CCPC Minutes 09/23/2009 S Joint AUIR
September 23, 2009
TRANSCRIPT OF THE AUIR MEETING OF THE JOINT SESSION
COLLIER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE
PRODUCTIVITY COMMITTEE
Naples, Florida
September 23, 2009
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
at 2800 Horseshoe Drive, Naples, Florida, with the following
members present:
Chairman:
Mark Strain
Donna Reed-Caron
Karen Homiak
Tor Koltlat
Paul Midney ( absent)
Bob Murray
Brad Schiffer
Robert Vigliotti ( absent)
David 1. W oltley ( absent)
Productivity Committee Members:
Gina Downs
Douglas M. Fee
Janet Vasey
ALSO PRESENT:
Mike Bosi, Comprehensive Planning
Randy Cohen, Comprehensive Planning
Thomas Eastman, Real Property Director, CC School District (absent)
Page 1
A VIR 2009
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
COLLIER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION AND COLLIER COUNTY PRODUCTIVITY COMMITTEE WILL
MEET AT 8:30 A.M., on Monday, September 21, 2009, AT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES DIVISION, CONFERENCE ROOMS 609/610, 2800 N. HORSESHOE DRIVE, NAPLES, FLORIDA 34104:
NOTE: INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO 5 MINUTES ON ANY
ITEM. INDIVIDUALS SELECTED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF AN
ORGANIZATION OR GROUP ARE ENCOURAGED AND MAY BE ALLOTTED 10
MINUTES TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM IF SO RECOGNIZED BY THE CHAIRMAN.
PERSONS WISHING TO HAVE WRITTEN OR GRAPHIC MATERIALS INCLUDED
IN THE CCPC/PC AGENDA PACKETS MUST SUBMIT SAID MATERIAL A
MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE RESPECTIVE SPECIAL MEETING. IN
ANY CASE, WRITTEN MATERIALS INTENDED TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE
CCPC/PC SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE COUNTY STAFF A
MINIMUM OF SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE SPECIAL MEETING. ALL
MATERIAL USED IN PRESENTATIONS BEFORE THE CCPC/PC WILL BECOME A
PERMANENT PART OF THE RECORD AND WILL BE A V AILABLE FOR
PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IF
APPLICABLE.
ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION OF THE CCPC/PC WILL
NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS PERTAINING THERETO, AND
THEREFORE MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBA TIM RECORD OF THE
PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND
EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED.
1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
2. REVIEW OF THE ANNUAL UPDATE AND INVENTORY REPORT ON PUBLIC FACILITIES,
CATEGORY A AND CATEGORY B.
A. AUlR OVERVIEW - MIKE BOSI
B. IMP ACT FEES RELATED TO THE AUlR - AMY PATTERSON
C. ISLE OF CAPRI FIRE DISTRICT - CHIEF RODRIGUEZ
D. OCHOPEE FIRE DISTRICT - CHIEF McLAUGHLIN
E. COUNTY ROADS - NORM FEDER/NICK CASALANGUIDA
F. DRAINAGE CANALS AND STRUCTURES -NORM FEDER/JERRY KURTz/STEVE PRESTON
G. POTABLE WATER SYSTEM -JIM DELONY/PHIL GRAMATGES
H. SEWER TREATMENT & COLLECTOR SYSTEMS _
JIM DELONY/ PHIL GRAMATGES
I. SOLID WASTE - JIM DELONY / PHIL GRAMA TGES
J. PUBLIC SCHOOLS - ALVAH HARDY
K. PARKS AND FACILITIES - MARLA RAMSEY/BARRY WILLIAMS
L. COUNTY JAIL - CHIEF GREG SMITH
M. LA W ENFORCEMENT - CHIEF GREG SMITH
N. LIBRARY-MARLA RAMSEY/ MARILYN MATTHES
O. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES - JEFF PAGE
P. GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS - SKIP CAMP/HANK JONES
3. PUBLIC COMMENT - The Chairman will open the agenda for Public Comment after each of the categories noted above.
4. ADJOURN
September 2009 AUIRlCCPC/PC Agenda/MB/mk
1
September 23, 2009
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, good morning, everyone.
Welcome to the continuation of the AUIR review of the joint session
of the Productivity Committee and the Golden Gate -- I mean --
Collier County Planning Commission. I'm thinking of the reading I
was up late doing last night.
Item # 1
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (AND ROLL CALL)
Will you all please rise for pledge of allegiance.
(Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you.
Ms. Caron, would you mind doing the roll call?
COMMISSIONER CARON: No problem.
Mr. Strain?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Ms. Caron is here.
Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Midney and Mr. Vigliotti and
Mr. W oltley are not here.
Ms. Homiak?
COMMISSIONER HOMIAK: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Mr. Koltlat?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Here.
COMMISSIONER CARON: And Mr. Eastman is also not here
today.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And from the Productivity Committee
we have Mr. Fee, Ms. Downs and Ms. Vasey.
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September 23, 2009
MS. VASEY: Present.
MR. FEE: Present.
MS. DOWNS: Present.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I figured that.
You guys -- Doug, the voting the other day by those two was
great. One had to make the motion, one had to second it, and then
they had to vote on it, so --
MR. FEE: I have a feeling everything was unanimous.
Item #2
REVIEW OF THE ANNUAL UPDATE AND INVENTORY ON
PUBLIC FACILITIES. CATEGORY A AND CATEGORY B
CHAIRMAN STRAIN : Yeah, worked out real well.
Okay, we left off -- we finished up all of Category A last time.
We got started into Category B, we finished the library so that won't
be heard today, but we have four items left: County j ail, law
enforcement, emergency medical and government buildings.
And we'll start out with the county jail and Chief Craig Smith.
Good morning, Chief.
CHIEF SMITH: Good morning.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Did you talk to Phil Gramatges at all?
CHIEF SMITH: I'm sorry?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Did you talk to Phil Gramatges at lunch
or anything about this meeting?
CHIEF SMITH: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, good.
CHIEF SMITH: Was I supposed to?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, no, but Phil had a way of setting
everybody up for Monday's meeting. So I was wondering if you had
already been prewarned.
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September 23, 2009
CHIEF SMITH: So how might I be of service to this group?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if you had met with Phil, he
would have suggested to you, say I'm here, you have my paperwork,
would you like -- do you have any questions you want answered.
CHIEF SMITH: Masterfully said. Thank you, sir.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And if that's as fine as any way to
proceed, I guess that works for us, too.
So we have the jail AUIR in front of us. Are there any specific
questions we can start asking the Chief about?
Mr. Koltlat?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: On Page 131, up in the second
paragraph, it gives the occupation bed -- bed occupation for three
years. In that illustration it said the beds occupied have decreased
over those three years. And the next page, rather Page 133 on that
graph, it indicates that the population of beds required has increased.
Is that a contradiction or am I not understanding that?
CHIEF SMITH: No, I think one is based on actual experience
and the other is a projection.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Which one is the experienced,
the occupied?
CHIEF SMITH: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Okay, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, any other questions?
Ms. Downs?
MS. DOWNS: I understand there are changes to the ICE
program. How are those changes going to affect your need for jail
population for beds?
CHIEF SMITH: I'm not aware of any changes to the current ICE
program.
MS. DOWNS: I thought the federal funding was dropping on
that drastically. No?
CHIEF SMITH: Not to my knowledge. If you can cite a source,
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September 23, 2009
I'll look that up and get back to you.
MS. DOWNS: I can't right off the top of my head.
CHIEF SMITH: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Vasey?
MS. VASEY: On Page 132 you show a deficiency in beds in FY
'13 and '14 coming to about 39 beds. But you're not programming
your increase in capacity for beds until FY '19. Is there a reason that
you're waiting so long as the deficiency builds?
CHIEF SMITH: I think what we want to do with that is just look
at it as we progress, you know, towards that time line and make an
adjustment.
You know, the good thing about this process, we go through it
yearly, we can make those adjustments. But right now it wouldn't be
the Sheriffs recommendation to program in additional jail beds, given
our surplus currently. And, you know, just all the uncertainties that
are out there.
I think it's well to document the fact that there may be a
deficiency. But j ails are so dependent upon external influences that
we really can't program in a hard number.
And there's nothing to say you can't, you know, work with a
population surplus for a little while as long as you're planning the new
facility. And we've got some things laid in with regards to planning,
such as the Immokalee jail center, that we could very quickly add
another dorm onto if we need to to meet that timeline.
So what we would recommend is just, you know, to keep
monitoring it closely and adjust it year to year.
But I think that's a good number for right now as far as this
report.
MS. VASEY: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah, I just need a little more
explanation on the unit cost increase here. Seems like in every other
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September 23, 2009
instance costs have been going down and yet you're taking a
standardized 4.1 percent increase. I'm sure that's based on an impact
fee study. But again, that's historical and not current. And is that
really the correct figure that should be there?
MR. SMITH: I think the best person to address that is Ms.
Patterson.
MS. PATTERSON: Good morning, Amy Patterson for the
record.
Actually, I just talked to Mike. There's a note in there in error
about the 4.1 percent. I think we had this note from law enforcement
carryover onto jail. Jail, actually we just adopted a brand new jail
impact fee study. It was their three-year update. So that reflects --
that update to the unit costs reflects the most current cost as reflected
in the most -- the current adopted impact fee study. A lot of that has
to do with us being able to realize the actual costs of the jail expansion
on the campus.
So we have no other numbers to include that would show the cost
of construction going down. And like I said, that's the numbers that
are actually reflected in the adopted impact fee study. And those fees
just went into effect on August 11 tho
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But the study is wrong. I was coming in
today and on NPR has commentary about different things happening
in the country, and one of them was the fact that the stimulus money's
gone out to municipalities and they've realized a boom from the
money. Instead of being 100 percent useful, it's at a minimum 116
percent useful, because they've got at least an average of 16 percent
across the country in reduction in cost. Not a single item -- well, yes,
there is one, and I'm going to have to -- I'll need an interesting
explanation when we get to that.
But other than that one, there's not any item in this AUIR that
shows a reduction in unit cost. That is unreal. That is unpractical
(sic). And I -- I mean, I got that same issue circled here.
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September 23, 2009
And after Monday, listening to the excuses as to why it shouldn't
be reduced, I'm not there. I can't buy that. And I think that whatever
we're doing to pump these costs up wrong, I don't care who's doing the
studies, I don't care how they're done, it's not producing a good picture
for Collier County.
And so I know you say your study says that, but that is not the
real world.
MS. PATTERSON: It's the actual cost at the time of
construction. We have no new numbers to use. As soon as we do,
those numbers will be put into the study.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But this is a 2009 AUIR. We shouldn't
be basing it on cost from 2005 or 6, which is whenever you may have
bid out the last job. It doesn't make any sense to do that.
What that will cause is in the years coming up, if our prices do go
up and we use this year as an actual cost we were to do something, in
2013 we'd be using a number that may be too low for the market at the
time and we underbudget things.
I don't know how we're to correct this, Amy, and I know it isn't
your fault, but I just don't -- I can't -- I'm not going to buy into this.
That unit cost should not go up, it cannot go up. And if the BCC of
course wants to do it, it's their prerogative, but I'm certainly going to
highlight it to them.
MR. COHEN: Amy, can you clarify, is that unit cost which
comes from obviously the most recent construction used to pay back
debt service associated with that construction?
MS. PATTERSON: With respect to the jails, all of the impact
fees are going to repay the debt --
THE COURT REPORTER: I'm sorry, Amy, I can't hear you too
well.
MS. PATTERSON: I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I can't hear her either.
MS. PATTERSON: I'm sorry.
Page 7
September 23, 2009
With respect to the jail facilities, all of the impact fees being
collected are being used to repay the debt, that is correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions?
Go ahead, Ms. Downs.
MS. DOWNS: On Page 134 for Greg, the jail population trends.
Toward the right-hand side, the last half of that chart, each year when
you go from one fiscal year to the next year, and I'm starting with --
get my bifocals out. 05-06. Each year it switches to the next fiscal
year is the largest jump in per inmate per day cost.
From -- in '06 it goes up $7.00, '07 it's five, '08 it goes up $6.00
an inmate, and '09 another $6.00 an inmate.
And throughout the year there's never a jump that high. It might
be close. But I just wonder why from one month to the next what's the
reset about a fiscal year that would show such an increase in per
inmate cost?
CHIEF SMITH: The beginning of the fiscal year is when those
fixed cost contracts come renewable, like your jail medical costs, your
jail food service costs. And so then you have to go back and
reprogram that, and that shifts it up or down --
MS. DOWNS: So all your contracts follow the fiscal year?
CHIEF SMITH: Yes, ma'am.
MS. DOWNS: Okay, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Chief, the Immokalee jail, that is vacant,
it's not being used?
CHIEF SMITH: It's not vacant. We're not holding inmates there
past first appearance. But it is still opening and operational for
booking and for the detainment of those confined under the provisions
of the Marchman Act.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On Page 130, the last line says, the
Immokalee Jail Center is a 232-bed local adult detention center and
booking facility. Currently the housing areas of IJC are vacant due to
the reduction in jail occupants.
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September 23, 2009
Does that mean then you're not using it as a jail?
CHIEF SMITH: It's being used as a jail, but that is a true
statement. The housing units themselves do not have inmates in them.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So are the housing units what counts as
beds?
CHIEF SMITH: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So then the available inventory
is 1344. But the required inventory, because you don't need the
Immokalee jail facility is only 1112, yet you have 1383. How do you
get to a required inventory if we have a 232-bed facility we don't even
need to use?
Because that would bring in the question that somebody asked
earlier about why we have a shortage in the upcoming years. We may
not really have a shortage, because we have a whole facility that's
empty and we're not using it, and so we are real -- required inventory
right now is only 1112. How do you correlate those numbers?
MR. BOSI: Well, the required inventory is based upon our
adopted level of service standard against our population. That's a
static number. Even though there might not be a full utilization of all
-- Mike Bosi from Comprehensive Planning, sorry.
There might not be a full utilization of all the units that are
available, but based upon the adopted level of service standard that we
have for -- that we have for jails against a population, that produces
the req -- that produces what is required within our inventory to meet
the level of service standard. But we're not utilizing that full
requirement.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So we just proved that our adopted level
of service is wrong.
MR. COHEN: Let me -- for the record, Randy Cohen.
If you go to Page 132 and you go to the line item 2013-2014,
you'll see the number 1383. And what's reflected on Page 130 is
actually what would be necessary at the end of the five-year planning
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September 23, 2009
period, and that's why the number's there. Because we're trying to
reflect what's necessary within the five-year window.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I know, I realize that, Randy. But
if -- we've been seeing a reduction in the increase in population, and
by some statistics a reduction in population, and by the fact we're
moving all the illegal immigrants arrestees out, apparently, or quite a
few of them, our standard level -- our level of service may be too high
based on the fact we have an empty facility out there. And it might
remain empty for quite some time. We can predict we're going to fill
it up, but I'm not sure that the predictions are going to prove out as
they -- I mean, last year we predicted, or the years before we predicted
we needed it, and obviously we haven't. We're going just the opposite
direction, which is a good thing, it shows we probably are being more
effective in law enforcement.
MR. COHEN: Commissioner, your point is well taken. And
that's one of the reasons that in the construction of the jail, with
respect to any additional beds, has been actually pushed on out as we
have the opportunity in conjunction not only with reviewing
population, but the Chief and their staff over there take into account
various factors that would effect the use of the beds.
I know the immigration portion that -- program that you've been
using has been very effective, but there's no guarantee from what I
understand that that would be ongoing, so we have to continue to
monitor that. And you can correct me if I'm wrong.
CHIEF SMITH: Well, yeah. And Ms. Downs, you know, hinted
in that direction a while ago. You know, right now there's been no
change. But, you know, that's one of the things that we monitor on a
daily basis out of Washington is just exactly what's going on with that
program. And it's something that should remain on the forefront of
our consciousness and the people who examine this as well, that if
there is a shift in immigration philosophy in Washington, that's going
to have a direct substantial impact on our local jail population,
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September 23, 2009
because in large part over the last 18 months the downturn that you
see is directly related and attributed to that enforcement program.
So that is something that you have to understand. And I'm sure
that you do, because it's an easy concept to understand, that if you add
back in the 360 some odd inmates that this program has removed,
you're already past capacity. So, you know, that is something that
bears watching.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, the next opportunity you have to
build a facility or add beds is apparently, according to this, 2018 to
2019. And it shows 64 beds being added. How long -- how far in
advance do you need to plan for both permitting, design and
construction of a facility that would give you those 64 beds?
CHIEF SMITH: Typically it takes about two to three years to go
through the entire process. Fortunately those 64 beds can be brought
on line very quickly, because all of that front work has already been
done.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So for you to have in here a level of
service of 3.2 beds per 1,000 but an acknowledgment that you need no
further revenues to maintain that level of service doesn't have any
negative impact. And it wouldn't until we realized a closer period of
time when we needed to have those beds. And if we knew it three
years in advance -- and right now we're looking at 2018. So by 2015,
if you still need those beds, then you'd start to show changes in your
revenue needs possibly to put those beds on line.
CHIEF SMITH: That's correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So this year is really not relevant
to that time frame. That's kind of what I was getting at.
Okay, any other questions?
Ms. Vasey?
MS. VASEY: Well, I guess more of a comment.
Chief, when we were doing the budget process, it was my
understanding that there was also an issue with the downturn in the
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September 23, 2009
economy and a lot of people leaving the community, and it seems like
it was a disproportionate share of criminals have left. Because that
was part of the reason for the reduction in beds and the need for beds.
CHIEF SMITH: That's true. A lot of those people who
unfortunately find their way into the Collier County jail system are
predominantly employed in the construction trades. So with the loss
of that industry to an extent, that has, you know, also shaped the jail
population.
MS. VASEY: And that one would be fairly temporary. Because
when construction picks up, that population would move back into the
area. So maybe that would be a temporary one, a temporary thing that
we're experiencing right now.
CHIEF SMITH: Correct. Could be.
MS. VASEY: Okay, thank you.
CHIEF SMITH: We're just too early. I mean, with 18 months
experience, we're just too early in to really nail this down and say, you
know, that's what we can rely upon. Because, you know, there's just
too much fluidity out of Washington and in the local economy to
really, you know, nail it down.
But, you know, two things we can say today with certainty:
Number one, that we're in really good shape as far as, you know,
correctional beds go. And number two, that we don't need to program
any additional funds today to service that need.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Chief, what's the line item from the
revenues in -- it says loan from county-wide capital project funds 301.
The reason I'm asking is last year was the first year since 2003
that that item showed up. And last year the loan value was half of
what it is this year, it was four million, and this year it's eight plus.
What is that? What does that mean?
MS. PATTERSON: Amy Patterson again for the record.
That's the loan from the general fund to pay -- to help with the
debt service where the impact fees have fallen short.
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September 23, 2009
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, now how does that money get
funded to the general fund, through ad valorem taxes?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, or any other revenue that comes into
the general fund. It's -- so the general fund is loaning the impact fee
trust fund money to make their debt service payments because of the
lack of impact fee revenue.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Let me -- I'm trying to digest
what you just said here for a minute.
So the impact fees can be used for the debt service of the jail, and
then when the impact fees increase again, instead of going into new
construction, if it's not needed, it can go to pay back the general fund.
But in the meantime the taxpayers have to use their taxes to float all
this.
MS. PATTERSON: It was the intent for impact fees -- actually,
do you want to -- I'll turn it over to Susan.
MS. USHER: Hi. Susan Usher, with the office of Management
and Budget.
The general fund gives a third of a mill -- an equivalent of a third
of a mill for capital projects. Those capital projects can be IT
improvements, maintenance and repair to various county buildings. It
also goes -- it sometimes helps for new construction of items that do
not have an impact fee. Computer upgrades.
But here lately what we've been using that third of a mill is to
help pay for debt service. Because impact fees have fallen, the
collection of impact fees have fallen. The debt is out there. You
cannot go to the bank and say sorry, no money. So what we do is we
diverted that third of a mill and we're loaning the impact fee funds, the
various impact fee funds money so that they can make their debt
service payment.
Now, that third ofa mill has been dedicated for many, many,
many years. So I don't think it's an extra hit, I think it's just an
allocation we've made.
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September 23, 2009
Now, what has happened is we have not been able to do normal
routine repairs, maintenance, buying of software, buying IT upgrades.
All that stuff has taken a back seat just so we can make these debt
service payments.
So that's -- and when impact fees start coming in, we do expect
that they pay back 301, and that's what it's -- that's the fund number is
301, so that we can finally get to the backlog that is now being
created.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So we can't change the debt service
value, and so we've got to have the loan, and the loan could continue
for years to come until the impact fees balance out against the value of
the debt service.
MS. USHER: Well, I hope there's not that many years, but yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I'm not the optimist Janet is. So
let's assume the worst. Because if you look at government as the
worst scenario, maybe you'll still get something comfortable out of it.
So when the impact fees turn around and we start having them
not only cover the debt service but increase in the amount of revenue
coming in, we can pay back the loans first and do capital
improvements second; is that how it's generally done?
MS. USHER: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And if we pay back the loans and that
fund gets fat, the taxpayers then can see a reduction in taxes. I'm sure
the BCC will jump at that chance, don't you think? I'm sorry, that --
MS. USHER: No, it's a third ofa mill. I mean, every year the
board dedicates a third of a mill for capital improvements.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But if the money's paid back, doesn't it
-- don't you get -- you'll have a lot of money coming back into the
general fund then, right?
MS. USHER: But I have a huge deficit that's being created
because I have not been able to fund facilities management and IT and
various other things for -- now this is the second -- well, '09 it started,
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September 23, 2009
it got hit very hard in '09. And 2010's budget no capital improvement
was funded with that 301 money. Because all of that allocation was
allocated to the various impact fee funds. So there is a backlog being
created.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, thank you. I needed an
explanation.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, I have a question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, sir, Mr. Schiffer, then Mr. Fee.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And that's assuming that
everything that the debt service is applied to would have been covered
by impact fees?
MS. USHER: Well, yeah. This debt service applies to
correctional. So all of this debt service was correctional -- for a
correctional facility for the new jail.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So in other words --
MS. USHER: -- over at the Naples -- or at our complex.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And here we have impact fees
anticipated. In the past we never obtained that number that we
anticipated, and you're loaning money from this fund to cover that?
MS. USHER: In the past we anticipated a lot higher collection
over a five-year period, but under the current scenario that we're in,
the current economy we're in, I mean --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, for 2005 through 2007 they
anticipated $12 million a year in impact fees and it dropped in 2008 to
4.5 and this year down to two. So they had a lot higher expectation
from impact fees in the boom years than they do now. So if you add
the eight to the two, we're getting back up to what they normally got
funded for impact fees per year to --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: All right, thank you.
MR. FEE: While you're up there on this subject, just a little bit
broader than just the discussion of county jail, but could you in
ballpark numbers tell us what the general fund loan balance has been
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September 23, 2009
the last couple of years? Are we increasing our loans to these
facilities or is it decreasing?
MS. USHER: I think we have a -- I'm trying to find --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, last year's loan was 4,144,271.
This year it's 8,450,424 --
MR. FEE: And I was going a little bit broader than that, Mark. I
know that's for the county jail.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, for the whole county?
MS. VASEY: On Page 237.
MR. FEE: I wanted to know--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, there is a--
MS. USHER: On Page 237 that schedule is showing money
that's being loaned from 001, which is general fund, money that's
being loaned from 301, that's the third of a mill, and then we even
have one project where we borrowed money from solid waste. That's
471. And I'm sorry I did not put the title of the funds, but 001 is
general fund, 301 is the third of a mill, and 471 is solid waste.
MR. FEE: So each year is broken down on this, '05, '06, '07, all
the way through '11.
MS. USHER: To show the cumulative balances that are owed
back to each of the three funds.
MR. FEE: The bottom line says $50 million?
MS. USHER: I'll trust what you say on that. Yeah, but it goes to
three places. I mean, it's going -- I mean, the money that was being
borrowed from the third of the mill will go back to the third of the
mill. What -- the monies going back to the general fund, it will go
back to the general fund. So whoever loaned the money, they will get
that money back.
MR. FEE: This is a good chart. Thank you.
MS. USHER: You're welcome.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: While we're on the chart -- go ahead,
Ms. Vasey.
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September 23, 2009
MS. VASEY: Okay, just sort of one clarification back on Page
130.
When we talk about a loan of $8 million, that's over the five-year
period, correct?
MS. USHER: Yes, it is.
MS. VASEY: So it's not like eight million a year or anything, it's
less than two million a year in this account.
MS. USHER: And remember, this is based on the anticipated
impact fee revenue coming in. I mean, if we start seeing our upswing,
that number will grow then. If we can anticipate more money coming
in, then we need to borrow less, so --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right, the anticipated impact fee
revenues I quoted earlier were over that five-year period as well. So
the anticipation has gone way down.
So you're anticipating in this five-year period only two million in
impact fees, compared to two years ago when you anticipated nearly
12 million, so --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, another question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, sir, Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And since this is a five-year
window we're looking at, what would the balance -- are you proj ecting
that the balance of that debt will be this $8 million at the end of that
five years, or are you saying that within that five years --
MS. USHER: Just the five --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- you will borrow it?
MS. USHER: There's more debt behind it. But that's -- we're
just looking at five years. And that is the debt over the next five years,
2010 to 2014.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And that's debt that we will add
to this particular item in five years.
MS. USHER: It's not add. I mean, we have to -- we built the jail
with a bond, we have to pay that back. It's like a mortgage. So that is
Page 1 7
September 23, 2009
the debt service requirement over the next five years. It's not new debt
and it's not -- I mean, it's to pay back for the construction of that jail.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Right, but it is a loan from, you
know, your fund to this particular --
MS. USHER: Oh, yes.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Again, my curiosity is that --
does that mean that we will have impact fees of, you know, and I'll
round it off, eight -- we'll have $10,000 worth of impact fees, eight of
which will pay back that debt? Or is that going to be an additional
debt to this -- to the jails?
MS. USHER: Correctional impact fee will have to pay this debt
back to 301.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. And will it pay it within
this five-year period? I think that --
MS. USHER: Oh, no. This is the loan coming in. This is a
revenue item to assist with the debt service payment.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay.
MS. USHER: This does not -- this page does not show this eight
because -- this page does not show the repayment of the internal loan
that we're loaning them to make their debt service payment. Because I
don't know when they'll be ready to pay us back. Over this five-year
period it does not appear that they'll have money to pay us back yet, so
it's going to be in an outer year.
But next year -- I mean, if we start seeing the upswing, things
will change. They haven't borrowed eight million just yet.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Right.
MS. USHER: So -- but this is what it looks like. Ifwe continue
in this economic downturn for five years and we're just going to the
same rate we're doing right now with minimum growth, then yeah,
there is a potential of them borrowing 8.4 million.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Right. And increasing their
balance by 8.4 million.
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September 23, 2009
MS. USHER: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: All right, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions?
Ms. Downs?
MS. DOWNS: While Susan is up there, this is not jail related; is
that okay, Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes.
MS. DOWNS: Susan, on Page 237 -- and I think to clarify, Mr.
Fee asked the question what was the debt for '05. And we mentioned
50 million. Well, that was a cumulative debt for '05. According to
Page 237, the impact fee debt for '05 -- I'm sorry, for 2010 is about 15
million, okay? Are you with me on that?
Now that -- do you have that page?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Page 237. It would be the portrait page.
MS. USHER: Portrait page?
MS. DOWNS: Because I want to compare that then to Page 245,
which is a total impact fee related debt out to the year 2036.
MS. USHER: Yes.
MS. DOWNS: Okay, when you compare for instance 237, fiscal
year 2010, like I'm saying, 15 million, about, but when you look at
your chart on Page 245, the 2010 debt is 19 million something.
On Page 237 you have not included regional community parks
and impact fees. Why are -- they're omitted on every category. Why
is that?
MS. USHER: On Page 237 I am only discussing internal loans
to assist the impact fees to make their debt service payment. 237 does
not really address the outside bondholders and banks that we're
making the payments to.
When you flip to Page 245, these are the true debt service
payments that are owed to outside people, to bondholders, to banks.
So --
MS. DOWNS: In addition to Page 237?
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September 23, 2009
MS. VASEY: No.
MS. USHER: I mean, so far parks -- this will be the last year,
though, 2010. They've had -- parks has done -- has been -- Marla has
been really good saving up money to build her parks. Because she did
that strategy, she had cash when the downturn of the economy
happened. 2010 is the last year they'll most likely be able to pay their
own debt service without help from anybody.
Unless the economy swings up sharply for 2011, I suspect that to
assist her in her debt service payment, we're going to have to borrow
her money -- she's going to have to borrow money from us in 2011.
In 2010 she was able to make her debt service payment without
any help from us. But I don't think that's going to happen in 2011.
But it all depends on the economy. I mean, if we have a sharp
upswing, it's possible that she'll be able to make her own debt service
payment.
MS. DOWNS: Okay. So that's why it was never included.
MS. USHER: That's why it's not on Page 237, because so far she
has not needed our assistance.
But if you look at 2011 on Page 237, I already have the shell for
20 11. You can see Parks and Recs is listed. With no money there, but
I strongly suspect in 2011 we'll have to give her some money so that
she can make her debt service payments.
MS. DOWNS: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: While we're on that -- okay, go ahead,
Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mine's a quick question, maybe.
How big is that 301 fund? Just typical year, or last year.
MS. USHER: Third of a mill. I'd have to get back with you. I'd
have to look on the computer real quick. Because if I quote a number,
I want to make sure it's accurate.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: What I'm looking for, is this a
Page 20
September 23, 2009
little bit of that fund you're using or a lot of that fund you're using?
Do you know what percentage of the fund you're loaning out?
MS. USHER: The money that I have in 301, one-third has alway
-- okay, I get a quarter ofa mill. Out of that pocket of money,
one-third has always been paid for non impact fee related debt. You
know, I mean, we're paying on the court -- the old courthouse. Not the
annex, the old courthouse, the old health building. You know, old
structures that were built many, many years ago, well before we had
impact fees.
That debt can never be paid by impact fees, because those
buildings are standing there, they're part of the inventory, I have to
pay for them outside of the impact fee.
So I do have some debt that will never be paid by impact fee.
About a third of that money goes to always pay that debt. And it has
for years. So that always left about two-thirds to help pay for capital
projects.
Now, out of that two-thirds, it's all now being consumed by
impact fees, by loaning them money to make their debt service
payments. And I can give you that figure, if you give me a minute.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Well, it doesn't -- but you're
saying -- what I think you're saying is approximately two-thirds of the
money you get is now being used to fund the impact fees that we're
not obtaining.
MS. USHER: Well, I have to loan them money so that they can
make their debt service payment.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. All right, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yeah, I'm done, Mark.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On Page 245, since I -- you touched on
something, I'd just like some clarification.
The first column, if I -- I'm assuming they all read the same way,
where it says this one happens to be on the community parks impac __
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September 23, 2009
regional and community parks. Down at the bottom you have 52
million, 702. So that's the total amount of money you expect to loan
until the impact fees can pay for themselves?
MS. USHER: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay.
MS. USHER: That schedule is the debt service schedule for all
the bonds and commercial loan papers that we have out there that we
have to pay outside entities.
This is their mortgage payments. If you look at this, this is truly
their mortgage payment. There's no way of getting around it. Either
they have the cash to make the payment or I have to loan them the
money so they can make these payments.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, how do we determine -- do you
have a chart similar to this then that breaks down what the anticipated
impact fees are per year against the -- I guess the mortgage payments
then so we know where you anticipate the deficiencies to run on a
global basis?
MS. USHER: That would be on each--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: On each one.
MS. USHER: On each page. Like on -- for the county jails, it's
on Page 130.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I understand. But you could take and
create this same chart using this as the basis for the total mortgage
payments and debt to be paid by the county in another chart that
mirrors this one, but instead of the debt to be paid by the county,
anticipated impact fees that would offset that debt so that your net
outcome on your totals would be the difference we have to carry; is
that --
MS. USHER: Yeah, I don't want to -- I mean, I could do that for
the first five years, but I most certainly would not want to do that for
the next 20 years. Because I don't know what's going to happen 20
years from now in Collier County. I mean, it's -- I mean, I have the
Page 22
September 23, 2009
population numbers and the population increases by year, but I think
five years is about as far as I really want to guess on that. I would
hate to go out beyond that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I didn't ask you, I was just trying
to understand the philosophy.
First of all, we have 20-year projections that are put out and used
throughout this whole book from David Weeks' office. So if you
could proj ect for some of our things for 20 years by population
statistics, you could use those same statistics to possibly project
impact fee revenues over a longer period of time.
I'm just curious as to when the bank's going to be busted, when
you're going to run out of funds in 301, based on the mortgage
payments needed and based on the anticipated impact fee revenues,
based on our population growth. And I was wondering if anybody's
done that exercise, when we're going to go broke.
MS. USHER: Well, I'm hoping the economy swings up and we
won't ever see that.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I know. And I don't want to see
that happen, but I think we should always be prepared for the worst
case scenario. And I'm just wondering if we ever looked at it that
way. It doesn't sound like we had.
Ms. Vasey?
MS. VASEY: Susan's just talking about what's in her fund, her
301 fund. We'll never go broke. We'll just put more of a third of a
mill in there, if we have to.
So right now historically we've always used a third of a mill, but
if we have to go to a half of a mill, we would go to a half a mill.
Because we won't be -- you know, we will not fail to meet our debt
payment.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, going broke I guess is a term that
couldn't apply to Collier County, because we'll just keep raising taxes
too. So one way or another it's covered.
Page 23
September 23, 2009
But it would be interesting to see if we were to try to keep our
taxes current where we would have a problem down the road if we are
forced to do more to payoff the impact fee money that we used when
it was during the boom times.
MS. VASEY: Well, I'll tell you what's a really scary thought is if
the Florida legislature changes things and we do not collect impact
fees in the future. Then this is just debt we swallow, choke on,
whatever.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, and part of that, what we would
have to choke on we would know by where we're at in regards to
revenues against the debt service.
So that's kind of what I was wondering, if there was another
chart. Doesn't mean you have to run out and do one, I was just
curious, that's all.
Anybody have any other questions on the jail section of the
document?
Brad?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Just to close this thing, the
bottom line is we're borrowing approximately 80 percent of the
needed revenues to payoff other borrowed money.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, borrowing -- we've hocked our
future so--
,
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And one thing you said, you
know, Collier can't go broke, but the citizens can, so --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I think they already are, but I'm
not sure that carries any weight anymore.
MS. VASEY: No, my point really was we -- the general fund
gets 3.56 mills right now. And a third of a mill is a very small part of
that. Ifwe had to reallocate money, you know, that probably
conceivably could be done without an increase in millage rate, you
know, depending on how big an increase in loans we needed to do for
impact fees.
Page 24
September 23, 2009
So, you know, one-third is a real small amount of the total
millage rate for general fund, which is where we take this money
from.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And so we could shift more into that
without raising the millage rate, but then again we chose to raise the
millage rate just here recently, so --
MS. VASEY: Well, that's true, but that's a resource alloca--
well, that's a decision on, you know, level of service that the
community wants and, you know, you saw the budget hearings.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I saw them. I had a very bad headache
that day.
I have one last question of the Chief.
Your standards on Page 136, number seven, you need to talk to
the fellow that runs this room. Temperatures shall be maintained with
a normal comfort range. The prisoners have better rights than we have
in this room.
CHIEF SMITH: Is that a statement or is that actually --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, I just wanted to make sure
everybody's aware that guy's subject to arrest when he comes back in
here.
MR. COHEN: I want to clarify for the record, that was an
economy saving measure instituted by the division. So we just want
to make sure that you --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, keep us ice cold, I understand.
Maybe it will numb the brain.
Are there any other questions on jails? Anybody else have any?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, is there a motion from the
Planning Commission then on the jail element?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'll do it. I move that we
forward the county j ail as presented.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Second.
Page 25
September 23,2009
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion's been made and seconded. Is
there any discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I won't be supporting the motion
because of the unit costs that's shown here. The unit costs are
unrealistic in today's economy and we should be smart enough to be
able to adjust them. So I'll leave that as it is.
Any other comment?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Hearing none, all those in favor of the
motion, signify by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER HOMIAK: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All those opposed? Aye.
Motion carries 5-1.
Does the Productivity Committee wish to take up the issue?
MS. VASEY: Yes. We'll make a similar motion -- I'll make a
similar motion.
MS. DOWNS: Second.
MS. VASEY: All those in favor?
MS. DOWNS: Aye.
MR. FEE: Aye.
MS. VASEY: Aye.
Opposed?
(No response.)
MS. VASEY: Passes unanimously.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, Chief, you're still up. We'll move
on to the law enforcement category. And I'm assuming you're going
to seek questions like you did before.
CHIEF SMITH: Okay.
Page 26
September 23, 2009
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Does anybody have any
questions under law enforcement?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: I have a comment, Mark.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yes, sir, Mr. Kolflat.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: On Page 143, it's showing a
graph there. And I'd like to compare that one with the graph that's
shown on the jails, the same type of graph, which is on 133.
These are -- one is for population and one is for beds occupied
and required. But in both cases it has an available and a requirement.
In the -- 143 curves there, the available is in blue and the required is in
red. On the previous graph the colors are reversed.
It's not related directly because one is beds and one is population,
but it talks about available versus required. And for consistency, you
might want to consider reversing those colors so that they follow the
same pattern.
CHIEF SMITH: I'll let Mr. Bosi speak to that, because this is the
county's report. We're just here to lend clarity to some of the issues.
But the county puts this report together and owns it.
MR. BOSI: And that's an error within our department in terms of
not having the consistencies with the colors. We will modify that for
the presentation to the Board of County Commissioners, and I
apologize for inconsistency.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Are there any other questions on
law enforcement?
Go ahead, Ms. Downs.
MS. DOWNS: Chief, on Page 145, the chart shows owned and
leased law enforcement buildings. And near the bottom I see
purchasing is at Mercantile Avenue on a leased building.
Has there been any consideration given to moving that to
Immokalee with all that empty jail space?
CHIEF SMITH: Yes, there has been consideration given to
Page 27
September 23, 2009
doing that, but there's several factors that prevent that from really
being feasible. One being the remoteness of Immokalee and the
necessity to get hands on quickly to this stuff that's maintained in this
warehouse.
This really isn't purchasing, and I'll take that one on the chin
because the county just prints the list that we give them.
But purchasing has moved into the new building off of County
Barn Road. This is actually our warehouse inventory that's
maintained at this site.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have a question.
MS. DOWNS: Any idea what the leased cost is? Sorry, Bob.
Do you know what the least costs are for the two buildings?
MR. SMITH: We don't have two buildings, we just have the one.
MS. DOWNS: Oh, there -- no, you have Tamiami Trail. District
7 Everglades substation is also leased.
CHIEF SMITH: Okay, that's --
MS. DOWNS: I understand you can't move it, I just wonder
what the lease costs are.
CHIEF SMITH: I don't.
Skip, do you remember what the lease is?
MR. CAMP: I'll get it for you.
CHIEF SMITH: Okay.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah. Hi.
The East Naples substation, is that still being occupied, or have
all the troops moved away into the new EOC area?
CHIEF SMITH: The troops that were occupying that, the
District 3 substation, have moved into the new EOC part that was
designed and dedicated for that.
Right now we are refurbishing that with the anticipation of other
utilizations.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So it will remain in operation of
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September 23, 2009
the Sheriffs Office?
CHIEF SMITH: Oh, absolutely.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody else have any questions of law
enforcement?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Chief, I've got the same concern with
the unit costs. I'm not going to belabor the point, I'll just have to deal
with it like I have.
Under your revenues you have an impact fee anticipated of 1.4
million. You have a five-year surplus up on top of 203 officers, which
is $33 million.
First of all, on the surplus officers, last year you had 765
available officers. This year you show 949.9. Why is the difference --
what created that difference?
CHIEF SMITH: Well, first it's very important to understand that
we don't have anywhere close to 746 officers, much less the 949. This
really has no relative bearing whatsoever on what the sheriffs staff is.
And I'm just going to take a really uneducated swing at this,
okay, so feel free to jump in and clarify this --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, somebody better, because it says
officers.
CHIEF SMITH: -- if I really mess it up. But what that number
actually is, is the space that's available could actually support this
number of deputies if it had to. But this really doesn't show what we
have as far as law enforcement officers pushing green and whites.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But why do we have so much space if
we don't need the officers or don't have the officers to fill it up?
CHIEF SMITH: I think because they've built out for the future.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Wholly cow. So why do we have
impact fees if we're already built out for the future?
MR. BOSI: And relevant to the discussion points that we had on
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September 23, 2009
a lot of these unit costs, impact fees are paying for past improvements.
Past improvements had a price tag for what they were, and that's what
those unit costs were available.
The way that the officers are allocated within the AUIR, it's
based upon one officer has an equivalent of a square footage. The
total square footage available within the inventory relates to what is
required and what is available within the inventory. But the actual
staffing level is at a different rate, based upon the operational demands
within the Sheriffs Department.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Amy, are we allowed to charge impact
fees on improvements 25 years or 30 years or God knows how many
years down the road? I mean, if we predict that we're going to need
something 20 years from now and we're -- can we start charging
impact fees for that now? Because I thought in the rational nexus test
the impact fees had to be relative to a static point in time from when
they were acquired or charged. Is that true or not?
MS. PATTERSON: Amy Patterson again for the record.
I don't -- we're not charging impact fees based on an
improvement that's needed that far into the future. At the time that
these improvements were constructed, there was a justified need.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, I know we're not charging for
that. What I'm trying to find out is how far in the future can we charge
impact fees for?
MS. PATTERSON: You have to justify the need at the time that
you charge the impact fee. So the change in the economy in
population now has changed the outlook of what we need now versus
what we have. But it didn't change the fact that when they scheduled
these improvements they were needed.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. But the scheduling of the
improvements were based on the analysis of space that's never been
filled by the officers in the quantity that would have been used to fill
that space. So why are we creating that space if it's -- I mean, it was
Page 30
September 23, 2009
done before now . We had -- from what I think I'm understanding, last
year there was 765 under the available inventory for officers. This
year it jumped up 200. But we didn't have apparently now 765
officers last year, we had space for 765 officers. But we didn't need
that space. So why are we creating the space with impact fees?
Where's the justification?
MS. PATTERSON: No?
MR. BOSI: No.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No. Whatever the question was, the
answer IS no.
MR. BOSI: I'm sorry, I was distracted, I didn't hear the question.
MR. COHEN: It was a side conversation.
MS. VASEY: Could I suggest something?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Sure.
MS. VASEY: Didn't we just have a new -- the emergency center
come on line?
MS. PATTERSON: Right, that was--
MS . VASEY: That was a huge square footage building for -- I
forget what you call it, but it's housing all the special forces people
and all that kind of thing. And it was a very large space and it came
In.
And so that's why when you take that space and use it against the
1.96 officers per 100,000 population, that's why we're getting so much
-- such a large number. But it's not -- that's not all impact fees either.
You know, some of the available inventory was purchased years and
years ago and not with impact fees. So that's -- I'm not sure if that
helps, but --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What you've just explained, though, is
the reason we went from 746 to 949.
MS. VASEY: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But what I just heard was we never had
746 officers to begin with. We got something far less than that, but
Page 31
September 23, 2009
we've been built to accommodate 746 officers because we're building
far into the future. That is not what I understood impact fees to be
applicable to. They have to have a rational connection to some point
in time.
And I'm a little surprised that we're collecting impact fees -- and
I'm not saying we shouldn't have impact fees for police officers. I
thought this was going towards police officers. Now I'm realizing it's
going to some space that could be occupied, which is doing us no
good. I'd rather see the feet on the ground than behind a desk sitting
in a building.
So we need officers. We don't -- I think this shows we have way
too much building and not enough officers. I don't how to bring that
back to where it should be, but I don't like what I'm hearing.
MR. BOSI: That's directly related to the current legal of service
standard that we have. If you believe that the square footage that's
being provided in relationship to the officers that are utilized within
the sheriffs department, it would be a recommendation to examine the
1.96 officers per 1,000 and validate whether that is still an acceptable
and needed level of service standard.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's a concern only because I've
been mis -- I mean, all these years I've been reading this, I have not
realized today it didn't mean police officers, because it keeps saying
police officers, police officers, and it keeps repeating that this is for
police officers. But now I'm finding out it's only for space for police
officers. We don't really have the body there. Without that body,
there's something's radically wrong as far as I'm concerned.
Mr. Fee, then Mr. Murray.
MR. FEE: Mark, your -- obviously this is showing a surplus, a
five-year surplus of 203 in officers. But you have the five asterisks
there. And if you go down to the bottom of the page, to me they're
explaining, at least one reason, it says the surplus within the -- I mean,
everybody can read this. But basically the population projection was
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September 23, 2009
451, 451,000 for '08-'09 as projected back in 2006. Now it's projected
to be 350,000, a difference of 101, which would be a reduction of
officers required of 198.
So I think we got ahead of the plan based on prior numbers and
now those numbers have been adjusted downward. And in a lot of the
capital areas we've gotten ahead from that adjust. Does that explain?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's what I already understand.
But that's why I'm asking my question, based on what you -- I agree
with you.
I'm asking my question, we have a large surplus now, and the
surpluses for space that were never -- we could not use for a long
period of time. Do we still need the level of service standard we're
using? If it's not putting officers on the ground, which is what I
thought it was in the first place, is it that valuable to us? I mean,
we've got a nice fancy EOC sitting over there that cost us 60 million
bucks, and that's another, as far as I'm concerned, a Collier County
boondoggle, but we have a series of those in this county. And I'm just
wondering, how do we justify more impact fee charges for items that
we are overbuilt for that far in the future? That was the direction of
my question. I understand the asterisks.
MR. FEE: And the only thing I would want to add is when you
do the impact fee studies, you are using population projections. And
the consultants, they know those numbers and they come up with the
cost. If the numbers change after you've done the study, well, then in
the next study three years from now we will in fact adjust downward
the dollars. Does that --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What about the impact fees?
MR. FEE: So every three years we are squaring it up, based on
the two factors, cost and population numbers.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, Doug, we haven't dropped the
level of standard for -- since 2005.
Mr. Murray?
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Greg, a number of years ago I
heard it explained that the level of service standard and the unit cost is
associated with sheriffs deputies car, radio, et cetera, et cetera, et
cetera, which is essentially I guess transferable to or relatable to
square footage. I'm making that gross assumption and I need that to
be qualified.
That being the case, if we have vehicles that are, as it were, for
the temporary or for the period of assignment owned by a particular
deputy, there would be more vehicles than, say, if there were vehicles
being used 12-hour shift and then another officer goes in and takes
that same vehicle.
Is that in any way associated with this? Am I correct in my first
statement and am I correct in my assumption that I've just related?
CHIEF SMITH: I'd really have to have county staff answer the
entirety of your question. I can make a relative comment, though.
There are capital items that we do fund out of impact fees. The
high dollar items like radio -- do we pay for cars -- radios, cars, you
know, those type of things are paid for out of impact fees. The rest of
it, you know, I'd look to Amy to --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I guess what we need to find out
is what is it when we talk about square footage -- we can talk about
building square footage, but is it -- I mean, the suggestion here is that
there's a humongous number of square feet that officers are sitting
there with their feet up, and that's hardly the truth. So what is the
composition of that?
MR. BOSI: The way that this is constructed is the impact fees
basically have determined that we have a square footage associated
with each officer that we have available. And to be able to provide for
the level of service of 1.96 officers per 1,000 people, we need "X"
number of square foot to support that level of service standard.
What we're hearing is that when we constructed the EOC in
2006, when the planning process was under way and we authorized it,
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September 23, 2009
we had a projection of population that was well beyond what we
currently experience now.
The Sheriffs Department was not -- is not blindly tied to the
square foot that's available within the department. They're tied into
the individual demands that is placed upon the systems within their
staffing level.
As people come into this county and pay future impact fees,
we're paying for the improvements for that gap for the excess space
that we have to be able -- because as the population increases,
demands upon that -- their operation are going to continue to increase
and they're going to add more officers to be able to fill those spaces.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Not unlike a water/sewer plant
that is built and for the first year of commission its capability far
exceeds its utilization. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Downs?
MS. DOWNS: I'm not seeing a chart -- I was thinking this was
related to the Sheriffs Department, but it's not, it's EMS equipment.
On Page 176 they give us a breakdown on the replacement cost
for equipment, and the Sheriffs Department did not do that.
What struck me on Page 176, they list laptops at a cost of $5,000
apiece. Now, I don't know if that's a fancy laptop, but -- and I'm
wondering what the breakdown is. Now that you're saying you have
items that are included in the impact fees other than capital items, I
wonder what the breakdown is, the cost per item. Are they as high as
these costs seem to be? Nobody knows.
MR. BOSI: No, we haven't provided that. It hasn't been
something that we've in the past have associated -- or that we've
included the replacement cost for specific equipment utilized by the
officers in the field. But I'm sure the impact fee consultants have
accounted for that within the total cost of an impact fee.
MS. DOWNS: I'd be curious to see that same kind of breakdown
on costs, similar to what we have on Page 176 --
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September 23, 2009
MR. BOSI: And just to give you --
MS. DOWNS: -- if they're included.
MR. BOSI: -- the heads up, for EMS, the type of laptops that
they utilize are much different than the laptop you're going to buy at
Best Buy. And I'm sure Jeff will be able to speak to that, to the cost
and the justification --
MS. DOWNS: Okay.
MR. BOSI: -- for the expense associated with those.
MS. DOWNS: But I'd be curious, is it the same with their
materials.
Go ahead.
MS. PATTERSON: Amy Patterson again for the record.
The impact fee study does go through a full accounting of all the
equipment that's included as part of the cost.
And just to clarify, the capital cost and how we get to that unit
cost is the cost per square foot of building, the land cost and the
equipment cost. So we get to a total capital cost, and then that is
divided to come up with the total capital cost per police officer.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Wait a minute. I'm sorry, I
thought that the sheriffs office was not able to own property.
MS. PATTERSON: That's correct. This is--
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: How do we include land costs in
it then?
MS. PATTERSON: This is the Collier County impact fee. We
build the buildings and own the land.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Okay, so you're associating that,
but not with this.
MS. PATTERSON: The sheriffs office doesn't collect the law
enforcement impact fee. Collier County collects it and uses it for the
capital construction for the sheriff.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But it's attributable, right? It's
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September 23, 2009
attributable to the sheriffs office uses?
MS. PATTERSON: I don't think I'm understanding your
question.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, you're collecting a pot of
money. The purpose of it is to support the --
MS. PATTERSON: Yes.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- organization. If you're
including land costs, which they don't have a burden of, then isn't that
adding something in dimension that -- I want you to qualify. I'm sure
it's quite legal. I need to understand it.
MS. PATTERSON: They don't have the burden of the building
either. We own and maintain the buildings for the Sheriff. No
different than any of the other constitutional officers that we provide.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: But they do. That same impact
fee relates to capital costs associated with vehicles and other apparatus
that they have, including radio and so forth, and that's in that same
impact fee, is it not?
MS. PATTERSON: All their capital costs.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Mixed bag of impact fees.
Fascinating. Okay, I understand we're all one county. But we are
trying to do things by organization.
MS. DOWNS: Can you provide us a description of those costs?
MS. PATTERSON: Absolutely.
MS. DOWNS: Thank you.
MS. PATTERSON: If I could, just one more thing. I think--
several years ago the A UIR and the impact fee studies became very
closely related. The AUIRs in the past did not depend as heavily on
these impact fee studies as it does now. And so what we're finding, it
does create a level of confusion. Because what's appropriate for an
impact fee and what's required for an impact fee in this changing
economy with changing costs now is causing this relationship with the
AUIR.
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September 23, 2009
Our unit costs and things that are required for an impact fee, as
has been commented, may not be what is appropriate for the AUIR,
but I -- because of the direction that we've been given that these two
must maintain this relationship, that's why you're seeing these things,
these land costs and unit costs level of service now are all being driven
by these documents that are the impact feeds.
If that's to change, then that would be a policy change from how
we've proceeded over the last several years. And it will -- then there
will be differences between the AUIR document and the impact fee
studies.
MR. COHEN: Randy Cohen for the record.
And I wanted to clarify why that's transpired. In the past -- some
of you are new and some of you are not -- but in the past the CIE
actually included all the Category B facilities. There's no requirement
in state statutes that those items be in there. And the Board of County
Commissioners made a decision that they did not want the state to
regulate all the Category B facilities within this particular county. The
impact fee consultant indicated that the only way that we could do that
is if when we adopted the AUIR that it supported the impact fee
studies and that's why it transpired.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, any other questions on law
enforcement?
Mr. Kolflat?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: Yes, looking at this chart on
Page 143, if I'm reading this in a very simplistic way, which is
hopefully what I am, is what we're saying in '18-'19 that year, our
available inventory will double our required inventory; is that correct?
MR. BOSI: That is correct. And I'll let Chief Smith talk about
the inclusion.
We left the sheriffs operation building. What you're talking
about is the addition of the sheriffs operation building. And FY
'18-' 19 would look like it's an unnecessary improvement. We left that
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September 23, 2009
in specifically as -- to keep it onto the table that there are long-range
plans for a sheriffs operations building in the outer years. But at this
time the need is not there to execute the plans for that building. But we
wanted to leave those on just to let the reader know that those were
long-range plans and the next improvement in the cycle.
And with our individual meetings with the Sheriffs Department
when we talked about that, Chief Smith said we will evaluate this on
an annual basis as to whether that need is going to be materialized in
that outer year.
MR. FEE: And with that, on Page 141 you have staff
recommendations. Staff recommends that CCPC and PC recommend
to the BCC approval of the AUIR which contains no new projects
over the five and 10-year planning period. Is that correct now with
you putting a placeholder in this chart?
MR. BOSI: Based upon that, the specifics of that, the wording of
that recommendation needs to be modified.
MR. FEE: A little bit, yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions or
comments on law enforcement?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Well, I don't like it, but I don't
know what I can do about it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I don't like a lot of it either. You can
vote -- you can, during discussion, insert your concern and then vote
accordingly, Tor, in that way. It highlights it.
I certainly have concerns about the whole AUIR and the structure
and way it's done, and I'll try to insert mine as we've gone along.
I have a couple other questions on Page 146. And Amy, this is
going to reflect on your issues.
On Page 146 we have construction costs per square foot, and it's
talking about different facility planning periods. The first ones at
$259 a square foot and 428 are the same as last year.
Now, we've heard comments that the facilities increases have to
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September 23, 2009
increase because of our impact fee studies. Then why haven't these
increased from last year, since we have increased the cost, not only in
this category but all?
Likewise, if you go down below and you look at the second
five-year period, 458. Last year was 550. And the 534 -- or 535 was
535 last year. Again, here we've actually shown a decrease from last
year in one category, yet in every category of the AUIR we keep
seeing unit costs increasing. In here they're either static or decreasing.
And I'd just like to know how that's explained, compared to the
explanation we heard as to how everything has to go up.
MS. VASEY: Could I offer something?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Sure.
MS. VASEY: The first of the facility, the fleet facility and the
emergency services center, are probably based on the costs awarded in
the contract.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right, I understand that because--
MS. VASEY: So those wouldn't change because they're static.
You know, it was what it was.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right. But we were told the AUIR
costs, unit costs are going up because of those increases from the past.
Because of those numbers. And if you're saying what you're saying is
true, then what I've been saying all along should be true is they should
have stayed to what they were last year. Because we had the numbers
last year and we're using them in this chart. That's not what's been
going on throughout this document.
Amy?
MS. PATTERSON: Are we talking -- we're just speaking strictly
about law enforcement?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, that's the example I've got. Let's
-- why don't we start there.
MS. PATTERSON: There's different reasons why -- what
happened to different fees. If you want to go back to jail for a minute
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September 23, 2009
instead of law enforcement?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, can you explain my question on the
chart on Page 146? Let's just start there.
MS. PATTERSON: The fleet -- on 146, the first two, the fleet
facility and the EOC, are constructed facilities. So the costs are what
they are.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And they were constructed -- they're the
most recent constructed facility, which you previously had indicated
that's what the impact fee studies are based on, right?
MS. PATTERSON: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So these numbers are the same
as they were last year.
MS. PATTERSON: Uh-huh.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Then why are we having
increase in unit costs on Page 140?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Go back to 140.
MS. PATTERSON: Back to 140. If you look at the first
asterisk, there was a 4.1 percent --
THE COURT REPORTER: I'm sorry, Amy, I'm not hearing
you.
MS. PATTERSON: I'm sorry. Sorry.
If you look at the first star under -- on the comments, the unit cost
increased by 4.1 percent per impact fee indexing. That was a directed
change of the Board of County Commissioners. Besides the formal
three- year studies that each of the impact fees go through, they're also
on a schedule of indexing.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, let's back up then.
I had previously asked in every category in this A UIR, and each
category has a similar asterisk about the percentage, and I was told
that that's based on construction costs to the most recent building
which just happened to be in the highest year we ever constructed and
therefore our unit costs have to go up.
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September 23, 2009
Well, now you're telling me that's not the case, it's because it was
arbitrarily decided to go up by the Board of County Commissioners.
MS. PATTERSON: No, no, no.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, then let's go back to my--
MS. PATTERSON: We have to -- we can only -- I can talk
about each category differently, because something different has
happened with each one. So if you want me to start with law
enforcement, I can start explain law enforcement and then we can go
back to the others and I can tell you what has happened with them, if
that makes sense.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm just trying to understand. Because
4.1 percent on this one is different than the 4.1 percent on the others?
MS. PATTERSON: There wasn't 4.1 percent on -- there's a
different percentage of increase on every other one, except for the
erroneous com -- there was an incorrect comment on the jail -- an
incorrect statement on the jail impact fee page.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So the way that you establish the
index -- let's forget the percentage then. Because if I use 4.1 you're
going to say that's wrong. Let's just say we'll call it the indexing
schedule. The indexing schedule on each one as it comes about is a
different reason?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes. There's an individual index for every
impact fee, based on individual components.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Yeah, I know there's an individual index
on each one --
MS. PATTERSON: And it's a different amount.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- is -- yeah, I understand that. But the
basis for it now is different on each one; is that what you're saying?
MS. PATTERSON: The weighting is different on each one. So
depending on the components, they're weighted differently, depending
on how -- those components are weighted within the fee.
So every impact fee generally speaking has a construction cost
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September 23, 2009
element, a land cost element and an equipment cost element. Those
are weighted, depending on how they're evaluated in the impact fee
study, and then through the indexing they're weighted and that's how
you come up with the cost of increase or potentially decrease.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So what was the reason then for the
increase in unit costs for police officers from 158,000 per officer to
roughly 165? If it wasn't -- obviously the numbers for the
construction are the same as they were last year, which seems contrary
to what I had previously heard on the other categories. But be that as
it may, then how does this category get 4.1 percent of an increase?
MS. PATTERSON: It's a national index that is localized for the
mid years between the full studies. When they come back, this -- it
should have been this year, but next year when they come back to do a
law enforcement impact fee study, they will look at those old costs, as
well as any new costs to establish the new construction costs, the new
unit costs.
So those things that are done have a cost. Any new thing since
the last time the study was done would then be evaluated and included
and therefore the construction costs will change, either up or down or
stay the same, depending on all those factors.
The 4.1 percent is a combination of factors of construction cost,
land cost and equipment cost weighted, which used to use a 10-year
regression analysis and has now been changed at the discretion of the
Board of County Commissioners to be a faster reacting two-year
average index, which changed as you saw it early on the pages in the
AUIR book. It was a very high index prescribed by the 10-year
regression analysis that was changed down to a lesser percentage of
increase and next year potentially, if things stay as poor as they are
now, could go to a negative index.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, you said that it's a national
indexing schedule localized to our area.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes.
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September 23, 2009
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: What is the national indexing for this
item?
MS. PATTERSON: It uses a combination of the Engineering
News Record construction costs, local land values and the Consumer
Price Index for equipment costs. They're weighted at 43 percent for
construction, 10 percent for land and 47 percent for equipment.
And we go through and we take the percentage prescribed and
then they do this analysis that provides some local layered and on top
of the national. I have those. Construction costs this year was 8.1.
This is the two -- using 2007 and 2008 data for the 2009 index.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Before you go any further, you have an
indexing schedule fee here of 4.1 percent. What is the national
indexing schedule? Just the number, just one number. Is it--
MS. PATTERSON: It's not one number, it's the combination of
three numbers that have to be -- I know it's not -- I understand it's not
making sense, but there's three components that make up the law
enforcement impact fee. Each one of those components has an index
and then they have to be weighted and added together to come up with
that 4.1 percent.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Does the national indexing generally
have an increase across the nation?
MS. PATTERSON: It had an increase, yes. It has. And it's been
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: So nationally because of Engineering
News Record -- which I used to subscribe to until I realized it was
written for the industry and not for reality -- so they use that
magazine, along with some other numbers they get from other sources
to determine that even in an economy when everything is less
expensive and the reports are that we've re -- we actually got an at
least 16 percent better buying power now, we have an increase in
indexing and cost.
MS. PATTERSON: You had an increase in six categories for
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September 23, 2009
indexing this year, with the idea that moving from the 10-year
regression to the two-year average, that you will actually have
decreases next year. It just couldn't get there all at once. Your land
cost has already gone .1 percent negative.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, on Page 146, right there it proves
my points, we didn't.
But I understand what you're saying. You have reasons to raise
them. And I'm not going to get anywhere arguing with you about it so
I'm going to stop at this point.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And Amy, you said you used
the 2007 book, right?
MS. PATTERSON: 2007 and 2008.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So things were not quite coming
down yet.
MS. PATTERSON: Which the Board of County Commissioners
did acknowledge. And the reason that they moved to this two-year
average is in the acknowledgment that probably next year they're
going to capture a decrease on many of these fees.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, it's difficult to predict. I
mean, a problem we have is our prediction skills a couple years ago
was predicting a major rise. Obviously it didn't happen. So we can't
assume today --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm not.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- it's going to go down forever
either. I mean, so we've got to be careful.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm not asking anybody to predict. I
know what reality is, not prediction.
So anyway, I have another question on Page 150. I don't know
who's got the answer.
On that chart on Page 150, on year 2008 it looks like the only
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September 23, 2009
year you ever give warnings. Is that something the new Sheriff
decided is nice to do and Sheriff Hunter never wanted to, or how is --
how come we only have warnings in that year?
CHIEF SMITH: You really want an answer?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Pardon me?
CHIEF SMITH: You really want an answer to that?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, yeah. It stands out like a sore
thumb. So I'm just curious.
CHIEF SMITH: It's not something that I'd associated with the
A UIR process, but nonetheless --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, it's in here, Chief. I guess that
gives us the right to ask about it, so --
CHIEF SMITH: That was just the way the numbers came out. I
won't attribute them to one sheriffs philosophy over another.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. So -- but we never gave
warnings prior to 2008?
CHIEF SMITH: Yes, sir, we gave warnings.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. They were never on the chart.
CHIEF SMITH: Again, I don't put the chart together.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. I guess that chart's not -- doesn't
need to be in the AUIR anymore then, does it, Mike?
MR. BOSI: If that's the recommendation of the CCPC.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if it's not accurate and it doesn't
reflect possibly what could have occurred, why do we have it here?
And if it's not -- as the Chiefs indicated, he didn't realize it was part of
the AUIR. Maybe it isn't. I mean--
MR. BOSI: We -- once again, the AUIR purposes for
concurrency management and for Category B is to make sure we are
legally defensible within our impact fees.
We provide demand numbers and ancillary information to
provide a much more rounded picture for the board to consider and
evaluate to see whether there's justification for the current levels of
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September 23, 2009
service, for the activities associated with each individual division in
the department.
If we would like to limit the scope specifically only to the
concurrency management and not provide some of the demand
numbers and provide some of the activity statistics, if that's the desire
of the Planning Commission and the Productivity Committee, we most
certainly can go more narrow within our focus.
But we wanted to try to provide a broader range. And
unfortunately I'm not sure why we didn't cull out the warnings issued
before 2008. We can try to find out that information for you.
But these are just to provide a broader picture for the activities
associated with each division in the department. And it's not -- it
really doesn't have any bearing towards the AUIR, whether we're
within a legal defensible position for the collection of impact fees and
the impact fees that we're charging, and maintaining of the levels of
service that we as a community have adopted for the particular
division and department.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I don't see its use.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mike, the only thing I was trying to
comment on, as a result of the discourse or discussion here, if you put
something in the AUIR that nobody knows how it got there, why it got
there, how it compares, why the questions are, then don't put it there.
I mean, if you can't defend it, why have it? If we want answers and we
can't get them, don't give us things that you can't answer.
I don't know who put it here, but that just is common sense. I'm
not telling you to take it out, I'm just telling you somebody better be
prepared to have an answer if we ask a question about something that's
in this book. That's all.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, maybe they're showing
compassion to the downturn and just issuing warnings.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: They ought to try it on red lights.
Go ahead, Ms. Caron.
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yes, I am -- I'd like to get down to
a serious discussion here of our level of service. I think that's really
where we need to focus the discussion, on whether or not the 1.96 per
1,000 is a correct number or not. It seems to me that what has been
shown over time is that that number is too high. Weare now -- we can
house 203 or five officers that we don't have and that we don't need.
So it seems to me that the real number -- because the unit cost
numbers are a trailing. It's either, you know, trailing something or
getting ahead of something. And only over time can that unit cost
number catch up or average out or whatever.
It's really the level of service number that I think we need to
concentrate on and figure out whether that's a correct number or not.
And personally I think it's too high.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Fee?
MR. FEE: To add to that, that was my question. Where has that
number been, 1.96 per 1,000? Let's say five years ago, three years
ago.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Same.
MR. FEE: Has it remained the same?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: 2005 it started at 1.96. It's been static
SInce.
MR. FEE: And how is that arrived at? Is that a state, is that
something the Board of County Commissioners has picked?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I'm afraid it's impact fee related. If it is,
you'll never figure it out. Just accept it as a mystic number.
MR. BOSI: Before law enforcement used to be covered, law
enforcement and j ails used to be covered by general government
buildings. And when we adopted impact fees for each of those
respective components, they became sections within the AUIR. And
2005 was when we first adopted the impact fee related to law
enforcement and jails. And the 1.96 standard was the standard that
was related to the impact fees, the fee structure that we adopted by the
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September 23, 2009
Board of County Commissioners.
MR. FEE: So that number is in the impact fee studies and the
data. Okay.
The only other thing I wanted to add was as Productivity
Committee members, we spend hours a year studying the impact fee
reports and then making recommendation to the Board of County
Commission. I'm not sure that the Planning Commission also does
that same. Are you provided those reports?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, based on what I've heard today, if
we were provided to them, they were written in such a manner that I'm
not sure I would understand them.
MR. FEE: And the whole --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It's just confusing to hear all this
different analysis to get to something that's so common sense. But
that's the way government works, I understand that.
MR. FEE: Those reports can be 20,30 pages from the
consultant. And if you follow them year over year over year, you can
get to understanding the methodology that they're using and the
changes and the construction costs and all that. But if one isn't
looking at those reports or involved in that process, it's hard to -- you
know, so I'm defending the process and what reports are available to
come up to -- I'm not saying the costs are right or wrong, it's just
what's in those reports.
And if you have not read them, and I know you guys have a lot
on your plate, I wouldn't suggest you add anything, but that's where
part of this equation is on the AUIR.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I didn't say I didn't read them. I
have them all. Amy sent them to me a couple years ago, I have them
electronically. I have read them. Whether I understand them because
of the way they're written, I can't tell you I do.
And obviously I don't agree with what I'm hearing here today.
Not that Amy's wrong. But if that's the basis under which our
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September 23, 2009
common sense has gone out the door and this is the way we're
establishing things, I'm not buying it.
And I guess you can go to -- anybody can hire tons of people to
do a study to say anything they want. And we see that at the Planning
Commission every meeting. The -- there's no developer that comes
before us without an expert telling us that in spite of our common
sense we need more commercial in this community and we need more
this and we need more that. Yet it's always there and they prove it by
numbers just like they prove through the impact fees.
But without an organization, let's say trained in understanding
these studies, and I'm speaking basically of a group like CBIA, they
for all intents and purposes don't exist. Because if they did, they
ought to be challenging this on an expert basis from those of us that
can't get into it like that, and suggested alternatives.
Before I forget, on this level of service standard, I have for years
thought this was for police officers. Because it says police officers
repeatedly, officers, officers, officers. In no way does this county ever
need to reduce its number of officers. In fact, we need to increase
them. And in fact, I thought the benefits provided here go to salaries
and other things to help officers.
In the past I would never consider have cutting such a thing,
because I don't think we need to. We need to do just the opposite
here. And that's my concern, if we change the level of standard.
I would rather see a Category B element that talks about the feet
on the ground, not the whatever you want to call them, bottoms sitting
in chairs. I'd rather see -- knowing what we have out on the street,
what we have doing the most effective work, rather than empty space
and buildings. And if that's what this pertains to, if this pertains to
actually the people on the ground, then I don't want to see a level of
service cut. But if it's just for creating empty space and buildings,
there's no need for it, so --
MR. BOSI: Page 148 provides the actual staffing numbers that
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September 23, 2009
are employed within the Sheriffs Department.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: But my question is, if we adjust the
level of service standard, is that going to negatively impact the
staffing level of the personnel that are hired by the department?
MR. BOSI: If you adjust the level of service standard, you're
going to negatively -- you could potentially negatively impact the
space available to house the necessary prisoners that the Sheriffs
Department determines.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's jail. This is not -- we're not --
officers aren't the prisoners. This is the jail --
MR. BOSI: House is a term for where they gain employment
and where they do their work, outside of their cars.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah, he did.
But I think in this case I don't believe -- based on what we just
learned today, that this is not an actual police officer, it's a space that
could house a police officer -- that that the level of service for
individuals would not be affected, unless we went down. Unless we
were running a negative figure here. And according to what we've got
here, we're not going to be running negative figures.
CHIEF SMITH: If I could make comment to that. It's not really
where officers are housed. You need to understand that it's space
needed to support the officer contingent that you have. It relates to
any number of different utilizations. It's training space, it's the space
used to repair their cars, it's the space used for having shift briefings,
it's the space used to come to do the assignments, you know, any time
you have to come and cut paper, to do the reports necessary to
generate to facilitate a booking of an inmate.
It's not just a vacant office waiting one day for an officer to be
hired so that he can sit in it.
COMMISSIONER CARON: But right now what this report is
telling us is you could hire 203 new officers and you would have the
space to accommodate them; for fixing their cars and training them
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September 23, 2009
and doing whatever else, that's what this report tells us.
CHIEF SMITH: That's exactly what that report's telling you.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Right. So that's what fm saying is
that for -- I think that the level of service could go down a notch or
two. And I don't know what that appropriate number would be.
Because we've been tracking at 196 for at least five years and maybe
longer, which keeps building us up this reserve that we're not using.
So we're over-inventoried here at this point.
And I don't know, you know, backing off slightly would just __
would not -- I don't want to go into a negative situation, but it would
seem to me that we don't need to be quite at the level we're
progressIng now.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Fee, then Mr. Murray.
MR. FEE: The analysis of that number, Ms. Caron, the 1.96--
Amy, are we going to get an opportunity to evaluate that level of
service number in the next impact fee update? And you said that's
comIng up.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes. Amy Patterson again for the record.
'09 was an update year, full update year for law enforcement.
The board has slightly delayed those '09 studies, but I expect come
November or December they're going to reestablish their update cycle
and law enforcement, and the level of service will be a part of that
study.
MR. FEE: So I think we can hear what you're saying. And when
we see that study, that can be a key question, the cost being one, but
the number used. And we can certainly raise that.
Today you cannot change that number because it's in the data
that we're using right now, it's been adopted and--
MS. PATTERSON: It's the number that was generated by the
last full impact fee study. If there was a recommendation made to the
Board of County Commissioners to change that level of service
number, they would have to evaluate that against their current level of
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September 23, 2009
service -- the impact fee level of service, I mean. And also then the
anticipation of the new impact fee study. So all of these actually in
time would be appropriate around the same time period.
What I'm saying is if there were to be a change to the level of
service, they would have to coordinate it with the impact anyway,
because the adopted level of service can't fall below that that's call
called for the impact fee study.
MR. FEE: Okay. And the only other thing is, has there been a
draft of that impact fee study yet?
MS. PATTERSON: No. No. In November or December,
probably early December, the board will establish what they want to
be the study time frames. At that point then we'll send out the
commitments to our consultant to start work on those. And once they
get going, they can -- it's usually -- except in unusual cases like parks,
we get the studies turned around probably in a -- at least for a draft in
about a six-month period. So before the next AUIR there would be at
least something available.
MR. FEE: And maybe you stated this, but do you anticipate an
actual drop in those impact fee numbers in this study? Can you
predict that yet or --
MS. PATTERSON: No, because it's been -- since it's been the
full three years and there's been quite a bit of construction activity, we
would have to see how the changes in population as well as the
changes in costs, how all the factors play in overall to effect the
impact fees.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Close to average.
MR. FEE: And when we do adopt that, when the board adopts
that and if there is a decrease, then next year during these hearings we
will see a lower unit cost, correct?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes.
MR. FEE: We could see a lower--
MS. PATTERSON: Right, whatever the actual unit cost is and
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September 23, 2009
the level of service reflected in that impact fee study, we would bring
forward through the AUIR process.
MR. FEE: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Chief, this is -- the AUIR is a
budget document. But the level of service standard, seeming to have a
significant difference between what is need versus capacity so to
speak. Is it the intent of your organization to utilize this information
so as to increase your budget, or do you rely upon it to increase your
budget?
CHIEF SMITH: We do not rely on this document to size our
budget. This document is really used for planning purposes for future
facilities as its use to us.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: So your budget, and I
understand now that the last budget, actually it was reduced some
from what a prior budget was. So that's pretty clear that that doesn't
happen.
So in terms of what mayor may not be real capacity, this is your
means or this is the county's means of totaling up what seems to be
there to support your organization. And it may appear, because of
circumstances, that you have more than you need.
If we had a rapid change and changes in government and so forth
that precipitated additional crimes, would you see this so-called excess
evaporate?
CHIEF SMITH: I think you first have to categorize it as an
excess.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Well, I use that word, because
there is --
CHIEF SMITH: Understood.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: -- a sense of it that it might be
excessive need and therefore in order to adjust it, the suggestion may
be to bring it down. And I'm concerned if we bring down the level of
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September 23, 2009
service will we do ourselves a disservice. Because the way
government works and a lot of organizations that are large, there's a
lag in things. So would you help us with that?
CHIEF SMITH: Sure. And I'll get to it eventually, so bear with
me.
There are any number of studies and metrics used on a national
scale to say basically here -- you know, all factors remaining equal,
which we know they never are, any case there's differences. But all
factors being equal, this is the amount or the recommended amount of
law enforcement officers per thousand.
And that number is -- depending on which organization, you
know, you're taking the information from, it's always greater than two.
And I've seen it range as high as 2.3.
So when different organizations look to an area such as Collier
County to, you know, try to relate quality of life and, you know, levels
of protection and levels of service and those sorts of things, they judge
them based on those national numbers and see just exactly where they
are.
So, you know, could you stand here today and surmise that there
may be some kind of negative connotation to adjusting that number
downward? We could probably make that case.
But I also know that, you know, in instances like if you want to
talk about the fleet facility, I know it has capacity for the future, I'm
not worried about that. But when I go out and I look at the various
substations that we occupy outside of D-3, which is now located in the
EOC, I see a need. And I see, you know, that we're not going to be
able to go very much longer before we do have to start talking about
facilities again.
So, you know, to adjust that down, it I think is going to put us in
a situation or has the potential to put us in a situation where if there is
a spring-back in the economy rapidly, that you're dealing with a
deficit which then you must build out of before you utilize impact fees
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September 23, 2009
to go forward.
So I think in answer to your question, could it be detrimental to
the agency if we tried to reduce what we're doing now? Absolutely.
Are we concerned if your recommendation is to reduce the level of
service of law enforcement officers? We would be. But that
certainly, you know, depends on the feelings of this group.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Thanks, Chief.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Law enforcement officers, though, are
set by the sheriffs budget, I'm now realizing, this wouldn't set (sic)
law enforcement officers. So us doing anything with this theoretically
wouldn't impact law enforcement officer reduction. That's what I seem
to be understanding from what this now applies to.
And if that's true, what I certainly would like to suggest to our
comprehensive planning department is that any reference to police
officers on here gets removed. It's very misleading. And for five
years I have understood this to be the wrong thing.
MR. BOSI: And back to the purpose of the Category B facilities.
Category B facilities are to ensure that we are not running afoul of the
legal proceedings related to impact fees. The impact fees state the
levels of service based upon the standard that's expressed within the
A UIR document. Any departure from that would require a departure
from our current methodology of the impact fee studies.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mike, all I'm saying is stop calling it
police officers.
MR. COHEN: Commissioner--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: It isn't police officers. It's police
facilities. You can call it buildings, you can call it anything you want,
but we're not talking about police officers here.
Yes?
MR. COHEN: Commissioner, for the record, Randy Cohen.
What we'll do is we'll consult with our impact fee department, as
well as our impact fee consultant to see whether or not we can modify
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September 23,2009
that in accordance with your request.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, it's just mine as one member. I'm
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Well, Mark?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- just suggesting it's misleading.
Go ahead, Mr. Schiffer.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I mean, isn't it really saying
capital cost per police officer? So it's just --
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Composition.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- an index. It's not really
police officers.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, it isn't. And that's what I'm
saying, it needs to be clarified. Because the titling -- the way this is
titled is extremely misleading, so --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Anyway, to me it looks like --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We need to take a break too. So at
some point we either wrap this one up first or we take a break and
come back and wrap it up. I don't know how much more discussion
there's going to be.
And on the safety of our court reporter whose fingers are
probably beat, let's just take a break till 10:25 and we'll finish up when
we come back.
(Recess. )
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Welcome back from the break. And our
court reporter is smiling, so that means her fingers are ready to go.
And we left off asking the level of service standard for law
enforcement. Weare going to work our way into an eventual
conclusion and motion.
Is there any further discussion on the level of service standard
issue?
Mr. Kolflat?
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: I'm still concerned about this
disparity between availability and requirement that occurred in this
section. Is there something we can add to the recommendation of
commissioners to encourage them to pursue this issue further? I
realize it's law enforcement and that the option primarily is to improve
it, but I'd like to add an addendum to bring these points to light when
they discuss it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I think it would be appropriate if we
wanted to have the level of service standard reviewed for the next
AUIR. On this one it wouldn't be possible to do anything, because at
this point it's recommendations to go forward, I believe. I think if that
recommendation included a careful review of the level of service
standard relative to the fact we have such a large surplus, that might be
a relative point to make in the motion.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: I make a motion to recommend
approval with that stipulation.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mike, is that appropriate for you guys's
needs?
MR. BOSI: It's one of the potential recommendations at the end
of your staff report. It says, the option to recommend evaluation or
modification to any of the level of services is an option that is
available as part of the recommendation process from either of the
advisory bodies.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: I would second that motion. Also
adding Mr. Fee's point from earlier that talked about the 10-year
planning period. Mike's going to make that adjustment here on the
wording in the staff recommendations.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, so a motion's been made.
Mr. Kolflat?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: I would also add that there be
clarification of definition of officers that you mentioned as the third
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September 23, 2009
item.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I want to be sure of something.
MS. VASEY: Have we finished the discussion?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We're going to discuss the motion.
MS. VASEY: I thought we were --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: The motion came faster. I hadn't asked
for a motion, but Mr. Kolflat volunteered one.
If we have discussion, I can ask the motion maker and the second
to hold off.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: Sure.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Absolutely.
MS. VASEY: I had my hand up before we went on break.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I didn't remember, I'm sorry.
MS. VASEY: That's all right.
Well, I did a couple of calculations, and I think part of what's
confusing this whole issue is that in the last year we added 82,000
square feet of space in this area. That's about 10 percent increase over
what we had before. And the way buildings are added, you know, it's
big chunks. You don't just add a few feet for every year when you
add a few more people. So you've got those things happening. And in
both of those cases, the people came out of leased space. And it was
expanded for the future.
So yes, it's more perhaps than what we need right now but it's
looking to the future in the way building chunks happen. So I felt that
should -- I wanted to make that point.
Also on the j ails, I was talking to Amy during the break and she
reminded me, and she was right, when we're looking at building costs
for jails, it was true that we based it on the actual cost of the jail
increase, the jail expansion in 2006. But we did have an architect
come in and cost out things to update those numbers. And he looked
at what else was going around in our area, he compared it in other
Florida areas because it had been several years. So I had forgotten
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September 23, 2009
that we had done -- made an attempt to try to take another look at
those costs. And all those costs, you know, are not just land costs or
building costs, you know, they're the cost for equipment too. So you
get all kinds of things in there. And if you know what the cost of
construction, square foot for construction of a building is, you have to
remember that you're adding equipment to that too. So just a couple
of things that I felt need to be added.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yeah, Janet, and I think that's why
I supported Mr. Kolflat's motion the way it was made, because I also
talked to Amy at the break and I know that we're going to get an
impact fee update on most of these categories. And so we will be able
to reflect -- as even Mr. Fee indicated, we'll be able to take a look at
those next year. So I think the update will tell us.
And nothing's going to happen, we're not building anything,
nothing's happening in the upcoming year so--
MS. VASEY: Right, we have a little time to clean up some of
the stuff we need to.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Absolutely.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah, I think it should be noted
too, and I talked with Amy -- she was talked to by everybody, I guess.
Kidding aside, you know, we've been using a regression analysis and
now we're going to go to an average. And two highest years. And
next year you will not see a significant change downward.
I don't have a problem if the motion is an evaluation. A
modification I wouldn't be able to support. I would like to see an
evaluation of it. And if I understand Ms. Vasey, that's already
essentially been done. Did I understand you correctly that you
actually, through the Productivity Committee, effectively got an
evaluation of this level of service standard?
MS. VASEY: That was for the jail. I jumped back to mention
the jail. This one is coming.
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September 23, 2009
MS. PATTERSON: It's an '09 study, so we're hoping the board's
-- I'm sorry, Amy Patterson again for the record.
Law enforcement was going to be an '09 study. We anticipate in
November or December that the board will reset their study schedule
and we'll be doing the six required '09 studies in 2010 so in time for
the next AUIR.
MS. VASEY: Okay, we'll take a hard look at that calculations
when we get the study in.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah, as long as we follow a
process here, I really don't have a problem. Certainly evaluation is
always working. If the cost of evaluation doesn't create additional
burdens unnecessarily, that's good for me. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Downs, then Mr. Fee.
MS. DOWNS: Well, we do, productivity does work closely with
impact fees and these different studies, so just to shed some light on
that. I know there's frustration, and we talked about some of the
frustration yesterday. The frustration is to get these calculations as
true and accurate as possible. Whether it takes the fee up or down, we
all want a more realistic figure.
And we're required by the state to have impact fees. We had
been for State Bill 360 and so far we still are.
There are only two companies that I know of in the United States
that do impact fee studies, Duncan and Tindale-Oliver. There are
others. Those are the only two we have used.
MS. PATTERSON: There are some other -- those are the two
best known companies, Duncan and Tindale-Oliver. There are some
other companies in California that do some. Henderson- Young
Company in Washington, who the board did work with in the
Nineties. However, we had a situation in the mid 200's and we no
longer have a relationship with Henderson-Young.
And it is currently the opinion of the county attorney that we
work with a Florida company, because they understand the dynamics
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September 23, 2009
with Florida and the legalizations in Florida the best, and they would
prefer that we work with a Florida firm, which leaves us right now
with Tindale-Oliver.
MS. DOWNS: The other firm is Duncan. But they were
challenged in court over the last year and lost, and so we -- the county
settled with Tindale-Oliver because they have a better track record.
Every impact fee has to be legally defensible, such as the CBIA
should be challenging them. They do nationwide. So that was one
reason the comfort level with Tindale-Oliver studies. There are
thorough. Could they be more finely tuned? Like we said with Parks
and Recs yesterday, I would like to see a lot more factored into the
equation, if it's legally defensible. Therein lies the rub. Some of the
smaller companies do not hire impact fee providers. They come up
with their own figures. But that's taking a huge risk, and we're much
too big of a county to do something like that.
Now, they are required to be reviewed every five years, am I
right? Every three years is the impact fee review. And they all don't
come due at the same time on the third year. They're staggered.
Now that we've had a downturn in the economy, we could go
back and ask for a review on every department. And if I'm right on
this, the cost of each review would be about 75, $85,000?
She's saying yes.
So for each department, if you wanted to review it in between
that three-year time period, it's like Mr. Murray was saying, you have
to adjust for the cost of doing that additional study.
Now, the only thing I can see that is something we could possibly
impact right now, right here goes back to the BEBR numbers. The
county seemed to be justifiably quick to ask the state to move up the
BEBR numbers from medium to high when we were having
tremendous growth.
Now that we are in a contraction, I think it's very reasonable to
ask the state to drop down to the BEBR low. We're not even havinge
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September 23, 2009
low growth, we're having zero growth. It doesn't mean in two years
we can't go back to BEBR median. But by adopting BEBR low, it
would impact every single cost that we're looking at.
And I've looked at the BEBR low, median and high. Can't
remember the numbers off the bat, it seemed like it was about, can you
help me, 60,000 population per year? Does that sound right? Off the
top of my head.
MR. BOSI: Not sure.
The comment that I was going to make is the BEBR population
projections really don't account for the cost of your impact fees. Your
impact fees are based upon your population at the time of the study
and the improvements at the time of the study, so --
MS. DOWNS: But you're taking out a five. You're applying--
MR. BOSI: Right, right.
MS. DOWNS: -- per population. So if you --
MR. BOSI: What the BEBR population --
MS. DOWNS: -- drop that population--
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: You guys got to both talk separately.
And Mike, you need to slow down a little bit.
MR. BOSI: What the BEBR population projections are utilized
are for what improvements would be required over that five-year
period.
So you're correct in the sense that if we went to a BEBR low, it
would show that the new improvements that we don't have planned
within our five years that are out somewhere in that five to 10 years,
they may be pushed out to the 10 to the 15 years, based upon the
further reduction or decrease in population projections.
If that's -- I mean, that most certainly could be a recommendation
that would be contained.
But the increase -- or the decrease from a BEBR high to a BEBR
medium had a significant reduction in terms of what we were
expecting.
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September 23,2009
As you can see, as Mr. Fee pointed out, as one of the notes that
were provided related to why we have so much excess space within
the law enforcement was when the buildings were commissioned and
authorized. For 2008 and 2009 we had projected, based upon our
projections was 450,000 people. The reality turns out that that
450,000 people aren't here today. And that's why we have such excess
in that space.
And if we would go to the BEBR medium, we would further
prevent that excess from happening. What we would potentially do is
when there would be an upswing, we would be forced with bringing
new improvements on quicker and without the consideration or the
timing meshing with our prior plans. And that simply -- and that's a
policy decision. That's a policy decision.
Should we be more conservative, meaning that we expect that
we're not going to grow and we're not going to do the -- we're not
going to program improvements based upon the assumption that we're
going to have flat growth, we're going to have no growth over a five or
a 10- year period. Or should we be somewhere in the middle and think
that the population may come back once the situation -- the economic
situation begins to stabilize and have a population projection that is
somewhat closer to what we've experienced in the past 30 to 35 years
within this county.
That's a policy decision. And that's most certainly a
recommendation that either of the bodies can provide as part of the
AUIR process.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Fee?
MR. FEE: I don't know if the motion is for the Planning
Commission or whether we would join them in that same motion.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: No, you guys do your own separately.
MR. FEE: We do our own.
In the motion that was mentioned here, we talk about on Page
141 the recommendation. And staff puts in here there are no proj ects
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September 23, 2009
in the five and 10-year planning.
The motion is indicating we would change that because listed
here out in year '17-'18, there's 2.2 million and in '18-'19, there's 32
million.
Do you know if in last year's AUIR those two projects were
listed in the approval? Are these being added this year?
MR. BOSI: No, those have shown up all the way -- I'll check the
2007. I know it's in 2008.
MR. FEE: Okay. So if the answer is yes, they've been in there,
if you go to Page 146 where it lists the individual expansion proj ects,
there's a note with four asterisks that says based on 2009 master plan
update.
Who hears that, and is in that actually adopted now, the master
plan? Is there a Sheriffs committee or--
MR. BOSI: I would defer to Skip Camp from facilities on that
question.
MR. CAMP: For the record, Skip Camp.
There is a master plan. And things are so dynamic right now that
we asked for a master plan update last year. Things changed in six
months so radically that we actually had to do an update to the update.
And quite honestly, we've reviewed it with the sheriffs office.
We know that the elements are valid, but when they actually come
into place, we're going to be deferring those year after year, depending
on the need.
MR. FEE: Okay. And my question then is do we want to
modify the motion to say there are proj ects in here, or do you want to
modify this graph to eliminate those two projects? Because it says
they're tentative in nature. If they're in some master plan, then
obviously you want to put them in here 10 years out. But if they
haven't actually been adopted in that master plan, if it's changing,
maybe you do not want to show those.
MR. CAMP: From a staff perspective they're valid projects. It's
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September 23, 2009
just when are they going to actually be needed. That's the unknown.
But they're valid projects, based on professional space planning. So
we don't want to -- we want to make sure the projects are always
addressed. When that actually happens is really unknown.
MR. FEE: Okay. And then the only other point is, what Janet's
saying, that you have to add capacity or expansion well ahead of when
you're going to need. We do that in water treatment. You know, we
have a graph that shows how many people are moving here and we
have to stay ahead of that demand. And I know it's the same way with
this facility.
But my question would be, if you look at Page 142, when we add
the planned capacity you still are in an overage. You're not requiring
that amount of space.
So I guess I'm just questioning -- I know that's 10 years out and
who can guess, but should it actually be on there?
MR. BOSI: In 2008 it was shown in the tenth year. This year
we've shown it in the tenth year. And we're going to continue as the
conditions remain flat, as the conditions remain as they are presented,
that the need does not -- is not being triggered. The intention is to
leave that in the tenth year.
Because it is a project that's documented as a need within the
master plan, and we want to leave it out there in the tenth year. And
as the conditions warrant, we would adjust it -- we would adjust it
forward.
MR. FEE: And then the final, going back to the master plan, is it
actually a document that has been drafted and approved that in fact it's
in there?
MR. CAMP: It has been drafted. Staff has reviewed it both on
the board's side and the Sheriffs side. We're in concert with each
other.
The board hasn't seen it yet. And quite honestly, it's because
things are so dynamic nothing's going to happen in the immediate
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September 23,2009
future. So we're trying to make sure the environment stabilizes a little
bit before we get final approval.
MR. FEE: Okay. And I know I'm belaboring the point, but
when that gets adopted, in fact you will see these facilities in that
adopted report?
MR. CAMP: Absolutely.
MR. FEE: It won't be eliminated?
MR. CAMP: No. They're in the report, it's just a matter of when
they get done.
MR. FEE: Okay, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, is there any discussion further on
this?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: If not, Mr. Kolflat had made a motion to
recommend approval of this with some stipulations. One is that the
level of service standard be reviewed. And that the reference to this
entitled section of police officers be more or less redefined or defined
in a manner that's more accurate. I think that's a fair statement.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: Yes. And it was seconded by
Donna Caron.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right, and that's what I was going to--
and Ms. Caron added an addition to the motion concerning the
correction to Page 141.
And Donna, did you want to reconsider your --
COMMISSIONER CARON: I think all you have to do is just
eliminate and 10- year. So we're approving no new proj ects in the
five-year planning period.
MR. BOSI: What my modification was going to be was after and
it say no new projects over the five-year planning period and tentative
improvements for the 10-year planning period. Or I can just eliminate
the reference to the 10-year planning period. But there are tentative
improvements that we put in year 10. Whatever the discretion.
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER CARON: I don't even think we need to go
there. I mean, I don't think it's -- you know, it's not really a
commitment on anybody's part, so we don't need to go that route.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, is that consistent then with the
motion maker?
COMMISSIONER KOLFLA T: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And the second seconds the--
COMMISSIONER CARON: Yes.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: -- changes?
Any further discussion?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Mark, isn't --
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Isn't the bottom line here, I
mean, with everything we said, we're essentially just approving using
debt to pay debt, that's all we're doing today in the AUIR.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Right, no new changes, no nothing.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: It's a no-brainer.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And I'm going to be voting against the
motion because of my continued and persistent concern over the
inaccuracies of the unit cost in today's marketplace. So I'm not
changing my mind on that.
Any further discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ifnot, all those in favor of the
discussion, say aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER HOMIAK: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All those opposed? Aye.
Motion carries 5-1.
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September 23, 2009
Does the Productivity Committee wish to take the issue up?
MS. VASEY: I'd like to make a motion to recommend approval.
And the level of service standard will be reviewed in the next impact
fee study for law enforcement.
MR. FEE: I would second that.
MS. VASEY: All those in favor?
MS. DOWNS: Aye.
MS. VASEY: Aye.
MR. FEE: Aye.
MS. VASEY: Opposed?
(No response.)
MS. VASEY: Unanimous.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Same vote as us?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, next item up is the emergency
medical services. And Chief Page.
Welcome, sir.
CHIEF PAGE: Good morning. For the record, Jeff Page with
Emergency Medical Services.
On Page 168, I do have a change here that I was just made aware
of this morning.
For the total revenues, if you can adjust that to 4,714,800.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Which? There's three, four -- there's
several lines there. Which--
CHIEF PAGE: I'm sorry. Under revenues, total revenues.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Just the total number?
CHIEF PAGE: Right. That total number is going to be
4,714,800.
The general fund loan to make commercial paper for the debt
service payments, that's actually going to be $3,859,039.
So the -- at the bottom there, the additional revenues required at
the level of service standard reduction, that would change to 3,750,000
instead of the 6 million, 112 that's there.
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September 23, 2009
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay. Well, let's start with questions of
the Emergency Medical Services, EMS.
Anybody have any questions?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I have a question.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I thought you shook your head no, that's
__ I thought you were saying I don't have any this time. Go ahead, sir.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Jeff, one thing. You know, we
year after year mention that some of these travel times could be
increased by, for example, bridges in the Estates and stuff like that.
Has that been looked at this year at all? Has transportation worked
with you to --
CHIEF PAGE: They always work with us. Especially any road
closures, things of that nature that are either temporary or permanent.
Future bridges, things of that nature, yes, they do.
MR. BOSI: And to point out, as part of the East of951 Horizon
Study, one of the components that came out of it from the
transportation side was the actual bridge study, and the bridge study
where they identified 12 locations to bridge within the Estates that
were based upon the input from the individual first responders, from
fire, EMS and law enforcement.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And has anything gone further
than that?
MR. BOSI: Well, it's -- basically it's been accepted by the Board
of County Commissioners, but it's accepted and can only be acted
upon when funding becomes available.
But other than that, there has -- that's where it stops. And I guess
it's related to funding.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: So it didn't show up in
transportation at all, in any long-range plan? No, probably, right?
MR. BOSI: I believe that the long-range plan would factor in--
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September 23, 2009
would factor in the locations of the proposed bridge locations to
increase the capacity within individual systems. But there's no money
on board to actually schedule the improvements.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. And then I think my
other question is, is right now some of these things are based upon
support from the ALS, correct?
CHIEF PAGE: The ALS engines? Yes.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: If you ever lost that, how would
this change?
CHIEF PAGE: We had this happen once before where the City
of Naples and North Naples Fire had ALS engine programs with us,
and they backed out for a time period of a few years, due on staffing
adjustments, things of that nature. And there was no impact, really.
The fire districts would continue to respond on a first responder basis
where they have automatic external defibrillators and they do CPRs.
So that part wouldn't change.
Whether they provide the ALS procedures or medications
associated with that, typically less than one percent of the calls that we
run on are actually cardiac arrests. So the significance of the impact,
whether they provide the ALS portion of the protocol would not
necessarily have an impact on the cardiac resuscitation rates because
they would still have the defibrillator and things to actually save lives
with.
The medications that we provide enroute to the hospital typically
are not going to have an outcome on the -- whether the patient lives or
dies, it's just to provide support during the transport.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Thank you. I'm done.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Anybody else have any questions on the
emergency medical services?
Ms. Vasey?
MS. VASEY: Yes. When -- to follow up on Brad's question,
when you have the ALS responding right now, do they use very many
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September 23, 2009
of these procedures, the paramedic procedures and meds?
CHIEF PAGE: Well, we've actually looked at it now for two
years, and what we've found is that in East Naples the number of
medications used prior to our arrival was down to 21. And when I say
medications, that includes like aspirin, glucose, things of that nature,
which really probably aren't life-saving medications.
So I would have to say no, that they're not really -- there isn't any
evidence that they're really doing a lot as far as the medical
administration prior to our arrival. Now, when we arrive on scene, of
course when we're there it's further into the call.
And you've got to remember, initially there is a set protocol of,
you know, taking the patient's vitals and administrating oxygen, basic
life support stuff that happens well before you actually start an IV.
So they make get as far as initiating an IV, but even in that case
it's very rarely -- because what we've found is that 87 percent of the
time one of the two of us is arriving within a minute of the other, and
you just can't get that far into the protocol to really get into advanced
life support.
The NFP A standard put out by the fire department recommends
that you have a BLS component, a basic life support component
within a four-minute travel time or six minutes on scene to provide an
AED response and basic life support.
The ALS is an eight-minute travel time or 10-minute response to
that scene. And that's when the drugs are administered.
So what we're finding is they're basically getting there for the
majority of the time at the same time we are, within that eight minutes
travel time. And I think what the medical director is trying to focus on
is perhaps having a larger component of basic life support/first
responder capability to where whether you have code enforcement out
on the street, if they have a pager similar to this and there's a cardiac
arrest around the corner and they're having AED or automatic external
defibrillator equipped, and whether it be a CA T bus or whatever, that
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September 23, 2009
they actually respond to the scene as a first responder.
And keep in mind that most if not all the Sheriffs Office vehicles
out there on the road, and there's hundreds of them out there a day,
they all have AED's now.
So if you're able to capture that type of force for that initial
response to a cardiac arrest to administer whether it be CPR or the
shock, if it's required, that's really what's going to save lives.
So I think that's where the medical director's focus is, is that
initial response. And the ALS component coming somewhere down
the line.
So in answer to your question, we still have -- there's two
districts right now. East Naples and North Naples are no longer
providing the swap program to where their paramedics ride on our
units.
Dr. Tober had made a requirement that they ride at least one shift
once every three months. And there's been a number of them that
have not complied with that. He's decertified, as you've read in the
paper. And we expect by the end of this month several more will be
decertified to the point where right now in the agreements East Naples
is supposed to provide us two ALS engines every day, 365 days a
year. Today they have one. North Naples is supposed to provide
seven every day. They have two up today.
So that staffing's going to continue to go down. As long as they
continue to not ride on our units in defiance, so to speak, those two
programs will go.
Now the City of Naples, the City of Marco, both those programs
are in place and I think that they will continue to be so. Whether we're
able to work out with the boards collectively or able to work out an
agreement with north and east down the road, that remains to be seen.
MS. VASEY: But even if they don't send an ALS engine, they
still are sending somebody that can do that first responder?
CHIEF PAGE: Absolutely.
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September 23, 2009
MS. VASEY: Okay. So what they have historically done, with
the exception of the 21 cases in East Naples, and you didn't say how
many in North Naples, that they've been providing the actual
paramedic intervention. So everything else is just going to work the
same. So that's just that one small piece that's dropped.
CHIEF PAGE: Sure.
MS. VASEY: Okay. One of the things that we did in the master
plan last year, we looked at where you were located, where your
engines were -- or yours trucks were. What did we call them?
CHIEF PAGE: The transport units?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ambulances.
MS. VASEY: Pardon?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ambulances.
MS. VASEY: Okay. An ambulance, okay.
We looked at where they were located. And you were planning
to put in several more actual physical stations. And we decided not to
do those. Or we recommended not to and the commissioners agreed
because of the ALS units.
Where do we stand with those, since we didn't go forward with
building those stations?
CHIEF PAGE: Well, one of the things the medical director, Dr.
Tober, had done is we had sent staff up to Wake County, North
Carolina to look at a program that they have implemented or were
getting ready to implement up there. And it utilizes advance
practitioner paramedics that are above average skills that respond in a
quick chase vehicle or fly car, and they'd have all the components that
they would need, med boxes and such.
And we have for several months now have been utilizing two to
three, based on what staffing's available, of those up every day. And
those quick cars actually maneuver into vacant zones as zones are
vacated. They may move in to fill in as a first responder ALS unit.
And that's what we've been doing with -- as these ALS engines have
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September 23,2009
gone down we've actually been having -- and it's only up for 12 hours
a day, I have to tell you that.
But where the preponderance of calls are, it's staffed. And they
continually move in and out of zones to areas that are either vacated or
a serious call comes in like a cardiac arrest. They typically are the
first response on the scene because they're in a much lighter car. They
are actually in the vehicle all the time. They're not responding out to a
truck and getting in and going. So they typically have a faster
response time.
So that's worked very well. And I think you'll notice, if you look
at the tables in the ALS versus EMS call volume and response times,
you'll see that our call volume in the urban area, because ALS engines
are only in the urban area right now, you can see that that number is
starting to compact to where I think there's like one to two percent
difference now. But even with the ALS versus just EMS. And I think
some of that is due to that MedCom activity out there.
So I think that, you know, we're pretty progressive. Weare
always looking for different ways to skin the cat. And if there's
another way or a better way to do it, I have a number of staff below
me that are always coming to me with different ideas and different
ways to do things.
So I think we're going to continue down that line. And certainly
this MedCom program with these quick chase cars, that is working for
us.
MS. VASEY: And you have the cars to do that that can --
CHIEF PAGE: There were existing staff vehicles. I mean, if one
of the units are down being repaired or something, they take my car.
It's -- you know, everybody's car is up for grabs. So some of them
came out of training and -- it's just existing cars.
We had, you know, removed some of our battalion chiefs back
into the field to fly on the helicopter. Well, when those cars became
available, we actually took the MedCom program and used those
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September 23, 2009
vehicles.
So we haven't expanded anything in the number of vehicles,
we're just utilizing -- or reallocating those vehicles.
MS . VASEY: Do you suppose that that will -- this is like a test
period that you're trying this out? Because it could really change the
whole complexion of requirements under level of service standards if
this becomes a way to go in the future.
CHIEF PAGE: Well, it certainly is a pilot program, I'll give you
that. But the challenge that I'm having is these we call them
MedComs for medical commute. These guys that are in these quick
fly cars, they're running three times more calls than most units, you
know, that are at a station, because they're going all over the place.
And then they're coming off that unit and going back on a truck
and they're running the rest of the day. I'm not paying overtime to do
that.
So those guys are getting kind of run down a little bit. But so far,
you know, because part of the -- in the pilot program we're wondering
just how long would they be able to do this, you know, and still-- but
they're very enthusiastic about it. They see that it is meeting a need.
And so far they're continuing to do it without any additional
compensation. It's not like they get an extra pay bump or anything.
So as long as we're able to do that, we will.
Now, another part of this is, is that the long-range plan is that,
you know, as we get closer to the virus and the inoculations that are
going to be required for health care and for people that are shut in at
home, we see these individuals as also, if they're not running on a call,
they're going to be utilized for other services.
And let's say you get to the point where Dr. Tober expands their
expertise to allow them to make home visits or in lieu of going to the
emergency room maybe they go by and check someone out. I mean,
that is the long-term goal and that's where you want to get to. But right
now they're so busy running calls we just haven't got to that point.
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September 23, 2009
MS. VASEY: One last quick question.
Along with the station usually comes the truck, the ambulance.
What -- you're the only one that can transport. You know, ALS can't
transport and the units, the MedCom units, can't transport. So are you
okay on transport vehicles, or is that a problem?
CHIEF PAGE: Well, I will tell you that Friday I was notified by
the county manager's office. North Naples has submitted the request
for their own certificate or COM for an ALS license of their own. And
East Naples has indicated -- I guess they've hired an attorney also to
look into that.
Now, so far from what I understand, it's just to provide advanced
life support and non-transport. So I'm not expecting them to by
transports. However, if they have a COM, they could.
But as far as the units, you know, I think we addressed, actually
on Page 170 and 169, the amount of replacement vehicles and how far
we are behind in that replacement strategy. We're not looking to
expand any stations, so that's good. However, we are looking -- I
think -- well, I know that this fiscal year right now we're going to have
a surplus of revenue over what was budgeted. And what we will
probably be going -- I haven't talked to the board about this, but we'll
probably be going back to the board and asking them if we can utilize
this three or 400, $500,000 in excess revenue over what was budgeted
to allow us to catch up on some of these replacements.
Because we do have -- I've got one unit out there that's 13 years
old with well over 250,000 miles on it. And some of these units do
break down, and they break down more frequently as they age, and the
potential liability is there, so we need to address it. But so far we're
maintaining our own.
MS. VASEY: Well, the budgets are just being approved. The
final approval I guess is this week, and you already have $300,000
extra revenue?
CHIEF PAGE: Well, by the end of this month, I mean, projected
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September 23, 2009
right now, it will be over $300,000.
MS. VASEY: Oh, that's for this year.
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, ma'am.
MS. VASEY: Oh, okay. I'm thinking next year. It seemed like
it would be hard to do that already.
CHIEF PAGE: And I think we also have in the budget is to do a
lease option on one of those, so --
MS. VASEY: Okay, thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions on the
EMS?
Ms. Caron?
COMMISSIONER CARON: On our Page 176 it's EMS
equipment replacement cost.
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Can you help me do some math
here? Down at the bottom it says the average equipment replacement
cost per unit is 428,593.
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER CARON: How did you get to that figure?
And let me -- I'll give you the premise under which I'm working and
then you can tell me where I'm wrong.
But if I take your most expensive unit, which is an ALS
ambulance, it's 256,200. And then you would add equipment from the
top, correct?
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER CARON: So if I add two portable radios, a
laptop, two mobile radios, a UHF radio ambulance and a couple of
pagers, two or three pagers, if I add all of that up I only come up to
$281,300. I can't get to the 428.
So what am I missing?
CHIEF PAGE: Now, I may have to phone a friend here, okay,
but let me see if I can explain it first.
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September 23, 2009
If you look at the total replacement cost on the far side and you
total those all up and you get that total vehicle and equipment cost. I
think that if you divide that by the number of units, it gives you the
average equipment. In other words, it's not just taking what's on the
ambulance, it's everything else. I don't understand why it's done this
way, but I think that's -- is that my explanation? Yes.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Oh, okay, so it's not an average per
unit.
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, I think that it's --
COMMISSIONER CARON: It's an average of all your
equipment.
CHIEF PAGE: Right. And that could be a boat trailer, you
know. So it's not -- it's the cost of doing business.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Okay. That's just a very odd chart
and a very odd way to do it.
CHIEF PAGE: I agree.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions?
COMMISSIONER CARON: Makes it look like we're paying,
you know, close to $450,000 for something that probably --
CHIEF PAGE: That would be a fire truck.
COMMISSIONER CARON: -- couldn't potentially -- yeah,
couldn't get over $300,000.
CHIEF PAGE: Correct.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Fee?
MR. FEE: The level of service on Page 168 mentions one unit
for 16,400 population.
CHIEF PAGE: Yes.
MR. FEE: And obviously there was an adjustment here. And I
know when we're talking about AUIR we talk about the level of
service and then we also go into the cost component of it. And
Commissioner Strain has voted against some of these based on the
cost components. So I have some questions on this. Some of it is
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September 23, 2009
probably related more to the impact fee discussion, but I might as well
take the time while you're here.
Underneath unit cost it says $3.2 million per new unit and then it
reads 1.8 million per collocated unit --
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, sir.
MR. FEE: -- and it has asterisk.
Collocated unit is typically located in a fire station, EMS joint?
Is that --
CHIEF PAGE: Well, I have a number of stations. The best
example would be probably Station 22, and that's in East Naples there
where we bought into 37 percent of their actual building costs. So
that's collocated. And that can vary from station to station.
Station 24, which is across from Fiddler's Creek -- or, no, Grey
Oaks, that station is actually a three-way split between North Naples,
East Naples and EMS.
So there are occasions where we have -- and they have to factor
in what that number is. But there are collated stations where -- in
some cases where we're actually renting. In other cases we have an
actual piece of the construction cost itself.
MR. FEE: With that, if you go to Page 174 where it lists the
existing EMS stations, you then have a column that shows leased
versus owned, okay? And if I could draw you to number 43, which is
a station located at Vanderbilt Drive, that would be a fire station
where you collocate?
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, sir.
MR. FEE: And then down below it says for the east stations no
rent is paid but rather a fixed monthly utility charge.
CHIEF PAGE: In some cases. Now, there is one station in
North Naples where they require us to pay 1,500 a month in rent
payment.
And I'm not clear on this, I didn't think you could use impact fees
to build a station and then lease that out. However, most of the
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September 23, 2009
stations in the agreements that we have where we're collocated and
don't have a portion of it, we actually have in lieu of rent a portion of
the utilities, and it's factored in based on the square footage.
MR. FEE: Okay. Again, I know the discussion is the amount of
units that you need per population. So some of my questions aren't
going to change. I'm sorry if I'm going -- but I need to -- on your Page
1 73, individual, you have a yellow EMS proposed station and you
have a blue EMS planned station. And I can see those located on this
map.
What is the difference between an EMS proposed station and an
EMS planned station? And there's four located in North Naples:
Station 73,411,45 and 49. Some are considered proposed and some
are considered planned.
CHIEF PAGE: Okay, just a second.
MS. VASEY: Do you own some of that land?
CHIEF PAGE: We have -- for the proposed station Medic 411
and Medic 73, we already have that land purchased.
MR. FEE: That's the land?
CHIEF PAGE: Yes.
MR. FEE: Okay.
CHIEF PAGE: Proposed stations, like Medic 45, that is a station
that actually the county owns the land already so we're not expecting
to actually have to do anything with that.
But those are stations in the future. And they're actually outside
of this AUIR. They wouldn't be built, I don't believe, until--
MR. FEE: Well, it says year 13 through 18.
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, 13 through 18.
MR. FEE: But I guess my point is you list them separately
proposed and planned. And the proposed ones on this Page 174
through FY 13-14, that still seems to be -- is that in the five-year
window and the planned are outside of the five-year window? Is that
the only difference I'm seeing?
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September 23,2009
CHIEF PAGE: That's it. Because actually we had a design in
place for the proposed. The plan structures, however, have not --
initially we were looking at doing a joint station with North Naples at
one of them and Heritage Bay. That plan has, you know, probably
been scrapped because it's been changed so many times and things
have changed so dramatically back from three years ago.
MR. FEE: And maybe my final question is, if you go to Page
172 where you list the individual stations, and they're in green
highlight, you've got Vanderbilt Beach Road/Logan, U.S. 41, Old 41,
Goodlette, Immokalee, and Immokalee/951. Those are also listed in
this list, obviously, but my question is, they all seem to be in the very
North Naples area. Is that only because that's where the county is
seeing the growth?
CHIEF PAGE: Well, yes, it is. Because number one, we always
look, and -- all the time. I mean, I can tell you every month we look at
the call volumes to see where the call volume is.
Now, when you're talking about planned versus proposed, things
can change dramatically to where what was planned, these stations for
FY '15 and FY '1 7, they may not be where we're going to be wanting
to go by then. In other words, if it moves further east, those will be
scrapped and will be moved. But at the time that we prepared the
document, that's where we were seeing the need.
MR. FEE: Okay. I think that answers what I'm looking for.
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Did you say, Chief, that you
already own the land for the Vanderbilt/Logan and the 41/01d 41?
CHIEF PAGE: Yes, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER CARON: In both of those situations you
already own the land. Okay, thank you.
Does any --
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I do.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Brad?
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: And it's to staff.
I couldn't find it, or maybe you didn't do it, but there's no staff
recommendation for this one. Is there a reason for that? Are you
hiding or is it just a --
MR. BOSI: No, that would be an omission by negligence on my
part. There's no -- we're not shying away. We would recommend that
the both advisory bodies forward a recommendation of approval as
presented.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Okay. Just checking.
MR. FEE: If I could make one more comment.
CHIEF PAGE: You have my cell phone number.
MR. FEE: Yeah, I know.
The bottom line, though, on Page 168 where you talk about the
unit costs, it's less expensive to have a collocated unit than to have a
new unit.
Is the county planning to do more collocated units so that the cost
is different, or is it more beneficial to actually have them separated? I
guess I go to the consolidation issue.
CHIEF PAGE: Well, I'll give you an example. We had tried to
get into Station 73 up there on 951 toward north, rather than go to
Heritage. But the amount of rent they were requesting us to provide I
think was -- I think it was 170,000 a month or, you know, totally out
of my ballpark.
But -- so that was a situation where we try to locate, collocate in
some cases.
Another example would be in Golden Gate. We've got one on
17th there right across from the library. We originally tried to add
some construction to their station there. They did not want us to join
them in that station, so we built across the street.
So we do try, in most cases, I think in every case, to collocated.
However, on the other side of it is if I'm building a new station, what I
see for my need may not be the fire department's need. Because the
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fire department basis their need of stations like every five miles. It's
based on a fuel load, you know, where is the biggest fire going to
happen, that's where I need my fire station.
I know in Lee County they were looking the same thing we were
trying to do. However, there is a difference. Because where the
medical emergencies are may not be where the fire emergencies are.
Another instance, you know, they may need to build a fire station
because the water access is not available to those constituents, so they
need to have in this area. That's not the same need that I have when
you get into the rural areas. They may need to move a fire station
because they have a number of structures out there that aren't covered
by insurance. That's not my need. So it varies.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Any other questions of emergency
medical?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, is the Planning Commission
ready for amotion?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'll do it.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Schiffer?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I move we forward the
emergency medical services with a recommendation of approval.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Is there a second?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Second.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Second by Mr. Murray.
Discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I will be voting against the motion only
because of the unit cost changes that I don't feel are necessitated by
any valid study.
With that in mind, all those in favor of the motion, signify by
saYIng aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER HOMIAK: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: All those posed? Aye.
Motion carries 5-1 down.
Does the Productivity Committee wish to take it up?
MS. DOWNS: Productivity Committee will make the same
motion.
MS. VASEY: Second.
MS. DOWNS: All those in favor?
MR. FEE: Aye.
MS. DOWNS: Aye.
MS. VASEY: Aye.
MS. DOWNS: Passes unanimously.
CHIEF PAGE: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Thank you, Chief.
Next one up is our government buildings. And that would be
Skip Camp.
MR. JONES: Hank Jones, for the record.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Oh, Hank Jones is coming up.
MR. JONES: Commissioners, I've reviewed this plan and it
really shows that we're not doing any new projects within the
five-year period, merely finishing up the one or two that we have still
on the books that already started in the previous years.
Do you have any questions?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Before I ask questions, I just got a
statement to make, and Mr. Jones, I want to mention it to you.
I've been tracking your department's costs. In 2005 you had a
$307 unit cost and you went up to 514 in 2006. 2007, when things
started to turn, you went down, I hope in reaction to the economic
climate, to 451. Last year we went down to 352 and you maintained
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September 23, 2009
that. You're the only department to do that.
And I know if I were to ask Amy to explain that I'd hear some
70-year regression analysis upside down, backwards, explains it. I'm
not going to ask her, but I want to congratulate you. Because your
department is more in reality than the rest of the ones I've seen in this
meeting since we started on Monday. And so I certainly won't have
an exception in my voting in this issue with you guys.
With that in mind, is there any other comments from the -- any
questions from the Planning Commission?
MR. CAMP: Could we just go now?
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, I wish everybody used -- whoever
did your study used the same people, because we'd be a lot farther
ahead in this county.
Go ahead, Ms. Downs.
MS. DOWNS: I have a question that might better be addressed
to Susan, and that's I can see on your Page 190 several loans coming
in for your department. I'm wondering how the interest on those loans
is handled.
MS. USHER: At the moment these loans are not paying -- we're
not accruing interest because the impact fees are not earning interest.
So -- but that is right now in a state of flux and most likely will change
here very shortly. So I really can't tell you what's going to happen
next month. I can't even tell you what happened in August.
July all the impact fees did earn interest. So once the impact fees
start earning interest, I suspect that they'll be obligated to pay the
interest to the general fund and to the one-third of a mill and to solid
waste. So I think there -- we're in a state of flux right now.
MS. DOWNS: How long have they been interest free loans?
MS. USHER: Well, some of these just started getting loans this
year, '09. So whenever they started earning interest, we need to
review it and we will come up with a final determination. But, you
know, my gut's saying that if you don't earn interest, you're probably
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September 23,2009
not going to have to pay interest. But once you start earning interest,
guess what, you need to start paying us interest back too.
But like I said, we're in a state of flux right now. We're not quite
sure on how that all is going to get resolved here in the next couple of
days.
MS. DOWNS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Are there any other questions on
government buildings from anyone?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Well, if there's no other questions, this
will be the quickest one of the two days that we've had.
Is there a recommendation from the Planning Commission?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: I'll do it.
Move we forward government buildings AUIR with a
recommendation of approval as --
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Second.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: -- presented.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Seconded by Mr. Kolflat.
Discussion. I'm not going to have an exception this time.
All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER HOMIAK: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
All those opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Motion carries unanimously.
Does the Productivity Committee wish to take this up?
MS. VASEY: I'll make the same motion.
MR. FEE: I can second.
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September 23, 2009
MS. VASEY: All those in favor?
MR. FEE: Aye.
MS. DOWNS: Aye.
MS. VASEY: Aye.
Unanimous.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, Mr. Cohen and Mike, is there any
issues remaining that we need to address? Are you guys satisfied with
all the issues we have addressed?
MR. BOSI: Yes, sir. I think we have heard all of your
recommendations.
My task will be to consolidate these recommendations, provide
the forward to Ms. Vasey of the Planning Commission's
recommendations which she will edit and provide back to me so I can
provide to the Board of County Commissioners. And I will provide
the recommendations that the CCPC has heard for your October 15th
Planning Commission hearing on the appropriate agenda plan.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, thank you.
Ms. Downs?
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: I have one thought.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Ms. Downs.
MS. DOWNS: I wonder when these transcripts will be available.
I want to make sure we follow up on some of the requests, such as the
line item on each of these impact fee funds.
THE COURT REPORTER: Two weeks from today.
MS. DOWNS: Two weeks from today. And they will be on-line
or where will we find them?
MR. BOSI: They'll be on-line. And what I can do is forward the
specific link.
MS. DOWNS: Would you do that, please?
MR. BOSI: Sure.
MS. DOWNS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Mr. Murray?
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September 23, 2009
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah, I think if it were possible,
it would be nice to see a summary of -- or individual statements of
recommendations made by the Planning Commission and the
Productivity Committee to help us with continuity each year. We
sometimes go through the same process again and again and again.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's what he said we were going to do
on the 15th of October.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Excuse me, I must have been in
deep space. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: That's what he's providing us with.
Randy?
MR. COHEN: For the Productivity Committee, I know at one
point you mentioned going back to the full Productivity Committee.
Are you going to do that as well too and then make a recommendation
as a collective body?
MS. VASEY: Yes. Right now I'll be getting the information
from Mike on our exact motions that we made as a sub-committee,
and then we will take everything back to the Productivity Committee
at our October meeting and then we'll provide a letter, that's what we
normally do, that gives the full productivity position. Because right
now we're acting only as a sub-committee.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And Mr. Murray needs to make a
clarification. My interruption, and I apologize, Mr. Murray.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: No, that's all right.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: I thought you were headed in a different
direction.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: We're all striving to do the right
thing.
My thought was not just now, because that's logical, that's
certainly desirable. But perhaps when we do the AUIR next year, a
restatement of those things that were said here, those views that came
out either in our motions with any stipulations or perhaps some key
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element recommendations, so that we have a starting point.
Because as the cast of characters changes, a lot of questions are
being -- or would be asked or maybe they're not going to ask them and
they should. Because it's a continuum. And it helps people to get
their feet down. They can still take issue with the items, but I think it
might be useful.
MR. COHEN: Would you prefer both from the Planning
Commission's perspective and also from the Productivity Committee's
standpoint to include that in the appendix? That way you can
reference those documents and have access to them. That's a good
place for it.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Yeah, where you put it is
immaterial. The important part is that we get -- we revisit where we
were, instead of trying to figure out if we really qualified that
effectively. We know that something was relatable and that goes from
there. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Okay, I am very, very anxious to see us
adjourn this meeting so I can go outside and get warm. So would
someone please make a motion to adjourn.
COMMISSIONER CARON: I'll make that motion.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Mr. Kolflat, second by Ms.
Caron.
All in favor?
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER: Aye.
COMMISSIONER HOMIAK: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOLFLAT: Aye.
COMMISSIONER MURRAY: Aye.
COMMISSIONER CARON: Aye.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: Aye.
Anybody opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: We are out of here.
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September 23, 2009
MR. BOSI: Thank you.
*****
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 11 :37 a.m.
COLLIER COUNTY
PLANNING COMMISSION
MARK STRAIN, Chairman
PRODUCTIVITY COMMITTEE
STEVE HARRISON, Chairman
These minutes approved by the board on
presented or as corrected
as
Transcript prepared on behalf of Gregory Reporting Service, Inc., by
Cherie' R. Nottingham.
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