CCPC Minutes 01/13/2006 S
January 13,2006
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
COLLIER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
Naples, Florida, January 13, 2006
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Planning
Commission, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted
business herein, met on this date at 8:30 a.m., in SPECIAL SESSION
in Building "F" of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida,
with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN:
Mark P. Strain
Brad Schiffer
Donna Reed Caron
Lindy Adelstein
Bob Murray
Russell Tuff
Paul Midney
Robert Vigliotti
ABSENT:
ALSO PRESENT:
Joseph Schmitt, Community Development Administrator
Marjorie Student-Stirling, Assistant County Attorney
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Here we go. If everybody could
rise for the pledge of allegiance.
(Pledge of allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you. Ms. Secretary, would you
take the roll call, please.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yes. Mr. Schiffer.
Commissioner SCHIFFER: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Midney is not here. Ms.
Caron is.
Mr. Strain.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Adelstein.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Vigliotti is not here.
And Mr. Tuff.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. This is a continuation ofa
meeting that started last year in December, and it got continued at that
point to our first meeting in January which was two weeks ago or so or
a week ago, I believe, and it got continued to today. It's the AUIR
2005 review. It's the annual update and inventory report.
At last meeting we had left off in the transportation section; but
since the last meeting till now, I had the honor to be asked by
Commissioner Henning if he could address us this morning before we
started which I was pleased to say, Of course, we would welcome his
comments. And so, Commissioner Henning, if you would like.
COMMISSIONER HENNING: Thank you. The -- first I want
to say thank you for your time. This -- this being a volunteer on a
planning commission requires a lot of your time. And it's not -- I
think every one of the board members recognizes the work that you do
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January 13,2006
here, and I'm sure many of them watch the Planning Commission from
time to time like I do. And I can say when I go to the -- the item that
you consider, comes to our level, I look at what the issue is and the
first thing I look at is what are the recommendations of the Planning
Commission.
The presentation that -- that I'm going to present to you this
morning is not to influence you or my presence is not to influence
you. It's just to provide information. Information that I've been
compiling over the last few months and I'm going to give you the short
verSIOn.
Recently working with a not-for-profit organization in the state
of Florida, Florida Tax Watch. Florida Tax Watch derives its revenue
from membership and donations. And they make recommendations to
the governor, the cabinet, the House and the Senate.
One thing they have done historically is compare counties on
how they tax the residents or taxpayers or property owners. And one
of the things on how they compare counties they've had is per capita
of property tax collected, taxes levied of fuel tax, utility tax, and so on
and so forth. What is not included is fees including impact fees. So in
1999 -- actually, 2001 they published a report on how taxation in each
__ each county in the state of Florida. And as you can see the Collier
County in 1999 ranked 18th with a $546 per person or per capita. The
average in the state of Florida is around $600 per capita in 1999.
Now, Florida Tax Watch provided me a packet of information,
and I'm going to give you the David Letterman version of the top ten
counties in the state of Florida as far as taxation. Of course, we must
include the east coast, the west coast, Lee County, our neighbor to the
north ranks No.6, Palm Beach County, Walton County, Martin
County, Collier County. And the number one for several years has
been Monroe County. And there's the state average of taxation.
Now, I want to emphasize in 2004 Collier County was the
highest in -- in impact fees of what it costs you to build a structure or a
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residential home in Collier County. This year this is the total taxes
what we collected in the county. Now, this includes the school board
and other taxing districts. And it works out to -- to the figures. And I
use the BEBR -- the same BEBR number that Florida Tax Watch has
used. What I did not calculate is gas taxes and others.
So are we No.1? I don't know. We are No.2. Do we want to
stay in the top ten? Not from my perspective. I would hope not.
And, of course, again, I don't want to influence you on your decisions.
Capital improvements for building infrastructure for the future is
very important. But I have confidence in this board that they're going
to take a look at what is going to be presented to you today and ask the
tough questions. Is it valid information? I'm sure it is. Can it change?
I don't know. But I can tell you that your recommendation to the
Board of Commissioners is very important, individually and
collectively to the Board of County Commissioners.
I want to show you something that -- information that -- that I got
from the property appraiser. It is a certification of the taxable values
of Collier County Government. The purple line is where we're at
today of taxes collected. As you can see in 2001 we're approximately
150 million that we collected that went into the general fund. This
does not include the unincorporated fund or any other taxes. It is just
property taxes. As you can see the purple line in 2005 where we're at.
Now, the light blue is what I'm calling for in the future is
rollback. Now I can't go back or we can't go back to the years
previous. What I would like to do is try to get out of the top ten. And
the numbers there -- there's one graph there you really can't see is just
because of the scale I couldn't put in the numbers, but it's new
construction. Rollback doesn't include -- it includes collecting new --
new construction. What it doesn't do is include collecting increased
assessed values. And that has been a factor in the collection of
property taxes in Collier County.
And let me just find the slide of new construction. That's what
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that looks like. I just want to show you per population and taxes from
the general fund and how -- how it trends. So I'm -- I'm not going to --
you're going to have a very long day today, and I'm not going to take
up anymore of your time. But if you have any more questions, I'd be
happy to answer them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do any of the board members have any
questions of Commissioner Henning?
COMMISSIONER TUFF: I wouldn't mind having that e-mailed
to us if you can.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's up to the commissioner.
COMMISSIONER HENNING: I -- why don't I just put it on a
disk for you?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you. Commissioner, this
is very enticing, very interesting information. When -- in the last
several years at least that I'm aware of, there's been additional funds
that have been gained as a result of assessed value increases in
property; and I understand that the rollback is intended to compensate
for that increase. Those monies become available and then -- then --
then it is -- it is my understanding that the county commissioners are
able to use that money to the advantage of the citizens. You're saying,
if I understand it correctly, that the best advantage for the citizens
perhaps is to return the money to them. I note that -- that there is a
difference in the height in the graph. How much are you hoping to
return to the citizens if they were a percentage? Let's say a 100 percent
of the total assessed addition, how much does that represent in
returning to it, would you say?
COMMISSIONER HENNING: Well, I want to emphasize I
want to collect less taxes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER HENNING: That's what it's really all about.
It -- it all depends on -- rollback depends on the increase of assessment
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each year. Now, I can tell you, you and I enjoy the Save Our Homes
Amendment.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER HENNING: And just to give you an example
what it was last year. I'm not sure if you can read those numbers.
This is my homestead property. Collier County in the previous year,
2004, I sent approximately $258 for the general fund. Now, if we
would have did rollback, my taxes, the same column, would have been
$853.
Now, the same scenario but my total tax from that previous year
was approximately $2,900. If all the taxing authorities use rollback
like the Mosquito Control District, my taxes would have been $2,600.
This is a comparable property from my neighbor who does not have
homestead exemption this year due to either he just purchased it or he
is not a resident of the state of Florida or chooses not to have
homestead exemption. His taxes would have went up a little bit, $15
and it's just because of assessed value.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Assessed value, right. So if!
could just follow up. See, here's the thing that -- that distresses me.
Well, maybe distress is too strong a word. But on presentation of the
AUIR, any deficits or shortfalls anticipated are to be made up using
millage increases. Yet we know that each year and the last several
years there have been, as a result of assessments, the values have
grown that there's these monies that are returned presumably to the
general fund to be used for whatever purposes. So we have -- in the
one case we are -- we are to make judgments about what's appropriate
against millage, and yet we know that there's the potential for these
other dollars.
There's -- to me there's a disconnect there that I struggle with.
And -- and I just was hoping to understand a little bit more about that.
I -- I think I can put the pieces together, but in terms of where --
where, for instance, I had suggested -- let me get to the crux of it. I
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had suggested that on each of these sheets that indicate summaries as
to dollars what the shortfall dollars are especially with interest that
accrues against each of these accounts that they be -- that those --
those interest statements be placed on the bottom of those summary
sheets to show what monies -- although sent back through the Clerk of
Courts and then back into the general fund, what those monies are that
could, in fact, be used for transportation and other purposes. And that's
kind of like a rollback in my sense, you know. It's not -- not a good
example. But that -- I'm merely saying those are the things that -- that
go through my mind. And I appreciate very much what you're
attempting to do. And that would be my comment and thank you. I
don't know there's -- there's no question there. It's just --
COMMISSIONER HENNING: No. I think what you're stating
is you're pealing back the onion to find out what the part of the
solutions are.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes, sir. That's -- thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Russell.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Yeah. Just my question is that -- and
I asked Randy this. I didn't have anything to compare these to. He
sent me a 2002 in our road budget for the same thing we're working on
there recommended was 658 million. And for this year it's 770 -- 774.
And if I'm understanding it correctly, we've doubled our revenues
and barely done any for roads, but roads is a top priority for, I think,
most residents. So I'm wondering is it just a matter of where we've set
our priorities and how we got -- because those numbers that we're
looking at don't reflect what I believe we've heard is the emphasis we
want. Normally, we'll build these roads and yet we're not -- we're
collecting twice as much money as we were before and we're not
spending twice as much as money on the things that we all want. And
I -- and I don't -- we don't have those numbers in front of us to
compare to see where it's going. I guess that's my main concern.
COMMISSIONER HENNING: I can't speak upon that, but I can
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tell you what -- what I presented to you the difference between
rollback and -- and the actual where we are with the general fund. The
board made a conscious choice to support Norm Feder in his
transportation infrastructure building.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: But not by budget compared to what
you're bringing what I see so...
COMMISSIONER HENNING: The -- well, I mean, there's
some other things, you know, that Constitutional officers and -- and
other programs like landscaping of our roadways. But when I became
a county commissioner in 2000, we were told that we were $320
million in -- in -- in monies to build the five-year plan. We bonded
that with dedication of other sources, but in -- but in reality we used
increased assessed values.
In my opinion I don't think the majority of the residents would
complain about that. Okay. And -- and what -- what we're finding out
today, what Mr. Feder's up against, is it just increased costs of
right-of-way, materials and labor, and so on and so forth? And Mr.
Feder and I have had long discussions and he is working on and I will
assist and I'm sure my fellow commissioners will also look at how we
can -- for example, is it time in Collier County to -- for Collier County
to own its own excavating pit? Is it time that we own our own
batching plant for asphalt? You know, there's ways that you can -- you
can tackle the issue, but it's just -- it's going to take a lot of time and a
lot of hard work. We have collected more than -- than for our
transportation budget shortfalls. We have grown. And I would hope
that we would -- we as decision makers would -- would take a look at:
Do we want to do better? Can we do better? And how do we do
that? How do we provide services to the people who we serve? So
that's -- that's a -- that's a big question, but first there has to be a
majority of willing to do that so. Okay?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions of the
Commissioner?
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January 13, 2006
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you very much, Commissioner
Henning. We appreciate your time.
COMMISSIONER HENNING: Thank you for the time. And,
again, it's just information. It's not -- not to influence you whatsoever.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. At the last meeting we had just
started on transportation, and I was on the very first page starting with
the first numbers which we can continue with. But before I start my
questioning, I would like to make sure that this panel has their first
questions on the table and if there's anymore, obviously, as we go
along we will certainly respond to them. Does anybody else have a
question of transportation before I start?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you.
MR. SCHMITT: That's just the sound of money, Microsoft.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And I appreciate the handouts today.
I'm not sure what you expect us to do with them, but I'll be using
what's in my book so...
MR. FEDER: And -- and, Mr. Chairman, please understand, this
is no changed numbers. What I've given you as we discussed the last
time we're together is on page 5 and then I believe at -- also page 12.
I've taken the impact fees in Ave Maria and put them together in a
single item. I've taken the bonds and the carryforward where they
were separated into two and put it together. I've shown the numbers --
and in particular I'll call your attention on 12. I've shown what was a
confusing set of numbers hopefully in a manner that -- that shows you
exactly what happens.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. FEDER: And in that case what it does is it shows you that
you have each year a carryforward, but we were trying to total it
across and there was a difficulty. And so I've done that on a yearly
both surplus deficit and cumulative which would balance out to zeros.
Revenues equal expenditures and the chart, the numbers have not
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changed, but I think the format -- and I appreciate the discussion
because I think this is a clearer format for presentation.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: When I get into my questions, if I hit on
issues that these papers address, just let me know. But I'm going to
have to follow the format I started to understand and keep track of
how I wanted to proceed.
MR. FEDER: Understood.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray, did you have -- did -- you
said -- you indicated you had some more questions.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: A couple of housekeeping items
for me. On page 12 I wondered if you would explain to me why we
seem to peak out on the impact fees Fiscal Year '08. I know the last
time we spoke there was the discussion about impact fees would be
subject to a modification either to the indexing or restatement of the --
of the impact fees. Is that associated with that in any way?
MR. FEDER: No. Commissioner, what that is showing and,
again, I think we told you and we have in this while we've got a
balance, this is very conservative as was discussed last time on gas tax
revenue projections. It is also fairly conservative on impact fees
especially in that it keeps generally the current level projected out.
But what that is showing and the reason it's down in '8 is a component
of our impact fees is the 50 percent paid up front. And so, therefore, in
'08 you see -- in '07 and '08 you're seeing that other 50 percent that's
within three years. But since we haven't done '06, don't know the
numbers and know that 50 percent, you don't know show the other 50
percent in '09 and of course the same over in '10.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You wouldn't even -- you
wouldn't -- okay. You don't even take it.
MR. FEDER: So, again, we're trying to be conservative on it.
Not knowing the numbers, we haven't tried to put them in as
established fund.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. Let me just ask you this
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then. This all -- the predicate for all of this now is really SP360;
right? This is -- this is a requirement of the state, but we're concerned
now. We're building this to comply with what we anticipate for 360?
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, this has been a requirement all
along. Collier's one of the few that has done it. And this is consistent
with other requirements within transportation, long-range
transportation planning, TIP, through -- I know you know are very
familiar with, the month-long planning organization process as well as
our AUIR. And for the last five years, at least, development and
delivery on a five-year work program.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, what I was attempting to
get at is that any state money that's going to come to us via the Growth
Management Act of 2005 is -- is reflected in what form? Will that
ever be loaded --
MR. FEDER: You've got the issue under grants.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Is that --
MR. FEDER: You don't show an awful lot there.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. Grants--
MR. FEDER: We are not anticipating a lot of revenue stream
under 360. We are not. You have -- we did acquire about five
thousand a year for two years under the new trip program.
MR. SCOTT: Five million.
MR. FEDER: About five million, excuse me, each year, two
years. One of them on the loop in Immokalee. One on 951 between
Golden Gate and Pine Ridge. But I will tell you that there's not a lot
of federal and state money assumed in this program consistent with
the way the state's going under a strategic intermodal system
emphasis.
MR. SCOTT: The grants in there are what we know we're going
to get reimbursed for. We will go after future grants, but we don't
know what we're going to get so...
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
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MR. FEDER: Again, we've gone conservative in -- in our
revenue projection.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Really pulling in the dirt over
us. Yes. I thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Go get 'em.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Uh?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: It's yours.
Chairman STRAIN: Well, Norm, I'm going to backtrack a little
bit. Let's start at the top of Sheet 5.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And it actually spurred a comment as a
result of -- to the questions to Commissioner Henning. The
recommended work program this year is 774 million. Last year it was
683 million, I believe. We have a carryforward of298. Does that
mean of the 683, 298 did -- did not get completed or spent last year?
MR. FEDER: No. There's two components of that carryforward.
Actually two components, bond and actual carryforward, but
there's two ways that those get carried forward. There are projects that
-- that did get moved and we talked about some of those. Those are
carryforward projects. The bulk of it though as the note shows you on
the bottom of the page is when I go out -- whether it's a construction
phase when we let it -- it's a $30 million construction, it pays out over
a curve. But you commit all the dollars and then they roll until they
payout.
The same with right-of-way. Right-of-way actually pays out in a
longer time frame, but you commit all the dollars and then it becomes
part of your roll, your carryforward until it is spent out. Same with
design but lesser time frame.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So of the 683 in recommended work
program last year, how much of that work program approximately
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then was executed for that -- for the value of the -- against the 683
dollarwise; do you know?
MR. FEDER: When you say executed, are you saying spent
versus encumbered? Predominantly it was encumbered, but as I
pointed out because of payout curves, not that much of the capital is --
is spent as you go forward. You spend it in increments over time.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, how much was spent last year on
roads? Do we know that?
MR. FEDER: I can give you the figure on that, but I don't have
that with me right now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Where I'm trying to go is to try to get to
MR. FEDER: You're -- you're asking for expenses as opposed to
encumbrances? Okay. We'll run a report and get that answer for you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The reason -- reason I mentioned it is
Mr. Tuff pointed out an issue that we really don't -- we want to know
how much we're increasing road expenditures to and how they
coincide with the taxation. Taxes went up last year on average 19.88
percent on all property values. We've been trying -- I guess Mr. Tuffs
question was possibly to see how you're keeping track with the
increase in growth.
MR. FEDER: With all due respect, the question you're asking
me will not answer that though. Because asking me how much I spent
depends on what phase I've encumbered and how much of that has
been drawn down. If you ask me how much I've encumbered, then I
think you've got your answer. But that won't mean that the next year
you won't see a carryforward of some of those encumbered funds.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, you had predicted some
carryforwards in the last document you provided us. I know you've
got --
MR. FEDER: We didn't predict what we had. Every year you
only show your carryforward the first year. It's a budgeting item. And
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January 13, 2006
we come in with budget. There are dollars committed to projects. And
those dollars committed to projects are maintained along with the
requested budget for new projects, but the continuation budget is that
carryforward.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: When you say the dollars are
maintained, does that mean that they are acquired ready to be spent?
MR. FEDER: No. That means that we have accrued them over
the years in budget and have encumbered them. And until they are
spent, they stay on the books along with commitment to the project
and that's why you've got a work program as you see later in your
AUIR that shows projects that don't have any funding activity past the
current fiscal year.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, would that amount of money that
is not spent but is yet encumbered, is it real money in a sense it's
sitting in an account somewhere earning interest for the taxpayers.
MR. FEDER: It is real money. And hopefully if Mike hears this
down in his office -- I know you asked last time the interest accrued,
and hopefully Mike hears this and will be bringing it. Otherwise we'll
be making another trip down to get that answer for you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I -- I certainly will be asking it.
MR. FEDER: I appreciate that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The impact fees, by combining the
number to the 207, it does clarify some questions because the 207
shows up in some of your worksheets as a solid impact fee number.
But when it got to the front page, it was reduced to 178 until you
explained that Ava Maria now is part of that.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Why -- what spurred the thought to
separate Ava Maria out anyway to begin with? I was just curious.
MR. FEDER: Basically because we have an agreement, and we
wanted to track on that agreement the progress of Ava Maria and their
payment of impact fees, agreement to DCA; develop a contribution
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January 13,2006
agreement and the interlocal both relative to Ava Maria, provide that.
After seven years we assess. And if, in fact, conditions and issues
aren't being met, that we can either modify and/or terminate the
agreement. So as a tracking we do that technically through our impact
fee office. Generally with any project on impact fees you've got an
assessment, a tally sheet for any -- especially if there's any credits.
Here only on the design was there a credit aspect. But the nature of
that project, the size of it and the desire to track that interlocal and that
DCA specifically is why we showed it separate; but now we've shown
it combined and put the terminology including Ava Maria so that if
you looked at the prior one, it wasn't confusing. And the future will
just show it as impact fees because that's exactly what they are, but we
were tracking it a little bit separately and because of the interlocal and
the agreement.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does the 28 million -- it's over a
five-year period, would you have that broken down what you expect
each year?
MR. FEDER: Yes. We've modified slightly from the agreement
which was noted as -- as conditional upon issues as you would expect.
Generally the 28 million is consistent with what was in the
agreement previously, but we didn't see as much impact fee revenue.
And I believe it was about 1.5 million last year instead of the
anticipated level. So we've shown it moving over slower. I think the
question was raised previously. It doesn't seem to be going as fast.
They're experiencing cost increases and, therefore, not building as fast
the -- the university itself. Although the town seems to be picking up
fairly quickly. We've then projected out our revenue stream.
MR. SCOTT: I checked with the impact fee office. We have
about $5 million worth of impact fees in development right now. And
if you look at the bottom of page 11, it's broken out. It's 3 million in
'06; 5.1 in '07; 5.5 in '08; 6.5 in '09; and 8.6 in '10. So right now we're
above the level for this year depending on how fast it gets permitted
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January 13, 2006
through.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The next question I had last time when
we started talking about was your gas taxes.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And I had made the comment that your
gas taxes have gone down from last year even though your traffic
counts have gone up. I think somebody was going to have an
explanation for that.
MR. FEDER: I believe Mr. Smykowski did go through a
discussion at the end of our -- our last meeting. Essentially what he's
looking at is he's averaged over time, but I will let him when he comes
up give you a more thorough review of that. But, again, it's -- it's a
conservative approach. We -- we acknowledge that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the gas tax revenues that you file
with the State of Florida, I went to their site and checked. And really I
went back three years. And on average over three years, we've gone
up 4.11 percent. Again, that would lead me to believe that for the next
five years, we'd actually be increasing, not decreasing gas taxes. So I
__ I certainly would hope that Mike comes back with a better
explanation on that one.
MR. FEDER: Understood.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Last year we had a recommendation --
you had a line item called commercial paper for 19,700,000. I may
have asked this last week -- or you may have -- so I'm sorry if it's
redundant. I'm just --
MR. FEDER: The determination was that we didn't have to go
after that. That increased assess value, if you will, has allowed the
establishment of 24 million a year which is also in the 20-year
financing plan that we have. That says that essentially we're not going
to go up 24 million a year as things stand right now in general
revenue, but that provision or that ability to go to that level made no
need to go after the commercial paper.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is the -- the 24 million, does that also
include pay-as-you-go funding?
MR. FEDER: Yes. That is what the commercial paper was sort
of noted. We had bonds as pay as you go. And the commercial paper
was set as part of the pay as you go if you will.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: 2003, you had a separate line item for
pay as you go and it was 16 million 800.
MR. FEDER: That was the soon-to-be commercial paper, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So now those terminologies that
are actually the same?
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. It's just hard to follow when you
change terminology like that with no explanation.
The next issue would be on page 9, and this is more of a
statement and probably a request for assurances from your department
or maybe an acknowledgment. Weare also the same board that you
bring PUDs to with recommendations for approval. And over the past
number of years there have been repeated recommendations from the
transportation department for approval of various PUDs. In fact, it
wasn't until we questioned the -- I think it was the Benderson PUD on
the Davis and 951 corridor a month ago or two months ago that your
recommendation of approval was changed to a recommendation of
denial at least at our meeting at that particular date.
MR. SCOTT: Well, the reason why I changed it and I had
already talked to staff about that was the fact that Davis wasn't going
to be funded anymore. And -- and did it show up in the paperwork,
no, because that happened after you received that. And, of course,
we're going to see that again coming back.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: See, that's -- that's part of the reasoning
I'm trying to understand. During the Wal-Mart facility to the
southwest corner of that and then the Benderson facility to the north
that was the subject of our -- this just now, those two I understand
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January 13,2006
have prebought certificates of adequate public facility.
MR. SCOTT: Yes, they have.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If I'm not mistaken, it was over 100,000
for the remainder for a good portion of the Wal-Mart one and close to
that number for the Benderson. Do you know what those two
numbers are?
MR. SCOTT: They pay for a certain amount and I believe the
northwest quadrant was about 130,000 square feet. The south -- the --
it's two something. Two -- and I have a list. I can give you a list of the
seven properties they have around the county that they prepaid back in
2002 or '3, I think.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: By prepaying those in that quadrant as
an example, does that mean that they now have a vested right to utilize
those COAs and build even though we now know that the road is
going to be deficient, will continue to be deficient until such time we
get a commitment for funds that seem to have disappeared?
MR. SCOTT: To the level that they have paid impact fees, yes.
And that was previous to our concurrency system. They came in just
before the rules changed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So they bought all those COAs before
checkbook concurrent?
MR. SCOTT: About a week before, 15 million -- $15 million
worth.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And without the funding we lost
basically the ability to stop the growth in that corridor until the roads
are improved. Is that what you're really saying?
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, when we've gone out with the
concurrency management system, one thing we've tried to explain to
people because they've heard and it's true that we are the most
stringent in the state of Florida at least as things stand right now. And
yet people saw the Wal-Mart on Immokalee, the Wal-Mart on Davis,
two facilities that probably everybody realized had difficulties and yet
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January 13, 2006
they got approved. They got approved because they were vested and
we could not stop it under the new system. However, the Wal-Mart
that came in as you're well aware at 951 and 41, we have not
approved. They are proposing or they've gone through that they're
going to make an improvement. That has not happened yet and they
will not get a certificate of occupancy without the adequate capacity
because they do fall under the concurrency management system.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That brings in another parameter. You
said they have proposed an improvement, but they haven't done it yet.
Does that mean you're going to hold off a recommendation for
them to go forward until the improvement is in place and functional?
MR. FEDER: They have an agreement with the county approved
by the board that once -- and if they make that improvement, that
provides more capacity than they will consume, then, in fact, they can
get a certificate of occupancy but not until.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: A CO. Does that mean, no, they can
start construction prior to that?
MR. FEDER: They can start construction I believe--
MR. SCOTT: Only if they get the project permitted and -- and
we'll just say at this moment in time they are behind schedule.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, all these questions are real
relevant to where I'm trying to go --
MR. FEDER: I understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- on this table. On this table there's a
series of road systems that have been changed in their construction of
programmed dates from the last AUIR. There are road systems that
have come before us with projects on them that had recommendations
of approval. And we've proceeded with those on the basis of the
applicant telling us what's in the AUIR. We have a -- you know,
basically they have a two-year opportunity in which they have to get
listed in order to apply and be approved. Well, that two-year
opportunity is to start I understand, but in many times as you know
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January 13,2006
we've asked the applicant to consider their COs at the time of road
construction completion because that is an opportunity we have. That's
all changed by this new table. And the first ten items out of ten, four
of them were supposed to be -- have construction starting in 2005.
Now, they say 2006. That means the completion might be a year or
two years down the road for those same items. And projects that have
come before this board are now approved will be open on-line on
those road systems before your construction may even be halfway
through its process.
And I -- I'm pointing this out as you've done that not only with
the four of the first ten, but five more of the next -- the next ten. So
almost half of the projects didn't start on time. And I know there's a
problem getting things started. I know there's money issues, but that
needs to dovetail with your recommendations of this panel on the -- on
the projects that come forward because this is really unacceptable on
the basis of approvals we've already done. We're going to have a
bigger mess out there than we ever could have possibly had now.
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, I fully appreciate what you're
saying. What I put here is first of all you have as an example here
Santa Barbara shown twice and Radio Road. That represents one
project that as I've shown here has had one year of delay. It was
originally '05. It is now in '06. The reason for that delay probably
most are very cognizant of. There are a lot of questions about the
project. Even though it had been in the long-range plans -- subsequent
or previous long-range plans, the community concerns are something
that we take very valid and try to work through. I had a lot of
different forms, a lot of discussions. Went to a 60 percent set of
design plans. Brought in another consultant to look at innovative
concepts to resolve to the same intersection designs that we had for
that section. Went to another set of 60 percent design plans. And now
a completed and designed in right-of-way in going towards letting that
to construction, but that did result in some delay.
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January 13,2006
So three of those items that you note -- because Radio Road, that
section over from Santa Barbara to where it was previously four lanes
is part of the intersection line of Davis are all one project. Do I relish
the idea of telling you anything is swift? No. As I told you previously,
we spend time and we have a pretty good track record of holding the
project, but we are running into some very unusual times and issues,
and we are adjusting our program accordingly. And that's what you
see here with those delays. Not that we want to show them to you; but
as soon as we recognize and see that we're going to have a delay in
ability to deliver, we're taking that into account in our best guidance to
you. Now, that does keep them within the two-year time frame the
first year. Now they are effectively in the second year. But regardless
of that, they are a delay. They are a longer period as you point out
before somebody will get that new capacity that in many cases have
been relied upon in decisions. And we -- we fully understand that.
The others here as you see, Rattlesnake Hammock, fortunately
that one is already under construction. The notice to proceed the kick
off is coming shortly. But that one got delayed basically because we
finally resolved putting up four panther signs to warn motorists that, in
fact, panthers are in the area west of 951, which is a little bit to my
surprise. But nonetheless that was what created about four to five
months of delay as coming to the resolution of four panther signs.
And that has been resolved and we are now under construction.
You have there as well County Barn. County Barn has been an
interesting project. Before I came I think it was in and out of your
AUIR at least 15 times. We -- I basically committed to no delay on
that project. And, unfortunately, you have delay on this project.
Because what we've done is we've redesigned a few times with the
environmental groups addressing the issue of the Lely Area
Stormwater Plan LASWP as it's known. We thought it made a lot of
sense to put in the LASWP provisions, not utilize them, open them up
until LASWP was approved and then make that part of the process
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January 13,2006
rather than do it twice.
The permitting agencies felt, no, you're backdooring me. You're
going to make me agree to LASWP by saying that I approve these
provisions of LASWP in this project. Strange orientation. The long
and the short of it is we're in and out a couple of times. We now have
the right provisions. We have the approval LASWP and we're moving
on County Barn right-of-way acquisition, soon to construction.
The last one in here in this fiscal year delayed from prior fiscal
year is a very significant one I know especially as this board has
sought very, very hard and the Board of County Commissioners have
__ have followed suit to the direction of the Planning Commission to
look at all the development that's occurring on 951 particularly the
north section as we develop north of Vanderbilt Beach Road both on
the east side and the west side. And we share and appreciate the
support that we've had from this Planning Commission and the board's
follow-up on that to try to establish a grid, to try and make sure that
we don't inundate that section before its ability to move forward.
What I will tell you is I'm resolving the last of the permitting
issues. We had a bid on construction that was unfortunately very
high. We have had one session to negotiate with the lone bidder. We
have one other plan; but in anticipation of that, I already have an
executive summary to go to the next board to reject the bid. Now,
should something change our mind and we bring it to the board and
they concur, that's different; but for right now I anticipate that's what it
will be. Weare looking at how we can create some cost savings and
issues on that without further delay and get it back out to bid. So, yes,
I understand fully your concern. We take it very seriously. I did even
before this became a bigger part of the issue when we established the
five-year work program that we didn't have five years ago. And that
five-year work program charts the course, gives the target. I've heard
a lot of people say, Well, if you can't meet it, why even have a
five-year program? I gave you a sheet that showed you previously --
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January 13, 2006
and I can put it up -- all the lanes that we've added in this county on
time with one project with one month delay.
Now, we do have some slippage here, and I'll be the first to admit
it and tell you that I'm not happy with that. And I can't promise you
that there will never be again. I can promise, as we know it we will
adjust the program and, therefore, our decisions accordingly; but I
can't go retroactive for you either. Now, having said that, we are still
within the two-year window. We're going to try and bring these
projects forward; but the only thing I know for sure is not to have a
five-year work program, not to show when we're going to do it, make
sure that I have no failure. But to have no target is the only way to
assure that I will never hit my target.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I appreciate everything you just said and
I do understand it. And one thing I want to comment on. I have
reviewed your proposals and estimates for that segment of 951. Had
you recommended approval of that, it would have been an injustice to
the taxpayers of this --
MR. FEDER: I agree fully.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm very pleased that your department
took that stand. Maybe what we need is new blood in this county for
road work. Now, back to the--
MR. FEDER: We're talking to Montreal believe it or not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Pardon me?
MR. FEDER: We're talking to somebody out of Montreal.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think we should look at every avenue.
It's just not right what was on that particular proposal. On this table --
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- you just explained to us why some of
these issues occurred. I have a couple here I want to further ask; but
before I do, when we talked about the summary table, I asked you
about the gas tax and impact fees. Your statement to the summary
table was trying to be conservative in your entries. Why can't we be
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January 13,2006
more conservative in our predictions of start dates on the roads? And
the reason I'm asking for this is not to say we don't want to start them
sooner, but this document provides an open-door policy for
developments to use it to manipulate to get on the road system when
we're not absolutely sure, and it may be more of a liberal look at the
starting dates than it needs to be. And if you're going forward on a
conservative note, could this table be looked at and become more
conservative?
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, there -- there's two sides to that
answer. The basic answer is yes. Okay. And especially under the
provisions of 360, we're going to have to be a bit more conservative
on this side. The other side of that equation though is that you want to
move forward on your projects. And the more time I give, it's sort of a
self-fulfilling prophesy. If everybody has enough time, there's no
urgency. And that was basically what was the process before I came
here five years ago. There was no schedule and nothing got done.
So the balancing act needs to be there. We need to have an
appropriate target that recognizes there's an awful lot that we need to
accomplish with the community for the community. And we need to
have a schedule that we all know and can rely upon. Yet at the same
time I fully appreciate under 360 the need to be conservative on that
end as well because the implications of certain issues whether it
permitting cost, manpower, affordable housing -- I can go on down
my list -- could create some slippage and that creates a bigger
problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I would hope that maybe you'd
consider looking at this table again for that -- from that position. On
the table itself if you go and take a look at Item No. 13, Golden Gate
Parkway, Santa Barbara to CR 951, in the past or in the AUIR from
2004, that was supposed to be addressed starting construction 2005.
Now, I'm wondering what it's saying when it says constrained. Does
that mean you're not planning to do something with it? What is it
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January 13,2006
you're planning to do?
MR. SCOTT: We never had --
MR. FEDER: Golden Gate Parkway --
MR. SCOTT: We never had construction on that section.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well, I'm not sure then what was
called out in 2005.
MR. SCOTT: I think -- I think it's referring to the construction of
a parallel facility as a possible solution to it.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
MR. SCOTT: Because we've -- we've identified this for several
years as constrained.
MR. FEDER: Green Boulevard.
MR. SCOTT: Yeah. I think it's probably referring to Green
which is not on the same schedule it was previously.
MR. FEDER: Now, from -- from--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, Golden Gate Parkway was No. 10
on AUIR 2004. And it said year deficient 2005 roadway Golden Gate
Parkway from -- to Santa Barbara to CR 951 construction program FY
2005. That's what it says in the AUIR.
MR. SCOTT: I think --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It says a lot different in this year.
MR. SCOTT: I think what I was doing with that was the--
obviously, when you drive out there, one of the constraints is Santa
Barbara and Golden Gate Parkway. Santa Barbara was an '05. That
was a solution towards it, but we weren't widening Golden Gate
Parkway because it's constrained in the growth management plan.
MR. FEDER: Commissioner--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: When this -- when this appears on this
table and it's shown on the left side as an existing deficiency and you
show on the right side you're going to program construction 2005,
what are we supposed to think you're meaning? That you're going to
try to help that --
Page 25
January 13,2006
MR. SCOTT: I got a column that's that big that I'm trying to say
these are some of the things that might help.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, there's a lot of white paper here.
It could be footnoted.
MR. FEDER: The problem --
MR. SCOTT: Okay. Noted.
MR. FEDER: Commissioner -- Commissioner, the only thing I
can tell you is that's an error on our part. Bottom line is that our work
program has never had a construction phase on Golden Gate Parkway
between Santa Barbara and 951 nor -- nor design or right-of-way
phase to bring forward that construction.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There was a project that was debated
quite extensively.
MR. FEDER: There was a project debated, but it never
materialized into a design phase, right-of-way or construction phase in
our work program previously or now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On No. 15,2006, so you're deficient
2006, CR 951, Golden Gate Parkway to Pine Ridge. In the AUIR
2004 said that that was going to be constructed -- construction
program was to start in 2007. Now, it's noted as a TCMA. Does that
mean it's not going to get fixed?
MR. SCOTT: No. The section that we had previously
programmed was from Golden Gate Boulevard down to Green. We
have shortened the project down to Pine Ridge. We -- as part of the
project that we're doing, design has just started I believe or close to it.
MR. FEDER: Yes, it has.
MR. SCOTT: For Collier from Golden Gate Boulevard down to
Pine Ridge, we're also doing 30 percent design further south to try to
set up what our stormwater requirements are. Is there a project any
time soon south of Pine Ridge, no, there's not. And as I noted last
week, the TCMA will fail. It's -- it's not a solution to it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Before we go onto the next --
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January 13,2006
MR. SCOTT: It's -- if -- it's in there because right now someone
comes in with a site plan, is the TCMA okay, yes, but in, you know,
six months it probably won't be. It's a snapshot in time.
COMMISSIONER CARON: In -- in six months you're saying --
MR. SCOTT: Probably.
COMMISSIONER CARON: -- it will probably be failed?
MR. SCOTT: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Well, since this is a five-year plan,
I'm not so sure that using the TCMA under a heading that says
"solutions" is really a solution. I mean, I think that's --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the TCMA happens to be the next
page in this report and maybe we could turn to that. Is there any other
questions from the --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead, Mr. Murray. By the way, if
you guys have questions on pages that I'm moving past, just speak up
and we'll try to get it on the table.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. But I'm enjoying your
questions.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You're probably the only one.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: 951/41, you mentioned when
they get permits, we're going to start moving ahead with those
modifications to that road. You know, I'm -- I'm sure you share the
same concern that that's going to be an issue that's going to be
construction and reconstruction and reconstruction. And I'm just
wondering whose permits are we talking about? Are we talking about
a state permit in this case?
MR. SCOTT: We are -- well, it's actually both because of the
section that they -- they are going to construction south of US 41 to
north of 41 on 951. So it's dealing with both of us, the state and the
county and other permitting agencies.
MR. FEDER: And, Commissioner, though, your point is well
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January 13, 2006
taken. It is an interim improvement. While it is six laning, we
anticipate the PD&E for US 41 that we advance that the state is doing
to identify more long-term solutions in that intersection of 951 and 41.
But that six laning until those others come forward, become
financially feasible and the time frame it would take to bring them
forward, this was considered a good interim project.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, no doubt.
MR. FEDER: If they could come forward as promised.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No doubt from the point of view
of somebody of having an interest in doing something and coming up
with a solution, it appears acceptable. I will tell you, though, that the
community in that area is getting very concerned with this and I -- I
just worry about it.
Now, also the chairman brought up a question that I thought
certainly is very valid. We sit here and we depend upon the
information in particular 5.1 when we see a petition and we rely upon
your statements. And you've been forthcoming. I'm not suggesting
for a second that you haven't been everything you need to be, but is
there -- is there more that we could enjoy, we could benefit from? As
was the question that was posed and the information illicited with
regard to the Benderson, we'd have a better comfort zone for the
communities if we were in a position to -- to know about current
status, real current status rather than having to poke the question.
Could you help me with that?
MR. SCOTT: Well, and -- and we've had conversation with Joe's
staff about that. And -- and planners are actually calling it right before
stuff comes in. Because we might review something that you see a
year and a half before, and obviously do things change, yes. And--
and that's some of the issue that we're trying to get through. Now, I've
had a conversation with Joe directly about maybe we should be the
absolute last sign off.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm thinking. I'm certainly
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January 13,2006
thinking.
MR. SCOTT: And say because things change. Obviously, the
thing with Davis was one day it's programmed, the next day it's not.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: It -- it puts you in a position of
looking a little foolish sometimes which is very unfortunate. And--
and more than that, though, the critical factor is that inasmuch as roads
are a critical factor, it appears that we won't have the right
information. And the chair makes a very good point. We've made
decisions that are actually going to create agonies for you, for us and
for the people who live there.
MR. FEDER: And, Commissioner, a couple ofthings on that. In
addition to getting later in the review process which we really need to
do --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MR. FEDER: -- the other thing we're doing is every project is
going under MS Project. We have a much more sophisticated effort
that we're undertaking both in trying to control costs and time, but
have a much better indication of where critical path items may be
slipping and, therefore, a better feel. If we have some hesitation, then
we'll relay that to this board about whether or not a letting is going to
go. As I said, we enjoyed about four and a half years ofletting them
on time.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I--
MR. FEDER: Some of the issues we're facing now, it's even
more critical that we manage those critical path issues very, very
tightly so that we don't find ourselves giving you guidance and then
shortly afterwards having --
MR. SCOTT: Specifically for your answers if! had -- you know,
I have four positions open right now. There's things I want to do that I
can't, but I try to be here every Thursday for you guys, you know,
sometimes I'll read it, you know, two days ahead of time too.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Let me be clear. I think you
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January 13,2006
folks do a fine job and do the best you can under your circumstances.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You're welcome, sir. I know Mr.
Smykowski's back here. I am probably going to be hitting on several
accounting issues or numeric issues and maybe we can accumulate
those to the end or, Mike, whatever you prefer. The two that are on
the table right now -- if you want to come forward then -- the working
interest revenue and the explanation of the reduction in gas taxes from
last year while we had an increase in traffic counts.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: For the record, Michael Smykowski,
Budget Director.
The clerk's office provided me with a -- an itemized listing by
fund. What you see on the visualizer is a listing in '05 is the cash from
interest that was earned on funds in -- and it's listed by Fund 313 is the
first one. That's the road gas tax fund and where the bond proceeds
are. And the balance of the funds listed are by individual road impact
fee district from Funds 331 through 340. In aggregate, $5.2 million of
interest was earned in cash -- on a cash basis on the available funds
within your road -- your various road --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is that one year?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So this is a five-year AUIR. So we're
look at 25 million roughly?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Fairly close.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Where does that show up on the
summary sheet as a revenue source?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: It does not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If it did show up as a revenue source,
that would mean some of the other revenue sources such as the general
fund may not be so widely needed. I don't know how you-all do your
accounting, but I would just subtract that amount that's earned from
funds that already go there including impact fee account I would
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January 13,2006
assume.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: That money is deposited into the general
fund. So it is not shown as a revenue in the road financing plan
because it is not deposited within this fund group. I will grant you
there is a transfer from the general fund on an annual basis of $24
million from '07 through' 1 0 of which the interest that is deposited into
the general fund in essence helps make that transfer.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The interest that -- this interest money
goes in, I understand, to the Clerk of Courts and funds it back to us in
the form of the general fund?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And then it's looked at for whatever it
may be. Maybe it's considered contingency money or money unspent
and it's divided up into various parts of the budget; is that correct?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: In the general fund, yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It does not get credited back specifically
to the transportation department?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Not specifically, no, but the board has
made a formal policy decision in terms of funding roads that
obviously before they would consider discretionary positions in any of
the various operating departments or divisions, that the first priority
was meeting the road requirements and being financially feasibly
sound in our road program. So that is of the highest priority to the
board. So before they would consider any other discretionary
positions, that transfer to the road program has been funded on an
annual basis.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: My point is it is a revenue source
generated by the management of the funds in the transportation
department. It's a good management program. It's good they're
earning interest on it. I give them the highest regard for that. That's a
good move. I think that it ought to be shown on this document as a
credit to that department through its revenue source. Now, I know that
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January 13, 2006
would increase the revenues from 774 to possibly 800,000. You only
need 774 so you'd reduce another line item by that amount which I
would assume would be general funds or other costly items like bonds.
But I would like -- I think that ought to be looked at as a -- as a
possible avenue to pursue.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And, Mr. Chairman, if! may.
Even if it -- even if it can't be put down as a reduction because of
policy, certainly as I've indicated previously as -- as a parenthetical, if
you will, in the summary to show that that's the amount of money, it
certainly would help the commissioners know. Because I was going to
ask you is it a one for one when you say that they -- they determined
in past years to put that money back in those priority projects? I'm not
going to go there if it's a one for one. I don't really care. But I want to
know, isn't that -- isn't that a reasonable request for that to happen?
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Adding -- adding that as a footnote, I don't
see that as a problem.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. And I'm not disagreeing
with your desire, but I'm saying if that's now possible.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schmitt.
MR. SCHMITT: For the record Joe Schmitt, Community
Development Environmental Services Division Administrator.
Just to help Mike out there. That -- that -- that money that comes
back in is inherently part of that $24 million a year coming in out of
the general fund. Whether a specific portion of that 24 million is
earmarked as the interest, though, we recognize your recommendation,
but in -- in being somewhat factual, that is a decision that is the
board's during the budget cycle as budget guidance to the county
manager on how that happens. Because that money does come back
and comes back as Mike said into the general fund. It's not earmarked
to go back to specific programs.
So I think based on your recommendation, all we can do is note
that that interest money comes back in; but if it's directly tagged to the
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January 13,2006
road program, that is a decision made at the budget hearings, not at the
AUIR. And -- and -- well, I think, Mike, if you want to clarify that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schmitt --
MR. SMYKOWSKI: I think it's clear the interest is used,
deposited in the general fund and the general fund makes a transfer to
support roads. I think it's accounted for properly. I understand your
point, Mr. Strain. Obviously, that interest availability helps buy down
the net cost of the general fund transferred to the road program on an
annual basis.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think, Mr. Schmitt, I wasn't making a
recommendation if it appeared that way. I was asking questions to
find out what the recommendations might be at the end of this
particular element. So let us -- let's go with that.
And, Mike, the second issue we have right now for you was the
issue on the gas tax.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: It's very dark. It's hard to see.
MR. ADELSTEIN: It's not even picking it up.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: I'm sorry. Let me talk in very general
terms.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I can't see it.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: When we built the AUIR, our initial
starting point for FY'06 was the budgeted gas tax revenue. As of this
point in time a few months later we actually have the actuals. Mr.
Strain, I will be addressing your question directly too.
Your concern was that the gas taxes -- I said they were probably
conservative. If you use the actual FY'05 which amounted to $20.1
million in FY'05 and then we increased that 3 percent annually, the
number at the -- at the far right over the five years from 6 through 10
would be 110 million.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Okay. Versus the 107 that we showed in
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January 13, 2006
the AUIR. I indicated, you know, they were conservative. I -- I
updated the figures to reflect the actuals so...
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Technically that explains why. I used --
the beginning point for me, the spring board that I inflated by 3
percent annually was the '06 budget. Given that the '05 actuals are
very close, in fact, to the '06 budget, there is a slight incremental
impact. And then by running that out for a five-year period, the
differential would be about $3 million. And would actually show then
if you used the 110, that updated figure compared to -- I think that
addresses your concern.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It does and I -- I -- even at the 3 percent,
I still think you're conservative based on the revenues I've seen this
county send to the Florida Department of Revenue in reporting their
gas taxes over the last three years. The average increase has been 4.11
percent. Three percent is an acceptable, I think, compromise. It gets
us there.
Now, if this gas tax line increases to 110 million, what
decreases? On the -- on the summary page you have to get back to the
774 work -- recommended revenues for work programs. How do you
get back to that 774 if you've increased gas taxes by 3 million? What
number comes down? I think I know, but I want to understand from
your perspective.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: I would probably say no number's going to
come down. The board is committed an ongoing $24 million to
support the -- to replace the gas taxes that are used for debt service
which is about $14.6 million annually. And then the -- the differential
between the 14 and the 24 is designed to begin to address long-term
issues in the Golden Gate Estates such as bridge maintenance program
which we will be in dire need probably over the next 20 years of
replacing many of those bridges. And the -- the commitment was to
not only meet our AUIR needs, but to begin to address the long-term
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January 13,2006
needs in the Golden Gate Estates in the road maintenance and bridge
maintenance areas.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, but what you're saying is if these
conservative numbers are found to be more conservative than reality
and we end up having more money from gas taxes and impact fees,
that money is going to be spent.
MR. FEDER: With all due respect, Commissioner, we've been
fairly conservative throughout. And yet at the same time what I'm
looking at right now you asked a very important question and that is:
Should I not be conservative also in my scheduling? I will also tell
you to get to the exact penny on estimate of costs is probably a fool's
game. And so hopefully where we are in a conservative set of
estimates and our best estimate of costs is a balancing process with
midterm corrections as we go along.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And I have no -- no problem with that,
but I think you've got to start somewhere. And I still think the
numbers that are being discussed are not -- are still conservative
compared to some other revenue sources and streams that have been
reported. So I'm still not convinced we need to not -- I don't believe
that if you have more funds going into gas tax you increase the
revenue sources and not decrease them appropriately from another
category so...
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Sir, respectfully, I believe that over a
five-year period, the margin of error on the side of construction
inflation given the price of asphalt and steel and the like will far
outstrip any differential in gas taxes on an annual basis. Just because
that's been so all over the board, and the recent bids show that cost
differential and what we're really up against on the cost side of this
equation.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I'm not satisfied those bids show
anything other than is too much going to local contractors. In that
particular regard, maybe that'll change. That might be the one thing
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January 13, 2006
that that bid's going to do good for this county.
On the next item -- I'm ready to go to the next page at this point.
MR. SMYKOWSKI: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you, sir. I may have a few more.
I've got some --
MR. FEDER: Mr. Chairman, before Mike leaves here -- before
Mike pulls down from the podium, if you will, you had asked one
more question as well. You had asked on the roll forward the
encumbered and the bonds, basically in '05, and that's the figures we
have. Obviously, we don't know '06 what we've encumbered and/or
spent yet. In '05 we encumbered 153.7 or 154 million.
Approximately spent 78.4. Now, I need to put that in perspective.
Our program as you see is roughly on the average of about 120 million
a year. And so we encumbered obviously more than that because
some items roll and you encumber.
In the case of the expenditures, again, that goes on a payout
curve. So I don't want to mislead you that you're going to not -- you're
going to see a different or exact carryforward the next cycle. It
depends on which phase we're in and how those payouts are going on
the projects.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You're addressing the question about the
298 million carryforward; right?
MR. FEDER: Yes, I am, sir. I'm trying to.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Because your revenues in '05 were 210
million. Your expenses against that was 76 million. You had a
beginning balance of 163. If you add the revenue to the beginning
balance and take off the expenses, you have -- end up with 298 as a
carryforward.
MR. FEDER: Again, and that's from different years carrying
forward. And one of the major jumps there you see was the second
issuance of the two bond releases that we had, another about 100
million, overall just over 200 million.
Page 36
January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. My next question would be on
page 10. And, Don, this is a TCMA. And you've got numbered
percentages on the bottom. 93.47 percent lane miles meaning level of
service standard. The way the LDC reads, you've got to have at least
85 percent so you're still okay on that TCMA. Is that the
interpretation from that sheet?
MR. SCOTT: Yeah. But as you notice and as we were talking
about, if you look at No. 15 or look at No. 22, they're very close to
capacity .
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If any one of those slides to full
capacity, does that take the 93 below the 85 percent?
MR. SCOTT: Um--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Or can they be deficient but the TCMA
still allow projects to move forward because the overall TCMA is not
deficient?
MR. SCOTT: It can. But I think mileage-wise if you keep--
you know, obviously, if! take two of those out, I'm going to be below
85 percent.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Thank you. On page 12 the road
financing plan update, this item I'm going to ask about does appear on
the summary page. I just happened to notice it the way it was spread
out here. And it's the impact fee credits. What is that $5 million
impact fee credit? How is that -- what does that mean? Where's it
come from?
MR. FEDER: Basically we have -- and it's an expenditure and
basically it's acknowledging that we had prior commitments where
we've given impact fee credits usually for right-of-way. And as those
credits get used, it's an expenditure to our program and they've
averaged about a million a year.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Did you give any impact fee credits to --
in the DCA agreement with Ava Maria for the oil well --
MR. FEDER: Yeah, we did only for the design phase. And the
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January 13, 2006
provision on that is until they've accrued I believe it's 6.5 million in
overall impact fees, they can't get any of that impact fee credit or use
it. So, obviously, they'll be paying impact fees up to 6.5. Then after
that, they can go after a dollar for every two or 50 percent on an
impact fee credit to try and keep that impact fee stream going.
MR. SCOTT: I think there was a future year tied to that too
though.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does the million dollars cover that, their
credits as well as is that just -- just other county credits?
MR. FEDER: That's -- that's the overall. This one is built into it
but, no, that's overall.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
On page 13 you start into your update inventory report. Through
some of the discussions over the period of time it's taken to get here
today, I got answers to some of these, but Line Item 25 on page 13 is
for Goodlette Frank Road. It's operating at a level of service B yet it's
under construction. Why?
MR. SCOTT: That's assuming the six lanes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So, I mean, Goodlette Frank
Road is that the piece between Golden Gate -- it is between Golden
Gate Parkway and Pine Ridge?
MR. SCOTT: Right. Because what we -- what we've done in the
past and I think I'm consistent with this throughout is if it's under
construction, I've assumed the lanes that we're going to go to as the
capacity for comparison.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well--
MR. SCOTT: And then in some of the other columns as you go
down, I'll have both columns. If it's, like, a future project, I'll show
the four-lane capacity and then the six-lane capacity.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does that mean--
MR. SCOTT: Once they're under construction I put six.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does that mean on No.4 where it says
overpass under construction, even after the overpass is done, we're still
going to be operating at a level of service E?
MR. SCOTT: I think the one thing with the overpass is from a --
from a -- yeah. The model basis it doesn't -- it doesn't necessarily --
you know, it's more of an operational improvement. So I might have
some analysis as part of Syncro that lends itself to it, but the real
benefit's not going to be seen until--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the $40 million or whatever of that
big overpass is not going to give us a better level of service on that
road?
MR. SCOTT: It will definitely give you a better level of service.
MR. FEDER: It will give you a better level of service. The
difficulty is modeling is what Don's saying. And your modeling
you're based on lanes. Like you asked on No. 25, you see there in the
column under lanes right after the Fund 2, it shows that it's assuming a
six lane divided in that analysis to get you to a B.
MR. SCOTT: I mean, even from a standpoint of traffic, you're
going to see traffic change on different links around it for one reason
or another, like, off of Pine Ridge. It might be off of Airport in certain
areas too, but we're not going to see that until -- well, I'd say next
year; but if it's done at the end of year, maybe traffic counsel might
not be till a year after.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. If you go to the next page, Don,
you look at No. 33. We have an existing deficiency on north of!-75
to Davis Boulevard. I'm assuming that's north of Davis Boulevard to
I-75. Is that a correct assumption?
MR. SCOTT: It's Davis to north ofI-75 through the interchange
essentially.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. And it shows that if you go way
over to the right, it shows -- your -- as your years go on, they're all
boxed together. Your lines disappear. So it looks like it might be
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January 13, 2006
considered all one project.
MR. SCOTT: Exactly.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And it shows the year of substantial
completion 2008. That's not correct anymore, is it?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You looked at Norm. Norm looked
back at you, so I guess he's thinking you're going to answer that
question.
MR. SCOTT: I got to -- we went over this, the work program
numerous times.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I'm concerned. Is that dependent
on the state's money?
MR. SCOTT: No. This is our job. It's the first one listed on
page 11.
MR. FEDER: Which is 2006.
MR. SCOTT: Which is 2006. So I've assumed two years of
construction after that. That's -- that's our job. Weare going forward
with that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Without the -- without the state's --
regardless of what the state does with Davis?
MR. SCOTT: Exactly.
MR. FEDER: Mr. Chairman, I think what you're thinking: Is
this on 951 as well, we're talking.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, I know. I just wanted to make sure
MR. FEDER: Even without the state's -- yes, we'll continue
forward.
MR. SCOTT: And we are, for your information, within the next
two weeks meeting with them to dovetail their project design with
ours to say, okay, what are we building? What are you building?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That was going to be my
question.
Page 40
January 13, 2006
MR. SCOTT: To nail down more of their cost, what our -- their
right-of-way is and what we can help them with on that.
MR. FEDER: And I think also we finally have gotten Florida
DOT acknowledging that while we'd love to get the interchange that
would be 951, I-75, Davis, the practical aspects are right now a need
in both Collier Boulevard which we have a project; Davis which they
had a project is to get the six laning done. And so I think they'll pull
back from trying to accommodate all the issues of an interchange, not
to do anything that would stop that or create double work. But
nonetheless focusing on the six laning, I think is going to allow us to
hopefully work with them and with Buddy Park, the owners, to bring
something back into the program.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Go ahead, Bob.
COMMISSIONER MURRA Y: Y eah. Well, we know that this
is a very significant issue. An awful lot rides on it. Make it clearer for
me because I understand you can't speak in absolutes because you
don't know the absolutes, but just so I at least understand.
MR. FEDER: Florida DOT in the project that they have to Davis
Boulevard, if you saw, their level of right-of-way is because they're
assuming they're going to buy both gas stations on Davis Boulevard,
do other things to accommodate the future interchange; then they
looked at the cost of the future interchange under PD&E designs,
started going to a entrance scale back, which we didn't want, but -- but
they're still looking at major actions on 951 and on Davis to
accommodate the interchange --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
MR. FEDER: -- not simply the six laning.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. So we're back to __
MR. FEDER: Now, we told them on first order of business.
(Multiple speakers.)
THE COURT REPORTER: One at a time.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm sorry.
Page 41
January 13, 2006
MR. FEDER: I'm sorry. We told them focus on first order of
business. Excuse me, Commissioner.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No. My apologies. I apologize.
We're back in business essentially. We're -- we're -- we're __
MR. FEDER: We're not back in business yet, no. Understand--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Got their --
MR. FEDER: -- we've got their focus and attention and that
needs to translate into a project and it needs to get done.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Don or Norm or whoever is going to
keep going with this -- keep this line of questioning, Nos. 41 and 42
on page 14 show under construction, but levels of service D and E.
Now, if under construction, like No. 25 on the prior page means you
show the finished level of service. Does that mean that we are going
to be in a failure or a close or a D and E level of service on those two
sections even after the construction gets done?
MR. SCOTT: For Immokalee, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. What happens with Immokalee
Road from -- if you look 951 to Wilson, Wilson out there it's going to
go to a B because it's -- that's -- so there it's going to be B, but from
951 back the other direction, it could be under a D and E in certain
sections.
MR. SCOTT: Understand I have bank trips in there. Will those
bank trips turn into reality trips? I have more in the 41, I -7 5 area or
around I -7 5. That remains to be seen in terms of reality, but that's
what my level of service is based on.
MR. FEDER: And also, Commissioner, unfortunately you've got
many more signals which also relates to your level-of-service
calculation.
MR. SCOTT: At this point the Livingston east/west, though,
doesn't it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes? You guys -- yes, it does. If you
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January 13,2006
are pointing -- if you are looking at this as an E level of service, E
which is not good, I mean, it's not going to -- what's it now out there, F
orE?
MR. SCOTT: It's F right now, yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is there a way to fix it to get a better
level of service now --
MR. SCOTT: Well--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- or are you going to be constrained ifit
isn't?
MR. SCOTT: And we've talked a lot about this. Vanderbilt
Beach Road extension or let's say just Vanderbilt, the two to six lane
project might do more to help that; but from a standpoint of what I'm
doing from analysis and the traffic counts that are out there, it's not
really shown on here. Now, hopefully that -- that takes more traffic
off of Immokalee but, again, I'm not going to know that until after __
MR. FEDER: And, Commissioner, just like the overpass answer,
unfortunately, some of the operational issues that we're doing don't
equate well to the level-of-service indication. One thing we are doing
and we'll have Pine Ridge at about March -- end of February/March,
if, in fact, that proves to be as successful as it is billed to be, then we're
going to look at other corridors. Probably the next one would be
Immokalee in particular between 951 and I-75 and then carried over
towards 41 areas where you've got a long succession of signals where
a scoot is able every four seconds to reestablish a good progression.
That's what we need. So we're hoping that that will be successful on
Pine Ridge and as part of the answer as well as other projects coming
forward. But as far as six laning, you have maxed out at six lanes and,
unfortunately, that still results with our current situation of level of
service E.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Will that six lane dovetail with the
completion of that clover leaf that the whole target approval was
hinged upon or is that now off the table and done with?
Page 43
January 13,2006
MR. SCOTT: No. We -- we have a design build-out right now
for I - 7 5 to 951. I think we'll get our proposals in the next two months
back. We wanted to have that project as part ofthat project where
we'd be starting in a couple of months. But FDOT through -- really,
FDW A telling FDOT that they wanted it to be included as part of their
I-75 project. So we -- they're trying it -- with our conversations with
them, they're trying to put that as a milestone at the front of the I - 7 5
project because it's a long project over several years, but we don't
know exactly when that's going to start.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. There's nothing I can ask you
further on that although I don't particularly like the outcome. Page 16.
MR. SCOTT: We didn't either.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I can imagine. Item No. 124, it's
expected year deficient 2006. And expected year for substantial
completion is 2010. Your table that we started talking about where
you have your -- your top 20.
MR. SCOTT: Yeah. That was a mistake that I identified last
time. Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So that--
MR. SCOTT: I think I had last year's in there. And we had -- I
think when I stand -- stood here last year I said the traffic went up 25
percent. I think this year it went up about 20 percent so...
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are you going to correct these tables
before they go to the BCC so that someone doesn't rely upon these?
MR. SCOTT: If! have an opportunity to, I will.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I think it's important.
MR. COHEN: You will have that opportunity.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Okay.
MR. FEDER: The answer's yes.
MR. SCOTT: They might have been in their hands already.
MR. FEDER: You'll have to do it by addendum though.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There's a worksheet that you guys were
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January 13,2006
using to put together your pay-as-you-go funding and at one point on
the worksheet you showed a $17 million remaining shortfall on
pay-as-you-go funds. Are you familiar with that or is that still
applicable?
MR. FEDER: I'm not familiar with it very honestly,
Commissioner.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do you know of any shortfall in your
pay-as-you-go --
MR. FEDER: No. No. Based on the 24 million a year which is
a partial return of my interest; but nonetheless based on that 24 million
a year and our other revenue streams as conservative as they are, we
don't know that they show.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Some of your other revenue streams,
there was a couple listed or a couple shown in another worksheet that I
found of yours under the gas -- gas tax issue at 1.35 X coverage.
Other available pledges, there are three of them listed. One was a
guaranteed entitlement, parentheses, revenue sharing for five million.
Do you know what that's referring to? It was in your worksheet to
your backup to this AUIR.
MR. SCOTT: Is it an agreement with cities or something?
MR. FEDER: This AUIR?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: This AUIR, yes. It's posted on Randy
Cohen's web site under your -- on Attachment F and I'm wondering __
basically when you open that up, you only see what opens. But if you
go look deep into the Excel spreadsheet, you'll find additional tabs.
And if you start opening those tabs up and unhiding all the columns
and rows, these numbers start appearing. I'm just wondering __
MR. FEDER: They've been hidden on me as well,
Commissioner.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. FEDER: I don't have them. I don't have them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, there's three sources of revenue
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January 13, 2006
listed on a sheet. And I just want to make sure that if they're viable
revenue sources --
MR. FEDER: Let --let me understand and I'll try to give my
best stab at it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. The guaranteed entitlements is
the first one. It lists it for five million. The tourist tax is another one
listed for 19 million.
MR. FEDER: There's no tourist tax in transportation.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. But I don't know why these are
on your -- your report or your worksheets. I -- I've downloaded it to
keep it just in case it gets lost between now and the next time you look
at. The franchise fee -- and I don't know what that is -- is listed at 29
million. It says, Other available pledges. I don't know what these are,
but they're all --
MR. FEDER: Okay. What I will tell you the only franchise fee
collections I know of -- and I'll refer to -- Mr. Schmitt is over there __
it's in utilities. Entitlements, I have no tourists. I'm almost thinking
you have some of Mr. Schmitt's table attached to my table, but I
couldn't tell you for sure.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'll put it on the overhead then you can
MR. FEDER: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- maybe you can recognize it.
MR. SCHMITT: Franchise fees at one time were discussed. It
was never implemented. Franchise fees in regards to an additional fee
on your utility bill. The City of Naples does charge a franchise __
franchise fee. Collier County does not. And it is another source of
revenue. It came up a year and a half ago when we had the revenue
commission look at other sources of revenue, but this board never
moved on a franchise fee. So why that's there, I don't -- I'm not sure
what that is. It might be old data.
MR. FEDER: What you're showing there is different funding
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January 13, 2006
and looking at bonding levels because you also have a courthouse
annex. It shows special other issues. So this was a worksheet
probably relating to bonding level and bonding capability. And I'm
not sure it was even for transportation, but nonetheless that's probably
what that's for.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if you go to the posted draft AUIR
on the comprehensive planning web site, open up Attachment F, go to
the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet, you'll see numerous tabs on an
Excel spreadsheet that I would have assumed compiled the top page of
that spreadsheet. So if you take a look at it, maybe that will be where
the answer is.
MR. SCOTT: Is that within this spreadsheet here, our
spreadsheet that's the AUIR?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's in the spread -- the single Excel
spreadsheet.
MR. SCOTT: I think that's all old. Because what I do is I take
previous years and update the thing. And all those tabs were from
years and years ago I believe.
MR. FEDER: And that may have been when they were doing
the calculation for bonding capability. My impression from what I
saw there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, there is portions of those same
sheets that are relevant to today's numbers because they have today's
numbers on them. So it looks like some of that was used to put the
numbers that are in the summary page.
MR. SCHMITT: It may be the other way around that they link
into that page.
MR. SCOTT: It's either that or they're checking for the future
when it was an old sheet.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You-all might want to look at it.
MR. FEDER: We will.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't have any more questions on
Page 47
----- ---.-.-
January 13, 2006
transportation. This is actually the later ones to deal with today. So
does anybody else on this panel have any -- any other issues of
transportation they'd like to ask?
(No response.)
MR. FEDER: Commissioners, I want to applaud you for taking a
very strong effort at trying to work with this AUIR. We've given you
a couple of sheets. I think you've given us some things to reply and a
couple other things to go research. What I will encourage you,
though, as you take a stronger role in the county in planning, is I'm
going to encourage you to get involved in the long-range planning and
to help us define what we're going to do east of 951. Because five
years ago when I came, I said that the urbanized area, even when we
do the improvements needed, cannot handle the demand of a bedroom
community of four or five hundred thousand people. And if we don't
have jobs, if we don't have areas for shopping -- I can't put the beaches
there -- that are viable, then we are not going to address the
transportation issue in this county. So beyond with we've discussed
today as important as it is, I will offer to you that if we're going to
really address the issue, we need to start addressing that issue.
Because otherwise I'm not going to be able to respond to the others.
Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you, Mr. Feder.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, can I say something on
that --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- since we're beyond what
we're supposed to do today. One thing, Don, we talked about, are you
going to put together a chart showing the early morning time? In
other words, all our traffic loads are based on evening times when I
think the morning commute is the most important time. So is that
something that will happen?
MR. SCOTT: Is that something that you're requesting as -- for
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January 13,2006
the next up or whenever I can get it essentially is a.m. __
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, I think what Don's telling you is
he does not have the data to give you that answer today, but we are
committed to getting it. And we agree with you that that's an issue of
concern. We can get you some data that gives a frame of reference,
but the ability to take the full chart, calculate out the level of service
and service volumes based on a.m. is something we don't have right
now.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And then the other thing too is
that in the road summaries, is there a way that you could put in what
the potential -- the ultimate potential, not what it is now -- for a road
could be? In other words, if it's a two-lane road now, it could
ultimately grow to a four-lane. And I think the reason for that is
sometimes we reduce density on parcels because of the existing road,
yet maybe we could restrict or phase the density such that it would be
available.
MR. SCOTT: Well, then I think that's one thing that Norman
was touching on is if -- if, you know, I presented at least the LRTP
map to you, then you would know what at least the future is.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right.
MR. SCOTT: And beyond the 20-, 30-year plan, modeling the
buildout as part of the east of951 study, then you can see beyond, you
know, what the future looks like.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Because my concern is that if
we're restricting density on sites that will be in the urban area in the
future, we're really sprawling the housing.
MR. SCOTT: Yeah. And it's -- and it's -- but it's not always the
roadway itself. It might be a parallel roadway that you don't know
anything about too so...
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: All right. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: There -- there is a question that
was portrayed -- raised -- raised to me as a result of -- you have 144
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January 13,2006
count stations, right, I think I remember?
MR. SCOTT: It's, like, 200 something I believe.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And I took 144 as some kind of
question earlier. The data are there all the time, aren't they? Are you
not counting on a 24-hour basis?
MR. SCOTT: No. The regular count program is four times a
year, but I have permanent count stations that we -- the traffic
operations has installed I believe around 15 or 16. And then beyond
that, we as part of our PUD monitoring process, the old way was each
year someone goes out and do counts.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah.
MR. SCOTT: To save them some money to give me more data
in the future, we've gone to permanent count stations that we install at
locations related to those developments that come forward. So we're
adding more of those in. What Norman's addressing is that from a
standpoint of calculating a level of service, it's not only just the
volume on the road, but it's the turning movements, everything else.
This is -- the concurrency is driven by a p.m. peak analysis. You have
to have all the opposite directions, that type of stuff for the a.m.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: The raw data may be there in
those few stations, but it's a matter of the other aspects?
MR. SCOTT: Yeah. Turning movements counts, things like
that. And I'd already -- I'd already put in motion to go out and
assume. You know, we've had discussions before about this. Now,
development -- a developer comes in and he analyses. He has a.m.
analysis, p.m. analysis. The part we don't have is what is the real a.m.
concurrency.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And -- and that puts you at a
disadvantage --
MR. SCOTT: Right.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- when there's an assertion
made. Okay. Thank you.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What I would like to do, first of all, you
guys the same individual's going to be discussing the drainage
component?
MR. SCOTT: Not me.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well, the reason I'm asking,
we're not done with you if that's the case.
MR. FEDER: Gene Calvert, my director of stormwater will be
addressing it and I'll be assisting as necessary.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm not going there yet. I'm not going
there yet. I want to have a break, but before the break I wanted to
finish transportation.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And then after that we'll come back and
start working on -- on drainage.
So I have four suggestions for a recommendation to go forward
that I'd like to discuss with this panel. One is that we recommend that
a more conservative approach be used for the table on page 9 as far as
construction start dates. Second would be that the credit that's
accumulated by the use of these transportation funds be credited back
as a revenue source in the transportation summary sheet, that the new
gas tax numbers brought up here by Mike Smykowski be the ones
actually used on this sheet, and that the difference between those gas
tax funds come off of some other line item preferably general funds
and likewise with the interest money to keep the balance at 774 like
transportation needs, and that we recommend that the a.m. peak data
be used for the level-of-service calculations for next -- next year's
AUIR as Brad Schiffer has pointed out. Those are what I would like
to see as recommendations. I don't know what this panel __
MR. ADELSTEIN: So moved.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, we have discussion and a motion
was made to accept those as recommendation.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Second.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And it was seconded by Commissioner
Murray. Motion was made by Commissioner Adelstein. Now
discussion.
COMMISSIONER MURRA Y: Yeah. I just want to -- I found
Mr. Smykowski would seem very reluctant on the gas tax issue to take
something else off. And I don't know what that represents. And I
know what your interest is and I appreciate that. I wish I had more
comfort from where his concern was. It harkens back to a question of
whether or not the argument is -- I mean, it's three million bucks. It's a
lot of money in my mind. I -- I only wanted to make that point and
I'm not sure that there is a point to what I'm saying except that it
distresses me. And I'm going to indicate a favor toward your view,
Mr. Chairman, and -- but I think that's not an -- I think that's an
unresolved issue.
The rest of the items I agree with you. I had written the same
things. But on the a.m. peak data, is it too much to ask for the a.m.
and the p.m. ? You want to use the a.m. and I understand that. And I
think it's appropriate. Will we lose the opportunity to get the p.m. data
as well?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We're already using the p.m. data.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So in other words we're not
going to lose anything. It's just an addition.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That wasn't -- that wasn't the intent, no.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. Fine. Then I'm -- then
I'm happy with what you think.
COMMISSIONER CARON: The goal has always been,
Commissioner, to use the real peak whatever that is.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And I appreciate, but I didn't
want to lose something in favor of putting something else in its place.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other comments from the
commission?
(No response.)
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We'll-- go ahead, Mr. Tuff.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Well, just should address the five
million in impact fee revenues that -- did we feel comfortable at __
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You mean the interest?
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah. Well, that's -- that was the
second thing on the --
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Well, that's what I didn't--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Credit back the interest to the
transportation account. That's 25 million over the time frame of the
AUIR. Now, whether that impacts any of the other elements as far as
the BCC goes, that's up to them. But at least they'll know what
department generates what revenues from what sources. And then if
they want to create -- have an excess in the general fund to do, they'll
know where it's coming from then. So that would be my comment.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Could we also -- could we also,
even if it's just for the record, just to include it as a footnote in the
documents, to reflect the actual interest dollars that are there so that
the board will have guidance in that regard?
MR. SCHMITT: I think that was the motion.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No. The motion was to show it as a--
on it as a revenue source.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I thought it was a
recommendation to have it as -- as an income. Okay. That's fine that
you saw it. That's fine.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We wouldn't need to--
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Hearing that, Mr. Feder, did you
have any input?
MR. FEDER: With the board's indulgence, I just want to make
clear, the 25 million I'm sure is accurate that Mr. Smykowski gave you
for this year. What I will tell you assuming that that carries out, I think
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January 13,2006
you said about 25 million carries out every year evenly is probably
inaccurate in the sense that you had bonding which gets paid down
over that payout curve. What -- what I think your guidance is is that
that get calculated out based on all the other assumptions of revenue
stream and payout curves and appropriate level of expected interest be
addressed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The intent was to credit back the
interest.
MR. FEDER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Whatever that is. That way it's fairly
shown. With no other discussion we'll call for the vote. All those in
favor signify by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion carries.
With that we'll take a 15-minute break. We'll be back here at
10:25. Thank you.
(Short recess was taken.)
MR. SCHMITT: You have a hot mike.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer, Mr. Murray, if you're
anywhere in the building, would you please come to the podium.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I apologize.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's fine. I just -- we start on time.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Here we go.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. The next element in the AUIR is
the county drainage canals and structures. And we will start with the
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January 13,2006
presentation if there is one and then go into questions from the board.
MR. FEDER: Very quickly on presentations. For the record
Norman Feder, Transportation Administrator. Stormwater is within
the division. Let me do a quick overview, then I will introduce you to
Gene Calvert who's stormwater director as well as Jerry Kurtz the
principal engineer within stormwater.
On your overview page, a summary page, what you see is that
impact revenue stream is just less than the overall program, but you
also see potential funding sources. And given the last discussion will
hopefully assist you in your questions by noting that the revenue
stream again is only identifying what we know we have. And as you
look at the provisions of how we're approaching this program, when
the board established a .15 mill as a support for a ongoing stormwater
program in this county, a very important move to finally get a funding
source, but also the ability to go after grants with a dedicated funding
source. That process is under way now. As a matter of fact, within
the thirteen million, I believe it is, shortfall that you see shown here in
the AUIR, almost eight million of that has already been made up with
a Florida Community Trust Grant that was given for the property at
the Fleischmann where the water quality park is going. Additionally,
there are dollars proposed within Big Cypress Basin Water
Management District budget to come to these projects that you see
here. But until those funding sources are committed and in hand, we
have not shown them.
So, again, we feel that we are probably -- with the funding
scenarios you see here and our expectations under grants, we'll be able
to expand the program with no shortfall. But what you see here,
again, we can only show you what we have on our plate at this time.
And that's a very quick introduction. And I'll let Gene go through the
projects and the particulars with you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think, Mr. Murray, Ms. Caron had
questions.
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Oh, I'm so sorry.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah. She already notified me. But I
wanted to wait until the presentation was completed.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I just wanted to point one thing
out is that you said 1.5 mils. I believe you meant --
MR. FEDER: Point 15.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. I misheard you then.
Okay. Thank you.
MR. FEDER: Sorry.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That was all I had.
MR. CAL VERT: Mr. Chairman and members of the board, it is
a pleasure to be here today. My name is Eugene Calvert, the director
of the Stormwater Management Department with the Transportation
Services Division.
I'd like to take just a few minutes to give you a brief overview of
the -- of the thought process that went into this AU -- AUIR. The
transportation division has projected that the total expenditures over
the next 20 years for the stormwater capital improvements is over 400
million. Over the next 20 years, we're looking to construct
approximately $400 million worth of capital improvement projects.
The 75,240,000 five-year stormwater capital improvement program
that you see within this AUIR form represents what can be addressed
with existing funding sources and conservative anticipations of grants
and other funding sources. As Mr. Feder mentioned we're already
receiving -- we've already received about $8.6 million where the grant
just recently. This is not reflected within this -- this program.
The stormwater funding policy was approved by the Board of
County Commissioners in June of 2004. This particular funding
policy we anticipate to generate approximately $140 million over the
next 20 years. The source of revenue is through the 0.15 mill levy
from the ad -- ad valorem tax. This funding source is dedicated solely
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January 13, 2006
for the stormwater management capital improvement projects per
operation for capital improvement projects.
The funding policy also recognized -- the board in adopting their
funding policy also recognized that other additional funding through
grants and other possibilities such as MSTUs would be required to
supplement the funds for the needed capital improvement projects.
Within the funding policy, they identified that under -- for capital
projects for our secondary systems we have a one-third, one-third,
one-third funding scenario. And what that means is that we have
one-third from county funds or from the ad valorem, one-third from
Big Cypress Basin or other grants and one-third from MSTUs. As we
get into the tertiary system and our tidal receiving areas, the funding
policy identified as a 50/50, one-half from the county and ad valorem
and one-half from grants or other sources.
It is the responsibility of the stormwater management department
to actively seek the supplemental funds through either the Big Cypress
Basin or the South Florida Water Management District or any other
sources we can look for. As -- as mentioned, we've already received
some money from the Florida Community's Trust. Weare -- have put
a number of our projects on the federal -- federal legislative program
that the Florida County Commissioners are considering as well.
The county's growth management plan recognizes that
stormwater capital improvement projects are to be undertaken in
accordance with the five-year plan of the Big Cypress Basin. Within
the county's stormwater capital improvement program, there are five
projects that have also been identified by the Big Cypress Basin as
regionally significant. This really -- while the inclusion of these
projects within the Big Cypress Basin draft master plan and their
ten-year work program is really indicative of their commitment to
their projects, I have received a copy of their ten-year work program.
And they have identified approximately $19 million worth of projects
that are really county projects. So this is eligible possibility for grant
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January 13, 2006
funding. While the master plan does not preclude the county from
applying for or the Big Cypress Basin from considering additional
funding projects, so we can go back and even though it's not identified
in their ten-year program, if it's a significant project we can apply it to
the Big Cypress Basin for additional funds.
The existing revenue sources as indicated on page 19 of your
AUIR includes about four major or three major items. One is the
dedicated ad valorem taxes. And that shows that both for ad valorem
and fiscal-- fiscal year '06 as well as the fiscal year '07 through '10.
Number two, it shows that the approved grants as of November
2005. So these were existing revenues existing grants that we've had
in November. It doesn't reflect any new grants we've received since
then as indicated this 8 million that we recently received.
And, thirdly, it calls for funds that are carried forward through
fiscal year '05. When the funding policy was approved in '04, many of
the identified capital projects were in the design change -- stage and
construction of the improvements was limited during the first year.
However, in fiscal year '05 over $7.6 million worth of construction
projects have been completed. And that was completed on -- we spent
around 30 -- had 35 projects. We've completed 18 of those. And we
have for next year -- this current year we have 38 new projects under
way. Not 38 new, but some of them are continuing projects.
Page 2 of your -- of your AUIR which is in the very front
indicates that there was a $13.3 million additional revenue required to
adequately fund the five-year plan. It was noted with the double
asteric that additional funds would be required if the potential
resources are not realized. The potential revenue sources include
funding from MSTUs and future grants including the Big Cypress
Basin as well as South Florida Water Management District. The staff
of the Stormwater Management Department is very optimistic that the
county will receive a substantial amount of this additional revenue --
potential revenue.
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January 13, 2006
Weare actively pursuing -- pursuing quite a few grants at the
current time. If the potential revenue is not received for a particular
project, the construction will be scaled back. Our funding policy with
the shared cost whether it's 50/50 or one-third split dictates that in
order to receive 100 percent benefit of an individual project, local
participation through MSTUs or other funding sources may be
required. Realizing that MSTUs are really under the local control, the
local -- the local individuals have control whether we -- they want to
fund those particular MSTUs or not for those particular projects.
If they are not funded, we will seek to great -- greatest amount of
benefit but, again, falling underneath the guidelines of our funding
policy. The department is committed to maximize the benefit and to
complete as much of our project as funding will allow under our
current policy. Conversely, though, if all the potential funding is
obtained as is indicated on page 19, our five-year capital improvement
program may increase in fact.
I'd be glad to answer any questions you might have on particular
projects and how we came about some of these -- these numbers.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'd like to start the questioning with Ms.
Caron.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah. Let's start right at the top.
Under existing development, it says we're using current level of
service. So does that mean the 25-year three-day storm?
MR. CALVERT: That is our -- our -- our design for any of our
capital projects.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Okay. Let's go down to the
summary of drainage inventory. There are two categories here. One
is what will be available to us in '06 and then the additional miles and
structures that you need.
MR. CALVERT: Okay.
COMMISSIONER CARON: So you're talking about an
additional 22 primary miles, canal miles and 14 secondary canal
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January 13, 2006
miles; correct?
MR. CALVERT: These are actually improvements to these --
these -- some of the existing canals. That's correct.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Right. And for structures it's ten
primary and eleven secondary; correct?
MR. CALVERT: That look -- yes. That's correct.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Okay. Now, let's move on down
here to the costs and component costs. Why are secondary costs more
expensive than primary? I mean, I don't -- that's probably a fact but I
just don't know why so...
MR. CALVERT: Well, part of the issue too is -- is you look at
our funding sources. As I mentioned, a lot of our secondary systems
because of our funding policy we're looking at a one-third, one-third
split for funding for such. So while the cost of the facility may be
equivalent, the county would be responsible for funding of a little bit
less because we're looking at funding for our primary and our tertiary
systems as a 50/50 split.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Okay. Well, if you use your own
figures here and do the math, I don't think it comes to -- well, first of
all, because if from '06 to '10 you have that, you're going to be looking
at 22 structures. Well, if we add 10 and 11, that's 21 where I went to
school. And if you do the math according to your figures up above, it
comes out to 76,959,750. So, you know, I know it's a million here and
a million there, but it's a million dollars.
MR. CALVERT: It is. And keep in mind that as we put this
five-year program together, many of these -- these items that are on
the BCB's board, they're developing some master plans for -- such as
the Belle Mead, such as the Immokalee master plan. Those projects
are now just being identified. In fact, the Belle Mead is probably
another six months to a year away from being finalized. So we don't
know specifically what those projects might be. The Immokalee has
just been finalized. There's now -- right now identifying the projects.
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER CARON: Well, all I'm saying to you is I
don't know how you can come out with less money, have more
projects here supposedly by at least one than your own estimates
above. I think you need to put -- if you're going to use the math, do
the math and put the real figure in here No.1.
And now let's move down here to ad valorem for '06. You're
only estimating about $8 million for ad valorem in '06; correct?
MR. CALVERT: That's correct, 7.9.
COMMISSIONER CARON: And that's based on --
MR. CALVERT: The .15.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Exactly. Now, when you go to
seven through ten, you're averaging out 12 million. Why -- why do
you think there's going to be a 50 percent increase and why wouldn't it
apply to '06?
MR. CALVERT: I do apologize for the value placed in here. I
am not certain where the 49 million came from. As mentioned, I was
__ came on this position about two months ago. I looked at that
particular item and while it maybe high, the 49 million may be high
for an ad valorem, what they did look at was the increased values
through the next five years. Our -- in our 20-year plan, the
transportation's 20-year plan based on the values, that will be coming
up at around 39 to 40 million. So that may be a little bit high.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Well, I think somebody needs to
go back and -- and relook at that.
Now, let's go down here to potential and supplemental revenues.
And -- and everybody's made a big deal here that you've gotten $8.6
million in grants that should be factored in before this goes to the BCC
obviously. But none of these, the Big Cypress Basin grants and the
MSTUs are not reflected at all in existing revenue sources.
MR. CALVERT: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER CARON: So that means you're not getting
money from those places right now; correct?
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January 13,2006
MR. CALVERT: We are getting a certain amount of funds.
These are potential new funds because all these are project related. So
the money from, say, the MSTUs, for instance, it would be up to the
MSTU -- establishing of the MSTU and the establishment of and
getting those funds for a particular project.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Are these established MSTUs or
new ones?
MR. CALVERT: These would be new MSTUs.
COMMISSIONER CARON: These would be new ones. Okay.
MR. CALVERT: And these also would be new grants under the
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah. Have to vote them in.
MR. CALVERT: -- potential some of them as sources. So
there's no guarantee that we're going to get these grants. There's no
guarantee that there'll be funding coming from the MSTUs.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yet the cost share ratio demand
that you have to have a third out of MSTUs; correct?
MR. CALVERT: To complete the project, yes. Now, that
doesn't mean that we can't get our maximum benefit with our
one-third cost. So let's say, for instance, the MSTU decides that they
don't want to fund their project, their portion of the project.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Or they don't establish one to
begin with.
MR. CALVERT: Or they don't establish one to begin with.
Okay. So we -- we can take a project and determine what the benefit
is from -- from the -- could be the secondary systems separating out
the tertiary systems from the primary systems and then we can try to
get the maximum benefit by applying our one-third as well as any type
of grants that we may be able to get from Big Cypress or other
sources.
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, if! could add to that and give you
an example, make it a little bit clearer. First of all, we didn't have a
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dedicated funding source. Along with that 1.15 mills came a set of
standards as to how we would apply it. Take for instance on a
secondary project with one-third, one-third, one-third. Take LASWP,
Lely Area Stormwater System, we -- I'll call it a number, let's say 45
million for the overall project. You've got a lot of different phases
that you can do and you obviously have to start downstream.
Upstream makes no sense. We could bring -- even if we got nothing,
although, they made commitments in some of that 19 million that's
showing in their ten years is also toward LASWP -- but let's say it was
only the county's 15 million to be brought to that out of the .15 mill.
That's the most we could spend on it to meet that funding policy. We
could do $15 million worth of improvements starting downstream
with that one-third maybe actually make about a 50 percent
improvement on the needs of the area, but we wouldn't be able to
solve it. Along with Big Cypress Basin we can, in fact, make it 66 2/3
level of improvement which might be 80 percent of effective
improvement. But to get that last -- and I'm just throwing some
numbers here and I know how critical that is right now -- to make an
example. To get that last 20 percent we're saying that there is benefit
solely to the property owners in that area. As well they need to come
forward as well with an MSTU for us to do the 100 percent
improvement. And so that's where the funding policy and the ratios
play in. And as Gene was noting, that based on that direction from the
board, we look at the projects, the overall cost and make sure our
involvement does not exceed.
Now, having said that we just started up recently and as we get
into these project, LASWP just got a permit after 20 years. And with
that permit in hand, we're now trying to go out and talk about the
overall improvement, what we can accomplish on our own, make sure
we have Big Cypress Basin standing with us and saying what we can
accomplish with them to the community. And if you want the full
solution which we recommend, this is what the implications and how
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January 13,2006
we pursue forward on it.
So those aren't in the plan yet. We're only now moving on them.
And until we have the permits and those costs, it's hard to go
back to the community and try to establish the MSTU as an example.
Does that answer your question any better?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Well, yeah. I mean, I just think
that relying for a third -- a third of a project on an MSTU that mayor
may not be established is --
MR. FEDER: But the direction we got on -- the policy direction
from the board just to try -- try and put it into perspective, I
understand what you're saying, was that the public in general benefits
by improvement to stormwater throughout the county. We have
partners that we need to pursue to get some of that funding as well
because everyone pays taxes to the water management BCB. But then
there are some individual benefits or level of benefit also gained when
I work in certain areas as opposed to another area of the county. And
that's why we were directed to try and proceed on projects in this
manner.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Let's skip to page 20.
MR. CALVERT: Uh-huh. Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER CARON: On your list of projects. And I
don't claim to know anything about what -- whether these are good or
bad projects. I assume all of them need to be done, but let's go to No.
1, county-wide GPS network. I'm assuming that in stormwater
management GPS means something different than what I think GPS
means.
MR. CALVERT: No, I doubt it. GPS is global positioning
station -- system.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Okay. Well, first of all, you're not
setting up a GPS network. We already have it. It's in the sky. It's
satellite.
MR. CALVERT: That -- that's not correct. And let me explain
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this project a little bit. Weare setting up a GPS network, a land based
network county wide. As you're aware we have satellites up in space
and people can grab their little GPS units and get a location.
However, the accuracy of that is limited particularly in vertical
elevations. Horizontal you can get them fairly close, but that's not
what you would call survey grades. You can't go out and survey a
property ownership using a GPS with just satellite-based systems.
What we're setting up is a series of ground systems that will tie to the
satellite systems that will allow a very high accuracy for any type of
GPS locations. Now why is it within stormwater management
department?
COMMISSIONER CARON: That was my next question.
MR. CALVERT: It's a good question. The stormwater
management department not only includes capital project for
stormwater. We also within my department includes right-of-way
permitting as well as our surveyor. Now, our surveyor is very
instrumental with working with road and bridge department in
completing some of these improvements as well as identifying grades,
identifying various different design components for any of our capital
improvements as well as our -- our repair. So we work very hand in
hand with road and bridge when they have a -- a culvert failure. It
may not be listed on this. This is a project sheet because we didn't
know about it. It will become a project and come underneath our
jurisdiction. The GPS system will help us do our job a little better and
will also help us identify as-built drawings, record drawings so that we
can tie the entire network and get a better database for our stormwater
system. So it is -- it is a network. It is a county network.
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, two other things to bring your
attention specifically to what Gene just covered. One of the biggest
issues we have on what's labeled here, the tertiary system that's out in
the estates, is the fact that over time without this GPS, people are
putting in culverts, many even permitted at different heights so that
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January 13,2006
you don't have a positive grade to outfall. And so this gives you the
ability especially on the vertical to make sure as we do our
right-of-way permitting as we go in and try and clean out the canals
and deal with the culverts as well that exist and not permit any others
that are at the wrong elevation, that we get a positive flow.
The other thing I'll point out. We just went to the board last
board meeting and with this GPS that we're putting out there, we're
offering it out free for a short period of time to see the interest in the
community to surveyors and others, and then we'll establish a fee
structure to help this support itself in the future should we see that the
public interest is sufficiently there, which we expect it is from the
input we've gotten.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions?
Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I do, Mark.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: What is the -- what is the level
of accuracy of the -- of that vertical -- the vertical data?
MR. CALVERT: Our preliminary tests show on -- is showing
that for the most part she's within a couple hundredths, but every once
in a while we get a blip and she might be off a tenth.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's 100th's ofa foot?
MR. CALVERT: A tenth ofa foot so, you know--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's very good.
MR. CALVERT: Yeah. It's still good particularly for local
control. If you're out in the middle of nowhere and wanting to get a --
an elevation, that doesn't do too bad.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No. I appreciate that. I
understand. While we had raised the issue and I note here that the
carryforward is rather small by comparison to transportation, but
probably want to take into consideration interest on the carryforward
as well. And -- and also the word potential. While Commissioner
Caron went over some of the details with you and the questions --
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same questions, help me with the understanding. The tertiary systems
are the ones that are essentially nearby homes; correct?
MR. CAL VERT: Your tertiary systems are what we work on
with the county systems gives -- the tertiary systems are really your
third level.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right.
MR. CALVERT: They're not your main canals or they're not
your secondary canals, but your -- your -- your road swales if you will
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right.
MR. CALVERT: -- next to our roadways. It might be the swales
coming off of an -- individual properties.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. You -- I've heard
mention ofthe MSTU being applicable to the secondary.
MR. CALVERT: That's correct. We consider--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: How does that connect?
MR. CALVERT: Any tertiary system coming off of a private
property, we don't get involved with. So it's any tertiary system off
public property we're dealing with on the 50/50. Now, if it does
involve a secondary system that may even go through private property
because it is transmitting or transferring water from the tertiary to the
primary system, that's where we -- we feel that there is a public
benefit. So the tertiary system off the private property, directly off the
private property unless it goes into a road swale if you will, we are not
participating in those type of projects. It's up to the private individual.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But an MSTU, which would be
taxpayers agreeing to tax themselves, would be sought for secondary
systems and the premise is because it goes through property that's
owned by private owners?
MR. CALVERT: It depends on the--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I don't understand because the
servIce --
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January 13,2006
(Multiple speakers.)
MR. CALVERT: Let me give -- the best way I might be able do
it is maybe an example. An example might be from some of our -- our
neighboring lakes in some of these communities, maybe not the
PUDs, but maybe the older development communities that were just
dedicated to the -- to the public. They may have a variety of different
lakes in that area. We don't maintain those lakes because they're
private lakes, yet they do provide that secondary conveyance from
roads to the canals. So in that case, if they had to upgrade a lake, a
private lake, we would consider that a secondary system. We see that
as some benefit but, again, the homeowners would benefit as well. So
there's where the MSTU would fit into it.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you. Okay. I had heard
it said especially by Naples Park that the tertiary systems are really a
critical factor to remove the water from the units. And there is no
mention here, and you've just confirmed the county doesn't concern
itself with the tertiary systems from a capital point of view.
MR. CALVERT: Right. From the private properties --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right.
MR. CALVERT: -- into the secondary. We do--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But do we have a --
MR. CALVERT: We do consider if it drains, as I said, off our
county roads -- our tertiary system on our county roads.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Do we have a program to help
those areas where tertiary systems are in some degree of weakness?
MR. CALVERT: We don't have a formal program. Now, the--
many of the master drainage plans that have been undertaken by BCB,
the Big Cypress Basin, has identified certain problem areas. We've
also identified a lot of problem areas around the county. We are
undertaking some of our projects to start looking at the smaller areas
to come up with an overall master drainage plan, that we will include
these items in there. How that will fit into the -- the funding program,
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that needs to be decided.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And you're -- you're reading me
correctly because that's where I'm going with this. If we're thinking
for the future and an SP 360, that's certainly a part of the infrastructure
that's critical. And so you are accounting for that. Okay. I -- I realize
you're in process on that then.
The Gateway Triangle improvements, is there any impact
associated with the CRA, any new -- any changes? I know this is a
serious one. We spoke about vaulting that area at one time. Is that --
is that part of a program that's --
MR. CALVERT: There's a number of items on -- in that entire
package for the Gateway. We're pursuing areas where we can create
new ponds to look at a pumping system, possibility of pumping
systems. It's all in the design phase at this point.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Will that be an MSTU as well?
MR. CALVERT: Portions could be.
MR. FEDER: There -- there is an existing MSTU as well as well
as a CRA. The main thing is we've taken and we're working with the
same consultant that the CRA is working with to try and coordinate
the plans because there are different concepts in that area as you're
well aware.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. Australian pine removal.
I know that there was some question about it. Some -- somebody
wrote a letter to the -- to the paper and suggested that after Hurricane
Wilma the Australian pines remain. Is that -- is that because it's an
exotic that has to be removed or what's the reason?
MR. CALVERT: That is the reason we're removing the
Australian pines, that's correct, is they are exotic invasive species.
They do spread quite a bit. And so we've taken -- undertaken a
$500,000 a year project to remove those along our waterways.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Is there a state mandate for that
or is that --
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January 13,2006
MR. CALVERT: I don't believe there is a state mandate.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But we're -- we're called upon to
do this on a proactive basis because --
MR. FEDER: We're -- we're pursuing it because those -- that
exotic species, first of all, tends to fall down. And as they're along the
canals, let's say Golden Gate City as an example, they tend to end up
becoming a barrier to the effect of drainage of the area. So that's why
we've gone after and that's why Big Cypress Basin is continually
supported with funding as well by removal of those Australian pines.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So that's a wise thing, not
something to be deferred?
MR. FEDER: No. It's something we need because,
unfortunately, we have a lot of blockage in the canals and issues from
the Australian pines.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Oh, you do?
MR. FEDER: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Oh, I didn't know that. Okay.
That would be my questions then.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions?
Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Excuse me. I just did it. It's
difficult to get a handle on how we can judge whether we have
adequate public facilities. Do we have adequate drainage facilities
and how would we --
MR. CALVERT: Generally I would say, no -- or we have
adequate facilities. Do they need to be upgraded? Yes. You know,
maybe they're -- they're in a state of disrepair in a lot of our areas or
need to be upgraded from just the lack of knowledge when they were
first built. We -- as we worked hand in hand with Big Cypress Basin
and look at some of these different drainage areas as I mentioned
Immokalee, Belle Mead, some of these areas we're looking at what are
the deficits in these areas and those are being identified.
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January 13,2006
MR. FEDER: As new development comes in, Commissioner, it's
-- it's addressing this level of service and -- and some of the needs.
The difficulty is that we didn't have a lot of those issues addressed in
some of the older development. And even our new standards which
required new development to be elevated ends up exacerbating some
of the problems in the older development.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The question, and Mr. Murray
kind of hit on it, is we're developing these urban centers. Are we
going to have storm sewers in those centers or are they going to be
on-site drainage? And should we expect them to be on-site? We're
trying to create downtowns. Downtowns don't have on-site drainage.
MR. CAL VERT: Weare working fairly closely with community
development in developing and revising the growth management plan.
One element in that growth management is the stormwater issue
and addressing that. So we are addressing that. We're working with
the -- with the community.
To answer your question, that's a good question. I don't know the
answer to that and, you know, when we develop these outlying
communities. I can tell you that based on a lot of things that are
coming down from the Feds, you're going to be hearing a lot more
about TMDLs which is our pollution mode that we can put in our
stream. You've already heard that our entire -- almost all of Collier
County's impacted with nutrients. I've seen this in other states where
the F eds and then the state turns around and puts the burden on the
counties and cities to clean up these to get the pollution out of it to get
it to a level.
Now, they may end up giving us time, you know, five, ten,
twenty years, but the -- but the net result is that we will be forced to
create a program, develop a program to clean up our streams, get the
nutrients out which means hand and hand we'll be working with
developers because we don't want them to impact us any more than
they already are. In fact, we want then to develop it better so it'll meet
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the new standards rather than just our existing standards.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Then the other question is in
Immokalee there's a lot of open canals. Does this budget closing all of
those drainage canals?
MR. CALVERT: No, it's not. There's certain things that are
making improvements to it, but it does not close all the canals.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And the reason being?
MR. CALVERT: Well, there are a variety of reasons. Some of
the reasons the canals function, we need those open canals for the
adequate drainage of the stormwater.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I mean, you could put structures
in there instead of open canals. That's my point really.
MR. FEDER: In many cases the open canals cannot be put into
structures because they serve for water quality not just conveyance.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The canals I've looked into, I
hope that's not water quality you're after.
MR. FEDER: Well, we've got some issues beyond, but what I
will tell you is many of the canals are required to be maintained as --
as open canals conveyance as well as for treatment.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Tuff, before you do, I read in the
paper that FP&L is having a 19 percent increase in their electricity and
then because of that the county was going to raise its temperature from
72 to 74. It must be all but in this room because 55 or whatever it
must be in here right now is way too cold. Maybe whoever's hearing
this can possibly save the taxpayers money and put a temperature in
here that's at least other than numbing everybody.
Mr. Tuff.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: That's the intent.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: The only thing, I don't know how
your operations or who oversees what, but I know that if we are taking
out all these projects -- just recently there was the hurricanes hitting
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us, people -- just running by people, draining, some are too high and --
and to get a response or an answer from somebody. You know, they
called and called and called to Big Cypress Basin. And I don't know
if this belongs in this forum, but it would be my preference that some
of this would include oversight by our folks versus somewhere else.
Because there was no response until finally the crisis got hit and we
finally reached the right people to cause a stir. And then all of a
sudden, oh, yes, we messed up. We're sorry about that and then the
valves get changed. If we are funding these and this heavily, are we
having more of a say in oversight on how they run and how they
process and is that included in this budget in here?
MR. CALVERT: We do have a very good working relationship
with BCB. While they do have control over their main canals, we
certainly have the control over some of the smaller canals that are
under our control. To talk about Hurricane Wilma, our department did
take -- is taking the lead as far as getting the debris cleaned up that's
eligible for FEMA under the Hurricane Wilma disaster relief. And so
we are working with FEMA in trying to get some of those areas
cleaned up. Now, that's not to say that we're going to clean up all the
canals because some of that debris was not eligible for FEMA
assistance. We're -- because of the funding, we are only after those
areas that are -- were due to Hurricane Wilma.
MR. FEDER: And, Russell, the first thing we do in a pending
storm is work with BCB. They do control their structures, and they
keep it for a management level, but they've been very good maybe
with some exceptions -- but working with us to basically free up the
canals to be able to handle the storm event. So that's one of the first
things we do. One of my ticklers for a hurricane is to make sure that
we're getting -- basically flushing out our system and encouraging and
working with BCB to do the same on theirs so that we don't have that
water in addition to whatever else we end up incurring.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: And the opposite just recently
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happened too where they were letting that thing flow, and it's all the
way down, and we're coming into the dry season, and that was an
oversight on their side.
MR. FEDER: Yeah. That's one thing and we didn't get to
discuss and we'll get that -- follow all the issues. I know we have to
address today, not only here but elsewhere, but we're trying to look at
is a resource to be managed. I think we've learned and probably the
Corp has learned and others that just draining the swamp doesn't get it
done. And if you manage it, that means at times you're going to have
water in the swale, maybe some water that gets over the swale, but
nowhere near a household point. Because if you really drain it well,
come the dry season there's nothing around.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is there any other questions from the
panel?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Let's go to page 19 and we'll go
right to the top and start from the beginning. Under the summary of
drainage inventory your FY'06 secondary structures you have 24.
You had 23 last year. Under the -- a balance of your canal structures
primary and secondary for FY' 1 0 proposed you have no changes from
last year. The entire top section you've added. You have one
structure, one secondary structure that's been apparently added to the
system since last year. Is that your understanding?
MR. CALVERT: That is -- that is my understanding. That's
correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. When you say canal miles, does
that mean excavating a canal?
MR. CALVERT: No. These are canal-- you mean as far as our
improvements or existing?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, your new ones.
MR. CALVERT: Oh, the new ones? Yeah. These would--
these would be the new canal-- actually, it might be excavation or
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improvements. For instance, Haldeman Creek we consider that one of
our canals improvements because we are going to be -- deepen it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Before we go too far, let me -- I want to
try to get through this quickly --
MR. CALVERT: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- because--
MR. CALVERT: All right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- I know we're going to be running out
of time.
MR. CALVERT: Sure.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And when you have canal miles in '06
of 163 and canal miles in '10 of 185, there's 22 miles difference in
canal miles. Are you double counting existing canal miles or you're
adding 22 miles of canal?
MR. CALVERT: Adding 22 new facilities -- miles.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Twenty-two new miles of canal.
Is that a dug canal in the ground, excavated dirt? How is that done;
do you know?
MR. CALVERT: It should be a -- an excavated canal. And we
also are looking at as we go through these it could be a storm sewer as
such. It's not -- it may not be your 50, 60-foot wide canal. It maybe
taking a existing swale and turning it into a 30-foot canal.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. CALVERT: We have several of those on the LASWP
project.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It could be excavation.
MR. CALVERT: Excavation.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Or it could be a RCP installation?
MR. CALVERT: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: As far as structures go, is those your
miter ends and your outfalls generally?
MR. CALVERT: And your control structures too.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, yeah, and your outflow. Outfalls
and mitered ends are all made of concrete. Canals are all excavated or
made of concrete RCP. Concrete's increased in price. Excavation is --
Mr. Peter has testified it's gone up substantially. Your cost
components are the same as they were in '04. Whatever your
department's doing, could you please influence Mr. Peter's department
so our road prices can stay the same as they were in '04 because
somehow your numbers haven't changed, but his have radically. I
don't know what's going on there, but I think someone should visit that
cost component. Because what happens is your cost components
remain the same; but when you go down to your ad valorem needs,
you double from 28 million -- almost double. You went from 28
million to 49 million. And that's a huge increase in revenue sources
for expenditures yet your costs haven't gone up and your structures
haven't virtually changed since last year. In fact, putting one structure
in last year, you had 77,700,000 in proposed CIE. This year you drop
down to 75. But the one structure you put in was only worth 530,000.
So you should be around 77,200,000. I'm wondering what the other 2
million is lost in there for.
MR. CALVERT: Of course, one thing you need to realize too as
I mentioned before, we do work hand in hand with road and bridge.
And a lot of our projects are replacement projects. So we're not
adding any new systems to our new structures or miles to our system;
however, we are increasing the value because now we're putting in a
new -- new facility.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, how did you get from 77,700,000
last in proposed CIE and end up this year with basically the same
number ofCIE but for a lesser amount of 75,240,000? Do you know
how that came about?
MR. CALVERT: I -- I do not now how that came about.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I heard you earlier say you weren't
responsible for some of these numbers. That you inherited them.
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January 13,2006
They did that to Ricardo Bollero too. He was your predecessor. And
I understand you may not be able to answer these, but I think that
maybe we're going to have to have some answers before this goes
along.
MR. CALVERT: And I appreciate that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What is it that's done with the 49
million or the 12 many years starting in '017 What -- is that your
actual construction of the canals, the installation of the RCP, the
maintenance, everything wrapped into one?
MR. CALVERT: It is. In fact, if you go to the next sheet, you'll
see a lot of the different projects that we've actually outlined through
there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah. I did see those. So that is the
step-by-step completion of each one of those projects?
MR. CALVERT: Right. You know, those are the projects that
we're going to be implementing or -- or completing through the
process.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You're dealing with millions of dollars
in money. What are your interest earnings on that account and how is
it managed?
MR. CALVERT: I think -- I believe, and I could be corrected if
I'm wrong, but I do believe the -- again, the interest goes to the general
fund.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do we know how much that is, Mr.
Feder?
MR. FEDER: I will get you an answer for that and, no, I do not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Are there any impact fees
involving your -- I don't -- didn't see any noticed in here, so I'm
assuming there are none?
MR. CALVERT: No. We're totally dependent on grants as well
as our ad valorem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do your potential revenue sources -- in
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January 13,2006
'03 you had the Naples -- the City of Naples supplying 5 million. I
notice they weren't on the '04 and they aren't -- aren't in this years. Do
you know what they were there for originally because basically the 5
million in '03 was supposed to be a million -- a million a year over
five years and it got dropped. I don't know why.
MR. FEDER: Initially we thought they were going to participate
in the water quality park --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. FEDER: -- because we had along with them done the
long-range planning and the stormwater planning for the Gordon
River corridor. And since that serviced not only county but city, the
anticipation is that they would be participating both in the land
purchase and in the improvement. And that did not come about.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is that permanently off the table or has
someone just not approached them?
MR. FEDER: They've been approached a number of occasions.
That's not on the table as I understand it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the Gordon River Quality Park
was just added to this AU -- AU -- this year's AUIR for $11 million.
And does it benefit --
MR. FEDER: But the land was purchased before that, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Does that benefit the City of
Naples that water -- Gordon River Quality Park?
MR. FEDER: Yes. It benefits all of us, Naples Bay in particular
it benefits.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But yet Naples has decided not to
participate in the cost sharing of that?
MR. FEDER: At this time, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On the page 20 of the different elements
that you're going to be working on, last year you had an Item 510052
which was titled Gordon River Master Plan. Now, this year you have
an item called Gordon River Water Quality Park. Are those to be
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January 13, 2006
considered the same program because the Gordon River Master Plan
isn't there any more. Is that completed then?
MR. FEDER: Gordon River Master Plan is essentially
completed. That is the broader plan although we're doing some
refinements to it. That was the one BCB, City of Naples and the
county. The water quality park is a -- a very specific project pulled
out of that master plan upon completion as is the Twin Lakes projects
and some others that you see cited here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. The Golden Gate City outfall
last year was in your plan. Has that been completed?
MR. FEDER: Jerry?
MR. CALVERT: I don't know. Jerry said yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Your improvements from last year for
the GPS network that Ms. Caron asked questions about was listed at
$85,000 last year in AUIR. This year it's gone up to 425. What is the
reason for the increase?
MR. FEDER: The initial was to try to evaluate whether or not
the technology could work. Since we've shown that ability, it is to put
the system out there. And as we said, now that we've got the system
out there to the level that it's functional for our use and for others,
we're now trying to bring back a fee stream in its application use by
others.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the 85,000 last year was supposed to
have been intentionally a study for 85,000? Is that --
MR. FEDER: I think you had some of the first implementation
of it. Some of the equipment that they needed to purchase the
surveyors to be able to utilize the processors initially set up for that --
for that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That certainly wasn't clear, but I
understand you wrote your explanation meaning to the last year. It
didn't -- you know, I guess no one asked -- asked the question.
The Twin Lakes interconnect, you had it about 1,750,000 last
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January 13, 2006
year. This year it's a million. So you actually benefited. Is that
because work was done or the cost changed?
MR. CALVERT: We have actually completed portions of that
work.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. CALVERT: Now, we still have quite a bit left to do, but
that has been completed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The Lely Area Storm Improvement
Project, that was 38 million last year. You're at 26 this year. Is that
because you've completed $12 million worth of work on that
improvement project?
MR. CALVERT: No, it's not. It's an adjustment of funds. That
project is probably on the order of a 40 or $60 million project
ultimately. But as we look at the project and what we can fund over
the next five years, this is what we look at -- at funding through there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So even though it's a larger project
because you're going to spend an estimated 26 million instead of 40
million of the overall project in the next five years?
MR. FEDER: Yeah. There's two parts of that. One is our
revenue stream to it. The other one is as I said you take off logical
projects that don't end up creating a problem, but help to solve pieces
of it. And so it comes forward in that manner.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How did this rather second largest
project in your whole inventory, the Golden River -- the Gordon River
Water Quality Park come about to be added to this? I mean, that's a
huge project to all of a sudden be dropped on the county taxpayers for
11 million bucks.
MR. FEDER: I'd like to say it was very good effort to take
advantage of opportunity. And what I'll-- what I mean by that is the
master plan that we mentioned to you identified the level of need for
stormwater storage and treatment in the area. The Gordon River
sub-basin which far exceeds the size of the Fleishmann property and
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January 13,2006
the water quality park. But nonetheless that was essentially at the time
the only vacant land out there. And as soon as that became an
opportunity, we thought along with the city with Big Cypress Basin at
last coming through with some dollars and the county, we moved on
that quickly. Because we saw its value for stormwater in the area.
Beyond that afterwards I think staff, Ricardo who you mentioned and
others, saw the opportunity to do something greater and go after some
funding which is the 8 million referred to by establishing it as a water
quality park. So it is for retention, but it goes beyond that because it is
servicing as a true purifier -- water purifier, if you will, for what is
typically been put straight into the Gordon River by the city and by
development in the area to have that treated before it goes there and,
therefore, to help Naples Bay. Also to control the amount of flow,
again, to help Naples Bay.
MR. CALVERT: One thing I might add on that too that that --
that water quality park is really a tool, one tool that we can use to
address the issues that I mentioned about water quality and this future
mandate from TMVLs. Without this water quality park, we would be
looking at other methods to improve the water quality and bring that
water quality up. Which those other methods could be quite a bit
more expensive and more a burden, so this was an opportunity.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How much of this project has been more
or less materialized? I mean, have we acquired the land?
MR. FEDER: We have acquired the land. We have done some
clearing on the land. We're working on the wetland area and it's being
considered by Conservation Collier. But nonetheless the land's
acquired. The planning effort, the design effort I should say -- the
planning concept efforts have been done. They have been useful as I
said in getting some grant funding as well. The design is already
under way. It is programmed to go to construction as you see here in
the program. So there's been -- there's been -- there's been some very
significant progress already made. And I think this is going to be a
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hallmark for the county in stormwater.
We did just come to the board to modify it to look at potential
ASR on the site, but we're trying to have this truly be an opportunity
to address what is a lot of stormwater along the Gordon River area that
we're working with the private developments, water parks and others,
in utilizing their lakes; but that there is not a lot of open land in which
to do stormwater retention and water quality improvement.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: From a dollar viewpoint, how much has
been completed of this project.
MR. FEDER: Really only right now you've got the
commitments. Of course, 20 million to purchase but you've got the
commitments to the design that's been fully encumbered and most of
that spent out. Nothing in the construction at all yet.
MR. CALVERT: If! might, as you look at the site where this is
going to be, you'll see construction out -- construction going on;
however, that is not part of the park. That is really part of the
Goodlette Frank Road improvement project. Now, we are going to
incorporate those drainage facilities that are being constructed as part
of the Goodlette Frank project into the water quality park.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. But we have -- we have spent in
excess of 20 million in regards to this project already?
MR. CALVERT: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And you need -- well, what did you
say? I thought Norman just said the purchase --
MR. FEDER: Oh, the land purchase, yes. I'm sorry, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So we did spend money for land
purchase?
MR. FEDER: Yes, we did.
MR. CALVERT: But not for construction.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And we're leading to finally my
question, last year this was not on the AUIR. How was authorization
-- authorization done to obtain a purchase of this magnitude that isn't
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in the AUIR if this is the basis for our budgeting of future
expenditures?
MR. FEDER: Well, I'll tell you is you just now are starting to
structure a stormwater AUIR versus generally what you had in the
past. You now have a.15 mill. We have a set of projects that we're
committing to. Ricardo is working towards that. We had in the past a
roll forward for many years that wasn't being about the projects. I
think you've seen -- hopefully the community has seen some
turnaround on that. This became a real opportunity to meet the need
that came out of the study for the Gordon River, and it was pursued
and worked through with the board and with a very open and very
active issue in this community at the time of the purchase and
hopefully in the bringing forward in concept and decision to develop a
water quality park.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So if it's not on the AUIR, it's -- if the
board obviously can then change things and go in a different direction
than the AUIR dictates?
MR. FEDER: The board can. If I have a construction project,
let's say, in transportation and they find the opportunity to move
forward faster, they have directed at times if a developer comes in and
has the ability to move something faster and the like; and there have
been modifications. Now, having said that, none of that is done
without the public process of the board action.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I just wanted to understand it because--
MR. FEDER: I understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If it's not in the AUIR, I wanted -- I just
wanted to know how it got there.
MR. FEDER: Again, the AUIR -- and I must say particularly for
transportation that the AUIR is a snapshot of a point in time. And
there are things and decisions that are made in between. But the
AUIR is what directs our work programs and we want to hold to that,
but, again, some things do change over the course of that year and
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then they're brought back to you in the next -- subsequent AUIR.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In 2004 Line Item No.8, Gateway
Triangle improvements was listed at 8,720,000. This year it's dropped
to 4.9. Does that mean you've already completed some of it?
MR. CALVERT: No, we haven't. I'll let our project manager
address any of those issues on Gateway if you may wish. Jerry.
MR. KURTZ: Hello, Jerry Kurtz. We've had to redesign
Gateway. We're in the second redesign of it. We have spent money to
buy property in Gateway approaching -- it's gone over a million
dollars in property. We've bought every vacant piece of property
down in the Gateway Triangle that exists for stormwater treatment
area. So we have spent money on that. But we had a design that
wasn't to the level of service that we wanted, so we're back in design
to get us a better higher level of service with the new land that we
purchased. So we've had to kind of redo that project.
MR. FEDER: Jerry, that's also coordinated with the CRA and
what they're looking for in their planning as I understand it?
MR. KURTZ: Yeah. The other thing that we did is we're --
we're coordinating with the CRA now completely to incorporate all
redevelopment elements into this stormwater system design. And
that's -- that's a big change from what we were doing previously.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, based on last year's AUIR, you
were going to spend 720,000 last year out of the 8,720,000 leaving
about 8 million. So your redesign is saving the taxpayers $3 million?
Is that what we're thinking?
MR. KURTZ: Not necessarily. Just different concepts, different
ideas, a whole different approach. We're just in the throws of design
right now and I'm not sure what the final construction costs will be for
the project. We're also looking into ASR components in that project
as well. So we're -- we're -- we're not really sure what the final scope
of the project will be.
MR. FEDER: Commissioner, it's a little bit different now in the
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transportation. I'm sorry. But that is not the total cost of the project.
There are components of the project that they see possibly coming
forward. So Gateway is not going to be done simply by seven or eight
million. So you don't have a project in that sense where the
construction phase is the full construction, the component construction
of base and improvements. In this case they're looking at the Gateway
Triangle as one of the phases. Is that fair, Jerry?
MR. KURTZ: Yes.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Shouldn't it be listed then as just a
design project so that -- so that the commissioners and the public do
not think that this is a completed project?
MR. FEDER: We're -- we're looking at refining how the work
program is done in stormwater to show whether or not it's a design
phase or construction. And if it's a partial construction of a broader
concept to try to get that in. Your point's well taken.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, may I ask a question on
Gateway?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Does that include drainage for
the private properties also -- for the structures?
MR. KURTZ: Yes. We're -- we're going to try to build a master
stormwater drainage system that the private developers through
redevelopment can tie into.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And they'll fund through that
system?
MR. KURTZ: That's our hope.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: As we go past the Gateway Triangle
improvements, there's a listing of a series of brand new improvements,
the next seven or eight are brand new all the way down to Imperial
Gulf Estates. I notice that there're individual subdivision or actually
developer projects in here. Riviera Golf Estates, Palm River Country
Club, Bayshore and Thomas -- well, that one isn't. That's public. But
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imperial -- Imperial Golf Estates besides Riviera Golf Estates, Victoria
Lakes outfall improvement, are those items that could not be
developer related for the improvements that they putting in those
areas? Obviously, they're named after them. Are these--
MR. FEDER: Basically what you've got in each of those cases
are older developed areas. Imperial Lakes, we have some drainage
issues that we're trying to modify after the overall drainage in the
northwest corner of the county. And so we're trying to develop
modifications to the drainage designs that were put in some time ago
to meet broader drainage needs of the area.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So if it -- are they items that were
deficient from the time the development went in or --
MR. FEDER: They were items that were consistent with the
stormwater requirements placed on them at that time in the Land
Development Code. But we all know the people are required to build
higher, retain more on-site and other issues today than they were
previously.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well, my last question goes back
on something that was said earlier. I think when we -- when Ms.
Caron originally questioned the $49 million that shows up in your
needs for ad valorem, you indicated that you're not that -- responsible
for that number or experienced with it or something to that effect.
MR. CALVERT: I can't support the 49 million. I don't know
where the --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Did I hear you say that it might end up
being somewhere like 39 million?
MR. CALVERT: Thirty-nine million I can support. I know
where the documentation is for 39 million. I cannot support the 49
million.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I'm done. Any other questions
from the panel?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: No.
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January 13, 2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. What I -- I'll mention to you-all
the notes I've made so we can make a decision on a motion before we
probably break for lunch and catch water/sewer or solid waste and go
on to parks and rec after that.
There are three issues I've seen come out of this discussion. I
don't know what the value is yet, but I know that before the day's over
we might know it. But whatever it is, I think we ought to do the same
credit back as a revenue source for -- for the interest earnings on the
accounts that are attributed to this particular element, that the board or
somebody approach the City of Naples again with a strong
recommendation for some kind of cost sharing between the City of
Naples and Collier County. It was originally set up to be that way and
a large beneficiary of all that is the City of Naples. So I certainly
think we ought to encourage that transition to occur. And lastly that
the ad valorem revenue from '07 to 'lObe revised downward to no
more than 39 million at this time subject to staffs new
recommendations going to the BCC.
Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I would also make a suggestion
that the enhancements, that part of any project be portrayed as a
separate item in there so as to make it easier to discern what -- what is
happening as they -- as they go through periods. You've indicated that
some of your component there was -- was enhancement to canals and
such, and I think it would be easier to understand.
MR. CALVERT: Are -- are you suggesting on a project by
project basis go down through those or--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: To get to where you would want
to be to give us the summary figure, you'd know those project by
project. You'd know them because the data are available to you. I'm
not asking for that level of clarification, but instead be able to see --
like you've mentioned the numbers. When you start to question the
numbers, some of it doesn't correlate until you find out, well, we've
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January 13, 2006
done some enhancements as well. And I thought maybe it might
behoove you to have it clear.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray, maybe I could make a
suggestion. Basically they're talking -- you're talking about -- I think I
understand it -- is some kind of delineation that either the element
includes both soft and hard costs or just soft costs.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And if you were to use a footnote, the
Footnote 1 say and all those items that include just soft cost, putting
on them as just soft costs.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's fine.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And those that don't, indicate they're
soft and hard cost elements both in that particular line item. That may
then make others realize that it may not be physical construction work
you're doing. It may be design work --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Design.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- and proposal work.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right. That's exactly what I was
trying to say.
MR. CALVERT: Okay. Okay. Because most of our -- a lot of
our projects, yeah, they are design projects as well. So, you know, if
they haven't been completed, the funding is -- is encumbered and
carried on through the next year.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Transportation has done that with all
their road improvements. They've actually used lettering to indicate
what's a proposed -- what's a design element and what's a acquisition
element for right-of-way and things like that. I think that's kind of
where Mr. Murray's heading, some clarification.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: It's exactly where I was going.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So with those four recommendations on
this particular element of the AUIR -- and before I go too far, if any of
the staff that are monitoring this in two sides get indications from the
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January 13,2006
public that anybody would like to speak, please let me know before
we vote.
MR. COHEN: Mr. Chairman, also on this item, can I clarify
something with respect to Mr. Murray's comments. I think what he's
asking for is the addition of two footnotes on page 20 which are
Attachment A. One which would indicate soft costs. One which
would indicate soft and hard costs; correct?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes. Okay. With those four items, is
there a motion?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Well, let me just ask one thing,
Mark. Did you pick up -- I think there was a math error on the
structures that were proposed year '6 to '10 should be 21 not 22.
COMMISSIONER CARON: And the math actually comes out
higher if you're using the figures above.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I wasn't going to ever push him
for more.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Just, you know--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: When I brought that up, I think it was
explained that the expenditure may be more than just the simple -- the
structure, the other enhancement, that they utilize that difference in
funding for it.
MR. CULVERT: We'll review those numbers again.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: My point being I think that 22
should be a 21.
MR. CULVERT: That's fine.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Is there a motion to--
MR. ADELSTEIN: I'll so move.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: (Indicating.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There's a motion made by
Commissioner Adelstein. Seconded by Commissioner Murray to
support this element subject to the recommendations that were just
discussed by this panel. Are there any other comments?
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January 13,2006
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hearing none, all those in favor signify
by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No one's opposed.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Let me ask you a question,
Mark, is there a website we could go to to see any kind of maps of the
structures and the canals?
MR. CUL VERT: We do have a website, however, it hasn't been
updated. It's very -- it doesn't show -- it shows a lot of the major
drainages, but it doesn't show the location of all these other projects.
That's probably something -- we do have a website, but it hasn't been
updated.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So next year we'll --
MR. CULVERT: Yes. We will plan on getting it updated within
the next few months.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Good. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Commissioners, it's probably a
better break time now than go start trying to get into water and sewer.
So with that we'll take a break. Be back from lunch at 12:35.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'll set my watch.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you.
(Lunch recess was taken.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you. Mr. Schmitt, we resume
this meeting of the review of the AUIR 2005, and the next element
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January 13,2006
that is coming up for discussion is the potable water element. And
with that we'll turn the meeting over to Mr. Delony.
MR. DELONY: Good morning, Commissioners. And my name
is Jim Delony. I'm the Public Utilities Administrator. And I'm going
to speak to you today about not only potable water, but also the
elements of maintaining compliance and concurrency with regard to
our wastewater program and our solid waste program.
I -- Mr. Chairman, I have prepared script here for me and my
staff, and we can pursue -- we can do this either way you choose or
the commission chooses to go. I can give you what I have prepared in
presentation format referencing pages 21 through 42 of your books in
detail or we can respond to your questions if you have them now. I'm
really kind of at your pleasure. I've got a few directors that are in
route as I sit here -- stand here, but at the same time I want to meet
your needs and ensure that we get your questions answered or at least
do our best to.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, your -- your materials supplied
gave us a lot of information and the ability for us to research on our
own gave us the additional opportunity. I have done both of that. I'm
very familiar with what you've provided. Your presentation may
answer some questions, but maybe not as expeditiously if I just ask the
focused question --
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- and you responded. But I don't know
what is the wish of this commission. I'd just prefer to go with what
other commissioners would like to hear.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think I could defer to you
without difficulty.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I think asking -- I mean, we did
review. We could ask questions and that would--
MR. DELONY: The only thing I would caution is that this is a
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January 13, 2006
little different than what you've heard or seen before in that -- and I'm
going to remind you of something maybe that you already know from
the presentation, those rules you have in front of you, that this is an
enterprise fund. It is not an ad valorem -- ad valorem situation. Many
of your questions to date to staff that dealt with ad valorem issues and
issues associated with ad valorem are not applicable here.
Rather this discussion certainly deals with services at points of
time and space, and it levels the service required to stay concurrent
with the growth and the demand and protecting public health in the
three areas that I'm responsible for. So with that caution in mind,
that's one reason why I said I can go either way because this is a little
different. It's not all that different, Mr. Chairman, but it's your call
how you want to proceed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, one thing that would be true,
though, is since you are an enterprise fund, if we found ways for your
enterprise to save funds, it would reduce the user fees that you would
then distribute to the taxpayers of this county. Is that--
MR. DELONY: Actually, rate payers would be the appropriate
term, sir, if I might. And not every taxpayer in Collier County is a
rate payer to our water/sewer district which -- now in terms of solid
waste, that's correct. Our franchise is the entire county and, therefore,
by default even in some of the incorporated areas of Collier County,
you're still one of our customers within our franchise. But with regard
to the presentations I have, we're talking about rate payers typically.
And absolutely your ability to help me and my staff sustain a best
value solution to our challenges is something I need from you as -- as
Mr. Mudd so eloquently put it in his opening remarks so many days
ago that we began this process.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I found most of your stuff pretty
complete. Obviously, I do have questions. Mine will-- I have more
questions on probably solid waste than any other part of your
operation.
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January 13,2006
MR. DELONY: All right, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But we start in order with potable water.
And if the commission is satisfied, we can move forward with
questions first and then any loose ends may be tied up with a brief
presentation. Let's go that route.
So, Commissioners, what's your pleasure? Anybody have any
opening questions?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I have some on potable water.
MR. DELONY: Potable water? All right. We'll begin with
potable if we would, sir.
(Multiple speakers.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN : We'll begin with potable water until we
finish --
MR. DELONY: All right. Thank you. Can I just add just before
we begin. We're on pages 21 through, I believe, 42 of your packets is
the area for us. One of the critical things I always remind myself and
the board as we explore these options and, therefore, plans based on
recommendations from staff that these are infrastructure projects with
the normal need to delivery period of at least eight years in planning
from concept to delivery of services in terms of expansion. Of any
type of service there is a long lead time required. And so you will see
that our concurrency model is set up around our ability to deliver
typically at that window particularly for water and wastewater
services. And we look for concurrency all along that period of -- of --
of -- of execution with regard to our concurrency.
Now, with regard to solid waste, and I know there's a lot of
questions about solid waste, and I'm excited about it because I love to
talk about our solid waste program. It's an excellent program. And
quite frankly I hope you agree with me. It's got all the makings of the
best in the nation in terms of its service and its quality. It's a little
longer because of the difficulties associated with permitting airspace
and so on. So you would see in your concurrency model we took it --
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January 13,2006
look at two-year and ten-year bites of time in terms of concurrency.
So I've just got to caution you in terms as you ask your questions and
you begin to evaluate options that -- that you would provide to us as
recommendations to keep in mind the time it takes to make a
difference or a change in infrastructure. And I know there's some
experience up here with this Planning Commission and you're no -- no
-- no news -- that's not new news to you that things take time to build.
So I just want to start that if I could, sir. And I don't mean to interrupt
you, but I did want to put that at least in front of you for your
consideration.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What I'd -- what I'd like to do is focus
on each of your three elements.
MR. DELONY: If you would, go ahead. If you would then give
me a question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Brad, if you want to go forward with
your questions on potable water to start.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And they're pretty simple I
think. Number one, the population that you show is less than the
population that's in here and that's because you're not serving the
whole county that the population has; correct?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. That's correct.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MR. DELONY: The water/sewer district is not contiguous to the
political boundaries of the county.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. The -- right now are we
running a little bit below? I mean, looking at the required system
capacity and the reliable system capacity are we close right now? I
mean, obviously we're pulling away so...
MR. DELONY: Sir, let me take you to a chart that's in your
packet, and I think it will tell you exactly what the story is. And I
have behind me a world class expert, the director of our water
department, Mr. Paul Mattausch, so he will eventually hold my hand
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January 13, 2006
at some stage of the game here. But I believe page 13 is the chart that
we would look at. And looking at that chart you can see very clearly
what is the status of -- excuse me, 23. Excuse me. Yeah. Let me do
this. Let's just stop messing around here and just admit what I have to
admit. And I see that you do that as well there, Commissioner
Schiffer. You can see where we've been and where we're going in
terms of answering your questions in terms of shortages and overages
in terms of availability of reliable and constructive system capacities
on that chart on page 23.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So we're coming out of a little
deficit and we're okay from here on out or --
MR. DELONY: Well, no, sir. We're not okay till we execute.
That's the bottom line and that's what AUIR provides for us is the -- is
the -- is the approved way in terms of execution by the board of when
I have time certain infrastructure improvements to do what you said
and that's to stay okay with demand versus supply. Given this plan
that's in front of you here today, this is my recommendation to be
okay in that regard, sir.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: With looking at all the things
you propose and even just looking at the chart on page 26 is easy for
me, it looks like this year we pull ourselves into a position where
we're much safer with -- it looks like we're right on with our crossing
over right now.
MR. DELONY: That's right. This is -- this is a milestone year
for us. It is a cross-over year. Thank you. That's exactly what that is
this year.
Up -- up and since the day I arrived here three and a half years
ago, we have been doing what's called demand management in our
water system. Meaning that we were very careful with regard to both
our pressures and supplies so we did not fall out of meeting demand.
And throughout that period we were not able to sustain the prescribed
level of service consistently. I mean, we did it a lot but not every day
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January 13,2006
with reliability of 85 pounds per square -- 85 psi from the head of
works at the plant which is an AUIR prescribed level of service for the
water department.
And so through that demand management and manipulating those
pressures as well as some dang gone good work by our public in
conserving water consistent with our water conservation rules that we
have here in Collier County and within the South Florida Water
Management District, we were able to get through that very difficult
period. We're at that crossover point now where we are not going to
be worrying every day whether we have sufficient supply to meet
demand in the water supply system for potable water in Collier
County .
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: With that said, my only
suggestion is next year could you -- you have population charts in the
back and maybe, Randy, you're the one that does it for the water
department.
MR. COHEN: They're all the way in the back.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yeah. Could you break them
up so that it's not one line, maybe break it into two lines so you can
actually read the numbers just --
MR. COHEN: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- without a magnifying glass
and stuff. Thank you.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Any other questions?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, here we go. I had met with some
of your staff prior to today to try to resolve most of my questions.
One of the things I had asked if you had a service area map that we
could take a look at that could be put on the viewer, let's say, so we
could see how the service area that you're servicing fits in with the
overall county. Because I too wanted to understand what you didn't
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January 13,2006
include and what other municipalities did. Do you have one?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I was mostly concerned about the East
Naples area that's serviced by the City of Naples. Are you including
those populations in yours or are those not yours?
MR. DELONY: No, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELONY: These are population served on the water/sewer
district. Now, as you know, and I think we briefed you on this as well,
there are interlocal agreements between the city and the county with
regard to how it's -- to some crossover. What I call the border land
between the two districts. And we have some interlocals in place. But
those populations were backed out of our population to be served.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In the servicing of that, your -- my
Column 4 for 2006 or 2005 --
MR. DELONY: You're on page 23, sir?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN : Yes, I am. It shows there's -- in 2006
that we have 40 MGD. And that does balance with what FDEP has in
regards to your capacity. The highest peak month demand -- and I
need to know how this compares to the available -- or to the whatever
capacity you're using that was told to DEP was the highest peak month
demand was 28.57. Remaining capacity available was 11.43. This
was as of November of2005. Yet I notice that we seem to have a
deficiency in the right columns in -- starting in -- well, the deficiency
goes through in the far right column retained for three years. What is
the -- what is the difference there between what's reported to the
FDEP and what shows on these tables here?
MR. DELONY: Okay. I'm going to have Paul give that, and I'll
come back and sum behind what Paul has to say with regard to that
specific report to DEP. And I'm wondering the genesis of your
question. DEP as reporting requirements consistent with their
oversight and -- and overwatch of our -- of our management of the
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January 13, 2006
water resources in providing that safeguard to public health. This
discussion deals with concurrency management in terms of
infrastructure to meet demand and stay in compliance with DEP.
So I don't know if we're talking apples and oranges.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't know.
MR. DELONY: And that's what I want to make sure that we're
clear is that what we have in front of you are the required
documentations and the computations as best we understand through
our learning and our understanding of9J5 of what we need to do to
stay concurrent. DEP's process has another end in mind. They have a
different end in mind. So I don't know if they're apples and oranges or
if this is just a matter of they're due different numbers and they look at
it different than we do with different ends in mind.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't know. I just know that one
shows we have a surplus --
MR. DELONY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- and yours shows we have a deficit.
MR. DELONY: Actually, what -- and I'm going to have Paul
talk to you about the terms of the max month. Okay. But that's what
that basically comes down to is two different -- two different types of
reports and two different kinds of data.
Paul.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELONY: Introduce yourself.
MR. MATTAUSCH: For the record, Paul Mattausch, Director of
the Water Department.
Commissioner Strain, you're -- you're exactly right. The number
that was reported to DEP is our max month average day. That is the
average of the 30 days or 31 days taken during the maximum or the
peak production demand on -- placed on the system. Typically that
happens in March, April or May and may vary a little bit depending
on particular conditions.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So your -- so your peak month which
would be March, April or Mayas a suggestion would have a demand
of 28.57?
MR. MATTAUSCH: On the average day, yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. MATTAUSCH: And that ranged from a maximum day of
33.6 down to a minimum day on a nonirrigation day of somewhere in
the neighborhood of 24 million gallons on a single day. Yes, sir. So
that is the average of all 31 days if it was March. And I believe that it
was either February or March this last year. I don't have those
numbers right in front of me but, yes.
And the other number that you're referring to is 40 million
gallons a day. That's what DEP looks at as far as constructed capacity
of the system. They are only looking at constructed capacity. They
are not looking at levels of reliability that we have to have when we're
talking about a utility that provides an essential service. For some
reason people always expect water to come out of the faucet. And--
and for that reason, we can't always talk about just constructed
capacity which is 40 million gallons a day. We need to also talk about
some factors that -- that you have just like any other, with any other
mechanical piece of equipment. For instance, a car, if -- if you don't
maintain it properly and have down time when it's in the shop, then
you can't expect it to run. And, in fact, you don't expect a car to run
24/7,365, okay, every day every hour of the year like you do with a
utility. So there are some other standards that we have to talk about,
and I'm -- I'm prepared to discuss those if -- if you want to. But -- but I
think that answers your question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It does in regards to the original
question; but now if I listen to what you're saying, you like reliable
capacity. Is that fair to say?
MR. MATTAUSCH: Well, my -- my customers do. Yes, sir.
MR. DELONY: Just a second. I don't think it's a matter,
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Commissioner, if I might, of liking anything. I think it's a matter of
what we need to do to accomplish our mission. Just if I might and I --
and I don't want to -- mean to interrupt you, sir, but we need to
provide a consistent reliable means to provide potable water to Collier
County. We need to have within that the necessary means and
methods to do that 365, 2417. You know, that's what we need to do.
It's not a matter of liking anything. It's just what -- that's our mission.
And so when we look at our needs and evaluate concurrency, that's
what we're looking at in the global scheme of this annualization
inventory report.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Now, back to reliable capacity.
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Your mission dictates you want to use
reliable capacity. Whatever terminology you want to use, you guys
are using reliable capacity as one of your elements to measure against.
And even with reliable capacity showing 40 MGD on
as-constructed, your reliable capacity is 36.90 according to the year
2006 or, no, 2005 in this table you've provided. Even with that, that
would allow a substantial plant capacity based on your DEP maximum
daily utilization. I'm trying to understand is if we show an excess to
DEP like we do show, why is it that the numbers you're presenting to
us today show a deficit? And I -- I understand there's different
reporting requirements, but DEP's got to have a level of comfort that
we're going to supply water to our citizens. And their reporting
requirements apparently give them that.
MR. DELONY: Sir, I gave you the answer to that when you
asked the question earlier. They have a different intent there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What is their intent?
MR. DELaNY: I think I gave that. Their intent is to measure
where we are with providing -- providing supply on a maximum basis.
They're not running it off -- operating a utility 365.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But yet we report to them we have -- we
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January 13,2006
have an excess capacity.
MR. DELaNY: We report what we have. We don't report an
excess capacity. We report what we have.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. In this case it's an excess ofa
need based on -- and, Jim, I'm not trying to mince words with you.
You guys are getting a little defensive here. I'm simply trying to
understand your process so I can ask better questions and hopefully
get -- get the answers that make me understand this whole process.
So, you know, with that wherever you want to take it.
I did notice that you've got a plant on Column 5 in 2005 for 8
MGD and the reliable capacity is 6 MGD. And I guess that there's a
loss of 25 percent. Is that fair to say?
MR. DELaNY: Not a loss, sir, but a reliability factor of twenty
-- of -- of one unit of production out of service is the assumption made
with regard to measuring the reliable capacity versus the constructed
capacity.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The 12 MGD that's being added in 2007
and it stays reliable, is that because an expansion to -- expansion to an
existing plant is done?
MR. DELaNY: That's exactly correct, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. The 20.75 that's added in 2009,
we still have a positive reliability left in 2009 of3.36? We're adding
27.5 that in the 2004 AUIR was split up into two ten MGD plants.
Now, we've combined them into one which provides us a very healthy
reliable capacity left afterwards; but if we split it back up to ten and
ten and delayed the second plant for four or five years and save the
cost of that plant, we still would be covered with a surplus in our -- in
the retained system capacity. Can you comment on that?
MR. DELaNY: I think I did in the beginning. Again, we are
looking at eight-year windows of execution in terms of any -- whether
it's one MGD or ten in terms of our ability to put the plant on the
ground typically. We can make some in- plant improvements and
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January 13,2006
expansions inside that window, but these -- with these new footprints
of plant, that's what we're generally planning for. And as we look at
over the window of time of consuming that surplus that you spoke to
earlier, this is the execution matrix that looks most feasible both from
the standpoint of putting in the ground, getting the committees of scale
of mobilizing once versus twice with regard to plant expansions, but
not overbuilding in context of the eight-year window. There are many
variables here that are not known but assessed, for example,
population.
We -- we -- if you'll look at your same chart on page 23 and look
back in years 2000 to 2004, you can see where you can miss it
significantly. I'm providing a plan, an opportunity here where we can
stay, I believe, at concurrency throughout the planning period given
the variables that we have. And the good news is with regard to
making the decisions today as we evaluate these positions yearly in
this forum such as this one and before the board, we can dial in those
decisions as we see certainty in those populations and that demand.
This is a plan. The intent is for it not to be too wrong, but to be just
right. What we have here is just the best -- my best assessment of how
to do that. And certainly we will look at the economies associated
with delivery in context of construction, permitting and real estate
which really back up these hard numbers. So I think I've answered
your question. I hope I have. If not, I know you'll -- you'll make sure
that I do.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah. I've still got a few more
questions to ask.
MR. DELONY: Sure.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How much is mobilization?
MR. DELONY: It's a function of the cost of doing business.
Every job has a fixed cost associated with bringing the contractor on
board, him occupying the site, executing the contract and leaving.
The economies of scale -- and that's for two MGD or ten MGD in
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January 13,2006
terms of fixed cost. So do you want to build five times two or do you
want to build two times five or one times ten in terms of your
installation, in terms of your economies. And that's the decisions that
we have to make.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All the contracts that I work with, I pay
mobilization. I know what it is. My question is, on 20.75 MGD or on
a 10 MGD plant, how much is the mobilization?
MR. DELONY: I don't have that answer here today, and you
know I don't have that answer because the economics associated with
that are not part of this analysis today.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, first of all, I didn't know you
didn't have the answer. It was a question I brought in a meeting I had
with your staff. I suggested that we delay these -- the other ten MGD
like was delayed in the 2004 AUIR, that we delay it a few years like it
was in that AUIR and save the money. And the comment to me was
mobilization. Well, I said, Well, how much does the mobilization cost
compared to the interest on the bond that would have to be floated for
an additional MGD four or five years earlier? You don't have that
answer is what you're telling me?
MR. DELaNY: Sir, I was not aware of that and that's my fault if
I don't have it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well--
MR. DELONY: Again, sir, if! may, this is a plan that deals with
concurrency of availability of water supply. It deals with the specifics
of what infrastructure's required based on the models of population
and levels of service. The economics associated with execution of this
plan is carefully weighed once this plan is put in motion through the
master plan. And those opportunities to do what you're suggesting
should be made real time as we move forward and refine this plan.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. If this plant were to be moved
beyond the five-year window that this AUIR is written into it, it goes
into another time frame and has -- it effects, I assume, your rate pairs
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January 13, 2006
at a different rate based on the savings of putting the plant off for four
years or five years and the bond interest rate versus the mobilization.
At some point before the day's over, maybe someone could give me
that number.
MR. DELaNY: I don't know if we'll get it to you today, but
certainly we will be prepared to answer it at some -- at some later date.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Last year the average daily
demand was 172.9. I know that you use as a benchmark 185 gallons
per capita. You also -- we have -- it seems like we've got 185 per
capita as the standard that we use as a -- as a measurement for level of
service and we have constructed capacity. We also go back to a
conservative element called reliable that gives you a more
conservative capacity available. It seems to me that if we're going to
look at a conservative level of service standard, then we ought to be
looking at what actual is, 172.9, and compare that to reliable and see
how these tables come out. Has that been done or is that __
MR. DELaNY: Well, first of all, the 172 is a calculated based
on last year's experience. And I've explained to you, sir, that we did
not have a normal year -- year last with (inaudible) pressures. We
manipulated pressures and demand was manipulated more by me than
by the public in some regards with regard to it. Now, that's -- that's __
that's it. We also know that that 185 is a good basis of decision
making reference all the other utilities in this end of Florida as well as
the state at large. The current average for the entire state of Florida is
about 173 --
MR. KURTZ: One hundred seventy-four.
MR. DELaNY: -- seventy-four right now, the entire -- taking
the whole state in aggregate. So you try to pick the best number. The
average for Collier County between all the utilities that we have
within the county is about 232. Is that correct? That's our current--
that's the current planning factor used by the utilities within the county
in the semi-tropical environment we call Collier County.
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So, again, I -- I want won't debate the nuances of what the right
level of service is because it is an assessment. An input of that
assessment is -- is a determined opinion based on our best -- best
opportunity to make that assessment. I -- I believe it's a fair -- it is the
right number. I believe 185 is the right number to use. Certainly a
couple more years at 170 sure changes that assessment and will
change this AUIR as we move forward.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, I know it will.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. We are standing -- I think, if! might,
sir, we don't -- we don't write this plan and forget about it. This is
evaluated nearly every day if not every year for sure in front of people
like yourselves and the board to make sure this plan is kept up to
speed. And so 185 is in my view the appropriate level of service with
what we know today. That's not to say it will be the level of service in
the future. Absolutely, sir, it would be in our best interest to lower
that level of service realistically.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: With what the -- if you take the level of
service of 172.9 that was established from last year, would that
provide a different capacity available in a reliable system?
MR. DELaNY: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. DELaNY: Absolutely. Lower the number, less the
demand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Exactly right.
MR. DELONY: That's right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I just wanted to make sure that--
MR. DELaNY: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- we're in agreement. Out of every
ASR well -- ASR well that you have, how much MGD do you give?
MR. DELaNY: We have one ASR well. It's located for potable
water. And you -- you don't -- you retrieve what you put down the
hole. We're able to retrieve somewhere between 900,000 and 1
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January 13,2006
million gallons a day provided we put the water down the hole and
we're able to pump it back out.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, you show that available ASR
capacity is one MGD. Is that for the one well that you have?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So that one well theoretically puts out
one MGD?
MR. DELaNY: If you tap that well and we're able to
consistently keep it pumped up, we can achieve one MGD of yield
from that well.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There -- the four new potable wells that
you have on Manatee Road, how are they shown on here?
MR. DELONY: Four new wells on Manatee -- the ASR?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes.
MR. DELaNY: Well, they would be coming on-line -- I think
we've got them coming on-line throughout the period 2008 till 2014.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Your business plan showed them at
2004 and 2005.
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir, and I moved them out doing what you
suggested earlier. You know, Hey, take a look at what you got. You
know, in 2004 I had one set of facts. Now, in 2005 I have another set
of facts with regard to managing demand and supply. And we've
made those adjustments in our -- in our infrastructural planning.
That's a good example of what I spoke to again about dialing this plan
in as we get more certainty of what we know.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Had those been in place, would there
have been more of an argument that we wouldn't have needed to run
20 million gallons per day plant all at one time and left it ten and ten
like it was?
MR. DELONY: I think that the term ASR in making out a well
is not correct. That is not a supply source until I put the water into it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
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January 13,2006
MR. DELONY: I have to have the capacity in the system to
charge that resource. So up to now I haven't had the capacity in the
system to charge that resource. I'd ask that you go back and look at
the -- the numbers in the years 2000, 2005 to see what was the actual
system capacity available to charge that resource. It wasn't there up
till now. That crossover year, I think, what we spoke to earlier.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I wish I had the time to go into more
detail on that one, but I just don't. That's all the questions I have on __
on your system at this point for potable water. Does anybody __
anybody else have any?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah. I do have a question
because I'm looking at your page 23 which should correlate to page 26
which is a chart. But if we're already -- if we're over in Column 9A,
once we get beyond, what is it, 2007, we're into positive figures all the
way down. It doesn't look like your chart is showing the same thing.
Because I'm concerned only about reliable or what last year we
learned was firm capacity because that -- that is the most important
figure in my mind.
MR. DELONY: The chart that you have on page 26 has got a
terrible scale to it to see the nuances of 1 or 2 million gallon surplus
that you see in Column 9A. So that may be what you're seeing there
just in term of graphical display. The data that you see on page 23 is
the data that we're operating under.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Because if somebody just looks at
this chart, they're going to think we're way under a lot more of the
time than you're telling me on page 23.
MR. DELONY: Page 23 is -- is -- is the AUIR. The chart was
there only for illustrative purposes in terms of trends and so on. And
hard numbers are on page 23. Did I answer your question, ma'am?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah. I'm just -- you know, I think
you should redo this chart as --
MR. DELaNY: Okay. I understand. Yes, ma'am.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions on the potable
water?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, are we going to come
back and vote on these in total or just on this --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I'd rather take each one and get
done with it.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The issue that I still feel is something
that will be recommended is the 20 million plant being split up into __
like it was in the 2004 AUIR and be two tens. I see no reason why it
shouldn't be other than, you know, somebody wanting it that way. At
this point I still would like to see it split up as a recommendation, but
that's the preference of this panel.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And, Mark, in terms of the --
the people that are using it, what would it do, would it reduce fees or
what would happen if that was done.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't know because I'd have to -- I
don't know what the savings are between the bond costs and the
mobilization cost. So it's hard to say at this point.
COMMISSIONER CARON: I would think that before any vote
was taken, we'd want to get an answer to that question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Then we need to defer this to later today
or the next time we bring it up and go on to the sewer.
COMMISSIONER CARON: If that can be -- you know, if that
answer can be had today, I mean, let's --let's talk.
MR. DELONY: If! may, again, I don't really want to repeat
myself, but I don't think right now it's a matter of the economics with
regard to ability to meet demand and stay in compliance with regard to
our -- it's concurrency reporting. We were not -- we're not going to do
anything that's not financially feasible with regard to our method of
business. But at the same time I understand your desire for more data.
I'm just not able to produce it today.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you were to reduce that plant to ten
and ten, you still would not be deficient.
MR. DELaNY: And I'm not sure that's a feasible plan at this
stage of the game because I have -- I'd be frank with you, the plan you
see in front of me is entirely feasible in terms of the permitting, the
real estate and the timing and the economics that we've looked in
within the context of our master plan. And I will share with the board
-- with the panel here that we are undergoing as I speak today an
update to our master plans. We would be back in front of the board in
the late spring with a set of master plans. Very well that data that you
see here today will cause a recommendation to change and split those.
And after today I guarantee you I'm going to make sure I've got
that well rehearsed and well done within the context of those master
plans.
But given our current approved master plan from the board and
my recommendation -- and understanding of that and understanding
demand, this is our current AUIR model. But that model will change
when that master plan is brought forward, vetted publicly and
approved eventually by the board. And certainly with the direction
I've -- I've heard from you today and the suggestions, we're going to
take a hard look at them. I can assure you of that.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Isn't the design work and
everything done on that plant? I mean --
MR. DELaNY: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- do you need an eight-year
lead time?
MR. DELaNY: No, sir. No, sir. That's -- that's project delivery
the eight years. The design would be the first couple of years along
with the permitting.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Let me correct something too. I just -- I
was thinking about that meeting I had with your staff. I did not ask
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them to produce that number. So you wouldn't have had it today.
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But now that I've asked for it, is it
something you can produce?
MR. DELaNY: Not -- nothing I'm going to produce this day. I
can promise you that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No. But I mean is that a number that--
MR. DELONY: It's certainly in the context of the master plans, I
certainly plan to do that. In the master plan we will deliver to the
board, I'll answer that question specifically.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah. I think we talked about splitting
the plan up, but I never got to the number because it didn't dawn on
me until I was looking at that DEP stuff that maybe we didn't need
that much and what would be the cost differential so...
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir, I understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: At this point I'm still wanting to see that
number. What do you guys want to do?
COMMISSIONER CARON: I think we're going to get that
number and we'll get that number in the spring and the board can
make a decision at that time.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. It's up to you guys.
MR. ADELSTEIN: I -- I'd have to go along with that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm inclined to -- to support the
posture of -- of the organization. If we don't have that information, it's
hard for us to make a recommendation. And I fully -- I think fully
understand where you're going with that. But once before that
gentleman said to me, it's our job to set the conditions. And I -- and I
feel comfortable that the conditions to protect the communities are
there. And not disagreeing, but unless we could have that information
now, I think we can't make a judgment on it. So I'm -- I'm __
MR. DELONY: I've already made the commitment to this
commission that I am go to look carefully at that and will respond to
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January 13,2006
that within the context of the master plan. And certainly I can provide
that at the time that I feel that I've got the right information for you to
make a -- a positive decision one way or the other.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: If! could just amplify it maybe.
If you're going to make an oblique left, you're talking what's your
time frame for realization to -- to performance: three months? six
months?
MR. DELONY: No, sir. Sir, these plant -- these plant capacities
with regard to where we are, some are in motion now.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right.
MR. DELaNY: For example, the expansion of the south water
plant is well under way now both in it's procurement and the wells to
fill development. That's under way. I'm under design currently in the
northeast plants. This would be the area served in the vicinity of the
fair grounds. That area up in the northeast there. You see a red star in
that area there. And we're under the design.
If -- if we could -- if we could -- if we could keep, you know,
everything constant with regard to the land use and the populations,
you know, we could take a little bit more risk. But right now with
what I know and what's been projected on the population and -- and--
and the real world variables that are inside of an eight-year window of
execution, this is my recommendation today.
Now, as I have promised as I look at this master plan update this
spring, I'll evaluate carefully that again and make an additional
assessment for review and vetting with -- with the public and with the
board.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, you have an interconnect
between the north and the south plants. The other plant in the
northeast, do you anticipate an interconnect with that?
MR. DELaNY: The water system is totally interconnected.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
MR. DELaNY: The water -- the water is a system of plants and
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January 13,2006
pIpes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's why you were talking
about 40 million gallons?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: A big tub.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And so really you have this big
tub with the ability to shift the water around?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And so, again, if you had to
make a left oblique, if you found out you really didn't need a 20, you'd
be able to make that call pretty quickly.
MR. DELaNY: I believe we'd be able to dial in the level of
service to stay concurrent and that's my challenge. And we can see
that it's been a challenge for this -- for this utility historically. The
chart in front of you tells you how difficult that challenge is given
crystal balls and the realities of pipes, pumps, policy and prices. And
so my job is to sit down and take all that in context and provide you
my best considered -- and listen carefully to other views as well.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I'm sure you realize the __
the intent here is to try and --
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- prune back as much cost so
that we can give the citizens -- help to give the citizens some kind of
benefit from savings. It comes down to a question of confidence and
unless -- unless I guess we have something to show clearly, I -- I have
to take you at your word at this point.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And, Mark, can we move on, I
mean, even in support of this? Because one thing I think it does show
is that, you know, this is the year we cross over to a surplus. We're
going to be going right along with our flow. You know, we're not that
far above it. This plant you're talking about is the one that really lifts
us into a surplus where I think we can for the first time relax about our
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January 13, 2006
water supply. So I can't see it causing harm. Building a 20 ahead of
two 10s. I mean, it's got to be cheaper. Look at the cost of inflation
on everything on materials so...
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Can you -- Mr. Delony, can you tell me
what a CSRWTP is? That's the South County Regional Water
Treatment Plant?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In 2005 that had a 12 MGD RO
expansion. I know that doesn't correspond to -_
MR. DELaNY: Sir, if you'll look at -- I believe the number's
eight if you'll look at your chart. Not twelve, it's eight.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Did it have that expansion--
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir, it did. It's been on-line. It came
on-line -- was it Christmas a year ago.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm looking at a document that you gave
me dated October 28th, 2004. It's called your updated five-year
business plan. In that plan it says an CSR WTP 12 MGD RO
expansion in the year 2005, is that now the eight MGD plant that's
here or is it -- is this not the same document?
MR. DELaNY: Sir, the expansion, the next series of expansions
to the South County Water Treatment Plant is 12 MGD. It comes
on-line a year from now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So that's the 2007 that's on this
document?
MR. DELONY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Your business plan actually
showed 2005, that's why I was confused.
MR. DELONY: The operating document for our discussion
today obviously is the AUIR document. That business plan there, I
believe that's just a typo, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the operating -- no. The operating
document is any document we want to pull up and discuss and find out
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from the research we do to ask the questions we want to have. And I
have pulled up a lot of documents, more than what was provided __
MR. DELaNY: And I appreciate that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- for us today.
MR. DELaNY: I certainly appreciate that, but I just want to
make sure the record's clear. This is the concurrency document that
we are providing the board to make a decision on with regard to the
annual utilization and inventory report.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The CSRWTP 20 MGD expansion, that
is the 20.75 that's referred to in 2009 because that also is in your 2005
business plan?
MR. DELONY: Sir, if you'll look at page 24 of your book, I
tried to explain every one of those increments in terms of where they
are and what they are in terms of the concurrency model. If you'll
look at that page you'll see what plant, where and how much is coming
on-line.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I understand. I absolutely understand
what you're trying to say. I've read everything you given me
including stuff I received not too long ago during the summer of last
year. I'm just trying to compare and understand the differences
between the two and the reasons for the differences. That's all. In that
prior business plan you gave me, it had these other improvements in
the year 2005. They now seem to be moved off into the years on here.
That still differs from the 2004 AUIR and it does differ in the 2005.
MR. DELaNY: The only confusion that you would have
between those two documents deals with when this would become a
capacity available to the system per AUIR and when me and my staff
would begin to go to work on a particular project, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So you've already started work on the
20 MGD?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir. Eight years, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Even though it wasn't approved until
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January 13, 2006
possibly this year?
MR. DELaNY: Sir, it was approved within the context of our
master plans by the Board of County Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. But the AUIR last year didn't
approve it as a 20. It approved it as a ten.
MR. DELONY: In the context of where it's going and how it's
going, I have board approval on all those documents, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I'm just trying to correlate to the
AUIR.
MR. DELONY: I understand what you're trying to do, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And--
MR. DELaNY: And I appreciate it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- it doesn't seem to correlate very well,
but I understand what you're saying.
I have no more questions on potable water. Is there a
recommendation from this board?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'll make a motion for approval
as presented.
COMMISSIONER CARON: I'll second.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'd just like to add the caveat that if this
goes with a recommendation of approval to the BCC, it goes with a
caveat that the cost between the mobilization of a 10 to 20 million
gallon plant and the savings over a 5-year note for the two different
sized bonds that will be floated to build those plants are explained to
the BCC.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Absolutely. Mr. Delony said he
would provide that information to all of us.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Just make sure it's part of the record.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think that's just good practical
sense.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And -- and, Mr. Delony, you'll
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January 13,2006
also -- since you're going to stagger the two, there be different costs
for the two. Ten years built in two years and ten years built in ten
years don't cost the same.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. Certainly we're going to look at
everything you've given me direction to today, and I've explained to
you my best possible recommendation has addressed your concerns.
And we'll look at the economics with regard to that as well within the
context of our master plans.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Any further discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hearing none, is there a motion to
recommend approval?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I thought it was --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The motion was already made. Is there a
vote? All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody disagree?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: None disagree. Fine. We'll move on to
sewer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: One quick thing, next year, Mr.
Delony, could you put a web link to that map, the one that's on the
wall now of the service areas?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. Next year.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We're on to our sewer element.
If you want to --
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January 13,2006
MR. DELaNY: Well, it's the same option we had on the water.
I have a -- I have a presentation to make.
Sewer is a little different than water in that it is not a connected
system and, therefore, your concurrency has to be done on an area
basis versus a district basis. And the chart that's -- that's to my right,
your left over there speaks to the five areas that we break out in this
concurrency document you have in front of you.
One of the things that got us in trouble in years past was not
understanding that we're not fully interconnected. Even though we
may try to, you cannot move sewer flows over the area of this size
without significant problems in either of the movement of the liquid or
just the ability to move it in terms of the pipes available. So your
concurrency is pretty much based on your plants that serve a very
distinct area. And we have attempted to layout for the next 20 years
the concurrency for sewer services in the district in five subservice
areas for our wastewater customers. And that's the reason it's a little
bit -- well, not a little bit, but a lot more calculation, a lot more
deliberation here in terms of just how to optimize the timing of pipes,
pumps and plans to achieve concurrency in that -- in these growth
areas. And that's what this represents in terms of our model as well as
our recommendation. So I'm prepared to discuss that in more detail or
rather I can respond to your questions, Mr. Chairman. It's your
decision.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Members of the commission, what was
-- like we had before?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We'll go straight to the questions
then.
COMMISSIONER CARON: I'll start.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah. Why are the population
figures from -- different from page 116?
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January 13, 2006
MR. DELaNY: Well, we have a couple things different. We
don't have the same water customers as we do sewer customers
because of what I spoke to earlier in terms of interlocal agreements
with other utilities. So those population numbers for people who are
not served by our district are backed out of these numbers. Also you
see a jump in some numbers because they're spread out over five
charts instead of just one. First, there's two and then later on as we go
through -- into the period of concurrency consideration, I actually go
to five concurrency models with regards to sewer services. So you
don't see the same number. You see a No.4, a district served. Randy,
if you'll stand up, please, and show, you know, the districts. And we
tried to do our best here to show that with the blue lines where each
one of these are. And that's the reason you don't see the same
numbers.
MR. SCHMITT: Which ones?
MR. DELaNY: Just -- just -- I want to just show that you've got
the different areas there. And those parallel to what you see in your
book.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Oh, okay.
MR. DELONY: Yes, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER CARON: My second question is when you
get down to footnotes on here, No.2 --
MR. DELaNY: What page, ma'am?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Twenty-eight.
MR. DELONY: All right.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Populations are based on using
BEBR high through 2015 and the average of BEBR high and BEBR
medium from the '16 through '25. Why is there a change?
MR. DELaNY: That's the same as what we do for the water as
well.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Why, though? Why is there a
change?
Page 118
.--_. ------.-----.
January 13,2006
MR. DELaNY: And I believe that Randy spoke to some of that
in the beginning when this began some time ago that with regard to
our water/sewer populations -- and, Randy, I don't know if you're
ready to answer that again, but the bottom line is this has proven to be
a more accurate depiction of the actual experience of the district in
terms of customers to be served than an average peaked or permanent
population model that serves other concurrency needs. Water/sewer is
a little different because of its nexus to protecting public health and
providing essential services. And we've -- we have -- what we've
done here is try to pick the very best model that we've got as to what
the populations will be and what the needs, therefore, will put upon us
to service. And so that's the reason we took that model.
COMMISSIONER CARON: This is why I'm asking this
question. Because as we continue to grow, it seems to me that we
shouldn't suddenly be lowering the standards from what we had been
doing which was BEBR high and as we continue to grow and the
demand is greater, why are we going to a lesser standard?
MR. COHEN: And let me expand on that. You know, earlier
when I spoke with regard to the Florida Administrative Code as set
forth in Rule 9J5, we have a responsibility to actually provide services
for what's known as anticipated population. And if Mr. Delony
obviously can demonstrate over a period of time that his anticipated
population is growing beyond that BEBR high, then we're going to
have to address it from that perspective as well too.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Well, but we're not talking about
BEBR high. We're talking about averaging BEBR high with BEBR
medium. And that's -- that's my question. Why are we going from
what we're using now which is BEBR high to averaging high and
medium? Why wouldn't -- as we continue to grow, why would we be
lowering the threshold?
MR. DELaNY: Well, I'll go back to the discussion I just had
with Commissioner Strain earlier about picking the level of service.
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January 13, 2006
Obviously, if! set it at 172 versus 185, that's less demand for
infrastructure. You've got to find the standard that's reasonable and
adequate. If your suggestion is that I'm -- I'm -- I'm putting it too low,
that I'm using a lower population number than I should for the period
2016 to '25, I understand that. But at some stage of the game you
have to make a decision just how much you want to build or can
afford to build just in case. And that's -- that's -- that's the art ofthis,
ma'am. I -- I believe this is the right answer as I understand and
evaluate my last three years here with regard to predicting a period of,
you know -- you know, twenty -- ten plus years from now.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Okay. Then why wouldn't you
change that sooner? Why would you wait until 2015?
MR. DELaNY: It appears that in my best -- this is my best
estimate of what we're going to require is to do it exactly what's here.
That between now and 2015, let's stay with the high BEBR. That's
pretty -- pretty solid data in my view in terms of our past. With regard
to after that, I think we do -- we provide for the average of the high
and the medium.
Typically you're going to -- you'll be working with the medium if
you don't do that. Typically that we were using the medium before.
I'm just trying to up the bar a little bit; but, again, you know, when I
up the bar in terms of my assessment, then -- then we're overbuilding
in someone else's concern. I've got to find the right medium. If you're
suggesting and it's your recommendation I use a different standard, I
could take that under consideration. But this is where we've landed
with regard to our analysis through the last three years of master
planning and watching it and working with the comprehensive
planning department in terms of what we see happening in these five
districts. I don't know if I answered your question, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Before you would -- the left
oblique again, you watch this year to year to year. Now, is that a
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January 13, 2006
moving target as well?
MR. DELaNY: Sir, actually I do it -- concurrency in the utilities
business is measured three ways. The first way obviously is today's
exercise looking at long-range concurrency models and then seeing if
we're just in time with regard to our plans for pipes, pumps and plants.
The second model is one that I look at every single day and that
is looking at certificates of occupancies on the capacity I have versus
the capacity promised on those cas. And I actually keep a
concurrency document that -- that looks and tabulates my best
understanding of where -- you know, as we eat away at this over and
over, is it -- is my assumption here still valid?
And then my third level of concurrency is what happens every
morning and every day of every minute when someone turns on the
tap and are they getting proper pressure, proper compliant water and
services for wastewater. So I get pretty much feedback every minute
with regard to my ability to do that and my -- my success in doing
that. Did I answer your question, sir?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You're saying you have real time
information?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRA Y: And my question really was as --
as this chart depicts, it shows years and it shows projections. And if
your projections were needed to be updated, they would be updated
the following year, would they not?
MR. DELONY: I absolutely will be back here next year talking
about this again.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Exactly.
MR. DELaNY: And I probably will come back with a similar if
not different, for sure the best guess I have at that time, my best
assessment, not guess, and it may -- it could be very different from
this. Not very, but might be different from this.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Which is -- which is what I
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January 13, 2006
would expect.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. And every three years the utility
performs a comprehensive master planning exercise to ensure that we
don't fall behind or get too far ahead that underpins the assessments
that I'm making in this report today.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I guess what -- what
Commissioner Caron was relating and it tickled my mind too -- is that
you reach a certain point and it seems to drop off ever so slightly
maybe but it drops off. And one wonders because population's going
to continue; but then one also thinks that at some point, we're going to
have 1,066,000 at build-out, whenever that may occur. But when
build-out occurs in terms of total population, that won't mean
build-out of sewer. Because sewer plants are -- you know, we have a, I
think, a forever need for additional sewer if you will. But within the
scope of where you have your plants, this is your program. This is
your plan?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. Then I'm clear on that I
think.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. I can promise you that the county staff
spends a lot of time debating this population number internally to get
it right. And I know they're even watching this deliberations of this __
of this commission over the last couple days, this commission and the
previous one, a lot of discussion about what is the right population
model? What does 2020 look like? And -- and at some time you have
to make a decision based on the best study you have and then move
forward. And as you gain better information, in other words, turn
estimates into certainties, then you dial in what you can in terms of
recovery or into restraint of your pre-existing plan.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah. If! recall the
conversation we had too, you indicated that you have no plans to build
in the Golden Gate Estates in terms of putting sewers in unless
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January 13, 2006
directed to do so.
MR. DELONY: That's correct, sir. It's not the policy -- been the
policy I've been told to --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So population may grow, but
your -- your -- your program is what is stated.
MR. DELaNY: This is the service area that I've been told and
have by statute to serve. The estates are not part of that service area.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I hope I --
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir. But if there were a policy decision--
let's say, there was a policy decision to do otherwise, I'd have to
respond to that as well. But that -- that -- this does not anticipate any
of that. This applies existing board direction backed up with my
analysis of how -- what the infrastructure needs to look like to execute
that policy given the population models that were furnished to me by
these good folks to my right.
MR. SCHMITT: And -- and just for the record you know and
understand there are other water and wastewater authorities that exist
in the county, private utilities. The Board of County Commissioners
is -- is Jim's water and wastewater authority and the Board of County
Commissioners. There are -- there's a separate water and wastewater
authority for Collier County with the private utilities. Yeah. And then
-- and Jim is not allowed to compete against those or he can't go
outside his boundary unless there's -- there's a policy decision to
expand those boundaries.
MR. DELaNY: We do it by an oral agreement.
MR. SCHMITT: And then it's a -- or you do an agreement and
it's a board-approved expansion.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I -- what I was trying to
point is that although population will continue to grow, at some point
you will have achieved your purpose and you can modify a little bit.
That was my understanding. Is that fair? And that's a fair statement,
isn't it?
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January 13, 2006
MR. SCHMITT: Yeah. With the understanding of the -- in the
eastern lands rural fringe where you may have villages, hamlets,
townships, those will most likely contain --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: They will have their own.
MR. SCHMITT: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MR. SCHMITT: Package plants or other type, they'll be -- or
unless, of course, they approach the county and ask to be included and
the boundaries are expanded.
MR. DELONY: The -- I guess the last thing is, is that -- and I
think this goes more to your answer, ma'am, is for this period of
concurrency evaluation, we're looking out to 2015. As a -- as a -- as a
utility I've got to look much further than that interior window because
of that eight-year cycle. So you see a lot of my data going out to
2020, 2025 because you can't -- there's -- you just can't cut it off, you
know, there's a continuum. And -- and so the point that I've been
trying to make is that this is what we know today. And as we know
more we make it better. And we vet it every time with the board with
regard to those changes. Left a bleacher -- I guess, Commissioner
Murray, absolutely, and that's what you pay me to do. You don't pay
me to do it once and forget it about it, five years come back and tell
you what I'm doing. That's not -- that's not my job.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Sure.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Even though you're showing us
these macro areas. Within these service areas are there any smaller
areas you're having difficulty keeping up with development? Are you
able to provide adequate water and sewage to all areas within these
service areas?
MR. DELONY: The -- what we have within the context of what
you see here, not all these areas are currently being served. Right now
we're active in terms of service. If you would, George, walk up to the
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January 13,2006
wall mount and show him specifically. We're serving customers
within the existing -- up here in the area here, George, if you would
just point out the north one, please. We have existing customers, of
course, in the northern part of the county, and the central part of the
county. Those areas there are where our existing customer bases are.
As we move through this time of concurrency, we will start beginning
to provide customer services in the area where Mr. Yilmaz has his
pointer. And also to the north and the northeast and we're looking at
potential services in the north -- in the east central.
So right now those are plants which are within the existing
service. I have no concurrency problems with regard to servicing any
existing customers or potential customers north and south.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MR. DELaNY: But I -- I've got to get those plants on line. Best
guess here when to -- to stay in that mode and answer the question you
just asked me in the affirmative.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. Thank you. Done,
Mark.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any others?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In your wastewater treatment plant, do
you have a permitted capacity on some of your documents, not this
particular one? Is the constructed capacity the same as permitted
capacity?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. And I would like Dr. Yilmaz to speak
to that for just a moment if I may so there's clear understanding maybe
the ying and the yang of water versus wastewater when we speak in
terms of reliability. Dr. Yilmaz.
DR. YILMAZ: Thank you. For the record, George Yilmaz,
Wastewater Department Director. The answer is as Mr. Delony
indicated no significant difference. In wastewater when we talk about
constructive capacity, that's the capacity we're anticipating to get
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January 13,2006
waste water flow and treat it into IQ water. So let me talk about
constructive capacity. That's what we're permitted for and that's what
we can go as high as depending on the flows and operational
conditions.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So unlike water, you don't have a
reliable capacity?
DR. YILMAZ: Our constructive capacity includes design
reliability due to the fact that in wastewater systems reliability is much
more easily defined up front; therefore, it can be incorporated into
design with certainty.
In the water site, there are more uncertainties and variables that
we need to overcome, no different than structural design. We can
design something like columns of a building to a perfection, but we
have to have additional security for unforeseen forces that we have not
seen. So, therefore, it's all about how best engineers can predict
variability and uncertainty and design for reliable systems in
accordance with that vision.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So your -- your systems when you refer
to constructed capacity, permitted capacity, reliable capacity, it's all
the same?
DR. YILMAZ: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You need to change your website.
DR. YILMAZ: We will.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In your north treatment plant, last year
you had 22.3 MGD. This year you've got 18.3 on this, but I believe
what you've done is you've got a new plant area? Is that -- I mean,
they're new to this AUIR. You're going with a NEWRRF. Is that
true? You've got four service areas. You had two in AUIR for 2004.
MR. DELaNY: Within this -- within this window of
consideration what goes out to 2015, there'll be four areas as
anticipated by population and demand that I'll have to be providing
wastewater services.
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January 13, 2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. You have two related to the
north, whether it's north or northeast. And you have two related to the
south, I think, entitled south and southeast. Okay. In the north plant,
in this AUIR you're showing 18.3 and the northeast plant you're
showing another four within the 2015 -- another eight with a 2015
time frame. That adds about four MGD to the overall capacity that
was going to be -- that was in the 2004 AUIR. How did you come
about that?
MR. DELONY: Well, they're not interconnected systems, sir. I
-- I -- I think -- I hope I answered that earlier by saying you have to be
concurrent within an area instead of a system concurrency like you do
with the water system. Ifwe open up the northeast, four MGD is the
right answer with regard to the population to be served in the time to
be considered just like we did the expansion. They are not one for
one. I can't put the two together. I can't move capacity from the plant
that we have off of Goodlette Road out to Orange Tree. You aren't
able to interconnect to that means of wastewater services unlike water
services that are fully integrated.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, you do have inter -- you do have
some interconnection between your plants; right?
MR. DELONY: The only interaction is very minimal, and it's --
and it's -- and it only deals with one or two million gallons at best. It
is not able to move huge amounts of water. And it's primarily there
for mechanical reliability or for system enhancements with regard to
our ability to move water around the system as we would have
problems within the plants.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. One of my -- my notations show
that the connectability equates to three to four MGD. But I guess it's
not that much, huh?
MR. DELaNY: It is what it is. Is we have an interconnect from
north to south right now. The one million gallons one way and about
two plus the other way in terms of the hydrologic -- the
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January 13, 2006
hydrodynamics of the piping system.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And those don't enter -- those do or do
not inter -- will be interconnected to the new plants that you're putting
in?
MR. DELONY: We have -- we have a line going to the
northeast. I anticipate the ability to move something less than a
million gallons but, again, that is not -- that is not a concurrency issue
in my view. That's a -- more of a system or operability issue. I cannot
move those flows consistently in my view and keep up with the
demand for sewage -- with sewage within those areas.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What is the volume of the storage in the
miles of pipes that we have in the ground?
MR. DELaNY: We found through the storm, you know, just to
answer the question in terms of operation, I had about a day to a day
and a half of storage within the pipes. But we don't operate
wastewater compliance with regard to what's stored in the pipes. As
it's delivered to the collection system, we intend to take it to the plant.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But it can be taken advantage of if need
be?
MR. DELONY: I don't -- no. I do not agree with that point, sir.
I do not believe it can be taken advantage of in terms of an operational
protocol; however, it's been darn useful when we lose power from
FP &L.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In your south plant you had a 2.0 MGD
addition in 2012. It was removed from this year's program AUIR. It
looks like it was moved to the southeast plant and doubled to 4.0.
Obviously it's probably not sensible to build a 2.0 plant so you're
building a 4.0 plant. Is that logical?
MR. DELaNY: I don't know. I believe when you saw that
number, that was -- that was -- that was -- last year we looked at this
and we -- and we didn't have this breakout by area. The 2 MGD that
you see there was actually to go to the southeast plant and we were
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combining those areas. This is a much -- this is where we're going in
terms of concurrency management. This is the first year we've had a
five-area look. We had a two-area look last year. And we probably at
that time because it was wintering that window should have had a
three-area look. This is a much better way of me ensuring to you
concurrency within areas to be served by the wastewater customer --
wastewater district.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Your levels of service vary in different
parts of the county. Is anybody -- is there a reason for that?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir, absolutely. It's the difference in terms
of the types of customers you have within the area. In the northeast
you've got a lot of commercial enterprises, a lot of high organics, a lot
of flow because of the nature of our customer load there. In the south,
much more residential and you see a difference there both in the
organic loading as well as the flows that we have. So it's a function of
the area.
You know, another thing that we're trying to do is I don't want
one service standard for the entire water/sewer district, but a service
standard that speaks to the customer base within those areas. So we
make sure that the number is the right number, not just some
journalized number.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And that level of service standard is
gallons per day --
MR. DELONY: Per person.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- per resident -- per person?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. Just like the water.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you were able to have different levels
of service standards in different parts of the county based on the type
of use up in that particular part of the county, couldn't you likewise
have different levels of standard for different population in different
parts of the county? Meaning along the coastal area you have a lot
more people that only frequent this county on a part-time basis. On a
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level of service standard, is it different there than it would be in the
Golden Gate area for example?
MR. DELONY: The -- the way we derive that is based on
experience flow. And all the variables that you spoke to have been
taken in account in deriving these -- these levels of service.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So these are actual measurements?
MR. DELONY: Yes, they are.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I have no questions for sewer. Anybody
else?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Is there a recommendation?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I -- I would recommend that as
-- as often, I don't have any exceptions that I can think of. As offered
I would recommend that this go forward to the county commissioners
as an acceptable AUIR with recommendations as made by staff.
MR. ADELSTEIN: I'll second the motion.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion's been made by Mr. Murray and
seconded by Mr. Adelstein. Any comment?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hearing none, all those in favor.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No one.
Solid waste.
MR. DELaNY: Let me introduce this if! might, Commissioner
Strain. Concurrency for solid waste is measured two ways. It's
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measured in a large footprint in terms of what we have in terms of
developable or expandable or buildable airspace within our existing
landfill, how much we got there based to the demand.
And then there's a second smaller concurrency, you know,
smaller footprint test of how much lined capacity, in other words,
constructed capacity in -- with liner left as we consume it through the
period of consideration. So we're confronted with making sure we
have enough airspace in general for the period of consideration and
that we have enough construction in place in terms of the liner to
accept the municipal solid waste from our -- from our franchised area.
Now the population we use is a permanent population for the --
for the county. I think that's consistent, Randy, with the other
members of the county team as we look at concurrency.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What's modified to weighted?
MR. DELONY: Excuse me, it's weighted. Excuse me,
weighted. To ensure that we look at the population served as best we
can and the population to be served. And I know there's some debate
about what is that right number. I want to make sure I'm clear as this
is -- this is the number we're using in this model today. And the
concurrency that we're drawing is off that population base.
So you've got the number of people to be served current and
projected. And then from that you look at what is the curbside
generation rate per capita. Now, that's where it becomes a little bit -- a
little bit guessy for us because our generation rate per capita at the
curbside has been -- is going down because of our recycling and a
diversion. We're doing a great job. And so one of the things I want to
continue to look at is to make sure I got that number right as we look
at success in diverting and recycling and not burying our municipal
solid waste in Collier County. With that being said, you still have to
project forward for concurrency. Therefore, you see from the -- from
the charts what are our tons for capital disposal rate starting in '94 and
then going out through the period of consideration. You can see that,
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January 13,2006
for example, in '05 our generation is .75 tons per capita. This is on
page -- I believe we're on page --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thirty-nine.
MR. DELaNY: Nine?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Thirty-nine.
MR. DELONY: Thirty-nine. That's right. And I think that's a
pretty good number for that year. But I don't know if it's a good
enough number for me to project it forward and measure concurrency
yet.
We have made great strides in diverting and converting our
throwaway mentality to one of conservation. But as a solid waste
administrator, I'm not ready yet to say we've won that battle. I'd like
to see a couple more years before I make a recommendation to you
and the board as to what the level of service or demand would be for
airspace and for lined airspace.
So, therefore, our recommendation is to stay at .9 generation rate
for the period of consideration with the proviso that we think it's going
to get better. So whatever you see here today in terms of our
concurrency prediction, I believe very well could be back here next
year and the years to come if we continue on the stride that we're on to
have even more airspace than what we currently project in these
models that we have in front of you today.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think I may have the wrong sheet then.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah, me too.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I saw your.9 was what came out of
your department the first time. But then you guys came back in and
reduced it to .82.
MR. DELaNY: Excuse me. Have I got the wrong page? I
apologize. Thank you, John. Thank you, Bill. Thank you. Yup. I'm
with you.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Point 82.
MR. DELONY: Point 82, that's the right number. Same
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January 13, 2006
argument different number. I apologize for that, folks. I know you-all
are pretty frustrated with the staff on that issue.
Here's the bottom line. I think that we're in good shape on solid
waste in terms of airspace. As we stand now given the period of
consideration, I believe we're going to get better with regard to our
conserving that with our -- just within the last 100 days mandatory --
not mandatory, but rather our residential recycling program, the
yellow tops. We've seen a significant increase in participation at the
residential level in recycling.
I've got the numbers here, and I'm going to put them on the wire
here next week in terms of what that evidence is. But, for example,
comparing I believe it was November of this year versus November
last year, 77 percent increase in total tons taken out of the system in
recyclables this year from the residential side.
So all the -- that's all good stuff. I mean, that tells you that we're
on the right track. That the numbers you here -- see here in terms of
concurrency consideration are good. And that we think we're going to
continue to do better with the kinds of things the board is directing us
to do with regard to conserving airspace. And that's my matter of
introduction for this. I know you probably want that, but I wanted to
provide that to you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Questions from the panel.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I do.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Brad.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yeah. The concern I had last
year was the lead time to do a new solid or new -- a new dump, I
guess. It's moved from 22 to -- to I guess 28 now. Why is that? In
other words, when the dump would be at capacity or the landfill.
Excuse me.
MR. DELONY: Just what I said earlier, that -- if I could, is that
we're getting less things to bury because of our diversion and our
recycling. And, therefore, we're conserving that airspace further out in
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January 13,2006
space -- in time in terms of where we reach a point of making another
decision about how to handle municipal solid waste in Collier County.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And how long -- I mean, how
long would it take to get another landfill? What would you have to
do? And in fairness to the future community, is that something we
should be looking for now so that they know where that would be?
Obviously you're going to hit zero. I mean, I'm more comfortable than
last year because you moved it six years, but ultimately it's going to
run out, I guess, unless you think technically something's going to
happen to stop that. And should we be setting some place aside for
that?
MR. DELONY: The board has the policy that there'll be no more
new landfills in Collier County. I believe that policy was put in motion
in the year 2000.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MR. DELONY: That was the board -- last board direction and
policy with regard to new landfills in Collier County.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So that's not an option anyway?
MR. DELONY: It has not been a policy direction from the board
to pursue after 2000 a new landfill in Collier County.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MR. DELaNY: But rather we have looked at ways to optimize
our existing capacity. And that's the direction the board's taken ever
since that day since then.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. All right. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Just a couple of things. Page 39
and -- and I reference here, how -- how have the population
projections changed the -- the affected -- the useful life plan of the --
of the -- of this? Projection of population against that life, your
numbers are pretty good, but we've have had recent updates. Now
these -- so, in other words, we're real time with this as well?
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January 13,2006
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. That's -- that's all I
wanted to know.
MR. DELaNY: I believe you got these -- these -- let's put this
up.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I got the supercedure
(phonetic) page if that's what you're referencing.
MR. DELONY: And if! might, Commissioner Murray, is
exactly what you said. These represent my best assessment of the
useful landfill space in terms of years given the generation rates I
described earlier and the population projections that we speak to in
terms of our weighted population.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: All right.
MR. DELONY: Now, I will tell you that if we need to stay
strong on reducing the amount that comes to curbside as a community,
I mean, we have got to stay where we are and better in terms of
encouraging utilization of recycling as opposed to throw it into the
green bin. And we're -- and that -- and I think that the 1 October
launch date of over 92,000 recycling carts out there in the community
today has been a big step forward in that.
Other decisions that deal with types of materials that are received
at the scale and whether they go into the hill or are diverted to other
places is another critical decision that's been made and stayed hard on
ever since that decision was made.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You -- you've done a very good
job, I think, of taking old cells and pulling the stuff out of them and
renewing that area. Is it possible at some later time to take these cells
that you're now being much more careful about and -- and work that
again, let it -- let decay have been sufficient to create more space?
MR. DELaNY: You know, that's the $60,000 -- $60 billion
question for the solid waste in America.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
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January 13,2006
MR. DELaNY: I'm going to be frank with you about it. You
know, that -- that is something that we have looked at a couple times
over the last five years to see if technology would provide us a way to
mine those assets as renewable resources and then take that and turn it
economically into a re-use or to conserve and reutilize.
You know, the perfect system is I get it at the toll house and it
goes back into the system as a totally renewable piece of energy as
opposed to something we bury. That's the perfect system. We're in
between that right now. The perfected system that -- you know, what
goes in, goes out and never goes in the ground and something short of
that in terms of what we're doing today. We know that every
community in America is facing the same concern that we are. Where
are we going to put this stuff 20, 30, 40 years from now?
There's a great deal of movement in the market particularly as the
price of energy continues to escalate as to how economically viable
alternatives are to bury. We're in the business of checking those out.
We're in the business of evaluating those, and we will apply those on a
recommended basis to the board to -- to extend this landfill life. And
that was the direction essentially the board gave us when they said no
more new landfills. But what's the alternatives out there and continue
to find those alternatives in diversion, recycling and then ultimately,
you know, the opportunity if -- if we're able to do it economically and
from a permit standpoint protecting the environment some type of
reuse or renewal.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So if -- if I understand then
you're in a be vigilant mode but you don't have a directive from the
board to seek alternatives for the long-term?
MR. DELONY: Absolutely not. Absolutely. Sir, I may have
miss -- the board has told me, Mr. Delony --
(Multiple voices.)
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- for the record.
MR. DELaNY: -- Mr. Delony, get out there and see what you
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January 13,2006
can do about this problem. And that's the reason you saw the
mandatory commercial recycling initiative that was put before the
board here about -- about a year and a half ago. That's the reason
you're seeing the recycling carts to divert the municipal solid waste
away from the hill at the residential level. That's the reason you see
the resourcing of -- of -- of the outreach and -- and the other efforts we
make to education the public. You know, it's the other way around.
The board is pushing me hard to find alternatives and put in place
alternatives to burying at the landfill.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. So then at some point in
the future and several AUIRs forward, we're going to be listening to
somebody telling us about what they're going to do in those years
when the cells are all filled?
MR. DELONY: And I think this -- this particular concurrency
model you have in front of me is excellent just to tell you when that
needs to occur. Because those decision points is when you're -- you've
got to make that decision because you're running out of space are
clearly outlined in this concurrency model.
You know, the fall dead date is clearly in front of you here when
either you're going to have to do something different to what you're
doing now. Now, what we -- what we've been able to do through the
efforts of the last five years is to drive down that -- that -- that number
that at the curb, that amount at the curb. At some point does that reach
a finite and then you're back into another alternative. So that's the
direction we've received by the board.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And the other aspect of it in my
mind at least is that while you do have a drop dead date in terms of
what you can project to final use, what you don't know is depending
upon which technology you employ, what your lead times are to
achieve that. So you've got -- you've got a crystal ball situation sitting
out there eight to ten years from now or ten, twelve years or whatever.
MR. DELONY: This board -- this board--
Page 13 7
January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Have you tackled that?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir, we have. This board's been very
supportive of looking at it. We've -- three years ago, we looked at
some alternative technologies that looked at some reuse. Didn't work
out. Wasn't economic. Wasn't promotable. But, you know, just as I
said earlier, you know, time is -- this is all moving forward and we're
not alone in this arena. This is a national concern.
And so I -- I -- I feel like we don't have our backs against the wall
yet and we're vigilant to not to get there. That -- that magic bullet
hasn't arrived yet, though, with regard to taking directly from the curb
and putting it back into reuse and not going through a landfill in the
process. We just have not been able to find that yet, but the staff has
been empowered by the board to do that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you. Congratulations.
Goodjob.
MR. DELONY: Thank you, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions from the panel?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: First of all, we're going to take a break
this time when the court reporter's new refreshing -- refreshment -- or
replacement comes in. Refreshing. We're not ready. I have a series of
questions to ask so and, first, I want to find out about why we do a
two-year and why we do a ten-year. And to follow up something -- I'm
not going to be able to paraphrase your words exactly, so I need to
decipher what I mean. Something about a -- this document will tell us
when we need to start looking possibly for new landfills and how
those -- how we find those -- how this document tells us that. So
could you --
MR. DELONY: Did you -- are we going to take the break now
or I misunderstood? Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No. When the new court reporter shows
up to switch.
Page 13 8
January 13, 2006
MR. DELONY: Would you put those up there, Dan? Have you
got these up?
Well, the decision points are on your charts. There is a point
there if you look there on page -- help me here team.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, let's start with the two years--
MR. DELONY: Yeah, two year.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- and we'll focus on that one.
MR. DELaNY: Yeah. Just have the two year up there. Look at
the -- look at the dot there you can see in FY'26 I've got two years left
to close the landfill. And over a period of time that would be the
drop-dead date in terms if we don't have something by 2026, we're out
of airspace with our current height and configuration. So there's your
drop-dead space before -- you've got two years left at 2026.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There is a time period though that it
takes to permit a landfill and a process and go through the routine. So
if we were to try to understand from this chart when we needed to
start, how far -- what would I do, backup from 2026?
MR. DELONY: No, sir. You'd go to the next chart, the ten-year
chart, which talks to the large footprint. And it shows you that in 18 --
19 -- FY' 18 and' 19 I have ten years of capacity remaining with regard
to the large footprint that I can put two years worth of liner or any
liner in. So that's -- that's -- that's the current at the projected
utilization rate, that is the tons at the curb and the population I have,
that's what I've got left to develop to get out, as you said, 2026. That's
-- that's not a drop-dead date, but that's -- that's a strong signal that
you're now beginning to get inside is your concurrency model with
regard to having that ten years of more permittable airspace in the
landfill.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So if -- again, I need your help to read
this. If! were to be reading this then at 2018, say, we need to start
permitting a new landfill. Is that what this reads? That's what this
says?
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January 13,2006
MR. DELONY: It says that you've got ten years of -- of capacity
remaining in your existing landfill.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. How long does it take to permit
a new landfill?
MR. DELaNY: Woe, it could up to -- it could take as long as it
takes, because to be frank with you, there hasn't been a new one in a
long time in the state of Florida. So the answer to that question from
the dais would be a difficult one if you want me to do when I don't
have the experience of anyone in Florida to do it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. But in order to make sure this
community has a landfill on-line when it needs it, would you -- how
would you know, then, when you need to start looking at that
possibility of permitting a new landfill?
MR. DELONY: The absolute truth to that question is without
policy direction to find a new landfill and to -- and I'm looking at
alternatives to that, I don't have a direction to answer that question
right now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I think if you were to say to the
Board of County Commissioners from everything I have it's going to
take us 15 years to find a landfill, we're going to lose our landfill in
2018, we needed to start looking for a new landfill three years ago, I
think you'd get their attention and probably reaction. And that's kind
of where I'm leading is how will they know when to give you that
direction if somebody doesn't tell them that they need to start thinking
about it? And I'm wondering who's looking at that?
MR. DELONY: I'm looking at it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELaNY: That's my responsibility and responsibility at
the board direction. I have a policy direction, though, that I'm not to
consider no new landfills. Which means I have to do the things me
and Commissioner Murray spoke to: either diversion, recycling or if
necessary look at haul-out as an alternative to a new landfill in Collier
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January 13, 2006
County. And that's where the board direction has left me at this stage
of the game. With regard to knowing when we're to run out of
airspace, the chart's in front of you as best I can describe it given the
population and utilization factors that I described earlier.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, knowing when we're going to run
out of airspace is a valuable piece of information. It seems that along
with that we need to know how far in advance of running out of
airspace we need to start looking for alternatives on a permanent basis
which is what I would assume somebody would want to recommend
to the BCC when that milestone hits. I'm trying to figure out how to
find that -- what that milestone is. Is it ten years backed up, fifteen
years backed up or you just don't have an answer for that? Is that
what that boils down to?
MR. DELaNY: I think I was pretty clear, Commissioner, that
the board has told me that we're not going to put new landfills in
Collier County.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So then --
MR. DELaNY: I mean, I have clear record that's tell -- directs
me that there will be no new landfills in Collier County.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELONY: And so with regard to then what's next --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah.
MR. DELONY: -- is what's here. And what I've said and what
we've done subsequent to that decision in terms of our diversion and
our recycling and other areas to reduce the demand on the system.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, your two-year capacity as it's
shown now seems to have a deficit or deficiency of tonnage
capabilities in the 20 -- well, originally it was 2026. Now, it's 2027,
negative 181,251; is that correct?
MR. DELaNY: That's the dead -- as we understand the current
model of population forecast and the generation rates that are in your
-- that are in your charts, that's where the math takes us.
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January 13, 2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. And that is derived from a
multiplier of the population and the capital disposal rate?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. In 2003 AUIR the capital
disposal rate was 1.22?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: 2004 it was 1.24. And in the first
version of this AUIR it was .90 until the population statistic changed.
And when it changed it remained .90 for a week or so. Then we were
issued a new document that -- with the new population statistic
changed, it affected the end column. The .90 dropped to .82. Are you
aware of all these changes?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, I am. I'm aware of every one. You have
some notes in your -- in your -- of explanation. The -- the way we get
the disposal rate that you have is to look back. Originally we looked
back five years of history. And then we took what that five-year
history gave us and disposal per capita and then we projected that
forward.
With all the changes that we've had in our -- in our flow, in our
management of the flow particularly with the recycling issues, you
know, the last three are more indicative of what I think the future are
-- is versus the last five. And so if you look at the notes of
explanation, that's how you get the variance and generation rate, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I've -- I've read all those. I was
wondering what has the tonnage reduction been per month because of
our new recycling effort?
MR. DELaNY: Well, I don't have -- I told you. I will bring that
out. I've only -- I'm in my 90th day, almost 100 days of that effort.
I'm going to put a report to the board here in the next week or two that
will outline, you know, what the success has been. And I spoke earlier
that for example in the month of December, I have numbers that I
haven't had a chance to really spend a lot of time on up till now that
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January 13,2006
says we're at 77 percent increase in recycling what we were a year ago
in the month of December at the residential level which is significant.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But you must have felt confident
enough to know that we could drop the per capita rate from 1.24.82?
MR. DELaNY: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Then what gave you that confidence?
MR. DELaNY: I just described it to you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What amount of tonnage on a per month
basis then have we reduced going to the landfill?
MR. DELaNY: I don't know. Do we have that number here?
That's okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How many --
MR. DELONY: Sir--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- tons per month have we -- have we
reduced going to the landfill due to the recycling program?
MR. DELONY: Sir, I don't have that number with me today.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It was in the paper this morning.
October was 2,216 tons and November was 3,067 tons. Based on that,
if you were to take the 3,067 and multiply it times 12, you'd be
roughly 36,000 tons. When you go from 1.24 on a population of
381,171, that would be 472,652 annual tons buried in the landfill.
Now, if you reduce that to .82 which has been done, you end up
with 312,560 for a difference of 160,000 tons. I'm just wondering
how you got the 160,000 tons iftoday's newspaper showed a monthly
benefit of 3,067 tons per month which is only 36,000 tons a year, not
160,000 tons.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir. I understand your question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELaNY: I'm not prepared to answer that today.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Because if we can drop this
number to .82, we can drop it to .50 or .32. Why don't we just keep
dropping it, I mean...
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January 13,2006
MR. DELONY: Well, I'd love to.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELONY: My -- my -- my intent, the direction that I've
been given by the board is to do exactly that in terms of our -- our __
our real program.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm trying to get a reason what that __
how that number's generated, and that's what I don't seem to be able to
tell you at this time.
MR. DELONY: I understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you were to take your population base
of381,171 which is the new weighted population base that changed
from the permanent, you'd have an expiration date on the two-year
line capacity of 2024 instead of2027. I don't know how that effects
things. I don't know how you back up to see if you -- that causes you
more problems or not in regards to when you need to start looking for
a new landfill. But if you did that on the ten-year capacity, you'd be
out of capacity in your ten years around 2016, a mere ten years from
now. And I had heard that it takes at least ten years to permit a
landfill. And I just was wondering if all these numbers need to be
looked at to figure out when we need to address, even though we're
not allowed to do any landfills in Collier County, but we still need an
alternative if our landfill is maximized out. And that was the
reasoning of this questioning.
MR. DELaNY: And I certainly appreciate going through it with
you. The key of it is, is that the existing policy of the Board of
County Commissioners is there will be no new landfills in Collier
County. They have empowered me to say, okay, what's next? And the
what next in terms of current assets that we have in our existing
landfill are depicted in front of you gentlemen and ladies today. In
terms of our utilization projecting those with the variables of trans __
of population looking 12, 15 years out in the future and what people's
throwaway habits are going to be 12 to 15 years in the future, that's
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January 13,2006
where we're at. The nuances of a new landfill, sir, I'll leave that to you
to discuss with the board. And -- and I think I've answered your
question as best I can.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I agree. You probably have. I
just puzzled on how you use the .82 over any other number is still not
clear in my mind and I'm -- so I guess we'll have to leave it at that.
MR. SCHMITT: I mean, if -- Mark, if you're using information
just recently gathered, realize that, of course, you're looking at a heavy
month in December certainly because of the holidays, but also
probably having to do with the impact of debris from a hurricane. So I
don't know --
MR. DELONY: I just have to be careful if! might, Joe--
MR. SCHMITT: If you're extrapolating information, that
probably was an anomaly.
MR. DELaNY: Well, I don't know if it's an anomaly or not. I
look at three and five years' worth of generation and derive a number.
I looked at the last three years what the generation's been on
population that's given and known. I look at what the generation was
five years over the five-year period versus three. And I look at those
two numbers and I try to do my very best not to over or underestimate
what's going to be in the future. But I can't ignore the fact that the
trend is to go down. The trend will go down I believe. I believe this
county's buying into recycling. The county's buying into reuse to a
level that I feel confident that this generation rate is an accurate
understanding as we sit here today of what our needs and our ability to
supply to those needs.
The good news is we'll be back here next year having the same
discussion. And so we're -- so we're -- so we can get this either too
right or too wrong with regard to what we -- what we know. I feel
very comfortable with what the variables are on the table to put this in
front of you as the best understanding of what the capacities remain in
airspace and lined airspace in terms of going forward to 2026.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if we were to use the ten-year
program and the -- say, the worst-case scenario numbers were to be
applied in regards to the .90 versus .82 and that we run out often-year
capacity in the year 2016, does that mean that we still have two-year
capacities left for another ten years?
MR. DELaNY: It means exactly what you said. One chart
overlays the other.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. DELaNY: Okay. So we're out to 2026 if you're asking
about how much I could put in the landfill.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Then the next question I have is what
you don't know how to answer but I want to state it because it's the
one that bothers me -- is we don't know what we're going to do at the
year 2026 and we don't know how far we have to back up from that
year in order to accomplish what we're going to do. Meaning it could
be a new landfill -- well, it won't be a new landfill by what you've just
said. But if they change their mind and it is, the time frames to get
that accomplished is what concerns me.
MR. DELaNY: Right. Yeah.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: The point was --
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: -- that the landfill would not
be in Collier County. That's fine. But that doesn't mean there won't
be a landfill for Collier County out of Collier County.
MR. DELONY: Certainly if you don't have one here, then you
haul it some place else.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: That's what I'm saying.
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: And the answer is the fact
that we're not going to have a landfill in Collier County, that's fine.
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January 13, 2006
But that doesn't mean Collier County won't have a landfill and I think
it's going to be that kind out of Collier County.
MR. DELaNY: The -- that was the direction of the board of the
year 2000, sir. And the idea was to not necessarily just have a
haul-out strategy alone. The idea was look at an integrated strategy of
reuse and diversion because, as you know, if we begin to haul out of
county, our cost of doing business in terms of our collection services
is going to go up significantly. One reason why we enjoy the --
excuse me. I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: If you don't want landfills,
you're going to take that given and expect to have to pay more money
to do it. Too many states are doing that. In fact, states are doing that.
MR. DELaNY: We enjoy some of the best solid waste rates in
the state at the highest -- at some of the most significant highest level
of service in the state. I mean, it's -- it's a good price that we charge in
terms of comparison to our neighbors statewide and in some cases
even nationwide. And one of the real strong reasons other than some
real dedicated professional management by staff and help from the
board and people like yourself is that we have -- we own our own
landfill. There's no question about that. That airspace out there was
purchased years and years and years ago when this county was not
what it is today. So we're enjoying that today in terms of our rates and
our services and so on. Once that resource is gone and there is not a
viable alternative as we've discussed earlier, then you're kind of left
where to.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: With one choice.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. The -- all of the municipalities in
Collier County use our landfill?
MR. DELONY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. And it's all fee based?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So there's no--
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MR. DELONY: But, actually, Marco, for example, is we pick up
their -- we do provide them residential service in Marco and -- and
also in Everglades City as well.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So their way of reimbursing us is by the
fees that they're charged for the service?
MR. DELaNY: It's a cash-and-carry business for everyone
involved.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's unlike drainage, they do participate
in this program?
MR. DELaNY: Yes, sir. Everyone in my business functions
that we have were enterprised with regard to -- we've charged what it
cost us to provide the service.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Any other questions from the
board before we go to the public?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I know there's some people here
from the public. Bob, did you want to speak on solid waste?
MR. KRASOWSKI: Please.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Please do. I got to ask you to limit your
time as briefly as possible.
MR. KRASOWSKI: Okay. I have a lot to say. This is a big
issue. I've been involved in this since 1985. You might want to
extend my time if you want to hear all the comments I have, but let me
start at the beginning and you can decide what you want or don't want
to hear.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Normally we allow three minutes. Start
out at five and I'd like to try to get you to wrap it up just shortly after
that time period.
MR. KRASOWSKI: Okay. And -- and I appreciate that. I know
sometimes I drift on my --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We all do.
MR. KRASOWSKI: And I'm doing it right now, so let's get to
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the point. The Board of County Commissioners has identified a no
new landfill in Collier County as a policy. That's not a state policy. If
we -- if the community decided they wanted a landfill here at some
future date and time, a landfill could be placed in Collier County. I
think the last time a landfill was built was '90 -- '92 in Hendry County.
Okay. I have this if somebody could help me put this. I thought
we'd put this on. Let me put it the right way.
My name's Bob Krasowski. I'm with the Zero Waste Collier
County group.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Could you spell your last name for the
court reporter?
MR. KRASOWSKI: K-r-a-s-o-w-s-k-i. Okay. And I'm -- I'm
with the Zero Waste Collier County group. I've been at this with them
since 2001 on Earth Day. Prior to this I've been involved in
anti-incineration efforts, fights, if you would. That started in 1985.
Then there was another push for an incinerator in 2000 when the
landfill -- newly elected County Commission met on top of the landfill
which is indicated on your charts.
Today we don't -- we're not looking at the budget or items and
such. So I -- I would just like to -- to primarily say that what -- the
things you have touched on, the reduction in the per capita generation
of waste includes all the waste from what I understand in Collier
County. So as different variables, construction rates and things like
that change, this will go down.
I -- we -- and you won't hear this from the county government
representatives, but we were very much instrumental in advancing the
residential recycling changes and think that we can improve this rate
by giving people the larger garbage can for recyclables than that other
one for their garbage. It's just obvious that there's more recyclables in
the waste stream than there is garbage.
We were involved with the nonresidential business recycling
effort. And it was actually our strategy of multiple items that was
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adopted by the Board of Commissioner. And now at the school -- in
the school district, we, the Zero Waste Collier County group has
worked with the school district now for the past two and a half years
and we're getting very frustrated with this. We don't know what's
going on behind the scenes, but we identified how they could divert 20
percent of their waste from the landfill into recycling. And actually an
RFP went out for a recycling contractor that has actually started up in
doing that.
The school system is the largest provider of garbage to the
landfill or at least -- well, they probably still are. But when you
understand they have all these kids eating lunch and they have all of
the teachers in the various locations around town, that 20 percent will
__ will make a difference and drop the -- the rate of materials going to
the landfill.
Also we've identified how the school system could save $10,000
a month on -- on changing the procedures. And that -- that was two
years ago. What I -- what I would just like to point out that when we
reduce the rate of waste going to the landfill, we stretch out every one
of these scenarios as far as how long the landfill can -- can continue.
So I strongly suggest that we focus on doing that. What I'd like
to get from the county is an analysis of what the value of that landfill
is from 2028 and beyond. Because I think we should know that
number and see how much it is worth to us to extend the life of that
landfill on those terms so we can see what we might invest up front to
accomplish that.
Now, this schematic I put on -- on the board here represents what
we presented as a strategy for waste handling in Collier County in
June of 2001. For those of you who might not be familiar with what
was going on at that time, the county had hired a consultant, Malcolm
Pierney and they were present at the top of the landfill event in 2000.
And they had come back with the solution to all our problems with an
array of incinerators and pyrolysis facilities which are incinerators.
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Okay. And that was the option, bum the stuff. Build an incinerator.
That's still somewhat of a -- a concern and threat primarily because at
the state level there's been a great effort to reduce the permitting
requirements of incineration, mandate that people who want to look at
new landfills consider incineration and then allow that if -- and this is
in state law if you want to research it, it just passed last year -- and
allow that if an incinerator in a community becomes threatened with a
problem with financial viability, that their recycling program which
first used to be required to be in place now only has to be in place on
paper. If that recycling -- if that incinerator has a problem with the
financial viability will then the -- the recycling program can be
eliminated.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Bob, I got to ask you to get a to a point
of wrapping it up now.
MR. KRASOWSKI: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You need to be aware that this is an
AUIR meeting.
MR. KRASOWSKI: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And if you have statements more
relative to something we can react to in regards specifically AUIR,
they might be more effective then let -- let -- take a one-minute
wrap-up if you could.
MR. KRASOWSKI: Okay. Well, you know, it's -- I'm here
today because this is part of a process, and I think this is a good
introductory level. So I'd like to explain our experience, my
experience in regards to this issue and just say that what has been
presented by the staff represents the -- their position and the
consultants that have been hired. And the consultants are very much
landfill/incinerator oriented.
We, the Zero Waste Collier County group come at this at a
different perspective. What I would like you to do is support our
efforts. What I would like to see is a one or two dollar per turn charge
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on the tipping fee and then that money transferred to community
organizations like us to take that and do independent research aside
from their consultants so that we can look at what might be done to
further enhance the minimization of materials going into the landfill.
And then look at that money being spent as -- in comparison to at the
end of the line there, how much further we're extending the life of the
landfill.
The Zero Waste -- and I'll end with this in this context -- the Zero
Waste Collier County group is part of a national, international effort
that opposes incineration. And this is something you have to watch
out for, you know, and also we want to eliminate landfills. Zero
Waste throughout the whole thing or darn close. So thanks for your
attention to my comments.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you, sir. Is there any other
member of the public that needs to speak on this issue?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Comments from the board.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Can I ask you a question,
Mark?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Me?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, sure.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: In looking at the -- you did an
analysis of what the loading you feel really is. Do you have any
concern that maybe this landfill will hit zero in less than 20 years?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, yes, less than 20 years I certainly
do. And, in fact, if the -- if the capital rate is not as low as predicted
and based on comments I saw in the latest news article, it didn't seem
to be, then we could have a problem much quicker than we're now
assuming. Because you're looking at ten years out and then another
ten years after that for a two-year -- three to two-year line capacity
which puts us in 2026 which is barely 20 years from now. I know
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January 13, 2006
from environmental prospects it lakes a long time not only to find a
landfill --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- to purchase it, to environmentally
permit it, to go through -- I mean, all the agencies you got to go
through and the facilities that have got to be built and maintained there
as well. So it is a concern to me, yes.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And even though Mr. Delony
said we don't have that option, the point is the next commission may
choose that option. And it's not fair to the community to surprise them
with a landfill either. They should know exactly where it's going to
go, so what I'd like to do -- can I make a motion?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'd like to make a motion to
approve as presented with the caveat that the commission starts to
consider the fact that we don't have an endless use of this landfill.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is there a second?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Second.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: A motion's been made and seconded.
Further discussion. I have one comment. I certainly would think it
would be very important to use the most relevant data that you have
and look at that newspaper article. I don't know where it originated
from. I don't know who in your department or in somebody's
department gave them the numbers. Whatever number's viable
whether it's the ones from that newspaper article or whether it's
another number that you have, you left last year at 2004 AUIR with a
capital rate of 1.24. So let's look at that as a starting rate. And then
with your conversion as simply as I just showed it, if you can do 3,000
tons a month less, that's 36,000 a year. You can't lower your per
capita rate from 1.24 to .82 because that's far, far in excess of 36,000
tons. But see what it is. And if it is lower, that's great. But I think
that information would be valuable to tell the BCC. And that's the
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only thing I'd like to add is --
MR. DELONY: Commissioner Strain, I don't know if I'm going
to get the last word on this, but I would like to make one comment
now. What you're looking at is the entire waste stream. And I don't
have the article that you're referring to in front of me, but I believe it
spoke strictly to the residential component of that waste stream.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't --
MR. DELONY: The generation rate you see in front of you talks
to the generation rate for the entire waste stream which is much larger
than that of just the recyclables we receive at curbside from our
residential customers, a significant contribution to our thing.
And then beyond that diversion I look exactly what's going into
the hill. I know to the even each what pound goes into the hill. That's
a requirement of permit. So I'm looking at the end of all those
numbers of what goes in the hill looking back over the last three years
or the last five years as historical benchmark, looking in the context as
our current integrated solid waste strategy and then projecting forward
what I would believe is the most probably generation rate for the
waste stream in Collier County.
And I will look hard at what you're suggesting, sir, but I just
make sure I represent to you what you're seeing in front of you here in
context of a concurrency document that we call AUIR. And -- and --
and we know there's a lot of policy and a lot of concerns and a lot of
things that go into that, but in the end it comes down to a number.
What's going in the hill and what's not versus what we pick up. And
that's what I'm trying to predict. And in time the utilization of that
airspace, so I can tell you when or if we have to get -- we have to find
an alternative, go higher, what it is we have to do to accommodate to
solid waste needs in Collier County. That's -- that's my job.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. And my suggestion is simply
that you drop the multiplier from 1.24 to .82. That equates to 160,000
tons --
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January 13, 2006
MR. DELONY: A year, yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- check your figures and see if that is,
in fact, more or less than what you saved with all the programs you
got in place from the last AUIR. And if it's more, then give us the
benefit of the doubt if it feels it's justified. If it's less, then change the
number back again.
MR. DELONY: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's all I'm suggesting you do.
MR. DELONY: And absolutely I will, sir. I promise you I will.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: With that I have no other comments.
Does anybody else have a comment?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: No, but I do accept what you
said as part of the motion.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And does the second accept it?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Good. All those in favor of the motion
indicate by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Nobody's opposed.
Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Delony.
MR. DELONY: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's been challenging to say the least.
MR. DELaNY: I -- I thought that's what I could say.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: No, you're second.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Now, I think the folks on TV enjoyed it.
It was better than the afternoon soaps.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: By the way, why don't you
two guys get together and have a show every day?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Now, the way we're going to proceed. I
don't know if law enforcement and jail has been notified. If they have
not and they're not in the audience --
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: They're not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- what I'd like to do before they're
heard is move libraries and library books up because those folks are in
the audience as part of the parks and rec team. And so if law
enforcement and the jail division is listening today, we'd like to
consider putting them after libraries and books which shouldn't be too
much of a delay assuming we even get to that point today.
MR. SCHMITT: I don't see anybody here from--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No. So--
MR. SCHMITT: We'll make sure we get in touch with them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Just so you know, if they're not here and
can't answer questions, I don't know how we can resolve our issues
with them so...
And with that we will continue until the court reporter shows up
and then we will be taking a break. And whenever that is, I'm sorry,
we'll just have to interrupt and go from there.
And, Ms. Ramsey, it's yours.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, I thought the way that I would start off
this morning -- Marla Ramsey. I'm Public Services Administrator. I
apologize for that.
I thought the way that I'd start off is just talking about a couple of
the changes that we've made. And I'll start with the recreational
facilities. Last year's AUIR had a per capita cost of $240. And you
will notice that this year we are recommending a $270 per capita
standard for a level of service. The reason for doing that is that -- that
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January 13,2006
as we update our impact fees, we also have gotten into the habit of
updating our level of service to keep up with some inflation and the
cost of putting facilities into our inventory.
And the way that we've arrived at that basically $30 increase is
that we went to the annual building cost index which is done by the
engineering news records. We had last updated our facility cost in
2001 on this sheet. And so according to the engineering news records,
there was a 1 percent -- and this is a national. This is not a local. This
is a national number. But the cost for construction in 2002 went up 1
percent. It went up 1.4 percent in 2003. It went up 7.8 percent in
2004. And so far in 2005 through September when we started this
process it had gone up 2.8 percent. Which is a total increase of 13
percent which comes out to basically the $40 difference that you see
in the per capita.
I should ask if -- if you want to take them section by section in
that regard or if you would like me to continue then into the changes
into the community element or how you would wish me to proceed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If the panel doesn't object, I would like
to take each section. Now, we'll vote on it as a package probably. It's
all one element, but you have three separate sections, if I'm not
mistaken: recreational facilities, community parks and regional parks.
And it might be easier just to ask questions on each piece. Is that
okay with everybody?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Then let's proceed that way.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay. Very good.
The other changes that we made as -- as you know across the
board is that we've gone to a weighted population. And so the
numbers that you see here reflect a weighted countywide population
on this particular element. As we get into another, you'll see where it's
only in the unincorporated area. But this particular one is countywide
facilities.
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January 13, 2006
Our improvements over the next five years, we're looking at
about $25 million. And you will see that we have a shortfall out in the
__ about two -- about $2.8 million shortfall. And -- and let me explain
why we haven't adjusted our five-year plan. Our five-year plan is
done -- an update annually during the budget process.
Since that update has been done, we've come in with the
recommendation to go to a weighted. Our five-year plan was done on
permanent basis, permanent population basis. And until we get into
the next five-year cycle update, if we stick with the weighted as being
recommended, then we will update our five-year plan to reflect that
population number. We have not adjusted it in this process yet.
And with that I think those are the changes. Oh, I should have
one more change, that we are in the process of doing an impact fee
update as we speak. I did receive that on Friday as a draft. So we will
be taking it to the board, I believe, in last board meeting in February
with a recommendation to increase the impact fees for parks.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We're on just the recreational
facilities, the first five or six pages of this package up to page 44
through page 46. Are there questions from the commissioners at this
point?
Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. I -- I think you -- you
said you went up $40. I think you really went up $30. You made --
MS. RAMSEY: Yes, that's correct, $30.
COMMISSIONER MURRA Y: Just to be clear. I'm -- I'm now
working from notes that I made when I went through this so forgive
me. Required inventory, let's see --
MS. RAMSEY: Are you on a specific page?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No. I -- it's page 44, but I don't
know that I want to go that deep because I -- some of these things I've
qualified further since the time I wrote these.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay.
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Let me -- let me just start out by
asking, what are the -- explain the impact fees for existing debt
service, the bonds and loans and where do they come from? Was it
the north regional?
MS. RAMSEY: It's -- it's north regional, and there are some
other bonds in there for other facilities that we have purchased that are
still on bonds. And I believe that not in -- there is -- the parking
garage is underneath a bond issue. And the North Naples Regional
Park has both construction and land purchase underneath the bond
issue. And I think there's still a little remaining, just a few dollars
remaining from the Sugden purchase yet in that bond.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. And on that same page,
what are the refurbishments for 3,400,000?
MS. RAMSEY: Yes. If you turn to page 53 on the very bottom.
This is new this year to put in some of the elements that we feel
are starting to get aged in our parks. And we're starting to look at how
we're going to make improvements to that. And in -- in the bottom of
that sheet in the yellow, there's a little yellow column on the bottom of
that page 53. It talks about the refurbishments. And in -- we have
general -- we have general journalations (phonetic), for example,
neighbor -- in our parks system there are playgrounds. They have
about a ten-year life span on them. And so we're now in the rotation
of replacing those playgrounds that were put on about 12 years or so
ago. We're in the rotation of replacing them.
We also find that in some of our aged parks like East Naples, for
example, the split -- split rail fences and some of the pathways and the
__ even the sod itself and the garbage cans and whatnot are aged. The
fences around the tennis courts and the ball fields, they all need to be
__ to be upgraded. So those are general improvements that we look at
as well as then some -- some facility elements like picnic pavilions
and -- and things like with roofs and such. So that's what that --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So that would be problematic in
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January 13, 2006
other words? You would look at it at a -- at a piece and say this needs
-- all these components need to be replaced?
MS. RAMSEY: The -- well, yes, or we might look at it by
function. Playgrounds, for example, which parks -- which parks need
to have playgrounds replaced. And we're doing two a year now until
we catch back up on it then.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And you're just down to the
ground and start all over again?
MS. RAMSEY: Down to the ground and start all over again.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Again, so that does qualify
properly that.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: All right. One had to do with
weighted. Okay. My question on page 34. What caused the surplus
of 16,927,820 to become a deficiency of 4,840? That would be page
34. That doesn't make sense.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Forty-four.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Forty-four maybe.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Forty-four.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think I was blind when I was
doing that.
MS. RAMSEY: If you could ask me that question one more
time, I'm not sure that I --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have to be sure I find it myself.
Okay? I'm not sure it's on 44. Let's pass on that for the moment if we
could, please.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have -- once again it's
referencing page 34. I'm going to -- okay. Here. Where are the soccer
fields that are in the existing inventory? It's page 55 and 56.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay. Where are they located, in what parks?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
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January 13,2006
MS. RAMSEY: Okay. You start on page 55. If you go across
the top about three-quarter's of the way through it talks about
football/soccer. You have a --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have it actually. That was a
question answered for myself. I apologize.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. I'm not going to take
anymore time because I -- my questions are a little too complex for me
to get to you correctly. Maybe I can buy some time.
MS. RAMSEY: Either that or we can do that offline if you wish
to have a meeting with me and have a discussion.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other members got any questions
right now?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I don't, no. You go ahead,
Mark.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Currently the LDC capital
inventory rate for your department for recreational facilities is what?
MS. RAMSEY: MyLDC?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah. According to the LDC you're at
__ you're at 240 for capital -- per capita inventory. You've got 270.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Do we have to change the other
documents before you can utilize 270? You're going up $30 --
MS. RAMSEY: Yes, I am.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- per capita. I'm just wondering if you
can do that before the documents are changed?
MS. RAMSEY: I believe that -- well, I'd have to turn that over to
the planning to ask them that specific question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Or the county attorney.
MS. RAMSEY: Or the county attorney.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: She hasn't answered a question all day.
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She's dying to say something.
MS. STUDENT-STIRLING: Absolutely. Thank you. I think
that we will need to do that LDC amendment.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So then prior to the LDC
amendment, can she go from 240 to 270, that would be my question?
Which is no. So it's --
MR. COHEN: Can I -- can I weigh in first a little bit?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Or whoever has an answer.
MR. COHEN: Obviously, as part of the AUIR we're going to
amend the capital improvements element as well too.
MS. STUDENT-STIRLING: That's correct.
MR. COHEN: And that figure would be reflected in the capital
improvements element of the comp plan. And the LDC implements
the comp plan --
MS. STUDENT-STIRLING: That's right.
MR. COHEN: -- so a subsequent change should probably occur
after that transpires.
MS. STUDENT -STIRLING: That's right. That's what -- yes. It
would have -- I thought that's what I said that it would have to be
changed in the LDC and also in the comprehensive plan once the
board accepts this.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So the process of changing is
really the acceptance of the AUIR process; is that right?
MS. STUDENT-STIRLING: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's where I'm coming from.
Your facility available inventory value stayed about the same. It
went up a little bit since '04 about $400,000?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If the value per capita goes up, wouldn't
the inventory value go up more than that, I mean, on the same kind of
ratio or -- I'm just wondering how 400,000 was a nice round number it
went up by, but --
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January 13,2006
MS. RAMSEY: Well, I -- that number really was reflected off of
the chart. Let's see what page that chart is on for you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We've got a chart on page 45. The first
line shows a facility plan that is $400,000. So I'm assuming --
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah. And that came off of page 53. If you
look on page 53, the -- the 400,000 is the new dollars that was added
to our -- our inventory for fiscal year 2004/2005. But you'll notice if
you go to page 55, 56 -- actually, it's 56. Because on the very bottom
each year we update our cost per facility on the -- as you see value per
facility the third --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I see it.
MS. RAMSEY: -- row from the bottom. We update that
annually to reflect the cost that we are receiving locally. For example,
if we know a soccer field that we just put in costs us a certain dollar
amount, then we update this line in order to reflect that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How does that affect the available
inventory value?
MS. RAMSEY: It -- it should reflect it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The sheet I have isn't long enough.
Apparently it doesn't have all the totals on it.
MS. RAMSEY: You're right. I think there is maybe a column
missing in here. I think there's -- is there two columns missing on this,
Randy?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Maybe that's why I couldn't figure it
out.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yeah. I couldn't.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, we're going to have a break here
soon. Could you look at that question; and when we get done with
break, we'll come back and revisit it. I don't want to --
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah. I believe -- I believe there's two columns
missing on this sheet. I think there's another --
MR. SCHMITT: Page 48 are you on?
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January 13,2006
MS. RAMSEY: Forty-five.
MR. SCHMITT: Forty-five.
MS. RAMSEY: Forty-five. We can have that conversation with
one, but mine I think is missing two columns.
MR. COHEN: What I'll do in the interim is I'll have somebody
e-mail it to me and bring it back on up.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Let's move on and we'll get back
to those other questions.
Your proposed CIE, last year you had 8,650,000. This year
you're up to 25,150,000. And I understand the footnote, 3.4 is
refurbishments; but that's still quite a jump in your CIE. And what
that has done is -- you had a surplus last year of 10 million. Now,
you've got a deficit too. What is the -- what is going in to that
additional money in CIE? I mean, I know it's in your table, but maybe
you can simplify it.
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Can you pull up that --
MS. RAMSEY: Back to the -- we'll go back to the table and take
a look. Basically we have added into that that Vanderbilt parking
garage. It was an $8 million amount in there for that parking garage.
We're just coming on here now in February. That's probably the
biggest jump.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That explains it. The value per capita,
you went back in 2004 to 2005. In the '03 we had 297 for the value
per capita. Then in '04 we used it at 293. And then '05 to '06 was 282
in '04. Now, we're coming in at a different value. How do you -- how
do those occur? How do you get to those values?
MS. RAMSEY: Are you talking about the available inventory or
are you talking about --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On page 45.
MS. RAMSEY: Forty-five.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The value per capita. What drives that
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value? Because I thought the value per capita was the 270 that you
started with on the front page.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct. What -- what this is reflecting is
the number available --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Surplus?
MS. RAMSEY: -- surplus versus the population that we have.
And then that gives you your value per capita.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Okay. Anything? Bob, did you
have any further follow-up questions?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah. I realized where my
confusion was. Page--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go right ahead.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Page 34 that I was referring to
was from '04. That was the '04 AUIR. All right. And my questions
were based on that. And I'm just going to read out what I'd written
here. The $400,000 increase that shows up in '05, what is it and -- and
is it being built? And that's that $400,000 from when you look at page
45. It's the top item, 2004 to '05 facilities planned and capital
improvement.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes. It was built. It's the Sabal Palm
Elementary School. We built two soccer fields and two Little League
fields and lights on the basketball court and upgrades to the irrigation
system at the elementary school.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And the other one was a -- a
question was, what caused the surplus -- again referencing last year's
__ caused the surplus of 16,927,000? However, listening to Mark, I
think he covered it prior with his question.
MS. RAMSEY: With the parking garage.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Same -- same area. And that
was it for me on that particular point. Just as a one -- one piece, the
activities that are -- these are county -- all of the county recreation
facilities. The plans that you had put in place last year for things like
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January 13, 2006
the skate park and the rest of it, those are -- are going to remain, aren't
they? I realize they're in the charts --
MS. RAMSEY: Sure.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- that I visualize to you. But
you have no plans, have you, to change any of those things?
MS. RAMSEY: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
MS. RAMSEY: I will say that as trends change with the usage of
our community, trends do change. And one of the things that we're
seeing as a trend -- and I'll just use it as an example, the shuffle board.
Shuffle board is not as popular as it once used to be in Collier County.
But Bocce ball is becoming a very popular. And we have in,
like, Golden Gate turned one shuffle board court into a Bocce ball
court in order to service that need. So when you see, you know, a
reference from now is probably going to reference shuffle board,
slash, Bocce ball courts so we can capture that particular trend that's
going on in Collier County. So that worth is still there, but it might be
used for something -- something different at that point.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Concern was expressed to me --
and this may not be the right venue -- but a concern was expressed
that with the limited number of hours of availability because of
part-time staff, the potential usage was going to drop. And the result
of that would be a self-fulfilling prophesy. You see we don't need any
more because it's not well attended. And--
MS. RAMSEY: Never. That -- that is not a true statement. As a
matter of fact, direction is given to the staff. They have a budget that
they receive on annual -- on an annual basis. And we'll use East
Naples Community Park as an example. They get a certain dollar
amount in order to program that facility. And if for some reason they
need to add ten hours to a skate park, they have the funds. They have
the staffing. They can allocate staffing funds to meet the needs of the
community to stay within their budget.
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January 13, 2006
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's a good answer. I like that
answer. Thank you.
MS. RAMSEY: No problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions on
recreational facilities before we move to community parks?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We can move on to community
parks, Marla.
MS. RAMSEY: Again, in this particular one, one of the -- there's
two things that I want to talk a little bit about here and one is, of
course, that we've gone to a weighted population versus a permanent
population. And in this particular situation, we are using an
unincorporated population number. And on the bottom of page 48, it
explains in some detail how they mathematically achieve that. They,
being the planning people.
And we also in this particular one have gotten a little aggressive
in -- in the purchase of lands, continued updating our inventory based
upon what we feel is going to be the impact of the Golden Gate
Estates area and the amount of facilities that we're going to have in
that area. And given the fact that land is becoming very scarce, and
what is available is in two- to five-acre parcels, it's going to take us
awhile to put together a fairly good-sized park.
And so we have put in our plan probably a little bit aggressive
because we're staying way above our need to date. But we do think
that we need to get ahead of it to make sure that we stay in
concurrence with our -- our level of service. So those are the two
things I really have in this particular area.
There is one small typo which doesn't affect any figures on page
48 on the top where it talks about park acres required .0012882 is the
number. And that same number then would reflect down where it
actually just rolled it here. Underneath that it says, park acres required
per capita 0013 would reflect 1.2882. I don't believe it affects any of
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the -- and that's on page 48 again. It doesn't affect any of the figures.
It's just a typographical error in the title.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Commissioners, are there any
questions?
Mr. Tuff.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Just at the top, unless I missed it and
you said it, but last year we had 485 available inventory and this year
__ of acres and now we have 453. We lost 30-some acres somewhere
along the way between last year and this year.
MS. RAMSEY: In the community park side we -- we do lose
acres periodically in our park system. We -- we lost nine acres to
transportation. We lost seven acres to -- on Golden Gate High School
so they could put in a turtle habitat. I think those are the two major
ones that I see. And in the community park land I have 142-acre
deficit from the regional park side due to losing the road Jane's Scenic
Drive. When they were doing the restoration to the Everglades, we
lost 142 acres in that area. So we do periodically lose lands to -- to
help with utility wells or road right-of-ways or other agencies so...
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Russell, is that the only question you
had?
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Yeah, I guess so.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Are there any others?
COMMISSIONER TUFF: The number switched from the last
time we got this to the second time we got this. We're at -- we have the
proposed -- I have my notes from the last time. I don't have them for
this time, so I'll just be quiet and let it go. I'll figure it out as I sit here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's up to you. Marla, the biggest thing
that bothers me in this whole thing is the rise in value from 87,000 per
acre last year to 200,000 an acre this year.
MS. RAMSEY: Yup. Yup. That--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Can you provide me with an
explanation of how you got to that 200,000?
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MS. RAMSEY: I'm going to give you my version of it. If you
want real detail, I'll turn it over to Amy. But we -- we reflect the
impact fee study in our numbers. The last numbers that you had was a
reflection of our impact fee study three years ago which was about
$87,000.
This year in our impact fee study there was -- appraisal was done
on 58 parcels in the general area of where our community parks and
regional parks are located. And the average number for that was
$200,000 per acre. That -- that probably isn't even enough to be
honest with you. We just purchased a .16 acre down by Bayview for
285. And, of course, we purchased the Caribbean Garden for over
400,000 an acre. So there's a wide range of prices and lands
depending on where you purchase. But that number came off the
impact fee study based upon the appraisal that the consultant had done
for us.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Did that Fleishmann or Jungle Larry's
you said you purchased -- that was purchased with a separate bond
issue __ well, a separate vote from the citizens or was that out of park
money?
MS. RAMSEY: No. It -- it -- but it is part of our inventory.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, I know. But the purchase itself
didn't come off of your budget. It came off a separate taxing issue,
didn't it?
MS. RAMSEY: It came off a referendum, that's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So that's not going to show up as
an effect on your budget in here other than the cost to do whatever
work you've got to do there as far as operating it?
MS. RAMSEY: No. As a matter of fact, that is included already
in our inventory underneath the regional park lands. You'll notice --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I saw it.
MS. RAMSEY: -- that I -- I put in 129 acres, and I put a -- I put
a total amount against it, but I put ad valorem taxes as the revenue
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source.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Let's get back to this 200,000 an
acre. Maybe then -- I was wondering why Amy was moved to the
front from the back. So she must be anticipating this. If she could
explain to me what they did to get to 200,000 an acre any more than
you have. I don't know ifthere's more of an explanation necessary.
That's just a lot of money for -- for regional park land. And you used
it for regional as well as community. And I know I wish residential
property I lived on was worth that much money right now so...
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah. I mean, it's kind of an average of -- of
semi coastal versus estate lands. And it is based upon -- and I can read
it for you. One of the things that they reference here is they do say, To
reflect the extremely rapid rate of land appreciation currently being
experienced in Collier County, these recent sale prices were inflated
by 5 to 14 percent per month depending on the area on which they
were to approximate the current land costs. So land is definitely
accelerating much faster than our impact fees have in the past.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, this is going to -- I know I'm
going to have more questions on this. But I get started on a routine,
Ms. Ford, is your -- I thought your replacement was going to come
around 2:30. What's -- what's the status there? Because in get started
on a line of questioning, I'm not going to want to stop. So what would
you like to do? Would you like to take a break now? We still have to
take another break when she gets here; is that right?
Okay. Why don't we take a break now for 15 minutes and then
we'll try to focus from there on out. Okay. Thank you. Be back here
at three o'clock.
(Short recess was taken.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We will still continue with the meeting.
Mr. Schiffer's moved.
MR. SCHMITT: Other than the precipitation, not outside, but
inside.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You know this was a predictable
outcome.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The court reporter's replacement still
has not come. When she comes, we'll take a quick few minute
transition period, I guess. And so what I'll have to do is go start into
another discussion on this $200,000 per acre.
And I think the easiest way for me to show the commission what
I've come up with and ask Marla and Amy questions about it is to
come over to the podium, and I'll use the presentation table and show
you the documents I've found. And then maybe you can respond if
you know how. And I'm not saying -- you may -- you may not have a
response because this maybe not something you're involved with.
Mr. Adelstein, if you could handle the chair.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: The chair recognizes Mr.
Strain.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I hope so. I'm the only one in the room
with a beard so. Oh, that's easy. You've got a little day growth there.
In looking at the $200,000 per acre, there are some documents
that led to more how that came about. My concern was if you look at
our cover sheet on our AUIR, $23 million in needed ad valorem--
additional monies is attributed to the parks category. That's about
one-third of the total additional need that's shown.
Now, how do I get this thing to work? Here I've been here all
this time and I don't know how to make it work. You notice the top
line. This is from the impact fee study that was used to generate the
impact fee requirements, four parts, which is in our AUIR. And that's
-- the top line is where the $200,000 came from. There's a -- there's a
footnote on that table.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Move it up. That's it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There's a footnote on the table that
references the land use study. And I just recently, thanks to Amy's
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department, was able to get a copy of that land use study. And in that
study it lays out what they looked at to come up with a value for
acreage for regional and community parks. It stated June 24th, 2005,
and it's done by Coastal Engineering Consultants. I don't even know
where their address is, but in there they use a series of sites in Collier
County. Eight of them to be exact. And in those eight sites, they
produced evaluations based on the properties they looked at. And
through this they came to a -- what I had heard earlier explained as an
average to come to the $200,000 per acre. I'm not sure it's an average,
but it's -- this was definitely used to get to that point.
Now, one of those -- three of the areas in here are pretty high.
Marco Island at 1.1 million per acre on average price. Southwest
Naples at 3.1 million per acre. And North Naples at 3.5 million per
acre. So I went into the body of the document to try to find out where
they could have found land like that because it's land I wish I had
bought when I moved here 30 years ago. Unfortunately, then I did
not.
One of the areas is Southwest Naples. If you notice that's the
Port Royal area in the area of Old Naples area. The comparables from
that area are right here. And those comparables show some lots that
they used to show an acre per acre basis. And if you notice the second
-- first one down, it's acreage price of 6.9 million per acre. That's a lot
in Port Royal. I know we're not going to have any more community
parks in Port Royal nor are we going to have regional parks in Port
Royal. And maybe this is a lot that shouldn't have been used.
If you notice No.3, it's even more. Number 3 in the document
that I was provided, which I'm sure is the one that Amy has, are
back-to-back lots on Keewaydin Island with a value of327,869. Yet
in this table, the value per acre is almost 7 million, almost 8 million.
And it's totaled up as an average in the bottom as part of the way they
calculated the lots that they reviewed.
I'm sure that of these lots, we're not going to be looking at lots for
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community or regional parks in Port Royal. And I really think that
one as well as whatever this Lot No.3 was with almost an $8 million
acreage price would be one we wouldn't be purchasing for regional or
community parks.
The last one on here was 3.3 million per acre and it was in Old
Naples. It was off 20th Street in Old Naples closer to the water. It's
another one I doubt if we'd be looking at for purchasing an area for
parks either regional or community. And maybe if -- if we looked at
properties that were more consistent to where we put these parks
logically today, the pricing wouldn't be 200,000 an acre. Because if
you look at regional parks, for example, it used to be 36,000 an acre.
And today's documents are requesting 200,000.
If you go into another location it was Location No.5 and actually
it's up near, I believe, where Ms. Caron is up in her neck of the woods.
It's in Northwest Naples. And actually it included areas along
Vanderbilt Beach. Three of the references are under Commissioner
Frank Halas's street. And they are at 4.5 million per acre, 3.1 per acre
and 2.4 million per acre.
Another one on that same area was -- they had The Moorings in
that same area at 5 million per acre. And they have other homes on
Vanderbilt Lagoon at almost -- one is at 4.7 million per acre and the
other is 2.7 million per acre. This is not adjusted for time. This is
what the sale price dictated.
My issue in all of this is if we're going to raise parks recreational
acreage to purchase, it ought to be on more properties relative to the
areas that we purchase these in. And maybe this appraisal isn't one
that we would want to use to come up with that number of 200,000. I
am still mystified as to how they got 200,000 out of these numbers.
Because honestly with these numbers, it could even have been higher.
But nothing I found puts it together that way.
Now, if you drop the three highest areas, Marco Island, I doubt if
we'll be purchasing any parks for Marco Island. They have the ability
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as a municipality to purchase their own. Port Royal and the Old
Naples and Vanderbilt Beach area, if you drop those high-end
acreages out, then you get down to a much more realistic number in
your acreages that you would need to purchase parks.
Now, I know that we may not be able to purchase park land
everywhere in the county, but it averages out. We might end up
buying a lot of parks out in the rural fringe and stewardship area and
Golden Gate that are not 200,000 an acre. And for those smaller
piecemeal parks that we can only get -- I think Marla mentioned to me
there may be a piece across from Vanderbilt Beach that we might be
able to pick up. That's just a small piece of acreage. It's not that one
that would be averaged in, I think, over the $200,000 total that's here.
That's what I wanted to show you that I couldn't do so quickly
from the podium. So I'll leave it at that point. I'll ask for questions
when I get up there.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Could I ask, how did they get
onto the list?
MS. RAMSEY: Well, let me show you this one page again.
And I'm guessing at this because I have not sat into the meetings, but
I'm just -- I'm going to show you. I think you showed this particular
graphic field. And I believe that the one that -- that those areas that
you were talking about is that $4 million beach element. Because the
board did give us direction during this last fiscal year to look to -- if
we can find some pieces of property where we can either get beach
access or get rest room facilities especially along Vanderbilt because
we have a number of access areas. If we're able to get a lot across the
street where we could put a restroom in. Or if we could maybe go
down to Keywayden and get a piece of property or if we can find a
beach access -- beach -- I'm sorry -- boat access area, you know, what
-- how are we going to fund that because we really don't have the
funding in our impact fees to do that. And I think that's why you see
three levels in -- in this particular chart: $4 million for beach access
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land, $1.4 million for boat access lands and the $200,000 for other
regional park lands or community park lands which are inland. I think
that's -- that's why you see this huge difference in it. And in this
particular case, we picked the lowest of that. We didn't pick the 4
million. We didn't pick the 1.4 million. We just picked the $200,000
per acre price for this documentation. And that's the only thing that I
can explain why there's such a wide range.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And, Marla -- and, Marla, looking at
this and I doubt if anybody had -- I don't know who instructed this
particular program; but when I came in, I would have assumed you'd
use whatever number they recommended with it on a sound basis. But
in looking at the comparables they used, I don't think we're ever going
to build a park of any type within the City of Naples in the Port Royal
community.
MS. RAMSEY: No. I don't -- I don't believe. Our indication is
that we're not looking to do that. I think that's probably where they
found some recent sales that they could use as comparisons, you
know, for -- for acreages.
I know that in the -- in the area underneath in this section right in
here, it reference two things that we purchased recently. And that was
a 4.8 million for the Goodland property and 4.7 million or something
to that effect for the 1.69 acres at Barefoot. I mean, the last piece of
property that we bought was 1.69 acres at Barefoot in the preserve
area. And it was -- it was over 4.5 million for that piece of property.
And they've -- they've used that -- those two numbers to get to the
access -- boat access number.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And I understand that. And if they did
use those for facilities for beach parking and boating, that's fine. But
then they shouldn't be used as well to -- to work up the price for the
parks in the outlying areas. In fact, if you were to take out the Marco
Island, the Southwest Naples area and the Northwest Naples area
meaning the Vanderbilt Lagoon area, you would find your acreage
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price gets down to around 150,000 or less based on the other
comparables -- comparables that are still in there. Anything's more
reasonable than using, I think, Port Royal. And I don't know of
anybody that's going to be buying land in either The Moorings,
Vanderbilt Lagoon or anyplace like that. And I'm a little -- I think that
you -- I think what -- we're doing the citizens a disservice by using
comparables from areas that we really would never expect to find or
buy property in. There's no boat ramp facilities that could go in The
Moorings or Port Royal or places like that.
Now, maybe someone needs to suggest that this study be done
differently or maybe staff needs to define what pieces of it are really
applicable to the areas that you're looking at and use those acreage
counts to come up with an acreage cost that might be more realistic for
where you're looking instead of areas like Port Royal. That's a
suggestion that I'm just making to you as a -- as a comment.
Mr. Murray, did -- did you have something else?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No. I'm just waving to Mr.
Davis -- Mike Davis.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, okay. I didn't even see him.
With that I'll try to move on past the acreage for now. I do have
some other acreage issues as we come up, not so much in the costing
but in the count.
In your community parks, and I probably need to ask this in
reference to both parks. Unfortunately, I don't want to jump ahead,
but it seems to fit both and we could save time. We have parks like
Wiggins Pass State Park and we have Collier Seminole State Park,
parks like that that are extremely popular. Wiggins Pass a lot of
parking spaces and boat ramps and everything. Are those included in
either one of your park categories?
MS. RAMSEY: No, they're not and I can explain why they're
not. Average -- federal state average for land per capita is ten acres
per thousand population. And if you look at our two numbers, if you
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add them together, they're somewhere less than the five acres per.
And the reason that we have done that is because there are state lands
in Collier County. And we -- we recognize them and realize that we
do not need to achieve that ten-acre per thousand level of service
because there are other facilities that are accommodating that. So
that's why you see a lesser level of service in Collier County than you
would probably see in other communities.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the 1.2882 acres per 1,000
population and the 2.9412 acres per 1,000 population that you use are
already taken into consideration that all of -- that the state and federal
parks are there?
MS. RAMSEY: Yes. Because of our level of service is less than
you would see in other communities.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How does it equate to the acreage of
those other parks? I mean, I understand you drop them out. But say
you just eliminate the use of those other parks if they were small
acreage or large acreage, would it make a difference in that
computation? I'm not sure I'm saying it right.
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We have -- if we had, say, four twenty
acre parks state owned and they weren't included in here, would the
number be different in those acreage per 1,000 population if we only
had one twenty acre park that wasn't included in here versus the four?
MS. RAMSEY: If -- if we had -- if we had included three and--
and not the fourth one or if we only had one park in our -- in our
community instead of four?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Only one park instead of four.
MS. RAMSEY: You would probably see a higher level of
service needed on the county side to provide for the recreational
elements.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Your level-- your level of service does
take into account state and federal parks?
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MS. RAMSEY: Yeah. And this level of service was adopted
way back, I think, in the 1980s -- '82. Murdo has got the historian
here, so he probably could come up to that. But when we did the bond
issue and came up with the -- the level of service, that's when they
were put into effect. And -- and I have done just in the last two
months a check of our level of service versus Florida's outdoor
recreational level of service. And their level of service is ten acres per
thousand and ours is less than the five as I indicated.
So they -- they -- if you added in the acreage that is in the state,
we're -- we're kind of different than most communities because we
have the Everglades National Park here. And although that is a
recreational element, you can't build soccer fields or ball fields or
tennis courts or various other elements on that. So -- so we -- we've
kind of taken a middle of the road on it knowing that we need to have
so many facilities and what the acres of a soccer field is, for example,
how many soccer fields we think we need to have in our community
to meet the current needs and then how many acres of buildable land
that we need. And -- and when appropriate, we add in some of those
recreational elements. For example, we added 129, the Caribbean Zoo
into that because the zoo is -- is now -- the land under that is owned by
the community. And it is a recreational element that is being preserved
for the community. So we consider that a regional park, in essence.
And then the rest of it is going to be water quality and pathways and
canoeing so that's -- that also is a regional.
And regional can be either active or passive. Beaches or
pathways or large complexes like North Collier because they -- they
attract people from a long distance. Where a community park serves a
community, the Vineyards community. The Veterans Park is the
North Naples community, et cetera. And the whole system has
numbers of different kinds of parks in it. And our level of service is
trying to accommodate all of that. And our trending as I talked to
early -- earlier, we also look at participation, numbers of people that
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are utilizing the trends that are -- that were seen, the culture of our
community. And from that we try and then determine what our need is
and then we try to match those acreages to that. And so this level
seems to work for us. It keeps us -- it keeps us pretty even with our
land-use needs.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are you -- are you aware that a lot of
the subdivisions that are coming up through PUD process, deeded
ones especially, they have a lot of parks inside them?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And they're very well furnished.
Generally, from my experience from the people that live within those
communities, they really like attending their parks. It gives them a
security and concessions and other things they like. And they don't
wander out to many -- at least any of them that I know to the
community parks or regional parks except on a very rare occasion.
Yet they're counted in your population statistic as having an impact on
the regional and community. Are we taking some -- are we
somewhere taking into consideration the park acreages and the
facilities within gated subdivisions and things like that?
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah. Well, yes. To address that, if you'll look
at the very end of these -- these last two columns on here is where I've
taken -- you can see the -- can you give me a visualizer? Oh, I don't
have a visualizer. How come I can't see it. Excuse me just one
second. All right. This is probably better for you.
If you notice on the -- on the one side we have the listing of the
various types of facilities that we -- we have on a menu so to speak.
These are -- these are the types of activities that have been -- been
placed inside our community in our regional parks. And off to the end
of this I have listed the Florida Outdoor Recreation Guideline that was
printed in 2000 and their level of service. And we'll -- we'll take, you
know, baseball. Little League, for example, they recommend a level
of service of one field per thirty thousand people. Our level of service
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that we have here is a one to forty thousand. And we're fairly
consistent as we go through except for maybe in multi-use pathways.
Boat ramps is highlighted because it will never meet that -- that
requirement that they have there.
And we use this as a guideline to try and determine whether
we're staying current with the need along with the population that we
have. And so I show that to you just so you see that there are some
other guidelines besides what we do here in Collier County. And then
from that we then know what our population is, what we have in our
current inventory, what we have planned in our five-year plan,
whether we have a surplus or a deficit in that area. And that helps us
to plan future parks out. And then each one of those has an acreage
that's associated with it. For example, a softball field is about a five
acre -- you need about five acres to put a ball field out there with
parking and rest room facilities.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And maybe I missed the understanding
of it. Is -- how did you take into consideration those parks within
these gated communities?
MS. RAMSEY: Right. If you -- if you don't -- go down and
look at tennis courts, for example. We have a ratio right now that says
that we're at one to seven. But you notice that it says that we need to
have 64 tennis courts in our -- in our inventory. We aren't putting in
that many tennis courts currently because we know that the gated
communities are putting in tennis courts. So one of the things that
we're looking at, we don't have a full inventory of every tennis court
in Collier County nor the number of, for example, pools. And if you
notice our -- our ratio for pools -- for pools is one to one hundred ten
thousand people. Where the ratio for the state is one to fifty thousand.
Well, every one of those gated communities puts in a pool. They put
in, you know, a little community building. They put in tennis courts
for the most part.
So our standards are a little different in some of those specific
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things that we know that they put in. And even though it looks like
we're at a deficit, we know that there's -- there's more than that in our
community that's being utilized by our -- our public.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, see--
MS. RAMSEY: Now, one of -- one of the things that we're
looking and I gave direction on a couple months ago, I guess, to staff
to try and find an intern that we could bring on staff that could
actually go on and pull together an inventory for us, because we think
it's a very time consuming but a very interesting project for a college
student to -- to determine how many tennis courts are in Collier
County, how many pools we have that are -- are recreational use, et
cetera.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. In your tennis courts, for
example, with a population of 450,000 which we're not at. We're at
the 364,879 based on this AUIR. You need 52.
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Current inventory is 43. You're nine off.
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Now, the 364, though, includes all the
gated communities in Collier County. One gated community alone
that I know of has 23 tennis courts or is building 23 tennis courts.
Your tennis courts, for example, I don't think you can apply that
way. I think you need to look at the population that would use the
tennis court which -- courts -- which may be those populations outside
of the gated communities that have tennis courts.
MS. RAMSEY: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And if you separate it out that way then
calculate the population you really need it for, you may find you have
sufficient or don't need quite as many as you're predicting you use
over the next five years in this AUIR, and that's where I'm trying to go
with this.
MS. RAMSEY: Right. Except the only other thing -- the other
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-- the other element in that is our current usage. And so if we know
that our -- and tennis courts are used from, you know, basically eight
o'clock in the morning till -- till noon and from about five until nine.
And our courts are booked. And so when we see that our courts are
booked, then we realize we need to add another court or two to our
inventory. If we found that we weren't getting usage on those courts,
that's another indicator then that tennis is not being -- is already being
served in the community and we don't need to continue that particular
element.
We also do it off of what we call life cycling. We do
programming analysis every two years. That gives us an idea what
the high trends are and what the low trends are and we eliminate the
low trends and accelerate the -- the high trends.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Would there be a way for you to realize
the amount of park land that is within gated communities so that you
could at least have it out here as an applicable usage for some of the --
some of the population?
MS. RAMSEY: Well, the problem with that is -- is that most of
our facilities will have some auxiliary type activities like tennis courts,
racquetball court, I mean, but they're in small number. The things that
we find in the -- in the gated communities that are not being served are
indoor -- you know, indoor recreational elements, like, basketball, et
cetera, soccer fields, softball fields, you know, the baseball elements,
the large sporting facility. Even if they are a gated community, they
do come out into our facilities and use that. And currently right now
our biggest program is soccer and then in football and an emergence
of Lacrosse, some field hockey. And every one of those takes the
same facility, a football/soccer field.
And our inventory currently is -- is stressed. And even when we
open up the North Collier, our inventory is going to be stressed in
those areas. So we need -- we need to continue to be able to purchase
lands that provide us buildable areas where we can put those larger
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recreational elements. And I believe that the plan that I have here
kind of takes us out about ten years in our acreaging. You know,
when we look at the -- the number of acres that we're talking about,
the -- where do we have that here, 100 and -- 240 acres I think it is in
our inventory. That will take us about ten years.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, my point is not that we don't need
parks. I just want to make sure that the need is justified through the
population. You're using population as the statistics.
MS. RAMSEY: We are.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you are--
MS. RAMSEY: We are.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- I want to make sure that that statistic
is the right one to use. And, obviously, apparently you're using it with
other statistics as well that include more need than the population
alone might do.
MS. RAMSEY: Along with that $270 per capita that we -- we
talked about just previous and adding those all together.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Mr. Adelstein.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yeah. I want to just ask a
question. Do you intend to remove the eight properties that Mark
stated from your list?
MS. RAMSEY: Excuse me?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: The -- the properties that
Mark was bringing up, I think they were eight.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The properties along Port Royal, The
Moorings, Vanderbilt Beach Lagoon, places that are impractical to be
used for valuations of park property that may not be materialized
there. I think that's what you're trying --
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yes. Are you -- are you
going to remove those from the figures that you're going to adjust --
adjust?
MS. RAMSEY: Well, I'm not going to personally remove them,
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but I do believe that -- that Amy is going to have a conversation with
the consultant on that to determine what their rationale on that is in
more detail. Because the documentation that Mark brought forward --
actually, I haven't even seen that one. I only have the draft report. I
don't have the actual report that you -- you showed us. So I'm at a loss
at that particular one. He got it before me.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: The question is obviously in
my mind, those figures are well above the cost of a normal acre that
you're going to use to support that.
MS. RAMSEY: Right.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I don't think we should get
along with these type of numbers and just throw them in because
obviously you're talking about sometimes four to five times as much
money here as you would be able to buy them at a normal rate.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, I'm going to ask the consultant how he
came to the $200,000 nexus that we're using here. To determine
whether he truly did use those, I feel he used them in the $4 million
element and didn't use them in -- in the 200,000. But if Mark feels
that that would be a different ratio, I'm going to ask them to relook at
their figures and see how they came up with that and -- and ask them
to explain that to us in a little more detail so we will be better able to
answer your questions in the future.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And that's where my questioning started
when I asked you how you got the 200,000. Everybody pointed to the
impact fee study --
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- and the park land study. I can't figure
out the connection. And that's why I asked you. And you-all say it
came from that land study, that's why I showed everybody that--
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- the land study had some questions
that I still can't figure out. And I think they need to be resolved before
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you use 200,000 an acre so...
MS. RAMSEY: I think that's a very good point and we definitely
will ask the consultant to give us that information so as we move
forward we will either be able to support that or not.
MR. COHEN: Mr. Strain, might I also add on this issue will be
vetted as part of the impact fee presentation --
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
MR. COHEN: -- to the Board of County Commissioners in
March. And not only that, you'll revisit this when it comes back in the
form of the capital improvements element. So you get a second bite
of the apple with respect to this.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I can't approve it at the
200,000 figure now. I mean, ifthere's nothing going to be done, in my
mind I can't approve $200,000 for this type of purchase.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, when we get to the point of
making a recommendation, we can -- certainly can form a
recommendation that --
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I understand that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- that will take it somewhere and go
from there.
On the community park land summary sheet that you've
provided, Commissioner Tuff started touching on it. In 2004 we had
485.1 acres of community available inventory. Now we have 453.
That's a 30 -- what, 32-acre loss. I know you explained some of the
acres.
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Let's assume that -- that loss is -- it is
what it is, and there's pieces lost over various time from growth --
examples like you provided. The required inventory that you have
down below to the next five-year period is 535.
MS. RAMSEY: Which page are you on?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 47.
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MS. RAMSEY: Forty-seven. Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That means between the 453 and the
535, there's 82.4 acres needed. Now, you're calling for 187.
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's 100 acres more. How do you
reason that? How does that come into play?
MS. RAMSEY: Supply and demand. That's all -- that's all I can
say is that currently there are no large tracks left. We tried to hook up
with schools as they're going in. As a matter of fact, what I have -- we
have been somewhat aggressive in purchasing lands to this point. We
do have 60 acres undeveloped down in the Manatee area. We have
110 acres out on -- in the Golden Gate Estates area. We feel that as
we move forward and we're looking at our horizon study or the east of
951 study, the amount of lands there and in Immokalee that we are
going to need in the future as we grow. Whether it's 750,000 or -- or 1
million people here in Collier County, we're going to need to keep up
with that level.
And so we're suggesting that we start to look at those lands today
rather than waiting for five years or ten years out when they'll be
either more expensive or nonexistence. And that's our
recommendation as a staff as we look to try and get the lands in the
inventory while we still can.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if we can get them in for less than
200,000, it would make it a lot more palatable.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, I would -- I would hope that as we went
out that -- that we have a little buffer there and that we are able to find
some lands that are much less than that. Although they are starting to
creep in that direction.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The other thing that's happened is we've
been able to get developments to cooperate with providing lands in
certain instances. Does your department review the PUDs and
documents that come through?
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MS. RAMSEY: Yes, we do. And one of the things that -- that
we are having some issues with is we talk about playgrounds. If you
notice my playground number here is just offby 16. And -- and we
don't count -- we haven't counted each one of them that are currently
in our PUDs, but that's what I want the intern to do as well. But we
have been asking developers to put playgrounds into their -- every
single PUD that's come through our area, we have asked for two
things: sidewalks on the front and inside their communities as well as
a playground within their community. To that degree we've been very
successful in providing that. Even though it's not a requirement, they
have to have some kind of recreational open space. They can choose
other elements, but they've been very receptive to adding that
playground in.
Because as we move forward, we do not put neighborhood parks
in our -- and that's why you don't see a neighborhood park element
here in this even that is a segment of our system. Neighborhood
parks, community parks, regional parks because we require those
PUDs to put in those neighborhood parks. And those -- those facilities
that you talked about earlier with the little pool and the -- and the
playground and a basketball court and a tennis court, we look at that
as being their neighborhood park. And we are only providing
neighborhood parks currently in older neighborhoods. Like along
Oaks Boulevard we're doing one right now. We've done two or three
in the Golden Gate area, Golden Gate City area, Willoughby Acres, et
cetera, in the older areas that didn't have that in place prior to.
And the goal would be that you would have a neighborhood park
according to this statistic. Every quarter of a mile you would have a
park site. That's -- that's the dream amount. We won't receive that, but
that's why there's not a neighborhood park in our inventory is we -- we
really look to those PUDs to pick -- to pick up that particular element.
And then that's why when you were kind of talking about adding
that into our inventory, it's really a separate standard that we currently
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aren't including in our level-of-service requirement.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the purpose for adding it in is
simply to show that the population that is served by other means other
than just the couple that are shown here. Another thing that I think
would be handier to do -- I don't disagree that the property along the
beach if available is going to be a higher price than inland. But if it's
specifically for a beach purpose and you can separate out regional
park land, community park land and even neighborhood parks to a
point, why couldn't you have a separate AUIR facility summary form
for beach parks? And then for that amount of beach park that the
commission feels it needs to be established, they can separately
address it at that value and not weight the entire county with that
horrendous value strictly for a beach parking or beach facilities. Is
that something that could feasibly be looked at?
MS. RAMSEY: We looked at that two years ago in 2003. If you
looked at the history, we tried to separate out into what we considered
a beach level of service. It went down basically in flames because it
was going to be very difficult to maintain that level of services. Our
community continues to grow. There's probably some other creative
ways of looking at that level of service. We looked at it as parking
spaces at that point in time. But as we move forward, we might want
to relook at that, but we have taken that to the Board of County
Commissioners. And at this point, we don't have that policy direction.
We have lumped that into kind of our TDC impact fee element;
and through our beach and boat access plan that we have our master
plan, we do have direction to seek out those lands. We have not been
very successful at that. And we do have a small pot of money from
TDC that we can utilize and try and leverage that and some bonding
capability to make it happen.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: When that occurred in 2003, and if you
recall I pointed it out at last year's AUIR --
MS. RAMSEY: Yup.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- it was my understanding it was
established and done based on the responses I got for a -- for a
creation of an impact fee to address beach parking and beach needs,
beach facility, beach access needs. I'm not saying use it to create a
new impact fee. I'm simply saying use it as a new element with -- not
necessarily -- element might be the wrong word because this whole
book's an element, but use it as new category of parks to show the
need separately than the need of the other parks so that your acreage
price of your other parks isn't so horrendously influenced by that of
beach access -- beach areas.
MS. RAMSEY: And that -- and definitely I agree we need to
look at that. And, again, I want the consultant to look at that to see if
it truly did inflate the 200,000 acreage by putting the beach access
stuff into that. And -- and I definitely will get you that answer.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. And why don't we take a -- is it
appropriate, Ms. Ford, we'll take a five-minute break so she can switch
over? Thank you.
(Short recess was taken.)
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do we have a mike?
Thank you, MR. SCHMITT. Before we go further into
discussion, one thing that has come up is we're not going to get
through this this afternoon. The Category B facilities actually have
some more intense questioning than the first ones have had, so I can't
see them getting done quickly.
What is the preference for this commission to continue this
meeting and how long tonight do you want to go? I'm open for as
long as you all want to stay here.
There is some concern about another date because this is being
pushed to get to the BCC quickly.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: How is Tuesday?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We have a Tuesday afternoon date
starting at one o'clock as a possibility. If that is something that this
board would like to entertain, that's fine. But we still have to make
sure that -- we still have got to have a cutoff date for today.
And so I'll open it up for discussion. What would you guys like to
do?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: First of all, I would like to
know if there is a Tuesday available. Meaning not to him but to us.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I can be here Tuesday.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I can be here Tuesday.
MR. SCHMITT: The first thing I'm checking is the 17th.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: What? He said the 18th, not the 17th.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, the 17th.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Seventeenth.
MR. SCHMITT: If we do it the 18th it would have to be out at
Horseshoe.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I can be here up 'til around 2:30.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On which day?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: On the 17th.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's an hour and a half. We can't start
until 1 :00.
MR. SCHMITT: This room will not be available until one
o'clock.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: One at a time, please, guys.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Tuesday, Wednesday, I can't
do. Thursday we're here so I can stay later on Thursday. Friday I can
do.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I've got a schedule. I'll just change it if I
have to but it doesn't appear to do any good for Tuesday because we
don't have a quorum. On Wednesday it doesn't look like we have a
quorum either. So that leaves Thursday afternoon after our regular
meeting. We have six or seven agenda items, some of them may go
quick, they are boat docks.
MR. SCHMITT: I know you have Rock Ridge PUD.
MS. STUDENT: I-75, Alligator Alley and Sandalwood.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So, if we could look at -- and Joe, would
Thursday afternoon still fit into the schedule that you need to meet?
MR. SCHMITT: If you defer to Thursday I need to change the
board meeting. I have no option because I will not have time to
compile changes, summarize your -- basically, I need to get the
information to the Board so they have time to review it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Honestly, the Category B facilities,
there are a lot of issues there that need to be discussed, so I would
think there would be changes as a result of discussion from -- on those
Category B facilities.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Did we rule out Monday?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Monday is a holiday.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Joe, would the Board see it in
two sittings too or would they see it --
MR. SCHMITT: I suspect not. I would -- what the Board has
done in the past, we have gone right through this, and unless certainly
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they have issues but it -- right now it's planned to be a special meeting
and we're looking at -- it's scheduled at 9:00, scheduled from 9:00 to
noon.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: On what day is it scheduled?
MR. SCHMITT: The 25th of January.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, guys, if you don't get it in on
Tuesday or Wednesday that means you have to defer the BCC
hearing, right?
MR. SCHMITT: Yes. And that's something that is going to be
between the chair of this planning commission and the BCC chair
because I am fixed on the 25th for the Board meeting, and I need
guidance from the -- from my boss and from the manager and
basically from the chair as to whether or not that meeting will move
agam.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, how late can we go
today?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's Friday night. As far as I'm
concerned we can go to midnight, but I'm not sure anybody else is
going to be in agreement with that.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Well, I could stay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You'd stay until midnight? Okay, we've
got two for midnight.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I would do that too, if you need
to.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I'll stay until 9:00.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Are you sure we didn't have a
quorum for Wednesday?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I would be available
Wednesday.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I would be available Wednesday. Russ
would be available Wednesday.
What about you two?
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COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, so we're back to four.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I'm not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: They're not -- I don't think you can
count on anybody that's not here.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: You do have a new board
member you could pull out of the woods that would --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What I would like to do, fellows, let's
just try moving forward and see if we can start picking up the pace on
this. I know it's my fault. I'll do the best I can to ask the questions.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: You can't change your style,
you've got to do this properly.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Faster. Maybe, with the board's
permission let's just keep going on until later this evening --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And see where we get.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In about another couple of hours we'll
talk about it again, we'll give Lynn a break and we'll decide what to do
about dinner; and if we work through dinner, it's okay with me but it
may not be okay with everybody, so we'll have to proceed. Let's just
keep going at this point.
I was working on the community parks. I'm finished my
questioning but let me follow up with any of the members that haven't.
Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Marla, I just, checking on a
couple of things. You know it goes back to that $200,000 an acre
thing. And we are less 32 acres over the prior year and I don't recall
whether or not those are acres that were sold or what happened to
them.
Were they sold?
MS. RAMSEY: Some have been sold and -- all of them have
been sold.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Would you happen to know
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whether they sold at anywhere near $200,000 an acre?
MS. RAMSEY: Oh, no. Oh, no. These were sold probably
about 35,000 an acre.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So that was the old number, the
old price, as it were.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, actually, I can't tell you what the Randall
transportation one went to because transportation actually bought that
off of the Golden Gate Land Trust. I'm not sure what they paid for
that one but the school board paid about 35,000 for it.
I lost the other one in inventory without reimbursement because
it was in inventory but it wasn't -- it was a gift to us, not a purchase.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Would you know on the revenue
side with the airport park dedication, that was seven acres at 200
grand, that's fourteen -- one million four.
MS. RAMSEY: But that actually comes in as a lease.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's a lease.
MS. RAMSEY: That's a lease that we're doing there so we look
at that as a wash, so to speak.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I wouldn't have expected -- are
dedications typically leases?
MS. RAMSEY: It's a 20-year with the airport authority out
there, just in case, if things start to boom in the Immokalee area they
want to be able to pull that seven acres back from us. So it is a lease
that's in our inventory during that period of time that we have a lease
for.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And we're valuing it at, that's at
200 grand.
MS. RAMSEY: We're valuing it at -- all of them are valued at
200 grand because that's the number that we have.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That would be the end of my
question but just this last comment. That has kind of proved to be
something important to us, I suspect.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Ramsey --
MS. RAMSEY: We acknowledge that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- you mentioned that some of this
acreage was sold that we find is different from '04 to '05. Where has
the revenue stream from that gone, because I don't see it on there -- is
it on this chart somewhere, the summary form?
MS. RAMSEY: No, it's not on the revenue element here but if it
was an impact fee element it went back into our reserves.
And as I've explained in the Randall property that was a gift, that
was a donation to us, and when the -- transportation bought that off the
Golden Gate Land Trust, that money actually went to the Golden Gate
Land Trust, not to us. So there was no revenue stream there to us.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We're talking about 32 acres, so we
don't know how much of it was moved to other departments, that
actually the revenue didn't go back into the land trust.
MS. RAMSEY: It -- yes, it did go into the land trust.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All of it, all 32 acres?
MS. RAMSEY: No, not 32 acres of that, it's probably ten or so
acres of that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The other 20 acres or 22 or whatever it
is that was sold, where would the revenue have gone from that?
MS. RAMSEY: Went into impact fees, because that's how we
buy our land. Not all of it has been sold, some of it is still sitting in
limbo.
It's hard to explain, but the school board only owes me a few
acres of land that -- they've paid me a few acres of land and we're
working on some land swaps, better location for us, better location for
them and so -- we've got a few that aren't on this list because I don't
have an actual place for them. But they are sitting in reserve for us.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You said it goes back into the impact
fee. What does that mean? I mean you have an impact fee
anticipated, 12 million eight oh eight. Is that less already the amount
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January 13,2006
of revenues generated from any acreages that are missing between '04
and'05?
MS. RAMSEY: It goes into a reserve fund. The impact fee
element here is based, $12 million as our future. There is a revenue,
there is usually a reserve that follows until you finish a project and
then if you have any savings or whatnot it will continue to roll into
that impact fee fund.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But why do you put revenues generated
from sale of parks property into an impact fee fund? Why wouldn't
you -- I don't understand why it would go into that fund. I'm a little
puzzled because impact fee funds are generated from impact fees.
MS. RAMSEY: But it was purchased from impact fees. I don't
know, maybe the attorney can help with this element of it, but if it was
purchased with impact fees, if there is an issue that I have to reimburse
that impact then I have to go buy some additional land to make up that
difference, so it wouldn't go into an ad valorem, that would be --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's fine. You didn't say it was
purchased with impact fees. So all of these 32 acres then were
purchased with impact fees.
MS. RAMSEY: Some of them are donated, and the donated one
I didn't get anything for, remember, I got no cash for that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You sold it for nothing?
MS. RAMSEY: The Golden Gate Land Trust donated us 47
acres. Transportation needed ten acres in order to do Immokalee
Road. They went to Golden Gate Land Trust and said we would like
to buy 10 acres of it because it's truly not our land, it had been
dedicated as being put into reserve for the parks and recreation
department.
Golden Gate Land Trust sold 10 acres of that land to
transportation, which means I had to remove that 10 acres from my
inventory .
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So let me ask this, maybe this
January 13, 2006
will simplify it. Any lands that generate revenue on a sale, if it's not
going to back into a donated party like the trust fund that gave it to
you, it's either going to be impact fee lands generated from the
purchase by the purchase of impact fees, and if that's the case it goes
back into the impact fee account. If that's not the case and it's from an
ad valorem, it goes into the -- it's shown as a revenue to the ad
valorem.
MS. RAMSEY: That's my understanding, that's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's where I'm trying to go.
And lastly -- I know Mr. Adelstein has got a question -- but if
you died, who would know about this deal you've got cooking with
the school board?
MS. RAMSEY: The school board knows it. Murdo knows it. It's
documented. They owe us three acres.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does that show somewhere in this
AUIR?
MS. RAMSEY: It doesn't show in this AUIR. It doesn't show
here that it's removed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's about 3 acres, we're talking
$600,000.
MS. RAMSEY: We could but it's not.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: My point exactly.
Mr. Adelstein, you have a --
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I do. You sold this property
for approximately $38,000 and it goes into different places. Starting
next year are you going to sell it for $200,000?
MS. RAMSEY: We do it off of appraisal. We buy off appraisal
and would sell it off appraisal. And normally my sales are internal.
My sales are normally only to, like, a utility so they can put in a well,
transportation because they needed a road right-of-way. Rarely do -- I
don't even know of anytime that we've sold it to anybody other than a
government entity.
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: But the point is last year you
sold it for what the value was, $38,000.
MS. RAMSEY: The appraised value, that's correct.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Appraised value. I was
questioning whether you were going to use the appraised value if
you're using the $200,000 in this next coming year.
MS. RAMSEY: We would use appraised value every time we do
a purchase. Depending on one appraisal or two appraisals, depending
on the cost of the lands.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: But it would not necessarily
be $200,000.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, Mr. Murray, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So if! understand here, I'm
looking at revenues, it says impact fees anticipated, you've defined
that.
MS. RAMSEY: Uh-huh. And that's --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Defined the airport park, and we
have other revenues of zero, and I don't see any indication here that
we carry an account for impact fees or any increase to impact fees as a
result of transactions. Shouldn't we do that? Shouldn't we reflect the
amount of money that is like a carryover?
MS. RAMSEY: If it's not dedicated. Most of my impact fees are
dedicated for some project already. These dollars that you see on this
spreadsheet back here, they are already dedicated in this.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But I'm referring to sales, I'm
referring to those transactions where there's --
MS. RAMSEY: Yeah, there's very few of those, there's few of
those.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So -- okay.
MS. RAMSEY: It's just -- it's in the revenue for impact fees. It's
not separate.
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January 13, 2006
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No. But the reason I asked that
question is because you clearly said that the 12.808 was anticipated.
That's all future. And the other monies --
MS. RAMSEY: Right.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- that were returned to the
impact fee account I just wonder wouldn't it be good to put whatever it
is that you derived in that kind of revenue or income to be shown.
Because, obviously, ifthere is a shortfall you're going to be looking to
make it up in millage or some other form, in your case impact fees.
MS. RAMSEY: It couldn't -- and maybe isn't on this particular
one because it's already been utilized and allocated to something else,
so there isn't another revenue stream. I mean, we have an impact fee
stream with an, you know -- anticipated for a CIE and you have some
reserves that will roll forward that can be utilized for the projects that
are already on the five-year plan, they're already dedicated that way.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think I understand you and I
don't think there is anything going on that's wrong, it's just that it
would be from an accounting point of view it seems reasonable to
have all of the pieces. Maybe this is not the right document for that.
MS. RAMSEY: This is basically a planning tool. This is an
accounting sheet. This is more of a planning tool. It gives you a
rough number at whatever point in time we've wrote it in our best
guess of what we think our impact fees are going to be.
Again, remember we are going to take this impact fee forward
into February, 1st of March, so this doesn't reflect any increase in it
either. This is what we anticipated based upon our current --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You're only looking forward.
MS. RAMSEY: -- impact fees, on the current approved impact
fee structure.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And Marla, just to cut to the
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January 13, 2006
chase here, could you walk me down the trail that winds up where you
need 23-plus million ad valorem.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay. On this particular one?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Well, first of all, is that number
only Category A or does that include some Category B?
MS. RAMSEY: No. Everything in parks is a Category A. This
sheet is only community park lands, and it's based on the projection of
187 acres that we're looking to purchase times $200,000.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Show me what page I'm at
agam.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, on 47 you'll see the expenditure revenue
lines. On Page 48 you'll see the acreages, we've got them in 60-acre
increments.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm safe from accounting hall of
fame so walk me through. On Page 47 --
MS. RAMSEY: On 47?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- which line is it that we're
carrying?
MS. RAMSEY: If you look at the proposed '06 to '10
expenditure dollars of $37 million, we then have our anticipated
revenue impact fees of 12.
We have the value of the airport park, which is part of that 180
acres of seven acres, so we reduced that out of that, which leaves us 14
million on that particular element.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. So if you --
COMMISSIONER CARON: Why don't you bracket it?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So all of that is community park
lands.
MS. RAMSEY: Community park lands, 187 acres proposed in
the next five years, and then 60 acres in the next five years, for the
total of 247 acres.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And so worst case situation if
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January 13,2006
you don't get the impact fees you are requesting; correct?
MS. RAMSEY: Ifwe didn't get impact fees we would hope to
adjust the timing, for one. You know, we aren't in a shortfall in
community park lands at this moment to take us into a moratorium, so
if we needed to we could bump back a year. But again, we're still
looking, because we think land is going to be short in coming, that we
should be aggressive in purchase.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And on 49 is the chart showing
how you are merging those purchases and over the five-year period?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct. The blue line is population
standard and then our community park requirements per population.
And then you see we're above the line, so we got a little closer to
2015.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm done, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Marla, your use, in between
2000 and 2005 you had an average annual grant funding of $520,000.
That's a revenue source. Do you have that anywhere in here?
MS. RAMSEY: That is a construction element, and I know they
are using the impact fee as an annual element. They are very rare to
come by, sometimes we get lucky. I don't like to put the grants in
there, but they do, because there's no guarantee over the next five
years I'm going to receive the same amount or the level that I have in
the past. They use historical data in order to generate that, and if we
do, it is included in the 270 per capita, that's where we get it from.
But there's no guarantee that we have it and I have no grant in
right now for -- at this point in time we will be submitting a grant for
the Caribbean Garden coming in May, but at this point in time there is
no grant even on the books.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do you have any annual beach access
funding from the TDC credits?
MS. RAMSEY: Yes. We get the $2 million that puts into a
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January 13,2006
fund.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Where does that show up on here?
MS. RAMSEY: Some of it is regional in nature, if you go to
regional park. I don't know if you want to skip to that one now or not
but --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you could show me where that is on
regional park.
MS. RAMSEY: It's under 50. And I already placed it in regional
park lands, the number of acres of lands that we think, that we have an
eyeball on that we would like to get in the next five years that we
think is a realistic purchase, is the 1.25 acres over by Wiggins Pass.
And we've allocated $400,000 because that's $200,000 times,
basically, 2 acres to TDC funding. It's under revenues, the last line
item.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I see it. According to the impact fee
analysis, annual beach access funding is $2 million. You are not
going to use all of the funding?
MS. RAMSEY: No. I have to payoff -- the Vanderbilt parking
garage comes out of that 2 million as well as additional dollars to
maintain and keep up facilities at the beaches as well as some clean-up
at those beaches.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If the parking garage is an expenditure,
shouldn't you show this as a revenue source for its full value? You're
only showing $400,000 of TDC funds in the regional. That means you
are missing 1.6 somewhere.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, because it's not all-- it doesn't all go
toward land purchase. On this particular piece of paper that we're
looking at for regional park lands, it's just land purchases.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Maybe I missed it on recreational
facilities then.
MS. RAMSEY: And--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Where would it be on recreational
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January 13, 2006
facilities? I mean, it's got to be one or the other, right?
MS. RAMSEY: It's not on the facilities even--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MS. RAMSEY: -- but, yes, we probably need to place that on
there in order to help offset the $15 million debt. I'll have them look
at that, talk with budget on that. There probably is some funding,
about a half a million dollars a year of TDC funding that goes onto
that debt service.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Your impact fee analysis said there was
2 million a year -- whatever it comes out to, it should be shown
somewhere is what I'm trying to say.
MS. RAMSEY: It's 2 million a year, but a lot of it's done for
refurbishment and not for growth related.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You've got 3.4 million in refurbishment
expenses, then it should come off that.
MS. RAMSEY: It only can come off of it if it's beach related.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Then as long as someone uses all
they can, that's what I'm getting at. Show it where you can.
MS. RAMSEY: Not only that, though, but we also do want to
squirrel, is the word I like to use, squirrel away because our purchases
in beaches are extremely expensive, and when we get into the
shuttling of the -- if we can get to the shuttle from the Bayview to the
Keewaydin, we have a dock to build, we have a boat to buy, we've
got, you know, some other elements that are associated with that. So
we do need a fairly large pot of dollars so we don't have to finance
that project as well.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Why wouldn't you just show a
reserve fund then?
MS. RAMSEY: In the TDC it would, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I can move on to the regional parks if
that satisfies the rest of the board.
Anybody have any questions before I start mine?
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January 13, 2006
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hearing none, I'll move on.
First of all let's -- we've already discussed the acres thing --
MS. RAMSEY: Yup, we got it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Keep going past that.
Last year we had 904 acres in 2004. This year we've got 993. So
we've picked up about 90 acres in regional parks. I thought I heard
earlier in your response to Mr. Tuffs questions that we lost 140 acres,
so --
MS. RAMSEY: Over a period of time, yes, we have.
If you look at the sheet on Page 54. We actually -- we use this
sheet not only for the AUIR but we use this for our own memory
bank, if you will. This one is one that we developed back in 2002 and
we keep adding to it, we keep the '02 number on the top so we can
have some historical data of what has happened with the lands. If you
notice at the top that in 9/30/02 we have so many acres community
park lands, so many acres of regional park lands as our base, and then
as you go off each year, it will either increase or it will decrease
depending on what happens to us during that particular year.
And so, in '03/'04 is when we actually lost the 142 acres for the
scenic drive. And in '04 we added.8 acres down in Bayview,
basically nine lots that we purchased. And we received a 90-acre lake
out at Orangetree as part of negotiations with Mr. Paul on his PUD,
planned unit development.
And you can see that in '05 we've looked at, we would like to get
that Gulf Shore Drive quarter-acre lot if we can; looking at the 3-acre
purchase down at, in Goodland, the Margood parcel; and the 129 acres
of the Caribbean zoo have been added to that inventory.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Tuff.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: The only thing -- the weighted
population -- and you probably said this and I wasn't paying attention
maybe -- but in the 2002 it said we needed 1,016 acres for inventory,
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January 13, 2006
required inventory, and then last year's said in the year 2009 we'll
need 1,121, and we needed another 200,200 acres for the next year.
So I'm wondering, did that --
MS. RAMSEY: Are you talking from '04 to 'OS?
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Yes, just looking at what was
required from '02 to the fifth year and now it's -- and then now it's
gone up again another 200 acres from last year to this year.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, it was permanent population last year and
this year it's weighted.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: So that formula to get to that number,
did that change also?
MS. RAMSEY: No. That formula would be population times
your level of service. It would be the same.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: So that 200 extra acres is just some
weighted --
MS. RAMSEY: Just become weighted from permanent; that's
correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Required inventory under regional parks
this year is 1325. The available inventory is 993.9. That's a
difference of 331, which is a need that we're short. Proposal is 837.
That's about 500 acres more proposed to purchase over the next five
years than the need requires.
Again, I understand your philosophy on that but I want to make
sure everybody understands if you were to use your acreage cost for
the 331 acres that are needed, you would end up spending a hundred
million dollars less in tax funds. So--
MS. RAMSEY: Let me help with that, though, before we go
down that road --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Sure, go ahead.
MS. RAMSEY: -- because during the restoration for the
Everglades, Collier County gave up the roads out there; and as part of
that exchange, South Florida Water Management has been required to
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January 13,2006
give us 640 acres that can be utilized for A TV elements, and that land
is due by October of '06.
So that 640 acres is included in this 837 that you see on this list
and it will be, you know, basically given to Collier County, that 640
acres. And so we've given ourselves, basically, a credit on this sheet
of 128 million, because that's times $200,000 per acre.
So we're not actually buying that piece of property; it just
happens to come in, a large amount of that is coming in, hopefully, by
the end of this year.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Why don't you propose CIE be 640
acres instead of 837 because the 640 is double what you're needing.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, because that particular element is being
utilized specifically for one recreational area and when we look at our
various properties -- let me get to the right sheet, excuse me just a
second. You can see if you look at the '04/'05 on our weighted year
on a deficit of 44 acres. Weare including in there the 640 acres which
we hope we're going to receive by October of this next year. And if
we don't, then we will be in a larger deficit as we move forward with
this.
So what we have looked at is some other properties that the
county currently has in inventory to give us a buffer, and that would
be the 54 acres of the fairgrounds for one out there. There is 9 acres
of Rookery Bay property that we have included in there that we're
working with Rookery Bay for a joint use, land owned by Rookery
Bay but recreationally being provided by Collier County Parks and
Recreation. And then the real purchase that we have is Bayview.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I met with Gary Lytton yesterday
because I have been working on that same site not knowing you were.
He doesn't know you are either.
MS. RAMSEY: Well--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Because I told him--
MS. RAMSEY: -- I've been working with his staff.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I was there with the civic association
yesterday. I pointed out to Gary that this -- he said he doesn't know
why it's here, he's been trying to work something out with Collier
County but he says Collier County has been unresponsive.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, no, that's not true. It's a little more
complicated than that, and I don't really want to discuss it on the dais,
but our goal is to try and have an interlocal agreement with Rookery
Bay by June of this year that's going to encompass Shell Island Road,
that particular parcel that we're talking about now as well as
something over at Keewaydin. And I have met with Mr. Lytton about
four times on this project, so --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I hate to break the news to you but I
don't think it's as far along as you think it is, and I would highly
recommend that somebody from your department contact him and
move forward quickly because there is a strong urge from that sector
of the county to see that park happen.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And we have been trying to figure out a
way to do it but there's been no -- honestly --
MS. RAMSEY: We've been in the planning stage even with
WilsonMiller and they have put out the plan, and I know that Rookery
Bay is a little concerned about how advanced that particular plan is
and they might want to scale that down, but we've committed to
giving them maintenance on that facility, cutting the grass, emptying
the garage, cleaning the restroom facilities and doing interpretive out
of that particular site, so I'm not sure why he's not in that particular
loop.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: WilsonMiller plan's in my vehicle. I've
used it to estimate. I've also produced a phasing plan for that
particular park, none of which I understand your department has been
involved with or contributed to the discussions on.
I specifically brought it up for discussion yesterday with Mr.
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January 13,2006
Lytton and there was absolutely, from his point of view, nothing in the
works with the county although he says he's been trying.
So I don't know, but maybe at some point, since I am involved in
this, after this meeting you could have your contact contact me so we
can try to figure out how to move forward.
I'm trying to see that go forward. It's a very valuable site, a good
kayaking site. It would be very advantageous to the community
because there is not another one like it.
Anyway, this certainly is a different perspective than I heard
yesterday.
Back on regional issues.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: While you are flipping pages
there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, go ahead, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Wasn't that 640 acres the one
that was supposed to be made available in April?
MS. RAMSEY: My understanding is October of'06.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's the ATV site, correct?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct. That's correct.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That was a slip date. It may slip
agam.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes, there are issues there that I have to deal
with --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There is a pollution issue there, right?
MS. RAMSEY: -- that I have in my inventory. But there are
issues, that's correct, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In your five year capital improvements
plan you dropped two tennis courts in Pelican Bay. Why did you do
that?
MS. RAMSEY: Only because we're just not ready. We don't
have the -- we don't think we have the usage there yet to go forward
with that particular project, and so it's being moved out a little farther
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January 13, 2006
until we can bring it up. As you know we've just recently taken over
that facility from the consultant that was there and we're trying to
rebuild that program up, and we're going to give it a couple more
years before we look at it again.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You have improvements to Jungle
Larry's Caribbean Gardens in '09 and '10, a million each year; it's
phasing in of a regional park.
And on the summary sheet you've got revenues from 129-acre
Caribbean zoo, 25 million bucks. Out of all these, what does all of
this mean in regards to the Caribbean zoo, you are not going to have
any maintenance costs or modifications --
MS. RAMSEY: This has nothing to do with operations, this is
capital. The first page we're talking about for regional is just purchase
of regional park lands, and the sheet you are looking at on the back is
actually related to the $270 per capita facility costs, the development
of them, two separate areas, and there is no operation in this document
whatsoever.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What's the 25 million on the summary
page represent? It's under revenue.
MS. RAMSEY: Which summary page?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 50.
MS. RAMSEY: Page 50 -- which one?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 50. It says ad valorem 129-acre
Caribbean zoo, 25 million eight hundred. Where does that number
come from?
MS. RAMSEY: That's 129 acres times 200,000.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Isn't that the one we just paid 40 million
for?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So we lost 15 million already on paper?
MS. RAMSEY: This document is based upon units per 200,000
and that's how we've reflected that.
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January 13, 2006
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Or the 200,000 is low.
MS. RAMSEY: Two hundred thousand is low because it's 400
and some. I'm sorry, can't have it both ways.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is it 129 acres for the zoo, is that how
much the county is going to retain or does that include the wetlands
and the Gordon River water quality park --
MS. RAMSEY: It's all of that. No, not the Gordon River quality
park. This is on the south side of the Golden Gate Parkway and it's
129 acres that we purchased of 166 acres available.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Interesting.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: How much did they actually
pay for it?
MS. RAMSEY: 42 million, somewhere in that area, yes -- about
42 million I think it was.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Like I said earlier, that $200,000
figure is going to have a problem.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, it's -- either way.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We bid ourselves up.
Page 54, this is your park lands acquisition summary?
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The following pages after that, if you
turn to Page 56 you'll see a number in red at the bottom of the fourth
column: 1486. That seems to be the total acreage; is that correct?
MS. RAMSEY: That's total acres of all of the park lands.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. If you go back to Page 54, your
starting acres, if you add those two together it's 1504. The difference
is land that you've lost due to various reasons; is that fair --
MS. RAMSEY: No, because the starting land here is back at '02.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I know. I know.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In '02 we had more land than we do--sMS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- in '05.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But on Pages 47 and Page 50, if you
take the totals from those two pages of park and regional you end up
with 1447. Now, all these numbers are different.
If you turn to Page 47 --
MS. RAMSEY: I spent a lot of time looking at all these numbers
and they added up when I did them. We spent hours doing this to
make sure, right down to the tenth.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't mind redoing it now. You add
Page 47 and Page 50 and the numbers I'd be getting would be 453.1.
MS. RAMSEY: Excuse me, just slow down a little bit, then I'll
be able to follow, okay.
So Page 47.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 47,453.1.
MS. RAMSEY: That was available as of 9/30.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Add that to Page 50, 993.9.
MS. RAMSEY: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: My calculator says -- it certainly ain't
me, I would make a mistake -- it's 1447. Now--
MS. RAMSEY: Wait, I know why there is a difference--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Good, that's what I'm trying to find out.
MS. RAMSEY: -- because in here is neighborhood parks.
Neighborhood parks are not part of this AUI inventory but they are
part of our inventory as parks.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the neighborhood parks show up on
the 55 and 56 sheets.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But they are not part of the AUIR--
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- to help us offset our level of service.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct, they are not.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Why?
MS. RAMSEY: Because we don't have a level of service for
neighborhood parks and we're trying to get the developers to pick up
that level of service.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Couldn't you include those as their
acreage in community parks or one of the others because you have
small community parks. I mean, you are talking about --
MS. RAMSEY: The neighborhood parks have never been part
of our policy until about maybe six years ago when some
neighborhood associations came to the Board and asked if they could
get a neighborhood park put into their neighborhood. It's never been
the policy of the Board of County Commissioners to provide that
service. That was changed and we put together a neighborhood park
policy.
And when an association would like to have a park they come
through a process through parks and recreation advisory board all the
way up through the Board of County Commissioners and the funding
is provided from an ad valorem basis, but it is not part of our AUI
level of service inventory report. It is a part of our inventory as a park
system but not part of something that is mandated that we maintain in
order to keep current with the state recommendations.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Barefoot Beach State Park, I think it's
Barefoot Reserve.
MS. RAMSEY: We have two there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Barefoot Preserve, I'm sorry.
MS. RAMSEY: We have Barefoot access and Barefoot
Preserve.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And you have state beach Barefoot 186.
In that case you did include a state park, right?
MS. RAMSEY: We manage that. The county-owned portion is
the first number of 159 and the state-owned portion of the Lely
Barefoot Preserve is the other amount. So it's about 300 and some
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acres there total, and we separated them in this particular one. But we
manage that as part of our park system. It's actually managed by
Collier County.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Then is that included in your inventory?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct. But not the state lands that are
managed by state entities.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So now it's not ownership that dictates
whether it's going to be in your inventory to manage, then.
MS. RAMSEY: Oh, no, it's management. And so are the school
properties. We have lease agreements on that as we do with, you
know, like, airport authority and the various school areas. Those
leases that where we manage that land and have a long-term lease of
20 to 40 years on those pieces of property are part of our inventory
because we have made improvements on those sites with Collier
County impact fee dollars.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ifwe lease them and they are in our
inventory how do we justify showing a $200,000 value per acre?
MS. RAMSEY: Ifwe had to go out and purchase that piece of
property then we have made a better deal for the county, but it is part
of that whole inventory. I mean, it's very complicated if you want to
separate out all of the various nuances that we have here. And so we
try -- this is a planning document and we're trying to use this as a
planning document not necessarily as, you know, an auditing system,
so --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You know --
MS. RAMSEY: I understand your frustration there.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- your impact fee report dated
September 19th, 2005, Pages 14 and 15 total up for a total of park
acreage for 1106.01. Again, that's a different number than the others.
I'm just wondering why that one has got less acreage shown.
MS. RAMSEY: I don't have a copy of that document with me.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
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MS. RAMSEY: But--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It says total community regional parks
1087. Then it shows total of boat and beach access 7294. And you
add those two together and you end up with 1160.
I'm just wondering why the impact fee study shows we have so
much less park acreage than the various numbers that we're talked
about in this AUIR.
MS. RAMSEY: Then, again, it will not count the neighborhood
parks in that facility in that count as well.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. Well, you didn't count them in
the total of the community and regional parks which was 1447, so that
still leaves you about 300 units off. Maybe there is an explanation for
it but -- I would certainly like to hear it.
Go ahead, Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm fascinated by the lease thing
and the -- on the impact fees, do you capitalize against that, the leases
because they are 20 year leases?
MS. RAMSEY: I'm not sure--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Do you -- I realize the impact
fees are on population, so that's fine. What I'm trying to get at is --
MS. RAMSEY: They're on units, residential units.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Residential units. What I'm
getting at is you install the capital elements, the playgrounds or
whatever else.
MS. RAMSEY: That's right, we--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: They become part of the realty.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But you retain ownership and
maintenance?
MS. RAMSEY: We maintain maintenance of all those facilities.
Ownership is by the school district.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: As a normal capital item it
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becomes the ownership of the real estate, and yet we value that for the
acreage.
MS. RAMSEY: We do.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Wow. Thank you.
MS. RAMSEY: If! had to pull those out we would really be
hurting.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think that at some point you would
want to balance the impact fee acreage somehow to the AUIR acreage
since they are both based on a level of service. One uses -- one
actually establishes it.
I don't know -- I can't explain the discrepancy. I thought maybe
you could, but if can't -- Amy, you're popping up, does that mean you
can?
MS. PATTERSON: Amy Patterson for the record.
I missed what page you're on.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Fourteen -- well, on the impact study,
Page 14 provides the total community and regional park total at the
bottom of the page, 1087, and on Page 15 total boat and beach access
is 7294. If there is something missing I'm just trying to figure out
what it is.
MS. PATTERSON: Because the impact fee study is lower than
the actual acreage showing in the AUIR?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MS. PATTERSON: Okay. Because ifthere are any of these
facilities contemplated in the AUIR, any things that are being
considered as inventory but are still with that service, those would not
be included in the impact fee study.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do you know if any are?
MS. PATTERSON: I don't know but I can do a comparison. But
those are two things right away that I can tell you that would show up
in the AUIR and would not show up on the impact fee study because
we don't take into account -- in impact fee studies you don't take into
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account things that we don't own, which would be leased things, and
you can't include things on the impact fee inventory that aren't paid
for.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How do we take the level of service
that's established by the impact fee study and apply it to the AUIR
requirements if the two don't go together, if one isn't dependent on the
other?
MS. PATTERSON: They are.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: They are but they aren't.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: This is wild.
MS. PATTERSON: They are. But I know that is a terrible,
terrible answer, they are but they aren't. It's not -- everything in the
impact fee study can't always be put exactly into the AUIR, there are
other requirements that they have for parks. It's the same thing as the
lease or when you get into EMS we're going to go through this too
with the leased stations and the level of service.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, we are, by the way.
MS. PATTERSON: I knew that was coming. But there are these
differences. And so our goal wasn't to make the AUIR duplicative of
the impact fee study but to be sure that there wasn't something that
absolutely contradicted the impact fee study. If the impact fee level of
service is being utilized in the AUIR, that's fine, but I can -- I guess to
answer the question, and rather than running around in circles here, is
to compare what things aren't in the impact fee study that are in the
AUIR and then that will be the answer to your question of why and
how does that factor into level of service.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MS. PATTERSON: So if! can do that then I could probably
answer your question better than guessing.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But you said the word, how does that
factor into the level of service because the level of service that you are
using is driven by the impact fee, which is a different value that drives
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it.
So if there is a correction needed then maybe you have a
weighted level of service that needs to be applied then if that's -- if
you've got so much acreage in your impact fee study that generates a
level of service need, you take that level of service need and you apply
it to the AUIR, but the AUIR doesn't use the same ability to count
acreage that the impact fee study does, you are going to have a -- you
are going to need a change to come out with the same conclusion on
your level of service, otherwise you are going to be generating
something either too much or too less.
MS. PATTERSON: I understand what you are saying but I think
rather than guessing I think I'm better figuring out what the difference
is first and then we can get the answer.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't think we're going to resolve this
one today but maybe you could come back to us.
MS. PATTERSON: I can, absolutely. But let me -- I think
comparing the inventories first would be the first way to get to the
answer and then we can discuss the level of service issue after that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Amy, would you happen to
know whether or not those leased parcels that the school has, whether
or not impact fees by the school are applicable to those owned
parcels?
MS. PATTERSON: Impact fees?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Would the school district apply
impact fees against those parcels of land that are under lease to the
county?
MS. PATTERSON: If the school district used their impact fees
for them --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MS. PATTERSON: -- to purchase the land? I have no way of
knowing for sure what they used to purchase that land, and they
potentially could have. And lease is very tricky when you're talking
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about impact fees. If you are talking about a lease ofland or a facility,
and this is where when you are talking about facilities versus land, you
have to be very careful because we may own a facility sitting on
leased land and so that's -- when you're getting into inventory land
issues you have to be very careful with our impact fees.
And this is one of those -- again, we're going to talk about this
with EMS, whether we own the building sitting on leased land, do we
own a portion of the land. We went through this in a pretty great level
of detail when we were developing the parks impact fee study to be
sure if we're paying with impact fee dollars for capital facilities. Just
because we don't own the land doesn't mean that there is not a dollar
amount associated to those improvements, but equally so we can't
charge the residents for a land value that we didn't pay for.
So it's a very -- you know, it's a -- you have to draw the line real
carefully. And I can tell you that there were many conversations
making sure that we were just right on that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I was wondering about who
values the land and whether it's done more than once.
MS. PATTERSON: If the school board paid for it, however they
paid for it, then they received the value of the land. If we paid for the
improvements and owned them, then we received the value of the
improvements less the land.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: What I caught was, is that -- and
maybe not all of the leases -- that the lease provides us with the
responsibility of maintenance but they own the improvements.
Didn't I hear you correctly?
MS. RAMSEY: No, we own the improvements. If for some
reason we decide that we aren't going to have a relationship with Sabal
Palm Elementary School anymore, we will take the light poles and
everything out of that facility.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I misheard you then. I thought
you to say that they owned the improvements. Once it goes into the
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real estate, ordinarily the improvements go with it but -- okay, that
clarifies that for me at least.
MS. RAMSEY: In the way that we look at the level of service,
you know, honestly, those last two columns over there I'm assuming
are there because the state requires them, but when we look at our
level of service, our level of service is the number of acres per
thousand. What the value of that land is and whether we actually
bought it or whether we lease it has really nothing to do with the
AUIR and the level of service that we're providing.
Weare providing facilities on leased lands because it's more
economical for our community because they are shared facilities.
They are already bought with public dollars and we are enhancing
them so that we can use them at night, so the public can go out and use
soccer and baseball and everything else that's associated with that.
But our level of service is based on acres. There's really not -- I know
that there is a tie-in there about how much we're going to purchase
them for but this isn't really even a true indicator of what our worth is.
I mean, it's $200,000 times however many acres we have. It's
truly not an appraised value of how much we have in our inventory
and, you know, we've never really done that, we've never been asked
to do that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I appreciate that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Where the trouble comes in is that when
you multiply, whether it's leased or whatever, acreage by $200,000,
you are asking for an increase in ad valorem taxes to 23 million bucks
because of the calculations in this document. And all we're trying to
do is find a way around that --
MS. RAMSEY: Every time that we've done a lease, though, we
have not put that in here. You can see if you're looking at the revenue
that, underneath the fairgrounds, for example, we have given it a
credit, but it's already in our inventory. But we have to put a dollar
amount up against it because it's up here in our acreage and the
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acreage on the top says 837 acres times 200,000 comes to a certain
dollar amount.
What we do then is we back that out underneath the revenue that
says we had 54 acres of the fairgrounds times 200,000, that takes it out
and it zeros it out from the expense in the top. So we're only -- we're
only looking at our future purchases on this particular page, not on
anything that would be leased or is already in inventory or purchased
by another department that we're using. For example, you know, we
had the Gordon River water quality park in, I mean that -- it would be
on the inventory --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I understand.
MS. RAMSEY: -- as a recreational element.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We're kind of back where we started
from then. The difference between the impact fees and the AUIR then
is not leased lands because leased lands don't factor into the AUIR so
therefore it's got to be some other explanation that you're going to
come back to us with.
MS. RAMSEY: The leased lands do factor into the AUIR, they
don't factor into the impact fee study.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MS. RAMSEY: They are two separate documents and they are
not alike.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Of the 99--
MS. RAMSEY: The relationship is there but it's not -- they are
not alike.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Of the 900 -- well, why use 900? Of the
1447, 1,447 acres, are any of that leased lands?
MS. RAMSEY: Of course.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MS. RAMSEY: You can go right down the sheet that I have on
the back, Page 55 and 56 and you will see it will say school.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It will?
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MS. RAMSEY: If! can find you one here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Immokalee High School, one acre on
Page 2 and Naples Park Elementary,S acres, so there are 6 acres.
That's the only two I see.
MS. RAMSEY: Pinecrest.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Pinecrest is .5, so we have six and a half
acres.
MS. RAMSEY: Well, you've got Sabal Palm Elementary School
and you've got Aaron Lutz.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How much are those?
MS. RAMSEY: I'm sorry, not Aaron Lutz, Avalon.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Naples Park Elementary is five.
MS. RAMSEY: Do you have them there? You got Naples Park
Elementary School.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MS. RAMSEY: Correct. You've got Osceola, which is actually
Sabal Palm now. Let me fix that, I'm sorry.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If it's all right here, Marla, why don't
you tell me real quick how many acres of the missing acres between
the impact fees and the 1447 in the regional and community parks is
leased, because it looks like it's less than ten.
That's not even going to come close to solving the issue. That's
what I'm asking you to come back to us with, basically.
MS. RAMSEY: That's the difference between there -- she says
the North Naples regional park is on my inventory but not on the
impact fee study because it isn't opened yet.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It was purchased, though, right?
MS. RAMSEY: It was purchased.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And impact fee study was done
September 19th, 2005. It's not apparently then up to date, it's only a
few months?
MS. RAMSEY: It's not open. They won't count it unless it's
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been open and in our inventory as a --
MS. PATTERSON: It's also bonded. So the bond issue has to--
I'm sorry, Amy Patterson again for the record. Because there is the
bond, an outstanding bond that's serviced on this park, that changes
the way that it can be added into the inventory. And in subsequent
updates as more of the bond is paid off it will then be added onto the
inventory. But you can't improve your level of service with impact
fees and then increase your impact fees to make people pay again.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's the North Naples regional park
we're talking about?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes. That's 200 and some odd acres.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Two-hundred and seven point seven
four is in the inventory, is in the total on Page 14 of the impact fee
study, right?
MS. PATTERSON: I don't have it on my inventory.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Here's the impact fee study you gave
me.
MS. PATTERSON: I'm sorry. That solves it. That gets rid of
that answer for you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I would prefer that you all don't give me
answers off the cuff and that you took some time to study this and
came back with an answer.
MS. RAMSEY: Let me see if I can actually understand. You
want me to compare this inventory against that impact fee to
determine acreage; is that what you are asking me to do?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You have an impact fee study dated
September, 2005, which is fairly recent.
MS. RAMSEY: Right. I understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I want to know why that has a different
total of acreage than the AUIR that you presented to us today with the
Pages 47 and 50 totals.
MS. RAMSEY: All right. We'll determine that for you. But
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again, the two documents are not related to one another so, I mean --
they're not related.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Tell us how they are not in detail if you
could by acres.
MS. RAMSEY: We will get that information to you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That would help us a lot I think.
I don't have any more questions of parks at this point and I don't
feel comfortable moving this one forward. I don't know what the rest
of this board feels.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I have a comment just --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Marla, again, it's going back to
you requesting ad valorem taxes, so much taxes, aren't you, when you
look at what we're required to have, and this plan is we have to make
sure that we have enough parks, and then what you want to go out and
get in the next four years, you are getting a lot more than we need,
correct?
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And I understand the logic that
it's cheaper now than later.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So I guess as a board that we --
are we supposed to support that?
MS. RAMSEY: You can make any recommendation that you
wish to the Board of County Commissioners. You can say you don't
like the 200,000 and you want us to reduce it. You can -- I mean --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And the 200,000, that's what
you are putting for the value of the existing and that's what you are
putting for the value of the new. So if you make it 300,000 it's just
what you need for taxes.
But, I guess, why are you going out, other than the logic that it's
smarter to do, and buying so much more park lands than we need to
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meet the AUIR?
MS. RAMSEY: That's the only reason is that it's supply and
demand. And we know what the cost -- and in the areas that we're
looking, it's going to take a long time to piece together those pieces of
properties.
Just to pick up the North Collier regional park took us two years
to do that and we were able to find one through a trust and we pieced
together a number of parcels in order to come up with that.
But as you move forward in going out finding larger pieces of
property that you can put together where there are not homes already
built out there it's going to be very difficult, and the longer you wait
the harder it's going to become.
So we recommend that we go out and try to get those lands in our
inventory for what we think we're going to need and we do them
sooner than later. If you think it's too aggressive then you can make a
recommendation to counter that.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Was there a formula though that
was used?
MS. RAMSEY: This is the formula. It's 2.9 acres for regional
park and 1.2882 for community parks and you take it times your
population in the areas where you think they are coming and that's
how you buy.
COMMISSIONER CARON: But not in going after more than
what is actually needed here.
MS. RAMSEY: We're looking out a number of years. I mean,
the number that we have been looking at is close to a million in
population. Now this doesn't address that. A million in population in
this community is over 2000 acres, I think, just in regional lands and
about 900 acres in community. It's aggressive.
Will we ever get to a million, I don't know. We're still working
with those numbers. What we've done is like the next ten years, that's
where we've been looking so far.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Adelstein, did you have a question?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yes. I would like to see the
figures that you used to justify the $200,000 before I can go forward
with this. You have to have some formula, you have to have some
way of showing how it got to $200,000, what lots you used or what
you did. I certainly want to see it.
MS. RAMSEY: It came off of the impact fee and it was done
through an appraisal by the consultant that's doing the impact fee and
that whole thing is going to be vetted with the Board of County
Commissioners. That's where that number came from. It came from
appraisal prices through the impact fee study.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: If you have it -- ifthey have
that I would like to see it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I have got it. If we want to get it copied
MS. RAMSEY: We showed it already today.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's what I was showing you.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: But there were six or seven of
those that didn't belong on it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But she's saying that's what came in,
that's what they are using.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: They may have come in that
way but they shouldn't be. We're not talking about an $8 million lot,
see, in that project.
MS. RAMSEY: Sir, again, there are three levels on that, and we
as staff don't believe that they took the beaches and they used that to
purchase the community park land and averaged that out. We believe
that the $4 million that they are recommending is what it's going to
cost to buy acres for beaches, and the million four for boat access are
all related to where they looked for those numbers. And we do not
believe the 200,000 has anything to do with those along the coast.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: You don't believe -- I just
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want to be right about it. I would like to see the figures they used
before I go on to vote this.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think where we've basically left this
today is that you are going to come back and explain to us how the
200,000 acres came out, based on our earlier conversation, the
200,000 acres.
MS. RAMSEY: I have that on the list, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. And the other items we've
discussed.
MS. RAMSEY: The only other item that I have right now is you
want to know the difference between acreage between the impact fee
and the number of acres we have in our inventory and what they are.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Adding the TDC.
MS. RAMSEY: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, the TDC values.
MS. RAMSEY: And the TDC, yes. Those are the three that I
see.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Let's just go back to what I was
talking about. Is it wise for us with some of the stuff we hear about in
the state and everything to put so much extra land in the AUIR? I
mean, is it smarter for us to show just what we need and go out and
buy just what we need or is it smart to show that we're going to plan to
buy all this excess park?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think what we're getting to is what Jim
DeLony has referenced earlier. He went back to the Board with a
reconsideration of some of the 2005 AUIRs to get his plants on line as
he has done.
You could do the same thing. If you found a good purchase you
could go back to the Board and say, this is outside what we previously
talked about, and then they could make that cohesive decision then
based on the revenues they had available then rather than committing
to it now. And I think maybe that's what we're looking for and we'll
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come up to that after we come back and get more information.
MS. RAMSEY: And I said you can recommend anything that
you wish to recommend to the Board on that.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The commission can give you
the money to buy all the parks in the world. My concern is, is it wise
for us to show that excess in the future.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Just so you know, that excess that you
are asking to purchase early is $116 million in the next five years and
that's a huge, huge hit.
MS. RAMSEY: Assuming that it all comes in at $200,000 an
acre, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is there any other questions from this
board?
Mr. Murray, did you have something?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No, I was just being reactive.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. COHEN: Mr. Chairman and Commissioners, I just wanted
to clarify something for the record and I wanted to be kind of clearer
since we talked about it the first time we met. Ms. Ramsey and
nobody is really advocating an increase in ad valorem taxes.
When you see some of these items that are on there you'll see the
terminology that's worded additional revenues required or level of
service reductions that may have to transpire. You'll also see some
notes in there about impact fees possibly being adjusted. So we
recognize that there maybe have to be a very definitive policy
direction forwarded by the Board of County Commissioners, one with
respect to looking at possibly increasing impact fees, two, possibly
reducing levels of service if additional monies are not available, and
three, the possibility of, if they need to consider looking for additional
revenues, other sources.
So there is no advocacy whatsoever with respect to increasing ad
valorem taxes. I want to be clear on the record about that.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm just going off your presentation
sheet, Randy. I understand what you are saying.
MR. COHEN: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: At this point we're not going to move
forward on parks. Why don't we take a IS-minute break for the court
reporter and then resume. And we'll at that time decide first thing how
long we're going into the evening. Is that okay with this gang?
Okay. Let's take a 15 minute break. Thank you.
(A break was taken.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We're going to try to resume
here. And the next item is going to be the libraries and library books.
But before we go into that we have a whole bunch of people that
need to know what we're going to do here tonight. Again, it's how
long we all want to stay at this and how numb we'll get if we stay too
long. I'm game. I just had some more coffee so I'm up and running,
high octane.
What's the status of the rest of you? And then if we want to go
late we have to figure out if it's even possible.
Mr. Adelstein, is there a limitation to your time?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Yes. Six-thirty I can get here
but I have to leave about 9:00, 10:00-ish.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray, Mr. Tuff?
COMMISSIONER TUFF: I have no limitations.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron, Brad?
COMMISSIONER CARON: I'm here.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Mark, one thing about the
presenter, this is the first one that has to come back, parks and
recreation? So we'll do that, what, next Thursday?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That will be next Thursday afternoon.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Won't that mess up--
MR. SCHMIDT: Well, that again, gets to what you want to do.
This room is available Tuesday but you do not have a quorum for
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January 13, 2006
Tuesday.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's what it looks like. I mean, again,
Mr. Murray can't make it and Mr. Tuff can't make it so there's no
quorum.
MR. SCHMITT: Wednesday I do not have a room available. I
could find one, but the conference room out at Horseshoe is not
available. That has already been booked by the productivity
committee, and this room is not available, so --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We don't have a quorum on Wednesday
because of Mr. Schiffer and Mr. Adelstein so that still doesn't help us.
So it looks like it's Thursday, and we'll go late Thursday with this
issue. And I will talk to the chairman of the BCC and see if he'll
consider allowing us some more time.
MR. SCHMITT: I'm going to need some guidance from my boss
in regards to -- because that -- unless of course they want to live with
not getting any corrections, then they will not -- well, what is the 25th,
that is -- the 25th is Wednesday. And if you are talking the 19th, I'm
into a situation that puts them in a trick because of -- so that, their
meeting is going to have a change and that's going to be an issue that
the chair is going to have to discuss that with the manager.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: What corrections are there up
until now, Randy? What is that you have --
MR. SCHMITT: I have information charts to be redone by
transportation which I will not get until probably Wednesday.
We have the other additions. Mr. DeLony has to do his analysis
or at least a recommendation to the Board based on your 20 million
gallons per day capacity versus two tens, so he has that analysis. And
you've got -- well, we have had numerous counts.
MR. COHEN: And the issue of solid waste, the end of the year
capacity.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Randy, wouldn't there be an
executive summary in addition to what they have or would you
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January 13,2006
change what they have in their book?
MR. COHEN: I would revise the executive -- two things I have
to do. One, the executive summary that you have in your books
would be revised to reflect some different changes. Two, there would
be a summary page of planning commission recommendations that
would follow that. And then after that all the changes that you
recommended would be reflected in the documents themselves.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You know, we have consistently given
the BCC our best work.
MR. SCHMITT: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And I don't see why we should change
that now. If they decide they don't want our best work, we've given it
the best we can, and I would be very disappointed if that's their
decision.
But I think right now we need to proceed and we need to keep
our head high and do the best work we possibly can and make a best
product we can to a point where they decide they don't want it
anymore.
So I'm all for next Thursday afternoon. We'll have a quorum.
The people will be here. We'll go into it for as long as we can finish it.
Today, tonight, depending on this board's time frame, there are
only three elements we can review further tonight: Library, EMS, and
government buildings; is that correct, MR. SCHMITT?
MR. SCHMITT: That's correct. That's what we have. We can
have avai1ab1es (sic) to meet your needs. We have heard nothing from
the sheriffs staff other than the chief is not available and his
accountant.
MR. COHEN: His assistant has not responded back in terms of
availability.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ifwe can get through these three items
tonight then that leaves us just the jails, law enforcement, and a
re-review of the parks. And that we should be able to do next
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January 13,2006
Thursday afternoon.
MR. SCHMITT: And the re-review of the parks --
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Thursday night until we got it
done with.
MR. SCHMITT: -- based on the impact fee analysis or based on
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I think she needs to answer the
questions.
MR. SCHMITT: Marla clear on -- I just need to make sure
Marla is clear on what --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: She is.
MR. COHEN: Wasn't that unclear, you want a justification for
the $200,000 per acre, which is actually a reflection of the study by
the land use expert that did the appraisal, correct?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MS. RAMSEY: I have three items that I'm looking to do: The
$200,000, TDC funding, and putting that debt service into that line
item, and then the difference between AUIR inventory and the
inventory that we have on Page 55 through 56.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's correct. That's where we're at. I
think we can move through that quickly. So I see us being able to
finish up next Thursday. I want to move forward tonight.
The court reporter can stay until?
THE COURT REPORTER: Seven-thirty, 8:00 latest.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Seven-thirty or 8:00. Our goal will be to
leave by 7:30 or 8:00 or quarter of 8:00. Well, quarter of 8:00 the
tapes run out, so between 7:30 and quarter of 8:00 we'll have to stop.
We'll do as much as we can between now and then. That fair with
everybody?
Okay. Let's move forward with libraries.
By the way, I'll tell you what, you know it's hard to pick on a
librarian so we're going to be very careful here.
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January 13,2006
MS. MATTHES: Marilyn Matthes, library director. Library
impact fees pay for new books and new libraries needed due to
population growth. The current rate of impact fee is $180.87 per
thousand square foot of residential construction. It has been based on
construction costs per square foot of $199.27 and the cost per book of
$25.
The five-year revenue estimate in this AUIR are based on the
current impact fee rate and the current ad valorem book budget. Ad
valorem funds are used to purchase replacement books, not growth
books.
The construction expenses, however, are based on the estimated
current construction cost of $316.67 per square foot. The cost of a
book remains at $25.
The library expects an updated impact fee study shortly and we
anticipate an increased rate that will cover the shortfalls noted in this
AUIR study.
You have any questions?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, yes. Members of the panel, do you
have to any questions to start with?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I know I had one.
COMMISSIONER CARON: You can start.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I have one question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
MS. MATTHES: Yes.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: In your purchase of books, is
it a fixed price to -- from this area -- who do you buy books from?
MS. MATTHES: Whoever will sell them to us for the least cost.
Generally we go through book jobbers who sell books from many
different publishers and we negotiate prices for the books, a discount
price based on the amount of money we anticipate spending with the
vendor.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: So you're basically saying
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January 13, 2006
they don't cost $25 all the time.
MS. MATTHES: Some cost $5, some cost $10, some cost $25,
some cost $75, some cost $150.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Do you do the same thing
with books on tape?
MS. MATTHES: Yes.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: What price do you normally
get for those?
MS. MATTHES: Books on tape, I think, are about $50 per
volume, audio books.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: See, that's something -- I
happen to have my own library. I've got over 900 of them. I haven't
spent $50 for any of them.
MS. MATTHES: Do you buy abridged audios?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Mostly not, but I have bought
abridged and have --
MS. MATTHES: Unabridged. What we generally buy are
unabridged because that's what people like better.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I have both ways.
MS. MATTHES: We buy them with the ability to replace the
audio cassette tape that goes bad in that unit for the life of the unit. So
we have a few additions that you don't.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I just wanted to understand
how that happened because I have been doing this long enough to
know that that's a very high price, but not if you're going to be able to
MS. MATTHES: Right. We can replace each often audio
cassettes in a unit free for the life of the unit.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Okay. I understand now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Tuff and then Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: I just noticed that I may have -- I
thought I was missing a couple of sheets but I'm not. On the capital
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January 13, 2006
funds that specify which libraries will be built shows the Golden Gate
one at $7,000. There's a red line saying that was taken out and I just
know that there was more originally planned and was approved by the
commissioners, so if that's not there, is there a --
MS. MATTHES: I have a corrected one. I don't know what
copy you have. Mine, sheet Page 81 shows addition to the Golden
Gate branch of 17,000 square feet.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: And that was on Page 877
MS. MATTHES: Page 81.
MR. COHEN: I got it right there.
MS. MATTHES: Page 87 was also updated to show 17,000
square foot addition to Golden Gate.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: That must be part of the sheets that I
-- okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Marilyn, I notice in the '04
AUIR the required inventory as of 9/30/09 that was the projected
period at that time was $170,082 square feet with a value of some 37
million. In '05 we now have it to the period of2010, 148,716 square
feet. That seems to be a reduction.
Do you not have the '04?
MS. MATTHES: What page are you -- no, I don't have '04 with
me.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 80 I think you are on if I'm not
mistaken.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm on Page 80 in terms of the
summary.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. That's what she has.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But if you don't have the '04 that
puts you at a disadvantage.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I have a copy, multiple--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have the '04 here.
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER TUFF: What page of'04?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: What page in '04, it's got to be
under Category B. I have a red tab here. Look in your summary for--
MS. MATTHES: The population projections do change
annually.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
MS. MATTHES: I would guess it has something to do with that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Required inventory, and it's on
Page 51 of the 2004 AUIR. And it spoke to a required inventory on
9/30/09 of 170,082 square feet at a value of 37 million. And I just
wondered why we had now come to 148,716 at 46 million.
MS. MATTHES: Right. I don't know.
MS. RAMSEY: I don't know if! actually understand your
question. I'm looking at these two sheets side by side. Are you
looking under -- can you give me a year, 2009?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: 2004.
MS. RAMSEY: 2004.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Right. And it's the AUIR
facility summary form.
MS. RAMSEY: 2,004.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And on the 2004 it's Page 51 and
it's item -- it's called -- the second item in the line, and it says required
inventory 9/30/09. And that same thing is in weighted populations
calculation is 148,716. Do you see that for square feet? Should I come
down there?
MS. RAMSEY: Where?
MS. MATTHES: He's looking. He's looking at '09.
MS. RAMSEY: But the populations are different.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: There is a reduction in required square
footage.
MS. MATTHES: Oh, I see. Actually--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Do you now see what I'm talking
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January 13,2006
about?
MS. MATTHES: I see. Actually, that 148,000 required
inventory is wrong. If you look on the table for Page 81 for this year
and '10 inventory should be 181,082.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm sorry. I didn't know that.
Where would I find that?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Wait a minute.
MS. MATTHES: I'm looking on Page 80 of the 2005 AUIR.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Right.
MS. MATTHES: And Mr. Murray pointed out that the required
inventory on 9/30/10 says 148,716, which is a lot lower than last
year's AUIR said, and he's right.
If you look on the table on Page 81, the fiscal year' 1 0 shows a
requirement ofa 181,082. I apologize. It's wrong. You are right.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No, it says 148,716.
MS. MATTHES: It should be 181,082, required inventory
9/30/10.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So the required number should
be the same as the square feet available number; is that what you're
saying?
MS. MATTHES: Required.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Or something like that.
MS. MATTHES: Oh, I'm sorry. I was wrong.
MS. RAMSEY: It's correct.
MS. MATTHES: I was wrong. I was looking at the square feet
available. And perhaps the 2004 AUIR also listed the --
MS. RAMSEY: There is a population difference between the
two.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm only just trying to find out. I
looked at it, I saw a difference.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But you haven't got your question
answered, have you?
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January 13, 2006
MS. MATTHES: No.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No. But I don't want to
embarrass anybody if it's a typo or something like that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's not a matter of embarrassing
anybody. We have to get this resolved because that computes the
dollar value of the required inventory, which works the bottom line to
affect taxes. We have to get an answer to this.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm happy with that, Mr. Chair.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, I'm just saying that's why I keep
going, Bob. You were on a good tack, we need to finish it.
MS. MATTHES: Mr. Murray said that the required inventory in
the 2004 AUIR for '09 was 170,000, and if you look at the table the
required inventory should have been listed as 140,000. So that was
where the error was.
MS. RAMSEY: It was on the last year's.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Was the error in 2004?
MS. MATTHES: 2004, yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Oh, my gosh, I found an error
from last year. All right. So what should it be? I'm going to correct
last year's.
MS. MATTHES: In 2004 the required square footage should be
140,143. So the 2005 AUIR as written is okay. Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: All right. Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that does provide an answer.
Bob, did you have any other questions?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Let's see. On Page 87 I'm a little
concerned. I raised this question to Mr. Cohen, having to do with the
South Regional construction, and he indicated to me that that was
probably modified. And the question is, it's marked as fiscal year '08
for the construction. If you look you'll see in one place it says fiscal
year '07/'08 and the next place it says fiscal year '08/'09 for fiscal year
-- my simple question is this, I understood that the South Regional
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January 13,2006
Library would be in fiscal year '07/'08.
MS. MATTHES: Correct.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: As long as that is consistent then
that was my only issue. As long as it's consistent I'm comfortable.
And, Mr. Cohen, I raised that question with you, you said you had
conversations on this.
MR. COHEN: My comment with respect to that is that on Page
87 the fiscal year should be consistent with what is on Page 81 and
should be modified accordingly to reflect where they would read FY
'07/'08 where applicable.
And we also had a discussion about adding a footnote with the
construction of the South Regional Library also to Page 81 as well.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes. But I'm not sure that I've
seen that it's changed. And in reference to Page 81 it shows fiscal
'07/'08, then it says fiscal '07/'08 for new South Regional Library.
MR. COHEN: We did not modify the document since our
conversation.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You did not?
MR. COHEN: No. Obviously, because the request was not to
have additional documents sent on out to this body. So the comments
were noted.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Did you let everybody else
know that I raised that question?
MR. COHEN: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. Just so everybody knows,
what I found was what I thought was an inconsistency and it was
verified as such and I was reassured that the South Regional Library
as well as the Golden Gate will proceed for fiscal year '07/'08 and not
'08/'09. And we're all in agreement with that, that's true?
MS. MATTHES: Yes.
MS. RAMSEY: Our goal is to have those numbers completed by
December of '08, in the fiscal year '08.
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Which fiscal year will
construction begin, fiscal year '07/'08 or '08/'09?
MS. RAMSEY: We should be completed by -- our goal is by
December '08, so we'll actually be in construction for the South
Regional during that period. It takes probably a good 12 months, 18
months to build that facility.
MR. COHEN: Just for clarification purposes, from our
standpoint we were supposed to have completion dates in the AUIR.
With Golden Gate would that be finished in fiscal year '07/'08?
MS. MATTHES: Yes.
MS. RAMSEY: Correct.
MR. COHEN: So on Page 87 it should actually reflect '07/'08
and if the South Regional is projected to be completed in December of
'08, that would be FY '08/'09.
MS. RAMSEY: Or fall. I mean, we're talking a couple of
months difference on that particular element but it will be completed
in 2008.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I'm comfortable. I know
factually that you folks are progressing that, so I'm not uncomfortable.
MS. RAMSEY: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I just like the idea of consistency
so that no one -- because when you're using the tail end of a project
the slippage is inevitable. I just want to be sure we are on target and
that everyone knows that.
MR. COHEN: We will make the two pages consistent, and
because of the requirement for financial feasibility and if we have a
certain fiscal year in there I think it's probably more prudent to
actually put the South Regional Library actually in the --
MS. RAMSEY: It will be in '07/'08, and I have told you before
my goal is to have it done in the fall of '08. I'm telling you I definitely
will have it done in the year 2008.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm comfortable. I want to make
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January 13,2006
it public because of the fact that it was something there. I thought it
was valid. It's agreed it was valid and--
MS. RAMSEY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- case closed. That's my
questions, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Anybody else have any
questions? So we'll start on mine.
You use a level of service standard of .33 square foot per capita?
MS. MATTHES: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: In the impact fee study that was
provided to me, revised '04/'05, it says the current level of service for
library buildings is .36 on Page 2. Now, does that--
MS. MATTHES: It's never been .36--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MS. MATTHES: -- to my knowledge.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Maybe Amy needs to weigh in on why
the impact fee study would say the level of service is something that it
is not.
MS. PATTERSON: If the level of service has always been .33
then it's probably a typo in the impact fee study, but I'll double check
and let you know.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: We would not utilize a level of service that
wasn't the one that they were currently utilizing unless there was a
good reason for it, and I'm not aware of one for libraries.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. On Page 3, Amy, they stated it a
little differently. It says Collier County current level of service .36,
and then it says Collier County level of service standard .33. Maybe
that explains it. I don't know why they are using two different ones but
MS. MATTHES: They are probably saying that we're a little bit
ahead of standard.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. As long as we're ahead and not
behind. Then the unit cost that you use went up. Last year it was
217.61, this year it's 316.67 per square foot.
MS. MATTHES: Yes. The 217 was based on the headquarters
at Orange Blossom construction that was completed in February of
2002. And as we all know, construction costs have skyrocketed. And
the 316 was based on information from the facilities management
department and local architects and builders.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I would like -- can someone -- where is
that located? I didn't see it in the impact fee report. In fact, it's a
different number than the impact fee report, so I'm wondering what
document you relied upon to come up with that value.
MS. MATTHES: Facilities management provided it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I'm not saying it's right or
wrong.
MS. MATTHES: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But I would like to see how it got to
where it is. So at some point is there a way to get that document?
MS. RAMSEY: I believe that where that came from is during a
Board of County Commissioners meeting while we were discussing
the various libraries and how we were going to fund them, one of the
local architects, based upon a request by the consultant who is doing
the impact fee, said that he would verify the per square foot cost as
where we are going in the future, that they would use that in the
impact fee element rather than historical, which would have been a
much lesser per square foot element.
So at that dais at that time they made that square footage element
that's utilized in the impact fees.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So a fellow stands up in a public
meeting, says, I'm an architect and I think the price ought to be
316.67, and they accepted it?
MS. RAMSEY: If it's certified.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's what I'm a getting at, is there a
document somewhere that shows how he arrived at this number?
MS. PATTERSON: I'm sorry. I was still on the level of service
issues, now catching up on this one.
When the conversation started about the Golden Gate library and
the possible expansion and the shortfall of revenue, as we discussed
before about the shortfall with the $180 per square foot versus the
actual cost of $316, one of the directions from the Board was to go out
and validate what we believe our actual cost is. And part of that
process was procuring architects' actual costs, and they had to -- they
wrote a letter validating all of the cost components of building the
library. And there is a document. If you would like it I can certainly
forward it on to you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Would you, please.
MS. PATTERSON: The upcoming impact fee study is going to
utilize a number that is actually a little bit higher than that in there, but
as you know, that's a moving target of costs, so --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I would like to see how they came up
with it.
MS. PATTERSON: That's no problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hopefully he's a licensed general
contractor as well as an architect.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: You mean you wouldn't trust an
architect for costs, Mark?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No.
On Page 81 we have 47,000 square feet of libraries being
constructed in '07 to '08. What libraries are those? I know one is
Golden Gate but that's only 17, so what's the other?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: East Naples.
MS. MATTHES: South Regional.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How many square feet is that?
MS. MATTHES: South Regional is 30,000 square foot--
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, so that's--
MS. MATTHES: My copy has that footnoted.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So that's the whole--
MS. MATTHES: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's what I need to know. Good.
Thank you.
Under your books, in the -- I know Amy just loves having to give
me these impact fee documents. On Page 3 of the impact fee
document for the library impact fee it says the county has -- this is, by
the way, dated April '05 -- the county has a progressive level of
service for library books. The level of service for books in FY '03/'04
is 1.60 per resident which is used as the standard in the study.
The study also indicates that the county does not have any
deficiencies since the amount that is the current level of service is also
1.60.
Now ifthere are no deficiencies at 1.60 why are we raising it to
1.80?
MS. MATTHES: Originally the level of service was raised .05
annually or .075 annually to bring it up to the level of, the average
level of service for the entire State of Florida, which was at the time
2.0 books per capita. In the meantime that average for the State of
Florida has dropped a little and it's closer to 1.8. And so that's why
the target has moved every year and we're now at the 1.8 level and it
should remain there unless the State of Florida fluctuates.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, six or eight months ago when this
study was done and it said that the county does not have any
deficiencies with the current level of service of 1.6, is that a false
statement in the impact fee document?
MS. MATTHES: It was true about then, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So--
MS. MATTHES: Population changes, differences in collections,
yes.
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January 13, 2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So in eight months we lost that much or
we had to change our level of service by that much.
MS. MATTHES: Change in level of service 1.6 to 1.675 and
then 1.8, and additional population as well.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is that to generate more need then?
MS. MATTHES: Yes, right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, on that topic.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: The capital improvement
element says we're supposed to have 2.05 by the year 2010. No, not
anymore?
MS. MATTHES: That we lowered to 1.8 to match State of
Florida. The 2.05 was also the State of Florida average at that time --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MS. MATTHES: -- that this projection was originally set up.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: It just in the capital
improvement that's on the website still has it then.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is that it, Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On Page 83, you have new books and
replacement books. Under revenues for new books you have in ad
valorem funds for new and replacement books 1.7 million.
MS. MATTHES: That sheet should also have been changed
under revenue impact fees.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Where would it -- by changed, by who,
when?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MS. MATTHES: That was incorrect, it was typed incorrectly. It
should have been, you should have gotten a changed sheet on that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: This is -- the superseding?
MS. MATTHES: Yeah, we did.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What changed sheet are you talking
about here? Is it --
MS. MATTHES: Page 83.
MR. SCHMITT: Page 83 of the latest copy that we have is --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes. Okay. I see. Okay. I don't think
my question involves the change but go ahead, I'll let you -- wherever
you were going, I'm not sure my question -- I hadn't finished it yet.
MS. MATTHES: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Under new books where it says ad
valorem funds for new and replacement books, it's 1.7. Under
replacement books under revenues, it says ad valorem funds for new
and replacement books, 2.6. You have two line items that say the
same, funds for new and replacement books.
MS. MATTHES: Correct. The top one should say ad valorem
funds for new books because there is a shortfall in impact fees until
we got the new impact fee study. And the second line should say ad
valorem funds for replacement books, 2.6.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So there needs to be another
correction to the correction.
MS. MATTHES: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Now I understand.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, I have a question on that
page.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: You are asking for the 980,350
for ad valorem. Could you explain again how you are doing that?
You are taking these two numbers and subtracting the 3 million, three
and a half million? What is the three and a half million, again, monies
you didn't receive or --
MS. MATTHES: Correct. Replacement books, impact fees pay
for growth related books. Ad valorem pays for books needed to
replace current books in the inventory not due to growth. For
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example, at a certain point we don't need Lasser's tax information for
1995, we have to replace it with 2005,2006 and so on. There is many
investment books that don't have, aren't required to be kept forever
because they have poor information. Same with medical books, we
have to replace them. Books on any disease printed today will
provide correct information, hopefully, instead of information that was
ten years old or more.
And so the ad valorem funds replace those kinds of books.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I can understand that. But the
additional revenues required, explain why there is additional revenues
required, because you are given the ad valorem funds and for some
reason you are subtracting the three and a half million.
MS. MATTHES: It's a shortfall in replacement books. We--
generally the standard is about 4 percent loss per year per annum, and
so the ad valorem funds under replacement books is the funds that we
have been getting, and this year in the ad valorem budget about
$700,000, and that's projected out for five years of this plan. And then
I added in, we do get state aid library dollars, I added that in but we
still need an additional $900,000 in replacement books.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'm confused.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead if you want to.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: In other words, up above in new
books and replacement books you derive revenue from ad valorem
taxes, correct?
MS . MATTHES: Correct.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: That goes into the library.
MS. MATTHES: Correct.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And so I'm really confused as to
why you would total those two numbers and subtract from them this
number to come up with a shortfall.
MS. MATTHES: The ad valorem dollar amount of two million
six is five times what our current ad valorem budget for replacement
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books is. We need -- and the 825,000 is available from state library
funds but the 4 percent of the, of the replacement funds needed in this
period actually total 4,400,000 not 3,500,000. So we have a $900,000
deficit. We need additional $900,000 from ad valorem dollars for
replacement books.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: On that same subject I'm getting
a little confused here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I was hoping one of us can clear it up.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: The revenues, I'm looking at
what you have here for revenues, you have a five-year number, right?
MS. MATTHES: Right.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And then the 908,350 is a single
year number?
MS. MATTHES: No. That should be for five years also.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So a shortfall for five.
MS. MATTHES: Five years, yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That helps me, thank you.
COMMISSIONER CARON: But it's still not working because--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No.
COMMISSIONER CARON: -- you have revenues of thee
million five and you have expenditures of three million five, so you
should have zero.
MR. COHEN: Commissioner, can I possibly clarify this and
make this a little easier on everybody.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That would be helpful.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Sure. That would be really terrific.
MR. COHEN: Okay. Pretend that asterisk is all the way down
and not attached to that additional revenues required. Move it down a
little bit. If you take the ad valorem funds, the $1.783 million that's up
under new books and you add it to the ad valorem revenue, the
$2,625,000 --
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COMMISSIONER CARON: Right.
MR. COHEN: You add those two figures together, you're going
to get that $4,408,350 that's set forth in the sentence with the asterisk.
What's happened in the past is the county manager in the past has
budgeted $700,000 a year for books. So when you multiply that five
times 700,000 it comes to 3,500,000. And the request for ad valorem
funds for replacement books and for new books is that 4,408,000.
So if we were to stay on the current budgeting of $700,000 per
year, that's where that shortage of the 908,000 is coming up. He's
saying I need $908,000 to make up the deficit.
COMMISSIONER CARON: I think you need to make that a lot
clearer for the world.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You said the $700,000 was
budgeted every year?
MR. COHEN: Currently that's the budgeted item.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. But then the 908,000 is a
five-year number. Shouldn't that be somewhere reflected as the single
year shortfall if we're going to use a single year against the five years?
MS. MATTHES: No. The 700,000 from ad valorem is part of
the 3,500,000. So the 700 is our current budget from ad valorem
funds. So the five-year book budget from ad valorem using that
$700,000 figure is about 3,500,000.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Plus you'd add to that now the 908
divided over five years for 881 total --
MS. MATTHES: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- almost each year.
MS. MATTHES: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I now understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Got it.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You probably want to fix this up
a little bit for the other folks.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions involving
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libraries, facilities or books?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yes. I just want to go back to
buildings for a minute. And let's just go to Page 82 and look at the
chart.
Does it seem like we're overserving here? Maybe we don't need
every square foot of --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray has got too much, we don't
need 30,000. I mean, you are going to get into an issue that has been
probably debated many times at the BCC and I'm not sure if -- you
know, where we're going to go to help it, to be honest you. We can't
build half a library. You either have to build a whole library or very
little at all.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Look at it this way, once it's
built it doesn't have to be built a again for a long, long time.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: And where those libraries are being
built aren't necessarily where they are being used.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Well, yes, exactly. And are we
building them where they need to be built?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: We are in the case of the South
Regional.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I have what is going to -- and I
understand your reasoning, Ms. Caron. I was going to suggest
something, that if this can't be handled by the increase in impact fees
then we wouldn't do -- if you raise the level of service and therefore
you increase your impact fees to accommodate it, then that's fine.
But if you can't raise the impact fees then I would suggest you
not raise the level of service. And what that does is counterbalance
everything back out again because level of service kicks it into more
ad valorem need.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: One of the things about this if
you're talking specifically about the library in District 1, that regional
library was projected for a long, long, long time and I don't know that
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January 13, 2006
it would be appropriate with the number of people moving into the
area, I can't imagine us not being able to muster the numbers to justify
it and also the impact fees associated with that population.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I'm not suggesting we change
anything. I'm just saying --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Oh.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- if they use impact -- the level of
service is the issue now, not so much -- if we leave the numbers alone
for the construction --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- that's covered. From what I
understand there's no level of service increase for that, there is no ad
valorem increase needed for the construction. Is that right, Randy,
somebody?
MS. MATTHES: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You only have a 908,000 need for
increasing ad valorem taxes and that's the result of replacement costs
of books. So that's driven by the level of service standard of 1.6 to 1.8
in part. So if you get impact fee increases and you can leave the level
of service at 1.8 then everything balances out.
But if you don't get impact fee increases then I can't see raising
the level of service and have to pay ad valorem taxes to do it, so my
suggestion would be that. And if you don't get an impact fee increase,
the level of service stays at 1.6. Whereas if you do get the impact fees
then use the 1.8 because it comes out of the right source for funding.
That's where I was going with it.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Now I understand you and I
don't have a problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that -- okay. Are we finished with
libraries, library books?
Is there a motion from this board in regards to libraries and
library books?
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COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I would offer that we take the
recommendations of the recommended action to the BCC, direct staff
to include the proposed capital improvement element for fiscal year
'06 through '10, weighted population based on book collection editions
and the facilities.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I'll second the motion.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I assume though that is with the
recommendation to include that the, that the level of service rise to 1.8
is only if we get an impact fee increase. And if we don't get the
impact fee increase the level of service stays at 1.6. Is that an
appropriate consideration?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Second.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Let me ask a question if! may of
Amy. Is -- what precipice are we upon here teetering? Are we likely
to receive our impact fees? Do you have any advance word on this?
MS. PATTERSON: The increase that we're looking at in impact
fees is solely based, not solely, but mainly based upon the deficit in
the construction costs, us trying to build a library for $316 a square
foot and only collecting an impact fee based on $180 a square foot.
So I don't think that it's unreasonable.
I think most people understand that with rapidly accelerating
costs that you have to make adjustments. I think that, based on that,
our direction has been to bring it forward, as the rest of our impact
fees that are using outdated costs.
So the likelihood of us coming forward and being successful with
increasing the impact fee, it is the direction we've received.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. I'll roll the dice on that
and accept your recommendation with the understanding that it's
possible that we may lose.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I will second.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion has been made, there has been
an addendum, it's been seconded.
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COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I have a question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead, Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Randy, is there a problem in the
capital improvement, did you look that up to see, because it does show
that -- and this is -- when this AUIR goes to 2010 they were supposed
to bring the book up to 2.05. Are we going to lower that service or
what are we --
MR. COHEN: I believe the policy direction was to go from 1.6
to 1.8 and stop at 1.8. So any reflection anywhere else with respect to
levels of service with the books is supposed to stop at 1.8. So we'll
make the corresponding changes to reflect that particular change.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So the number in the capital
improvement isn't correct?
MR. COHEN: Excuse me?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: This number is not correct,
then, in the capital improvement element?
MR. COHEN: It's correct now but it's supposed to change to 1.8.
MS. RAMSEY: If you approve the AUIR as we've got it then we
would make that change, just as we were talking about earlier when
we go through the process updating the CIE. It's the same process.
We will then change that level of service to 1.8 and stay there.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So you're going to reduce the
level to match. Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anything else, Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: That's it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. We'll call for the question.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: Aye.
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January 13, 2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
Anybody opposed.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion carries.
MR. COHEN: Mr. Chairman, can I go ahead and clarify just for
the record just to make sure that we make the requisite changes. Also,
you wanted us to modify the summary sheet to clarify the $908,000.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes. That was just a clarification, I
didn't need a motion on that.
MR. COHEN: Mr. Murray wanted us to rectify the differences
between Pages 84 and 87 to clarify the timing ofthe library.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: To be consistent.
MR. COHEN: We will do those, make those changes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Let's move on. Thank you very
much, library people, Marla.
We'll now move into the EMS.
We'll take a break at 6:00 and come back. Hopefully we'll-- I
thought we'd probably stay until 7:00, 7:30. We're just going to do
two more, EMS and government buildings, and be done with it.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay, so you are going to pass
on the dinner?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: I'm going home.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Sorry, excuse me. I thought you were
going to stay until 7:30. I don't care, just tell us so we know.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: You said, I thought at 5:30
you were going to go for dinner and then come back.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I meant a break, 15 minutes. I didn't
mean --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I thought I heard dinner, too,
that's why --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's if we're -- see, we're not
going to stay until 9:00 because the tapes run out at quarter of 8:00.
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I don't care, we can -- Lindy, what would you prefer to do?
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: If! have to, I can get up and
leave. You still would have a quorum so that's not going to be a
problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well, did you all-- if we are
going to take a dinner break we might as well not come back.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I'm willing to stay but I
understand some of the implications for a couple of people here.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I thought everybody understood. I'm
sorry, I misunderstood.
So we're just going to work through and take a IS-minute break
around 6:00 and try to finish up within a short time of that.
Mr. Page, thank you for waiting all day.
MR. PAGE: For the record, Jeff Page with emergency medical
services. In fiscal year 2002 it was determined that the EMS AUIR
would be based, it would move from a weighted population to a
permanent population. And the way we would compensate for the
seasonal call load was to put up additional units, pay overtime to
existing personnel for that three- to four-month window.
Over the past two, three years we've seen an increase in the
amount of time it's taken us to get on scene, and this year we're
coming back asking that we go back to a weighted population to,
number one, be consistent with our impact fee study which is based on
weighted, also to address the response time.
Our goal in the county is based on a national standard of arriving
on scene within nine minutes. Presently, countywide that nine
minutes should be 90 percent of the time is the goal.
Currently in FY '05 we only achieve that result 78 percent of the
time, while the overall urban response time was basically 80 percent.
When we looked at our rura11eve1 that was only right around 60, so it
was significantly different between the two.
So what we are suggesting to you and of course our Board is that
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we go back to a weighted population figure.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any questions of the -- I'm assuming--
is there anything else? Now are you open for questions?
MR. PAGE: I have some slides if you want to go into the
response time in greater detail, but other than that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think if we focus on our questions we
will move faster.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have only basically one
question. The implications have change now. We're going to take
another little shot as a result of going back to the weighted for a
period? That's a question, that's not a statement.
MR. PAGE: I'm sorry. Could you repeat that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: All right. When you went from
the weighted to the permanent there was a cost associated for several
months.
MR. PAGE: Actually, there was a savings to the county because
we were not putting on additional --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: There was overtime that was
applicable.
MR. PAGE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So that had to be an added cost
someplace. But there may have been a net savings, okay.
What are the implications for the change now?
MR. PAGE: Well, the capital improvements, of course, you
would be putting on additional units, additional personnel. However,
you know, what we're looking for is to increase that on scene arrival
time because we're -- there is a great concern that we're not meeting a
standard that really, typically has been looked at nationwide as a
standard that everyone should achieve.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: When you achieve this, which is
certainly admirable, to what extent have you calculated, and it's in
here presumably, the equipment and the personnel needed, what level
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will that bring to you? In other words, what kind of fudge will you
have in there to take you out to the out years if you are going to buy
equipment? Are you going to buy it incrementally, are you going to
hire incrementally? Do you see where I'm coming from?
MR. PAGE: I think it's going to take us about six years to get
where we need to be, and from that point forward we should be able to
stabilize. But we're not trying to do it all in one year. There's just no
way to do it.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But on an incremental basis you
can nevertheless achieve your goal of 90 percent for nine minutes, you
believe.
MR. PAGE: Yes, at the five-year mark. You're going to see a
significant increase, probably, I would say about 4 percent per year
the first three years to get us closer to the 90 percent goal.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's what I'm troubled by. I
was wondering if your goal of a response time is nine minutes for 90
percent of the time, why wouldn't you want to -- and I don't mean to
put you on the -- but why wouldn't you want to go right away to that?
Is the cost so great that it would just tumble everything?
MR. PAGE: Yes, it is too much. And I'll be honest with you, the
other side of that coin is that I don't believe I could get the personnel
in here that quickly.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: On time and the equipment and
the rest of it.
MR. PAGE: Well, there is a shortage of paramedics statewide
and we're trying to build the EMTs into that level now but I couldn't
come up with 20 employees tomorrow.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay. And I understand that
and I applaud your effort to try and bring us to where we need to be.
That would be my single question. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Tuff.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: I might go beyond here but what
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seems -- in the areas that I see that we keep adding people and we
have two people showing up and that, and when we see numbers this
big, is this the time where you just say wait a minute, for future
planning we need to combine services of fire and EMS. And I just
think when you see those numbers we're duplicating everywhere --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You could--
COMMISSIONER TUFF: -- we're paying twice.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You could say sure, this is the time to
do it; but you know what? The fire departments will never let it
happen.
COMMISSIONER TUFF: So then you let the fire departments
have it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm not sure that's the right solution
either. I don't think that's a debate here at the AUIR. We're really
trying to deal with a level of service we've got to deal with and how to
keep that level of service. The politics of it I think we need to air for
another day, honestly.
Did you have any questions related to --
COMMISSIONER TUFF: No. I just see those numbers and I
go, this is the time.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The numbers, there are some issues on
the numbers we can get into here in a minute.
Brad.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Since essentially the growth is
going to occur in new housing, right now we have a population that
essentially is filling up all of the units we have, why wouldn't more of
the revenues come from impact fees? You are asking for
approximately 19 million from ad valorem over the next five years,
why wouldn't essentially all of that be impact fee?
MR. PAGE: I wish it was.
Amy.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Boy, it's a good thing she showed up
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today, isn't it.
MR. COHEN: I was getting ready to talk.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Because the point is that
theoretically you meet the requirement now with the population now.
All you're adding units for is the additional population.
MR. COHEN: I think I can help with the question and Amy can
-- she can join on in if necessary.
When we went from permanent to weighted, from weighted to
permanent back in 2002, as a result of that, certain units were not
added because of the population when it shifted. Now when we're
going back to weighted there is that differential between that period of
time from 2002 to 2005.
And if you look at Page 93, you'll see in years, fiscal years
2006/'07 and then the next four years after that Mr. Page has asked to
add an additional unit every year. What's happened is in that period of
time the difference between weighted and permanent was basically
four units, which he needs to bring back on line, bring them back up to
the standard of a weighted population and actually get to the response
time that he wants to be at.
And because we were at, originally at weighted, we went to
permanent, now we want to go back to weighted, impact fees can't be
used for it because it was based on a permanent population at that
particular time so --
MR. PAGE: That's not entirely correct. Impact fees were always
based on weighted, correct?
MR. COHEN: I'm talking about when we went to permanent,
though, that four-year period of time cost us that revenue for that
period of time.
MR. PAGE: Correct, we were behind then.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: But in your explanation it's like
half of the units -- you know, that makes sense for half of the units so
why wouldn't the impact fees cover half of the costs?
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January 13,2006
MR. PAGE: His question is how come impact fees don't cover --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: More than they are.
MR. COHEN: Let me go back, and again, this is -- when you
look at that line item that says additional revenues required or level of
service standard reduction, that's not asking completely for ad valorem
tax revenue. Ifthere's an increase in impact fees those funds can be
used to offset part of that particular number.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: It doesn't match. In the cover
letter you gave us it requests that as additional ad valorem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You are going to wish you never gave
us that cover letter.
MR. COHEN: The Page 2 that you are looking at, basically what
it says was if that number equated out to so many mills, and if you
look at the statements that follow after that, it also talks about a level
of service reduction being a possibility as well as revenues being
required through additional sources, and one being impact fees.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Right.
MR. COHEN: So we're going to reword that particular page for
the Board of County Commissioners to be a little bit more clear on
that item.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions?
Jeff, let's start up in the level of service standard.
MR. PAGE: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: How did you arrive at 4.000068 per
capita, do you know? Or is that something Amy might have done?
MR. PAGE: I'm looking to see around, in the room, who else I
can call up here.
Actually that was a study done in probably the early '80s, and
what they did was they took a particular zone to see where we met the
response time goal. And that actually happened to be in the city. So
they found at the time that the population was 15,000 and based on the
response time goal at that time that's how it was calculated. So for
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every 15,000, one unit would be put in service and that's -- it's a study
that was done by Gainesville, I think, University of Florida.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thirteen days ago they finished a new
study by Tinda1e-01iver that says current level of service, all stations
per resident .000052. Now if you change that 68 to 52.
Amy, you're shaking your head no, is that not true?
MS. PATTERSON: That's true.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's true. Okay. So my statement so
far stands.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes. I'm sorry. I was shaking my head on
that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's certified by Amy at this point.
COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: You've already been right
once.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ifwe change the level of service to .52
as the impact fee study indicates the level of service is, how is that
going to change your numbers?
I imagine it would reduce them.
MR. PAGE: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Because there is -- your numbers are -- I
know over the years they have changed, over the last two or three
years in particular. I know it's because of weighted population but if
we bring that weighted population more in line with the level of
service consistent with the impact fee study it certainly would help the
ad valorem tax need.
MR. PAGE: Then I guess my question to you would be if we're
not meeting the goal where we need to be right now, why would we
want to go to 52?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm not sure you're not meeting -- the
level of service was established in the impact fee study as the goal. If
you are telling me that's wrong, then we have another can of worms to
take a look at. That impact fee study was something we based a lot of
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impact fees on. If that's not accurate we probably need to get that
corrected.
MR. PAGE: What I'm saying is ifthe impact fee study is based
on what the current level of service is currently. And what I'm telling
you is, is our response times aren't where we really need to be
currently. Am I making sense here? Then why would I--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I understand what you are saying, you
wish your response times were better. To get there you need more
stations and more personnel.
MR. PAGE: And if I have that then wouldn't my level of service
be higher?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, it would but we've got to go by
what -- I mean, this study that was just done 13 days ago is no good.
Who had the input in the study that came out with the conclusion that
52 was the right number instead of a higher number that you're
alluding to?
Amy, maybe you can help with that.
MS. PATTERSON: I can help you with where the .52 came
from.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I've got the chart.
MS. PATTERSON: That is the -- the actual impact, or the actual
EMS level of service, that .0052, is your stations divided by the
population, but that includes the leased stations. So if they, if you
choose --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So this is going to end up in that
argument.
MS. PATTERSON: The .0068 is based on the station for every
15,000 residents and that's a standard that by policy is what we're
hoping to achieve.
What we actually have based on stations, not to do with response
time but based on stations, inventory of stations leased and owned is
the .0052. There isn't a reason policywise that they can't continue to
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try to achieve the 68 but they have to do it with a source other than
impact fees.
Further, the .0052 includes stations that are leased, which means
that we can't -- for the impact fees, the impact fee level of service is
different even, which I'm sure you found, is different even than the
0052, the point two -- I don't have it in front of me -- and that is
because when you're calculating level of service for impact fees the
leased stations cannot be included. We can only calculate based on
what we physically have paid for, what we own.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: So there is your three, that's your three kind
of points.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I am going to approach this from a
different direction. Thank you.
The next direction, let's talk about the required inventory of 30.6,
the available inventory of21.5. Are those inventories made up of both
leased and owned stations?
MR. COHEN: Yes.
MR. PAGE: As far as the units like the EMS ambulance on the
road, there is that many units that are on the road 24/7.
As far as stations, no, there aren't that many stations. And in
other words, some stations I may have two units collocated together.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, from what I can tell, based on
what you've got today by the impact fee study and the document you
provided to us in this AUIR and what you are proposing to do, I think
you are looking at a total of 12 leased stations, including today and
what is proposed, and 18 owned stations; is that right, do you know?
And the reason -- where I'm going, Jeff, is that if you take the
value of the collocated units and multiply it times 12 and you take the
value of the new units and multiply it times 18 you come up with a
little over $70 million for your required inventory, which is about 15
million less than you are showing here because of the use, the
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weighting out and using the leased stations for the value of the 1840
that you state.
I think what your report does is use them all at the higher value
as an owned station but yet we don't own them all, we lease some of
them. So if you bring this in line with your value for leasing and
weigh it against the value for ownership you are going to drop your
required inventory amount down to nearing 70 or 71 million and that's
going to have an effect on the additional revenues required in the
bottom line. And that's where I'm going with this.
I mean it's -- can you come back to us with something that shows
how your leased stations factor into this program more than just
always saying they are all new and owned?
MR. PAGE: What I can tell you is that the proposed stations
coming on line, those nine, we've calculated like six we would
outright own.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. PAGE: Three that we -- would be a blend.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. PAGE: But there is no guarantee that -- as we discussed
there is no guarantee that I can actually make that happen. Not every
fire district wants to collocate and sometimes I may have a need for
putting a unit in North Naples that North Naples doesn't have a fire
load that requires a station for them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But if you planned for that in the next
five years to be able to try to negotiate leases then for some reason
you didn't, couldn't you always go back to the county commission and
say one of the stations on our AUIR that we were going to lease we
couldn't, we have to own now?
And they could take it upon themselves to find the available
funds knowing that this is a necessity rather than put it in the AUIR
and create a tax issue that we really don't know if we need or not and
then find out a way to give it back to the people. I would rather not
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give it to the government first.
I'm thinking we ought to look at weighing the leasing and the
operationa1s, the owned stations together in this document instead of
just looking at them all as owned.
Amy, are you trying -- did you want to say something about that?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, please. There has been a direction for
us to get out of leased space, and so the direction that we've received
is we're either going to own or we're going to collocate and own our
portion of what we're collocating on.
The days of the lease are coming to an end. And that has been
my understanding. I don't know --
MR. PAGE: Yes. And part of the problem was in the beginning,
going back in history here, a lot of the areas where we needed to have
an EMS station there was no land available in the city, so we would
collocate maybe with a fire department, in some cases maybe with the
hospital, over the years we had space with them.
We're certainly going to try to collocate in talks with the school
board, things of that nature, to try and get some property where maybe
we built an existing station there.
But I guess what I'm saying is this is what we look at as a
worst-case scenario. My goal would be to have joint stations, and
we've been pretty successful working with the sheriff with that and
certainly some of the fire districts. But there's no guarantee that that
would happen.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that kind of throws a different
light on it. I didn't know the direction was to abandon a cost saving
feature like that.
MR. PAGE: I don't know that a lease, that leasing a station is --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's a million dollars less a unit
according to your document here, almost a million, 950,000. Just the
opposite, 1,000,050. Your co-owned stations or collocated stations
are 1.8 million and your new units are 2.8 million, so you're about a
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$1 million different.
MR. PAGE: But the collocated stations, we own half of it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. PAGE: So I mean, that's not a lease. A lease is where I'm
paying 1500 a month for two bedrooms at a North Naples fire station
and that never goes away.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So in your new plans you are
going to keep your collocated units as they are.
MR. PAGE: As much as possible, yes. There is no, there is no
intent to move out from a collocated station.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Of your nine new stations are any of
them planned to be collocated?
MR. PAGE: We're hoping to have at least three.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Now we're still back to my
numbers. That means you have a total of nine and three, which is 12,
collocated and 18 non-collocated. When you get done with that
multiply that out using the right numbers for each type of station
instead of using them all as new, you end up with a $15 million plus to
the bottom line.
All I'm saying is why don't we capitalize on that and use it if
that's the reality that we're going to be faced with.
MR. P AGE: You're talking about the available inventory
currently, is that the line item, 21.5?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, actually, the required inventory,
30.6. You are saying we need 30.6 --
MR. PAGE: I understand.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. You got 20 or close to 20
already and they are split up with II owned and nine collocated. Now
you are going to add six more owned and three more collocated.
When you put those numbers together it's going to come up, and you
give them the allocation of both a collocated unit price and a new unit
price, you'll end up being 15 million less than that line.
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All I'm saying is if that could be done why don't we show the
numbers that way and then the bottom line to the taxpayers isn't going
to be 19 million, it might be considerably less than 19 million.
Could you look at that? I don't want to put you on the spot now
to try and do it. Could you look at that and respond to this panel with
just that issue if there are no others after we get done discussing this
today? That would be very helpful for me to understand that issue if
you wouldn't mind.
Now, based on that, is there any other questions of this panel?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No. If you all don't mind, I would like
to see that answer come back because it is a rather sizeable amount of
money. If it's limited to that discussion we could get through it rather
quickly next Thursday afternoon.
Does that meet with the approval of this panel?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Fine.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is that okay with you, Jeff?
MR. PAGE: Unfortunately, I have a National Fire Academy
class Thursday. But I will have the answer and maybe somebody else
here if I'm not able to attend.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's fine. W e'lllimit it to that issue
and we'll try to get past it real quick.
MR. PAGE: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you very much.
And the last one, and Ms. Court Reporter, would you like a
fifteen-minute break before we go on to the government buildings?
Five-minute break.
Good, let's take a five-minute break and we might be out of here
earlier than we thought tonight.
(A recess was taken.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, we're going to start now on the
final one for this evening, and it will be the government buildings.
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(Mr. Adelstein is not present.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Let's move forward.
MR. HOVELL: Good evening. For the record, I'm Ron Hovell,
principal project manager in the facilities management department.
And if you'll bear with me I'm kind of used to doing this on a monthly
basis for the coastal advisory committee and I usually do it on the
computer. Here we go, I think. Oh, good.
I just wanted to give you some quick background on this
category. This is the second year that this functional area is being
reported in the AUIR. This is my first year doing it. I joined the
department just about a year ago, a year and a couple months ago.
And I, much like you, would tend to look back to last year and
wonder what happened. When I first got assigned this task that's the
same process I went through. And one of the things we learned is that
last year the level of service was based on 1.9 square foot per
weighted resident, is the way it was reported in the AUIR. But what I
found when I read through the impact fee study, because initially I
understood that this had to match the impact fee study, was if you read
that it usually says the 1.9 square foot was per functional resident.
And it went on to say, I think it was on the next page, that to
make it simpler on county staff who would have a hard time keeping
up with the functional resident population, that if we were to want to
use a level of service based on weighted population, the
recommendation was actually 1.7 square feet. So you notice in your
package that's the way the slides are presented, although we'll get into
some other details in a minute that kind of bring that into question.
Just some other comparison points, the required inventory a year
ago when we were reporting five years out we said we would need
806,884 square feet with the lower level of service. This year, also
with the population changes and whatnot, now five years out we're
saying we need -- or at that same point in time, September 30th, 2009,
we need 737,441 square feet.
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Again, just comparing last year, we said in the five year capital
improvement plan we needed $84.6 million total. This year we're
saying we need 52.
Last year we said we needed $69.9 million of some other funding
source. This year we're saying we need 30.2.
The level of service standard. When the impact fee study was
done, I believe it was adopted in 2003, there was an existing deficit.
We already had a number of functions that were out in leased space.
Matter of fact, it was about 10 percent of our functions were in leased
space. And there are some issues related to operational costs versus
capital costs and whatnot and, you know, unlike a lot of other
functional areas that may have been up here in front of you today, I
think most people are in a, in the business of providing a service and
the facilities are the place that they launch that service from.
I'm in a little bit different situation. We're sort of the cats and
dogs of this presentation. My office, we provide the facilities for other
functions to do their business. So we support not only other county
staff such as the transportation department or the facilities department,
what have you, but we also support all of the other constitutional
officers that don't already have a separate impact fee, such as the law
enforcement impact fee for the sheriff or the jail impact fee for the
correctional facilities requirement.
So things like judges, state attorney, public defender, public
health, supervisor of elections, tax collector, we're the ones that
provide the facilities for all those folks. And all those functional areas
are captured in the inventory and therefore the requirements behind
the slides that you're going to see today.
So when we talk about level of service, the 1.7 square foot per
capita weighted population, yes, that's what the impact fee study said
we had at that snapshot in time when they did that study about two or
so years ago. I think if you were to look at the total functional
requirements we had at the time, including leased space though, it
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actually worked out that what we really were providing, albeit
somewhat from leased space, perhaps 10 percent from leased space,
was about 1.9.
So, interestingly enough, when you look at the charts -- I'm going
to jump to those here real quick. This is the chart that is based on
using a 1.9 square foot level of service, and you'll notice -- and I -- this
was, you know, me being new to it, perhaps, but if you look at FY '02,
interestingly enough the required square footage, which is driven by
population, and the square footage available superimpose themselves
at that particular point in time.
And so I somewhat naively thought that, oh, well, that must be
because when we did the impact fee study and you do all of the math,
you divide our current assets by the current population, and of course
those two numbers should match.
So when I first got into this and I was told that the level of, the
level of service was 1.9 and that chart looked the way it did, I thought,
oh, good, I'm done. We're there. Oh, well.
This is what it looks like. Same data but at a different level of
service. And now you see that in essence, because of the way all the
math was done and the rounding off -- I mean, let's face it, 1.7 square
foot per population when you're talking 300 to 500,000 people, if you
round off, you know, the next digit after that seven -- like, I think if
you go back to the study and actually look at the math, it was actually
1.74 something something something something, that rounding error
comes out to about 30,000 square feet worth of building.
So I don't know if that accounts for it or not but you see now that
this would make it appear that in '02 and '03 and even in '04 we had
more buildings than we needed to provide that level of service.
So I just find that an interesting observation as we go through the
rest of this discussion.
So with all that in mind I'll just get into here is the list of
proposed projects. You can see on Page 103 in your packets we went
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through all the math, we looked at what the proposed projects are,
what their funding sources are, what our revenue stream is, et cetera.
And if you look at Page 103, and I hope that I can make this point
without losing you here, but we're showing $39,050,000 as the
required payments just for the projects. There is another $19 million
worth of debt service, therefore we need a total of $58.7 million.
You go down to revenues, we're only getting about 14.2 in
impact fees. The other revenues another 14.2, almost all of which is to
pay for specific projects that are on this list that's on the screen in front
of you that other functional areas are willing to pay for. So the cat-ops
facility, they have got their funding stream. The CDES second floor
addition and garage I believe is Fund 113, and they are willing to pay
for that.
So when you back those numbers out, this plan is really only
asking for $26 million for government buildings. And yet when you
get down to the bottom there we're $30 million short. And the point I
wanted to make there is you could zero out every one ofthese projects
and we'd still be $4 million short because we've already bonded
beyond what our current impact fee revenues will support.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You've bonded beyond, that
would seem to me an asset.
MR. HOVELL: Our debt service on the bonds --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
MR. HOVELL: -- we now have to repay exceed the revenues.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Now I understand. That was my
question that I was going to pose, though. The year to open, would
you explain that to me? That's the moment in time that the project is
approved and design begins or what does that mean?
MR. HOVELL: I'm sorry. Say that again.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Year to open on your proposed
projects payable.
MR. HOVELL: Okay. The reason I wanted to point that out,
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and actually in your package on Page 106 it kind of goes hand in hand
with this whole thing. In years past there was a fair amount of
discussion about if we provide $40 million for building in fiscal year
'08, some people thought that meant in '08 was when the year -- that
was the year to open, whereas other people thought that meant, no,
that's the year that we are going to provide the money, and because it
takes a year or two to build the building it will be a year or two later
before you see it.
And so to make it clear this year, in your package, Page 106
shows all these projects and it shows what year we want them to start,
we're proposing to have the design money, what year we're proposing
to have the construction money and then what year the facility would
be done and the doors would be open. So this year to open means
that's the year that we would actually have beneficial use of the
building.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: When would the impact fees be
applicable to those, the year you open it, design or the incremental or
what?
MR. HOVELL: The year that you fund it is the capital
improvement.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So when you encumber the
funds. Would that be on approval?
MR. HOVELL: The year that you budget the funds I think is
really it. For instance, as the proposal shows, if we, the tax collector
north office, we're showing 2007 for the design money and 2008 for
the construction money, and then it would open in 2009.
So if for instance -- here is a better example, the health and
public services building shows 2008 design, 2009 construction but it
doesn't open until 20 II. And I'm not sure if that crosses, is that right
on the cusp or is that right outside of that five-year window. But the
money is in the five-year window so we're showing it as a, as part of
the five-year.
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COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's reasonable.
MR. HOVELL: Does that answer your question?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
MR. HOVELL: Anyway, I think that was all of the remarks I
wanted to make. I'll open it up to your questions. I'm sure there is a
fair amount.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: You made the comment, I think
it was in passing, but that it appeared that we had more buildings than
we needed. What was the truth?
MR. HOVELL: I was looking back in time.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I understand that.
MR. HOVELL: This one right here. Well, I think if you, you
know, when you say what is the truth, we had a master plan approved
-- I say we, my department long before I got there -- back in 1997,
1998 the Board approved a master plan which predominantly related
to this what we call the courthouse complex. And it showed that over
a 20-year period we were going to be building something like 900,000
square feet of space to accommodate all the various pieces of growth
around here.
And if you were to analyze the plan, the master plan against
where we are today we're over a hundred thousand square feet short.
And if you want evidence of that go visit the public defender or the
state attorney or come to some of the county staff offices --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have and I understand.
MR. HOVELL: -- and they are sitting on each other's laps.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That was based on slippage from
not getting the projects.
MR. HOVELL: Right. And some of the slippage, I mean, you
maybe thinking that the courthouse annex will solve all of that but the
master plan shows the courthouse annex, the next couple floors of
Building H, the public health building and then further down the road
a new BCC building, the what we call Building S and Building Rare
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January 13,2006
all part of that master plan to ultimately accommodate the anticipated
growth of those various functions.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: And those have been adjusted
upward relative to need from the original master plan.
MR. HOVELL: I'm not sure how much adjusting we've done to
that original master plan. I will tell you that we're planning on getting
an update to the master plan in the next window. I know we tend to
say in next year's AUIR, but I think the timing is going to work out
such that we're actually going to be presenting the 2006 AUIR maybe
over the summer or by September or something like that.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: We've been hearing April.
MR. HOVELL: Well, yes, exactly.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I guess what I was trying to get a
bead on is the number of employees, the number of organizations, as it
were, has increased from the master plan. And I guess what I'm
looking for is, with what your shortfall is against what the increased
numbers are, are we going to be okay with this projection now, are we
well on our way to satisfaction of the master plan finally?
MR. HOVELL: There is, there is one chart in your package, I
believe it's this one based on 1.78 square feet. And one of the reasons
we think it's worth at least discussing from a policy point of view is
what is the right level of service. This chart certainly implies that all
of the plans we've laid out would appear to have us overbuilt even
now and yet the opposite is the truth.
Whereas if we look at the 1.9 per square foot chart it shows a
much more balanced approach and I would offer that perhaps one of
the policy directions behind that is we've been under direction for a
number of years now to get everybody out of leased space. I think
there was a point in time maybe two or three years ago where we were
spending a million dollars a year in lease costs. So this plan reflects
getting everybody out of leased space.
And it's, the red line, the square feet available based on this plan
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is the same on both charts. It's the blue line that -- the square foot
required based on the population that changes so it looks much -- I
keep pushing the wrong button -- it looks much different at the 1.7
level. I think it's worth discussion that even though perhaps
incorrectly a year ago or two years ago, whenever it was adopted, that
1.9 seems to have been what was chosen as the level of service, but I
think it turns out that even though it may have been coincidence that
that might actually be the appropriate level of service even though the
impact fee study, because you can only count owned facilities, shows
that it came out to 1.7, the math came out to 1.7.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Y es. You noted on the other
chart that the community development would not be covered, the
community development addition would not be covered by impact
fees.
MR. HOVELL: That is correct.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Why is that? You think of any
department that would be the one --
MR. SCHMITT: It's an enterprise fund and that building on
Horseshoe Drive and the expansion and parking lot were all built with
the development services fees as an enterprise fund activity.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And so will their addition?
MR. SCHMITT: The addition will. Now the non -- the non-113,
which are non-building department functions, pay rent back into, well,
into the budget they pay assessed rent in that to pay down the bonding
on that building.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MR. SCHMITT: So it is not an impact fee funded type of
activity. It is strictly a -- it's a --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: You pay for it yourself.
MR. SCHMITT: Yes. Basically it's an enterprise fund similar to
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utilities. Utilities, you don't see anything on this chart for utilities
because again it's, if they need an office building that's part of the
enterprise fund activity, it's not part of the general revenue type
activities in the county.
Now one could argue that it could be the other way but that's
kind of how that building was built, and just to keep things clean that's
the way we will continue.
COMMISSIONER MURRA Y: I have a -- are you finished?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I had a note here to myself, and
maybe I missed it, but I didn't see a project for security changes to
buildings. I know that some security changes should be manifesting.
Am I in error in that?
MR. SCHMITT: Those are all 0 and M type of activities, not __
those are budgetary issues, not capital --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: They are not capital --
MR. SCHMITT: They are operating and maintenance type
activities. Operating budget, not capital.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's interesting. I would have
thought that would have been capital.
MR. HOVELL: It also doesn't provide additional square footage,
which is the main point behind this functional analysis.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Because it's a facility, it's a
physical structure. Okay. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do you have any more?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: No. Fine. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Let's start with Page 103, the unit costs.
How did you come to that number, 413.35?
MR. HOVELL: Sorry, I'm looking at Page 103 but I'm -- the unit
cost I show is 318.95. Do I have the wrong page?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I think so.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Wait a minute. No, you're right, that
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was revised.
MR. HOVELL: That's what I thought. But anyway,
nevertheless --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I still want to know--
MR. HOVELL: -- regardless of the number.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Let me rephrase my question.
MR. HOVELL: There you go. Regardless of the number, where
that number comes from is from Page 106. When you take the total
cost of the capital improvement plan and divide it by the square
footage that that capital improvement plan provides, that's where that
number comes from.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On Page 106 you have a column titled
dollars per square foot.
MR. HOVELL: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And they vary a little bit, so is that an
average of all of those? Is that -- or is it square foot?
MR. HOVELL: Well, I -- I'm not sure if it's fair to call it an
average, maybe a weighted average based on square footage. But if
literally you take all, each project has a somewhat specific project
estimate based on the specifics of that project. Some require more site
development than others, some are just in addition to an existing
building that don't have site development costs, what have you. Some
are parking garages that don't have -- you know. So they all have
different square footage costs.
But when you take the total project estimate, the 39,050,000 and
divide by the square footage that that money will provide for, 122,433
square feet, that's the number you come up with.
And there was a point in time when we had a lot more projects in
here and as you just noted, at one point in time it was 400 and some
odd dollars per square foot. There was another version as we went
through this effort where it was $500 a square foot.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On the same page, if you go to the
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bottom there is an asterisk. I've looked, maybe I missed it, where does
the asterisk refer to?
MR. HOVELL: Under the projects there is some major
groupings, there's projects under construction. The next one down is
projects approved for construction, and you'll see after courthouse
annex space two there's an asterisk.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Stop, stop, stop. I'm on Page 103.
MR. HOVELL: I'm sorry. I'm still looking at the other one.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The asterisk -- I'm going to start from
the first page and work my way through this document as best I can.
The last asterisk on that page.
MR. HOVELL: You're right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Where does that refer to in the
document, is it mentioned up above, anywhere?
MR. HOVELL: It should probably come, there should probably
be an asterisk right after the, under revenues, impact fees anticipated,
the 14.2 million, because what it's talking about is the current impact
fees are based on $184 a square foot and yet our recent costs are more
in the neighborhood of 390 because we're building things that don't
add office square footage, like a parking garage.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: 184 per square foot includes what costs?
MR. HOVELL: You mean like land and buildings and furniture
and equipment, that kind of costs?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right.
MR. HOVELL: I'd better defer to Amy but I think I just gave
you a pretty good list.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hi, Amy.
MS. PATTERSON: Hello.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Nice to see you again.
MS. PATTERSON: Good to see you. The $184.32 is the cost of
the land and the buildings, not furniture or equipment.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Not furniture.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Do you have the impact fee revenue
statement with the impact fee study with you for this building?
MS. PATTERSON: I sure do.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The one dated January 2004. If you
turn to Page 7 it says, based on the estimated value of buildings and
land provided by the county, an average figure of 184.32 per square
foot of building costs and 35.15 ofland costs per square foot of
building is used.
My assumption by the way that's written that you add those two
together to get the cost. Is that not right?
MS. PATTERSON: Let me go further into the study to make
sure.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Because if you do and it's used the way
he just said it was then the numbers in this table are going to have an
error in them that we need to probably take a look at.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: While she's looking at that, Mr.
Chairman, I want to be absolutely sure because I thought I had the
correct supersedure, which is that 413.35. I should be looking at
318.95?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, it was a handout that was provided.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I got several of them, that's the
problem, and I thought I had it right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's the only change on -- I mean, well,
there are more changes on the page but that's the starting change.
Means you've figured it out, Amy?
MS. PATTERSON: The study's referencing $219.47 as the total
cost per square foot of building, so if we need to revise that number
what I'll do is double check back with the consultant and make sure
that there wasn't some reason, since we have been using this $184
number.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. But the impact fee study does
come up to --
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January 13, 2006
MS. PATTERSON: It does reference another $35 for land.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So I'm afraid that I'm going to have to
ask you that the summary sheet will have to be redone and brought
back to us because that's going to have an impact on the numbers as
the gentleman indicated they used it. So that will be an important
factor in this sheet.
MS. PATTERSON: Assuming that we're not making a mistake
with that $35 and we would revise accordingly.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: One document's got a problem with it,
one or the other. If you guys could just identify it that would be
helpful.
Ifwe go to, now, Page 106. Ifwe go down to the projects
approved for construction, what do these mean? Are they included in
the -- they are included in the government buildings overall square
footage, right?
MR. HOVELL: Yes, they are shown as coming on line in 2007
and 2008.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So their valuations are included in the
current inventory.
MR. HOVELL: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. What's in the current inventory
that is on Page 106?
MR. HOVELL: Nothing.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's --
MR. HOVELL: That's why this chart exists. The current
inventory is only things that are already built and open for business.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So in the available inventory of 639,231
none of that is on this page.
MR. HOVELL: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are things on this Page 106 being paid
for with impact fees or other revenue sources under the government
buildings section of this AUIR?
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January 13, 2006
MR. HOVELL: They are paid for out of impact fees budgeted in
FY '06 or prior years plus in some cases, like the fleet facility for
instance, the line that you see here is only the portion attributable to
impact fees. There is also sheriffs impact fees or perhaps other fund
sources to make up the total project.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is the courthouse annex phase two the
total project?
MR. HOVELL: No, there is a phase one that is currently under
construction, phase two that is approved for construction and we've
actually got a phase three proposed in the plan.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But is the courthouse annex phase two
for phase two the total that's in your sheet?
MR. HOVELL: The 14 million, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes. Okay. In discussions this morning
with Norm Feder's group they were made aware ofa document they
had posted on the web that apparently was there by accident.
Although it's not a secret document, it does provide additional
information that may have affected this page. They have a courthouse
annex phase two under the gas tax that contributed $22,540,000. I
don't know how relevant that is to this or if it works into this or where
Norm got that information--
MR. HOVELL: There is no gas tax related to the courthouse
annex.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I just wanted to make sure. If
you -- the emergency services complex that's there, 55,822 square
feet, how does that compare to the size of the emergency services
complex that we've all heard about?
MR. HOVELL: The other square footage related to that
building, the total building comes out to more like 130,000 square
feet, this is the portion that is being paid out of this particular impact
fee. There are other funding sources. And so the 17.8 million is also
not the total cost of the total project.
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January 13,2006
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The other difference is made up by
other departments, or will they still be on the government building
section of the document?
MR. HOVELL: No, they are under other impact fees. For
instance, the sheriff has some space.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: He's got 34,000. So if you take 55 and
34 you're at about 90. That still leaves you about 40,000 short. Who
is taking up that 40,000 square feet?
MR. HOVELL: There's EMS impact fees going into it, sheriffs
fees, government building impact fees and there may be some
replacement costs that are being paid for for ad valorem dollars.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Because that means that -- that means
EMS has to show -- I'm just curious how we're going to account for
that building. I'm trying to find out where all of the square footage is.
You're right, it's about 132. And the sheriffs impact fee report
says they are going to use about 34 and this report says 55 so there is
some missing square footage. I didn't see any in the EMS.
MR. HOVELL: They don't report square footage, they report
units.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But I mean, they would have to put an
awfu110t of units in there to make up that much missing square
footage.
MR. HOVELL: Well, it's not EMS, it includes EMS admin. It's
currently located in Building H. They will be occupying this building
and EMS impact fees are paying for their administrative space in the
emergency services complex as well. Some of that is replacement and
some of that is growth.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So the unit cost in EMS then includes
the allocation for this building at 2.7 million per unit. I mean, if their
impact -- I'm just curious how that's -- well, that's another issue I don't
want to bring up.
MS. PATTERSON: We can look into it for you and find out.
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CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you don't mind.
MS. PATTERSON: No, it's no problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you turn further on on Page 108,
beginning on Page 108 you have the sheriffs CID building, 2373
Horseshoe Drive.
MR. HOVELL: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If you go to the law enforcement master
plan that was Attachment A to -- well, you won't be able to go to it
because it was under the law enforcement section we didn't hear today
because the sheriffs department didn't show up. But in that particular
one they have the CID building, 2373 South Horseshoe Drive in their
documents as well. Are both of you guys claiming that building?
MR. HOVELL: It's not included in their impact fee study,
because I coordinated that with Amy's office, and it's also due to be
vacated by the sheriff. Well, actually, a year ago it was due to be
vacated about now so it's probably another year or so out. But that
building will be coming back to facilities for reassignment. So when
we realized it had not been included in either the law enforcement
impact fee study nor the government buildings impact study, and after
discussions with Amy's office we put it in this inventory line item.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's attached to the inventory sheet as an
exhibit to their AUIR report and that's why I asked the question. I'll
have to follow up and see if I can find out how it got there.
MR. HOVELL: I have the whole book if you don't mind telling
me what page you are looking at in the sheriffs section.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Sure. I have it tabbed. Page 69.
MR. HOVELL: I do see it and it does even say that that is a page
out of the Tinda1e-Oliver and Associates impact fee study.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Which I did check and I thought it was
but if you tell me it isn't I'm not going to doubt your word because I'll
check it again.
Does that mean you guys have got to check on that one too?
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January 13,2006
MR. HOVELL: No, I think Amy just said we're still saying, yes,
it belongs on general government impact fee, where I've shown it
anyway.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If it is under the law enforcement
impact fee study as this sheet indicates, does that mean somebody's
study is in error?
MS. PATTERSON: Not necessarily. We'll look into it and make
sure.
Since we have had these conversations with Ron what we'll do is
just go back and check what we had planned to do with this. It can't
be in both places so it has to come off one and go onto the other.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I realize that, and so we need to fix
them before the next meeting, is where I'm going --
MS. PATTERSON: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- on Page 108. And also on Page 108
you have fairgrounds office and fairgrounds maintenance building.
The parks and recs department claims that those are going to be turned
over to them. Are you aware of that?
MR. HOVELL: No, I'm not specifically.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 54 of the parks and rec document.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: It's in there.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Fairgrounds.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Might be on the preceding page.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: They are supposed to be picking up the
fairgrounds in '06 to '07. Are the buildings going with it? I thought
they were indicating they were, but are they going to get the
fairgrounds without the buildings?
If you could take a look at it.
MR. HOVELL: We will confirm.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You're going to have to bring this
summary sheet back anyway and if you can answer these questions
when you come back that would work.
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January 13,2006
In the 2004 AUIR you had a, quite a few structures that were
listed in the base inventory in the back of the '04 AUIR. And they are
not listed in this one. I don't know why they are not. There is
probably maybe two dozen over 10,000 square feet, I believe.
Can you guys take a look and see why those aren't listed in the
'05. If they need to be then that certainly will help the '05.
MR. HOVELL: I think some of the ones you're referring to
were, although they have square footage associated with them they are
not office square foot, they are ancillary buildings like a generator
shed or a tiller plant or something that doesn't provide an opportunity
for anybody to provide a service out of it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But does the impact fee study or the
base of your government buildings require it to be for useful office
space, or is it supposed to be just a building? If it is supposed to be
just a building you may want to consider putting them back in and
take a look at them.
I don't know, I'm just asking you. If you're going to come back
why don't we just get it all cleaned up at one shot and be done with it.
Is that fair enough?
And that's the last question I had on government buildings, and
with these outstanding issues I don't know how we can move it
forward today unless this Board feels that you want to. I can't.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I was under the distinction
impression that we were asking folks to come back with revisions so
that we had that last shot to help them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I just want to make sure we're in
agreement on that. It's not my call.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: That's where I was going.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MR. HOVELL: One question if you feel so inclined that I would
like your opinion on is what is the appropriate level of service for this
category that we should be taking forward to the Board. As I
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January 13,2006
mentioned it would seem they have adopted 1.9 although it could be
argued perhaps that was an error. We've got it prepared both ways. I
think we're looking for your input on what's the appropriate level of
servIce.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, first of all, I think we need the
tables redone so we can understand what numbers are affected by that.
Second of all --
MR. HOVELL: The numbers won't change because none of the
questions you've asked have any impact on what the table looks like.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The level of service increases the cost to
the taxpayers. And the impact fee study that I read has a level of
service stated whether you use functional or weighted. You've chosen
to use weighted so you're going to 1.7, so I would assume then they
would have taken into consideration the balance between those two
because if you use functional you're going to change your population
statistics to something else. I'm not sure it makes a difference from
our end what you use if you use the right population with the right --
MR. HOVELL: Okay, so your answer is to be consistent with
the impact fee study if I'm hearing you right.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I would think so.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I really think you would want to be.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That one is the subject of scrutiny now.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Let me ask a question on that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: When you came up with these
charts obviously you came up with the needs of all the different
operations and came up with your square footage that way and then
just plotted it to see how it was, based on the 1.7 or 1.9, correct? The
1.7 does make it look like there is an awfu110t of extra facilities.
You're saying that's not the case.
MR. HOVELL: Right. And that's the genesis of my question of
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January 13,2006
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Is that not the case because
when you were programming these other functions, you were
programming too much error in or is that not the case?
MR. HOVELL: No, it's because when the impact fee study was
done it recommend 1.7 square foot per weighted population. We
already had a deficit. And if we're going to suggest that we always
have a deficit then our chart will look like this. The need is there to
try to make up that deficit but the funding and the level of service
don't provide it. So we will apparently always have leased space
and/or people sitting on each other's laps under this.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: But this chart shows a surplus,
doesn't it?
MR. HOVELL: At the level of service of 1.7, which already has
a built-in deficit.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's a surplus with a built-in deficit.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Is it getting late?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: It boggles the mind.
MR. HOVELL: Again, you get into that same discussion you
had with EMS. This chart only reflects owned space. So at the time
the study was done 10 percent of our functions were supported in
leased space. If we are to support it with owned space and follow the
policy direction of getting out of leased space then our chart is going
to look something like this.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Couldn't you then make your
chart, have your chart with a third item in there showing the leased
space as an additive, which combined then, as a separate line, but
combined would give you a more realistic number?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: For my part --
MR. HOVELL: Yes, in a way. Yes and no. In essence this chart
at 1.9 square foot per capita, just as I said, coincidentally happens to
match up with the impact fee study recommendation to do 1.9 square
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January 13,2006
foot per functional resident, I guess was the way they put it. It just
happens to be the same number but that's the level of service that it
would appear that the various entities that use government buildings
actually need.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Your chart shows what appears
to be the surplus but you speak to it as a deficit, so some component
has to be in there to make your point. Otherwise the easy thing for us
to say is sure, go with that. But I'm not sure that solves your problem.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I'm -- I know that you guys hired
-- somebody hired professionals to do a study for impact fees and I
know impact fees are a very contentious legal issue. It would be the
last thing I would do with this panel to suggest changing a study that
some professional did that is on the books and on record and voted
upon by the BCC.
If they want to change an impact fee study, have a revision made
and come back with a level of a service that they desire, then that's
their call. That's one thing. But I don't know if I can outthink
Tinda1e-Oliver sitting here in this meeting.
MR. HOVELL: We went through this same debate of what's an
AUIR versus what is an impact fee study. The impact fee study
obviously is specifically to impact fees. AUIR takes the broader view
of what are all the things you need to do. And you may have heard
some people today even try and weave in, I think you heard libraries
talking about their replacement costs, which clearly that has nothing to
do with impact fees.
So AUIR isn't necessarily a one for one match with impact fee
studies. As long as we don't decrease the level of service, then there is
no effect on impact fees. If we increase the level of service above
what the impact fee recommends it only means, it only drives where
the funding comes from. The impact fees cannot be based on anything
more than what the impact fee study recommends. That delta needs to
be made up with something else, perhaps ad valorem or whatever
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January 13,2006
other funding sources might be available.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But if there is a higher level of service
that's used in the AUIR and you want to modify the impact fee study
with an amendment to raise it to a higher level of service, they can do
that as well, can't they?
MR. HOVELL: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: They can't change impact fee levels of
service?
MR. HOVELL: I will let Amy explain better.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. But libraries and a few others
have already done that.
MS. PATTERSON: What happened with the libraries is a little
bit different than trying to raise your level of service using impact
fees. They actually have ad valorem support for what they're trying to
do with their book level of service.
Your impact fees support your current level of service. If you
want to improve your level of service you have to use a funding
source other than impact fees because you can't charge an impact fee
and then charge somebody again to improve the level of service.
So that's -- if we want a higher level of service for government
buildings, that's fine, but that, that increment between the impact fee
level of service and your -- the level of service that you want to
achieve has to be made up by another funding source.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Fair enough, thank you. I have no other
questions. Does this panel?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Just one question. On the leased
spaces is there a point in time when we'll have no leased space or is
this 10 percent going to carry or --
MR. CAMP: For the record, Skip Camp, facilities management.
That's a great question. The current CEO has asked us, Jim
Mudd has asked us to get rid of leased space as soon as possible. At
one time we were leasing a million dollars a year worth and now it's
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January 13,2006
considerably different.
But your question I think though there is always going to be an
appropriate amount of leased space to lease. It's the gap between the
inventory you have and what you need. So I think there's always
going to be a certain amount. I think the important thing is to, for
government buildings, since we're going to be in them for a long time
and it's not temporary, is to mitigate that and to make that number as
small as possible.
But I think there is always going to be a gap to fill. And the
other thing is in government buildings we have much like the sheriffs
office where you'll have a jail, for instance, will have a whole lot of
inmates in one area because there are classifications. The people will
be laying on the floor and yet you'll have open cells over here. Weare
much the same way. If you look at the commissioners' office they
may be appropriate now and appropriate for a number of years and yet
the courts, in the clerk of courts people are sitting all over each other.
So there are those pockets or what the jail calls classifications
that we're always going to deal with, there's a surplus here but there's
plenty over here. I think the lease helps that particularly.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: All right. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: If! can, Skip, you would have, if
I understand, for allocated space individuals, human beings have space
that's based on their title, their workload, whatever, any number of
factors or maybe one or two factors. Doesn't that drive ultimately the
need for additional space?
MR. CAMP: Absolutely. When the study was commissioned in
1997 and accepted by the Board in 1998, the study looked at first of
all was our square foot per employee adequate, proper. And we did
that by looking at other municipalities, the private sectors, the State of
Florida and we compared that to make sure that we had a defensible,
conservative square foot per person, and a judge, for instance, gets,
let's say, 300 square feet and a technician gets so much, and they are
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January 13,2006
all different categories. And also whether they are open or closed
offices.
We wanted to make sure, confirm that we had conservative,
defensible square footage. And that's where it started.
Then it went, it went -- the study decided what is the relationship
between the population, the overall county population and the number
of employees that we have. And then how is the number of
employees, what's the history of that and what's the projection, what's
the population, and also things like court cases to see how stable the
government functions were.
And they did all those kinds of things in order to come up with
these types of square foot per person.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So in your inventory right now
we could say you have a million square feet but if we allocated it out
against the number of human beings occupying that we might find out
that we needed 1,270,000 square feet.
MR. CAMP: Absolutely. One of the things that happened when
we started this is that we had, like Ron said we had a deficit in leased
space and we had a deficit in the amount of people that we already had
in buildings that was improper, people sitting on top of each other.
And I think those are the things we're still living with.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, gentlemen, ifthere is nothing
else, this meeting is adjourned and we will go home. I mean
continued to next Thursday afternoon.
MR. SCHMITT: For the record, Mr. Chairman, I would say
project that it will be continued to 1 :00 on the 17th and maybe after
that, depending on the land use petitions associated with the planning
commission meeting that morning.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I was under the understanding we didn't
have to put a time, but if we do, 1 :00 is fine.
MR. SCHMITT: I would project 1 :00.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you, MR. SCHMITT, that's what
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we'll do. The meeting is adjourned, or continued.
*****
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 6:46 p.m.
COLLIER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
MARK P. STRAIN, Chairman
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF GREGORY COURT
REPORTING SERVICE, INC. BY ELIZABETH M. BROOKS, RPR
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