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Radio Road East MSTU Minutes 04/06/2010 R : ~R~~ M.S.T.lJ. A~ ~ 2~~S $. H~ ~ N~, FL ~10lf Minutes April 6, 2010 I. Call Meeting to Order The meeting was called to Order at 10:00 a.m. by Darryl Richard, MSTU Project Manager since this was the first meeting of the Radio Road MSTU and there have been no officers elected. II. Approval of Agenda The agenda was reviewed - no motion was made to approve the agenda III. Attendance: Members: Renato F. Fernandez, Thomas Frank Depouw, Suzanne Chapin, Paige Simpson, Dale M. Johnson County: Commissioner Tom Henning, Michelle Arnold-Dept. Director, Darryl Richard-MSTU Project Manager, Tessie Sillery-Operations Coordinator, Pam Lulich-Landscape Operations Manager, Caroline Soto - Budget Analyst. Others: Tom Greenwood - HOA President of Sanctuary at Blue Heron - Public Attendee All the committee members introduced themselves and gave a synopsis on their background and their reasoning for being on the board. IV. Election of Officers It was determined that the committee would hold off on elections of officers until the committee members become more familiar with each other. V. Transportation Service Report a. Review of Ordinance 2009-044 Staff provided the committee members with a copy of the ordinance that established the MSTU and discussed the sun-setting provisions that are included in the ordinance. It was noted that depending on the millage rate set and the amount of revenues that are collected, there is a possibility that the MSTU could sunset prior to the project being completed. It was noted during discussion that maintenance funding after construction of the project is still undetermined and will be reviewed by the BCC when the 4 year report is taken to the Board of County Commissioners. 1 b. Review of members terms Staff advised the committee of the staggered terms for the members and indicated they would provide all the committee members with the applicable terms. c. Review of the Sunshine Law Darryl Richard, MSTU Project Manager reviewed the importance of the committee members to understand the Sunshine Law requires and comply with them. Michelle Arnold noted that information on future training will be forwarded to the committee when made available. d. Review of Robert's Rule of Order Darryl Richard reviewed the rules of order with the committee. e. FY 2011 Budget Michelle Arnold, Director, Department of Alternative Transportation Modes, gave a detailed explanation on the budget, its function and informed the committee members on the reasoning for each column. Darryl Richard; explained budget line item staff salary, its function, processes and procedures. 1. Review of Millage Rate and Darryl Richard provided a review of the Radio Road MSTU projects as a comparison to what the Radio Road East MSTU can potentially expect. He reviewed information provided on the estimated taxable value. Staff explained the overall taxable value vs. millage rate vs. future project cost. A lot of discussion regarding the taxable values and the different millage rates ranging from .25 to .50. Darryl will be putting together a spreadsheet with multiple taxable values/millage rates = homeowner's annual payment to Radio Road East MSTU. . The Committee Members wanted it broken down for them to better explain it to their HOA's. 2. Review of Projected Revenue Staff informed the committee members about the FDOT Beautification Grant (ATM staff and with the assistance of Mrs. Chapin) that they applied for the Radio Road East MSTU in the amount of $600,000 which may be available for FY 2014. The Radio Road East MSTU's application was placed in the 2nd tier from the priority list and several projects from the list are being dropped. The Committee members asked for more information on the Grant and its processes. There was an overall discussion regarding the grants and explained to members that when getting a grant, the MSTU uses its money first and 2 after the project is completed FDOT reimburses the MSTU 80% ofthe project cost, but that the MSTU would be required to pay the remaining 20% of project cost. Discussions continued of who is the keeper of the priority list and who mandates the overall process with the grant moneys. Commissioner Henning suggested to the committee members to be active with MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) process on upcoming projects and priority lists. Michelle Arnold explained to the committee members the MPO priority list is a moving target, it gets updated and every year; and that FDOT funding availability is contingent upon many factors including the present economic times which affect the State Budget Process. An updated MPO ranking of the grant applicants will be emailed to the committee members once received from the MPO. Discussion ensued regarding other "funding options" that the Committee may pursue such as bank loans, municipal bonds, and general obligation bonds as well as the possibility of a 'loan from the Board of County Commissioners' were mentioned as options that will be investigated. Staff noted that all legal and budget considerations regarding these options need to be checked prior to proceeding. Commissioner Henning, spoke about the need to be aware that Collier County is experiencing difficult economic times, and that whatever millage rate the Committee may desire - they should take into account the economic hardships that the 'down' economy has had on the residents who reside within the district. 3. Committee approval of Budget and Millage Rate Staff reviewed when the MSTU would actually have monies to work with - after October I, 2010 which is the beginning of the Fiscal Year 20 I O. And that the taxes on those monies are not actually paid prior to October 1, 2010; but that the estimated tax revenue will be placed in the MSTU Budget as 'revenue'. It was mentioned that it would be beneficial for the Committee to do a project that is 'visible' within the first couple of years of being active - so that the residents who reside within the district can see visible benefit from paying into the MSTU. The majority of the committee members would like to start the process to build something "visible" to show the MSTU tax payers something for their tax dollars at work. Darryl Richard noted that one 'option' which could serve to demonstrate 'project activity' is to obtain consulting services (from a Landscape Architect) and involve that consultant in multiple 'public meetings' and 3 design workshops to involve all the communities within the MSTU District. Rather than vote on the budget and final millage the committee agreed that staff would provide them with information that they could bring back to discuss with their applicable associations/communities to obtain their input. A decision on the budget and millage would be made at the May MSTU meeting. VI. Future Project Goals & Objectives a. Obtaining Landscape Architectural Consulting Services Pam Lulich gave ball park figures on estimating what the cost is for a Landscape Architect Consultant per mile at approximate $19,500 and up. She estimated approximately $40,000 for the project design and $750,000 for the actual construction of the project. These are only approximates and taken from prior projects fully constructed from the Landscape Beautification Master Plan. Staff has experienced much lower bids recently under the current economic conditions. b. Project Time-line for Construction Without a final decision on the millage rate to estimate potential revenues, the committee could not make a decision on the project time-line at this time. c. Phasing of Projects Without a final decision on the millage rate to estimate potential revenues, the committee could not make a decision on whether the project will be phased at this time. The committee decided to go back to their respective HOA's and get their feedback on the millage rate in preparation for their next meeting scheduled for May 4,2010 at 10 am in the morning. VII. Future Meeting Dates The next meeting was set for May 4,2010 and need for future meetings will be determined at the meeting in May. VIII. Public Comments Tom Greenwood - HOA President of Sanctuary at Blue Heron, comments that although he is not a committee member he would like to continue to participate in the meetings. The next meeting is May 4. 20 10 at 10: Transportation Services Division 2885 South Horseshoe Drive - East Conference Room Naples, Florida. 34104 IX. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11 :45 a.m. /-1' 1f5 j::> ~SeNt:e of 5'/4(2.<910 4