A special MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

August 7, 2020

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in a special session on Friday, August 7, 2020 at 8:00 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 Josh Pearson, Deputy Clerk.

welcome and pledge of allegiance

Commr. Campione welcomed everyone to the special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and said that they would start with the Pledge of Allegiance.  She mentioned that Mr. John Simpson, Deputy Director for the Office of Emergency Medical Services, would be leading the Pledge of Allegiance this morning.  She noted that he had served in the United States Navy from 1987 to 1994 aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a flight deck aircraft handler, and on the ship’s emergency response team performing firefighting and rescue.  She elaborated that after active duty, Mr. Simpson served in the United States (U.S.) Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.  She thanked Mr. Simpson for his service.

Mr. Simpson then led the Pledge of Allegiance.

virtual meeting instructions

Ms. Elizabeth Heine, Enterprise Support Manager for the Information Technology (IT) Department, explained that this meeting was being livestreamed on the County’s website and was also being made available through Zoom Webinar for members of the public who wished to provide comments during the Citizen Question and Comment Period later in the agenda.  She elaborated that anyone watching though the livestream who wished to participate in the meeting could follow the directions currently being broadcast through the stream; furthermore, she relayed that during the Citizen Question and Comment Period, 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 let the County know that they wished to speak.  She said that when it was time for public comment, she would read each person’s name or phone number, unmute their line, and let them know that they could speak.  She commented that everyone would have three minutes and after that time, an alarm would sound letting them know that their time was up.  She added that the County previously notified the public that comments could be emailed through 5:00 p.m. on the previous day, and those comments were shared with the Board prior to this meeting.  She explained that anyone wishing to provide written comments during the meeting could visit www.lakecountyfl.gov/commissionmeeting, and noted that any written comments submitted during the meeting would be shared with each Board member following the meeting.

citizen question and comment period

Commr. Campione thought that due to the topic, there may be individuals who wanted to interject or make a suggestion.  She stated that the Board’s preference would be to hear from them at this point, commenting that she would decide whether the Board would open it up for comment later in the meeting. 

Mr. John Drury, Tavares City Administrator, relayed his understanding that Cities were looking to be better prepared for the next pandemic, and that there was Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding available for Cities that must be passed through the County. He commented that they wanted to do things that kept their government open for the business and leisure communities, such as installing sneeze guards for library circulation desks, which he felt would allow them to keep their libraries open during pandemics. He also thought that having bank pass-through windows for their permitting would allow them to keep their business community going. He indicated an understanding that the County was evaluating an allocation of the CARES Act funding, and he shared that many Cities had some needs to keep their community active, engaged and operating; however, he opined that they needed help with the CARES Act funding to do this.

Commr. Campione asked if Mr. Drury had put together a projected budget to take care of some of those specific items.

Mr. Drury confirmed this and explained that they had identified small projects, the dollars associated with them, and the eligibility of them to be compliant with the intention of the CARES Act. 

Commr. Campione shared that Mr. Jeff Cole, County Manager, had been having meetings with other city managers.  She asked if Mr. Cole wanted to discuss the progress he was making on getting input from the Cities on their needs with regards to CARES Act funding.

Mr. Cole said that they had a call on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, that Mr. Drury had set up; additionally, they had another call scheduled for Thursday, August 13, 2020.  He commented that on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, he, Mr. Brandon Matulka, Executive Director for the Agency for Economic Prosperity, and Ms. Jo-Anne Drury, Deputy County Manager, would be providing a thorough update on the potential use of the $48 million in CARES Act funding, along with the input they had been gathering from stakeholders, municipalities, and others.

Commr. Campione asked if the Board would receive an update on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, regarding some of the new developments for how the County could access the additional $48 million in CARES Act funding.  She recalled that early on, the Board was under the impression that they could only access this funding if they had fully exhausted the initial $16 million; however, there may be some indication that if a particular type of spending plan was submitted, the County could possibly access that funding sooner.  She inquired if this was something that Mr. Cole could share now, or if they needed to wait until Tuesday, August 11, 2020. 

Mr. Cole commented that on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, they were notified that they could potentially submit a spend plan to be able to have some of the $48 million provided upfront.  He commented that they were trying to access a spend plan that the State had approved, and that they should have more information in the following week. 

Commr. Campione expressed interest in keeping information circulated to the Board so that they could have as much information as possible before their next meeting. 

chairman’s business

school board request for covid-19 funding

Commr. Campione explained that this meeting was called to have a discussion and hopefully obtain direction from the Board with regards to the Lake County School District’s request for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) funding through the CARES Act.  She noted that this was part of a larger program that the school district was currently working on with regards to rapid testing and contact tracing.  She elaborated that they were working with Adult Medicine of Lake County, which was the first private entity that stepped up at the beginning of the pandemic to help the County with testing in the community.  She recalled that early on, there were limited numbers of tests available, and individuals had to meet certain criteria to be tested.  She mentioned that Adult Medicine of Lake County had been able to gain access to different grants and programs, along with rapid testing with a quick turnaround.  She relayed her understanding that the school district was considering performing a rapid testing program for all of their staff, teachers and students, for those who were going into a traditional classroom setting so that they would have access to testing before the first day of school, along with having instructions for what to do if they tested positive. 

Ms. Diane Kornegay, Superintendent of Lake County Schools, thanked the BCC for calling this meeting and recognizing the importance and the urgency of their purpose here this morning.  She presented information related to a request for the Board to consider approval of a funding request for Lake County Schools to purchase some critical supplies and contracted services needed to open their schools as safely as they possibly could, and to provide the greatest assurances to their employees, parents and students that they had taken action to provide the highest level of protection for each of them.  She said that she would discuss the reason for her request, as well as the school district’s CARES Act funding and its intended uses.  She added that she would also explain her funding request, including the specific items that would be purchased with the County funds if approved.  She displayed a chart with data that she felt was concerning, and recalled that they had launched a parent intent form where parents were asked to go online regarding these four options to return to school: a face to face classroom instruction traditional model; a modified day, which was part-time face to face and part-time virtual; Lake LIVE, which was a virtual program where a teacher at the school where the student was zoned would be providing online instruction; and the Lake Virtual school.  She relayed her understanding that the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had all stated that it was important for children to return to school as soon as possible for face to face education and other school services.  She noted that they also stated that while it was in their best interest, the benefits must outweigh the risks, and the implementation of recommended protocols, along with providing critical protective equipment, were essential to reduce risk and get kids back in school.  She commented that they had about 50 percent of their students returning back to traditional school on August 24, 2020, but they also had about 20,000 students whose parents did not feel it was safe and who were not sending their children back.  She opined that their challenge as a school district, county and community was to provide the greatest assurances they possibly could to protect their staff and students, in an effort to get their over 20,000 parents comfortable enough to send their children back to school. She added that this was over 20,000 students who were not returning and obtaining the needed support from the school district, and she felt that this was concerning when considering the short term and long term academic, social and emotional impacts of this.  She thought that this data was important because if 20,000 students were not returning back to school, then those students would be at home.  She wondered if there was a large number of parents who were not returning to work, and she also indicated concerns for the workforce.  She said that the school district had met with the Florida Department of Health (DOH) in Lake County, the Lake County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and Adult Medicine of Lake County to discuss how to get kids back to school and how to provide greater assurances for parents.  She commented that a recent conversation resulted in establishing some new safety protocols around the idea of rapid testing and how to get kids or teachers back to school who may need to be isolated for a period of time. 

Mr. Matt Cady, with Adult Medicine of Lake County, commented that his organization had met with the Lake County School District over the past few days to discuss what they felt would be a good plan to get back to school and work with the CDC guidelines and the available local resources.  He elaborated that this included considering screening all of the staff in three different groups before returning to work, offering wide scale testing in three locations across the county for the students, and offering a rapid response team to the campuses, should there be a future outbreak.  He said that they had a variety of tests and designed protocols to give people answers and assurances.  He mentioned that they had also made recommendations about products and services that could further enhance the school district.

Commr. Campione asked how teachers, students and staff that tested positive would be notified of their result, if it would be followed up with a swab test, and if they and their family would be given protocol to isolate to ensure that the virus was not spread outside of their home.

Mr. Cady replied that they had developed an application that all of teachers were installing on their phones and that as soon as they came through the drive thru, within about 10 minutes their application would update with their results.  He commented that the results could be exported and that they could communicate with his office throughout the year using the application; furthermore, he felt that it was easy to request a follow up test through the application.  He said that if a teacher or staff member was negative, then they were welcome to proceed with their workday.  He explained that their tests tested for a prior antibody and a current infection antibody to better identify those that need to be isolated and those that may have been infected previously who are clear to return to work.  He added that they developed a separate protocol for people who were symptomatic, including isolation, testing, and confirmation with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR); additionally, they suggested that if someone showed symptoms but tested negative for COVID-19, they would perform a flu swab, as they had seen some influenza A and some swine flu in the community.  He thought that providing answers for why individuals were showing symptoms could further assure them, as opposed to second guessing the test or experiencing anxiety.

Commr. Campione asked if students would have something similar.

Mr. Cady responded that students presented a unique challenge due to being minors, noting that the parents could install the application, look at their child’s results, and request additional tests.  He commented that it was an optional test for children, and that they would set up areas around the community that they could come through.  He added that throughout the school year, if someone was symptomatic, they would either deploy someone to the school, or the school could almost immediately refer them to one of the community centers that his organization was opening for testing. 

Commr. Campione inquired if these tests would have results available in 15 minutes.

Mr. Cady confirmed this and said that they would use this as a screening tool.  He thought that using the rapid tests was a quicker way to screen the entire population, noting that they could receive the Immunoglobulin G and M (IgG and IgM) antibodies immediately within 10 minutes, which indicated if an individual was currently infected or there had been an infection; furthermore, they could confirm it with the PCR.  He said that if five percent were positive, it would get 95 percent of them back to work or school much quicker. 

Commr. Campione asked to confirm that the school district would be working closely with Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Director for the Office of Emergency Management, and the DOH in Lake County to ensure that the Office of Emergency Management was apprised as they were tracking their numbers in case the County needed to notify residents of an outbreak associated with a school or activity, along with understanding how these numbers affected the community wide numbers. 

Ms. Kornegay commented that Mr. Carpenter had created a dashboard that would be used as a reporting and monitoring tool. 

Mr. Carpenter said that this was similar to how they would manage a hurricane with regards to stakeholders, schools and sheltering.  He commented that working with a geographic information system (GIS), they could create a dashboard of the schools, noting the importance of maintaining the partnerships that they had made with the DOH in Lake County and Lake County Schools.  He expressed interest in getting information back to the EOC so that they could consider what each school was doing, and based on the information received, they could make the appropriate decisions with the DOH in Lake County and Lake County Schools as school started and progressed. 

Ms. Kornegay continued her presentation, noting that a question they had received had regarded what they had been doing to get kids back to school safely.  She reiterated that their goal was to provide greater assurances to the 20,000 students still at home to get them back in their schools.  She said that they had been working alongside local leaders and healthcare providers, and she mentioned that they had discussed some actions that they could perform to get kids back to school.  She displayed an image indicating that the school district’s allocation of CARES Act funding was about $9.6 million, noting that they had to give their charter schools their proportionate share, along with private schools services, which left the school district with around $7.2 million to address the needs of over 40,000 students and over 5,000 employees.  She explained that the CARES Act funds that were designated for each school district were currently being held by the Florida Department of Education (DOE), and that in order to receive their CARES Act funding, the Lake County School District had to submit a detailed application and budget to the DOE.  She said that whereas the federal guidelines specified that the state education agencies could not restrict or limit the uses of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) formula funds, the DOE had been debating specific expenditures, and Lake County Schools, along with a substantial number of other districts, had yet to receive any funding.  She relayed her understanding that unlike with the Florida Department of Emergency Management (DEM), no funds had been provided to the school district in advance of approving their plan; furthermore, they were three weeks away from school resuming and had not received any of their CARES Act funding.  She stated that the district’s request to spend the approximate $7.2 million had been under review by the DOE, and that in their original submission, they were asking to use the funds to repay their General Fund for the cost they incurred during the closing of schools from late March 2020 until May 31, 2020; additionally, this would allow them to use the reimbursement for any and all of their general operating purposes moving forward.  She relayed that this had come under some question regarding the proper use of those funds, and that they had been asked to resubmit their CARES Act budget, noting that they were preparing to do this.  She showed a slide indicating how they intended to resubmit their plan, including moving away from the general operating purposes due to some questions from the State.  She said that when they amended their budget, the following items were intended to be included based on their current or upcoming needs: increased allocation for virtual instructors for about $2 million, noting that they had grown in their virtual school programs from about 145 full time students to almost 10,000; increased transportation costs for approximately $1 million due to having expanded routes, allowing more time between elementary, middle and high school runs to allow for deeper cleaning of buses, reducing the number of students on routes, and increasing hours for drivers; increased personal protective equipment (PPE) they would distribute to schools for slightly over $1 million; and substitute costs beyond what they traditionally saw, commenting that they were actively recruiting substitutes due to teachers possibly having to be isolated and not being able to combine students into other classes.  She also relayed that they were a one-to-one Chromebook school district, and she felt that this was essential when considering that students may have to be isolated.  She mentioned that they did not have enough Chromebooks in March 2020 for every student to have one, though they were currently one-to-one and every student would have one at a cost of about $2.3 million for the additional Chromebooks.  She added that they were also contracting with Verizon to provide internet service for families who did not have this service in their homes, for a cost of approximately $360,000.  She then said that she would provide information on items that they believed would continue to provide greater safety for their children and employees, that were research based, and that would provide a more clinical look at how to bring teachers and students back in a safe environment.  She explained that this would include the following items: increasing custodial services for intensive cleaning; the MicroSURE chemical used on high touch surfaces to provide a protective coating and prevent microorganisms from living on the surface; partitions; temperature scanners for visitors and employees; and thermometers for school clinics and after school events.  She mentioned that they wanted to begin fall sports, and that the Florida High School Athletic Association had designated that football and other sporting events could begin at the end of August 2020.  She indicated interest in being able to screen all of their students, other teams, and guests; therefore, they needed more thermometers.  She said that the first item was the contract with American Janitorial Inc. on an as-needed basis, similar to the contract they had with the County.  She added that the school district considered how to buy local and how they could reinvest funding back into the community, noting that American Janitorial Inc. was a small business in the City of Umatilla.  She mentioned that this would provide temporary staffing as needed to support the existing small custodial teams, and she felt that this was important when considering the daily cleaning of classrooms, along with the cleaning of any COVID-19 infected areas within 24 hours of an outbreak in a classroom; furthermore, this was a $300,000 contract.  She said that the next item was MicroSURE, which was an all-purpose cleaner and disinfectant that was proven with 99.99 percent accuracy to kill the virus that might fall upon high touch surfaces such as desks, chairs, tabletops, restroom surfaces, and bus seats.  She elaborated that they would be purchasing the chemical at a cost of about $600,000, which would cover them for an extended period of time; additionally, they would need about 25 foggers to apply the chemical on the surfaces, for a cost of $7,250.  She commented that the next request was for plastic desk and table partitions, and that they were looking to use the vendor Artisan Laser Guild, which was another local small business located in the City of Eustis and had been a partner with the school district.  She mentioned that they were looking to purchase the tabletop version of the partition, which she displayed an image of, along with the freestanding partition.  She noted that the barriers had come from teacher requests, and she believed that this would be a critical piece to help provide greater assurances while also helping to keep kids closer together.  She added that it could also give kids an opportunity to remove their mask but still have protection between students.  She showed the cost of $619,495 and said that this would be for providing a partition for every classroom and every student, as well as all of their cafeteria tables.  She relayed that the next item was non-contact thermometers at a cost of $4,500, and reiterated that they would be provided to have in all of their clinics, along with other areas of schools and for middle and high school sporting events.  She mentioned the temperature scanner items at a cost of $145,000 and relayed her understanding that for students, a fever was not necessarily a symptom that would be seen; however, it would be seen for adults.  She mentioned having temperature scanners placed in their front lobbies so that employees and visitors would be scanned, and she believed that this would provide greater protection for students, employees and guests.  She concluded that collectively, the school district was requesting $1,676,245, and they believed that these items would be critical to help ensure that they could get kids back in school and parents back to work.

Commr. Sullivan asked how fast manufacturers could turn these items over for the school district.  He relayed that he had heard that the time to have medical items delivered had been extended by months in some cases.

Ms. Kornegay responded that they had seen delays in the ordering of their PPE; however, the janitorial contracts were available immediately, and the MicroSURE solution also was currently available.  She commented that the partitions may not all be ready for the start of the school year, though they believed that they could have all of their elementary schools and cafeterias done, and then could work quickly to get the remaining barriers in place for their middle and high schools.  She mentioned that their education foundation had been able to secure thermometers pending the funding, along with temperature scanners, which Mr. Cady helped to secure.  She believed that they could have all of these in place by the start of the school year on August 24, 2020, depending how long it took to get confirmation of the funding and to get the contracts completed.

Commr. Blake inquired if these items were going out to bid to ensure that the taxpayer was getting the most value for their money, or if they had already selected vendors.

Mr. Kornegay replied that they were required to obtain quotes on these items, and she opined that the pricing they secured was less than what the County would find if they looked for quotes.  She relayed her understanding that desk partitions should sell for an average cost of about $135 each, but that the school district was far under this cost at less than $100 each.  She mentioned that the Florida Statutes gave the school district some flexibility in an emergency, noting that they were currently under an emergency order.  She stated that while they were still receiving quotes, this allowed them to move more quickly on the bid process.

Mr. Scott Ward, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Lake County School District, explained that under an emergency order, they had the ability to waive most of the normal bids and quotes requirements to get the schools started as long as they received two quotes.

Commr. Blake then remarked that for the MicroSURE purchase, it said it would cost about $607,000 total for both the disinfectant and the application of the chemical, and he inquired who would be applying it. 

Ms. Kornegay said that their internal facilities and maintenance team would be performing the application, and if they needed additional support, they would be using the contract with American Janitorial Inc. to ensure that all of this was done prior to August 24, 2020. 

Commr. Blake asked if the MicroSURE would be procured through American Janitorial Inc. or if it was a separate vendor, and Ms. Kornegay replied that it was a separate vendor.

Commr. Breeden inquired if the request was to fund the equipment, rather than testing.

Ms. Kornegay confirmed this and added that the testing was being done through Adult Medicine of Lake County at no cost to the school district.

Commr. Parks shared that he had two children in Lake County public schools who would both be starting traditionally on August 24, 2020; additionally, he had an at-risk family member.  He said that he understood the position that the school district was in, and felt that it was untenable in trying to demonstrate that there would be no risk of COVID-19 at the schools.  He expressed that he was concerned about where this request would come from, noting that the $16 million in CARES Act funding had been set aside by the BCC to be distributed to small businesses and nonprofits, and he said that he had a concern about how this request could affect that, especially when the BCC did not know how they could access the additional $48 million.  He said that they were working with the Cities and that there were some ideas that Mr. Cole had been working on to do this.  He stated that some of this had been alleviated because in speaking with the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), along with considering what Mr. Cole had stated earlier in the meeting, it appeared that the County would have more flexibility in being able to access that $48 million.  He expressed interest in making it clear that the $16 million, minus some administrative costs to administer the small business and nonprofit program, would not be affected as the BCC moved forward with the expenditure today.  He also indicated interest in being able to fulfill the current request out of the $48 million and apply for a reimbursement on it.  He supported the idea of plexiglass if students would be able to remove their masks, and thought that having both plexiglass and masks could be asking for too much.  He felt that circulation and air purification was the key, and he thought that a long term expenditure for purification systems and better circulation through the CARES Act could be considered by the Board.  He said that the CDC guidelines from August 1, 2020 stressed that this and hand sanitization would be the most important measures beyond masks and plexiglass.  He asked to confirm that this was the intent with the plexiglass and removing masks, and he indicated that he was amicable with the other expenditures. 

Ms. Kornegay responded that there were three layers of protection including masks, plexiglass and social distancing; therefore, if students were socially distanced and the plexiglass was there, then there would be two layers of protection.  She suggested that she did not want teachers to have to enforce masks as a disciplinary issue, and she expressed that their intent was for this to allow for students to be able to remove their masks and still have the layers of protection of plexiglass and social distancing when possible. 

Commr. Parks thought that there could be some situations where this was absolute, while other situations could have less enforcement depending on the teacher or administrator.  He expressed support for making this clear and for there being some interpretation and flexibility.

Commr. Campione mentioned air circulation and asked if they had considered the possibility of some outside learning areas with shade, or opening a window and using a fan.  She also inquired if they had spoken to Mr. Aaron Kissler, Administrator/Director/Health Officer for the DOH in Lake County, about this.

Ms. Kornegay responded that they had a conversation with Mr. Kissler’s team with regards to the use of outdoor areas.  She mentioned that the CDC guidelines suggested this to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and she relayed that their schools were looking at how to increase seating capacity outdoors for lunchtime, as well as the use of larger spaces such as auditoriums for band and other programs due to social distancing and the inability to wear a mask during certain activities. 

Commr. Campione noted that some families could have parents or grandparents who could be higher risk.  She asked for confirmation about how the school district would communicate with all of the families about best practices using the CDC guidelines to try to create some separation within households.  She relayed her understanding that as a general rule, they used a household setting as a group; therefore, normal activities such as separation would not be done.  She thought that when considering the school situation where children were potential carriers coming home to households with at risk individuals, implementing some basic CDC guidelines used when isolating people at home could be a way to protect people who have multigenerational household members.  She requested if the school district could work with Mr. Kissler’s team to develop a way to reinforce that there are things one can do in a household setting to protect particular family members.

Ms. Kornegay said that at a meeting on Monday, August 3, 2020, Mr. Kissler had discussed some of the resources they had for the school district to distribute to families.  She mentioned that he had provided some items to distribute for educational purposes, and she mentioned that they could also use social media and other means of communication.

Commr. Campione indicated an understanding that the overriding concern for schools resuming session was not necessarily that the kids would get sick, unless they had medical issues that made them higher risk, but rather that the concern would be bringing the illness home to another individual.  She thought that it was important to consider what people could do inside their homes that could protect their family members. 

Commr. Parks asked Mr. Cole if this request would come out of the second tier of $48 million in CARES Act funding, or if the Board would approve it today and then apply for reimbursement.

Mr. Cole replied that he would need this direction from the Board.

Commr. Campione said that one option was to use their current reserves and then seek reimbursement using the $48 million.  She added that they could also consider how quickly they could develop a spending plan to see if they could access the funding quickly.  She mentioned the possibility of doing this concurrently by authorizing the reserves if they were unable to obtain it from the $48 million immediately, and she said that another possibility would be to take it from the $16 million, similar to a loan, that would be replenished once they were able to access the $48 million.

Mr. Cole indicated his understanding that the $16 million had to expended before the $48 million could be accessed.

Commr. Campione felt that this could be a reason to draw the $16 million down slightly, but noted that they had made a commitment to the business community with a grant program; however, this would not necessarily be that the Board was changing their commitment, and they could replenish it once they could access the $48 million.

Commr. Sullivan expressed support for this idea due to the timeliness needed by the school district to move this forward.  He mentioned that because the school district was using local vendors, this would help small businesses in Lake County.  He agreed that if they took it out of the $16 million, they would have to have some kind of commitment that the $1.6 million taken out of the $16 million would be reimbursed immediately from the $48 million. 

Commr. Campione stated that if they spent down the $16 million and were trying to access the $48 million, the way they initially understood the $48 million was that it would have to be an upfront cost and the County would be reimbursed.  She added at that point, the County could go into reserves for the $1.6 million because they had already spent it out of the $16 million.  She thought that staff could make this work and keep the commitment of a total of $16 million to the business community, noting that they had informed the business community that as they moved into the $48 million, they would be considering other options for the entire community.

Commr. Parks supported giving Mr. Cole and Ms. Jennifer Barker, Executive Director of Administrative Services, the flexibility to use any of those options as quickly as possible, as long as it was clear that they were not going to go back on the commitment of the $16 million.  He mentioned that the FAC was working on behalf of all of the Counties to have greater flexibility and make this easier. 

Commr. Breeden thought that they should give Mr. Cole and Ms. Barker clear direction on what path to take, and that they should have a motion so that it would be on the formal record that the Board was committed to keeping the business part of this whole with the $16 million. 

Mr. Cole commented that if the Board wished to proceed with providing funding, staff wanted to ensure that the State was going to be amicable with the expenses and what the money was used for.  He believed that they were eligible expenses, though he recommended an agreement ensuring that the County would receive the proper documentation.  He indicated an interest in having assurance that the proper documentation to affect approval would be obtained, and said that the BCC Chairman and the Lake County School Board Chairman could sign the agreement.

Commr. Campione opined that this was a great way to memorialize what they had agreed upon, and she did not think that there would be an issue with the documentation or meeting the CARES Act funding requirements.  She expressed interest in including an acknowledgement that they would be sharing all of the testing data, and she thought that the data would be helpful for their team and the DOH in Lake County to protect medical resources and hospitals.  She commented that if they started to see an uptick or something that needed to be adapted, they needed to be in a position to react or anticipate as quickly as possible.  She also indicated interest in including how information would be provided to families for isolating, quarantining, contact tracing, and protecting high risk family members. 

Mr. Cole noted that there would be a BCC meeting on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, if staff needed to bring the agreement to the Board.

Commr. Blake asked about the anticipated reimbursement time period from the $48 million.  He expressed a concern for draining reserves during hurricane season and not having a reimbursement.

Mr. Cole responded that they did not have any indication on timing, though they would work with the State to expedite this.  He mentioned that there had been an indication from the State that they wanted to expedite the reimbursements for local governments.

Commr. Campione thought that she and Mr. Cole had recently been on a call where someone indicated that they were seeing a quick turnaround.  She agreed with Commissioner Blake that they would have to be careful if they tapped into reserves.  She said that the Board could commit in the motion that the $16 million was dedicated for the business relief plan, but if they got to the end of the $16 million, they could use the reserves to replenish it if needed to keep that commitment.  She thought that there were ways to do this to get the County through hurricane season, leave reserves intact as much as possible, and still meet these obligations. 

Commr. Parks expressed support for this direction. 

Commr. Breeden made a motion to approve funding the Lake County School Board’s request in the amount of $1,676,245 to assist with COVID-19 related expenses, to adopt an agreement with the school board, to continue their commitment to fully fund the business and nonprofit needs with CARES Act funding of up to $16 million and possibly beyond, and to only use reserves if they needed to bridge the gap between the time of expenditures and the time of receipt of additional funding from the $48 million.

Commr. Campione asked if the motion could also include that the Board would memorialize their agreement with the school district in a memorandum of agreement, and Commissioner Breeden was amicable to this.

Ms. Marsh requested if the motion could also authorize the Chairman to sign the agreement once it had been drafted and approved by the County’s Attorney’s Office, so that staff would not need to bring it back. 

Commr. Campione also asked to include the amount of the school district’s request in the motion.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the following items: funding the Lake County School Board’s request in the amount of $1,676,245 to assist with COVID-19 related expenses; to adopt an agreement with the school board; to continue their commitment to fully fund the business and nonprofit needs with CARES Act funding of up to $16 million and possibly beyond; to only use reserves if they needed to bridge the gap between the time of expenditures and the time of receipt of additional funding from the $48 million; to memorialize their agreement with the school board in a memorandum of agreement; and to authorize the Chairman to sign the agreement once it had been drafted and approved by the County Attorney’s Office.

closing remarks

Commr. Campione commented that there was direction from the Board, and that they would get the staffs working together on the needed details.  She said that they would look forward to seeing these items be implemented, and she expressed appreciation for Ms. Kornegay for being on the call and for all of the school district’s hard work. 

Ms. Kornegay stated that she was grateful for the Board’s support, care and concern for children and teachers.  She opined that people could become sick, though having these additional services and safety, along with rapid testing and other protocols, could give greater assurances to the community that they were doing everything possible to get children back to school, and to get parents and teachers back to work.  She thanked the Board for their partnership and continued relationship.

Commr. Sullivan felt that this was a great meeting, and he hoped that this would get more students back into the traditional classroom and also get people back to work.  He felt that this was a key to restoring the economy.

Mr. Bill Mathias, with the Lake County School Board, expressed that he was grateful for the relationship between the BCC and the School Board, and for them both recognizing that this was a great step forward.

Commr. Campione thanked Mr. Mathias for his work.  She commented that the Office of Emergency Management was collaborating with the DOH in Lake County, who were the lead response, on an hourly basis with the overarching goal of protecting the entire community.  She said that at risk residents were the most vulnerable to becoming ill and succumbing to the virus, and she said that it would be critical to protect them.  She also felt that it was important for parents of children starting school to have all of the needed information to know the best way to do this and to quarantine if necessary.   She commented that the rapid testing could possibly be a model in other places, and she hoped that it helped with regards to obtaining an overall picture.  She also hoped that people could be tested quickly, noting that this had been challenging on a countywide level due to the testing not being available.  She opined that this could be positive to help track cases, to quarantine, and to protect families and the community at large.  She urged diligence as they moved forward and as this plan was implemented, and she thanked everyone for joining the current meeting.  She then mentioned that the BCC would have a regular meeting on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________

leslie campione, chairman

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

________________________________

GARY J COONEY, CLERK