A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

may 5, 2015

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 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:  Jimmy Conner, Chairman; Sean Parks, Vice Chairman; Timothy I. Sullivan; Leslie Campione; and Welton G. Cadwell.  Others present were:  David Heath, County Manager; Sanford A. “Sandy” Minkoff, County Attorney; Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager, Neil Kelly, Clerk of the Court; and Victoria Bartley, Deputy Clerk.

INVOCATION and pledge

Reverend Karen Burris, Morrison United Methodist Church, gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Agenda update

Mr. David Heath, County Manager, asked that the Board pull Tab 19 to be considered with Tab 30, as they both have to do with the County's Employee Self-Funded Medical Plan and Budget.

Commr. Conner relayed that Tab 28 had been pulled to be considered after the Citizen Question and Comment period.

employee awards

Mr. Robert Anderson, Human Resources Director, presented the following employee awards, commenting briefly on the employee’s service to the County.

FIVE YEARS

           Nicholas Lewis, Firefighter/Paramedic (not present)

           Public Safety/Fire Rescue Division

 

           Brian Ramsundarsingh, Trades Crew Leader (not present)

           Public Resources/Parks & Trails Division

 

          TEN YEARS

          Julie England, Extension Agent II

          Public Resources/Agricultural Education Services Division

 

          Herbert Pilgrim, Library Assistant I

          Public Resources/Library Services Division/Cagan Crossings Library

 

          Paul Simmons, Economic Growth Business Relations Manager

          Economic Growth

 

          Todd Thornton, Senior Financial Coordinator

          Fiscal & Administrative Services/Budget Division

 

          FIFTEEN YEARS

          Jacqueline Droz, Senior CAD Technician

          Public Works/Engineering Division/Survey & Design

 

          Leslie Grayson, Automated Systems Specialist I

          Public Resources/Library Services Division

 

 

           Jennifer Joiner, Code Enforcement Officer

           Community Safety & Compliance/Code Enforcement Division

 

           TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

           James Story, Equipment Operator III

           Public Works/Road Operations Division/Maintenance Area II (Minneola)

 

Wendy Breeden presented the awards for retirement and gave a brief overview of each person’s achievements and career.

           RETIREMENT

           11 YEARS:      Katherine Spurgeon, Branch Supervisor

                                    Public Resources/Library Services Division/Astor Library

 

           16 YEARS:     Judith Buckland, Program Specialist

                                    Public Resources/Public Resources Administration

 

           14 YEARS:     Sheryl Aldrich, Office Associate IV (not present)

                                    Public Safety/Fire Rescue Administration

 

MINUTEs APPROVAL

On a motion by Commr. Cadwell, seconded by Commr. Parks, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of March 24, 2015 (Regular Meeting), March 31, 2015 (Special Meeting), and April 6, 2015 (Special Meeting) as presented.

sales surtax oversight committee presentation

Mr. Keith Mullins, Chairman of the Sales Surtax Oversight Advisory Committee, explained that the vote from 2001 to extend a one-cent sales tax for a fifteen year term also included the creation of a nine member committee to review how the taxes were being spent to insure that it remained in compliance to what the citizens had intended.  He relayed that the committee had reviewed the reports of all the cities, the County, and the School Board for the 2014 fiscal year and all parties were spending the allotted taxes appropriately.  He reported that they would be meeting on September 14 to examine the proposed budgets for the next year.  He thanked the Board, the cities, and staff for their assistance.

citizen question and comment

Mr. Vance Jochim, financial blogger, suggested that the Board make it a condition on the infrastructure sales tax ballot that they will not utilize the revenue they receive to pay bonds and that the County should live within its means.  He opined that the County needed objective revenue projections, since the audit of the previous 15 years had found that the revenues had been over-projected.  He commented that most of the public and major companies in the area are not receiving an 8 percent increase in their health insurance cost like staff is suggesting in Tab 19.  He remarked that government agencies should put a cap on the growth in their employee benefits and do a survey of the top 20 private employers to compare wage growths, with any extra amount being addressed by reducing services or having the employees to contribute.  He opined that the Board should use more professional metrics before approving any budgets.

Nuisance Abatement ordinance

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

Mr. Sandy Minkoff, County Attorney, explained that this public hearing was for the adoption of Ordinance 2015-14 revising Chapter 14, Article III of the County Code, entitled “Nuisance Abatement”, to prohibit properties developed or used for recreational uses or stormwater ponds from maintaining uncultivated vegetation.

Mr. Brian Sheahan, Director of Community Safety and Compliance, gave a presentation on the proposed ordinance amending Nuisance Abatement regulations addressing the maintenance of uncultivated vegetation.  He reported that the current Nuisance Abatement provisions require lawns and grass to be maintained at a height of 10 inches or less on properties less than one acre in size, and in December 2014, the BCC directed staff to review the current code and bring back recommendations for the maintenance of grass/vegetation on recreational properties adjacent to developed property.  He explained that the proposed ordinance adds definitions of “Improved Property” to include developed lands, adds a definition of “Recreational Use,” and requires that land used for Recreational Uses comply with existing maintenance requirements, regardless of size.  He relayed that the ordinance was originally proposed to include an exemption for recreational uses abandoned prior to January 1, 2014 to ensure the enforceability of the ordinance, and at the Board’s direction, the ordinance was advertised without an exemption date.  He related that there are an unknown number of abandoned recreational uses and staff had found at least four former golf courses which are closed or abandoned and may become subject to maintenance requirements under the ordinance if an exemption is not included. He displayed the locations of these courses on the monitor and explained that the Mt. Plymouth golf course has 140 acres with multiple owners since 2007, abandoned or ceased operation in 2007, was partially re-platted for single family homes, and has further redevelopment being proposed; the Silver Lake golf course has 109 acres with one owner, was abandoned or ceased operation 2006 to 2007, and the proposed redevelopment was abandoned in 2006; the Links at Village Green golf course has 41 acres with one owner, was officially abandoned or ceased operation around 2007, and has had the property split so it is not in the original configuration; and the Pine Meadows golf course has 208 acres with one owner, was abandoned or ceased operation around 2007, and had roughly 2/3 of the course rezoned in 2009 to Agriculture in order to grow hay. 

Mr. Sheahan explained that the Board has two adoption options, where Option 1 would be to adopt the proposed ordinance without an exemption date, which would mean that the ordinance would apply to all recreational uses and may include an unknown number of other abandoned recreational uses, but the applicability to the four former golf courses would be unclear due to the fragmented ownership, subdivision of the land, and abandoned status.  He specified that Option 2 would be to adopt an ordinance with an exemption date so that the ordinance would apply to recreational uses in operation after January 1, 2014 and would prevent any questionable uses.  He stated that the staff recommendation is to approve Option 2 with the exemption for recreation uses abandoned on, or prior to, January 1, 2014 to ensure that the ordinance can be consistently applied.  He relayed that the requested action is for the Board to determine whether to include an exemption for recreation uses abandoned on, or before, January 1, 2014 and to approve the proposed ordinance amending Article III Nuisance Abatement.

Rich Weaver, a resident living at the Palisades Country Club, specified that he and the other Palisades residents had come to voice their support and thanked the Board for their work on this ordinance.  He explained that they had met with Commr. Parks in August 2014 to discuss the issues surrounding their improperly maintained golf course.  He noted that other counties had ordinances that dealt with the limitations that code enforcement has with properties that are larger than an acre, and he had met with staff to see if something similar could be achieved in Lake County.  He specified that the County had addressed this issue in the time allotted and asked that the Board approve the suggested ordinance.

Fred Costello, resident of the Palisades community, reported that all requests that their community has put forward have all been considered and addressed, such as repairing sidewalks and water drainage canals and halting unwanted annexation.  He relayed that they had asked Commr. Parks last year to spearhead this ordinance, and he acted with deliberate speed.  He stated that this ordinance was needed in order to discourage owners of golf courses and similar properties from abandoning those properties and enabling the overgrowth of weeds that lead to potential health and safety hazards.  He commented that the residents of the Palisades community were deeply appreciative of the Board’s support and assistance in this matter.

Joseph Cummings, resident of the Palisades community, thanked Commr. Parks for his help and support over the past year.  He remarked that the Palisades’ golf course had stopped mowing during March of last year and that the subsequent weeds and overgrowth had made the community look unseemly.

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

Commr. Parks inquired what the process of reporting code violation would be.

Mr. Sheahan explained that a resident would either call or email the Code Enforcement Office if they suspect a code violation, and a Code Enforcement Officer will investigate the complaint, discuss the issue with the property owner, and a notice of violation will be issued if the owner does not rectify the issue; an order to comply will be issued from the Code Enforcement Special Master, and a fine will be imposed.  He clarified that their officers would respond within a few days, but there is a legal process that may take some time.

Commr. Parks opined that he loved to serve his community, and the residents of the Palisades have made that both enjoyable and easy.  He thanked staff for their hard work and responsiveness.  He stated that he was in favor of Option 2, as he thought that Option 1 would put more pressure on staff when they already have to address code enforcement issues.

Commr. Campione commented there were some concerns from her constituents for the Mt. Plymouth golf course not being properly maintained due to the high grass, rodent activity, and ATV traffic.  She suggested that this ordinance might be able to address this particular situation and wondered if it was possible to create an exemption process, so that former recreation properties could request an exemption if they submitted a plan to abate the nuisance associated with the property being essentially abandoned.  She specified that she was in favor of this ordinance moving forward so that the Palisades residents could proceed, but asked that they consider bringing back something that would help address situations like the Mt. Plymouth golf course.

Commr. Cadwell voiced his support for Option 2 and remarked that he hoped that the Board would continue to look for options to rectify these situations, possibly through a separate ordinance that specifically addresses these abandoned properties.

Commr. Sullivan opined that this was a great, common sense approach to a nuisance problem and expressed his appreciation that his fellow commissioners wish to return to the issue to address specific sites, as the ordinance must be broad by nature.  He voiced his support for Option 2 and for staff to work on possibilities for addressing the other golf courses.  

Commr. Conner also voiced his support for Option 2 and for continuing to work on the aforementioned issues.  He mentioned that there was a similar situation in his district at the Royal Highlands golf course that he has attempted to address before, but he and the staff could not find an appropriate solution, so perhaps this could be considered with the Mt. Plymouth golf course.

Commr. Cadwell commented that Royal Highlands would probably fall under the same separate ordinance as the others, despite being zoned as commercial.

Commr. Parks asked staff to investigate if the property owner had previously been willing to give Royal Highlands the ability to mow the land themselves.

Commr. Campione pointed out that the four golf courses listed in the presentation would be easier to address, so perhaps their process should be to pass the current ordinance, and then look into a nuisance abatement ordinance for abandoned recreational uses and another separate  ordinance for properties that have a commercial use. 

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Sullivan, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the adoption of Ordinance 2015-14 revising Chapter 14, Article III of the County Code, entitled “Nuisance Abatement”, to prohibit properties developed or used for recreational uses or stormwater ponds from maintaining uncultivated vegetation, with the exemption date of January 1, 2014 added back in, and directed staff to prepare some options to address the four sites mentioned in the presentation, the site at Royal Highlands, and any other commercial sites that may be in a similar situation.

Commr. Cadwell opined that they needed to be committed to pursuing this ongoing issue.

Commr. Campione suggested that they set a deadline for accomplishing some of these goals, as it had worked well with this ordinance for the Palisades and helped them keep focused and on task.

Mr. Heath replied that August or September of this year would work well as a deadline.

Commr. Cadwell suggested that they also look into perhaps changing the platting requirements instead of just the code changes in the suggested ordinances.

Commr. Campione remarked that they might be able to connect the platting or ordinances to the Keep Lake Beautiful Program.

PRESENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT

Mr. Neil Kelly, Clerk of the Court, thanked the clerk staff that worked on the CAFR and thanked the Board staff that had assisted with the design and production of the publication.

Mr. William Blend, CPA and CFE of Moore Stephens Lovelace, gave a presentation on the CAFR reports and other required auditor communications for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014.  He explained that the County had received an unmodified opinion for the Auditor’s Report on Financial Statements, which ensures that the financial information as presented in the document is accurate.  He related that the Auditor’s Report on Compliance and Internal Control Over Compliance Applicable to Each Major Federal and State Award Program had no internal control findings related to compliance with federal and state grants and no compliance findings and that the Auditor’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and on Compliance and Other Matters had no internal control findings related to financial reporting and no compliance findings.  He reported that the Auditor’s Management Letter had one comment regarding the County’s financial condition assessment, which is detailed on pages 207 to 208 of the CAFR report.  He relayed that there were no findings regarding investment compliance with Florida Statutes in the Independent Accountant’s Report.  He gave a summary of auditor responsibilities, which included performing their audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, OMB Circular A-133, and Chapter 10.550, Rules of the Auditor General.  He explained that these standards are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that the financial statements and federal and state grant programs tested are free of material misstatement. 

Mr. Blend specified that management responsibilities included establishing and maintaining internal controls, as well as monitoring internal controls; selecting and applying appropriate accounting and reporting principles; making all financial records and related information available to them; disclosing any related parties; adjusting the financial statements for material misstatement; designing and implementing programs to prevent and detect fraud; informing them of any known or suspected fraud or illegal acts or allegations of same without regard to materiality; and establishing and maintaining a process to track and correct any current or prior audit findings.  He noted that the Internal Controls unit of their firm considered the County’s internal controls over financial reporting as a basis for designing their audit procedures, performed specific tests of controls over federal and state grants, and received assistance from the Clerk’s Inspector General department in documenting internal controls over federal and state grant compliance.  He mentioned that they had performed tests of the County’s compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.  He explained that for single audit purposes, they also performed tests of transactions for the types of compliance requirements that could have a direct and material effect on the County’s major federal and state programs.  He noted that there were no audit adjustments made during the course of the audit, with no unreported or unadjusted differences, and no disagreements were had with management.  He reported that a risk-based audit approach requires the use of their professional judgment in determining materiality and audit areas of significance, and that as far as they know, management did not receive opinions from other accountants.  He remarked that their procedures included testing transactions on a sample basis, verifying account balances they deemed significant, analysis of relevant controls, inquiry, analytics, and other procedures they had deemed necessary.  He relayed that they had obtained certain representations from management, including complete records provided, having no known communications from regulatory agencies concerning noncompliance, being responsible for internal controls, having no undisclosed knowledge of fraud or suspected fraud, complete financial statements, being responsible for compliance, complying with contractual obligations, and handling matters pertaining to grant expenditures. 

Mr. Blend relayed that the County had identified Barbara F. Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, Lake County Clerk’s office, as the management-level individual to oversee their work and take responsibility for the County’s financial statements and that their team was made up of governmental audit specialists and IT specialists.  He displayed the audit schedule on the monitor and pointed out that they were appearing before the date required for submission to the State and have met all required deadlines.  He displayed some financial highlights of the County-Wide Analysis for Lake County’s overall governmental and business-type activities, which is meant to be a full accrued basis presentation similar to the private industry, where the revenues are recognized when earned and expenses recognized when incurred. He mentioned that there were unique things about governments that make them difficult to analyze as they would in a business and private entity situation. He explained that the County’s current ratio, or current assets over current liabilities, did go down but is still at a strong level at 3.5 for governmental activities and 4.6 for business-type activities.  He commented that the unrestricted net position percentage of total expenses in 2014 for governmental activities is 9.6 percent and for business-type activities is 5.6 percent, giving them a total change in net position of minus $19.1 million and an additional $2.6 million respectively.  He specified that the major governmental funds included the General Fund, Sales Tax Capital Projects, Road Impact Fees, Facilities Expansion Projects, and Federal and State Grants and that the major enterprise fund was for Landfill.  He remarked that the unassigned fund balance percentage of total expenditures and transfers out for 2014 is 10.4 percent and the net change in fund balance for the General Fund is a loss of $6.9 million.  He relayed that what the County budgeted for the General Fund overall gave them a slight raise in revenues but maintained the budgeted amount of expenditures.  He noted that Lake County met their proprietary fund goals with the Landfill fund being self-supporting and the internal service funds breaking even.  He relayed that there was a new accounting standard, GASB 68, a new pension liability standard, that will be effective for FY 2015 and impact the full accrued basis statement.  He requested that the Board accept the County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014.

On a motion by Commr. Sullivan, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board acknowledged the receipt of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014.

CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Sullivan, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda, Items 1 through 10, as follows:

List of Warrants

Request to acknowledge receipt of the 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.

CAFR and AFR from Southwest Florida Water Management District

Request to acknowledge receipt of the following items from the Southwest Florida Water Management District:

            1. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the             Fiscal    Year ended September 30, 2014 together with a CD of          the document. The CAFR was also posted to their website at             www.watermatters.org in compliance with Sections 373.5071         and 373.536(6), Florida Statutes.

 

            2. Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Financial Report (AFR) which   was filed electronically with the Department of Financial         Services, Bureau of Local Government on March 31, 2015.

 

Ordinance from the City of Eustis

Request to acknowledge receipt of Ordinance 15-04 from the City of Eustis on April 2, 2015 annexing property located on the northwest corner of N. SR 19 and Haselton Rd. comprising 1.06 acres and contiguous to the City of Eustis.

Audit Report from the City of Eustis

Request to acknowledge receipt of the City of Eustis’ Audit Report for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2014, delivered March 19, 2015, in accordance with the “Single Audit Act.”

Annual Report from the City of Minneola’s Mountain Properties C.R.A

Request to acknowledge receipt of the City of Minneola’s Mountain Properties C.R.A. Annual Report.

Annual Report from the City of Minneola’s Downtown C.R.A

Request to acknowledge receipt of the City of Minneola’s Downtown C.R.A. Annual Report.

Meeting Minutes of the County Greens Community Development District

Request to acknowledge receipt of a copy of the Minutes of the December 15, 2014 meeting of the County Greens Community Development District which were approved at their February 23, 2015 meeting.

City of Mount Dora CAFR

Request to acknowledge receipt of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the year ended September 30, 2014 from the City of Mount Dora.

City of Leesburg CAFR

Request to acknowledge receipt of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014 from the City of Leesburg.

 

Ordinance adopted by the City of Fruitland Park

Request to acknowledge receipt of  copy of Ordinance No. 2015-001 adopted by the City of Fruitland Park on April 9, 2015 annexing property located south of CR 466A and west of Lake Josephine Drive comprising 45 acres to be rezoned from Lake County “AG” (Agricultural) to General Commercial (C-2) within the city limits of Fruitland Park.

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Sullivan and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager’s Consent Agenda, Tabs 5 through 27, pulling Tab 19, as follows:

Proclamations

Request approval of Proclamation 2015-39  proclaiming May 2015 as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, per Commissioner Conner.

Request approval of Proclamation 2015-41  proclaiming the week of May 17-23, 2015 as "Emergency Medical Services Week" in Lake County, Florida, per Commissioner Cadwell.

Request approval of Montverde Academy Basketball Champions Proclamation 2015-47, per Commissioner Parks.

Request approval of the Montverde Academy Soccer Champions Proclamation 2015-48, per Commissioner Parks.

Community Services

Request approval of an Amendment to an Interlocal Agreement between Lake County, Florida and Central Lake Community Development District (CDD) allowing an expansion of utility service to Bishop's Gate. There is no fiscal impact.

Community Safety and Compliance

Request approval to release property purchased by Lewis Lineberger, located at 42025 Beech Avenue, Deland, FL 32720, in District 5 from an outstanding code enforcement lien against Marshall and Betty Gaard. The fiscal impact is $1,405.70 (revenue).  Additionally, authorize County Manager to approve and execute future Release of Liens, or Release of Property from Certain Liens, for Animal Control and Code Enforcement cases, once they are paid in full or when a lesser amount of up to $5,000 is recommended by the Special Master.

County Attorney

Request approval to have a Closed Session of the Board of County Commissioners to discuss pending litigation. There is no fiscal impact.

Economic Growth

            Request approval of Interlocal Agreement with City of Leesburg authorizing permitting and inspecting building permits of publicly owned property within the jurisdiction of the other.  There is no fiscal impact.

Request approval of the Repayment Agreement between Lake County and Nomel, Inc. for monies distributed to them through the Business Assistance Program (BAP) and the High Value Job Creation Program (HVJC). The fiscal impact is $36,000 over three years; $12,000 per year (Revenue).

Request approval and execution of the Special Master Agreement between Lake County and BFG Lakeshore, Ltd. There is no fiscal impact.

Request approval of the RFP for Lake County to bid on 2017 & 2018 USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championship in Clermont.  The fiscal impact will not exceed $28,000 per year (expenditure, TDT funds).

Facilities Development and Management

Request award of contract 15-0210 for construction of a vehicle canopy at Fire Station 90/104 to Corinthian Builders Inc. (Sanford, FL).   The fiscal impact is $69,000 (Expenditure).

Request award of contract 15-0209 for provision and installation of a modular building to serve as Fire Station 90/104 to AAA Affordable Structures, Inc. (Tavares, FL).  The fiscal impact is $429,763 (Expenditure).

 Fiscal and Administrative Services

Request approval of the update to the County's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Policy and Procedure documents to ensure continuation of grant funding in support of the County's Public Transportation Program.  The updated policy LCC-80 replaces current Policy LCC-80 and Procedure LC-44 in their entirety.  There is no direct financial impact.

Human Resources

Request approval of plan design and funding changes to the County’s Employee Self-Funded Medical Plan for FY 2016 effective October 1, 2015; and request approval to establish the full equivalent monthly health insurance premium and increase employee contributions for each tier of the PPO and HMO plans.  Also, authorize the County Manager to implement proposed plan design changes and update plan documents as necessary.  The fiscal impact is $2,836,912 (Expenditure).

Public Resources

Request approval and signature of revised Lake County Board of County Commissioners Policy LCC-63, Library Impact Fee Application and Distribution Process.  There is no fiscal impact.

Public Works

Request approval to purchase two (2) signal bucket trucks and one (1) sign truck under Invitation to Bid (ITB) 15-0619 to Stamm Manufacturing, a division of World Industrial Equipment, Inc. (Fort Pierce, FL), for the Traffic Operations Division of Public Works; and authorize execution of all procurement documentation by the Procurement Office.  These are replacement vehicles.  This purchase will be funded by the Infrastructure Sales Tax - Capital Projects.  The fiscal impact is $291,000.00 (Expenditure).

Request approval of the satisfaction and release of lien for one (1) special assessment.  There is no fiscal impact. 

Request approval to award CR 565 / Villa City Road Widening and Resurfacing (Bible Camp Road to Simon Brown Road), Project No. 2015-02, Bid No. 15-0011, Tracking No.  W&R08037, to Florida Safety Contractors, Inc, in the amount of $1,574,539.50, and to encumber and expend funds in the amount of $1,533,000.00 from Road Impact Fees Benefit District 6 (remaining balance in account); and $41,539.50 from Infrastructure Sales Tax Capital Project – Public Works. The fiscal impact is $1,574,539.50 (Expenditure). 

Request approval to advertise for bids for the CR 44C (Eudora Road) and Sylvan Shores Sidewalk Retrofit Project at an estimated cost of $260,000.00, Tracking No. S/W150002.  This project will be funded from the Infrastructure Sales Tax Capital Projects – Sidewalks Fund.  The fiscal impact is $260,000.  

Request approval of Resolution 2015-49 and amended Railroad Reimbursement Agreement with the State of Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Central Railroad Company, Inc. for the crossing located on Lake Dora Circle (3844) in Tavares. The amendment calls for FDOT to construct flashing lights and gates at no cost to Lake County.  There is no fiscal impact and no annual increase. 

Request approval of Resolution 2015-50 and amended Railroad Reimbursement Agreement with the State of Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Central Railroad Company, Inc. for the crossing located on County Drive (3944), Section 31, Township 19, Range 26, in Tavares. The amendment calls for FDOT to construct flashing lights and gates at no cost to Lake County.  There is no fiscal impact and no annual increase. 

Request approval of award of contract 15-0012 for provision of microsurfacing, crack sealing and related service for County roads to Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc. (Zephyrhills, Florida); and authorization for the Procurement Office to execute all supporting documentation.  This contract will be funded by the County Transportation Trust - Road Operations.  The estimated fiscal impact for FY 2015 is $300,000 (Expenditure).

            Buildings and Construction ordinance

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

Mr. Minkoff explained that the request was for the adoption of Ordinance 2015-15 amending Lake County Code, Chapter 6, entitled “Buildings and Construction,” Article VI, entitled “Locally Registered and Locally Licensed Contractors”, exempting a licensed residential building or general contractor from the examination requirements of local license, renumbering Section 684 through 695, providing for severability inclusion in the code.

On a motion by Commr. Cadwell, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the adoption of Ordinance 2015-15 amending Lake County Code, Chapter 6, entitled “Buildings and Construction,” Article VI, entitled “Locally Registered and Locally Licensed Contractors”.

recess and reassembly

The chairman announced that there would be a fifteen minute break at 10:05 A.M.

Employee Self-Funded Medical Plan and Budget Presentation

Mr. Anderson presented an overview of the Employee Self-Funded Medical Plan and proposed FY 2016 Budget to the Board.  He explained that they would be focusing on the Risk and Benefits section of the Human Resources Department which concentrated on proactively administering the risk and benefits programs for the County and other participating entities.  He reported that Lake County manages a self-funded medical plan for its employees and their dependents that covers several organizations in Lake County, including the Board of County Commissioners, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Supervisor of Elections, the Property Appraiser, the Water Authority, the Tax Collector, Lake Emergency Medical Services, and the Clerk of Courts.  He relayed that there was an average of 1158 EE participants (all entities), including approximately 595 Lake County BCC employees and their dependents for an average of 2746 total plan members.  He listed some of the department’s accomplishments, such as providing benefits services and enrollments to approximately 1,154 employees in July 2014, holding employee health screenings during July 2014, holding flu shot clinics in October 2014, providing 37 benefits-related information sessions, and conducting an ongoing Diabetes Self-Management Program.  He specified that with the self-funded plan, if claims are lower than anticipated, the County can invest any savings and earn interest, and in the event that claims are higher than usual, then stop-loss insurance coverage can pay for excess costs.  He commented that use of the Florida Blue network provides discounts, medical services, and pharmacy, and resulted in annual savings of $15,573,927 in savings on billed medical charges and $2,450,498 as a result of pharmacy discounts.  He relayed that other efficiencies included a reduction in ASO fees from $47.25 to $41.99 per employee per month, with estimated reductions of $497,964 over the 3-year contract including wellness contributions, lowering administrative cost for the Flexible Spending Program from $4.50 to $3.50 per participant per month, lowering the Employee Assistance Program RFP fees from $1.30 to $1.22 per employee per month, and reducing the  aggregate employee cost for Vision by $4,800 per year through an RFP.  He mentioned that they have also purchased excess loss insurance to protect Lake County from large claims and that Lake County has been reimbursed from excess loss insurance, pharmacy rebates, and wellness contributions from Florida Blue for a total of $1,024,456.65 in FY 2013 and $1,284,658.55 in FY 2014.  He displayed a series of benchmark graphs on the monitor and noted that all other surrounding counties are self-funded, with the exception of Marion County, which is fully insured.  He specified that every county’s plan is slightly different so to measure benchmarks, they researched what the employee’s share of the premium is as opposed to the County’s.  He noted that Lake County has a 9 percent employee contribution for the individual HMO program and the individual PPO has 12 percent, with employees contributing 17 percent for the family HMO plan and 19 percent for the PPO.  He relayed that the in-network, out of pocket maximums for Lake County is $2,000 for both the HMO and PPO individual plan, $4,000 for the family HMO, and $6,000 for the family PPO.

Mr. Anderson explained that the proposed Medical Plan Budget is for a total of $17,696,405, with $14,727,446 in operating expenses and $2,968,959 in reserves. He commented that this cost includes medical plan design changes, an increase to employee and employer contributions, an 8 percent increase in claims, a 20 percent increase in excess loss insurance premium, and mandated reinsurance fees.   He noted that the largest portion of the budget was assigned to claims payment with $12,547,880 of the total budget.  He reported that the biggest portion of the County’s Benefits Program is the self-funded medical plan, also known as an Administrative Services Only Plan (ASO).  He related that the ASO is an arrangement where the employer pays a fixed administrative fee and reimburses the carrier for health plan claims from its own funds, where the arrangement includes paying ASO fees to a health network provider such as Florida Blue, as well as purchasing excess loss insurance from Symetra for large claims.  He declared that the plan year is from October 1 through September 30 of each year and that employees are allowed to make election changes during the year if they have a qualifying event, as well as during open enrollment which takes place each year during the month of July.  He remarked that the County has two medical plan options provided through Florida Blue, a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan and a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan, and these networks include Lake County hospitals and physicians as well as providers statewide and national.  He relayed that both the HMO plan and the PPO plan currently have two tiers of coverage which cover Employee or Employee plus Family which allows the employees to choose from one of four options to provide health insurance coverage and each of the four choices have different costs to the employee for premiums, prescription copays, and other employee paid costs.  He specified that the County’s Actuarial Consultant determined the self-funded medical plan full-premium equivalent, or the actual cost of the insurance, to be $581.98 for the Single and $1,367.51 for the Family HMO, with $598.44 for the Single and $1,406.19 for the Family PPO.

Mr. Steve Koontz, Director of Fiscal and Administrative Services, presented an overview of the fund’s financial history and displayed a graph of the revenues versus the expenditures of the past five years.  He explained that expenditures have usually been higher than revenues, and this is expected to continue in FY 2015, but revenues have been fairly consistent.  He mentioned that the employer contribution has been $6,900 since FY 2013 and will remain so in FY 2015.  He specified that the current employee contributions have not changed since FY 2008, where the HMO plan is $26.25 for Singles and $113.19 for Families, and the PPO plan is $34.65 for Singles and $136.96 for Families per pay period.  He pointed out that claims payment has been steadily growing since FY 2011 due to more people utilizing the plan and increases in medical expenses, which have reached a budgeted number of $12.35 million this year and have been estimated for an 8 percent increase in FY 2016.  He emphasized that the fund needs at least 60 days’ worth of payments as a reserve, and they have historically exceeded that amount, but they now need to increase both the employer and employee contribution in order to match the increase in their claims payment, or their reserves will be depleted. 

Mr. John Robinson, president and CEO of Roberts and Bush consulting firm, relayed that staff recommends for the FY 2016 Budget a change to plan design based on utilization, an increase in employee contribution, and an increase in departmental budget contribution per position per year.  He gave a claims utilization analysis and explained that County staff have identified several areas where the County has experienced high utilization and/or high costs which includes facility co-pays (such as for inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, urgent care costs), imaging co-pays (such as for MRIs, CT scans, and x-rays), pharmacy co-pays, professional services, and out of pocket annual maximums.  He specified that plan costs are what the County pays out of the budget, co-pays are the fixed dollar amounts that an individual pays when they seek services, and co-insurance is a percentage that one pays as an individual and changes with the cost of care.  He outlined the staff findings for emergency room costs which include a 31 percent visit increase and a 26 percent increase in cost for a total of $1,188,331 of claims in FY 2014.  He commented that out of these emergency room visits, 149 of them were with ill-defined conditions, where it was a false alarm or they did not have a diagnosis, and the cost of these visits came to $437,685.  He explained that each emergency room visit cost about $2,115 with about 580 visits, but the plan pays $100 for each Urgent Care visit, of which there were over one thousand.  He pointed out that 32 percent of Lake County ER visits occur during the weekend, as compared to Florida Blue’s average of 25 percent, and while ER visits have increased 31 percent, Urgent Care visits have only increased by 9.6 percent.  He noted that of the $702,198 paid claims for outpatient surgeries, $685,127 was paid to hospitals for the surgeries.  He related that the imaging costs for FY 2014 were $692,159, the outpatient hospital cost increased by $223,546, and the free-standing facility visits decreased by $3,470 from FY 2013. 

Mr. Robinson displayed on the monitor a graph of the cost of pharmacy prescriptions organized by type into generics, brands, and specialties and noted that the total Pharmacy cost in FY 2014 was $2,394,309 and the Plan Cost was $1,987,309, which is an increase of 17.2 percent.  He commented that out of these types, the fastest growing cost is specialty prescriptions.  He displayed a graphic breakdown of the cost of services with the number of visits they generate on the monitor.  He summarized that the  proposed plan design changes include imaging co-pays (such as for MRIs, CT scans, and x-rays), HMO and PPO emergency room co-pay, Rx and durable medical equipment/supplies co-pays, HMO inpatient hospital co-pay, HMO outpatient hospital co-pay, and out of pocket maximum.  He commented that these changes may help to encourage employees to choose the less expensive options with no detriment to their overall care, such as going to the out-patient surgical center as opposed to the hospital.  He displayed on the monitor the complete graphic of the suggested cost changes to the plan with the increases highlighted in red and any improvements highlighted in green.  He specified that they tried to keep the primary care physician and the generic prescriptions at the same amount because of the differences in costs.  He remarked some other changes included a $0 co-pay for preventative physicals, an increase to $300 for advanced imaging in the HMO plan, and increasing emergency room visit cost to $250, which is about 10 percent of the actual visit.  He related that assuming utilization would have remained the same, the proposed plan design changes are expected to result in an estimated cost shift of $589,312 from the health insurance fund to the employees in FY 2016.

Mr. Anderson reported that staff recommends a 10 percent increase to employee contributions and that this change will result in an estimated cost share increase for employees of approximately $226,880.  He related that staff also recommends that the County increase the budget contribution for benefits from $6,900 to $8,500 per position per year, which will be across all County Funds, will also impact Lake EMS and the other participants in the health insurance plan, and will result in an increase of approximately $2,020,800 to the health insurance fund. He displayed a graph on the monitor that detailed what the impact of increasing the contribution by $1600 would be across the funds.  He remarked that the FY 2016 proposed health benefit fund changes would have an estimated cost shift for claims for employees of $589,312, an increase of $226,800 in employee contribution, and an increase of $2,020,800 in the budgeted employer contribution for a total fiscal impact of $2,836,912.  He displayed on the monitor a graph of the effect these changes would have on reserve levels.  He relayed that the next steps would be to implement ongoing communication with employees on the plan design changes and ways to reduce the financial impact of those changes on the employee, to implement plan design changes with Florida Blue, and to conduct open enrollment sessions with information on the new self-funded medical plan design.  He pointed out that the County will need to continue to explore options in the future to manage the claims experience including analyzing the effects of the proposed plan design changes on claims trends, looking at plan changes that could include high deductible plans and HSA’s (Health Savings Accounts), and looking at other options including an employee health clinic and increasing wellness programs.  He concluded by requesting that the Board approve the proposed changes to the Lake County Self-funded Employee Medical Plan, for Fiscal Year 2015 to 2016.

Commr. Sullivan clarified that the increased age of the employees would raise the price of the claims.

Commr. Cadwell noted that this plan would reinstate aspects of the wellness program that the County used to implement, but had to cut due to budget constraints.

Mr. Anderson remarked that at one time there were one and a half positions in the HR department devoted exclusively to wellness, but they may be able to utilize some of the contributions from Blue Cross to accomplish some of that without adding staff.

Commr. Cadwell commented that staff needed to think about how much they raise the deductibles for the entry level employees so that they are still able to pay for insurance, and that these changes are the best available options for the health of the plan.

Mr. Heath replied that the majority of employees have a PPO plan, but this was one of the aspects that they were sensitive to, as they did not want lower-end employees to forgo medical treatment that would result in having worse medical issues later and would cost the plan more.  He commended the Board for their consistency in having employees contribute to their insurance. 

Mr. Anderson clarified that they had changed the retention on the stop-losses last renewal, and they got around one million back in large claims in previous years.

Commr. Sullivan remarked that it was astonishing that they had not had to change the prices in three years, considering the healthcare trends in other companies.  He opined that this was a good program and takes into consideration that they are trying to have the least emphasis on employee contribution as possible, while still keeping the plan fiscally sound.

Commr. Parks clarified that there had been no communication with the employees about this new date until it was announced at this meeting.

Mr. Heath replied that they would inform the employees during the open enrollment session and that staff will be conducting a feasibility study so that they will be able to present their findings to the Board at the beginning of the calendar year.  He commented that they will have to address insurance earlier in the budget process next year, as these changes are geared toward the open enrollment sessions that occur in July and go into effect on October first.

 Commr. Conner inquired how much of their expenditure was made up of claims payment.

Mr. Robinson displayed the slide with the historical overview graph of the County’s revenues and expenditures.  He clarified that claims took up 70 percent of the $17,696,405 expenditure amount, but it is not really the loss ratio as the reserves are included here.  He explained that the loss ratio would include the claims to the administrative cost and that the insurance premium would look at claims, administrative expenses, and the stop loss that covers their risk. He explained that after quantifying the numbers, he had determined that the County’s loss ratio is 87 percent.

Mr. Heath clarified that expenditures were going up by over 80 percent every year and that the Board had reduced the payments into the medical fund during the recession and had to utilize the reserves.  He specified that the revenues have come down while the expenditures have continued to climb, so now they must refurbish the medical fund to infuse revenue into it and to stop utilizing the reserves.

Commr. Conner asked if they had a way of determining if emergency room visits are medically necessary.

Mr. Heath answered that this is why Mr. Robinson had mentioned that the number of emergency room visits had gone up, but most were not admitted, which is why they have suggested the $0 only for those who are admitted.  He mentioned that the increase to $250 for cases that are not admitted was suggested by him, as they would like to monitor the situation to see if the additional $50 impacts the experience but does not deter anyone from delaying a visit if they genuinely need medical attention.  He specified that after staff conducts the feasibility study in 2016, they would be able to present the Board with more options.

Commr. Conner opined that an 8 percent increase was in line with what the private sector was doing.  He clarified that the numbers that staff have presented were numbers that Blue Cross has negotiated with providers for, which would otherwise have been much higher.  He opined that there needs to be a direct correlation between their claims experience and what employees contribute.

Mr. Robinson explained that they have tried to address this issue in their design changes, such as with the urgent care versus emergency room fees and the special versus generic prescriptions costs.

Commr. Parks opined that their organization is only as good as their employees and urged staff to keep in mind how they compete with other entities as they go into this feasibility study.

On a motion by Commr. Cadwell, seconded by Commr. Sullivan and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the plan design and funding changes to the County’s Employee Self-Funded Medical Plan for FY 2016 effective October 1, 2015; the establishment of the full equivalent monthly health insurance premium and increase employee contributions for each tier of the PPO and HMO plans; and authorized the County Manager to implement proposed plan design changes and update plan documents as necessary.  The fiscal impact is $2,836,912.

Commr. Cadwell submitted that the Board was committed to looking into the clinic issue as previously discussed.

Facilities and Fleet Management Presentation

Mr. Kristian Swenson, Facilities and Fleet Management Director, presented the BCC with an overview of Facilities and Fleet Management and the proposed FY 2016 Budget.  He explained that the Facilities portion of the department has 26 out of the total 45 Facilities and Fleet Management employees and is further divided into the administration section and the in-house maintenance section which handles facilities maintenance, jail and sheriff facilities maintenance, and energy management.  He reported that the mission statement for Facilities was to design, construct and maintain safe, clean and energy efficient County facilities, as well as to provide centralized control of major construction and renovation projects for County facilities and to provide for central planning and oversight of all facilities and capital construction matters.  He related that they maintain 153 buildings for a total of 1,973,165 square feet, and the four largest of these buildings are the Courthouse, parking garage, the Jail, and the County Administration building.  He mentioned that 64 buildings out of the entire inventory are over fifteen years old and that the inventory is almost evenly split between buildings that are very new and ones that have gone quite a while without any major renovations.  He detailed some of the recently completed construction projects such as the Courthouse expansion and the Historic Courthouse remodel, and he added that some recently completed maintenance projects included the jail kitchen appliance replacements, fire alarm system replacements, parking lot resealing and striping, installing termite bonds on all buildings, chiller valve replacements, and the expo hall large fan installation. 

Mr. Swenson mentioned that some recent efficiencies included having selected a different natural gas supplier, having monitored natural gas market conditions and locked into a fixed unit price for three years when prices dipped, and that they are moving forward with a performance contracting pilot project feasibility study.  He displayed a graph of the neighboring counties’ populations on the monitor and noted that Lake County had approximately 309,736 people.  He displayed a graph of the neighboring counties’ number of maintained buildings and their sizes, mentioning that while Lake County does not have as many buildings as some of the other counties, their maintained square footage is much more comparable.  He indicated that they had the second smallest staff for Facilities Management, next to Sumter County.  He displayed on the monitor a graph of what the cost per square foot is to maintain the counties’ buildings which is calculated by the budget of the counties’ Facilities department and their number of buildings, where Lake County is the second cheapest.  He relayed that Lake County had the largest responsibility per employee as calculated by square foot of buildings maintained per staff member and that they rely on the most outsourced services as compared to some of their neighbors. He commented that the Facilities Management budget is requesting a total of $5,104,597 and reflects a status quo budget, maintains current levels of service, and excludes possible changes to health and property insurance rates, COLA, and FRS rates.

Mr. Keith Stevenson, Fleet Management Division Manager, reported that Fleet Management had 19 employees and was divided into Fleet Parts, Fleet Service, and Financial Analysis.  He reported that the mission statement for Fleet Management was to provide competent, responsive and cost effective development, acquisition and support services to its customers, ensuring they have safe, well built, well maintained buildings and transportation equipment, so that they may, in turn, provide services to the citizens of Lake County.  He displayed on the monitor a graph of the levels of service provided by Fleet Management that detailed the funding source, classification, total units, and average age of their vehicles.  He submitted that in FY 2013 to 2014, Fleet Management provided fuel management, where four County operated fuel sites dispensed 311,290 gallons and a State Contract with a private provider dispensed 424,885 gallons.  He related that they had also provided maintenance and repair by processing 3,604 work orders or 400 per mechanic, that their Fleet averages 5,780,335 miles per year or 525,485 miles per year per mechanic, and that they have completed 1,453 preventive maintenance services.  He specified that they had repurposed 11 vehicles that had been slated for surplus and were able to place them in different divisions to continue their use.  He detailed some of Fleet’s accomplishments, including continuing their inventory improvement, their contract consolidation, their daily status reporting, and that they served as support for Bike Week where they provided technical assistance and emergency response and provided four additional transit buses required for service of additional routes.  He remarked that they had recently initiated an Automotive Service Excellence “Blue Seal” certification process in February 2015 and that to date, four employees have obtained ten certifications.  He relayed that they have implemented Saturday Repair Service and have managed to increase available labor hours without increasing staff, created a Parts Inventory Barcode System, and contracted out their minor light vehicle maintenances to increase service convenience.  He displayed on the monitor several graphs of benchmarks of Lake and the surrounding Counties, including population, fleet size comparison, assets per mechanic, and average age of fleet vehicles.  He reported that they are requesting $4,237,578 for the Fleet Management Budget.

Mr. Swenson explained that the total revenue request for Facilities and Fleet Management combined was $9,342,175 and that the largest portion of the budget was taken up by personal services, utility services, and repair and maintenance.

Commr. Parks opined that he was looking forward to the performance contracting pilot projects as it was good to see if there is anything in the private sector that could help them achieve some savings.  He complimented staff on the bar coding system they have implemented as it would also help achieve savings.

Department of Information Technology Budget Workshop

Mr. Steve Earls, Information and Technology Director, presented the Board with an overview of IT operations and the proposed FY 2016 Budget.  He explained that the Information Technology Department is made up of 6 divisions; Records Management, Information Systems, Programming and Applications, Telecom, GIS, and Administration with a total of 22 employees.  He reported that IT’s mission statement was to enable high performance within Lake County government through the delivery of powerful and innovative technology solutions designed to meet the needs of their users, businesses, and citizens.  He relayed that IT’s services are provided in 5 major technology areas, which are telephone and cellular services, computer services (anything related to computers, programming, applications, databases, file servers, networks, infrastructure design and support, internet and email services), geographic analysis, mapping, and data services (GIS), records management services, and audio-visual services.  He remarked that IT provides these services to most of the local government agencies, such as the 610 users in the BCC Departments, the 25 users of the Supervisor of Elections, and the 50 users of the Property Appraiser.  He mentioned that both the Tax Collector and the Sheriff utilize IT for Telecom Technical Assistance, GIS, and Infrastructure Support.  He commented that IT also provides services to Lake-Sumter MPO (computer services, GIS data, and email), Lake EMS (GIS data and Telecom Services), the County Libraries (Telecom, Infrastructure Support, and email services), the Clerk of the Court (Telecom and Infrastructure Support), the Health Department (Telecom Services), and the citizens of Lake County (eGovernment and the Welcome Network).  He relayed that the Computer and Telecom Services call response times were 24 hours for most non-emergency calls, 2 hours for emergency calls, and that after hours emergency calls are responded to 24/7 every day of the year.  He remarked that IT is often called upon to provide services on an as-needed basis, such as for an ECOC technical support during an emergency event, for technology support when meetings are held away from the main campus, and for audio-visual support to all entities using the Board Chambers. 

Mr. Earls commented that some Information Systems accomplishments included responding to 2,800 computer service requests, replacing key IT file servers, backup copy of all data to the ECOC, improving data security and web server protection by upgrading to new firewall technology, installing computer systems for central alarm system in 911 dispatch, and upgrading the building access system used by facilities.  He relayed that some Telecom accomplishments included responding to 1,093 telephone service requests, replacing the Board Chambers Audio-Visual System, and adding the new telephone call center technology to the ECOC citizens’ information line.  He related that GIS issued 3,136 new addresses in 2014 and completed 76 requests for customized maps and geographical analysis and that Records Management had processed 232 requests for retrieval of paper records held in storage, held training session for department records coordinators, and published a Records Management Handbook.  He reported that the IT Audio-Visual had accomplished holding 149 meetings in the Board Chambers, added High Definition video, installed new audio and recording capabilities, improved internet stream quality, and improved TV broadcast quality.  He submitted that Programming and Applications Support had created a new online GIS interactive map and replaced all credit card machines improving security and service with Apple Pay and Chip Cards.  He related that IT had supported the rollout of the County’s new residential curbside collection service in a number of ways, such as configuring the “My Public Services” website to reflect new hauler service areas and pick-up days, establishing a call center to respond to citizen calls, setting up computers to access hauler databases for data entry, and mapping missed collections so management could visualize hauler performance.  He commented that one of the technologies that increase organizational efficiency is the telephone Call Center monitoring software which allows staff to monitor the number of citizen calls coming into a phone queue and coordinate an appropriate response, manage resources, identify training needs, address performance, and improve customer service.  He noted that another technology is the GIS mapping and analysis, which helps staff to visualize the issue, determine where to focus resources and planning, and monitor the progress.  He explained that the Mobile Data Collector is a mobile device application that can be customized by IT for collecting data in the field and is currently used by Parks and Trails to collect information such as animal surveys, vandalism and hazards, illegal dumping, defining herbicide treatment areas, measuring, and photo uploads.  He declared that IT’s use of Server Virtualization Software brings efficiency to the data center, allowing staff to take a single piece of server hardware and transform it into multiple servers.  He clarified that this results in lower capital expenses as there are fewer hardware servers needed; a reduction in operating expenses as there are lower costs for power consumption, cooling, floor space, and maintenance;  a faster delivery as servers can be setup in hours or days not weeks; and improved service levels as IT can be more responsive to business needs by providing new services faster.  He mentioned that another increase in efficiency comes from the new Microsoft Software Licensing Agreement that the Board approved last year as it allows them to saves money because it is based on a per user cost instead of per machine, gives them greater mobility by allowing them to access Microsoft applications on mobile devices, enhances communications capabilities for conferencing and collaboration tools, and provides options as it positions the County for cloud computing in the future. 

Mr. Earls displayed several graphs of the County’s benchmarks as compared to the surrounding counties, including population, IT budget, number of IT employees, PC replacement cycle, and IT cost per capita.  He reported that IT’s suggested budget is for a total of $2,490,081, which is a 4.1% increase in funding from the General Fund.  He noted that this budget increases current levels of service with the addition of an IT Security Tech position and increases Operating Expenses and Capital Outlay for security enhancements but excludes possible changes to health and property insurance rates, workers’ comp rates, COLA, FRS rates, and fleet and facility maintenance costs.  He clarified that included in the IT Proposed Budget is a new position as an IT Security Technician with a salary and benefits of $46,589.  He explained that this position will assist in determining security vulnerabilities, coordinate a security response and mitigation plan, total $6,500 in security training costs, and total $7,500 in security software tools.  He relayed that the proposed budget also accounts for cybersecurity devices recommended by the insurance provider that will block malicious activity and cost $10,000.  He mentioned that IT is also requesting an audio-visual systems maintenance plan for ECOC, the Courthouse, and the Board Chambers, as the warranties for the current equipment are beginning to expire, and is proposing an additional $30,000 towards emergency repairs and an RFP for AV maintenance.  He displayed on the monitor a breakdown of what percentage of the budget is devoted to which services. 

recess and reassembly

The Board reconvened at 12:25 P.M.

Infrastructure Sales Tax Reauthorization presentation

Mr. Heath reported that the Board had hosted a retreat in March where they had agreed to ask the voters to reauthorize the Infrastructure Sales Tax in the fall of 2015 and that the staff’s goal is to present a public hearing of this issue on June 9, 2015. 

Mr. Bill Veach, Deputy County Manager, explained that that a county may levy a discretionary sales surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent per Florida Statute Section 212.055(2), pursuant to an ordinance enacted by the BCC and approved by a majority of the electors of the county voting in referendum, and noted that the statute specifies the approved uses for the tax.  He relayed that the County was currently operating under that very circumstance, and the authorization that they have under the current sales tax is with County Ordinance 2001-123, which authorized the extension of the Infrastructure Sales Tax pursuant to section 212.055(2), Florida Statutes and the special election on November 6, 2001.  He commented that the term of levy was from January 1, 2003 and will expire on December 31, 2017, or a period of 15 years.  He related that the tax is distributed evenly among Lake County BCC, School Board and the municipalities and that the ordinance also created a citizen committee to monitor expenditure of sales tax proceeds.  He remarked that the Lake County proceeds should be expended with 50 percent towards transportation purposes and 50 percent towards other purposes allowed by Section 212.055(2), F.S.  He reiterated that during the work session on March 31, the Board had decided to move forward with the referendum this year in November 2015, instructed staff to develop an interlocal agreement with the cities and the School Board that keeps the 1/3 each distribution, decided against setting funding allocations for the County share, and instructed staff to update the County ordinance with new ballot language to be brought before the BCC for approval to advertise. 

Mr. Koontz displayed on the monitor several graphs of revenue projections of where the sales tax has been utilized previously and a 5 year revenue estimate based on the 3 percent growth rate.

Mr. Veach gave an overview of the issues within the priority areas that the Board had previously discussed.  He explained that 100 of the 422 vehicles in the Sheriff’s fleet inventory currently have over 100,000 miles.  He declared that the fleet needs 40 to 50 vehicles replaced per year going forward, that only 19 were replaced in FY 2015, and that a backlog of vehicle replacement continues to grow. He pointed out that some of the issues with the Lake EMS vehicles included that the ambulance fleet travels 1 million miles annually, that ambulance chassis are replaced after 240,000 miles, and that patient compartments have 15 year life.  He mentioned that the ambulance equipment had extensive daily use of cardiac monitors and stretchers, which had a 7 year life cycle, and that they currently used Lifepak-12 cardiac monitors, but their support ends in 2016 and will require new Lifepak-15 purchases.  He relayed that Fire Rescue was also facing an aging fleet, which includes engines, tankers, squads, aerial and other field response vehicles, 50 percent of which are over 10 years old and 27 percent have over 150,000 miles.  He informed the Board that there is also an issue with aging fire stations, that the average age of their fire stations is 29 years old with many in need of repair or replacement, that the last new fire station was built in 2010, and that the last building purchased for use as a fire station was in 2012.  He summarized that Fire Station 71 in Bassville Park was 43 years old, Fire Station 53 in Fruitland Park was 33 years old, and Fire Station 39 in Mount Plymouth was 32 years old. 

Mr. Veach specified that the Quality of Life priorities included Parks, Trails, Recreation, and Libraries.  He explained that resurfacing of internal roads and parking lots are needed at two-thirds of the County parks and boat ramps, lighting is needed at 27 athletic fields and lighting and resurfacing on 18 courts, playground equipment needs replaced at many of the County’s parks and boat ramps, and that restroom facilities are currently needed at 13 open parks and 8 boat ramps.  He commented that when they plan for the future, they discuss the need for the development of a Regional Park in South and Central Lake County and a need for a Community Park in Northwest Lake County.  He pointed out that they needed to complete the parks at East Lake Community, North Lake Community, P.E.A.R. Park, Ferndale Preserve, and Lake Idamere, as well as many other improvements that are needed in the smaller county parks.  He announced that they needed to resurface 15 of the 20 miles of the County’s trails, to replace the temporary wooden boardwalk, to make improvements with their ADA compliance, and to retain wall and slope improvements.  He noted that there were needed upgrades in the areas of utility relocation, railing, fencing, and pavement markings.  He reported that of the County Maintained Public Lands Properties, only 4 of 11 properties are open to the public, but 5 more properties could be opened to the public with planned improvements.  He commented that additional improvements needed at Ellis Acres Reserve and the Pasture Reserve included an entry road, parking lots, internal share-use trails, observation towers, boardwalks, fishing piers, canoe and kayak launches, primitive camping, and restroom facilities.  He related that the 2005 to 2020 Lake County Library System Facilities Plan calls for expansion of all branch libraries by 2020.  He specified that they needed to double the current size of the Marion Baysinger library, that East Lake library had inadequate space and was leased, that the Cagan Crossings library needed an interior build-out of the second floor in order to utilize its space, that the Cooper Memorial library needed an additional 6,400 square feet, and that the Astor and Paisley libraries’ modular facilities had exceeded life-expectancy, as it had inadequate space and needed to be replaced.  He explained that the current road inventory consists of 1,245 miles of asphalt roads and that according to the Road Resurfacing Rating System, 37 miles are rated “4” roads in need of resurfacing (PASER Rating Scale) and 289 miles are rated “5” roads as upcoming needs.  He relayed that the Lake County BCC adopted an ADA Public Right of Way Transition Plan for sidewalks in December 2012 and with that, approximately 150 miles of sidewalks are in need of repair.  He added that a federally funded Safe Access to School Study was completed in December 2013 which recommended 28 miles of new sidewalks on County roads.  He submitted a list of road system improvements such as lane additions, turn lanes, and traffic signals that are needed. 

Mr. Veach noted that they had 120 miles of clay roads in current inventory and that out of the total 27 bridges, 6 are functionally obsolete and need to be replaced.  He remarked that 8 major basin studies (Apopka, Dora, Eustis, Griffin, Harris, Yale, and Upper & Lower Palatlakaha) and 2 flood studies (Astor and Royal Trails) have been completed for water quality and that these studies address impaired water bodies and stormwater levels of service, but funds are needed to address these recommendations.  He specified that there were a total of 297 vehicle and equipment replacement items needed as all items are evaluated twice per year on repair cost, mileage, age and general conditions and noted that the maintenance costs increase as inventory ages.  He recounted that the County currently maintained 153 buildings for a total of 1,973,165 square feet and that a majority of County buildings have not been renovated in at least 15 years with many building components at the end of their life span or obsolete with little or no parts availability, such as electric distribution systems, HVAC units, HVAC control systems, generators, and elevators.  He disclosed that the Fleet department maintains 341 light vehicles and that 214 of these vehicles (63 percent) meet the replacement criteria due to age, which is an average of 9 years.   He relayed that the Information Technology department has pointed out that they need to modernize the telephone system as 26 of the County’s 30 telephone systems have reached end-of-life with 11 systems that have limited industry support and 15 systems that have no industry support.  He pointed out that the Tavares campus fiber network (ring) should be expanded to all County buildings to ensure a cable cut does not disrupt communications and that there is a need for high bandwidth network connectivity at remote County facilities, as 43 remote County facilities do not have fiber connectivity, and the installation of additional fiber lines are needed to connect these facilities to existing lines.

Mr. Minkoff reiterated that they have the ability to draft an interlocal agreement that allows the proceeds to be divided equally by 33.33 percent each to Lake County, the School Board, and the municipalities, with the cities’ combined portion being divided among them based on population as set forth in Section 212.55(2) and Section 218.62, Florida Statutes.  He explained that staff had drafted an interlocal agreement to accomplish this, which also includes the continuation of the Sales Surtax Oversight Advisory Committee.  He reported that the purpose of the Committee is to review expenditures and ensure revenues are used appropriately and that the membership is made up of 6 to 9 members with 2 from the BCC, 2 from the League of Cities, 2 from the School Board, and 3 Constitutional Officers.   He noted that staff has prepared the new ordinance that is necessary to extend the One-Cent Infrastructure Sales Tax for an additional 15 years, adding language that encourages local preference.  He stated that if extended, the Sales Tax revenue will be divided between the Lake County School Board, the municipalities, and the County and shall be extended from January 1, 2018 until December 31, 2032.  He displayed the ballot question on the monitor, with the additions requested by the Board from the workshop session.    

Mr. Veach displayed a graph on the monitor that detailed the potential utilization of revenue for the first 5 years if the referendum is approved with a total estimated County funding of $74,300,000.  He explained that they could potentially replace 175 to 200 vehicles for the Sheriff’s office and give Lake EMS 20 to 25 new ambulances, 3 to 5 ambulance re-chassis and patient compartment refurbishments,  3 to 5 quick response vehicles, 25 to 30 cardiac monitors, and 25 to 30 stretchers.  He remarked that they believed that Fire Rescue would have the funding to replace 25 to 29 apparatuses, includes fire engines, squads, aerial ladder trucks, water tanker trucks, and utility brush trucks.  He specified that 9 to 12 vehicles could receive repairs that could include building remodels, roof replacements, water/well systems, generators, and HVAC replacements.  He relayed that the East Lake Community Park could be 80 percent built-out and would include sports lighting of all athletic fields, a path system throughout the park, an internal road and parking lot, ball fields, multipurpose fields, and maintenance.  He related that the South Lake Regional Park could be 40 percent built-out and would include 4 ball fields with lights, 2 multipurpose fields with lights, 1 restroom, and 1 concession stand.  He submitted that Lake Idamere Park, P.E.A.R. Park, and the Minneola Athletic Complex could be completed with all planned utilities and that the North Lake Community Park could be substantially completed with sports lighting for 3 little league fields and 3 multipurpose fields, pavilions, and path lighting at little league fields.  He announced that the Pine Forest Park on the active side could receive 1 multipurpose field and 2 ball fields, and other county parks and boat ramps could receive many more improvements such as resurfacing internal roads, parking lots and internal trails; renovations to courts and athletic fields; sports lighting; playground replacements; pavilions; boardwalk replacement; site furnishings; and restrooms.  He relayed that the South Lake Hancock Trail could receive a boardwalk replacement and ADA improvements in phases, while the Ellis Acres Reserve could receive improvements to the educational center and parking lot improvements.  He reported that they could complete the 12,000 square foot interior build-out of second floor at the Cagan Crossings Community Library and the 5,000 square foot addition to the Marion Baysinger Memorial Library.  He stated that they believed that in a five-year time frame of 2018 to 2022, there would be enough funding provided to be able to resurface 75 to 95 miles, construct 7.5 miles of sidewalks, have $2.5 million for sidewalk repairs, complete 9 intersection projects, install 9 traffic signals, complete 1 water quality project (Magnolia Lane in Lake Harris Basin), and replace 75 items on the vehicle and equipment list.  He submitted that there would also be enough funding for Building Repair and Maintenance to have an energy plant cooling tower refurbishment, HVAC control system and air handler replacements, fire alarm system replacements, annual roof replacements, and generator replacements.  He commented that the Fleet division would have annual light vehicle replacements based on established schedule, that the telephone system modernization plan would be able to replace all 26 systems that are at end-of-life, and that the fiber optic network expansion would be able to connect all County buildings into the fiber loop and build out two miles of underground fiber or four miles of aerial fiber per year.  He explained that the next steps were to have the Public Hearing on the ordinance and interlocal agreement on June 9, 2015 and to have the election on November 3, 2015.  He asked for approval to advertise an ordinance to extend the One-Cent Infrastructure Sales Tax for an additional 15 years.

Commr. Cadwell commented that they have been working on this issue for a year and a half and commended staff for doing such a good job.

Commr. Sullivan opined that the ballot language was direct and covered everything that they wanted to address so that the public will understand where their money is going.

Commr. Parks clarified that the use of the word renewal in the ballot language was dictated in the Florida Statutes. 

Commr. Campione clarified that the preference language was in the ordinance.

Commr. Conner commented that it is impossible to accurately project revenues for a fifteen year period and remarked that these numbers were not guaranteed, so while projects can be planned, they are subject to the actual receipt of revenue.

On a motion by Commr. Sullivan, seconded by Commr. Cadwell and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the advertisement of the ordinance for re-authorization of the infrastructure sales tax.

Sales Surtax Oversight Advisory Committee

On a motion by Commr. Sullivan, seconded by Commr. Cadwell and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board appointed Carey Baker to the Sales Surtax Oversight Advisory Committee to complete an unexpired four-year term ending January 1, 2017 as a Lake County Constitutional Officer.

Library Advisory Board

On a motion by Commr. Sullivan, seconded by Commr. Cadwell and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board appointed Ms. Mary Groeller to the Lake County Library Advisory Board to complete an unexpired four-year term ending February 28, 2018 as the Mount Dora Alternate Member.

Children's Services Council

On a motion by Commr. Cadwell, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board appointed Mr. Michael K. Matulia representing District 4, Ms. Sandra Stura representing District 5, and Ms. Trella Mott as the Member-At-Large to the Children's Services Council to serve two-year terms beginning May 14, 2015. 

Parks, RECREATION, and Trails Advisory Board

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Cadwell and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board reappointed Mr. Jeff Lotter representing District 1, Mr. David Clutts representing District 3, Mr. Michael K. Matulia representing District 4, Mr. Edward C. Waterman representing District 5 to the Parks, Recreation and Trails Advisory Board to serve two-year terms beginning May 20, 2015, and approve, as permitted by Section 112.313(12), Florida Statutes, a waiver of potential ethical conflicts under Section 112.313(3) and (7), Florida Statutes, for  Michael K. Matulia (Lake-Sumter State College and Lake County Schools).

reports – county manager

maternity news

Mr. Heath reported that Ms. Amye King had had her baby on Thursday and that both mother and son were healthy.

reports – commissioner sullivan – district 1

Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation

Commr. Sullivan relayed that he had received a request from Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation about possible budget considerations for a program around Lake Nona’s VA Center, he would report back on at a later date.

reports – commissioner parks – vice-chairman and district 2

lecture by bar association

Commr. Parks relayed that he and four other commissioners had attended a lecture on the Magna Carta by the Lake County Bar Association.

Nuisance Ordinance

Commr. Parks thanked the Board for their work on the Nuisance Ordinance and opined that it showcased how they want to serve their constituents.

REPORTS – COMMISsIONER campione – DISTRICT 4

keep america beautiful

Commr. Campione reported that there was a Keep Lake County Beautiful training day on May 15 and suggested that they reach out to their district city contacts to generate interest to attend the training.

REPORTS – COMMISSIONER CADWELL – DISTRICT 5

functions attendance

Commr. Cadwell relayed that he had represented the BCC at Mr. T. H. Poole’s funeral service, attended the Victim’s Remembrance Ceremony at the State Attorney’s Office, and visited the Central Florida Dreamplex and relayed how impressed he was with their facilities and business plan.

REPORTS – COMMISSIONER conner – CHAIRMAN AND DISTRICT 3

bond concern

Commr. Conner presented a rebuttal to an earlier comment addressing bond concerns.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

 

_________________________________

jimmy conner, chairman

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

________________________________

NEIL KELLY, CLERK