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BCC Minutes 09/16/2003 E (Mosquito Control Services for Eastern Golden Gate Estates & Immokalee)September 16, 2003 TRANSCRIPT OF THE EMERGENCY MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Naples, Florida, September 16, 2003 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of County Commissioners in and for the County of Collier, and also acting as the Board of Zoning Appeals and as the governing board(s) of such special districts as have been created according to law and having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:02 a.m. in EMERGENCY SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Tom Henning Jim Coletta Fred Coyle Donna Fiala Frank Halas ALSO PRESENT: Jim Mudd, County Administrator David C. Weigel, County Attorney Page 1 NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO CONSIDER FUNDING MOSQUITO CONTROL SERVICES IN EASTERN GOLDEN GATE ESTATES AND IMMOKALEE Notice is hereby given that the Board of County Commissioners of Collier County will hold a special meeting on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2003, at 8:00 A.M. in the Boardroom, 3rd Floor of the W. Harmon Turner Building (Administration Building F), Collier County Government Center, 3301 East Tamiami Trail, Naples, Florida. The Board's Agenda will include: Ae Consideration of funding for Mosquito Control services for Eastern Golden Gate Estates and Immokalee. All interested parties are invited to attend, to register to speak and to submit their objections, if any, in writing, to the Board prior to the special meeting. All registered public speakers will be limited to five (5) minutes unless permission for additional time is granted by the Chairman. Any person who decides to appeal a decision of the 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. 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. 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, FL 34112 (239) 774-8380. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA Tom Henning, CHAIRMAN Dwight E. Brock, CLERK by: /s/ Maureen Kenyon, DEPUTY CLERK (SEAL) September 16, 2003 CHAIRMAN HENNING: Everyone take their seats, please. Welcome to the emergency meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Collier County and the great State of Florida. Would you all rise for the pledge of allegiance. Mr. Dunnuck will lead us in the pledge. (Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.) Item #A RESOLUTION 2003-315 REGARDING CONSIDERATION OF FUNDING FOR MOSQUITO CONTROL SERVICES FOR EASTERN GOLDEN GATE ESTATES AND IMMOKALEE (AMENDED FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $135,002.35) - ADOPTFJD W/STIPI HJATIONS CHAIRMAN HENNING: Mr. Dunnuck, public services administrator, are you going to lead us off today? MR. MUDD: Before you start, real quick, just one correction. This is a special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners to consider the funding -- to consider funding mosquito control services in the Eastern Golden Gate Estates and Immokalee. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Thanks for the correction. MR. MUDD: Yes, sir. MR. DUNNUCK: Good morning, Commissioners. For the record, John Dunnuck, public services administrator. We're back here today as a follow-up to last week's meeting and a subsequent meeting we had with the Collier Mosquito Control District. Following last week's meeting with the Board of County Commissioners -- CHAIRMAN HENNING: Hold on. THE COURT REPORTER: Excuse me, I don't think the mic is Page 2 September 16, 2003 on. MR. DUNNUCK: There's a wake-up call. Good morning, Commissioners. For the record, John Dunnuck, public services administrator. We're here as a follow-up to last Wednesday's Board of County Commissioners' meeting and the subsequent Collier Mosquito Control District meeting last Wednesday as well. As you recall, last Wednesday the Board of County Commissioners denied a funding request to utilize funds outside the mosquito control district, a request to spray in the Eastern Golden Gate Estates and the Immokalee area, citing concerns that you weren't convinced that the Collier Mosquito Control District couldn't do it on their own, that they may have some budget funds available and so forth. Later that afternoon we went and met with the Collier Mosquito Control District, and during that meeting -- I want to bring you up to speed on a couple of things: While the Collier Mosquito Control District had given some authorization in July to spray at all costs, so to speak, and make sure that the funding issues got worked out posthaste, but to ensure that the health, safety and welfare was protected, the legal counsel cited Statute 38 -- 388.381, I believe, and it's enclosed in your package, that said that absent them having an agreement with you, the Board of County Commissioners, or there being a directive from the Department of Agriculture, that they were not legally able to spray outside of their district. This necessitated the request today for a special meeting to hear reconsideration of possibly allocating some additional funds outside the district so that the Mosquito Control District can continue to spray. We did continue, we were scheduled to spray last Friday -- or the Mosquito Control District was scheduled to spray last Friday the Immokalee area, and had to put that on hold because they didn't have Page 3 September 16, 2003 any legal parameters to do so. Following that meeting as well, Dr. Colfer did contact the Department of Agriculture to exhaust all ability to see if we could in fact get a directive from the Department of Ag. to direct the Collier Mosquito Control District to spray and give them that ability under the statute. Unfortunately, the Department of Agriculture, in verbal discussions with Dr. Colfer-- and you can certainly ask her any questions, as she's available today -- did deny that request. We don't have it in writing at this point in time, but they didn't think the need was there, from their perspective, and they thought it was either (sic) the responsibility of the Board of County Commissioners to work with the Collier Mosquito Control District to get this issue taken care of. At this point in time we're back here asking for the board to declare a medical alert for health, safety and welfare reasons, and to allocate additional funding. The good news is we did previously ask for about ! 63,000, and now we have a revised report from the Mosquito Control District, and it's up there on the screen for you, that it looks like it's in the neighborhood of about $135,000. The issue the Board of County Commissioners may want to consider at this point in time is to allocate that full funding amount and possibly authorize staff to negotiate that agreement consistent with the Statute 388.381 and work out a deal with Mosquito Control District to ensure that the spraying does continue while there is a medical alert, and to ensure we've protected the health, safety and welfare consistent with the comprehensive plan. If I can answer any questions. We also have representatives from the Collier Mosquito Control District here as well. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Fiala? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes, I read that Dr. Colfer was Page 4 September 16, 2003 going to request some funds from the Department of Agriculture, and if they do indeed come through -- no, they're not going to come through? I see the heads shaking no. Okay, well, I was hoping that maybe that could help us. Thank you. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Coletta? COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Yeah, I couldn't agree more that we've got a health emergency. I think that's one of the things this Commission's going to agree with. One of the reasons why I think we were hedging ourselves at the last meeting too is that it wasn't all that clear the fact that there was an agreement in kind that they were going to go back to the original promise dates as far as spraying the Eastern Estates. As we know, Immokalee comes on line October 1st, and probably one more spraying will take care of them under this emergency, then they'd be regular, is that correct, maybe one or two? MR. DUNNUCK: That is correct. The Board of County Commissioners, if you recall, last February we outlined a plan of the expansion, and at that point in time we did allocate the legal description to add to the tax rolls the Immokalee district, which is going to be effective this coming October, in a couple of weeks. At that time we were going to expand the district in the Golden Gate Estates the following year, for October, 2004. We received a memo in June saying that the District thought that they were expanding too quickly. Subsequently, last Wednesday the Collier Mosquito Control District did decide to make a recommendation to move forward and accelerate that plan for the Golden Gate Estates district, so they are going to expand in 2004 for the Eastern Golden Gate Estates as scheduled and as agreed to by the Board of County Commissioners. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: I think the problem that this board had was the fact that they moved it up a year because of personnel and equipment restraints; they were wondering if they Page 5 September 16, 2003 could fulfill that obligation. I'm pleased as anything to find out that the board has agreed, since we met, to reinstitute the original deadlines that they had set upon themselves and go forward with it. I CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Halas? COMMISSIONER COLETTA: -- think we're moving forward on this, but go ahead. COMMISSIONER HALAS: I think where all this whole scenario of this story, I think we have to put everything in perspective. First of all, let's have an understanding that the Commissioners here realize that we're here for the welfare and safety of everybody in Collier County. What we're trying to get a message across to the Mosquito Control Commission is that this West Niral (sic) Virus has been in Collier County for at least three years, and we feel it's time that they step up to the plate and make sure that the funding is adequately put into their budget to take care of the situation. We've had this going on for three years, and it's a continued deal of where these people come forth, thinking that they can come to the well and not taking the initiative to get everybody on the county on board. And that's the only problem that we have here is that we want to make sure that the message is clear to them that we want -- their responsibility is to make sure that they have adequate financing and that the people in the county are taken care of and that everybody is included in the spraying process, and that everybody should be brought into whatever it is, an MSTU or however the funding is conducted here. But that's the message that we're trying to get across here. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Coyle? COMMISSIONER COYLE: I couldn't have said it better, Commissioner Halas, but I'd like to go a bit further. As you've said, this is the third year that we've been requested to Page 6 September 16, 2003 provide funding because the Mosquito Control District has not extended its boundaries to the areas that need protection. I'd like to have a clear understanding about where the boundaries are going to be expanded, and if that will cover all of the areas that will need spraying to prevent West Nile Virus, and I would like to get assurance that those boundaries will be expanded by the beginning of the spraying season next year, not in October after it happens again. I don't want to be sitting here next summer being asked for more money because we didn't expand the boundaries early enough. And I would like some answers to those questions. MR. DUNNUCK: Well, I'll take a first blush shot at them. First, I've put up a map for the Commission to see so that they can outline and see where the two district areas are going to be expanded. Obviously Immokalee is going to come on line in October. And if you look closely on the Eastern Golden Gate Estates, you'll see a dotted line. Those lines to the right, I believe, are going to be the expanded district that they're intending to expand in 2004, October of 2004. I do not believe they can expand that district any sooner than that because they can't get them on the tax rolls any quicker than that. And that's the issue that we outlined to the Board of County Commissioners last February is that they want to do it in a phased -- in a phased way because of the impact it has on the capital cost of having to do it. They weren't sure if they needed additional airplanes and so forth. The Board of County Commissioners last February agreed to this two-year phase-in. Immokalee is going to begin in October, 2003, Golden Gate Estates, October, 2004. They went back to that original schedule there, intending to do that in order to get on the tax rolls for 2004. They're going to submit something to the Board of County Commissioners later this fall so that it can get on the tax rolls for next year. That's a process that's similar to creating any kind of Page 7 September 16, 2003 MSTU expansion. It just can't -- it can't be done without working through the property appraiser's office and the tax collector's office to get all that information together any quicker. COMMISSIONER COYLE: That means next summer we're going to be faced with this same problem. MR. DUNNUCK: Yes. COMMISSIONER COYLE: We're going to have another funding request next summer because the boundaries have not expanded to where they should be. MR. DUNNUCK: Potentially, you're absolutely correct. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Okay. Now, why is it not possible to expand the boundaries earlier than October? I understand the need to get these -- I understand the need to get them on the tax roll, but is there anything in the statute that requires that they be on the tax rolls before the boundaries can be expanded for spraying purposes? MR. DUNNUCK: I have Ms. Athan here, who's legal counsel for the Mosquito Control District, who could probably answer that question, or Dr. Stivers. COMMISSIONER HALAS: Could you sharpen up the image there? We can't really see what -- I don't know if it's possible to sharpen the image up where you can see the things on the ledger. It's a little blurry. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Little? CHAIRMAN HENNING: Take a look at the overhead. COMMISSIONER HALAS: That's better. MS. ATHAN: My name is Helen Athan. I'm an attorney for the Collier Mosquito Control District. I think part of what you also need to hear is from Dr. Stivers, who's with the District, on the --just on the feasibility of adding areas to the district. It's something that can't be done willy-nilly because, for example, the coastal areas of Collier County are different than the inland areas. And he can explain that more to you. Page 8 September 16, 2003 But as far as the legal aspects of it, the -- the Collier Mosquito Control District is a district. And in that district there are taxpayers that pay for its services. So if we expand the boundaries of the district, those parties that populate the district have to pay for the -- you know, for a portion of the services for which they receive. So that is why they have to be on the tax rolls, b'ecause they have to be -- that's a way of including them in the district and having them pay for the services in which they receive. And that's part of the issue here of why the District cannot spray outside of its boundaries, because it has taxpayers that pay for those services within the district. The other thing that has to happen from a legal standpoint is that the District itself, the Commissioners have to actually vote the expansion, you all have to approve of the actual areas of the expansion, and then it has to go before the state legislature, it has to be codified into the charter of the Collier Mosquito Control District. So, you know, the legislature typically only meets once a year in the spring, and so we have to wait for those, you know, time periods to occur. Yes, sir? COMMISSIONER HALAS: Why are we just discussing this now? Nothing's been done in the last couple of years. MS. ATHAN: Well, but something has been done in the last couple of years. We expanded the district boundaries last year and we're expanding the district boundaries again this year. We have been expanding the district boundaries. COMMISSIONER HALAS: What you should have done is put the whole thing in a big package and took care of the whole issue right from the get-go instead of piecemealing it. MS. ATHAN: Well, but see, that's what I'm trying to explain to you is you can't just go out there and spray willy-nilly. You have to know -- you know, you have to know what you're doing. There's a Page 9 September 16, 2003 process in spraying, there's a science to it. Dr. Stivers is a Ph.D. in entomology. I mean, there's a whole process that is done. You can't just go out there and spray, you have to know what you're doing. You know, Golden Gate Estates is a totally different type of area. I'm not a scientist and so I'm not the one to tell you. I really would like Dr. Stivers to explain it to you. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioners, if I can ask you to pull up your mics. I've been told from the public that it's hard to get all the comments through our channel. And another thing I just want to say is, it's the Board of Commissioners' duties for health, welfare and safety of the residents of Collier County. The District is providing a service. And what you're saying is it's just like Collier County cannot spend money without the -- outside the county unless there's a direct benefit to the residents of the county. MS. ATHAN: Exactly. CHAIRMAN HENNING: So I understand the frustration, and I think that we had a responsibility of pushing to expand the districts if there was that much of a concern. We both have that responsibility. So it is what it is, and we need to get on to what we're here for, is protect the health, welfare and safety of the citizens. Commissioner Fiala, then Commissioner Coletta. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thanks. Yes, I couldn't agree more, and that's just about what I was going to say. The last two speakers -- or last two Commissioners have said just about everything I wanted to say. I feel that we shouldn't be dancing around this issue, we should start it right now. I don't know how you can get those taxes in place and on the tax rolls this fall. I don't believe there should be any survey, that just extends the time a lot more. We all know we need it. There aren't any breezes out in Golden Gate Estates like there Page 10 September 16, 2003 are along the coast to blow those mosquitos off. You've got all the standing water from those lakes that are being dug from the excavation pits, as well as the higher elevation, so the water stands longer, which creates more mosquitos, which really infects the entire county. So I feel we should be moving forward with this. I don't know how to do it, but we've been waiting for the advice to move forward over the last couple of years and I don't think we can wait anymore. I feel we just need to take a firm stand and get it done right now. MS. ATHAN: Well, that -- Commissioner, that's what, you know, I've tried to explain to you is that we have, we expanded the district boundaries last year, they're being expanded again this year. You know, starting October 1 st we're starting to spray Immokalee. Last year we pushed the boundary line into more of Golden Gate Estates. And the board voted at its last meeting that we're going to try to do that again the following year. So there is a program for expansion into Golden Gate Estates, and I really would -- COMMISSIONER FIALA: But still, we have all summer long next year with this same problem. MS. ATHAN: Well, that's correct. That's correct, you do have that. But what I'm saying is, this has all got to be done in a timely manner. And Immokalee is coming on, you know, October 1st. And the board has agreed that they want to proceed to try to bring on other sections as of October 1st of next year. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Why can't we bring them on as of October 1st this year? Or even December lst? Why can't the process -- I understand you have to go before legislature to get some kind of approval -- MS. ATHAN: Right. COMMISSIONER FIALA: -- but we could at least get the process done from here so that when you get before legislature in January or February, we have all of our ducks in a row and we're just Page 11 September 16, 2003 ready to go forward. MS. ATHAN: But these people are not going to be able to be on the tax rolls by October the 1st. I mean, we can't just decide okay, you're in the district now. I mean, there's a process that we need to go through. And these people are not going to be able to be on the tax rolls by October the 1st. COMMISSIONER FIALA: I realize October 1 st is just a couple of weeks away, but I don't know why we can't just declare that we want them on the tax rolls. MS. ATHAN: And the other issue is that -- the other issue is that we've already gone -- you know, the District has gone through a certain budget process and has its budget set up for the coming fiscal year, which starts on October 1 st. And those funds are not going to -- there are not going to be extra funds to have a -- you know, a full-time spraying program in these additional areas right now. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Coletta, Coyle and Halas. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Thank you. I think the reason we're at the problem we're at right now is the fact that Mosquito Control has not been forthwith in coming before us in a timely manner to be able to explain what the problem was. At the last meeting, when we were trying to deal with the situation, we had only our own staff. If only we had Mosquito Control at that time, we might have avoided it. Let me finish. I've been working on this since back in the early Nineties. And my group, the Civic Association out in the Estates, is the ones that beat you into doing the other two expansions from one mile east of 951. And I can tell you, it's not been an easy thing and we've met a tremendous amount of resistance. It's been very difficult and it's always the same excuses, and it will not work and this and that. But I'll tell you right now, you've been very successful what you have Page 12 September 16, 2003 done. Where you've been spraying you people have really realized it. There isn't a problem with the fact that it's not effective. It's very effective. Now we have two new entities coming on line, and I appreciate the fact we do. But you have to plan ahead. In order for the schools to come into place, people look at the demographics and they plan where their schools are going to go. For us to be able to plan ahead, we have to know where our roads are going to be in every given year. We have to plan it according to the population. I don't think you're going to have another expansion to worry about for a little while to come. But what I'm saying is the reason we're into this predicament right now is the fact I don't think we had the kind of communications that we needed to be able to go forward and make a decision the last meeting. We were left hanging in the air a little bit, waiting for some sort of answers to come forward. But with that, in all perspectives, you do a good job at what you do and that's spray. And sometimes you need a little boost to move yourself forward to the next district, but when this is behind you, you're going to be stable for many years to come. But I hope we can put this behind us and use today's proceedings as some sort of template for the future so we don't get into this kind of predicament again. MS. ATHAN: I just want to make one correction, and that is Dr. Stivers did attend the last meeting that this board had, but was not asked to speak. So he was here and could have -- you know, could have advised you. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: We have a process where a person signs in when they come in, and their name comes into the hopper and we recognize that person. Very often people in the audience do not want to be recognized and do not want to speak. We do not force them to come up forward. Page 13 September 16, 2003 It's a very simple process, it's announced every meeting, it's announced during the meeting, please sign up, put your sign-up slips up front and we'll deal with it. The good doctor was not available for us to be able to talk to him. If he raised his hand from the audience, possibly somebody would have recognized him, but they didn't. We're not going to force him to come up front. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Coyle? COMMISSIONER COYLE: Just a couple of comments and a question that I still haven't gotten an answer to. The statute clearly makes it the responsibility and authority of the Commissioner of Agriculture to respond to this. And I'll read: The state health officer must immediately notify the Commissioner of Agriculture of the declaration of this threat to public health. The Commissioner of Agriculture is authorized to issue an emergency declaration. Now, the Commissioner of Agriculture has decided not to do that, because the Commissioner of Agriculture doesn't think there's an emergency. MS. ATHAN: That's my understanding. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Okay, now, the Commissioner of Agriculture doesn't think there's an emergency, the Commissioner of Agriculture is the one who's responsible for determining that, but we're going to declare an emergency here so we can give you additional funding for the third year in a row, and we're also going to set ourselves up to do it next year and the year after that and possibly the year after that. Because I have not gotten an answer to my question about when will you extend the district boundaries to all of the areas that require spraying for the public health benefit? DR. STIVERS: For the record, Dr. Jeff Stivers, research director, Collier Mosquito Control. I think with the expansion to Immokalee and the expansion into Eastern Estates that our board will be discussing, that will be pretty Page 14 September 16, 2003 much the end of expansion for the district, at least for the foreseeable future. From the simple -- for the simple reason that there's not much else that's highly populated where we can make applications. Everglades City, as an example. The way we operate, we cannot really treat Everglades City and provide any level of service to those residents. Because they are surrounded by sensitive lands, we cannot treat those lands. That's one reason Everglades City has their own mosquito control that's done by the city government. And that goes with anything that gets down along U.S. 41. The Boyne South we cover, what is it, Port of the Isles out there, again, it's surrounded by sensitive land. We can't really go in there. So I don't see us -- and I'm speaking from a professional standpoint, not from the standpoint of a commissioner. We have our chairman here, if you need that kind of a perspective. But I don't see us expanding any further than that. Even though there may be people out there, and even though we may be concerned for their safety and welfare, it is simply not going to be feasible for us to provide service to them. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Okay, so if I understand what you're saying, by fiscal year 1995 (sic), you will have extended the district -- COMMISSIONER FIALA: 19957 DR. STIVERS: 19957 2004-2005. COMMISSIONER COYLE: I'm getting old. By 2005, you will have expanded the district boundaries to its ultimate limit. DR. STIVERS: I won't say ultimate, but foreseeable limit. There may be something that happens out there. I don't know, maybe somebody come in and builds a new development down in Southern Golden Gate Estates, you know, 20 years down the road, so we can't talk about that. But the foreseeable future, where we can provide any degree of good service, this is pretty much it. And I'd like to address one of the things that really is the Page 15 September 16, 2003 sticking point with you folks, and this has been made apparent, is what you see as our lackadaisical approach to expansion of the district. And what I'd like to point out to you is, and Ms. Athan has already made this point, we already expanded. If you'd look at the brown area there, from the green, which was the original boundary line, as of three years ago, we expanded out in one expansion, took in 30 square miles of district in Golden Gate Estates. Last year we went another 30 square miles. And at that point staff, myself included, recommended to the district that we stop expansion at that point. Because remember, a couple three years ago we were not talking about West Nile, we were not talking about a health threat, we were talking primarily about mosquito nuisance; strictly the things that made it annoying for you to go out in your backyard, okay. And we were also talking about contiguous areas. There's a lot went into our thinking. Staff sat down and said look, the situation we're in now, we have just expanded 60 square miles into an area that is totally different environmentally from where we are used to treating. We do not know what it will take to provide quality service in those areas in the way of manpower or equipment or materials. So we -- our recommendation was let's stop, let's regroup, let's get our things together, and after we have three or four or five years of experience in the Golden Gate Estates area, then we consider further expansion into the Estates, as the population grew in Eastern Estates, which by the way includes me, I'm not in the district. So I want to see mosquito control out there, too. And so do my neighbors, and they let me know that. But we said at that time, from our professional standpoint, and this is not just me with my Ph.D., this is people at the District with 30 years of experience in Collier County. We need to stop. And on top of simply expanding into a new area that we did not know what would be required of us out there to provide service, we Page 16 September 16, 2003 were transitioning our aircraft from DC3's to short sky vans; we were also completely revamping our application equipment. And I might point out that we're leading the country in this, in the technology development to make these applications work. So we have all of this going on. And our decision -- our recommendation to our board was let's halt right now for four or five years, let's regroup, make sure all these new things that we're trying are going to work. Now, West Nile came up. We talked with Dr. Colfer last year, we discussed it, we said we really don't want to expand. We're not sure what we're going to need, but there is a health threat. Understanding that we did not have the material and equipment to expand into Eastern Golden Gate and Immokalee, we sat down with the health department representatives and said what's the priority? We'll work at one. We'll take our chances that we can provide service, but let's focus on one of those areas of priority. That area was Immokalee. COMMISSIONER COYLE: I guess -- and Mr. Chairman, I'm going to wind this up real fast. I guess my feeling still is that I believe the Mosquito Control District should do what the statute suggests. If there is an emergency, you get an approval from the Department of Agriculture, and if they don't agree with you that there's an emergency, then in my opinion there is no emergency. Now, Mr. Mudd, can you tell me if we have the authority and the ability to establish a special taxing district for the area for which we would authorize funding to spray? And can we do it effective this taxing year so that we can recover that money? CHAIRMAN HENNING: County Attorney might want to chime in. MR. MUDD: Commissioner, my gut would tell you we suffer from the same problem that the Mosquito Control District has. You Page 17 September 16, 2003 have to identify those special taxing units in enough time to get out the notices for the taxpayers on their tax roll and have all that laid in. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Even under an emergency? MR. MUDD: David, I'm going to turn to you. MR. WEIGEL: And my brain says the same thing. What we have is -- the board has the ability, and there is a record in the past, of expending funds for health, safety, welfare purposes, or having -- and having the service provided, be it by the Mosquito Control District or conceivably by contracting with services to provide such outside of the Mosquito Control District. And of course part of your discussion today has been, well, we have the entire county tax base subsidizing the assistance to this particular area. And it's legal and it can be done that way, but it is impossible from a timing standpoint this fall to impose a tax on the particular area that's outside of the mosquito control district that we would consider to be served with a specialized service. It could only be funded by the funding mechanism that you have in place right now, which would be an expenditure from the general fund. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Okay, so we're going to be doing this for two more years in addition to this year? CHAIRMAN HENNING: One more year. COMMISSIONER COYLE: No, I think it's two more years. Because you're not going to get people on the tax rolls until October of next year, right? DR. STIVERS: That's right. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Final group, okay? You're getting Immokalee on the tax rolls October -- DR. STIVERS: We will start being responsible for all the applications in Immokalee October 1st of this year, three weeks -- two weeks from now. COMMISSIONER COYLE: And the remaining area is going to be coming on board October of 1994 -- 2004, I'm sorry. Page 18 September 16, 2003 COMMISSIONER HALAS: 2004. DR. STIVERS: That's assuming that the process goes through and there are no hitches in the get-up, we would take responsibility for the Eastern Estates October 1 of 2004, yes. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Okay, thank you. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Halas? DR. STIVERS: Just to readdress this issue of the Commissioner of Agriculture, I spoke for about a half an hour last night with the Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture and was told, quite frankly, that this was a local issue and that it did not fall under the category of a health emergency. What they consider a health emergency is some sort of a major epidemic or a natural disaster, as though -- if Isabelle had come through here, then they might have gone to that part of the statute. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Well, I would like to suggest to you that they clearly say that it is the State Health Officer's authority to declare a threat to the public. If the State Health Officer has declared a threat to the public and the Department of Agriculture doesn't agree, then to me perhaps there isn't a serious threat to the public. But nevertheless, I'm not going to debate that issue. I've had everything -- CHAIRMAN HENNING: Commissioner Halas? COMMISSIONER COYLE: -- answered I need to have answered. COMMISSIONER HALAS: I guess where you're going to go here is the fact that first of all, you're going to get the funding. We feel that's very important. But most of all, I think what we're trying -- the message we're trying to convey here is that the Mosquito Control Commission has to work with the County Board of Commissioners and we have to work here as a team together. If there is any kind of a threat to the safety or welfare of the people, this Page 19 September 16, 2003 should have been addressed three years ago where people from the Mosquito Control Commission came forth to the Board of County Commissioners and said we have a problem, let's figure out what we need to do to take care of this and nip it in the bud so it's not a continual problem. I guess that's what we're asking, is we want to make sure that there is a line of communication open between the Mosquito Control Commission and the Board of County Commissioners or the County Attorney or the County Manager. Do you understand what we're trying to get here? So that we don't run into a situation like this. And at that, I think that we need to move on here and make sure that the funding is put in place first. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Dr. Colfer? DR. COLFER: Yes, and I just wanted to respond to the question about, you know, do people think this is a serious problem. Yes, it is, it's just that Deputy Commissioner Roberts, when I spoke with her yesterday, from Agriculture, you know, did feel it was a local issue. She was reluctant to get in the middle of it, but was very concerned and felt that we needed to use our time here today to broker an agreement between the two sets of commissioners so we can solve the problem. We are under a medical alert. Is everybody going to drop dead if they get bitten by a mosquito? Absolutely not. But, you know, we do have at least one person that's sick, and we are going to have more cases. I need your help. I don't have many tools here. I practice population based medicine, but there's very little I can do. There's no vaccine for this disease; otherwise, I would have immunized the community. There's no medication. Once you get sick, you know, you're fighting it on your own with support of medical care and that is it. There's health education. My staff has contacted every rotary club, every community association, every civic association and Page 20 September 16, 2003 offered to come and do lectures, provide literature and teach people how to avoid this disease. We have done that, we continue to do that. Now I need your help. Mosquito Control is the last tool that we have. So I implore you to please try and work with the other commissioners; can we broker some agreement so we can get this done. Thank you. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Okay. Commissioner Coletta? COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Yeah, recognizing this is a health, safety and welfare issue, I'd make a motion at this time to approve the funding, the amended funding, to carry this forward, with a stipulation that Mosquito Control keep us duly in the process about where they're spraying, when they're going to be spraying and what the effects have been and the results. COMMISSIONER FIALA: I'll second that. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Motion on the floor by Commissioner Coletta, second by Commissioner Fiala. Discussion? COMMISSIONER HALAS: I just hope that we got the message across. Who is here from the Mosquito Control Commission? Sir, did you understand what we were trying to convey here? If you'd come to the mic. MR. JOHNSON: For the record, it's John Johnson, I'm the chairman of the Collier Mosquito Commission. And if I could have a moment -- and I hate to do it in the middle of this good motion that was just made -- but first of all, I appreciate what you all are doing here today and all the issues on your plate, but certainly a health issue. I think you've done the right thing by giving it the right priority, which this should have. I guess I'm a little -- I don't know if taken aback is the word. But we don't -- and I'm sure you all don't either as you try to build schools and roads and so on, we don't have the -- Page 21 September 16, 2003 CHAIRMAN HENNING: We don't build schools. MR. JOHNSON: -- three-year hindsight thing to say, gee, we should have done. And I can tell you, if we could go back three years, know what was going to happen these next three years, yes, we would have done things differently. But I think we all would have done that. And I don't know how healthy that is to keep focusing on that. I think what you're doing right now is extremely healthy, addressing the issue. Unfortunately our hands are legally tied, okay? Our board wants to help these people, our staff wants to help these people. That I hope you don't think is an issue. We understand the seriousness of West Nile, I'm going to say better than anybody. And I may be stepping out of line there, but I'm going to say that. My staff especially. We understand that. But when our attorney says to us you have statutes that you must follow, just like you all I'm sure do, we have to follow those. And yes, had I known West Nile and what would happen three years ago, I would have done things differently, but that's not productive. What you're doing today is extremely productive, and we are going to continue to be productive. COMMISSIONER HALAS: Okay, what I'm just trying to get is that we're -- from that -- from this point on we're moving forward. And what I'm asking you is that we want to make sure that you are in the loop with not only us but with the school board so that you have an understanding of what the growth management plan of the county is, so that you're in the loop and understand what the concerns and where the population looks like it's going to -- in what direction it's going to go so that you can put forth a five-year plan so that we can address these as they come up. And if you need any help, please come before the Board of County Commissioners so we can assist you. MR. JOHNSON: Thank you. I -- Page 22 September 16, 2003 COMMISSIONER HALAS: That's where we're coming from. That's where we want to -- that's the direction that we need to go, do you understand, we need to plan for the future here. MR. JOHNSON: We're on the same page on that, and I appreciate that support. COMMISSIONER HALAS: Okay. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Any other discussion? David Weigel, our county attorney. MR. WEIGEL: Thank you. For the clarity of the resolution and for our budget director, I'd like to make sure that the resolution is specific as to the dollar figure that the board has in mind. The executive summary mentioned a figure of $163,900. If that is the amount -- I'll finish in a moment. If that is the amount that the board is approving, it should be clear in the -- ultimately clear in the motion of the board. And additional information in the executive summary talks about a $51,000 expenditure to date. There had been a previous authorization of the board, I believe, to the tune of $20,000. So for clarity for the record and for all of us as we work forward from this point, I'd like the record to show, and r all of us to be informed, if the $20,000 previously approved is part of the $51,000 invoicing that has come, and if the 20 and 51,000 is included within the $163,900, so that ultimately we know what additional budget amendment is required from the general fund reserves. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Well, we already authorized $20,000. So the balance would be $135,002.35; am I correct? COMMISSIONER HALAS: That's what I read here. COMMISSIONER FIALA: And your amendment said the -- or, rather, your motion said the amended amount. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: That's correct. Yeah, but if it needs further clarification, what we're authorizing here is the additional $135,000 -- $135,002.35, okay? That's what we're Page 23 September 16, 2003 authorizing. We already authorized the previous 20. We don't have to reauthorize it; is that correct, Mr. Weigel? MR. WEIGEL: No, that's absolutely correct. I wanted to be sure that that 20,000 either was or was not included in that 163,900 figure, or if it's backed out so that you're not approving more than is necessary at this point. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Let the resolution reflect the changes MR. WEIGEL: In the motion. CHAIRMAN HENNING: -- of the motion. ' Any other discussion of the motion? Yes, sir. DR. STIVERS: Just a clarification. What you have there on that sheet, on this sheet, are our best estimates. If you look at the top of that sheet, it shows the actual cost for the applications. Each of those is different because of the environmental conditions on the night of the application. So I don't know-- CHAIRMAN HENNING: More information that we need to know at this time. DR. STIVERS: Pardon? CHAIRMAN HENNING: More information than we need to know at this time. DR. STIVERS: Okay. I'm just saying, you may not want to go with a solid number. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: No, we have to go with a solid number. MR. MUDD: And any unused portions will be returned to the general fund. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Yeah. MR. JOHNSON: Absolutely. CHAIRMAN HENNING: That's what we do all the time. Any other discussion? (No response.) Page 24 September 16, 2003 CHAIRMAN HENNING: All in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. COMMISSIONER HALAS: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN HENNING: Aye. COMMISSIONER COYLE: Aye. COMMISSIONER COLETTA: Aye. CHAIRMAN HENNING: (No response.) CHAIRMAN HENNING: Opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Board of Commissioners are going to adjourn here. Page 25 September 16, 2003 There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 9:50 a.m. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL TOM HENNING, Chairma~ ATTEST: DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK 'Attest as to Chatrm~n'$' T. signatuKe o~15; hese minutes/approved by the Board on as presented v/ or as corrected TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF GREGORY COURT REPORTING SERVICE, INC. BY CHERIE NOTTINGHAM Page 26