A regular MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
may 25, 2022
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 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: Jennifer Barker, County Manager; Melanie Marsh, County Attorney; Niki Booth, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Kristy Mullane, Chief Financial Officer; and Stephanie Cash, Deputy Clerk.
INVOCATION and pledge
Commr. Parks welcomed everyone to the meeting and said that their hearts were heavy after hearing about the tragedy of the school shooting in Texas the previous day and asked for everyone to join him in praying for the families that were involved with this and for their nation. He noted that the Invocation would be given by Pastor Mark Crossman, with the Cross Mount Dora, and that the Pledge of Allegiance would be led by a veteran who was part of County staff. He explained that Mr. Greg Holcomb, Director for the Office of Public Safety Support, joined the County in 2006 and served in the United States (U.S.) Air Force as a Telecommunications Systems/Equipment Maintenance Specialist from September 1981 through March 1986. He indicated that his tours included Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, while finishing his tour of duty at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Florida. He stated that in Turkey, he served under President Ronald Reagan in support of the Libyan Crisis, had received an Honorable Discharge in 1988 as a Sergeant Non-commissioned Officer, and was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal for his accomplishments. He thanked Mr. Holcomb for his service.
Pastor Crossman gave the Invocation and Mr. Holcomb led the Pledge of Allegiance.
virtual meeting instructions
Mr. Erikk Ross, Director for the Information Technology (IT) Department, explained that the current meeting was being livestreamed on the County website and was also being made available through Zoom Webinar for members of the public who wished to provide comments during the Citizen Question and Comment Period later in the agenda. He elaborated that anyone watching though the livestream who wished to participate could follow the directions currently being broadcast through the stream; furthermore, he relayed that during the Citizen Question and Comment Period, anyone who had joined the webinar via their phone could press *9 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 read the person’s name or phone number, unmute the appropriate line, and the speaker would be asked to provide comments. He added that everyone would have three minutes to speak, and after three minutes an alarm would sound to let them know that their time was up. He added that they previously notified the public that comments could be emailed through 5:00 p.m. on the previous day, and those comments were shared with the Board prior to the meeting. He stated that anyone wishing to provide written comments during the meeting could visit www.lakecountyfl.gov/commissionmeeting, noting that comments sent during this meeting would be shared with the Commission after the meeting was concluded.
citizen question and comment period
No one wished to address the Board at this time.
Agenda update
Ms. Jennifer Barker, County Manager, said that there were no updates to the agenda.
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget presentations
Office of public safety
Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Assistant County Manager, stated that this presentation included an overview of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budgets for the Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the Office of Fire Rescue, and the Office of Public Safety Support. He displayed an organizational chart for the entire office showing 480 total full time employees (FTE). He explained that the Office of Public Safety provided quality services that were responsive to changing needs, displayed confidence to the community through their actions, and achieved excellence and value in a courteous, efficient, and responsive manner.
Mr. Jerry Smith, Director for the Office of Emergency Medical Services, continued the presentation, stating that the mission of their office was to provide quality and community based EMS services; provide unified medical direction for EMS and Fire services; and provide clinical assurance, education, and regulatory compliance. He displayed an organizational chart showing 124 FTEs. He listed the following accomplishments for the office: promoted 10 employees from an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to a Paramedic, four employees from a Paramedic to a Field Training Officer (FTO), and one employee from a FTO to a District Chief; provided training opportunities through Target Solutions, classroom training, lunch and learn classes, courses from the American Heart Association for advanced cardiac life support (CLS), basic life support (BLS), and pediatric advanced life support (PALS), as well as other various EMS and Fire Rescue training; retrofitted electronic narcotics control devices in all ambulances for both EMS and Fire Rescue; deployed the first phase of LUCAS-CPR devices to improve chest compressions during cardiac arrests; issued positive air pressure respirators (PAPRs) to all ambulances for both EMS and Fire Rescue to provide staff an additional option for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) protection; and implemented the Handtevy Pediatric Treatment System. He related that their efficiencies included the following: relocated Medic 321 to Groveland Station 94 for improved service, received the first set of EMS and Fire Rescue redesigned ambulances with extended cabs, upgraded drive-cam safety devices on all ambulances for both EMS and Fire Rescue to 5G for improving reliability and standardization, and consolidated the management of light duty personnel for both EMS and Fire Rescue to an EMS District Chief. He displayed benchmarks for Lake County as compared to surrounding counties for the total incidents with transport as well as the minimum starting salaries for an EMT and a Paramedic. He displayed their FY 2023 proposed budget and noted that personal services was decreasing to $12,414,214 due to the transferring of 12 positions to Fire Rescue and the elimination of one flex position, operating expenses was decreasing to $2,640,712 as they no longer needed funds for two projects, capital outlay was decreasing to $1,972,450 as their five year plan was beginning to level out, and grants and aids was increasing to $743,497 for a total budget of $17,770,873.
Commr. Shields asked how things were going with the hiring and retention of employees.
Mr. Smith answered that they were doing better than they were a year ago, stating that they had promoted 10 EMTs to Paramedic, four paramedics started that current week, one paramedic was provisional, and they had a few more that were on the provisional process which would total another eight paramedics by the end of July 2022. He elaborated that would leave them with two paramedic vacancies per shift for a total of six vacancies which he said was dramatically reduced from what they had previously.
Commr. Campione referred to the minimum starting salaries charts and asked if the fire based counties were dual certified and if Volusia County was a separate agency, and Mr. Smith confirmed this.
Mr. Jim Dickerson, Fire Chief for the Office of Fire
Rescue, continued the presentation, stating that the mission of their office
was to protect life, property, and the environment by responding to calls for
fire suppression, emergency medical service, and other emergencies. He indicated that they operated the
countywide Special Operations Response Team which was responsible for
mitigating hazardous materials and providing technical rescues, wildland fire suppression,
antivenom to snake bite victims, and rural search and rescue. He related that they were members of the
Florida Task Force 4, coordinated with the local Emergency Planning Council,
and operated under the Florida State Emergency Response Commission. He said that they offered several community
outreach programs such as the Smoke Detector Blitz for 55 and up neighborhoods,
the Fired-Up Reading program for elementary schools, fire safety education for adults
and children, training on how to properly use fire extinguishers, and pre-fire plans
on target hazards. He displayed their
organizational chart showing 297 FTEs and noted that 285 of those were
committed to field operations. He listed
the following accomplishments for their office: responded to 32,433 calls for
service in 2021 which was a 37 percent increase from 2020, noting that they got
into the transport business which was the reason for the major increase; improved
their Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating from a 4/4x to a 3/3X as of March
1, 2022 which they planned to do a press release on; replaced and upgraded the full
self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) system to improve firefighter safety;
implemented a marine rescue program and assisted Keep Lake Beautiful with
shoreline assistance on Little Lake Harris cleanup; completed burn prop
renovation and resumed live fire training; deployed one employee to the City of
Miami to help with the Surfside building collapse; and certified eight EMTs as
Paramedics. He relayed that their
efficiencies included the following: assumed fire service delivery for the Town
of Montverde; added Battalion 50 for improved span of control in central Lake
County; appointed a new Division Chief position to oversee training and special
operations; implemented ESO Fire which was the new records management software;
reduced the average fleet age to 11.5 years, noting that the average fleet age
was close to 20 years in 2018; and received federal, state, and private grants
totaling $104,350 which included the Fire Prevention & Safety grant for a community
risk assessment at $42,627, the Florida Department of Health Emergency Medical
Services grant for ALS equipment at $33,405, the Firehouse Subs grant for a
vehicle lift and stabilization kit at $24,999, and the Florida Firefighter
Cancer Decontamination Equipment grant for a bunker gear washer/extractor at $3,319. He showed some benchmarks for Lake County as
compared to surrounding counties and stated that Lake County was third for the
number of fire stations staffed 24/7, had 285 personnel assigned to shift
operations which was 93 employees per day, had 32,433 calls for service in 2021
which represented a 37 percent increase from 2020, and their cost per capita
was $169.39 per person which was the lowest of all the counties. He displayed their FY 2023 proposed budget
and noted that personal services was increasing to $31,995,829 due to the increase
in minimum wage and the Florida Retirement System (FRS) employer contribution;
additionally, he said that the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response (SAFER) grant would be sunsetting and they would have to assume all
the liabilities for those salaries and that they also received additional FTEs
from the Office of EMS. He indicated
that operating expenses was increasing to $5,819,025, capital outlay was
decreasing to $1,091,534 to compensate for the inflationary costs of the
operating expenses, transfers were slightly increasing to $2,294,127, emergency
reserves were increasing to $600,000, and operating reserves were drastically decreasing to $18,098 to pay for
the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the SAFER grants for a total budget of
$41,818,613.
Commr. Smith asked for him to expand on the ISO ratings for the public.
Mr. Dickerson explained that the ISO rating reflected how prepared a
community was for fires, such as how close they were to a fire station and
hydrant. He pointed out that it was on a
scale of 1 to 10 and that 10 was the worst rating. He mentioned that they were previously at a
rating of 4/4x, specifying that a 4 meant they were within 1,000 feet of a
hydrant and five miles from a fire station and an x meant there was not a
hydrant within 1,000 feet but that they were still within five miles of a fire
station. He related that the better the
rating the better the fire insurance rates.
He expressed that when he first started with the county their rating was
a 6/9 and that he was very proud that they had reached to a 3/3x, adding that
was a good representation of how they were improving fire service within Lake
County. He opined that they would
probably never make it to a rating of 1 since there were not hydrants
throughout the county; however, they would continue to strive to get there.
Commr. Smith expressed his gratitude towards Mr. Dickerson, stating
that this was a representation of how well this organization was run.
Commr. Campione said that was a great explanation and that she looked
forward to when the press release would come out so that residents would be
able to provide that information to their insurance companies as those
companies may not be aware of the rating change.
Mr. Dickerson pointed out that Seminole County improved their ISO
rating about a year ago and did a tremendous press release detailing all of the
benefits and information and that they wanted to shadow what Seminole County did;
however, they could not do the press release until they received the official
report. He mentioned that residents
could still contact their insurance company since the updated rating was listed
on the ISO website. He remarked that
this rating increase helped the City of Mascotte since the County had taken
over services there and they automatically went from a 10 to a 3/3x.
Commr. Campione referred to the number of fire stations staffed 24/7
benchmark and pointed out that Lake County was at 27 even considering how large
of a geographic area they covered and how spread out everything was. She remarked that it would be interesting to see
the unincorporated areas in Polk and Orange Counties as those numbers were very
high.
Mr. Dickerson stated that Lake County was the second largest landmass
county of the benchmark counties next to Polk County. He explained that many of the stations in
Polk County were single serve ambulances and also provided services for many of
the cities in Polk County.
Commr. Campione commented that it seemed odd that Orange County was so
high.
Mr. Dickerson indicated that it was because Orange County was so
densely populated and had more stations because of their call load. He mentioned that most cities could respond to
everything within five miles of their main station but would need to add
another station when the call loads reached a certain level; furthermore, he
said that they strategically placed their stations so that their ISO rating was
low.
Commr. Campione questioned if his goal was to have three personnel on a
truck for a call.
Mr. Dickerson replied that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
required them to have 17 people within eight minutes of a call or 13 minutes of
a fire; additionally, he said that they probably reached that about 70 percent
of the time and were still trying to work towards that. He related that they currently had nine
stations that put three personnel on the trucks and that adding in the rural
rescue team helped as they were able to make an interior attack on a structure
fire and try to save some property.
Commr. Parks expressed his appreciation for Fire Rescue, stating that
he always felt very proud when he saw the Fire Rescue team out there
representing the county. He remarked
that they could not overemphasize the ISO rating enough and that Lake County
also had the lowest cost per capita in the region which meant they were doing
more with less and he appreciated that.
Mr. Dickerson mentioned that one of the issues they were experiencing
currently was the need to expand their stations as most of them were built for
volunteers and had limited infrastructure to accommodate the extra personnel.
Commr. Parks stated that the Town of Montverde was very pleased with
the partnership with Lake County Fire Rescue and opined that this model could
be used in other places as it was a huge benefit.
Mr. Dickerson commented that they were working on quite a few projects
with the cities, specifying that they were very close to breaking ground on the
new station in the City of Fruitland Park and were having a second
environmental study done on property in the Town of Montverde as they were very
close to purchasing it. He also said
that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Mascotte for the
renovation of their station would be coming back to the Board at the June 14,
2022 meeting. He remarked that he hoped
the inflation started to come back down and stabilized so that they could move
forward with these projects.
Mr. Holcomb continued the presentation, stating that their
office oversaw and managed the countywide radio system, the countywide 911
services, and fire and medical 911 dispatching services, as well as reviewed
and approved 911 addressing assignments for site plans and subdivision
applications, facilitated standard 911 street naming and addressing, managed
logistical support for participating public safety agencies, and provided
ambulance fleet services for the Office of EMS and the Office of Fire
Rescue. He displayed an organizational
chart showing 59 FTEs. He discussed
their accomplishments, noting that the City of Apopka tower co-location was
finished in FY 2022 and that it was up and running; additionally, he said that
the building was transferred from the City of Wildwood and that the site was
built with equipment they already had and only cost them less than $300,000. He mentioned that Emergency Dispatch was
named an Accredited Center of Excellence, they implemented core services for
the Next Generation 911, and integrated countywide addressing and 911. He relayed the following efficiencies for
their office: partnered with Open Wireless for the tower co-location in the
City of Groveland to provide broadband to the rural community, implemented a
single electronic payroll system, improved network infrastructure for phase two
of cybersecurity, worked on the radio tower microwave project, and secured
federal and state grants totaling $5,674,656 which included replacing 911
telecommunicator furniture at $286,872, 911 addressing and GIS data support at $481,093,
Next Generation 911 core services at $383,091, text-to-911 and maintenance
reimbursement at $23,600, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the
public safety radio tower microwave project at $4,500,000. He displayed benchmarks for Lake County as
compared to surrounding counties for FY 2022 and mentioned that Lake County had
almost 5,000 new address points from FY 2021 and that Orange County’s address
points had decreased from the prior year as they were going through the Next
Generation process as well; therefore, they had more in their system and would
be straightened out once the transition was over. He indicated that Lake County was at about
the same rate as the prior year for radio users in service and was about in the
middle for total number of 911 calls, noting that the call volume increased
with population and events that happened in the area. He related that for the number of 911 calls
per answering point, they had 33 answering points and answered over 7,000 calls
per year. He displayed their FY 2023
proposed budget and stated that they were funded out of the general fund, the
EMS fund, and the E911 fund. He
indicated that personal services was increasing to $4,570,299 due to proposed
wage adjustments, operating expenses was increasing to $7,222,826 due to
anticipated increases for contract/lease costs and fuel costs, capital outlay
was increasing to $309,194 due to equipment replacement, grants and aids was
decreasing to $245,000, and reserves were decreasing to $216,518 which
reflected the completion of grant-funded capital projects for a total budget of
$12,563,837.
Commr. Shields asked if they were looking at replacing the generators with solar as they aged out.
Mr. Holcomb replied that they had generators and battery back-up systems and had looked at the possibility of replacing with solar; furthermore, he said that they had an opportunity to replace five generators per year using grant funds if awarded and that their capital improvement plan included replacing them over a fire year period on an annual basis. He mentioned that the generators installed in 2007 were still running and that those would be the first ones to be replaced.
Commr. Campione expressed her gratitude to Mr. Holcomb for his work on the City of Apopka tower site and also to the Central Florida Expressway Authority as they made that location available for the tower.
Mr. Holcomb thanked the Board for their efforts to make it happen. He explained that the particular site had been in play for almost three years, and that the City had been gracious enough to allow Lake County to be a part of the process and use the site.
Commr. Campione remarked that there were a lot of needs in that area, especially as one of the schools was not covered as well as it should have been.
Mr. Holcomb agreed, noting that it was a perfect site for them as several neighborhoods were split between Orange and Lake County and because of the State Road (SR) 429 expansion.
Commr. Shields asked if there was a total budget slide for the entire Office of Public Safety.
Ms. Barker answered that each office had different funding sources; however, they could provide that total.
Mr. Carpenter commented that the total was $72,153,323.
Commr. Shields asked how that compared to the previous year.
Mr. Carpenter replied that he did not have the total from the previous year; however, he knew it was different due to the labor issues.
office of county probation
Mr. Tony Deaton, Director for the Office of County Probation, stated that the Office of County Probation enhanced community safety by providing cost-effective supervision and guidance to offenders placed on probation and pre-trial diversion for misdemeanor crimes. He related that the probation officers effectively ensured offender compliance with court-ordered sanctions as an alternative to jail in accordance with Florida Statutes and that Teen Court and Work in Lieu of Arrest (WILA) juvenile diversion programs provided Lake County youth with the opportunity to be held accountable for their offenses while minimizing the stigmatizing effects of formal prosecution. He indicated that they also provided the following services: pre and post sentencing supervision of misdemeanor offenders identified by the courts as an alternative to regular judicial proceedings; placement and monitoring of offenders sentenced to perform community service through nonprofit community agencies; enforcement of restitution orders requiring offenders to pay victims for losses as directed by the court; vehicle immobilization services for offenders convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol; substance use monitoring and referral services; and employment, mental health, and community assistance referral and placement. He displayed an organizational chart showing 15 FTEs. He listed the following accomplishments for their office: enforced the collection of $49,100 in restitution from offenders which was returned to crime victims for their losses, coordinated the completion of 6,602 hours of community service performed by 202 adult offenders, and monitored 4,112 court-ordered cases by performing 6,500 personal supervision contacts and 26,500 telephone contacts. He relayed that their efficiencies included the following: assisted the Lake County Jail and other law enforcement agencies in coordinating the seamless arrest of 75 probation violators at the jail and in apprehending 15 other wanted offenders at the Probation Office, monitored the law-abiding behavior of over 3,500 offenders using the FALCON Offender Watch list system provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and assisted with mental health jail diversion initiative by screening and diverting mentally ill persons to community mental health treatment programs. He displayed benchmarks comparing Lake County to surrounding counties as well as comparisons of prior fiscal years, and noted that they anticipated having about 1,100 active cases by the end of FY 2022 and about 1,200 cases during FY 2023. He remarked that these numbers were just a point in time as the actual number of cases sent to probation was over 3,000 per year and that typically as one or two offenders were placed on probation every hour, one or two were getting released. He mentioned that they were at 77 percent for successful probationer completion rate and that they had a higher completion rate since FY 2018, noting that about 10 percent were reoffenders. He indicated that as of March 1, 2022 they had 1,003 active cases and had the second highest caseload of all the counties, noting that some of the decrease in caseload was a result of adult civil citation programs that had been enacted in the City of Orlando and other larger communities; additionally, he said that they had six probation officers and 167 cases per officer with the goal of keeping the caseloads under 200 cases per officer. He related that their offender monthly supervision fee was $55 as of March 1, 2022 and that it ranged between $50 and $60 across the counties. He then displayed the FY 2023 proposed budgets for the Office of County Probation and Teen Court. He indicated that the Office of County Probation budget was showing an increase in personal services to $893,283 due to proposed wage adjustments and the operating expenses were decreasing to $38,810 due to a reduction in Information Technology and insurance chargebacks for a total budget of $932,093. He stated that the Teen Court budget was showing an increase in personal services to $62,159 due to proposed wage adjustments and operating expenses were decreasing to $22,461 due to a reduction in projected revenue for a total budget of $84,620.
Commr. Campione asked if he could elaborate on the adult civil citation diversion program.
Mr. Deaton explained that the program was usually related to possession of marijuana charges as those were typically civil citations. He pointed out that in Orange County a first time offense was a $100 fine and the second time could be a criminal pattern. He related that Lake County and some other Counties were still diverting the offenders to pretrial intervention or putting them on probation; however, the judge typically allowed them to pay the fine in full without having to deal with probation. He noted that about 1,000 people per year were electing to pay on the day of sentencing so that they would not have to deal with probation.
Commr. Campione asked if that was typical on the first offense.
Mr. Deaton confirmed this, and pointed out that Orange County had a driving under the influence (DUI) diversion program which was unusual since Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) did not typically allow that; additionally, he said that the Lake County prosecutor’s office was not in line with that philosophy.
Commr. Campione commented that she thought people in Lake County expected them to use diversion sparingly even though it was up to the judges to make those determinations and opined that diversion worked in certain situations. She related that they tended to be more focused on a law and order approach and that she believed they had done a pretty good job of balancing that in Lake County.
Mr. Deaton mentioned that they had a high successful completion rate for the juvenile diversion and adult pretrial intervention program.
Commr. Campione stated that she had always heard great things about teen court and how that worked to create peer pressure in a positive way as it provided an alternative to a more formal situation. She mentioned that a lot of the kids who participated in that program ended up pursuing careers in the legal field.
Mr. Deaton agreed, stating that there had been great successes with that program.
Commr. Parks questioned if the offender monthly supervision fee could be increased from $55.
Mr. Deaton answered that the chief judge typically established that fee by administrative order with the Board’s consent. He pointed out that their goal was to be revenue neutral as they did not want the taxpayers to have to foot the bill for offenders on probation; however, they have found that raising the fee resulted in diminishing returns as they would collect less. He elaborated that some people would rather elect to go to jail than to be on probation and pay the fines since it currently cost $680 per year to be on probation on top of all the other fines. He related that the judges did not see it as a violation of probation if they did not pay the fee; therefore, they typically made the fee a mandatory cost and most times it was prioritized last after all the other fees. He said that their office typically had a hard time collecting the fee if it was not paid within probation.
Commr. Campione recalled that it cost $58 per day to the taxpayers for providing jail.
Mr. Deaton related that the typical cost for taxpayers for an offender on probation was less than $1 per day; furthermore, he said that they did a lot of diversion and helped get people into mental health programs and substance abuse treatment as well as helped them find jobs. He expressed that he was very proud of their agency.
Commr. Campione expressed her appreciation for their office as she thought they did a great job. She opined that helping connect people to the services they needed was key.
Commr. Parks said that he assumed they had the proper communication channels if they felt like someone was a harm to themselves or to others.
Mr. Deaton confirmed this, stating that they had people Baker Acted on the spot if necessary and in some cases people were arrested if they were violent. He related that oftentimes they just needed to involve the Forensic Community Services Team (FCST) with LifeStream, which was at no cost to the individual, as that team was able to divert them right into community mental health; additionally, he said that in those cases they would do a financial assessment and make a determination of whether to reduce their fees. He indicated that they had found that people with mental illnesses failed at a rate of about 75 percent on probation as they would not keep appointments, make payments, or follow through with medication and that with this team they had seen a tremendous reversal where over 70 percent of people completed probation successfully.
office of emergency management
Ms. Megan Milanese, Director for the Office of Emergency
Management, explained that their office managed the Lake County Emergency
Operations Center (EOC), maintained and updated Lake County preparedness plans,
managed Lake County’s Emergency Notification System (AlertLake), managed and
coordinated the County’s training and exercise program, managed the Special
Needs Registry, reviewed and approved healthcare emergency management plans,
and processed and approved Lake County special events. She displayed an organizational chart showing
five FTEs. She relayed the following
accomplishments for their office: activated the EOC to a level II in response
to hazards posed by Tropical Storm Elsa and ensured the safety and welfare of
Lake County residents in coordination with partner agencies, activated the Cold
Weather Shelter Plan six times resulting in the sheltering of 135 individuals
throughout the winter season, began updates and significant renovations to the
Lake County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plant (CEMP), conducted a
functional hurricane exercise to test and assess plan updates and emergency
response procedures, and provided multiple incident management trainings to
enhance emergency management skillsets for EOC staff and first responders. She mentioned that their efficiencies
included the following: facilitating expanded COVID-19 testing options through
coordination with a private vendor at no cost to Lake County residents before
and during the Omicron surge, noting that about 22,000 tests had been conducted
over six months, and received grant funding from the Florida Division of
Emergency Management to upgrade the EOC lighting to LED units to reduce future
operational costs and improve energy efficiency. She displayed benchmarks for Lake County as
compared to surrounding counties and stated that Lake County’s special needs
population was 921 which was in the middle of the other counties and that they
had reviewed 90 healthcare facility emergency plans. She indicated that they had four full time
Emergency Management employees and that the total direct Emergency Management
spending per capita was $1.37 per person in the county. She then displayed their FY 2023 proposed
budget and noted that personal services was increasing to $408,205 as they wanted
to add two internship positions, operating expenses was decreasing to $58,723,
and grants and aids stayed the same at $60,000 for a total budget of $526,928.
Commr. Blake pointed out that they had activated the cold weather shelter six times and asked how that compared to an average winter.
Ms. Milanese answered that it was about average over the past couple of years; however, they had seen a slight increase.
Commr. Parks asked what the status was of the Lake Support and Emergency Recovery (LASER).
Ms. Milanese explained that the grants and aids line item of the budget supported LASER and that they had been doing great. She indicated that they utilized them to respond to and assist the County with recovery during incidents; however, they had not had to call on them this past year as there had been no major incidents. She related that they had recently had a meeting with LASER to discuss expanding their cold weather shelter program with their faith based partners since they had to activate so many times, noting that this could allow them to rely on additional faith based partners to open their doors and assist those who might be vulnerable.
Commr. Parks commented that hopefully they would not need LASER; however, he was a huge supporter and believer in what they were trying to do, noting that their partnership was important to him.
Ms. Barker pointed out that they had increased LASER’s funding a few years ago and added a provision that if they did have to activate they would receive an additional $49,000 so they could respond quickly to the needs of the community. She opined that this was a great partnership. She also mentioned in regards to Commissioner Shields’ question about the total Public Safety budget and stated that as previously mentioned the proposed budget was about $72 million and that last year it was about $69 million which was increase of about $2.9 million and 4.19 percent.
recess and reassembly
The Chairman called a recess at 10:14 a.m. for five minutes.
office of animal services
Ms. Whitney Boylston, Director for the Office of Animal
Services, explained that their office sheltered, reunited, and rehomed animals
and had a very caring staff that was dedicated to finding a positive outcome
for the animals in their care. She
related that they offered veterinary and rehabilitative services that were
outside of the norm and had recently increased their standard of care such as
with xenotransfusions where blood was taken from dogs to save the life of cats
which had been very successful. She
indicated that they also offered Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) surgical
services for Lake County’s community cats and recently started “Wellness Hour”
veterinary services for vaccinations, microchipping, and testing of owned pets
in partnership with Lake Technical College’s Veterinary Assisting program. She then displayed an organizational chart
showing 29 FTEs. She relayed the
following accomplishments for their office: continued to maintain a 96 percent
live release rate overall with dogs at 98 percent and cats at 94 percent,
noting that they served about 1,000 more cats and kittens than dogs; had a
slight increase in the return to owner rate which meant an additional 100 pets
went back to their families; and had an increase in the transfers to rescue
partners due to the Pixel Fund accepting so many of the neonatal and at-risk
kittens. She mentioned that they
partnered with various organizations, such as Library Services and with NBC and
Telemundo for the Clear the Shelters event in August annually and also with
Lake Technical College’s Veterinary Assisting program. She indicated that this program allowed the
students to be on-site at the shelter four days a week and assisted with
vaccines, deworming, testing, and blood draws which gave them real world
learning experiences and that they were able to hire some of the graduates of
the program. She noted that they also created
a permanent library in the shelter so children could come and read books with
the cats. She discussed their
efficiencies and stated that as part of the relaunch of the TNVR program, they
launched the Everyday is Caturday program in June 2021 which had served over
1,100 cats. She related that they had 10
appointments available daily for the public to use for sterilizing,
vaccinating, and ear tipping the community cats so they could be returned to
their community. She mentioned that the
residents paid $10 for the service and since the cost of materials cost about
$10, the program was almost budget neutral; furthermore, she said that if
residents could not afford the $10 fee, they were allowed to attend Caturday School
and each participant would receive coupons for three TNVR cats to be treated at
no charge. She noted that this class
taught the public how to trap difficult cats, the basics of community cat
management, and how to be a responsible caregiver; additionally, she said that
it had been very popular and was always booked.
She pointed out their challenges, stating that shelter admissions had
increased about 15 percent since FY 2020 as there had been an increase in owner
surrenders as a result of people moving or not having stable living
environments. She related that the
numbers were stabilizing and that they were back to pre-COVID-19 levels. She indicated that the kitten admissions had
increased 42 percent since FY 2020 and that the Wait-til-8 program allowed for
people to volunteer to take care of kittens which had become very popular;
additionally, she said that more kittens were admitted through that program
than a traditional foster home. She
related that Animal Services provided all supplies and check-ups so that the
kittens became healthy, well socialized, and candidates for adoption and that sometimes
the people who took care of the kittens ended up adopting them. She displayed benchmarks for Lake County as
compared to surrounding counties and noted that Lake County was in the middle
for the number of cat and dog admissions for 2021 and was on the high end for
cat and dog admissions per 1,000 residents.
She then displayed their FY 2023 proposed budget and noted that personal
services was increasing to $1,620,157 due to proposed wage adjustments,
operating expenses was increasing to $416,472 due to increased insurance costs
for the new facility, and grants and aids stayed the same at $50,000 for a
total budget of $2,086,629.
Commr. Parks expressed his gratitude to Ms. Boylston and everything she had been doing.
Commr. Campione commented that they were seeing increased insurance costs across the board.
Ms. Barker confirmed this, noting that they looked at the valuation of assets typically every year or at least every other year. She indicated that the increased costs for the new facility was reflected in the Animal Services budget and that as they received new trucks in different departments, the asset value would increase resulting in an increase in insurance cost.
office of transit services
Ms. Jill Brown, Director for the Office of Transit
Services, stated that their mission was to provide safe, accessible, efficient,
and cost-effective public transportation that met the needs of residents and
visitors in Lake County. She explained
that their fixed route service was the LakeXpress and that it operated seven
routes using 10 buses daily on Monday through Friday from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00
p.m. with $1 fares each way except for seniors, veterans, and the disabled who
received half price fares and students who could ride for free. She displayed a chart showing the various
areas each route covered. She reported
that the ridership had started decreasing in FY 2020 due to COVID-19 and
decreased even more in FY 2021 with a 50 percent decline due to business and
school closures. She related that
ridership was showing an increase in FY 2022 and that they anticipated the
ridership to continue to grow as fuel prices increased and also since they were
increasing their services later in the year.
She stated that their paratransit, the Lake County Connection, was a countywide
door-to-door service for the mobility-impaired, developmentally-disabled, and
senior citizens who met the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or
Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) eligibility requirements. She relayed that the service operated Monday
through Friday from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and that the fares were $2 each way
within Lake County, $5 each way for service to the City of Orlando, and $10 each
way for service to the City of Gainesville; furthermore, she said that they
also provided Saturday service for dialysis trips only. She reported that the ridership had also
started decreasing in FY 2020 as many passengers found other means of service
due to COVID-19, such as televisits with doctors, grocery delivery, and virtual
school and training. She noted that the
ridership was slightly increasing in FY 2022 as more social service agencies
had started providing face-to-face services again and that they would start
providing services to the Groveland Congregate Meal Site. She displayed an organizational chart showing
five FTEs. She listed the following
accomplishments for their office: completed the transit facility security
camera project which included installing over 30 high resolution security
cameras at the Office of Transit Services and at the County’s transportation
contractor’s site, noting that it was entirely funded by the Federal Transit
Administration and cost $112,203.56; provided fixed route and paratransit
services during the cold weather shelter plan activation by transporting 127
residents between January 2022 and March 2022; received revenue through an
agreement with Vector Media for selling advertisements on the buses and vans,
noting that advertising sales were low during COVID-19 but had picked up this
year and they were anticipating $153,915 for FY 2022; made bus stop
improvements using grant funds in an effort to have more ADA accessible bus
stops, noting that 44 bus stop improvements were completed in FY 2020 and FY
2021 and 42 were planned for FY 2022; and implemented paratransit fare tickets which
were sold in booklets. She discussed
some of their efficiencies and stated that they had been looking at bringing
the transit service to the Four Corners area in-house Monday through Friday and
continuing to contract with LYNX to provide weekend service, noting that this
would bring in an estimated savings of $65,600 annually and the start date for
the new service would be December 12, 2022.
She indicated that they were also starting an express commuter bus
service from the Four Corners area to the Clermont Park and Ride that would run
Monday through Friday and provide service during morning and afternoon peak
hours, adding that this would be funded for two years with ARPA funds through
the FTA. She related that they were
currently working on a lease agreement with the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) to install a larger shelter at the Clermont Park and
Ride. She displayed benchmarks for Lake
County as compared to surrounding counties for FY 2020 and noted that ridership
dropped significantly for all agencies due to COVID-19. She mentioned that the expenses began to grow
in FY 2020 due to COVID-19 as many agencies added additional safety measures such
as installing barriers for drivers, HEPA filtration systems, hand sanitizer,
and additional cleaning services. She
noted that as Lake County saw a decrease in paratransit trips, they still
offered services for those who needed transportation to vital services and that
the expenses for those trips also increased.
She remarked that Lake County’s fixed route costs per hour had slightly
decreased in FY 2020 due to two new replacement buses which helped to reduce
maintenance costs; however, there was an increase in FY 2021. She related that Lake County’s paratransit
costs per trip had also decreased in FY 2020 and had increased in FY 2021. She displayed their FY 2023 proposed budget
and noted that personal services was increasing to $499,053 due to the proposed
wage increase, operating expenses was increasing to $9,091,101 due to the
expansion of services and estimated increase in ridership, and capital outlay
was increasing to $2,127,207 due to the purchase of two fixed route buses and
three paratransit vans for a total budget of $11,717,361.
Commr. Blake asked if the stops that were added on the south side of the City of Umatilla had been well utilized.
Ms. Brown confirmed this, noting that they were planning on updating their transportation development plan the following year and would look at some additional improvements to help increase ridership in that area.
Commr. Blake remarked that he knew the people in that area were very appreciative of that. He then asked how much it cost to wrap one of the buses for advertisement.
Ms. Brown answered that it cost around $1,500 per month.
Commr. Smith asked how they were doing with drivers.
Ms. Brown responded that their contractor was steadily advertising for and aquiring new drivers for training; however, by the end of the training some paratransit drivers decided that was not the job for them as it was very hands on and dealt with delicate people. She related that they were back to full service and had plenty of drivers but that there was still turnover.
Commr. Smith asked if they were still working on the route between the Cities of Leesburg and Clermont.
Ms. Brown confirmed this, noting that they still had to purchase expansion buses and that it looked like it would happen in FY 2024.
Commr. Shields commented that people in the Four Corners area had already been asking where the stops were going to be.
Ms. Brown mentioned that the route 55 stops would be similar to what LYNX was currently providing, adding that it was an express route and would only have four bus routes going to the Clermont Park and Ride. She noted that they were still looking at where to place those.
Commr. Shields related that they would probably have to adjust the routes as they built out Wellness Way, and Ms. Brown agreed.
Commr. Parks opined that they typically never broke even when it came to the costs of transit, noting that in particular LYNX and SunRail were currently struggling with operational costs. He mentioned that something they needed to think about for the long term was the SunRail Brightline route between the Cities of Miami and Orlando and between the City of Orlando to Disney as that route would include International Drive and that connection could bring in enough money to possibly make the entire system within the region nearly revenue neutral since it was mostly used by tourists. He related that he wanted them to keep a dialogue open regarding this and to keep it on their radar as there could be a chance for opportunities and partnerships with LYNX into the Metro Orlando area and could significantly change transit within the region for Lake County.
Ms. Brown stated that she would definitely keep that mind as part of updating their transit development plan was to look at the future plans and how they could implement their new services to match up with the plans of other agencies.
office of fleet management
Mr. Joseph Blackwell, Director for the Office of Fleet
Management, explained that their office provided a full range of services to
the County and various constitutional offices, including maintenance and repair
services at competitive prices for a range of vehicles and equipment. He related that they managed four County fuel
sites and offsite fuel services and that they had five Automotive Service
Excellence (ASE) certified technicians and five Emergency Vehicle Technicians
(EVT). He pointed out that they
maintained heavy vehicles and equipment such as fire trucks, dump trucks, flatbed
trucks, loaders, and graders; light and medium vehicles such as cars and pickup
trucks; tractors and mowers; and stationary generators. He displayed an organizational chart showing
12 FTEs. He relayed the following
accomplishments for their office: added a quick lube service for all County
vehicles to reduce the time for vehicles being down, upgraded all vehicles
lifts, and was recognized as one of the National Association of Fleet
Administrators (NAFA) top 100 fleets of North and South America. He mentioned that their efficiencies included
the following: mechanics working in teams to provide a faster repair time on
vehicles and equipment, increased mechanic productivity from 60.3 percent to
90.8 percent over the past year, implemented a spare tire program for heavy
vehicles which saved time and cost, held weekly meetings with Public Safety to
review status of vehicles and equipment to ensure fire trucks and safety
equipment had a minimal delay returning to service, held regular meetings with
all departments to enhance customer service levels, and implemented a biannual
inspection program for emergency power generators to ensure operational
readiness. He displayed benchmarks for
the cost comparison of labor rates between Lake County and outside vendors and
stated that Lake County was very competitive as they were at $88 per hour for
light and medium duty vehicles and $115 for heavy vehicles which was the lowest
of the vendors. He displayed their FY
2023 proposed budget and noted that personal services was increasing to $985,195
due to proposed wage adjustments and operating expenses was increasing to $2,233,213
due to the increased costs of fuel and parts for a total budget of $3,218,408.
Commr. Shields commented that many of the light vehicle manufacturers
had been talking about sunsetting combustion engines and moving to all electric
and he wanted to know what his thoughts were on that.
Mr. Blackwell said that he had been studying that, noting that they
currently did not have the infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Commr. Parks mentioned that they could possibly have a charging station
nearby which could work with short routes; however, it would not work as well
if someone was doing long trips.
Mr. Blackwell agreed, stating that it could work well for the Chiefs
and any administrative employees but not for the employees within road
maintenance since they sat out on the road all day. He related that he had looked at four
different sites for implementing charging stations.
Commr. Shields related that he did not want to be in a situation where
they were no longer able to purchase regular engine vehicles.
Commr. Parks stated that there were some grants available for charging
stations for fleet.
office of facilities management
Mr. Wesley Jones, Director of the Office of Facilities
Management, stated that their office provided oversight for various county
construction projects; provided financial, managerial, and architectural
support for the Facilities sections, other County departments, constitutional officers,
and other groups as directed by the Board; oversaw the repairs, maintenance,
and daily operations of County facilities; and monitored and paid the County
utility bills. He displayed an
organizational chart showing 29 FTEs. He
related that their accomplishments included the following: built the new
Housing and Veterans Services suites, upgraded the 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd floor elevator lobbies and restrooms of the Judicial Center,
worked on building the new Fire Station 39 which would be completed in December
2022, and installed new carpet in the Lake County Administration Building. He noted the following efficiencies for their
office: separated and upgraded the fire alarm system in the Administration
Building, the Sheriff’s Administration Building, and the Historic Courthouse,
noting that the newer equipment was more reliable, easier to maintain, met the
newest Code requirements, and would allow for upgrades of other building
systems in the future, and upgraded the Building Automation System for better
control of the HVAC system resulting in greater efficiency, noting that the
Administration Building was in the plan review process and the Sheriff’s
Administration Building and the Historic Courthouse was in the engineering
process and that this was funded by ARPA dollars. He displayed benchmarks for Lake County as
compared to surrounding counties and stated that they managed over 2.2 million
square feet of building space which averaged out to 78,160 square feet per
staff member and that it cost $3 per square feet to maintain the
facilities. He displayed their FY 2023
proposed budget and indicated that personal services was increasing to $2,025,974
due to proposed wage increases and the addition of the Construction Program
Manager position; operating expenses was increasing to $5,872,547 which
reflected anticipated increases for contractual services, fleet repairs, and
fuel costs based on the current trends; and capital outlay was increasing to $120,000
due to the replacement of kitchen equipment at the Detention Center for a total
budget of $8,018,521.
Commr. Parks expressed his appreciation for their hard work on keeping up with the aging buildings and equipment, noting that they were doing a lot with only a little. He then commented that he wanted them to keep an eye on the space in front of the Courthouse as he wanted to make sure the veterans’ memorial was taken care of as it could use some improvement.
Mr. Jones relayed his understanding and stated that he had suggested installing a digital sign to replace the wooden sign that would rotate for each branch of the military and could be electronically updated with any new names. He indicated that they budgeted for the worst case scenario and that as they realized some savings they were able to use that to make some of those upgrades.
public works department
Mr. Fred Schneider, Assistant County Manager, stated that the Public Works Department included the engineering, construction, and maintenance of roads and stormwater systems; solid waste collection and disposal; and mosquito and aquatic plant management. He displayed an organizational chart showing 170 FTEs.
Mr. Jeff Earhart, Engineering Manager with the Division of Engineering Services, explained that their office was responsible for the planning, design, permitting, bidding, and construction inspection of roadways and trails. He noted that they also focused on safety, customer service, and public involvement and also installed traffic signals. He displayed an organizational chart for Engineering Services showing 50 FTEs. He discussed their accomplishments and indicated that the development review section had completed 39 county road projects, reviewed 337 municipal developments, approved 63 variance requests, reviewed 132 site plans, and issued 29 plats. He mentioned that the right-of-way section was in the process of acquiring right-of-way for the Wekiva Trail, for the extension of Citrus Grove Road, for CR 466A, and for the Hancock Road extension for Wellness Way. He related that the survey section had been able to upgrade their equipment, had surveyed 39 projects including the Jalarmy Road roundabout and the North Lake Trail segment 3A, and had also provided 41 plat reviews. He stated that the design section had designed the Ray Goodgame Road sign and the construction section had completed three road projects totaling almost $3 million and two stormwater projects totaling almost $500,000 which included the baffle boxes for Lake Joanna in the City of Mount Dora and the speed tables on Challenger Drive in the City of Tavares. He indicated that the traffic operations section had maintained 226 traffic signals, 263 beacons/flashing devices, and almost 38,000 signs; additionally, he said that their in-house staff did most of this but that they outsourced 28 miles of roadway striping. He mentioned that the traffic engineering section had finished the signals at Hancock Road and Greater Pines Blvd as well as at SR 19 and Dead River Road, and had multiple public meetings related to project development and environment (PD&E) studies, such as CR 455, Hooks Street, and the Wekiva Trail segment 5. He then discussed their efficiencies, stating that they designed stormwater, sidewalks, intersections, and minor road projects in-house and that they had about $500,000 in savings from staff negotiating for the Wekiva Trail right-of-way. He displayed benchmarks for Lake County as compared to surrounding counties and indicated that they inspected the traffic signals and about half of the signs monthly, noting that the major road signs were inspected every six months. He pointed out that Lake County had a very similar amount of beacons and signals as compared to Osceola County and that there were 37.7 traffic signals per technician which was right in line with many of the counties.
Ms. Mary Hamilton, Director for Public Works Operations,
stated that the Operations Division was responsible for the maintenance of the
roadways, rights-of-way, and drainage systems contained in the County maintained
road network, such as stormwater improvements, mosquito and aquatic plant
control, and solid waste collection. She
displayed an organizational chart showing 120 FTEs and pointed out that there
were still some vacancies in Road Operations.
She relayed the following accomplishments for their office: Solid Waste
provided collection and disposal services to 73,658 unincorporated residential
units, disposed of 62,471 tons of trash, processed 24,889 tons of recyclable
materials, and collected 24,841 tons of yard waste, noting that they continued
to have high usage of the convenience centers and were making safety
improvements at the Astor convenience center; Mosquito Control had 4,922
service requests, treated 1,258 tires, identified over 30,000 mosquitoes, and
adulticided 894,344 acres; Aquatic Plant Management had 309 service requests
and treated 3,450 acres of hydrilla and 270 acres of other invasive species in
the canals; Road Operations maintained 1,400 miles of County roadway inventory
including pothole repairs, clay road grading, right-of-way mowing and tree
trimming, had residential maintenance requests, partnered with Engineering on
the countywide resurfacing program, and completed the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) resurfacing project with in-house staff and contractors; Stormwater
partnered with Engineering and completed the Lake Joanna baffle box which was a
cost share with the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA) and the St. Johns River
Water Management District (SJRWMD); the Water Lab received a new inductive
coupled plasma instrument which allowed an increase in analysis time; and Keep
Lake Beautiful had over 600 volunteer hours, removed 15 tons of litter and 31
tons of tires, partnered with the Cities of Tavares and Leesburg for the first
annual “Trash Dash”, and were now the host chapter for America in Bloom. She mentioned that their efficiencies
included the following: Solid Waste purchased a new claw truck which reduced
maintenance cost and down time, continued evaluating contract services to
provide the lowest cost, and continued to cross train staff to ensure coverage
of operations; Mosquito Control increased larvicide treatments during the day
which led to fewer night time sprays and a reduction of over 250,000
adulticided acres, held public education and outreach events, and partnered
with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS)
Medical Entomology Lab in conducting chemical resistance testing on mosquito
populations; Aquatic Plant Management cross trained with Mosquito Control to
assist in larvicide operations, assisted the Florida Wildlife
Commission (FWC) during helicopter treatments for hydrilla on Lake Yale and
Lake Harris, and worked on sonar mapping of Lake Apopka with FWC, SJRWMD, and
UF to identify the hydrilla; Road Operations leveraged in-house staff and
contracts to estimate and evaluate projects for best value and response time
for drainage improvements, asphalt overlays, and road base repairs, and also
increased the contractor right-of-way mowing to allow better utilization of
in-house staff; Stormwater continued the integration of water quality education
and outreach efforts, cross trained staff, and leveraged program funds with
grants. She displayed benchmarks for
Lake County as compared to surrounding counties and pointed out that the solid
waste assessment for Lake County was $203.67, noting that Marion County only
provided disposal, Sumter County did not provide a program, and Osceola
County’s assessment was high because they just recently procured new
contracts. She showed the expenditures
per capita for Mosquito Control and Aquatic Plant Management and stated that
Marion, Sumter, and Volusia Counties did not provide an aquatic service as they
strictly used FWC. She indicated that
they fell in the middle for the number of paved and unpaved road miles
maintained and that the stormwater expenditures per capita utilized the
Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) dollars whereas Marion County had a
dedicated program for stormwater which was why their number was high. She related that the annual residential lot
grading inspections continued to increase even during COVID-19 as there was
still a great demand for new home construction.
She then displayed several FY 2023 proposed budgets for the Gas Tax
Fund, the Stormwater MSTU Fund, the General Fund, and the Solid Waste
Fund. She indicated that the Gas Tax
Fund budget was showing an increase in personal services to $8,225,291 due to
proposed wage adjustments, the operating expenses was decreasing to $8,505,309
due to the spending of FDOT funds, capital outlay was decreasing to $2,271,360
which reflected a $2.8 million general fund contribution for road resurfacing,
grants and aid was increasing to $836,394, other uses was decreasing to $757,059,
and reserves were increasing to $746,301 for a total budget of $21,341,714. She related that the Stormwater MSTU Fund budget
was showing an increase to personal services to $403,835, operating expenses
was decreasing to $120,740, capital outlay was decreasing to $458,150, other
uses was decreasing to $65,310, and reserves were increasing to $175,092 for a
total budget of $1,223,127. She
mentioned that the General Fund budget which was for the laboratory, Mosquito
Control, Aquatic Plant Management, and the Astatula Fuel Remediation was
showing an increase in personal services to $1,006,330, operating expenses was
increasing to $1,018,237, and capital outlay was increasing to $287,000 due to
the replacement of equipment for a total budget of $2,311,567. She stated that the Solid Waste Fund budget
was showing an increase in personal services to $1,977,646 due to proposed wage
adjustments, operating expenses was increasing to $17,476,449 due to contract
increases, capital outlay was increasing to $1,724,700 due to the Phase III
closure, other uses was increasing to $1,353,908, and reserves were decreasing
to $1,290,869 for a total budget of $23,823,572.
Commr. Shields mentioned that he had heard about a municipality who had
contracted with someone who was turning hydrilla into fuel biomass and wondered
if they had enough hydrilla to even consider doing that as he thought it was a
neat idea considering the current cost of fuel.
Ms. Hamilton stated that they had a lot of hydrilla and that she could
ask FWC about that.
Commr. Smith asked if they had any plans to continue addressing the
clay road issues.
Ms. Hamilton replied that they actively looked at those, noting that
they tried to pave some of the smaller roads in-house and were using funds to
move clay from the South Lake area. She
related that staff was in the process of reaching out to some of the property
owners to see what the needs were and were also trying to stay apprised of
which developments might be coming in that could help pave some of those roads.
Commr. Parks expressed his gratitude towards Ms. Hamilton and her team
and stated that she attended many meetings along with him and that she was
always very professional. He opined that
roads were a big issue throughout the county.
Commr. Shields mentioned that the plan for repaving roads was included
on the County’s website.
Commr. Parks noted that they would be going through the road program in
August 2022.
Commr. Campione asked how far along percentage wise they were on the
utilization of the $10 million that was borrowed for road resurfacing.
Mr. Schneider clarified that the three year program included a $10
million loan with an additional $2.8 million in general funds as well as some
sales tax funds. He explained that all
of the funds had been contracted and a significant amount had been spent to
date. He indicated that they were
slightly behind due to material shortages and other issues; however, he had
been in contact with their contractor, CW Roberts, and had been strongly
encouraging them to continue to complete that project and get those funds
expended. He mentioned that the program
should be completed by the end of 2022.
He related that the resurfacing project with the $600,000 CDBG funds had
been completed.
Commr. Campione remarked that many residents had expressed their
gratitude and given compliments about roads that had been resurfaced. She said that it was great to see that work
being completed.
Mr. Schneider noted that there were still quite a few roads that were
under contract for resurfacing and that the additional sales tax dollars would
fund the resurfacing of North Hancock Road.
He reiterated that finishing the roads was a bit difficult as the cost
of materials and the contractor prices had almost doubled as compared to the
previous year; however, he believed they were at the peak right now and that
costs would come back down at some point.
Commr. Campione suggested having a map showing the location of all the
clay roads for the presentation on the capital improvement plan; additionally,
she opined that paving all of the clay roads might not be a good goal as some
might be better off staying clay and that they could tackle the ones they
received complaints about.
Commr. Smith agreed, stating that they needed to work on the ones that
made sense as some people enjoyed living on a clay road.
Commr. Parks opined that they needed to take into consideration how the
clay could affect the water resources, noting that areas in the panhandle spent
a lot of money redoing clay roads because the clay was affecting the water
resources of adjacent wetlands.
Commr. Campione asked if that would be an issue in Lake County.
Commr. Parks answered that some of the clay roads were located in the
Green Swamp.
Ms. Barker commented that staff could compile a list similar to the
surface roads by district and by highest priority.
Mr. Schneider stated that they had a number of clay roads they wanted
paved and that it was just a matter of getting them funded; however, he said
that staff graded them every two weeks.
reports
county manager
budget wrap-up
Ms. Barker pointed out that this completed the departmental budget
presentations and that as they moved forward in the budget process there would
be a budget wrap-up with a summary of the entire budget in June 2022 which would
include the requests from the constitutional officers; furthermore, she said
that their budgets were due by June 1, 2022 with the exception of the Lake
County Tax Collector as that budget was due August 1, 2022. She remarked that staff would be coming back
in July 2022 requesting an approved millage rate that would be added to the truth
in millage (TRIM) notice. She then
mentioned that the next BCC meeting was June 14, 2022.
commissioners reports
commissioner smith – vice chairman and district 3
department presentations
Commr. Smith expressed appreciation for the department presentations, and commented that they were well done.
COMMISSIONER BLAKE – DISTRICT 5
converting plastic waste to diesel fuel
Commr. Blake mentioned that Purdue University had developed a system to convert plastic waste into a usable diesel fuel, and wondered if ARPA funds could be used to do that. He commented that since diesel fuel was used in many of the County’s vehicles, it could be good to invest in a system that used recyclables to convert plastic waste into usable fuel.
enterprise partnership
Commr. Blake related that the County saved money by partnering with Enterprise for light trucks that were sold at the end of the year, and he wondered if the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) could also benefit from this partnership, adding that it could be a source of cost savings for the County.
Ms. Barker said that staff could reach out to the Sheriff’s Office and offer that opportunity; however, she thought that a portion of their fleet was already through Enterprise but she was unsure of how much.
Commr. Blake mentioned that it was possible they already had something set up for when they surplus vehicles and were accomplishing the same thing.
Ms. Barker agreed that was worth looking into. She then commented that they had seen a bit of a delay associated with exchanging their vehicles even though it was not as bad as anticipated and that it had been a nice revenue opportunity for the County; however, no one wanted those vehicles anymore.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:49 a.m.
_________________________________
SEAN PARKS, chairman
ATTEST:
________________________________
GARY J COONEY, CLERK