BCC Minutes 09/04/2003 B (Budget)September 4, 2003
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Naples, Florida
September 4, 2003
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of Commissioners,
in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein,
met on this date at 5:05 p.m. in BCC FY 2004 BUDGET SESSION
and PELICAN BAY FY 2004 BUDGET SESSION in Building "F"
of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida, with the
following members present:
CHAIRMAN:
TOM HENNING
JIM COLETTA
DONNA FIALA
FRANK HALAS
ALSO PRESENT: David Weigel, County Attorney
Jim Mudd, County Manager
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COLLIER COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA
September 4,2003
5:05 p.m.
Tom Henning, Chairman, District 3
Donna Fiala, Vice-Chair, District 1
Frank Halas, Commissioner, District 2
Fred W. Coyle, Commissioner, District 4
Jim Coletta, Commissioner, District 5
NOTICE: ALL PERSONS WISHING TO SPEAK ON ANY AGENDA ITEM MUST
REGISTER PRIOR TO SPEAKING. SPEAKERS MUST REGISTER WITH THE COUNTY
MANAGER PRIOR TO THE PRESENTATION OF THE AGENDA .ITEM TO BE
ADDRESSED.
COLLIER COUNTY ORDINANCE NO. 99-22 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.
REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON SUBJECTS WHICH ARE NOT ON THIS
AGENDA MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING WITH EXPLANATION TO THE COUNTY
MANAGER AT LEAST 13 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE MEETING AND WILL BE
HEARD UNDER "PUBLIC PETITIONS".
ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION OF THIS BOARD WILL NEED A
RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS PERTAINING THERETO, AND THEREFORE MAY
NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE,
WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE
APPEAL IS TO BE BASED.
ALL REGISTERED PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL RECEIVE UP TO FIVE (5) MINUTES
UNLESS THE TIME IS ADJUSTED BY THE CHAIRMAN.
IF YOU ARE A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY WHO NEEDS ANY ACCOMMODATION IN
ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCEEDING, YOU ARE ENTITLED, AT NO COST
TO YOU, TO THE PROVISION OF CERTAIN ASSISTANCE. PLEASE CONTACT THE
COLLIER COUNTY FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT LOCATED AT 3301
EAST TAMIAMI TRAIL, NAPLES, FLORIDA, 34112, (239) 774-8380; ASSISTED LISTENING
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September 4,2003
DEVICES FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS' OFFICE.
1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
2. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING- Pelican Bay Services Division Budget
Hearing
A. Executive Summary - Fiscal Year 2004 Pelican Bay Services Division Budget
B. Public Comment
Co
Resolution Approving the Special Assessment Roll and Levying the Special
Assessment against the Benefited Properties Within the Pelican Bay Municipal
Service Taxing and Benefit Unit
3. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING - BCC - Fiscal Year 2004 Tentative Budget.
A. Discussion of Tentative Millage Rates and Increases Over the Rolled Back
Millage Rates
B. Review and Discussion of Changes to the Tentative Budget
C. Budget Discussion Items
· Airport Authority
· Livingston Road MSTU
· BCC Discussion Items
D. Public Comments and Questions:
E. Resolution to Adopt the Tentative Millage ~ates
F. Resolution to Adopt the Amended Tentative Budget
G. Announcement of Tentative Millage Rates and Percentage Changes in Property
Tax Rates
H. Announcement of Final Public Hearing as Follows:
Final Public Hearing on the FY 2003-04 Collier County Budget
Thursday, September 18, 2003
5:05 p.m.
Collier County Government Center
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September 4,2003
e
ADJOURN
W. Harmon Tumer Building (F)
Third Floor, Boardroom
Naples, Florida
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September 4,2003
September 4, 2003
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Everybody take their seats, please.
Welcome to the advertised public hearing of the Board of
County Commissioners of Collier County, 2004 fiscal year tentative
budget.
Would you all rise with me to have the pledge of allegiance.
Commissioner Fiala will lead us in the pledge.
(Pledge of allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: County Manager, I understand that
we have a lot of folks here tonight that want to talk about median
landscaping, and I just want to know which item that we're going to
put that under.
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, that would be under the public
comment piece. And that would come under --
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
MR. MUDD:--(D). I(D).
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
first
(D)?
MR. MUDD:
agenda item.
Okay.
And that's after the Pelican Bay, which is your
Item #2A
PRESENTATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2003.PELICAN BAY
SERVICES DIVISION RI JDGET
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Okay, thank you.
And who's going to lead us off here?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Mr. Ward, from the Pelican Bay Services
Division.
MR. WARD: Thank you, Commissioners and good evening.
For the record, my name is Jim Ward, I'm with the Pelican Bay
Services Division.
This is the required public hearing to levy the non-ad valorem
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September 4, 2003
assessments for property solely within the boundaries of Pelican Bay
to provide the prerequisite services for the community for fiscal year
2004.
The assessment rates that are included in your agenda under the
executive summary are consistent with what you all have seen during
the budget and workshops and presentations that we have given you
in the month of June.
If you have any questions, I won't go into detail with you, I'll be
glad to answer them for you, but the resolution adopts the non-ad
valorem assessments for Pelican Bay for the next fiscal year. Thank
you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Any questions from the board
members?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Seeing none, thank you.
Do we need to vote on these separately?
Item #2B
Pl II::IIJlC COMMENT- NO SPEAKERS
MR. MUDD: Sue, do we have any speakers at all?
MS. FILSON: Which item is this?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: For the Pelican Bay.
MS. FILSON: I don't have any in here that say Pelican Bay.
Some of them haven't --
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Is anybody here to speak tonight
on the Pelican Bay MSTU -- MSTBU, excuse me. (No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
Item #2C
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September 4, 2003
RESOLUTION 2003-262 APPROVING THE SPECIAL
ASSESSMENT ROLL AND LEVYING THE SPECIAL
ASSESSMENT AGAINST THE BENEFITED PROPERTIES
WITHIN THE PELICAN BY MUNICIPAL SERVICE TAXING
AND BENEFlT IINIT- ADOPTED
MR. WARD: I would need just a motion to adopt the resolution
attached to the executive summary.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: I entertain a motion.
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
to adopt the resolution.
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
second by Commissioner Halas.
Any discussion on the motion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
I entertain a motion -- or I motion
I second it.
Motion by Commissioner Fiala,
All in favor of the motion, signify
Aye.
Aye.
Aye.
Aye.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
Any opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
Thank you, sir. Motion carries 4-0.
Item #3A
DISCUSSION OF TENTATIVE MILLAGE RATES AND
INCREASES OVER THE ROTJTJED BACK MIIJ,AGE RATES
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September 4, 2003
MR. MUDD: This will turn us to the next item on the agenda,
which is the budget hearing for the Board of County Commissioners'
budget. And I'll turn this over to Mr. Smykowski, the Office of
Management and Budget Director.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Thank you. For the record, Michael
Smykowski, Budget Director.
The first item, in accordance with Florida Statutes, is a
discussion of the increases, the tentative millage rates and the
increases over the rollback millage rates funding the budget. And
that's Item 1 (A), Page 1 in your package, Commission members.
The general fund, the proposed millage rate is 3.8772, which is
the same tax rate as that levied in fiscal year '03. It is an increase of
10.3 percent above the rolled back rate. And the principal reasons
are there's a $7.8 million increase in the direct general fund support
of roads. We've established a reserve for future road construction to
take the peaks off of the required budgetary need estimated over the
next few years in terms of our continuing efforts to complete the
five-year-- the backlog of the road construction program.
And the other principal increase was in the sheriff's budget.
The water pollution control fund is an increase of 10.2 percent
over the rolled back rate. It's also the same tax levy as fiscal year
'03, it's .0347 mills, or $3.47 per hundred thousand. And that's
largely due to a decrease in available carry forward revenue.
The unincorporated area General Fund 111, the proposed
millage rate is .8069. Again, that is consistent with the millage rate
levied in fiscal year '03. The percent increase over the rolled back
rate is 10.9 percent. Principal increases there are funding of
landscaping projects and maintenance within this budget.
The Golden Gate Community Center proposed millage is .2596.
That's an increase of 2.1 percent above the rolled back millage rate.
This amounts to approximately a $29,000 increase in the tax levy to
fund the exterior painting of the Golden Gate Community Center, the
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September 4, 2003
original 10,000 square foot facility, and to remodel the lobby.
Naples Park drainage, there's a small tax levy of .0062. There
was no levy in fiscal year '03. That is for the maintenance of the
storm water system within Naples Park.
Pine Ridge Industrial Park has an increase of 22.2 percent over
the rolled back rate. Percentage-wise, that's large. We're talking
about a $4,800 increase in the tax levy for the maintenance within
that industrial park.
Victoria Park drainage is a 22.6 percent increase above the
rolled back rate. The proposed millage levy is. 1970. We're
accumulating funds for the eventual replacement of a gasoline engine
that operates within that storm water MSTU. Again,
percentage-wise, it's a large increase over the rolled back rate, but the
total tax levy is increasing $900.
The Golden Gate beautification, there's a constant levy for
median improvements, as recommended by the advisory committee.
It's one half mil. That is a 15.3 increase above the rolled back rate.
Naples Production Park maintenance, there's actually a 38.3
percent decrease below the rolled back rate. And that's due to
residual cash being transferred from the Naples Production Park
project fund. This is some of the fruits of our fund consolidation
effort. You're seeing the benefits here in that residual cash that was
just accumulating interest and not being used for any purpose is
being transferred and will help offset the maintenance costs that are
required in fiscal year '04.
Vanderbilt Beach MSTU, that is a half mil tax levy. That is a
decrease of 34.4 percent below the rolled back millage rate. That is
for improvements that are being recommended by the advisory
committee, and they're being prioritized. They are in the process of
awarding a master plan at this point, and upon completion of the
master plan will immediately move to implementation for median
improvements, benches, some street lighting. They're looking at
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September 4, 2003
burying public utility lines and the like within this MSTU, and that's
being addressed by the advisory committee at this point in time.
The Isle of Capri Fire MSTU is levying a constant 1.5 mills for
operations. That's an increase of 13 percent above the rolled back
rate. This will provide adequate reserves and funding of the
operational costs. The Isle of Capri operates on a fairly tight budget,
so this will give them actually some slight breathing room in terms of
meeting their obligations for the upcoming year.
Ochopee Fire Control also levies a constant millage. It is four
mills. That's a 15.6 percent increase above the rolled back rate. And
that's for fire control in the rural area of Collier County.
Collier County Fire is a constant levy as well. The proposed tax
levy is two mills. Those are for properties that lie outside the
boundaries of fire service providers. It's actually a contractual
arrangement where a number of the fire districts receive funding
from this MSTU to provide service to those homes and properties
that lie outside service boundaries of one of the independent fire
districts.
Goodland/Horr's Island Fire MSTU, we're levying .5614. It's
2.3 percent above the rolled back rate. That's for fire protection
provided by the City of Marco Island to the Goodland and Horr's
Island residents. That's provided via contract.
Radio Road beautification is a constant millage levy of .5 mills.
That's 9.6 percent above the rolled back rate. Those are for median
improvements within the boundaries of that MSTU.
Sabal Palm Roadway MSTU, there is no proposed tax levy.
Lely Golf Estates beautification is also a constant levy of two
mills. The principal expense in the budget for the upcoming year is
to improve the main entranceway on St. Andrews Boulevard.
Hawks Ridge Stormwater Pumping MSTU is eight percent
above the rolled back rate. It's a tax levy of .0309 mills. It amounts
to a $200 increase in the tax levy. This is for stormwater
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September 4, 2003
management within the Hawks Ridge subdivision.
Forest Lakes roadway and drainage MSTU levies a constant
three mills, as recommended by the advisory committee. They're
increasing their reserves for future improvements to implement a
master plan which is currently underway.
Immokalee beautification MSTU is also a constant millage levy
of one mil. That is 5.3 percent above the rolled back rate. Principal
projects include installation of sidewalks, as well as landscaping on
Roadway 846 South to the airport.
Bayshore/Avalon beautification MSTU, there's a two mil tax
levy that is proposed. It's 11.8 percent above the rolled back rate. The
principal expense to complete that project is bridge improvements on
Bayshore Drive. And they anticipate getting those underway and
completed in the upcoming fiscal year.
The Livingston Road Phase II MSTU is a proposed tax levy of
.1231 mills. There was no levy in fiscal year '03. That's the balance
due to repay the advance for the decorative street lighting that was
installed within that corridor.
Conservation Collier is a new tax levy of a quarter of a mil.
And that's to implement the voter approved referendum to acquire
environmentally sensitive land in Collier County.
Parks GOB debt service, there is no tax levy, as the debt was
retired in this current fiscal year.
Isle of Capri Municipal Rescue, there is no debt service levy
within the Isle of Capri district.
Collier County Lighting, the increase is 8.8 percent above the
.rolled back rates, principally for -- to pay for additional electricity
due to additional streetlights that were added in the last year.
Naples Production Park street lighting, there is no tax levy.
Again, this is a product of the fund consolidation effort.
The Naples --
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Excuse me. Who has the cell
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phone?
Thank you.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: The Naples Production Park MSTU was
also being consolidated into the Collier County lighting district, so
there will be no tax levy.
The Pelican Bay MSTBU is for street lighting and security due
to available fund balance. This will offset the millage required.
There's a decrease of 18.8 percent below the rolled back millage rate.
The total aggregate millage rate proposed is 4.7994 mills, which is
an increase of 16.25 percent above the rolled back rate.
Item #3B
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF CHANGES TO THE
TENTATIVE BI IDGET
With that, I'll move to Item I(B), which is review and discussion
of changes to the tentative budget.
There are two pages of changes. We typically make changes to
the capital budgets, based on whether or not projects are actually
under contract or not. So there have been some minor adjustments
made there. The total magnitude of the changes is an increase of
$15,035,500. And the largest component of that, the tax collector's
budget, is not submitted in accordance with statute until August 1 st,
2003. So that was not included in the tentative budget. And with his
estimated excess fee distribution, that was approximately $13.8
million, so that was the primary change that was made at this point,
since our budget workshops in June.
Item #3C
BI IDGET DISCI ISSION ITEMS
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September 4, 2003
That will move us to Item ! (C), budget discussion items. We
have two items specifically listed, and then if the board members had
any, at their discretion, obviously, we would at that point add any
items of the board's desire.
The airport authority would be first, followed by discussion on a
proposed change to the Livingston Road MSTU budget.
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, at the budget workshops, just to
remind you that you -- when you got to the airport authority, the
board did not at that time approve of the budget and wanted the
airport authority to come back with a five-year plan before you
would discuss this budget further. And I would ask Mr. Gene
Schmidt, the interim executive director, to come to the podium and
discuss any questions with you or answer any of those questions that
you'd have.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Do we have any speakers on the
airport authority's budget?
MS. FILSON: I don't have any that say airport authority, no,
sir.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Schmidt, thank you for being
here this evening.
MR. SCHMIDT: It's a pleasure. Gene Schmidt, for the record,
the executive director of the Collier County Airport Authority.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
members?
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
Any questions by the board
I have a comment.
Okay.
I just felt that this five-year plan
looked great. You really worked hard and you put a good plan
together. And it really unraveled a lot of questions that I had in my
mind at the last budget hearing. And so I just want to commend you
for great work. Thank you.
MR. SCHMIDT:' Thank you, Commissioner Fiala. And I'd be
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September 4, 2003
remiss if I didn't mention, with reference to your comments, that this
was done by a wonderful staff of ours, Mr. Bob Titus and our group
are here -- here to answer your questions that may have to do with
finance, and we're all here to help you in any way that we can.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Schmidt, I have a question.
You have a grant writer, correct?
MR. SCHMIDT: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: When was that person hired?
MR. SCHMIDT: I'm not sure of the date, but I will find out in
just a moment.
November of 2002.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: And how many grants were
received since November of 2002?
MR. SCHMIDT: Bob, I'll let you take over.
MR. TITUS: I'm Bob Titus, the Finance Director.
As far as the number of grants that were received that can be
directly attributed to the efforts of the grant writer, we would say
none.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Okay. Is there a reason why we
don't have any? I mean, we had most of the year since this person
has been on board.
MR. TITUS: Well, some of these grants that she's trying to get
are the nontraditional grants. As far as the traditional grants that we
get from the FAA and from the FDOT, those are grants that have
been coming in the house. But she's trying -- she's been working on
grants that are very, very difficult. It's an enormously competitive
environment out there. Things are in the hopper, but as far anything
coming into the door we haven't been successful thus far.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Is it prudent to have this position if
we're not receiving grants? Is it cost effective to have a personnel
that -- you know, I'm sure that person is doing a great job, but what
do we have to prove that, you know, we're getting your money's
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September 4, 2003
worth?
MR. SCHMIDT: Well, first of all, she's working very hard on
this. And as Bob has pointed out, many of our grants do come from
the FAA and the FDOT. However, we have also been using her on
quite a few occasions to help us with some of the administrative
work. So she's been very productive in that area when we can spare
her from her searches for grants.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Well, what is the other duties of
the grant writer?
MR. SCHMIDT: We don't have it spelled out as duties in the
sense that it's part of her position, but we do use her for backups for
some of our administrative work, and she does -- she's doing a great
job in that and she's very talented and we feel that we can use her in
other areas, and when she's not doing the grant writing, using her
expertise in that area.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Okay. I'm sure everybody,
including yourself, wants to be responsible for, you know, the tax
dollars of the people's money, and I don't see a cost benefit for this
position.
MR. SCHMIDT: Well, we can certainly take another look at
that. But at this stage of the game, we think that there is some
potential here for her to be able to generate some large funds for us,
and I would suggest to you that it would be a good idea to keep that
position on.
Yes, sir?
COMMISSIONER HALAS: You say you have some grants
that are presently being processed with the FAA. Do you -- can you
stipulate what grants that you are presently working on and what the
value of those grants are?
MR. SCHMIDT: Mr. Titus has one that we were working on
today. Go ahead, Bob.
MR. TITUS: Right now this is the first time that we're getting
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September 4, 2003
grants from the FAA. This is the first year. We entered their
entitlement program, and we're in the process of getting grants
totaling over $400,000 from the FAA. And each one of the grants
has to do with constructing taxiways at the three airports: A taxiway
at Everglades Airport, a taxiway at Immokalee Airport and a taxiway
at Marco Airport. And the grants are specifically for the design, the
environmental assessment and all of the preliminary work necessary
prior to the construction of the -- construction of the taxiways.
In the future we expect substantial (sic) more funds coming
from the FAA. The FAA is a very, very good program to get
involved in, because with the FAA they pay 90 percent of the
construction costs. And we get another five percent from the State
and five percent comes from the sponsor, so we're very, very happy
to be involved in this FAA program.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Why didn't -- haven't we in the
past taken advantage of the FAA? Do you have any answers to that?
And why we've just recently gotten involved in this program.
MR. TITUS: Because it's a new program. It's a new program
that was started by the federal government giving general aviation
airports entitlement money whereby they're entitled to it. It's a new
program.
MR. SCHMIDT: This is the first opportunity that we've had to
acquire FAA grants. We had to depend in the past mostly on FDOT.
But with the new position the FAA has taken, we've managed to,
through these efforts of our employees, to secure these -- one big
FAA grant now, and we're working on some additional grants.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Then how will this be cost
effective as far as return for the county? And how does this look in
the next projection? I look at what we're doing at the present time, it
looks like we're starting to turn the comer, but I want to get from you
what your synopsis through this whole deal is for the next couple of
years. Do you see that the burden that will be placed upon the
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September 4, 2003
county will start to decrease?
MR. SCHMIDT: Yes. As a matter of fact, as the -- as our
report will show you, it has already began to decrease considerably.
And we see a continuing decrease, provided that we're able to get
these grants and provided we have good stewardship, and that's what
we're aiming for right now.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: And what is your take on what the
chances are percentage-wise that we're going to obtain these grants?
Do we got better than 50 percent chance, 75 percent chance of
getting these grants?
MR. SCHMIDT: I'd say it's close to 100 percent, if we do it
properly.
MR. TITUS: I just wanted to point out, of course one of our
charges and one of our long-term goals is self-sufficiency, but one of
our major responsibilities is safety, making sure that we run a safe
airport. And many of these grants that are coming from the FAA will
enhance the safety of the airport. As you know, in Marco we do not
have a parallel taxiway, and that's a dangerous situation during
season when all of these planes coming back, back taxiing up the
runway. So even though some of these grants from the FAA will
some sort of way enhance the revenues, but the major thrust of the
FAA grants is the safety issues.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Commissioner Coletta?
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Are you through?
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Yes.
MR. SCHMIDT: By the way, the FAA grants are -- that any
airport is eligible for are only concerned with safety items. And
actually, airport operations with regard to the aircraft themselves,
you can't use FAA grants. We couldn't use FAA grants to do a
building, for example.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: How do we get that taken care of,
buildings?
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September 4, 2003
MR. SCHMIDT: The other grants? Well, that's why we have a
grant writer, I guess. But mostly we're going to try to do -- with
revenue raising that we intend to proceed with. We have plans, of
course, for hangar building and some of these other projects that we
have coming on in the future. And I expect that we will be able to
produce enough return on investment or revenue production in order
to continue to decrease this obligation that we have to the taxpayers
and to the county.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: So the obligation that the County
Commissioners -- if we decide to adopt this budget, are you saying
that some of these proceeds then will be used to construct hangars?
MR. SCHMIDT: I'm saying that we will be looking at hangar
projects very closely. I think there might be a bit of a misconception
here about building hangars. Sometimes people think of just going
out and putting up a building, something like a garage. In fact,
they've been described as a garage for airplanes. Actually, there's a
tremendous amount of work that goes ahead of the actual building of
the building. Environmental concerns are one of the big ones. We
may have a million dollars worth of environment costs before we can
put one spade in the ground to build the first hangar. So those are
things that we have to deal with.
And I want to assure you that we are working on hangars,
because they are a return on your investment. But on the other hand
there is a tremendous amount of money involved here in building a
hangar, and most people don't realize that.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNN1NG: Commissioner Coletta?
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Thank you. Couple of
questions, it if I may. Economic development. And I apologize too
if I haven't had a chance to digest the five-year plan completely yet; I
haven't had it that long and I didn't tear it apart.
Can you tell me how we're planning to handle economic
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September 4, 2003
development in the future, compared to how it's been handled in the
past? What's going to be different?
MR. SCHMIDT: Well, for example, we're beginning
discussions with the Everglades community with regard to a ramp
and a parking space. We're in discussions with the -- Immokalee and
your area regarding transfers. And I think you're familiar with that.
We talked about that at our meeting. And we have, Bob --
MR. TITUS: Right. One of the major strategic thrusts that
you'll se.e in the strategic plan as far as economic development is
concerned is that we're working very, very closely with the EDC.
We see in the long term the biggest revenue producer is going to be
the industrial park out in Immokalee and we're working with EDC to
see if it is possible to contract out the economic development aspect
of the industrial park. We realize that our expertise lies more in
running airports and not so much in economic development, so in
working with the EDC, possibly contracting out the economic
development of the industrial park, we think in the long term that's
going to bring us the closest to self sufficiency.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I have to admit that your report
seemed to be quite accurate in the way it was laid out. I appreciate
the fact that you projected five years ahead. Even though it didn't
show at a point in time you reached an even par with a budget as far
as the county's involvement goes, you were honest about it, and that
-- I give you credit for that. You know, sometimes it's the over
expectation of what a person can produce that gets them into trouble.
One question I do have: In order to be able to -- any
government entity or board such as yours to be able to exist, they
have to be able to work with other different entities out there,
communities, cities, whatever. I know in Immokalee there's been a
need for the airport park to be growing to be able to meet the needs
of the community. And the only place they have to go is on airport
property. And there's been quite a bit of talk over the last year or so
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September 4, 2003
about what kind of compensation or tradeoffs would take place
between the two entities, county government and the Airport
Authority, to be able to meet the needs for the people in Immokalee,
as far as a future park goes. Could you give me an update on that
and where we are with it?
MR. SCHMIDT: Yes. We're having meetings. As we speak
we're -- I mean, not at this moment, of course. But yes, we've had
two meetings and we're continuing with the meetings. We've had a
very productive exchange of ideas on how this is going to work to
the benefit of both of us, and we are continuing on that project. And
I thank you for mentioning it, because we're very enthused about it.
We think that we're going to be able to reach some agreements with
lakes, of course, and retention and some of these other areas that are
not necessarily roadblocks, but it's going to take some time to work it
out. But we're working -- we're working on it very hard, and I think
that we're making some progress.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: And I thank you for that.
With the Chairman's permission, I'd like to call Mr. Dunnuck up
to get an overview from him on the other side, how this is coming
together, because I don't know when we're going to have a chance to
have these kinds of discussions again.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Is it relevant to the airport's
budget?
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I think so. I think so.
MR. SCHMIDT: Before I leave, I'd like to thank you for those
kind comments.
With regard to the way that we produce this, we were trying to
be very conservative, we were trying to be as honest as we possibly
could. And we always -- our theory through this was is that if it was
going to be a lot easier to come back and show you at our next
go-around that we've been able to reduce the cost rather than asking
you for more money. And that's been the philosophy that we've
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September 4, 2003
worked on when we produced this budget for you.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: If I may answer Commissioner
Henning, I do believe it's relevant. Because whatever takes place
from the Airport Authority's budget in relation to this would have a
direct impact on it. And with your permission, I'd like to --
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Well, we've got the parks budget
here. We could talk about the parks budget.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Well, I'm not going to have an
opportunity to talk to both of them at the same time. That's the
problem. Your call, Chairman Henning.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: I don't see where it's relevant, so --
we do have a public speaker on the airports or who wants to talk on
the airports' budget. I think we need to hear from the public.
MR. SCHMIDT: I'll stand by to answer your questions.
MS. FILSON: Your speaker is Fred Thomas.
MR. THOMAS: Good evening, Commissioners. Fred Thomas,
for the record. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to talk to
you tonight.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Thomas, I don't believe your
mic is on. And if you want to just step to your right. It's on.
MR. THOMAS: Okay? I'll speak a little louder then.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: There you go.
MR. THOMAS: I'll resonate a little bit, if I could.
We are all in this room concerned about protecting the ambiance
of Collier County. And I don't want you to forget something that
happened several years ago when a study was done to show the
economic benefit of various types of ad valorem taxes. For every
dollar that study showed of ad valorem taxes you all collect on
residential, there's a dollar and a quarter of need generated for that
residential. For every dollar of industrial taxes, there's only 77 cents
draw. And for every dollar of agricultural, there's only a 37 cent
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September 4, 2003
draw. So that means that in order for a community to be vital, it has
to have a strong economic base to help support the dollars that are
coming in for residential because of the draw on services for the
residential.
Because of the dichotomy of Collier County and the benefit that
you have of 47 miles away from here having a community that is not
typical of the coastal Florida environment but more typical of central
Florida, that we could do industrial development in that area.
There is a program that we're taking part of that's only about a
dozen communities in the United States of America taking part and
that's the federal enterprise zone -- empowerment zone, rather. And
that zone was designated to allow communities like ours to be --
come in power to carry a greater share of the ad valorem tax base and
become a real economic part of your community. This airport-- that
airport is a real jewel in that light.
The new Florida trade port that we're developing at the airport is
a real jewel in that port. And we're going to be able to compete very
favorably with Miami to bring a lot of that air traffic here that won't
affect the ambience of coastal Collier County. You understand?
That won't bother the roads of coastal Collier County, but will bring
dollars into the county that could be generated to help maintain the
ambience of the county.
This and the other economic development programs that you're
going to be hearing about later in the Immokalee empowerment zone
area are all designed to just do that one thing. And you don't have to
worry about any future attacks, because it's in the federal
empowerment zone, and all across this county special things are
happening in those zones to help those zones carry their fair share of
the weight in the community. So anything you do to help these guys
do their job -- and you've got a new team here, and they seem to be
very sharp in what they're doing and some of the things they
presented to us out in our community. Thank you very much.
Page 19
September 4, 2003
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I want to see you put that back
together.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: It better still work, Fred, or
we're going to charge you.
MR. SCHMIDT: Mr. Chairman, if I may, we -- it's really been
a pleasure working with the various communities. And there's just
one point that I would like to make here which I feel is very
important for us all to be aware of.
We can't do much at each one of our airports without
community support. The FAA and others have told us -- I'm back to
grants again -- have told us that unless you can show us that you have
community support and community backing, we will not look very
kindly on your request for money. And so we have worked very hard
trying to give support to the community and let them know that we
want to work with them, as we are in Everglades and also at our other
two airports.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
Any further questions?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Just another comment. I think, you
know, you've touched on a very important subject and that is I think
maybe the communication lines haven't been as strong as they should
be. And I would love to see -- like Jim Coletta has -- Commissioner
Coletta has two airports right underneath the Airport Authority. And
he doesn't know I'm going to say this, but I'd love to see him as like a
liaison to our board so there is some communication going. And I
bet you dollars to donuts, if he were invited to your meetings, he
would attend. And that way, maybe we could get that -- as the FAA
is looking for community involvement, I bet they would see that
happening.
Also, I think with the grant writer, you know, grants don't just
come by real quickly, but all of the grants that you've just been
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September 4, 2003
talking about, somebody's got to be working on them. And one grant
worth a million bucks would pay for her salary for a long time, plus
all of the other grants that she's working on and filling out
applications just to revive every year. So I just feel you're going in
the right direction, really.
MR. SCHMIDT: Well, thank you. And I know that we're
trying our best. And if Commissioner Coletta wants to be our
liaison, I can tell you we would appreciate that. It'd just be great.
We'd love to have you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Let me just say, during the
strategic planning, the Board of Commissioners unanimously voted
to send Commissioner Coyle, Fred Coyle, to handle the issues of the
airport. So I think we're kind of backtracking what we already
decided six months ago.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: We decided, but he's been unable
to attend the meetings, and maybe he can still be our liaison, but I'd
love to see Commissioner Coletta or one of the board members,
Commissioner Coletta, attending the meetings so we get the
information back.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: And if you want to bring this up in
a regular board meeting, I think that would be appropriate.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I'll do it.
Jim, would you put that on the agenda?
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: And meanwhile, I'd like to say
what is there about Donna Fiala not to love? And I'd also like to
volunteer her -- in my absence, she will cover every meeting.
MR. SCHMIDT: We would welcome whoever happens to be
your choice.
And Commissioner Coletta, thank you for those kind remarks,
and also thank you for your patience with us. We work very hard,
our staff-- I was about to say my staff. But our staff has just done a
marvelous job, very hard work in order to present this program to
Page 21
September 4, 2003
you that we just presented, the five-year plan, or whatever, and our
budget. And we're going to be doing our very best to keep the ball
rolling.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Schmidt, on your five-year
plan, I just received it less than two hours ago, so I think it's prudent
that we talk about this at a regular board meeting.
MR. SCHMIDT: Sure. You bet. That's fine. We're--
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Just for the budget.
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, what Commissioner Coyle and
myself owe this Board of County Commissioners is to come back
with a list of recommendations and alternatives for the airport usage,
all three, in Collier County. And it ranges from mergers to changing
the way we might deal with one airport, to adding recreational
facilities to another. We owe all those things to you, to at least report
back to the board on what we found and the research we've done this
summer talking to different port authorities and different airport
authorities on maybe avenues to be more efficient in the future in the
operation of our airports.
But the first thing -- one of the first things we needed was the
five-year business plan from our own Airport Authority, and we
received that officially yesterday.
MR. SCHMIDT: And we're standing by to assist in any way
that we can. And I personally will take responsibility in supporting
his remarks and his efforts in that, and along that same line.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you, Mr. Schmidt.
MR. SCHMIDT: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Jim Mudd, County Manager, we
got a grant writer, correct?
MR. MUDD: Yes, sir, Marlene Forayed..
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Do we have room to assist the
airport authority?
MR. MUDD: I will find out. She's doing a lot and coordinating
Page 22
September 4, 2003
a lot within our own organization, but I'll ask her so see what --
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: I just have a real problem with
having a position that hasn't been productive. And I would rather
help assist the airport in their grants instead of funding a position as a
grant writer.
And I understand the FAA grant but, you know, we don't have
an FAA grant. I don't know how the other board members feel.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I don't agree, because I believe that
you've got to start -- and true, they've been very up-front and honest,
I really appreciate that. Also, they've told us what grants they are
applying for and what grants are on the horizon as far as a runway for
Marco Island, for instance, a taxiway for Marco Island. There are a
lot of things that, as far as Immokalee goes, they want to change this
Immokalee Airport to be productive, but they've got to find grants in
order to do that. So I believe that we should allow this position to
continue, and then next year, if we find it hasn't paid for itself and is
unproductive, then eliminate it.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: I have to go along with that also,
because when you start to look at grants, it entails an awful lot in
regards to knowing whether you qualify in that particular area and all
the research that's done in it. And I think there's an awful lot of
research that goes into applying for a grant prior to setting up the
grant and sending it off to see if you're going to get approval. So I
agree with Commissioner Fiala on that.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I appreciate Chairman
Henning's oversight in bringing the subject up. And it was a good
exercise. I agree also with Commissioner Fiala in the fact that we
give it some time to see how it goes forward.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: All right. Well, we still have till
September 18th to discuss that. Next item.
MR. MUDD: The next item, Commissioner, is to talk about the
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September 4, 2003
Livingston Road MSTU analysis.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Commissioners, you'll recall, you had
adopted an ordinance on March 25th to remove Grey Oaks from the
Livingston Road MSTU. But on July 29th, the millage rates were
adopted and mid-August the trim notices were sent out to all property
owners prior to our receipt of the check for Grey Oaks' relative share
of the outstanding expenses for the decorative street lighting that had
been installed.
In the interim, we have mailed letters to Grey Oaks property
owners. Abe Skinner, the property appraiser, has graciously agreed
to remove Grey Oaks from the Livingston Road MSTU boundaries in
the intermittent period between now and when he certifies the final
taxable value, following completion of the value adjustment board
hearings.
The millage that we proposed was. 1231 mills. It's identified in
that first column. It shows the FY '04 taxable value for the
Livingston Road MSTU. Unfortunately that was still inclusive of the
Grey Oaks properties. We need $128,000 from Kensington,
Windemere, and there's an undeveloped PUD at this point. And that
millage was set to recoup that $128,000.
As the Grey Oaks developer had committed on the public record
in a board workshop and had put money in escrow, we were fairly
confident we would receive that money. Therefore, the millage did
not -- or the tax levy that was required did not include the piece that
was due from Grey Oaks.
What it amounts to, the estimated revision, the final column, the
property appraiser has given us an estimate of the Grey Oaks value
and what the revised FY '04 taxable value will be. It's just shy of a
half a billion dollars. Grey Oaks represents over 50 percent of the
taxable value within that MSTU.
The state law will allow us, if an MSTU value changes from
initial certification to the final certification by plus or minus three
Page 24
September 4, 2003
percent, you can administratively adjust the millage. And the
visualizer example shows the'.2592 mills that we would
administratively adjust the millage to recoup in full the $128,000
from those three remaining areas within that MSTU. This would
allow us to then immediately proceed next year to collapse this
MSTU. And obviously we feel that's a better option than leaving the
MSTU and having to levy a small millage in FY '05 to recoup the
remaining $60,000. That would be our other option. And obviously
there's -- since this MSTU was created, there's been a whole host of
concerns noted. Grey Oaks obviously has already been removed or
is in the process of being removed from that MSTU. The pledge at
the board meeting was for the residual properties in the MSTU was,
once the amount due the county was paid in full, we would
immediately proceed to collapse that MSTU. And the staff
recommendation is to adjust that millage in '04, which will recoup in
full the money that the board had advanced to that MSTU and will
allow us to proceed with collapsing that MSTU mid year in FY '04.
We just want that on the public record, as that is our intention.
The millage you will adopt will still be the. 1231. We will have
that latitude to administratively change millages, based on the final
certifications of taxable value from the property appraiser. And this
is an option that is available annually to the county any time an
MSTU changes or, in the case of a general fund, if the general fund
changed by plus or minus one percent, you are allowed to
administratively adjust the millage to recoup or generate the same
amount of tax revenue as you had initially proposed when you
adopted the proposed tax rates in July.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Any questions on the Livingston
Road MSTU?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Do we have any public speakers?
MS. FILSON: Mr. Chairman, I have nine public speakers, but
Page 25
September 4, 2003
they've indicated they want to speak on the landscaping.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Oh, the general Collier County
landscaping.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: That will move us to -- if there are any
board items that they wanted to add to the discussion items. And if
not, we could immediately proceed to public comments.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Any other additions by the board
members for tonight's budget? (No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Is there any public speakers on the
general budget tonight, Sue? I think that's where the landscaping
people -
Item #3D
PI ~BI,IC COMMF, NTS AND QI ~F, STIONS
MR. MUDD: We go to item No. 1 (D), Mr. Chairman, which
would be public comments and questions.
MS. FILSON: Yes, and I have a total of 36 speakers.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: A total on 36 speakers on this item,
on the general?
MS. FILSON: On discussion items.
CHAIRMAN HENNN1NG: Okay. I know there's an economic
piece.
MS. FILSON: Yeah, the EDC I have -- well, the total speakers
I have are 36. EDC I have 20.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: To expedite everybody's time, I
think it's prudent that we try to limit -- we want to hear from
everybody, naturally, but if you find that you're repeating what the
person or persons said prior to you, then you can also waive. But I
must limit the speaker's time to three minutes. So please call up the
Page 26
September 4, 2003
first speaker.
MS. FILSON: The first speaker is Mary Fausnight. She will be
followed by Bill Confoy.
MS. FAUSNIGHT: Good evening, Commissioners. For the
record, I'm Mary Jo Fausnight. I'm here representing Windemere.
Primarily we have a lot of residents who are not in Naples at this
time, and we're very sad that they couldn't attend this evening.
I primarily wanted to reiterate that several months ago we
attended a board meeting where the Commissioners were going to
decide not to do the landscaping on Livingston Road between Golden
Gate Parkway and Pine Ridge Road. The primary reason being that
there were no funds available.
At this time, I would like to remind the board that at the time
they were talking about well, maybe in 2004 we could find some
money. And all anyone has to do to drive up Livingston Road is to
notice that the landscaping along the Windemere property versus the
rest of the road and the median and, you know, just the turf and the
times the grass grows quite tall, to understand the importance of the
difference between an enhanced roadway and an unenhanced
roadway.
And I would like to remind the Commissioners that Windemere
residents spent approximately $900,000 to try to make the
improvements that were necessary to accommodate the road, to put
back landscaping that we had there originally. The road was six
lanes, of course, and we had to move our gatehouse back. We had to
do a lot of work. And of that, I'm-- approximately $75,000 of that
was just landscaping outside of our wall.
So I just want the Commissioners to try to remember, this is a
very important corridor, a lot of people will be driving that road,
especially after 1-75 is completed. And we would appreciate your
concerns to landscape.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
Page 27
September 4, 2003
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Bill Confoy. He will be
followed by Martin Duncan.
MR. CONFOY: I'm Bill Confoy. I'm also with Windemere,
and I guess there are at least 20 people here from the communities
bordering on Livingston Road. And it is our unanimous consent that
we all support the Collier County landscape beautification plan
crafted by the county and unanimously approved by the board to its
full extent. Of these 20, we've asked many of them not to speak in
order to move this along.
As you know, all new major roadways built from henceforth
will now be funded under the road building process. And this is the
way we feel it should be. However, a number of major roadways
were built before this plan came forward. They include sections of
Pine Ridge Road, Rattlesnake Hammock, sections of Airport Road,
to name a few, and of particular importance to our residents of
Windemere is Livingston Road.
All sections of this major arterial road will be landscaped as the
road expands northward. But the southern section, which was built
before this plan came forth, must be on an equal footing.
You have heard our members have had to financially contribute
as a result of this roadway being built, from Mary Jo, and we would
like to ask the board, who has already approved, by the way, $1.1
million of the 2.7 million needed, we wish to ask the board to
appropriate the additional $800,000 that has been found to be
available by County Manager Mudd for landscaping those roads
which were left behind in the rush to add new roadways. It will be --
put a uniform look to anybody entering into this county, and it will
also add to the safety of anybody that is driving a major road, such as
Livingston Road. We thank you for your support. CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON:. The next speaker is Martin Duncan.
MR. DUNCAN: I'll waive, because I really don't have anything
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September 4, 2003
else to add.
MS. FILSON: Thank you.
He'll be followed by Andy Kelley.
MR. KELLEY: I'll waive as well.
MS. FILSON: Dex Groose. I know I pronounced that wrong.
He will be followed by Karen Confoy.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Manager, do we have found
money, 800,000?
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, if you take a look at the
unfinanced requirement sheets and updates from the workshops that
we sent down to your offices, you'll find that available balances in
the general fund of $1,230,000. And you allocated at the workshop
4.2 million. And in the 111 account, which is the unincorporated
general fund account, you have an available fund balance in that
UFR list of $312 -- excuse me, $312,100.
The -- I talked to the road department. I've also talked with Mr.
Smykowski to talk about a nexus, and we believe that up to $500,000
of landscaping could be funded from the general fund because of the
xeriscape plan that was done years ago for arterial roads as a
one-time cost to put the landscaping in. If you add that $500,000
from the general fund with the $300,000 that's left over in 111, that's
where that $800,000 comes from, sir.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Groose?
MR. GROOSE: Chairman Henning, fellow Commissioners,
County Manager. I'm active in my community: The republican
executive committee, the school board, the productivity committee.
And a lot of people that I've been talking to and hearing from are
really excited about the plan you adopted last April to landscape our
major arterial roadways. Now the County Manager has indicated
that we may have an opportunity to expedite the catchup plan for
landscaping those roadways that were recently completed within the
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September 4, 2003
last three years, but without landscaping.
Landscaped medians are a linear park. They are beautiful traffic
calming devices that will soon help us cope with the onrush of the
seasonal traffic from 41 East to Immokalee Road.
I urge your support to use some of this $800,000 to catch up on
restoring the ambiance of Naples. Thank you. CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Karen Confoy. She will be
followed by Kathleen Adams.
MS. CONFOY: I will waive.
MS. FILSON: Okay, Kathleen Adams. She will be followed by
Shannon Clark.
MS. ADAMS: I live in Village Walk and I'm the vice president
of our homeowners association. While we have several people here,
we're going to limit how many of us do speak.
We too have people come before our budget committee, and
now I know how they feel. I'm here to talk about the necessities. We
tell our people to differentiate between niceties and necessities.
Well, we feel that the Livingston Road project landscaping is a
necessity. This is our western boundary, an area slightly less than
half a mile of property exposed to Livingston Road, but it is badly
exposed as the road is five feet higher in some places than our
internal roads.
We have two triangular areas that we have planted this year
with 220 red cedars and, in a much narrower space, with 240
awabuki, at an expense to us of over $33,000. We need that exposed
area of half a mile, which includes roughly 1,000 feet that is narrow
and even more exposed to be allocated sufficient budget money or
what I think of as your fair share to properly landscape and give us
back our privacy and shield our homeowners from the traffic in their
sight line.
Our concern is not with sound but with the lack of sight studies,
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September 4, 2003
the lack of foresight to shield our community or any community from
looking up at cars and trucks whizzing past their homes.
Did we know that a road would be built prior to the developer
breaking ground in 1995 on our homes? Yes. Did we know it would
be a six-lane road? No, did you? We had expected a two-lane or
four-lane road. That wouldn't have had the same impact and
subsequent visual disturbance. Nor did we ever expect this road to
be five feet higher in some places than our internal roads. Planting
any type of deciduous tree will be of no value. Even live oaks drop
their leaves in February to March. However, planting trees alone
would provide only tree trunks through which one would observe the
moving traffic. We need evergreen trees and shrubbery that will
grow closely together and will fill in and shield our property and
keep up our property values, which in turn will keep up the real
estate tax value and give the county revenue for other county
projects.
I believe the majority of people didn't vote for the half cent sales
tax because they thought they could limit the width of the roads to
two lanes or four lanes. Of course that didn't occur, and they are
faced with new six-lane roads and the expansion of many existing
roads to six lanes. They never dreamed that their vote would result
in the drastic cutback of landscaping. Landscaping that we've come
to feel helps define what makes Naples, Naples our semi-tropical
paradise.
We hope that you'll find the money in the budget to properly
landscape all new road projects. But especially, and selfishly, we
hope there will be sufficient money in the budget to shield our
western boundary and give us our very necessary sight relief. Thank
you very much.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Shannon Clark. She will be
followed by Ken Silver.
MS. CLARK: Good evening. I'm Shannon Clark, and I'm the
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September 4, 2003
chairman of the landscape committee at Village Walk, and thank you
for letting us speak.
Ours has been -- I wish to speak and add a few comments to
Kathleen's without duplicating. Ours has been a very quiet
neighborhood of mainly single-family homes, horse farms, riding
stables and really a non-commercial environment which has now
been invaded by raised six-lane concrete arterial highways.
Please understand the impact this road expansion has had on our
neighborhood and consider the need for mitigating landscaping in
your budget.
Points to be considered: The impact of Livingston Road on
Village Walk. On our south border, there had been a lazy canal with
vegetation and a berm between Village Walk and the farms and horse
farms on the other side of it. Collier County held an easement from
Village Walk on this land and has removed the canal, vegetation,
berm and protection to install a 72-inch drainage pipe from the
Livingston Road to 1-75 canal, the whole southern border of our
community, inflicting heavy machinery and all it entails on our
residents and neighbors.
The transportation department has, for our security, said it
would place a fence and locked gate at its access to the pipe at
Livingston Road and had said there would be no road, just access.
Later we were advised that there will be a crushed stone road here
and no vegetation or landscaping.
On our west side there had been a tall stand of old growth
Florida trees, oaks, cypress, holly, slash pine, coccoloba, protecting
and surrounding a pond and understory shrubbery, filled with
wildlife, otters, fox and other protected species in Florida, turtles.
We thought it would remain as a protective buffer between us and
Livingston Road, or at least in part.
When Norm Feder, Greg Strakaluse and Connie Dean were kind
enough to come visit the site, we learned that not only would all
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September 4, 2003
vegetation and the pond be removed and not even one tree left
standing, we would at best have a two- to four-foot berm with no
vegetation and a roadway seven feet higher and six lanes wide,
making it close to the highest point between 1-75 and the Gulf of
Mexico. And now, studded with towering mercury lights to glare
into our homes in case the glare from headlights were not enough
light pollution.
This is what people were saying when they voted against the
transportation sales tax and overwhelmingly for the Conservation
2002.
Is that my three minutes?
MS. FILSON: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Wrap it up, ma'am.
MS. CLARK: Anyway, we have two other sites that have also
been totally exposed on Vanderbilt Beach Road, which is going to
also be a six-lane highway and the 10-lane highway of 1-75. We are
totally surrounded and we hope we will have some mitigation in
landscaping, and consider us. Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Your final speaker for landscaping is Ken Silver.
MS. SILVER: I'd like to waive. I think the two speakers who
have just gone before me said it all, and I just hope this will work out
all right for our communities.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
County Manager, $800,000, we're -- you know, if we
appropriate this money for landscaping, where will it go?
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, the -- the plan that I received
from Ms. Flagg, the $500,000 from the general fund would go on
Pine Ridge Road east, and that would go from Airport Road to just
east of I-75.
And the $300,000 would be added to the 1.1 that's already at the
workshop been put against the landscape maintenance.
And Commissioner, I can't discern exactly where that $300,000
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September 4, 2003
is going to go against one's project, but let me help -- yeah, if you
would, please.
And it would -- the projects that are listed are Pine Ridge Road
east for $83,000, $233,000 for Radio Road, $487,482 against
Rattlesnake Hammock, U.S. 41 to County Barn, and $595,318 on
Livingston Road, up from Radio approximately three miles.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Okay. Thank you.
If you don't mind, I'd like to ask, is there anybody here against
funding -- this funding for landscaping in Collier County, can you
raise your hand, please?
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
to ask.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
I just got one question that I'd like
Okay. I guess I got my answer.
Okay. Is this the most important
project that we have on our list of projects that's got to be addressed?
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Depends on who you ask.
MR. MUDD: Mr. Chairman, I would ask the board if they
would wait until the last budget hearing to make decisions on if
there's dollars that are there in the general fund or the unincorporated
general fund to allocate, because you still have speakers that you
need to hear tonight, and not to make those decisions until you hear
everybody, and then on the 18th when we come back again we'll
bring all those things and put them down on a piece of paper so you
get to see them all and any requirements that are there.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: I understand that, but there's a lot
of people here tonight wanting to speak and wanting the Board of
Commissioners to take action. So whether we do it -- the
landscaping piece after all the public speakers, that's fine with me,
but I think we owe it to these people out here of where the Board of
Commissioners are going to go.
Anybody else?
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September 4, 2003
MS. FILSON:
speakers.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
we're here for.
MS. FILSON: Arthur Lee.
Not for landscaping, but I have plenty more
Well, that's great. That's what
He will be followed by Bob Stone.
MR. LEE: For the record, my name is Arthur Lee. I'm a
resident of this area, going on 30 years. For most of those 30 years
I've been--
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Sir, would you step to the right, to
this other mic over here? Thank you.
MR. LEE: Can we restart the clock?
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Yes.
MS. FILSON: I did that.
MR. LEE: For the record, my name is Arthur Lee and I've been
a resident of the Naples area for going on 30 years. Most of that time
I've been working with the county museum. I'm an archeologist by
hobby and have worked with them on that aspect. I've been a
member of the board of directors of the Friends of the Museum, the
support organization, most of the time.
And it had been my hope in looking over the schedule for
tonight's meeting that I would find some little comment there about
putting on a little bit more money for the museum.
The -- you've got -- the museum has an excellent collection of
material. It has a good means of presenting it. You have a
dedicated, imaginative, hard-working staff. And everybody,
volunteers, the paid crew, the whole shebang, is simply stretched to
the point that -- it's my personal concern that there might be a fall-off
in the quality of work that they've been doing, which has been
absolutely outstanding.
So if-- in your considerations later on, I'd appreciate very much
your keeping this in mind, that here is a place that's simply crying for
help. You've got earnest, hard-working, imaginative people, and
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September 4, 2003
they need a few more dollars to enable them to carry out some things
that have been too long in the plan. Thank you much. CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Your next speaker is Bob Stone. He will be
followed by Jerry Rutherford.
MR. STONE: Good evening, Commissioners. For the record,
my name is Bob Stone.
Commissioners, too much emphasis is being placed on finding
alternate sources of revenue and not enough on spending and living
within the current revenue stream. Our county has had a
tax-and-spend, grow-the-county mentality for way too long. The
county budget has grown from $550 million in fiscal 2000 to $977
million in fiscal 2003, for a 78 percent increase, $477 million, while
the county population has only grown by less than 15 percent.
Normal increases should be no more than seven percent per year for
a total increase of some 21 percent.
Other counties comparable to Collier have a budget of two to
$300 million less than Collier County. Our budget should be reduced
to a comparable level. It does no good to reduce this budget 20 to
$30 million while there still exists at the same time a wants program
within the county of $130 million, as has been stated. This will still
increase the budget to over a billion dollars.
The county budget must be reviewed in terms of drastically
reducing or eliminating programs of limited benefit to citizens.
Discretionary spending must be curtailed and frozen. Duplication
and excessive program needs must be eliminated. The government
body and top level salaries should be reduced by some 20 percent.
The wants programs of former years must be eliminated and only
needs programs considered.
There must be a constituency built for limiting government and
lowering the citizens' tax burden. A realistic budget cap must be
imposed on expenditures. Professionals within Florida Tax Watch
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September 4, 2003
can assist and are now working with many Florida counties to help
them reduce spending and live within their current revenue streams.
I would recommend seeking their advice and assistance.
In the matter of franchise fees, the County Manager is
recommending that another tax in the form of an electric utility
franchise fee be imposed upon citizens in unincorporated areas of the
county to increase the revenue stream.
Commissioners, we do not need additional taxes, we need a
reduction in taxes.
In correspondence with both the County Manager and the
County Attorney, their authority for this was cited as the outcome of
a second judicial district court case --
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Stone, I'm going to have to ask
you to wrap up, please.
MR. STONE: -- in 1994 between Gulf Power. I have the results
of these. In May, 2000, Leon County ruled this was an
unconstitutional tax.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Mr. Stone, we're going to be
talking about franchise fees September 30th, unless the board decides
in a public meeting that they don't want to move forward with that.
And you're more than welcome to talk about that. Tonight is about
the budget.
MR. STONE: Okay. Thank you, Commissioner.
MS. FILSON: Your next speaker is Jerry Rutherford. He will
be followed by Linda Schineller.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: If anybody would like to speak
about franchise fees, please, you know, come to the Board of
Commissioners workshop on September 30th, and we welcome your
input.
Mr. Rutherford.
MR. RUTHERFORD: Hi, Tom. I'm Jerry Rutherford. I have
to plead ignorance on taxes, but when I saw this, I said I've got to
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September 4, 2003
start learning about this. I read the first column and it gives all the
figures. Down at the bottom part says property taxes total 328.65 for
the last year. This proposed column says 1,159.85. Now, maybe I'm
ignorant of these things, but that's about a 400 percent increase. Am
I off base on that? I don't understand it.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Maybe we could put that on the
visualizer? I don't know what you're looking at.
MR. RUTHERFORD: Okay. I called the tax office and I said,
explain this to me or tell me why you've appraised my property this
extent. There's been nothing done to the property since '63 when it
was built. We just recently put a roof on it. Now, the houses around
us, I understand, are worth more than the one that we're in, but
they've appraised it pretty close to what the values are in that area.
And so he's supposed to come out and look at it and look at the
houses in those areas.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: That is Mr. Skinner's duties.
MR. RUTHERFORD: His name is Dick -- I forget the last
name, but he's supposed to check it out. Abe Skinner's office, the
man there.
But all I'm saying is if those figures are correct, I either don't
understand them or it looks like a 400 percent increase.
MR. MUDD: No, I'd ask you to take a look at the Save Our
Homes exempt value. In 2002, it was $52,000, according to your --
the thing that's on the overhead. And it's zero in 2003 for some
reason.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Did you just purchase this
property?
MR. RUTHERFORD: No, it was turned over to us. My
father-in-law had passed away, my wife received the property.
MR. MUDD: Okay. And the Save Our Homes doesn't kick in.
They had to redo their Homestead exemption. Homestead exemption
is the first year. The second year is when Save Our Homes kicks in.
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September 4, 2003
And therefore, they're not under Save Our Homes, and they now
have the market value assessed against their house versus what their
relative had had in the future.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: My wife and I got caught up in that
this year, too. I'll trade you, how's that?
MR. RUTHERFORD: All I'm saying is, God himself doesn't
ask but 10 percent. But that sounds kind of ridiculous.
My question was then, the value they placed on it -- I won't
even use the amount -- but the amount they placed on it, anybody
want to buy it at that price?
CHAIRMAN HENNN1NG: And they came out and reassessed
my property.
MR. RUTHERFORD: No, he's coming out. He's supposed to
come out. And so I said, I think you need to look at it, because we
plan to do some improvements. Then I can understand it, but the
way it is now, I don't. Thank you for your time.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: If I can assist you, please call the
office.
MR. RUTHERFORD: Okay, Tom. Thanks.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Linda Schineller. She will
be followed by Neil Gibson.
MS. SCHINELLER: Hello, Commissioners. I'm Linda
Schineller, just a private citizen, don't understand too much about all
of this, but I did want to say my little bit about the taxes.
I can agree with Mr. Bob Stone that spoke, that we need to be
cinching our belts. The economy is suffering, choking and gasping
right now, and thus we the people are suffering, choking and gasping
right now. I think this is a totally inappropriate time for any real
estate tax increases and rather should be a time for sharpening of
pencils.
I'm strongly opposed to any real estate tax increases, no matter
how they are couched or presented. Especially the double whammy
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September 4, 2003
of increasing the market values of homes and then the millage rate to
boot. So it's like a double whammy. In my opinion it's just totally
inappropriate.
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, your millage rates aren't going up.
And, oh, by the way, if the Save Our Homes was .25, which is a
referendum item that was added, the school board's is reduced by .3
and some odd, so there's really a reduction in the millage rate for
Collier County this year.
MS. SCHINELLER: Well, then the budget-- I guess I'm
reading some things wrong. But it's just -- I think, like Bob Stone
says, it's a time for cinching in and sharpening pencils, not for
making these layers and bureaucracies in our government. We really
need to pay attention.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: County -- could the County --
County Manager, could you give us a breakdown ofjust where all
the funding is allocated for on the projects so people got an
understanding here that we're being very judicious in trying to make
sure that we do not overexpend on this (sic) things? And I think we
need to clarify where all this money is going so that you understand
that we have a billion dollar budget, almost to that point, and so
you've got a clarification of what -- where all this money is going, in
different areas of the county.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I think people think it all goes to
the county and they don't realize how much goes to the school
system --
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Infrastructure.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: It's nothing to do with the --
MS. SCHINELLER: No, I understand that there's many
components. But I think the economy is so bad right now, and I
think it's so inappropriate for any increases. Like we really have to
learn where we can be trimming.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: It's not increased. In fact, we've
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September 4, 2003
got a budget -- MS. SCHINELLER:
increases somewhere.
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
estate market --
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
We're paying more taxes. There's some
Well, that has to do with the real
Value.
-- value in this county.
And if you're under Save Our
Homes, your real estate value didn't -- even though your real estate
value climbed, your taxes did not climb very much at all.
MS. SCHINELLER: Oh no, they have. I have my proposed.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Only three percent, yeah.
MS. SCHINELLER: Not on mine.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Well, then you must not own your
homes under Save Our Homes, right? I mean, are you homesteaded
here?
MS. SCHINELLER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Maybe Commissioner Fiala can
assist you later on.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Another time. Sorry.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Her phone number is 774 --
MS. SCH1NELLER: I'm glad you're on the board, Donna Fiala,
I am. You speak for the people more. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I'm glad you're on the board,
too, Donna Fiala.
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, what I --
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Yeah, County Manager Jim Mudd,
could you--
MR. MUDD: First thing that I was -- first thing I was talking
about was the fact that you have Conservation Collier and then you
have the school board decrease in taxes to go back, and the net effect
is the smallage (sic) millage rate on the taxpayers of Collier County.
Page 41
September 4, 2003
I had Mr. Smykowski today -- these are the numbers for the
budget since '98. And -- it's okay, you can stay here with me. The
ops budget is in--
MR. GIBSON: You don't scare me. And nobody up there does
either. Go ahead.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: We'll be with you in just a minute,
sir.
MR. MUDD: The blue is the ops budgets and the red is the
capital budget. And I tried to lay those out for you. Now, they're
minus -- the transfers are still in there so it's a little bit higher because
of transfer dollars. Because if you add the two columns up you'll see
that it's more than the net budget for this year in '04. But it gives you
a representative view of where the increases have really been
occurring.
Your ops budgets have been going up I'd say about 30 million a
year, and that's the blue, and you can see the slope on that. And then
you can take a look at your capital budgets, and starting in '02 --
excuse me, in '00 it started to increase. And from that '99 through
'03, you'll see it's almost tripled. And that has everything to do with
the road program and the kick-in in the water sewer plant, and that's
basically making sure that we have real time concurrency in that
process. And it has a lot to do with the voter referendum on the sales
tax. And they basically said go out there, borrow against the sales
tax and the gas tax in order to get those $260 million, or thereabout,
in order to get that road program energized. That's what you're
seeing on this chart.
Now, when we compare ourselves -- when we compare
ourselves -- I had staff compare us a little bit, because I wanted to
know how we were benchmarking. I had them start working on this
about four months ago to take a look at how we compare with
Collier, Lee and Sarasota Counties. And you'll see on this particular
chart that we fare pretty well. We have a smaller staff, and we
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September 4, 2003
basically cost less per staff person.
Now, when -- I'm using the operational budget of the county
manager's piece, okay, which is about $300 million for us, in
comparing it against the budgets in each one of Sarasota and Lee
County for the county manager piece and their operations with the
number of employees they have, so I'm getting it against cost per
employee. And we are anywhere from 60 to $80,000 cheaper per
employee than either one of those counties. And I will tell you, this
is '03, because they're still working on their '04 budgets.
But because of your budget guidance and the strict guidelines
you gave us to hold the costs down as far as new employees are
concerned and put a cap on those, and at the same time gave us some
cost of living and CPI guidance to stay within that, I think we'll fare
quite well and even do better against those other counties next year
when their '04 budgets are done. And as soon as they're done, I'll
have Mr. Smykowski analyze those numbers and get that back to
you.
What I'm trying to do is benchmark how well we're doing or
how well we're not doing in comparison with our other counties that
are surrounding us.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Is this per population?
MR. MUDD: This is dollars in the budget against employee,
okay, and it's a way to measure the effectiveness or the cost of that
service.
Now, you've got water, you've got sewer, you've got roads,
transportation, parks, rec, library, all of that stuff in this particular
number.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: How does the budget compare to
last year?
MR. MUDD: Our budget compared to last year? Overall the
budget's down about $20 million, sir.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
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September 4, 2003
I'm sorry, sir?
MS. FILSON: Mr. Neil Gibson.
MR. GIBSON: Last time I came up they gave us five minutes,
now they're cutting us to three?
Okay, just to regenerate (sic) just what the man said earlier, I
could see absolutely no way that I should have a property tax
increase that's 10 times the gross national product increase. And I
can't understand -- I've asked about this Homestead exemption, cap's
supposed to be three percent. The millage rate has increased by eight
percent over last year, my county taxes are increased by 33.7 percent
over last year, my bottom line total taxes are increased 27 percent
over last year. Which one of these was capped by the three percent?
It's also interesting that in one neighborhood this is done, in
another neighborhood the county taxes are only going up seven
percent. The State-mandated school tax has gone down five percent
in that neighborhood but up 15 in this other one, okay. The county
taxes are a four percent increase in this neighborhood and a -- county
school, that is, and a 25 percent increase in this other neighborhood.
And I think Mr. Halas knows what neighborhood I'm talking about.
And you're targeting that neighborhood.
Now, with the increase in tax base with the amount of building
that is going on in this county, there's no way that any individual
homeowner should have to pay a 33.7 percent increase in their
property tax. That is totally out of line with the growth of the
economy and the growth in this community.
And I sat here and I listened to these people in these gated
communities where they're exempt from half of the zoning
regulations that we have, and they don't get harassed by the zoning
board because they don't let them in the gate, okay, and they're
wanting to get paid back -- they should get paid back out of that $30
million that DiVosta built for that home out there, or his boss that
overlooks it, Pulte up there in the Contessa. Take from their multi
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September 4, 2003
million dollar budgets to pay for a few trees. They bought from them
and they're the guys that gave them the shaft, not the county
taxpayers.
And if they want the things, how come they aren't talking
special assessment against them the way they are about any kind of
beautification in Naples Park, where they already had a four and a
half million dollar special assessment? And now they're throwing
this little cookie out to try -- on the stormwater management, and
they throw this little cookie out and say, well, we're going to help
you with the stormwater because we're going to do maintenance on
it. $1.43 a lot? How much maintenance can you do? You can't put a
crew out on that one street and do one block of cleaning out those
ditches for the total budget that they've got for maintaining the
stormwater system that we paid four and a half million dollars for
that doesn't work.
And in view of both malaria and West Nile, that one item is
something that they should be concentrating on, both of which we
have now in our community and neither one of which is being
addressed up there in that community.
Now, this 33.7 percent increase in the taxes, I'm not going to
pay it, because I'm moving out. And that's what they really want up
there. They want everybody to sell out and move out. And I have
looked at the property value on my property over the last year drop,
but not my assessment. My assessment goes up. Strangely enough,
my next door neighbor's assessment did not increase on both sides.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Can I ask you a couple of
questions? First, I want to -- could you say your name again?
MR. GIBSON: Neil Gibson. And my current residence is 559
105th Avenue North, Naples Park.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: And is your property presently
under Homestead?
MR. GIBSON: It is.
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September 4, 2003
COMMISSIONER HALAS' That's amazing.
MR. GIBSON: This property is also under Homestead with a
seven percent increase in the taxes. Five percent cap?
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Is this your property also?
MR. GIBSON: It is now.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Well, you can only have one piece
of property under Homestead.
MR. GIBSON' I'm moving out of one, I just purchased it. I'm
moving from the one to the other.
I'm looking at these proposed taxes and I'm talking for the
community that this is ridiculous to have a tax increase that's 10
times the growth of the economy. Your taxes should be -- your
increase in your taxes should run about the same as the national
economy. In other words, your budget has run away. Your whole
financing of this county has run away. Ten times the growth of the
country for the budget in this county?
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Thank you. -
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: The gentleman got caught just with
the same thing that I did. The house that my wife and I purchased
had a Homestead exemption. As soon as we bought the house -- sir,
you had your time, thank you. As soon as we purchased the house, it
went to the new assessed value. And it still has Homestead
exemption on it.
So I feel for you, but Mr. Skinner -- if that doesn't explain it to
you, not everybody got caught in the same thing that you and I did.
But if I didn't explain it to you well enough, Mr. Skinner can. Thank
you.
Next speaker?
MS. FILSON: Next speaker is Paul van Stone. He will be
followed by Bruce Preble.
MR. VAN STONE' Good evening, Board of Commissioners,
Mr. Mudd.
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September 4, 2003
I'd like to just follow up on some of the things that Bob Stone
said a little while ago, that -- if you recall what he said, and I don't
want to repeat much, but back in 2000 we paid just a little over $500
million, half a billion dollars, in the budget. Now we're paying
almost a billion dollars just in 2003. That's an awful increase, I think
he said 78 percent, in that length of time, where the population has
grown seven percent per year during that period.
Some of the areas that concern me is that none of you seem to
be looking at cost control. I've never heard at any commission
meeting, what can we do to cut costs, what can we do to reduce
programs that are not necessary or that are redundant?
Here's an example. I don't know what Mr. Mudd was talking
about and I'd like to see the numbers at some point. But the numbers
that I've drawn up show that we currently have 3,185 employees in
the county. Polk County, which has 502,000 people, quite a few
more than we do, has 2,120, less than -- 1,000 people less than we do
to handle their programs. Lee County has 2,200 employees,
compared to our almost 3,200 employees. Again, about 1,000 less
for their population of 475,000. Now, why do we need an extra
1,000 people more than Lee County? That's about what it amounts
to. The top managers and department heads, based on comparing it
around the state are 20 percent higher than the state average, those
numbers I have seen.
I would propose that we consider such drastic measures, since
we've got all these people that are making a lot of money, 'that we
should consider freezing salaries for three or four years and don't
replace retirees and people that are transferring or leaving, just to cut
some of the surplus people that we've got on staff now.
On the road program, you've got a program that's -- I think it's a
five-year plan or a seven-year plan, and you've been building like
gangbusters here for the last three or four years, making it almost
impossible to get around during that time. You've completed a lot of
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September 4, 2003
programs, and that's great that a lot of these roads are much better
than they were. But if we're spending so much money and so much
more than we really should be spending, why not change it from a
five- or seven-year plan to a seven- or 10-year plan? You know,
increase it a couple of years and spread it out longer and the money
will go a lot farther.
You people are all stated to be Republicans, and I'm a
Republican and proud of it, but, you know, we're getting the idea that
there's an awfully fine line between Republican and Rino,
Republican in name only. Republicans want to hold costs down. I
don't see any effort in that direction at all. We need greater fiscal
responsibility than we're seeing right now. But I think the idea that
Bob Stone brought up about meeting with the Florida Tax Watch and
getting their ideas on what we can do to hold costs down would be
very helpful. Thank you.
Did you have a question, Mr. Halas?
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Yes. I believe that there was a
group of people that came forth a few couple of years ago on the -- to
the Board of Commissioners prior to me being elected on this staff
that were touting concurrency in that we fell behind so far --
MR. VAN STONE: Real time concurrency.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Right. And I think that's why --
that may clarify why we're in such a frenzy road building program to
make sure that we are dealing with checkbook concurrency and real
time concurrency.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And also, don't forget the --
COMMISSIONER HALAS: And also, we had a major sewer
spill that had to be addressed, and so therefore we had to find the
capital to take care of that. We also were running into a crisis with
water, so we had to address all that. That's the infrastructure.
And we also increased impact fees unbelievably so that we
could -- that some of the growth was taken care of by these impact
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September 4, 2003
fees. Now, if we didn't increase the impact fees, there would be a
substantial increase in the millage, and we've taken every step
possible to make sure that these costs are passed on to the people that
it should be passed on to and trying to maintain the right millage
now.
The other portion of the equation is that as people move in here,
because this is such a desirable community, it's driving up real estate
costs. So when you look at the overall problem here, it's a problem
where people think this is a very desirable community and the price
of real estate is going up. And so as people move from one home to
another, they're paying that cost because of the fact that it's such a
well organized place to live.
MR. VAN STONE: I understand that. And on impact fees, I've
had discussions with Mr. Schmidt and others on that. And just this
morning -- I know you don't control the school board in any way, but
I was with Mr. Lazanski (phonetic) and with Mr. Ray Baker, and we
were talking about the school impact fees, which haven't been
changed in 10 or 11 years. 1992 or 1993 was the last time there was
a change in school impact fees. If anybody needs impact fee
increases, it's the schools.
And I asked Mr. Lazanski, who is responsible for that, the
county or the school board, since it's a school tax and you people are
separate from there? And he said the county. But I get from the
county people that it's the school board.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: It's the school board.
MR. VAN STONE: I think that's why nobody is doing anything
on that. So I think something needs to be done there.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: And if we raise impact -- school
impact fees, the budget for the school goes up, too. Just as you're
pointing out that our budget went up. Everybody's forgetting the
equation, the service charges, the impact fees, so on and so forth.
When we increase them, we increase the total budget. So in reality
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September 4, 2003
that's the biggest changes in the budget over the years. In reality
what you're asking us is to lower impact fees. Go back to the year
2000 or previous to that.
MR. VAN STONE: ! think the impact fees is to pay for growth,
is what I would prefer.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: I'd be glad to sit down with you on
the budget to show you how it works, because the equations, there's
-- you're not shown the total picture, or explained to you. Thank you.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Bruce Preble. He will be
followed by Todd Gates.
MR. PREBLE: Good evening, Commissioners. For the record,
my name is Bruce Preble.
MR. MUDD: Bruce, you're either going to have to speak up or
use the other mic.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: After the speaker, Mr. Preble, we
want to take a break for the court reporter. Thank you.
MR. PREBLE: Okay. For the record, my name is Bruce
Preble. I'm a small business owner in town. I have a retail store on
Fifth Avenue. I am a commercial realtor in town. I'm involved in
development interests in Collier and Lee, and I'm a homeowner who
pays relatively high taxes for the privilege of living here.
I would like to encourage you and specifically to have your
support on the economic diversification pilot program. I think that
what we really need to talk about is how to spend some of the
county's money, you know, priming the pump. We need more of an
economic diversification, we need more businesses, more industry.
We need to derive more income from sources other than just simply
the homeowner. And that economic diversification is a key to
continued growth in the county.
Now, it's not like our county's going to stop growing. The
post-war baby boomers are on their way down here. And like
lemmings rushing to the sea, they're going to fill up Lee County and
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September 4, 2003
then they're going to fill up Collier County.
This is a very desirable place to live, there's no question about
that. But if we want a balanced fiscal budget, if we want to have a
kind of a balance in who ends up paying for the bill for all of this, I
think that we need to encourage more development. We need to
encourage more diversification in terms of the economic base. And
that means more industry. And high tech industry is a nice clean kind
of industry. So I encourage you to support that package, and thank
you very much for your time.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you. Let's take a
five-minute break.
(A brief recess was held.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Would everybody take their seat§,
please.
Ms. Filson, will you continue with the speakers.
MS. FILSON: Todd Gates.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Followed by?
MS. FILSON: He will be followed by Bill Klohn.
MR. GATES: Good evening, Commissioners. My name is
Todd Gates, for the record. I am an economic development council
board member.
I know I was speaking a few times about impact fees and
sidewalks, and all the fun issues before. This is probably the easiest
and simplest issue to me in my small brain to talk about and that's
economic diversity. Economic diversity obviously is extremely
important, not only from a personal standpoint but also from a county
and municipality standpoint.
To me it's just common sense, we don't place all our eggs in one
basket. Our three major economic engines are basically tourism,
construction and agriculture. All you've got to do is look at 9-1 1 and
one more crazed animal, and you can forget about the tourism
industry for a few -- a few days, months, years, whatever it may be.
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September 4, 2003
We're still reeling from that.
Construction. As you know impact fees are skyrocketing.
We've got the highest in the state by twice, and Lee County is licking
their chops right now as far as the new businesses operating in Lee
County and going to that area because of the impact fees. I'm on the
front lines every single day.
I work in 14 different municipalities, I develop in 14 different
municipalities, I build in 14 different municipalities, and I can tell
you, Collier County is one of the most challenging counties to build
in from a development standpoint. I know a lot of people think that's
a good thing, but from a business perspective, from someone that's
looking to move down from Michigan or Cleveland, Ohio to operate,
it's extremely challenging, and it's -- we need to be very cognizant of
that. I mean, we're like a big battleship. If we turn into an
anti-business climate, turning that battleship around and being
receptive to businesses is a long, hard road.
The third economic engine is agriculture. And obviously we
know all the challenges with agriculture. To me there's a much
bigger problem here, or much bigger challenge and a much bigger
issue, and that's our children and grandchildren. Unless we want our
children and grandchildren picking tomatoes and picking
strawberries, we have to economic -- we have to diversify our
economic engines here in Collier County. It's just simply the right
thing to do.'
So again, before there were sidewalks impact issues -- and
there's a lot of divise still on that issue -- I cannot believe there's a
divisive issue when it comes to economic diversity. When it comes
to your personal savings account, you don't put it all in one account,
you don't put it all in one mutual fund, you diversify your assets. We
need to diversify our assets and we need to diversify our economic
engines. So please, I strongly, strongly recommend the support of
the economic incentive by the EDC. Thank you very much.
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September 4, 2003
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Bill Klohn. He will be
followed by Julie Schmelzle.
MR. KLOHN: Good evening. Thank you. My name is Bill
Klohn. I'm president of MBG Capital Corporation.
I agree 100 percent with everything that Todd Gates said. I've
been here since 1980, and my observation in those years of economic
engines is just like Todd said, construction, tourism, service business.
And Collier County is slowing in its growth, and we're also seeing
less and less land available. So the revenues that you're currently
enjoying from real estate development and other real estate activities
will not be going on forever and ever.
I think it's very important that you support the economic
incentive programs that are being presented by the EDC, and I think
with your support to put some money aside now to assure that Collier
County remains stable and do that now, it's good planning for the
future, rather than seeing an economic downturn in years to come
and then it's too late. So I think to be looking at this now is very
important, and to plan for the future, for when the revenues are
different in the county, then we can rely on other forms of revenues
from economic diversification. Thank you.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Julie Schmelzle.
UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: She's not here.
MS. FILSON: She's not here.
Mike Reagan. He will be followed by Michael Werner.
MR. REAGAN: Good evening, Commissioners. For the record,
my name is Mike Reagan and I'm the president of the Greater Naples
Chamber of Commerce. It's good to see you. I'm here to support the
EDC.
Economic diversification to me is absolutely obvious and it's
very, very important that you follow through. The $2 million
package that you're looking at I think will pay great dividends for our
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September 4, 2003
children for the future, will help balance the economy. The half
million dollars that will be focused on Immokalee is absolutely
critical for the future for the community.
There are 1,537 businesses that belong to the Chamber of
Commerce who are wholeheartedly in support of the good work that
is being done by our, your, economic development council. Please be
supportive of that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Your next speaker is Michael Werner, followed
by Jim Warnken.
MR. WERNER: Good evening. My name is Mike Werner.
I e-mailed each of you earlier this summer, and the young lady
is passing out copies of an op-ed piece that recently appeared under
my name in the Naples Daily News. I'm not going to reiterate
anything on that, so I won't waste your time.
I'm more used to being on that side of the table than over here. I
was a mayor of Bristol, Connecticut for four terms. I'm a republican.
I was a mayor of a town that was -- republicans were outnumbered
by democrats by four to one. I had an all democratic city council, so
I know what the hard knuckles political scene is all about. I know
what you folks go through every year at budget time, so I understand
these things.
I also understand the economic development incentives. We did
them in our town, we used many of the same incentives that are in
the EDC package. And just to give you a quick example, we
developed, through certain -- we developed an industrial park in our
town, and using various incentive packages, et cetera, we brought in
a whole slew of different businesses. We spent, total, out of pocket,
$6 million. The last time I checked was 1989, so it's more than that
now, but in 1989 the incentives we used and the package we put
together was producing over $12 million every year in property taxes
alone. That's $12 million every year forever for a $6 million
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September 4, 2003
investment. And today it's probably 20 million. I don't know, I'd
have to check.
But there's a long-term gain to be gotten here versus the
short-term expense. And I know what politics is all about and the
pressures you're under to go one way or the other. But I think for the
long-term benefit of the county, this package is a good package and
it's well worth supporting. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Jim Warnken. He will be followed by Ron Rice.
MR. WARNKEN: Good evening, Commissioners. I'm Jim
Warnken, chief financial officer of the NCH Health Care System.
Economic diversity is essential to the long-term health of any
community. As national and international economies ebb and flow,
economists will point out that regions that are not heavily weighted
in one sector will ride out cycles much more smoothly than those
which are concentrated on one or two industries.
The growth of Collier County has been significant and will
continue to grow for many years to come. Much of that growth has
been geared toward residential communities that support a work
force that is primarily unskilled and lower paid. This has stressed not
only our community's ability to provide affordable work force
housing, but has also strained both publicly and privately funded
health and welfare services that we ultimately all pay for.
Finally, my family has benefited greatly from the opportunities
that have been afforded to us in this community. I hope that my
daughter, along with all the children of Collier County, will also be
able to find good jobs in the community that they have grown up in,
should they choose to do so. Efforts such as the economic stimulus
package that is being proposed by the EDC will help ensure that
happens. Thank you very much.
MS. FILSON: Ron Rice. He will be followed by Scott Herstin.
MR. RICE: Good evening. My name is Ron Rice, I have lived
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September 4, 2003
here for 22 years.
I have been deeply involved in land development, both
residential and commercial. And I would repeat what Bill Klohn and
Todd Gates said.
For the last year, I have been looking, for myself and other
investors, for a substantial piece of property here in Collier County to
do a new residential community, and I am drawing a total blank. I'm
telling you that right now. Homes are not like automobiles.
Automobiles, you put a pair of tires on it and they roll out. In order
to build a home, you need to plug it into a developed lot. We are
very close, it's not very far away -- I'm telling you this as a fact, I
make a living doing this and I'm telling you this as a fact -- we're
running out of that. When you do, you're going to run out of the
most significant energy that you have had over the last 20 years; to
wit, the construction industry.
I submit to you that the largest employers in Collier County are
the school board, the county, and the sheriff's department. By a ton
they are the largest employers here. If you don't bring industry via
this technique here soon, the people who were here earlier are going
to see their ad valorem taxes really go through the roof. Thank you
very much.
MS. FILSON: I understand Scott left, so the next speaker is
Buddy Brunker. He left, too?
Dr. Richard Pegnetter? He left?
Fred Tuttle?
MR. TUTTLE:
MS. FILSON:
MR. TUTTLE:
Fred Tuttle.
He's here.
And he will be followed by Tammie Nemecek.
Thank you for the opportunity. My name is
Actually, I'm going to speak in support of the economic
diversification program from a slightly different perspective.
Basically from the work force. This year at Lorenzo Walker Institute
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September 4, 2003
of Technology I think we've had the largest enrollment ever. And
this is the result of two things, or at least it indicates two things to
me. One, is that it's much more difficult now for people to find jobs.
When they don't find jobs, they come from training.
Second, it also indicates that a lot of people in this community
are looking for ways to increase their skills so they can get higher
paying jobs. I think.they want to move beyond the service jobs.
I think the package for economic diversification will help
provide those opportunities for these individuals, not just right now
but also in the future, to find higher paying jobs and higher skilled
jobs for which we're trying to prepare them. And I think that that
will then help them become much more effective contributors to our
community, both in terms of responsibility and working, and coming
off some of the support programs that we have to provide, but also
becoming financially supporting members of the community as well.
Another gentleman earlier spoke about benefits to citizens. I
think this program would indeed provide benefits to citizens. And he
also spoke about needs programs, and this is a program which would
also be a very needy program. Thank you very much for your time.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Tammie Nemecek. She will be followed by
Mark Snider.
MS. NEMECEK: Good evening. Tammie Nemecek, executive
director of the Economic Development Council of Collier County.
Collier County continues to be a rapidly growing Florida
market. The local economy is driven by the impact of affluent
retirees and seasonal residents who are attracted by the appealing
upscale quality of life. Our community relies upon a single point
economy: Wealthy retirees and seasonal resident visitors.
The majority of the economy, with the exception of the large
agricultural segment and very small manufacturing and business
segment, is directly dependent on the space.
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September 4, 2003
In our single point economy, Collier County severely lacks
major employers who are not directly related to serving its large,
affluent retiree, seasonal and tourist population. The largest
employment sectors in Collier County are, not surprisingly, in the
retail, construction, accommodations and food services, which also
garners some of the lowest wages. These three employment sectors
alone, which account for 44 percent of the county's 100,000 workers,
average only slightly over $26,000 in average annual wage, well
below Florida's wage of 31,000 and the national average of over
36,000.
While our community has thrived over the many years on this
single point economy, it is not enough to sustain us in the future. For
the short term, possibly, but the downside of this type of economy is
that it's highly dependent on population growth. Collier County has
been the second fastest growing area in the nation since 1980.
'With no per active intervention to allow our community to
continue to thrive, more people are going to have to move to Collier
County for economic prosperity.
Economic diversification, targeted industry, business
recruitment and expansion that creates high wage jobs and provides
an alternative to population growth for economic prosperity is
needed in Collier County. Diversifying the local economy is critical
and without question the right thing to do.
Through economic diversification and high wage job creation,
we increase our tax base, which provides services to the residents,
sustains and enhances our quality of life, and ultimately provides
economic opportunity for all residents in Collier County.
Opportunities well beyond the low wage, low skilled jobs that
proliferate throughout our community today.
To not diversify the economy is to place our community at risk
for future prosperity and rely on continued population growth to
sustain our qualify of life.
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September 4, 2003
To not diversify our economy is to ensure an ever-increasing tax
burden on homeowners with no relief from diverse, clean industry
sectors. In order to diversify, we must support the expansion of our
existing high wage industry clusters and aggressively recruit new
high wage industry to Collier County.
Florida Gulf Coast University and Ave Maria University will be
developing a highly educated work force that will be seeking job
opportunities here in the local market.
The economic incentive program-- I'll wrap up -- which Collier
County is considering will allow this community to begin to compete
for diverse, clean industry. If our community does not step up today
to grow and attract industry for this educated work force, we will
continue to see our educated young people leave Collier County to
find employment elsewhere. Let's keep our youth in Collier County.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Mark Snider. He will be followed by Steve
Tirey.
MR. SNIDER: My name is Mark Snider. I have several
business interests of which are all tied into the high tech electronics
industry. And some of those businesses operate right here in Naples.
Recently I had the opportunity to create another company called
Innovative Information Technologies, which I hope to base out of
Naples. But having experienced what it's like to be a business person
in this area, I'm very skeptical of whether I will have the resources to
really keep that company here. It just-- this is a very, very
expensive place to operate a business.
Considering the alternatives that are available economically,
without some help from some of these programs that are proposed by
-- this program here with EDC, it makes it very, very difficult,
particularly for a start-up company to bring in the kind of people that
they need and to have the space that they need to do it in.
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September 4, 2003
Part of my point being, is if you want to come to Naples and be
a plumber or an electrician, finding space to do that is relatively easy.
If you are trying to start a high tech company that's going to generate
jobs, and hopefully lots of jobs, that requires a certain type of area,
very, very difficult to find.
So the point of being here is just to -- is to offer support for this
program. I think it's a good thing, I think it's a good thing for the
town and the county and I just hope that you'll support it. Thanks.
MS. FILSON: Steve Tirey. He will be followed by Ursula
Pfahl.
MR. TIREY: Good evening, Commissioners, administrators.
My name is Steve Tirey. I'm the president of the Chamber of
Southwest Florida. I work for a group of regional employers who
have business operations and employees drawn from the Lee, Collier,
Charlotte, Hendry and Glades Counties. And I'm glad to be with you
this evening to encourage you to adopt this economic stimulus
package.
The benefits will be (sic) clearly outlined by the previous
speakers, and I really wanted to zero in on one thing, and that is,
economic development is quickly becoming a regional process, if
you want to be competitive, not only in Florida but throughout the
world.
You should know from our prior communication that for nearly
four years Lee County government has invested a million five in
economic incentives, packaged very similarly to the methods that
you're looking at here in Collier County. When you couple those
with incentives available in some of the municipalities in Lee
County, their commitments annually exceed $2 million. We think
that by having these incentives available in your county, it makes us
more competitive regionally.
The lines between counties in Southwest Florida will continue
to blur as we grow together, and being competitive regionally is first
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September 4, 2003
and foremost in the minds of the customers that I serve.
I hope that you'll push this proposal forward, you'll work with it,
and you'll make it successful. Because I think the dividends will be
long-term paybacks for the citizens not only of Collier County but of
the surrounding area as well. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
Thank you.
Could I ask?
Yes, please.
Does Lee County -- besides this
incentives package that Lee County offers, do they also give them
like operating money every year, or is that part of that?
MR. TIREY: The incentives are targeted to very specific
creation of new jobs within Lee County. The packages may vary
somewhat from the way that your incentive package is -- has been
proposed to operate. But I can tell you that those incentives are
targeted at developing new high wage jobs within the community and
saving jobs that otherwise might move out of the community because
the business needs to expand but cannot do it within the Lee County
boundaries.
So by having these incentives or similar incentives also
available in Collier County, you're putting more tools in the
economic development tool box, you're making Southwest Florida
more competitive with other regions across Florida. And when folks
are looking at those oPportunities, they're shopping this community
against other regions in Florida and sometimes in the Southeast
United States.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: But my question was -- and I
understand what the incentives are, and I've been learning of the
importance, and I know that the business community is the greatest
taxpayer of all in our community, I understand. I was just asking if
Lee County pays -- aside from the incentives program, do they give
them some kind of dollars for operating funds every year? I've never
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September 4, 2003
asked that question.
MR. TIREY: And I would not want to speak for the Office of
Economic Development here this evening. I will get a specific
answer to your question. I believe in some cases, under very specific
circumstances, that does occur, but if you'll give us the opportunity to
provide you with a specific answer to it -- because we're not the
agency that manages that -- I'll make sure you have the answer to
your question.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you.
MR. TIREY: Thanks for asking.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: I think that's a very good question
and I'd like to also share that -- if you'd share that answer with me.
MR. TIREY: We'll share it with all of you. Thank you very
much.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: I appreciate it.
MS. FILSON: Ursula Pfahl?
Anthony C-H-I-T-E-A? Chitea, okay.
MR. CHITEA: My name, as we mentioned, is Anthony Chitea.
A little different perspective and again in support of the EDC
initiatives, I've been in Naples, I think it was one year Labor Day,
which might not qualify me to pass judgment. But on the other hand,
I have a pretty fresh impression of the community.
Prior to coming here, I've been in the IT, information
technology, business for about 30 years, and that's taken me to all
parts of the country. So I think that qualifies me a bit in that I was
raised in what became the rust belt, in the north, and was fortunate to
move away from that and into North Carolina and saw North
Carolina's main business, tobacco road, deteriorating. They thought
that would last forever. We thought the steel industries would last
forever.
I was shocked, when I came to Collier County, at the lack of
diversity, I really was. I was shocked at the low salaries in the
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September 4, 2003
information technology industry. The information technology
engineers that I work with here are making probably 60 percent of
what they'd make in Pennsylvania, and dealing with the winters. But
we have seen and we have models around the country of South
Carolina, North Carolina, research triangle park, and another vibrant
area, Greensboro, Winston-Salem. High Point, which was dependent
solely on furniture and tobacco, created enterprises zones around
their airport. They shared that zone, they shared the costs. It has
become a vibrant growing airport -- or area with all sorts of diverse
industries.
I was in a technology company that was lured there by
incentives out of Pennsylvania. We built four or five divisions,
employed thousands of people and contributed greatly to that
community in many beneficial ways.
So, you know, with that history around the country, I think it
really makes all of us advocates of an investment in the EDC
initiatives. Thank you very much.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Brian Kennedy.
Larry Hodges? He will be followed by Sally Barker.
MR. HODGES: Good evening, Commissioners. I'm Larry
Hodges and a small businessman in the Southwest Florida region,
and I'm here to support the initiative for the EDC, because I feel the
diversity is a critical thing for the development and growth and the
stability of Collier County and its future. Just as an example, we are
-- our company is a technological company and we use technical
people that are very high skilled and trained going out, working in
offices environments in the community. The last -- 90 percent of the
technical people we have hired for our Collier County operation have
come from somewhere else, because we need the diversity in this
community to provide a better base of skills for our work force. The
work force in Collier County doesn't provide us with the ability to
hire people with the skills high enough to give us an opportunity to
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September 4, 2003
hire from the community. We're hiring people from other areas. And
we feel that that's not the right thing to do. We would love to be able
to have a more diverse community, a higher level of technical skills,
professional skills, that we can tap into the community itself and not
have to go somewhere else for the employees that we hire.
And I feel that with this initiative that we're getting from EDC
we would derive a great deal of benefit and movement in that
direction so the companies can have a work force to draw from
within our own community. Thank you very much.
MS. FILSON: Sally Barker. She will be followed by Jim
Gibson.
MS. BARKER: Good evening, Commissioners. For the record,
Sally Barker.
Gee, I really wanted to be the first one to enter a negative note
this evening, but I guess that's the luck of the draw, isn't it?
You know, everybody wants economic diversity and economic
stability. That's a given, that's motherhood and apple pie type stuff,
right? But I think in my heart it's a tad premature to jump into an
incentive program as ambitious as this one. There are other issues I
think we have -- I think we need to resolve first before we start
handing out $2 million a year.
It would be wiser, I think, to start with, say, a smaller program,
a more concentrated program, say in Immokalee or the eastern part of
the county, before we do a scatter gun approach for the entire county.
You know, it's sort of like jumping into a Cadillac before you learn
how to drive a Ford.
As I understand it, the objective of the proposed economic
incentive program is to bring in high wage, high tech jobs of $35,000
a year on up in order to stabilize the economy in case tourism and
construction go under, right? But would these jobs have a stabilizing
effect? I don't know, I'm not an economist. But people earning
$35,000 a year are not going to be able to eat in our high-priced
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September 4, 2003
restaurants, they're not going to be able to buy our high-priced
homes. In fact, $35,000 a year is the salary range for our sheriffs
deputies, our nurses, our teachers, the folks who already can't afford
to live here. So are we going to be creating a program and paying $2
million a year to create new jobs for people who live in Lee County?
It may be great for Lee County, I'm not so sure it's going to be that
great for us. We are in a work force housing crisis, we know that. So
where are these folks going to be living?
You know, Collier County -- I've been here 25 years, and I don't
really think Collier County needs tax dollars to encourage businesses
or anyone else to move here. We are the second fastest growing
county in the U.S. We have over 12,000 new people move here last
year. We have the 1 lth highest per capita income in the nation, that's
over $41,000, compared to a state average of $29,000 and a national
average of $30,000. It is our per capita income, not the average
salaries, that provides the economic stability for our county.
Gee, let me just wrap up real --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, that's all right, wrap up.
MS. BARKER: I just wanted to say, I think in reality the single
biggest stabilizing force in our local economy is our large population
of retirees. Many are part-time residents who pay full taxes, and they
don't use up all the county services, and they don't pay for -- they
don't have children in school. And, you know, I say God bless the
retirees, we can use more of them.
But in short, other countries may need a program -- an economic
incentive program like this, but Collier County is a vibrant, growing
economy and I don't think we really need a Cadillac plan at this time.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I just wanted -- Sally, you brought
up such a good point and I made some notes, and that is the work
force housing, the difficulty we have in providing homes for people
that make $35,000 a year. We were -- we had a committee that
worked for two years diligently, put together a very nice package.
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September 4, 2003
And the development and building community came down and
squashed it because they didn't want to have any affordable housing.
Well, I don't understand how they can speak in favor of economic
stimulus and yet not want to provide housing for the people to live in.
So you brought up a very good point.
MS. BARKER: That sounds a bit schizophrenic, doesn't it.9
Thank you. Unless there's any other questions, that's it.
MS. FILSON: Jim Gibson. He will be followed by Bill
Kerrigan.
MR. GIBSON: Mr. Chairman, members. Jim Gibson,
representing the productivity committee.
My purpose here this evening is to review with the board certain
correspondence, hopefully recently received, from the committee
with regard to short and long-term strategies for beach and waterway
access and some reallocation suggestions within the budget.
As you're aware, the productivity committee is one of the
primary committees reviewing the -- any changes or proposals for
impact fee implementation. And obviously access -- beach access
and water access is really a -- becoming a very high priority need.
And our suggestion long term in that regard was that consideration be
given to evaluate a proposal for beach and waterway impact fee,
access impact fee.
And while that would hopefully help in the long term, it really
doesn't do anything to take advantage of some of the opportunities --
unique opportunities we have now to buy some very attractive
properties. Those, however, are in the magnitude of 21 to $22
million. And what we suggested is that consideration be given to
leverage general fund revenues to -- used to borrow against and then
use the debt service to acquire one of these proposals, hopefully,
Vanderbilt Inn property, Wiggins Pass, something of that nature.
And that would be leveraging current tax dollars or current revenues
on a borrowing basis for that purpose.
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September 4, 2003
So in the first instance we would recommend a study be utilized
to look at the impact fee possibility. And with regard to the second,
we would suggest that a possibility exists to redeploy the two plus
million dollars currently suggested for the EDC initiative as the basis
to leverage, borrow financing to acquire one of these properties. And
we say that based on analysis -- a previous speaker alluded to a
couple of the demographic considerations that leads the committee to
think that perhaps more thought need be given to the EDC proposal.
And I say that for two things: A reasonable interpretation of
basic statistical demographic data utilized suggests that this is not a
problem, and the solution is not that which you have before you.
Again, Collier County has the 1 lth highest per capita -- per capita
income in the United States, $41,000. A household would be
$80,000, two people to a household. And yet if you interpolate the
total utilization of the fund, you're talking about high wage jobs --
may I continue briefly?
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Please.
MR. GIBSON: -- of 35,000. So in fact what you're doing is not
attracting high income jobs, you're lowering the per capita income.
And again, there's no magic in that, it's just looking at the data and
basically interpreting.
And the second is we are growing now. We are one of the top
five, possibly the second, highest growth rate county in the nation.
And again, this proposal, as it currently exists, if totally utilized,
would be an increment of 300 -- 250 to 350 people or 2.5 percent of
the average growth in population we're experiencing now, many of
those going into the work force.
So in conclusion, we think it is a much better proposal to utilize,
if we're going to utilize $2 million, to redirect that to some things we
can do right now to acquire certain unique properties and not spread
the cost of the EDC initiative, when it's all said and done, from the
fund to pay the impact fees and then have the affected companies use
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September 4, 2003
their property tax payments to repay the fund. And in conclusion,
obviously all the taxpayers have to bear the cost of that. And that's
our suggestion, and we thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: County Manager, what is our
capacity, bond capacity, or do -- I understand it was dedicated out,
what little left that we had.
MR. MUDD: Commissioner, what you have -- and I'm sorry it's
a little blurry tonight; the visualizer has a connection problem that
we've been trying to fix. It was working earlier today. You've got a
new setup and we still have an old piece of equipment, okay.
So what you have in the chart that's up there right now,
community development building expansion, which is going on right
now, we basically bonded that against the sales tax revenue. We
have about 195 to $200 million worth of sales tax revenue that you
can bond against. Now, we bonded all the gas tax, okay, so that's all
gone based on the road program. The jail expansion is 38.5 million.
You add those two numbers together, you get about $46.5 million
that are immediate, that are already being bonded.
And in the '04 budget that you have before you today, the road
projects will be bonded for another $45.9 million. And that has
everything to do with how we were going to pay for the $260 million
worth of backlogged road programs. And we basically said that we
were going to do about $192 million in bonding against the gas tax
and one-third of the sales tax, and that's the one-third of the sales tax
right there. And then 60 million or so would be coming out of the
general fund over a series of years. And we basically have that
program going on. And I showed you that chart that goes to about
$26 million -- $26 and a half million starting in '06. And it's been
going up 5.8, 13.4, it will be 21 next year, and then it will go to 26
and a half the year after that.
The courthouse annex is $13.5 million. It's in planning, 14
months construction. We estimate the construction start to be June or
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September 4, 2003
July of '04. The north regional park is a $40 million project, it goes
into construction in May of'04.
The sheriff's special operations center is $7 million. That goes
in construction in August, '04. And the new fleet facility on County
Barn Road is $8.2 million, and that goes in construction September,
'04. We need a conditional use for that project, too, so we still have
to do the zoning process.
Those bonding items out of sales tax in this year's budget is
$114,856,500. If you add those two numbers, the 46.5 million and
the 114, you get about -- you get about $160 million so far to be
bonded out right now and in '04. That gives you about 34 to $39
million left to bond.
In the '05 budget, you've got the campus parking deck and the
emergency operations center in plans right now. In '05 we had
planned to go into construction for those facilities and bond them
against the remaining sales tax to the tune of about $34.2 million.
And that gives you an idea of what the bonding capacity is.
And if we're looking for $21 million, then you're going to have to tell
me something about what you want me to take off the plate for '05 or
'04 and not go into construction in order to find that capacity to bond
against.
MR. GIBSON: Mr. Chairman, ifI might, I would suggest
probably two alternatives to that. The first is under Florida Statute
218, which is the municipal and the county revenue sharing, the
county does have -- provides authority for borrowing against that
revenue, so it wouldn't be strictly sales tax. And probably a grander
or maybe a more longer term option is you are talking about '05
projects here. There's no constraint about taking projects of that
magnitude to the voters at referendum and let them decide on a
general obligation bond. In fact, that's something that I would
strongly, strongly urge that long term the county begin to consider.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: And maybe that's something we
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September 4, 2003
ought to do with beach access and boating access. More of the
people might be in tune to that.
Thank you, Mr. Gibson.
MR. GIBSON: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNN1NG: Can we provide that to the
productivity committee members, the spreadsheet? MR. MUDD: Yes, sir.
MS. FILSON: The next speaker is Bill Kerrigan. He will be
followed by your final speaker, Janet Vasey.
MR. KERRIGAN: Hi. Bill Kerrigan. I'll be pretty brief.
It's my understanding that $1 million of this $2 million proposal
is going to be used for impact fee mitigation. So in other words,
what you're being asked to do is play a shell game with the
taxpayers. We're going to take -- we're going to tell everybody we're
paying for our infrastructure with impact fees, but we're going to take
taxpayer dollars and pay them. I mean, why not just put a special tax
on it and cut out the -- you know, the rigmarole here.
Don't you have -- I mean, $2 million, in -- all your constituents
and all, don't you have programs? Don't you have problems in your
own districts that, you know, warrant, you know, some money? I
mean, why are we giving this away? I mean, Collier's not a bad
place to relocate. Why is Ave Maria coming in here? I mean, did we
try a big incentive program to get them here?
I urge you to turn this down. And you've got a good county
manager here now. $2 million, he'll find a better way to spend it.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
MS. FILSON: Your final speaker is Janet Vasey.
MS. VASEY: Good evening, Commissioners. Janet Vasey, for
the record.
When you start a new program like the EDC initiatives, you
really have -- you cannot assume that there's a problem and that this
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September 4, 2003
is the solution. You have to look at determining whether there really
is a problem or not. And then you have to see if this really will solve
the problem.
Now, I think anecdotal stories are very nice about how it works
some places, but you really do have to look at how it works here.
And I think that this is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, and
it's not a solution that would even really work. And several of the
previous speakers have alluded to that and I'll try not to duplicate it.
But first of all, there's no real demonstrated need here. The
theory is that bringing high pay wages in here will stabilize the
economy if building -- if construction and tourism slumps. Well, as
we've talked about, it's -- Collier County's a thriving community,
second fastest growing. People in businesses are moving here now.
12,000 people moved here last year. And this EDC initiative would
take care of spending $2 million to get 300 jobs here. That's a drop
in the bucket.
As Sally and Jim both mentioned, 41,000 is our per capita
income. And if you look at a family, that's 82,000. That's where
your stability in this economy is. It's the retirees that have money
and are supporting. They'll support the Ritz-Carlton, they'll buy new
houses in a downturn, not people that are making $35,000 a year.
Lee County offers incentives, and the EDC says we have to
offer them because we have to keep up with Lee County. Well, you
asked a question about Lee County offers and I have their book and
their business resource proposals. They offer $2,000 per job created
and they offer some low-rate financing for manufacturing industries
that come in. They do not offer impact fees and development fees to
the tune of $1 million or more a year. That's a real gold plated
system and it's overkill. If we're trying to keep up with Lee County,
you know, we've just smashed the hell out of them.
Businesses are coming here without any EDC incentives. The
brochure on the EDC package talks about three businesses that are
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September 4, 2003
coming here right now: Arthrex, March Performance and FNB
Technology. And if these incentives had been in place when they
came here, it could have used over $1 million of incentive money,
but they came here for free. Why would we want to set up
something when they're already coming here?
Then there's also the issue of spending -- you know, bringing the
jobs here and the people living in Lee County. I think that's a very
real possibility. And so then we use our $2 million. Oh, boy, three
minutes isn't very long. Okay, thank you very much.
Could I ask you -- I'd like to take one minute, if I could, not to
talk about the EDC initiative but to address a budget process issue?
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Please.
MS. VASEY: New programs that come in need to be really
strongly vetted within your -- within the staff of Collier County.
This is a multi million dollar program, and some of these new ones
are. And you can't -- you can't just look at it from the cheerleading
side. You've got to have an independent organization that looks at
this, looks at both sides and tries to decide what's real and, you know,
what the true thing is, and give you positives and negatives and then
let you make the decision. You've never seen the negatives.
You know, you have to -- you can't depend on the public to do
this kind of work, your staff should do this kind of work. And if it
means another person on the staff, then I'm behind it 100 percent.
Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Thank you.
I think it's appropriate to address the taxpayers' concerns in
order that we received them, if nobody has a problem with that.
And I think everybody knows that December (sic) 18th is when
the board makes the final decision on the budget.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: September.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: September.
And the first item that we discussed is the landscaping piece. I
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September 4, 2003
think what is proposed is a piece on Rattlesnake Hammock, is that
correct, and then Livingston Road. And I don't know what the wish
-- yeah, and Pine Ridge Road.
And I don't know what the wishes of the board are on this
$800,O00.
Commissioner Coletta?
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I do appreciate it. It's very
interesting. I'd like to wait till the next meeting, the next budget --
the final budget meeting to make a final commitment on that, until all
the options can be weighed. Possibly you might want to hear from
Diane Flagg and see if that affects the whole program. I see her
standing in the back like she's got some breaking information.
MS. FLAGG: I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: The question is, Commissioner
Coletta asked is there any breaking news that you wanted to share
with the board members on how this will affect the budget, correct?
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: That-- the budget particularly
and how it's going to -- the whole outlay of the plan the way it's been
put together and accepted by the board.
MS. FLAGG: Diane Flagg, for the record. Good evening,
Commissioners.
The original landscape master plan that was presented on April
22nd was for 2.7 million, plus taking over the maintenance for Radio
Road, which is for a total of 2.9 million.
In June there was 1.1 million available, and no projects were
identified, so then we were in a position of-- we had a master plan, it
was only partially funded, and we needed to get from the board what
projects'they wished to have funded with that significantly reduced
funds that were available.
Then, in talking with the County Manager, he was able to
identify an additional $800,000, so that gives us some additional
funding. And what we have done in this sheet that you see before
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September 4, 2003
you is we've made some suggestions, but we need the board to tell us
that if you do want to go ahead and use the 800,000 that has been
identified, these are the projects we're recommending: Pine Ridge
Road for 500,000 to come out of Fund 001. And 83,800 to come out
of Fund 111 to fund the entire project, as was proposed in the master
plan.
In addition, the -- Airport Road, which was in the master plan,
we're recommending, pending your selection, is not to fund it at this
time, but what we'll do is instead of doing a three-year catchup plan,
we'll take the projects that are not funded in this current budget and
then move them to the top of the list in next year's budget. So we're
recommending not to fund Airport Road. And then to go down and
fund Rattlesnake Hammock. That was in the master plan. To not
fund Golden Gate Boulevard this year.
And then the remaining funds would fund approximately three
miles of Livingston Road. So the balance of Livingston Road that
was originally proposed and approved in the master plan, we would
just move that to the top of the list next year. And then in the
Livingston Road, whether to start at Pine Ridge and work south, you
know -- yeah, Pine Ridge and work south or start at Radio and work
north.
So that is basically in summary the two things that we seek
direction from you all on is, do we use the $800,000 and if so, in this
project format, are you in concurrence with doing -- implementing
these projects.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: So in other words, what would
change is some roads like Airport Road and Golden Gate Boulevard
would not be funded for this coming year, as was originally intended,
it would move to a later year.
MS. FLAGG: It would move to the top of the list next year. So
what we would do is, the master plan that you all approved -- see,
that master plan required 2.9 million to implement, as proposed. The
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September 4, 2003
first year was 2.9 and then the remaining years. So what we'll do,
since there's not 2.9 available, we'll take what we have, pending also
the approval of the $800,000, fund these projects. What didn't get
funded, as outlined in the master plan, will move to the top of the list
next year.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I was wondering if there was
any way that we might be able to split the baby. I know that
everyone in this county is looking for something to be done in the
coming year. We had high expectations for Golden Gate Boulevard,
seeing some direction on this. It's a little bit of a disappointment that
we're considering that as a whipping boy in this particular case to be
able to go forward with another road. I realize that everyone has
their priorities and I can share that, I do believe it's all very
important.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: Well, I think another thing we
ought to look at too is we had a wish list of projects that all of us as
commissioners sat down and tried to determine what we thought was
the highest priority. And there was some projects in there that were
of higher priority, but we didn't have all the funding to take care of a
lot of those. So I think what we need to do is to look at the whole
picture.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I agree.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: It's great to have landscaping, but
if there's other areas within the county that maybe has a higher
priority, maybe we ought to delegate that money for those particular
projects. And then we'll look at -- if we see that we've taken care of
everything, then we'll dedicate that money towards landscaping.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Diane, I have a question for you.
MS. FLAGG: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: If we don't fund 800,000 extra
dollars, what would happen to the following years? Would things
start falling off as we go out?
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September 4, 2003
MS. FLAGG: Yeah. Right now the thing that you -- the only
statement that you all have made to date is that there is $1.1 million
available for landscaping. There was 2.9 million requested.
So with that 1.1, that significantly minimizes any type of
landscaping that can be done, and what we would need for you to tell
us is -- we had these projects as you see on the visualizer, tell us what
projects you would like us to do with that 1.1.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: So we can't do Golden Gate
Boulevard the following year or Airport the following year -- the
following fiscal year, like '05, unless we do the 800,000 today.
MS. FLAGG: Well, what it would do is that it would just
continue to push the projects out further and further and further. So
if you do the 800,000 this year, then it will allow us -- we've already
looked at readjusting the master plan, taking the two projects that fell
off the list this year and putting them at the top of the list next year
and still being able to accomplish our master plan.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: So what I see is we're getting
closer to the goal in the standards of landscaping and what we
approved, I think it was May, June, something like that. MS. FLAGG: April.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: April, of the landscaping master
plan. And I'm committed to that. Because that's what I hear mostly,
the most of everything out there in the community is our medians.
You know, and Commissioner Halas, I agree, there might be some
other priorities that you would think would take precedence of this.
But it's not my money, it's the taxpayers' money, and that's what I
hear from the taxpayers is beautify the roads in Collier County.
Because they're so used to communities -- or medians that are
landscaped, and they get used to that and they want it in their
neighborhood, too. I can understand.
So I'm all in favor of it. And I'm not -- I'm going to stick to that
through September 18th.
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September 4, 2003
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I back you up on that.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: That's where we are on that piece.
So the final decision again is September 18th.
Economic development. Commissioner Coletta?
I'll start with Commissioner Fiala.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, no, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: No, Commissioner Fiala.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, no, I didn't even have my hand
up. Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I didn't either, to be honest
with you. That's why I wonder why I was getting the nod.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Because we want to pick on you.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, because you're a great guy.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I think economic development
is a wonderful idea. And I'll be honest with you, I endorsed it before
and I endorse it now.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Commissioner Halas?
COMMISSIONER HALAS: I've listened to all the input.
Myself, I come from an area that was a large industrial area, and of
course we lost a lot of jobs offshore, and it left people unemployed,
and they needed to go through a retraining process.
And I think this economic package is very beneficial to the
future of Collier County down the road. And as we get new learning
institutions on line down here, those graduates obviously would like
to stay here, and they'd like to find employment.
And I think we've got a misconception here that the top wage is
35,000. We're looking at maybe an entry level of 35,000. And as
those people become more proficient at their jobs and they start to
work up the wage scale, and they are the people that are going to turn
into the new executives of this nation. And they're the people that
are probably going to end up contributing a lot to how Collier County
is in the future. So I have to go along with looking for the future of
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September 4, 2003
my grandchildren,
people's grandchildren.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
here.
if they decide to move down here, and other
Commissioner Fiala?
My grandchildren already live
I have -- I have a few comments. One of them, I think the
package is good. I think it's a great package. I like what it's going to
do for Immokalee. I think that slowly but surely the money that's
being poured into Immokalee is making a difference, making a
progress. And I love to see what's happening. I think that these
people are finally getting a chance, and I think it's going to improve
not only living conditions but wages, as well as pride in their
community.
I'm extremely concerned, as I mentioned previously, about the
affordable housing issues. If we bring more people -- rather than hire
the people that are already here, if we bring -- maybe they're bringing
new jobs, but hiring the people that already live here, and if they're
hiring them at indeed a higher wage. But right now it's getting very
difficult for people to even live here because of the high cost of
living. People complain about taxes and so forth, but my goodness,
with the cost of living, you've got to give them higher wages.
I still have some questions that are left unanswered in my head,
and that mainly centers around the affordable housing component.
And we have September 18th for look forward to, and maybe I'll
have my questions answered.
Well, I'll leave it at that. I had really -- no, I won't leave it at
that. I had really been thinking about this beach access. And you
made some good points, Mr. Mudd made some good points. I am
terribly concerned about a piece of property, one of the last
remaining pieces of property that allows us access to a beach. And
I'm talking not only now, we only have, what 267,000 people. We're
going to be swelling up to 750,000 people. When that's gone, it's
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September 4, 2003
gone. It's gone. We cannot recapture it. It's going to be a giant
condo instead. I want to keep that property in our -- in our portfolio.
Now, maybe we can't do it with this money, as you're pointing
out. But I think we need to find a place. And I'd like people to work
with me before the 18th of September and show me how we can do
both, economic development and save that piece of property. Now
I've said it all.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Well, I've got the piece to say that
the property is called tourist development funds, Commissioner, for
beach access.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You can't buy property with TDC
dollars, can you?
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Well, we're talking beach access
and I think that's your biggest concern, and we can use those monies
for that.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Well, we'll talk.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: It's an ordinance change.
I agree that economic development will help diversify the
community and be less dependent on property taxes. My biggest
concern, and Mr. Kerrigan pointed it out, is these will be paying
impact fees. And we have raised the impact fees to the highest legal
level and now we're saying we're going to use property taxes to pay
for it. And my biggest concern is transportation impact fees. And
what we're saying to the people out there is we're allowing other
people to get a break and their property taxes will be paying those
impact fees, transportation impact fees, and compete on the roads
here in Collier County.
I have seen it, I know Commissioner Coletta has seen it, and I'm
sure Commissioner Fiala is -- competition of going to work towards
the coast is dear. And it takes up a lot of time. And we should not
encourage more competition of going to work to the west each
morning and to the east in the evening. And I think to strike a
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September 4, 2003
balance, is still have economic development or have this program,
but only east of Collier Boulevard where we can create an economic
zone and move -- transverse some of that traffic and see some of that
traffic -- the other side of the road going east in the morning instead
of being empty. And cutting this program in -- funding in half of it
since, you know, the $2 million package was for the whole
community, I think that we can cut it in half and just allocate half of
it and do the right thing by all the citizens in Collier County and still
provide economic development. But those decisions would be made
in (sic) September 18th. No, we're going to have that on --
MR. MUDD: On Tuesday you have Items 8(H) through (L).
We'll talk about all five economic incentives. And you'll either pass
ordinances or not in order to implement them. It doesn't mean that
you have to fund them.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Thank you.
Now, this is going to probably surprise everybody but, you
know, I agree with Commissioner Henning. And God didn't strike
me dead.
I think that we try to be county-wide because we were worried
about the -- how everybody would feel throughout the rest of the
county. But I think the rest of the county, for the most part, is very
receptive to this type of, what do you want to call it, industrialization
or to try to attract industry. And east of 951 is a fairly fair way to be
able to touch on it, because you're also hitting the White Lakes
Development Center and that area that's designated commercial.
But I don't want to jump the gun too fast, but I do think
Commissioner Henning is thinking in the right direction, and I'd like
to go back and talk to some of the people that are involved in this
incentive to see how it would be if we were more site specific.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Commissioner, if you think about
it, that's where the work force lives, in that area.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: You're right. And they
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September 4, 2003
wouldn't have to travel that distance, and it would take less a little
less wear and tear on the highway.
But like I say, I'll keep my mind open and I'll talk to the people
at the EDC and different elements out there. But I think we're going
to find that probably 85 percent of everything that they're looking for
is already east of 951.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
Commissioner Halas?
Even housing.
Yeah, I was -- my thoughts on this
economic package basically fall in your line, but from 951 east. But
I was looking basically -- I thought a lot of the EDC money -- and
this is just me speaking -- should fall out into Commissioner Coletta's
area, being Immokalee, and I look at -- when I drive out through that
community and see what's going on there, I really believe that these
people need to be involved in economic development, retrained, and
that way they -- even that $35,000 in Immokalee is a very substantial
increase in wages. And it gives them the ability then to buy into
what we call affordable housing. And from that point they can start
to work up.
I really think that's where the economic development in this
county is going to be. We've already got a large park there,
development park, near the airport. And I believe Collier Enterprises
also has an economic park there, development park. So we can
utilize all of these, and I think we need to look at where we're going
with this economic package. But I think that we're pretty much in
line. We discussed this in a workshop, we've discussed it in a board
meeting here. So I really think that we're on the right track.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And I'll just add to that, and
Commissioner Henning just kind of said the same thing. That's
where all this affordable housing is just being built right now for the
people. I was just concerned about that. That's just what I
mentioned before. We've got a lot of-- what, 900 going up over at
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September 4, 2003
Arrowhead, 900 affordable homes. That would accommodate these
people?
It would keep the people off the road. That's another thing we're
worried about is the traffic, as Commissioner Henning stated clearly.
And I think we're heading in the right direction, actually.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: We just have to get Immokalee
Road four-laned instead of six-laned so they get to --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Let me play this fiddle here.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Is there anything else?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I meant that in a kind way, because
that's the same song you've been singing, and I agree with you.
MR. MUDD: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Smykowski has to have four
motions before we can conclude this meeting.
Michael?
Item #3E
RESOLUTION 2003-263 REGARDING THE TENTATIVE
MII,IiAGE RATES- ADOPTED
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Under Item 1 (E), Commissioners, we
need a resolution to adopt the tentative millage rates: One motion for
the principal taxing authority, which would exclude your dependent
districts, which are your pollution control and the new Conservation
Collier tax levies. So we would need a motion for the principal
authority followed by a motion for the dependent districts.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Entertain a motion.
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: So moved.
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
by saying aye.
(Unanimous votes of ayes.)
Second.
All in favor of the motion, signify
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September 4, 2003
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: And Collier--
MR. SMYKOWSKI: For the dependent districts, which
includes pollution control fund and the Conservation Collier.
COMMISSIONER HALAS:
COMMISSIONER FIALA:
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
second by Commissioner Fiala.
So moved.
Second.
Motion by Commissioner Halas,
All in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye.
(Unanimous votes of ayes.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Any opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Motion carries 4-0.
Item #3F
RESOLUTION 2003-264 REGARDING THE AMENDED
TENTATIVE ltl IDGET - ADOPTED
MR. SMYKOWSKI: We need, under Item 1 (F), a similar set of
two resolutions, one to adopt the amended tentative budget for the
principal taxing authorities, and a second motion for the dependent
districts.
COMMISSIONER HALAS: So moved.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Second.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Motion by Commissioner Halas,
second by Commissioner Fiala.
All in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye.
(Unanimous votes of ayes.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNN1NG: Motion carries, 4-0.
You need a motion on the dependent districts?
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September 4, 2003
COMMISSIONER COLETTA: So moved.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Second.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: Motion by Commissioner Coletta,
second by Commissioner Fiala.
All in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye.
(Unanimous votes of ayes.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HENNNING:
Opposed?
Motion carries 4-0.
Items #3G and #3H
ANNOUNCEMENT OF TENTATIVE MILLAGE RATES AND
PERCENTAGE CHANGES IN PROPERTY TAX RATES AND
ANNOI 1NCFJMFNT OF FINAIJ PI~BI,IC HFJARING
MR. SMYKOWSKI: We have one final announcement, that the
final budget hearing on the 2004 Collier County budget, it will be
Thursday, September 18th, 2003, at 5:05 p.m. in this boardroom two
weeks from tonight. The proposed millage rates in an aggregate is
4.7994, an increase of 16.25 percent above the rolled back rate. And
the general fund is 10.3 percent above the rolled back rate at 3.8772.
With that, we're ready to adjourn.
CHAIRMAN HENNNING: We're adjourned.
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 8:10 p.m.
Page 84
September 4, 2003
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX
OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF
SPECIALToMD~E~~~~ANDIST CTS UNDER_ ITS CONTROL
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF GREGORY COURT
REPORTING SERVICE, INC. BY CHERIE NOTTINGHAM
D g' ,;CLE~
These minutes approved by the Board on
presented ~ or as co~ected
, as
Page 85