A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

MAY 6, 2008

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., in the Board of County Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida.  Commissioners present at the meeting were: Commissioner Welton G. Cadwell, Chairman; Jennifer Hill, Vice Chairman; and Elaine Renick.  Commissioner Debbie Stivender and Commissioner Linda Stewart were not present.  Others present were: Sanford A. (Sandy) Minkoff, County Attorney; Cindy Hall, County Manager; Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Neil Kelly, Clerk of Court; Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance; and Susan Boyajan, Deputy Clerk.

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE

Commr. Cadwell gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

AGENDA UPDATE

Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, noted that there was an Addendum, and she wanted to move Tab 12 and Tab 13 from Consent to Departmental so they could have a brief discussion regarding the environmental contingencies that the County Attorney would speak about.  She also wanted to pull Tab 24, which was an appointment that Commr. Stewart wanted to be present to make.

Commr. Hill stated that she would like to add to her business a discussion on the update of the studies of the impact fee.

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, stated that he had several reports regarding leasing matters, but he did not think they would take Board action.

Commr. Cadwell stated that they had gotten a request from the Lake County Soccer Club that he wanted to add to his business.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick, and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board moved to put Commr. Cadwell’s item on the Agenda under his business.

MINUTE APPROVAL

            On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously, by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of April 1 (Regular Meeting) and April 15, 2008 (Special Joint Meeting with Municipalities and School Board), as presented.

            CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA

            Commr. Renick commented that regarding the annexations on the Clerk of the Courts’ Consent Agenda, she wanted to make sure that they were in the process of doing the systematic checks that they mentioned at the April 1 meeting.

            Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, assured Commr. Renick that they were aware of those.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously, by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda, 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 March 31, 2008, in the amount of $204,856.48.  Same period, last year:  $195,763.21.

Unclaimed Excess Proceeds for Tax Deeds

Request to acknowledge receipt of unclaimed excess proceeds for tax deeds totaling $98,981.83

Report regarding District School Board Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP)

Request to acknowledge receipt of report from the Auditor General, State of Florida, being Report No. 2008-152, Lake County District School Board Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Students and Student Transportation, for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2007.

            City of Eustis Audit Report for FY ended September 30, 2007

Request to acknowledge receipt of City of Eustis Audit report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, in accordance with the Single Audit Act.

            Southwest Florida Water Management District CAFR for FY Ended September 30, 2007.

Request to acknowledge receipt of Southwest Florida Water Management District Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2007, including a CD for same; together with a copy of the District’s Annual Local Government Financial Report, Fiscal Year 2006-2007.

City of Umatilla Annexation Ordinances

Request to acknowledge receipt of City of Umatilla Annexation Ordinance #2008-C and Ordinance #2008-D, both for property located south of Peru Road and East of Lake Street.

City of Mount Dora Ordinance

Request to acknowledge receipt of City of Mt. Dora Ordinance No. 2008-984 annexing Britt Road from Wolf Branch Road North to State Road 44.

City of Mount Dora Ordinance

Request to acknowledge receipt of the following Annexation Ordinances from the City of Mount Dora:

Ordinance No. 2008-983 annexing a section of Britt Road extending southerly from the intersection of SR 44 on the north line of the S ½ of Section 9, Township 19 South, Range 27 East to the intersection with Wolf Branch Road.

Ordinance No. 2008-984 annexing a section of CR 19A extending from the north line of  Eudora Road and the north line of Old 441, as shown on the C 19A Maintenance Map, to Eustis.

Ordinance No. 2008-986 annexing a section of Old 441 extending from the south line of CR 19A and the west line of Eudora Road to City Limit.

Ordinance No. 2008-987 annexing a section of Round Lake Road extending from the intersection with Wolf Branch Road to the intersection with SR 46 being in Sections 26 and 27, Township 19 South, Range 27 East.

Ordinance No. 2008-988 annexing a section of Wolf Branch Road extending from the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 to the intersection with Round Lake Road.

Financial Audit of Lake-Sumter Community College for FY ended June 30, 2007

Request to acknowledge receipt of financial audit of Lake-Sumter Community College for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2007.

City of Mascotte Notice of Public Hearing

Request to acknowledge receipt of City of Mascotte Notice of Public Hearing of proposed Annexation Ordinance No. 2008-04-461 to be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Tedder-Thomas Memorial Civic Center, 121 North Sunset Avenue, Mascotte, Florida.

Certificate for Covanta Lake, Inc. for FY ended December 31, 2007

Request to acknowledge receipt of Certificate of an authorized officer of Covanta Lake, Inc., for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2007, stating that Covanta Lake, II, Inc. is in compliance with all indenture covenants regarding the $51,515,196.33 Lake County Florida Resource Recovery Industrial Development Refunding Revenue Bonds (Covanta Lake II Inc., Project Series 2004 dated December 14, 2004).

City of Tavares Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

Request to acknowledge receipt of City of Tavares Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the year ending September 30, 2007.

            COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously, by a 3-0 vote, the Board approved Tabs 3 through 14, pulling Tab 12 and 13, as follows:

Budget

Request for approval of the following Budget Change Request and Unanticipated Revenue Resolution:

Budget Transfer – General Fund, Department of Facilities Development and Management, Facilities Management Division. Transfer $33,745 from various operating and capital outlay accounts to Machinery and Equipment. Funds are requested to purchase a towable trailer-mounted articulated 42-foot boom lift for use in performing preventive and ongoing maintenance programs. The boom lift will allow staff to perform functions that currently require the use of rental equipment or external contractors. Savings for Fiscal Year 2009 are projected at $14,640. Savings for future fiscal years are expected to be the same, resulting in a payback period for 2.4 years based on today's dollars, excluding fuel, maintenance and insurance. Also excluded from the payback calculation are the potential savings from the in-house maintenance of parking area lighting and other maintenance items that may be added to the responsibility of in-house staff vs. outside vendors when a savings to the County could be realized. The life expectancy of the boom lift is 10 years. Funds are available due to savings in various operating and capital outlay accounts

Resolution No. 2008-67 to amend the County Library System Fund in order to receive unanticipated revenue for Fiscal Year 2008 in the amount of $1,000 deposited into Other Miscellaneous Revenues and provide appropriations for the purpose of purchasing adult literacy learning materials for tutors and students at the Cagan Crossings Community Library, as part of the Family Literacy Program.

Community Services

Request for approval and signature of Amendment Number 1 to the LSTA Grant Agreement and execution of Resolution No. 2008-68.

            Conservation and Compliance

Request for Release of Fine – Property Owner: Armando J. & Donna D. Noy, Code Case #2006010058. Commission District 2.

Environmental Utilities

            Request for approval of Amendment to Interlocal Agreement between Lake County Board of County Commissioners and the Lake County School Board for recycling services.

            Procurement

            Request for approval of an order under Florida State contract 425-001-01-1 to Wright-Line, LLC to provide and install new operational consoles for the Lake County Detention Center.

            Public Safety

            Request for approval and execution of the Memorandum of Agreement for Participating Orlando Urban Areas Securities Initiative (UASI) Agencies by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners; and appointment of the Lake County Emergency Management Director as the primary representative for Lake County to the UASI Working Group.

            Request for approval and execution of the FY 2008 State Homeland Security Grant (SHSG) Residual Funds Agreement/FY 2005 Amendment, between Lake County and the State of Florida, Division of Emergency Management, by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners; approval of the attached Resolution No. 2008-69; and approval for the County Manager to make minor adjustments to the grant.

            Public Works

            Request for approval to advertise for bids for the Lakeshore Drive/Oswalt Road Intersection Improvement Project No. 2008-06 at an estimated cost of $1,250,000.00 from Road Impact Fees Benefit District 5 Fund.  Commission District 2.

            Request for approval of Resolution No. 2008-70 recognizing observance of “Motorcycle Safety Awareness” for the month of May 2008.

            Request for authorization to amend the Developer's Agreement between Lake County and Baywood Village, LLC to extend the term by one year. Baywood Village consists of 16 lots and is located in Section 26, Township 19 South, Range 26 East. Commission District 3.

            COUNTY ATTORNEY’S CONSENT AGENDA

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved the County Attorney’s Consent Agenda, Tab 15 and Addendum No. 1-I, as follows:

            Request for approval of Agreement with Shirley Meucci for right-of-way needed for CR 466 Road Widening Project.  Commission District 5.

            Addendum No. 1-I.  Request for approval of license agreement with Progress Energy for Countywide communications system.

            EMPLOYEE SERVICE AWARDS

The Chairman presented the following Employee Awards, with Ms. Susan Irby, Employee Services Manager, commenting briefly about each employee’s service to the County:

Presentation of Award to Employees with Five Years of Service

Scott Catasus, Environmental Specialist

Conservation & Compliance/Code Enforcement

Tiffini Phillips, Animal Shelter Technician

Public Safety/Animal Services

Presentation of Award to Employees with Ten Years of Service

Mike Bowers, Water Quality Services Director

Environmental Utilities/Water Quality Services Division

Presentation of Award to Employees with Fifteen Years of Service

Diane Rousseau, Legal Office Associate

County Attorney

Presentation of Award to Employee with Twenty Years of Service

Delores Collins, Office Associate II

Environmental Utilities/Director’s Office

Cindy Heffler, Assessment & Customer Service Supervisor

Environmental Utilities/Solid Waste Programs

Supervisor of the Quarter – First Quarter 2008

Scott Merklinger, Programming & Application Support Director

Information Technology

Employee of the Quarter – First Quarter 2008

Jeannine Nelson, Employee Services Specialist

Employee Services

TEAM Award:  FOCUS Team

Jeannine Nelson, Employee Services Specialist

Employee Services

Eric Anderson, Sr. Landfill Supervisor

Environmental Utilities/Solid Waste Disposal Operations

Angi Thompson, Development Processing Manager

Growth Management/Development Processing

Sharon Tatum, Public Education Specialist

Environmental Utilities/Solid Waste Programs

Chris Patton, Public Information Coordinator

Information Outreach

Kathy Pagan, Tourism Specialist (not present)

Tourism & Business Relations

PRESENTATION

RESULTS OF DOMESTIC SELF SUPPLY STUDY

Mr. Gregg Welstead, Director of Conservation and Compliance, explained that several months ago, the Lake County Water Alliance completed a water supply study, and at the request of several of the Board members, a follow-up study of domestic self-supply wells was done.  He related that this study has been presented to several of the members of the Water Alliance and to the planners from the municipalities as well as the County’s planners.  He stated that this presentation would relate the outcome of that report.

Ms. Barbara Vergara of the St. Johns River Water Management District pointed out the draft document they handed out which summarized their efforts to investigate the potential impacts of increased domestic self supply withdrawals in east central Florida, particularly focusing on Lake County, as well as the presentation materials.  She related that they performed this investigation primarily because of a concern that was expressed by members of the Alliance that if alternative water supplies were developed in Lake County, the utilities would have to develop even more alternative uses in the future, because unregulated domestic self supply withdrawals of individual residences would proliferate, since they did not need to receive permits from the water management district, further restricting the availability of groundwater.  She opined that they learned that their concerns may be well founded.

Ms. Vergara reported that they were projecting a fairly significant increase of 85 percent in population that would depend on self supply water use in Lake County from 2013 to 2030.  She also presented a map on the overhead which showed the distribution of these projected increases during that time frame and a map showing the changes in water level in the Surficial Aquifer, which was the water-bearing unit in the sands that overlie the Florida aquifer that wetlands and lakes were typically dependant upon.  She noted that there was a fairly significant distribution that was focused largely in Lake County.  She also presented maps that showed the likelihood of harm to native vegetation and to lakes during the time period from 2013 to 2030, which showed Lake County to have some areas with high likelihood of harm.  She emphasized that most of Lake County was identified as a priority water resource caution area, which is where the district governing board had determined that there were inadequate sources of water to meet projected demands.  She summarized that more than 4,000 acres of wetlands and about 1,000 acres of lakes were likely to be unacceptably impacted by the increase in withdrawals and that Lakes Apshawa North and Apshawa South would not meet their MFL’s (minimum flows and levels) if those withdrawals occurred.  Also, Holiday Springs would be below its screening level.  She concluded that even with the alternative supplies being in effect after 2013, Lake County could still find themselves in a situation where they were still in a priority water resource cautionary because of the unregulated withdrawals.  She stated that they would be presenting their findings to the City and County Managers on June 6, and then they would have a discussion with the Lake Alliance Board on June 11.  She also related that they would be working to finalize their document, correct anything that needed to be changed, and finally to arrive at some appropriate recommendations.

Commr. Renick stated that if a development could not be served by a public utility, she thought they would have to deny it in order not to perpetuate the problems Ms. Vergara referred to.  She wanted Ms. Vergara to clarify that the damage referred to was not inevitable, but would be the result if the County developed the areas that were projected in their studies.

Ms. Vergara responded that they should not interpret it as inevitable damage, but damage that would occur if those uses came about.  She pointed out that the Water Management District was required to prevent those kinds of things from occurring, and since they could not regulate the small uses, they would regulate the large uses much more severely than they were currently regulating them. She also commented that it was a very significant issue for the utilities and the rate payers, and she thought that one possible solution would be for the County to regulate the growth in those projected areas.

Commr. Cadwell commented that he thought they would be talking about water concurrency in the next few years.  He opined that they needed to look at their own rules as they developed the Comprehensive Plan.

COUNTY MANAGER’S DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS

PUBLIC WORKS

PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT WITH AKRON MEADOWS

Mr. David Hansen, Public Lands Manager, stated that Tab 12 was approval of the contract on the Akron Meadows property, and recapped that the Board approved pursuing that property on March 25 at the regular meeting.  He informed the Board that during the due diligence process, they performed a Phase I assessment to rule out any contamination, which came back with a recognized environmental condition based on an assessment done in 2005 of increased nitrate levels in the groundwater on the property.  He reported that they have asked their continuing contract consultant to review that information and to make some recommendations, and they were currently waiting for those.

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, commented that they did not think this issue or the one in Tab 13 would be significant and suggested to the Board, since all other due diligence has occurred and there were no other problems with either of the sites, that they go ahead with approval of the contracts that were required and investigate the environmental issues.  He recommended that if the environmental issues were resolved, they go ahead and close, but if they could not resolve them, they would bring it back to the Board.  He also requested Board approval to extend the due diligence period by 30 days for each case to make sure they had enough time to get them resolved.  He commented that he believed Akron Meadows’ nitrate levels were due to the fact that it was previously a dairy, but that those levels were going down, and he thought that the consultant would be recommending that they just verify that through testing.  He also added that on the second property that would be discussed in Tab 13, there was a pump that was leaking some diesel fuel, and they thought it could be removed expeditiously.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved Tab 12, the Purchase and Sales Agreement between Lake County and Akron Meadows, LLC and to authorize the Chairman to execute the necessary closing documents and the Cattle Lease, and extending the due diligence period by 30 days to investigate all the environmental issues, as well as approval of the Tower Lease transfer.

PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT WITH KENT CALLAHAN, LTD.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved Tab 13, the Purchase and Sales Agreement between Lake County and Ken Callahan, Ltd, and to authorize the Chairman to execute closing documents, extending the due diligence period by 30 days to investigate all the environmental issues.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

FLEET CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR DCA, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION DIVISION

Mr. Ken Harley, Public Transportation Director, stated that Tab 17 was a Vehicle Contingency Plan and that they received funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to purchase transit vehicles under the 5307 as well as the 5310 programs.  He explained that the FTA required that they have a contingency plan in place to ensure that vehicles met their life expectancy requirements.  He specified that this plan outlined that the Bluebird buses that they purchased were expected to last at least ten years or 350,000 miles, and the Internationals were expected to last seven years or 200,000 miles, as well as a strategy that they could use to start replacing the 21 vehicles that MV Transportation brought into the system.  He noted that the FTA paid 80 percent of the cost of those vehicles and that they used total revenue credits to pay the additional 20 percent, so there was no cost to the County to purchase those vehicles.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved the request from Community Services for approval of the Fleet Contingency Plan for the Department of Community Services, Public Transportation Division.

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND REDEVELOPMENT

REVISED EDC MASTER AGREEMENT FOR 2008

Ms. Dottie Keedy, Economic Growth and Redevelopment Director, addressed the Board to explain that there was some changes made to the original 2008 Agreement between Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) and Lake County.

Mr. Ray Gilley, President and CEO of EDC, requested the Board’s approval of Lake County’s contract for services with the EDC for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which runs from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008.  He recapped that before submitting the contract for approval, Commr. Cadwell suggested that they outline a process of communications between the EDC, the Board, and Lake County’s Economic Development staff, so they prepared a Statement of Understanding for Lake County Projects, which appeared as an addendum to the contract.  He noted that they had met with each Commissioner to ascertain feedback and to ensure that each of them was comfortable with this proposed communication process.  He mentioned that they have delayed hiring a director for the Lake County office until the contract was approved, but after approval they intended to quickly move forward with that, with the involvement of Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager and Ms. Keedy in the hiring process.  He related that they would work with Ms. Keedy and her team to help develop and staff the newly-proposed Lake County Partnership, which would be helping to implement the TIP Economic Development Strategy Report recently adopted by the Board.

Commr. Cadwell commented that he believed that the process that they had gone through the last few months would result in a different and better relationship than they previously have had with the EDC and that the next contract might even look different than this one.

Commr. Hill stated that she believed the County’s goals, rather than the EDC strategic plan goals, should be attached to the contract, so as they evolve they would have a clear picture of those plans.  She also was concerned that the payment was population based, rather than performance based, and believed the cost should be $150,000 this year.  She mentioned that the 300,000 population figure that resulted in the $300,000 fee was incorrect.

Commr. Cadwell remarked that it would be easier to tie the payment to performance once they got the partnership together and a clear vision of where they were going.

Mr. Gilley responded that the one dollar per capita represented a fair amount and that they raised a lot of private sector money that amounted to 65 percent funding, which provided tremendous leverage for the public sector partners.  He also noted that the population figures that were used were given to them by the County.

Commr. Renick commented that it was hard to justify that Lake County was paying more than Orange and Seminole Counties.

Mr. Gilley stated that their goal was to get them all to one dollar per capita. He also pointed out that they would be working very hard with Lake County to reach all the goals that were set out.

Commr. Renick suggested that they include people from the business community in the County to be part of a panel, along with Ms. Hall and Ms. Keedy, to give them input during the process of hiring the Lake County EDC director to make sure they had the right fit for the County.

Mr. Gilley stated that he agreed that was the best way to handle the hiring process and assured the Board that they would do that.

Commr. Cadwell mentioned that he was comfortable with the Statement of Understanding and believed that the County’s goals were reflected in it.

Commr. Renick commended EDC for the job that they have been doing for Lake County during the last few months and thought that it would only get better with a specific person designated to work solely for Lake County.

Ms. Hall, in response to a conjecture of the origin of population figures, explained that the BEBR (Bureau of Economic and Business Research) population figure of 276,000 was effective April 1, 2006, but was probably not received until the end of 2006, and that the population figure of 286,000 would be the most recent one they had, which came out about three months ago.

Ms. Keedy added that the 300,000 population was just the projected figure they were looking at a year ago.

Commr. Hill thought that this particular contract should be for a population of 276,000, but that next year would reflect the 286,000 figure, if it was tied to population.

Ms. Hall stated that the staff’s suggestion was to go ahead with the contract for the current year with whatever population figure the Board was comfortable with, and perhaps they could have the discussion of changing how it would be done next time at the budget workshop.  She also explained that 276,000 would have been the number they would have known at the time they were doing the budget, but she commented that either the 276,000 or the 286,000 figure would make sense.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved the request from Economic Growth and Redevelopment for approval and signature on the revised Master Agreement for 2008 between Economic Development of Mid-Florida, Inc. and Lake County, with the Statement of Understanding for Lake County Projects and the TIP strategies attached, and which designates a dollar amount fee of $276,000.

REPORTS – COUNTY MANAGER

ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIP TO WORK ON STRATEGIC PLAN

Ms. Hall stated that a few weeks ago, the Board gave them direction to work on the ordinance that would establish the partnership to work with Ms. Keedy on the implementation of the Strategic Plan.  She found out that they would run into difficulties with the Sunshine Law, because the type of people they would like to have on this committee would be prohibited from talking to each other about anything related to economic development outside of a noticed meeting.  She related that the EDC had offered to host that partnership, and she requested direction from the Board to pursue that avenue, as opposed to by ordinance of the Board, and to come back with a framework of how that would actually work.

Commr. Cadwell commented that similar groups that were successful ran outside the realm of government.

Commr. Renick added that it would be the private sector and not government that would improve things, and the County was just supposed to facilitate it.  She commented that she believed that was the direction they needed to go, and that was the way they would really get things done.

Commr. Cadwell stated that Ms. Hall had direction to move forward with that.

COUNTY MANAGER’S DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS

PROCUREMENT – CONTRACTS WITH TLC ENGINEERING AND BCA-GAS

Mr. Barnett Schwartzman, Procurement Director, explained that this item was a request for approval to award a contract to two vendors for on-call professional services and electrical and mechanical engineering services.  He commented that this followed a normal process and had gotten adequate competition; they also did evaluations and routine selection.  He noted that the only reason it was before the Board as a departmental item was because there was some potential that this might be a fairly large dollar value contract over the course of a year.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved Tab 19, a request from Procurement to award and execute contracts with TLC Engineering for Architecture, Inc. and BCA-GAS, Inc. to provide on call electrical and mechanical engineering services.

RECESS AND REASSEMBLY

The Chairman announced at 10:20 that there would be a ten-minute recess.

PUBLIC HEARING

ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PLAZA COLLINA CDD

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, placed the proposed ordinance on the floor for reading, by title only, as follows:

AN ORDINANCE BY THE COUNTY COMMISSION OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING THE PLAZA COLLINA COMMUNITY  DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT; NAMING THE DISTRICT; DESCRIBING THE EXTERNAL BOUNDARIES OF THE DISTRICT; GRANTING SPECIAL POWERS; NAMING THE INITIAL MEMBERS OF THE DISTRICT’S BOARD OF SUPERVISORS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT AND SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Mr. Minkoff stated that they have provided to the Board the petition that was filed by the property owners to have the Community Development District (CDD) created and the written testimony that was provided by the owners of the property as well as an economic consultant and an engineering consultant regarding the works of the district.  He also had provided for them criteria that the Board was to use in considering whether or not to establish a district.

Mr. Roy Van Wyk, an attorney with Hopping Green & Sams in Tallahassee, representing the petitioner, Lake County Gateway LLC, provided proofs of publication of the hearing for four consecutive weeks from the Lake Sentinel edition of the Orlando Sentinel newspaper as one of the requirements for today’s hearing.  He also wanted to make sure for the record that the revised exhibit to the petition that was distributed earlier was included.

Mr. Minkoff stated that the Board did not have those, but the ordinance, when it was approved, would have that.  He also reported that there were some slight changes to the legal description and other documents, but nothing that would materially affect the ordinance.

Mr. Van Wyk explained that the purpose of the district was to provide a financing mechanism and not to take away any of the underlying responsibilities of the developer with respect to the planned development, and all the applicable rules and regulations still applied.  He also added that there was no modification, and it was a cost-effective way for land owners and developers to access the municipal bond market to finance offsite infrastructure improvements.  He also noted that each criterion that Mr. Minkoff talked about was addressed in the information that they sent to the Board.  He opined that that information was enough to support the approval of this ordinance and the granting of the petition, and he requested that the Board grant them the Community Development District.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

Commr. Renick stated that she was not interested in doing anything that would help this development as it was currently proposed to proceed, and she had an issue with this.

Commr. Cadwell commented that even though he understood the concerns about the developer, he thought that this would fit the criteria for a CDD district, and he hoped that this would be the mechanism that would help them do what they said they would do with the highway system.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Cadwell and carried by a vote of 2-1, the Board approved Ordinance No. 2008-26 to establish the Plaza Collina Community Development District (CDD).

Commr. Renick voted “no.”

            PUBLIC HEARING

COUNTRY GREENS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT ORDINANCE

            Mr. Minkoff placed the proposed ordinance on the floor for reading by title only, as follows:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; AMENDING THE LAKE COUNTY ORDINANCE NO. 1991-16, EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF COUNTRY GREENS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, PURSUANT TO 190.046, FLORIDA STATUTES; CONSENTING TO DISTRICT’S EXERCISE OF ADDITIONAL POWERS TO FINANCE, FUND, PLAN, ESTABLISH, ACQUIRE, CONSTRUCT, ENLARGE OR EXTEND, EQUIP, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN SYSTEMS AND FACILITIES FOR SECURITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE LAKE COUNTY CODE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

            Mr. Minkoff explained that this ordinance involved a CDD that currently existed and that several months ago, the Board approved an expansion of this development.  He stated that the ordinance enlarged the CDD to include this new territory and slightly changed the authority of the CDD itself.  He informed the Board that the advertising had been done and written testimony had been submitted, which would be delivered to the Clerk to be made part of the record.

            Mr. Roy Van Wyk stated he was representing the petitioner in this case, which was Country Greens Development District and that he served as counsel to the district.  He explained that they were annexing to the district the additional 160 acres that was previously approved by the Board for the development in Sorrento.  He entered into the record a copy of the amended petition, which was amended to reflect the actual project that was approved by the Board, along with the profile testimony supporting all the requirements for the amendment as contained in Florida Statute.

            The Chairman opened the public hearing.

            There being no one who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved Ordinance No. 2008-27 pertaining to the Country Greens Community Development District.

            OTHER BUSINESS

            APPOINTMENT TO LPA

            Commr. Hill recommended appointing Mr. Jeffrey Schaffer to fill the vacant Commission District 1 seat on the Local Planning Agency (LPA) to complete an unexpired term.  She commented that he was a professional engineer and that he has been keeping up with the LPA meetings.

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board appointed Mr. Jeffrey Schaffer to fill the vacant Commission District 1 seat on the LPA to complete an unexpired term ending January 31, 2009.

            APPOINTMENT TO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

            On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board appointed Ms. Marie Wuenschel to a vacant District 3 seat on the Board of Adjustment to complete an unexpired term ending January 31, 2009.

REPORTS – COUNTY ATTORNEY

PARKING ON COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTY ON ALFRED STREET

Mr. Minkoff related that some of the employees from the Judicial Center were parking in the parking lot of County-owned property on Alfred Street, commonly known as the Pruett-Williams building, across from the Judicial Center and walking across Old Hwy 441 to work.  He asked to reserve five of those spaces in that lot to be used for clients of the businesses that were tenants of that building and to have them marked as “tow away” zones.

The Board gave consensus for them to do that.

            TERMINATION OF HEALTH DEPARTMENT LEASES

            Mr. Minkoff reported that the Health Department was closing the Clermont clinic because of budgetary reasons, so they have exercised their option to terminate that lease.  He related that that was costing them the payment of two months extra rent, which was the penalty to get out of the lease.  He also stated that the Health Department has requested that they terminate the lease on the medical building on US Hwy 441 in Mount Dora, and they were taking steps to terminate that agreement.

            MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE - LADY LAKE SHERIFF SUBSTATION BUILDING

            Mr. Minkoff informed the Board that a mortgage foreclosure was filed on the Lady Lake Sheriff Substation building, where the County was a tenant, and that they were in contact with the landlord and the mortgage company.  He commented that there did not seem to be an imminent problem.

REPORTS – COUNTY MANAGER

            MEMORIAL DAY REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY

            Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, informed the Board that the Lake County Democratic Party has asked to hold a Memorial Day Remembrance ceremony on the lawn of the historic courthouse on Memorial Day, as they have done in past years.

            REPORTS – COMMISSIONER HILL – VICE CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 1

            CESSATION OF IMPACT FEE UPDATE STUDIES

            Commr. Hill recapped that on April 17, the Impact Fee Committee made a recommendation to the Board concerning the remaining impact fee update studies for the separate impact fees of fire, parks, and libraries by Tindale-Oliver.  She stated that the committee was going to recommend that no further funding be expended to complete those studies at this time, and they had estimates that completing these studies would cost about $60,000.  She explained that if they completed them and they were not brought forward for a year to two years, the data may be obsolete by the time it was presented, due to factors such as legislative action and the tax structure, and they may have to recalculate the entire impact fee model totally.

            Commr. Renick commented that she thought those studies were completed.

            Mr. Minkoff explained that fire was the most complete, but they were going back and looking at call data to verify it with the study that GSG had done, so they could combine that.  He related that they had issues trying to resolve what to do with municipal impact fees for parks and libraries.

            Ms. Angie Thompson, Development Processing Manager, Growth Management Department, clarified that the other issue with the studies at this point was that the consultant felt that the data would need to be updated because of the amount of time that had elapsed since it was initially put together, in addition to all of the issues that Mr. Minkoff referenced.  She also added that another reason for the committee’s recommendation to the Board was that they did not feel that the economic climate was right to bring them back at this time.

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board moved to place this item on the Agenda.

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried by a vote of 2-1, the Board voted to suspend the update impact fee studies for fire, parks, and libraries, per the recommendation of the Impact Fee Committee.

            Commr. Renick voted “no.”

            REPORTS – COMMISSIONER STIVENDER – DISTRICT 3

            PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK

            The Chairman recognized Proclamation No. 2008-64, which had already been approved at a previous Board meeting on April 22, designating May 12 through May 20, 2008 as National Tourism Week, stating that the original would be signed within the week.

            Mr. Greg Mihalic, Tourism and Business Relations Director, stated that in recognition of National Tourism Week, they were going to have a Tourism Day at the Lake County Welcome Center on Highway 27 on Friday, May 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  He related that some of the things scheduled for that event included autographs and a presentation by the American Strong Man Corporation, a presentation on the Florida Scrub Jay by BB Brown’s Gardens, a canoeing and kayaking presentation by Central Florida Nature Adventures, free carriage rides from Hitch ‘N Time Carriages, petting and observation of alpacas from Land of Green Ginger Alpacas, a hot air balloon display by Rohr Balloons, and the sampling of fresh baked goods from the Yalaha Country Bakery.

            Commr. Cadwell commented that the last report sent out regarding the bed tax showed that the numbers were good in spite of the problems with the economy.

            Mr. Mihalic reported that they were up about two percent last month and about three percent for the year.  He believed that the fluctuations that they previously had experienced have evened out, and he was hoping for a positive year.

            COMMISSIONER CADWELL – CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 5

            EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WEEK PROCLAMATION

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board approved the execution of Proclamation No. 2008-71 designating May 18-24 as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week.

            Mr. Jim Judge, Director of Lake-Sumter EMS, stated that this was the 35th year for the nationwide EMS week activities.  He thanked the Board on behalf of all the first responders, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers, emergency room nurses, and physicians in Lake and Sumter Counties for the proclamation and designation of EMS week.

            LAKE COUNTY SOCCER CLUB FUNDING

            Commr. Cadwell explained that because of the rulings from the State, the Lake County Water Authority could not help the Lake County Soccer Club which operated at Hickory Point Park any longer, as they had in previous years.  He stated that volunteers fertilized and did all the other work on the fields, but the actual cost of that maintenance was $20,000 a year, and without the help from the Water Authority, they could not exist.  He related that they requested that the Board help them with that amount.  He pointed out that the County had almost $230,000 invested in that facility, and he did not think they should just walk away from it, especially since this was the only facility in this part of the County for that type of activity.

            On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 3-0, the Board voted to grant the request for funding from the Lake County Soccer Club in the amount of $20,000.

            MPO REQUEST FOR FUNDING OF PLAZA COLLINA’S SECTION  OF HWY 50

            Commr. Cadwell stated that he knew that the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) had instructed Mr. T. J. Fish, MPO Executive Director, to come before the Board to make a request that the County commit the funding for the construction of the section of Highway 50 that Plaza Collina was responsible for funding.  He commented that he was not willing to commit that funding today, but he was also not willing to let that project die.  He knew that at some point they might have to make some hard decisions, but he thought they had some time to see if Plaza Collina would do what they said they would do regarding this matter.

            Commr. Renick was concerned that even with the extension given to Plaza Collina, the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) was looking for some kind of commitment prior to that.

            Mr. Fish explained that the MPO action was enough to assure DOT that the County was strategizing to not let the grant slip away, which was the key thing that they wanted to know immediately.  He added that the next issue would be that if the deadline was missed at the end of June, then they would have serious issues that would need to get resolved quickly with formal action to get the local match in place.

            Commr. Cadwell commented that he did not want to take the pressure off of Plaza Collina at this point to do what they were supposed to do.

            CITIZEN QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD

            Mr. Roy Hunter, Northeast Lake Chamber of Commerce, talked about a situation in Lake Kathryn where the community and government worked together.  He related that a woman from that area that was in an automobile accident had been in and out of nursing homes and hospitals, and her home was in disarray.  He also mentioned that her son was a Vietnam veteran who also needed and received some help.  He stated that government officials and members of the Hope Lutheran Church helped to clean the inside and outside of the home.  He also reported that there was a Northeast Lake Chamber of Commerce meeting on May 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Spring Creek Elementary School cafeteria, where Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Operations Manager, Emergency Management, would give a presentation on what to do before, during, and after an emergency.  He added that there would be a speaker there to give a presentation on Medicare Part A.

            ADJOURNMENT

            There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

 

 

                                                                        ____________________________________

                                                                        WELTON CADWELL, CHAIRMAN

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

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NEIL KELLY, CLERK