A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 15, 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

Reverend William Tyson, Union Congregational Church in Tavares, gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Agenda update

Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, stated that she wanted to pull Tab 3 so that they could rework those numbers and come back with that.

Commr. Cadwell stated that he needed to add something under his business that may require a vote regarding the Dream Again Ministries request.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board voted to add that to the Agenda.

Commr. Hill stated that she also needed to add appointments to the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) for next year to the Agenda that would probably take a vote.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to add that item regarding the VAB to the Agenda.

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, related that there was an agreement that the County had with Commercial Insurance Alliance Company, a bonding company, regarding the mowing that he needed to bring to the Board, which would require a vote.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board voted to add the agreement with the bonding company to the Agenda.

Commr. Renick asked if Ms. Kathy Catasus could address the Board immediately about problems they were having with intergovernmental coordination regarding water testing at Haines Creek.

Ms. Catasus related that she gave a presentation to the Upper Ocklawaha BMAP group on Thursday, September 10 regarding the impairment on Haines Creek with fecal coliforms.  While doing a study of collected samples once a week throughout the summer, they found a direct discharge occurring on Haines Creek.  She reported that the Haines Creek RV Mobile Home Park has stormwater issues, but apparently the Water Management District has grandfathered them in and allowed them to discharge via a 5.5 horsepower pump and two-inch line directly to the creek.  She noted that the samples they collected from the park were high in fecal coliforms, but not high enough to necessarily indicate sewage at this point, but almost ten times higher than what the levels should be.  She related that they were meeting Code Enforcement staff out there today to look at whether the park is in compliance with the Stormwater Master Park Plan, but if it is determined that it was in compliance with the plan, than the Water Management District has stated that there was nothing they could do.  She mentioned that the Health Department has been out there as well and found a lift station failure that was determined to not necessarily be the cause of the bacteria, and they have resolved the issue with the lift station.  She stated that the Health Department had allowed the park to relocate their septic system.  The original septic tanks were on the far west side of the park, and the new system is installed less than 100 feet from the creek in an area designated on the Master Plan as a wetland conservation area.  She commented that no one apparently wanted to deal with the discharge that was going into the creek at this point, including DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), so they were at an impasse right now.  She pointed out that the owner of the park has been very cooperative and had just purchased the park in June.

Commr. Renick commented that it was a very frustrating situation when there were so many different entities involved, and they were having a hard time addressing the problem.

MINUTE APPROVAL

Commr. Renick stated that she wanted to make one change to the Minutes of August 4, on the last line on Page 20, and she noted that there was a reference to Peggy Cox as being a hydrologist, but even though she had a hydrologist that wanted to speak, she was not a hydrologist herself.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of August 4, 2009 (Regular Meeting) as amended, August 11, 2009 (Special Meeting – Budget Workshop) as presented, and August 12, 2009 (Special Meeting – Budget Workshop) as presented.

PRESENTATION OF RECOGNITION OF RETIRING CLERK EMPLOYEE

Mr. Neil Kelly, Clerk of the Court, recognized and expressed his gratitude to Ms. Sandy Carter for her accomplishments in serving the citizens of Lake County as Board Support secretary for the past 24 years, since she will be retiring September 30, 2009.

Ms. Carter related that it has been an interesting 24 years, and she had seen a lot of changes in the County and had made a lot of friends over those years.  She commented that she was looking forward to retiring to spend time with family and traveling.

Mr. Kelly announced that there would be a reception for Ms. Carter’s retirement on the 30th of September in Room 233 of the Administration Building from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA

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

Resolution from Pine Island CDD

Resolution No. 2009-08 from the Board of Supervisors of the Pine Island Community Development District, Expressing a Desire to Participate in Negotiations Concerning the Establishment of an Interlocal Service Agreement.

Before the Florida Public Service Commission

Notice Before the Florida Public Service Commission – Notice of Commission Hearing and Prehearing to Progress Energy Florida, Inc., Department of the Navy, Federal Executive Agencies, Florida Industrial Power Users Group, Florida Retail Federation, Office of Public Counsel, Office of the Attorney General, White Springs Agricultural Chemicals, Inc., Association for Fairness in Rate Making, and All Other Interested Persons.

Docket No. 090079-EI - Petition for Increase in Rates by Progress Energy Florida, Inc.

Docket No. 090144-EI – Petition for Limited Proceedings to Include Bartow Repowering Project in Base Rates, by Progress Energy Florida, Inc.

Docket No. 090145-EI – Petition for Expedited Approval of the Deferral of Pension Expenses, Authorization to Charge Storm Hardening Expenses to the Storm Damage Reserve, and Variance from or Waiver of Rule 25-6.0143(1)(C), (D), and (F), F.A.C., by Progress Energy Florida, Inc.

A hearing will be held before the Florida Public Service Commission in the above-referenced dockets at the following time and place:  Monday, September 21, 2009, 9:30 a.m., Betty Easley Conference Center, Room 148, 4075 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida.  September 22 through September 25, 2009, and September 28 through October 2, 2009, have also been reserved for continuation of the hearing, if needed.

Southwest Florida Water Management District FY 2010 Board Meeting Calendar

Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Fiscal Year 2010 Board Meeting Calendar and map depicting the District’s boundaries.

Annexation Ordinance from Town of Lady Lake

Annexation Ordinance No. 2009-20,  Small Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment No. 2009-21, and Rezoning Ordinance No. 2009-22, from the Town of Lady Lake, for the voluntary annexation of 9+ acres, located on CR 466, approximately ¼ mile west of the intersection of CR 466 and Rolling Acres Road, into the Town of Lady Lake.

Public Hearing dates are scheduled, as follows:

Planning and Zoning Board – Monday, September 14, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.

Local Planning Agency – Wednesday, September 23, 2009, at 5:30 p.m.

Town Commission Meeting – Wednesday, September 23, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.

Town Commission Meeting – Monday, October 5, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.

The Public Hearings are to be held in the Town Hall Commission Chambers, 409 Fennell Boulevard, Lady Lake, Florida.

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

Commr. Cadwell asked to pull Tab 10.

Commr. Renick wanted to pull Tab 6 for a quick comment.

Commr. Hill requested to pull Tabs 5, 7, and 10.

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 15, pulling 3, 5, 6, 7, and 10, as follows:

Community Services

Request for approval of the Standard Coordinator Contract with Gift of Love, LLC; Florida Transcare, Inc; Love Thy Neighbor; Serenity Holistic Residential Care Corporation; and Wings of Love.

Public Resources

Request for approval and signature of revised policy, LCC-12, Lake County Library System Patron Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials.

Request for signature on membership agreement – Mobilization Affiliation.

Request for approval and signature of the FY 2009-2010 State Aid to Libraries Grant Application and Agreement and Certification of Credentials.

Public Works

Request for approval of the LAP Agreement and supporting Resolution No. 2009-128 between Lake County and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for the CR 44 @ CR 19A Construction Turn-lane Improvements. FPN #422419-1-58-01 Commission District 4 / Benefit District 2.

Request for approval of Amendment #3 to the agreement between Lake County and Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin, Inc. for additional services to be performed by Vanasse, Hangen Brustlin, Inc. to complete the right-of-way plan per the County’s requirement.  Commission District 5.

Request for approval of the attached list of public right of way deeds that have been secured in conjunction with roadway and/or stormwater projects. (Commission Districts 3, 4, 5).

Tourism

Request for approval of Resolution No. 2009-129 and an award of $3,000 to Sunrise Arc for participating in training of the disabled through the Jobs Growth Investment (JGI) Trust Fund Program.

Commr. Renick explained that she wanted to pull Tab 6 to emphasize to staff that they were trying to get away from the use of St. Augustine grass, and this is the term and supply contract for providing sod to the County which listed a number of types of St. Augustine.  She realized that there may be spots that they were just putting in a patch, but she wanted to make sure they were not putting in any significant amount of St. Augustine sod.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 6, the request from Procurement for approval of the term and supply contract awards to Lake Jem Farms, Inc., Paff Landscape, Inc., A-1 Florida Sod, Inc., and A-1 Sod, Inc. d/b/a Cottoms A-1 Sod to provide sod services in conjunction with the County's needs. The work involved is estimated at $67,000 per year.

Commr. Cadwell mentioned that Tab 10 was regarding a program that they have supported in the past, and he wanted to give them an opportunity to talk about it.

Ms. Helena Osborne-Ponsi with VolunteerLAKE related that for four years Ms. Jennifer Sullivan, who designed this program has been doing it better every year since she started it at the age of 14.

Ms. Sullivan reported that since the project began four years ago, they collected 9,663 jars of peanut butter in Lake County, equaling over 14,000 pounds.  She was excited about the partners they had this year, which included the girl scout troops of Lake County, Lake magazine, and the Lake County Library System.  She noted that they would be at the Publix supermarkets throughout the County on Saturday, October 24, which was National Make A Difference Day.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 10, the request from Public Resources for endorsement of the Peanut Butter P.O.P. "People Overcoming the Problem of Hunger" project for Make A Difference Day on Saturday, October 24, 2009 and permission for VolunteerLAKE to partner for the 4th year with Peanut Butter P.O.P. to make October 1 through October 24, 2009 a County of Lake educational awareness and collection event.

COUNTY ATTORNEY’S CONSENT AGENDA

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, stated that he wanted to pull Tabs 16 and 18, because Tab 16 was somewhat involved and to make a short comment about Tab 18.  He wanted to make the Board aware that the work referred to in Tab 18 has been done by Sumter Electric Cooperative and that this was an after-the-fact approval.

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Renick, and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Attorney’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 17 and 18 as follows:

Request for approval of Second Amendment to Lease Agreement with J. W. Brooks, Inc. for Health Department space in Eustis.  Commission District 3.

            Request for approval of Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SECO) Rerouting of its Electrical Facilities in Tract B of the Plat of Royal Highlands on Property where Lake County holds a Conservation Easement.  Commission District 3.

Mr. Minkoff explained that Tab 16 was regarding a developer’s agreement with the County regarding the western-most phase of Hook Street in Clermont with a developer who was involved in developing a Staples store, an Ashley Furniture, and a steak restaurant.  He commented that with the economic downturn it has been a fairly difficult agreement for them to keep together.  He related that today they were making some amendments to the agreement, such as reducing the bond requirement down slightly for the developer.  He noted that there were still some problems, and if they approved it today, they did not have the developer’s new letter of credit yet, but believe they would receive that.  They were also still waiting on some permits, and there was a DOT issue that they still had to resolve.  He informed the Board that they were working diligently with Public Works to get that road built, and he stated that this also involved the Grand Highway, which would be the exit ramp from Hwy 27 to Hwy 50.  He informed the Board that it was a difficult project, and they may be back before the Board again if things did not work out with a different way to do that.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 16, the request from the County Attorney for approval of the Amendment to Agreement with Clermont Land Development, LLC and Clermont GC, LLC.

presentation – volunteerlake

Ms. Helena Osborne-Ponsi stated that this was a presentation about Teen Academy Public Service (TAPS), which was a four-week pilot program running from July 6 through July 31 that they sponsored to engage teens ages 13 to 15 in rewarding and life-changing work by unpaid community service internships in divisions of Lake County government.  She explained that the program was designed, developed and implemented by a diverse generation.  They wanted their students to understand that their attitudes, values, beliefs, and systems were a little different with each of the groups.  The hours of service learning averaged 26 hours per week per teen participant, and all have reached in that four-week period of time the Presidential Volunteer Service Award eligibility in one of the award categories of bronze, silver, or gold.  Their partnerships included Adopt-a-Lake, Teen Court, and the Agricultural Extension Centers specifically for family and consumer sciences.  She specified that the students learned resume building, job descriptions, interview skills, generational differences in the workplace, career exploration, budgeting, and real world scenarios.  The service learning was performed by teens in participating divisions, including Emergency Management, Library Services, Procurement, Teen Court, and VolunteerLAKE.  She commented that this afforded the teens the opportunity to learn about careers and the inner workings of County government.  She pointed out the pamphlet that was handed out titled “The Job Guide For Teens,” and thanked Ms. Casey Knudsen, who graduated from UCF and was working on her Master’s Degree, who helped the teens in putting together and editing the pamphlet.  She noted that the Lake County Library Services and Eustis Memorial Library had the booklets in their reference sections, and Lake County schools would be contacted to place these guides in the media centers in the middle and high schools.  She pointed out that the total cost of implementing the program was $105 out of the County’s budget.  She stated that they would begin enrollment for the 2010 TAPS Program in early May of 2010.  She gave credit to the teenagers who created the guide to Matthew Mullane, Jerome Green, Caitlin McGwier, and Grace Reynolds.

county manager’s consent agenda (cont’d)

Commr. Hill stated that regarding Tab 5, she did not agree with the Board’s direction for HLM to provide a redesign, which she felt was an extra expense that was only taking away dollars that they could have actually used on the construction site, and she felt that the original design was the best design.  She opined that even though HLM was happy to provide another design for the Board, she would rather not vote for the expenditure, but she understood the reason.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved Tab 5, the request from Facilities Development and Management for approval of the initial additional architectural services to Heery Architects, as defined in the attached August 12th letter, for the design of options for a reduced size judicial facility expansion in the estimated not to exceed design fee amount of $56,740.00 inclusive of reimbursable expenses.

Commr. Hill voted “no.”

Commr. Hill asked if there was any legal reason why they could not split the contract in Tab 7 to award to more than one company, so that TruGren, which was a local company, could provide those services for PEAR Park, which was a totally different park setting.  She did not know if this would create added problems.

Mr. Barnett Schwartzman, Procurement Director, explained that in this specific case, it was in an aggregate award basis based on consistency of process.  He noted that to break it up at this point would be changing the ground rules after the fact, resulting in unpredictable pricing.

Commr. Hill emphasized that she did not want to hold up any of the park projects.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by  vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 7, the request from Procurement for approval and execution of a term and supply contract to D & A Building Services, Inc. to provide chemical lawn maintenance to Lake County park athletic fields. The approximate annual cost of the contract is $72,949.00 to complete the scope of services.

COUNTY MANAGER’S DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS

COMMUNITY SERVICES

AGREEMENT WITH FUNERAL HOME DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION

Ms. Wendy Breeden, Public Resources Director, explained that this was a renewal of an agreement with the Lake County Funeral Home Directors Association for indigent burials and that there were really no substantive changes to this agreement.  She noted that the only major change was that they were doing only cremations except for unclaimed bodies, which would be done by burial, which would be a cost savings to the County.  She related that as in the previous agreement, there was a built-in increase for cost of living based on the consumer price index.

Commr. Cadwell stated that because of his relationship with Beyers Funeral Home, he would recuse himself and not vote on this issue, even though he would not receive any benefit from this, and he had Commr. Hill chair the Board during the discussion of this issue.

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried by a vote of 4-0, with Commr. Cadwell abstaining from the vote, the Board approved Tab 20, the request from Community Services for approval of the Agreement with the Lake County Funeral Home Directors Association, Inc., for Cremation, Burial, and Transportation of Indigent or Unclaimed Persons.

conservation and compliance

discussion of PARTICIPATION in water alliance

Mr. Gregg Welstead, Conservation and Compliance Director, explained that they have brought before the Board a draft of the interlocal agreement for renewal of the Water Alliance of Lake County.  He informed the Board that since the agenda was prepared, there were a couple of updates, including the withdrawal of the cities of Eustis, Tavares, and Lady Lake, and the Commissions of Mascotte and Clermont would probably also withdraw after they met next.  He reported that Minneola would continue only if 10 of the 15 parties continue with the agreement, and the remaining 10 members’ participation share would be $5,000, which was $2,000 more than he had budgeted for next year.

Commr. Renick recommended that the County also withdraw from the Water Alliance.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to withdraw from the Water Alliance of Lake County.

procurement

southern building services construction contract

Mr. Jim Bannon, Director of Capital Construction, stated that it was recommended that the Board approve and execute a construction contract in the amount of $1,044,300 to Southern Building Services, Inc. to convert an existing building to the Lake County Sheriff’s South Lake District Office and approve other project costs as detailed in their agenda item as well as the contingency cost of $104,000.  He mentioned that the Board approved the overall budget for this project of $1 million in Fiscal Year 2009.  He related that there were 21 responses to the invitation to bid, and the award recommendation is being made to Southern Building Services following due diligence.  He noted that the four lowest bidders were disqualified or withdrew their bids because of errors in price or failure to submit a bond with their solicitation.  He specified that the contract price of $1,044,300 consisted of the vendors bid excluding work to be done by inmate labor and material supplied by owner and inclusive of alternates 1 through 4, which totaled $153,500.  He stated that the recommendation includes other project costs of $33,450 for material required for the work to be completed using inmate labor, $12,000 for IT equipment testing, and $287,487 for additional items requested by the Sheriff to operate the district office.  He reported that $939,424.49 was available in the previously approved budget for this project, and if approved the balance of the award of $541,813 will be adjusted in the FY 2009/10 budget to be funded from infrastructure and sales tax reserves.

Commr. Hill stated that she thought it looked like the $153,500 was included in the construction bid in the conceptual plan that was in the memorandum.  She also thought that the cells and the evidence lockers were included in the construction document.

Mr. Bannon responded that the $153,500 is part of the contract sum, which were the add alternates one through four.  He stated that he would look into what Commr. Hill brought up.

Commr. Hill stated that she did not have a problem going forward with this, but she asked if the shop costs totaling $137,000 that were on the second page behind the memo page were additional costs to move into an additional facility other than the existing facility in the east side of the county.

Mr. Bannon replied that it was all new equipment within that building.

Commr. Hill noted that it looked like page 3 of the construction document was for air conditioning the shop and she questioned whether they normally did that.

Mr. Bannon responded that they have requested to air condition the shop.

Commr. Renick commented that this was an example of the budget of a project creeping up, and the Board was fairly confident when they approved this that they could do it within the budget that they allowed.  She suggested that they go back and either renegotiate with the contractor or discuss this with the Sheriff again, since it was very much over what they originally agreed to.

Commr. Hill pointed out that she did not have a real problem with the original construction document, but with the additional details. She asked if they could separate those out and go ahead with the actual construction.

Mr. Bannon stated that the Board could put aside the $153,000 for the add alternates 1 through 4 and the allowance for the Sheriff’s requested items of $287,000, and the Board could approve a contract for $890,000, but he still would require some contingency, the IT allowance, and the allowance for materials associated with inmate labor, which would allow the project to move forward and allow him to resolve those other issues at a later date.  He also pointed out that there was an expectation that through owner direct purchases, the amount of $1,044,300 would come down and that he was carrying a high contingency of $104,000 or ten percent because it was an existing building.

Commr. Conner suggested that the Board move forward so that the Sheriff could occupy that facility, because until then it was just an asset that the County has spent several million dollars for that they were not using, and he noted that the Sheriff felt that he needed the add alternates.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the execution of a construction contract in the amount of $1,044,300 to Southern Building Services, Inc. to convert an existing building to the Lake County Sheriff's South Lake District office and approve a contingency cost of $104,000, excluding the $287,487.99 for additional items requested by the Sheriff to operate the district office and asked for more details to make sure that some of the numbers given were not redundant numbers that were not already in the contract.

public resources

broadband technology opportunity program grant

Ms. Wendy Breeden, Public Resources Director, explained that the Lake County Library System had the opportunity to participate with the state library in a stimulus package grant.  She commented that this was a very fast moving project, and they had less than a week between the time they found out about it and to apply, so it was not possible to bring that to the Board in advance.  She related that this would be run through the state library if the grant was approved by the federal government, and as part of that they have applied for 80 laptops system-wide for all 15 libraries that could be checked out to the patrons if all the other computers were busy, since they have wireless access in all the libraries, and replacement of 62 computers at the various libraries.  She requested retroactive approval of this request.

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 23 for retroactive approval to submit Broadband Technology Opportunity Program grant application, retroactive approval for Wendy Breeden to sign application as Authorized Library Official, and approval for Chairman to sign any additional grant documents pending grant award and County Attorney approval.

public Works

put the brakes on fatalities day resolution

Mr. Jim Stivender, Public Works Director, stated that this was a resolution recognizing October 10 as “Put the Brakes On Fatalities Day,” a nationally-recognized date.  He made a correction to the resolution, replacing the phrase “traffic crashes across America” with “traffic crashes across Florida.”  He reported that 27,648 have lost their lives on highways in Florida over the last nine years.

Sergeant Tom McKane from the Sheriff’s Office stated that this campaign was similar to other popular campaigns they may be familiar with, such as Over the Limit, Under Arrest, and that the Sheriff’s Office would support this campaign through zero-tolerance enforcement that day.  He reported that the Sheriff’s Office would also put traffic signs out to warn people to drive safely and that there was enforcement in progress, and would specifically target aggressive drivers, such as tailgaters, speeders, and safety belt usage.  He noted that participating in these campaigns also helps them to get federal grant money.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2009-130 in annual observance of “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day,” on October 10, 2009.

public hearings

fire rescue assessments

Mr. Doug Krueger, Budget Director, explained that this was the final public hearing for approval of a resolution to adopt two fire assessment rates and approve the fire assessment roll for Fiscal Year 2009/10.  He stated that the proposed rates were currently the same rates that were in 2008/09 and would be imposed in the unincorporated areas of the county as well as in Astatula, Howey-in-the-Hills, and portions of Lady Lake, all of which were in the fire district.  He specified that the residential rates would be $175, and the rates for the commercial, industrial, and warehouse would vary by square footage.  This would also impose a residential fire assessment for the unincorporated area that was located in the Villages fire district of $82.85.  He mentioned that the initial assessment was approved by the Board on July 21, and public advertisement occurred in the Orlando Sentinel on August 31.

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. Renick, seconded by Commr Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request to authorize and execute Resolution No. 2009-131 to impose Fire Rescue Assessments against assessed property located in Lake County, Florida, for the Fiscal Year beginning October 1, 2009; approve the rate of assessment; approve the assessment roll; and provide an effective date.

solid waste assessment

Mr. Daryl Smith, Director of Environmental Utilities, stated that this was a request that the Board approve a final assessment resolution for the collection, management, and disposal of solid waste and recovered materials for Fiscal Year 2009/10 which includes an annual assessment of $184.00.

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. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Final Assessment Resolution No 2009-132 for Collection, Management, and Disposal of Solid Waste and Recovered Materials for FY09/10 which includes an Annual Assessment of $184.00.

recess and reassembly

At 10:00 a.m. the Chairman announced that there would be a ten-minute recess.

other business

appointments to plaac committee

Commr. Renick suggested that since the Board had just voted to sunset the Public Land Acquisition Advisory Council (PLAAC), she thought that it would make sense to keep the original members. She mentioned that current members Mr. Greg Gensheimer and Ms. Rosi Mulholland had been active in the subcommittee doing the plans for the park.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the reappointments of Mr. Greg Gensheimer as member with technical knowledge in geology, Ms. Rosemarie Mulholland as member with technical knowledge in biology, and Ms. Sanna Henderson as member with technical knowledge in local history for three-year terms beginning October 1, 2009.

appointments to workforce central florida board

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointments of Lisa Somerville, President/CEO, Restor Telecom and Orin Owen, Director of IT, G&T Conveyors to the Workforce Central Florida Board of Directors.

reports – county attorney

lease for clerk’s office in clermont

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, informed the Board that Tab 30 involves the leases the County had in South Lake County for the various constitutional officers, and he wanted to get some direction from the Board as to how they should go forward particularly with the leases for the Clerk, the Property Appraiser, and the Supervisor of Elections.  He specified that the Tax Collector currently was located on US Hwy 27 between Clermont and Minneola, the Clerk on SR 50 on the western side of Hwy 27, and the Property Appraiser and the Supervisor of Elections in a shopping center on Hwy 50 on the eastern side which had one more year to go on the lease.  He reported that the lease for the Clerk’s space was coming up now for renewal, and he wanted to make sure the Board was comfortable with the way the constitutional officers’ spaces were done in separate locations and to get some direction from them in doing that.  He commented that unless they get a much better offer on the appraiser and election space next year, they would probably move them, because that was the highest rate they have.

Commr. Cadwell commented that he thought it would be prudent to renew the Clerk’s lease for one year at a reduced rate and then see if there was an opportunity to try to combine the Clerk, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections next year.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the one-year renewal of the lease space for the Clerk’s Office located at Sunnyside Plaza in Clermont at the reduced price of $14.00 per square foot.

Mr. Neil Kelly, Clerk of Court, commented that he would be open for discussions about consolidating operations of the constitutional officers in a common facility in the future.

Mr. Minkoff added that Lake County Tax Collector Bob McKee’s office is by far the busiest office, and if he was comfortable staying where he is for any considerable length of time, then perhaps next year they would try to locate in that same location for the other officers.

resolution creating solid waste alternatives task force

Mr. Minkoff explained that Tab 31 was the resolution that he prepared regarding putting together a task force to look at waste disposal in 2014 when the Covanta agreement would end.

Commr. Cadwell stated that he hoped the Board approves this today, and then they could advertise for members.  He related that he will actively recruit for people to serve on this committee, and he encouraged the other Board members to also recruit members.  He opined that they needed to be very careful about who they appoint, since it would be a big decision.

Commr. Hill pointed out that they already had a Solid Waste Advisory Committee that would sunset at the end of 2014 with a task somewhat similar to this group of long term planning.  She asked if they were sunsetting the existing group and mentioned that she thought there were only two members left in that group.

Commr. Conner stated that this resolution calls for a separate temporary committee for a single purpose, which he believed differs from the Solid Waste Committee, and he did not feel that there was a connection between the two.  He commented that the committee that would be formed by this resolution would be one of the most important tasks that they would have in this County, which was to bring them a wide range of alternatives and options on how they would deal with their waste disposal starting in 2014 when they no longer would have contractual obligations to Covanta.

Commr. Cadwell mentioned that he had been contacted by Citrus County in regard to meeting with Citrus and Marion.  He also stated that he did not want the new committee that would be formed to get bogged down in day-to-day advisory matters.

Commr. Conner stated that he did not support dissolving the existing group, because there would be ongoing solid waste issues between now and 2014.  He believed that since that group had not met in so long, they should reactivate it for them to do the advising to the Board on issues regarding solid waste in the current system.

Commr. Stewart commented that they would need to get some additional members on that current board if it was going to be useful.

Commr. Cadwell suggested that they advertise for members of both committees.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2009-133 creating the Lake County Solid Waste Alternatives Task Force and to advertise for members of that committee as well as for the existing Solid Waste Advisory Committee.

contract for mowing and litter removal

Mr. Minkoff reported that in the Road Maintenance Division they had a contract for labor, equipment and materials to do roadside mowing and litter removal, which had a surety bond where the bonding company guaranteed performance and which the contractor defaulted on.  He stated that the bonding company has now agreed to come in and take over the work with some slight changes, such as a slight reduction in the litter pickups but an increase in mowing.  He noted that it also provided that they were paying less because they were getting paid back essentially some of their overtime costs.  He asked the Board for approval of the agreement to allow the mowing to continue and for the bonding company to hire a new contractor.  He added that Public Works was working with Procurement to rebid this work, breaking the County into three pieces next time to try to avoid a situation where the only contractor defaults on the work.

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request by the County Attorney for approval of the contract for roadside mowing and litter removal.

reports – county manager

legislative positions

Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, presented the booklet for the Board’s consideration of eleven legislative positions for 2010, which would be presented along with any others they may desire at the delegation meeting on September 30.  She read briefly through the legislative positions, and she commented that she believed those positions have been before the Board in some capacity before.  She reported that some of the requests included a statewide request to fund libraries at $25 million; a request for a new mobility center for public transportation; funding for the Transportation Disadvantaged Program to keep it at the current allocation statewide of $36.8 million; funding for Wekiva Parkway and SR 46 Bypass; indexing local option gas taxes to the consumer price index as the state does their gas taxes; funding for the Emergency Operation Center for the $2.3 million balance that was needed; request for local jurisdictions to be able to have more stringent water conservation initiatives if they choose; prohibition of irrigation wells where there was public or reclaimed water available; and assurance that issuances of CUP’s take into account local and government opinion with regard to determination for water bottling plants.

Commr. Hill stated that she wanted to consider adding something indicating that they were against passing a new reduced point system within the sentencing guidelines which would result in third-degree felony offenders and others that currently were eligible for the state prison facility remanded back down to the County, which would have a lot of repercussions locally for the County by resulting in more of a prison population for the County.  She commented that this would be another unfunded mandate that would result from the changing of those guidelines.

Mr. Minkoff stated that Commr. Hill was articulating something similar to a fact position which would discourage the legislature from passing legislation which would increase the burden on counties through increased prisoners in the jail.

Commr. Cadwell asked Commr. Hill to present this to the delegation at their meeting.

On a motion by Commr. Hill, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 32 of the 2010 Legislative Positions, including an additional twelfth position to discourage legislation that would add more inmates to the County jail, and authorize the vice-chairman to present the Lake County’s positions to the Lake County Delegation on September 30th.

reports - commissioner hill – vice chairman and district 1

appointments to the value adjustment board

Commr. Hill stated that now was the time they needed to make appointments to the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) for the following year of two commissioners and one appointee from the public at large.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board appointed Commr. Conner and Commr. Stewart to the VAB Board for this year.

Mr. Minkoff informed the Board that they would advertise for the citizen member and bring that back to the Board.

joint school board meeting

Commr. Hill related that they have tried to arrange a joint meeting with the School Board in regard to the residential section of concurrency and the impact fees.  She suggested sending the County Attorney to meet with the School Board to explain the changes that have transpired regarding impact fees and the details of the County’s ordinance and bring back a recommendation.

Mr. Minkoff related that the County Manager has contacted the Superintendent and that he has talked to the attorney for the School Board, but they have not been able to get a meeting arranged.  He mentioned that they did have an issue with Cagan’s, because that extension was coming up in November, and they needed to discuss the issue of whether they should allow impact fees for education to be paid over time versus all at once.

Commr. Cadwell stated that he would try to set up a joint meeting where they would get an update on the school and the park.

commissioner renick – district 2

memorial service in clermont

Commr. Renick mentioned that they had a 9/11 memorial service in Clermont, and she wanted County employees to know that they honored and would also be erecting a memorial in Ms. April Hoover’s honor, who was a previous County fire department employee who has lost her battle with cancer.

commissioner conner – district 3

school concurrency committee service areas

Mr. Minkoff related that Commr. Conner replaced Commr. Stewart on the School Concurrency Committee, and there was an issue coming out of that committee regarding the concurrency service areas, with Minneola suggesting changes to those service areas.  He mentioned that the agreement had a specific process in it for changes to be made, but Minneola has not elected to use that process and were trying to see if members would be interested in changing it in a different way.  He reported that they have heard from several cities, including Clermont, which were not in favor of doing that.

Commr. Conner stated that his position was that they should follow the agreement.

Commr. Cadwell agreed that Commr. Conner’s direction was correct.

consultant charges for municipal use of tower

Commr. Conner related that there was a concern he had regarding the cost of a consultant to the Town of Lady Lake for the use of a tower.

Mr. Greg Holcomb, Public Safety Communications Technology Manager, stated that he thought they had the problem resolved.  He explained that the Board had directed them to look at a consultant for tower attachments for anyone that wanted to attach to the tower, but a particular issue had arisen with a location that the Town of Lady Lake has dedicated land to them to build a tower on it. 

Commr. Conner commented that he thought the consultant was going to establish a fee schedule for the County, but apparently the scope of the work was broader than that, and the consultants actually were charging an application fee and going through a much more exhaustive process.

Mr. Holcomb explained that in order to get to the point that they could determine a cost if they were leasing the site, there were several studies that had to be done.  He commented that they would not charge the city a fee, however, if they were providing city services and collecting the revenue themselves.  His recommendation to the Board would be that in those instances where they were dealing with another municipality or government agency, they would waive the process of going through the consultant and consultant fee and require just the standard analysis for safety, zoning, and those types of things, which would be done in-house.  He noted that Mr. Minkoff indicated to him that there was nothing in the agreement that mandated that they had to go through that process every time.

Commr. Conner asked the Board to treat the Town of Lady Lake differently than private businesses that were profiting from the tower use by not charging Lady Lake for a consultant process.

The Board gave direction to exempt Lady Lake from that fee.

reports – commissioner stewart – district 4

local vendor preference

Commr. Stewart commented that she knew that the Board put some policies into effect that helped local vendors, but she talked with some local businessmen about setting up a committee that would come up with a point system through the regular procurement process to give extra points to local vendors or vendors that have employees who live locally.  She commented that she did not want to discourage outside vendors, but she wanted to help local businesses.

Commr. Conner expressed concern about their staff awarding the engineering of the East Lake School and Park to an out-of-county firm.

Commr. Cadwell was concerned that the person who negotiates the contract and was going to be the head or manager of that particular project and who was most knowledgeable about that project, was not on the selection committee, and he asked if there was a reason for that.

Mr. Minkoff responded that he did not know of a reason why the negotiator could not be a committee member or the committee as a whole.

Commr. Conner commented that the awarding of the contracts was a subjective process, and he felt that staff has not understood the Board’s commitment to local businesses.

Ms. Hall stated that the business-friendly policies that they brought forward were friendly to all businesses, but making certain that the smaller businesses and hopefully those that were in Lake County had opportunities to submit proposals.  She noted that it was actually mentioned that it was not a local preference policy.  She specified that the selection committee evaluated the East Lake Park proposal based on their judgment of the best qualified firm.

Commr. Renick agreed with Ms. Hall that she thought the direction was not specifically for local preference, but that they wanted to level the playing field for the smaller businesses.  She stated that she had a problem with looking only at Lake County businesses, and she did not want there to be repercussions of local vendors excluded from business from other counties.

Commr. Conner remarked that all of those firms that make the short list during the CC & A or the RFQ (Request for Qualifications) process are very qualified and could do the job.  He opined that the County only had a mindset and not a policy to award jobs to local businesses.

Commr. Stewart stated that she would prefer that they use a Lake County firm, but she expressed concern that if they made it a practice, then they would eliminate their local firms from being considered in surrounding counties.  She wanted to find a fair way that would not discourage outside vendors from coming in, but would still give points to local vendors.

Commr. Cadwell commented that getting the project manager on the committee would help and was a good first step, and they needed to just watch the process and look to see if the changes they made so far would work.

commissioner cadwell – chairman and district 5

performance evaluations

Commr. Cadwell commented that he thought they should have a goal setting and direction retreat in the next month or so with the County Manager, the County Attorney, and the Board and that there were mixed reviews on the evaluations.

Commr. Renick suggested that if they could have a workshop following an audit to come up with the how and when to implement the recommendations of the audit, it would take care of the problems and deficiencies that they find.

Mr. Kelly stated that his office would be glad to do that.  He mentioned that he recently had a discussion with the internal audit director, Mr. Dennis Grey, about revisiting their audit policy and process, and they would bring that back to the Board for input.

Commr. Renick emphasized that Mr. Kelly’s office was a completely separate constitutional officer and was not part of the County’s organization, and they would be taking a very objective look at what the County was doing.

Commr. Conner commented that Ms. Hall communicated well, was honest, and fostered a good culture of cooperation and helpfulness, and that he was impressed with a lot of the County staff.  However, he also discussed some concerns that he noted on the County Manager’s evaluation, including the firefighter overtime pay problem, overspending in the tornado relief and rental assistance funds, and the age bias case that the County settled, which he felt was done without investigating the allegation.  He also expressed concern that he did not think the County Manager understood the strong need to permanently downsize the County organization because of the economic climate.

Commr. Stewart opined that she felt that Ms. Hall has done a good job, and there was no clear cut conclusion in the age bias incident, since there were different interpretations by different people about what actually took place.  She pointed out that she would not give an evaluation to anyone based on what other people have said.  She added that they needed a retreat to discuss these matters.

Commr. Renick commented that since they all worked with the County Manager individually, they all will have a different experience with her, and she respected the differences of opinion.

Commr. Cadwell commented that he has discussed the problems with Ms. Hall, and he thought she was the type of person who could make the changes needed to correct those.

Commr. Stewart added that all the problems she has seen have been corrected, and an attempt has been made to fix those and move forward in a positive direction.

Commr. Hill opined that Ms. Hall has a good ability to engage her staff and makes a good team with the County Attorney.

Commr. Cadwell noted that usually at this point they would have salary discussions with both the County Manager and Attorney, but both were not expecting any increase this year.

resolution recognizing richard olson

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the execution of Resolution No. 2009-134 recognizing and applauding Richard Olson for donation to Lake County and its citizens, which would be presented during a Board meeting in October.

dream again ministries request

Commr. Cadwell stated that he had gotten a request from Dream Homes, a non-profit organization to be designated eligible to apply for stimulus money.

On a motion by Commr. Conner, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the request from Dream Again Ministries to designate it to be allowed to apply for stimulus money towards the establishment of their Dream Homes, which provide safe places, therapeutic healing, education, and hope to help people re-enter society.

citizen question and comment period

Mr. Roy Hunter, Northeast Lake Chamber of Commerce, commented that Mr. Richard Olson had donated $8,000 to the Paisley Fire Station and that he dedicated his life to the service of this country.  He also related that Sheriff Borders and some of his officers came to their meeting in Paisley Thursday evening, September 10 and did a fine presentation on fire safety and gave a good report about the meth labs they were raiding, including one on Maggie Jones Road near his home.  He mentioned an out-of-work construction worker who offered to volunteer his time to help with construction of the new Paisley fire station.

                                                            --------------------------------------

Mr. Vance Jochim, a resident of Tavares who writes a blog called “Fiscal Rangers.com,” commented that a solution to the problems brought up during the discussion of the evaluations that he had not heard discussed was to plan ahead about issues and fixing the process to avoid over-budget issues.  He stated that businesses always focus on improving the management process and evaluate any indicators of things going wrong.  He related that when there were several instances where people go over budget, they needed to ask what the breakdown was in the system and why there was not any kind of flash report on a regular basis to indicate the overspending, which he did not see was being done.  He commented that there needed to be some proactive planning ahead about issues.

                                                            ---------------------------------------

Dr. Christine Harris asked the Board for a mitigation plan request regarding some large branches from some tall trees that were entangling themselves in the electrical wiring near the Martin Luther King Center in Mount Dora.  She was concerned about increased risk for fire during storms and that flooding would cause more risk of electrocution.  She noted that the fire management system has considered them red watch, which was a high alert. She requested consideration for a day of caring to bring together a team of volunteers or professionals to cut back the trees and possibly replant trees in the reserve area.

Commr. Cadwell stated that they would contact the Mt. Dora power company regarding that problem.

recess and reassembly

The Chairman announced that they would recess until 5:05 p.m.

public hearing

adoption of tentative millage rates and budget

Ms. Cindy Hall, County Manager, announced that this was the first of two public hearings on the Fiscal Year 2008/09 budget as required by Florida Statutes.  She stated that the purpose of this meeting was to present to the public the tentative budget for Fiscal Year 2009/10, including the proposed millage rates and their change from the rollback millage rates.  She explained that by State definition, the rollback millage rate was the rate when applied to next year’s tax base would generate the same revenue as was raised in the previous year, excluding new construction.  She pointed out that typically these rates would be lower than the current millage rate, but because the tax base was reduced by $1.8 million related to the economy coupled with unprecedented foreclosures, next year’s rollback rate is actually higher than their current millage rates.  She reported that at the end of the conclusion of public participation, the Board will adopt tentative tax rates and a tentative budget, including adjustments.  She noted that the Board may also direct her to bring further adjustments to the Board at the second public hearing on September 22.  She also commented that the ad valorem tax revenues have been reduced by 9 percent because of the lower tax base, and the tentative budget eliminated 76 full-time and 17 part-time positions and reflected reductions in many programs; continued the current hiring freeze; included 12 mandated unpaid furlough days for each employee; provided adequate maintenance of all of the County’s facilities, equipment, and infrastructure; funded currently-approved projects such as the downtown Tavares government center expansion at a reduced level; made parks, trails, public safety and economic development high priorities; and provided new positions for fire rescue and parks and trails.  She pointed out that the Board has made several major changes since July 14, and two of those changes were that the reorganization structure was changed to include the Department of Community Services and that the Board added $5 million to the reserve figure for a total general fund economic stabilization reserve of $17,743,000.

Mr. Doug Krueger, Budget Director, stated that under Florida Statutes 129.200, one of the first things that was required to be done was to identify the millage rates and the change from those millage rates to the rollback rates.  He specified that the proposed Lake County General Fund millage is 4.6511 mills per $1,000 of taxable value, which is equal to the current rate, but was a 10.6 percent reduction from the rollback of 5.2029 mills; the proposed Lake County ambulance millage is .4651 mills, which is also equal to the current rate and a 10.6 percent reduction from the rollback rate of .5203 mills; the proposed Public Lands Debt Service millage is .1101 mills, the same as the current rate; the proposed Stormwater, Road and Parks MSTU is .4984, representing a 11.05 percent reduction from the rollback rate of .5603 mills; and the Fire Rescue MSTU millage of .3222 mills was an 11.19 percent reduction from the rollback rate of .3628 mills.

Mr. Krueger referred to a handout which provided a summary overview of the recommended budget that was presented to the Board, containing some adjustments they were requesting that the Board adopt.  He specified that those changes total a net $4.1 million and generally reflect changes that were requested by the Board at budget workshops and previous Board meetings as well as reflect the re-budgeting of a number of road projects to bring that program in to match what was previously approved by the Board in the five-year road program on August 18.  There were a number of changes to reflect an adjustment to the proposed reorganization, and there was the addition of the Resource Conservation position in the Lake Soil and Water Conservation District and the deletions of the museum director curator position and a code enforcement officer position.  They also made some adjustments to the budget to reflect actual numbers related to furlough days and adjusted some grant revenues and expenditures according to the latest information that they had available.  He related that other changes that were specifically requested by the Board included adding $5,000 for the Lake Sumter Safe Kids Program, $5,000 to the Children’s School Dentist Program, and $51,800 to the LASER (Lake Sumter Emergency Response) program; discontinuation of advisory board stipends totaling $2520; and the reduction of the transfer to the Judicial Center project by $5 million, which was placed in the Economic Stabilization Reserve.  He noted that they reduced overtime and benefits in the Fire Rescue Fund by $390,000 due to the 12 grant positions that were added and placed that in reserve for emergency response.

Commr. Cadwell commented that it looked like all the changes were covered that they discussed at their last workshop, and he opened the public hearing.

Ms. Elizabeth Owen, a member of the Lake County Historical Society, asked the Board why they were closing the museum, firing the museum director, and entrusting the artifacts to the Historical Society.  She mentioned that children still are in awe and get excited when they visit the museum, and she urged the Board to take their children and grandchildren to the museum.  She opined that none of the volunteer members of the Historical Society were qualified, trained and educated archivists or had museum preservation experience.

Ms. Ann Treadway, a member of the Lake County Historical Society, stated that she was requesting for the Board to find a way for them to keep the museum and the curator, who she felt has done so much with it.  She gave a history of how the museum was started, emphasizing the effort and dedication of the volunteers.  She pointed out that families gave heirlooms and things that were important to them to the museum as well as pertinent to the history of the County, and they trusted the society to protect them and find a place to display them so that the history of Lake County could be told.  She commented that a lot of money and work was put into the museum, and related that they hired a professional museum designer to make the best use of space when they moved into the current location to display the artifacts 11 years ago.  She pointed out that the items that were on permanent loan to the museum would have to go back to the original owners if the museum was closed.  She was also concerned about items getting lost or damaged.  She opined that if the County closes the museum, they would be throwing away all the effort, time, and money that the volunteers, the County, and the State had spent.  She asked that the Board make every effort to find a way to keep the museum where it is and to keep the curator, who has done so much to research, preserve, display, and tell the history of this County.

Ms. Gerry McCormack stated that she researched the financial background on the restoration project, and there was money that was allocated for the professional museum execution design consultant services for $113,289.49, as well as funding for the museum exhibit fabrication and installation, exhibit components and equipment, and visual aid programs in the amount of $197,600.  She also noted that there were things throughout the grant that specified how things would be cared for.  She told the story surrounding a civil war drum that was displayed at the museum to illustrate the historic significance of this and other artifacts.

Mr. Roy Hunter, Northeast Lake Chamber of Commerce, commented that the solid waste indigent program affected the poorest of the poor residents of Lake County.

Commr. Renick informed Mr. Hunter that she already brought this up and that it was already on the Board’s agenda to address putting that back in.

Mr. Carl Ludecke, a resident of Eustis, expressed concern about the Metal of Honor that was on display at the historical museum which was awarded to Robert McTureous from Altoona, and he noted that the metal was given back to the Marine Corps before Lake County ever had a museum, but Mr. Bill Horan helped get the metal back to be displayed in the museum 12 years ago.  He opined that if the museum closes, the metal would go back to Virginia to be archived with a slim to no chance of getting it back.  He explained that there were very stringent guidelines on how the metal could be displayed, including in an environment that was climate controlled, with security and sprinkler systems.  He was hoping that they could work something out to have some continuity so that the metal did not have to go back to the Marine Corps.

Ms. Charlene King, a resident of Tavares, commented that there was so much history in Lake County and asked the Board’s help to keep the historical museum going.

Ms. Harryette Duncan, a resident of Yalaha, asked the Board to reconsider funding the Lake County Historical Museum and Director Kamp’s position.  She specified that since 1996 179 donors gave over $25,000 to help pay for the design and building of the museum while the 1924 courthouse was being renovated, and she asked the Board to give them the time to raise money to help save the museum and curator position.

Mr. Robert Grenier, a resident of Tavares and immediate past president of the Lake County Historic Society, stated that he understood the pressure the Board was under regarding the budget.  He commented that they would all love to have Dr. Diane Kamp to stay on as curator, and he was concerned about the artifacts being taken care of by a professional in the field, but he was confident that they would be safe, sound, and secure.

Mr. Vance Jochim, a resident of Tavares, commented that the history museums were the soul of the county, and he suggested that they retain the historical museum and save money in other places, such as the Judicial Center.  He mentioned that Sheriff Borders did not request and did not need the first floor of that building.

Mr. Frank Royce, Chief Deputy, Property Appraiser’s Office, commented that many people that come to his office were not in the most pleasant of moods, but when they went through that museum they were smiling.  He stated that he has met many people who were amazed by what Lake County is doing for historic purposes, and he opined that they could not duplicate the educational opportunities the museum has given to some of the school children in Lake County.

Mr. William Burleigh, a member of a pioneer family who settled in Lake County in the 1800’s, stated that he was very concerned that the space for the museum was to be used for a purpose which was not clearly defined.

Commr. Cadwell commented that it was not a space problem, and he commented that he thought that there would not be a lot of traffic through that building once the Tax Collector and Property Appraiser moved out.

Mr. Burleigh asked if the Board could discuss with a committee of the Historical Society a solution that would allow the museum to stay where it was.

Commr. Cadwell answered that that was an option that they could talk about as a Board.

Ms. Brenda Smith commented that they needed a central location to keep the artifacts and that it would cost a lot of money to package them up and take them somewhere else.  She also stated that the artifacts were important, priceless, and irreplaceable.  She asked the Board to keep an open mind and to let them keep the museum.

Ms. Robin Tinsley, a Leesburg resident and descendant of the pioneer family of H. H. Duncan, stated that she has researched a Master’s thesis and written extensively about Leesburg during World War II.  She emphasized that she has learned that context is key, and the collection of metals, jackets, drums, and other items of war all associated with someone from Lake County should all stay together at the museum.  She opined that many great men and women came from Lake County, and she believed they would lose the context of the fuller, larger picture of that if things were disbursed to different locations.

There being no one else who wished to address the Board, the Chairman closed the public hearing.  He reported that the first thing the Board had to do was to set the tentative millage rate.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Lake County General Fund Countywide tentative millage rate of 4.6511 mills.

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the tentative tax rates of the Lake County Ambulance MSTU of .4651 mills; the Lake County Public Lands Voted Debt of .1101 mills; the Lake County Stormwater, Roads and Parks MSTU of .4984 mills; and the Lake County Fire Rescue MSTU of .3222 mills.

Hardship Program

Commr. Renick stated that they had talked about the hardship program for the fire and solid waste fees on the tax bill briefly, and she suggested that they put the program back in place at whatever amount they find appropriate with more stringent qualifications in place.

Ms. Hall specified that this year the program was budgeted for $65,000, but they did not spend that much, and that it was from the general fund.

Mr. Krueger reported that they spent $40,689 so far.

Commr. Cadwell suggested that they reinstate it at $45,000.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to reestablish the hardship program for solid waste and fire rescue services in the amount of $45,000.

Public Transportation Routes

Ms. Hall explained that the proposed budget that came out in July recommended reducing two Public Transportation routes in the Clermont area along Highway 50, but those grants have been extended, so if the Board desired they could retain all five routes.

Commr. Renick commented that that route has so many riders that at times there were people standing for the whole commute, and she specified that it was an express route from Clermont into Orlando being used by residents going to work at the school district and hospitals, as well as by Orange County deputies.  She stated that if they had the money, she would like to keep those routes in.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved retaining all five routes of the commuter Public Transportation route in Clermont along Highway 50.

Discussion Regarding Library DVD’s

Commr. Renick commented that when budgets were tight, they had to prioritize, and she felt that books rise to the top.  She stated that she was not in favor of a DVD budget for this year or indefinitely until a time they felt they could afford it.

Commr. Stewart stated that from a teacher’s point of view, she wanted children to take out books, but when she looked at it from a public point of view, she could see the appeal of the DVD’s.  She related that she had talked to Ms. Wendy Breeden, Public Resource Director, about cutting back on the DVD funding.

Ms. Breeden recommended a possible compromise or solution to limit DVD purchases to 10 percent of the library budget, which would be about $2,200 per library.

Commr. Renick pointed out that they already had DVD’s in the libraries, but this was just to purchase new releases.

Commr Hill mentioned that they might want to look into getting educational videos.

Commr. Renick commented that she did not think they would need 10 percent for that, and she believed that they already had videos that went with the books that the students read.

Commr. Stewart commented that she believed she made a mistake when she voted to close down the historic museum, and if she had to make a choice, she believed the libraries could do without the DVD’s if they could use that money to help the museum.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Conner and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board moved that they do not spend money to purchase new DVD releases and to reevaluate this issue each year.

Commr. Cadwell voted “no.”

Historic Museum

Commr. Conner stated that he was liaison to the Museum Committee and to the Historical Society, and he pointed out that they have not decided to shut down the museum.  He clarified that the TDC (Tourist Development Council), who has been funding the museum, has unanimously voted that they did not want funds to come from Tourist Development dollars any more for the museum.  He saw where they could streamline that operation and turn the oversight of the museum over to the Historical Society and restore their funding. He opined that the security of the Sheriff’s employees was very important, but he thought that the Sheriff and the museum could coexist.  He also commented that they would not create a situation where that metal of honor was going to be relocated or harmed in any way.  He stated that they did not know what would happen to the museum yet, but some of those artifacts might be better located in buildings where more people would see them.

Commr. Stewart expressed concern about the artifacts and stated that she now believed that it would not be the best use of the artifacts to go to different places in the County.  She commented that Lake County’s history could not be replaced.

Commr. Renick clarified that the museum has had a curator for 11 years.

Commr. Conner expressed concern that there would be a security issue if the Sheriff did not get the first floor, but he thought they could work all the issues out and that the Historical Society overseeing the museum would work fine.

Commr. Cadwell stated that they had a problem with timing since they did not have a plan in place.  He suggested that the Board budget the curator position until mid-year until they could get a plan in place.

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to re-instate the position of Historical Museum Curator for 30 hours per week for six months until they decide at the next workshop how to proceed procedurally.

Ms. Hall asked if that would be taken out of the Tourist Development fund.

Commr. Conner responded that the TDC did not want it to be taken out of that fund, and if the Board wanted to do that, he would not support it.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Hill and carried by a vote of 3-2, the Board moved to fund the Historical Museum curator out of the Tourist Development fund.

Commr. Cadwell and Commr. Conner voted “no.”

Changes to the FY 2009-10 Recommended Budget

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved to adopt changes to the FY 2009-10 Recommended Budget totaling $4,080,168.

Tentative Budget

On a motion by Commr. Stewart, seconded by Commr. Renick and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved to adopt the FY 2009-10 Tentative Budget totaling $415,663,560.

Final 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 public hearing for the final adoption of the FY 2009-10 millage rates and budget on September 22, 2009 at 5:05 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Board of County Commission Chambers.

reports – commissioner renick – district 2

technical training camp in green swamp

Commr. Renick related that there has been an ongoing problem with the technical training camp in the Green Swamp.  She reported that when Code Enforcement took it to the Special Master, he found them in violation, and serious fines are continuing to be levied against them.  She reported that DCA was taking it to the administrative hearing, and they would like the County to sign on as interveners with no money required by the County.  She asked the Board to give Mr. Minkoff direction.

Mr. Minkoff commented that at this point the department has not done that, because they had their separate action, but he did not see a lot of risk to join on with them if that is what the Board wanted to do.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board moved to add this issue on to the Agenda.

On a motion by Commr. Renick, seconded by Commr. Stewart, and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0 the Board moved to have the County join as interveners to join DCA in their legal action against the Technical Training Camp in the Green Swamp.

Community Services Director

Ms. Hall announced that she has hired Ms. Allison Thall as the Community Services Director.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

 

_________________________________

welton g. cadwell, chairman

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

________________________________

NEIL KELLY, CLERK