BCC Minutes 02/14/2017 R February 14, 2017
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Naples, Florida, February 14, 2017
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of County
Commissioners, in and for the County of Collier, and also acting as
the Board of Zoning Appeals and as the governing board(s) of such
special districts as have been created according to law and having
conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 a.m., in
REGULAR SESSION in Building "F" of the Government
Complex, East Naples, Florida, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: Penny Taylor
Andrew Solis
William L. McDaniel, Jr
Donna Fiala
Burt L. Saunders
ALSO PRESENT:
Leo Ochs, County Manager
Nick Casalanguida, Deputy County Manager
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney
Crystal Kinzel, Director of Finance and Accounting
Troy Miller, Communications & Customer Relations
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February 14, 2017
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Community Redevelopment Agency Board (CRAB)
Airport Authority
AGENDA
Board of County Commission Chambers
Collier County Government Center
3299 Tamiami Trail East, 3rd Floor
Naples, FL 34112
February 14, 2017
9:00 AM
Commissioner Penny Taylor, District 4 – BCC Chair
Commissioner Andy Solis, District 2 – BCC Vice-Chair
Commissioner Donna Fiala, District 1; CRAB Co-Chair
Commissioner Burt Saunders, District 3
Commissioner William L. McDaniel, Jr., District 5; CRAB Co-Chair
NOTICE: ALL PERSONS WISHING TO SPEAK ON AGENDA ITEMS MUST
REGISTER PRIOR TO PRESENTATION OF THE AGENDA ITEM TO BE
ADDRESSED. ALL REGISTERED SPEAKERS WILL RECEIVE UP TO THREE
(3) MINUTES UNLESS THE TIME IS ADJUSTED BY THE CHAIRMAN.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE CURRENT OR
FUTURE AGENDA TO BE HEARD NO SOONER THAN 1:00 P.M., OR AT THE
CONCLUSION OF THE AGENDA; WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST.
REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON SUBJECTS WHICH ARE NOT ON
THIS AGENDA MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING WITH EXPLANATION
TO THE COUNTY MANAGER AT LEAST 13 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF
THE MEETING AND WILL BE HEARD UNDER “PUBLIC PETITIONS.”
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February 14, 2017
PUBLIC PETITIONS ARE LIMITED TO THE PRESENTER, WITH A
MAXIMUM TIME OF TEN MINUTES.
ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION OF THIS BOARD
WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDING PERTAINING THERETO,
AND THEREFORE MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD
OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE
TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED.
COLLIER COUNTY ORDINANCE NO. 2003-53 AS AMENDED BY
ORDINANCE 2004-05 AND 2007-24, REQUIRES THAT ALL LOBBYISTS
SHALL, BEFORE ENGAGING IN ANY LOBBYING ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ADDRESSING THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS), REGISTER WITH THE CLERK TO THE BOARD AT THE
BOARD MINUTES AND RECORDS DEPARTMENT.
IF YOU ARE A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY WHO NEEDS ANY
ACCOMMODATION IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCEEDING,
YOU ARE ENTITLED, AT NO COST TO YOU, THE PROVISION OF CERTAIN
ASSISTANCE. PLEASE CONTACT THE COLLIER COUNTY FACILITIES
MANAGEMENT DIVISION LOCATED AT 3335 EAST TAMIAMI TRAIL,
SUITE 1, NAPLES, FLORIDA, 34112-5356, (239) 252-8380; ASSISTED
LISTENING DEVICES FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED ARE AVAILABLE IN
THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DIVISION.
LUNCH RECESS SCHEDULED FOR 12:00 NOON TO 1:00 P.M.
1. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
A. Invocation by Pastor Michael Smith of New Hope Ministries
2. AGENDA AND MINUTES
A. Approval of today's regular, consent and summary agenda as amended (ex
parte disclosure provided by commission members for consent and summary
agenda.)
B. January 10, 2017 - BCC/Regular Meeting Minutes
C. January 24, 2017 - BCC/Regular Meeting Minutes
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February 14, 2017
3. SERVICE AWARDS
A. EMPLOYEE
B. ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
C. RETIREES
4. PROCLAMATIONS
A. Proclamation designating the week of February 19-25, 2017 as Engineers
Week in Collier County, in recognition of the engineers who live and work
in Collier County and who practice the profession of engineering. To be
accepted by Norm Trebilcock, Ralph Verrastro, Marlene Messam, Alison
Bickett and Wes Kayne.
B. Proclamation designating February 19, 2017 as “Stuff the Bus Day," in
recognition of a community effort to "Stuff the Bus" with non -perishable
food to replenish the local food bank and feed the hungry in Collier Coun ty.
To be accepted by Steve Carnell, Public Services Department Head;
Michelle Arnold, Public Transit and Neighborhood Engagement Division
Director; Omar Deleon, Collier County Public Transit Senior Planner and
Karole Davis, Engagement Manager with the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
C. Proclamation recognizing John Harris Spilker for achieving the Boy Scouts
of America’s Eagle Scout rank and for being selected by his peers for the
Order of the Arrow. To be accepted by John Harris Spilker.
5. PRESENTATIONS
A. Recommendation to recognize Chris D'Arco, Senior Environmental
Specialist, as the January 2017 Employee of the Month.
B. Presentation of the Collier County Business of the Month for February 2017
to Pickle Pro LLC. To be accepted by Tom Watson, Operations Manager,
Pickle Pro, LLC; Susan Kuhar, Account Executive, Greater Naples Chamber
of Commerce; and Bethany Sawyer, Membership Engagement Specialist,
Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
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6. PUBLIC PETITIONS
A. Public Petition request from Mr. Christopher Flint regarding yard waste
pickup for larger landowners.
Item #7 to be heard no sooner than 1:00 pm unless otherwise noted.
7. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE CURRENT
OR FUTURE AGENDA
Item #8 and Item #9 to be heard no sooner than 1:30 pm unless otherwise noted.
8. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
9. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. Recommendation to adopt an ordinance that will implement a twelve month
moratorium on new applications for gas stations, car washes, pawn shops
and self-storage facilities in all commercial zoning districts that list these
uses as permitted uses, but allow for these uses to be processed as
conditional uses while staff brings forward Land Development Code
amendments to require the conditional use process for the identified uses.
This moratorium is geographically limited to both sides of U.S. 41 from the
Palm Street/Commercial Drive/U.S.41 intersection to the Price Street/U.S.41
intersection and is not applicable to existing Planned Unit Developments
(PUD)s that have satisfied Chapter 5 of the Collier County Land
Development Code regarding Supplemental Standards for those specific
uses subject to the moratorium, nor to any application for a development
order that would be otherwise subject to this moratorium where there has at
least been a pre-application meeting prior to December 13, 2016.
10. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
A. Recommendation to authorize the County Attorney to advertise an ordinance
for future Board consideration that would institute term limits on
Commissioners whereby an individual shall not be eligible for election as a
Commissioner for more than three consecutive four -year terms.
11. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT
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A. Recommendation to direct the County Attorney to advertise and bring back
to the Board of County Commissioners (Board) an Ordinance that will
implement a temporary moratorium on cannabis dispensing businesses for
six months to establish the appropriate Land Development Code
Amendments. Note by County Attorney: Approval of this item will
immediately commence the moratorium period pending future Board action
on the Ordinance. (Mike Bosi, GMD Zoning Director)
B. Recommendation to accept a report on the outreach and polling efforts that
can be performed quickly to measure support for reauthorizing the ad
valorem levy for continued acquisitions under the Conservation Collier
program; review millage options; and provide guidance. (Barry Williams,
Director, Parks and Recreation Division)
C. Recommendation to award Contract Number 16 -6622, Big Corkscrew Island
Regional Park Design Services, to Q. Grady Minor and Associates, P.A., for
professional engineering services in the amount of $3,631,979, and authorize
the Chairman to execute the attached contract. (Barry Williams, Director,
Parks and Recreation Division)
12. COUNTY ATTORNEY'S REPORT
13. OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS
14. AIRPORT AUTHORITY AND/OR COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY
A. AIRPORT
B. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
15. STAFF AND COMMISSION GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
A. Current BCC Workshop Schedule
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16. CONSENT AGENDA - All matters listed under this item are considered to be
routine and action will be taken by one motion without separate discussion of
each item. If discussion is desired by a member of the Board, that item(s) will
be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately.
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A. GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to approve the ranking of professional engineering
consultants, to enter into negotiations with the top ranked firm of
HNTB Corporation pursuant to Solicitation No. 16-6699 Eleven
Bridge Replacements Project Number 66066 and in the event that an
agreement cannot be reached with this firm, to continue negotiating
with the remaining firms in the order ranked, with a proposed
agreement brought to the Board for its consideration at a subsequent
meeting.
2) Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chairman to sign an
Amendment to Easement Agreement and Easement Relocation
between Collier County (“County”) and Habitat for Humanity of
Collier County, Inc. (“Habitat”) in order to allow relocation of a
recorded access easement associated with the project called Vincent
Acres, PL20150002012, that was previously conveyed to the County.
3) Recommendation to approve the release of a code enforcement lien
with an accrued value of $315,831.72 for payment of $7,149.92 in the
code enforcement actions entitled Board of County Commissioners v.
Silvano O. Delgado and Jorge Chavez. Code Enforcement Board Case
No. CESD20090010558 relating to property located at 2556 Randall
Blvd., Collier County, Florida.
4) Recommendation to approve the release of a code enforcement lien
with a value of $91,329.06 for payment of $84,228.11, received
through proceeds from the tax sale of the property, in the code
enforcement actions entitled Board of County Commissioners v. Ira
Dilozir. Code Enforcement Board Case No. CEAU20140003887
relating to property located at 4301 20th Place SW, Collier County,
Florida.
5) Recommendation to approve the release of a code enforcement lien
with a value of $78,980.13 for payment of $680.13 in the code
enforcement actions entitled Board of County Commissioners v. Elsa
Perdomo. Code Enforcement Board Case No. CEPM20120001293
relating to property located at 5352 23rd Place SW, Collier County,
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Florida.
6) This item requires that ex-parte disclosure be provided by
Commission members. Should a hearing be held on this item, all
participants are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to
approve for recording the final plat of Isles of Collier Preserve Phase
10, (Application Number PL20160001842) approval of the standard
form Construction and Maintenance Agreement and approval of the
amount of the performance security.
7) This item requires that ex parte disclosure be provided by
Commission members. Should a hearing be held on this item, all
participants are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to
approve for recording the minor final plat of Winding Cypress Phase
2 Replat, Application Number PL20160002410.
8) This item has been continued from the January 10, 2017 BCC
meeting. Recommendation to adopt a Resolution to hold a public
hearing to consider vacating an unimproved 30-foot wide public right-
of-way described as “Avenue B” and a portion of an unimproved 30-
foot wide public right-of-way described as “First Street,” according to
the COL-LEE-CO TERRACE subdivision plat, as recorded in Plat
Book 1, Page 32 of the Public Records of Collier County, Florida. The
subject property is located on the south side of U.S. 41 between
Frederick Street and Palm Street in Section 11, Township 50 South,
Range 25 East, Collier County, Florida.
9) Recommendation to approve an Adopt-a-Road Program Agreement
with the volunteer group, John R. Wood, Inc. for the roadway
segment of Pine Ridge Road between US 41 and Airport-Pulling
Road, with two (2) recognition signs and two (2) Adopt -a-Road logo
signs.
10) Recommendation to approve and authorize the County Manager or his
designee to execute an after the fact deductive Change Order No. 2 to
Earth Tech Enterprises, 2016 Beach Renourishment under Contract
No. 16-7009.
11) Recommendation to review and approve the proposed projects list to
be submitted for the FY2018 Big Cypress Basin Local Partn ership
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Grants Program. (Fiscal Impact $1,475,000)
B. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
1) Recommendation to approve an Interlocal Agreement with the City of
Naples for a joint water line upgrade and the installation of Fire
Hydrants on Peters Avenue, Collee Court and Gordon Street in the
Bayshore Gateway Triangle Community Redevelopment Area and
necessary budget amendment.
C. PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to award Bid #16-6604 to Cummins Power South,
in the amount of $224,886, to replace a diesel generator unit at the
South County Regional Water Plant, Project No. 70104.
2) Recommendation to advise the Board of a $25,000 contribution
toward the purchase of a vehicle, from Florida Department of
Environmental Protection as part of the acceptance of Task
Assignment 11 and its associated revenue, under Contract #GC-690
with Collier County.
D. PUBLIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to approve the submittal of an FY 2015/16 grant
application for Federal Highway Administration Flexible Funding in
the amount of $80,000 for the purchase and installation of additional
bus shelters through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Transit
Award Management System.
2) Recommendation to decline an offer to purchase the Bank of the
Everglades Building for historic preservation and other public uses.
3) Recommendation to approve a transportation coordination agreement
with Good Wheels, Inc. to allow for limited Paratransit transportation
service just north of the Lee/Collier County line.
4) Recommendation to accept and ratify fee waivers granted by the
Director of Domestic Animal Services for the period of May 1, 2016
through September 30, 2016 in accordance with the process
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established by Resolution No. 2016-125.
5) Recommendation to increase the estimated annual expenditures on
“Recreational Equipment” to Varsity Brands Holding Co, Inc. d/b/a
BSN Sports, LLC, from $50,000 to an amount up to $100,000 per
fiscal year.
6) Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid No. 16-7028 to John R.
Toscano, Inc., for the “Clam Pass Beach Park Electrical Upgrade,” an
expenditure in the amount of $603,500, plus $5,000 for county
permitting fees for a total of $608,500 using Tourist Development Tax
Category A Beach Park Facilities funding, authorize the Chairman to
execute the contract, and make a finding that this expenditure
promotes tourism.
7) Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid (ITB) #16-6683, for
ADA related Bus Stop Improvements to Jafer Construction, Corp for
an estimated $275,690 and authorize the Chairman to sign the
agreement.
8) Recommendation to approve Amendment No. 4 to the Agreement
with the Department of Children and Families for the Criminal Justice
Mental Health Substance Abuse Grant, Amendment No. 3 with the
Collier County Sheriff’s Office, and reinstate National Alliance
Mental Illness of Collier County’s subagreement as well as approve
the associated amended grant budget and application.
9) Recommendation to approve the expenditure of Category "A" Beach
Park Facility Tourist Tax funds for Beach Park Entrance
Enhancement and Interpretive Signage at Tigertail Beach Park for
$23,459.71, award request for quote (RFQ) to Sign Pro of North
Florida, Inc., and make a finding that this expenditure promotes
tourism.
E. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to direct the County Attorney to advertise the repeal
of Ordinance No. 1984-84, which created the Collier County Fire
Control Municipal Service Taxing Unit.
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February 14, 2017
2) Recommendation to direct the County Attorney to advertise the repeal
of Ordinance No. 2015-18, which created the Fiddlers Creek
Municipal Rescue and Fire Services District.
3) Recommendation to direct the County Attorney to advertise the repeal
of Ordinance No. 1978-49, as amended, which created the Isles of
Capri Municipal Fire Services Taxing District.
4) Recommendation to adopt a Resolution and approve a Lease
Agreement with State Representative Byron Donalds for use of
County-owned office space.
5) Recommendation to adopt a Resolution and approve a Lease
Agreement with State Representative Bob Rommel for use of County-
owned office space.
6) Recommendation to reject the bid responses received from Invitation
to Bid (ITB) #16-6686R Overhead Doors and Automatic Gates for
Countywide use and to authorize County staff to re-solicit.
7) Recommendation to reject bid responses received from Invitation to
Bid (ITB) #16-6697 Maintenance and Minor Repairs for Countywide
use and to authorize County staff to re-solicit.
8) Recommendation to approve the administrative reports prepared by
the Procurement Services Division for change orders, surplus property
and other items as identified.
9) Recommendation to adopt a Resolution approving a revised set of
Policies and Procedures to govern the operation of Lake Trafford
Memorial Gardens.
10) Recommendation to authorize budget amendment, in the amount of
$333,085 to fully fund Project #50136: Building C-2 Alterations, for
relocation of the Procurement Services Division.
F. COUNTY MANAGER OPERATIONS
1) Recommendation to adopt a resolution approving amendments
(appropriating grants, donations, contributions or insurance proceeds)
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February 14, 2017
to the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Adopted Budget.
2) Recommendation to approve Tourist Development Council Grant
Application Forms for Category B and C-2 and Sports Event
Assistance requests for FY18 (October 1, 2017 - September 30, 2018)
and make a finding that these expenditures promote tourism.
3) Recommendation to approve Tourist Development Tax Category B
funding for change order #1 to Contract #15-6419 - Sports Facilities
Assessment with Hunden Strategic Partners in an amount not to
exceed $16,800 and make a finding that these expenditures promote
tourism.
4) Recommendation to approve Tourist Development Tax Category “B”
funding to support the two upcoming FY17 Sports Events up to
$6,500 and make a finding that these expenditures promote tourism.
5) This item continued from the January 24, 2017 BCC Meeting.
Recommendation to adopt the 2017 Strategic Plan with the inclusion
of minor changes based upon direction received at the Board
Workshop on January 3, 2017.
G. AIRPORT AUTHORITY
1) Recommendation to approve the attached Commercial Aviation
Operations License Agreement with Aerial Banners, Inc. for banner
towing operations at the Immokalee Regional Airport.
H. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
I. MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE
J. OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS
1) Report to the Board regarding the investment of County funds as of
the quarter ended December 31, 2016.
2) To record in the minutes of the Board of County Commissioners, the
check number (or other payment method), amount, payee, and
purpose for which the referenced disbursements were drawn for the
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February 14, 2017
periods between January 12 and February 1, 2017 pursuant to Florida
Statute 136.06.
3) Pursuant to the Board’s Purchasing Ordinance 2013 -69, as amended,
request that the Board approve and determine valid public purpose for
invoices payable and purchasing card transactions as of February 8,
2017.
K. COUNTY ATTORNEY
1) Recommendation to reject Offer of Judgment in the amount of
$25,000 excluding all attorneys fees, expert witness fees and costs as
full compensation for the taking of Parcel 401RDUE needed for the
widening of Golden Gate Boulevard from 20th Street East to East of
Everglades Boulevard, Project No. 60145. (Fiscal Impact: $0)
2) Recommendation to reject Offer of Judgment in the amount of
$25,000 excluding all attorneys fees, expert witness fees and costs as
full compensation for the taking of Parcel 399RDUE needed for the
widening of Golden Gate Boulevard from 20th Street East to East of
Everglades Boulevard, Project No. 60145. (Fiscal Impact: $0)
3) Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chair to execute a
Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release in the lawsuit styled
Loretta Kane v. Collier County (Case No. 16-CA-00076), now
pending in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and
for Collier County, Florida.
4) Recommendation to approve a Final Judgment for Parcel 202RDUE
in the case styled Collier County v. Baby Brothers Enterprises, Inc., et
al., Case No. 15-CA-298, now pending in the Twentieth Judicial
Circuit, Collier County, required for the widening of Golden Gate
Boulevard (Project No. 60040). (Fiscal Impact: $10,400)
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17. SUMMARY AGENDA - This section is for advertised public hearings and
must meet the following criteria: 1) A recommendation for approval from
staff; 2) Unanimous recommendation for approval by the Collier County
Planning Commission or other authorizing agencies of all members present
and voting; 3) No written or oral objections to the item received by staff, the
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February 14, 2017
Collier County Planning Commission, other authorizing agencies or the
Board, prior to the commencement of the BCC meeting on which the items
are scheduled to be heard; and 4) No individuals are registered to speak in
opposition to the item. For those items which are quasi-judicial in nature, all
participants must be sworn in.
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A. Recommendation to approve Petition VAC-PL20160003082, to disclaim,
renounce and vacate the County and the public interest in a portion of the 6-
foot Public Utility Easement located along the northeasterly border of Lots 1
through 4, Block 1 of Trail Acres, recorded in Plat Book 3, Page 50 of the
public records of Collier County, Florida. The subject property is located on
the west side of Southwest Boulevard, just south of Tamiami Trail East, in
Section 32, Township 50 South, Range 26 East, Collier County, Florida.
18. ADJOURN
INQUIRIES CONCERNING CHANGES TO THE BOARD’S AGENDA SHOULD
BE MADE TO THE COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE AT 252-8383.
February 14, 2017
MR. OCHS: Madam Chairman, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good morning. Good morning, Collier
County, and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone here.
I want you to know we were given some roses by our colleague
up here, and I wanted to thank Commissioner McDaniel for that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You're welcome.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Please note it's not a bribe. We are
going to be fair and judicious in our discernment today.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And, Madam Chair, on that
note, as I shared with you earlier -- and folks who do know me, I burn
points on a regular basis, so every opportunity I have, so...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And so I guess we can --
MR. OCHS: Begin this morning with our invocation by Pastor
Michael Smith of the New Hope Ministries.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's where I know you from.
Item #1A
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
PASTOR SMITH: That's right, Bill.
Good morning, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen. Let's bow
our heads this morning.
Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning,
and we thank you for this day. Your word tells us that there's new
mercies every morning, and we thank you for the many freedoms and
privileges that we have in this great nation of ours that's afforded to us
by you and upheld through the many men and women in our armed
forces.
We thank you, Lord, that we can call this little place of paradise
our own, Collier County. We thank you for your hand of blessing and
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February 14, 2017
prosperity on Collier County.
We also pray for the people in this county that are needy today,
oh, God, that whether they would be dealing with issues of
unemployment or homelessness or infirmities of sickness, we pray for
them and we lift them up to you.
We also pray for the first responders of this great county that we
have, for the Sheriffs Department, for the firefighters, for the EMTs
that may very well put their lives on the line this day for us.
We thank you for the great people of Collier County, and we lift
up the commissioners to you, that you may grant them great
discernment and wisdom in the decisions that they will be making
today.
We pray all of these things in the name of your son, our Lord and
savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And now I would like John Harris
Spilker to come up to the podium and please lead us in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
Item #2A
APPROVAL OF TODAY'S REGULAR, CONSENT AND
SUMMARY AGENDA AS AMENDED (EX PARTE DISCLOSURE
PROVIDED BY COMMISSION MEMBERS FOR CONSENT AND
SUMMARY AGENDAS.) — APPROVED AND/OR ADOPTED
W/CHANGES
MR. OCHS: Good morning, Madam Chair, Commissioners.
These are your proposed agenda changes for the Board of County
Commissioners meeting of February 14, 2017.
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February 14, 2017
The first proposed change is to continue Item 6A to the March
14th BCC meeting. That request is made by the petitioner.
The next proposed change it is to move Item 16A8 from your
consent agenda to become Item 11D under the regular agenda. This is
a resolution requesting authorization to post an advertisement for
action on a future commission meeting. That request is made by
Commissioner Fiala.
The next proposed change is to withdraw Item 16A10. This
particular deductive change order is part of your larger change order
report, which is Item 16E8 in today's consent agenda. So that became
a duplicative item.
The next proposed change is to move Item 16D2 to become 11E
on your agenda this morning. It's a recommendation regarding a
purchase offer for the Bank of the Everglades building, and that was
moved at Commissioner McDaniel's request.
A couple reminders, Commissioners. Court reporter breaks are
set for 10:30 a.m. and 2:50 p.m.; Item 7 on your agenda, public
comment on general topics not on the current or future addenda, is to
be heard no sooner than 1 p.m. or at the conclusion of today's agenda,
whichever occurs first; and with respect to Item 9, your advertised
public hearings, those, again, are scheduled to be heard normally no
sooner than 1 p.m. or at the conclusion of the agenda, whichever
occurs first.
Those are all the changes I have this morning, Madam Chair.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. So we'll start
with Commissioner McDaniel.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
MR. OCHS: Typically you also check with your County
Attorney, if he has any agenda changes before you go to the Board.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Very good. So we'll start with
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February 14, 2017
-- excuse me.
MR. KLATZKOW: No changes, ma'am.
MR. OCHS: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: She didn't notice you because you
don't have a red tie on today. Sony.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I have no ex parte.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And -- okay. And no changes to the
agenda except as noted?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Correct.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you very much. Nope. I have
no ex parte as well.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And no changes as -- except as noted.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No changes, no corrections, no
addition.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I agree with -- I am in the same
position as my colleagues to the right, no changes, nothing to declare.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: No changes and nothing to declare
either.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have no changes and nothing
to declare.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. So we have a -- do we have a
motion to approve the minutes and the changes to the agenda as stated?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: So moved.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Second.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: One brief comment. I would
like to compliment staff. I had asked not too awfully long ago to have
the opportunity for us to have the minutes available at a click of a
button in the review of our agendas, and it was very nice. Thank you.
MR. OCHS: You're welcome, sir.
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Proposed Agenda Changes
Board of County Commissioners Meeting
February 14, 2017
Continue Item 6A to the March 14, 2017 BCC Meeting: Public Petition request from Mr.
Christopher Flint regarding yard waste pickup for larger land owners. (Petitioner's
request)
Move Item 16A8 to Item 11D: ***This item has been continued from the January 10,
2017 BCC meeting.*** Recommendation to adopt a Resolution to hold a public hearing to
consider vacating an unimproved 30-foot wide public right- of-way described as "Avenue
B" and a portion of an unimproved 30-foot wide public right-of-way described as "First
Street," according to the COL-LEE-CO TERRACE subdivision plat, as recorded in Plat
Book 1, Page 32 of the Public Records of Collier County, Florida. The subject property is
located on the south side of U.S. 41 between Frederick Street and Palm Street in Section 11,
Township 50 South, Range 25 East, Collier County,Florida. (Commissioner Fiala's
request)
Withdraw Item 16A10: Recommendation to approve and authorize the County Manager
or his designee to execute an after the fact deductive Change Order No. 2 to Earth Tech
Enterprises, 2016 Beach Renourishment under Contract No. 16-7009.
(This deductive change order item was included in the Change Order Report(16E8) in
today's Consent Agenda.)
Move Item 16D2 to Item 11E: Recommendation to decline an offer to purchase the Bank
of the Everglades Building for historic preservation and other public uses. (Commissioner
McDaniel's request)
3/1/2017 3:09 PM
February 14, 2017
Items #2B & #2C
BCC/REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 10
AND JANUARY 26, 2017 BCC MEETING — APPROVED AS
PRESENTED
Madam Chair, Item 2B and 2C are approval of the January 10th,
2017, regular BCC meeting minutes and the January 24th, 2017, BCC
regular meeting minutes.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Motion to approve.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Second.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
Item #4
PROCLAMATIONS — ONE MOTION TAKEN TO ADOPT ALL
PROCLAMATIONS
Item #4A
PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY
19-25, 2017 AS ENGINEERS WEEK IN COLLIER COUNTY, IN
RECOGNITION OF THE ENGINEERS WHO LIVE AND WORK
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February 14, 2017
IN COLLIER COUNTY AND WHO PRACTICE THE
PROFESSION OF ENGINEERING. ACCEPTED BY NORM
TREBILCOCK, RALPH VERRASTRO, MARLENE MESSAM,
ALISON BICKETT AND WES KAYNE — ADOPTED
MR. OCHS: No service awards today, Commissioners.
That takes us to Item 4 on the agenda.
Item 4A is a proclamation designating the week of February 19th
through the 25th of 2017 as Engineers Week in Collier County in
recognition of the engineers who live and work in Collier County and
who practice the profession of engineering.
To be accepted by Norm Trebilcock, Ralph Verrastro, Marlene
Messam, Alison Bickett, and Wes Kayne. If you'd please step forward
and be recognized.
(Applause.)
MR. OCHS: Say hello to the commissioners, get your
proclamation, get a picture. You know the drill.
Your name for the record, please.
MR. KAYNE: For the record, my name is Wes Kayne. Again,
my name is Wes Kayne. I work for Barraco & Associates, a local civil
engineering, land surveying, and planning firm.
I have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Florida Gulf
Coast University. Go Eagles.
Today I'm here representing the Florida Engineering Society,
Calusa Chapter, as our current president. Our chapter includes Collier
County and four other Southwest Florida counties with over 200
members.
We host a middle school math competition every year for over
120 students. We send the top teams and performers on to state. We
have several teams from Collier County who participate each year, and
they do fairly well. We also provide scholarships each year to high
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February 14, 2017
academic achievers looking to pursue a degree in engineering.
I would like to thank the Board for this proclamation. The
stereotypical engineer is quiet and reserved. We are proficient -- a
profession typically taken for granted or referred to when something
fails; however, Engineers Week is a time of year we try to raise
awareness about our quiet contributions to society.
There are several engineering disciplines: Civil, environmental,
biomedical, computer, software, industrial, mechanic, geotechnical,
nuclear, to name a few.
All aspects of our daily lives are impacted by the work of
engineers. From the alarm that wakes us to the water we drink, to the
roads we drive on, to the buildings we work in and the seats that you're
sitting in.
There's one thing all engineers have in common: They use math
and science to solve real-world problems. A core value of engineers is
that they shall hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the
public. No matter who we are working for, the public is our ultimate
client.
Thanks again, and we are honored to receive this proclamation.
(Applause.)
Item #4B
PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING FEBRUARY 19, 2017 AS
"STUFF THE BUS DAY," IN RECOGNITION OF A COMMUNITY
EFFORT TO "STUFF THE BUS" WITH NON-PERISHABLE FOOD
TO REPLENISH THE LOCAL FOOD BANK AND FEED THE
HUNGRY IN COLLIER COUNTY. ACCEPTED BY STEVE
CARNELL, PUBLIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT HEAD;
MICHELLE ARNOLD, PUBLIC TRANSIT AND
NEIGHBORHOOD ENGAGEMENT DIVISION DIRECTOR;
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February 14, 2017
OMAR DELEON, COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSIT
SENIOR PLANNER AND KAROLE DAVIS, ENGAGEMENT
MANAGER WITH THE HARRY CHAPIN FOOD BANK —
ADOPTED
MR. OCHS: Item 4B is a proclamation designating February
19th, 2017, as Stuff the Bus Day in recognition of a community effort
to stuff the bus with nonperishable food to replenish the local food
bank and feed the hungry in Collier County.
To be accepted by Steve Carnell, Public Services Department
Head; Michelle Arnold, Public Transit and Neighborhood Engagement
Division Director; Omar DeLeon, Collier County Public Transit Senior
Planner; and Carol Davis, Engagement Manager with the Harry
Chapin Food Bank.
Please step forward and receive your proclamation. Steve
Sanderson with the United Way is also joining us this morning; and
Allan.
(Applause.)
MR. SANDERSON: Good morning, Commissioners. My name
is Steve Sanderson, and I have the pleasure of being the president and
CEO of United Way of Collier County.
It's a distinct pleasure to share with you, in particular with the
newer commissioners here up front, the great leadership that the
county has done in the community, seen and unseen, started by Leo
atop at the leadership, Steve Carnell and, as you just have learned, with
Michelle Arnold and Collier Area Transit.
This is a tremendous partnership the United Way is proud to be
collaborator with, not only the county government and your great
leadership and Michelle and her teams, but Publix, Allan Crockett, our
leading Publix representative here in Collier County, as well as all the
locations that they're having with Harry Chapin Food Bank. So this is
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February 14, 2017
a tremendous community outreach, and we're pleased to be part of it.
Last year over 7,000 pounds of food, that's 7,000 pounds of food,
were raised through this effort. This year we're hoping to expand that
to double it to nearly 14,000 and adding nine locations, thanks to our
friends at Publix.
So with that, we're extremely grateful to the county, Leo and your
leadership, Michelle, Steve Carnell, Allan Crocket at the Publix, Carol
Davis at Harry Chapin, and for each of you as commissioners for
allowing this great community work for the common good to occur.
Thank you for your time today.
(Applause.)
MS. ARNOLD: Michelle Arnold, for the record.
I just wanted to recognize Joyce Jacobs. She's with Harry Chapin.
We were just informed recently that she's going to be retiring after 15
years with the service. So I just wanted to acknowledge that and thank
her for her efforts that she's done to contribute to this event.
(Applause.)
Item #4C
PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING JOHN HARRIS SPILKER FOR
ACHIEVING THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA'S EAGLE
SCOUT RANK AND FOR BEING SELECTED BY HIS PEERS
FOR THE ORDER OF THE ARROW. ACCEPTED BY JOHN
HARRIS SPILKER — ADOPTED
MR. OCHS: Item 4C is a proclamation recognizing John Harris
Spilker for achieving the Boy Scouts of America's Eagle Scout rank
and for being selected by his peers for the Order of the Arrow.
I understand that John's Scout Master, Bruce Yedlin, of Troop
243, is here this morning and would like to make a brief introduction.
Page 11
I
February 14, 2017
MR. YEDLIN: Good morning to everyone. My name's Bruce
Yedlin. I'm the current Scout Master of Troup 243 here in Naples.
And I'm here today to introduce John Spilker.
John recently got scouting's highest rank of Eagle Scout. He
started 10 years ago at the age of six. He's also a member of the Order
of the Arrow. It's scouting's honor society for youth and adults.
His Eagle Scout project was building two oyster reefs at
Cocohatchee River. John had to plan, budget, organize a staff of
volunteers completing over 150 hours of volunteer work, and last,
John's family and John should be very proud because only 4 percent of
boys that go into scouting become Eagle Scouts.
So, John Spilker, congratulations.
(Applause.)
MR. OCHS: John, come on up and greet the commissioners and
get your proclamation, get a photo. Thank you, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Would the family like to come
up for the picture? Of course.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: We need to shake the parents' hands,
too.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Yeah, we do. What a commitment.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Amen to that.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: What an honor.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Can we hear from John on how you did
it, please? You've got to tell us a little bit. That's a lot of work. How
did he do it? A hundred and fifty hours. Was he out there getting his
feet wet?
MR. SPILKER: Yes, ma'am. It took a lot of work, but it was
definitely worth it. And I had my friends, family, and fellows in
scouting to help all along the way.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: What materials did you use for
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February 14, 2017
the reefs?
MR. SPILKER: For the reefs, we used culch, which is recycled
fossilized oyster shells. We put them in bags and laid them down in
big beds to help create a perfect spawning ground for new oysters.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Nice.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Did it work?
MR. SPILKER: I'm happy to say it did. I had some friends
check out the sites just a little while ago, and they're saying that they're
seeing quite a bit of new oyster growth and a lot of local species
moving in to inhabit the area; small stone crabs and other organisms.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Great.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Congratulations.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Great project.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Perfect idea.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Congratulations. Thank you,
John.
MR. OCHS: Well done.
(Applause.)
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, if I could have a motion to approve
today's proclamations.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Motion to approve the
proclamations for today.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Second.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
(No response.)
Page 13
February 14, 2017
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Proclamations approved.
Item #5A
RECOMMENDATION TO RECOGNIZE CHRIS D'ARCO, SENIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST, AS THE JANUARY 2017
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH — PRESENTED
MR. OCHS: That moves us to Item 5 on this morning's agenda.
Item 5A is a recommendation to recognize Chris D'Arco, Senior
Environmental Specialist, as the January 2017 Employee of the Month.
Chris, if you'd please step forward.
(Applause.)
MR. OCHS: Chris, stand right there while I tell the board
members a little bit more about you.
Chris has been with the county since 2006. Nick and are smiling
over here because we always tease him. He's got the best job in the
county. He gets to ride around out in the water every day.
MR. D'ARCO: No arguments.
MR. OCHS: Yeah, there you go.
But I'll tell you what, Commissioners, Chris' efforts over the past
years saved the county thousands and thousands of dollars. He's been
relentless in working with the Estuary Conservation Association to
reposition navigational markers to support our public safety and safe
boating within the Wiggins Pass estuary. He's served as our project
manager in our recently-completed artificial reef program that restores
habitat and rebuilds fish populations.
In accomplishing this, Chris worked weekends, nights, every
spare moment to obtain permits, assure grant compliance, accomplish
deployment, and perform monitoring of this award-winning program
that highlights Collier County in our offshore environment.
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February 14, 2017
He's certainly a credit to our organization, very deserving of this
award, and it's my pleasure to present Chris D'Arco as your Employee
of the Month for January 2017.
Congratulations, Chris.
(Applause.)
MR. OCHS: He never offers to take me out for a field trip,
though.
Item #5B
PRESENTATION OF THE COLLIER COUNTY BUSINESS OF
THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY 2017 TO PICKLE PRO LLC. TO
ACCEPTED BY TOM WATSON, OPERATIONS MANAGER,
PICKLE PRO, LLC; SUSAN KUHAR, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE,
GREATER NAPLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE; AND
BETHANY SAWYER, MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT
SPECIALIST, GREATER NAPLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE —
PRESENTED
Item 5B is a presentation of the Collier County Business of the
Month for February 2017 awarded to Pickle Pro, LLC. To be accepted
this morning by Tom Watson, operations manager of Pickle Pro, and
Susan Kuhar and Bethany Sawyer from the Greater Naples Chamber
of Commerce.
Oh, Todd. Todd Pree, the owner, is also here.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So glad you're here. Well done.
MR. OCHS: If we can get a photo; if everyone would line up in
front of the commissioners, please.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Boy, it's good having you there.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So exactly what does Pickle Pro do?
I'm teeing him up, right?
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February 14, 2017
MR. WATSON: Yes. Well, thank you for asking. My name is
Tom Watson. I'm the operations manager for Pickle Pro, LLC.
I don't have a speech prepared. I didn't know I get a chance to
speak today, but Ni be happy to tell you a little bit about what we do.
Right along the I-75 corridor at Collier Boulevard we have an
actual production plant. And Pickle Pro makes pickleball paddles and,
as far as I know, we're the only manufacturing plant certainly in the
state of Florida, and there's only maybe just a handful throughout the
country. Most paddles are made in China, but we're very proud to
make them right here in Collier County employing Collier County
residents. And we're very proud of what we do.
We are expanding. We recently just opened up a retail store in
our plant. It's the only one in the world that we know of where there's
a pickleball factory that also has a factory outlet store. So we're happy
to announce that we have -- we just opened the store just a few weeks
ago.
And there are actually other stores throughout the country that are
contacting us now, and they want to carry our product.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, that's great.
MR. WATSON: And we're going to be involved. As most of you
know, I think it's April 20th, the U.S. Open Pickleball Championship,
we are a proud sponsor of that event. We'll have a booth there, so if
anyone would like to come and say hi, and we can tell you about our
product, that will be an opportunity for you to do that.
So we're excited. We're looking at possibly getting into Dick's
Sporting Goods. We're in talks with them right now. So it's very
exciting what's going on with pickleball and Pickle Pro. And we very
much thank you for the opportunity and the award.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I had the wonderful opportunity of
going to their first ribbon cutting as they're opening their plant, their
retail store, and then we -- there were quite a few of us there, so we all
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February 14, 2017
went through the whole plant, and we watched them make these --
make the pickleball paddles, or at least we saw how each step was.
Man, it was very, very interesting. Made all right here in the U.S.A.,
which I like even better, and right in Collier County, which is even the
best.
So I want to tell you, I can see nothing but going forward with
lots and lots of stuff. Bring plenty of product, by the way, when you
come to the pickleball tournament, because they ran out of product at
other booths, so you'll want to be prepared. Thank you.
MR. WATSON: Well, we were very honored to have you,
Commissioner Fiala, and we appreciate your attendance and
everything that do in support with pickleball. Thank you very much.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you so much.
(Applause.)
Item #9A
RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE THAT WILL
IMPLEMENT A TWELVE MONTH MORATORIUM ON NEW
APPLICATIONS FOR GAS STATIONS, CAR WASHES, PAWN
SHOPS AND SELF-STORAGE FACILITIES IN ALL
COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICTS THAT LIST THESE USES
AS PERMITTED USES, BUT ALLOW FOR THESE USES TO BE
PROCESSED AS CONDITIONAL USES WHILE STAFF BRINGS
FORWARD LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS TO
REQUIRE THE CONDITIONAL USE PROCESS FOR THE
IDENTIFIED USES. THE MORATORIUM IS GEOGRAPHICALLY
LIMITED TO BOTH SIDES OF U.S. 41 FROM THE PALM
STREET/COMMERCIAL DRIVE/U.S.41 INTERSECTION TO THE
PRICE STREET/U.S.41 INTERSECTION AND IS NOT
APPLICABLE TO EXISTING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS
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February 14, 2017
(PUD)S THAT HAVE SATISFIED CHAPTER 5 OF THE COLLIER
COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REGARDING
SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS FOR THOSE SPECIFIC USES
SUBJECT TO THE MORATORIUM, NOR TO ANY
APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT ORDER THAT WOULD
BE OTHERWISE SUBJECT TO THIS MORATORIUM WHERE
THERE HAS AT LEAST BEEN A PRE-APPLICATION MEETING
PRIOR TO DECEMBER 13, 2016 — MOTION TO HAVE STAFF
QUICKLY MOVE AHEAD WITH A "CORRIDOR STUDY",
ENGAGING THE COMMUNITIES AND BRING FORWARD
INCENTIVES FOR THE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE
AREA — APPROVED
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, that takes us to Item 9A, advertised
public hearings. This is a recommendation to adopt an ordinance that
will implement a 12-month moratorium on new applications for gas
stations, car washes, pawn shops, and self-storage facilities in all
commercial zoning districts in the U.S. 41 corridor with conditions and
stipulations previously established by the Board. This is the second
reading of this ordinance.
MR. KLATZKOW: And just for clarity, Mr. County Manager,
did we note that the item would be heard prior to 1:30 p.m.?
MR. OCHS: Yes. I did that earlier on the change sheet.
MR. KLATZKOW: Thank you, sir.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Well, the reason I brought this up --
I'll just give you a little bit of a background.
As you know, for about 15 years now we've been trying to
improve the appearance of the East Naples community, especially the
U.S. 41 corridor, because it's rather sad looking. And now that people
have found that some things are coming our way -- we haven't had
many yet. I mean, we've gotten a couple retail stores and a few
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February 14, 2017
restaurants, thank heavens, but we would like to encourage better
growth so that the people in that area can stay here and shop where
they live rather than having to go out of the area and clog the roads and
so forth.
And so we were hoping -- when I say "we," it's East Naples Civic
Association, for which I am on the board. Anyway, and so the only
thing I could think of was -- because it seemed like people were buying
the property up now, oh, goodie, we've got property here; we'll just
buy it up. But they were putting things in there like self-storage units.
Well, heck, you can't go shopping in a self-storage unit. And once you
get a parade of them going down the street, nobody is going to locate
their restaurant or their female clothing store or shoe store or whatever
next to a self-storage unit, you know. They want to be in an area
where you've got like businesses.
And what I'm hoping to do with this moratorium is to help
businesses thrive in the area, come to the area, build their businesses. I
want to encourage that growth because we desperately need it there, as
many of you know when you ride around that area.
Anyway, so that's what I was hoping to accomplish. Being that
there were so many gas stations, car washes, and also mainly
self-storage units going into the area, I thought, if we could just hold it
back. It's not that I want to take away their property rights, because the
property owners could sell it to maybe then encouraging -- as they
encourage new businesses to come rather than, when they're all done,
putting these other things in. It's going to look like an industrial road,
and that isn't what we're hoping for.
We've got plenty of industrial roads. We need someplace that --
we only have two main roads in East Naples, Davis Boulevard and, of
course, you don't have much of anything going on Davis Boulevard. I
mean, it's mainly homes and things with a couple little added things
but, anyway, and then U.S. 41. But if we can't use U.S. 41 to
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February 14, 2017
invigorate the business community, to invigorate the shopping
opportunities, the restaurant opportunities, if those opportunities are
gone before we even get a start, we're going to just look like same old,
same old.
And so I was appealing to the commissioners to please help me
do that; however, we got a nice email last night from Rich Yovanovich
telling us if you put a moratorium in place, I'll sue the pants off you.
He didn't use those words, by the way.
And so I can see that there must have been a lot of other plans to
put more self-storage units or gas stations or something along that
corridor.
We've got many, many already. And I don't know that we need
any more in all that one corridor. I don't see them putting them in
anybody else's community; just our U.S. 41.
So that was my purpose. I was hoping to revitalize that area,
encourage people to use their property to, in the end, come up with a
better community that we can live in and that businesses can thrive in.
That was my purpose.
So by the time the commissioners took it over the last time, they
watered it down to be more like milk toast rather than a thriving plan
for the corridor. And I don't know that I have any support today, but
that was what my purpose was.
And I would ask the commissioners if they would think it
through, because right now we would love to have all those owners of
the property encourage businesses that we can use right there in that
area to open businesses on their property rather than -- you know, it's
easy to build a self-storage unit. You have one person operating it. No
overhead cost. It just sits there. You don't even need U.S. 41 to build
your self-storage units on because it's not a place that anybody can
drive by and impulsively go in and buy an ice cream cone. You know,
on the corridor it's an impulse buy.
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February 14, 2017
And you don't have that with a self-storage unit. They're lovely,
by the way. They're very pretty. And they would fit beautifully on a
side road or in a certain -- you know, maybe the entrance to it would
be on U.S. 41, but then it would go down the side road rather than
taking up a bunch of space on U.S. 41.
But I'd like to hear from the other commissioners.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No one's light's on? Are we going to
press our buttons? Gentlemen? Anyone?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Do you want us to all press our
button at the same time?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, I'm watching. Ah, Mr.
McDaniel. Okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I mean, as a matter of process,
do we want to go through the movements of a motion and a second and
have it discussed -- public input and such?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It's entirely up to you. It's entirely up to
this board. You want to make a motion, see if you have a second?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No. And it's, you know -- for
purposes of discussions, Commissioner Fiala --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- it's -- everything that you just
got done saying I am in full support of except the methodology. The
method -- and I understand your rationale. But for me -- and I've said
this on a quite regular basis. This is a property rights issue. The
circumstances that prevail with this suggestion is creating an unfair
business circumstance in the area. The exclusion of PUDs that have
similar type zoning would allow those projects to go forward where
those that are hard zoned and have been hard zoned for a long time
cannot go forward and are imposed upon with a conditional use.
I will pledge to you today, though I'm not going to support the
moratorium, that I would work tirelessly with you to develop
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February 14, 2017
incentives that we can put in place to develop a corridor study to
holistically view this particular section of road and find from the
community what, in fact, we want to see when we grow up,
necessarily.
And I would work to put in place incentives to do that.
Everything that you said I concur with 100 percent except for the
methodology. And please, from me to you, this isn't personal.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I know that. I understand that. I
understand that. When you talk about property rights, I also think of
the people who live along there and the rights that they might have.
But don't forget, I'm a people person. I care -- I'm not a developer
person. I'm a people person. And I want to make sure that the needs
of the people living in the area are met.
So if I have that, and if I understand what you just said, would
you then accept that we task staff to move forward and put it on the
front burner almost before anything else to form a plan for that road?
We need a corridor study, and we need it desperately, and we need to
know what will go and what will be create -- what they can create to
make this a street, somehow rescue it from where it's going, and bring
it into a thriving street that people in that area can use.
And, by the way, workforce, too. You know, one of the things
we have more than any other area in Collier County, affordable
housing located in our area, but they can't work here because there's
really nothing to work at. And same, by the way, with when you come
to the -- when you come to the self-storage units. One person, you
know, what are you going to do? So they all have to drive to the
hospitals or to the hotels where they work.
And it would be nice to have some places right there in that area
that people can stay and raise their kids and stay and work instead of
driving, so...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: She asked me a couple of
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February 14, 2017
questions, if I may. I didn't push my button again because she was
talking.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. We've got a couple of other --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And I'll be quiet.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Do you want to let them go
first or --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: If you don't mind.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: She asked me a couple --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, you finish up.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. And just on the note, if
you will recall, I was the odd man out the last time that this thing came
forward. And irrespective of whether it passes or not, the vote that I
have has to do with how I feel, in fact, good governance should, in
fact, go.
I would prefer that we take proactive steps as a government entity
to implement properties and projects within our communities that are,
in fact, of a benefit.
Though you have the opinion that there are certain types of
businesses that maybe are too many or too much, there are jobs that are
created by construction of and utilization of storage facilities and gas
stations, and tattoo parlors, I think, was one of the others that were
included in the moratorium per se.
I would, though, support -- if you'll recall when I didn't vote for it
the last time, I asked to repeal the ordinance and give specific direction
to staff to work on incentives.
There was an additional supplemental correspondence within our
package from a local engineer here. Now, he's personally involved
with a project that is coming forward, but he offered some very
insightful incentivizations that we could direct staff to work to
implement into our Land Development Code that would incentivize
particularly the types of businesses that we're wanting to see.
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February 14, 2017
It might be a little bit cart in front of the horse because the
corridor study has not yet been consummated, let alone, you know,
been worked on at all, so -- but to that end, I didn't make -- that was a
long answer to your short question, and I will help. I will help to
orchestrate that. I would support that. Irrespective of whether this
ordinance passes or not, I will help.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have a question for the
County Attorney and then a comment.
Mr. Klatzkow, in terms of the correspondence that we've received
and the issue of whether or not this type of moratorium has to be
imposed with a more formal process, I'd like to try to get your opinion.
I don't have a problem with moving forward with the ordinance, but I
want to make sure we're not creating a situation that will result in some
litigation.
MR. KLATZKOW: Two thoughts: One, I know we're calling
this a moratorium but, to be fair, what a moratorium is is a temporary
suspension of an activity. We're not suspending the activity. We're
putting a condition on the activity. You can still move forward with
these uses; however, they're going from permissive to a conditional
use.
So I don't really think we're a moratorium here. We're calling it
that because I don't know what else to call it other than a
zoning-in-process type of thing.
Having said that, I don't believe the position that the attorney for
the developer brought forward is a correct one. I also don't know that
there's any purpose in litigating a procedural issue. If the development
community would like in the future for any moratorium to go through
the Planning Commission, I don't have an issue with that. I don't think
it's a good idea for the development because it just defers the issue on
this board by two months, three months if you're going to go through
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February 14, 2017
that process. And, quite frankly, the moratorium starts the moment
you start the process. So it's a delay. But if the development
community is going to want to go through that process, I don't think
that's a bad idea.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right. Madam Chair, what
we tried to do at the last meeting was fashion an ordinance dealing
with the procedure that Mr. Klatzkow has just laid out for those four
uses, tried to lay out an ordinance that would get support from the
Board.
Unless something's changed, I think there still is probably support
for the ordinance that's in front of you.
You have indicated that this was watered down to a point where
it's not effective. Does that mean that you don't want us to go forward
with this ordinance, or what is your desire on the ordinance in front of
you? Not the issue of whether or not there should be a corridor study,
but specifically this ordinance that we're getting ready to do something
with this morning.
I don't want to make a motion to approve an ordinance that you're
not happy with. And if your preference is not to move forward with
the ordinance, that's fine.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: First of all, I want to thank you and
Commissioner McDaniel for the sensitivity to this subject and
knowing how important it is to my community. I really appreciate
that; that means a lot.
And I want to do whatever is best to continue the improvement of
that area. And if the additions that you offered at the last meeting will
help us move forward with that, then I would accept it, as long as we,
you know, move forward with a corridor study and rather quickly and
put it on the front burner.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well, just to get the issue on
the floor for decision, then I'll make a motion to approve the ordinance
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February 14, 2017
that's in front of us today. Obviously, we have a public hearing on that
and we'll hear from the public. But if there's no second on the
ordinance, then we don't need to go further with it, but I'll make the
motion.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay. I'll second it just to move it
forward.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. There's a motion and a second.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: She just expects me to start
talking.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thought it was Commissioner
McDaniel.
MR. OCHS: I'm sorry. At some point before you vote, I would
like Mr. Bosi --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, no, no. This is just -- there's a
motion, and there's a second on the floor, and we're now opening it for
continued discussion. And I know. Thank you very much, County
Manager.
Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: And I am also very sensitive to the
issues and what you'd like to see happen. And I think it's something
that we do need to address.
At the last hearing I think I was the one that made the motion to
try to come up with some exception for the PUDs that have gone
through a compatibility analysis, but the way I think this is working
out is some of these uses have conditional use processes already, some
of them have additional standards.
I really think the thing to do -- and I'm going to have to agree with
Commissioner McDaniel that we need to do a study and come up with
a plan that is well thought out.
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February 14, 2017
I'm also concerned with the case law that was presented. Yes,
that case dealt with Chapter 166, but it does say that in adopting a
moratorium that the usual process for a zoning change needs to be
followed. And I think -- I'm a little concerned that the way we've done
this on a procedural basis could at least open the door for something.
Whether they would prevail, who knows, but -- so I'm a little
concerned with that.
So I'm going to suggest, as Commissioner Fiala had said, is that
maybe what we do is we prioritize this for a corridor study and go
through the process like that to come up with a plan that will address
the concerns that you have, which are totally valid concerns.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think before we vote on this and
before we hear from Commissioner McDaniel, I'd like to hear from
Mr. Bosi, please, from the Planning Department.
MR. BOSI: Good morning, Commission. Mike Bosi, Planning
and Zoning Director.
Specifically, I guess, in relationship, are you looking for a
reaction from the Planning Department?
From what I've heard and where this conversation started, it all
started with the East Naples Foundation conducting a corridor study,
but that was back in '08 and '09, and it identified a number of uses and
issues associated with this corridor.
And one of the issues that were associated with this corridor in
that study was the depth of these commercial properties. And some of
the recommendations were to encroach those commercial properties
into the residential neighborhoods that sit along this corridor. So
there's a lot of other issues just -- other than just what end-specific uses
we would like to see and what we would like to promote.
One of the things that staff has struggled with as we thought about
how we would go about within the Land Development Code process is
we really -- you know, there's some vision within that East Naples
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February 14, 2017
corridor study, but the specifics aren't as clean as we would like to see.
And as I had mentioned, '09 is when that was completed. We're 2017.
There is quite a bit of history between now and then. What is that
vision of the community?
So we don't have -- you know, when I hear the Board talking --
and I think the wise step has been identified in the sense that we need
to go out and speak with the community on an individual basis to
understand where they see these opportunities, where they want to see
the specific end uses.
One of the things that we have within our county, especially
within that strip zoning, is your range of uses within your C4, your C5,
and C3. There may be some uses that the community feels are
incompatible. There may be some uses that we want to provide extra
incentives that have been identified by the community, but how we get
there and how we have certainty of that's what this community is
looking for, we don't have that template in place.
So when I hear the Board say, let's go out, let's engage that
conversation with the community, I think is a much better way to
identify those end uses and then direct our Land Development Code
amendment team to implement what was the end results.
Now, the one thing I will say is, from a staffing perspective, that
won't be our Land Development Code/LDC team out there trying to
engage in that public process. That will be something we'll work with
the administration as to, you know, whether it's going to be something
we're going to contract out or how that's going to be moved forward,
because the LDC team's finishing up the golf course amendments,
which are pretty -- are very important, expected in May in April that
that's to conclude.
We've got another cycle of amendments. There's also discussion
later on for 11A, which is another amendment cycle for -- related to
the marijuana dispensary facilities.
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February 14, 2017
There are a number -- there are a number of LDC amendments
that have been sitting in abeyance for a year, year and a half as we
have worked through the various gas stations moratoriums, the golf
course moratoriums, the public school -- the charter school
moratorium. We've had a lot that has distracted us from moving ahead
with a lot of amendments that we know we need to move forward.
So there's a lot on that team's plate. We will figure out with the
administration of who's best to conduct and engage within that corridor
study, which was led by -- I believe was led by a local planning firm
when it was conducted back in '08, '09. But from that standpoint, I
think it would give us a much better template to task our LDC
amendment team if that's the direction that the Board chooses.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, I want to set some expectations, or
at least understand your expectations more to the point in terms of the
schedule of these things.
We talked not too long ago about the four restudy initiatives that
are already underway by your current planning staff. As Mike has
mentioned, if we're -- the action you have in front of you today is not a
recommendation to adopt a moratorium subject to a corridor study. It's
to adopt a moratorium subject to future Land Development Code
amendments that would create a conditional-use process for these
types of uses. That's different than a full-blown corridor study.
If that's what the Board wants to commission, absolutely, that's
what we'll do. But I want to set some expectations on the schedule for
that because I know everyone's anxious to get that done sooner than
later. But we need a sense of the Board's priorities with the -- you
know, with the staff that we have.
We still owe you a report on how to get some additional resources
applied to the four restudy initiatives, let alone taking on a new
corridor study.
Mike?
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February 14, 2017
MR. BOSI: And I would add -- I was just in a conference -- a
meeting with Kim Grant and Cormac yesterday going through the
initiatives of the housing study affordable -- the housing affordability
study, and there's a number -- and depending upon some of the
selections of the course that the Board would like, there's going to be
additional workload that's associated with those with a number of those
proposals, whether it be on the GMP side or whether it be on the Land
Development Code side. But we'll get more into that on the 24th of
February during the workshop.
So there's a lot that have been initiated that we have to work
through and sort through. That's going to place a lot of pressure within
that LDC amendment team.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: If I may ask you a question. If you
forgive me, Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You can.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And I'm not being facetious. I'm not
being silly. I'm not setting you up, so I just want to frame this all. But
what is it you want?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: What I want to do is I want a
corridor study to then provide to us a road map for what we're going to
look like, and this way if you have -- if you know what you want to
look like in the end, it gives you a direction so that then people who
want to buy businesses, who want to build something new, wants to
bring it in the area, they'll say, here's what I'd like to focus on, rather
than right now there's no direction whatsoever, and I don't think that
that helps people who are in business to -- because they don't really
know what you need, and so that was my main point.
The corridor study and -- but to keep the area available so that
when the corridor study is done they've got the road map and people
could say, well, yeah, I can use that with my property, or this will be
better, or I could make more money on this one rather than that one.
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February 14, 2017
You know, this way then we'll have something.
And maybe it says you're only allowed to have 12 gas stations
rather than 33 or something, you know. I'm being a little facetious
because I know that that's not even in the plan. But still, you know, so
you have an idea of how many gas stations or how many -- now, the
self-storage, they're all three-story self-storage units now that are
planned for the East Naples U.S. 41 corridor right now.
Well, how many can a corridor handle -- by the way, they don't
even need -- they don't even need to be seen from the road. They work
real well off the road, too. How many do you need to take up precious
land that we have? As Mike said, it's only a strip. Right now it's just
strip zoning that you have there other than a few little places where
extra land is that you can build anything like, you know, a small
shopping center or a small area that can house a few little businesses.
And -- but we need to know what businesses we need or what
types are needed, and that you have to go out to the community for.
And if it needs to be done by an outside team because you guys are
already on overload, you know, just as long as it's a great team, it's fine
with me. I don't care what we do. I just want to give us a road map
before it's too late.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And correct me if I'm wrong, County
Attorney. If people have purchased the land with a certain zoning over
that land, whether they build on that land or not, if we change the
zoning and remove some of the uses on that land, maybe replacing
them with something else, but let's just for the sake of this discussion
say we're removing some of the uses, gas stations, pawn shops, car
washes --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Self-storage.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- self-storage, does that leave us open
for a Bert Harris claim?
MR. KLATZKOW: You are generally vulnerable to a Bert
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February 14, 2017
Harris claim if you downzone a property; however, Commissioner
McDaniel has been talking about economic incentives in order to
effectuate what Commissioner Fiala would like. That's a much
different kettle of fish.
So depending upon board direction, between the County
Manager's staff and myself and my staff, we can fashion something
that I'm not concerned about litigation on if those are the parameters.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Could I ask a question? Aren't you
now in the process of taking a look at a lot of antiquated zoning that --
you know, back when they were first put in place in the '70s and '80s,
nobody had ever expected to be building giant mega gas stations with
24 pumps in a community. They had thought it belonged on interstates
and so forth.
So we are thinking of maybe taking a better look at what we used
to have -- I know we've talked about it. I just don't know whether
anybody's moving on that or not -- so that we have a better idea of
what fits now compared to what fit 30 years ago.
MR. BOSI: There's no -- there's no study, there's no effort related
to an evaluation of the existing strip zoning. That was done during the
zoning reevaluation program in the early '90s.
We do have an LDC amendment that we need to get to that deals
with gas stations with over 16 pumps and additional design standards
that this board -- the prior board had directed staff to initiate. But
there's nothing in terms of an analysis of the existing strip zoning that
sits within, say, the U.S. 41 corridor, and as to whether we wanted to
evaluate the appropriateness of that individual zoning. There's been no
direction in that that's been provided.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. Just as a couple of points.
If you'll rewind back to December 13th, I actually voted for this
moratorium to go forward, but it was at direction and a request that I
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February 14, 2017
asked our County Attorney with regard to a process that I defined as a
simple exemption process. And the rationale behind that was to assist
in managing the unintended consequences that come from making not
necessarily as well thought out planning and plans as, in fact, could
have been done.
And I even said it then, that I'm sure there are people along this --
there are more that know than did on December 13th, but there are
people along this corridor that own property that are impacted by this
decision, and I didn't want those folks that were already in some form
or process or in contractual arrangements to, in fact, sell their property
to be negatively impacted by this decision. And a simple exemption,
in my mind, was not a conditional-use process.
So that imposes at least a 12-month discovery procedure
anywhere from 60- to $100,000 in an additional expense associated
with it and then at the same time creating an unfair business
circumstance. If we have a hard-zoned piece of property here zoned
C5 that's allowed for self-storage unit and a PUD that's next door, the
PUD's allowed to go forward now, but the conditional use requisite for
the hard-zoned piece of property is going to delay that project for at
least 12 months, impose another 60- to 100,000 in expense, and this
guy's already built and rented before this guy actually breaks ground.
And so I supported the thought process, the theory, because I
fully understand where you're wanting to go, and that's why I then said,
in January, let's not do the moratorium but direct staff to come forward
with incentives that we can do. A corridor study is the perfect example
of how we can get there from here.
Although I'm perceived as more developer friendly than some, I
am a people person as well, and I would be as adamant about this
process if we were talking about people's homes because, in theory,
this necessarily could be imposed upon by us as well for people's
residences. And I don't want that process.
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February 14, 2017
I believe that moratoriums at large are a reactionary state that are
an advent of circumstances that have prevailed to not allow for proper
planning, for people to have -- for our governments to take proactive
steps in the management of our systems, and that's where -- that's
where I go.
I think good governance ought to come from more proactive steps
than a reactive step.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: As I recall at the first hearing, we
had some discussion, and I think it related to what Commissioner
McDaniel was referring to, some expedited or shorter, abbreviated
exemption process.
Is there -- excuse me -- is there anything that we could do to
address the issues that Commissioner Fiala wants to do -- wants to
resolve short of a corridor study? And I thought we had some
discussion about that. Is there something -- I understand a corridor
study's a big time commitment, it's a big staff commitment, and we'd
have to address that, but is there something short of a full-blown
corridor study that we could use to at least go out to the community,
understand what other uses are of concern, what other impacts there's
going to be, and those -- you know, get that information from the
community without having a full-blown corridor study?
MR. BOSI: Unless there's -- you know, that individual
conversation with the public about other range of uses and their
opinions upon those, I mean, we do have some insight that was
provided by the corridor study that was conducted in '08, '09, but it
didn't have the specificity in terms of the exact locations, the exact
range of uses that they thought that was appropriate.
So we could utilize that as a template, but without those
community meetings, without speaking to the actual individuals who
live along that corridor in advertised public meetings, it's a difficult --
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February 14, 2017
it's difficult to discern, you know, the specificity of what that -- what
those end uses should be and how they should be shaped.
And what I've heard, an approach towards where we limit the
number, we place additional design standards, and then we have a
contrary where we have an approach where we're going to incentivize
other uses, and maybe that incentivization is the approach that would
make one parcel more inclined to be developed as a use that we're
preferring than a self-storage.
But I will say -- and the one thing from a planning perspective,
self-storage facilities in Florida with limited attic space and no
basements, they are neighborhood-serving in a lot of ways. They most
certainly serve basic neighborhood needs.
Self-storage facilities -- the one thing I will say, Commissioner
Fiala, it is not the East Trail that is the only place that self-storage
facilities are being developed in this county. They are being developed
all throughout Collier County, and it's a reaction to the needs of the
household, the demand that is being created by the individual dwelling
units for those individual services.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I know that they're all over, Mike.
Are they all on the main thoroughfare.
MR. BOSI: Self-storage facilities are a conditional use within C4
zoning. They are a permitted use in C5 zoning. In PUDs it will be the
individual PUD. But the way that our zoning works is we want those
type of heavy uses the most exterior from your residential community,
so they are on those corridors. That's where the location of your
self-storage facilities are.
And we have those design standards, where self-storage facilities,
they're not those -- the old roll-up garage doors, they're not allowed to
be within any of the primary facades. They have to be architecturally
designed to where they look like offices.
And the one thing -- and I think what -- your exception with the
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February 14, 2017
self-storage facilities is they're not a pass-by traffic-generating
business. They're not end users where it's a service or it's a restaurant
where you could consume. It's basically -- it's very -- it's a low
intensity use. It's neighborhood-serving, but I hear what your concern
is that you fear that the proliferation of those uses will somewhat
diminish the opportunity for some of the other personal services that
you're hoping to develop in a more robust fashion.
I will say we have in the Lely area -- we are -- and we've dubbed
it "the restaurant row," so there are some personal services and type of
uses, I think, that you want to promote that are finding their way to that
corridor.
So, in recognition of that, I think that there are some uses that are
responding to that market demand, I think, that you've identified.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: There are three self-storage units or
self-storage divisions right there in that same corridor, and there's
plenty; of course, there's others on Radio Road and there's on Davis
Boulevard, and there's others on 951. There's a lot of them in East
Naples.
I'm just saying that, you know, you put it perfectly, I'd like to
have some services for the community other than that.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, our estimate of a --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: May I just, in summary, in summary,
what we have is a situation if we have a moratorium, which is a limited
moratorium for 12 months, what will happen is during that moratorium
PUDs can come forward and have the uses and build the uses that we
are fashioning this moratorium on, right? So it's not really going to
address the bigger picture. If we don't address the bigger picture, then
what we're doing is it's a Band-Aid on a wound that will fester
underneath.
So what if we -- what if we -- and I'm not -- you know, I've been
quiet because I'm trying to listen and trying to figure out how we can
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February 14, 2017
meet your needs, maybe not as quickly as you want, but there are ways
within government, I would think, that we can put a notice that we are
to initiate a corridor study. Not that it would prohibit anyone from
building what they want, but it would be very clear that the best is yet
to come and it might behoove folks to wait and see what the outcome
is. Am I -- is this pie-in-the-sky kind of conversation?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: A little bit, because I don't think
anybody's going to wait. As they can find a fast buck, they're going to
do it.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, maybe we can look at an approach
that initiates a corridor study quickly. It probably will take six to eight
months to get that finished and back in front of the board if we contract
it out. And we have planning firms on term contracts that we can
move quickly to do that.
And perhaps at the same time, back to Commissioner McDaniel's
earlier point, we could go back and look at an incentive approach to try
to influence some of the development community to take advantage
through incentivization of the types of projects or developments that
you would be interested in. That way we're kind of attacking this thing
from two different perspectives.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: It sounds good to me, as a matter of
fact. I mean, anything now is better than where we are. We definitely
need a corridor study, and as long as we're involving the community in
that -- and that's exactly what you said -- I think that's important.
So right now I'll take any great plan that you have to offer at least
that gives us a sounding off point. And you know what? I just want to
thank everybody for trying to work with me. I know that it's -- you
know, it's tough for some people, but this is very important to our
community. And so I appreciate the sensitivity that you-all are
showing. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, we have one plan on the Board
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February 14, 2017
right now, which is a motion and a second. Could we repeat that
motion?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Madam Chair, if I might, well,
the motion was to approve the ordinance that's in front of us, but I
think based on the conversation we should -- you should withdraw
your second, I should withdraw the motion.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay. Will do.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So we need to hear another motion if
you think we're done with the discussion and we can go forward here.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I hit my light.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, Andy was first;
Commissioner Solis.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Was he?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Forgive me.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Commissioner Saunders was first.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: The reason I hit the light was
to suggest withdrawal of the motion so that we could substitute
something that would be more meaningful.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I'll endeavor to do that if
you would indulge me, and I would like for us to make -- I would like
to make a motion that we direct staff to come forward as quickly as
possible with a corridor study, unless -- and I don't want to say corridor
study if the definition of corridor study is not what I'm actually
thinking. But it is imperative that we engage the community as
quickly as possible to ascertain the wants of the community in this
particular area.
So I would recommend that we direct staff to move forward with
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February 14, 2017
that process, whether it be a corridor study or any other study at the
same time interimly developing incentives, some of which that have
been suggested in the -- as a basis in the supplemental to our board
package today, but incentives to incentivize, particularly, types of
development that we want to see in that particular area. Is that close
enough?
MR. OCHS: Yes, sir; that's great.
And some of those incentivizations may develop, obviously,
through the corridor study planning process.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Absolutely.
MR. OCHS: And if we can bring them forward faster than
others, we will. If it makes more sense to wrap them all together, we'll
certainly do that as well.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do I have a second for the motion?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I'll second.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Second.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala has seconded it.
All right. All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay. And, again, thank you for
helping us. There's some incentives already waiting on the ground, by
the way. These old buildings that are kind of deteriorating, somebody
can take ahold of one of those buildings or all of those buildings and
upgrade them and improve them; they have no impact fees. So
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February 14, 2017
anything that would have been paid on an impact can instead be used
to modernize the building or whatever. That's a great incentive.
And it can be anything, by the way. Say, for instance, it used to
be a doctor's office. Two people in the office and now they want to
build a restaurant there, they can go ahead; still no impact fees. So
those are good things.
MR. OCHS: Right. Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
MR. OCHS: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you, everyone.
Item #10A
RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE COUNTY
ATTORNEY TO ADVERTISE AN ORDINANCE FOR FUTURE
BOARD CONSIDERATION THAT WOULD INSTITUTE TERM
LIMITS ON COMMISSIONERS WHEREBY AN INDIVIDUAL
SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR ELECTION AS A
COMMISSIONER FOR MORE THAN THREE CONSECUTIVE
FOUR-YEAR TERMS — APPROVED
MR. OCHS: Thank you, Commissioners.
That moves us along to Item 10A on this morning's agenda. This
is a recommendation to authorize the County Attorney to advertise an
ordinance for future board consideration that would institute term
limits on commissioners whereby an individual shall not be eligible as
a commissioner for more than three consecutive four-year terms.
Commissioner McDaniel brought this item forward.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Am I allowed to speak, or do I
have to hit my light?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no. You are allowed to speak.
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February 14, 2017
You brought it forward.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. And just as a point of
clarification, it's as much a topic of suggestion and discussion that I
would like for our board to have.
This was brought to me on a regular basis as I was coming
through the last 12-month adventure I sought to seek election and gain
election in November. And I met with considerable public support
along the way.
The proposition that I brought forward today is a three-term limit.
It does not impact two of our existing board at this stage. Both
Commissioner Solis and Commissioner Taylor, if this moves forward,
would not be impacted until their next reelection. It does impact
Commissioner Saunders, Commissioner Fiala, and myself because the
term starts at the last election on November the 8th.
The rationale for three four-year terms was to offer necessarily
anyone within our community who has the right to seek election and
become elected, who maybe isn't as familiar with government and
systems and processes as some are, to actually get elected and one term
to learn what to do and how to do and how to effectively operate as a
commissioner and then two more terms to help the community and go
forward.
So that was the rationale with three four-year terms, so...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Another question for the
County Attorney. I have no problem with term limits and, certainly,
12 years is certainly enough. But my question for the County Attorney
is just on the record: Can we impose term limits via ordinance and, if
we do, can that ordinance be repealed at any point in time by a
subsequent commission?
MR. KLATZKOW: Yes to both. Yes, you have the power to do
this; yes, a future board has the power to undo this.
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Could we bind or create that
type of a term limit via an election or some other methodology?
MR. KLATZKOW: No. We're a non-chartered -- we're a
non-chartered county. If you wanted to convert to a charter form of
government, that would be the process.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I listened -- read your agenda item with
great interest. And the idea that I would be here 12 years after the next
two years is kind of-- I can't imagine that. So we all have this
disclaimer, you know, it doesn't count to me, you know, it doesn't
matter to me. But to me it matters in a broader way.
Being the newbie two years ago, I can't tell you how valuable the
long-term commissioners, such as Commissioner Fiala and
Commissioner Henning, were in my deliberation on issues. They
would say, but don't you remember this happened, this happened, this
happened, and this went on.
And that's not -- I remember that one item. That's not what you
testified. That's not what you said here. You came here six years ago.
That's not what you said. And that was from you. You know what I
was talking about. And it helped me so much in the course of how I
thought about things and what I -- in my deliberations.
But when you -- you know, I come from the city. There's term
limits in the city. It's two terms, two four-year terms, and then you're
off, but then you can run again for counsel in another two years
because it's not by district. So there's ways of skinning that cat, and we
do it all the time.
When we limit the amount of time a commissioner can be voted
into office, we limit the people's power to voice who they want.
Witness my colleague to the right. I mean, nobody, they'd be in their
right mind to run against you, because you do the people's work or you
wouldn't be here. So that's a consideration I have.
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February 14, 2017
The second consideration I have is when you limit the time that a
commissioner can sit up here, you empower, unintentionally, staff,
because staff can be here for 30 years or 25 years.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Look at Leo hiding his head
over there.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: They kind of hold all the goods, in a
way. They know how it's run. Am I suggesting that we need a
commissioner here for 30 years? No, but there is that bureaucracy
which I think, because of the term limits in the state, Commissioner
Saunders, it's what's happened, right? You're always new coming in.
You're always trying to -- and once you just get your wings, and then
you're gone, and it starts again.
And so, you know, I'm very open to listening -- and I'm the only
one talking, and I don't see any lights here -- to comments on this, but,
you know, it's been a point/counterpoint in my mind since I read it in
the agenda last week.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'll hit my button just so after
Commissioner Saunders is done I can say something else, so...
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well, I wasn't really going to
make a comment that was worth anyone hearing. I was going to say,
you might want to add to your ordinance that no one can serve for 12
years, step down, and come back again.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'd be happy with that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'm just kidding about that,
because that's what I did. So I'm just kidding.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah, but you moved, right?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And, you know, in that light,
present company excluded on both of those issues. I mean,
Commissioner Fiala is certainly an exception to the rule for why I
brought this forward. And it was said to me quite regularly through
the process how wonderful of a commissioner you are, how wonderful
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February 14, 2017
of a public leader that you, in fact, are.
I am also an advocate of the ballot box being the term-limit
process, but I oftentimes have felt that a due process, new ideas, the
new positions add for a more vibrant, engage community, and that was
-- not that you're not. Again, you are the exception to this, and --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You don't have to be kind to me. It's
okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Well, I am kind to you,
but it's -- you know, Commissioner Taylor brought up that singular
fact, and I just wanted to reiterate that it doesn't have anything to do
with you.
This is necessarily, I, as elected county commissioner, have -- had
promoted this idea as a platform, received an inordinate amount of
support. As a matter of fact, I think you were the only one that really
didn't think it was such a great idea.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I don't even remember not thinking
it was a great idea.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: But that being the case, that's
the reason I brought it forward, so...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I would just like to comment that
being new to the board, you know, it is wonderful to have someone
like Commissioner Fiala that has so much knowledge of the history of
what Collier County has become. So whether it's three terms or four
terms certainly is open to debate. And, you know, I'm not necessarily
against the term limits, because I think it does serve a purpose.
My question is -- and I can't remember who I was speaking with,
but have we ever had a commissioner that's actually been a
commissioner more than four terms?
MR. KLATZKOW: If you go through the hall --
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Other than Commissioner Fiala.
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February 14, 2017
MR. KLATZKOW: If you go through the hall, which is what I
did the other day, just looking at the pictures because I was curious,
very few commissioners actually served as long as Commissioner
Fiala served. It's a rarity. It's usually eight years. And I'm guessing
one of the reasons it's eight years is because that's when FRS kicks in,
to be blunt. And you get vested with two terms in FRS, and I think
that's at least a partial consideration for it.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Well -- so just to finish up, certainly
-- and I do appreciate the way it was drafted to address my two-year
initial -- hopefully initial two-year term, that it wouldn't impact that.
But, again, I'm open to it. I just -- I am sensitive to the fact that we
would lose some institutional knowledge, and also what Commissioner
Taylor mentioned about, you know, creating a situation where we have
to rely more and more on staff, not that we shouldn't rely on staff, but
that because of the turnover on the Board, that it can become an issue.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. I have two questions. The first
one is, if we have -- I don't know, a two-term limit or a three-term limit
and say, for instance, that person -- now I'm not in this, okay. I'm just
talking in general -- that person is really doing a great job for their
constituents, and they don't want that person to stop, is there something
in the law that says that you can do something to allow them to extend
it, or is it drop-dead, three-term period?
MR. KLATZKOW: Absent the Board changing the ordinance
again, it would be the drop-dead three-term limit, yes.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay, fine. And the second thing is
-- and I see with the term limits, sometimes you get somebody on
board -- and I'm not saying this has ever happened here, but on board
that you feel that is not serving the community well and is not doing
any better, but because they're an incumbent, they'll get elected
anyway even though they shouldn't be.
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February 14, 2017
Now, that happens in other areas. And you're thinking, you
know, why would they vote for that person? I'm thinking of one in a
homeowner association right now. They hate him, and he got
reelected. And I'm thinking, why would you get reelected? Well,
because he's the incumbent. So there's that thing; that's where this law
would come into effect and really help a lot.
But, you know, I don't know -- that's why I was asking the
question if it could be changed for that particular situation because
sometimes people will vote for the incumbent because they've heard
the name enough, but they don't know whether that person's been a
good governing person or not.
So I throw that on the table. That's really true. I'll tell you about
that later, fellows.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Maybe they -- maybe because they hate
him, he remains the head of the homeowners --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, he's a bully.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, okay.
Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: There's two points of
discussion. And, you know, really, I suggested three four-year term,
and I'm not adamant about that. If it's the pleasure of the Board to
raise that to four, I'm fine. The premise is the message that was
requested of me with regard to folks that I spoke with to bring this
issue forward.
I'm not stuck on two, three, four or anything necessarily; one,
two. As the County Attorney has adeptly suggested -- and you're
going to find out my thoughts on amending ordinances that the Board
creates in a few minutes -- we do have the option, the Board does have
the option, if this ends up not being a favorable circumstance to make
an amendment such as what you've discussed, and necessarily a special
exception if there is an exemplary person that wishes to carry on or
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February 14, 2017
something along -- we can amend the ordinance at any stage of the
game.
What -- my suggestion here was based upon folks that I deal with
on a regular basis and the rationale of new ideas, new thought
processes, by no means detracting from the experience. But with the
experience, I just will add, sometimes those experiences aren't all that
happy.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: That's right.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And there are emotions that get
involved when decision-makers are in a position over a period of time.
And, positive or negative, that was the rationale.
Do you want me to make a motion to approve this or...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah. We need a motion.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I will do so.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do I hear a second?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll second that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. We have a motion on the
floor to approve a -- well, to ask the county -- I guess the staff to bring
back -- yeah, to advertise an ordinance. So that means if you wanted
to change the time from 12 to 16, now would be the time to do this, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: If it's the pleasure of the Board,
I can make that amendment to the motion. I thought the ordinance was
included in here. Do we have to bring this back for a second time?
MR. KLATZKOW: Yes. This is just simply the request to
advertise it.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I gotcha, okay, yes. And if it's
the pleasure of the Board to change that from three to four, I'd be
happy. If you want to leave it alone, I'd be happy -- I'd be happy to
leave it alone.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Could I suggest we have the
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February 14, 2017
motion and second at 12? Let's leave it alone. If it's going to come
back, we can amend it at that time.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Agreed.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We can think a little bit about
that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Good.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: All in favor?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Opposed, like --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I am --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You're not in the middle seat
anymore.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I'm opposed for reasons stated. Thank
you. 4-1.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, it would be appropriate to take your
10-minute break at this time.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes, it would.
You know what, Troy, I didn't ask. There are no speakers on
this? I would assume you would have --
MR. MILLER: No, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay, good. Thank you very much.
It's time for a break.
MR. OCHS: Be back at 10:35, Madam Chair.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
MR. OCHS: Thank you.
(A brief recess was had.)
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, you have a live mic.
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February 14, 2017
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. So we are now
moving to 11A, sir; is that correct?
Item #11A
RECOMMENDATION TO DIRECT THE COUNTY ATTORNEY
TO ADVERTISE AND BRING BACK TO THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS (BOARD) AN ORDINANCE THAT
WILL IMPLEMENT A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON
CANNABIS DISPENSING BUSINESSES FOR SIX MONTHS TO
ESTABLISH THE APPROPRIATE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE
AMENDMENTS. NOTE BY COUNTY ATTORNEY: APPROVAL
OF THIS ITEM WILL IMMEDIATELY COMMENCE THE
MORATORIUM PERIOD PENDING FUTURE BOARD ACTION
ON THE ORDINANCE — APPROVED
MR. OCHS: That's correct, Madam Chair.
11A is a recommendation to direct the County Attorney to
advertise and bring back an ordinance that will implement a temporary
moratorium on cannabis dispensing businesses for six months to
establish the appropriate Land Development Code amendments.
Mr. Bosi can make a brief presentation or respond to questions
from the Board.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And do we have speakers on this item?
MR. OCHS: I believe we do, ma'am.
MR. MILLER: Yes, ma'am. I have two registered speakers.
MR. OCHS: Mike?
MR. BOSI: Good morning again, Commission. Mike Bosi,
Planning and Zoning Director.
At the direction of the Board of County Commissioners and
working with the County Attorney, we've brought forward this
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February 14, 2017
six-month moratorium to deal with the land use that we have -- we
have no allowance for within our Land Development Code, and that's
the dispensaries for medical cannabis based upon the action of the
voters from last November.
We've modeled this around a six-month period. The way that the
process will work, between March and April, the legislature will work
out through a statutory process of working out the template of the
regulations.
Currently, the way that the regulations fall and they -- because
medical marijuana in a certain form is allowed for a very narrow list of
ailments, they currently have a structure which six license holders --
now it's seven. There's seven farms that are license holders to allow to
grow and dispense the form of cannabis, and we anticipate that that
system will move forward.
And the aspect of the system, I think, that is appreciated from a
local level is the farm -- the farms not only have to grow it, but they
are the ones that have to distribute it as well. It doesn't allow for a
middleman to be within the process.
So right now there's seven current license holders that are
authorized by the states to be dispensaries, the growers and
dispensaries. There's some state -- there's some legislation that's been
shopped around by a number of those different dispensaries trying to
help the localities. We've received a number of them; have reviewed
them.
Our initial thought was we would approach this and approach the
system for how we would set up this -- the locations similar to how we
deal with dispensing of liquor license, meaning distances from schools,
from community facilities, from various other activities that might be
sensitive to it, but also having some sort of criteria which limits the
number.
One of the things that -- the model ordinances in some of the
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February 14, 2017
ordinances that have been adopted have a system that limits the
number of dispensaries within a jurisdiction, about a ratio of about one
to 67,000. In that respect, it would be about five to six that could be
supported by Collier County.
So there's a number of different -- a number of different options
that we're going to contemplate as we work out, and we're going to
model what -- the directions that the state's giving us clues through the
month of March and April to provide us to help shape what that
ultimately may be.
And with that, I would -- I guess, any questions or concerns that
the Board would like to express?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I don't think we have any lights on,
unless I'm not reading this correctly. I guess we have Commissioner
Fiala.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Well, I put this on the agenda,
actually, but I'd like to hear from the speakers first, if we can.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: As would I, and then I'll hit my
button.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Very good.
MR. MILLER: I have two registered speakers at this time: Bill
Barton, and he will be followed by Ellie Krier.
MR. BARTON: Madam Chairman, Commissioners, for the
record, my name is Bill Barton. I'm here today speaking on behalf
myself, just as a concerned citizen of Collier County. I reside at 106
Mooring Park Drive in the City of Naples.
As most -- as many of the Commissioners are aware, I spent a
good part of my professional career being retained by the development
community and, as a consequence, I generally look to scants (sic) on
moratoriums, zoning moratoriums or building permit moratoriums;
however, every tool -- in this instance a moratorium is a tool -- has its
place. And in this instance, I believe that a moratorium in the
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February 14, 2017
development of modifications to our zoning code is a very appropriate
tool.
Let me explain why. And I'm going to expand on your staff a
little bit. And I'm not an attorney, but I have one sitting next to me,
and I have two on the board up here. So when I stray from the facts,
bring me back to the straight and narrow.
The citizens of Florida made a decision that the use of marijuana
in certain instances for medical uses was appropriate. That
amendment, however, doesn't tell us how to implement that
amendment. That process, instead, goes to the legislature where it
currently is and is currently being debated. And once the legislature
has determined what they believe the amendment says how it should
go forward, it will then be passed probably sometime in March, likely
make the governor's desk sometime in May and, if the governor signs
it, it would become law July 1st of this year.
The process then goes further. Once the statute is approved and
becomes law, it then moves to the appropriate agencies in the state of
Florida, and they're obliged to promulgate the rules by which that
statute will be imposed upon the state of Florida.
In talking to some knowledgeable folks, that rule-making process
generally takes about six months.
So here we go, we're March for, perhaps, a statute, May, perhaps,
this governor's signature, July 1st it becomes law, and then we've got a
roughly six-month period for the rules to be promulgated.
Now we're toward the end of 2017 before you and your staff will
even have an understanding of the statute and the rules that will apply
to you in trying to change your ordinances to fit within the guidelines
of those rules and that statute.
I would suggest that the moratorium is not only appropriate, but I
think it's too short. We've got -- we have to have time for you, after
you get the rules, to then make that ordinance.
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February 14, 2017
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I'll allow you to continue.
MR. BARTON: I have only -- I'll conclude with this:
Throughout my career, there was an old proverb that I tried to think
about often, and that is that planning without implementation is
futility; implementation without planning is chaos. I would suggest
that trying to implement our local ordinances to accommodate rules
that we don't understand or even have in hand yet will lead to a chaotic
decision.
I urge you to pass this moratorium not only on a six-month, but
on a 12-month basis. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Your next and final speaker on this item is Ellie
Krier.
MS. KRIER: Good morning, Madam Chair, Commissioners.
I'm speaking -- for the record, I'm Ellie Krier, and I'm speaking as
the interim executive director of Drug Free Collier. The new executive
director starts tomorrow, and it will be announced sometime today.
But in the meantime, I have been providing transition for them, and it's
been a pleasure.
And like Mr. Barton, Drug Free Collier certainly acknowledges
that medical marijuana for debilitating illnesses has been approved by
the state of Florida, and we must make decisions locally about that.
Mr. Barton provided you with an excellent overview of the
process there. And Drug Free Collier urges your proposal for the
moratorium, but I will go beyond that and say, since protecting our
children from substance abuse is our top priority, that whether you
agree or disagree with moratoriums, whether you think six months or
12 months is appropriate, I would urge you to include the community
in the development of the draft of the Land Development Code that
will implement this, Drug Free Collier, Collier County Public Schools,
other interested citizens, so that you have full community input as you
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February 14, 2017
go forward to bring these forward. Whether you do it in a tight
timeline or a longer timeline, whether you wait on the state or not,
please make sure you involve all of us who have the experience that
we can bring to the table for you so that we can get the best solution
for our community.
Thank you so much.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. No lights are on.
Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I don't recall if there's a motion
on the floor or anything at this point.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, there isn't.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'm going to go ahead and
make the motion to move this forward. The issue of the 12 months
versus six months, I have no issue at all with it being 12 months if
that's -- if that is the desire of the Board. Then I'll make the motion to
amend the proposal that's in front of us to do a 12-month moratorium.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I'd like to second that motion.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: When this comes back, if we
feel that six months isn't the right number, we can always amend it at
that point.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. There's a motion on the floor
and a second. Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
Well, I'll say it out loud. I am not in favor of moratoriums at all.
I would rather we take proactive steps in managing this monster. This
is coming at us, as has been pointed out. This is inevitably going to be
law. Our staff has given us some direction that we could
accommodate this zoning or this use within the C3 process as a
conditional use with limitations, and similar restrictions that apply to
liquor stores and prohibitions being within churches and schools and
the like.
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February 14, 2017
I would -- we -- as we've also learned today, that we can adapt
and adopt and amend ordinances as they go along, and the
implementation of a moratorium on the pretense that we don't know
what it's going to be is not how I would prefer to go.
It's going to be legalized. The electorate -- we are sending a
message to the electorate who voted in favor of this to not necessarily
abide by it on the pretense that we don't know what it's going to be.
Are there going to be conditions that we need to address?
Absolutely. I would prefer that we adopt -- there are 11 municipalities
or counties that have adopted, accepted ordinances to regulate this
industry; 11 so far. I have three on my desk that I've actually looked
at. And I would prefer that we take proactive steps in managing and
regulating this industry rather than a wait-and-see approach that comes
along with a moratorium.
I would rather we focus our energies on working our legislators to
allow for a larger portion of the revenue streams that are inevitably
going to come from these types of facilities. We have true socio needs
here in our community. We all know that close to in excess -- on an
average basis, 247 beds in our jail are occupied by some form of
mental illness or drug addiction.
Incarceration is not rehabilitation. And if we can take a potential
negative for our community and garner the revenue stream and reapply
that revenue stream back for rehabilitation and education for the true
socio needs that are there, I would rather we take those proactive steps
than a wait-and-see approach with a moratorium.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Commissioner Solis.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I like, Commissioner McDaniel, am
generally opposed to moratoriums. I think, however, in this particular
instance, this is new to everyone. This is something that's -- we're in
unchartered territory. And my question was going to be whether six
months was enough given the fact it -- I think that -- the only change to
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February 14, 2017
Mr. Barton's timeline on that is that the rule-making has already begun,
actually.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: The state's already in the process of
promulgating the rules, and that has to be done by June. But what was
of more concern to me was really the legislation that's now pending
which go from one side of the spectrum to the other, where the land
use issues related to the dispensaries would be left to the lowest local
governments. Another one, I think, preempts that to the state.
So we may have a lot to do. We may not have anything to do
depending on how that ultimately is resolved.
So I would be in favor -- I'm in favor of extending that to a year,
because I'm not sure that six months would give us enough time to do
the analysis that we need to do, but I'm not trying to put words in Mr.
Bosi's mouth about how long this will take. But, ultimately, we're not
going to know what we need to do, if anything, until all -- it's resolved
with the legislature and the Department of Health. So I would be in
favor of extending that as well to a year.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. And I believe that that's what
you said, Commissioner Saunders, was up to a year. I like that idea
myself. Somebody said before they want to manage it, and that's true,
but we have to learn what we need to manage before we can manage it,
and we have to have the time to be able to do that.
One of the things we're learning -- I belong to the Florida
Association of Counties; actually, I'm on their board of directors for
the Florida Association of Counties, and one of the things they're
learning are some startling facts about happenings in other states, and
the states weren't prepared at all for the financial impact that is now
getting to them through this because it happens fast, it happens
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February 14, 2017
quickly, which is the same thing as fast, I guess.
And I think we need to put the brakes on, take a little time to
figure out where we are, learn from the other states, learn from the
Florida Association of Counties what's happening so that we can better
manage what we're going to be dealing with here.
And then we need to find out what our legislators in Tallahassee
are going to be proposing for us. We can put together a plan or start
this thing, except we don't even know what they're going to do. So
until we know what they're going to do, it's silly for us to make any
plans. It's, again, the cart before the horse. So I totally agree with
Commissioner Saunders' motion for a year.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you, Madam Chair, and
this is really more of a comment for Commissioner McDaniel.
Not all moratoriums are equal, and maybe we can get your
support for this, because I think it's the right decision. Let me give you
a couple reasons why I think that you should vote for this.
Right now pharmacies are permitted in certain zoning districts in
Collier County. And so I've been getting phone calls and emails from
people from within Collier County and from out of state wanting to
know when they can open up a pharmacy. And so if we got an
application today in a zoning district for a permitted use for a
pharmacy, I'm not sure how we could say no to that application.
Now, if we have a moratorium on pharmacies that are dispensing
medical marijuana, then I think we've carved out an area where we can
say to an applicant, we're going to develop rules for that type of a
pharmacy, and so you're going to have to wait until we do that. So I
think there's a good reason to do this.
One of the concerns a lot of communities have is that if you have
a large number of these dispensaries and they're not profitable, then the
people that have invested in them may wind up selling marijuana out
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February 14, 2017
the back door.
There is evidence that's been provided to the state in terms of the
number of pharmacies required to serve the needs of patients that have
prescriptions for, you know, those types of medical conditions.
The number is somewhere around 50- to 60,000 residents per
pharmacy. So there are some communities that are developing
licensing procedures to license a number of pharmacies to fit the
number of people in their communities.
That's why we need a moratorium, because we don't know,
number one, what the rules are going to be but, number two, we may
very well start getting applications tomorrow for people to open up
medical marijuana pharmacies in areas where they're currently
permitted. So not all moratoriums are the same. I think this is one that
most communities are implementing.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well -- and I would agree with
you, Commissioner Saunders, not all moratoriums are the same. But,
you know, for purposes of the discussion as we're going forward, we're
going to have specificity in the language for the actual ordinance that
we're in fact going to adopt coming up at another time.
So I'm going to go forward with it at this particular stage on
pretense, be aware that this rubs me the wrong way. I'm a proactive
person, and I prefer to be. But -- and I certainly -- you may want to
comment, and that's, you know, our theoretical capacity to provide for
economic viability for these dispensaries and the opportunity for those
dispensaries to be selling out the back door, we're never going to
control that from a government level. I hope you understand that.
The illegal distribution of drugs at large is an entirely different
discussion than what we're, in fact, having here. So just keep it in
mind. It's -- I would rather take proactive steps. I really believe that if
we could work with our legislature -- legislators to garner a larger
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February 14, 2017
portion of the revenues to come back to our community, we have true
socio needs in taking proactive steps to manage those socio needs.
Again, I've said it once, I'll say it many more times, incarceration
is not rehabilitation, and we have dire needs in those regards that this
potential revenue source could be utilized for.
So with that, I'll second or third your motion, and we'll have a
look at it when we vote on it next.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Then, Madam Chair, just to
wrap up. We don't need to have a moratorium in place for 12 months.
If we get the rules from the state, and we understand what we want to
do, we can adopt an ordinance and lift a moratorium at any point in
time.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: That's just the outside limit.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Agreed.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. So we have a motion to enact
a moratorium for 12 months or less, depending on the action of the
state, and we have a second.
All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. Thank you very
much.
Item #11B
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February 14, 2017
RECOMMENDATION TO ACCEPT A REPORT ON THE
OUTREACH AND POLLING EFFORTS THAT CAN BE
PERFORMED QUICKLY TO MEASURE SUPPORT FOR
REAUTHORIZING THE AD VALOREM LEVY FOR
CONTINUED ACQUISITIONS UNDER THE CONSERVATION
COLLIER PROGRAM; REVIEW MILLAGE OPTIONS; AND
PROVIDE GUIDANCE — MOTION TO USE UP TO $17 MILLION
OF MANAGEMENT FUNDS FOR ACQUISITION PURPOSES,
ADDING IT INTO THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE IN JULY,
HOLDING A REFERENDUM IN 2018 TO EXTEND THE
PROGRAM FOR 10 YEARS AND AUTHORIZING THE
NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS — APPROVED
MR. OCHS: Item 11B is a recommendation to accept a report on
the outreach and polling efforts that can be performed quickly to
measure support for reauthorizing the ad valorem levy for continued
acquisitions under the Conservation Collier program.
Your Parks and Recreation Division Director, Barry Williams,
will present.
MR. WILLIAMS: Good morning, Commissioners. Barry
Williams, Parks and Recreation Director.
And, Madam Chair, if you like, I have a short presentation for
you to kind of highlight the item, or if you -- if you'd like --
MR. OCHS: Go ahead.
MR. WILLIAMS: Okay.
Just to start our conversation, we did want to share a photo of
Pepper Ranch. We took a photo a couple of months ago and captured
three panthers coming across the land, so we wanted to share that with
you.
Just in looking at this item, what we brought forward was a
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discussion about possible options and asking the question. And so, as
you're aware within the executive summary, we gave you some
information. The Trust for Public Lands did a short poll before the
item was brought before you recently, and I just wanted to summarize
that for you as you can see on this slide.
Again, 62 percent of the community were supportive of the
question that was asked. And in looking at if there was an increase of
.25 mills, we saw that 26 percent indicated the price made no
difference.
Just to mention again, the TPL poll was commissioned and
funded by local environmental organizations through a Robau call
system that they had. And we do have representatives that were
involved with the poll. Pegeen Hanrahan is here this morning as well,
who could speak to you about that poll if you have specific questions.
But also we wanted to bring forward some options for your
consideration. Certainly, there are other options that you could also
look at. But the three that we identified for your consideration were
these three.
First of all, if you were to decide to start the millage again, you
could accept the data from the current TPL interactive voice response
poll as sufficient to advance an increase October 1st. So that was one
option identified.
The other was an option -- and we did get a proposal from the
Trust for Public Lands to do further polling that would be more
intensive, would be phone calls that would include people, not just
land lines but cell phones and face-to-face interviews, and we did get a
price for such a poll. We do understand that that's an option for you as
well in terms of waiving the procurement process to appoint them.
Again, just to remind you, TPL has been involved in Collier
County for many years. The Fleischmann property that was acquired
for the Naples Zoo and Gordon River Greenway, they were well
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February 14, 2017
involved in that process and helping us with that decision and that
making that move. So certainly well respected in the nation for land
use and acquisition. So those two options are the ones that would
involve TPL.
A third option is kind of a hybrid, and Senator -- senator. Forgive
me, Commissioner Saunders, on thinking of the history here.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think you can refer to him as a
senator.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: That's okay.
MR. WILLIAMS: Commissioner Saunders had brought forward
an item from the Naples Daily News, and it kind of held the hybrid
proposal that looked at, perhaps, a poll that would kind of answer the
question today in terms of whether the public was supportive of
increasing a millage for acquisition/reacquisition, and then at the next
opportunity, which would either be August or November of 2018, to
put the question before the voters with a referendum. So that hybrid
option was one that we wanted also to put forward for your
consideration.
With that, with the options, again, just to give you some sense of
what kind of dollars we're looking at, you can see what a range of
millage increases would produce in terms of acquisition from 7.8 to
19.6.
What we're recommending to the Board is actually asking the
question in terms of what direction you'd like to go with this in terms
of a survey and also a direction regarding possible General Fund
millage options that you'd like to pursue.
The other thing that we wanted to point out is if the decision is
made to obtain additional polling from Trust for Public Lands, to
waive the procurement process for our vendor selection.
And, finally, given where you might want to go with this,
authorize any necessary budget amendments for either the additional
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polling or regarding an FY 18 budget adjustment based on the direction
of the Board.
And so we've given you a menu, I think, of things to consider.
And at this point I'll stop and see what questions you have for me or
perhaps your speakers that are here.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. I'm all for moving forward
with this. I think it's a great idea. TPL took kind of a mini survey, but
I think that they've captured what the community itself wants to do,
and that is just great.
I didn't notice a start date or an end date for all of this stuff,
although I would guess it would start right now and move forward.
But I would love to hear if any of the other commissioners have a
thought about having it for a 10-year period or a five-year period or a
two-year period and also if they feel that we should go to referendum
to get the poll of the people. But I don't want to wait for a referendum
to start the project. I think we should start moving toward that
referendum.
And, again, as I say, no start or end date. We should probably
have that, because one of the things we really received applause for
was that we had an end date and we stopped at the end date. And we
put aside $32 million that are sitting there to take care of that land for
-- well, for as long as we're all going to be around, anyway, and we
have to consider that, too.
As far as amount, I don't know, a quarter mill or whatever
anybody else wants to discuss. What did we have last time, quarter
mill?
MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay. And that seemed to work out
just great. And so, you know, those are my thoughts. Whatever you
guys think is a good idea is fine with me.
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February 14, 2017
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: My position really hasn't changed
because, you know, the program started with a referendum. We asked
the voters if they wanted to -- were willing to increase their millage
rate for this purpose. It was extended by referendum. You know, if
there's anything we've learned, I think, in the last year, polls maybe
don't mean as much as we think they mean.
And, ultimately, to gauge the public's interest in this -- which,
again, I think it's a wonderful program. It's purchased some great
property for preservation. The photo of Pepper Ranch and the panthers
was great to see.
But I think this is an optional thing that we need to present to the
voters. And, yes, I think the information we have would show that the
voters are interested in it.
The hybrid is really the same thing, in my opinion. And if we're
going to use funds from the maintenance fund to purchase property but
then if the voters don't approve it, then we'll have to pay it back either
by increasing the millage or cutting funding from some other program
that we need.
I mean, it's -- for me, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I
understand the intent of it. And, again, I think it's a matter not of
whether we should do this; it's how we get there. And I think we need
to present this to the voters. There was one other issue that I wanted to
present, and now I can't remember what it was.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Join my world.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It will come back --
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Yeah. Oh, I know what it was, and
that is that, again -- and I went back and looked at this. The properties
that are on the active acquisition list that's prepared by the CCLAC, the
Conservation Collier Advisory Committee (sic), are the same
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February 14, 2017
properties that have been there from at least 2011, and I think before
then, maybe even back to 2008.
They're the exact same properties. And the properties that are at
the top of the list are not properties that are going to be flying off the
shelf, you know, for development. They're just not.
And so the urgency for doing this without going to the voters, I
think, is -- I mean, we're worried about something that's really not
going to happen, that those particular properties are suddenly going to
be developed in some way. They're just not properties that are ready to
be developed, or -- otherwise they would have been taken off of the
list, because each year the owners of the properties have to respond to
Conservation Collier whether or not they want to continue to offer the
properties for sale.
So these are properties that have been on there, they're going to be
on there, and I just don't see the sense of urgency there to take this
decision away from the voters. If they want to increase their tax
burdens to do this, we should let them say so. Thanks.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Mr. Casalanguida, would you
queue up my presentation.
I sent a one-way communication to the board members last week
with regard to a proposal. I'm diagnosing it as a compromise, but it's
not really a compromise. It's actually a suggestion on a different way
maybe we can effectuate where we want to go with this, still provide
for a referendum vote, and also support the program with current
acquisition as we go.
I am very much in support -- and I'm going to read the
PowerPoint presentation. I would like it to be -- I wanted it to be
presented today so it could be a portion of the public record. But we --
I am a proponent of allowing this to go back out for a referendum vote,
and that's the main pretense here.
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February 14, 2017
We've done a brief analysis of the current program, the $32
million or so that we're -- that we have appropriated in the existing
trust fund and a far more accurate methodology of calculation than
what I had originally ascertained from this 32 million.
We actually have -- if you go back to the prior slide, please. We
actually have funds -- if we do nothing in this particular adventure at
all, we have funds to maintain the current land holdings clear out
through 2099, in excess of 80 years.
I'm proposing, necessarily, that we allow for up to 17 million of
the 32 million existing in the trust to be transferred over to acquisitions
on an as-needed basis. Now, I had no real way of ascertaining what
was going to be bought or when it was going to be bought, so I just
took the worst-case scenario, entire 17 million, drew that out,
necessarily, today, and, with that, applied the same rationale with
regard to inflation, increase in acreage, additional expenses. But we
still, with the 15 million left in the trust fund, have reserves to support
the operational maintenance of Conservation Collier lands through
2054, pushing it out almost 40 years, and allowing for us then to take
care of the acquisitions that are being recommended to us that are on a
more urgent basis, allowing for us to take this to a referendum and
actually do a referendum that would allow to -- allow us, as was done
in the past, to create a bondable instrument at which point on the
election in -- I'm proposing that we do it in November just because we
have a greater turnout on the November elections than August, but
allow us to create a bondable instrument upon which our Finance
Department can calculate a carry cost with regard to that. We would
really be able to have immediate funding for all of the acquisitions and
future maintenance going forward.
On the outside chance that the referendum didn't pass -- although
I truly believe it probably will. There probably is positive sentiment
for this process to go forward -- we would still have ample revenues in
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the trust fund to operate and maintain Conservation Collier and not be
in dire straits or be in jeopardy of running out of money in the future
with regard to that.
Secondarily, we haven't had a shot at the budget yet. This board
has not had a shot at the budget yet. We haven't had a discussion,
opportunities to discuss the actual expenses that are associated with the
Conservation Collier lands. Potential revenue generators that could
come from these -- ownership of these lands and things that we might
do to generate additional revenues.
And, third, and this is an answer to Commissioner Solis'
discussion, one of the things -- and it's not necessarily -- you know,
who knows what the legislature's going to do as things go forward, but
there is legislation being proposed in Tallahassee to preempt activities
such as this that's coming up on the floor here this spring, and which
would move it to a referendum vote irrespective of what we wanted to
do.
So my thoughts are, again, taking proactive steps to manage this,
allowing for acquisitions immediately. The propositions that are today
-- options that we have today don't do any of that. We can't necessarily
initiate the tax until this budget cycle and collect it next budget cycle,
and then taking it to a referendum.
The proposal that I've suggested here allows for acquisitions to be
made immediately and still take it to the referendum, create a bondable
instrument, and fund up everything as needed. That was a mouthful;
all in five pages, by the way. Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. And I'm not sure who was
first, but I'll start on my left.
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: This is one of those things
where -- it would really be nice if we had a unanimous board on an
issue like this, but I don't think that that's going to happen.
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER FIALA: A what, please?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Unanimous.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Unanimous vote would be nice
on a project like this, but I don't think that's going to happen.
And I want to hear from the public, because the public may feel
that Commissioner Solis is correct, that we should do nothing until
there's a referendum; the public may feel that Commissioner McDaniel
is correct, that we should borrow from the management fund, buy
some property now, put it on the ballot in 2018, and then determine
whether that's going to go forward.
What I'm proposing is different. It would require a tax increase
during this budget cycle without a referendum, and I know that that's a
hard thing for elected officials to do. I know it's a hard thing especially
for Republicans to do; we're all Republicans.
But what I'm going to propose is taking Commissioner
McDaniel's suggestion and beginning the process of evaluating new
properties and acquiring properties immediately, borrowing from the
fund that you've pointed out where there's $32 million in it. That
would take care of, perhaps, some issues immediately.
Then, during the budget cycle in July of this year, impose the
quarter mill tax for the two-year period. And we only can do it for one
year at a time, but that would be theoretically for two years, to generate
more funds for more acquisition during that two-year period, and then
put it on the ballot in November of 2018. If it -- if the initiative fails,
which I don't think it would, but if it did fail, that would be the end of
the program. We would still have to provide some additional tax
revenues to repay the Management Fund if those funds were expended.
But that's where I'd like to see us go, because I think that -- I
understand Commissioner Solis' comments concerning properties on
the list have been on the list for a long time. There are other properties
out there, and I think they need to be evaluated immediately and that
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may be more ripe for development. So I don't want to wait two or
three years to begin that process.
I would, if this -- if the Board moves forward with this, I would
want to direct the citizen committee and staff to identify other
properties that are, perhaps, more in the line of development that need
to be preserved, but I think that -- I think waiting is not in the best
interest of the citizens.
I'd like to hear from the public, because if Commissioner
McDaniel's suggestion is one that's preferred, I could go along with
that. If Commissioner Solis' suggestion is preferred, I'm not sure I
could go along with that one, but I'd like to hear.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: A couple things that we haven't
discussed and that came to mind was, number one, as I understand it,
when the program was first approved by referendum, it was a binding
referendum, right, that it was -- it was tied to a bond issue, and the
millage was dedicated to repaying the bond.
And so, correct me if I'm wrong, but that allowed the program to
immediately start functioning and purchasing properties; is that the
history?
MR. OCHS: Almost. Initially it was pay and go, and then a
couple years into it we went out for a second referendum to bond, and
that was voter approved.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Okay. That was voter approved,
okay. Well, I think that's -- and maybe that's what we need to consider
in a referendum is a referendum that's fashioned in such a way that the
program would commence immediately, number one, as opposed to
beginning to collect this additional ad valorem and waiting a couple
years to then begin purchasing property.
I think, again, we're back into six of one, half dozen of the other
unless we do something to allow it to proceed immediately.
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And I understand the interest, again, in moving forward, but using
the funds that have been dedicated to the maintenance -- because the
history of the program was, is that we realize we weren't -- we didn't
have enough money for maintenance. We essentially ran out of
money, because at least the estimates for how much it was going to
cost to maintain the properties was a little lower than maybe it should
have been.
So all this money has been put into the maintenance fund. I just
-- I don't think we need to start taking the maintenance funds to
purchase, because we've seen that happen in other context, and I think
that's just not a good idea.
The other thing is with regard to other properties out there. This
is a voluntary program. The owners of the property are the ones that
have to come forward and offer their properties for sale to
Conservation Collier. This is not the county going out and using its
eminent domain powers or something to find these properties that the
county wants.
So the same owners have essentially been on the list, and there
aren't other owners coming forward at this point, at least -- I mean, I
don't know what other properties have been proposed, but at least the
lists I've seen are essentially the same ones.
So, again, I think we can address the concerns of bringing this
program back in an expedited way, at least the purchasing of the
property in an expedited way, if we looked at a bond issue tied to the
referendum and, again, I just think that's the way we should go.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. From my recollection, one of
the things that we were going to try and do when we first enacted this
was also to buy some urban land that we could keep in preservation so
we would have green space and it wouldn't all be overbuilt. That was
an important aspect of it.
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But we found also that we wanted to protect our future water
sources, you know, along the same lines as what CREW is doing, so
we've been buying property like Red Maple and Winchester Head, but
we've still got a lot of those properties to go in order to finish those
buys.
And they're all -- actually protecting our future water sources is
an extremely important thing, and it's important that we do that soon.
Pepper Ranch was an outstanding buy because it's given
recreational opportunities for families and hunters and so many other
things. I personally feel that I would like to start -- I love the idea
about taking some money out and buying some of the properties that
we can now, and maybe -- and I do agree also with Commissioner
Saunders about starting forward and then -- but yet going to
referendum when it's here.
If we wait to go to referendum until 2018 and that, of course, is
November of 2018, then the program can't even start, or we can't even
start collecting until 2019 because we wouldn't have had it in our
budget.
So I think that that prolongs it a little bit too long. I would like to
see us moving forward with it now. Those are -- that's about all.
I would hope that maybe if we see some opportunities locally in
the urban area where we can still buy a little bit of land so that we can
keep some green space right -- the things that we can all see. We don't
see Winchester Head or the Red Maple --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I do.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, do you? Oh, you get out there.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I drive there all the time.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, well, you're the only one.
So, anyway, I'm hoping that we can buy some urban, too, but
right now I'm in favor of the program and at the quarter mill until we
go to referendum and see what everybody else wants to pay, and that's
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about it, and I'd love to hear our speakers.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah. Commissioner McDaniel, and
then we'll go right to the speakers.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Just a couple of quick
points, if I might.
And, Commissioner Saunders, you brought up a valuable point,
and I want to make it very, very clear. I think this board can
unanimously say that we are all in support of conservation. Not all of
us are in support of taxation without some different avenues.
I think there are a couple of points that need to be brought up. I
did bring up earlier the shots at the budget, but we also have issues
with regard to latent maintenance, deferred maintenance that's been
going on. Our very worthy staff has been dealing with huge amounts
of revenue reductions and deferred maintenance to the tune of some
hundred and 30-odd million dollars.
And our thought processes of increasing taxation with regard to
the purchase of conservation land over and above some other things
that might have a greater priority in some people's world needs to be
taken into consideration, number one.
Number two, Commissioner Solis, you brought up some
reservations with regard to utilizing the funds in the maintenance trust
that we already in, in fact, have.
I had no methodology for ascertaining what was going to be
utilized in the next year and a half before this goes to referendum, so I
took the worst-case scenario, pulled the entire 17 million out like they
went out and spent it tomorrow and we had no longer access to that
money, and that still left us revenue in the maintenance fund through
2054, in excess of 30 years.
So I don't think we're, at this stage of the game, in jeopardy of
running low on those maintenance funds in the next year and a half.
And if, as we all agree and the polling says and everyone out there
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talks, that it does pass by referendum, we can create a binding
referendum that will immediately fund up -- Mr. Isackson can go forth
and calculate the carry cost interimly until the tax can be implemented
by referendum, and there is an expense associated with that carry cost,
and we can go out and do a bond instrument to fund up acquisitions
and perpetual maintenance upon that election.
We don't have to wait until the tax is initiated. There's a carry
cost associated when you're doing that, but we don't have to wait, and
we certainly don't have to impose a tax prior to hearing from the entire
electorate.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Let's hear from our public
speakers, please.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's a good idea.
MR. MILLER: Your first public speaker is Nicole Johnson.
She'll be followed by Ray Christian or, excuse me, Christman.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: How many speakers, Troy?
MR. MILLER: Six.
MS. JOHNSON: Good morning. For the record, Nicole Johnson,
here on behalf of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
And first and foremost, this is a really great place to be. All of
you have discussed how important and how beneficial Conservation
Collier has been. I think the discussion now is towards the mechanism
of how it's reactivated, when it's reactivated, and that really is a very
good place to be. So thank you for all of your positive comments and
support for the program.
I think that really you have a number of options, but it boils down
to two major issues. The first one being referendum or no referendum,
and the Conservancy, as we commented at the last meeting, you know,
we really believe, supported by polling data, that this program is
popular. The voters, the public do want to see it reactivated. And we're
very comfortable with the Commission going forward and starting to
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collect the funding in order to reactivate the program in the '17/'18
fiscal year. We don't believe you need to go to referendum to do that.
So we would ask that you consider that in your deliberations.
The other issue is about the urgency and should we, you know,
move forward with taking some money from the management fund
and starting the program up. Commissioner McDaniel, I had really
thought about doing that, and I think that -- hats off to you. That's a
really creative way to create this jump start to the program, so we very
much appreciate that.
And I think the idea has merit. I don't know if 17 million -- up to
17 million is the right number or not. Certainly the Conservancy
would want to see, in the 2017/2018 budget, money collected in order
to pay that back. We don't want that void in the management fund to
be there for too long.
But I will -- I will say that there are parcels out there, there are
property owners out there that aren't currently in the program that are
very interested in this. I don't think we've had any new applications
over the past, what, three, four years because the program hasn't really
been active, so why would anyone apply?
So I think that's why you take a look at the active acquisition list
-- it's no longer an active list -- and you see the same old properties
there.
The Conservancy was contacted just last week by a broker on
behalf of a property owner on 951 south of 41 to the west of 951. The
property, it's wetlands, it's surrounded by state land. It's just north of
the Conservation Collier parcel at Shell Island Road. I call it the Mult
property. I can't remember the exact name of it.
But when I told that broker that the county was considering
reactivating Conservation Collier, he was thrilled. He wants to
participate.
So I do think there is an urgency. If you do go ahead and take the
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February 14, 2017
management fund to do that, I would recommend that you start paying
it back through the General Fund taxes, and the Conservancy is here to
support and assist as you move forward.
Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Ray Christman. He'll be
followed by Pegeen Hanrahan.
MR. CHRISTMAN: Good morning, Madam Chairman and
Commissioners. I'm Ray Christman. I manage the Trust for Public
Lands Gulf Coast Program, which is responsible for all of our work
from Florida to Texas along the Gulf Coast states. I also happen to be
a resident of Naples, Florida. So I'm here speaking from both a
professional and a personal interest in the matter that we're talking
about.
The first thing I want to say is that my sense not only from the
conversation this morning but the runup to it is that there's much more
consensus and unanimity among the Commission than disagreement,
and we really appreciate your interest and support in finding a way to
renew Conservation Collier. It's been an enormously important
program for a long time in this county, and getting it back up and
running one way or the other is very important to the future of the
county.
The Trust for Public Land, among other things, specializes in
conservation finance ballot measures around the country. We've been
doing this for 20 years. We have done over 500 ballot measure
campaigns where we've done the feasibility analysis, the polling, often
manage the campaign itself. And, interestingly, over 80 percent of
these campaigns have been successful, in rural areas, in urban areas, in
Democrat-leaning areas and Republican-leaning areas; tremendous
cross-sectional support and cross-political support for conservation at
all levels at local and state government.
Just last year in 2016, a very volatile political year, as we know.
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February 14, 2017
There were 104 ballot measures around the country; over 80 percent
passed. We were involved with over half of them. Ten billion dollars
was raised for conservation.
So we're comfortable that if and when a referendum issue comes
before the voters of Collier County for Conservation Collier it will be
renewed again.
And we understand why you folks feel that there may be need to
get that sort of feedback from citizens, and if there's a way in which we
can be involved to help support that campaign we, of course, will be
interested in doing that.
Having said that, if there is any way in which funding for
Conservation Collier can be jump started before November of 2018,
we would very much support that as well.
A number of good ideas have been advanced this morning. I
would hope that there would be way to find out of that a compromise
among the Commission for a way to have funding begin to flow sooner
rather than later. I don't think that would be antithetical to the spirit of
having a referendum in 2018, and we would certainly support that as
well.
Thank you very much.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Pegeen Hanrahan. She'll be
followed by Nancy Payton.
MS. HANRAHAN: Good morning, Chair Taylor, members of
the County Commission. I'm Pegeen Hanrahan. I'm with the Trust for
Public Land as well. And since my boss just spoke, I'll be very brief.
I did want to just put back before you a couple of things with
respect to the polling and, if you choose to move forward to a
referendum, the process that we always recommend that leads to those
great results that Mr. Christman just spoke about.
As you have in your backup, we have submitted a proposal that
would contemplate the county participating in the polling, being the
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February 14, 2017
lead on the polling. We are more than happy to help you with that.
We would discourage, if you choose to go to ballot in November of
2018, from doing that now because the poll is just a snapshot in time.
And so we would say, if you wish to do that, put it off into probably
this time next year. I mean, you have some seasonality to your voters,
and so we'd need to talk to you-all about what the exact right time is,
but we would discourage you from spending that money at this time
because it will not be any good by next year when we need that data.
So if you wish to do that, we're more than happy to help you. If
you would rather it be raised privately, we often do that for local
governments, and then we just share a summary, as we did with our
partners here on the very brief poll in January.
The last thing I'll just mention is that when we work with local
governments, we normally request what's called a technical assistance
letter. It's sort of a thing in which you formally say we want you doing
this work for us, we understand you're doing it. It isn't a contract. It's
just an acknowledgment for our purposes so that we aren't considered
to be lobbying you so much as providing information to you. And so if
you wish our assistance, we will provide that to Mr. Ochs and have it.
It needs to be signed by the chair, so it could come through on a
consent agenda if you like.
And I'll just close by saying I think this is -- I've worked on 15
successful ballot measures in Florida related to conservation and parks.
Actually 17; 15 have passed. And so I sit in a lot of these meetings.
I've also approved -- or seen a lot of local governments decide not to
do it. So we've come forward and said, you know, this isn't the right
time, your public doesn't support it, we should put it off or whatever.
I served in local government as an elected official. This is an
extraordinary board. I'm very impressed. I've met each of you and
watched your interaction, watched how you interact with your public.
I just want to commend you for the quality of service that you're
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providing to your citizens. It's extremely impressive.
Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Nancy Payton. She'll be
followed by Mike Wagner.
MS. PAYTON: Good morning. Nancy Payton with the Florida
Wildlife Federation.
Leo, you're my friend, but I have to disagree with you about what
happened in 2002 and 2006. The original ballot in 2002 was for a
comprehensive program, and bonding was one of the options coming
out of that question.
County staff, county commissioners chose to only look at that
2002 question for bonding, bonding only. And so that's why we went
back in 2006 to get reassurances that what we did in 2002 really was a
10-year program for taxing. So it was only bonding as part of a
comprehensive program in 2002.
I've thought a lot about what we're discussing today, and I think,
Commissioner Saunders, we like your idea the best. We get to start the
program now, immediately, borrowing from the Maintenance Fund.
2017 we can impose the tax, and we'll have that money coming in.
And if you went for -- we're not necessarily totally embracing the
referendum -- it's exhausting to think about that -- that it does have
some options that we have to think about. It does provide the
opportunity to bond, it brings certainty to the program --
Commissioner Fiala, you talked about a time frame -- and it also
allows us to possibly tweak the program.
So there are some upsides to a referendum. But our mission today
is to share with you that we would like the program -- we're asking that
the program -- we want the program to start immediately, and
Commissioner Saunders has put together a proposal that does that.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
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February 14, 2017
MR. MILLER: Your final -- or your next speaker, rather, is Mike
Wagner. He'll be followed by Brad Cornell.
MR. WAGNER: Hi. My name is Mike Wagner, and I'm just a
citizen of Collier County.
My wife and I live in a condo in Naples Sandpiper Bay Club.
And what motivated me to come today -- I was interested in
conservation. We're members of the Conservancy and we're members
of the Botanical Garden, but what really motivated me is it's getting
close to home, because there's a 25-acre wetlands property right next to
Naples Sandpiper Bay Club that has been protected for 30 years, since
the condos were originally built. But we found that the owner has
accepted an option to purchase it from a developer.
And I don't know if the Board is ever going to give approval to
have this area developed, but it's a beautiful wetland, and we're all
afraid that the economic issues are going to overcome the conservation
issues. So please don't let us down. But, anyway, I don't know how
that's all going to work out.
The owner has told us that he did approach the county about
acquiring that piece of property. The property -- it's right on the border
between the City of Naples and the county. And I just think it's a
perfect place to have some protected land. It's all mangrove. And I
know there's a lot of protection on it, but we're just afraid that
something could happen.
So, anyway, I'm impressed by the speakers that have been here
and talked about the support of the program. I'm 100 percent in
support of this program.
And I'm wearing my Lambeau Fields shirt today on purpose
because, if you don't know the story of the Packers, there was a time
when the Packers almost didn't make it because of apathy. And what
happened was somebody came up with a creative idea, well, let's sell
shares of stock in the Packers. Not that the -- not that the people were
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February 14, 2017
going to own, actually have value in the Packers, but just to be able to
call themselves owners of the Packers.
Well, now, being one of them, there's almost 300,000 owners of
the Packers. And my thought is that I would love to someday be able
to be an owner of Conservation Collier land. And even if it's just a
certificate that I can hang on my wall to say that I own part of this
protected land -- but I think there would be a lot of interest.
In fact, if you would take a chance and issue, say, 10,000 shares
of this type of stock at $500 apiece, I'd like to be the first owner.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Wow.
MR. WAGNER: So thank you for your time. And I appreciate
all the effort that you-all make.
MR. MILLER: Your fmal speaker on this matter is Brad Cornell.
MR. CORNELL: Good morning, Commissioners. I'm Brad
Cornell. I'm here on behalf of Audubon of the Western Everglades.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you.
Listening to the last speaker and then listening to all of you, this
whole subject inspires a lot of creativity and innovations.
So I think that that's impressive all around the room. And I'm
very thankful for your unanimous support of moving forward.
However we get there, I clearly see that you-all are dedicated to this
program and that you want to see it start. So that's great. That's a great
starting point.
The first thing I want to say is that Audubon of the Western
Everglades supports whatever way we can get this program going as
quickly as possible.
We want to look at -- there is urgency to address that issue, and
we want to look at the options like Commissioner McDaniel and
Commissioner Saunders ideas of using some management money to
start right away, immediately, now. That theme, I think, needs to be
part of your serious consideration. I think that has a lot of merit.
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The issue of going to referendum, I've been involved in a lot of
referenda here local in Southwest Florida, and it is daunting, but
they've all been successful. I know the people will support us. I
recognize the desire to go and ask them. I'm not afraid of that, but I
think that the issue today is whether we're going to start right away.
And I think that, I hope, will be a very positive response from you
today.
On that issue of vulnerability and immediate need, I want to point
out that uplands are very vulnerable wherever they are in the county.
And like Big Hammock Island, which is on the list, there's some
beautiful uplands in there. You have -- as Commissioner Fiala pointed
out, you have a couple of multi-parcel projects in the Golden Gate
Estates that you started, but you didn't finish them. We need to finish
those projects. Those are very vulnerable to development. They've
been sliced up and diced. They have roads; they have canals. We
need to buy those and protect those: Winchester Head and Red Maple
Swamp.
CREW is another one. We cannot wait to finish that CREW
project. This is a big priority in Lee County. You may be reading the
paper about Edison Farms; big, big deal. Not insignificant at all, and
mutual benefit.
So I guess Audubon of the Western Everglades' view is that as
long as Collier County continues to grow, we're adding population,
we're continuing to develop, we also need to be investing in our green
infrastructure. That goes hand in hand.
We've kind of lost some time since 2013. Now that we're starting
to grow again, we need to restart this program. We can't wait. This is
Collier County's biggest, best idea. Let's get back to it.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
I don't remember. Whoa, we've got lots of folks wanting to
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speak. I'm not sure who's first.
Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Commissioner Saunders was.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: His light was on first.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have no problem deferring.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. We're going to defer to
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No. I just had a couple of
points.
Nicole asked a question of me earlier. There was no real path for
me when I traveled to come up with the 17- to attribute over to
acquisitions. It was leaving a number that we could all latch onto and
me doing the math in my head while I was sitting up here today talking
about how long those funds were, in fact, going to last. So there wasn't
really a path.
But I just want to make it very clear that the only way I could
actually -- we could actually ascertain how long the 15 million left in
the trust fund was going to last was assuming that the entire 17- was
moved out immediately. It's not going to be moved out immediately.
There are prioritizations. There are acquisitions that are going to be
forthcoming. So that was just one point, Nicole, that you brought up.
And it really wasn't a -- and then, secondarily, I just would like to
compliment the gentleman with the Packers shirt. Sony about your
luck.
But that idea, you know, I think today we have actually heard and
discussed a lot of innovative ideas as to how to get here from here
(sic), and I hadn't really conceptualized the idea of a voluntary sale of
stock in Conservation Collier. That's a really -- that's a really nifty idea.
I hadn't thought of that along those lines, so thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Commissioner Saunders?
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Madam Chair, we've not heard
from you in terms, I think, of--
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. You've been rather
quiet, Madam Chair.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I don't want to steal your
thunder or anything. I'm prepared to make a motion. And we'll
remind the Board the obvious. I think everybody knows this. If we
restart this program the way some of us are talking about restarting it,
there are going to be multiple times we're going to be voting. If we
vote today to restart this program, when the budget comes before us in
July, we're going to have to vote on the budget, which would have this
in it. So there are going to be multiple votes down the road.
I do think that it's important that we have a referendum in 2018
moving the program forward beyond that date. But I'd like, again, to
see us start this.
So I'm going to make a motion just to see if there's support for it
and go from there. I'd like to take Bill McDaniel's, Commissioner
McDaniel's concept of using management funds -- I'm going to change
your proposal, but I'm going to use the thought because I think it was
an excellent idea -- use up to 17 million, or half of those funds, now for
acquisition if there's something on the line that needs to be acquired
fairly quickly, we'll have that fund available.
In July of this year, we would, again, vote to impose the .25 mills
for the 2017/2018 tax year, and that money could be, again, used for
acquisition or for repaying that Management Fund, but that
Management Fund would ultimately have to be repaid.
Again, in the 2018/2019 budget cycle, again, we would vote to
impose the tax in that budget year, and then in 2018 have a referendum
as to whether or not we want to extend the program for an additional
10 years. That referendum question would be something we would
have to design down the road whether we want that to be bonding,
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whether we want it to be something that would permit bonding -- when
I said bonding, in terms of whether it's binding on us as elected
officials or whether we want to have a bond issue for going forward.
So let me say what the motion is then; that we use some of the
management funds now for acquisition purposes and that we take the
steps of putting this in our line-item budget beginning this year for the
next two years and then a referendum in 2018.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I'll second it if we can say, instead of
some of the money from the funds, if you give a figure, the 17 million.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We'll use the 17 million.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Up to.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Up to.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Up to 17 million. I'll second that
then.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I have a question of our County
Attorney. I don't think we can bind a referendum vote if it's not
bonded; is that correct? We can't say -- and because -- well, I'm going
to defer to you, sir.
MR. KLATZKOW: It's a straw ballot. I mean, the binding effect
is one that's a matter of ethic, I suppose, amongst yourselves saying we
agree to be bound by this but, from a legal standpoint, no, you are not
bound by it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Correct. So commission changes, new
commission, it all changes. We're back at square one. So the only way
that we can guarantee a time frame is to bond.
MR. KLATZKOW: You never guarantee it. What you would do
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Even bonding it?
MR. KLATZKOW: Okay. You bond it, but the whole point of
the bond is to pay off the bond. A future board can always modify this
program, terminate this program, increase this program, whatever they
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want to do, all right. I mean, you cannot bind a future board, just like a
past board does not bind you.
You know, you can deal with next year's budget and spend the
money. And Commissioner McDaniel's thought process of taking the
$17 million and purchasing property, that you can do now. You can
not say to a board a year from now or five years from now or 10 years
from now this is what you're going to do.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you.
All right. We have a motion on the floor.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, just if Commissioner Saunders
would be good enough to include and authorize any appropriate budget
amendments to set up the funds for the transfers.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And my second.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Motion on the floor and the
second. Are we clear on the motion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Four-one.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Three-two.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Three-two. I didn't hear you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We said "aye" at the same
time.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. All right. Three-two.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And as a point of discussion,
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the only issue I have with the motion is adding it into our next budget
cycle process, so just as point of clarification.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Thank you very much.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, that takes us to Item 11C.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Can I just ask a question of the
County Attorney. When anybody sends out something, a one-way
communication, they can let everybody know who it's from, can't
they?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I did. Well, you know, Sue
might not have done it. It was our first time.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, okay, good. I just want to make
sure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: That's okay, though, right?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It wasn't done intentionally.
That was our first --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You were fine.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okey-doke. Okay.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No problem. We got to read it
anyway. That's not a problem. Just clarifying.
Item #11C
RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD CONTRACT NUMBER 16-
6622, BIG CORKSCREW ISLAND REGIONAL PARK DESIGN
SERVICES, TO Q. GRADY MINOR AND ASSOCIATES, P.A.,
FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES IN THE
AMOUNT OF $3,631,979, AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN
TO EXECUTE THE ATTACHED CONTRACT — APPROVED
MR. OCHS: Item 11C is a recommendation to award a contract
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for the Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park Design Services to Q.
Grady Minor & Associates for professional engineering services in the
amount of$3,631,979.
Barry Williams, your Parks and Recreation Division Director,
will make a brief presentation.
MR. WILLIAMS: Commissioners, good morning. Barry
Williams, for the record, Parks and Recreation Director.
Commissioners, this item is to -- a recommendation to award
Contract No. 16-6622 for Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park Design
Services to Q. Grady Minor & Associates for $3,631,979.
And just to give you a quick overview of this project, this is one
that's been certainly on our radar for the last couple of years. A lot of
public input. The master plan was approved by the Board in February,
and we brought to you in October an approval of Q. Grady Minor to
negotiate a contract.
As part of this contract, we're looking at a phased approach for
this park. And I've put on the visualizer just the two phases that we
have. And just to share with you, we're looking at the initial phase,
this area here to be the first phase, and it includes final design plans,
specifications, and post-design services, but it also includes some of
our stormwater management features and initial design for our spatial
elements on Phase 2.
And just to kind of go over some of those with you, we are
looking at, as part of our Phase 1, those amenities for our park,
community center aquatic facility, amphitheater, outdoor
movie-watching lawn, multi-purpose fields, pathways and trails,
pavilions, shelters, dog park, bike racks, concessions. And we don't go
anywhere in the Parks and Rec Division unless we have pickleball.
We include those as well. So those are the items that we're looking at.
I just wanted to share with you just an overview of our operating
budget, what we're anticipating. A couple of points to make, you
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know, the one point that we do anticipate user fees a little shy of a
million dollars a year from this facility based on the current fee policy
that we have. And so you see the net operating effect for the park
when it's in full operation.
We're anticipating 17 FTEs that we'll need to hire to manage the
park. Recreation staff and maintenance staff primarily are the ones
that we're looking at that would be at that park location. So that gives
you kind of an overview of what the operating budget will be when we
do have this park in operation.
Other considerations; I just want to point out a couple things in
the contract that we have. You know, again, the community has been
well invested in this park. We've had numerous public meetings at the
University Extension Office for the residents of the area, and we want
to continue to do that, so we've included continued stakeholder
meetings with the public at 30, 60, and 90 percent design.
We also -- as you know, this park is embedded with a lot of other
different projects in and around the property and, certainly, we'll be in
close coordination with those, including roadway connection between
Oil Well and Immokalee Road.
Our current estimate for total construction of Phase 1 and Phase 2
is estimated at $63 million. It will be the shining star of your park
system. It will be the biggest park that we have once it's built, on par
with North Collier Regional Park.
A couple other things I wanted to share with you is just a sense of
time frames. Our project manager's here today, and she very much
wants me to let you know that, certainly, time frames are things that
we put out in terms of expectations. Permitting can change that, and
there is extensive permitting with this project.
But with that said, we are looking at a timeline that begins with
this contract being let this spring, design completed spring/summer of
2019, and we're looking at construction to begin fall/winter of 2019.
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February 14, 2017
With that, I did want to share with you just some of the
considerations for funding for the project. I'll point to this particular
cell. We currently have 14 million on hand for the project, and we're
estimating every year an increase of$4 million in impact fees. So as a
pay as you go, you know, you're looking at your first phase at $31
million. With that, you've got 14 in the bank. You're going to spend
3.6. That's going to leave you 10.4 as you increase each year $4
million.
When you get ready to construct, I wanted to point you to the last
phase, the amount to borrow. If you want to build the whole thing, the
whole first phase, we'll need an additional 12.6 million on top of what
we anticipate that we have in the bank and we'll accumulate with
impact fees. So we'll be talking to you at that point about that
possibility in terms of if you want to go out to get that money in order
to build that initial phase.
Again, as you go through the project and you can kind of see
having that 31 million, if you go to Phase 2, we anticipate in Fiscal
Year '21 another decision point in terms of finishing that project. You
would need an additional $27 million based on the amount of money
we anticipate having at that time in order to complete Phase 2 of the
project. So those are two decision points that we'll bring back to you at
those times.
But with that said, what we're asking is for you to approve
Contract No. 16-6622 to Q. Grady Minor & Associates for the
permitting design at Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park and to
execute their contract.
So with that, I'll stop and see if you have questions.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'd like to make a motion that
we approve the contract as submitted.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Second.
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February 14, 2017
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah. Will you be able to guarantee
that this one will move faster than my swimming pool over at the
Eagle Lakes Community Park who just sits there and won't even start
to be built until next year yet even though the money's been there and
the projects have been approved? I mean, I've suffered through all of
that, and it's very, very perplexing. I don't want to see them have to
suffer through that.
MR. WILLIAMS: Well, we'll work very closely with Facilities
Management to expedite the project, yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Any other discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: There's a motion on the floor and a
second. All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. Thank you very
much.
MR. WILLIAMS: Thank you.
Item #11D
RESOLUTION 2017-20: A RESOLUTION TO HOLD A PUBLIC
HEARING TO CONSIDER VACATING AN UNIMPROVED 30-
FOOT WIDE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY DESCRIBED AS
"AVENUE B" AND A PORTION OF AN UNIMPROVED 30-FOOT
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February 14, 2017
WIDE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY DESCRIBED AS "FIRST
STREET," ACCORDING TO THE COL-LEE-CO TERRACE
SUBDIVISION PLAT, AS RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 1, PAGE
32 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF COLLIER COUNTY,
FLORIDA. THE SUBJECT PROPERTY IS LOCATED ON THE
SOUTH SIDE OF U.S. 41 BETWEEN FREDERICK STREET AND
PALM STREET IN SECTION 11, TOWNSHIP 50 SOUTH, RANGE
25 EAST, COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA — ADOPTED
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, Item 11D was moved from your
consent agenda. It was previously Item 16A8. This was an item that
had been continued from your January 10th BCC meeting. It's a
recommendation to adopt a resolution to hold a public hearing to
consider vacating an unimproved 30-foot-wide public right-of-way
described as Avenue B and a portion of an unimproved 30-foot-wide
public right-of-way described as First Street according to the
Collier-Lee-Co Terrace Subdivision Plat, and Commissioner Fiala
moved this item forward to the regular agenda.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah. And I just felt that I would
hate to do this right now. When we know that it has to be advertised
for the rest of the project, why not advertise them together so that
they're all on the same advertisement? I just --
MR. OCHS: That is the plan, ma'am. Both this item and -- the
other one's already gone through your Plan Commission and scheduled
for your March 28th meeting.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: So then this one isn't?
MR. OCHS: Yes. This one is also scheduled for your meeting of
March 28th, but it needs to be publicly advertised. That's what we're
requesting.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I understand that. Why aren't you
publicly advertising both of them at the same time?
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, the problem was is it was
because of my mistake. I made a mistake. When I initially -- when I
looked at this, my rationale of that particular item on a former agenda
item -- agenda we had, I looked at it and I said, why in the world are
we advertising this when, to me, it became almost a smoke signal, you
know, sent up to the developer, if we vote for this and we vote for an
advertisement to decide whether or not we're going to vacate a
right-of-way, then there's going to be a vote. And I just don't think
that's right. Why don't we just forget about it and vote for it after we
hear the item.
And Mr. Yovanovich called me up and said, there's no way, as a
developer, that I want to hear the question about the RaceTrac at Palm
Street separately from this vacation, he said, because two weeks can be
an eternity for a developer. All that would have to happen is the
development would be approved, let's say, but we don't know whether
the vacation is going to be approved, and then two weeks later
someone changed their mind, and it's dead in the water. So for me it
was a sense of fairness, and I think he was quite correct in that, to
allow this to be advertised in the process.
In the meantime what happened was, because of my mistake --
and it was my mistake, and I do apologize -- the schedule got all sort of
topsy-turvy. But the intention is to hear the item of the RaceTrac with
the two plans and the vacation on the same -- at the same meeting.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay. So do they not advertise them
at the same time to be on the same meeting?
MR. OCHS: No, ma'am, and Mike's going to explain the
distinction.
MR. BOSI: Mike Bosi, Planning and Zoning Director.
Both of these items will be heard at the same time. The intention
is that date to be March 28th. The vacation process has a little unique
circumstance about the due process and how we go about advertising
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for the vacation. We have to make a request to the Board of County
Commissioners to provide for that advertising.
The separation, we do not have to ask the Board for the
permission for advertising. We just go out and advertise. So they'll be
advertised at the same time for the same date. It's just the vacation
process has a little bit different mechanism or nuance towards how we
get to the advertising.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay, fine. Thank you very much
for explaining, so I make a motion to approve.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Second.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: All in favor?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: (Absent.)
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I love her. She's got my back.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No. I'm just -- I'm sorry. How
embarrassing. I'm blushing.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, not at all.
Item #11E
RECOMMENDATION TO DECLINE AN OFFER TO PURCHASE
THE BANK OF THE EVERGLADES BUILDING FOR HISTORIC
PRESERVATION AND OTHER PUBLIC USES — MOTION TO
REJECT BID AND HAVE STAFF LOOK INTO THE VALIDITY
OF THE PROPERTY AND COST FOR
MAINTENANCE /REFURBISHING — APPROVED
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February 14, 2017
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, that takes us to Item 11E, which
was previously Item 16D2 on your consent agenda. This is a
recommendation to decline an offer to purchase the Bank of the
Everglades building for historic preservation and other public uses.
Commissioner McDaniel brought this -- oh, I'm sorry. He just
stepped out.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do we have a photograph of this
building? No?
MR. CARNELL: Not with me, ma'am, no.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I've been in it. They had made it
into a bed and breakfast, and it was really cute in there, and then they
had this big safe that's in there from years and years back.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And they had -- they had served
meals in there. If you were staying at the bed and breakfast, you could
have a little lunch in there or breakfast or something. It was really
cute.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I'm back now. Sony about
that.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I was just helping you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Mr. Bosi got done quicker
when he was elaborating on the prior subject than what I was planning,
so...
And I just -- I saw this come through on the consent agenda, and
I'm not necessarily in favor of or accepting the offer that is put forth. I
just wanted to know if there was a need for us to have discussion to
further move this project forward and actually ascertain whether it is,
in fact, of historic value to our community.
Have we, in the past, done these types of purchases to preserve
and protect historic facilities? And just because the gentleman that
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owns it has offered us -- offered it to us for sale, is it something that's
worthy of further consideration?
MR. CARNELL: Chair, let me see if I can address that. Steve
Carrell, your Public Services Department Head.
To answer your first question, Commissioner McDaniel, yes, the
county museum system has purchased properties before with historic
value, and that's really how we've grown our system beyond the main
museum. Really, the other satellite locations are all former historic
sites purchased and acclimated and brought into the museum system.
If I could, just to give everybody, all five of you, just a full
understanding of where we are at the moment on this, this is an
unsolicited offer. And at staffs first take on this, we are being offered
property that's right across the street from one of our other locations,
the Museum of the Everglades. And that is a location that we procured
several years ago and renovated and turned into an historic interpretive
site.
And so when we look across the street to this building, we don't
necessarily see the need. It's not -- it doesn't fit into any of our current
plans for development or growth of the museum system. It's an old --
and the building obviously being nearly 100 years old, it's going to
have some challenges, need of renovation, probably fairly costly
renovation.
And if you saw in the executive summary, Ms. Townsend set
forth a whole series of due diligence steps we'd have to take to do it.
Now, that said, we work for you-all at the pleasure of the Board,
and Commissioner McDaniel is raising a legitimate question here. If
you would like staff to take the next step and look at -- and do more
diligence on this, we've got several things that we have to go through
in terms of-- including environmental assessment, structural
assessment of the building, really trying to find out if there's interest in
the community.
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February 14, 2017
So far we have not had a great deal of expression from the
community in pursuing this property, but we can take that a step
further. We can get appraisals, we can take a look at what we'd really
be looking at for cost.
But the thing I'll tell you is, even if the owner gave us the
building, it's going to be expensive to renovate and it's going to be
expensive to operate. And so that's kind of the reality staring at us, you
know, from a distance here as we look at this.
But we're open to direction. If the Board would like us to take the
next step and do some more diligence on this and come back to you
with a more clear cost picture and also give you a sense of what the
potential benefits of owning the building are, we can certainly do that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, it's your item.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Commissioner Fiala, your light
was on first.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah, but first I'd like to hear the
public speaker.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do we have a public speaker?
MR. MILLER: Yes, ma'am. We have one registered speaker,
Ellen Chadwell.
MS. CHADWELL: Good morning, Board of County
Commissioners. It's been a while since I've been back in this room, so
excuse me if I'm a little nervous.
But I'm here -- my name is Ellen Chadwell. I represent Robert
Flick. He -- it is -- Commissioner McDaniel and Commissioner Fiala,
you're correct, it's a unique and interesting building, and he does have a
desire to work with the county and see that it's preserved.
It has some unique history. I'm not prepared to delve into that
here for you this morning, but we would be happy to provide you that
information. It has been registered with the National Registry, and
there's some interesting stories to be told. I think Barron Collier stayed
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overnight there a time or two and also I believe Mr. Flagler was a
resident at one point, or occupant, I should say.
We've indicated a range in our offer just because the last time we
spoke with Mr. -- the museum director was a number of years ago, and
that was a value that they had estimated informally in-house.
I can tell you today that Mr. Flick is willing to work with the
county and in every -- to every extent possible if you would like to
investigate this, and I would encourage you to do -- take some more
preliminary steps because right now you have very little information
before you in terms of whether it's worth considering or not.
So we would -- I'm not sure that the entire process that's been laid
out to you by staff is necessary in order for you to have some more
preliminary information, but I would encourage you to please direct
staff to look into it further. I think it's very worthy of this county's
consideration. And if you have any questions, I'll do my best to
answer those currently, and certainly we'll be happy to provide the
Commission any additional information moving forward that we can.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. I'll turn it over to
Commissioner McDaniel, because you've pulled it off. But first, Ellen,
it's so nice to see you back. Ellen used to be one of our attorneys
upstairs in the County Attorney's Office. Good to see you.
MS. CHADWELL: It's good to see you, too.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And before I even relinquish my
time -- but I'll come back to it a little later -- we've seen so many
historic places in our community being lost, and it just pains me to see
something like this also, I don't know, used -- I would hate to see it
torn down or something. I would like to see it preserved. I don't
necessarily want to spend that much money, but especially
understanding that it's going to cost us so much to revitalize, and at the
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same time, you've got a -- down in Everglades City, you've got a core
of volunteers there who will carefully and lovingly protect the place
and do what they can to help. They don't have much money, but they
have the time. And so possibly they could be a help to us if we
consider that. So, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, with that, I'd like to make
a motion that we direct staff to do a further investigation as to the
validity of this particular property. I don't think we need to go through
the outline that Amanda shared with us as far as the due diligence go.
A limited due diligence process, I think, would be a little more
fortuitous at this particular stage just to ascertain the cost associated
with the purchase and upgrades and things that we need to do. I don't
think that that would be -- and if we need to actually reject the offer
that was put forward to us as a portion of that motion, reject it until
such time as we actually ascertain the purchase price and such, then
that's part of my motion as well.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So what's your motion?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I don't know.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's what I was --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll second.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Commissioner Saunders
seconded it.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Whatever it is.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'll try to reiterate. The motion
is to -- in order of consequence here, reject the offer that's been
proposed to us but then direct staff to go do a limited amount of due
diligence to ascertain the acquisition price and associated expenses
with the maintenance.
CHAIRMAN STRAIN: And there's a second on the floor. All
those in favor?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those -- oh, did you want to speak?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I hit my light.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't pay attention.
Excuse me. So there's a motion on the floor, but let's hold this vote if
we may do that. May we do that? Okay.
Commissioner Solis, sorry.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It's okay. I hit it right as you were
starting.
If this really doesn't fit within the strategic plan or whatever the
plan is for the museums, I'm just not sure if-- why we would want to
take up the staffs time to do -- to do, you know, any kind of due
diligence. To have two museums across the street from each other just
seems to me to be duplicative, you know, and I -- I would love to
preserve some of the historic properties to the extent we can, but they
have to serve a purpose.
And so I would be in favor of rejecting the offer that was made,
but I don't know that if staff doesn't feel comfortable that it fits within
what their mission is for the museums in Collier County that we need
to go any further with it.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: As a point of-- you want me to
hit my button again?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do you want to talk us out of it?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. I think we should vote.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: All right.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. We have a motion on the
floor and a second. All those in favor of Commissioner McDaniel's
motion.
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. 4-1. I didn't want to repeat
it. I wasn't sure --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I was going to say, I was asked
to repeat it and had difficulty.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I know what the intent was.
Item #7
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE
CURRENT OR FUTURE AGENDA
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, that takes us to Item 7, public
comments on general topics not on the current or future agenda.
Mr. Miller, any --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do we have any?
MR. OCHS: -- public comments?
MR. MILLER: I have none, sir.
Item #15
STAFF AND COMMISSION GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
MR. OCHS: Very good.
Commissioners, that takes you to Item 15 on your agenda, staff
and commission general communications.
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February 14, 2017
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We'll start with Commissioner
Saunders.
MR. OCHS: Ma'am?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I had none.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I would like to comment on
something that Commissioner McDaniel said, and he's brought it up
several times, and I think it's very, very important, and I'm going to
bring forward a few things that I'd like the Commission to consider,
and that is with regard to what we're doing social-services-wise. I
think it's -- I agree with Commissioner McDaniel that our jail is not the
place for, hopefully, helping people with certain mental health issues
or addiction issues.
I took a tour of the David Lawrence Center and have seen for
myself the epidemic that is even happening here in Collier County with
regard to the opioid addiction. I think it's something that we as a
commission need to look at.
And there's different components to it, and what I'm going to try
to do is bring forward a presentation related to how the different
aspects of the community are working together. One -- I don't know if
anybody's familiar with the drug court. The drug court is -- Judge
Martin is doing an amazing thing based solely on them volunteering
their time. Between Judge Martin, the prosecutor's office, the public
defenders, the Sheriffs Department, and David Lawrence, they are
doing some wonderful things to keep people that are really not
criminals out of the criminal justice system. They're people that need
help. They're people that have addiction issues.
And also there are things going on that I think we need to think of
as well. For example, the Sheriffs Department has done some training
with the David Lawrence Center to deal with disturbances that maybe
aren't -- are more of a mental health issue than a criminal issue and
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dealing with them in a different way.
That is all, I think -- and I feel strongly about this. If we continue
to support that kind of interaction with the different agencies in the
community, in the long run, will save us a lot of money as a county
because we will be spending our -- it is much less expensive to deal
with somebody through the drug court and kind of get them out of the
criminal justice system than to incarcerate them, and that doesn't help
them. And they come out with the same issues.
So I think it's a very important issue. It's an issue that's important
to me and, I take it, for Commissioner McDaniel as well.
So I'm going to bring forward some proposals and hopefully get a
presentation to the Commission not only of these different pieces
independently -- because it's hard to really gauge what's going on, I
think, in this overall area without having it all presented together to see
how it's all working together and how we can, one, do what we need to
do for the community but also hopefully save money for the
community in how we deal with these issues.
Thanks.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's it? Thank you.
Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes, only one. I was just
wondering. I know we have the moratorium on the golf courses, what
is it, I think it ends April 11th, right, or something like that?
I was just wondering if we're actually -- we, as a county, are we
considering buying a golf course to make into a municipal golf course
or a public golf course?
MR. OCHS: Yes. Well, we're not considering buying it, but
what we're doing is responding to previous board direction to conduct
a feasibility analysis, and that will be coming back to you next month
at the same time that you're hearing, I think, your golf course
conversion LDC amendments. They're not totally related, but they're
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February 14, 2017
associated. So we'll have that analysis for you next month.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah. I know two communities,
Golden Gate, especially, but then also Riviera, are both very concerned
about their golf courses, and I was just wondering what we were doing.
But if-- you know, maybe somebody can give me a progress report
just --
MR. OCHS: Yeah. We'll have a full executive summary to the
Board.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Great. Okay. All right. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's it?
Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Nothing other than to thank
Commissioner Solis for listening. Those are really important issues to
me, and I've been recognizing the need for us to -- for our community
to be accepting the realities that are associated with mental illness and
drug addiction within our community. And I've said for many, many
years, you know, rehabilitation not oftentimes the case with
incarceration. And as we're -- I'm happy to hear that you're of like
mind.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Well, I have a few things. I
guess we'll leave here -- maybe we should break for lunch. No,
kidding. Commissioner Saunders just fainted at my end here.
The artist for February is Patricia Kennedy Flock, and her
paintings are in the back of the room, and they're quite beautiful. She
loves -- her work has been described as poetic, lyrical, and truthful; a
sweet vision of nature, so...
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Is she local?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I'm assuming she is. It doesn't say
whether she's local or not, so maybe we can, as go forward -- but it's
really lovely. I have a feeling she must be, hopefully.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Those are pictures of
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mangroves and cypress and white pine and indigenous oaks and then a
tour bus.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We had a very interesting meeting at
the MPO on Friday, and it became very clear that a process called
government to government process was not followed, but it applies not
only to the MPO. It applies to Collier County Government and all
governments that are touching the sovereign nation of Indians, which
happen to be, in this case, the Miccosukee.
I would like to see if I have support to ask our County Manager to
develop a process by which it's codified within our ordinances of a
process by which we interact with the sovereign nation. I do not
believe, and I may be incorrect, that government to government applies
to all tribes. I believe it only applies to tribes recognized by the federal
government as sovereign nations which, in this case, is the Miccosukee
tribe of Indians with their administration building about 70 miles out
here, as we know, on 41. So if there is support to do that...
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Sure.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do I have support?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Absolutely. And just as a point
there -- and, you know, technicalities of government to government
really is incidental to me. It's about communication. It's about
impacting human beings and the utilization of our lands along the way.
So from a legality standpoint, I'm not worried about government
to government. I'm all about enhancing communication and felt as you
did with regard to the lack of communication last week that we learned
transpired. So I'm all about it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah, and I think what we learned from
last week, it's very important, too --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Sure.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- sovereign nation.
Okay. Blue Zone. Let's change the subject. Apparently they
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would -- I am the representative for Blue Zone from the Collier County
Government. And one of the things that I requested is if we could
develop a resolution based on resolutions passed by, I believe, the City
of Bonita Springs, also the City of Naples. I don't have that in front of
me, but if there's consensus up here to go ahead and do it.
And, basically, it's that it's a great idea, and I believe we are going
to incorporate some kind of exercise facility within our government
complex, and we are -- we are following a lot of Blue Zone
recommendations without it being Blue Zone.
So if there's support up here to do it, thank you very much.
Okay. Industrial park. I missed it at the last meeting, but I'm glad
after listening to the ULI, one of the things they discussed was we have
this industrial park, which is east of Airport, and they envisioned at
some point that -- well, there's a word for it. So workforce
housing/affordable housing could be constructed above the buildings
there, that it's a possibility. But we have a -- what we did at our last
meeting is we returned, and rightfully so, developers' money that they
paid into a fund in lieu of sidewalks.
In the City of Naples we were having trouble with sidewalks
throughout the town, and so what we did was -- the cost of it. So as
properties redeveloped, people had to put in sidewalks to take care of
their drainage.
I'd like to see if there's any support here to work -- bring that
forward as a -- I don't know what it would be within the county, but it
would be as properties within the industrial park redevelop, that
property would be required not only to improve the drainage but to
build sidewalks, whether it's even possible.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: I think we could maybe bring you
back some information on that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yep.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Just to kind of tie it together, because I
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think what you're asking --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: If there's willingness. I don't want to
spend staffs time --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You've got a lot of heavy trucks and
everything going through there. I don't know -- I don't see anybody
walking in there.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no. This is down the road. And
believe me, I walked there so I know how dangerous it is. There are
no sidewalks. But the problem with no sidewalks is that the flooding
is so pronounced and the issue of the water and the drainage, and
there's a lot of things. You know, it's been developing as it has without
bringing attention to it.
So am I asking to spend millions and millions and millions? No,
I'm not asking to do that, but I'm saying maybe we should slowly start
looking at the future today by perhaps requiring that.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Maybe we could bring an
informational item just to kind of--
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: -- frame what you're asking rather
than, you know, to work -- work product first. Maybe an informational
item, and staff could do that; explain the drainage issues in the
industrial park and explain the sidewalk issues and then redevelopment
conflicts.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You know, right now I'd like to see
sidewalks built in areas where people are living and have no sidewalks.
I think all -- like all on these -- in the Bayshore area. They don't even
have any sidewalks on the side streets or anything -- rather than go into
an industrial area.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No. The developer would be required
to do it. It would not be -- it would not be the county -- it would not be
our tax dollars.
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February 14, 2017
COMMISSIONER FIALA: So you mean just on a new piece of
property --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: -- they build it? So you'd have one
strip of sidewalk and it not connecting?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We did it in the city, and it was like
patchwork. But what's happening is, the money -- now there's more
money, so now we're connecting those sidewalks.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Where's the industrial area you were
doing it in?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: East of Airport Road, Industrial Road,
Commercial Road, where FedEx is.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: That isn't in the city, is it? It's in --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no, no, no, no, no. Within the city,
within the old town, we, as the City Council, said it's going to be way
too expensive to build sidewalks throughout this. What we're going to
do, as that old town -- as Olde Naples redevelops, we are going to
require the developer to put in a sidewalk in front of their place. And
we did, and we're still doing it.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah, well, we do that already, but
not -- in the industrial area? I'm sorry. I must not be catching
something correctly here. I'm sorry if I'm confused.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We refunded, not a lot of money, but
enough money from developers because apparently at some point there
was a plan to put sidewalks in the industrial area because of a safety
issue, and then the thought was, when we refunded that money the
developers had put into a fund, that, you know, maybe it's kind of
crazy to think that people are walking around here. But if we are
looking at quote-unquote affordable housing, workforce housing, ULI
looked at that area as a possible place where affordable/workforce
housing could be developed, so it would make sense if that's the case --
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and I'm not talking about tomorrow, but I'm talking about the future --
as properties within the industrial area redevelop along those roads,
that sidewalks and the drainage are brought up to date.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I don't think they're even allowed to
build residential in industrial areas because of the noise, because of the
pollution and so forth. I don't know that it's even safe.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I would like for -- as our
Deputy County Manager has suggested, that we bring forth this as a
topic of discussion, to bring it up.
Now, a couple of things just as a point of interest. It was I that
suggested that we look at innovative ways for the redevelopments of
our communities as going forward. And it's important that we denote a
vernacular shift that occurred with the recommendation coming out of
the ULI.
We oftentimes, as a community, have always discussed it as
affordable housing or workforce housing. There was a shift in the
vernacular, and it had to do with housing that is affordable or housing
affordability. And I think if we start to address it as that, in fact, what
we're looking for as a true need in our community and that is housing
affordability on that premise, that will help us going forward with
mindsets of residents in our community and the like.
So -- but it did have to do with the redevelopment, and, you
know, we do have stormwater issues. If there is a potential at some
particular stage to allow for redevelopment of those areas and have
residences in there that were compatible and concurrent, and we had
all of the infrastructure to support it, that's a mechanism to have
housing in a closer proximity to the urbanized area.
So I think utilizing what Nick said was a great idea; actually bring
it back and have a discussion.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right? All right.
Okay. Security. Is it time to review our security in Collier
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February 14, 2017
County Government? I was made acutely aware of the fact that I could
ride in a car with a staff member and get out of the car when they let
me in this parking lot, and it's a staff member and myself, and I can get
into the building without going to security, but the staff member has to
go through security. That's an inequity that I just think that needs to be
-- now I am not a security expert, and I know a lot of these security
measures happened in the wake of 911. But I wondered if it could be
time to take a look at it again.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I think it would be a very good
idea for us to take a look at it again.
MR. OCHS: What are we looking at?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, if I can ride, you know, 20 miles
with a staff member and he doesn't kill me, and then I come in and I --
and the staff member has to go through security, that's just -- there's
just something wrong with that.
MR. OCHS: So you --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I don't know.
MR. OCHS: You don't want staff to go through the security
check; is that --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I just want -- I think it's time to dust it
off and look at what we're doing with security. And it may be a really
valid reason to do it or it may not but just -- there's a -- you know, Dear
Commissioner Fiala, you used to have your name on your license tag.
You've got a --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I still do.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- flag on the back of her car, and she
rides around town. And God bless her, she's still here. I mean, no
one's -- you know, I just think we need to look at this again from a
security point of view.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: In other words, what you're really
saying is for staff members who work here anyway and they're here
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February 14, 2017
every day, maybe there should be another look at whether they have to
go through security every day; is that what you're saying?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I'm thinking -- yeah, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Yeah. I mean -- and I'm not a
security expert either, but I think there is the old adage of your security
is only as strong as the weakest link in the whole thing, so --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: -- I mean, I wouldn't be against
having staff review it, but I think we have to rely on our security
experts as to --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I don't want to review it.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: -- whether or not that's the way it
ought to be from a sound security standpoint. And so, I mean, I
understand -- I get why there's that difference, I think.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It's annoying, but it's there.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Let me tell you how the security
issue rose, really. It wasn't 911. It was a guy named -- I'll just say his
first name, Larry, but I won't say his last name. And he was having an
issue, lived in Golden Gate Estates, and he was renting from
somebody, and he decided to stockpile every bit of garbage that he
could find and old delapidated cars and so forth, and the neighbors
complained to Code Enforcement. Code Enforcement went out. The
guy got furious. And I'm shutting -- I'm making this very quick. He
started shooting their animals.
So then when they went out and the cops talked to him about that,
then he decided to shoot at their cars as they were driving by his place.
And our security people -- and he wrote us all death threats.
Now, he was in jail, and he actually -- the death threats were
pieces of paper that he cut out and pasted on a thing, but then he signed
his name to them and sent it. And our staff just felt that maybe we're
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February 14, 2017
not taking the proper safety measures because they know that we're
very vulnerable and we're in the community all the time, so they felt
that we needed to have some security. That was all it was.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And I can respect that. And I justed
want to take a look at it; that's it. I'm not suggesting one way or
another.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'm not a security expert either.
I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Select before, but I'm not an expert.
I have no interest in evaluating our security system. We have
experts that we've hired; we've got a staff. Let them do their job. If
they're keeping us safe, thank you for that. If there are things they
need to change, they know when to change the things. I have no
interest in the County Commission getting into somebody's security
issues.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no. I don't want -- I want them to
review it. I don't want to review it.
Okay, all right. So just two minor things. Reception on the
computers throughout the county for these meetings is not consistent.
I've heard it from three or four different quarters. So just -- you know,
I mean, as recently as back in here. My assistant gets the meetings just
fine; the assistant next door doesn't. So just take a look at it.
And then, finally, if I could please get the answer to the question
of how many nurses, essential service personnel, teachers, first
responders we have benefited by our program of setting deposits, you
know, the housing program, if I could get that; I never got that. I got
how much you're letting, I get the email, but I never got specifically for
those types of people.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Before you get up from your seats, I
would like to invite everybody again to come to the FAC conference. I
bet you're a good one to go, and I know you're a good one to go. And
that would be -- that would be important. We've got the big FAC
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February 14, 2017
conference. It's the legislative FAC conference, so I'm hoping Florida
Association of Counties, that everybody would join us, and we have a
good contingent. They've got money up there, and we would like to
bring some back home. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: County Attorney Klatzkow, anything to
add to this?
MR. KLATZKOW: No, ma'am.
MR. OCHS: Ma'am?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Ms. Kinzel, anything to add?
MS. KINZEL: No, ma'am.
MR. OCHS: May I?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes, of course.
MR. OCHS: Thank you.
Commissioners, just a reminder on some upcoming workshops.
You've got your followup to the ULI report on February 24th at 9 a.m.
On March 7th at 9 a.m., you have the joint workshop with the City of
Naples. Mr. Moss had sent me a suggested list of topics from the City
Council, and we've reviewed those, and those are essentially the same
issues we'd want to talk to them about.
We've got beach parking, beach renourishment, storm water
utility, transportation planning, and housing affordability.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Nice vernacular change.
MR. OCHS: Thank you, sir.
I wanted to just confirm that with the Board and see if anyone on
the Commission has any other topics. I know at one point,
Commissioner Taylor, you had mentioned you had some interest in
talking about a countywide ethics commission --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
MR. OCHS: -- with -- and I didn't know if you wanted that added
to the agenda.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes, I do.
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February 14, 2017
MR. OCHS: Anything else, Commissioners, before we finalize
this agenda?
(No response.)
MR. OCHS: Great. Thank you.
Also, Commissioner Fiala brought up the fact that the Florida
Association of Counties is having their legislative workshop on April
the 5th. That -- you'll notice that's the day after your scheduled April
4th CRA workshop, which right now we have scheduled in the
afternoon.
There was a suggestion maybe we ask the Board to consider
moving that April 4th workshop with the CRAs to 9 a.m. so it would
allow commissioners that want to travel to Tallahassee to get out of
here in the afternoon so they could be up there for the meeting on the
5th. So if the Board's okay with that, we'll modify the calendars and
have that April 4th workshop at 9 a.m. instead of 1 p.m.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you.
MR. OCHS: Okay. And I think that's all I have, Madam Chair.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. Hearing no
other comments, we are adjourned.
*****
**** Commissioner McDaniel moved, seconded by Commissioner
Fiala and carried unanimously that the following items under the
Consent and Summary Agendas be approved and/or adopted ****
Item #16A1
RANKING PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS
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February 14, 2017
AND ENTERING INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH TOP RANKED
FIRM HNTB CORPORATION PURSUANT TO SOLICITATION
OF CONTRACT #16-6699, ELEVEN BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS
PROJECT NUMBER NO. 66066; IF AN AGREEMENT CANNOT
BE REACHED WITH HNTB CORPORATION, TO CONTINUE
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE REMAINING FIRMS IN THE
ORDER RANKED AND A PROPOSED AGREEMENT WILL
BE BROUGHT TO THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION AT A
SUBSEQUENT MEETING — TO REPLACE THE FOLLOWING
ELEVEN (11) BRIDGES, EAST OF IMMOKALEE/SR29 ROAD:
NOS. 030136, 030137, 030138, 030139, 030140 AND 030141
[CR-846/IMMOKALEE ROAD]; 030158 [CR-858/COUNTY
LINE ROAD]; 030153, 030154, 030155, AND 030156 [CR-858/OIL
WELL ROAD]
Item #16A2
AMENDING AN EASEMENT AGREEMENT AND EASEMENT
RELOCATION BETWEEN COLLIER COUNTY ("COUNTY")
AND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF COLLIER COUNTY, INC.
("HABITAT") IN ORDER TO ALLOW RELOCATION OF A
RECORDED ACCESS EASEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE
PROJECT CALLED VINCENT ACRES, PL20150002012, THAT
WAS PREVIOUSLY CONVEYED TO THE COUNTY — AS
DETAILED IN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Item #16A3
RELEASING A CODE ENFORCEMENT LIEN WITH AN
ACCRUED VALUE OF $315,831.72 FOR PAYMENT OF
$7,149.92 IN CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS ENTITLED
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February 14, 2017
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS V. SIL VANO O.
DELGADO AND JORGE CHA VEZ. CODE ENFORCEMENT
BOARD CASE NO. CESD20090010558 RELATING TO
PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2556 RANDALL BLVD., COLLIER
COUNTY, FLORIDA — VIOLATIONS FOR A PARTIALLY
BUILT STRUCTURE WITH CANCELED/VOIDED PERMITS ON
PROPERTY ACQUIRED BY 815 K N LLC., VIA TAX DEED
RECORDED AUGUST 31, 2016 AND BROUGHT INTO
COMPLIANCE NOVERMBER 21, 2016
ItemA1
# 6 4
RELEASING A CODE ENFORCEMENT LIEN WITH A VALUE
OF $91,329.06 FOR PAYMENT OF $84,228.11, RECEIVED
THROUGH PROCEEDS FROM THE TAX DEED SALE OF THE
PROPERTY IN THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTION
ENTITLED BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS V. IRA
DILOZIR. CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD CASE NO.
CEAU20140003887 RELATING TO PROPERTY LOCATED AT
4301 20TH PLACE SW, COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA — FOR
VIOLATIONS RELATED TO AN UNPERMITTED AND
UNMAINTAINED FENCE ON PROPERTY ACQUIRED BY
TRACEY DEWRELL AND MARA DEWRELL, VIA TAX DEED
SALE, RECORDED ON OCTOBER 18, 2016 THAT WAS
BROUGHT INTO COMPLIANCE ON NOVEMBER 29, 2016
Item #16A5
RELEASING A CODE ENFORCEMENT LIEN WITH AN
ACCRUED VALUE OF $78,980.13 FOR PAYMENT OF $680. 13
IN RELATION TO CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD CASE NO.
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February 14, 2017
CEPM20120001293 RELATED TO PROPERTY AT 5352 23RD
PLACE SW, COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA — VIOLATIONS
CONSISTING OF BROKEN WINDOWS AND A DAMAGED
WOODEN GATE ON THE PROPERTY BROUGHT INTO
COMPLIANCE JANUARY 15 2016 AND FOLLOWING
FORECLOSURE (CASE NO. 2016-CA-1201) A CERTIFICATE OF
TITLE WAS RECORDED NOVEMBER 1, 2016 IN FAVOR OF
WELLS FARGO BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS
TRUSTEE FOR BANK OF AMERICA ALTERNATIVE LOAN
TRUST 2004-2 MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES
Item #16A6
RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF ISLES OF COLLIER
PRESERVE PHASE 10, (APPLICATION NUMBER
PL20160001842) APPROVAL OF THE STANDARD FORM
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT AND
APPROVAL OF THE AMOUNT OF THE PERFORMANCE
SECURITY — WITHIN THE SABAL BAY PUD
Item #16A7
RECORDING THE MINOR FINAL PLAT OF WINDING
CYPRESS PHASE 2 REPLAT, (APPLICATION NUMBER
PL20160002410) — A DEVELOPMENT RUNNING PARALLEL
TO COLLIER BOULEVARD NEAR THE CORNER
OF U.S. 41 (TAMIAMI TRAIL)
Item #16A8 — Moved to Item #11D (Per Agenda Change Sheet)
Item #16A9
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February 14, 2017
AN ADOPT-A-ROAD PROGRAM AGREEMENT WITH THE
VOLUNTEER GROUP, JOHN R. WOOD, INC., FOR A
SEGMENT OF PINE RIDGE ROAD BETWEEN US 41 AND
AIRPORT-PULLING ROAD, WITH TWO (2) RECOGNITION
SIGNS AND TWO (2) ADOPT-A-ROAD LOGO SIGNS —
ADOPTING A 2-MILE SEGMENT OF ROAD FOR THE
PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS VOLUNTEER GROUPS TO
REMOVE ROADSIDE LITTER
Item #16A10 — Withdrawn (Per Agenda Change Sheet);
The deductive change order was included in the Change Order Report
(#16E8) in today's Consent Agenda (Per Agenda Change Sheet)
RECOMENDATION THE COUNTY MANAGER OR HIS
DESIGNEE EXECUTE AN AFTER THE FACT DEDUCTIVE
CHANGE ORDER NO. 2 UNDER CONTRACT #16-7009 WITH
EARTH TECH ENTERPRISES FOR 2016 BEACH
RENOURISHMENT
Item #16A1 l
A PROPOSED LIST OF PROJECTS SUBMITTED FOR THE
FY2018 BIG CYPRESS BASIN LOCAL PARTNERSHIP GRANTS
PROGRAM (FISCAL IMPACT: $1,475,000) — AS DETAILED IN
THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Item #16B1
AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF NAPLES
FOR A JOINT WATER LINE UPGRADE AND INSTALLATION
OF FIRE HYDRANTS ON PETERS AVENUE, COLLEE COURT
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February 14, 2017
AND GORDON STREET IN THE BAYSHORE GATEWAY
TRIANGLE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AREA AND
NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENT — A PHASED MULTI-
YEAR PROJECT WITH TOTAL COSTS ESTIMATED AT $5.3
MILLION; THIS AGREEMENT WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE
UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF ALL SERVICES
Item #16C1
AWARDING CONTRACT #16-6604 IN THE AMOUNT OF
$224,8860, TO CUMMINS POWER SOUTH, TO REPLACE A
DIESEL GENERATOR UNIT AT THE SOUTH COUNTY
REGIONAL WATER PLANT, PROJECT NO. 70104
Item #16C2
A $25,000 CONTRIBUTION TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF A
VEHICLE, FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AS PART OF THE
ACCEPTANCE OF TASK ASSIGNMENT 11 AND ASSOCIATED
REVENUE, UNDER CONTRACT NO. GC-690 WITH COLLIER
Item #16D1
SUBMISSION OF A FY 2015/16 GRANT APPLICATION FOR
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION FLEXIBLE
FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $80,000 FOR THE PURCHASE
AND INSTALLATION OF ADDITIONAL BUS SHELTERS
THROUGH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
(FTA) TRANSIT AWARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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February 14, 2017
Item #16D2 — Moved to Item #11E (Per Agenda Change Sheet)
Item #16D3
A TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION AGREEMENT WITH
GOOD WHEELS, INC. TO ALLOW LIMITED PARATRANSIT
TRANSPORTATION SERVICE JUST NORTH OF THE
LEE/COLLIER COUNTY LINE
Item #16D4
ACCEPTING AND RATIFYING FEE WAIVERS GRANTED BY
THE DIRECTOR OF DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES FOR THE
PERIOD OF MAY 1, 2016 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ESTABLISHED BY
RESOLUTION NO. 2016-125 — WAIVING FEES IN THE
AMOUNT OF $1,950 FOR THE PERIOD MAY 1 — THROUGH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
Item #16D5
INCREASING ESTIMATED ANNUAL EXPENDITURES ON
"RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT" TO VARSITY BRANDS
HOLDING CO, INC. D/B/A BSN SPORTS, LLC, FROM $50,000
TO AN AMOUNT UP TO $100,000 PER FISCAL YEAR
Item #16D6
CONTRACT #16-7028 AWARDED TO JOHN R. TOSCANO,
INC., FOR "CLAM PASS BEACH PARK ELECTRICAL
UPGRADES," IN THE AMOUNT OF $603,500, PLUS $5,000 FOR
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February 14, 2017
COUNTY PERMITTING FEES, FOR A TOTAL OF $608,500
USING TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX CATEGORY "A"
BEACH PARK FACILITIES FUNDING, AUTHORIZE THE
CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT, AND MAKE A
FINDING THAT THIS EXPENDITURE PROMOTES TOURISM
Item #16D7
CONTRACT #16-6683 AWARDED TO JAFER CONSTRUCTION,
CORP FOR ADA RELATED BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS FOR
AN ESTIMATED OF $275,690 AND CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE
AGREEMENT
Item #16D8
AMENDMENT NO. 4 TO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FOR THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MENTAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE
GRANT; AMENDMENT NO. 3 WITH THE COLLIER COUNTY
SHERIFF'S OFFICE, REINSTATING THE NATIONAL
ALLIANCE MENTAL ILLNESS OF COLLIER COUNTY'S
SUBAGREEMENT AS WELL AS APPROVE THE ASSOCIATED
AMENDED GRANT BUDGET AND APPLICATION
Item #16D9
THE EXPENDITURE OF CATEGORY "A" BEACH PARK
FACILITY TOURIST TAX FUNDS FOR BEACH PARK
ENTRANCE ENHANCEMENTS AND INTERPRETIVE
SIGNAGE AT TIGERTAIL BEACH PARK FOR $23,459.71,
AWARD REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) TO SIGN PRO
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February 14, 2017
OF NORTH FLORIDA, INC., AND MAKE A FINDING THAT
THIS EXPENDITURE PROMOTES TOURISM
Item #16E1
COUNTY ATTORNEY TO ADVERTISE THE REPEAL OF
ORDINANCE NO. 1984-84, WHICH CREATED THE COLLIER
COUNTY FIRE CONTROL MUNICIPAL SERVICES TAXING
UNIT
Item #16E2
COUNTY ATTORNEY TO ADVERTISE THE REPEAL OF
ORDINANCE NO. 2015-18, WHICH CREATED THE FIDDLERS
CREEK MUNICIPAL RESCUE AND FIRE SERVICES DISTRICT
Item #16E3
COUNTY ATTORNEY TO ADVERTISE THE REPEAL OF
ORDINANCE NO. 1978-49, AS AMENDED, WHICH CREATED
THE ISLES OF CAPRI MUNICIPAL FIRE SERVICES TAXING
DISTRICT
Item #16E4
RESOLUTION 2017-15: A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH STATE
REPRESENTATIVE BYRON DONALDS FOR USE OF
COUNTY-OWNED OFFICE SPACE
Item #16E5
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February 14, 2017
RESOLUTION 2017-16: A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH STATE
REPRESENTATIVE BOB ROMMEL FOR USE OF COUNTY-
OWNED OFFICE SPACE
Item #16E6
REJECTING RESPONSES RECEIVED FOR INVITATION TO
BID (ITB) #16-6686R, OVERHEAD DOORS AND AUTOMATIC
GATES FOR USE COUNTYWIDE AND AUTHORIZING
COUNTY STAFF TO RE-SOLICIT
Item #16E7
REJECT RESPONSES RECEIVED FOR INVITATION TO BID
(ITB) #16-6697, MAINTENANCE AND MINOR REPAIRS FOR
USE COUNTYWIDE AND AUTHORIZE COUNTY STAFF TO
RE-SOLICIT
Item #16E8
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS PREPARED BY THE
PROCUREMENT SERVICES DIVISION FOR CHANGE
ORDERS, SURPLUS PROPERTY AND OTHER ITEMS AS
IDENTIFIED — AS DETAILED IN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Item #16E9
RESOLUTION 2017-17: REVISING POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES TO GOVERN THE OPERATION OF LAKE
TRAFFORD MEMORIAL GARDENS
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February 14, 2017
Item #16E10
A BUDGET AMENDMENT, IN THE AMOUNT OF $333,085
TO FULLY FUND PROJECT #50136: BUILDING C-2
ALTERATIONS, FOR RELOCATION OF THE PROCUREMENT
SERVICES DIVISION
Item #16F1
RESOLUTION 2017-18: APPROVING AMENDMENTS
(APPROPRIATING GRANTS, DONATIONS, CONTRIBUTIONS
OR INSURANCE PROCEEDS) TO THE FISCAL YEAR 2016-17
ADOPTED BUDGET
Item #16F2
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL GRANT APPLICATION
FORMS FOR CATEGORY "B" AND "C-2" AND SPORTS
EVENT ASSISTANCE REQUESTS FOR FY18 (OCTOBER 1,
2017 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2018) AND MAKE A FINDING THAT
THESE EXPENDITURES PROMOTE TOURISM
Item #16F3
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX CATEGORY "B" FUNDING
FOR CHANGE ORDER #1 TO CONTRACT #15-6419 - SPORTS
FACILITIES ASSESSMENT WITH HUNDEN STRATEGIC
PARTNERS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $16,800 AND
MAKE A FINDING THAT THESE EXPENDITURES PROMOTE
TOURISM
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February 14, 2017
Item #16F4
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX CATEGORY "B" FUNDING TO
SUPPORT TWO UPCOMING FY17 SPORTS EVENTS UP TO
$6,500 AND MAKE A FINDING THAT THESE EXPENDITURES
PROMOTE TOURISM
Item #16F5
CONTINUED FROM THE JANUARY 24, 2017 BCC MEETING.
ADOPTING THE 2017 STRATEGIC PLAN WITH THE
INCLUSION OF MINOR CHANGES BASED UPON DIRECTION
RECEIVED AT THE BOARD WORKSHOP JANUARY 312017
Item #16G1
A COMMERCIAL AVIATION OPERATIONS LICENSE
AGREEMENT WITH AERIAL BANNERS, INC. FOR BANNER
TOWING OPERATIONS AT THE IMMOKALEE REGIONAL
AIRPORT
Item #16J1
A REPORT TO THE BOARD REGARDING THE INVESTMENT
OF COUNTY FUNDS AS OF THE QUARTER ENDED
DECEMBER 31, 2016
Item #16J2
TO RECORD IN THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS, THE CHECK NUMBER (OR OTHER
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February 14, 2017
PAYMENT METHOD), AMOUNT, PAYEE, AND PURPOSE
FOR WHICH THE REFERENCED DISBURSEMENTS WERE
DRAWN FOR THE PERIOD BETWEEN JANUARY 12 AND
FEBRUARY 1, 2017 PURSUANT TO FLORIDA STATUTE 136.06
Item #16J3
PURSUANT TO THE BOARD'S PURCHASING ORDINANCE
2013-69, AS AMENDED, REQUEST THAT THE BOARD
APPROVE AND DETERMINE VALID PUBLIC PURPOSE FOR
INVOICES PAYABLE AND PURCHASING CARD
TRANSACTIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 8, 2017
Item #16K1
REJECT AN OFFER OF JUDGMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF
$25,000 EXCLUDING ALL ATTORNEYS FEES, EXPERT
WITNESS FEES AND COSTS AS FULL COMPENSATION FOR
THE TAKING OF PARCEL 401 RDUE NEEDED FOR TO WIDEN
GOLDEN GATE BOULEVARD FROM 20TH STREET EAST TO
EAST OF EVERGLADES BOULEVARD, PROJECT NO. 60145.
(FISCAL IMPACT: $0)
Item #16K2
REJECT AN OFFER OF JUDGMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF
$25,000 EXCLUDING ALL ATTORNEYS FEES, EXPERT
WITNESS FEES AND COSTS AS FULL COMPENSATION FOR
THE TAKING OF PARCEL 399RDUE NEEDED TO WIDEN
GOLDEN GATE BOULEVARD FROM 20TH STREET EAST TO
EAST OF EVERGLADES BOULEVARD, PROJECT NO. 60145.
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February 14, 2017
(FISCAL IMPACT: $0)
Item #16K3
A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND MUTUAL RELEASE IN
THE LAWSUIT STYLED LORETTA KANE V. COLLIER COUNTY
(CASE NO. 16-CA-00076), NOW PENDING IN THE CIRCUIT
COURT OF THE TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND
FOR COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
Item #16K4
A FINAL JUDGMENT FOR PARCEL 202RDUE IN THE CASE
STYLED COLLIER COUNTY V. BABY BROTHERS ENTERPRISES,
INC., ET AL., CASE NO. 15-CA-298, NOW PENDING IN THE
TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, COLLIER COUNTY,
REQUIRED FOR WIDENING GOLDEN GATE BOULEVARD
(PROJECT NO. 60040). (FISCAL IMPACT: $10,400)
Item #17A
RESOLUTION 2017-19: PETITION VAC-PL20160003082, TO
DISCLAIM, RENOUNCE AND VACATE COUNTY AND
PUBLIC INTEREST IN A PORTION OF A 6-FOOT PUBLIC
UTILITY EASEMENT LOCATED ALONG THE
NORTHEASTERLY BORDER OF LOTS 1 THROUGH 4, BLOCK
1 OF TRAIL ACRES, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 3, PAGE 50
OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA.
THE SUBJECT PROPERTY IS LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE
OF SOUTHWEST BOULEVARD, JUST SOUTH OF TAMIAMI
TRAIL EAST, IN SECTION 32, TOWNSHIP 50 SOUTH, RANGE
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February 14, 2017
26 EAST, COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
*****
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 12:35 p.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX
OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF
SPECIAL DI. TRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL
//JI _, A
I 1
PENNY TAYLOR, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK
M -4 c
Attest as a n's
_signature only.
These minutes approved by the Board on V cCA1 ,2cA;7as presented
✓J or as corrected
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF U.S. LEGAL
SUPPORT, INC., BY TERRI LEWIS, COURT REPORTER AND
NOTARY PUBLIC.
Page 127