DSAC Diaster Fee Subcommittee Minutes11/17/2017November 17 ,2017
MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COT]NTY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
ADVISORY COMMITTEE DISASTER FEE SUBCOMMITTEE
Naples, Florida, November 17,2017
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Development Services Advisory
Committee - Disaster Fee Subcommittee in and for the County of Collier, having
conducted business herein, met on this date at 3:30 PM in a REGULAR SESSION at the
Growth Management Department Building, Room 609/610 2800 N. Horseshoe Drive,
Naples, FL with the following persons present:
Norm Gentry
David Dunnavant
Clay Brooker
Mario Valle
Robert Mulhere
Brad Schiffer
Kathy curatolo (cBIA)
ALSO PRESENT: Jamie French, Deputy Department Head
Ken Kovensky, Director, Operations and Regulatory Management
Jonathan Walsh, Building Official
Matt Mclean, Director, Development Review
Caroline Cilek, Manager, Plan Review and Inspection
Donna Guitard, Operations Analyst
November 17 , 2017
Any persons in need of the verbatim record ofthe meeting ,nay request a copy of lhe audio recording
from the Collier County Growth Management Division.
1. Call to order
Mr French called the meeting to order at 3:30pm.
2. Approve agenda
The Subcommittee approved the Agenda.
3. New Business
a. Disaster Fee Schedule
Mr. French reported:o The Board of County Commissioners directed Staff to work with the Development
Services Advisory Committee (DSAC) and the Collier Building Industry Association
(CBIA) to review develop recommendations for a reduced fee schedule program for
emergency repairs due to storm events.o The recommendations will be heard by the DSAC at their December meeting and by the
BCC on Decemb er 12,2017.o To aid in developing the recommendations, 67 Florida Counties were polled to determine
ifthey were impacted by the storm, have they reduced building fees for storm damage
repairs and how their building department is funded (Ad Valorem, enterprise fund, etc.).o The results indicated many counties were impacted by the storm, are waiving or reducing
fees and receive money from the general fund to provide services.o Collier County's building division is funded via an enterprise fund @ased on fee
revenue), with no assistance from the general fund.o The ordinance requires if in any year, the fees generated are greater thar 50 percent ofthe
operating budget; a fee study is required to be conducted.. The most recent fee study was completed in 2017 and the fees were amended to provide
an annual reduction of$1.6M in fees (as an example is inspections rates changed from
$60 to $4s).o The County has never had a policy for not charging any fees for services and since 2009
the fees have been reduced by 10 - 15 percent.
Staff proposes:
1 . A program for reducing certain fees for single family, two family and mobile homes by 50
percent for a period of 180 days following Declaration of a state of emergency.
2. The permit fee reduction would be related to those activities deemed life safety elements to
ensure individuals may re-occupy a structure in a timely manner.j. Inspection fees would not be reduced as part of the program.
4. There would be a mechanism to cancel the program if a certain level of damage is not
sustained by County residents.
5. Those who have already obtained permits would be eligible for a refund should the program
be enacted.
6. Any individuals applying through the temporary program would not be subject to the
County's time reviere guarantee and those with a second review would be charged the full
amount of the fee .
The following was noted during Subcommittee discussions:
November 11 ,2017
o Certain non life safety elements such as lanais, screened areas, attached garages, carports,
etc. should be included in the program.o Should the progmm be enacted, consideration should be given to utilizing revenue from
the general fund to "back up" the Division's loss in revenue given the policy benefits the
residents ofthe County (Staff estimates the potential loss of revenue at approximately
$500,000 if the program is implemented).o Going forward, consideration should be given to establishing a reserve account to address
these issues. One concept would be adding a minimal fee (i.e. 50 cents) to all permits
issued in by the Division.o The loss in revenue would not be reimbursable by FEMA or other Federal agencies.o Consideration should be given to allowing an additional 90 days following the 180 day
period for those who paid their fees in full to obtain a refund should the program be
implemented.
Discussion occurred on if the program could be extended to owner occupied buildings with more
than 2 units.
Staff reported the limitation is based on the parameters ofthe Florida Building Code and
allowing those type uses would open up the progam to commercial uses. They noted those in
the commercial sector benefit from the $1.6M ofreduced fees implemented through the fee
study.
Mr. Valle left at 4:35pm
Mr. Mulhere moved to support the recommendations proposed by Staff andfor Staff to adjust
the policy based on the Subcommittee's input at the meeting today. Second by Mr.
Dunnavant Carried unanimously 4 - 0.
Mr. French reported:
l. A formal recommendation will be prepared for the program, it will be disseminated to the
Subcommittee for review and the item will be brought forth to the DSAC Committee.
2. A post event study will be prepared on the temporary program and its fficts on the
Division's operation including identifying any potential loss or gains in revenue.
3. The item will be revisited on a 3 year cycle to determine if any changes are necessary should
the program be adopted by the County.
There being no further business for the good ofthe County, the meeting was adjourned by the
order of the Chair at 5:00PM.
COLLIERCOUNTY MENT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE -
REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE
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These Minutes were approved by the Committee on
amended
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as presented _, or as