A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
2008 STATE OF THE COUNTY ADDRESS
OCTOBER 14, 2008
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners
met in special session on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., in the Board
of County Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Lake
County Administration
Building, Tavares,
Florida, for the 2008 State of the County Address. Commissioners present at the meeting were:
Welton G. Cadwell, Chairman; Jennifer Hill, Vice Chairman; Elaine Renick; and
Linda Stewart. Commissioner Debbie
Stivender was not present, due to illness.
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; Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance;
and Sandra Carter, Deputy Clerk.
OPENING REMARKS
Commr. Welton Cadwell, Chairman,
welcomed those present to the 2008 State of the County Address,
at which time he recognized his fellow Commissioners, Commr. Jennifer Hill,
Vice Chairman; Commr. Elaine Renick; and Commr. Linda Stewart. He then recognized Mr. Bob McKee, Lake County
Tax Collector; Mr. Neil Kelly, Clerk of the Courts; Sheriff Gary Borders; city
elected officials; the new Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Susan Moxley;
Chairman of the Lake County School Board, Mr. Larry Metz; Ms. Cindy Barrow and
Ms. Kyleen Fischer, Lake County School Board Members; Mr. Jimmy Connor, former
Lake County School Board Member and newly elected Commissioner to the Board of
County Commissioners; staff from Representative Alan Hays’ office; Ms. Cindy
Hall, County Manager; and Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, who were present
in the audience, as well as staff from the Information Outreach Department, who
prepared today’s presentation, under the direction of Ms. Kelly LaFollette,
Director.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Chaplain
Bob Whitworth, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, gave the Invocation and Sheriff
Gary Borders led the Pledge of Allegiance.
2008
WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Commr.
Jennifer Hill announced that the Lake County Women’s Hall of Fame, which was
created by the Board of County Commissioners in 1995 and has enshrined 23
inspiring and outstanding community leaders since that time, will now enshrine
two additional inductees for 2008, being Ms. Harriette Mann and Ms. Mary Annie
Morse Nutt. She provided a brief
narrative on the accomplishments of Ms. Mann, noting that she was being
inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame for her dedication to the Leesburg Food
Bank, having volunteered there for 30 years, as well as her dedication and
volunteerism to the Salvation Army, the March of Dimes, and the YMCA. She commented that Ms. Mann was also recently
honored for her volunteerism at the Leesburg Food Bank by the Florida Council
on Aging at its annual luncheon and ceremony.
Ms. Mann was then presented with a plaque commemorating her induction
into the 2008 Women’s Hall of Fame.
Commr.
Linda Stewart introduced the second 2008 Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, Ms. Mary
Annie Morse Nutt, at which time she provided a brief narrative on the
accomplishments of Ms. Nutt, noting that she was one of Lake County’s
true pioneers. She stated that Ms. Nutt
passed away on June 21, 1944, but her legacy lives on in so many facets of the Lake County
community, from Grand Island to the City of Tavares. Ms. Nutt, who taught school in the County,
organized the first Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) in the entire State;
formed the first Women’s Club, which later evolved into the Tavares Women’s
Club; was instrumental in the formation of the Boy Scout Troop in Tavares,
which was later recognized as the oldest Scout Troop in the entire State;
donated, along with her husband, five acres of land for the formation of the
Tavares Baptist Church and then ran pipes to the church from their well, as
well as provided their carriage house as the pastor’s residence; and she headed
a women’s group in the Grand Island community.
She was not only a philanthropist and community servant, but a
successful business woman. She helped
her husband, the Mayor of Tavares and the County’s first elected Tax Assessor
at the time, and from the knowledge she gained about property values, started
her own insurance company. Her finest
act of civic, unselfish pride was when she and her husband agreed to buy the
struggling Osceola Office Building
and Hotel and renovated it, to attract people and business to the City of Tavares. The granddaughter of Ms. Nutt, Ms. Barbara
Annie Reese, was presented with a plaque commemorating the induction of her
grandmother into the 2008 Women’s Hall of Fame.
GREEN
FAIR SPONSORS
Commr.
Elaine Renick informed those present that being good stewards of the land is
what is done in good times, as well as bad times, and that she was very proud
to be part of a Board that is committed to being good stewards of the
land. She stated that their focus is on
sustainable initiatives and promoting green practices and that the County has
put together a “Green Team” to advise them on all things green, what they
should be doing, and Ordinances that they should be putting in place to
accomplish those tasks, noting that the County currently has a Green Building
Ordinance and is working on putting together Landscape and Irrigation
Ordinances. She commented that one of
their initiatives will be a Green Fair, scheduled to be held at Wooten Park,
from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on November 1, 2008, at which time she recognized
the various Green Fair sponsors who were present in the audience.
STATE
OF THE COUNTY MESSAGE
Commr.
Welton Cadwell, Chairman, presented a video presentation for the 2008 State of
the County Address,
which explained that Lake
County continues to
unveil aggressive and unique programs, with the purpose of improving and
protecting its natural surroundings, from its Adopt-a-Lake Program to its Green
Building Ordinance. It is on the cutting
edge of identifying and implementing effective “green” solutions. The road to sustainability is long and not
without challenges, but “Walking A Green Path” is what living, working, and
visiting Lake County is all about. The video further explained what the County
has done, with regard to enhancing customer service, stretching taxpayers’
dollars, and engaging in conservation efforts, as well as leading the way in
sustainable living, by protecting its natural resources, promoting a sense of
responsibility to the environment, and easing financial constraints through
reduced costs in electricity and fuel. A
cooperative effort between the Board, county staff, the Constitutional
Officers, and many of the County’s partner organizations effectively addressed
legislative budget reductions. As a
cohesive unit, they met new financial considerations, while protecting Lake County’s
services that support the community’s expectations and quality of life that its
citizens enjoy. Leading by example, Lake County
is establishing a baseline for community partners to follow to ensure that the
beauty of the County’s sparkling lakes and rolling hills is shard with future
generations. With an inspired commitment
and a helping hand from its citizens, Lake County
is “Walking A Green Path” with resolve, inspiration, and determination.
SPECIAL
RECOGNITION
A
special recognition of Commr. Debbie Stivender, District 3, was slated for this
meeting; however, due to unforeseen circumstances, that presentation will take
place at a later date.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to
be brought to the attention of those present, the State of the County Address
was adjourned at 9:45 a.m.
____________________________________
WELTON
G. CADWELL, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
__________________________
NEIL KELLY,
CLERK