Loading...
BCC Minutes 09/10/2015 W (2016 Legislative Priorities) BCC WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 September 10, 2015 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORKSHOP MEETING Naples, Florida, September 10, 2015 LET IT BE REMEMBERED the Board of County Commissioners in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 AM in a WORKSHOP SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex, Naples, Florida with the following members present: Chairman: Tim Nance Donna Fiala (via telephone) Tom Henning Georgia Hiller Penny Taylor ALSO PRESENT: Leo Ochs, County Manager Nick Casalanguida, Deputy County Manager Jeff Klatzkow, County Attorney Troy Miller, TV Operations Manager Tim Durham, Executive Manager, Corporate Business Operations Burt Saunders, County Lobbyist 1 COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Community Redevelopment Agency Board (CRAB) Airport Authority 01 i c i4 AO r —, fli \ ' WORKSHOP AGENDA Board of County Commission Chambers Collier County Government Center 3299 Tamiami Trail East, 3rd Floor Naples FL 34112 September 10, 2015 9:00 A.M. Commissioner Tim Nance, District 5 - BCC Chair Commissioner Donna Fiala, District 1- BCC Vice-Chair; CRAB Chair Commissioner Georgia Hiller, District 2 - Community & Economic Dev. Chair Commissioner Tom Henning District 3 - Public Safety Coordinating Council Chair Commissioner Penny Taylor, District 4 - TDC Chair; CRAB Vice-Chair 1. Pledge of Allegiance 2. 2016 Legislative Priorities 3. Public Comment 4. Adjourn Notice: All persons wishing to speak must turn in a speaker slip. Each speaker will receive no more than three(3)minutes. Collier County Ordinance No.2003-53 as amended by Ordinance 2004-05 and 2007-24,requires that all lobbyists shall, before engaging in any lobbying activities(including but not limited to, addressing the Board of County Commissioners), register with the Clerk to the Board at the Board Minutes and Records Department. September 10, 2015 Any persons in need of the verbatim record of the meeting may request a copy of the video recording from the Collier County Communications and Customer Relations Department or view online. 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chairman Nance called the meeting to order at 9:06 a.m. Commissioner Taylor moved to allow Commissioner Fiala to participate in the Workshop via telephone due to an extraordinary circumstance. Second by Commissioner Hiller. Carried unanimously 3—0. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 2. 2016 Legislative Priorities Mr. Ochs reported the purpose of the Workshop was to discuss the 2016 Legislative Priorities to be brought forth at the September 22, 2015 regular Board of County Commissioners Meeting. Mr. Durham provided the document "Collier County 2016 Draft State Legislative Priorities" for informational purposes, which outlined the priorities previously identified. The document addresses not only"Legislative Priorities" identified by the County but funding for water projects and issues to be monitored in the future. Chairman Nance reported Dwight Brock, Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court, requested to speak on an item and recommended it be heard first. Dwight Brock, Clerk of the Circuit Court Mr. Brock reported: • The Clerk's Office is charged with providing a variety of services under Florida Statutes including filing all criminal and civil cases. • Other services include assisting citizens that are filing per se cases for evictions, small claims court, etc. • Fees associated with these services are collected at the local level and then"pooled" at the State level and redistributed to Clerk's Offices within the State. • Currently Collier County collects fees greater than the level of service provided and the overage is disbursed to other County Clerk's. • The Clerk's Offices within the State are "under funded" at the local level under the current fee structure approved by the Legislature. • The Clerk recommended the BCC support changes to Florida Statutes for funding the services provided by County Clerks. Chairman Nance noted a Resolution should be developed to address the issue and Commissioner Hiller volunteered to be the conduit to the Clerk's Office for the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Taylor reported she has been studying the issue of the Clerk's powers and the County Attorney has developed proposed language to address the statutory issues. She requested the Board consider the item at the Workshop and provided a document on the issue for informational purposes. The Board determined because the item had not previously been on the Agenda, Commissioner Henning was not present and Commissioner Fiala did not have access to the document, that the item 2 September 10, 2015 be placed on a future Board of County Commissioner's meeting agenda for consideration. The Board reviewed the following items in the "Collier County 2016 Draft State Legislative Priorities": 4. Human Trafficking(time-certain 9:30 a.m.) Wade Williams, Collier County Sheriff's Department provided an update on efforts to address human trafficking in the County, noting of the 27 cases investigated last year, 19 were confirmed and 1/2 of the cases involved minors. The Sheriff Department's efforts include victim services, residential treatment,trauma and drug counseling, legal services, life skills coaching, public education, etc. He requested that the Board continue working with the Sheriff's Department to add measures in the 2012 Florida Human Trafficking Law that would improve and strengthen the current legislation. The Board reported they strongly endorse this item. Commissioner Henning arrived at 9:40 a.m. 1. Inland Oil Drilling& Fracking Mr. Durham reported this item is a"carry over" from the last legislative session in which the County endorsed strengthening existing regulations. Mr. Casalanguida provided an update on the County's efforts to address the concerns with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection through existing regulations. He noted staff has met with FDEP Officials who are reviewing the permit process and will be providing a report to the County in the near future. He will provide updates as they become available. The Board determined Commissioner Nance should take the lead on the issue given this activity primarily takes place in his district. The following was noted under the Board's discussion: • It is critical the legislation that is developed,passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor is as comprehensible as possible. • The concerns to be addressed include both environmental and public safety issues. • The legislation should be as fact based as possible. • The County has retained a professional consultant to assist in addressing the issue. • Last year, the lobbyist was not heavily involved in the process; this year he should be engage working in coordination(as he sees fit) with Senator Richter. • The County should form a unified position on the item based on what Senator Richter brings forth to the Legislature for consideration. • Mr. Ochs should serve as the conduit for the Board on the activities of the various parties. • The issue should be addressed on 2 fronts: Legislation and Administrative Rule making, with legislation guiding revisions to the Administrative rule making. Speakers Judith Hushon,Environmental Scientist addressed the Board and has reviewed the information available for the Hogan well site and discovered flaws in the data. It is important to understand 3 September 10, 2015 geology in this region is limestone based, not shale based and much of EPA's work has been dedicated to shale based fracking including their determination that fracking is "ok." She noted the following: 1. Use of the acids in the process should be discontinued until more is known about the impacts of the activity on a limestone environment. 2. It is unclear whether the means waste created by the activity was disposed of off site. 3. FDEP representatives were denied access to the site, an egregious action which should be addressed in any legislation by allowing the Agency unrestricted access to sites. 4. A separate "Workover Permit" should be obtained, which is not uncommon. Many other US states require this of applicants. 5. Identifying what material is to be injected during the process should be required of applicants. 6. The operator should be required to submit a bona fide waste disposal plan for the operation. She requested that the Board incorporate her list into the County's list and coordinate the data with the County's consultant. Caitlin Weber, Conservancy of Southwest Florida submitted "Recommended 2016 State Legislative Priorities for Protecting Our Environment and Quality of Life" and addressed the organizations concerns on the activity. Mr. Ochs reported that information in the meeting packet would be forwarded to the September 22, 2015 Meeting for consideration. 2. Bike and Pedestrian Safety The Board noted this is carry forward from last year's session to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety and they will continue to work with the legislative delegation to address the issues. Break: 10:30 a.m. Reconvened: 10:45 a.m. 3. University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Commissioner Nance provided a handout "Consideration for 2016 Legislative Session". The item is a"carry forward" from the last legislative session and the research centers are instrumental in developing the Best Management Practices (BMP's). The Board determined the item should be carried forward to the September 22, 2015 Meeting. 5. Uber Mr. Durham reported this item is a"carry forward" from last year's legislative session and aligns Collier County's position with the Florida Association of Counties whereby Collier County supports "home rule" in the regulation of the vehicle for hire industry. The purpose is to address public safety and consumer protection and oppose any effort by the State to preempt local regulation. 6. Economic Development Initiative Mr. Register requested the BCC support two initiatives: 1) Additional legislative support of 4 September 10, 2015 $3.5M for Collier County's Soft Landing Business Accelerator Network and the Immokalee Segment of the Project; and 2) Establishment of an applied health and life sciences center and accelerator focused on the support and development of innovative companies, technologies and products in the area of human genomes, nutrigenomics, nutraceuticals, and super food in the amount of$2M. The project is a collaboration with the Naples Soft Landing Accelerator Network, Florida Gulf Coast University( SBDC), University of Florida, Florida State University Immokalee Medical Center and the Health Care Network of Southwest Florida. Discussion occurred on the status of grant funding for the "East and West Accelerators." The following was noted: • The carry forward of funds related to the grants was vetoed by the Governor and existing funding terminates in October, 2015. • Given the overall success of the endeavor, it is important to reestablish the funding. • Approximately only 1/3 of the approved $2.5M in funds has been expended ($150k for the Eastern, $650k for the Western). • The completion of these projects should be realized before any new projects are initiated. The BCC requested that staff clarify the status of the accelerator, including allocated funding requests, money spent to date, anticipated funding, and a budgetary analysis of the program/projects, etc. Discussion occurred on the purpose of Innovation Zones with staff reporting their intention is to provide diversification of the local economy and to create exported products for the economy to provide wealth in the community. The BCC requested that staff: 1. Remove reference to the "Blue Zone Project"in the narrative as the County has not endorsed the project at this point in time. 2. Add a reference to the Collier County School District and ITech to the language in the narrative where necessary. Speakers Marshall Goodman,Naples Accelerator addressed the BCC noting the purpose of the accelerator is to promote employment by providing an entry business platform for companies that wish to do business in the County and he urged continued support of the programs. Peter Milczarek,Accelerators presented a Slideshow "The Berlin Bridge" and provided an update on the efforts undertaken to relocate German businesses to the region including bringing business delegations to the region. Commissioner Henning left the meeting at 11:47 a.m. Dan Hanely, Geneticist, reported the area has a strong potential for health care innovation and research on aging given the demographics of the area. 3. Public Comment 5 September 10, 2015 3. Public Comment Jennifer Hecker, Conservancy of Southwest Florida provided the handout "Recommended 2016 State Legislative Priorities for Protecting Our Environment and Quality of Life" addressed the BCC and requested the following initiatives be considered in addition the oil drilling/fracking legislation addressed by Ms. Weber earlier in the meeting: Promoting Sustainable Growth, Supporting Everglades Restoration, Addressing Water Quality Standards, Preserving Local Fertilizer Standards and Managing Stormwater. Board discussion occurred on if any items should be brought forth that are not already identified in the list of"Legislative Priorities." Mr. Ochs reported Staff could provide an analysis and a recommendation on the Conservancy's recommendations if the BCC desires. The following was noted under BCC discussions: • In order for the County's efforts to be as effective as possible, there should be a limitation on new items, (previously unidentified) being brought forth. • No party should be discouraged from bringing new items forth at this point in time, however they may want to be placed on next years legislative cycle. • It would be advantageous to prioritize the existing priorities identified to provide direction to lobbyists. ***** There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 12:02 P.M. COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Chairman, Tim Nance ATTEST: DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK tifeAttest as to an signature only. These minutes approved by the Board/Committee on a C3 & s presented or as amended 6