Immokalee Beautification MSTU Minutes 08/26/2020
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MINUTES
Meeting of the Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU Advisory August 26, 2020.
The Advisory board members, staff, and public appeared virtually and in person.
Hybrid Remote Public Meeting
South Immokalee Park
418 School Drive
Immokalee, FL 34142
A. Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order by Peter Johnson, MSTU Vice-Chair at 8:34 A.M.
B. Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silent.
William “Bill” McDaniel led the Pledge of Allegiance a moment of silence.
C. Roll Call and Announcement of a Quorum.
Monica Acosta opened roll call. A quorum was announced for the MSTU board.
MSTU Advisory Committee Members Present:
Andrea Halman, Bernardo Barnhart, Peter Johnson, and Norma Garcia.
MSTU Advisory Committee Members Absent/Excused:
Cherryle Thomas
Others Present:
Victoria Peters, Armando Yzaguirre, Mark Beland, Yvonne Blair, Madison Smith, Abel Jaimes, Mike
Taylor, Estil Null, and William (Bill) McDaniel.
Staff: Debrah Forester, Christie Betancourt, and Monica Acosta.
D. Introductions.
All board members introduced themselves to the members of the public. All public present introduced
themselves.
E. Approval of Agenda.
Staff presented a revised agenda to the board for approval. Items H.2., H.2.i., H.2.ii, were added to the
agenda.
Staff held a roll call vote to approve the amended agenda.
Action: Mr. Peter Johnson made a motion to approve the amended agenda. Ms. Andrea Halman
seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 4-0.
F. Approval of Consent Agenda.
1. Minutes
i. Joint CRA & MSTU Advisory Board Meeting for June 24, 2020 (Enclosure 1)
2. Budget Reports (Enclosure 2)
3. Operations Manager Report (Enclosure 3)
4. Community Meetings (Enclosure 4)
Staff presented the board with the June 24, 2020 Joint CRA & MSTU Meeting Minutes, Budget,
Operations Manager’s Report, and Community Meetings.
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Staff held a roll call vote to approve the consent agenda.
Action: Ms. Andrea Halman made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Peter
Johnson seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 4-0.
G. Announcements.
1. Communications Folder
Staff reviewed the communications folder with the board and members of the public. The folder
contained the public notice for this meeting, the copy of the Executive Order No. 2020-05 about
mandatory face coverings, the Q&A sheet about face coverings, flyers in English, Spanish, and
Creole about face covering, copies of the United Arts Council “Call to Artists” in English and
Spanish, the Census 2020 flyer in English, Spanish, and Creole, and the Community Meeting
Listing.
2. Public Comment speaker slips
Staff reiterated the public 3-minute speaker slip policy. The board will give more time if they feel
it necessary.
3. Project Manager Position
Staff announced that the position for Project Manager has been accepted by Ms. Yvonne Blair. Ms.
Yvonne Blair briefly introduced herself to the Board and stated that she looked forward to working
with everyone.
H. New Business.
1. Collier County United Arts Council “Call to Artist” (Enclosure 5)
Staff provided board with an update on the collaboration with the United Arts Council. A “Call to
Artist” has been initiated by the United Arts Council and the deadline for submissions is Friday,
August 28, 2020. As of today, no submissions have been entered. If submissions are not entered
staff will provide an update at the next meeting and the board will need to decide how they would
want to proceed.
2. Advisory Board Committee Renewal Applicants
i. Bernardo Barnhart application (Enclosure 11)
Staff presented the board with Bernardo Barnhart’s application.
After discussion staff held a roll call vote to reappoint Bernardo Barnhart to the Immokalee
MSTU Advisory committee. Staff will send recommendation memo for renewal
appointment at the next available BCC meeting.
Action: Mr. Peter Johnson made a motion to reappoint Bernardo Barnhart to the Immokalee MSTU
Advisory Committee. Ms. Norma Garcia seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 3-0.
ii. Norma Garcia application (Enclosure 12)
Staff presented the board with Norma Garcia’s application.
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After discussion staff held a roll call vote to reappoint Norma Garcia to the Immokalee
MSTU Advisory committee. Staff will send recommendation memo for renewal
appointment at the next available BCC meeting.
Action: Ms. Andrea Halman made a motion to reappoint Norma Garcia to the Immokalee MSTU
Advisory Committee. Mr. Bernardo Barnhart seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 3-0.
Staff discussed the possibility of amending the MSTU ordinance to expand the board from 5
members to 7 members. This item requested by Bernardo Barnhart, MSTU Chair at the June 24th,
2020 meeting. Staff suggested that the board identify what type of board members they want to
add. When proposing to the Board of County Commissioners that will need to be specified. Board
agreed to include the requirements to have four residents and three business/non-profits in the area.
After discussion staff held a roll call vote to request that staff amend the ordinance to expand board
from 5 committee members to 7 committee members.
Action: Ms. Andrea Halman made a motion to amend MSTU ordinance to expand board to seven
members which will include four residents and three businesses/non-profit in the area. Mr. Bernardo
Barnhart seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 4-0.
I. Old Business.
1. MSTU Project Manager Report (Enclosure 6)
Staff updated the board on all current projects in enclosure 6. Zocalo Park will be getting a Kiosk
and the renderings are located on page 6. Staff will bring back recommendations in September.
Staff will also be getting quotes to get the electrical box fixed to accommodate the lights and sound
at Zocalo park as well as address the issue of being able to shut off power to all areas when not in
use.
2. CDBG Sidewalk Project (Enclosure 7)
i. Carver & South 5th Street
Staff informed board that the CDBG Immokalee Sidewalk Project Phase II contract has
been executed. The NTP should be issued by months end, and construction should be
completed by January 2021.
ii. West Eustis Avenue
Staff informed board that the Immokalee Sidewalk Project Phase III on Eustis Avenue did
not receive the grant that was applied for, but the board had previously voted to pay for the
design to be shovel ready regardless of the outcome of the grant.
Staff presented the board with enclosure 7, to explain the completed, current, and future for
sidewalks. The Redevelopment plan will be updated next year and will include an
Immokalee Sidewalk Mater Plan to see what other sidewalk projects are needed. This
would include asking the community to suggest area they feel need sidewalks to be
installed.
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3. Main Street Improvements Project – FDOT Project #439002-1 – update
Staff informed the board that the FDOT Main Street Project is underway, the stamped concrete was
not able to get done due to timing constraints, but staff continues to work with them. They have
also worked out the removal of 47 blue light poles and will be placed in an area of the airport park.
The plan is to relocate the poles to different areas of town that would need them.
4. Holiday Decorations
Staff informed the board that they are currently working with the finance department to do a three-
year contract, a five-year contract is not possible. This would ensure pricing for the next three years
and ensure timely setup and break down of holiday decorations. For the first year the decorations
on the light poles would be concentrated on poles located from 9th street through triangle area since
the poles from 1st street to 9th street will be down due to the FDOT project.
5. Contractor Reports
i. Maintenance Report
1. A&M Monthly Report (Enclosure 8)
Staffed reviewed the schedule of maintenance with the board and members of the
public.
Mr. Armando Yzaguirre addressed the board with his concerns of the construction on
Main Street, they are installing new drainage in the new bulb out area of the
construction but the debris that is being left behind in the old bulb out area is going to
be a problem for drainage if they don’t clean it up.
2. Project Manager Observation Field Report (Enclosure 9)
Staff reviewed the PM observation field report with the board and provided updates.
Staff informed board of the homeless population issue, using the Zocalo Plaza as
housing. Sherriff’s department and park ranger are doing more monitoring. The park
staff helped with disinfecting the area. A better solution will need to be discussed. Staff
is going to be working on the electrical issues, this could be step one. If they don’t have
electricity to charge their phones they may not come around. The bigger issue is if the
homeless are not at the Zocalo they are going somewhere else. Staff asked board Vice-
Chair Mr. Peter Johnson his thoughts on this issue. Mr. Johnson stated that this is not
just an Immokalee issue, it is an issue everywhere and the concern will be after the
moratorium on evictions due to COVID is over. The number of displaced people will
probably be higher. The food pantry has gone from serving 200 a month to serving
over 10,000 a month, so the numbers are climbing. These are the working poor who
are trying to make ends meet but they are probably not paying their rent or mortgages.
There some policies in place to help like the government’s Rapid Rehousing, the issue
is that it is a process and requires a lot of public/private partnerships that is much bigger
than the MSTU can handle. He will however reach out to Ana Estrella and Mark Davis
with the Friendship House to see if they can do some outreach with the homeless and
try to connect them with some resources.
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Packet Pg. 281 Attachment: MSTU Meeting Minutes - August 26, 2020 (13695 : Immokalee MSTU Advisory Board - September 23, 2020)
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The chronically homeless don’t generally want assistance but at least knowing who
they are to give the Sherriff a list of who is searching for help and who just wants a
place to stay would help in keeping them out of Zocalo but the problem will still be
there.
Mr. Mark Beland with Avow suggested speaking with Michael Overway with the
Hunger and Homeless Coalition of Collier County.
6. TIGER Grant Updates
Staff announced that the agreement was approved by the board and the RFP has been put out to do
a design build for the project.
7. Code Enforcement updates (Enclosure 10)
Staff gave the board updates on the cases Code Enforcement had in the months of June and July in
enclosure 10, along with pictures of specific areas that have been cleaned up.
8. FDOT updates
Ms. Victoria Peters addressed the board with updates on SR 29 and SR 82 leading to the
roundabout. It is currently moving along as planned; they have had some issues with the installation
of the drainage due to the rainy season, but they are still on target for completion. At this point
completion date is set for March 8, 2022.
On SR 29 there is a plan in its early stages of design for a roundabout to be added at the intersection
of SR29 and Westclox as an alternative. FDOT has been working on the possibility for a full signal
light for that intersection. A traffic study was done in that area, the traffic alone did not warrant a
full signal light in that area, but the number of accidents did. They are currently working on making
it a “go” but Ms. Peters will bring back updates as she gets them.
She also updated the board on the rest of SR29 widening, the first segment is North of New Market
Road to 82, design is in progress and construction has been funded for fiscal year 2025/2026. The
next section is what some people refer to as the loop or bypass, but it is the section of CR 846 to
North of New Market Road, design is in early stages and construction has not been funded. The
next section is South Agricultural way to CR 846, design is in early stages and construction has not
been funded. The next section is Sunniland Nursery Road to South Agricultural Way, design is in
early stages and construction has not been funded. The final section is Oil Well Road to Sunniland
Nursery Road, design is on hold due to PD & E and construction has not been funded.
Commissioner, Mr. William “Bill” McDaniel updated the board with the project that is moving
forward with M-CORES. It is a toll road that is being implemented from Lakeland to I-75. It will
not be a straight through road, it will follow an already existing route, it will either be SR17to SR31
to SR80 over to SR29 or SR27 to SR29. Either way it will come through Immokal ee. If this gets
passed, this could make the funding for construction for the FDOT projects not currently funded be
a possibility. He will provide another update next month.
9. Other agencies
No other updates
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Packet Pg. 282 Attachment: MSTU Meeting Minutes - August 26, 2020 (13695 : Immokalee MSTU Advisory Board - September 23, 2020)
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J. Citizens Comments.
Ms. Andrea Halman asked the Commissioner about the Internet issue in Immokalee now that students
are doing class from home. Commissioner, Mr. William “Bill” McDaniel, stated that there are no
immediate enhancements to the internet for the town, but he has spoken to Dr. Patton about using the
schools as an additional booster for hotspots, the issue being that using the school district as a platform
would mean following their rules and having lots of restrictions. He is looking for a more open platform
that would allow people to search for the things they need without so many restrictions and do it for free,
but again nothing will be immediate.
Commissioner, Mr. William “Bill” McDaniel, asked staff about the issues out at the cemetery. He wanted
to know if the flooding was still and issue. Staff informed the Commissioner that the drainage is fine, but
the current issue is the new signs that have been posted at the cemetery. The fence does need to be fixed.
Staff did however call the communications department about the issue and staff w as told to route all of
the complaints to 311.
Commissioner, Mr. William “Bill” McDaniel, also suggested putting in motion detectors to send a notice
to the Sherriff’s department for the homeless issue at the Zocalo Plaza. He will talk to someone about
getting some information about using that as an option.
K. Next Meeting Date. The next MSTU meeting will be on September 23, 2020 @ 8:30A.M.
Location to be determined.
L. Adjournment. Meeting Adjourned @ 10:16 A.M.
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Packet Pg. 283 Attachment: MSTU Meeting Minutes - August 26, 2020 (13695 : Immokalee MSTU Advisory Board - September 23, 2020)
23.B.3Packet Pg. 284Attachment: MSTU Meeting Minutes - August 26, 2020 (13695 : Immokalee MSTU Advisory Board - September 23, 2020)