A regular MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

december 8, 2020

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., in the County Commission Chambers, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Sean Parks, Chairman; Kirby Smith, Vice Chairman; Douglas B. Shields; Leslie Campione; 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.

INVOCATION and pledge

Commr. Campione remarked that the Pledge of Allegiance would be led by Mr. Anthony Borremans, who was a firefighter and paramedic with the Office of Fire Rescue. She said that Mr. Borremans had served as active duty in the United States Navy from 2005 to 2009 as an Aviation Electronics Technician Petty officer; additionally, he served on the USS John F. Kennedy Aircraft carrier during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom working on the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. She relayed that Mr. Borremans left active duty service to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter. She remarked that Mr. Borremans currently serves in the United States Navy Reserves as a Hospital Corpsman (paramedic) with Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 11, which provides cargo and support to Navy reserve and active duty components. She then thanked him for his service.

Commissioner Blake gave the Invocation, and then Mr. Borremans led the Pledge of Allegiance.

virtual meeting instructions

Commr. Campione mentioned that this meeting was a hybrid meeting which was a combination of an in-person meeting and one which allowed individuals to participate virtually. She asked for Mr. Erikk Ross, Director for the Information Technology (IT) Department, to explain how citizens who were listening remotely could participate.

Mr. Ross 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.

election of chairman and vice chairman

Commr. Campione expressed appreciation for the assistance she had received over the last two years while serving as Chairman of the Board, especially during the last 11 months with the unprecedented turn of events that everyone was experiencing. She remarked that as she thought back to 2019, one of the most important duties that she worked on was securing funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which the County was waiting to receive since it was critical for the budget. She explained that the County had spent a significant amount of funding upfront in order to take care of residents and businesses throughout the county during hurricane season with the plan to be reimbursed by FEMA. She remembered that there had been many issues in the county including flooding in Astor for months, debris being cleared throughout the county, contracts with Cities to assist them with their clearing needs, overtime for firefighters and Sheriff deputies, etc. She relayed that she and the County Manager went to Washington, D.C. to visit the County’s congressional members to seek assistance, and recalled that Senator Rick Scott made some phone calls and soon after things started to fall into place, noting that the County had great support in Washington, D.C. during that time. She remembered that after that timeframe, things were going well in Lake County due to successes such as the Kroger-Ocado partnership with the City of Groveland which was to have a positive economic impact on the county, the Board considering a possible roll back tax rate, etc., and then the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic happened. She said the focus then became about taking care of the needs of the county despite the uncertainty of the economic impact, and that everyone stepped up to work together, opining that the nonprofit organizations, faith based community, and Lake Support and Emergency Recovery (LASER) were amazing. She recalled that there were some difficult decisions to make along the way, such as the curfew when riots were happening in surrounding areas with the threat of them coming to Lake County; furthermore, there was the question as to whether local government could do more or should do less and what the proper role of local government was in a health crisis such as COVID-19. She expressed appreciation for all the support from County staff and leaders within the Department of Health (DOH), and specifically recognized Mr. Aaron Kissler, Administrator/Director/Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health in Lake County, Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Director for the Office of Emergency Management, Mr. Jerry Smith, Director for the Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Mr. John Molenda, Deputy County Manager, and Mr. Levar Cooper, Director for the Office of Communications; additionally, she acknowledged Ms. Jennifer Barker, Executive Director of Administrative Services, Mr. Brandon Matulka, Executive Director for the Agency for Economic Prosperity, and Ms. Jo-Anne Drury, Deputy County Manager, for all their hard work with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, She acknowledged the teamwork, not just within the County organization, but with all of the other governmental entities such as the Cities, the Lake County School District, and partners in the healthcare and hospital systems, noting that everyone stepped up to help, brought their strengths to the table, brainstormed, and adapted as they went along. She thanked everyone for being such a great team to work with, and she offered her assistance to the future Chairman of the Board during the transition time period, especially since there were so many items taking place. She thought it was a wonderful way that Lake County rotated the Board Chairman position each year, and how each Commissioner worked together in a team effort to serve the county.

Commr. Blake thanked Commissioner Campione for her steady leadership over the last two years in working through difficult issues and making tough decisions when needed.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Smith, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved for Commissioner Parks to serve as Chairman of the Board.

Commr. Parks thanked Commissioner Blake for the nomination, and acknowledged Commissioner Campione for her leadership. He relayed that he had known Commissioner Campione for over ten years, and opined that she was intelligent, innovative, and hard working for the county. He recognized her service as Chairman during a difficult year, and expressed appreciation for the wonderful job she had done.

On a motion by Commr. Shields, seconded by Commr. Blake, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved for Commissioner Smith to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board.

Commr. Campione remarked that with some of the issues pending with the Cities, Commissioner Smith brought a strong, knowledgeable perspective from the city government side, which she thought would be helpful. She commented that with the growth in the county and changes taking place, having that type of background could be helpful as they navigate difficult issues facing Lake County.

Commr. Smith thanked the Board for the nomination.

Agenda update

Mr. Jeff Cole, County Manager, stated that since the agenda was first published, Tab 34 had been added the previous week, noting that this information had been provided to the Board the previous Friday. He asked for Tab 34 to be considered as part of the Consent Agenda.

Commr. Campione requested for Tab 3 to be pulled so that a presentation of Proclamation 2020-215 could be made during the meeting. She also remarked that Proclamation 2020-225, which recognized Mr. Cole’s service to Lake County, had been added to the agenda, noting that Mr. Cole was unaware of this item; however, since it was a proclamation and not a County business item, it did not have to be advertised in advance. She then read Proclamation 2020-225.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Blake, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved Proclamation 2020-225, recognizing Mr. Jeff Cole for his service to Lake County.

Commr. Smith requested for Tab 11 to be pulled from the Consent Agenda for discussion.

Commr. Parks asked for Tab 5 to be pulled from the Consent Agenda for discussion.

Mr. Cole thanked the Board for the recognition and proclamation.

employee service

Ms. Jeannine Nelson, Human Resources and Risk Management Manager, announced that they would be recognizing employees who had reached service milestones in their careers with Lake County as follows:

EMPLOYEE AWARDS

FIVE YEARS

Justin Elkins, Recreation Coordinator

Office of Parks & Trails

Dave Burgess, Facilities Maintenance Manager

Office of Facilities Management

Jim Coyle, Legal Office Associate

County Attorney’s Office

Daniel Flannery, Construction Inspector I

Public Works Department

TEN YEARS

Megan Brew, Director

Office of Extension Services

Richard Miller, Equipment Operator III

Public Works Department

FIFTEEN YEARS

Justin Pouliot, Park Ranger

Office of Parks & Trails

Michael Springer, Data Technician

Office of Library Services

Timothy Delaney, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic

Office of Fire Rescue

Jason Graham, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic

Office of Fire Rescue

Ryan Carroll, Fire Lieutenant/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Ryan Dupont, Fire Lieutenant/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Stanley Priester, Fire Lieutenant/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Dane Wilson, Fire Lieutenant/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Michael McClelland, Firefighter Paramedic

Office of Fire Rescue

Mark Green, Firefighter/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Thomas Livingston, Firefighter/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Jared Rable, Firefighter/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Jacob Wiley, Firefighter/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

TWENTY YEARS

Robert Armas, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic

Office of Fire Rescue

Aaron Chaddick, Service Desk Manager

Information Technology Department

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

Ricky Magnus, Sign Fabricator

Public Works Department

THIRTY YEARS

John Bringard, Facilities Contract Specialist

Office of Facilities Management

RETIREMENTS

20 YEARS

Jacqueline Droz, Senior CAD Technician

Public Works Engineering

26 YEARS

Teresa Harrison, Accounting Technician

Office of Fleet Management

Benson Hartle, Fire Lieutenant/EMT

Office of Fire Rescue

Chief Jim Dickerson, Director for the Office of Fire Rescue, commented that Lieutenant Benson Hartle started with the Lake County Office of Fire Rescue in 1983 as a firefighter, and that after his second year of employment, he was promoted to the rank of Fire Lieutenant and had remained in that capacity until his retirement. He relayed that Lieutenant Hartle was the longest tenured employee of the Office of Fire Rescue, and that his experience, demeanor, and commitment to the county would be a large void to fill. He shared that Lieutenant Hartle was part of the just one man on duty (JOMOD) group, and was a founding member of the special operations team. He remarked that because of employees such as Lieutenant Hartle, the Office of Fire Rescue had grown from a 28 person department in 1985 to soon to be 255 in personnel. He thanked Lieutenant Hartle for his commitment and personal friendship over the years, and wished him well in retirement.

RETIREMENT

Jeff Cole, County Manager

Office of Administration

Commr. Parks recognized Mr. Cole for his 30 years of distinguished service for residents of the State of Florida, as well as those in Lake County, noting that Mr. Cole would be retiring as the County Manager on December 18, 2020. He shared that Mr. Cole began his public service career in 1990, supporting the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners, and in 1994, Mr. Cole embarked on a 21 year journey with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) overseeing intergovernmental affairs and media outreach and concluded his time with the SJRWMD as Chief of Staff. He mentioned that Mr. Cole’s long record of accomplishments brought him to Lake County in 2016, where he took on responsibilities and focused on enhancing government efficiency and accountability while improving the quality of life in Lake County. He stated that Mr. Cole was selected by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in 2017 to serve as the County Manager, and said that he had been an exemplary leader for the county for over three and a half years. He indicated that through challenges ranging from Hurricane Irma and COVID-19, Mr. Cole remained accessible and demonstrated unwavering leadership and dedication to the Lake County community; furthermore, he exemplified loyalty, commitment and dedication. He wished Mr. Cole and his wife the very best in the next chapter of their lives together, and on behalf of all the County Commissioners, he expressed a collective appreciation for Mr. Cole’s commitment to residents and for the legacy he was leaving behind.

covid-19 update

Mr. Carpenter commented that he would provide updates regarding cold weather sheltering, COVID-19, and the agreement with Adult Medicine of Lake County. He reported that the previous Tuesday, December 1, 2020, LifePointe Church in the City of Eustis and Trinity Assembly of God in the City of Fruitland Park volunteered to open cold weather shelters; furthermore, staff from the DOH were on site for medical monitoring and to provide flu vaccinations, noting that everyone there was asymptomatic and no COVID-19 tests were needed for anyone sheltering. He indicated that temperatures were also forecasted to dip below 40 degrees that evening; therefore, Trinity Assembly would be opening for sheltering, DOH staff would be on site, the Lake County Office of Transit Services would provide transportation for those who needed it, a press release would be released, and his office would reach out to agencies that work with homeless individuals. He then provided the following COVID-19 update: the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remained at a level three monitoring; the Lake County Citizens Information Line (CIL) at 352-253-9999 was no longer staffed by personnel but had information available regarding COVID-19 and the CARES Act programs; and that the DOH’s COVID-19 hotline would remain open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at 352-742-4830. He then shared these statistics from the Florida DOH’s website regarding COVID-19 cases within Lake County: there were 11,183 total positive tests, noting that three weeks prior there were 9,665; the current positive tests in quarantine and being monitored by the DOH was 1,174, with 299 under investigation; total number tested was 141,319, while three weeks prior it was 108,187; Lake County’s positivity rate from the last Board meeting through the previous Sunday was at six percent; and the current total percentage of positive test results was eight percent. He indicated that when comparing to surrounding counties, Lake County had the second lowest cumulative positive rate; furthermore, the State’s target for positivity rate was 10 percent and Lake County had remained below that. He said that another important number considered was the percentage of estimated population testing, and reported that Orange County remained at number one at 44.8 percent, with Lake County at number three with 38.9 percent, noting that Orange and Osceola Counties had State funded testing while Lake County did not. He indicated that the number one age group for those testing positive was still 25-34 years old, the second most affected age group was individuals 45-54 years old, the third most affected age group was 35-44, and the fourth age bracket was the ages of 15-24; furthermore, the median age for COVID-19 positive cases was 44, and the number of deaths reported to date was 261. He then reported information on the county’s three local hospitals as follows: there were a total of 915 beds with 717 being utilized, 198 available, and a 21.6 percent available bed capacity; there were 105 total intensive care unit (ICU) beds available with 73 being used, 32 available, and a 31 percent bed capacity; and in terms of current numbers, 79 patients were admitted for COVID-19, with eleven of those in ICU. He stated that since April 27, 2020, the County had issued 887,904 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE). He said in regards to cases within the county’s long-term care facilities, the total cumulative number was 758 positive COVID-19 cases to date, with currently 21 positive residents and 26 positive staff, and 99 deaths reported, although he mentioned that number may not be accurate to date. He commented on the County’s facemask distribution which began on July 7, 2020, and reported that over 90,000 masks had been distributed. He also acknowledged that LASER had no changes, and had assisted 62 businesses, churches and agencies with cloth masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer and gloves. He indicated that for Lake County schools from November 28 through December 4, 2020, there had been 43 positive cases of 33 students and 10 employees, with 352 being quarantined to include 323 students and 29 employees. He then provided information regarding the BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 test which the State provided, and reported that the Office of Emergency Management had collected these tests from the six communities which had received them from the State, had communicated with these communities to contact the DOH to schedule testing, and had informed them about the availability of testing through Adult Medicine of Lake County, noting that residents who could not travel could coordinate with the DOH for mobile testing. He then shared information regarding COVID-19 testing locations throughout the county, noting that if the demand for testing increased, they would be prepared to provide drive-through testing. He recalled that at the previous BCC meeting, the Board approved Adult Medicine of Lake County to perform COVID-19 testing at a cost of $7 per test for the County but no cost for residents, up to a $200,000 maximum, noting that this agreement began on November 19, 2020 and would expire on the current date. He relayed that they provided the rapid COVID-19 test as well as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and reported that 6,500 tests had been conducted through the previous Friday with a possible additional 1,000 tests through the weekend, for a total of 7,500 tests conducted for a total cost to the County of $52,500 so far. He indicated that Adult Medicine of Lake County had expressed their willingness to continue to partner with the County to perform COVID-19 tests if the Board desired. He concluded by mentioning that the County had received their freezer for the COVID-19 vaccine, and that the Office of Facilities Management staff was working with the DOH in anticipation of receiving vaccines.

Commr. Parks thanked Mr. Carpenter for addressing drive-through testing in south Lake County.

Mr. Kissler relayed information on the DOH website regarding COVID-19 cases in Lake County, noting that cases had increased from 50 to 75 to an average around 75 to 100 as anticipated coming into the winter season; furthermore, the positivity rate had risen from four to seven percent but was still low compared to the region and the state. He noted that hospitalizations had also increased slightly, but were not as high as they had been in the summer; additionally, the death count in Lake County was currently 262. He gave the comparison that stroke was the fourth highest cause of death in the county and was approximately 267 deaths per year. He also said that testing demands had increased especially in the South Lake location, that testing had been expanded to the City of Leesburg, that contact tracing had become more challenging as numbers increased, and that the DOH had added two additional contact tracers. He mentioned that the DOH continued to distribute masks and provide educational materials. He reported that the safety data for the Pfizer vaccine had been confirmed that morning, that receiving a vaccine in Lake County could potentially be within the next few weeks, that there were also other vaccines that would hopefully be available in the beginning of the year, and that the DOH was working on their vaccine distribution plan with pharmacies and hospitals. He thanked the County for the use of the freezer they had received, and mentioned that the DOH, Office of Emergency Management, hospitals and various partners had recently participated in a vaccine distribution plan exercise that went well. He concluded by sharing some successes during the pandemic which included mask distribution and usage, testing numbers, County support, contact tracing, and their partnership with the schools and the Office of Emergency Management.

Commr. Campione inquired about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation regarding shortening the quarantine time and if the State of Florida was following that recommendation.

Mr. Kissler responded that information was recently relayed, and that a press release would be coming soon regarding this.

Commr. Shields asked about the effectiveness after the first dose of the vaccine was administered since it was a two dose vaccine; additionally, what was the procedure for obtaining the second dose to ensure individuals get both doses.

Mr. Kissler replied that there were several vaccines for other illnesses that were multi-dose; therefore, they had a plan in place that would include calls, texts, and information cards. He added that they would also provide public education. He indicated that there was some protection with the first dose; however, in order to reach the effectiveness of the 90 percent, one had to get the second dose. He indicated that the DOH would be pushing for this to ensure people got their second dose. He thanked the Board for their support.

Commr. Parks stressed the importance of being healthy and that there were other issues of health and wellness besides COVID-19.

Mr. Cole thanked Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Kissler for their steadfast, unwavering leadership during this pandemic. He then mentioned that as part of the COVID-19 update, staff would be providing information regarding the resident assistance program, the business assistance program, the status of the CARES Act spending, the proposed reallocation of remaining funds, and some requested actions.

Ms. Barker recalled the following CARES Act funding background information: the County was notified by the State in June 2020 that the County had been awarded $64 million in CARES Act funding which had to be expended by December 30, 2020; the first 25 percent of funding, or $16 million, was received on July 27, 2020; the remaining 75 percent, or $48 million, required approval of a countywide spend plan, which was subsequently approved on October 23, 2020; the BCC approved a $35,232,593 line of credit on October 13, 2020 since the final phase of funding was only available on a reimbursement basis; and the County received the second 20 percent of funding, or about $12.8 million, on November 5, 2020 after the spend plan was approved. She reported that the initial proposed CARES Act allocation included $21 million for business assistance, $13 million for resident assistance plus $2 million in separate funding from other sources, $5 million for workforce training and education assistance, $6 million for EMS communications infrastructure for the tower upgrade, $15 million for municipalities, the County and Constitutional Officers, and $4 million in contingency. She indicated that since the initial proposal, new priorities had been identified and the spend plan had been adjusted, noting that the State required for the spend plan to be submitted in three phases based on the three phases of funding allocations. She then displayed a summary chart of the CARES Act funding spend plan as approved by the State in October 2020, and explained that it was divided into the three phases of allocations. She then reported the following information: for the first phase of funding allocation, they proposed funding for the Lake County School Board to assist with hiring additional teachers, enhancements to their technology network in order to provide distance learning, and additional transportation costs in order to provide social distancing on school buses; phase one included approximately $9.6 million for business assistance, noting that the total for business assistance throughout the three phases was $21 million; the total for resident assistance was $15 million; the total for municipalities, County and Constitutional Officers was about $12.1 million and was based on what was submitted by these entities for their expected expenditures related to COVID-19; administrative costs totaled approximately $3.1 million; $500,000 was allocated for food banks and local nonprofits since their assistance to the community had increased while their donations had decreased; an additional approximate $1 million was allocated to LifeStream Behavioral Center since they needed to increase their bed capacity because of increased mental health issues due to COVID-19; $5 million was allocated for workforce/education assistance through a partnership with Lake Technical College and Lake-Sumter State College for the expansion of curriculum, purchase of equipment for social distancing, and scholarships for those still affected by COVID-19 to be trained in another line of work; $500,000 was included for Lake County tourism marketing to encourage people to participate in outside activities while following the CDC social distancing guidelines; and about $3.6 million in contingency for the County Manager, through Board approval, to be authorized to reallocate as needed for unexpected items that arose.

Ms. Drury provided an update on the $18,640,000 earmarked for current resident assistance efforts, noting that phase one was approximately $3.6 million and was comprised of a variety of sources, and that phase two was $15 million which came from the CARES Act funds that the State provided to the County. She explained that phase one was comprised of State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) funds of $460,000, CARES Act Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) funds of $300,000, and Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) grant funds of $2,880,000, noting that this was originally $2,000,000 but was recently increased by $880,000. She recalled information on phase one as follows: it began in May 2020 with the opening of the SHIP program; staff began accepting applications around May 1, 2020; on July 17, 2020, the CRF funds were awarded to the County who began accepting applications three weeks later on August 10, 2020; Lake County partnered with United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties for the distribution of the CRF funds; on July 17, 2020, the County was awarded the CDBG funds, noting that the requirements and guidance on grant expenditures were not received from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) until Fall 2020. She recapped information regarding phase one of the resident assistance program, with 1,633 applications received, 1,057 approved, 576 declined, and $2.8 million awarded to residents to date. She mentioned that about $540,000 was remaining to be spent by December 30, 2020 which would assist approximately 135 additional households, and that the $300,000 in CDBG-CV funds would be spent last since the County had three years to spend it; furthermore, Lake County was awarded $1,220,597 in additional CDBG-CV funding which would be received sometime in January 2021 and could be allocated towards rent, mortgage, and rental assistance in the future if the Board chose to spend the funding on those items. She remarked that regarding phase two, on September 29, 2020, the Board earmarked $15 million of the CARES Act funding to assist residents with mortgage and rent, noting that it would also assist landlords and lenders because if the applicant was past due the funding went to the landlord or lender on behalf of the resident. She reiterated that the deadline to award the funds was December 30, 2020, and that staff had about 10 weeks from the date the line of credit was approved to design, implement, and award funds to individual households. She explained that phase two was an award amount of $4,000 per household, was a direct payment to individuals for reimbursement of funds already expended on their rent or mortgage, or a direct payment to the landlord or lender if the account was past due, and that the general requirements for applicants were that they lived in Lake County and had suffered a COVID-19 hardship. She indicated that the portal for online applications opened on October 26, 2020 and closed on November 30, 2020, that the Office of Communications marketed the program on many different platforms, applicants who were declined had the opportunity to reapply and remedy any issues on their first application, and staff partnered with Ernst and Young, CPAs for the review of applications. She reported that to date, 4,792 applications were received, 1,370 were approved, 864 were declined, and $5,480,000 had been awarded, noting that they had approximately three weeks left to process the remaining 2,500 applications by the December 30, 2020 deadline, but payments could be made in January 2021. She shared that some of the reasons applicants were being declined was because they did not live in Lake County, their financial hardship was not COVID-19 related, they did have a valid or current lease, or they received assistance under phase one. She indicated that some of the challenges staff had experienced were the compressed timeline to design, implement and award the funds, the United States (U.S.) Department of Treasury’s grant requirements to make sure it was a valid and supported CARES Act eligible expenditure with no duplication of benefits, incomplete or unresponsive applications, and complex ownership and landlord/tenant relationships. She mentioned that the call center would stay open until the end of January 2021 to answer any questions regarding an applicant’s application status, and could be reached at 877-927-1057.

Mr. Matulka provided an update on the Lake CARES Small Business Assistance Grant Program. He shared the following background information: upon notification of CARES Act funding in June, staff immediately began work to research and procure grant management software and defined the program process, noting that they benchmarked programs with other counties that had received their CARES Act allocations in April 2020; a working group was formed for the Lake CARES Business Assistance Grant Program and was led by Commissioner Parks and comprised of County staff, City staff, Chamber partners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, business support partners and financial institutions; the working group met on July 15 and 17, 2020, and made recommendations to the Board, noting that this group agreed to reconvene after the program started in order to discuss; the initial program targeted only businesses the State deemed non-essential, were located in Lake County prior to 2020 and had fewer than 25 employees; a call center was set up at Cooper Memorial Library; phase one business assistance applications began being accepted on August 17, 2020; the working group met again on August 28, 2020 and discussed expanding the program to all businesses; phase two business assistance applications began being accepted on September 8, 2020 with an initial closing date for applications on September 22, 2020; on September 17, 2020, staff announced increased award amounts for all applicants; on September 22, 2020, the application deadline was extended to September 28, 2020 and then extended again to October 5, 2020; the application acceptance was open for about seven weeks in total; the call center closed for business assistance in mid-November 2020 and moved into direct calls to the Agency for Economic Prosperity Office; the finalized review of all applications was on December 4, 2020; the Board voted to allocate remaining funds across all business category sizes on November 10, 2020; and the next step was to process all additional allocations in order to meet the December 30, 2020 deadline for CARES Act funding. He then displayed and explained a chart depicting the current award structure approved by the Board at the November 10, 2020 BCC meeting, as well as the current amounts awarded, noting that the total awarded was $20,523,500, which left $476,500 remaining from the original $21 million allocation.

Mr. Cole then displayed a chart depicting the status of the CARES Act funding expenditures, noting that the first two columns were what had been presented earlier in the meeting by Ms. Barker and reflected the recipient and allocation amount. He explained that the “expended” column of this chart showed the amount that had been paid out to date for each category, for a total amount of $35,371,932; additionally, the “additional to expend” column reflected the funds that would be expended shortly for approved expenditures and totaled $23,343,287. He added that the “to remain” column was for amounts that were anticipated to be unspent and totaled $5,344,041, or eight percent of the total $64 allocation. He explained that the allocation numbers were rounded when they were originally set as they did not completely know what would actually be expended or applied for, knowing there would be fluctuation; furthermore, he said this was the time to address utilizing all of the funding before the deadline. He then explained the various categories which had remaining funds available to spend as follows: the food banks applied for a total of $306,000, which left a balance of $194,000; the not-for-profits applied for a total of $398,750 which left a balance of $101,250; the $476,500 in the business assistance program which was not being spent was based on exhausting the payments under the tiered allocations that had been previously set, noting there was a plan to get those funds into the business community; $6,000 remained for the workforce/education allocation; $172,515 remained for the Lake County tourism marketing, $963,553 remained for administrative costs; and contingency was anticipated to have approximately $3.4 million remaining. He mentioned that as the Board considered how to reallocate the extra approximate $5.3 million, to remember the goals to maximize impacts of funding in the community, distribute funds equitably, and to expend 100 percent of the funding by the December 30, 2020 deadline. He indicated that some of the challenges included the fact that some of the grant programs required a time consuming review and verification, especially the resident assistance program, noting that it was important to go through the process to ensure the County was not obligating any funding that they might end up having to repay to the Federal Government. He stated that staff spent a significant amount of time making sure that the expenses were eligible since they would not find out until the process was finished if any were not. He added that two other challenges were the limited timeframe remaining, and the fact that the County would not know until the end of December 2020 whether all funds would be expended; therefore, it was important to be able to pivot the last week in December 2020 to get the remaining funds into the community. He then displayed the previous spreadsheet with an additional column added that was funding proposed to be reallocated. He indicated that staff was proposing another $1,395,809 for business grants, and explained that this included the $476,500 which Mr. Matulka had mentioned was unspent from the original $21 million, plus an additional $919,309 which would bring the total allocation to the business community to nearly $22 million. He said they were proposing another $2,884,649 to the municipalities, County, and Constitutional Officers which would bring that total allocation back up to the original $15 million which was originally set. He relayed that they were also proposing funding for administrative costs and contingency which would be discussed shortly. He said that Mr. Matulka would present specifics for getting the funding back to the business community.

Mr. Matulka then presented options for how the Board could potentially reallocate the $21,919,309 which was the new target allocation for the business assistance program. He displayed two graphs, with one being the current award structure for reference, and the other being the first proposed option for the additional awards. He explained that the first option focused on larger businesses with ten or more employees to receive additional funding, and then noted the new amounts on the chart. He elaborated that with the new award amounts, the awarded total would be $21,880,250 with $39,059 remaining. He then explained that the second option included any businesses with two or more employees to receive extra funding; furthermore, this option would bring the new award total to $21,893,500 with $25,809 remaining. He recommended that any remaining amounts go to nonprofit organizations.

Commr. Campione felt that the self-employed/sole proprietor category was getting left out with these options and that they had taken a big hit during this time.

Commr. Parks asked if Commissioner Campione would propose for more funding to be reallocated to those categories.

Commr. Campione shared that many self-employed/sole proprietor individuals had mentioned to her what a tough position they had been in during this time and how that had not been able to get other relief efforts. She said there were two ends of the spectrum with larger employers such as the Mission Inn Resort and Club who had experienced decreases, and then the sole proprietor who possibly runs a catering business and their business had stopped and they were attempting to restart. She wished they could provide an additional $1,000 to the self-employed/sole proprietor category so that their award became a $2,000 increase.

Mr. Matulka stated they had not begun the new allocation of additional awards yet so these numbers were flexible; furthermore, if the Board desired for more funding to be given to this category, he could accomplish this.

Commr. Blake inquired if that would include salon workers who were self-employed since they had a prolonged shutdown period, and Commissioner Campione confirmed that.

Mr. Cole asked for Board direction for either options or any adjustments being discussed so that staff could move forward. He said to keep in mind that in regards to the nonprofit organizations, there was separate funding as mentioned by Ms. Drury that had been placed towards nonprofits in a different way; therefore, that was one option if the Board wanted to reallocate that funding to the self-employed, or he said that some of the other categories could be reduced to funnel the funding into the self-employed category.

Commr. Blake opined that was a great idea to take the $1,500 increase from the nonprofit category.

Commr. Campione clarified they would have to pull from a few other categories to come up with enough to give a $1,000 more to the sole proprietors, although she thought this could work.

Mr. Matulka indicated that there were still substantial increases that the Board had already awarded to the ten or more employees categories so they would still receive additional awards even if they decreased their additional funding amount some. He thought they had the flexibility to accomplish this.

Commr. Shields opined it was a great idea and said he was fine with it.

Commr. Parks said he supported it as well.

Mr. Matulka stated he would work with Mr. Cole to ensure that the allocations met the direction given by the Board.

Mr. Cole summarized that the self-employed category would increase to $2,000, and staff would find an equitable way to find the additional funding from the other categories, starting with the nonprofit organizations. He recalled that the Board had originally allocated $15 million for the municipalities, County, and Constitutional Officers, that they had received slightly over $12 million in funding requests, and that they had since received additional funding requests from some of the municipalities, especially those who had not received their original allocation. He stated that staff was proposing that $2,884,679 be reallocated back to this category with about $1.2 million being provided to the municipalities that did not receive their full allocation, and $1,668,813 allocated to the County. He relayed that about a month prior, they had received additional guidance from the United States Department of Treasury that all public safety wages were eligible for reimbursement; therefore, they were proposing for the County’s funding, to put it towards the public safety wages, and then expend those funds that were replaced on purchasing self-contained breathing apparatuses for the Office of Fire Rescue. He recalled that the County had been striving for several years to identify funding from the Federal, State and County Governments for these self-contained breathing apparatuses. He indicated that this funding would allow the Office of Fire Rescue to completely replace those units and also for $500,000 to be returned to the General Fund reserves that the Board had voted on November 10, 2020 to allocate toward this need. He reminded the Board that funding for the self-contained breathing apparatuses was a 2021 County legislative priority; therefore, if the Board proceeded with this approach, he would recommend that it be eliminated as a legislative priority moving forward. He said that one other detail was the proposal to amend local agreements with the municipalities to extend their deadlines which were set at December 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020, and to enable them to be reimbursed for their public safety wages so that they could take a similar approach as the County’s. He specified that all of this was discussed with the municipalities on December 2, 2020 and they all concurred with this approach. He relayed that staff was proposing to leave the $963,553 available for administrative costs, and to hold back approximately $100,000 for contingency. He remarked that if they found that during the last week of December 2020 that there was unspent funding, although he did not expect it to be much, they would quickly pay it out to the municipalities and the County for public safety wages, noting that this was the only approach which they could turn around payments in just a couple of days. He said that since this was his last County meeting, he wanted to thank County staff, and specifically the leadership over this program being Ms. Drury, Ms. Barker, Mr. Matulka and Ms. Melanie Marsh, County Attorney, who he said had spent many hours developing programs, creating application infrastructure, reviewing applications and invoices, and ensuring that $64 million was expended according to the federal guidelines which had evolved throughout the process. He opined they had had ensured that this process was executed flawlessly; therefore, he wanted to publicly thank them for their hard work. He concluded with four requested actions which included approval of the proposed reallocation of CARES Act funding as presented and/or amended at this meeting, authorization to amend interlocal agreements with the municipalities to extend spending deadlines to December 30, 2020 and allow for adjustments to their spend plans, authorization for the County Manager and/or Interim County Manager to make additional adjustments and expenditures as necessary during administration of the funding, and approval to extend the agreement with Adult Medicine of Lake County to perform COVID-19 testing to December 30, 2020, not to exceed the original $200,000 that had been previously established.

Commr. Campione opined that the public safety expenditures and working with the Cities to do the same was a smart approach in light of the time constraints, noting it was amazing that it allowed the County to obtain the self-contained breathing apparatuses that were needed.

Commr. Parks thanked staff for their diligence and overtime work in order to assist residents. He also thanked staff for their assistance with the educational assistance program in order to make sure it would be approved.

Commr. Smith said he was glad they were able to purchase the apparatuses for the Office of Fire Rescue, and he thanked Mr. Cole for bringing this item to the Board.

Commr. Shields commented that he was impressed with Mr. Cole and County staff on a job well done.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Smith, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the proposed reallocation of CARES Act funding as presented and/or amended at this meeting, authorization to amend interlocal agreements with the municipalities to extend spending deadlines to December 30, 2020 and allow for adjustments to their spend plans, authorization for the County Manager and/or Interim County Manager to make additional adjustments and expenditures as necessary during administration of the funding, and approval to extend the agreement with Adult Medicine of Lake County to perform COVID-19 testing to December 30, 2020, not to exceed the original $200,000 that had been previously established.

Minutes approval

Commr. Smith remarked that since he was not on the Board for the September 15, 2020 BCC meeting, he would vote for approval as long as the other Commissioners agreed that the minutes were as they understood the meeting.

Commr. Campione said they could attest to that.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Campione, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the minutes for the BCC meeting of September 15, 2020 (Regular Meeting).

recess and reassembly

The Chairman called a recess at 10:42 a.m. for ten minutes.

citizen question and comment period

No one wished to address the Board at this time.

CLERK OF the Circuit COURT and comptroller’s CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Smith and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller’s Consent Agenda, Items 1 through 3, as follows:

List of Warrants

Request to acknowledge receipt of the list of warrants paid prior to this meeting, pursuant to Chapter 136.06 (1) of the Florida Statutes, which shall be incorporated into the Minutes as attached Exhibit A and filed in the Board Support Division of the Clerk's Office.

Founders Ridge Community Development District Proposed FY 2021 Budget

Request to acknowledge receipt of the Founders Ridge Community Development District’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 in accordance with Section 190.008 (2)(b), Florida Statutes, for purposes of disclosure and information only.

Town of Lady Lake Ordinances and Resolutions

Request to acknowledge receipt of the following from the Town of Lady Lake: Ordinance 2020-04, Ordinance 2020-05, Ordinance 2020-06, Ordinance 2020-07, Resolution 2020-105, Resolution 2020-106 and Resolution 2020-107.

tab 3: Proclamation 2020-215

Commr. Campione commented how special this family was in the county, and shared that Sergeant First Class Michael C. Aten’s mother was a dear friend of hers, noting that she and her husband had worked in prison ministry for years and would assist those exiting jail with support. She acknowledged that this proclamation was in recognition of Sergeant Aten and asked for his wife, who had filled out a speaker card, to share a few comments regarding Sergeant Aten’s life and contribution to the county.

Ms. Diana Aten, the surviving spouse to Sergeant First Class Michael C. Aten, shared that Sergeant Aten was born and raised in the City of Eustis, and that they were classmates when they were younger. She said that he had served in the Army since high school and became an Army Ranger and served the country for 26 years, and had earned the Bronze Star Medal while serving in Iraq. She commented that he also served his community, had a love for riding motorcycles, and was the reason she had been working on this Operation Road Designation project. She thanked the Board for this recognition of her late husband and for the proclamation honoring him.

Commr. Campione then read Proclamation 2020-215.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Smith and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Tab 3 of the County Manager’s Consent Agenda, which was Proclamation 2020-215 supporting the designation of a portion of State Road (SR) 19 between Lane Park Cutoff Road to the intersection of County Road (CR) 48, in honor of Sergeant First Class Michael C. Aten, U.S. Army, Retired, who was killed in a motorcycle accident on January 3, 2020.

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

Commr. Smith asked for Tab 10 to also be pulled for discussion.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Smith and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the remainder of the Consent Agenda, Tabs 3 through 25, pulling Tabs 5, 10, and 11 for discussion, with Tab 3 already pulled and approved, as follows:

COUNTY ATTORNEY

Request approval to terminate a Revocable Non-Exclusive License Agreement with the Friends of Ferndale for use of the Ferndale Fire Station. There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 2.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Procurement Services

Request approval of revisions to Fixed Asset Management Policy LCC-40. There is no fiscal impact.

AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Request approval:

1. Of an Economic Development Grant Incentive Program award for Project Go West, pursuant to Section 7-4, Lake County Code, after finalization of an agreement and public availability of Project Go West information.

2. For the Chairman to execute the agreement upon review by the County Attorney's Office.

The fiscal impact (expenditure) cannot be determined at this time. Grant payments will be calculated as a percentage of the ad valorem taxes paid on real and tangible property owned by Project Go West over 20 years if all requirements are met. Commission District 1. 

PUBLIC SAFETY AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Fire Rescue

Request approval to advertise an ordinance for the inclusion of property within the City of Fruitland Park into the Lake County Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) and Lake County Assessment for fire protection and creating a new section of the Lake County Code. The fiscal impact (revenue) cannot be determined at this time. Commission District 5.

Planning and Zoning

Request approval of a waiver to Comprehensive Plan Policy IX-3.1.2, Mandatory Sewer Connection, for a new commercial development located at 14003 County Road 455 in the Clermont area. There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 2.

PUBLIC SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Housing and Human Services

Request approval of Unanticipated Revenue Resolution 2020-216 amending the Federal/State Grants Fund in order to receive $183,073.00 in unanticipated revenue for Fiscal Year 2021, and approval to provide appropriations for the disbursement of these funds. The fiscal impact is $183,073.00 (revenue/expenditure - 100 percent grant funded).

Library Services

Request approval:

1. To accept Library Services and Technology Act Grant funding of $20,551.00.

2. Of Unanticipated Revenue Resolution 2020-217 amending the Office of Library Services budget to receive these funds.

The fiscal impact is $20,551.00 (revenue).

Request approval to adopt the Lake County Library System Combined Operating Budget, Annual Plan of Service, Certification of Hours, Services and Access, and Grant Agreement for State Aid funding for Fiscal Year 2021. The fiscal impact (revenue) cannot be determined at this time.

Parks and Trails

Request approval to advertise an ordinance amending and repealing Lake County Code, Chapter 5, Section 5-3, entitled Airboats at Lake Yale, to remove the restriction of airboats on Lake Yale during certain times of the day. There is no fiscal impact. Commission Districts 4 and 5.

Public Works

Request approval to execute a Proportionate Share Mitigation Agreement between the Lake County School Board, DR Horton, Inc. (Orlando, FL), Lake County Dreamcatcher, LLC (Orlando, FL), and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 1.

Request approval to execute a Proportionate Share Mitigation Agreement between the Lake County School Board, Pulte Home Company, LLC (Orlando, FL), Chuck Piper (Windermere, FL), and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 2.

Request approval of multi-party agreements with the City of Orlando and Orange County for the option to purchase right of way from Conserv II (owned by both agencies) for both the Wellness Way corridor and the Hancock Road extension. There is no fiscal impact from this action, but the option in the agreement could result in a needed expenditure within 5 years of an estimated $1,059,500.00 in Transportation Impact Fees. Commission District 2.

Request approval of Contract 21-0506 with Southern Development & Construction (SDC) (Oviedo, FL) for the Wolf Branch Sink Drainage Improvements construction project. The fiscal impact is $266,777.00 (expenditure) and is within the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. Commission District 4.

Request approval of:

1. Contract 20-0519 with D.A.B. Constructors, Inc. (Inglis, FL) for safety improvements on Lakeshore Drive and Lake Louisa Road in Clermont.

2. A Local Agency Program Supplemental agreement and supporting Resolution 2020-218 with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for additional funding for the construction of safety improvements on Lakeshore Drive in the Clermont area.

3. A Local Agency Program Supplemental agreement and supporting Resolution 2020-219 with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for additional funding for the construction improvements on Lake Louisa Road, in the Clermont area.

4. Unanticipated Revenue Resolutions 2020-220 and 2020-221 to provide for the receipt and appropriation of grant funds received by the FDOT.

The total fiscal impact is $1,047,120 (expenditure - 100 percent grant funded) and is within the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget. Commission District 2.

Request approval to release a performance bond of $210,552.82 issued to construct a turn lane on Old Highway 441 for the Verandah Park subdivision in Tavares. There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 3.

Request approval to release a performance bond of $43,100.75 that was provided for construction of sidewalk improvements in Sugar Hill Estates, located in Grand Island. There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 5.

Request approval to:

1. Accept the final plat for Ridgeview Phase 1, and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Ridgeview Phase 1 final plat, located near Clermont.

2. Execute a Developer's Agreement for Construction of Improvements with Pulte Home Company, LLC (Orlando, FL).

3. Accept a performance bond of $1,233,103.04.

The fiscal impact is $1,551.00 (revenue - final plat application fee). Commission District 2.

Request approval to apply for and accept a Lake County Water Authority Cooperative Stormwater Initiative Grant for a water quality retrofit project on Lake Griffin, and authorization for the Chairman to execute any related documents if funding is awarded. The estimated fiscal impact is $127,350.00 (revenue/expenditure - $63,675.00 in cost share funding and $63,375.00 in Stormwater MSTU funding that is within the Fiscal Year 2021 budget). Commission District 5.

Request approval:

1. To apply for and, if awarded, accept a Florida Department of Transportation Drive It Home Grant for the Keep Lake Beautiful Program.

2. For the Chairman to execute all supporting documentation.

The fiscal impact is $15,000.00 (revenue).

tab 5: contract with gray robinson, p.a.

Commr. Parks commented that he pulled Tab 5 due to a few questions and concerns that he wanted to be address regarding the contract with GrayRobinson, P.A., noting that Mr. Chris Carmody with GrayRobinson was present in the meeting. He noted that the Commissioners did not get involved with procurement or obtaining consultants or lobbyists but allowed staff to do that. He mentioned that the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association (CFHLA) was a client of GrayRobinson, and he had concerns that this association was opposed to expanding allowable uses of the Tourist Development Tax (TDT), especially since the BCC had been looking for ways to fund trails in the community. He noted that the Board had recently approved requesting support from the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) for a statutory change which would allow a county the size of Lake County to utilize TDT funds for project development, and environment (PD&E) studies for trails which was currently not an allowable use of these funds. He indicated that FAC had approved supporting this as a legislative change. He asked if GrayRobinson would be able to serve Lake County’s needs regarding this. He remarked that his second concern related to the Lake-Orange Expressway with the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), which was entering into the engineering phase this year. He relayed that there had been some legislative change regarding wording the previous year. He explained that in order to get the Lake-Orange Expressway with CFX approved, which would go from U.S. 27 to SR 429, it would require the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) approval first, noting that this was the only situation in the State of Florida which had this language in it, the only part of the Florida Statute, and therefore only affected Lake County. He indicated that GrayRobinson had worked with other entities who felt this language should stay in the statute, and he inquired how GrayRobinson would be able to balance this as it was important to get it changed for Lake County since it was going into the engineering phase for that roadway.

Mr. Carmody thanked the Board for the honor to serve Lake County for six years, and remarked on the successes they had within the county on roads, infrastructure, and policy issues. He stated that with regards to CFX, he was unaware of any conflict. He explained that in the last legislative session, the language was in both versions of the transportation bill, noting that he thought what they ultimately did was a compromise. He indicated that their client was not opposing it; rather, it was former FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad who did not want to remove the language. He said that the compromise was that it would be a consulting or at least a check-in, and that they vetted out the vocabulary to make sure the language was clear that they would not have to get a sign-off, but merely make FDOT aware and provide plans for them to review if they desired. He opined that all entities felt comfortable with this language. He elaborated that this year’s goal was to remove the language; however, if there was resistance, then they would explore compromises with the goal to ultimately protect Lake County. He remarked that they were able to work with the current FDOT Secretary Kevin Thibault the previous year to obtain approval of the language, noting that he had approved it. He mentioned that the question for the BCC was if they wanted to connect with the FDOT package since it did not pass last year but was expected to this year, or should they do a stand-alone bill. He remarked that in regards to the CFHLA and TDT issue, he had performed some research when Lake County first identified it as an item for the lobbyist to consider and he had discussions with the Lake County Attorney. He explained that based on some Attorney General opinions back in 2015, trails were permitted; however, there was a change in the law two years prior. He relayed that under the TDT statute previous to two years ago, there was a list of activities that could be done and trails were included with nature centers; furthermore, the statute change two years ago, added a section for large counties that wanted to do infrastructure projects that did not fit the traditional definition of tourism marketing but supported promoting tourism. He elaborated that this change included verbiage for design and there was concern that this restricted the uses for design in the other parts of the statute. He indicated that he would continue to lobby that the original uses could still use design. He explained that what the County was promoting was not necessarily an expansion of TDT uses; rather, a clarification and equity issue to put everyone on the same playing field as back in 2018. He stated that he was confident there would not be an issue because in working with CFHLA in the past, while part of their principles were to protect the uses of TDT funds, they had also been fair and open minded on issues such as this one since it was more of a clarification than an expansion of how to use the funds. He said that if there was ever a conflict, the County had the ability to work through them; however, he did not foresee any issues with the CFX or TDT concerns, noting that their organization believed in transparency and would discuss any issues. He emphasized that as the County’s lobbyist, they would advocate for the County’s priorities.

Commr. Campione inquired if former FDOT Secretary Prasad lobbied for road contractors, including those on the Wekiva Parkway who were involved in hauling activities which had come into question in east Lake County.

Mr. Carmody indicated he was familiar with this and knew there were issues with some organizations who used the agriculture exemption in order not to have to pay mining and permit fees to the County. He relayed that they had been successful the previous year to add some language to the agriculture bill that gave better ability for the Commissioner of Agriculture to enforce the agriculture laws. He did not believe that the road builders association which the former Secretary was representing had any issues with the CFX concern, noting that at the end of the legislative session, former Secretary Persad was more acceptable to the language that had been worked through.

Commr. Campione asked if the FDOT authorization for the Lake-Orange Expressway had already been granted.

Commr. Parks did not think that it had as he thought the authorization came right before they started moving dirt, noting this was the reason it had to happen this year.

Commr. Campione remarked that there was a substantial investment in the design, and lack of approval could be an issue. She commented that the issue was that only Lake County was required to get approval for a project in their county, noting this was put in at the time they were expanding the expressway authority to include the adjoining counties and Lake County and there was some concern that if projects were done in Lake County, then it might impact the viability of FDOT toll funded projects, which was her understanding as to why that language was placed in there. She opined it was not applicable.

Mr. Carmody said it did not appear to be an issue and was the reason FDOT Secretary Thibault and staff supported the language the previous year. He opined that they were in a good spot since the Secretary knew Lake County and was supportive of the projects the County was seeking to obtain funding for, noting this was a good time to pursue this.

Commr. Campione remarked that Lake County currently looked to get two toll roads, the Wekiva Parkway in east Lake County and the Lake-Orange Expressway. She opined that what the County needed, from a practical standpoint, was for FDOT to sign off on the Lake-Orange Expressway. She opined that while it would be nice to get this legislation changed, the County did not need to use any of their capital or give up other priorities merely to fix this problem. She wondered if the County should attempt to get FDOT approval and send the County’s lobbyist to obtain that authorization from FDOT in order to bring it back to CFX and settle the issue.

Commr. Parks thought they could do that but the only catch to that might be that FDOT might want to review the engineering for the Lake-Orange Expressway which could take time to get the final approval. He remarked that maybe there was a way to get a commitment from FDOT to simultaneously approve it while it was being engineered.

Mr. Carmody replied it was worth exploring, and he thought they could do both. He agreed that they needed the approval and that it would also be nice to have the language removed which would allow the freedom to move forward and not worry about who might be in leadership and if the County would have their support. He relayed that they would work with staff regarding this and that they would see what the legislators leaned towards in regards to a stand-alone bill or placing it as part of an FDOT package. He indicated that they would figure out the details, and that the message was clear that Lake County wanted to be treated with equity on the CFX.

Commr. Smith commented that this contract with GrayRobinson was a one year performance based contract renewable over the next four years based on performance.

Commr. Campione stated that this firm had been outstanding in assisting the County during the COVID-19 situation and navigating how to correctly spend funding, and she expressed appreciation for this.

On a motion by Commr. Smith, seconded by Commr. Shields and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Contract 21-0501 with Gray Robinson, PA (Tallahassee, FL) for lobbyist services.

tab 10: agreement with new cingular wireless pcs, llc

Commr. Smith remarked that this item was for a tower lease agreement for 15 years initially with two five year extensions, for potentially 25 years of revenue at about $30,000 a year since it was $2,500 a month. He requested for this $30,000 to be placed in County reserves every year.

Mr. Cole asked Ms. Barker if there were any restrictions relating to placing this revenue in General Fund reserves.

Ms. Barker stated there were no restrictions; therefore, this revenue could be placed in General Fund reserves and staff could ensure that happened.

On a motion by Commr. Smith, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved a Tower Structure Lease Agreement and a Memorandum for Lease with New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (AT&T) for co-location communications services on the County-owned tower located in Paisley (Fire Station 13), for the County Manager, or designee, to execute all supporting documentation, and for the revenue to go towards the General Fund reserves.

tab 11: contract with powell studio architectural, llc

Commr. Smith stated that this item was for an evidence warehouse for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). He mentioned that after reviewing the background information, they were asking for $56,500 for permitting, planning, and engineering; additionally, in a memorandum that the Board received, it was stated that the building could cost up to $1 million out of reserves. He indicated that he had spoken to the LCSO regarding this, that they had provided him with a breakdown of what a building would cost and what they were asking for, and that their building, including permitting, electrical, and restrooms, was $245,000. He asked where the $1 million amount came from as this amount represented a $750,000 discrepancy, and stated he was not comfortable taking money out of the reserves for anything unless it was a catastrophe. He suggested that they determine what the $56,500 was actually doing before the Board approved this item. He indicated that this money was budgeted in this year’s budget; therefore, he was fine with it as long as they knew what it was to accomplish. He also wanted to have the Sheriff budget for the building in fiscal year 2022.

Mr. Cole clarified that the item was for a contract for architectural design and construction administration services relating to that architectural design. He explained that once the design was completed, then it could be bid, which would then provide the amount of what that building should cost. He addressed the question about the memorandum he had sent to the Board on November 30, 2020, which did point out that staff did not know what the building would cost, noting that they still did not know until they received the information back from this agenda item. He indicated that he had also included that based on the needs expressed, staff estimated that it could be $1 million for a building. He elaborated that in regards to the discrepancy mentioned by Commissioner Smith, staff did think that $250,000 or so was appropriate to build a warehouse shell; however, when considering all the items that would be a part of that warehouse and the needs that had been requested, such as office space, security systems, sprinkler system, lift, etc., these were items that would drive up the costs. He indicated that the warehouse was proposed to be 10,000 square feet, and experience within Lake County showed that finished warehouse space was typically around $100 a square foot; therefore, that was how the $1 million was calculated. He summarized that based on the information they knew, and what was requested for this building, it could cost this amount, noting that staff would not know any of the costs until the work related to this agenda item was completed and it could be bid.

Commr. Smith said he believed that the Sheriff was not asking for a 10,000 square foot building but a 6,000 square foot building to be placed on the existing slab that was already there.

Mr. Cole clarified that was a request that was made; however, they also received drawings for 10,000 square feet and staff confirmed with the person who submitted the drawings that it was intended to be 10,000 square feet, which would exceed the slab that currently existed. He agreed with the Commissioner that there was a discrepancy of information, and said that it would be helpful to get a design completed which the LCSO would be content with in order to know the exact size.

Commr. Smith asked that the $56,500 was not to exceed this amount and was already budgeted, and Mr. Cole confirmed this.

Commr. Campione mentioned that the backup information stated that the old building was destroyed during Hurricane Irma and there were some insurance proceeds that were received. She relayed her understanding that to get it designed according to their speculations, they needed to decide what those speculations were, and then once they brought forward the requested expenditures for construction, that was when the County would need to determine how to pay for it.

Commr. Parks commented that should probably be within the Sheriff’s budget.

Commr. Blake remarked that he shared Commissioner Smith’s concern, and he thought in terms of budgeting in advance for the fiscal year 2022 budget as mentioned, one positive item was the Board discussed during last year’s budget that the Board allocated, rather than paying for it out of the Infrastructure Sales Tax, $1.6 million as a one-time purchase for the Sheriff to purchase the camera for his helicopter, noting this was part of the Sheriff’s budget. He said this could be a way for the Sheriff to fund this out of money that was unanticipated going forward for next year.

Commr. Campione summarized that the Board’s consensus was that the cost of building this building would come out of the Sheriff’s budget, and Commissioner Parks agreed that it would be reflected in his budget and would be a budget request.

Commr. Smith stated he was comfortable obtaining a design and the facts on this.

On a motion by Commr. Smith, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved to utilize Contract 16-0019C with Powell Studio Architectural, LLC (Clermont, FL) for architectural design and construction administration services for a new evidence warehouse for the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

st. johns river water management district presentation

Dr. Erich Marzolf, Director for the Division of Water and Land Resources, with the St. Johns River Water Management District, thanked the Board for the invitation to present on the SJRWMD’s work and how it related to Lake County. He explained that the SJRWMD was one of the five districts within the state that were set up along surface water drainages, with theirs being focused on the St. Johns River which flowed along Lake County’s eastern boundary and had the Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes as its largest contributory, which also had its headwaters in Lake County as well. He elaborated that the four core missions of the SJRWMD were water supply, water quality, natural systems and flood protection. He then showed several newspaper articles and pictures of Lake Griffin from the late 1990s, noting the poor condition of the water during that time. He also displayed a graphic of the Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes and indicated the following: the chain began at Lake Apopka; the SJRWMD was part of its flood control and water management; the SJRWMD had three structures within this chain with locks and dams that regulated water levels; the SJRWMD offered cost-share project support for many years; the SJRWMD focus for water quality improvements had been on reducing phosphorus runoff into the lakes since it was the key nutrient that drove algal blooms within the lakes; district projects for this basin focused largely on the restoration of former muck farms; SJRWMD had also conducted work to remove phosphorus that already existed in the lakes through rough fish harvests and a partnership with the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA) on their nutrient removal facility which was adjacent to the Lake Apopka lock and dam; and the SJRWMD had entered into an agreement with an innovative company, Phosphorus Free Water Solutions, which was removing phosphorus from Lake Apopka. He then displayed several illustrations depicting Lake Apopka’s watershed and the area that was once a flood plain but placed into agricultural production, noting that as a result of this agricultural activity, the phosphorus loading from that area increased approximately seven times more which caused the lake to go from clear water with abundant vegetation which supported bass fishery to the algae dominated system that caused the fish camps to collapse and lose the benefits of that resource. He explained that one of the consequences of 50 years of cultivation on organic soils was the loss of elevation as organic soils oxidize and go away; therefore, this area was currently about five feet lower in elevation than it was when it was first isolated. He displayed a graph depicting the amount of phosphorus reaching Lake Apopka each year, with breakdown information regarding the amount coming from the north shore area of the lake, the target phosphorus loading goal, the annual averages of phosphorus concentration in the lake, and the amount of algae in the lake, noting that as the SJRWMD had managed the north shore area over time, the phosphorus loads and algae had decreased. He reported that as the chemistry with the water quality improved, the plants and vegetation increased which then provided key habitat for the sports fish population they were attempting to recover. He commented that the SJRWMD worked closely with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and that FWC had recognized the improving water and habitat quality within the lake and had begun stocking bass in Lake Apopka, noting that other lakes within the chain were seeing similar improvements. He reported that professional anglers as well as publications had also recognized the improving water quality, and opined that this had an economic benefit for the area. He then shared information about a new innovative project for Lake Minneola, and remarked that in 2020, with the Florida Governor’s leadership and the legislative interest in finding new techniques to address harmful algal blooms, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had a solicitation for new technologies to address these blooms; therefore, the SJRWMD and BlueGreen US Water Technologies, Ltd. partnered on a submittal to DEP, which was selected for funding. He indicated that they had begun work on gathering data on Lake Minneola, and would be treating this lake in order to suppress algal blooms. He explained that this company’s approach utilized a commonly used algaecide which targeted blue green algae cyanobacteria which tended to be the most problematic.

Ms. Melisa Diolosa, Senior Project Manager for the Bureau of Project Management, with the St. Johns River Water Management District, said that the district provided cost-share opportunities for projects that benefited their core missions, and had partnered on 54 cost-share projects in Lake County, noting that the locations of these projects were indicated on the displayed map. She reported that since 2014, the SJRWMD cost-share program had provided $256 million in funding for projects that supported their core missions, saved over 200 million gallons a day for the water supply, prevented over two million pounds of total nitrogen and over 400,000 pounds of total phosphorus per year from entering their waterways, and protected over 5,000 acres from flooding. She indicated that out of the 54 cost-share projects, 22 were districtwide and rural economic development initiative (REDI) community and 32 were agricultural; furthermore, the district had provided nearly $15 million in funding towards approximately $34 million in total construction costs. She then shared information on some of the cost-share projects such as the Minneola Septic-to-Sewer Phase One, the Mount Dora Reclaimed Water (RCW) Interconnection with Apopka, and the Eustis Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion. She relayed that for the Minneola septic-to-sewer phase one, the district provided a 33 percent cost-share on this project, converted 54 parcels from septic to sewer, had a benefit to Lake Minneola of a 1,220 pounds reduction of total nitrogen per year, and came in under budget. She reported that the Mount Dora Reclaimed Water Interconnection with Apopka involved the installation of a reclaimed water interconnection between the Cities of Mount Dora and Apopka systems which was over three miles of reclaimed water pipe, allowed the City to replace fresh ground water for irrigation, increased the regionalization of the reclaimed water which was important to the Central Florida area, received Florida DEP springs restoration funding, and provided a benefit to the Wekiva Rock spring shed. She stated that the Eustis Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion was a 2017 districtwide project which expanded the treatment capacity, upgraded the nutrient treatment for a significant reduction, reduced nutrient loading to the aquifer by providing central sewer instead of septic tanks, provided sewer service to a high growth area in the northern extent of the Wekiva Rock spring shed, prevented the further use of septic tanks, and provided enough capacity for the City to be able to offer connections of central sewer to those homeowners with existing tanks. She commented that the City of Umatilla was one of the REDI communities in Lake County, along with the Town of Astatula and the City of Mascotte, and displayed information regarding the water quality and water supply benefits as well as the acres protected from flooding for the five City of Umatilla projects, noting that the district provided 100 percent matching funds for REDI communities up to $500,000. She concluded by sharing information about the SJRWMD fiscal year 2022 cost-share cycle, noting that the district would begin accepting applications in January 2021 with the deadline being in mid-February 2021, that the selected projects and funding recommendation would be presented to the district’s governing board in April 2021, and that funding would be available October 1, 2021.

Commr. Campione inquired about the Eustis Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion purpose to get residents on existing septic tanks onto sewer and if part of the funding facilitated an expansion of lines to customers, or was it merely to pay for the plant to be built.

Ms. Diolosa replied it was just for the plant upgrades and basically increased the capacity and also improved the nutrient reductions of the wastewater plant.

Commr. Campione said that since it had been used so far for new projects and developments, she thought it might be a good project to fund to extend lines in order to make it economical for people on septic systems to connect.

Ms. Diolosa agreed and stated that the district did provide funding for many septic to sewer projects.

Commr. Campione recalled that the County had a legislative priority the previous year where they were attempting to get older septic systems onto more advanced treatment systems even though there was not central sewer in that area. She asked if that was a type of project that Lake County could apply for through the district.

Ms. Diolosa responded that it was and added that as long as the County was providing a water quality benefit, then the County was welcome to submit an application and the district would be pleased to discuss the project.

Commr. Parks commented that the County valued their relationship with the SJRWMD especially since this Board was focused on protecting water quality and identifying projects such as septic to sewer and stormwater causing nutrient loading issues. He said they would stay in contact and look for opportunities to fund some of these projects.

Commr. Campione asked if they were still performing spot dredging projects around Lake Apopka or were they mainly focused on the phosphorus treatment project.

Dr. Marzolf replied that they performed something called vacuuming on the lake because they did not need a dredging permit; however, it was not as cost effective as they desired so they would probably not do it again. He said they did another dredging project where there was an older idea regarding digging a deeper hole in Lake Apopka so that some of the more mobile surficial sediments that move around might get captured in that hole, which would then periodically be vacuumed out. He indicated that this sump had been constructed where the Apopka-Beauclair flows downstream to Lake Beauclair, with the goal to capture any sediments that might try to head north to the rest of the chain. He relayed that this project was recently completed; therefore, they had not been able to determine its effectiveness yet.

Commr. Shields expressed his appreciation for Lake Minneola being on the list since they were attempting to attract athletes for rowing and kayaking.

Commr. Parks asked for the SJRWMD to provide updates on the projects, especially the Lake Minneola project as they desired to start events in the spring such as triathlons which would involve swimming in that lake.

Dr. Marzolf commented that their team was currently focused on data collection as this was not the typical time of year to see algae blooms.

Commr. Campione inquired if there was still a study ongoing in regards to points of discharge that were contributing to ongoing issues with Lake Minneola.

Commr. Parks remarked that the LCWA was tracking this.

Dr. Marzolf stated that the SJRWMD project was solely targeted at attempting to get rid of the algae blooms and not to address the underlying water quality that generates those blooms, although he recognized the value of looking how to reduce what was coming into the lake that created the blooms.

Commr. Campione expressed a desire to have an update in about six to eight months on the projects, and Commissioner Parks agreed and emphasized the importance of continued discussions.

public hearing: resolution 2020-222

Ms. Marsh indicated that since this was an intent resolution, she did not need to read the title and the public hearing could be opened.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Smith, seconded by Commr. Shields and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution 2020-222 expressing the intent of Lake County to use the uniform method in Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes, for the levy, collection and enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments associated with the Lake County Fire Assessment and the Lake County Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) for Fire Protection in the City of Mascotte.

public hearing: resolution 2020-223

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution 2020-223 expressing the intent of Lake County to use the uniform method in Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes, for the levy, collection and enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments associated with the Lake County Fire Assessment and the Lake County Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Fire Protection in the Hawthorne at Leesburg and Sago Palm at Hawthorne communities.

public hearing: resolution 2020-224

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Smith and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution 2020-224 expressing the intent of Lake County to use the uniform method in Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes, for the levy, collection and enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments associated with the Lake County Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) for road improvements at and near the Sunset Groves Subdivision.

public hearing: ordinance 2020-73 regarding yard trash

Ms. Marsh placed the proposed ordinance on the floor for reading by title only as follows:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; AMENDING SECTION 23-11, LAKE COUNTY CODE, REGARDING DEFINITIONS; AMENDING SECTION 23-23, LAKE COUNTY CODE, ENTITLED YARD WASTE; PLACING RESTRICTIONS ON THE NUMBER OF YARDS TO BE COLLECTED; AMENDING SECTION 23-24, LAKE COUNTY CODE, ENTITLED BULK WASTE; PROVIDING NOTICE REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; PROVIDING FOR FILING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

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

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Smith and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Ordinance 2020-73 amending Lake County Code, Chapter 23, Section 23-23, entitled Yard Waste, to modify the amount of yard trash collected in order to be consistent with the County’s approved vendor collection agreements, and Section 23-24, entitled Bulk Waste, to provide notice requirements.

regular agenda

supervisor of elections facility

Ms. Barker provided an update on the Supervisor of Elections’ (SOE) facility needs and potential options as requested by the Board at their October 13, 2020 meeting. She provided some background information as follows: prior to 2018, the SOE’s administrative office was located in the County Administration Building with warehouse space leased in the City of Mount Dora, for a total square footage of about 18,432 square feet; in July 2018, the SOE moved both its administration offices and warehouse to its current location which has 21,000 square feet at a lease cost of $21,400 per month; and the current lease costs of $21,400 included $18,000 per month for a base lease amount, and $3,400 per month until June 2023 to cover the initial building improvements made prior to the SOE moving into it. She reported that based on the population and number of voters increasing significantly in recent years, the SOE had indicated the need for additional space of 50,000 square feet with 25,000 square feet for the administrative office and 25,000 for the warehouse. She explained that the potential building costs for a building of this size was almost $9.4 million, with the office portion of the facility costing an estimated $250 per square foot for $6.25 million, and the warehouse portion estimated at $125 per square foot for $3.125 million, noting that this did not include any costs for purchasing land. She stated that four acres was estimated to be needed for a 20,000 square foot building pad, and that the cost of vacant land in the City of Tavares varied by location and amenities offered. She recalled that the consensus of the Board at their October 13, 2020 meeting was to evaluate the three options which were to remain in the current lease facility and expand the space, to finance a land purchase and construction of a new facility, or to explore the option of a lease purchase of the land and building with a developer in the City of Tavares area. She then provided details for each option to be considered by the Board. She relayed that for the first option for the SOE to remain in the current facility and expand the space, the cost of the expansion was approximately $450,000 to be funded out of the SOE’s budget, the monthly lease amount would increase by $1,000 a month to cover the increased property taxes and insurance for the larger space, and the total estimated costs over 20 years would be about $4,727,400, noting this would need to be funded through the General Fund as the Infrastructure Sales Tax could not fund a leased facility. She specified these details for the second option to finance a land purchase and construction of a new facility: the estimated annual debt service for an $11.5 million construction would be about $750,000 per year; this would utilize an estimated two percent interest rate and would be a 20 year loan; the Infrastructure Sales Tax current authorization expired in 2032 so a 20 year loan would require about eight years of the General Fund paying back the debt service; and the total cost over the life of the loan was approximately $15 million. She explained that for the third option of a lease purchase of a land and building in the City of Tavares area, they used a five-year term for illustration purposes. She stated that with this option, the estimated annual lease amount would be about $456,000 per year, which was approximately $2.3 million over a five-year term, noting this amount was based on what the County was currently paying for the current facility. She remarked that the estimated annual Infrastructure Sales Tax allocation needed to accumulate over time in order to be able to pay for the facility would be $1.84 million, which equated to about $9.2 million over the five-year term and included the assumption that the County could credit their lease payments towards the purchase price. She added that in order to have $1.84 million accumulated in the Infrastructure Sales Tax project plan over the next five years, the sales tax projects currently in the plan would need to be reprioritized. She then relayed the next steps for each option as follows: the County Attorney’s Office would prepare an amendment to the current lease agreement and the SOE would coordinate the renovations for the current facility for option one to remain in the current facility; a request for proposal (RFP) would be issued to begin the architectural design for option two to finance a land purchase and construction; and an RFP would be issued from developers to make their proposal to the County for the third option to lease purchase land and a building.

Commr. Parks asked how much funding was from the General Fund for the second option.

Ms. Barker clarified that option two was for financing land and construction and taking out a 20 year loan, which was what the $750,000 annual debt service was based on, and the County could use the debt Infrastructure Sales Tax until December 31, 2032; furthermore, the County would then need to pay the rest of the life of the loan, or remaining eight years, using General Fund because the Sales Tax Authorization would expire.

Mr. Cole noted that if the Infrastructure Sales Tax was reauthorized, then the County could continue with it rather than going to the General Fund.

Ms. Barker clarified as long as it provided for the County to have old debt. She explained that that current authorization did not allow for the payment of prior debt using the new authorization; therefore, for the City of Tavares downtown complex which used to be paid with Infrastructure Sales Tax, the County ended up having to shift that over to the General Fund in order to pick up the debt service every year.

Commr. Campione opined that when asking the public to support that renewal, it was not always popular to say that you would be using it to pay for old debt which was one of the reasons it was not typically included, and Ms. Barker agreed.

Commr. Parks said that was a good concern, and asked to clarify if that was to be eight more years.

Ms. Barker replied that was correct, because the current authorization expired in 2032; therefore, if it was a 20 year loan, then it would be another eight years left on the loan.

Commr. Smith stated that the county was growing, and he opined that they needed a Supervisor of Elections that was properly prepared for any issues that might happen. He said he would rather do a low interest loan then a lease option, noting that a two percent interest rate was a fantastic rate.

Commr. Parks confirmed that was option two.

Commr. Smith remarked that hopefully they could get lower bids as he said building warehouse space was probably about $65 to $80 a square foot.

Commr. Parks agreed, noting that staff needed to be conservative when presenting numbers to the Board. He inquired that if the Board took action at this meeting, would staff put this item out for bid.

Ms. Barker responded that was correct, and remarked that first they would move forward with architectural design, which would include working with the SOE to ensure his needs were met in regards to the facility in order to determine a better estimate of what the total construction costs would be. She reiterated that the first step would be getting the architectural design.

Commr. Parks asked who did that and if it was done by the staff architect.

Ms. Barker replied they would put out an RFP for it.

Commr. Smith inquired if there were grant opportunities for this.

Ms. Barker said they could research that as they normally investigated for any grant opportunities for large projects.

Commr. Campione clarified that sometimes they looked for hardening money through FEMA so that it could be used for joint use. She indicated that with equipment and the type of items stored in that facility, it was unlikely that it could be used as a shelter. She wanted to be realistic about the potential for grant funding.

Ms. Barker commented she would work with the Supervisor or Elections, Senator Alan Hays, as he might be aware of some election security type grants that might help.

Commr. Shields noted that they basically had four years to get this accomplished.

Senator Hays remarked it was better to be done in two and a half years.

Commr. Shields said whatever was decided would come back to the BCC for final approval.

Ms. Barker stated that was correct, and added that it would come back to the BCC after the RFP process for architectural design as well as the same with the construction phase.

Commr. Campione commented that the SOE had specific ideas and specifications since he had studied other facilities around the state and probably the country. She emphasized that they wanted to ensure it was functional, safe, secure and economically constructed. She said that perhaps the warehouse piece of it could offset some of the additional costs associated with the needs, and that there might be some savings that came based on the type of construction that would be used.

Commr. Parks emphasized that the Board would be concerned this year about building up the reserves and how they would pay for this facility, noting that value engineering and getting the minimum which would serve the SOE needs was important.

Senator Hays said that they were all on the same page, and he thanked Commissioner Shields for mentioning the timeline as he opined it was critical for them as they did not want to have to go through another presidential election in the tight quarters in which they currently resided. He indicated that they would push to get this accomplished so that they could move into it prior to the current lease ending in June 2023, noting that would be his objective. He remarked that security was paramount. He said in regards to the square footage cost, they would certainly go as economically as they could, with the understanding of the unique security needs of election business and the fact that they had multiple layers of security inside the building and the outer structure as well. He relayed that in their current facility, they had over 20 security cameras. He indicated that there were certain elements, such as freight loading docks, that they must have as a safety and functional factor. He remarked that he had visited several other facilities and continued to obtain ideas in order to find the most efficient way to build a building which was as smoothly functional as possible. He noted that they were challenged since his building had several functions that had to take place, beginning with the day-to-day work, and then during elections when he needed a lot more space, noting that during elections they needed space for training, tabulation and handling of ballots, the equipment, a staging area, etc. He summarized that functionality, economics, and security were his three priorities, as well as the timeline for completion.

Commr. Shields asked if Senator Hays had a preference from the three options.

Senator Hays replied whatever was the quickest and most economical. He thought option one should not be considered as expanding would not be sufficient for long.

Commr. Blake stated that the issue he had with option two was the roughly over $5.7 million in interest. He said he would be more comfortable with the lease purchase option.

Commr. Parks recalled that Commissioner Blake had suggested in previous meetings for staff to continue to look for County properties that could be sold as surplus.

Commr. Blake confirmed this, and remarked that Senator Hays had talked about the property next to the church in that area, and he thought it was worth exploring a land swap or something that they could do to offset the cost of acquiring the land since that expense was not figured into the cost, noting that he was not sure if the church would be interested in that.

Commr. Campione asked if the church owned that property outright.

Senator Hays replied that they did, and said that they currently had five and a half acres which were adjacent to the Lake County Tax Collector’s office on David Walker Drive and went south over to Dora Avenue. He indicated that he had spoken to the pastor of the church who relayed that they did not need to sell the land for financial reasons, that they were interested in who their neighbors might be, and they were willing to sell the County less than the five and a half acres. He relayed that he had emphasized to the pastor that he was merely inquiring and that he had no authority to negotiate. He stated that for him, that was the optimal location.

Commr. Campione expressed her understanding that they were moving forward with architectural design with the intent to finance land purchase and construction, noting that everything would come back to the Board for approval.

Commr. Parks said he had concerns with option three and having to reprioritize sales tax. He asked for staff to look for any innovative approaches, such as a land swap or selling surplus property or other options.

Ms. Barker responded that staff understood that as the direction of the Board and they would continue to consider those options.

Commr. Blake explained that he would vote against option two in order to be consistent with his previous votes against incurring debt, noting that it was not that he opposed the construction of the new facility but merely the method.

On a motion by Commr. Smith, seconded by Commr. Shields and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved option two to finance a land purchase and construction of a new facility, with the direction for staff to continue to research innovative options.

Commr. Blake voted no.

commissioners reports

commissioner shields – district 1

four corners meeting

Commr. Shields thanked Commissioner Parks for attending the meeting in the Four Corners area with him, noting that they would continue to work through issues in that area.

Commr. Parks agreed that there should be more planning in the Four Corners area.

florida association of counties meeting

Commr. Shields mentioned that he had attended the Florida Association of Counties meeting.

groveland christmas tree lighting ceremony

Commr. Shields relayed that he had participated in the City of Groveland Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

commissioner smith – vice chairman and district 3

appreciation for vice chairman position

Commr. Smith thanked the Commissioners for electing him as Vice Chairman.

legacy republican club meeting

Commr. Smith said that he had attended a meeting with the Legacy Republican Club on the previous Saturday.

office of parks and trails orientation

Commr. Smith indicated that he had participated in the Office of Parks and Trails orientation and opined how stunning the Lake County parks were. He thanked Mr. Bobby Bonilla, Director for the Office of Parks and Trails, for taking time to show him the parks and for sharing his extensive knowledge with him. He encouraged everyone to visit the parks.

commissioner CAMPIONE – district 4

resident concerns regarding mining and hauling activities

Commr. Campione indicated that she had received many constituents’ emails regarding their concerns for the mining and hauling activities in east Lake County. She relayed that the County was addressing these issues and working to prevent any activities which were not appropriate or which had not gone through permitting.

meeting to discuss county’s economic action plan

Commr. Campione expressed a desire to have a special BCC session in order to evaluate and update the County’s economic action plan. She explained that this plan dealt with intergovernmental coordination, working with the Cities, working regionally, working with the educational institutions and partners in Lake County, and everything that is done to make Lake County a place that businesses want to come to and to facilitate a prosperous economy so that existing businesses can grow. She thought this would be a good time to address this and how the county might foster high wage job development in Lake County.

Commr. Parks thought that was a great idea.

commissioner blake – district 5

city of leesburg christmas parade

Commr. Blake shared that he had participated in the City of Leesburg Christmas parade as a judge, noting how much he enjoyed the experience. He opined that the Leesburg Partnership had done a great job.

commissioner parks – chairman and district 2

clermont boat parade

Commr. Parks stated that he was recently able to enjoy a lighted boat parade in the City of Clermont.

recognition of jeff cole

Commr. Campione, Commissioner Parks and Commissioner Blake recognized and thanked Mr. Cole for his distinguished service as County Manager and then presented him with a memento to remember his time spent with Lake County.

Mr. Cole expressed his appreciation for the recognition and memento.

Commr. Parks thanked Mr. Cole for his service, noting what a distinguished career he had. He appreciated how Mr. Cole was efficiency focused, supportive of staff, and had built a good team of staff members. He recognized the legacy that Mr. Cole had built within the county.

Commr. Campione expressed appreciation for Mr. Cole’s willingness to extend his service in order to help with the transition, for his high standards, for his commitment to the quality of life in the county, and quality of the workplace for county staff. She wished him the best.

Commr. Blake recognized Mr. Cole for his professionalism, and his ability to balance all the Commissioners’ agendas. He appreciated all that Mr. Cole had done for the county.

Mr. Cole thanked the Commissioners for their remarks, and for the support and latitude they had given him. He commented how much he appreciated County staff and their support, and noted how proud he was of them.

recess and reassembly

The Chairman called a recess at 12:50 p.m. until 1:30 p.m.

consent agenda addendum

approval of tab 34 addendum to consent agenda

Commr. Parks relayed that the County Attorney had indicated that this agenda item had not been included in the approval of the consent agenda earlier in the meeting; therefore, it needed to be addressed.

Commr. Campione remarked this was a good item for the residents to have access to their state representative for District 31, and that this was a good location.

Commr. Smith noted that this was unexpected revenue. He then opined that the maintenance on the Lake County Agricultural Center was not to the level it should be. He commented that it was wonderful for the entire county to have a state representative who wanted to be located here in the county seat. He stated that he wanted to see the money that was paid in rent to be distributed back solely to the agricultural center for the maintenance and the repairs needed ongoing through this lease.

Commr. Parks agreed with this, and thought some maintenance costs were factored into this lease agreement.

Ms. Barker responded that for the first 12 months, they had included the cost for the renovation that they had requested for the facility; however, the actual base rent was included in the revenue for the Lake County Agricultural Center, for the Office of Extension Services. She said they could earmark the revenue for any specific item the Board desired.

Commr. Smith clarified that he wanted to make sure it looked good since there would be a state representative located there and it was an extension of the University of Florida, and noted several items at the location that were not up to par.

Ms. Barker replied they could work with their contractors for those services at that facility to ensure they were improved.

Commr. Parks thanked State Representative Keith Truenow for coming to this location.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved a lease agreement with State Representative Keith Truenow for office space within the Lake County Agricultural Center. The fiscal impact is $13,800.00 (revenue) for Fiscal Years 2021, 2022, and 2023. Commission District 3.

county manager interviews

Mr. Jim Kovacs, Director for the Office of Human Resources and Risk Management, stated that these were the public interviews for the County Manager position. He then provided an update on the recruitment process to date as follows: the County Manager position was posted on the Lake County website from August 26, 2020 through September 30, 2020, as well as on numerous recruiting websites such as Indeed, LinkedIn, The Florida Association of Counties, the Florida League of Cities, the International City/County Management Association, the National Association of County Administrators, and the Florida Government Finance Officers Association; 68 applications were received in total; pre-interview questionnaires were sent to several of the candidates believed to be the most qualified; the candidate list was reduced to three candidates which were recommended to the BCC; this recommended list was adopted by the BCC on October 13, 2020; background checks were conducted on the three candidates; one candidate withdrew his name from consideration; the Commissioners conducted individual interviews with the two final candidates on November 20, 2020; and the public aspect of the interview process would happen at this meeting. He indicated that the candidates would be called into this meeting one at a time in alphabetical order, and each candidate would begin by making a few remarks after which the Board would ask questions. He then introduced the first candidate, Mr. Jeffrey Harley.

Mr. Harley commented that he was thankful to be here in Lake County. He relayed that on his drive to the meeting, he had reflected on how magnificent the county was, noting the warmth and genuine caring they had clearly showed as he had interacted with the people in the county. He said he was grateful to be considered for the position of County Manager as it would give him the opportunity to continue to serve others, which he shared was his passion in life. He remarked that he had been blessed with a lifetime of service to the nation, and 10 years of executive experience managing millions of dollars, billions of dollars in assets, and thousands of people. He said he was humbled by the servant leadership he saw embodied in this Board and in the extraordinary staff that supports the Board. He indicated that if selected, he would vow to execute the Board’s vision, would continue the mission of maintaining the character of the county while continuing economic development, and would stand by the extraordinary staff as they rendered unparalleled support to the residents of the county. He stated that he was thankful, grateful, blessed, and humbled, and would be honored to take the Board’s questions.

Commr. Smith asked that when working with budgets, if Mr. Harley was in favor of a percentage based budget or zero based budget.

Mr. Harley responded that he believed first most in fiscal accountability, and that he understood the requirement to build up the revenue sources. He stated that he was a zero based budget proponent as one could not spend more than what was taken in; furthermore, it was prudent to be able to render emergency services that were required, and to provide the unparalleled support to the residents. He commented that a significant element of that had to be the County planning for the future, which he noted was much of what had been discussed during the current BCC meeting.

Commr. Smith asked how Mr. Harley would create a culture within the organization that was one of equality, respect, and efficiencies, and would produce the most productivity, bring in the most talented people, and maintain the ones the County currently had.

Mr. Harley responded that leadership and management were two different things, with management being the day-to-day execution and leadership being taking a great organization and making it greater, He indicated that he was a collaborative leader and manager, and he thought that if people genuinely feel that they have a voice in the decision making process, and when given an explanation for how the decision was made, then they feel imbedded in the organization in a way that makes them want to come to work every day. He remarked that if this is done, then the other issues such as the retention of quality individuals, and a climate of equality, equity, and diversity would be a natural outcome.

Commr. Smith asked how Mr. Harley would increase the revenues to offset the increased cost of government without increasing property taxes.

Mr. Harley responded that it was a complex issue since most of the Board campaigned on the idea of fiscal responsibility and not necessarily raising the millage rates. He remarked that there were two ways that one could increase the amount of revenues. He stated that one was through more taxpayers which was happening naturally with growth in the population in the county. He said the other way was through increased economic development, noting that if a better economy is built, then businesses grow which would then pay taxes and revenues.

Commr. Smith asked Mr. Harley which was more important to him, how the end result is accomplished or the end result itself.

Mr. Harley responded how the end result is accomplished was probably more important. He knew from military experience that one of the fears of the military was that they were draconian in achieving an outcome; furthermore, things can be achieved this way but it is a short lived result. He opined that the way accomplishments are achieved and the way collaborative outcomes are built were probably the most important thing a leader could do, noting that this was true leadership.

Commr. Shields asked how Mr. Harley’s employees would describe him.

Mr. Harley responded that he hoped they would describe him as collaborative and empathetic to their needs. He indicated that he spent most of his time in the six military commands that he had held wandering around and talking to people. He said it was amazing what could be learned when someone talks to the people doing the hard work day after day; furthermore, he opined that when they know that someone genuinely cares, then they will go the extra mile to achieve whatever the mission is for that day, month or year. He remarked that it was a great opportunity to be given the opportunity to lead others, and he looked forward to that; additionally, he knew there was a large component of integrating with one’s staff to stand beside them as they perform their hard work.

Commr. Campione mentioned that the Commissioners often hear from the business community that the Board should run the government more like they run their business and that they would be better off if they could run government like business. She asked if Mr. Harley thought that was true and when did he think that applied and when did he think it did not apply.

Mr. Harley responded that was an interesting question because business was profit motivated. He thought the parallels were that both were trying to deliver a service, both small and large businesses and the County government. He remarked that it was different in the sense that government had larger choices to make and was really what defined politics, noting that politics was who got what and when. He said that was the fundamental difference in the services that were provided by a government as opposed to a business.

Commr. Blake commented that one of the unique circumstances of the County Manager job was working with five different Commissioners who often have very diverse opinions on issues that come to the County on a regular basis. He asked Mr. Harley how he would navigate those differences to ensure that everyone felt that their constituents had been represented.

Mr. Harley responded that there were two ways to accomplish this. He stated that his responsibility would be to be apolitical and that his job to solve this dilemma of five different bosses was to communicate, noting that he had a tendency to over communicate in an executive way. He indicated that he would communicate all the facts beforehand, appreciating the fact that the Commissioners were the decision makers, he would work with the staff to ensure that the information needed for the Commissioners was provided, and he would find the mechanisms in a mutually agreeable way to communicate what his driving challenges were and what he foresaw the Commissioners’ challenges to be.

Commr. Parks stated that economic development and prosperity was extremely important to this Commission. He asked Mr. Harley if he had suggestions on what the Board could do differently with economic prosperity or how he might continue to build upon that.

Mr. Harley responded that he had read through the mission statement and economic development plan. He commented that the way that is achieved was by developing the culture that makes people want to come to Lake County, noting that the balance was maintaining the character of the county and not necessarily allowing a growth that exceeds the capacity for the county to absorb it. He indicated that the way he would address that challenge was to improve strategic communications by finding the mechanisms by which they could advertise the extraordinary qualities of the county and the opportunities that existed in the county. He remarked that each of the Commissioners do this in different ways, noting that one of the Commissioners did a podcast which talked about their district. He opined that the annual video report that comes every December was extraordinary as a quick summary of everything going on in the county. He said that what he would look to do if selected, was to find the mechanisms by which they would communicate over more venues, even if short, in order to communicate the qualities of this county and why it should be attractive to businesses.

Commr. Parks stated that the County was only as good as their staff, and asked if Mr. Harley had any additional comments as to what he would do to support the staff and team, knowing that they were attempting not to expand government but do more with less. He inquired how Mr. Harley would balance that and support staff at the same time.

Mr. Harley responded that one element would be recognition for staff, noting that he enjoyed seeing the employee recognition in this meeting in which the County took time to thank staff and recognize their retirements and milestones. He added another was giving people a voice in the decision making process, which could be done as information is presented to the Board or as one genuinely talked to people and spent time building morale and relationships, since all work came down to the personal relationships developed with staff.

Commr. Campione asked if Mr. Harley had resided in the State of Florida and if he was familiar with the State’s land use laws, local government laws, etc.

Mr. Harley responded that he had resided in the State of Florida three different times. He remarked that since he had been in the military, he had obviously lived outside the state too. He relayed that he had lived in the Cities of Jacksonville and Tampa, and currently lived in Orange County. He stated that he looked forward to living in Lake County, and would need to work to better understand the requirements that came with the County Manager position. He opined that through what he had seen while watching previous Board meetings, there was an extraordinary gifted staff which came with this position and he would work closely with them to get up to speed rapidly to understand what his requirements would be.

Commr. Campione asked Mr. Harley if he was familiar with the Florida Sunshine Law and public records laws.

Mr. Harley responded that he was, and relayed that he had received phone calls as a function of his resume being on the website.

Commr. Campione asked how Mr. Harley would describe how the Sunshine Law functioned and what its limitations were to someone who was not familiar with it.

Mr. Harley responded that the broad overview of the Sunshine Law was that putting light on issues was important and that transparency in government was critical to the way business is done. He knew there were some limitations to it, but as a rule of practice, the transparency in government operations from a State perspective was of the highest order.

Commr. Campione asked Mr. Harley how he might handle a hypothetical situation in which the County received a complaint about customer service in one of their departments in the form of an email and perhaps one or two of the Commissioners get similar complaints. She inquired how he would handle that in order to find out if the complaint was meritorious and how would he address that within that department.

Mr. Harley responded that he would like to think that as part of managing by walking around that one would have some indications of what the challenges were within an existing organization, whether it was the number of staffing or repeated concerns arising. He indicated that the way he would manage that was that he would talk to the supervisor to attempt to get the facts about the situation. He said there was an appropriate division of responsibilities between the Board and staff to ensure that staff was providing the support that was required. He remarked that if the overall principal mission was to provide unparalleled support to the county residents, then providing feedback quickly was important. He said that sometimes problems could not be solved; therefore, in his communications to the Board, especially if the Board was forwarding concerns to him, his goal would be to provide feedback to the Board as rapidly as possible so that if the Commissioners were required to answer those particular inputs, then they would have the information to do that. He remarked that depending on what the issue was and the broad outlining contours of the challenges, almost every situation would be done hand in hand with the County Attorney to make sure the proper legal requirements were followed when responding to challenges.

Commr. Smith asked if Mr. Harley was willing to deal with inefficiencies within the organization, and if so, how would he do it.

Mr. Harley responded that he would be willing to deal with inefficiencies because the hallmark of fiscal responsibility was the constant search for finding efficiencies. He said that one did not legislate that the County would be ten percent more efficient this month or ten percent per month over the year until the organization was 120 percent more efficient. He gave the example of how the Board at this meeting reallocated funds in support of self-contained breathing apparatuses, and noted that while there were mechanisms in the financial world that have fluidity and constantly evolving requirements, there were ways to find efficiencies to ensure appropriate compliance. He indicated that in terms of personnel efficiencies, if there was a requirement to find additional economies in personnel, then one would probably do that through attrition as opposed to any other mechanism.

Commr. Campione asked how Mr. Harley saw the role of the County Manager with regard to working with the 14 municipalities and facilitating their strategic plans.

Mr. Harley responded that there were a number of stakeholders and that sometimes the desire of the stakeholders were in competition. He gave an example from the previous Board meeting regarding an annexation of unregulated land. He said that those were challenges best met by developing the relationships with those stakeholders. He indicated that part of his plan within the first 30 days if selected, would be to try to meet the city managers, city mayors, and the appropriate level within each of those municipalities so that he could understand what their concerns were. He commented that as with so many things in a leadership position, it came down to the relationships one could establish.

Commr. Parks asked Mr. Harley if there was anything he would do differently with benchmarking and metrics.

Mr. Harley responded that after he met with the leaders of the organization, he would have a better answer; however, he did believe that benchmarking and metrics were important. He asked how one would measure performance if there was not a tangible metric that could be assessed, noting that there were sometimes external issues such as the COVID-19 response that could change the metrics. He remarked that in general, there should be a standard that is applied and measurement is against that standard in order to understand overall performance; furthermore, after that, one should look at efficiencies within those performance standards to see if there was a way to more rapidly provide the services that were currently being delivered and what would the cost be of doing that.

Commr. Parks asked if Mr. Harley had read the County’s Comprehensive Plan, and if there were any parts that he might change.

Mr. Harley responded that he had read parts of it, in particular the economic development portions. He said the Commission has to manage the mission statement of maintaining the character of the county while doing economic development. He commented that other challenges that exist within that was the rapid growth the county was experiencing and the challenges that would come with that, noting that these could include cities annexing land, ensuring fiscal stability and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, watching the water table so as not to over develop, and managing within the five districts and different characters of the county in a comprehensive way which would allow for non-conflict in the future.

Commr. Parks stated that within his district, there was approximately $70 million to $90 million worth of road projects which people want done immediately. He asked if Mr. Harley had thoughts on how to pay for that and what might be the most important thing to do first.

Mr. Harley responded that this spoke to the long-term development plan, and said that the planning needed to be done upfront so that the County could deliver a quality product later, on time and preferably under budget. He commented that using the resources the County had and others they could tap into, the key would be quality, prior planning, and then intelligent growth for the future.

Commr. Campione mentioned that they are often told they should outsource more and that they could save taxpayers money if they did that. She asked Mr. Harley that if he received a proposal to outsource a particular county department, how would he evaluate that and what would be the primary considerations.

Mr. Harley responded the County recently had done that with regards to who was opening the parks for example. He said it was a balance between providing the level of services that people deserve and expect against the cost savings. He opined that sometimes cost savings are not true cost savings, giving the example that if several people were no longer employed by the County but in the end it turned out to be a wash in terms of savings versus competencies of what is delivered. He indicated that the approach he would take for something like that was to work within the staff which has the appropriate departments to be able to review a particular proposal for outsourcing that might save money in order to have all the facts to make an intelligent decision. He remarked that this would be where one would cross matrix the organization and the staff to draw on all of the expertise that exists.

Commr. Smith asked what Mr. Harley thought were the top three responsibilities for government.

Mr. Harley responded that the first requirement of government was accountability, recognizing that everyone was accountable to someone else, which he opined was the charm and extraordinary part of the experiment that was America because it does provide accountability and direction that enables the people to be the deciding voice in that accountability. He said the second factor would be service and providing the appropriate services as legislated that people need. He indicated that the third factor would be the integrity that was required to support the first two. He opined that they were blessed to not be a land of corruption nor a land that cannot have valid elections.

Commr. Smith asked Mr. Harley what he had done to prepare for this interview, noting that while he had asked this in the personal interview, he wanted to know what Mr. Harley had done since then since he had additional time to reflect on this between the original interview and this one.

Mr. Harley responded that he had spent a good amount of time researching the county, going through the websites, reviewing the budget for core responsibilities, reading through the long range planning, mission statements and economic plan, watching the past Board videos, talking to some staff, and spending time driving around the county in order to better understand it.

Commr. Campione asked what Mr. Harley would pick as the most important thing he would need to do in the job of County Manager and why he would pick that.

Mr. Harley responded that the most important thing was enabling the staff to provide the support that the Board needed to make the decisions that they needed to make. He commented that at the end of the day, it was the Board’s decision making that impacted the residents of the county. He indicated that he would stand with the extraordinary gifted staff to ensure that the information the Commission needed to make the best decisions was provided in a timely and relevant way.

Commr. Parks asked if Mr. Harley had any closing remarks.

Mr. Harley responded that he was thankful, blessed and humbled to have had the opportunity to be a part of this process and stand for the position.

Commr. Parks thanked Mr. Harley for his service to the country, for going through the process, and for his time preparing for this interview.

Mr. Kovacs then introduced the next candidate which was Mr. Alan Rosen.

Mr. Rosen relayed that he was currently the Assistant City Manager for the City of Port Orange, commented that he was honored and pleased to have been a part of this process, and thanked the Board for the opportunity. He shared some of his background as follows: obtained a Masters in Public Administration in local government; started in Broward County as a Senior Budget Analyst for four years; worked for Fulton County, Georgia assisting them to implement outcome based budgeting, strategic planning, process improvement, and performance measurement; moved to Washoe County, Nevada to serve as their Budget Manager; performed local government management consulting out of the State of California and the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, after which the company moved him to the State of Florida in the City of Altamonte Springs area, noting that he spent time within Lake County during this tenure; and then was hired as the Interim Assistant City Manager for the City of Port Orange, and was subsequently hired as the Assistant City Manager, noting he had been with the City of Port Orange for almost six years. He indicated that there was something special with Lake County and that his family would love to be a part of it for the foreseeable future.

Commr. Smith asked that when working with budgets, if Mr. Rosen was in favor of a percentage based budget or zero based budget.

Mr. Rosen responded that he was neither; rather, he was a proponent of outcome based budget or priority budgeting, noting that was something he had implemented in Broward County. He referenced a book titled, “The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis” by Mr. David Osborne and Mr. Peter Hutchinson, and explained that this book talked about connecting your budget with your strategy by determining the outcomes desired and what is important to the electorate and then budgeting accordingly. He commented that this book also looked at an organization’s goalpost for when it might be charging too much or too little in taxes and attempted to keep it in line with that; furthermore, it provided the framework with how to budget, where to put resources, how to get outcomes, and then review every year where the organization stood. He remarked that it was almost like zero based budgeting as it required an organization to consider what it had accomplished each year, if they were measuring the right things, did it put funding in the correct place, and then regroup to strategize for the next year to either change what was needed or do the same if it was working well.

Commr. Smith asked how Mr. Rosen would create a culture within the organization that was one of equality, respect, and efficiencies, and would produce the most productivity, bring in the most talented people, and maintain the ones the County currently had.

Mr. Rosen responded that there were many things that could be done, and mentioned that when doing research, he found that organizations that pull on people’s heart strings, such as Greenpeace International or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), have people who are there because they love it and have a passion for what they do and for the clients that they serve. He remarked to make sure that an organization’s goals and the values provided through the organization were something that people could attach themselves to, noting that money was important but was not the most important thing. He opined that people need to provide for their families, but they also want to know they are making a difference and having an impact with what they do. He indicated that some things one might do were to make sure the people did know the impact they were having, and that a strategic plan did not stop at the top level but had to go down through the entire organization. He also referenced the book, “The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations” by Mr. Jim Kouzes and Mr. Barry Posner, and shared an example from the book about a call center in an organization at which they changed in order to show those in the call center the impact they were having.

Commr. Smith asked how Mr. Rosen would increase the revenues to offset the increased cost of government without increasing property taxes.

Mr. Rosen responded that there were several things that could be looked at since there were different sources of revenue; furthermore, while in the State of Florida one of the largest was property taxes, there were also user fees and items similar to that. He remarked that one item to consider was how long it had been since user fees had been reviewed in regards to how they compared to other similar governments and agencies; additionally, the organization should consider if it was supporting the General Fund or other funds with property taxes that maybe it should not be. He recalled that one item he saw in the last Lake County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Report) was that the solid waste fund received a transfer from the General Fund of about $3.5 million. He commented that generally those types of funds should be self-preserving and should not utilize taxpayer money to do so, noting that if there was a trend towards this, there could possibly be an imbalance that should be reviewed as it should be the users paying for that service. He added that looking from the outside, he cannot confirm what issues there might but merely was reporting what he saw within the Report. He opined that fees should not be reviewed once every 20 years just to realize that 90 percent of the revenue for a program is General Fund revenue when it should be more 50/50, and then have to raise user fees significantly; therefore, he supported reviewing fees more often to ensure they were where they should be. He stated that one should also take a look at operations as there could be another government agency that might be performing more efficiency and more effectively for less money and an organization could see if what they were doing could potentially be implemented. He opined it might not be that revenues need to be raised; rather, that the process should be performed more efficiently and effectively.

Commr. Campione mentioned that the Commissioners often hear from the business community that the Board should run the government more like they run their business and that they would be better off if they could run government like business. She asked if Mr. Rosen thought that was true and when did he think that applied and when did he think it did not apply.

Mr. Rosen responded that in some ways government is like a business and in some ways it is very much not like a business at all. He remarked that much of that was determined by what the County, Federal and State Government says is allowed and how one is allowed to do it. He opined that many of the services the County provides were a monopoly, such as parks, fire, permits, emergency medical services (EMS), and internal businesses to County departments. He said that the key was that just because the County was a monopoly in some sense, it did not mean it should act like a monopoly; rather, the County should be looking at its customers, whether internal or external, and think about what can be done to keep that customer, so that customers were happy with the services provided in the most efficient and effective way. He summarized that while government may be a monopoly in some sense, it should still operate like a business to the extent possible to make sure customers were happy. He stated that in one way, government is designed to be inefficient, which he opined was counterintuitive. He gave the example that if a business needed a new roof, they could merely go out and hire a roofer; however, if government needed a new roof, they had to go through a long process which took time and money. He explained that the reason it was done that way was that government was there to protect the taxpayer’s investment in government, noting that any process could be improved over time. He also gave an example with how FEMA operates with various levels in order to protect the taxpayer’s money. He indicated that businesses were concerned about the bottom line but government was not in business to make money, it was in existence to support the businesses and residents, noting that government’s bottom line was a balanced budget which was required by law.

Commr Parks relayed that County staff was important, and he asked Mr. Rosen how he would support and empower staff in the work environment.

Mr. Rosen responded that he had conversations before in his own organization regarding how to empower the people who work for you to do the job that you had hired them to do. He opined that when people failed, 80 percent of the time it was because of the leaders who were not providing the resources needed to do the job, noting this could be supplies for the job or the education needed to perform the specific job they were hired for. He said it was also about, if the right person is hired, providing people the leeway to do the job they were hired to do. He opined that it could not be a zero defect organization, as then people will never step out to try and improve what they see could be improved; rather, one should give the authority for staff to do what they can to provide great customer service. He then gave an example of this from his previous employment. He said to provide people at the lowest levels the authority to do the job they were hired to do, but then hold them accountable. He relayed a comment that with great power comes great responsibility.

Commr. Blake commented that one of the unique circumstances of the County Manager job was working with five different Commissioners who often have very diverse opinions on issues that come to the County on a regular basis. He asked Mr. Rosen how he would navigate those differences to ensure that everyone feels that their constituents had been represented.

Mr. Rosen responded that as local government leaders, they served all elected officials equally, and that his job was to provide any information that was important for the Commission to have to make the best decision that they could make, noting that he also worked as a liaison between the Commission and staff in order to work to move the Commission’s goals forward. He understood that each Commissioner came from different backgrounds and had different ideas, and said he would work with staff to provide needed information. He gave an example of how he had previously had department directors who presented ideas to the Commission that did not get accepted. He indicated that he encouraged them to not take it personally and to remember that the decision may not have anything to do with what was presented but just may not be the right timing for the idea. He opined that there were always lessons to be learned from situations such as this and that staff should continue with the direction provided by the Commission.

Commr. Shields asked how Mr. Rosen’s employees would describe him.

Mr. Rosen responded that his employees would describe him as affable, easy to get along with, and someone who does not get angry about things, noting that he still provided direction. He thought that within this business, one needed to have a calm demeanor and to go with the flow as things can go different directions. He added that employees would also describe him as analytical, knowing what questions to ask but also good at customer service.

Commr. Smith asked Mr. Rosen which was more important to him, how the end result is accomplished or the end result itself.

Mr. Rosen responded that how the result is accomplished was very important because how you get there is 99 percent of the battle. He then gave an example of a process he implemented in the City of Port Orange, and emphasized the importance of having people on board for what the organization was attempting in order to be successful. He stressed the importance of winning the hearts and minds of the people doing the job, getting them involved, and making sure they have buy in to what is happening.

Commr. Smith asked if Mr. Rosen was willing to deal with inefficiencies within the organization, and if so, how would he do it.

Mr. Rosen responded absolutely, and as he stated earlier, much of his professional career had been based around performance, process improvement, performance management, and performance measurement; therefore, for everything he sees, he considers the process. He relayed he was a visual learner and gave an example of what happens when there are issues in a process. He emphasized that processes should be reviewed to ensure they catch what is needed while also moving forward. He stated that there was a balance between putting too much energy and funding into checking things versus what the result is at the end, noting that it still needed to be done correctly but some things were critical and some were not. He opined that when you let people fail on things that are not critical, then they will learn more than if they were not allowed to fail. He indicated that one way he would address this was to get people on board with things so that there is not pride of ownership, and that he desired to look at things new as if they had never been seen before and to consider different ways of doing business. He shared that one item he had implemented in other places he had worked was process improvement or facilitation teams. He explained that with this, people from different parts of the organization get trained in process improvement and facilitation, and then they go out into different departments and help those departments review processes. He elaborated that these individuals were just facilitating and were not the experts; however, they were able to learn what the other departments were doing and could help them see how to do things more efficiently and effectively. He commented that with this approach, people get trained in a skill which was normal in high performing organizations, they learn about new departments, and the organization gets a process improvement which could have cost $50,000 to $60,000 but only cost $2,000 to $3,000 in training.

Commr. Campione mentioned that they are often told they should outsource more and that they could save taxpayers money if they did that. She asked Mr. Rosen that if he received a proposal to outsource a particular county department, how would he evaluate that and what would be the primary considerations.

Mr. Rosen responded that it was important to perform a cost benefit analysis as it was not just about the money. He opined one could outsource a lot, but would it bring in the best value for the money. He remarked to review what the goals were for outsourcing, was it merely to save money, or was it to save money but also have good service. He gave an example of something he had done previously regarding estoppel letters in which it was taking a week to turn those around which could potentially be hurting the economy. He explained that they reviewed a best practice and realized that an outside company could do it quicker and for less which allowed them to provide a better service. He remarked that the analysis was not over at that point even though they were providing a better service for cheaper because once their new finance system was implemented, they discovered that it could potentially be cheaper and more efficiently to bring this process back in-house. He encouraged continually reviewing as to whether it was outsourced or done in-house because it may not be the same answer all the time.

Commr. Parks asked if Mr. Rosen had read the County’s Comprehensive Plan, and if there were any parts that he might change.

Mr. Rosen responded that while he had read through many documents, he had not read the Comprehensive Plan but had watched many meetings. He remarked that these plans had to be updated periodically, and that they were the elected officials’ view of how they want this community to develop in the future. He opined that it was great that it has to be reviewed every five years. He explained that variances come before city councils and county commissions and either they are given or not, and that if there were a lot of variances that came before the BCC, then it could be that the Comprehensive Plan did not meet what the vision might be for five, 10 or 25 years into the future and should be reviewed prior to the five years. He said that it could be that the electorate and the elected officials might think that the County has a plan and a vision for the future and that this still matched that plan and vision. He said that as the County goes out and asks the community, it still matches that plan and the reason the County is saying no most of the time because they think this is the right thing for the community. He indicated that it is always pertinent to ask those questions about why the County might be seeing so many requests for changes and did it make sense to change the plan or stay with it. He commented that this actually highlights one of the great things about local government, which is closest to the people. He remarked that one of the reasons they were there was to chart their own course for the future; additionally, they could decide how they wanted their community to be and put their own touch to what Lake County was to be at the current time and in the future.

Commr. Parks stated that economic development and prosperity was extremely important to this Commission. He asked Mr. Rosen if he had suggestions on what the Board could do differently with economic prosperity or how he might continue to build upon that.

Mr. Rosen responded that it was always worth reviewing. He emphasized looking inward to determine strengths, what the county already had to provide, and what they needed to do in order to develop in the most efficient and affordable way and to bring in the businesses that really fit Lake County. He opined that one of the county’s biggest resources was that it was “Real Florida, Real Close” and that Lake County was halfway between the east and west coast, just outside the theme parks area, and had two portions of the Shared-Use Nonmotorized (SUN) Trail that came through the county. He commented that with regards to economic development, there were millions of ways to review it. He indicated that one way was that when companies look at where they want to go, they do not just look at the infrastructure but they also look to see where they could go and be able to attract the people they want to work in their business. He relayed that he liked parks and trails, and that they could stimulate growth as some businesses look for that as something they could provide for their employees. He reiterated playing to strengths and making sure the county moved forward in a way that had the least amount of friction.

Commr. Parks asked about the two and five year budgeting that Mr. Rosen had mentioned on his resume, and asked him to explain his experience with this.

Mr. Rosen responded that he had done that pretty much everywhere he had been. He commented that finance and budget was an organization’s fiscal strategic plan and just because a decision was made in the current year, if one did not look at how that decision might affect following years, then one might be losing out. He said that when a five year financial plan is done, the budget is looked at as well as the factors that might be affecting it. He indicated that there had been decisions made or a way that an organization was going that would cause the fund balance to be negative in a year or two, noting this was the savings account for a rainy day. He remarked that by seeing the forecast and how decisions being made currently forecasted long term, more informed decisions could be made moving forward. He explained that he had done it within Excel when he did not have to spend any money to do it, noting that there were many programs available to utilize. He indicated it took a lot of work, intuitiveness, intuition, and gathering of information. He mentioned that one of the year’s biggest revenues was ad valorem taxes, or property taxes, and just because the County had to wait until the summer to obtain numbers from the property appraiser, it did not mean that the County could not look at the realtors association to see where Lake County was going. He indicated he had done that previously and found the numbers to be fairly close. He remarked that after January each year, the County could review available information, noting that it might not be perfect, but would give an idea of where things were going and the information could be used to plan moving forward.

Commr. Smith asked what Mr. Rosen thought were the top three responsibilities for government.

Mr. Rosen responded that it was building a community that a community wants to see and envision, keeping people safe or public safety, and happiness. He remarked that there was an index for happiness and stated that some countries and cities were on high on that index. He said that happiness may sound like merely something nice; however, happiness is really about if people are happy with their lives, their jobs, and their government. He opined that if a county can produce a community where people are happy, then it makes everything easier.

Commr. Smith asked Mr. Rosen what he had done to prepare for this interview, noting that while he had asked this in the personal interview, he wanted to know what Mr. Rosen had done since then since he had additional time to reflect on this between the original interview and this one.

Mr. Rosen responded that he wanted to talk to as many people as he could about Lake County in order to get their perspective. He commented that when reading the strategic plan, it mentioned different organizations specifically as partners; therefore, he called those partners to see if they knew they were in the strategic plan, noting that they did know and that they felt they were a part of the organization, especially the educational institutions in the county. He said he also wanted to talk to some of the city managers, and relayed that everywhere he had been there was always a good comradery between the cities and the county manager. He remarked that for the most part, everyone was trying to get to the same place, noting that by knowing what the Cities and County were doing helped to get everyone in the right direction. He reported that he had spoken to individuals with the Cities of Umatilla, Fruitland Park, Leesburg, Tavares, Clermont and Mount Dora, the Lake County Water Authority, former County Commissioner Bill Neron, Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Lake Technical College, Lake-Sumter State College, Lake County School District, Montverde Academy, Tavares Chamber of Commerce, Lake County Chamber Alliance, and The Lake 100. He relayed that he had also read the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the budget, organizational charts, the strategic plan, the economic action plan, recent agendas, news articles, and the workforce housing strategic plan, as well as watched some BCC meetings, especially the budget hearing and State of the County.

Commr. Campione asked how Mr. Rosen saw the role of the County Manager with regard to working with the 14 municipalities and facilitating their strategic plans.

Mr. Rosen responded that they all worked within the same geographic location, and were all working towards a similar goal. He commented that making sure everyone was on the same page, whether or not everyone was going in the exact same direction, provided everyone with a clear picture and path of how they needed to go to get there. He opined that relationship building was extremely important, and that relationships between the county manager and city managers set the tone at the top of the organization. He remarked that everyone was a part of this together, that everyone needed to work together to move forward, and that everyone needed to work together for the common good. He shared that he had experienced times when that was not the case at the county manager level when a county manager felt the cities could do their own thing, and he opined this was not the best way to address things as many times cities and counties are working on projects together. He gave an example of economic development, and noted that the county did not have a utility but the cities did; furthermore, when considering bringing in businesses and infrastructure, it was imperative to have a good relationship with Cities and to include them with what the County is doing.

Commr. Campione asked what Mr. Rosen would pick as the most important thing he would need to do in the job of County Manager and why he would pick that.

Mr. Rosen responded that it would be to do what you say, and say what you do. He opined that trust was the biggest thing that any leader could provide for their organization, and that once that trust is broken, it is very hard to come back from that. He added that relationships spanned from those who work for the county manager, the people he works for, and the electorate that everyone works for, noting that if that trust is broken, it would be hard to move forward. He opined that the biggest thing was to instill trust in the people that work for the county and who they work for.

Commr. Parks stated that within his district, there was approximately $70 million to $90 million worth of road projects which people want done immediately. He asked if Mr. Rosen had thoughts on how to pay for that and what might be the most important thing to do first.

Mr. Rosen responded that it was not always financial, it was trying to decide if it is the right thing to do, noting that he believed it was the right thing to do because good infrastructure is needed in order for people to get home, go to work, and for businesses. He thought that the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated the rate at which people were doing online shopping, and that there would be a need for warehouse space and delivery. He said they lived next to population centers, and that organizations like Kroger and Amazon were coming into south Lake County because they knew there was going to be a demand for their services; however, if the roads were not there, how would they get to their destination. He commented that part of it is to decide if it is the right thing to do, and if so, having the fortitude to move in that direction but to also tell the real story. He gave the example that sometimes people do not pay attention to the real story but only see that their taxes are being raised, or they are being charged sales tax. He said that the County needed to provide the education in order to get people to understand that it was not just about taxes, but it was about roads which affect businesses; furthermore, to explain to people that if the County did not have businesses, then people do not have income to live here, and if the they do not have income to live here then people will not live here, and if people do not live here then they move somewhere else, and if they move somewhere else, then there is no Lake County. He indicated that the County needed to provide the services and infrastructure that people need, noting that there was about five or ten different ways to do it. He recalled that there was an additional local option fuel tax in the county and that they had looked at different ways of splitting that revenue, such as bonds, noting the County needed to make sure it was in a good financial position. He stated that he knew the County had bonds for the penny sales tax that were tied to that, and that if the County was in a position to refinance some of those bonds, they could save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year based on current rates and could then potentially put that money back into those programs without raising taxes. He opined there were many ways to address this without raising taxes. He mentioned that there may be a project or program that the County was doing for a number of years that maybe they did not need to put as many resources towards it and maybe it was more important to put the funding towards roads. He summarized to tell the story and approach it from different directions. He noted that looking at other people’s money (OPM) was also an approach, and noted that they were about to go into legislative session and were considering what the County could ask the legislation for.

Commr. Blake asked how Mr. Rosen balanced work life with family life in a position such as county manager.

Mr. Rosen responded that home life and spending time with family was very important. He remarked that part of balancing was relying on the people hired to do the job they were hired to do. He commented that one person could not do this job, and was the reason they were a team working together. He said that another part of this was to find something that one is passionate about that could take their mind off things, noting that his family did Tae Kwon Do together and this was one of the ways he found to disconnect and then come back refreshed.

Commr. Parks asked Mr. Rosen if he had any closing remarks.

Mr. Rosen said it had been an honor to be a part of this process and that he had truly enjoyed meeting all of the Commissioners as well as talking to all those in the community who cared so much about the county. He opined it was refreshing and nice to see people who are in it because they want to see progress, the future, and be here to shepherd it along. He relayed that his family and he loved this part of the state, and hoped they could be a part of this process for years to come. He acknowledged Mr. Kovacs and his team for the job they had done on the process.

Commr. Parks thanked Mr. Rosen for his time, for going through the process, and for his work and excellence.

recess and reassembly

The Chairman called a recess at 3:05 p.m. for 20 minutes.

board deliberation on county manager interviews

Commr. Parks recapped that the Board had just completed the public interviews for both county manager candidates, Mr. Harley and Mr. Rosen, and that the Board would discuss recommendations for the County Manager position.

Commr. Shields stated that they were two great candidates. He mentioned that since he did not have prior government experience, although he was quickly learning, he would be deferential to what the Commission thought.

Commr. Smith commented that both Mr. Harley and Mr. Rosen were fine gentlemen and he appreciated the time they spent to prepare for the interviews. He stated that for him, one had the education and the background that he felt was necessary to help move this county in a positive direction; furthermore, he indicated that candidate was Mr. Alan Rosen.

Commr. Campione relayed that one of the most important items she looks for in a County Manager candidate is a good foundation of Florida law and understanding the Sunshine Law, the public records laws, the comprehensive planning process and the framework that the County has to work within. She opined that without that knowledge, one had a huge disadvantage as it takes quite a while to get up to speed on just those basic items. She commented that the other thing she looks for is the personal experience, expertise, the ability to analyze situations, to react quickly, to adapt swiftly, and to also have the ability to be a leader in the sense of a visionary, or someone who could take concepts and ideas from the Board members and put those into action. She realized that not everyone had that ability as it was a special trait. She noticed that with Mr. Rosen, in both the initial interview and then in this meeting’s conversations, was that he did seem to have that big picture view, to understand, and to have that trait and quality of being a visionary. She added that Mr. Rosen was also very smart, analytical, and had good local government and Florida law experience; additionally, she liked the perspective that he brought having worked the last several years in the municipal role because she thought that was a critical part of some of the issues the County was facing at this time which was the ability to coordinate with municipalities. She thought this was what would make the county as a whole move forward in the right direction and the municipalities realize their own visions and strategic plans. She relayed that she was impressed with Mr. Rosen, opining that Mr. Harley was a very kind, smart person who had wonderful experience but was just not the right experience for this particular job. She echoed what Commissioner Smith said as far as Mr. Rosen’s experience, background, and expertise; furthermore, she saw a lot of traits in him that she thought could help this Board move their vision forward.

Commr. Blake agreed, and mentioned that Mr. Harley was very qualified but it was merely a different skill set. He thought for this particular job, Mr. Rosen was very impressive, noting that he was also impressed in his private interview with him. He said he would be comfortable hiring Mr. Rosen.

Commr. Campione asked if they could make a condition where people are moved around in different departments in order to bring back impressions and ideas as she thought that was fascinating concept to implement in local government.

Commr. Parks stated he was impressed with both candidates and thanked staff for their efforts. He remarked that both candidates were leaders, but he liked the other Commissioners’ comments regarding Mr. Rosen’s applicable experience which would service the county well. He said he also liked the specific examples that Mr. Rosen was giving in the interview. He thought Mr. Rosen would be very supportive of the County’s employees, would be able to balance the five different personalities on the Commission, and serve them well.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Smith, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved selecting Mr. Alan Rosen as the next County Manager, and the authorization for the Chairman to negotiate an employment contract with Mr. Rosen for the Board’s consideration at their December 22, 2020 meeting.

Commr. Campione noted that they also needed to address interim management during the process.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Smith, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the appointment of Deputy County Manager Jo-Anne Drury to serve as the Interim County Manager from December 19, 2020 until the new County Manager began employment, with a 25 percent increase in her regular rate of pay during this interim period.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m.

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SEAN PARKS, chairman

ATTEST:

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GARY J COONEY, CLERK