Book 61, Page 390 June 24, 2003 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF

Book 61, Page 390
June 24, 2003
REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
JUNE 24, 2003
A regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners was held
at the Murdock Administration Complex in Port Charlotte,
Florida. The following members were present: Chairman Matthew
D. DeBoer and Commissioners Thomas C. D’Aprile, Adam Cummings,
Sara Devos and Mac V. Horton.
Also in attendance were County
Administrator Bruce D. Loucks, County Attorney Reneé Francis
Lee, Chief Deputy Board Services Tommy Q. White, Executive
Assistant to the Board of County Commissioners Mary Jane
Ackerman and Deputy Clerk Karen S. Mitchell.
The meeting was
called to order at 9:00 A.M.
The invocation was given by Reverend Bob McDuffy, El Jobean
Baptist Church, Port Charlotte, Florida, followed by the Pledge
of Allegiance to the Flag.
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
Additions:
Additions to
the Agenda
Reports Received
and Filed
Agenda Item R-1, Commission Office – Select
two volunteers for the vacant at-large
positions for the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Committee
Community
Redevelopment
Agency
Advisory
Committee (CRAAC) Minutes, April 24, 2003 –
distributed June 20, 2003
COMMISSIONER HORTON MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF THE ADDITIONS TO THE
AGENDA, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DEVOS AND DECLARED UNANIMOUS.
Wayne Sallade, Emergency Management Director, gave
update on the status of the storm and flood conditions.
a
brief
Book 61, Page 391
June 24, 2003
I.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Presentation:
Chairman DeBoer recognized Tom Relihan as the winner of the
Murdock Redevelopment Area Contest and presented him with a copy
of the official street sign “Relihan Way” as the grand prize was
a street named in his honor.
II.
CITIZEN INPUT – AGENDA ITEMS ONLY
Dr. Michael Stampar spoke in opposition to Agenda Item N-1,
Discussion/Direction of contract possibilities with Cleveland
Indians proposal, said he opposed subsidizing any professional
baseball team, the County should use the $10 million to
subsidize impact fees to develop local businesses that create
jobs, noted three proposed City restaurants were on hold due to
impact fees and asked the Board not to waste his money on this.
Jim Brogan addressed Agenda Item N-1, Discussion/Direction of
contract possibilities with Cleveland Indians proposal, stated
he’d been told in the past the County had no money to fix the
flooding problems in his neighborhood or for needed schools,
opined there were better things to spend $10 million on, said he
hoped there would be in-depth discussions on the reasons why
this would be good for Charlotte County because he didn’t see it
and opined many others don’t either.
Amity Chandler, Charlotte Alliance for a Safe and Drug Free
Community Local Coalition Director, and Dr. Gerald Ross spoke on
Agenda
Item
S-1,
Charlotte
County
Sheriff’s
Office
Law
Enforcement Personnel Study 2003 by FGCU.
Ms. Chandler stated
she had represented Charlotte County at the 5th Annual Florida
Drug Summit, reported Charlotte County was the worst county in
the state regarding substance abuse and said she was looking to
the Board for leadership.
Dr. Ross agreed it was hard to
believe but it was true there’s a problem in Charlotte County,
said he wanted to hold a summit as there was a need to define
why kids are subscribing to drugs here but not in other
counties, thanked Commissioner Devos who has been very involved
along with other agencies and stated the situation was an
embarrassment to this County.
Book 61, Page 392
June 24, 2003
Marty
Redovan
voiced
opposition
to
Agenda
Item
N-1,
Discussion/Direction of contract possibilities with Cleveland
Indians proposal, stated he’d been a Cleveland Indians fan for
over 30 years, he worked with a lot of figures and numbers,
opined this situation was a snafu for Charlotte County moneywise and he’d have to see the figures put together to believe
any realistic good could come out of this for Charlotte County.
Mike Cataldo addressed Agenda Item N-1, Discussion/Direction of
contract
possibilities
with
Cleveland
Indians
proposal,
commented on the populations of other counties compared to
Charlotte County, reported other counties were having problems
with their tourist attractions that were in financial trouble
and asked the Board to look carefully at the economics of this
situation.
John
Grother
spoke
in
support
of
Agenda
Item
N-1,
Discussion/Direction of contract possibilities with Cleveland
Indians proposal, stated he owns three hotels, he pays about
$240,000 in property taxes, team members spend a lot of money
when they’re here, opined economically the percentages were
favorable, the County needs something to draw people here and
baseball was a start because right now the stadium was a white
elephant.
RESPONSES TO CITIZEN INPUT
Chairman DeBoer responded to the comments regarding the
Cleveland Indians, stated the Board was just going through the
due diligence process, no Commissioner was ready to say yes or
no to a baseball team and this was just a process of finding out
what they were going to do with the stadium long-term for the
benefit of the citizens of Charlotte County year-round.
Chairman DeBoer voiced support for the proposed children’s
summit under Agenda Item P-2, commented on the mentoring program
and on the need for people to commit one hour each week to
mentoring at the local schools. Commissioner Devos responded to
Dr. Stampar and explained the County has nothing to do with the
impact fees businesses were experiencing in the City of Punta
Gorda. Commissioner Devos responded to Mr. Brogan regarding the
lack of money for schools and explained this was a School Board
issue not a County responsibility. Chairman DeBoer addressed the
issue of portables for classrooms, stated there was a State
Book 61, Page 393
June 24, 2003
Statute which says they’re not allowed to build capacity before
the need exists and it forces the use of portables. Commissioner
Horton agreed they were always going to have portables in use.
III.
COMMITTEE VACANCIES
Charlotte County is seeking volunteers to serve on the following
committees:
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
• one (1) labor representative
• one (1) Residential Home Building representative
Deep Creek Non-Urban Street and Drainage Unit
• two (2) resident property owners
Charter Review Committee
• 15 members
IV.
REPORTS RECEIVED AND FILED
Community
Redevelopment
Agency
Advisory
Committee
minutes of April 24, 2003 – distributed June 20, 2003
V.
(CRAAC)
CONSENT AGENDA
COMMISSIONER CUMMINGS MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DEVOS. Commissioner Horton referred to
Agenda Item C-3, said he wasn’t opposed to this project, his
concern was the $5 million over the long haul wasn’t going to be
enough, this was what needed to be done at this point and before
they begin the next phase he hoped they would have input from
developers. Commissioner Horton referred to Agenda Item F-1 and
said his concern was he wanted the new construction to begin now
not six or eight years from now, which he has been assured was
the case, because he didn’t want to have a long-term lease.
Commissioner Horton referred to Agenda Item F-2, said his
concern was how much money do they have left for boat docks and
the ability to buy the property to do those, he was told there
was $2.7 million of sales tax dollars left and he wanted that to
be on the record.
CALL ON THE MOTION: DECLARED UNANIMOUS.
Book 61, Page 394
June 24, 2003
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
A.
Finance Division
Agenda Item A-1, Adoption of Clerk’s Finance Memoranda
Memorandum #1 Status of Contingency Reserves – FY 01/02
Memorandum #1A Status of Contingency Reserves – FY 02/03
Memorandum #2 Total Disbursements for the period June 3, 2003
through
June
17,
2003
in
the
amount
of
$8,373,285.25
B.
Minutes Division
Agenda Item B-1, Approval of Minutes
9:00 A.M.
9:00 A.M.
May 27, 2003 Regular BCC Meeting
June 3, 2003 Executive Session
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
C.
Budget Office
Agenda Item C-1
Agreement #2003-041 an interlocal agreement with the Charlotte
County School Board implementing disbursement of the Student
Driver Education Fund.
Agenda Item C-2
Grant #2003-016 Edward Byrne Grant application and associated
certification documents. Proposal has been made by the Clerk’s
Office for $108,584 with a proposed amount of match from the
Clerk of the Court of $69,283; match amounts meet or exceed the
minimum requirement of 25%.
Agenda Item C-3
Resolution #2003-096 authorizing the borrowing of $5,000,000
from the Pooled Commercial Paper Loan Program to fund Land
Acquisition for the Murdock Village Redevelopment project and
Budget Amendment #03-A28 in the amount of $5,000,000.
Book 61, Page 395
June 24, 2003
Agenda Item C-4
Resolution #2003-097 authorizing the borrowing of $3,400,000
from the Pooled Commercial Paper Loan Program to fund the Stump
Pass Dredging project and Budget Amendment #03-A22 in the amount
of $3,400,000.
D.
Community Development
Agenda Item D-1
Set a Public Hearing for July 8, 2003 at 10:00 A.M. or as soon
thereafter as it may be heard to consider an amendment to an
Ordinance to provide for mandatory reports by all water and
utility providers in Charlotte County as part of it’s
Concurrency Management Program.
Agenda Item D-2
Set two Public Hearings for a rezoning, Z-02-11-38 (Rotonda
Sands and Shores). The first hearing is to be held on July 8,
2003 at 2:00 P.M. or as soon thereafter as it may be heard and
the second on August 12, 2003 at 10:00 A.M. or as soon
thereafter as it may be heard, thereby electing the second
hearing to be held at a time other than after 5:00 P.M. in
accordance with Section 125.66, F.S.
Agenda Item D-3
Excavation Permit Transfer from King Excavating to R. L. Taylor,
Inc. for Permit #99-EX-04 within the Rotonda Sands Subdivision;
Agreement #2003-042 Developer’s Agreement with R. L. Taylor,
Inc.; acceptance of cashier’s checks in the amount of $5,057.28
as security for road maintenance obligations and $5,276.75 as
security for reclamation obligations; and release pledges of
Certificates of Deposit in the amount of $5,000 as security for
road maintenance obligations and $5,217 as security for
reclamation obligations.
Book 61, Page 396
June 24, 2003
F.
Facilities Construction & Maintenance
Agenda Item F-1
Agreement #2003-043 short-term lease agreement for the Clerk of
Court to relocate the Clerk’s West County activities from the
San Casa Annex to leased space in a building on SR 776 near
Englewood.
G.
General Services
Agenda Item G-1
Property deletions for the month of June, 2003.
Agenda Item G-2
Set a Public Hearing for Tuesday, July 8, 2003 at 10:00 A.M. or
as soon thereafter as it may be heard to consider an ordinance
amending the Street, Drainage, Waterway Project (MSBU/TU)
section of the approved FY 2002-2003 CIP, modifying costs and
revenue sources for the Manchester Waterway Dredging Project, to
enable dredging.
Specifically, the proposed amendment will
modify the project costs and increase the contract Services
budget to enable the dredging.
Agenda Item G-3
Amendment #8, Contract #01-125, Sarasota/Charlotte County Beach
Restoration Study with Coastal Technology Corp. of Sarasota, FL
for additional professional services for Charlotte County
Erosion Control Project Phase I for an amount not to exceed
$87,655.
Agenda Item G-4
File #03-387, Motorola Expansion of Radio with Motorola, Inc. to
expand
the
emergency
radio
communications
coverage
to
approximately 95% of the County’s land area for a total amount
of $3,170,000.
Book 61, Page 397
June 24, 2003
Agenda Item G-5
RFP #03-169, Library Web Based Automation Project with The
Library Corporation of Inwood Park, WV to provide a web-based
automation of the Charlotte County Library system for an amount
of $249,178.
H.
General Services – Real Property Services
Agenda Item H-1
Resolution #2003-098 authorizing the Chairman to execute a
County Deed releasing a portion of a twenty-five (25) foot wide
canal maintenance easement located in Lot 32, Block 3291, Port
Charlotte Subdivision, Section 44, in Charlotte County, FL to
Port Charlotte Florida Homebuilders, Inc.
Agenda Item H-2
Resolution #2003-099 authorizing the chairman to approve and
ratify an Agreement for Sale of Real Property for the purchase
of Lots 10, 11 and 12, Block 000A, Lampps Subdivision, Section
000; authorize the Chairman to execute the Agreement; authorize
the Manager of Real Property Services to execute all other
documents and to perform all other actions necessary; and Budget
Transfer #03-067 for $100,000 from Boaters Improvement Reserve
for Boat Ramp Land Acquisition.
Agenda Item H-3
Alignment for the Edgewater/Flamingo Corridor from US 41 to
Collingswood intersection; Resolution #2003-100 authorizing the
Chairman to approve and ratify a Resolution of Necessity for the
acquisition, by any means necessary, the parcels described in
Exhibits A & B for the Edgewater Corridor Project Phase 3; and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Agreements and other
documents relative to these purchases.
Book 61, Page 398
June 24, 2003
J.
Human Services
Agenda Item J-1
Michael B. Cronin as the new voting member in the Consumer
Representative category to the Indigent Health Care Advisory
Board (IHCAB).
K.
Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Agenda Item K-1
Two year continuation of Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement (amends
Agreement #2002-042) between Sarasota County Libraries and
Charlotte County Libraries.
L.
Public Works
Agenda Item L-1
Agreement #2003-044 interlocal agreement with the City of Punta
Gorda to act as the City’s agent in association with the
Charlotte County School District’s Campus Stormwater Management
Infrastructure
Improvement
Project
and
Charlotte
County’s
Carmalita Street/Education Street Improvement Project.
Agenda Item L-2
Third Amendment to Agreement (amends Agreement #2001-079)
between the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD)
and Charlotte County for the Greater Port Charlotte Flood
Protection and Stormwater Management Plan – Implementation
(K280) State Agreement No. 00CON000144.
Agenda Item L-3
Resolution
#2003-101
accepting road and related drainage
improvements in accordance with the terms of the McCo Agreement
(Agreement #2001-010) and naming the road Challenger Boulevard
as recommended by the Charlotte County Airport Authority (CCAA).
Book 61, Page 399
June 24, 2003
Agenda Item L-4
Set a Public Hearing on Tuesday July 8, 2003 at 10:00 A.M. or as
soon thereafter as it may be heard to consider an ordinance to
provide No Parking Zones on Panama Boulevard.
M.
Utilities
Agenda Item M-1
Agreement #2003-045 for the Third Amendment to Recovered Water
Reuse Agreement (original agreement and first two amendments
were incorporated by reference by the County as the successor by
purchase of Rotonda West Utility Corporation) between Rotonda
Golf Partners and Charlotte County to cap charges for reclaimed
water delivered at 276,000 gallons per day.
ITEM FOR DISCUSSION
E.
Economic Development
Agenda Item E-1, Approve Agreement using the consulting group
known as The Florida Gulf Coast Group, LLC, for consulting
services to the Economic Development Office
Commissioner Horton said his concern had been it seems they have
already approved hiring an Economic Development Director but now
they’re looking at the possibility of hiring one somewhere in
the future instead and using some of those dollars already
allocated to get them to the point where they need a full time
director.
Commissioner Horton stated he really didn’t have a
problem with what staff was recommending but he felt what was in
the agenda packet wasn’t explanatory enough and he wanted
something on the record from the standpoint that they haven’t
changed the direction they were going they were just modifying
it and waiting until they were ready to hire that full time
director.
COMMISSIONER HORTON MOVED APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT
#2003-046, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DEVOS.
Commissioner Devos
stated she was pleased with the person who will be providing
support but she would have preferred hiring a full-time Economic
Development Director, she felt they’re ready for it because they
have plenty of work, the airport overlay was a huge project, she
will support the Commission but opined a part-time consultant
Book 61, Page 400
June 24, 2003
just wasn’t enough, they had no concrete plan which she felt was
critical and she wanted staff to bring back a report in six
months so the Board can review this because she wanted to make
sure they were making progress. COMMISSIONER HORTON AMENDED HIS
MOTION TO INCLUDE HAVING STAFF REPORT BACK TO THE BOARD IN SIX
MONTHS,
COMMISSIONER
DEVOS
SECONDED
THE
AMENDED
MOTION.
Commissioner D’Aprile agreed on the need for a concrete plan,
stated they have the opportunity to utilize Janet Watermeier who
has excellent credentials and it was an advantage to put her on
for this six month period because she’s capable of guiding them
to develop the plan they need.
Chairman DeBoer said the
amendment to review in six months was very wise and agreed Ms.
Watermeier was an excellent person to help them through these
difficult times because she’s been there during her time with
Lee County.
Bruce D. Loucks, County Administrator, clarified
staff will provide the Board with monthly progress reports so
the Board can see it as it evolves. CALL ON THE AMENDED MOTION:
DECLARED UNANIMOUS.
RECESS:
9:50 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
VII.
PRESENTATION AGENDA
Agenda Item S-1, 10:00 A.M. – The Charlotte County Sheriff’s
Office Law Enforcement Personnel Study 2003 by Florida Gulf
Coast University (FGCU)
William E. Clement, Sheriff, explained the reason he requested
this presentation from FGCU was to make a point on a very
important matter, FGCU was asked to render a second opinion
regarding the validity of their premise that funding was
inadequate for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office to properly
address escalating reoccurring fixed costs while also addressing
growth issues, the fact that FGCU does agree with their premise
he felt was important for the Board and the public the hear,
stated he was disappointed the 45 minutes he had requested had
been reduced to 15 minutes and he had asked Dr. Seay to shorten
the presentation.
Pamela Seay, J.D. gave a slide presentation
which paralleled the material and detailed the following:
Purpose of Study, Project Team, Methodology, Analysis, Charlotte
County’s Growth, Comparable Agencies, CCSO Proportion of County
Budget, CCSO Budget, CCSO vs. Other Agency Budgets, CCSO
Personnel, CCSO Personnel vs. Population Served, Charlotte
Book 61, Page 401
June 24, 2003
County Crime and CCSO Response, # Index Crimes per FTSO, Crime
Increases, Summary and Recommendations.
Commissioner D’Aprile
asked if the increase in crime and drug use was due to a
shortage of deputies or the Sheriff’s Department not fulfilling
it’s job as well as they should, stated he supported the
Sheriff, he felt there was a need for more employees and he was
concerned because he’d been under the assumption they were doing
much better than the previous administration.
Mary Ann Zager,
Ph.D. explained generally law enforcement was a responsive
agency as opposed to a proactive agency and increasing the
number of officers will help the Sheriff’s Office to respond
more quickly and to respond to more calls but more deputies and
increasing the budget won’t eliminate the youth problems.
Commissioner Devos said she didn’t expect the Sheriff to fix all
the problems but she did expect him to present a responsible
budget with accountability and what she wanted was a definable
five year plan with benchmarks because the Board can’t plan
without knowing what to expect. Dr. Seay explained they hadn’t
taken a benchmark approach for Charlotte County but they did a
comparison to other counties.
Commissioner Devos responded she
didn’t care what other counties were doing, she only cared what
they need to do here, it’s the Board’s job to ensure public
safety and though they can’t fix everything overnight she wanted
the Sheriff to provide them with a three or five year plan that
was more responsible and accurate.
Arthur Rubens, Ph.D.
explained their purpose was to provide an objective analysis and
there were a variety of means and mechanisms available to
provide the Board with other types of information but that was
beyond the scope of what they have provided in this particular
study.
Commissioner Horton agreed completely with Commissioner
Devos, said he admitted he had a negative attitude, he wondered
if the increase in crime was due to people becoming worse or
people doing a better job of reporting crime and no one has to
date convinced him of the need for the number of increased
personnel requested by the Sheriff.
Commissioner Horton
commented on his trip to Tallahassee for the appeals, reported
they hoped the Sheriff’s Department and the County Commissioners
could work this out, he represented the position of the County
Commission at the hearings, asked if the Board wanted him to sit
down with the Sheriff to try to come up with a solution for the
appeal or did they want to let this go through process because
the Sheriff was soliciting him to do just that and stated he
wasn’t going to do that without the Board’s consensus and
Book 61, Page 402
June 24, 2003
direction to meet with the Sheriff.
Commissioner Cummings said
in the list of sources and materials he didn’t see anything to
indicate County staff input and asked if FGCU just used the
County’s overall budget.
Dr. Zagar said yes.
Commissioner
Cummings summarized when FGCU did their percentage of the
overall budget and what it did from one year to the next that
was using the County’s total budget and the Sheriff’s total
budget. Dr. Zagar responded they used the County’s total budget
and the amount given to the Sheriff but in the longer document
not used today there were two tables – the first table from the
entire State and County and all the sources of budget money that
comes to the Sheriff’s office; and the second table was
specifically the County budget and the proportion of the County
budget that goes to the Sheriff’s Office which was the one used
today. Commissioner Cummings said no matter he can’t ignore the
fact that FGCU was hired and paid by the Sheriff and to the best
of his knowledge didn’t seek the counsel of the County Budget
Director on the accounting differences between the way the
County’s accounting was conducted and that of the Sheriff.
Commissioner Cummings stated no one took the time to use the
County Budget Director’s expertise to understand the differences
in accounting between the comparables and the changes that would
cause on a year to year basis, year after year the Sheriff’s
Office has gotten substantially bigger percentage increases than
any other elected office and in many instances double the
percentage increase of what the County organization got.
Commissioner Cummings said the County was put in a box by the
State law and the Commission wasn’t allowed to be arbitrary or
specific when they make these budget decisions but have to pick
one or the other.
Commissioner Cummings stated the bottom line
was a couple of things – if you fund one part of the operations
at a larger percentage increase year after year you crowd out
all other services, they have been increasing the Sheriff’s
budget for the eight years he’s been a Commissioner and he saw
no end in sight but once you back out the accounting differences
the Commission wasn’t doing so bad.
Chairman DeBoer explained
the County has a budgeting system that if they got $1,000 into
the Board their budget shows $1,000 revenue and $1,000
expenditure – it could send $500 to the Sheriff’s Office and
send $500 to the Fire Department – the budget was then $2,000
but the County didn’t get $2,000 it only got $1,000; the other
part was that Charlotte County relies heavily in revenue sources
for MSBUs and MSTUs assessments that weren’t available for law
Book 61, Page 403
June 24, 2003
enforcement which was also included in the County budget; there
was also a high percentage of their budget that was for sales
tax projects which was also not available for the Sheriff; and
in order to really do this accurately you need to compare the
revenues available for law enforcement from one jurisdiction to
another as a percentage otherwise you get a false reading.
Chairman DeBoer said he felt badly the FGCU representatives were
in this position since it was obvious the emotions were very
high on this issue, he has notes written on every page which he
would be happy to share with them privately or by letter, he
would rather not continue doing this them as it was putting the
presenters in a defensive mode which he didn’t want to do but
there were things they needed to know in terms of making
comparisons.
Chairman
DeBoer said in terms of making
comparisons to benchmark by, you said you used population, land
mass, water mass and just general budget dollars but asked in
terms of law enforcement shouldn’t they be looking more heavily
at things that influence crime such as demographics or
population density because the more consolidated the area of
population the higher the crime rates. Dr. Zager responded yes
in terms of population density of the area being served but you
have to remember that most of these counties when they have
large city bases have a city police force which the Sheriff has
no jurisdiction over. Dr. Seay stated she would respond to the
Board members’ questions. Commissioner Horton said he wanted to
clarify one thing, when they were at the hearing in Tallahassee
the panel asked many of the same questions regarding comparisons
between the County’s total budget and the Sheriff’s total
budget, and how it compared, and once the panel understood what
he was saying to them then the panel understood it from the
County’s standpoint. Chairman DeBoer added that basically what
they’ve done, because it becomes so difficult, was try to look
at the new growth of the County, what inflation was and what
mandates exist and based on those things they usually come up
with a percentage they increase budgets by, it becomes their
guiding rule as they go through the process.
Dr. Seay
reiterated the document the Board has was provided from FGCU and
not from the Sheriff’s Office, the information they gathered was
done independently though much of it was from the Sheriff’s
Office and some of it was indeed from the Board, they made every
effort to make this as independent as possible in the short
period of time, it was a very focused study, the Board asked a
lot of questions and they would like to be able to talk with
Book 61, Page 404
June 24, 2003
them about some of those and how FGCU might be able to provide
assistance. Chairman DeBoer responded he would come down to the
Campus and talk with them.
RECESS:
10:55 – 11:00 A.M.
Agenda Item S-2, 10:00 A.M. – Englewood Interstate Connector
Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study – Presentation
by Stephen J. Ferrell, P.E., Wilbur Smith & Associates
Thomas F. O’Kane, Jr., P.E., Public Works Director, said one of
the most important transportation elements in Florida were the
provisions of hurricane evacuation routes and four years ago
Charlotte and Sarasota Counties began work with FDOT on the
Englewood Interstate Connector (EIC). Stephen J. Ferrell, P.E.,
Wilbur Smith & Associates, gave a brief slide presentation on
the project status and the preferred option which detailed the
following:
EIC – Project Location; EIC – Alternatives Public
Workshop; EIC – Building Alternative Alignments; EIC – Recent
Developments; EIC – Preferred Alternative “X”; EIC – Typical
Section; and EIC
- Future Activities.
Mr. Ferrell summarized
Alternative X was preferred; a public hearing will be scheduled
sometime in August, 2003; they would be coming back to the Board
along with the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners and
the Sarasota/Manasota Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
for endorsement of the preferred alternative following the
public hearing; they expect location and design concept
acceptance by Federal Highway in the fall; and the design phase
was funded with Fiscal Year 2004 dollars which actually begins
July 1st but there were no funds yet identified for right-of-way
(ROW) and construction but the MPO would be seeking funding for
those phases.
Commissioner Horton asked who makes the final
decision on the endorsement of Alternative X.
Mr. Ferrell
responded all three parties.
Commissioner Horton asked the
total cost.
Mr. Ferrell responded the cost for Alternative X
was just under $70 million. Commissioner Horton said he’d heard
they might get maybe $20 million federal dollars which would
only do a small portion and he was concerned because he’d also
heard the north portion was being done first which won’t
alleviate Charlotte County’s evacuation concerns.
Mr. Ferrell
responded the project has been broken down into four segments –
completion of Winchester Boulevard, completion of the segment of
River Road between Winchester and US 41, completion of the
Book 61, Page 405
June 24, 2003
segment from US 41 to Center Road and completion of the segment
from Center Road to the I-75.
Mr. Ferrell explained Sarasota
County Commission’s priority was the northern segments because
the projected traffic volume showed those need to be done first
and clarified they need to work backward from I-75 because if
they four-lane Winchester Boulevard first the problem would be
dumping four lanes of traffic into a two-lane River Road.
Commissioner Horton asked what was a reasonable time frame to
complete the portions north of US 41 should they get say $30
million from Congress.
Mr. Ferrell said assuming they have
dollars in place they would anticipate an opening of the
facility in about 2010.
Commissioner Horton said that means
they wouldn’t be addressing the area between Englewood and US 41
for at least another 20 years. Mr. Ferrell agreed if they only
received dollars for the segments north of US 41.
Commissioner
Cummings said he shared some of Commissioner Horton’s concerns
about the phasing, he questioned whether this corridor would
handle the traffic at build-out, he’d been hearing about this
for years, he was willing to set aside his concerns so they can
do something and opined they were at the point that they need to
pick a corridor and go for it or the road won’t get built
period. Commissioner Horton agreed.
VI.
N.
REGULAR AGENDA
Unfinished Business
Agenda Item N-1, Administration – Discussion/Direction
contract possibilities with Cleveland Indians proposal
of
Bruce
D.
Loucks,
County
Administrator,
referred
to
his
memorandum of June 20, 2003 which lays out the proposal from the
Cleveland Indians, explained it was compared to the Sports Park
reuse plan part of which was funded in the 5-Year CIP, a 10-year
time frame was the maximum the Indians would be willing to
commit to with the possibility of future extensions, in looking
at the numbers from the Indians’ analysis staff chose the most
expensive option but reductions could be made in the Indians’
numbers, the cost projections were conservative to avoid skewing
the numbers, staff felt it was an accurate representation of
what the costs and revenues could be and staff could adjust
these numbers if the Board chose to change current departmental
funding priorities.
Mr. Loucks summarized this was a very
Book 61, Page 406
June 24, 2003
significant policy decision for the Board and staff was prepared
to provide whatever information was required.
Commissioner
Cummings agreed this was a very important decision for the
community, stated he tries to treat the taxpayers’ money the
same way he treats his own, he wanted the best return for the
least amount of risk, he felt this wasn’t a quality of life
issue but an economic/tourism potential issue, he didn’t see a
huge potential return, he was not prepared to build a new
stadium as the Indians requested and if the building was a deal
breaker then he saw no need for further analysis. Commissioner
Horton referred to the $1.3 million debt service, asked what
percentage rate were they looking at and if they could use the
short-term paper which was less than 2%. Mr. Loucks explained
Mrs. Navan worked the debt service numbers, short-term paper
can’t be used for 10 years so a longer term bond issue was
needed and debt service was more than just the cost of
facilities so the $12.8 million would be much smaller.
Commissioner Horton asked if the stadium maintenance cost
figures included the current costs or were they an increase to
what was being spent now. Laura Kleiss Hoeft, Parks, Recreation
and Cultural Resources Department Director, responded it was all
inclusive.
Commissioner Horton noted the County was currently
paying $300,000 annual maintenance, so after they enter into the
third year of this proposal they would only be paying roughly
$330,000 maintenance.
Mrs. Hoeft agreed.
Commissioner Horton
summarized the net cost would then be $600,000 per year over the
next 10 years or an increase of $300,000 annually. Mr. Loucks
said the Commissioner was correct and added it was a net cost of
ad valorem.
Commissioner Horton said exclusive deals weren’t
fair to the taxpayers, he had a problem building a club house
for the Indians’ exclusive use, a corporate suite for their
personal belongings was one thing but not a whole facility and
the same applied to the County buying them computers or garbage
cans or whatever else wasn’t necessarily for the good of the
community.
Commissioner Horton said Parks & Recreation has
given the Board a good idea of what could be done with that
facility that would meet a large group of needs throughout the
County and opined it would be a plus if they could use those
dollars to enhance the facilities as well as bring the Indians
onboard but he wasn’t really excited about abandoning everything
they had talked about where that piece of property was concerned
just for the sake of getting the Indians. Mr. Loucks clarified
he had made it clear to the Indians the County wouldn’t be
Book 61, Page 407
June 24, 2003
funding the cost for the building furnishings.
Commissioner
D’Aprile said the County was now spending $300,000 annually to
maintain a stadium originally built for a ball team that has now
left, if the Indians were truly interested in coming to
Charlotte County then there were concessions he wanted to be
included in the negotiations: there has to be a return on the
County’s investment or he wouldn’t support spending $9 million
taxpayer dollars now or in the future; the County takes over the
concessions and ticket sales; increase the tourist tax by 1% but
under no circumstances would there be additional taxes to our
residents; and the use of the stadium for entertainment purposes
when the team wasn’t utilizing the ball field.
Commissioner
D’Aprile stated he felt this could work, he had no objections to
the Indians coming to Charlotte County with the $9 million
dollars, without it he wouldn’t be in favor of it, a lot more
negotiations were needed to make this viable but this was our
stadium and the Indians need to make some concessions.
Commissioner Devos said she had a different attitude toward this
proposal, the Indians’ proposal as it stands will cost the
county $300,000 a year, opined this will generate over $300,000
during the six week training period, looking beyond the six
weeks it was imperative to have a long-term tenant at that
facility and this would fit very nicely into the reuse plan.
Commissioner Devos spoke in support of the Louisville Performance
Institute (LPI) explained on page 3 of Mr. Loucks’ memorandum,
opined the County makes a lot of investments in Parks &
Recreation without realizing a positive return because of
quality of life issues and asked for clarification on the
Professional Sports Franchise Facility Tax.
Mr. Loucks
explained it was the additional fourth penny of TDC tax but it
was a very restrictive revenue.
Commissioner Devos stated she
felt the reuse plan was excellent, having a long-term tenant
would
be
an
invaluable
partnership,
opined
this
poses
alternative activities for the County’s youth and this was a
positive thing for Charlotte County. Commissioner Cummings said
he appreciated the packet staff put together, clarified for the
public the charts were a description of two different proposals
not a comparison and noted other communities where these ball
teams have left have said not to do this if we’re only seeking a
revenue increase.
Chairman DeBoer asked how having spring
baseball integrates with all the other planned uses. Mrs. Hoeft
responded the reuse plan included the ability to bring in a
tenant that would be for image and economic impact but to also
Book 61, Page 408
June 24, 2003
truly create an anchor to the reuse plan.
Mrs. Hoeft advised
they were in very preliminary discussions with the LPI
organization, they have discussed with LPI and the Indians the
issue of non-exclusive relationships, any restrictions with the
Indians would be during the spring training period where they
would be the dominant tenant and during the Indians’ Fantasy
Camps or other instructional camps the County would have the
flexibility to continue with other plans or events.
Chairman
DeBoer asked for clarification on the Fantasy Camp. Mrs. Hoeft
explained the Indians want to negotiate separately use for one
week in January and one week in September to run a Fantasy Camp
but they would not have exclusivity of all fields.
Chairman
DeBoer reiterated his question as to how the spring training fit
into the reuse plan.
Mrs. Hoeft responded the other parties
involved would be able to work around it and they can work
together in a complimentary way. Chairman DeBoer summarized it
appears everyone was interested in the long-term (for discussion
purposes 10 years) and how they were going to maximize the use
of the facility, no one wants exclusivity for major league
baseball, every user should be treated equally, if a major
league team wants a new building and wants to outfit that
building the tenant needs to provide a proposal showing how the
tenant would pay for it and clarified what they were talking
about was yes add this to the uses the County has for the
stadium but it must at least pay for itself somehow.
HORTON
MOVED APPROVAL FOR ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF TO CONTINUE
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CLEVELAND INDIANS AND ADDRESSING THE
BOARD’S CONCERNS AS EXPRESSED TODAY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER
D’APRILE AND DECLARED UNANIMOUS.
Chairman DeBoer said he felt
it was important for Mr. Loucks to be at the negotiation table.
Mr. Loucks responded a lot of staff have been involved and a lot
of hard work went into this and he can’t take credit for that.
P.
New Business
Agenda Item P-1, Community Development – Select five (5) members
to serve on the South Gulf Cove Advisory Committee
Chairman DeBoer asked the Board to complete their ballots and
pass them to Mr. Loucks for tabulation.
COMMISSIONER CUMMINGS
MOVED APPROVAL OF THE SELECTION OF KENNETH P. STACHOWSKI, MYRON
POST, SANDRA E. SLATER, CAROL REYNOLDS AND JEROME ZIPPRICH,
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HORTON AND DECLARED UNANIMOUS.
Book 61, Page 409
June 24, 2003
Agenda Item P-2, Commission Office – Set summit on Children’s
Services issues for October 9, 2003 with Charlotte County Mental
Health and the Alliance for a Safe Community
Commissioner Devos explained she’d been working with Charlotte
Alliance for a Safe and Drug Free Community as well as the
Charlotte County Mental Health, they’d been discussing the
results of the youth survey performed at the various schools,
the proposal was to hold an all-day summit October 9, 2003 at
the Cultural Center and requested the Board be the lead agency
since this was a community issue which affects everything.
COMMISSIONER DEVOS MOVED APPROVAL TO SET OCTOBER 9, 2003 FOR AN
ALL-DAY SUMMIT FOR YOUTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE ISSUES AND THAT
CHARLOTTE COUNTY BE THE LEAD AGENCY WITH TWO OTHER PARTNERS,
SECONDED BY CHAIRMAN DeBOER.
Commissioner Horton commended
Commissioner Devos for her efforts, opined this was a step in the
right direction, said in the future he hoped they could look at
doing something with the children’s services tax that’s
available and asked for Legal to provide them with a
determination of what that could be used for. Commissioner Devos
stated it was their desire to develop some type of action plan
and since it appeared there was a desire to bring back the
Children’s Services Council that issue could be discussed along
with the issue of the tax.
CALL ON THE MOTION:
DECLARED
UNANIMOUS.
R.
Additions to the Agenda
Agenda Item R-1, Commission Office – Select two volunteers for
the vacant at-large positions for the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Committee
Chairman DeBoer asked the Board to complete their ballots and
pass them to Mr. Loucks for tabulation.
COMMISSIONER CUMMINGS
MOVED APPROVAL OF THE SELECTION OF WILLIAM DRYBURGH AND WILLARD
A. COY, D.M.D., SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HORTON AND DECLARED
UNANIMOUS.
VIII.
None.
PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA
Book 61, Page 410
June 24, 2003
IX.
WORKSHOP AGENDA
Agenda Item T-1, 10:00 A.M. – Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Resources Department Fees - Review Parks and Recreation user
fees with the Board (Set 06/10/03)
Laura Kleiss Hoeft, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Department Director, stated this workshop was requested by the
Board, her memorandum to the Board dated May 27, 2003 detailed
the financial benefits, revenue sources, how these dollars were
expended,
benchmarks
and
comparisons
to
the
surrounding
counties, cities and schools.
Mrs. Hoeft advised staff also
compared the auditorium and the stadium to like facilities in
other counties. Chairman DeBoer asked if the parking fees were
profitable after deducting expenses. Mrs. Hoeft responded they
make good money.
Commissioner Cummings said previously a
relatively high percentage of this department’s funding came
from ad valorem versus user fees, the goal was to upgrade the
overall level of service and user fees were going to be used as
a benchmark in determining demand for various services and
facility usage. Commissioner Cummings stated it seems user fees
have been successful, some facilities like the Youth Board
Building at Carmalita Complex was under-utilized compared to
other facilities but it’s also a comparatively higher cost and
opined to bring this in line with surrounding areas the price
needed to be reduced to increase usage but maybe they should be
focusing their expansion efforts on things such as more boat
ramp parking. Commissioner Devos opined people look to Parks &
Recreation for safe youth alternative activities, people want to
use Carmalita but it’s too expensive for those who need it,
there was a lot of room for improvement in the fee structure,
fees make it difficult to use our facilities like the Port
Charlotte Beach Complex and noted the School Board charges only
what it costs to use a facility.
Commissioner Devos said Mrs.
Hoeft did a great job in distinguishing between not for profit
versus for profit but she would much rather have our facilities
being used even if it meant lowering the fees, opined supply and
demand could apply to boat ramps and reiterated she would like
to see fees lowered to encourage higher usage.
Commissioner
D’Aprile asked if the County made a profit on the rental fee at a
facility like the Port Charlotte Beach Complex.
Mrs. Hoeft
responded absolutely not it doesn’t even cover the cost of
opening up the building.
Commissioner D’Aprile said he just
Book 61, Page 411
June 24, 2003
wanted to make sure they weren’t making a profit. Commissioner
Horton said he didn’t have any problem with what has been
proposed, his concern was boat ramp parking fees and he felt this
needed to be addressed.
Chairman DeBoer agreed.
Commissioner
Cummings added he agreed with Commissioner Devos regarding the
need to reduce the fees for some facilities like Carmalita and he
wants facilities to be available for people but there was also a
need for some facilities that can be used privately and not left
open to the public.
Commissioner Devos agreed.
COMMISSIONER
CUMMINGS MOVED APPROVAL TO ENDORSE STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AS
LISTED IN MRS. HOEFT MEMORANDUM, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HORTON
AND DECLARED UNANIMOUS.
Commissioner Devos recalled past boat
ramp parking fee discussions and opined a plan was needed on how
to accomplish that. Mrs. Hoeft said staff would be coming back
to the Board in July, they have been working with Legal on the
issue of in-County versus out of County and they will bring back
an implementation proposal with benchmarking and recommendations.
Reneé Francis Lee, County Attorney, clarified as long as the
Board wanted it to apply to everyone the distinction of in-County
versus out of County goes away.
Commissioner Horton said he
wanted staff to provide information on how to do it both ways,
i.e., in-County versus out of County.
X.
CITIZEN INPUT – ANY SUBJECT
Bill Coy said he wanted to emphasize the Board of Zoning Appeals
(BZA) only has four members and they need the Board’s help so
they can get the fifth member because the BZA proceedings were
quasi-judicial
making
this
fifth
member
very
important.
Commissioner Devos responded they have three names from District
5 that will be submitted at the next meeting.
V.
County Administrator
Mr. Loucks advised the Little Gasparilla Island Steering
Committee has requested one additional month to complete the
preparation of the committee’s final report and the anticipated
date for presentation to the Board was July 22, 2003.
W.
County Attorney
Attorney Lee thanked the Board members who participated on the
site visit in Orlando. Attorney Lee advised the Charlotte County
Book 61, Page 412
June 24, 2003
Airport Authority (CCAA) litigation was heating up, they have a
motion to dismiss hearing on Monday before Judge Anderson who
will be leaving the case in another week, she was sure next
month she would be coming back to the Board requesting
additional manpower on that case and she would also like to hear
the Board’s direction regarding the Sheriff’s appeal.
X.
Commissioner Comments
Commissioner Devos said she would like Commissioner Horton to
tell the Sheriff that if he wants this resolved then they need a
plan, if this wasn’t the appropriate time then let the chips
fall where they may and she wanted to thank Commissioner Horton
and staff for all their efforts representing the Board.
Commissioner Cummings stated in written responses the Sheriff
has claimed to have made three attempts at settlement and to
date he had received only one proposed settlement which was
higher than what he asked for in the first place so he didn’t
see that as much of a settlement or compromise offer.
Commissioner Cummings said as far as compromising between now
and then, he’ll say the same thing he told the Sheriff, he
didn’t want to pay for his budget to begin with at 8%, he’d
already done his compromising, he won’t give him another dime,
they’ve already funded the Sheriff more than anybody so no he
didn’t want to settle, he didn’t want to do anything and
reiterated he’d already done his compromising.
Commissioner
Horton explained when he was in Tallahassee the three
individuals hearing this pointed out the Sheriff hadn’t received
a cut in his budget as he claimed and that the Sheriff’s budget
had been increased substantially more than any other department
in Charlotte County.
Commissioner Horton said the hearing
individuals were going to be looking at two areas in making
their recommendations, they told the Sheriff they felt he hadn’t
been discriminated against, he was looking forward to going back
to Tallahassee for two more meetings and he will do whatever the
Board wants. Commissioner Horton stated he will visit with the
Sheriff, he intended to take Mr. Loucks and Mrs. Navan with him,
and he agreed with Commissioner Cummings the one proposal the
Sheriff had given them for settlement was totally unacceptable
because it asked for more money that he asked for in the first
place. Commissioner Horton said his next item pertained to the
Spanish House and he supported trying to save it instead of
demolishing it. Commissioner Horton commented on the removal of
Book 61, Page 413
June 24, 2003
the sidewalks on Pine Street in West County which was part of
the CR 775 project and his phone was ringing off the hook from
people wanting to know if they will be replaced and when.
Commissioner Horton commented on the letter regarding the
concerns of all the property owners along Placida Road
concerning people cutting across their property, sitting on
their boat docks and such and they need to address this some way
sooner or later. Commissioner Devos said it was okay to have a
discussion with the Sheriff but she will only support a zero
increase until they get a plan.
Commissioner D’Aprile referred
to the issue of demolishing the Spanish House and asked staff to
look into this a little further to appease Lindsey Williams who
says it’s salvageable. Commissioner Cummings said he supported
Commissioner Horton speaking with the Sheriff but the only thing
he’ll vote favorably on when it comes back would be if the
Sheriff concedes.
Chairman DeBoer said no increase regarding
the Sheriff, he’d reached his frustration level, he didn’t see
there was anything to negotiate and he felt the best process for
now was to stay with the one they were in which was the appeal
process.
Commissioner Horton responded he will continue to
represent the Board.
Chairman DeBoer asked for clarification
regarding who made the demolition recommendation for the Spanish
House.
Mrs. Hoeft explained the Development Review Committee
(DRC) coordinator asked for a basic review of the building which
was done with the Historical Division as well as the project
manager and staff’s recommendation was for further research to
see if it could be picked up and moved but that hasn’t been done
yet.
Commissioner D’Aprile said it was his understanding the
permit for demolition has already been submitted.
Chairman
DeBoer clarified the owner can request demolition but the Board
would need the County Building Official’s recommendation before
they could take any action.
Commissioner Cummings said he
thought this was a Planned Development (PD) which would require
a modification.
Kelly Shoemaker, Assistant to Administration,
responded she thought it was a PD and she will check and get
back to the Board.
Chairman DeBoer stated he had two letters
from the Sheriff regarding his disappointment about when the
Board scheduled the workshops and his request for a presentation
to the Board on July 16, 2003. Chairman DeBoer said the Board
doesn’t schedule presentations, this was our budget process not
his and he will be brief regarding his answer on the Board’s
policy.
Chairman DeBoer referenced a letter on more payroll
problems regarding the building security people at the Justice
Book 61, Page 414
June 24, 2003
Center, said he would really like the Board to consider the fact
that they have grown enough that they need their own internal
security people and he wanted Administration to look into this.
(Board consensus.)
Chairman DeBoer recalled the County had
suspended all tax certificate and tax deed sales, the market was
now very strong, there were about 7,200 lot certificates staff
felt would sell at a premium which would get them back on the
tax rolls, the Clerk of the Court has requested another person
to process that many lots and he didn’t know if he agreed with
all the numbers in the memorandum but he would like Mr. Loucks
to negotiate this and bring back the funding transfer to get
somebody on board right away. (Board consensus.)
MEETING ADJOURNED:
12:50 P.M.
Signature on file in Commission Minutes
Matthew D. DeBoer
Chairman
ATTEST:
BARBARA T. SCOTT, CLERK
OF THE CIRCUIT COURT AND
EX-OFFICIO TO THE BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
By:
/ksm
Signature on file in Commission Minutes
Deputy Clerk