridge Community Development District.
Village Center Community Development District Amended
Budget
Request to acknowledge receipt of Amended budget for the
Village Center Community Development District for the Fiscal Year 2005-2006 in
accordance with Chapter 190.008(2)(b)(c) Florida Statutes.
Notice of Meeting of Arlington Ridge CDD Board of
Supervisors
Request to acknowledge receipt of Notice of Meeting of
the Arlington Ridge Community Development District’s Board of Supervisors
scheduled to be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., at
Proposed Budget for Estates at Cherry
Request
to acknowledge receipt of Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2007/2008 for Estates
at Cherry Lake Community Development District, pursuant to Chapter 190, Florida
Statutes. A public hearing to consider the adoption of this item has been
scheduled for August 10, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hampton Inn Mount Dora,
Notice
of Application for Amendment to Water Certificate
Request to acknowledge receipt of Notice of Application for Amendment to Water Certificate, pursuant to Section 367.045, Florida Statutes, and Section 25-30.030, Florida Administrative Code, by Aqua Utilities Florida, Inc., 110 Thomas Avenue, Leesburg, Florida 34748, of its intent to apply to the Florida Public Service Commission to extend its service area to provide water service to the property described below in Lake County, Florida, containing approx. 39.97 acres.
Commence
at the North ¼ corner of Section 29, Township 20 South, Range 26 East; thence run N 88 degrees 57’ 27” W, along the
North line of said Section 29 for a distance of 50.00 feet to a point on the
West right-of-way line of Monroe Street; thence run S 00 degrees 46’56” W a
distance of 314.17 feet for a point of beginning; thence continue along said
West right of way line, S 00 degrees 46’56” W a distance of 958.56 feet; thence
N 88 degrees 56”15”W a distance of 1917.50 feet to a point on the East
right-of-way line of Adams Street; thence N. 00 degrees 50’39” E. along said
East right-of-way line a distance of 610.80 feet; thence S 88 degrees 58”18” E
a distance of 583.71 feet; thence S 00 feet 50’39” W a distance of 33.00 feet;
thence S 88 degrees 58’18” E a distance of 751.29 feet; thence N. 00 degrees
48’05” E a distance of 379.37 feet; thence S 88 degrees 59’45” a distance of 581.74
feet to the point of beginning.
Notice
of Application for Amendment to Water Certificate
Request to acknowledge receipt of
Notice of Application for Amendment to Water Certificate, pursuant to Section
367.045, Florida Statutes, and Section 25-30-.030, Florida Administrative Code,
by Aqua Utilities Florida, Inc., 110 Thomas Avenue, Leesburg, Florida 34748, of
its intent to apply to the Florida Public Service Commission to extend its
service area to provide water service to the property described below in Lake
County, Florida.
That part of Sections 10, 11, 14 and
15, Township 18 South, Range 25 East,
Commr. Stivender pulled Tab 16 and
Tab 20.
Commr. Stewart pulled Tab 12.
Commr. Hill pulled Tab 5, 12, 19, and
22.
Commr. Renick pulled Tab 6.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously, by a vote of 5-0, the Board
approved the County Manager’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 3 through 22, pulling Tabs
5, 6, 12, 15, 16, 19, 20, and 22, as follows:
Budget
Request
for approval of Budget Change Request:
Budget Transfer - Solid Waste
Closures & Long Term Fund, Department of Environmental Services, Solid Waste
Operations Division. Transfer $47,180 from Reserve for Operations to Landfill
Post Closure. Additional funds needed for unanticipated long term care costs at
the closed Umatilla Landfill site. Work
includes well abandonment and installation of two new wells inside the landfill
fence; Site Assessment and subsequent Site Assessment Report in accordance with
62-780 FAC as required by FDEP; and repair of existing well. Funds available in
Reserve for Operations. After this transfer, the balance in the Reserve for
Operations account will be $3,504,716.
Community Services
Request for approval
to accept donation of $700 from the
Request
for approval to amend Page 10, Article XII, Paragraph 12.1 of Partnership
Agreement between
Request for approval of annual contribution of $12,000 to
WellFlorida Council.
Environmental Services
Request for approval and signatures of two Detailed Work
Plan Budgets for Arthropod Control FY 07/08.
Growth Management
Request for approval of payment to Mads and Shantelle
Kragh for construction of an exterior over their existing garage to meet the
requirements of BOA#22-07-2 - Commission District 2.
Request
for Execution and Release of Fine, Property Owner:
Procurement
Request
for approval of contract extensions with MetLife, UnumProvident and Unisych
Benefits of Florida, Inc. through September 30, 2008. These vendors have agreed
that rates will remain as currently in place.
Request for approval to award and execute the contract
with Moore Stephens Lovelace, P.A. to provide Auditing Services.
Public Works
Request for approval of the Interlocal Agreement between
Request for approval and authorization for Chairman to
execute satisfaction of liens for the attached four (4) road assessments -
Commission Districts 2 and 4.
Request for authorization to accept
the final plat for Paddock Hills and all areas dedicated to the public as shown
on the Paddock Hills final plat, accept a letter of credit for performance in
the amount of $1,833,950.00, and execute a Developer’s Agreement for
Construction of Improvements between Lake County and Ba-Sher Development, Inc.
Paddock Hills consists of 63 lots and is located in Section 20, Township 20
South, Range 25 East. Commission District 3.
Commr. Stivender stated that she had pulled Tab 16 to
bring forward the grant they had received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
to continue with the Scrub habitat restoration.
She reported that they had been working on that for the last six years,
and it had come to fruition.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr.
Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved a grant
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for $16,827.00 for materials and
supplies needed for Scrub Habitat restoration at
Commr. Stivender stated that she had pulled Tab 20,
because she thought that the Parks, Recreation and Trails Month deserved
recognition more than being under the Consent Agenda. She commented that the Parks crew had been
doing a tremendous job, which they were getting the credit for.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill
and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from
Public Works to declare and sign Proclamation No. 2007-96 designating July as
Parks, Recreation, and Trails Month.
Commr. Stewart stated that Tab 12 was a recommendation
that they hire a consulting firm, but she felt that they needed to do as much
in-house work as they could. She
commented that they had a great landscape architect on staff, and they should
only use those consulting firms when they absolutely had to.
Commr. Renick asked if the County had had the type of
arrangement before where consultants would supplement Growth Management staff
like that.
Commr. Cadwell responded that at different times and that
generally they were project specific.
Ms. Carol Stricklin, Growth Management Director,
responded that they have had continuing services consultants in the past, and
that the contract expired in March of 2007.
She specified that they had three firms they were using, and those firms
were primarily used for assistance in preparation of the Comprehensive Plan,
and some specialized environmental and engineering expertise was brought to the
table. She noted that they did have some
projects in mind for these continuing services consultants.
Mr. Wayne Bennett, Division Director, Planning and
Community Design, addressed the Board to explain that they actually would have
five firms that would be under contract on a continuing-services basis for a
number of projects that they were expecting to be coming up that they needed
help with, one of which was a land development regulation. He also stated that they needed to start
their Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) process, which they would need help
with over the next year. Other projects
that they would be using the consultants for were a Gateway Design Project, a
project in the Plymouth-Sorrento area, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
types of planning projects, and a work-force housing project.
Commr. Stivender asked if there was a cap amount for
that.
Mr. Bennett responded that he thought that for this
coming year, what was in the proposed budget was in the neighborhood of
$125,000 to $150,000.
Commr. Stivender commented that they were using the
consultants for their expertise in areas that staff were not experts in.
Mr. Bennett explained that the landscape architects on
staff were good at design, but did not have expertise in developing
construction plans. He commented that some of those might require some
engineering expertise and AutoCAD programs that the County did not have, and
they also did not participate in the construction bidding process or have a
working knowledge of what was paid for various services.
Commr. Cadwell recommended that the Board re-agendize
this item for a later date and that Mr. Bennett spend a little time to figure
out the scope of work and exactly what they plan on the consultants doing and
how broad it would be.
Mr. Bennett related that the proposed budget had a
specific list with dollar amounts for all the projects that they expected to
undertake in the next year to two years.
Commr.
Cadwell stated that Tab 12, the request for approval that RQ 07-0208 for On
Call Planners for Growth Management be awarded to HDR, Inc., and Land Design
Innovations for Comp Planning and Small Areas Planning, GAI Consultants Inc.,
for Conservation-Open Space and Landscape/Site Planning, Real Estate Research
Consultants, Inc., for Economics, be re-agendized and brought back at a later
date.
Commr.
Renick stated that in Tab 6, they were basically putting themselves at risk for
up to $200,000 for the agreement regarding the new Harry Potter book. She did not think that the publicity for the
library to be provided with advanced shipments of the book was worth the
financial risk to the County. She
believed that the library system would eventually be able to get copies of the
book for the libraries even without the agreement.
Ms.
Wendy Breeden, Library Services Director, stated that hopefully they would be
able to obtain them, but it was on a first-come, first-serve basis, and they
had not even submitted their paperwork yet, so they could see a delay of weeks
after the books were released. She
explained that they would hold the books at headquarters until the day before
and not send them out until that day.
She noted that this held true for any publication and that it was normal
for publishers to send prepublication out before the publication, and it was
their responsibility not to put those in circulation prior to the publication
date. However, she stated that
Scholastic had had problems with their Harry Potter books, and they were the
only ones who had ever asked for it in writing.
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried by a vote of
4-1, the Board approved the Scholastic Agreement and Baker & Taylor
Indemnification Agreement in relation to the release of J. K. Rowling’s “Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” with the stipulation that it be held in the
vault at the Clerk’s office until the release date.
Commr.
Renick voted “no.”
Commr.
Hill wanted to point out that the long range plan she had read regarding Tab 5,
from the Lake Soil & Water Conservation District, was very impressive. She asked if they could hire another company
to do the environmental compliance or if they should have Code Enforcement take
care of any violations.
Mr.
Fletcher Smith, Community Services Director, stated that one of the aspects of
this program was that commercial growers would be able to call them and ask to
have their irrigation systems inspected and be given recommendations on how to
fix those. He commented that they might
be reluctant to call them if they realized that they would be issuing citations
if they came out there.
On
a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Community Services for
approval of the request by Lake Soil & Water Conservation District for Lake
County to assist with the administration of the grant they have received to
operate a Mobile Irrigation Lab Program.
Commr.
Hill asked if the changes that were incorporated into the Supplemental
Agreement for the additional engineering services in Tab 19 were requested by
the City of
Mr.
Jim Stivender, Jr., Public Works Director, stated that there were several
factors involved in that, one being that there was additional engineering work
due to more parcels being involved. He
also noted that a couple of years ago they brought forward to the City an
agreement to work together for donations for right of way and ponds. He stated that the payback for the County was
that they got a right of way and the stormwater donated.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Public Works to execute the
Supplemental Agreement No. 1 to the agreement with Bowyer-Singleton for
additional engineering services for the design of County Road 470 – Commission
District 3.
Commr.
Hill stated that they discussed Tab 22 last week, and asked if there was a
stipulation in the ordinance when they approved the Sullivan Ranch site plan to
require a school be built before those homes were built.
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
On
a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried
unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 22, the request from
Public Works for authorization to release Certificates of Occupancy for up to
100 homes and any common elements while landscaping buffers are put in
place. Sullivan Ranch consists of 693
lots and is located in Section 33 and 34, Township 19 South, Range 27 East,
Commission District 4.
AWARDS
AND RECOGNITIONS
EMPLOYEE AWARDS
The Chairman presented the following Employee Awards,
at which time Ms. Kasie McAdams, Employee Services Manager, Office of Employee
Services, gave brief remarks about the employees’ service to the County.
Five
Years
John Green, Equipment Operator I
Public Works/Road
Operations/Maintenance Area III
John Dinsmore, Landfill Attendant
Environmental Services/Solid Waste
Operations
Judith Law, Right of Way Agent I
Public Works/Engineering/Right of Way
John
Giddens, Library Page (not present)
Community Services/Library
Services/Marion Baysinger Memorial Library
Twenty
Years
Growth Management/Building Services
Yancey Peterson, Fire Lieutenant/EMT
Public Safety/Fire Rescue
Retirement
Libby McDermott, Office Associate III
(not present)
Public Safety/Emergency Management
PRESENTATION
– PLAAC PROGRAM ACQUIRED PROPERTIES UPDATE
Mr.
David Hanson, Public Lands Manager, Growth Management, gave a power-point
update to the Board regarding properties that were under consideration, had
been acquired, and under contract by the Public Land Acquisition Program, and
also where they were as far as finances for that. He reported that since August 2006, PLAAC had
acquired three properties, which were the Andrews Property in
PRESENTATION
– MYREGION.ORG DOCUMENTS
Ms.
Cindy Hall,
Commr.
Hill asked if the map represented what the cities hoped to grow to or was their
starting point.
Mr.
T. J. Fish, Executive Director of the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning
Organization (LSMPO), stated that the map represented the starting point.
Commr.
Stewart commented that she wanted to make sure that the County was not written
into an overall plan that they had no control over. She emphasized that the citizens of our
County wanted to preserve their rural areas and wanted to make sure these
documents did not give them any difficulties with the regional approach.
Ms.
Shelly Lauten from myregion.org responded that some of the ideas articulated in
the vision were conservation and protecting the agricultural and rural
landscapes.
Mr.
Fish commented that this plan referred to 43 years from now, and the MPO’s
involvement as a partner was that they were trying to decide what type of
transportation investment they should plan on and had realized that they needed
to shift to transit and other alternative modes.
Commr.
Renick stated that she thought this was nonbinding and used words such as
encourage, promote, and cooperation. She
opined that she did not think there was anything threatening in the documents
and was a philosophical statement of cooperation.
Ms.
Lauten noted that the MPO Alliance was the form and function by which they
could have better conversations.
Several
Commissioners agreed that the revised versions of the documents were much
better than the original ones.
On
a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved all three revised documents from
myregion.org, which were the Policy Framework and Action Plan, the Compact, and
the “Circle” Map.
COMMUNITY
SERVICES – SHIP GRANT
Ms.
Liz Eginton, Housing and Community Development Director, Department of
Community Services, informed the Board that the Florida Housing Finance
Corporation had granted them an additional $5 million in State Housing
Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds to be used to assist victims of the
Groundhog Day Tornado. She stated that
they would like to use the funds for rehabilitation and replacement of homes
that were on the Property Appraiser’s list.
She also noted that one additional thing they were doing regarding
replacement housing was putting out a request for qualifications to builders
that they had worked with in the past in their rehabilitation programs, asking
them if they would be interested in helping to replace some housing. She also requested two new term-limited
Community Development Specialist positions for two years to help them carry out
the program, because they were on a very tight deadline to spend that money,
which was June 30, 2008.
Commr.
Hill asked under the Request for Proposal (RFP) for builders, if they were
excluding organizations like Habitat.
Ms.
Eginton stated that they were on the list.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Community Services to
accept $5,000,000 in State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) disaster
funds to be used for housing assistance for Groundhog Day Tornado victims; to
amend the FY 2006-07 SHIP budget to add Accounts 126.2082440 (Disaster
Assistance) funded in the amount of $4,500,000 and 126.2082450 (Disaster
Assistance Administration) funded in the amount of $500,000; and to authorize
two new term-limited Community Development Specialist positions for two years
and to execute Resolution No. 2007-97.
ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES – SOLID WASTE ASSESSMENTS
Mr.
Daryl Smith, Environmental Services Director, stated that this was a request
for the Board to approve an Initial Assessment Resolution for Collection,
Management, and Disposal of Solid Waste and Recovered Materials for Fiscal Year
2007/08, including a proposed maximum residential assessment of $200, establish
a public hearing date of September 11, 2007, and direct staff to proceed with
the steps necessary to have the solid waste assessment increase automatically,
each year, by an amount equal to the increase in the charges for the curbside
collections services. Mr. Smith
mentioned that the Board would have to set the maximum amount of the increase
prior to the public hearing so it would go out on a TRIM notice. He noted that they would not make the final
decision until the public hearing on September 11. He also explained that the franchise
agreements required that they increase the franchise collection costs or
charges to the franchise collectors by a certain amount each year, based on
certain indices, and they believed that it was in the Board’s best interest to
increase those rates on an annual basis based on those increased costs as a
pass-through to the customers.
Commr.
Cadwell asked Mr. Smith if they would be looking at other alternatives after
the curbside collection contracts were up in 2009.
Mr.
Smith answered that they were going to be looking at a number of alternatives
during that process, and in all likelihood, they would have some options when
they bid it to see what kind of pricing they got for various options.
Commr.
Cadwell commented that from the budget process they knew that there was still
work to do on this assessment.
Commr.
Hill stated that as liaison to the Solid Waste Committee, she had spoken to Mr.
Smith about this, and from that they had prepared and handed out to the Board the
calculations as to Solid Waste supplements from the general fund by year. She reported that in 2003, the Board at that
time agreed to raise the ad valorem assessment by .83 mils, which raised
approximately $7.8 million to pay for the Covanta Bond Debt Service at that
time and to ensure that all County residents bore the cost of the debt service
and that the non-ad valorem assessment was set at $173.50. She noted that it was separated out so
everyone would know it was because of the Covanta contract. She continued to explain that in 2004, the
Covanta lawsuit settled, but it was past the date to advertise the millage
rate, so they had to roll it back in, the bonds were refinanced, and the annual
cost of debt service was reduced. She
went on to give a history of the rates after that date. She stated that she was not willing to change
the plan, and she did not want to approve sending a message that the County may
increase the residential assessment and the tipping fee. She commented that as the amount of trash
increased because of growth, as part of the Comprehensive Plan for Solid Waste
over the next 20 years, a change in the plan may be warranted, and today she
was still convinced that the two landfills that they had were not appropriate
and she thought they should have the ash on top of the garbage. She commented to the Board that she thought
it was prudent that they waited for the results of all the property tax reform
to be completed before they made changes in taxes before tax rates were made,
and that her decision today was that the ad valorem transfer should remain at
the $6.9 million and that there be no increase in the tipping fee or the non-ad
valorem special assessment, because she did not think they were warranted right
now. She believed that if they left the
millage as is, it would cover that bond issue and even a little more.
Commr.
Cadwell commented that unless they did away with the assessment, they needed to
advertise something.
Commr.
Hill added that she understood the theory of having Solid Waste become a
fully-funded enterprise fund, but she commented that she did not think they
could afford to do that at this time.
Commr.
Renick stated that she agreed with Commr. Hill that this may not be the time to
increase the assessments, and she thought that a 15 percent increase they were
asking for was a serious increase.
Commr.
Cadwell stated that he had asked staff to look into whether the increases in
Solid Waste and Fire Assessment would negate the savings residents were
expecting to see in their tax bill. He
commented that if the fees were not raised, however, then general fund dollars
of between $2 million and $3 million would be taken out of the budget.
Commr.
Renick asked if this could be postponed.
Mr.
Smith stated that they had until the time frame to about July 24 to make a
final decision on it to get it on the TRIM notice.
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a
vote of 5-0, the Board moved to postpone Tab 5 regarding the Initial Assessment
Resolution for Collection, Management, and Disposal of Solid Waste and
Recovered Materials for Fiscal Year 2007/08 until the next meeting, and
directed the County Manager to work the numbers to see where they stood.
GROWTH
MANAGEMENT
APPROVAL OF ELLIS PURCHASE AGREEMENT
Mr.
David Hanson, Public Lands Manager, stated that Tab 27 was to approve the
Purchase and Sales Agreement with Jerry Ellis, Lucy Ellis, and Mike Ellis, for
approximately 60 acres of mature sand pine scrub with some incorporated
wetlands and 3 acres of a road that would access this property. He specified that it was north of Royal
Trails and had recently been accepted into the Florida Forever Wekiva Ocala
Greenway Project boundary. He commented
that it was bear habitat and was essentially surrounded on three sides by the
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Growth Management for the
Purchase and Sales Agreement between
REFUND
OF PREPAID IMPACT FEE
Ms.
Angie Thompson, Impact Fee Coordinator, Growth Management, stated that Tab 28
was an appeal for a refund of prepaid impact fees by Mr. Randy Walker. She reported that the Lake County Code
allowed for refund of prepaid impact fees only under very specific
circumstances and that this item did not fall into any of those
circumstances. She related that the
Commr.
Renick commented that Mr. Walker had paid the impact fees, was not building
homes, and they needed to give it back to him, but she understood the
administrative problems of how it was set up.
Commr.
Stewart commented that was her first reaction, but then she thought they would
be setting a bad precedence by refunding the fee and that he should have done
his due diligence.
Commr.
Stivender noted that they had done refunds in the past, depending on the
circumstances.
Ms.
Thompson stated that in the future, they were going to make it part of the
procedure that the person purchasing a prepayment would need to prove that the
lot was buildable before they collected the fee.
Commr.
Hill was concerned that if Mr. Walker were to rezone this property or ask for a
waiver, he would ultimately be able to build on it.
Ms.
Terrie Diesbourg, Zoning Director, stated that there were a lot of different
things that came into play when a lot of record determination was done, and she
did not think he could build on that lot, because the properties were
aggregated and a record of determination was done in 1996.
Commr.
Stivender asked Mr. Sandy Minkoff,
Mr.
Minkoff responded that typically they could not do that unless the Comprehensive
Plan or the zoning changed, and that sometimes a second residence could be
added as an accessory dwelling.
Commr.
Renick commented that even if he had gotten permission to build on it, then he
would have to come back to the Board, and that currently he was not planning to
build.
Commr.
Hill made a motion to uphold the County Manager’s recommendation not to refund
the prepaid impact fees, since they were not refundable according to Ordinance
No. 2004-26, Section 22-11 (4). Commr.
Stewart seconded the motion, which failed by a vote of 2-3, with Commr.
Cadwell, Commr. Stivender, and Commr. Renick voting “no.”
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stivender and carried by a vote
of 4-1, the Board moved to refund the prepaid impact fee paid by Mr. Randy
Walker.
Commr.
Hill voted “no.”
PROCUREMENT
AWARD
OF CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE STATION
Mr.
Jim Banon, Director of Facilities Development and Management, stated that they put
the project of the construction of a Prototype Fire Station No. 78 at
Commr.
Stivender commented that this was a long time coming, and asked Mr. Banon if he
cut off a million dollars after they sent it back.
Mr.
Banon responded that it was not quite that much and that they actually reduced
the square footage from 9,319 square feet down to 7,697 square feet.
Commr.
Stivender asked if that was still an adequate size to house
Mr.
Banon stated that it was adequate an adequate size and that the project was
coming in at about $263 per square foot, which was competitive in today’s
market.
Commr.
Stivender asked that since this was a prototype of a fire station done
elsewhere in the County, if they were paying again for the cost of the design.
Mr.
Banon responded that they got a break on the cost of the design, so they did
not have to pay as much for the design when they went to another location,
because every project was site-specific and there were going to be some
engineering changes.
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Procurement to award the
contract for Bid Number 07-0213 for the Construction of a Prototype Fire
Station #78 at
OTHER
BUSINESS
APPOINTMENT
TO SALES SURTAX OVERSIGHT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointment of William P. Smith to
serve on the Sales Surtax Oversight Advisory Committee as a member of the
public at large as designated by the Lake County School Board to serve a term
ending November 19, 2010.
APPOINTMENT
TO LSMPO CITIZENS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)
On
a motion by Commr. Stivender, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried
unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointment of Mr. Bill
Calhoun to the vacant District 5 seat on the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning
Organization (LSMPO) Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) to complete an
unexpired term ending December 31, 2007 and serve a consecutive two-year term –
Commission District 5.
REPORTS
–
APPROVAL
OF PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION POLICIES
Ms.
Cindy Hall,
Commr.
Renick emphasized that under the policies for the Consent Agenda, it stated
that it would consist of routine County business and no controversial
items. She opined that they needed to be
a little more careful about the Consent Agenda and asked that staff put anything
that was the least bit controversial on the regular Agenda in the future.
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
approved the Public Appearance/Presentation policies at scheduled Board of
County Commissioners’ meetings.
MEETING SCHEDULE CHANGE
Ms. Hall stated that she wanted to
retain the date of August 14 to schedule the budget work session that would be
coming up subsequent to when the budget came about and prior to the public hearings.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER HILL – VICE
CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 1
IMPACT FEE MEETING RESCHEDULED
Commr. Hill stated that she, Ms.
Hall, and Mr. Greg Welstead, Deputy County Manager had a meeting with the Home
Builders Association President and Executive Director, as per the Board’s
request, to look at the impact fees. She
reported that they were currently working with the consultants to address a lot
of the concerns that had been brought forward by the Home Builders Association
and others in the community that had contacted them. She asked that the Board postpone the meeting
for August 7 at 5:05 p.m. for two weeks and reschedule it for August 21 at 5:05
p.m. so that they could continue to work through some of those concerns.
On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded
by Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved
to put the rescheduling of the impact fee meeting on the Agenda.
On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by
Commr. Stivender and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to
reschedule the August 7 impact fee meeting to August 21 at 5:05 p.m.
REPORTS – COMMISSIONER STIVENDER –
DISTRICT 3
PARKS AND RECREATION GRANTS WITH
CITIES
Commr. Stivender mentioned that they
had voted previously to put on the agenda the cities’ request, through the city
managers, and the
On a motion by Commr. Stivender,
seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board
moved to have legal staff draft the document regarding keeping the Parks and
Recreation grants that went to the cities and allowing the cities to charge
more for County residents using their facilities.
Commr. Stivender commented that the
Parks and Recreation Committee met on Monday, July 9, and they had not sent out
the grant applications for next year.
She explained that the ones that were approved that they were working on
for this year were in tact, but the monies that would have gone for next year’s
cycle would stay in the Parks and Recreation fund so that they could finish
PEAR,
COMMISSIONER
CADWELL – CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 5
GROUND
BREAKING ON CAMPBELL HOME
Commr.
Cadwell stated that they had a groundbreaking in
LETTER
TO LOCAL PLANNING AGENCY
Commr.
Cadwell mentioned that they had added to the Agenda the discussion of a letter
from him to Ms. Nadine Foley, Chairman of the Local Planning Agency, asking for
a deadline for sending the rest of the Comp Plan to the DCA, in order to get
the school facility element going and to make sure the County would not exceed
their lawful deadline. He stated that
originally he was going to send it just from him individually, but he thought
it would be more appropriate if the Board weighed in on it.
Commr.
Stivender made a motion to send the letter from Commr. Cadwell to the LPA.
Commr. Hill seconded it for discussion.
Commr.
Stewart stated that she knew they needed to get that dealt with and submitted,
but she was also concerned with rushing it through and not getting the kind of
product they wanted. She commented that
she thought that the way things were worded was an important concern, because
they did not want it open to interpretation. She also commented that she
thought the LPA was working very hard.
Commr.
Renick stated that she had a couple of problems with the letter. She commented that she had been to a lot of
the LPA meetings and watched the DVD of some of them, and she thought that
there was a problem between the LPA and County staff that was slowing things
down. She also opined that the meetings
were currently moving along at a good clip, although there were some problems
at a few meetings. She commented that
she understood the reason for the letter, but did not agree with certain parts
of it.
Commr.
Cadwell asked for a chance to make changes in the letter and bring it back in a
week. He commented that he wrote the
letter and made many changes over a period of time and thought it was their
responsibility as a Board to ask their citizens’ group to finish their job so
that they could do theirs. He also noted
that they were breaking the law by not having it done on time and needed to get
it done.
Commr.
Hill commented that it seemed like they were close and that they had a very
heavy schedule that it looked like they were adhering to.
Commr.
Stivender withdrew her motion, and Commr. Hill withdrew her second.
CITIZEN
QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
Mr. Ray Goodgame addressed the Board on behalf
of the City of
Mr.
Sean Parks, a resident of Montverde, asked the Board to take another look at
Plaza Collina and send it back to DCA or the Central Florida Regional Planning
Council to make sure there was no substantial deviation from what was
originally proposed and what was proposed recently in their preliminary site
plan. He stated that he had about 12 –
13 years of experience as an environmental consultant and professional planner
and had done research, and in his opinion, there was cause to look at this
again to make sure it had not deviated from what was proposed during the DRI
(Development of Regional Impact) process.
He also related that he did not see the protection of the Scenic Byway
and the South Lake Trail that was promised in the proposed site plan. Also, he did not see the mixed use of office,
professional, and commercial projects that were supposed to look like a
village. He pointed out that it was the
gateway to our county, and he did not see an emphasis on protecting that
gateway. He cited Ordinance 2006-16,
which stated that in order to protect the integrity of the Scenic Byway,
existing oaks shall be preserved to the maximum extent feasible, and that he
did not see that effort in the site plan.
He also noted that the proposed site plan showed a simultaneous change
in land uses, which according to Chapter 380.06, Florida Statutes, was a cause
for a substantial deviation, and that the plans went from a mixture of
professional and residential to strictly commercial. He stated that there were a lot of people
concerned about this issue, and that there were over 500 signatures collected
on a petition in less than two days, and they could probably get thousands if
given another week or so.
Commr.
Renick stated that she would like to see this sent back to DCA for a second
look. She pointed out that the June 5
BCC Minutes stated that the vacation petition was approved with the stipulation
that a meeting took place, and it did not ever materialize, and she was hoping
that they could have worked things out at that point. She related that Clermont,
Commr.
Cadwell asked Mr. Minkoff what their options were procedurally and legally in
regards to DCA.
Mr.
Minkoff stated that they perhaps could take some risks if they did do that, and
they could hold up any future permitting of the property and request that DCA
review the matter. He stated that the
Board could direct his office or Growth Management to add it to the
Agenda. He stated that there were some
risks that litigation could ensue, but if they got DCA to look at it quickly,
chances were that that risk would not be significant.
Mr.
Jim Lynch, a resident of
Commr.
Cadwell commented that the debate was not Walmart or anti-Walmart, but whether
it was fairly represented to the Board about what was going to be there when
they made their decision. He thought the
majority of the Board would agree to let DCA look at it.
Mr.
Fred Cranmer, a resident of
Mr.
Ken LaRoe, a resident of Eustis, stated he thought that the risks of being sued
over Plaza Collina were minimal. He
related that he and a non-practicing attorney went to the law library, did
research, and found a case to support their position opposing a huge
development north of the City of
Mr.
Vaughn Roberts, a resident of
Commr.
Cadwell asked Mr. Roberts to provide those studies to either the
Ms.
Kathleen Patterson, President of Green Mountain Scenic Byway and a resident of
Montverde, stated that it was unethical and unacceptable to accept a complete
difference that was presented and approved earlier. She stated that they had to be conscientious
and set an example for future leaders and take the high road.
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a
vote of 5-0, the Board moved to place on the Agenda the motion to send the
Plaza Collina site plan back to DCA.
Mr.
Sandy Minkoff,
On
a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously
by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to send the Plaza Collina site plan back to
DCA to have them determine if there was a substantial deviation and to issue a
suspension of the site plan and grading plan approval in the Scenic Byway area
of the site.
Mr.
Rob Kelly, a resident of Clermont and a member of the LPA, stated that the LPA
had nine members who were giving a tremendous amount of time for free and were
spending hundreds of hours a month working on that. He emphasized that it was not a matter of
word smithing and minutiae that were holding them back and that they were
working on some very legitimate issues and the details of those issues. He suggested that the Board consult the LPA
before arbitrarily setting a deadline, so it could be based on the amount of
work that needed to be done rather than just a date. He commented that they were starting to see
the light at the end of the tunnel and that they were moving along
effectively. He gave some examples of
some of the things that were slowing them down, one of them taking place on
June 14 at a meeting to set policies for rural support and commercial use in
rural areas. He stated that they had the
direction fairly well set and policies defined, but that a staff member
indicated they would not support that direction, so the LPA asked him to
provide some language for them. He
indicated that after a fairly long time of waiting for the information, they
were finally told by staff that they would not provide them with the
information. He also related that the
July 5 meeting was cancelled 15 minutes before everyone showed up because of
advertising issues, after he had cut his vacation short to be there. He stated that there were also issues
regarding mapping, such as the LPA vote on what the land use should be in the
Commr.
Stewart commented that she had gone to a lot of LPA meetings and had witnessed
a lot of what Mr. Kelly had spoken about.
Commr.
Cadwell suggested that Mr. Kelly speak to Ms. Cindy Hall,
Mr.
Maxwell, a resident of Winter Garden, addressed the Board regarding the
problems he had faced living near the present location of the Prestige concrete
plant. He related that the site was
originally approved in 1978 and that there was supposed to be a 200 foot buffer
zone, but that the gravel pit was 20 feet from the property line, putting his
house only 50 feet away from the pit. He
spoke about dust on his property and in his pool, noise, fumes, dead trees and
vegetation on his property, garbage in the berm, and water lying in places
other than the retention pond and not being put through a filtration system as
required. He complained that a lot of
his complaints to Code Enforcement went ignored. He asked for a review of the new Prestige
site to make sure everything was in compliance.
He also suggested that DEP get together with Code Enforcement to make
sure that there were no gaps in compliance between the two agencies.
Mr. Mike Evans, a resident of
Clermont who owned property on Hwy 50, was concerned about road closures near
his home as a result of Plaza Collina construction in Clermont.
Commr.
Cadwell stated that all of the County’s road closures were public hearings.
Commr.
Renick stated that there was some discussion with Growth Management as to
whether or not that would be coming back to the Commission, and that road
vacation had not come back to them.
Commr.
Cadwell stated that Mr. Evans would have an opportunity to speak when there was
a public hearing, and he would be notified if he were an adjoining property
owner.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the
meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m.
____________________________________
WELTON
G. CADWELL, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
JAMES C. WATKINS,
CLERK