A special MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

july 31, 2020

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in a special session on Friday, July 31, 2020 at 11:15 a.m., via teleconference, which was allowed per Executive Order of the Governor of Florida due to COVID-19, a novel strain of the coronavirus. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Leslie Campione, Chairman; Wendy Breeden, Vice Chairman; Timothy I. Sullivan; Sean Parks; and Josh Blake. Others present were: Jeff Cole, County Manager; Melanie Marsh, County Attorney; Niki Booth, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Gary J. Cooney, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller; Kristy Mullane, Chief Financial Officer; and Kathleen Bregel, Deputy Clerk.

welcome and pledge of allegiance

Commr. Campione welcomed everyone to the special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and thanked them for adjusting their work schedules in order to participate so that the BCC could address the topic of assisting Lake County residents with housing needs during this difficult time. She noted that this meeting was being conducted virtually via Zoom Webinar as well as being streamed live on the County’s website, noting that the Information Technology (IT) Department would be giving instructions on how citizens could participate. She mentioned that Mr. Greg Holcomb, Director for the Office of Public Safety Support, would be leading the Pledge of Allegiance. She shared that Mr. Holcomb had served as a Telecommunications Systems Equipment Maintenance Specialist in the United States Air Force from 1981 until his honorable discharge in 1988 as an E-4 Sergeant, Non-Commissioned officer. She relayed that during Mr. Holcomb’s service, he completed a 15 month tour in Turkey at the beginning of the Libyan Crisis under President Ronald Reagan. She thanked him for his service and for leading the pledge. Mr. Holcomb then led the Pledge of Allegiance.

virtual meeting instructions

Mr. Erikk Ross, Director for the IT Department, explained that this meeting was being livestreamed on the County website and was also being made available through a Zoom Webinar for members of the public who were unable to attend in person but wished to provide comments during the Citizen Question and Comment Period later in the agenda. He elaborated that anyone watching though the livestream who wished to speak during the Citizen Question and Comment Period of the meeting could follow the directions currently being broadcast through the stream; furthermore, he relayed that anyone who had joined the webinar via their phone could press *9 on their phones to virtually raise their hand and anyone participating online could click the raise hand button to identify that they wished to speak. He said that when it was time for public comment, he would then identify the person or their phone number, unmute the appropriate line, and allow the citizen to speak for their three minute timeframe. He added that anyone wishing to provide written comments could visit www.lakecountyfl.gov/commissionmeeting, noting that comments presented before 5:00 p.m. the previous day were shared with the Commission prior to this meeting, and that comments sent during this meeting would be shared with the Commission after the meeting was concluded.

citizen question and comment period

Ms. Addie Owens, President of the Realtors Association of Lake and Sumter Counties, said that while she was representing this association, she was also speaking on behalf of those industries which did not have the privilege of having a unified voice but who continued to be negatively impacted by the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. She opined that the real estate industry had experienced inconsistent treatment across the country as the necessity of those who facilitate housing was debated. She felt that in the State of Florida, realtors were fortunate to be considered essential; however, their industry was not exempt from the immediate and drastic effects of the closures and the financial hardships this created. She opined that as a commission based industry with no fixed income to support declines in activity, the damage to members was swift and unforgiving; additionally, in order to safely conduct business, realtors were required to immediately equip themselves with technology necessary to conduct business virtually where possible and invest in personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves and their customers. She added that as independent contractors, members had been denied assistance from the State unemployment system. She also expressed concerns for percentage drops in real estate sales for Lake County. She encouraged the BCC that as they framed the guidelines for Lake County’s assistance programs, to include industries that might be deemed essential but were not shielded from the financial impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. She thanked the Board for this consideration.

chairman’s business

florida housing finance corporation agreement

Commr. Campione explained that this item was a request to ratify a sub-recipient agreement with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) for the sub-award of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant through the State of Florida Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). She elaborated that this was executed on July 22, 2020 by the Chairman of the Board, and that this agenda item was asking for ratification by the BCC, as well as approval of the following: the funding amount; an agreement with United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties to support the review of applications and distribution of funds, subject to County Attorney approval; and Resolution 2020-131 to receive any unanticipated revenue. She then asked for Ms. Jo-Anne Drury, Deputy County Manager, to present the information on this item, noting that it was specifically in regards to housing rental assistance and utility assistance.

Ms. Drury commented that the presentation was regarding the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) CARES Act grant, also known as the CRF grant. She stated that the purpose of the presentation was to provide an overview of the $1,366,903 SHIP-CARES Act grant awarded to Lake County and to seek the Board’s input and approval on the use of these funds to help the community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained the following regarding this grant: it was to be used to assist residents, who had experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19, with housing costs; funds would be disbursed to Lake County upon execution of the sub-recipient agreement which was fully executed on July 27, 2020; the performance period was March 1, 2020 until December 30, 2020; and funds must be expended by December 30, 2020 or returned to the FHFC. She remarked that the eligibility criteria required that a household show that they were negatively impacted by COVID-19, whether through loss of employment, reduction of hours, furlough, etc., noting that this would be a self-certification by the resident; additionally, the household income had to be at or below 120 percent of the area median income (AMI). She displayed a chart depicting the household income limits by family size. She remarked that eligible activities were fairly broad and included anything to do with assisting residents with housing, such as rental assistance, utilities, mortgage payments, emergency home repairs, insurance deductibles, housing re-entry such as deposits and temporary storage of household furnishings, eviction prevention, and homeownership counseling. She then showed a chart of surrounding counties and cities that were receiving SHIP-CARES Act funds and the award amounts, areas utilized, maximum award per household, and application period beginning time. She summarized that a majority of the local governments were considering rent, mortgage and utility assistance, with an average award being around $5,000 per household and applications starting between August 3- 18, 2020.

Commr. Campione relayed that earlier in the day she was on a call with Osceola, Orange and Seminole Counties regarding their CARES Act funding rollout, noting that Osceola County would be starting it August 3, 2020. She thought what Lake County was considering was close to the surrounding counties.

Mr. Jeff Cole, County Manager, remarked that while Orange County was not included in the chart, Ms. Drury would be updating the Board on that County’s information; additionally, he indicated that Ms. Drury would be seeking input and a decision from the Board regarding the award amount per household.

Ms. Drury continued with her presentation and shared that she had spoken with Orange County that morning, and that they were including utility deposits and heavily focusing on rental assistance. She said that Orange County anticipated that their average award would range between $2,500 to $3,000, that their decision would be before their Board on August 11, 2020, that their goal was to rollout their application towards the end of August 2020, and that they had received $5.7 million in SHIP-CARES Act funds. She then specified that Lake County had a variety of funds that were currently being used or about to be utilized for assistance to residents which included the following: approximately $400,000 in regular SHIP funds that were earmarked for rental assistance, noting that this program began about six weeks prior, that the County had received hundreds of requests for applications, that they had approved around 50 people, and that the average rent for this group was around $1,000; CARES Act Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) funding with $100,000 allocated for utility assistance, and a recommendation for $200,000 to be set aside for rental and mortgage assistance, noting this would be coming to the BCC on August 11, 2020 for approval; and SHIP-CARES Act grant funds of $1,366,903. She reported that staff’s proposed budget for this SHIP-CARES Act grant funding of $1,366,903 would include 10 percent, or approximately $136,690, to be set aside for administration costs, and about $24,000 for program delivery costs, which would be paid to United Way based on the amount of rental or mortgage assistance that they might pay out. She concluded that this would leave approximately $1.2 million to go directly to residents. She relayed that the County’s proposed plan to disburse the funds included: a 10 day required advertisement period which began on July 29, 2020 and would end on August 7, 2020; applications could begin being accepted on August 10, 2020; County staff would distribute about $600,000; the County would contract with United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties (UW) for assistance with disbursing the remaining $600,000; and the County would reimburse UW with payments made to eligible applicants as well as the four percent project delivery costs. She stated that proposed recommended activities would be past due rental assistance, past due mortgage assistance but excluding escrowed property taxes since they were not an allowable expense of the grant, and past due utilities; additionally, staff was recommending that payments go directly to a landlord, mortgage company or utility provider as well as allowing payments to be retroactive to March 1, 2020. She relayed that staff recommended a $2,000 maximum award per household, and then displayed a list of possible proposed funding levels and the number of households that could be assisted based on these funding levels, noting that this list was based on about 150,000 households in Lake County. She then read the requested action for the Board to ratify a sub-recipient agreement with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation for the sub-award of SHIP-CARES Act grant funds from the State of Florida Coronavirus Relief Fund which was executed by the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners on July 22, 2020 under the authority of Resolution 2020-106, input and approval of the funding amount, approval of an agreement with United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties to support the review of applications and distribution of funds, subject to County Attorney approval, and approval of unanticipated revenue Resolution 2020-131 to appropriate the $1,366,906 funds for expenditure.

Commr. Parks thanked Ms. Monica Wofford, Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties, as well as Ms. Drury for their quick response and work on this item. He inquired if there would be a prioritization for this award to determine which residents needed the funding the most.

Ms. Drury responded that staff could do that; however, it would add a level of complexity.

Commr. Parks expressed an understanding that it might be difficult to perform, and wondered if other counties were doing this.

Ms. Drury replied that one option might be that even though the grant allowed 120 percent of the AMI, perhaps if the Board desired they could prioritize people who were at 80 percent of the AMI, noting that staff would need to manage expectations as well. She said staff was open to input and could survey surrounding counties and cities to see what they might be doing.

Commr. Campione referenced the $48 million that the County could possibly receive once they expended their $16 million in CARES Act funding, noting that she realized this was a separate type of funding than the housing funding they were currently discussing. She wondered if they did not prioritize this housing funding and if it was quickly utilized, then could the County use CARES Act funding to do another round of housing assistance under the $48 million reimbursement phases with the County being reimbursed once they administered those funds, noting that this would be if the County had already used the $16 million according to the plans they had established for it.

Mr. Cole thought that scenario would work as long as the County was not spending any funds prior to the expense of the complete $16 million. He believed the opportunity existed to open up the funding as a first come, first served basis, or prioritize it or have a combination of both, and then the County could start to pay out some of this funding and keep a waiting list to then apply from the $48 million.

Commr. Campione thought that if all of this funding was utilized quickly by those who needed it the most or by those who had applied, then the County could start a waiting list and possibly start again. She opined that the housing assistance was critical since rents and mortgages had been forgiven but it was getting closer to when they would not be anymore, and the County was attempting to avoid evictions. She felt that these funds would be a great benefit to those who were using the money in order to have housing, but also a huge benefit to the landlords and the lenders as well. She believed all of this related closely to what the County was trying to accomplish through CARES Act funding, and that the sooner it could be distributed in the most impactful way was the direction she desired to go.

Mr. Cole recapped that the public advertisement period would close on August 7, 2020, and then the County could begin receiving applications on August 10, 2020. He reminded the Board that the County also had access to about $700,000 through reallocated or re-appropriated SHIP funding; additionally, he indicated that staff would be requesting on August 11, 2020 for the Board to reallocate some of the CDBG-CV funding. He remarked that between those two items and this current item, there was about $2 million in funding.

Commr. Breeden expressed appreciation for the partnership with United Way as she thought it was a great way to execute this funding in a timely fashion. She wanted to make decisions at this meeting, and suggested making the funding a first come, first served basis and said she agreed with having a waiting list. She indicated that she preferred to have a maximum award amount of $3,000. She realized this would reduce the number of households that could be assisted; however, she felt that if it had been months of rent or mortgage payments that were backlogged, this amount might be a more appropriate maximum amount. She requested that $3,000 be the minimum for the maximum award considered.

Commr. Campione clarified that Commissioner Breeden was saying that she wanted $3,000 to be the minimum for the maximum amount, and that she was still open to any amount of funding from $3,000 to $5,000. Commissioner Breeden confirmed that was correct.

Commr. Parks inquired if the discussion regarding the second tier funding of $48 million was part of this agenda item.

Mr. Cole responded that following the last BCC meeting, a variety of employees from the County had been mobilized to put together the infrastructure, staffing and plan related to how to receive applications for the $16 million funding, noting that was moving along at a rapid pace and he was proud of the work this group was performing. He indicated that staff planned to discuss the $48 million funding amount at the August 11, 2020 BCC meeting, and to share their ideas on how that could possibly be allocated and disbursed; additionally, he mentioned that he had a meeting the following week with all of the City Managers to discuss their input.

Commr. Parks commented that he had ideas regarding the $48 million. He thought that the COVID-19 situation may provide the opportunity to train and transition individuals out of what type of job they might have had prior to the pandemic to what their job could potentially be in their future. He suggested having the flexibility to steer a significant amount of funding towards this type of training which might lead people into new careers or lines of employment. He opined that this was a good long-term decision that the Board could make regarding how to spend that funding. He then indicated that he supported the idea of using around $3,000 for the limit, as suggested by Commissioner Breeden. He reiterated his desire to prioritize this funding in order to make sure those who needed it the most received it first.

Commr. Sullivan stated that he agreed with the idea for the maximum award to be $3,000, especially since one of the statistics shared by Ms. Drury indicated that the average rental was $1,000; therefore, this amount would supply about three months of funding to the households that needed it. He opined that too many requirements would cause issues with being able to distribute the funding in a timely fashion since it had to be completed by December 2020. He said he also liked the idea of the $2 million in normal funding being worked into the system since the United States Senate did not appropriate any COVID-19 funding for unemployment. He felt that based on the number of families he had witnessed seeking assistance when he volunteered at the food banks, issues may get worse than what was currently being experienced. He said that because of this, he supported the maximum award being $3,000 per family since this almost doubled the number of households that could receive assistance than if the funding was at $5,000; furthermore, he thought that the funding would be utilized quickly and that having a backup plan was important, noting that he thought the County would eventually go through another round of funding distribution come October 2020. He agreed with distributing this as soon as possible and then reviewing in a month or two.

Commr. Parks inquired what $2 million Commissioner Sullivan was referring to.

Commr. Sullivan replied that he was referring to the additional $2 million that was normal SHIP funding mentioned by Ms. Drury.

Commr. Campione indicated that it was $700,000.

Mr. Cole explained that there was approximately $1.3 million from this current agenda item, plus the $700,000 additional SHIP funding with the Board’s approval at their August 11, 2020 meeting on a component of that amount, for a total of about $2 million.

Commr. Sullivan clarified that it was a total of $2 million.

Commr. Campione recapped that if the Board were to get to the $48 million in funding, then it might be another place to find additional housing funding once this current item was expended. She thought the County would learn more about the applicants and how quickly they could get through the process in order to decide if they needed to have a second round. She asked for confirmation that the funding would go directly to the landlord, lender, or utility company as opposed to the applicant. She felt that was an important aspect of this since it was focused on housing.

Mr. Cole confirmed that was correct, and Ms. Drury relayed that would not be an issue for United Way.

Commr. Blake thought it was great to be working with United Way, noting that he had previously served on their board for three years and felt that they were well positioned to do this. He said that his thoughts were to spread out the funding as widely as possible; however, he was willing to agree to whatever the Board decided. He remarked that while considering an award amount of $3,000 instead of $5,000 doubled the households that could receive assistance, as mentioned by Commissioner Sullivan, awarding $1,000 as the maximum amount could help an even larger amount of people.

Commr. Breeden said that in regards to paying the landlord or lender directly, she felt this was also helping another level of the economy because some landlords might be feeling stretched as well since they might not be receiving their rental payments but still had expenses.

Commr. Campione agreed with those thoughts. She wished they could impact more households; however, she said that if $1,000 was the average rent, then if someone was behind by a couple of months, it would take around $3,000 to be a help. She also remarked that opening it up for that amount would then allow the County to see how many people might be on the waiting list. She indicated that once Ms. Drury could identify those on the waiting list who qualified and showed proof of not being able to pay their rent or mortgage payment, then the County could revisit the issue and formulate future plans around those needs.

Commr. Parks asked how difficult it would be to obtain the people who might be at 80 percent of the AMI first.

Ms. Drury responded that they were using an online system called Submittable to assist staff, noting that they could discuss with this organization regarding how to use technology to prioritize. She indicated that staff was initially approaching this as a first come, first served basis; however, staff could consider this idea. She noted that she was unsure of United Way’s capability to prioritize.

Commr. Campione felt this was a lot to consider if attempting to prioritize based upon income levels because this coronavirus situation had impacted people at all levels. She expressed concerns that adding another layer to administering this might work against the County as far as being able to get this funding out as quickly and efficiently as possible, noting that she thought using the 120 percent of the AMI was a good place to be in order to help as many people as possible.

Commr. Parks stated he understood that, but felt that individuals in the very low income bracket may not be as aware of this assistance, might possibly be slower to get through the process, could be farther behind in their bills, and might be facing eviction. He recognized both sides of the situation, but merely wanted to know if it might be easy to help this group first and asked for information on this to be reported back to the Board.

Commr. Breeden relayed an understanding for Commissioner Parks’ concerns; however, she said she agreed with Commissioner Campione’s thoughts to get this round of funding out as quickly as possible. She felt that if this extended into the second round of $48 million in funding, the County could consider prioritizing then, which would give time to review it more carefully.

The Chairman then opened the floor for Ms. Wofford with United Way to speak as well as various citizens who had raised their hand to speak via the Zoom webinar.

Ms. Wofford thanked the BCC for the honor to speak, and relayed that her entire team was working diligently to put the processes in place for this endeavor. She also complimented Ms. Drury for her dedication to this project. She remarked that in regards to the prioritization element, there were some risks with discriminatory practices if they began to separate the population using their existing processes from the standpoint of income level or any other factor. She suggested that one idea to consider was that prioritization could be achieved through marketing, noting that many of the areas that might need the funding the most when using the definition of low income, were not the ones that they were consistently marketing to or the ones who might get the information the fastest. She indicated that United Way could identify how to get the word out regarding this program, as could each of the Commissioners by spreading the word to the areas within their district that needed it the most. She anticipated there would be many interested in this, and said that there was already a waiting list within United Way; furthermore, her organization was working with utility partners to develop a plan to pay for delinquent utility bills of an entire city in order to impact large numbers of households very quickly, noting there were certainly requirements for any grant funding. She commented that in addition to this, there were systems which allowed United Way to know who had been helped in the past, what the previous income was, and what the deficiency might be currently; therefore, she thought there was a variety of ways to analyze the data. She did not feel that prioritization would inhibit the ability to get the funds distributed quickly because they were also looking for ways to strengthen and further develop their relationships with about 20 nonprofits in the area through a referral system; furthermore, once these organizations who were helping with rental and utility assistance had exhausted their funds, they could refer their clients to United Way for proper case management, documentation, and disbursement of funds. She believed that these collaborative efforts would allow them to get the funds to those who needed it the most prior to the moratorium for evictions ending on September 1, 2020.

Ms. Tiffany Thaggard, a local landlord, expressed concerns for a tenant who had not be paying his rent prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and she inquired if only the tenant could apply for this funding or could a landlord apply for it. She shared that this was a loss of income for her and that she had lost her employment as well.

Ms. Drury replied that the applicant would be the tenant; however, she indicated that the landlord could encourage the tenant to apply and potentially assist them with applying, noting that there were some landlords currently doing that in order to access the SHIP funding set aside for rental. She said that her office could assist Ms. Thaggard with this.

Ms. Wofford added that the tenant could be directed to www.uwls.org where they could upload all of the documents; additionally, the landlord could assist the tenant by providing a copy of the lease, the past due bill, and anything that might be uploaded to the United Way site. She said they could work in a collaborative effort so the landlord could receive the funds as soon as possible.

Commr. Campione thought this was a good issue for staff to assess in regards to how many landlords might be having this issue and to what extent, noting that the County might be able to formulate a program using CARES Act funding for these issues.

Ms. Roxanne Brown, a City of Eustis resident, relayed that she was unaware that Lake County would be receiving CARES Act funding; therefore, she as well as other people she knew had been diligently paying their bills despite tough times. She wondered how this funding could potentially help her if the funding went directly to the bill collector instead of being given to residents. She also asked if the application was being released on August 10, 2020.

Commr. Campione responded that this was one particular program that the Board was addressing in this meeting and was strictly for rental, housing or utility assistance. She indicated that the Board may have additional discussions regarding other ways to get relief to residents.

Ms. Drury replied that the application for housing assistance would be live on Monday, August 10, 2020. She recommended reviewing the Lake County website as well as monitoring any press releases for details on the application.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Sullivan, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved to ratify a sub-recipient agreement with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation for the sub-award of SHIP-CARES Act grant funds from the State of Florida Coronavirus Relief Fund which was executed by the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners on July 22, 2020 under the authority of Resolution 2020-106; approved the maximum grant amount at $3,000; approved an agreement with United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties to support the review of applications and distribution of funds, subject to County Attorney approval; and approved unanticipated revenue Resolution 2020-131 to appropriate the $1,366,906 funds for expenditure.

cares act funding payments directly to residents

Commr. Campione mentioned that this agenda item regarding direct assistance to residents related to some of the comments that had been made earlier in the meeting. She relayed that Orange County had used some of their CARES Act funding to do direct payments to applicants who had suffered a loss of income, loss of job, were using credit cards to pay bills, or were waiting on unemployment benefits. She recalled that Orange County was given funding earlier that was straight from the Federal Government because they were a county that was over 500,000 residents; however, Lake County did not fit into that category but did receive funding in the second round. She specified that for the $16 million that Lake County did receive, which was different than the housing funding just discussed, the plan was to give that as relief to small businesses in order to help them stay in business and to keep people employed essentially within their businesses which was a critical part of people being able to pay their bills. She asked the BCC to consider implementing this item as a pilot and in such a way that it did not delay what the County was already doing for businesses. She hoped that a portion of the $16 million could be utilized for this agenda item, and that if there was a good response to it and it was impactful to the community, then they could consider doing another round of this type of relief with the $48 million. She explained that how it worked for Orange County was an applicant had to prove that they resided in Orange County and paid bills in that county, and provide verification of loss of hours or job. She believed that Orange County’s population was around 1.2 million residents while Lake County was about 345,000 residents; additionally, she thought that Orange County started with a $14 million fund for this purpose, gave out $1,000 payments, and served approximately 3,783 residents. She suggested that Lake County could do something similar, but at a fraction of what Orange County did, in order to meet direct needs of residents who had suffered losses.

Commr. Breeden indicated that she would consider this since she knew there was a need, but said it would be with the caveat that this would not slow down either of the programs for funding for small businesses or the housing item just approved.

Commr. Parks appreciated the comments and believed there was a great need in the community; however, he felt that doing a pilot program that might take money away from the $16 million was not what the Board should do at this point. He relayed that the business and nonprofit community had clearly expressed to him that they desired to get the $16 million as quickly as possible. He opined that jobs and nonprofits helping people in the community directly were more effective, and that helping individually owned businesses was the highest priority since they were the core of the county. He felt that rental, mortgage and utility assistance would be next in importance, which were just addressed with the previous item approved. He opined that the second tier of $48 million was truly not the amount of funding available; rather, it was only what was in the County’s reserves, which might be $11 or $12 million, because that was what the County could put forward and spend before getting reimbursed. He thought the question to consider was how could the County get to the second tier of $48 million to be able to possibly assist with additional mortgage, rental and utility assistance or help more businesses; additionally, could there be some funding that could be a direct handout or direct payment. He thought that people were getting funding from other sources, and he wondered if the Federal Government might be doing payments that could assist individuals. He reiterated his thoughts regarding the long-term opportunity for the County in regards to workforce training which some of the $48 million could go towards if the County was able to find funding for that upfront, noting that he felt this was a better long-term strategy than simply giving individuals a $1,200 check. He stressed that he would not want to take any of the initial $16 million to go towards this item, but to keep that going to business assistance.

Commr. Breeden asked what amount Commissioner Campione was considering for this direct assistance.

Commr. Campione replied that she was planning to propose $1 million from the $16 million to be used for the purpose of helping residents through direct payments, noting that she thought this could serve a thousand people.

Commr. Breeden thought it would assist with individuals such as the citizen who spoke earlier in the meeting who said they had been using their savings to pay their rent and having difficulty keeping up.

Commr. Campione explained that what she had been hearing from people who contacted her was that they had extended themselves with their credit cards to try and meet their needs. She realized this item would not fix everything for people, but felt it was a way to help them catch up some. She understood that it was important to help the businesses because they provided the jobs, noting that if people are employed then they can pay their bills; however, she also thought that it was important to think of ways to assist people individually. She opined this was funding that would go back into the local economy as people used it for their immediate needs. She remarked that she was attempting to find a balance of using the $16 million to help businesses but to also provide some direct aid to Lake County residents. She stressed that a point to make to the business community was that these people were their employees and possibly individuals that they were not able to keep on their payroll and would spend money in local businesses. She agreed that this should not cause a delay to the other two programs, and wondered if the company or software the County was utilizing to assist with the business assistance or housing programs could possibly also be used for this program. She thought that qualifiers could be attached to this program, but emphasized that Orange County merely required for people to be residents of the county and show proof of loss of hours or income.

Commr. Breeden suggested asking United Way if they might be interested in additional contracting. She opined that if the County used the same program being utilized for the business assistance, then it should wait until after that portion of the program was finished as she did not what anything to delay the business assistance.

Commr. Campione agreed with that, and thought the Board could ask United Way if they could possibly help.

Commr. Blake appreciated the suggestion, but expressed support for Commissioner Parks’ assessment that the business assistance needed to be the priority. He opined that the Federal Government did not have this funding available, and there would be monetary implications and debt implications from this. He thought the County should focus on using it in such a way that would provide employment to individuals; furthermore, he suggested that this item come before the Board again once they had the opportunity to review the application process and demand for the $16 million for business assistance.

Commr. Parks opined this was a tough situation to discuss and he understood the needs, noting that the Federal Government had done an initial round of funding to people although no one knew if they would possibly do it again. He reiterated his support for taking care of business and nonprofits first. He added that he was being contacted as well by individuals asking for assistance, but he thought there would be flexibility to review a couple of weeks after the business assistance program was launched.

Commr. Sullivan believed this was a program that the County should have ready, and that staff should research a way to accomplish this. He opined that with the federal unemployment benefits possibly not arriving soon, then people would look to state unemployment benefits, noting that the State of Florida had issues with this program. He agreed that he did not want this program to slow down the two programs already approved by the Board. He suggested for this to be on the BCC agenda within the next two weeks or so in order to have time to receive feedback on how the other programs were working. He encouraged taking a long-term look at this instead of a short-term look.

Commr. Campione emphasized that her goal was to get input from the Commissioners and place it on their radar to consider. She reiterated her opinion that this was something she thought the Board should be doing in order to maintain a proper balance and to be receptive and sensitive to what residents were experiencing.

Commr. Breeden agreed with Commissioner Sullivan’s remarks about this program remaining flexible and revisiting this in two weeks, noting that the working group could possibly provide some input.

Commr. Campione suggested getting some input from United Way as well since they were in touch with the needs of the community. She encouraged the Board to remain open to the idea of considering this in relation to how much response the County might receive from the housing program, input from constituents, and if the business community thought this was a way to help the economy and residents directly.

The Chairman opened the floor for public comment.

Ms. Wofford commented that in regards to being involved in the business relief aspect, the culture of United Way had always been directed to individuals; however, she felt that the pillars of the organization, which are income, education, and health, could potentially be duplicated, and that the organization could clone their family stability services into a business stability services aspect. She thought this was a great idea, and that United Way might be willing to create another division to address the business need, examine the parameters for proper qualification of businesses, and disburse the funds. She specified that they had systems already in place and it would merely be redirecting them to a different entity besides the family or household. She thanked the Board for this consideration, and said she was open to further discussion at the appropriate time.

Ms. Thaggard, a citizen who had spoken earlier in the meeting, mentioned that in her prior job, she was responsible for the management of federal funds that had been provided. She understood the need to assist residents in the community, but opined that some individuals may not be as responsible with direct payments. She hoped that individuals would utilize funds for direct needs; however, from her experience at the facility she had worked for, she witnessed large amounts of federal funding being used inappropriately. She encouraged the Board to have accountability for any funds received.

Commr. Campione thanked her for her comments, and emphasized that the Board needed to be realistic in their discussion, noting that the goal was to assist people with bridging the gap. She opined that many times the landlord, the vendor, or the one providing the goods and services might not be getting paid. She thought this might be another area they could discuss with United Way since they would have the means to work with individuals to ensure the money was paid directly to whom it was owed.

Mr. J. Scott Berry, with the Tavares Chamber of Commerce, commented that he had been a member of the taskforce group working on the CARES Act funding for the business assistance program. He said that while he appreciated and supported what Commissioner Campione was proposing, he relayed that in talking to the businesses, they expressed how much they really needed the funding. He mentioned that some businesses had implied that they might not apply for the funding; however, he encouraged them to apply since this funding could also help their employees. He thought there would most likely be some funding that did not get claimed, but he suggested that waiting at least a month was appropriate. He indicated that he was asked to review the application process for the business assistance program, and he thought that it was a very easy, good application process that he felt businesses could complete in 20 to 30 minutes. He opined that convincing businesses to apply for this program may be challenging; however, he felt that the Chambers of Commerce were ready to assist.

Commr. Campione recalled Ms. Owens’ comments from earlier in the meeting regarding realtors not being able to apply for federal funding since they were considered essential businesses. She asked for confirmation from Commissioner Parks that sole practitioners and independent contractors would be able to apply for Lake County’s economic assistance program that the taskforce was developing.

Commr. Parks responded that it was his understanding from the meetings that had taken place that there would be flexibility, noting that it was aimed towards the nonessential businesses but would be broader to include anyone that could demonstrate they had been economically impacted through COVID-19.

Commr. Breeden replied that it was her understanding based on conversations with Mr. Brandon Matulka, Executive Director for the Agency for Economic Prosperity, that since this group was not deemed essential under the first program, then they would not be eligible. She thought this group should definitely be considered in the next round.

Commr. Campione commented that it appeared that realtors would not qualify unless the program was tweaked some.

Commr. Breeden expressed concerns that changing the program would cause delays.

Commr. Campione opined that making changes should not delay it since the program had not been rolled out yet, there was no portal established, and the County was still working with a vendor to get everything in place. She suggested that Commissioner Parks discuss this with the taskforce and Mr. Matulka in order to work through the details to ensure that the program was being made available to those, such as realtors, who had not received Payroll Protection Program (PPP) funding because they were individual contractors. She thought it was interesting that when Orange County rolled out their economic plan, they went straight to their big companies and did $10,000 in funding initially; however, if someone was a small or private business, they could not apply. She relayed that Orange County was currently going back to address those individuals. She opined that it would be good if Lake County focused more on the small businesses, and asked if there was a way to broaden this to address this group.

Commr. Breeden agreed that she wanted this group to be eligible; however, she was concerned about diverging from the direction already given to the economic development team. She opined that if the program was opened up to one essential company, then how would it address other essential companies.

Commr. Parks suggested that perhaps how to incorporate flexibility with this was the first item to consider once the group reconvened.

Commr. Campione asked when the group would be meeting again.

Commr. Parks was unsure, but thought the intent was to meet once the program was launched.

Commr. Campione summarized that they were attempting to launch the program as it stood and then would meet after it launched.

Commr. Parks confirmed that he believed the idea was to launch the program and then reconvene shortly after that to get input and make changes if needed. He said that meeting again depended upon when the program was being launched.

Commr. Campione thought they were planning to launch the second or third week of August 2020.

Mr. Cole said that was correct. He explained that since the Board gave direction to staff at the last BCC meeting, they had been proceeding down the path of the $16 million to businesses, developing the infrastructure, working to hire people, developing the applications, and etc. He said all of that was in process and that staff was expecting to have this available for people to start applying by August 17, 2020. He emphasized that this was a great effort to put all of this in place in a relatively short timeframe. He indicated that if there were other ways that the Board wanted staff to proceed in the future, then they could be nimble and add on other types of applications, noting that staff would keep the Board updated on what was being received and what was being funded. He reiterated that staff could provide an update on the process, and the Board could provide direction if they wanted staff to add on any modules or components that might allow people to apply for different types of benefits, whether that might be part of the current funding at a later time or part of the $48 million funding amount.

Commr. Campione asked if Mr. Matulka could speak regarding who could actually apply and be considered for the $16 million in funding.

Mr. Matulka confirmed that what Mr. Cole had stated was correct. He added that for the eligible businesses, the working group proposed that only those businesses that were mandated to close by an order, whether that was fully closed or reduced capacity, were going to be eligible for the program at the onset of the launch. He indicated that the working group would meet within a week or two of the launch to discuss the program, how it was rolling out, feedback from the businesses, and whether they would open up eligibility to include other businesses or those with more full time employees (FTEs) since they were also restricting the amount of eligible businesses based on the number of employees. He noted that part of the reasoning for this was because there were so many businesses that they could not help fund all of them, so they were looking for ways to help those who needed it the most and had been closed due to a mandate. He relayed that they would stay flexible and alter the program as needed as quickly as they could.

Commr. Parks suggested staying on course for what was planned, and then immediately at the first meeting after launch, open up the question to maybe address some of the situations mentioned earlier.

Commr. Breeden asked for the realtors association to have representation within the working group if they did not already have it.

Mr. Matulka replied they could add them to the working group.

Commr. Campione appreciated that thought and felt it would give this group a voice in the discussions. She recapped that this item would be revisited once the business assistance program was launched, and Commissioner Parks would ensure that the realtor association representatives were included in the working group.

Commr. Parks confirmed that he would. He opined that one question to still consider was the dynamics of the additional $48 million. He inquired if the decision was to utilize reserves, go for a tax anticipation note, or if Mr. Cole when discussing with City Managers might consider using their reserves to assist.

Commr. Campione replied that she thought it might include all of that, and she believed that Mr. Cole’s intention was to bring back some of those ideas at the August 11, 2020 BCC meeting as well as what he might hear from the City Managers.

Mr. Cole confirmed that was correct, noting that they would be meeting virtually with the City Managers the following week, and then reporting to the BCC on August 11, 2020.

commissioners reports

commissioner sullivan – district 1

appreciation for meeting

Commr. Sullivan thanked staff for their efforts to organize this special meeting expeditiously. He felt this was the type of flexibility the County would need over the next six months as they dealt with the pandemic and its effects. He encouraged the Commissioners to remain flexible with their work schedules in order to be able to hold meetings when necessary so they could get funding out to those who needed it and assist the local economy across the board. He appreciated the great ideas presented in this meeting, the cooperation with United Way, and all of staff’s efforts.

commissioner parks – district 2

RECOGNITION OF staff

Commr. Parks also complimented staff for all their hard work, and recognized Mr. Jeff Cole, County Manager, Ms. Jo-Anne Drury, Deputy County Manager, and United Way for quickly getting this program presented.

commissioner BREEDEN – district 3

appreciation for meeting

Commr. Breeden echoed the same sentiments and thankfulness for staff being nimble in putting this meeting together. She also thanked the Chairman for bringing these items to the Board’s attention. She said that she agreed with Commissioner Sullivan’s comments, and that she appreciated Mr. Cole working with the Cities and attempting to be creative during this time.

commissioner CAMPIONE – district 4

COVID-19 update

Commr. Campione updated the Board on her weekly phone call with Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties, noting that Mr. Aaron Kissler, Administrator/Director/Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health (DOH) in Lake County, Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Director for the Office of Emergency Management, and Mr. John Molenda, Deputy County Manager, were also participating in the call. She relayed that they discussed COVID-19 cases, hospital capacity, and testing rates. She mentioned that she had requested that a chart which Mr. Kissler had prepared and presented at this meeting be sent to the Commissioners; furthermore, the goal was to get more tools such as this out to everyone in order to help understand where the county was in terms of testing, positive cases, hospitalizations, and trends. She opined that the time it took for a person to be tested and to receive their result was a critical factor to whether contact tracing could happen in order to know who should quarantine, as well as assisting with understanding trends. She indicated that this was an area she wanted the County to focus on. She remarked that the DOH was seeing a quicker turnaround in regards to the tests they were administering which she felt was helping the County to better understand trends, noting that there was one independent facility that was backlogged with test results but was hopefully getting that issue addressed.

mask distribution

Commr. Campione reported that mask distribution was going great, and that the County was also looking for other ways to distribute them, noting that they had discussed this with the Constitutional Officers. She thanked staff for all their hard work.

tropical storm isaias

Commr. Campione mentioned that Tropical Storm Isaias had upgraded to Hurricane Isaias, and she wished everyone safety during the upcoming weekend, noting that Mr. Carpenter would keep the County updated on the storm.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 12:57 p.m.

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leslie campione, chairman

ATTEST:

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GARY J COONEY, CLERK