A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

APRIL 21, 2009

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 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:  Welton G. Cadwell, Chairman; Jennifer Hill, Vice Chairman; Jimmy Conner; Elaine Renick; and Linda Stewart.  Others present were:  Sanford A. “Sandy” Minkoff, County Attorney; Cindy Hall, County Manager; Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Barbara F. Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance; Neil Kelly, Clerk of Court; and Susan Boyajan, Deputy Clerk.

INVOCATION

Pastor Brooks Braswell from the First Baptist Church of Umatilla gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Agenda update

There were no changes made to the Agenda.

MINUTE APPROVAL

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of March 17, 2009 (Regular Meeting) as presented and March 24, 2009 (Regular Meeting) as presented.

CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda, Items 1 through 6, 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

Request to acknowledge receipt of Monthly Distribution of Revenue Traffic/Criminal Cases, for the Month Ending March 31, 2009, in the amount of $209,061.82.  Same period, last year:  $204,856.48.

Lake-Sumter Community College Financial Audit for FY ended 6/30/08

Request to acknowledge receipt of Lake-Sumter Community College Financial Audit for Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2008.

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for FY ended 9/30/08

Request to acknowledge receipt of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2008.

Petition for Rate Increase of Progress Energy Florida, Inc.

Request to acknowledge receipt of Petition for Rate Increase of Progress Energy Florida, Inc., Docket No. 090079, which Progress Energy filed with the Florida Public Service Commission on March 20, 2009 in accordance with Rule 25-22.0406(2).

City of Mascotte’s Annual CRA Annual Report for FY 2007/08

Request to acknowledge receipt of Copy of City of Mascotte’s Annual CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2007-2008.

presentation of comprehensive annual financial report

Mr. Neil Kelly, Clerk of Court, thanked Ms. Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance, and recognized Ms. Kristy Mullane, Mr. Kevin McDonald, Ms. Tracy Zeller, Ms. Joanne Drury, Ms. Karen Huffman, Ms. Connie Rodgers, and Ms. Courtney Thompson as members of the Finance staff who helped prepare the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

Ms. Lehman recognized Ms. Maggie Contreras, Graphic Artist II, Information Outreach, for the design of the cover of the report and Ms. Dianna Magrum, Document Services Coordinator in the Reprographics Department, who bound all the reports.

Mr. Daniel O’Keefe from Moore, Stephens, and Lovelace, P.A., presented the audit report with a power point presentation.  He mentioned that there were 12 new auditing standards this past year that they had to apply to Lake County and that the complexity of the audit was growing.   He pointed out a transmittal letter in the Introductory Section of the report that gave some highlights of the operations that occurred during the year and the Financial Section containing a Management’s Discussion and Analysis which gave a narrative overview and analysis of the financial activities of Lake County government for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008.  He also commented that the Financial Statements portion was the “heart and soul” of the document, and the Statistical Section gave a ten-year historical analysis of what has occurred in the County.  He explained that the Report of Independent Certified Public Accountants found on Page 13 was important, because it was an unqualified opinion as to whether or not they could rely on the financial statements and whether the financial statements were fairly presented.  He added that there was a report within the document dealing with their federal grants in the Compliance Section and mentioned that the County had several federal and state grants that they had to deal with, for which his firm had to audit and render an opinion on compliance for those individual grants.

Mr. O’Keefe reported that the total assets of the County, as seen on the Statement of Net Assets on Page 33, showed that the County has assets of approximately $707 million and the total liquidity of the County indicated that the County could meet its current obligations.  He related that the long term debt-to-equity ratio was about 2.02 percent, which indicated that they still probably had some debt capacity.  He reported that the activity data in the report indicated total revenues were $266 million and total expenses were $256 million, with a change in net assets at $16 million.  He presented some comparative data of Lake County to other counties, including the general fund unreserved fund balance as a percentage of their general fund expenditures of 27 percent, which was an acceptable figure, but a little lower than some other nearby counties. He also pointed out that the amount of Lake County’s per capita government expenditures were in line with other counties and that the County’s per capita governmental debt was the second lowest of the ones he presented, which he felt also demonstrated that the County still had some debt capacity.  He concluded by opining that the way the County manages their government would be at the fund level and to focus their attention more on the general fund and budgetary comparison schedules that are in the report by fund.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to accept the audit by Moore, Stephens, and Lovelace, P.A presented in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

Commr. Renick requested that they pull Tab 14.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 3 through 18, pulling Tab 14, as follows:

Budget

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

1.  Budget Transfer – General Fund, Clerk of Courts, In-House Support.  Transfer $46,120 from Reserve for Operations to Clerk's In-House Support - Communications ($15,745) and Rentals and Leases ($30,375).  Funds are needed for the lease and communications costs associated with the lease space for the Clerk's Office at 323 N. Sinclair Avenue, Tavares.  The lease agreement and associated costs were approved by the Board of County Commissioners on December 16, 2008.  Funds are available in Reserve for Operations.  After this transfer, the balance in the Reserve for Operations account will be $326,975.

2.  Resolution No. 2009-49 to amend the Environmental Recovery Fund in order to receive unanticipated revenue for Fiscal Year 2008-09 in the amount of $1,498 deposited into Other Grants and provide appropriations for the disbursement for Reprographics.  Revenue will be received from the Lake County Water Authority through the Community Mini-Grant Program for water resource awareness.

Request for approval to transfer budget reductions totaling $2,330,340 from BCC departmental budgets to the General Fund Reserve for Fund Balance.

Community Services

Request for approval of Resolution No. 2009-50 to amend Letter of Agreement (LOA) approved by Board on February 3, 2009, Resolution #2009-13 between Suwannee River Area Health Education Center, Inc. and LCBCC that will include Diabetes Self-management education; and approval from Chairman or designee to sign LOA.

Request for approval and signature of 3 copies of Amendment 2 to the FY 07-08 CDBG Partnership Agreement with the City of Tavares. Commission District 3.

Procurement

Request that the Board 1) declare the items on the attached list(s) surplus to County needs, (2) authorize the removal of all of the items on the attached lists from the County’s official fixed asset inventory system records, and (3) authorize the Procurement Services Director or designee to sign vehicle titles.

Request for approval to award RFP 09-0021, Consultant for Neighborhood Stabilization Plan, to Guardian Community Resource Management, Inc. in the amount of $180,000.

Public Works

Request for approval of Amendment #2 for the Getford Road Regional Stormwater Pond. Commission District 4.

Request for approval of LAP Agreement and supporting Resolution No. 2009-51 between Lake County and the Florida Department of Transportation for the construction of paved shoulder improvements on CR 42. Commission District 5.

Request for authorization and signature to submit the revised modification number two to the subgrant agreement between the Division of Emergency Management and Lake County Board of County Commissioners regarding the acquisition and demolition of the Stockdill property at 11706 Lake Clair Circle.

Request for approval of Resolution No. 2009-52 to receive unanticipated revenue for fiscal year 2009 in the amount of $5,000,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation as part of the Transportation Regional Incentive Program Agreement for the construction of CR-466. Commission District 5.

Request for approval of Resolution No. 2009-53 recognizing observance of 'Motorcycle Safety Awareness' for the month of May 2009.

Request for authorization to release a maintenance bond in the amount of $25,496.98 posted for Apiary Pointe. Apiary Pointe consists of 16 lots and is located in Section 31, Township 18 South, Range 26 East. Commission District 5.

Request to execute a corrected Resolution No. 2009-55 and assessment roll for the Special Assessment Project # 101. This project is located in the Venetian Village Subdivision, Section 15, Township 20, Range 26, Commission District 3.

Request for approval of First Amendment to Impact Fee Agreement with the Cove at Lady Lake Partners.  Commission District 5.

Request for authorization to accept the final plat for Pillars Cove Partial Replat and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Pillars Cove Partial Replat plat.  Pillars Cove Partial Replat consists of 2 lots and is located in Section 11, Township 23 South, Range 25 East.  Commission District 2.

Commr. Renick asked if they could postpone Tab 14, because she would like more information on that project before they went through with the road vacation.

Commr. Cadwell brought up that this was just the approval to advertise for the public hearing regarding the road vacation.

Commr. Renick commented that since this was just to advertise, she would withdraw her concerns.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 14, the request from Public Works for approval and signature of Resolution No. 2009-54 to Advertise Public Hearing for Vacation Petition No. 1142, Max Lenker (RaceTrac) to vacate right of way and cease maintenance on a portion of Causey Drive (@2240), in the Plat of Shore Oaks Village, in the Clermont area.  Commission District 2.

COUNTY ATTORNEY’S CONSENT AGENDA

Commr. Renick stated that on Tabs 19 and 20, she was concerned that they were looking at $15 per square foot for the lease in Clermont and only $12 per square foot in Eustis and wanted to know why there was that difference between the two.  She asked if the Board wanted to have staff go back and try and renegotiate the lease again for the space in Clermont. 

Commr. Cadwell asked Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, if the spaces were comparable.

Mr. Minkoff reported that the Clermont space was about 7,000 square feet and was the current site of the Clermont Library, and the Eustis site was the Public Works building, which was about twice that size.  He explained that the biggest difference between the two of them was that the Clermont lease was just for a period of three or four months, but the Public Works renewal was for a period of years.  He also pointed out that his staff was able to negotiate the lease in Eustis down to $12 from the original renewal asking price of over $14 per square foot.

Commr. Conner stated that they needed to be more aggressive in paying less money on their leases, and he believed that they needed to take advantage of the market.  He also mentioned that he would like to negotiate the $12 a square foot price down even further if possible on Tab 20.

Commr. Cadwell asked Mr. Minkoff about the cost involved in moving out of the buildings they were currently in.  He also pointed out that they were only going to be in the Clermont space for a few more months.

Mr. Minkoff assured the Board that they were fairly aggressive in their leases, and they were seeing great declines in the prices of rentals.  He also mentioned that if they were unable to negotiate an extension, then they would have to close the library for that three or four month period, which would be a detriment to that department.  He clarified that to move Public Works out of Eustis would cost $100,000 to $150,000.

Commr. Renick commented that she was disappointed that C & P Partnership was not even willing to work with the County regarding the Clermont lease but that she understood about the move.

Mr. Minkoff clarified that the Eustis lease was the Health Department lease and not the Public Works lease.  He noted that medical type space, however, was usually harder to get at a cheaper price.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart, and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Attorney’s Consent Agenda, Tab 19 as follows:

Request for approval of Amendment to Lease Agreement with C & P Partnership for library space in Clermont. Commission District 2.

Commr. Conner asked what the terms of the lease in Tab 20 were, whether there were any increases, and what the escape clause was for the County.

Mr. Minkoff responded that the escape clause was 90-days written notice, and the price was actually a reduction from what they were currently paying with a cost savings of about $1546 per month.  He added that it was a two-year lease with no increase during that term, with an additional option to renew with a three percent increase.

Commr. Cadwell pointed out that it was specific to the medical services they provided.

Commr. Conner indicated that he would be willing to compromise, but when the Public Works Building that they have been paying $15 per square foot comes back to the Board, he would be taking a hard line stand to get that reduced.

Ms. Quinnette Durkin, Property Manager, informed the Board that the landlord was not originally offering any reduction whatsoever on this lease, and they had to negotiate with him by pointing out the market conditions and that there was other lease space available out there.

Mr. Minkoff added that they had recently leased some space for the Health Department in the Leesburg area, where they looked at many properties, and the rents were fairly consistent for physician space with this rental.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 20 as follows:

Request for approval of Second Amendment to the Lease Agreement for County Health Department space located in the Van Dee Medical Building in Eustis. Commission District 4.

presentations

black bear scenic byway committee

Mr. Tony Erlicht, Chairman of the Corridor Management Entity (CME), with the Black Bear Scenic Byway Management Program explained that the Black Bear Scenic Byway was 123 miles total in length and ran from Silver River State Park to the west all the way over to Ormond Beach to the east, with spurs leading into Lake County and Alexander Springs.  He reported that the six types of intrinsic resources were cultural, historic, archeological, recreational, natural, and scenic and that this area and Florida in general had a wealth of these resources.  He related that their mission statement was to enhance, encourage and promote the preservation and protection of the outstanding natural, ecological, cultural and historic resources of the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway for its residents, inhabitants, visitors and future generations.  He showed some slides which showed some of the intrinsic resources and beautiful scenes in their corridor.  Some economic benefits to the designation of the scenic highway were heritage tourism, which generates $3.271 billion; $5.9 million in wildlife associated recreation; and $4.5 billion spent for cultural events.  He pointed out that the Florida Scenic Highway Program was non-regulatory, and he thanked Lake County for including the overlay district on the Byway in their Comprehensive Plan.  He reported that $335,869,140 of their funding from 1993-2008 came from the National Scenic Byways Program (NSBP), the Discretionary Grant Program, and private funding; and $11,130,834 came from the State of Florida, which is the highest amount given of any state.  He noted that they had an enthusiastic and dedicated CME (Corridor Management Entity) which did a lot of public outreach activities and that they had a wide variety of organizations and individuals as members, partners, and stakeholders; and he emphasized that Lake County has provided strong support.

Mr. Erlicht listed some of the CME’s accomplishments, including obtaining Florida Scenic Highway designation in 2008, establishing a web site for the byway, publishing a brochure, getting incorporated in the State of Florida, and coordinating with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on various projects.  Some of the future projects he mentioned were to obtain 501(c)(3) status for contributions from private individuals, to raise more private and corporate funds, and to obtain grants from national and state agencies.  He mentioned a large celebration they will be having on October 24, 2009 at Camp Ocala to celebrate their designation as both a state and national scenic byway and that they would be asking some Lake County officials to be present and participate in their ribbon-cutting ceremony at that event.  He stated that they have established a Friends of the Black Bear Scenic Byway organization and are trying to get people involved on a limited basis.

Commr. Stewart commented that this was a wonderful cooperative effort among four counties to make sure the outcome was a very positive one, and it was a very worthy cause.

president’s award to pear association

Ms. Helena Osborne-Ponsi, Volunteer Coordinator, Community Services, stated that they were there to recognize the PEAR Association, and this was the first time VolunteerLAKE had in its 16 years of existence a group complete the certification process and qualify for this prestigious award.  She asked Commr. Cadwell to present this award to Mr. Gary Salzman, who was accepting the award as president of the PEAR Association.  She related that the President’s award is in recognition of their outstanding volunteer service in 2008 of 10,675 documented service hours to Lake County, which has saved the County about $220,000.

Mr. Salzman stated that the River Trail was the first project that the PEAR Association undertook.  He mentioned that they had many volunteers, and read off a list of 20 that were present.  He also announced that Tuesday mornings starting at 8:00 a.m. were their normal workdays at the park and invited anyone that wanted to join them.

Ms. Osborne-Ponsi also recognized Mr. Bobby Bonilla, Parks Director, Park and Trails, for his guidance at that park.

health department programs

Ms. Pam Steinke, Administrator, Lake County Health Department, updated the Board on some of the clinical programs that they were providing to the under-insured and uninsured residents in Lake County, and she mentioned that last week was Public Health Week.  She stated that the mission of the Lake County Health Department was to promote and protect the health and safety of Lake County residents.  She related that their women’s wellness service was provided in their Leesburg and Umatilla clinics.  One of the programs she highlighted was the Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Program (RPIC), which mostly served low-income women that could not provide their own transportation to Shand’s Hospital and some of the major universities and was provided to any Lake County woman who has a high-risk pregnancy on a fee-for-service basis.  She reported that last year this program served 200 women in Lake County.  She also noted that they also continue to provide a wide range of family planning, STD testing and treatment, and HIV testing and referral.  She was excited that they applied for and recently received a Susan G. Komen Grant to assist low-income and uninsured women with screening and diagnostics and emphasized that they wrote the grant specifically for 40-49 year old women, since there was already a breast cancer program that serves women from 50-64 in the state that they refer patients to.  She stated that they were the sole provider of maternity service and deliveries to uninsured women in the County who go through an eligibility program, and she mentioned that they do about 66 percent of all Florida Hospital Waterman’s deliveries.  She warned that the program was at risk due to the shortage of obstetricians to cover it.  She related that their challenges were getting women into the Medicaid system, increased shortage of OB providers, transportation for patients, and that they were seeing more high risk maternity patients.

Ms. Steinke pointed out that their Lake Children’s Dentistry program was reaching more children than ever, that more than 50 percent of children ages 5-9 have at least one cavity, and that by age 17 nearly 80 percent have a cavity.  She talked about another grant that they applied for that would serve uninsured people in the State of Florida between the ages of 19 through 64 who earned up to 200 percent of the poverty level, with the goal being to reduce emergency room visits, focus on chronic disease, help with prescription assistance, and assist in enrolling in insurance programs such as Medicaid and Kidcare.  She recognized the individual and the organization that received this year’s Public Health Hero Awards, which were Sandra Turner, who managed Wellness Services at Leesburg Regional Medical Center; and Gold’s Gym in Mount Dora.

woodlea sports complex

Mr. Bobby Bonilla, Parks and Trails Director, stated that they have had meetings with the City of Tavares regarding the Woodlea Sports Complex, and he mentioned that the Parks, Recreation, and Trails Advisory Board has provided full support of this project.  He noted that it was more cost feasible for the County to coordinate and partner with the municipalities to develop these kind of facilities.  He related that this was consistent with the Park Master Plan to try to meet the needs of the citizens in terms of recreation and variety of programs.

Ms. Tammy Rogers from the City of Tavares gave an overview of the project and commented that this was a very important project.  She gave a brief history, stating that in 1987 the City purchased a 40-acre parcel of land on Woodlea Road located in the middle of Lake County, and in 1995 the City built the small Woodlea Sports Complex that is currently there. She noted that since 1994, participation in the City’s recreational programs has increased by more than 500 percent.  She reported that they just completed a Master Plan of their park system, and all indications point to a need for additional sports fields, especially since the population of Tavares is expected to double over the next 25 years.  She pointed out that a majority of their baseball and softball participants of all ages live outside of the city limits of Tavares, with many of those living in unincorporated Lake County.  She stated that currently their city leaders have invested a total of $1,365,803 in this project for the purchase of land, completion of a Parks Master Plan, grading plan, environmental due diligence, land survey, and design and engineering.  She commented that they needed a financial partnership with Lake County to supply the $900,000 additional funding needed to be able to complete Phase I, which included two ball fields, an additional parking area, and a stormwater retention area.  She opined that it will be a meaningful and purposeful project for central Lake County and a regional park that would serve many for years to come.

Commr. Conner informed the Board that they were not asking for a financial commitment today, and clarified that this was not going to move ahead of any project currently in the County’s plan, but was just getting in line as a joint project sometime in the future.  He pointed out that it would be advantageous to the County, because the fact that the City of Tavares has property there already is a great benefit to them.  He stated that the Advisory Board recommended and voted unanimously for the County to consider that this could be a regional park, and he asked support for that.

Commr. Cadwell directed Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, to look at where some of the other park projects were and to maybe borrow some money from a project such as one in Clermont that was three or four years out in order to move forward with a project like this that was ready to go.  He also thought they could possibly commit funds and stretch it over the total time period of construction.

Commr. Renick stated that she informed some officials from the City of Clermont that they were not planning on going forward with anything right now, but the County still planned on building a park out there with the money that was set aside for that purpose when they could do it.

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, related that the City of Clermont was anticipating vacating the spray field sometime late spring or early summer this year.

Commr. Hill inquired whether the County was committing funds to the Miracle League ball field on Lake Idamere.

Ms. Hall stated that they committed land but not funds for that, and that was more of a private endeavor.

Mr. Bonilla clarified that there was no money set aside for that field, and the volunteers were supposed to raise money and get the design on track, and then the County would coordinate the additional expansion to that park of possibly a softball field.

Commr. Cadwell commented that if they were going to joint partner with the City, it would be better to move the Lake Idamere field to Woodlea.  He also stated that he wanted County staff to be part of the planning and construction with any interlocal they enter into with the City of Tavares.  He commented that once they became partners with the City, those dollars they have been giving the cities for additional money should stop for all cities except Clermont.

Commr. Stewart brought up that the County sometimes loses the opportunity to host national college tournaments for lack of a location which contained five fields.

Commr. Cadwell commented that the Woodlea location had the acreage for that.

Commr. Renick pointed out that the conceptual plan for the field at South Lake would also have five fields.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the acceptance of the recommendation of the Advisory Board for consideration of a partnership in the development of the Woodlea Sports Complex to also serve as a central regional park.

recess and reassembly

At 10:35 a.m. the Chairman announced that there would be a ten-minute recess.

update of department of economic growth and redevelopment

Ms. Dottie Keedy, Director of Economic Growth and Redevelopment, gave the Board a quarterly update and stated that they have been working on implementing the strategic plan that was adopted in 2008.  She recapped that one of the first recommendations contained in the plan was to create the Economic Development Advisory Council, which has had two meetings.  She explained that four committees have been created from that Council: Workforce, Marketing, Infrastructure, and Industry Cluster; and three subcommittees have been formed from those four, which are agritech, health and wellness, and physical infrastructure. Committee recommendations will be due to the advisory council at their next meeting in June.  The second recommendation of the plan was to develop the internal resources for the County, and they have done that.  She noted that their department is fully staffed, and they were in the process of trying economic impact software which would allow them to create economic impact statements for any number of projects.  They also have new incentive policies which will come before the Board shortly, and they have implemented a fast-track permitting system in conjunction with the Growth Management Department, which she opined has been going very well.  She specified that they have been working on that for about a year and have had some good responses from companies that have gone through the process. She reported that they were also working with UCF (University of Central Florida) on the Leesburg Business and Technology Incubator and were about to hire a staff person.  She reported that they have attended 14 company visitations in the last three or four months, some in conjunction with the Business Resource Center.  She also stated that they have initiated an industry cluster analysis, and they have purchased data which allows them to look at all businesses in Lake County, what kind of business they are, where they were located, their sales, and number of employees; and to manipulate that data to analyze what they have and what they needed to work on.

Ms. Keedy related that they have also been working to meet with all the large property owners north of State Road 46 and the proposed office employment center, and they were all aware of the proposed designation and the impact that the Wekiva Parkway will have on that property when it is built.  They were working closely with the City of Mount Dora to eventually master plan that property to make sure the parcels are preserved for development at the time the parkway is built.  She stated that they were developing utility plans for the Granville Road area in Clermont to provide utilities to an underserved industrial area.  They have completed the Notice of Proposed Change for the Christopher Ford Commerce Park DRI (Development of Regional Impact).  She informed the Board that they were working with the cities on a number of projects on redevelopment and revitalization, and they were in the process of organizing a Florida Redevelopment Association Annual Conference Mobile Tour to the Golden Triangle cities.  She reported that they were initiating a marketing campaign and that they have completely redesigned their website, including a non-residential property finder feature, of which they gave a demonstration.  They have also started bimonthly news letters, and the website allows for signups for those newsletters.  She related that the department has participated in five public speaking engagements to various civic and business groups.  She related that they provided assistance to about 60 individuals and businesses on request in the last quarter, including demographic information, request for referrals for financing or business assistance, and site locations.  She reported that they have eight project leads this quarter.

COUNTY MANAGER’S DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS

economic growth and redevelopment

advertisement of business incentives ordinance

Ms. Keedy stated that Tab 26 was for approval to advertise the proposed Business Development Programs, including the Business Assistance Program which would provide assistance to businesses to offset the cost of their infrastructure and would require the businesses to share 50 percent of the costs and to create a minimum of five jobs that were at least 150 percent of the annual wage.  She talked about the High Value Job Creation Program, which was an incentive program that was based on jobs created, with the award being on a sliding scale based on the percentage over the average annual wage of each job.  She specified that under that program new businesses were required to create ten jobs, and existing businesses were required to create five jobs.  She reported that they were also proposing an Artist Relocation Program to encourage arts and culture in downtown redevelopment districts, which was part of their strategic plan goal of promoting arts and culture and modeled after a couple of cities that have had a lot of success with it.  The proposal was to share 50 percent of the cost for an artist to move their residence and their gallery into a downtown, and the maximum grant amount was limited to $2500 for five applicants a year.  She related that they also wanted to formalize providing assistance to business associations to bring programs or speakers to the County to help the business community or to help implement their strategic plan, and awards were limited to a maximum of $4,000 per event, which must be used directly to bring a speaker or help the business community provide educational-type information, with the County recognized as a sponsor.  She also mentioned a transportation impact fee deferral, which actually had been in the County’s code for some time.  She stated that the backup also included all the incentives that Enterprise Florida offered, many in partnership with the County.

Commr. Renick stated that she wanted to make sure that the language regarding incentives for high-value jobs took into consideration benefits as well as salary.

Ms. Keedy commented that they have always required the benefits to be in addition to the salary when they evaluated incentives in the past.  However, she pointed out that it was not currently part of any written policy.

Commr. Cadwell stated that he thought that they needed to incorporate that, and asked Mr. Minkoff if that needed to be part of the ordinance.

Mr. Minkoff responded that this was approval to advertise, but he thought that Ms. Keedy could give them additional language to add that to the section regarding the high-value jobs.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously, the Board approved the advertisement of the Economic Development and Business Incentives Ordinance.

Ms. Keedy introduced Ms. Susan Martin with Umatilla Chamber of Commerce, who was interning for Leadership Lake County’s Class of 2009.

public hearings

ordinance dissolving mt. plymouth-sorrento planning

advisory committee

 

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

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; REPEALING LAKE COUNTY CODE CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE IV, DIVISION 14, SECTIONS 2-90.57 THROUGH 2-90.61, ENTITLED “MT. PLYMOUTH-SORRENTO PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE”; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; FILING WITH DEPARTMENT OF STATE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Mr. Minkoff explained that this effectively would eliminate the Mt. Plymouth-Sorrento Planning Advisory Committee as the Board directed.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Ordinance dissolving the Mt. Plymouth-Sorrento Planning Advisory Committee.

noise ordinance

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, explained that even though they called this a noise ordinance, it was actually an LDR (Land Development Regulation) change relating to development, and he placed the ordinance on the floor for reading, by title only as follows:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA CREATING SECTION 9.09.00, LAKE COUNTY CODE, APPENDIX E, LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, TO BE ENTITLED NOISE PROTECTION STANDARDS; PROVIDING FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT DIFFERS IN USE FROM NEARBY PROPERTY TO SUBMIT A NOISE STUDY; PROVIDING FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT CONTAINS DIFFERENT USES TO SUBMIT A NOISE STUDY; PROVIDING FOR NOISE IMPACTS TO BE MITIGATED THROUGH THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW DEVELOPMENT; AMENDING SECTIONS 14.07.04(A)(12), 14.07.05(A)(2)(g), 14.09.01(B)(2)(J)(8), AND 14.10.02(B), LAKE COUNTY CODE, APPENDIX E, LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, REGARDING SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PRELIMINARY PLATS, CONSTRUCTION PLANS, SITE PLANS, AND MASTER PARK PLANS, RESPECTIVELY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR FILING WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

Commr. Hill stated that she did not think she would be supporting this and that she had some reservations regarding this ordinance, including that she believed it was another layer of government regulation that was an unnecessary expense to the citizens.  She also felt that they had that addressed under their County code, and it would adversely impact the financing that might come through on commercial development.  She also inquired who they were protecting.

Commr. Renick commented that this issue first started when a concrete plant ended up being next to a residential area, and she explained that this was to avoid conflict between the different land uses.

Mr. Minkoff explained that this was aimed to protect businesses that were already operating as well as quiet-type development from being encroached on by noisier businesses.  He added that this ordinance would make the residential developer show the County how the noise from any nearby existing businesses would be kept away from those homes.  He also pointed out that the County did not have anything in their current regulations that would make people address noise issues during the site plan approval or plat process, and this would make them address the noise during that process.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved the Noise Ordinance under Tab 28.

Commr. Hill voted “no.”

ordinance creating provisions of postponements

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

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; AMENDING SECTION 14.00.06, LAKE COUNTY CODE, APPENDIX E, LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, ENTITLED PROCEDURES GOVERNING PUBLIC HEARINGS; CREATING A PROCEDURE FOR CONTINUANCES OF PUBLIC HEARINGS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Mr. Minkoff commented that this ordinance was intended to codify the Board directions on continuances.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Ordinance Creating Provisions of Postponements under Tab 29.

amateur radio towers and receive only antennas ordinance

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

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 3.11.04, TERMINATION OF NONCONFORMING USES AND DEVELOPMENT, LAKE COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS; AMENDING SECTION 3.13.09A, COMMUNICATION ANTENNA CO-LOCATION; AMENDING SECTION 3.13.12, MODIFICATION OR REBUILDING; MAKING ALL CHANGES FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXEMPTING AMATEUR RADIO TOWERS AND RECEIVE ONLY ANTENNAE FROM THE PROVISIONS ALLOWING CO-LOCATION OF ADDITIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNAE ON EXISTING COMMUNICATIONS TOWERS; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

He explained that the intent of this ordinance was to clarify that the amateur radio towers were not supposed to be used for commercial type purposes.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

Commr. Hill was concerned about the amateur radio people that also had commercial uses on their tower, even though they would be “grandfathered in” and it would not prohibit those that already existed.

Mr. Minkoff explained that when they were working on the antennas for the radio system, they discovered that the zoning for one of the towers that was located by the Public Safety Department was incorrect and that it originally had been an amateur tower that someone had turned into a cell tower without going through the process.  He stated that the intent of this ordinance would be to prohibit the use of amateur towers for commercial purposes unless they went through the regular siting of the County’s tower ordinance, and he pointed out that amateur towers were allowed anywhere.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Amateur Radio Towers and Receive Only Antennas Ordinance under Tab 30.

open air vendors in non-residential zoning districts

Mr. Minkoff explained that this ordinance was only a first reading and would not be adopted that day and that there would be a second reading at 5:05 p.m. next month.  He placed the ordinance on the floor for its first reading, by title only, as follows:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; AMENDING SECTION 10.03.00, LAKE COUNTY CODE  APPENDIX E, LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, ENTITLED OPEN AIR VENDORS, TO ALLOW FOR OPEN AIR VENDORS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT “C-1”, COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL DISTRICT “C-2”, EMPLOYMENT CENTER DISTRICT “C-3”, PLANNED COMMERCIAL DISTRICT “CP”, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT “LM”, HEAVY INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT “HM”, PLANNED INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT “MP”, AND COMMUNITY FACILITY DISTRICT “CFD”; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

He noted that staff proposed to allow these uses in the CFD (Community Facility District), even thought the LPA (Local Planning Agency) recommended not allowing that.

Ms. Amye King, Growth Management Director, explained that staff thought that the CFD should be allowed to have open air vendors, and she pointed out that the management plans for parklands that were owned by the County come back before the Board for approval.

Commr. Renick asked what kind of concerns the LPA had.

Ms. King stated that she thought their concern was regarding the wide openness of it and a concern that if open air vendors were allowed in CFD, then improper vendors that could potentially harm the environmental safety of the lands could be an aspect that they were wary of.  She noted that the land owner would always have to approve all activities of the open air vendors.

Ms. Terrie Diesbourg, Zoning Director, stated that Section 10 of the LDR’s stated that they would have to have the property owner’s approval.  She mentioned, however, that even though that stipulation would be in the ordinance, it was not in the draft of the ordinance that was in their backup.

Commr. Renick inquired whether this ordinance could potentially apply to other types of vendors other than food vendors that would be in competition with local businesses.

Ms. Diesbourg responded that the open air vendor applications would have to be renewed after 30 days.

Mr. Minkoff noted that this ordinance would not be a significant change.  He explained that currently the open air vendors were allowed in commercial districts, but this ordinance would allow them in industrial and CFD districts.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the first reading of the Open Air Vendors in Non-Residential Zoning Districts Ordinance, including allowing the open air vendors in the CFD.

stipulated settlement agreement - dca vs. lake county

Mr. Minkoff explained that this involved the school concurrency element of the Comprehensive Plan, because between the time the Board transmitted to DCA (Department of Community Affairs) and the time they did the final adoption, the School Board updated their Capital Improvements Plan.  Mr. Minkoff specified that this settlement agreement provides that the County would amend their Comprehensive Plan to put the most up-to-date Capital Improvements Element in it, and then if this was approved today, they would go back and do that amendment, which the Board would hopefully have by next month.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Stipulated Settlement Agreement in the matter of DCA v. Lake County.

partial settlement agreement for hart and vrablik properties

Mr. Minkoff informed the Board that this agreement would resolve two cases that the Department of Community Affairs brought regarding Comprehensive Plan Amendments that were approved in 2004 and which have been in front of the Board several times previously.  He recapped that the Vrablik parcel was near the Industrial Park, and the Board sent it back to them to include a Workforce Housing component.  He reported that as part of the settlement, the developer would be giving the County over 20 lots that could be used for affordable housing and Habitat or other purposes.  He further related that the agreement regarding the Hart parcel, which is on Hartwood-Marsh Road, now requires annexation into the City of Clermont before any residential development could occur, which was also a Board direction.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Partial Stipulated Settlement Agreements for the Hart property and Vrablik property.

presentation

sylvan shores park on lake gertrude monitoring

Mr. Jim Stivender, Public Works Director, stated that this was a presentation regarding the kayak and canoe launch on Sylvan Park on Lake Gertrude, and part of the agreement last year was to bring a monitoring report back to the Board regarding the impact to the ecosystem of launching these non-motorized vessels.

Ms. Wendy Poag, Naturalist-Land Steward, Parks and Trails, recapped that on May 20, 2008, the Board passed a revision of Ordinance No. 2008-29 that would allow non-motorized kayaks and canoes to be launched and retrieved from Sylvan Shores Park which was on Lake Gertrude.  She stated that they were asked to monitor the site with regard to the change in the lakefront and the ecosystems there.  She reported that their monitoring found no significant changes, and with Board approval, they will revise the sign at the park to reflect that the launching and retrieval of non-motorized canoes and kayaks were allowed at the park.  She presented a slide show on the overhead that gave an overview of their monitoring process, including photographs of the lakeshore and path leading down to the lake prior to monitoring from April 2008, and then some taken throughout 2008 showing vegetation along the shore and lakeshore.  She mentioned that in May they also had a site visit with DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) in response to a complaint filed by a local citizen.  She concluded that no adverse effect has occurred.

Commr. Hill mentioned that originally the provision was for the County to monitor this for a year on a monthly basis.  She inquired whether they would be continuing to monitor this site on a yearly basis.

Ms. Poag responded that they had Board direction to monitor the site for six months to see how it went before they replaced the signage that was at the park.  She also mentioned that there is generally the type of monitoring which is passive rather than intensive, such as visiting the park, trimming up the trail, and picking up the trash.

Mr. Stivender added that unofficial maintenance of the site solves the question of any excessive use, and they could manage it accordingly whenever necessary.

Commr. Stewart mentioned that there was also a partnership of many of the residents of that area to help maintain it.

other business

appointment to library advisory board

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointment of Jane Sewell to serve as City of Leesburg’s member representative on the Lake County Library Advisory Board to complete an unexpired term to end on February 28, 2012.

appointment to children’s services council

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board reappointed Ms. Barbara Howell, Ms. Linda Lewis, Mr. Mike Matulia, Ms. Trella Mott, and Mr. Ralph Smith to two-year terms on the Children’s Services Council beginning May 15, 2009.

REPORTS – COUNTY ATTORNEY

seven out tank site revised allocation schedule and payment

Mr. Minkoff stated that they were requesting approval to expend an additional $26,076.38 as their share of the cost of the cleanup having to do with the leachate that was sent to Jacksonville, since additional material was discovered. He commented that hopefully this would be the last payment made, and this was well within the budgeted amount for this.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Seven Out Tank Site Revised Allocation Schedule as well as the processing of the additional payment of $26,076.38.

REPORTS – COUNTY MANAGER

stimulus funds for fleet facility

Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, explained that this was bringing back to the Board the discussion of the proposal to move their fleet facility to a facility the County was thinking of purchasing located out of Eustis.  She commented that the ongoing recommendation and analysis was simply due to the finances that the County was now looking at and that their recommendation at this point is to keep the fleet facility where it currently was in Leesburg and to use some of the stimulus money that they think they would have available for this use to replace the tire shop there and do some repairs to the maintenance building.  She added that eventually they could possibly look at some other locations that would be less expensive than the Eustis location.

On a motion by Commr Stewart, seconded by Commr. Hill, and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager’s recommendations to keep their fleet facility at its current Leesburg location and to use some of the stimulus money to replace the tire shop and to make some repairs to the maintenance building.

lake county office space for congressman alan grayson

Ms. Hall stated that she mentioned to the Board a few weeks ago that Congressman Alan Grayson had requested some space to hold an office in Lake County, and they have provided that in a building across the street and next to the Judicial Center at 416 W. Main Street, Tavares.  She also mentioned that he was having a grand opening on Saturday, April 25, and the Commissioners would all be getting an invitation to that.  She added that Congressman Grayson’s assistant would be spending a couple of days periodically in their facility to meet with constituents.

REPORTS – COMMISSIONER HILL – VICE CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 1

furniture bids

Commr. Hill mentioned that the furniture bids were out, and they would hopefully be on schedule.

reports – commission renick – district 2

school house library in minneola

Commr. Renick stated that she was at the opening for the schoolhouse library in Minneola, and commented that it was very cute.  She related that the building was the old original one-room schoolhouse in Minneola which they have turned into their library, and she recommended that the Commissioners visit that library when they were in that area.

size of street signs

Commr. Renick expressed concern regarding the size of street signs on some smaller roads in some rural areas in the County, especially the 24-inch lighted sign on Lakeshore Drive in Clermont that would be more appropriate for a four-lane road.  She thought that some of the signs were too large for the road and made the area look too urban, and she commented that they did not have a policy of fitting the road sign to the size of the road.  She gave Public Works direction to look into this issue.

Mr. Stivender assured her that they have already resolved that and would be using 18-inch signs for those kinds of roads in the future.  He also noted that there was a lot of dictation from the state and federal governments for the visually-impaired and night-impaired driver.

reports – commissioner conner – district 3

Commr. Conner wanted to point out that on one of the consent agenda items, they awarded the contract for a $200,000 project to a Lake County vendor, and he thought they were losing an opportunity to inform the public when they were doing business locally and to correct a misperception.

REPORTS – COMMISSIONER STEWART – DISTRICT 4

older americans month proclamation

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the execution of Proclamation No. 2009-56 proclaiming the month of May 2009 as Older Americans Month in Lake County.

CITIZEN QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD

Mr. Roy Hunter, Northeast Lake Chamber of Commerce, complimented County staff in general and Ms. Hall specifically, who was a speaker at their Chamber meeting in Paisley on April 2.  He commented that she did a great job and was well-received, and he thanked her for being there.  He reminded people to have their own food bank in their own home for those in need, especially during the hurricane season.  He suggested that everyone buy two extra cans of food instead of one for a neighbor and that everyone needed to look after each other.

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Mr. T. J. Fish, Executive Director, Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (LSMPO) related that the Noise Ordinance was very land use to land use oriented, but he was working with the Public Works Director to look at roadway and land use impacts.  He reminded the Board that the clock was already ticking regarding stimulus money and that they may need to do a TIP Amendment as an addendum at their next MPO meeting on April 22 on their action today regarding the fleet facility.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 12:25 p.m.

 

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    welton g. cadwell, chairman

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

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NEIL KELLY, CLERK