BCC Minutes 06/10/1997 R REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 10, 1997
OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COHMISSIONERS
LET IT BE REHEHBERED, that the Board of County Commissioners in
and for the County of Collier, and also acting as the Board of Zoning
Appeals and as the governing board(s) of such special districts as
have been created according to law and having conducted business
herein, met on this date at 9 a.m. in REGULAR SESSION in Building "F"
of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida, with the following
members present:
ALSO PRESENT:
CHAIRMAN:
Timothy L. Hancock
Timothy J. Constantine
Pamela S. Mac'Kie
Barbara B. Berry
John C. Norris
Hike HcNees, Interim County Hanager
Robert Fernandez, County Hanager
David C. Weigel, County Attorney
Item #3
AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA - APPROVED AND/OR ADOPTED WITH CHANGES
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Good morning. I'm going to call to order the
June 10th meeting of the Board of County Commissioners.
This morning it's a pleasure to have here for invocation Reverend
David Mallory with the First Assembly of God Church. Reverend
Mallory, if I could ask you to honor us with an invocation, we'll
follow it up with the Pledge of Allegiance.
REVEREND MALLORY: Our Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for
your word for in your word we read, Thine is the kingdom, the power,
and the glory forever, for each of us here in this room, I am sure,
long to have a revelation of your Divine will for even here in Collier
County we really do your business because this is your kingdom.
We thank you for these fine commissioners and we thank you for
the wisdom that you have empowered them with. We are grateful for our
new county manager. We pray a special blessing upon him as he begins
his duties, and we give you all the honor and praise. Amen.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Reverend Mallory, again, thank you for being
here and thank you for all your work in the community. We truly
appreciate it.
Good Morning, Mr. HcNees.
MR. HcNEES: Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
recognizing I am not Mr. Fernandez, but --
MR. HANCOCK: But someday you hope to be. No, I'm just kidding.
MS. HAC'KIE: Just keeping things light.
MR. HANCOCK: Let it never be said there are sacred cows in this
room.
I do want to start things off with explaining to the board I
discussed with Mr. Fernandez, yesterday, today's meeting, and Mr.
HcNees has done a fantastic job as interim county manager, and I think
we would be remiss in not mentioning that if it were not for his
leadership and his abilities, we would be in a far sadder shape than
we would like to have been.
So, Mr. HcNees, I think we owe you a debt of gratitude for
serving in an interim capacity, stepping up and fulfilling a role that
you were fully capable of doing and doing quite well.
Mr. Fernandez is going to more or less monitor the meeting today.
Mr. HcNees will be acting in a similar capacity as he has in the past
couple of months, but, again, Mr. HcNees, on behalf of the board, we
are quite honored to have your talents in the county manager's office
and want to thank you for all of your effort and your hard work over
these last couple of months. It has been critical.
MR. HcNEES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that.
As you said, we are going to, I guess, do a little bit of
tag-team today while Mr. Fernandez kind of gets up to speed on our
protocols and our -- how we do things, and so I'll proceed with the
meeting.
We have just a couple of changes for your agenda this morning, an
item under the county attorney's agenda, 9(A), regarding some legal
fees with an ongoing lawsuit. We have an Item 10(B) that has been
requested to add by Commissioner Constantine, a resolution regarding
an Army Corps study that has been proposed, and then for the record,
excuse me, for the record, we have a consent agenda item that we want
to add a couple of pages to, and I'll ask that staff make sure the
reporter get copies of those pages for the record, and those would be
the only staff changes we are proposing this morning. CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you.
Any changes to the agenda, Commissioner Hac'Kie?
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: None, thank you.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Norris.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: No.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Berry.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: Nothing, sir.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Constantine.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: No changes.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I only have one item under board
communication, with no changes to the agenda.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make a
motion we approve the agenda and consent agenda as amended.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: Seconded.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We have a motion and a second. Any
discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
(The Board members responded.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Motion carries unanimously.
Item #4
MINUTES OF HAY 20, 1997, REGULAR MEETING - APPROVED AS PRESENTED
Item Number 4.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion that we
approve the minutes of the May 20th, 1997, regular meeting.
COMHISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I'll second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We have a motion and a second. Any
discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
(The Board members responded.)
Item #5A1
PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING JUNE 8-14, 1997 AS HOME OWNERSHIP WEEK -
ADOPTED
Under 5(A), proclamations, Commissioner Mac'Kie.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Yes, I'm happy to get to read a
proclamation for Home Ownership Week and wonder if Jeff Cecil is here
to accept it. I didn't see him. Is there someone else here on behalf
of the Chamber/EDC Affordable Housing Committee?
Okay. Come forward if you would here and stand in front of us
while I read the proclamation. Just wave to the cameras. Okay. You
probably want to turn and face --
WHEREAS, the United States is one of the first countries in the
world to make home ownership a reality for a majority of its people.
Thanks to the effective cooperation between industry and government,
the doors of home ownership have been opened to millions of families
in the last six decades; and
WHEREAS, home ownership strengthens families and stabilizes
communities, encourages savings and investment and promotes economic
and civic responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, expansion of home ownership spurs new production and
sales of -- and sales of goods and services, thereby strengthening the
economy and creating jobs; and
WHEREAS, the Naples Area Chamber of Commerce/Economic Development
Council Coalition, through its Affordable Housing Committee, is
committed to increasing the availability of housing in the community
that is affordable to employees of Collier County businesses and
government agencies.
NOW THEREFORE, be it proclaimed by the Board of County
Commissioners of Collier County, Florida, that the week of June 8
through 14th be designated as home ownership week.
Done and ordered this 10th day of June, 1997. Board of County
Commissioners. Timothy L. Hancock, Chairman.
And I am pleased to move acceptance of this proclamation.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We have a motion and a second. All those in
favor signify by saying aye.
(The Board members responded.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Congratulations.
SPEAKER: I'd like to thank everyone for this proclamation for
promoting housing for those that want to live nearer to where they
work.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Thank you.
Item #5B
EHPLOYEE SERVICE AWARDS - PRESENTED
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you again.
It's my pleasure this morning to recognize three individuals
under service awards for time and employment with the county.
First, we have from the Water North RO Plant, Robert Nixon, for
five years.
Mr. Nixon.
Mr. Nixon is five years and a day. He's still at work. Okay.
We'll go on to our second one from Office of Capital Projects
Management, Steven Ritter, for ten years of service in Collier County.
Mr. Ritter.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: It's been five years since you did this the
last time.
Congratulations.
MR. RITTER: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: And for 15 years service from Road and Bridge,
Mr. Isidro Losano.
Mr. Losano, congratulations.
My next item is actually time certain for ten o'clock or until
Senator Dudley arrives, so we will move on past that item and come
back to it when it is appropriate.
Item #9A
PAYHENT OF LEGAL FEES AND NECESSARY COSTS FOR INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS IN
BLANDFORD V. COLLIER COUNTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH RES. 95-632 AND
PURCHASING POLICY WAIVED TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY FOR IHMEDIATE
SELECTION OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL - APPROVED
We are to Item 9(A). This was an add-on of the county attorney's
office for legal fees in a lawsuit. Mr. Weigel, I believe we have a
packet that was handed to us this morning on this item.
MR. WEIGEL: That's correct. Thank you and I appreciate that we
could bring this before you. Mr. Mike Pettit, Assistant County
Attorney, will provide the brief discussion of it before you.
MR. PETTIT: Good morning, Commissioners and Mr. Chairman. Mike
Pettit here from the county attorney's office.
We're here this morning with the agreement of the Risk Management
Department to recommend that the board approve, pursuant to its
resolution 95-632, retention of outside counsel and payment for legal
fees for two individual defendants in a lawsuit in which the county
has also been named as a defendant.
Ordinarily -- actually, this hasn't happened very frequently
where individuals have been sued, individual county employees or
former county employees, along with the county, and ordinarily we
would attempt to represent all defendants, which is certainly a
prerogative the board has under its resolution.
We believe, in this case, it would be prudent to retain outside
counsel for the two individual defendants. I would note that one of
the defendants is a current county employee. One of the defendants is
a former county employee who has only recently left county employment.
Under the resolution we believe we have the power to retain
outside counsel and pay those fees, and we think that's the best
course here. If the board decides to choose that course, we are also
requesting that to the extent it applies, the purchasing policy be
waived so that we don't need to solicit quotes and can enter into --
we may not need to do that, because they are actually individual
defendants that are being represented, but we want to cover that base.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Mr. Pettit, my question is one of process. You
said it is unusual that the individuals are named in addition to the
county being sued in a case like this. What -- assuming a judgment in
favor of the county, what opportunity would we have, if any, to recoup
any of these additional legal costs due to the nature of the way the
suit was filed?
MR. PETTIT: There is a possibility at least with respect to
certain counsel and complaint, I believe that once counsel is
retained, it can be explored, where we can recover those fees. I
would certainly argue that with respect to some, if not all the counts
in the complaint, that the individual shouldn't have been defended --
shouldn't have been defended -- shouldn't have been sued under Federal
law.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Questions for Mr. Pettit or Mr. Weigel.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Just a brief one. I'm assuming that there
aren't any allegations in the complaint that arise out of anything
other than their service as employees of Collier County?
MR. PETTIT: The allegations in the complaint relate to service
as employees of Collier County, but obviously the allegations, as
described, are of sexual harassment and racial discrimination, we deny
those allegations and --
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: But they all relate to the employment of
the individuals.
MR. PETTIT: Absolutely, absolutely.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Motion to approve.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I have a motion and a second. Is there any
discussion on this?
Seeing none.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none.
Mr. Pettit, thank you very much.
MR. PETTIT: Thank you.
MR. HcNEES: Mr. Chairman, before you move to the next item, I
have been informed that Mr. Cecil, who is here for the Home Ownership
Week proclamation, has arrived and if you wish to allow him an
opportunity, he wanted to say a couple of words regarding that -- that
proclamation at your discretion.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I think we have room for a couple of words,
Mr. Cecil. We crack that whip early around here in the morning.
MR. CECIL: After sprinting across the parking lot, I have to
catch my breath. I am sorry for being late.
I would like to recognize the members of the affordable
housing committee that did make it before I did. Joan Gust, Bonnie
Fauls, Greg Hihalic, Jill Greenfield, and Vanessa Fitz. They're all
here.
Well, good morning. I'm Jeff Cecil. I'm the partner in charge
of the Naples office of Porter, Wright, Morris, and Arthur, a law firm
based in Columbus, Ohio.
On behalf of the Collier County business community, I want to
thank you for proclaiming June 8th through 14th as Home Ownership
Week. Owning one's own home is part of the American dream. You are
helping through the proclamation to focus attention towards achieving
that dream.
The housing committee of the Chamber EDC Coalition, which I chair
has been charged with the task of finding methods of making available
to those who work in Collier County housing which is affordable.
Finding a residence which is affordable for which a family pays less
than 30 percent of its income is a difficult problem for many Collier
County employees.
Generally, the lower the employee's income, the more difficult
the problem. When you consider the fact that even our new county
administrator receives a housing subsidy, and I understand has not
been able to find a house, is it any wonder that teachers, bank
tellers, secretaries, highway patrolmen, and many just starting their
careers here cannot find an affordable place to live?
Consider this. If they do not live here, they do not spend their
paychecks here. It is simply good business to ensure that our
employees can live in Collier County, to work in Collier County.
This proclamation helps point us in the direction we must go and
marks the beginning of a very important period in our county, a period
when our committee will seek your assistance and the assistance of the
entire business community in finding, developing, and funding programs
to provide homes to those who are the very foundation of our work
force. Let's make the American dream come true in our county. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you.
I would like to clarify. I think Mr. Fernandez is trying to find
the right house, not a house.
Thank you.
Item #10A
RESOLUTION 97-270 REAPPOINTING JOHN AGNELLI AND RICHARD BOTTHOF AND
APPOINTING CAROL E. GIRARDIN TO THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY -
ADOPTED
We are to Item 10(A), appointment of members to the Industrial
Development Authority.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Motion to approve.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: A motion and a second.
Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none. Motion carries unanimously.
Item #10B
COUNTY ATTORNEY DIRECTED TO PREPARE RESOLUTION OF OPPOSITION FOR
ADOPTION ON JUNE 17, 1997, REGARDING A PROPOSED ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
IMPACT STUDY OF COLLIER COUNTY
We are to Item 10(B) which was an add-on by Commissioner
Constantine. I understand we have Mr. Ward from CBIA here.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: This is, in my opinion, an effort to
stifle the economy, at the very least, of Collier County, and I think
Mr. Ward can probably outline it.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Come on up, Mr. Ward.
It may come as a shock to people in this room, but the federal
government seems to be sticking its hands in local development
approvals all of a sudden, but I know that is unusual, but, Mr. Ward,
good morning.
MR. WARD: Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Whit Ward. I
represent the Collier Building Industry Association.
I am here to ask you on behalf of Collier County to write a
letter to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Army Corps of Engineers, as I have explained to you in my
correspondence, is proposing to conduct an environmental impact study.
It started out to be the Estero area and I understand that it has now
expanded to come as far south as the Golden Gate canal.
During the time it takes for the Army Corps of Engineers to
complete this study, should they elect to do so, any -- any permit
that is -- that is applied for must go through the Army Corps of
Engineers, and, as you know, that is a very long and cumbersome
process. It would pretty much, as the commissioner said, stop
economic and building development in Collier County for as much as two
or two and a half years.
That's not the biggest thing. The biggest thing is that there
have already been some nine or ten studies done on this area. We
don't feel that we need another study. We know how the area works.
There is ample information, and, most of all, we don't need the
federal government here helping us anymore. We can take care of
ourselves, and we can --
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Please don't help us anymore.
MR. WARD: That's exactly right. We can take care of ourselves
down here, and so my request to you this morning would be that the
county commission write a letter to a Colonel Terry Rice, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville, Florida, asking them not to
conduct a study here in Collier County.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: Commissioner Norris.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Chairman, I have personally been in
contact with the offices of some of our federal legislators, Connie
Hack's office, Porter Goss' office, in relation to this.
They are aware of it, but I think we would be well advised,
perhaps, to take this to the level of a resolution and forward it not
only to the gentleman over at the Corps, but also to our legislators,
and it probably wouldn't hurt to involve more than just our local
ones. Any legislator that we have a good relationship with, I think we
should get this on, because this is, as Mr. Ward has said, is just
another study on top of a bunch of other studies, and really could be
devastating to our local economy if everything has to stop for a
couple of years all the way down to Golden Gate Parkway.
I don't see the point in it since we have not only the South
Florida Water Management District, but we have our own Big Cypress
Basin Board here in Collier County to look into these matters and
protect our environment, and it's just one of those pointless federal
government make-work deals that could have a tremendous negative
impact on our local citizens and we should get involved at the most
stringent level we can.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Mac'Kie.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Just an informational question. I heard
about this, you know, sort of through the grapevine that this was
coming.
I'm wondering, how did -- what official notice have we received?
How do we know where the boundaries are? How do we know what we are
asking them exactly not to do?
MR. WARD: We don't know where the boundaries are other than the
Army Corps started looking at the Estero watershed area. The Army
Corps decides on their own what area would affect the area they have
planned to study.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: I think that the concern is the boundaries
are wherever they decide to set them.
MR. WARD: And the last -- yes, sir, you're right, Commissioner,
and additionally, Colonel Terry Rice, in his last presentation that --
and I was not there, Diane Gilmore from Southwest Florida Chamber of
Commerce was there, stated that he thought the area that he would
recommend be studied should go to the Golden Gate canal, and so in his
mind, that is what he has decided to do.
I gave you a list of options and he also -- the list of options
that I gave you indicated that he would favor option number five. In
that same talk, he said they had decided on option number four, which
is the most re -- stringent of the options.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: And the process is just that this one
colonel in the Army Corps decides? MR. WARD: No.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: What is the process?
MR. WARD: He's made application -- he's made application or he's
-- to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and they are currently looking
for funding to study the project.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: So we would -- we would appeal to the
legislators because they would have a funding authority not to fund
this and --
MR. WARD: That would be very helpful and I have -- we visited --
I personally have visited both of our United States senators at their
Washington office and Congressman Porter Goss at his Washington office
to encourage them to do whatever they can to prevent a study being
conducted here.
Also, understand, this is the broadest study that has or will be,
if it is done, would be the broadest study ever attempted by the Corps
of Engineers. They are kind of trying to expand their territory.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: There are two things that cause me significant
concern.
The first is that we keep hearing about federal level cutbacks,
yet we seem to have an agency that is seeking a project outside of
their budget limits or trying to spend money within their budget
limits, as far as I know, to the nth degree, by increasing the
regulatory power over local government.
If that is not enough concern, this needs to be framed in the
proper context. This isn't an issue of builders versus
environmentalists. That is not what this is about. This is a direct
attack on private property rights. It's very similar to what the
state perpetrated in the south block on those people.
We have the Army Corps of Engineers saying we want to do a study
and until we are done with that study we are going to restrict the
rights of individual property owners without any rhyme, any reason,
any basis whatsoever. That's not what government is about.
So from that standpoint, this isn't about building, it isn't
about environment.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: It's about intrusion.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: It's simply about intrusion on individual
rights from the federal level, which we don't need any more of.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: I couldn't agree more. I just want to
understand what it is that we are -- we're being asked to do and I
wonder, have you made this -- I do feel confident that we have enough
layers of regulation here and enough reviewers that we don't need one
more.
I'm wondering, however, has the Big Cypress Basin taken a
position on this? Might we encourage them to do the same and the
Water Management District, et cetera, to take -- to say, excuse me,
we're down here, we are already doing this?
MR. WARD: To my knowledge, they have not taken a position.
We will encourage them to take a position.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: I'd like to include in our resolution
perhaps a letter or if Mr. Ward is going to take that initiative, just
to be sure that the local agencies, in addition to Collier County, who
are already doing this, also point out to the federal government, we
are already doing this.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Let me suggest, and Commissioner Norris, you
suggested the resolution. I, for one, would like to see the wording
of the resolution to make sure it is strong enough to state our
position clearly, which would require it being approved next week.
Were you assuming we would just adopt a resolution today and
allow the wording to be determined by Mr. Weigel? What was your
course of action suggesting the resolution?
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: It may be helpful to try to draft the
resolution during this week, and look at it again next week, and
approve it finally for distribution at that time.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: If there is some big -- if there's a
crisis, we might want to go ahead and write a letter saying, you know,
strong letter, strong resolution to follow. Just say no, strong
letter to follow.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: What I -- what we'd probably need in this
case, assuming there is no further discussion, is to direct the county
attorney to draft a letter for my signature, indicating our upcoming
action of the full adoption of a resolution and what the general
content of that resolution will be. The specifics will be decided
upon in the resolution.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: So moved.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We have a motion to that effect. Is there a
second?
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Motion and second.
Mr. McNees.
MR. McNEES: You have one registered speaker.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Why don't we go ahead and go to that
speaker?
Mr. Ward, thank you.
MR. WARD: Thank you, Commissioners.
MR. HcNEES: Judy Leinweber.
MS. LEINWEBER: Hi. I'm Judy Leinweber, and Colonel Rice, I met
at the Keith Arnold Committee. I went to some of those meetings and
he was the one that was responsible for the report.
Well, Lee County has turned down all the recommendations from the
Keith Arnold Committee. Colonel Rice has suggested and he also wanted
to implement that any permits that are issued, he wants this to be
their Bible and their guidelines to go by. Lee County had enough
sense to turn them down, and I can see our county commissioners are on
the same wavelength, but I don't think people should be on committees
and make guidelines and be bullies and take our constitutional
property rights.
I think you folks are on the right track.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you, Ms. Leinweber.
We have a motion and a second on the floor. Is there any
discussion on the motion?
Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Weigel, we will get a look at that draft for my signature a
little bit later this week, I assume. MR. WEIGEL: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Thank you very much.
With the one item remaining on the early portion of our agenda
awaiting the arrival of Senator Dudley, let's go ahead and go to
public comment on general topics.
Do we have any additional speakers, Mr. HcNees?
MR. HcNEES: You have none.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We do not.
Item #12B1
ORDINANCE 97-27 RE RECONSIDERATION OF PETITION PUD-90-1(2), THE
RICHLAND PUD, WHICH WAS HEARD BY THE BCC ON HAY 13, 1997, AS AGENDA
ITEM #12B(2) - ADOPTED
We'll go into Item 12 then, Advertised Public Hearings. 12(B)(1)
is a zoning amendment. I understand it is more of a scrivener's error
but comes back under rezoning amendments --
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Any reason why it's not on the consent
agenda?
MR. HcNEES: I don't know.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Motion to approve.
MR. NINO: Ron Nino, for the record.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Do we have any speakers, Mr. HcNees?
MR. HcNEES: No, sir.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Then we'll close the public hearing.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Motion to approve.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We have a motion and a second. Any discussion
on the motion?
Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none.
Item #12C1
RESOLUTION 97-271 RE PETITION SNR-97-3, EDWARD F. BECK REQUESTING A
STREET NAME CHANGE FOR THAT PORTION OF C.R. 84 WHICH EXTENDS EAST OF
C.R. 951 TO BENFIELD AVENUE TO BE KNOWN AS BECK BOULEVARD - ADOPTED
We are to Item -- and following Mr. Nino's fine presentation.
We're to Item 12(C)(1), Petition SNR-97-3, Edward Beck, requesting a
street name change for a portion of County Road 84. Mr. Gutierrez, good morning.
MR. GUTIERREZ: Good morning, Mr. Chairman and commissioners.
This application is filed by Mr. Edward F. Beck, the son of Mr.
Edward J. Beck who used to work for the Florida Department of
Transportation as a toll-taker and was killed on a section of roadway.
His family wishes for the section of roadway, approximately one mile,
to be renamed in his honor. The Department of Transportation is
renaming the toll plaza, the Edward Beck Toll Plaza, this would be
consistent with that.
There is no opposition, and the fiscal impact to the county is
$200 to change the street signs.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Motion to approve.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Procedural question. Any businesses located
along that stretch of roadway that use that as an address?
MR. GUTIERREZ: None to my knowledge, but I believe there's
approximately seven addressees off that roadway. None are businesses
though.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay, but there are residences and so forth?
MR. GUTIERREZ: That's my understanding, yes.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: No letters of objection from them?
MR. GUTIERREZ: No.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I'm sorry. We do have a motion.
Do we have any speakers, Mr. HcNees?
MR. HcNEES: No, sir.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Close the public hearing.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Motion to approve.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: A motion to approve staff recommendation --
COHMISSIONER BERRY: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: -- and a second. Any discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none.
Mr. Gutierrez, thank you.
Item #13A1
RESOLUTION 97-272 RE PETITION CU-97-11, HARK LAMOUREUX, P.E.,
REPRESENTING HIKE PODOLSKI, REQUESTING CONDITIONAL USE "7" OF THE C-3
ZONING DISTRICT TO ALLOW A RESIDENTIAL UNIT IN A COHMERCIAL ZONING
DISTRICT FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 9765 TAMIAMI TRAIL NORTH, LOTS 1
THROUGH 5 AND 47 THROUGH 50, NAPLES PARK, UNIT 5 - ADOPTED
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We are to Item 13(A)(1). The Board of Zoning
Appeals, Petition CU-97-11, Hark Lamoureux representing Hike Podolski,
conditional use "7" of C-3 zoning. Thank you, Mr. Weigel.
I'd like to ask all members of our staff, all the petitioners,
anyone here to speak on this item, to please stand and raise your
right hand to be sworn in.
Madam Court Reporter, would you please swear them in.
(The speakers were sworn.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you. Good morning.
MS. HURRAY: Good morning. Susan Hurray, Planning Services, for
the record.
The applicant is requesting conditional use approval to construct
a residential dwelling unit above a 9,000 square foot retail golf
store on .93 acres located on U.S. 41 at the southwest corner of the
intersection of 41 and 98th Avenue North.
The site is zoned C-3, as are the properties abutting the site
north and south. The property to the west of the site is zoned RHF-6
and houses an existing single-family dwelling unit.
The proposed dwelling unit meets the criteria as specified in the
appropriate section of the land development code, and there is
sufficient parking on the site to accommodate the additional use.
The extra dwelling unit will be located on the second floor of
the store. The planning commission voted unanimous -- unanimously '-
I'm sorry.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: It's still early.
MS. HURRAY: I know how to say that word -- to approve the
subject request subject to the stipulations found in the resolution.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you.
Ms. Hurray, have there been any commitments that the occupant of
that residential unit will be in some way tied to or employed in the
business below?
MS. HURRAY: None made as a stipulation on the resolution.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: There are actually two residences though,
one above and one next door; isn't that right?
MS. HURRAY: That's correct. One will be a caretaker's residence
and then the additional dwelling unit is required to come through the
conditional use approval process.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Give that to me again, Ms. Hurray. You
lost me a little bit there. There are two --
MS. HURRAY: There will be two residences. One is a caretaker's
residence and is permitted by way -- as an accessory use. CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: That's a detached structure.
MS. HURRAY: That is attached upstairs, second floor.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: All right.
MS. HURRAY: The additional dwelling unit is allowed, provided
the applicant has conditional use approval, is also located on the
second floor immediately adjacent to the caretaker's residence.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. So you've got two units upstairs.
MS. HURRAY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: One is permitted as a caretaker's. One
requires conditional use.
MS. HURRAY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you very much.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: And is the conditional use for the second
residence applied for today?
MS. HURRAY: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Are there any further questions of staff?
Seeing none.
We'll go to the petitioner now that he is done wallpapering the
room. Mr. Lamoureux, good morning.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Good morning. Hark Lamoureux representing the
Podolskis who are here today in case you have any further questions.
We are building a commercial establishment on the ground floor
and they wish to occupy -- they are the owners of the establishment.
They wish to occupy the second floor and they have an apartment for
their family member to live in.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. So this is owner and family of owner
will be occupying it. This will not be a rental unit? MR. LAMOUREUX: That is correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Would you be willing to stipulate that you
would agree not to rent the unit out as a market rate unit?
MS. PODOLSKI: Why would we want to do that? I'm just --
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: In redevelopment areas where we are looking at
accomplishing that, that's one thing, but Naples Park, these are small
lots. Things are pretty tight in there. I just -- just curious. If
you're not, then say so. If you are, great.
MR. PODOLSKI: I would prefer that we didn't. The owners of the
business have been in town for 18 years and it's a thriving business.
The name of it is For the Love of Golf. They are currently located at
4065 --
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Well, if it's golf, then it just gets
approved.
MR. PODOLSKI: -- on the Trail, and they plan to be here as long
as God will keep them on the earth, so we would prefer that it not be
a stipulation.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Just a question.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Uh-huh.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: For planning staff, you know, God forbid
they don't live another 80 or 150 years or whatever, but, you know,
this will eventually become a business with two residences on top and
it will have that zoning designation in perpetuity.
I personally think that sounds like a good idea, but I'm not a
planner. Is that a good idea?
MS. HURRAY: Yes, it is. In fact, that is sort of the thing we
are trying to encourage. I don't disagree with Mr. Hancock's
statement that in redevelopment areas that's more applicable, but
certainly the mixed use commercial is consistent with the comp plan
and the land development code.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Are we consistent in building height? There
are no other exceptions being requested on this parcel? All other
setbacks, building heights and so forth, are being met by the proposed
plan?
MS. MURRAY: That's correct.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Sir, for what this is worth, the requirements
that we have for access to the property, because it's a caretaker's
residence, we have one entrance from the building itself. You will be
able to go, if you are a resident there, you will be able to go from
the business inside up to the second floor into the apartment and for
reasons of fire accessibility, there is only one other outside
entrance.
So whether it's a rental unit or whether it's going to continue
as the owners and their daughter living there, there is only going to
be one outside entrance and exit.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: There is parking there also?
MS. HURRAY: Yes, the parking there is adequate.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Are there any further questions of the
petitioner?
Seeing none. Do we have any registered speakers on this?
MR. HcNEES: No, sir.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I'll close the public hearing.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion we
approve Petition CU-97-11.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Second.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We have a motion and a second. Is there any
discussion on the motion?
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Just a notation that Mark's tie is really
cool.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I'll include that in the motion.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: Thank you.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Notice the longhorn.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I'm sure he'll get a page of the record and
put it on his wall.
Thank you very much.
We have a motion and a second. All those in favor signify by
saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none.
Mr. Lamoureux, thank you very much.
Ms. Murray, thank you.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Thank you.
MS. MURRAY: Thank you.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Commissioners, may I just have a word, a private
word? Thank you.
I would just like to announce to you that I am leaving the area
after 20 years, and I have enjoyed coming before this board. I've got
to know some of you personally and I appreciate that because I -- I
just -- I'm glad that this board is here and doing a good job, and I
just want to say thank you for the consideration that you've given to
me in the past.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Mr. Lamoureux, I'm going to take a wild guess
that you are going to Texas. MR. LAMOUREUX: Indeed.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: That's the longhorn.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Well, again, thank you. We hate losing good
professionals in this community, but Texas' gain is our loss. Good
luck to you.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Thank you, sir.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: I'd like to add one other note. Hark -- I
go back a long ways with Mark as a baseball coach many years back and
certainly he has been active in the community, so I thank you for that
participation as well.
MR. LAMOUREUX: Bye-bye.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Good-bye.
Item #13A2
RESOLUTION 97-273 RE PETITION CU-97-8, TERRANCE L. KEPPLE OF KEPPLE
ENGINEERING REPRESENTING THE EAGLES NEST WORSHIP CENTER, REQUESTING
CONDITIONAL USES "1", "3" AND "4" FOR A CHURCH, CHILD CARE FACILITY,
AND SCHOOL ON PROPERTY LOCATED SOUTH OF AND ADJACENT TO IHMOKALEE ROAD
EAST OF 1-75, SOUTH OF LONGSHORE LAKES PUD, TRACTS 91 AND 110, UNIT 97,
GOLDEN GATE ESTATES - ADOPTED WITH STIPULATIONS
Next item, 13(A)(2), Conditional Use 97-8, Terrance Kepple of
Kepple Engineering representing Eagle's Nest Workshop (sic) Center,
requesting --
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: I'm pretty clear it's not a workshop
center. It's a worship center.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: It says here workshop center, so that's what
we're going to talk about.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: I've been there and there isn't any
workshop in there. It is definitely worshipping.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: My guess is he would say it is a workshop, but
Conditional Uses "1", "3", and "4" for a church, child care facility,
and school on property located south of and adjacent to Immokalee
Road.
Mr. Milk, good morning.
MR. MILK: Good morning, Commissioners. For the record, my name
is Bryan Milk. I think we need to be sworn in.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We do. Would all individuals and staff
members who are here to speak on this item, anyone wishing to speak,
please stand and raise your right hand.
Madam Court Reporter.
(The speakers were sworn.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you. Mr. Milk, please continue.
MR. MILK: For the record, I'm presenting Petition CU-97-8. The
petitioner seeks to develop the subject site with a 6,400 square foot
church with a maximum seating capacity of 700, a 7,800 square foot
fellowship hall including classrooms for a child-care facility
and school, grades K through five, for a maximum of 300 children, and
a future 5,000 square foot gymnasium.
Petitioner plans to provide 90 paved parking places and 210
parking spaces on the subject property.
The primary access, including a right turn lane to the site is
provided from Immokalee Road. Additionally, an interconnect with the
fire station to the east is also proposed. Access to 24th Avenue
Southwest is prohibited. The subject property is contiguous to the
Immokalee Road corridor.
The subject site is 4.6 acres in size. It is immediately
contiguous to the fire station and emergency medical services building
presently in the location for approximately four years. East of the
fire station is the St. Honica's Church.
Property directly to the west and primarily all the way down west
of the subject site is undeveloped estates property.
24th Avenue Southwest abuts the southern property line as does
the Naples Baptist Temple. 24th Avenue is primarily developed with
single family residences. I received approximately seven or eight
letters concerned about the church, the child care, and the school
facility with respect to the noise, the buffering, the fencing, and
the location of the play area.
The biggest concern at that point was the access to 24th Avenue
Southwest. The petitioner has committed that they will not provide
any driveway access to that roadway whatsoever as the site plan
indicates.
Staff has recommended that they put a six-foot board or masonry
architecturally designed fence with landscaping on the exterior of
that around the southern and western property boundaries to buffer
that noise and parking arrangement. Also, there is a fence around the
play area located in the center of the proposed site.
The access to the fire station is one of possible need in the
future, depending on what happens with the four-laning and possible
six-laning of Immokalee Road. Those plans are not completely
designed.
The roadway is now operating a level to service A with
approximately 15,000 trips. It may not be four-laned for another four
or five years, so those designs aren't completely finished, but the
thought here is that there probably will be some kind of a flashing
yellow at that median at the fire station so access of that
interconnect would be provided for the folks in the church area.
The church is going to provide a right turn lane, decel lane into
that facility also. I'm not sure, because of the access management
plan, whether it will have two median locations, one at the fire
station and one at the church, both for St. Monica's and the Eagle's
Nest. So it was kind of a coordinated effort between each party to
make sure there's safe and appropriate access.
If I can answer any questions, I'd be happy to do so.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Berry.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: I have a couple of questions. When was the
last time the traffic count was done on Immokalee Road in that area?
MR. MILK: I can't answer that.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: The concern I have, just to the west, I'm
such a bad judge on distance, but there is another church that is
going to be opening. It's built, but it -- MR. MILK: Pretty soon, right.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: Very soon, but they're going to be opening.
You have St. Monica's, which is to the east of this property -- MR. MILK: It's to the east.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: -- and now you are going to have this one.
I'm not as concerned with quote, just church use, but I am
concerned if that road isn't widened, if they go ahead and do a
day-care center and you come out of there and you have to make a left
turn in that particular stretch of roadway, at the time that that
would be happening in the morning, that road is tremendously busy, and
I am concerned about the congestion in that particular area.
I personally think that there is a safety problem here. I'm not
opposed to the church, per se, but I really have some problems with
perhaps the day-care area and I believe it further stated that
eventually a school, and until that road, you know, is addressed I
think that we've got a little bit of a problem there, in my mind.
MR. MILK: And I think the engineer has addressed that to some
degree with the right turn lane. The single ingress and the large
storage capacity there at the church and the distance back to
Immokalee Road for stacking in the left and right turn lane there, we
looked at that pretty intensely ourselves to make sure it was a safe
point of ingress --
COMMISSIONER BERRY: You think that if they come out of there and
turn to the left, that there is going to be an adequate area --
MR. MILK: There is adequate area. The problem is there is no
divided median yet and, you know, there is traffic coming 60, 70 mile
an hour there. There's no doubt about it.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: That's my concern. That's exactly my
concern.
MR. MILK: It's our concern also.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I share the same concern, the church,
Sunday and Wednesday nights are difficult times. Those are off-peak
hours anyway, so that is not such a concern, but with school you do
have first thing in the morning and mid-afternoon and unless I
misheard you, you just said there's no -- we don't know what the
median cut situation will be. We don't know about shared
signalization with the fire station.
There are a number of things we don't know, and it just seems
like until we do know what those are, it may be premature to approve
that particular use.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Of course, nothing would prohibit them --
well, I guess there would be two ways to approach it. One is we could
have some conditions that if the road is widened or if the appropriate
signalization comes to bear, then the uses could be approved or we
could require them to come back in for a conditional use in the future
when those conditions change, and those are the options.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: On the -- just to be consistent, I've had a
problem with churches that are utilizing predominantly residential
streets for large congregations and so forth, and I have been fairly
consistent in that vein, so it's kind of forced them to the arterial
and collector system because of the nature of, you know, several
hundred cars leaving on the -- within the given hour on the streets
without sidewalks and so forth.
So there aren't a lot of options if you are looking for a church
site. You've got to really look at an arterial or collector location.
As we look at what are being cited as safety concerns, I think
they are valid concerns. I point out Golden Gate Elementary. There
is an elementary school located on a two-lane road where excessive
speeds at that time of the morning were the norm for the longest time.
We can't really make all of these uses wait until these roads are
four-laned, because I think then we are in essence shutting them down
on probably some of the only affordable property for some of these
uses that's out there.
There is a safety concern, but that concern exists whether that's
a driveway to a single family home, whether that's a community, so I
understand what you are saying, but I'm afraid if we start looking at
this from a standpoint that we think that that's unsafe, we are
extending ourselves beyond what is acceptable transportation,
engineering criteria. The left turn lane -- left turn movement onto a
two-lane roadway is probably safer than a median cut. You'll find
fewer accidents in that given situation than you may where you have a
median cut crossing four lanes. So we may be operating contrary to
acceptable engineering principles and I think we need to hear
something on that. If we have someone here from transportation or do
not, I think it would be helpful to have that answered.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: I don't disagree with you, but we know
the road is going to change in a fairly short amount of time and I
just think we need to be able to amend this document plan for that.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Oh, I agree, I agree. My point was to shut it
down or turn it down because of that, I think there's an inconsistency
is the reason I brought that up.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: I understand that. Then the thing that I
would ask if this becomes where there is a child care facility, then I
would certainly hope that the staff would come up with a
recommendation for a traffic light to help them access onto this
roadway. I'm just thinking, Tim, normally I understand exactly what
you are saying about location of church properties and personally I'm
concerned about this in other areas of Collier County as well. I can
tell you that the particular church I attend on Sunday morning, it's
an absolute madhouse going in and out of that church. COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: It's in my neighborhood.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: I mean, it is absolutely miserable and we
have had to get the sheriff's department out there to help direct
traffic because it is such a bad area. So this is an ongoing concern
and when I see that you are going to have, particularly on Sundays,
you are going to have to have three, but that's part of the problem.
The other part of the problem is the child care drop-off in the
morning, and people then proceeding on down, if -- assuming that
perhaps they are going on west on Immokalee Road, having to get in
there, number one, and, number two, get back out of there to proceed
on west, and somebody is going to have to be there because people
invariably are going to run late and they are going to start taking
chances that they normally wouldn't take.
So it's a concern. If this is not a concern with the rest of the
board, then I certainly understand this, but I think I would be remiss
if I didn't bring this up.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Well, I don't think you can say it's not a
concern, but traffic signals have base warrants. COMMISSIONER BERRY: I know. I understand.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Throughout the county you have to meet those
warrants. Otherwise, we're slapping up traffic signals everywhere
that there is an accident.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: I know.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: So that is why I said someone from
transportation who is knowledgeable about the warrants and so forth
would be a good person to help us resolve some of these issues. I
know transportation had input on the request, the conditional use
request.
MR. MILK: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: What stipulations did transportation place on
this, if any?
MR. MILK: Well, if you look at the -- and I'm going to turn your
attention to the resolution on Page 33 of the executive summary
document, Items J, K, L, M, N, O and P and Q are all transportation
related items, and I think that, because the road is a two-lane
facility, it is operating adequately. It gives -- this language gives
the county some flexibility in determining the median cuts and whether
they are required to have one and if it shall be moved or redesigned.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: It looks to me like, Commissioner Berry,
that -- and I hadn't noticed this either, but that maybe condition
number 11, that the applicant shall be responsible for providing
appropriate turn lanes and compensating right-of-way and shall be
provided under four- or six-lane condition. It may be that these --
it looks to me like these requirements may already be -- they may have
already been looking at what we are concerned about.
MR. MILK: The situation is because it does operate effectively
today and projecting ahead five and ten years with the school facility
there and the church facility there, it's hard to really speculate on
the four-lane and six-lane conditions, what's going to be appropriate.
That's why all these conditions were rendered at this time, to
give us the ability to modify that site plan as needed, when it was
needed, due to the impact on Immokalee Road, and that was why we asked
for the access to the fire station in case there is one combined
effort there for a median cut or access to -- because of St. Honica's,
the fire station, and now this church, they may want to combine all
that, put a frontage road in, do something, perhaps, a little bit more
effective than speculating from the standpoint of, now we have a
two-lane facility. It's an arterial. It operates adequately. We
tried to provide on the -- with Mr. Kepple and Ed Kant, the matter of
grow-off and enough throat length so cars could enter the site
effectively, have enough storage capacity and effectively exit.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Realistically, is the fire station
going to want to share their access onto the main road? I mean, if
you have got emergency service, do you want a few hundred cars --
MR. MILK: They have two access points now. They could
actually -- their road actually loops around the site in a horseshoe
design, so you actually enter the site, go around the site, go by the
emergency medical services building and exit again so -- COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: You understand my point.
MR. MILK: It was a point that I looked at and said, geez, if
they only have one access, and then all of a sudden there's a fire
call and there's all these turning movements, how are they going to be
able to exit the site and they could effectively do that already.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Okay.
MR. MILK: Again, that was a concern we looked at.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I'm hearing the point is we have competing
uses in a very short stretch of road and we need to organize those
competing uses in a solid traffic pattern at time of four-laning and
somehow we have got to get that in this approval so that this property
owner isn't surprised or adversely affected if this approval goes
forward today. So why don't we kind of mull that over as we hear from
the petitioner and other members. Yes, Commissioner Hac'Kie.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Just one more question. If under
Condition H, if you guys could be thinking about this, that the
applicant may be constrained to right-in, right-out access movements
if we go to four- or six-lane and the county reserves the right to
restrict and/or modify the location and use of median openings.
Should there be also some specific condition about -- for
drop-off and pick-up for day care and a school? I don't see that in
any of the conditions and I wonder if -- because if you have ever
tried to get past the YHCA, I mean, you know, they fixed their problem
or made it better, but it's a significant issue, and I just wonder if
that might be a place where we could put something in there about
drop-off and pick-up at the county's discretion. You know, you may
have to build a special lane or -- I don't know what a throat lane is,
Bryan, but you do. Okay.
I just wanted to plant that seed.
MR. MILK: That's fine. We can work on that.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Let's go to Mr. Kepple. Mr. Kepple, do you
have anything to add to the discussion so far?
MR. KEPPLE: Good morning. For the record, Terrance Kepple,
representing the petitioner this morning.
In general, no, I don't have anything to offer. We have reviewed
the staff's recommendations and are in agreement with them. We did
originally, as Mr. Milk mentioned, have an access planned on the 24th
Avenue Northwest to help alleviate some of those left turn, westbound
movements out of the church. Due to the concerns of the property
owners along 24th, we did remove that access point and we would not go
back and ask for you to put that back in at this point since we did
remove it at their request.
It is a concern, and that is the other reason that we did put
that access into the fire station. We would work with the fire
station upon four-laning so that we could get joint access with the
fire station, a median opening, possibly a light, to assist in those
exit turning movements.
Unfortunately, with the current two-lane situation of the road,
there isn't much to do as far as improvements to assist in the
left-turn movements out of the facility. I would mention that the
church is currently using leased space along North 41. They do not
currently have a day care or a school facility. Those are long-range
goals of theirs.
They hope to be under construction before the end of the year
with the church facility, and would open as a church sometime down the
road, and I can't tell you when for sure that the day care and
possibly the school would follow. Those will not be the first two
uses. The church is the primary use of the property at this time.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. Any questions of Mr. Kepple?
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Yes, I have one.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Norris.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: Mr. Kepple, would the petitioner be willing
to stipulate that there would be no day care operation until the road
is improved with four-lane or six-lane integration?
MR. KEPPLE: If we knew when that date was, I think we could
probably work something like that out.
Unfortunately, as you are aware, as traffic situations change
along roads, those dates of construction change. Right now it's not
scheduled in the five-year program. Next year it may be or it may go
out to ten-year, you know, depending on the other needs of the county.
If we could set some type of date, if it's not four-lane, they
could open, I think we might be able to work with that, but to leave
it open-ended, I find that as a problem at this time.
MR. MILK: Mr. Nino had stated that the year 2001 it would be
scheduled for the four-lane commitment.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: That's currently in the five-year CIE for 2001
for -- oh, it's not the five-year CIE. That's four years away so --
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: My question was whether or not you would
agree to additional stipulations that the county transportation staff
would have the right to approve the traffic movements associated with
either a day care or a school and that you understand that you may
have to construct some roadway improvements in order to get that final
approval.
MR. KEPPLE: As we come in with the site development plan, they
have that authority anyway under the right-of-way ordinance. They
could restrict us to right-in, right-out now. That is a very
difficult movement to restrict with Immokalee Road under a two-lane
condition. It's almost impossible, as a matter of fact, but under the
four-laning, of course, it could be restricted easily to right-in,
right-out only. Right now we are anticipating, of course, right-in --
right and left-ins and right and lefts out, a full access at this
time.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Mr. Milk, did you have an answer to the 2001
question?
MR. MILK: It's expected to be looked at and designed in the next
four years and constructed in the next six or seven years.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. So, yeah, the design is in that
five-year window, but --
MR. MILK: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: -- as we have seen on other roadways, that
design can be tabled, it can be shelved if conditions change, so Mr.
Kepple's point is well taken on that.
Are there further questions for Mr. Kepple?
COMMISSIONER BERRY: What is the anticipated time? Is there an
anticipated time for the day care, thinking again along on further
down east on that road you've got the elementary school and, of
course, the new high school coming on line next year, so that
particular roadway is going to be very busy.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I think where, if nothing else, that roadway
plan will be accelerated rather than put back.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: I certainly would like to hope that roadway
will be accelerated.
COMMISSIONER MAC'KIE: We would anticipate your MPO vote to say
yes.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: I think you can understand that.
MR. KEPPLE: If I could make a suggestion, possibly this will
assist you. Right now we are requesting a total of a maximum of 300
day care and/or elementary school students in their facility. That
would be at build-out, whenever that occurs, whether it be five years
or ten years or whatever.
I would propose that we could restrict that to a maximum of 150
students until such time as Immokalee Road is four-laned and a median
constructed. That would decrease those traffic movements until that
time.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Questions? Commissioner Norris first.
COMMISSIONER NORRIS: I appreciate all the safety concerns and
comments and I have them myself. This discussion, I think, has shown
that we do take care of looking at these aspects of a proposal, but
I'm curious as to whether we would even be having this discussion if
the proposal were to, for example, have a restaurant at this site
which would generate similar traffic movements for a breakfast period,
for example. Is it just because it's a day care center that we're
having this particular discussion or would it -- would we still be
having this discussion if it were any other kind of an application.
That is where I'm coming from and the point is I think we do need to
be concerned with safety, and especially when children are involved,
but what is the limit of what we should do?
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: That is a good question.
COMHISSIONER MAC'KIE: I'm satisfied, frankly, with what has been
stated on the record and the fact that the SDP process will give staff
a look at the access program.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Constantine.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Let me ask a real simple question.
Mr. Milk, in reference to the school and day care facility, with the
stipulation that has just been made and the other requests that have
been agreed to, are you comfortable this will not create an unsafe
traffic situation now or in the foreseeable future?
MR. MILK: What was that number that Mr. Kepple had --
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: 150 until it's four-lane.
MR. MILK: I would not see an exacerbated problem or any traffic
congestion with that. Again, this was designed for a maximum of 300
under the current conditions so --
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I understand Mr. Milk can come in on traffic
congestion but not on individual driver stupidity.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: No, Iim just trying to look at an
overall safety standpoint from a point of -- perspective. CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Agreed, agreed.
COMMISSIONER BERRY: Let me just respond to Mr. Norrisi concern.
As a matter of fact, on that stretch of roadway, I would be concerned
because of all the building that is going on along that roadway right
now. I really would, and thatls -- this happened to be the issue. It
happened to be the church, unfortunately.
Iim not against the church. Donlt misunderstand that, but it is
a concern about adding another, Iill say business, because a church in
effect is a business to a certain extent, along that roadway and it is
an extremely busy area, getting more so.
MR. MILK: The only other alternative is to work with Capital
Projects a little bit more intimately with this particular project,
looking at the high school and the elementary school and maybe the
actual design of the Immokalee Road corridor in that segment. That is
the only thing else I can offer as far as -- we have not dealt a
hundred percent with Capital Projects, but again with transportation
fairly respectively for this particular petition so --
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I have heard a local pastor refer to his
business as fire insurance, so maybe it is a business.
Letls do this. Do we have any further questions for Mr. Kepple?
Okay. We can come back to Mr. Milk.
Do we have any speakers on this matter?
MR. McNEES: Not beyond the petitioner.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay, not beyond the petitioner.
Iill close the public hearing.
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Mr. Chairman, considering the
stipulation that the petitioners agreed to and the comments of our
professional staff as far as safety, Iill go ahead and make a motion
we approve Petition CU-97-8 with the stipulations that have been
agreed to on the record.
COMMISSIONER MACIKIE: Iill second that.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Okay. And specifically that -- and it ended
up stipulation that that was a limit of 150 maximum kids at the day
care center until the roadway, Immokalee Road, is four- or six-lane?
COMMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Correct.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: All right. We have a motion and a second. Is
there any further discussion on the motion?
Seeing none. All those signify by saying aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Seeing none.
Item #5C1
CHECK IN THE AMOUNT OF $180,451 PRESENTED TO THE BCC BY SENATOR DUDLEY
FOR A GRANT FOR THE EVERGLADES MUESUM PROJECT
We are going back to Item 5(C)1. We are very pleased this
morning to have Senator Dudley with us for a special presentation that
you have taken time to be with us today for, and this involves a grant
application Senator Dudley was tremendously helpful in establishing
and receiving for Collier County, and I'm not going to steal your
thunder, Senator Dudley. I'll let you go ahead and give us the
details.
SENATOR DUDLEY: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Hay it please the
commission, I'm honored to be here today and to thank you for this
brief time on your agenda.
On behalf of our Secretary of State, Sandra Mortham, I have a
check from the State of Florida payable to the Collier County Board of
Commissioners in the amount of $180,451. This represents the final
payment on your grant application for the Everglades Museum project,
and it is with pleasure that I bring this to you today, but I do want
to tell you that even though Collier is blessed with a strong and
powerful legislative delegation, and a very large one, too, as you
know, I'm very proud of the fact that our delegation, your delegation,
has taken upon itself a policy of letting these grant applications be
made, be heard regionally, and at a state level, be ranked, and then
we try our best not to change the ranking. This grant application was
ranked very high.
Our part in this is making sure that the Division of Historical
Programs under the Department of State has sufficient money every year
in the state budget to fund as many of these worthwhile projects as
possible. So while we take credit for voting on the budget in making
sure that there are sufficient funds in this line item to address the
better projects, you deserve the credit for making sure the grant
application was properly made and that its merits were considered.
it is with those words that I present, if I may approach, this check.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: I'd like to ask Mr. Jamro to come up forward
and with me accept this check because it was Mr. Jamro and his staff
that tailored the application in such a way that resulted in its
ranking and as much as it's popular to bring pork home, Senator
Dudley, we greatly appreciate your respect for the process.
SENATOR DUDLEY: We don't mind bringing home the pork, Mr.
Chairman. We just don't want to kill the pig.
This is not made out to Mr. Jamro, but we know he deserves the
credit for it.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Thank you so very much for the work on the
application. Ron, thank you, and, Senator Dudley, it is always a
pleasure and thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen and Mr. Jamro, thank you very much again for
all your efforts.
The part of the job that I dearly love.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: Are we going to lunch, Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Let's see, one eighty divided by -- anyway --
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: That's about ten years worth of
lunches at Mr. Hom's.
Item #14A
DISCUSSION REGARDING ITEM #16F1 CONCERNING BALLOTS FOR SELECTION OF
COUNTY MANAGER AND BCC DIRECTIVE TO PLACE SCRIVENER IDENTIFICATION ON
APRIL 1, 1997, AGENDA ITEM #10A WORKSHEETS - FUTURE CORRESPONDENCE TO
BE IDENTIFIED
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: We are on to board communications and it's a
little out of order from normal, but I'm going to kick off BCC
communications.
This morning, with the approval of the agenda and the consent
agenda, Item 16(F)(1) was a board directive to place identification on
worksheets that we use during the selection process for the county
manager -- or county administrator. Excuse me. I understand we are
going to have to learn a new term there.
The reason I place this on the agenda for today and ask for board
approval on this particular matter is, quite frankly, because I erred
in judgment when this originally came before the board.
When I was responsible for developing the process in which we
indicated who we wished to bring in for -- or what our impressions
were of individual candidates to be then used in an open public
discussion, I chose not to have individual commissioner's names on
that. That was my decision and mine alone.
We did -- Miss Filson did request Mr. Weigel's input on that
matter before the board heard it. I think Mr. Weigel rendered an
appropriate opinion that technically it was -- it was okay, but the
discretionary element rested with me, and in retrospect, I should have
done it differently.
I initiated, two days after that, called Mr. Weigel and discussed
doing this exact same thing two days after the board heard that item
and utilized those worksheets as a starting point for, again, open
public discussion.
If it were not for the blatant criticism that was aimed at this
board from the editorial board, this item would have occurred the
following week after that discussion. But once that occurred, I felt
that the public needed to be reassured that the accusations that
involved the state attorney, an investigation, that were being
levelled against us needed to be answered and resolved to the answer
that we all knew was correct, which is that there was no intent for
any member of this board or by any member of this board to violate the
Sunshine law.
Now that that opinion has been rendered, I feel it's appropriate
to go back procedurally and do what I should have asked the board to
do in the first place. I'm not going to pass the buck on it. It
was -- this was a learning process. I'm not going to do everything
perfect the first time, but all future correspondence, while I sit as
chairman, that we have that has any bearing on decisions this board
makes, that they are entered into the record, will be done so with
names and initials on them.
I'm working and will work with Mr. Weigel to try and determine if
there's a way to adopt a policy. This board doesn't typically have an
SOP or an operating manual that we can just put in policies and take
policies out, but I think it's a -- just simply a good idea, but I
didn't want this item to go unspoken without expressing to you what I
feel is my responsibility and also my apologies for placing you all in
the position of being criticized.
So that was -- again, rests with me. It's done. All future
correspondence will be handled, while I'm chairman, in the manner that
this has now been corrected to represent. As far as I'm concerned, we
are moving ahead. There is no need to discuss this item further, but
I see Commissioner Hac'Kie is not going to let me do that.
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: I have to say that I appreciate your
willingness to take responsibility. I respect that, and nevertheless,
I have to say that I would like to get better advice from our county
attorney in the future if we are getting close to a violation. I
don't think we got -- I don't think there's any question that there
was not a violation of the Sunshine law, but as a lawyer, I know that
my clients expect me to tell them when they are getting close to a
danger zone, and I would like to have that from our county attorney in
the future, and I didn't feel the need to say that publicly except for
Commissioner Hancock is saying what he has said and I think that the
two things have to be said publicly, if anything is, so there.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Agreed. But I again feel that the majority of
that rested on my shoulders, but that's a difference of opinion and I
have said what I need to say, so I'm done with that item.
Commissioner Hac'Kie, anything additional?
COHMISSIONER HAC'KIE: Nothing.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Norris.
COHMISSIONER NORRIS: Nothing.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Commissioner Berry.
COHMISSIONER BERRY: Nothing.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Constantine.
COHMISSIONER CONSTANTINE: Nothing additional.
Item #15A
DISCUSSION REGARDING DIVISION ADMINISTRATORS DURING COUNTY MANAGER
TRANSITION PERIOD
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Mr. Weigel.
MR. WEIGEL: No, thank you.
COHMISSIONER HANCOCK: And Mr. HcNees.
MR. HcNEES: Yes, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to take brief advantage
of you as a captive audience.
When I -- when you appointed me as interim county manager, I made
a promise to you that the only thing that would be important to me
would be a seamless transition and you-all gave me a nice round of
applause for our having accomplished that, and I think the folks who
really deserve the credit for that, for the fact that your operations
continued to operate as if there had been no change, are your division
administrators.
I'd like to recognize Mr. Olliff, Mr. Cautero, Mr. Ochs, and
Mr. Ilschner, Mr. Smykowski, and also Ray Miller who came in and did a
yeoman's job for us. Those are the guys who kept things running and
it didn't matter to them who the county manager was. They were just
doing their jobs and I want to -- they deserve a lot of credit for how
they handled all this, and I just want to thank them publicly, and
that would be all.
CHAIRMAN HANCOCK: Agreed. It's the old analogy, they're the
guys in the boiler room keeping the engine running, and if you weren't
there, we don't see you every day and don't recognize you nearly
enough, but in a time where we were in transition, you did your jobs,
I think, to the nth degree, and thank you very much for that, Mr.
HcNees.
Mr. Fernandez, did you have anything this morning before we close
the meeting? Seeing none.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are adjourned.
***** Commissioner Constantine moved, seconded by Commissioner Berry
and carried unanimously, that the following items under the
Consent Agenda be approved and/or adopted:
Item #16A1
RECOHMENDATION TO APPROVE FOR RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF BRIARWOOD
UNIT FIVE - WITH LETTER OF CREDIT, CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
AND STIPULATION
Item #16A2
RESOLUTION 97-268, AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF "HAMPTON ROW", A
REPLAT OF A PORTION OF A PREVIOUSLY RECORDED PLAT KNOWN AS KENSINGTON
PARK PHASE TWO, AND PETITION AV-97-004 AUTHORIZING THE VACATION OF A
PORTION OF THE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED PLAT OF "KENSINGTON PARK PHASE TWO"
Item #16B1
AUTHORIZATION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PRO RATA FUNDS TO FOREST LAKES
PROPERTY OWNERS FOR LANDSCAPE BUFFER IMPROVEMENTS ALONG PINE RIDGE ROAD
Item #16C1
BUDGET AMENDMENT TO FUND THE SUHMER YOUTH NIGHTS IN THE IHMOKALEE AND
NAPLES AREA
Item #16C2
TIME EXTENSION TO THE CONCEPTUAL APPROVAL AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA
COHMUNITIES TRUST RELATIVE TO THE SUGDEN REGIONAL PARK PRESERVATION
2000 STATE GRANT AWARD
Item #16D1
BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR PROVIDING ADDITIONAL CHAIN LINK FENCING TO THE TOP
OF THE PRISONERS ENTRANCE (SALLY PORT) AT THE IHMOKALEE COURTHOUSE FOR
SECURITY REASONS
Item #16D2
PURCHASE OF A PROTECTED SELF-INSURED POLLUTION LIABILITY AND
REHEDIATION INSURANCE PROGRAM FROM RELIANCE NATIONAL INDEMNITY CO. - IN
THE AMOUNT OF $112,488.00 PER YEAR
Item #16El
BUDGET AMENDMENTS 97-265 AND 97-286
Item #16E2
RECOHMENDATION TO INCREASE THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY FUEL REVENUE BUDGET
AND FUEL PURCHASE EXPENSE BUDGET
Item #16F1
BOARD DIRECTIVE TO PLACE SCRIVENER IDENTIFICATION ON APRIL 1, 1997
AGENDA ITEM 10(A) WORKSHEETS
Item #16G1
MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE - FILED AND/OR REFERRED
The following miscellaneous correspondence as presented by the
Board of County Commissioners has been directed to the various
departments as indicated:
Item #16H1
RECOHMENDATION TO ENDORSE THE UNITED STATES DEPARTHENT OF JUSTICE,
UNIVERSAL HIRING PROGRAM FORM TO CONFIRM THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS FOR
THE NEXT AVAILABLE ROUND OF OFFICE OF COHMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
SERVICES (COPS) FUNDING
Item #1611
RESOLUTION 97-269, APPROVING THE LEASE AGREEHENT BETWEEN COLLIER COUNTY
AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE FOR THE LEASE OF
APPROXIMATELY THREE ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED NORTH OF THE COLLIER
COUNTY JAIL AT THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX FOR A JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITY
Item #1612
ACCEPTANCE OF THE NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT, AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF
$18,000.00 TO BOCA PALMS OF NAPLES, ASSOCIATION, INC.
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 10:15 a.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COHMISSIONERS
ATTEST:
DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK
TIMOTHY L. HANCOCK, CHAIRMAN
These minutes approved by the Board on
as presented or as corrected
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF GREGORY COURT REPORTER
BY: Joyce Poteet