BCC Minutes 02/28/2023February 28,2023
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TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Naples, Florida, February 28, 2023
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 Board members present:
Chairman: Rick LoCastro
Chris Hall
Dan Kowal
William L. McDaniel, Jr.
Burt L. Saunders
ALSO PRESENT:
Amy Patterson, County Manager
Daniel Rodriguez, Deputy County Manager
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney
Crystal K. Kinzel, Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller
Troy Miller, Communications & Customer Relations
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February 28, 2023
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 28, 2023
9:00 AM
Commissioner Rick LoCastro, District 1; – Chair
Commissioner Chris Hall, District 2; – Vice Chair
Commissioner Burt Saunders, District 3
Commissioner Dan Kowal, District 4; – CRAB Co-Chair
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
MINUTES UNLESS THE TIME IS ADJUSTED BY THE CHAIRMAN.
ADDITIONAL MINUTES MAY BE CEDED TO AN IN-PERSON SPEAKER BY
OTHER REGISTERED SPEAKERS WHO MUST BE PRESENT AT THE TIME
THE SPEAKER IS HEARD. NO PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL BE HEARD FOR
PROCLAMATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC PETITIONS.
SPEAKERS ON PRESENTATIONS ARE LIMITED TO 10 MINUTES, UNLESS
EXTENDED
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February 28, 2023
BY THE CHAIRMAN. ALL PERSONS WISHING TO SPEAK ON A CONSENT
ITEM MUST REGISTER PRIOR TO THE BOARD’S APPROVAL OF THE
DAY’S CONSENT AGENDA, WHICH IS HEARD AT THE BEGINNING OF
THE MEETING FOLLOWING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
ANYONE WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON PUBLIC PETITION
MUST SUBMIT THE REQUEST IN WRITING TO THE COUNTY MANAGER
AT LEAST 13 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE MEETING. THE
REQUEST SHALL PROVIDE DETAILED INFORMATION AS TO THE
NATURE OF THE PETITION. THE PUBLIC PETITION MAY NOT INVOLVE
A MATTER ON A FUTURE BOARD AGENDA AND MUST CONCERN A
MATTER IN WHICH THE BOARD CAN TAKE ACTION. PUBLIC
PETITIONS ARE LIMITED TO A SINGLE PRESENTER, WITH A MAXIMUM
TIME OF TEN MINUTES, UNLESS EXTENDED BY THE CHAIRMAN.
SHOULD THE PETITION BE GRANTED, THE ITEM WILL BE PLACED ON A
FUTURE AGENDA FOR A PUBLIC HEARING.
ANYONE WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT
ON THIS AGENDA OR A FUTURE AGENDA MUST REGISTER TO SPEAK
PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF THE AGENDA BEING
CALLED BY THE CHAIRMAN. SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE
MINUTES, AND NO ADDITIONAL MINUTES MAY BE CEDED TO THE
SPEAKER. AT THE CHAIRMAN’S DISCRETION, THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC
SPEAKERS MAY BE LIMITED TO 5 FOR THAT MEETING.
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.
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February 28, 2023
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 Senior Pastor Heath Jarvis - Faith Life Worship Center
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 agenda.)
B. January 24, 2023, BCC Meeting Minutes
3. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
A. EMPLOYEE
1) 20 YEAR ATTENDEES
a) 20 Years-Manuel Arca, Road Maintenance - Heavy Equipment
Operator
b) 20 Years-Ramon Arca Jr., Road Maintenance - Heavy
Equipment Operator
c) 20 Years-Ruth Quintero, Parks and Recreation - Recreation
Specialist I
2) 25 YEAR ATTENDEES
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February 28, 2023
a) 25 Years-Juan Mesa, Road Maintenance - Heavy Equipment
Operator
3) 30 YEAR ATTENDEES
4) 35 YEAR ATTENDEES
B. ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
C. RETIREES
D. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
4. PROCLAMATIONS
A. Proclamation designating March 2023 as Developmental Disabilities
Awareness Month in Collier County. To be accepted by Karen Govern,
Chief Executive Officer, STARability Foundation and other distinguished
guests.
B. Proclamation recognizing Moorings Park Grande Lake as recipient of the
Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) award, for contributing to the
greater good of Collier County by advocating the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"
message, thereby helping to prolong the usable life of the Collier County
Landfill. To be accepted by Ovi Maneu, Director of Facilities, and Petra
Miller, Director of Environmental Services.
5. PRESENTATIONS
A. Recommendation to recognize Rafaela Zapata, Communications,
Government & Public Affairs Division, as the 2022 Supervisor of the Year.
6. PUBLIC PETITIONS
7. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE CURRENT
OR FUTURE AGENDA
8. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
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February 28, 2023
9. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. This item continued to the March 28, 2023, BCC Meeting.
Recommendation that the Board adopts an Ordinance creating the unpaved
private road emergency repair municipal service taxing unit by authorizing a
levy of not to exceed one (1.0) mil of ad valorem taxes per year.
10. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
A. This item to be heard at 9:30 AM. Recommendation to have the Board
discuss the request by Quiet Florida to reduce the noise pollution from
illegal vehicle modifications. (Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders) (All
Districts)
B. Recommendation to review a draft Escrow Agreement from the Florida
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) and Department of Financial
Services (DFS) for the County to appropriate $30 million for the “State
Veterans’ Nursing Home” project using Infrastructure Sales Surtax Funding
(Fund No. 318), convey property interest in the project site, and to approve
and authorize the Chairman to execute the final version of the Escrow
Agreement once received from the State. (Sponsored by Commissioner
Saunders) (District 3)
C. Recommendation to hear a presentation by Gulf Coast Junior Gold Tour,
Inc., d/b/a The First Tee of Naples/Collier, on the construction and operation
of First Tee – Naples/Collier Learning Center on a portion of the Golden
Gate Golf Course property. (Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders)
(District 3)
D. Request that the Board prohibit any connection of 24th Ave NW, Hidden
Oaks Lane, Spanish Oaks Lane, Golden Oaks Lane, Standing Oaks Lane,
Shady Oaks Lane, Bur Oaks Lane, and English Oaks Lane to Logan Blvd.
(Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders) (All Districts)
E. Request that the Board prohibit any connection of Rock Road to the future
Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension. (Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders)
(All Districts)
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F. Recommendation to hear a presentation by Tom Kepp and Domestic Animal
Services (DAS) volunteers on hobby breeders and consider providing staff
direction to schedule a future Board workshop on Hobby Breeders in Collier
County. (Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders) (All Districts)
11. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT
A. Recommendation to approve the partial releases of a code enforcement liens
with an accrued value of $860,230.36 for payment of $16,623.98 in the code
enforcement actions titled Board of County Commissioners v. Tarpon IV
LLC. Special Magistrate Case Nos. CEPM201000018647 and
CEPM20170007818 relating to property, Folio No. 40687400009, Collier
County, Florida. (James French, Growth Management and Community
Development Department Head) (District 5)
B. Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid No. 23-8076, “Beach
Compatible Sand Supply for Emergency beach fill,” to Vulcan Construction
Materials, LLC, Stewart Materials, LLC, and Garcia Mining Company,
LLC, authorize the Chairman to sign the attached Agreements, and make a
finding that this item promotes tourism. (Andrew Miller, P.E., Manager,
Coastal Zone Management) (All Districts)
C. Recommendation to accept an update on the status of acquisitions in the
already Board approved Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Cycles and
Multi-Parcel Projects, review Cycle 11B proposed Conservation Collier
Active Acquisition List (AAL) and direct staff to complete Cycle 10 and
11A acquisitions and return to the Board in the last quarter of 2023 to
consider Cycle 11B and potentially Cycle 12. (Summer Araque,
Environmental Supervisor, Conservation Collier Program) (All Districts)
12. COUNTY ATTORNEY'S REPORT
13. OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS
14. AIRPORT AUTHORITY AND/OR COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY
A. AIRPORT
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February 28, 2023
B. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
15. STAFF AND COMMISSION GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
A. Public Comments on General Topics Not On The Current Or Future Agenda
By Individuals Not Already Heard During Previous Public Comments In
This Meeting
B. Staff Project Updates
C. Staff And Commission General Communications
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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 final acceptance of the potable water and
sewer facilities and accept the conveyance of the potable water and
sewer facilities for Esplanade at Hacienda Lakes Phase 4C1 and 4C2,
PL20220004770. (District 1)
2) Recommendation to approve final acceptance of the sewer utility
facilities and accept the conveyance of a portion of the sewer utility
facilities and appurtenant utility easement for First Congregational
Church Force Main, PL20220005035. (District 3)
3) Recommendation to approve a Resolution for final acceptance of the
private roadway and drainage improvements for the final plat of
Esplanade at Hacienda Lakes Phase 2A, Application Number
PL20150002005, and authorize the release of the maintenance
security in the amount of $66,337.86. (District 1)
4) Recommendation to approve a Resolution for final acceptance of the
private roadway and drainage improvements for the final plat of
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February 28, 2023
Esplanade at Hacienda Lakes Phase 2B, Application Number
PL20160001208, and authorize the release of the maintenance
security in the amount of $42,990.14. (District 1)
5) Recommendation to approve final acceptance of the potable water
utility facilities and accept the conveyance of the water facilities and
appurtenant utility easement for Naples Senior Center Offsite Utilities
Construction, PL20220005036. (District 3)
6) Recommendation to approve final acceptance of the potable water and
sewer utility facilities and accept the conveyance of a portion of the
potable water and sewer utility facilities and appurtenant utility
easement for Naples Senior Center, PL20220005035. (District 3)
7) Recommendation to approve final acceptance of the potable water and
sewer facilities and accept the conveyance of the potable water and
sewer facilities for Sonoma Oaks, PL20220006730. (District 3)
8) Recommendation to approve final acceptance of the potable water and
sewer facilities and accept the conveyance of the potable water and
sewer facilities for Valencia Golf and Country Club Phase 2B,
PL20220006250. (District 5)
9) Recommendation to authorize the Clerk of Courts to release a
Performance Bond in the amount of $103,800 which was posted as a
guaranty for Excavation Permit Number PL20210003049 for work
associated with Sonoma Oaks. (District 3)
10) Recommendation to approve a resolution amending Ordinance No.
2004-66, as amended, that created an Administrative Code, to revise
the procedures for Comparable Use Determinations, and providing an
effective date. (This is a companion to Item 17A) [PL20220000207]
(All Districts)
11) Recommendation to approve reassumption of maintenance
responsibilities of the area located within the perimeter drainage
easement around the three sides of the northeast section of the
Imperial Golf Estates development. (District 2)
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February 28, 2023
12) Recommendation to recognize and appropriate revenue to
Transportation Operating Fund (310), Asset Management Project
(60037), in the amount of $91,221 and authorize all necessary Budget
Amendments. (All Districts)
13) Recommendation to approve and authorize the chairman to execute
Local Agency Program (LAP) Supplemental Agreement #1 with the
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) under Agreement
437924-1-98-01, and authorize a Sole Source Waiver to purchase
Iteris BlueTOAD® CV2X RSU travel time measuring equipment,
software applications, accessories, licenses, support, repairs and
upgrades by the manufacturer, in order to implement the LAP Project
33800. (All Districts)
14) Recommendation to approve Change Order No. 5 to Professional
Services Agreement #06-4000 with CH2M Hill, Inc., adding 1,140
days for Post Design Services on the "Vanderbilt Beach Road
Extension from Collier Boulevard to 16th Street N.E." (Project
Number 60168) (District 3, District 5)
B. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
C. PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to award Request for Quotation No. 19-7539,
“GMD Annex and Stair Tower Roofs,” under Agreement No. 19-
7539, Roofing Replacement Contractors, to Advanced Roofing, Inc.,
in the amount of $476,136, authorize staff to open a Purchase Order
for those services, and approve the necessary budget amendment.
(District 4)
2) Recommendation to award Request for Quotes (RFQ) for the “CCSO
Jail (Building J2) Roof Replacement” project, under Agreement No.
19-7539, Roofing Replacement Contractors, to Advanced Roofing,
Inc., and authorize the issuance of a numbered work order/purchase in
the amount of $749,352 (Project # 50229). (District 1)
3) Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid (“ITB”) No. 22-8018,
“Collier County Jail Fire Alarm Replacement” project, to National
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February 28, 2023
Security Fire Alarm Systems, LLC, in the amount of $1,671,000,
authorize the Chairman to sign the attached agreement, and authorize
the necessary budget amendment. (District 4)
4) Recommendation that the Board of County Commissioners, ex-officio
the Governing Board of the Collier County Water-Sewer District,
awards a $728,345 Work Order under a Request for Quotation
(“RFQ”) for Agreement No. 20-7800 to Mitchell & Stark
Construction, Co., Inc., and authorize the Chairman to sign the Work
Order for the “50th Terrace SW Golden Gate City Water Main
Improvements Around Area Schools” project. (Project Number
70222). (District 3)
5) Recommendation to accept update on capital improvement projects at
the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Facility.
(District 4)
6) This Item continued from the January 10, 2023, BCC Meeting.
Recommendation to approve and authorize the removal of
uncollectable accounts receivables in the amount of $5,328.83 from
the financial records of the Collier County Public Utilities Department
in accordance with Resolution No. 2006-252, make a determination
this adjustment is in the best interest of the County, and authorize the
Chairman to execute the attached Resolution. (All Districts)
7) Recommendation to Award Request for Proposal #22-8022
"Backflow Prevention Management Software" to SpryPoint Services,
Inc., and authorize the Chairman to execute the attached agreement.
(All Districts)
8) Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid (“ITB”) No. 22-8008,
“South County Regional Water Treatment Plant (SCRWTP) Front
Entrance Improvements,” to Fort Construction Group of Naples, Inc.,
in the amount of $607,988 and authorize the Chairman to sign the
attached Agreement. (District 5)
D. Public Services Department
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1) Recommendation to approve and authorize the chairman to sign one
mortgage satisfaction for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership
loan program in the amount of $3,000 and the associated Budget
Amendment. (SHIP Grant Fund 791) (All Districts)
2) Recommendation to approve the electronic submittal of the
Corporation for National and Community Service Retired and Senior
Volunteer Program application, accept year-three of the grant award
in the amount of $91,933 for the operation of the program, and
authorize the necessary Budget Amendments. (Housing Grants 705
and Housing Grants Match 706) (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to approve Non-Standard Agreement #22-038-NS
“In-Shelter Pet Food” with Hill’s Pet Nutrition Sales, Inc., to serve as
the exclusive supplier of pet food products and pet nutrition education
services for Domestic Animal Services of Collier County and approve
expenditures in an amount not-to-exceed $100,000 per fiscal year.
(District 4)
4) This Item continued from the January 10, 2023, BCC Meeting.
Recommendation to approve and authorize the removal of
uncollectible accounts receivables in the amount of $53,747.18 from
the financial records of the Library Division in accordance with
Resolution No. 2006-252, determine that adjustment is in the best
interest of the County, and authorize the Chairman to execute the
attached Resolution. (All Districts)
5) Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chairman to sign the
First Amendment between Collier County and NAMI Collier County,
Inc., for the administration of the ERA-2 Emergency Rental
Assistance Grant Program under the American Rescue Plan. (Housing
Grant Fund 705) (All Districts)
6) Recommendation to approve the termination of the subrecipient
agreement on February 28, 2023, between Collier County and Collier
Health Services, Inc., for the Community Health Workers for COVID-
19 Response for Resilient Communities Program; authorize the
Chairman to sign all necessary grant related closeout documents and
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February 28, 2023
authorize the expenditures to be paid under the Community
Development Block Grant-CV award agreement. (All Districts)
7) Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chairman to sign
agreements between Collier County and the David Lawrence Mental
Health Center, Inc., in the amount of $2,072,645 and NAMI Collier
County, Inc., in the amount of $146,700 pursuant to the state-
mandated local match requirement for mental health services. (All
Districts)
E. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
1) Recommendation to award Request for Proposal (“RFP”) #22-7994,
“Full-Service Auctioneer,” to Royal Auction Group, Inc., and
authorize the Chairman to sign the attached agreement. (All Districts)
2) Recommendation to approve an Assumption Agreement assigning all
rights, duties and benefits, and obligations to CivicPlus, LLC,
concerning Agreement #92-1913 “Recodification Agreement”. (All
Districts)
3) Recommendation to approve the administrative report prepared by the
Procurement Services Division for disposal of property that is no
longer viable or was damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Ian,
and their removal from the County’s capital asset records. (All
Districts)
4) Recommendation to approve an Agreement with Golden Paws
Assistance Dogs Inc., to provide trained therapy dogs for immediate
therapy dog mental health treatment to Collier County EMS. (All
Districts)
5) Recommendation to recognize accrued interest from the period
October 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, earned by EMS County
Grant. (All Districts)
F. COUNTY MANAGER OPERATIONS
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February 28, 2023
1) Recommendation to renew a Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity for a Class 2 ALS non-emergency inter-facility ambulance
transport to Just Like Family Concierge Medical Transport Services
(D.B.A. Brewster Ambulance Service) to allow post-hospital inter-
facility medical ambulance transfer services. (All Districts)
2) Recommendation to approve a report covering budget amendments
impacting reserves up to and including $25,000 and moving funds in
an amount up to and including $50,000. (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to adopt a resolution approving amendments
(appropriating grants, donations, contributions, or insurance proceeds)
to the FY22-23 Adopted Budget. (The budget amendments in the
attached Resolution have been reviewed and approved by the Board of
County Commissioners via separate Executive Summaries.) (All
Districts)
4) Recommendation to renew the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue
District's Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for
Advanced Life Support non-transport services for one year and
authorize the Chairman to execute the Permit and Certificate. (All
Districts)
5) This Item continued from the December 10, 2022 BCC Meeting.
Recommendation to approve an increase of authorized expenditures
through an exemption from the Competitive Process to JW Marriott
Marco Island for tourism promotional expenses up to $85,000 per
fiscal year for a five-year period and to make a finding that this
expenditure promotes tourism, and that the exemption waiver is the
best interest of the County. (All Districts)
6) This Item continued from the December 10, 2022 BCC Meeting.
Recommendation to approve an increase of authorized expenditures
through an Exemption from the Competitive Process to Visit Florida
for membership fees and destination marketing programs up to
$150,000 per fiscal year for a five-year period, to allow purchasing
card use when the use of purchase order is not possible or practical, to
make a finding that these expenditures promote tourism, and that the
exemption waiver is in the best interest of the County. (All Districts)
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February 28, 2023
7) Recommendation to approve Change Order No. 3 and Change Order
No. 4 under Agreement No. 19-7650, Golden Gate Golf Course
Redevelopment Project, providing for a time extension of 730 days
and a realigning of task funding with a zero-dollar change and to
approve payment of invoices for work associated with Change Orders
No. 3 & No. 4, which was verbally staff directed prior to approval of
those change orders. (Project No. 80412) (District 3)
G. AIRPORT AUTHORITY
1) This Item continued from the January 10, 2023, BCC Meeting.
Recommendation to approve and authorize the removal of
uncollectible accounts receivable in the amount of $2,050.36 from the
financial records of the Airport Authority Fund (495) in accordance
with Resolution 2006-252, determine that this adjustment is in the
best interest of the County, and authorize the Chair to execute the
attached Resolution. (All Districts)
H. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
1) Recommendation to authorize the Chairman to sign a letter
designating the Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers, Inc., a non-profit
agency, as the agent for the purpose of applying for and receiving
funds from the Crime Stoppers Trust Fund. (All Districts)
I. MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE
J. OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS
1) Recommendation to approve the sign of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) for the Florida 911 Region 6 Next Generation
9-1-1 Project. This will allow for a five-year grant award for regional
projects. These state grants are awarded to assist Public Safety
Answering Points (PSAPs) in upgrading to NG911 capabilities. (All
Districts)
2) To record in the minutes of the Board of County Commissioners, the
check number (or other payment method), amount, payee, and
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February 28, 2023
purpose for which the referenced disbursements were drawn for the
periods between February 2, 2023, and February 15, 2023, pursuant to
Florida Statute 136.06. (All Districts)
3) Request that the Board approve and determine valid public purpose
for invoices payable and purchasing card transactions as of February
22, 2023. (All Districts)
K. COUNTY ATTORNEY
1) Recommendation to reappoint a member to the Haldeman Creek
Dredging Maintenance Advisory Committee. (District 4)
2) Request by the Collier County Educational Facilities Authority for
approval of a resolution authorizing the Authority to issue revenue
bonds to be used to refund bonds previously issued for educational
facilities at Ave Maria University. (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to authorize the County Attorney to file a lawsuit on
behalf of the Collier County Board of County Commissioners against
Elizabeth McGuire in the County Court of the Twentieth Judicial
Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida, to recover damages
incurred by the County for the repair a Collier County truck involved
in a motor vehicle accident with Elizabeth McGuire totaling
$1,860.79, plus costs of litigation. (All Districts)
4) Recommendation to authorize the County Attorney to file a lawsuit on
behalf of the Collier County Board of County Commissioners against
Julio Herrera Ixchacchal in the County Court of the Twentieth Judicial
Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida, to recover $20,028.62
damages incurred by the County for the repair of a median,
landscaping, light pole, and irrigation system from a single vehicle
accident involving Julio Herrera Ixchacchal, plus costs of litigation.
(All Districts)
5) Recommendation to reappoint three members to the Vanderbilt
Waterway MSTU Advisory Committee. (District 2)
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February 28, 2023
6) Recommendation to approve a Stipulated Final Judgment in the total
amount of $173,000 plus $50,150 in statutory attorney and experts’
fees and costs, for the taking of Parcel 112FEE required for the
Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension Project No. 60168. (All Districts)
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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
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. This item has been Continued from the December 13, 2022 and January
24, 2023 BCC Meetings. Recommendation to approve an Ordinance of the
Board of County Commissioners of Collier County, Florida, amending
Ordinance Number 04-41, as amended, the Collier County Land
Development Code, which includes the comprehensive land regulations for
the unincorporated area of Collier County, Florida, to provide that
Comparable Use Determinations are site specific and add criteria; by
providing for: Section One, Recitals; Section Two, Findings of Fact; Section
Three, Adoption of Amendments to the Land Development Code, more
specifically amending the following: Chapter Two Zoning Districts and
Uses, including Section 2.03.00 Zoning Districts, Permitted Uses, Accessory
Uses, and Conditional Uses; and Chapter Ten Application, Review, and
Decision-Making Procedures, including Section 10.02.06 Requirements for
Permits, and Section 10.03.06 Public Notice and Required Hearings for
Land Use Petitions; Section Four, Conflict and Severability; Section Five,
Inclusion in the Collier County Land Development Code; and Section Six,
Effective Date. (This is a companion to Item 16A10) [PL20220000207]
(All Districts)
B. Recommendation to approve a resolution designating the Close-Out of the
adopted Walgreens Planned Unit Development (PUD) which has fully
completed development pursuant to their development orders constructing
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February 28, 2023
up to the authorized density and/or intensity and have been found by county
staff to be compliant with their specific developer commitments and to have
only one remaining transportation commitment which will be tracked
through the Commitment Tracking System. (PL20220002238) (District 2)
C. Recommendation to adopt a resolution approving amendments
(appropriating carry forward, transfers, and supplemental revenue) to the
FY22-23 Adopted Budget. (The budget amendments in the attached
Resolution have been reviewed and approved by the Board of County
Commissioners via separate Executive Summaries.) (All Districts)
18. ADJOURN
INQUIRIES CONCERNING CHANGES TO THE BOARD’S AGENDA SHOULD
BE MADE TO THE COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE AT 252-8383.
February 28,2023
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MS. PATTERSON: Chair, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Good morning, everybody. How
we doing? A lot of smiling faces out there.
Okay. Ms. Patterson, why don't you kick us off. We're going
to start with, obviously, invocation and Pledge, correct?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, that's correct. We are having an
invocation by Senior Pastor Heath Jarvis from Faith Life Worship
Center.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And then we'll have the
Pledge. We'll be led by Ms. Rafaela Zapata, who is our Supervisor
of the Year. You'll hear more about that later.
Item #1A
INNVOCATION BY SENIOR PASTOR HEATH JARVIS FROM
FAITH LIFE WORSHIP CENTER – INNVOCATION GIVEN
PASTOR JARVIS: Good morning, everyone. Let's pray.
Father in heaven, we come before you today. We're thankful
that we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Lord, we're
thankful for being able to live here in America. We're thankful for
being here in Florida but, Lord, we're thankful to see your hand of
protection and provision over us here in Southwest Florida.
Today, God, we have the opportunity to discuss some important
topics that affect everyone who live in this community, so we ask for
your guidance as we discuss these issues. Help us to discuss these
things with civility, patience, and respect. Most of all, Lord, help us
to make only the decisions that will best benefit Collier County and
her citizens her future.
Lord, I also want to pray for our leadership here in Collier
County. They have important conversations ahead of them today
February 28,2023
Page 3
and the responsibility to make wise and informed decisions on behalf
of our community. Lord, I pray for your peace over them and over
their families and a blessing for all of them.
Your word tells us in the book of James that if we ask for your
wisdom, you will give it to us liberally. You'll give to us in
generous abundance. So we ask for it today, and we receive it
thankfully by faith. I pray this according to your word, and I pray
this in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ. Amen.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you, Pastor.
Ms. Zapata, lead us in the Pledge, please.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Very sweet.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You could bring adults in here
from the community who don't know the Pledge, and you've got these
beautiful children up here just banging it out. Good job, Mom and
Dad. Good job. Proud of you.
And thank you; thank you, Pastor. We always get really great
invocations here. But as many pastors often remind me, it doesn't
count as church unless they pass the basket around, okay. So don't
think you're getting out of Sunday because the pastor gave an
incredible invocation. It doesn't count. This is a freebie.
Item #2A
APPROVAL OF TODAY'S REGULAR, CONSENT AND
SUMMARY AGENDA AS AMENDED (EX PARTE
DISCLOSURE PROVIDED BY COMMISSION MEMBERS FOR
CONSENT AGENDA.) – MOTION TO APPROVE BY
COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER HALL – APPROVED AND/OR ADOPTED W/
CHANGES
February 28,2023
Page 4
Ms. Patterson, next.
MS. PATTERSON: Chair, I'll take you all through the changes
to the agenda.
First, we are moving Item 16F5 to Item 11D. This item was
continued from the December 10th, 2022, BCC meeting. It's a
recommendation to approve an increase of authorized expenditures
through an exemption from the competitive process to JW Marriott,
Marco Island, for tourism promotional expenses up to $85,000 per
fiscal year for a five-year period, and to make a finding that this
expenditure promotes tourism and that the exemption waiver is in the
best interest of the county. This was moved to the regular agenda
via the separate requests of Commissioner Saunders, LoCastro, and
McDaniel.
Move Item 16F7 to Item 11E. This is a recommendation to
approve a Change Order No. 3 and Change Order No. 4 under
Agreement No. 19-7650, Golden Gate Golf Course Redevelopment
Project, providing for a time extension of 730 days and a realigning
of task funding with a zero-dollar change, and to approve payment of
invoices for the work associated with Change Orders No. 3 and
No. 4, which was verbally staff-directed prior to the approval of those
change orders. This is being moved to the regular agenda via
separate requests of Commissioner Saunders and Commissioner
LoCastro.
Move Item 16F6 to Item 11F. This item is continued from the
December 10th, 2022, BCC meeting. This is a recommendation to
approve an increase of authorized expenditures through an exemption
from the competitive process to Visit Florida for membership fees
and destination marketing programs up to $150,000 per fiscal year
for a five-year period to allow purchasing card use when the use of
purchase order is not possible or practical, to make a finding that
these expenditures promote tourism, and that the exemption waiver is
February 28,2023
Page 5
in the best of the county. This is being moved via separate requests
by Commissioner McDaniel and Commissioner LoCastro.
I do have a note that Item 10D references 24th Avenue
Northwest. That road is now known as Autumn Oaks Lane.
We have two time-certain items. At 9:30 is the discussion
regarding Quiet Florida, and Item 10B, relative to the draft escrow
agreement for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, will be
heard following Item 15B, staff project updates, at the very end of the
agenda.
We do have court reporter breaks scheduled for 10:30 and 2:50.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So correct me if I'm
wrong; we make a motion to approve the changes and today's regular,
consent agenda, correct?
MS. PATTERSON: Unless any board members have any
changes or ex parte on the summary agenda.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I'll start with you, Commissioner
Kowal. Do you have changes or any ex parte anything on today's
agenda?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: No changes and no ex parte.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No additional changes and
no ex parte as well.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: None.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Same, I have none.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right, sir.
Me as well, no changes, no ex parte. So motion to approve all?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'll make a motion to approve
all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I second. All in favor?
February 28,2023
Page 6
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Next.
SEE REVERSE SIDE
Proposed Agenda Changes
Board of County Commissioners Meeting
February 28, 2023
Move Item 16F5 to Item 11D: *** This Item continued from the December 10, 2022 BCC Meeting.***
Recommendation to approve an increase of authorized expenditures through an exemption from the
Competitive Process to JW Marriott Marco Island for tourism promotional expenses up to $85,000 per fiscal
year for a five-year period and to make a finding that this expenditure promotes tourism, and that the
exemption waiver is the best interest of the County. (Via separate requests of Commissioners Saunders,
LoCastro, and McDaniel)
Move Item 16F7 to Item 11E: Recommendation to approve Change Order No. 3 and Change Order No. 4
under Agreement No. 19-7650, Golden Gate Golf Course Redevelopment Project, providing for a time
extension of 730 days and a realigning of task funding with a zero-dollar change and to approve payment of
invoices for work associated with Change Orders No. 3 & No. 4, which was verbally staff directed prior to
approval of those change orders. (Project No. 80412) (Via separate requests of Commissioners Saunders and
LoCastro)
Move Item 16F6 to Item 11F: *** This Item continued from the December 10, 2022 BCC Meeting. ***
Recommendation to approve an increase of authorized expenditures through an Exemption from the
Competitive Process to Visit Florida for membership fees and destination marketing programs up to
$150,000 per fiscal year for a five-year period, to allow purchasing card use when the use of purchase order
is not possible or practical, to make a finding that these expenditures promote tourism, and that the
exemption waiver is in the best interest of the County. (Via separate requests of Commissioners McDaniel
and LoCastro)
Notes: Item 10D references 24th Avenue NW. That road is now known as Autumn Oaks Lane.
TIME CERTAIN ITEMS:
Items 10A to be heard at 9:30 AM: Discuss the request by Quiet Florida to reduce the noise pollution from
illegal vehicle modifications. (Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders)
Item 10B to be heard following 15B Staff Project Updates: Recommendation to review a draft Escrow
Agreement from the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) and Department of Financial Services
(DFS) for the County to appropriate $30 million for the “State Veterans’ Nursing Home” project using
Infrastructure Sales Surtax Funding (Fund No. 318), convey property interest in the project site, and to
approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the final version of the Escrow Agreement once received
from the State. (Sponsored by Commissioner Saunders)
2/28/2023 8:38 AM
February 28,2023
Page 7
Item #2B
BCC REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FOR JANUARY 24, 2023
– APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 2B is approval of the January 24th,
2023, BCC meeting minutes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'll move for approval as
printed.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Second.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Next.
Item #3A
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS – 20 YEAR ATTENDEES –
PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 3 is awards and recognitions. We
have several employees with us today. We'll start with our 20-year
attendees. We have 20 years, Manuel Arca, Road Maintenance,
heavy equipment operator.
(Applause.)
February 28,2023
Page 8
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Twenty years. Started when he
was six, right? Come on, 20? Congratulations, sir. Thank you for
your service.
Come on. We've got a picture here for the -- center -- front and
center right here.
(Applause.)
MS. PATTERSON: Twenty years, Ramon Arca, Jr., Road
Maintenance, heavy equipment operator.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You guys look like twins. Is this
the same guy? Wait, wait. Are you punking us or something or
what?
MS. PATTERSON: Twenty years, Ruth Quintero, Parks and
Recreation, Recreation Specialist I.
(Applause.)
MS. PATTERSON: That moves us on to 25-year attendees.
Twenty-five years, Juan Mesa, Road Maintenance, heavy equipment
operator.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: This is heavier, heavy equipment.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Let's see what we move on
to now.
Item #4A
PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING MARCH 2023 AS
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AWARENESS MONTH IN
COLLIER COUNTY. ACCEPTED BY KAREN GOVERN, CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STARABILITY FOUNDATION, AND
OTHER DISTINGUISHED GUESTS - ADOPTED
February 28,2023
Page 9
MS. PATTERSON: Proclamations. Item 4A is a
proclamation designating March 2023 as Developmental Disabilities
Awareness Month in Collier County. To be accepted by Karen
Govern, chief executive officer, STARability Foundation, and other
distinguished guests.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Would you-all like to say a few
words?
All right, Karen.
MS. GOVERN: Good morning, everyone. I'm Karen Govern,
the CEO of the STARability Foundation. With me today is Lea
Kahn-Allen, chair of our board of directors; Madison McNally, who
is our chief program officer and director of our trail blazer academy;
and two of our STAR participants, Hallie Clifford and Joe Shirley.
On behalf of the STARability board of directors, our families
and, most importantly, our STARS, I'd like to thank you for this
recognition.
As we kick off National Developmental Disabilities Awareness
Month, this proclamation is truly appreciated, as it further helps shine
a light on individuals with developmental disabilities and promotes
greater understanding of the issues that affect these individuals and
their families. It will also go a long way in helping to create
opportunities for inclusion throughout our community.
Founded in 1983 by a dedicated group of parents, our mission is
to transform the lives of individuals with disabilities through social,
vocational, and educational connections to the community while
strengthening awareness and respect for individual abilities.
Over the past 40 years, we have made an impact on hundreds of
families' lives throughout Collier County through our innovative,
inclusive, and community-based programming.
February 28,2023
Page 10
STARability Foundation currently provides programming for
more than 300 individuals, connecting our STARS to inclusive
employment, continuing education, wellness classes, sports leagues,
and more. We truly believe in our life-transforming programs and
call our participants STARS because they brighten our lives, our
communities, and our world.
We appreciate your support of this proclamation, and we look
forward to working with you to identify ways to serve more
individuals in our community. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: That you, Karen.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And they just recently moved to a
really impressive location, so they were sort of crammed into a little
strip mall, and now they've got the top floor of a building just right
down the road. So just very impressive, lots of space, a lot more
capability. So thank you for what you do for the community.
MS. GOVERN: Thank you.
Item #4B
PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING MOORINGS PARK GRANDE
LAKE AS RECIPIENT OF THE WASTE REDUCTION AWARDS
PROGRAM AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE GREATER
GOOD OF COLLIER COUNTY BY ADVOCATING THE
"REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE" MESSAGE, THEREBY
HELPING TO PROLONG THE USABLE LIFE OF THE COLLIER
COUNTY LANDFILL. ACCEPTED BY OVI MANEU,
DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES, AND PETRA MILLER, DIRECTOR
OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES – ADOPTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 4B is a proclamation recognizing
February 28,2023
Page 11
Moorings Park Grande Lake as recipient of the Waste Reduction
Awards Program award for contributing to the greater good of Collier
County by advocating the "reduce, reuse, recycle" message, thereby
helping to prolong the usable life of the Collier County Landfill.
This is going to be accepted by Ovi Maneu, director of Facilities, and
Petra Miller, director of Environmental Services.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Would you like to say a few
words? No.
So I'll say a few words. Thank you for reducing, reusing, and
cycling, right? I mean, it is possible, right? So you're getting -- and
that plaque is made from recycled materials. I just made that up.
I'm hoping it is. I'm hoping it is.
But thank you for what you-all are doing at Moorings Park.
Appreciate it.
All right. Next.
MS. PATTERSON: Get a motion to accept the proclamations,
please?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So moved.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right. Approved unanimously.
MS. PATTERSON: Thank you.
Item #5A
February 28,2023
Page 12
RECOGNIZE RAFAELA ZAPATA, COMMUNICATIONS,
GOVERNMENT, AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION, AS THE
2022 SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR - PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: I'm going to tell you a little bit about how
she became supervisor of the year.
Item 5A, is a recommendation to recognize Rafaela Zapata,
Communications, Government, and Public Affairs Division, as the
2022 Supervisor of the Year. I'm going to tell you a little bit about
how she became Supervisor of the Year.
Each year is part of the county's formal employee recognition
program. The Human Resources Division facilitates the process to
allow employees across the agency to submit nominations for the
supervisor of the year. This year names of 11 county supervisors
were submitted for consideration, and six were ultimately ranked by
the Selection Committee. Each nomination highlighted the diverse
accomplishments, fortitude through adversity, and examples of
exceptional leadership characteristics that demonstrate the
commitment of these supervisors to making Collier County the best
community in America to live, work, and play.
Rafaela Zapata is an operations supervisor in the
Communications, Government, and Public Affairs Division, and has
been employed with the county since March of 2011. Raf
demonstrates extraordinary leadership capabilities in rallying her
teams, peers, management, and local partners towards the
achievement of objectives. This is accomplished through her efforts
at actively listening, creating detailed plans, effectively
communicating, organizing her work, eagerly mentoring and training
others, and displaying an energetic approach to serving the
community.
February 28,2023
Page 13
On Monday, September 26th, 2022, two days before Hurricane
Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida, Raf relocated the Collier 311
staff members to the Emergency Services Center. This operation
soon grew into a large team of round-the-clock employees from
across the agency, many needing training on 311 software, which Raf
dutifully provided. Even though the 311 software program had
never been used for a hurricane, she and the team were able to
customize its functioning to accurately monitor incoming calls,
properly route actions, and develop regular reports for management
to review.
Raf was responsible for intake, scheduling, training, maintaining
the knowledge base, whiteboard updates, monitoring the high call
volume, and providing call trend reporting to pinpoint gaps in
service, impacts to safety, and identification of potential damage to
critical infrastructure.
The work that she and the Collier 311 team performed to
support the community during Hurricane Ian directly contributed to
expediting service response and not only unincorporated Collier
County, but in our municipalities when the storm temporarily
disabled their communications technology.
For these reasons, Rafaela Zapata was selected as the 2022
Supervisor of the Year.
Congratulations.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: The kids are like, yeah, we're
missing school. Mom, yeah, make a long speech. Field trip.
All right.
MS. ZAPATA: Thank you.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Congratulations. I know you're
feeling a little bit under the weather, but I'll just say, all of us up here
February 28,2023
Page 14
spent a lot of time in the emergency operations center during the
Hurricane Ian, and the 311 room was so critical, and it was -- it
literally was the nerve center of everything, but it was amazing some
of the calls that were coming in there, right? I mean, hi, is Germain
Cadillac open today? Yeah, I need an oil change. And, like, well,
we're trying to save the entire county post hurricane, right? You
know, what's playing at the movie theater? Those are actual
examples, right?
But thank you for all you did to pull the team together and,
obviously, your coworkers think very highly of you, which they
should, so congratulations.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ms. Patterson.
MS. PATTERSON: Item 7, public comments on general topics
not on the current or future agenda.
MR. MILLER: Mr. Chair, we have two registered speakers for
Item 7 today. Christine Robbins, and she'll be followed by Daniel
Zegarac.
MS. ROBBINS: Good morning, Commissioners.
We received a notice in our neighborhood from Grady Minor.
This is regarding a building of a Home Depot in East Naples on the
East Trail. Are you aware of that?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Of course.
MS. ROBBINS: And they want rezoning. So there is a
general information meeting. However, I thought I would come
today, because this is -- they're saying 140,000 square feet.
We live in Hitching Post community. By the way, my name's
Christine Robbins. And that -- right across from us is our rec center,
our pool and everything, and the RV area. They want to build this
right in front of this.
We already have a RaceTrac there. We have a lot of traffic
February 28,2023
Page 15
there, a lot of accidents there. So we're figuring out, how is
people -- all these going to get in and out of there. But that's maybe
the least of the worries. We have a Lowe's. We have a Sunshine
Ace, and the Home Depot on Davis is, like, 10 minutes away. So
what's the purpose of a Home Depot?
The Home Depot's open seven days a week, night and days.
We are going to hear trucks beep, beep, beep, beep back up. The
noise pollution. And, you know, the air pollution on top of it. And
it's right -- it's pretty much right on top of us from what it looks like.
Then we're going to have more trees that are going to come
down where the wildlife live. We've had problems with all the
development around us already with that, so that's another problem.
You get rodent problems.
And for us, you know, that have lived in East Naples for a long
time, up to 40 years, we've seen so many changes to our little area.
And I just think the development in all of Naples is not what our
founders really wanted. I realize there's a large impact, but when is
it going to stop? You know, when is it ever going to end? And
why do we need businesses like this that we already have? I mean,
how about building affordable housing there? Or in the property
next to us, where they tore down all that, those trees and everything
there? Why not build -- they didn't build affordable housing.
So I'm just asking the Board if they would please consider
rejecting the rezoning for a Home Depot, and if the developers want
to develop something there, we would suggest some affordable
housing for the people that work in Naples and can't afford to give
here. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Thank you.
Normally we wouldn't -- you know, you're not asking us
questions but, I'm the Chair, and as Commissioner McDaniel used to
say, the Chair can take some liberties, right?
February 28,2023
Page 16
So you had sent me an email with a typo in it, so that's why -- I
know you were upset you didn't hear back in an hour, but I never got
your email. I finally got it, because you got with my assistant.
MS. ROBBINS: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: In the email -- and I actually have
pretty much typed it, but I'll send it to you at the first break. But I'll
give you sort of the short version here. We haven't approved
anything. So this is how the process works. When somebody wants
to buy land, even you, if you want to buy a piece of property and you
want to build a three-story house and all your neighbors hate it, you
still get to go through the process. So that notice is so you and
citizens that maybe feel the same way can go and express your
displeasure. So this is the final stop, even if it ever comes to us.
So this is -- right now they're at Step 0. This is Step 100. And
so a whole lot of things have to happen. And so, as government, we
can't look at a request by any homeowner, even you if you wanted to
build a house and say, you know, we're going to just discontinue the
whole process because we already know we don't want it. I mean,
that's government overreach. So this is a process where you have a
landowner who could decide they want to build anything, and this is
a notice to the community. And also, like you said, did we all know
about it? Yes, everybody here knows about it because it will
eventually come to us, possibly. It could get shut down after the
neighborhood information meeting because a whole bunch of
neighbors, you know, voiced professional and mature discussion with
the developer, which happens. We've had developers that have said,
juice isn't worth the squeeze.
You know, I heard from some neighbors and, you know, we're
not looking to shoehorn something in there or they might say, hey,
we know the neighbors don't like it, but after a three-hour meeting,
we discovered that they actually hate it less.
February 28,2023
Page 17
We don't know that. We don't have a crystal ball. So your
comments are very much appreciated and respected. And now that
you have my proper email and I have yours, you will hear from me
immediately. But a lot of what I say in there is to -- and hopefully
you can take this message back to your neighbors that --
MS. ROBBINS: Right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- when we get a request by
anyone, a resident, a company or what have you, we can't judge it on
face value and say no. They automatically get to go through the
process. But the process has a lot of wickets, a lot of public
comment. And even should it eventually wind up in here, it will hit
the Planning Commission first, they will make a recommendation,
and then it will come to us, and that's -- that's a bit down the road.
So this is Step 0. It's starting. And, you know, if other people
feel the way you do, there's a process where, you know, you can be
heard and -- to the developer. And I highly recommend you take
every opportunity to go to those neighborhood information meetings
and be heard and try to talk with the developer and see what maybe
their thoughts are, if they agree or disagree. And there's -- there's
many, many more step before it comes here for a vote. We haven't
voted on anything. We haven't even seen any of this, nor would we.
So I just thought I would say that.
But I appreciate you coming here, now that I've seen your email.
I saw it for the first time this morning. And I'm going to give you
some of that, so if you want to forward it to people in your
community -- and this is our district, District 1. So, yeah, I'm very
well aware.
You know, please spread the facts so that folks, you know, don't
feel like they're getting blindsided by something. This is merely a
request by someone who wants to buy property or who bought it, and
that's the process they go through. And, trust me, you know, it's my
February 28,2023
Page 18
district, so I will watch it very carefully. I'm not going to make a
premature decision. That would be like sending somebody to, you
know, jail without hearing from both sides, but there's a long process
that will happen.
MS. ROBBINS: So it hasn't been bought yet, then?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: That I don't know, but it's possible
it hasn't been.
MS. ROBBINS: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It's possible that they want to dip
their toe in the water and see what the citizens say, and, you know,
there's several different ways they could come at this. I don't know
that answer, if it's been bought or --
MS. ROBBINS: Well, thanks for explaining the process.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, ma'am.
MS. ROBBINS: I'm glad I came, and I'm glad to get your
email because --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You think I would ignore one of
my constituents?
MS. ROBBINS: No, no, I was just -- I couldn't get ahold of
your assistant, and it came -- this just same on Thursday, and we're,
like, oh, my goodness, and I knew you met, because we've been here
before.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, ma’am; yes, ma'am.
MS. ROBBINS: So I thought, well, I'll come and voice it now,
and then -- but, of course, we'll be at the 13th meeting.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, ma'am. Thank you,
Christine.
MS. ROBBINS: I really appreciate it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
MS. ROBBINS: Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Mr. Chair, your final registered speaker for
February 28,2023
Page 19
Item 7 is Daniel Zegarac.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I've never seen this guy before.
MR. ZEGARAC: Commissioner LoCastro, you went way over
your three minutes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir.
MR. ZEGARAC: Good morning, Commissioners.
Your concern for our partners in the Golden Gate project is
overwhelming. Please remember that each and every concession
that you make may come at a cost to the taxpayers. Show us that
you are capable of such a project without giving up the farm. Thank
you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Miller, anything?
MR. MILLER: That's all we have for Item 7, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So we've heard from
public comment. I guess we'll roll right into our 9:30 time-certain.
MS. PATTERSON: At the Board's pleasure, we could start the
9:30 time-certain now.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Absolutely.
Item #10A
REQUEST BY QUIET FLORIDA TO REDUCE THE NOISE
POLLUTION FROM ILLEGAL VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS –
MOTION TO FIND FACTS REGARDING CAMERAS, WORK
WITH SHERIFF/QUIET FLORIDA ON EDUCATION OPTIONS,
AND PURSUE OVERVIEW OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY
SHERIFF STAFF TO OPPAGA BY COMMISSIONER
SAUNDERS; SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL –
APPROVED
February 28,2023
Page 20
MS. PATTERSON: Yep. This is a recommendation to have
the Board discuss the -- request by Quiet Florida to reduce the noise
pollution from illegal vehicle modifications. This item is brought to
the agenda by Commissioner Saunders.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman and members,
I brought this forward just really to help continue to educate the
Board on a problem that is really very serious. It affects thousands
of our residents.
Mary Tatigian is here. I'm going to ask her to come on up and
make a presentation concerning Quiet Florida, what that organization
is, and what they're looking to accomplish, or am I -- am I on the
right -- okay. I just wanted to make sure I'm on the right agenda
item -- and to make sure that the Board understands what the needs
are and, perhaps, to give staff some direction after her presentation.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Great.
Mary, the floor is yours.
MS. TATIGIAN: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Good morning.
MS. TATIGIAN: Good morning, Commissioners, and thank
you very much for the opportunity to discuss the modified muffler
issue plaguing our community, and a special thanks to Commissioner
Burt Saunders for putting this on the agenda.
My name is Mary Tatigian. I am president of Quiet Florida,
which is a community organization which we started about two years
ago related to the noise pollution from aircraft and vehicles -- motor
vehicles.
We have thousands of members, and we are growing daily. I
have elderly citizens contact me, tell me they're trapped in their
homes. I've actually had retired military contact me, and they're
suffering with PTSD, and the chronic noise is upsetting them.
February 28,2023
Page 21
Unfortunately, we've had a drastic change in traffic and growth
in Naples, which all means more noise. We all know there is a huge
problem with modified mufflers, and we need your help. Think of it,
the inability to relax while sitting in your own home, inside your
home, the noise, and also on your own property, the inability to have
peace and quiet. I, for one, think it's un-American.
The noise permeates our homes and robs us of peace and quiet.
We are left unable to enjoy the outside. It's almost impossible for us
to enjoy it. The noise it coming from modified mufflers on dump
trucks, motorcycles, cars, and trucks.
As a registered nurse of 30 years, I know the damage that noise
pollution can cause, and that was only solidified by the EPA and the
World Health Organization who both state the detriment to human
health and wildlife related to noise pollution.
Noise pollution can cause cardiovascular disease; high blood
pressure; anxiety; hearing loss; cognition changes, especially in
children; and lack of sleep. Lack of sleep causes a whole host of
metobolical [sic] problems such as diabetes and obesity.
We're asking for your help. As taxpaying citizens, we feel we
deserve that. We need to make changes because it is possible. We
just need the will and your will.
Our law enforcement officers are doing everything they can do
with the manpower they have. They need assistance. It can
all -- not all be laid on their shoulders. Quiet Florida backs law
enforcement 150 percent.
Technology is available. Noise meter cameras, which are being
used in many states and cities: New York City; Washington, D.C.;
New Jersey; California; Tennessee; as well as Florida. Miami Beach
is using noise meter cameras on a trial basis.
What is a noise camera? Noise cameras or acoustic cameras are
equipped with audio sensors that are triggered by cars and other
February 28,2023
Page 22
vehicles that exceed predefined noise limits. They also feature
automated number plate recognition or ANPR technology, which can
read license plates to help identify lawbreakers.
In the UK, where these cameras were developed, between the
months of June 2021 and February 2022, in those cities, cameras
ticketed or caught 10,000 vehicles triggered by the cameras. We're
only asking for a trial. We're only asking for you to think outside
the box and help us. The camera technology would require less
manpower on the streets and no confrontation of the officer when he
has to stop a civilian or stop a car to ticket them for modified
mufflers. Less confrontation; safer for everyone.
We will be receiving data from Commissioner Steven Meiner,
who we are partnering with, from Miami on how he's doing and how
their noise cameras are working in that area. I've put out an email to
him, so I'm just waiting on that data, and I will get that to you.
Also, we need to assign a task force specifically for this issue in
our community. Educating the community, including schools, we
could use newspapers, your newsletters, have ads on TV stating that
modified mufflers are against the law. There are statutes. It is
illegal. We could contact body shops, auto shops, car dealers, and
make them aware of the consequences.
How about redesigning some of the streets and the roads by
using speed bumps, more lights, anything, roundabouts at
intersections to try to slow this traffic down so these people are
unable to race?
With school bus stops on every corner between Vanderbilt and
Pine Ridge, why can't we slow the traffic down? There's a lot of
people that live very close to that. And we wake up at 5:30 a.m.
with modified mufflers, and we listen to them all weekend long.
Our group and other citizens who are affected feel as though
we've been robbed of our peace and quiet by the individuals -- just a
February 28,2023
Page 23
few. It's not a lot, but they're out there -- terrorizing our
neighborhoods. We would like your help in getting that peace back.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman, members,
one of the -- I would like to see if -- I think Lieutenant Breuning is
here. I'd like for him to come on up for a few moments and just kind
of explain what the Sheriff has been doing. Sheriff Rambosk has
been very receptive to trying to help solve this problem, but he
doesn't really have the manpower to address it fully.
Senator Passidomo last year presented legislation that was
approved that clarified some of the issues dealing with penalties for
modified mufflers, and that's -- those types of activities. So there's
also a task force or a study that's being done by the legislature that I
think will come out sometime in May or June that will talk about how
bad this problem is and what some of the solutions are.
In the meantime, I wanted to get the Commission thinking in
terms of our upcoming budget, what the Sheriff may need to help
enforce some of the existing laws, and also to perhaps direct staff to
come back to us with some information on now noise cameras work
and what impact they could have.
I will make a distinction between a noise camera and a red light
camera. A red light camera, you're targeting a driver, and you have
to know who's driving the car. Anybody can loan their car to
somebody, and they can run a red light, and all of a sudden they're
being ticketed for running a red light.
With a noise camera, the vehicle really is in violation. The
owner of the vehicle is in violation by modifying their mufflers.
And so I think it's a little bit of a distinction that I think is important.
So anyway, I would like to ask Lieutenant Breuning if he would
explain what the Sheriff has been doing and what, perhaps, the
February 28,2023
Page 24
Sheriff would need going forward.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Good morning, Commissioners.
Let me first give you an overview of 316.293, which is the noise
ordinance. It's a fairly lengthy ordinance -- or law -- fairly lengthy
law. Most of it starts out with decibel readings which, from an
operational law enforcement standpoint, is really hard for us to
enforce.
So what we are doing is we are enforcing the law under 5(B),
which says, no person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the
highways of the state with an exhaust system or noise abatement
device so modified.
So with that being said, it leads to complications. A, we have
to be able to testify that we knew the vehicle was modified. That
limits us to the cars that are grossly modified, things like the Hondas
and the Toyotas that we know for a fact didn't come from the factory
that way.
Something that I've recently discovered is some of the
manufacturers -- we've actually went to the dealerships Ford, Chevy,
and Dodge and talked to their service managers about the cars, the
sports cars. A lot of them actually have a sport mode and, when
engaged, it will change the exhaust. And I'll read directly out of the
Ford manual that says, no, the track -- the track exhaust mode setting
is only used at tracks and not for use on public roadways. So this is
a legal car that can become illegal with the push of a button.
So I say all this to say legislation is really -- I think it's beyond
Collier County. This is a state level, if not even federal, to make a
significant impact on what we have going on.
Any questions?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: In terms of enforcing the
existing laws, I know you've been out there issuing tickets. Is this a
manpower issue? I understand that there's a legal issue here in terms
February 28,2023
Page 25
of catching the right folks for the right violation, but is there a
manpower issue that would help?
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Well, as you've said initially, the
Sheriff takes this very seriously. And I ran the numbers. I got with
the state, and I found the numbers. We -- Collier County leads
South Florida in enforcement of 316.293.
Insomuch, the closest agency to us is Miami-Dade police, and
we have them by almost 200 enforcement actions. So we're taking it
very seriously.
As far as what can be done, I continue to educate all of the
Sheriff's Office through our roll call memorandums, letting people
know -- you know, letting deputies know the severity that this has
grown to, how to enforce it, things like that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman, I think what I
would like to -- are there any other speakers?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We have some public comment.
Mr. Miller, we still have public comment?
MR. MILLER: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Then Commissioner McDaniel's lit
up here. Why don't we go to public comment, unless that changes
with --
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
MR. MILLER: Bob Bernardi, and he'll be followed by -- I'm
going to do my best to read this -- Paul, is it Schwinghammer?
MR. SCHWINGHAMMER: It is.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Good morning, sir.
MR. BERNARDI: Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for
taking up this topic and Mary for stealing all of my comments.
Maybe I could focus it a little bit. I live at 600 Fifth Avenue
South, right in downtown Olde Naples in between all the stores and
shops, and I have a 30-foot balcony that overlooks Fifth Avenue. So
February 28,2023
Page 26
I live this every day and also go down to Third Street South district.
And I'll tell you, over the last couple of years, it's become out of
control. And it's -- as earlier said, it's cars, it's pickup trucks, it's
motorcycles. Some of the motorcycles have straight pipes. They
don't even have mufflers, so it's a real problem.
We're talking about 15 to 20, that I hear, noises issue -- severe
noises per day, more on weekends. So we bill ourselves as paradise,
the place to come and enjoy yourself. This is far from paradise.
And these are people -- terrible to generalize, but I see them coming
west on Fifth. They don't stop at any restaurants or stores. They're
not pulling into parking spots. They seem to go down to Third
Street South, because 10 minutes later they're coming east on Fifth.
So they want to see and be seen, and they're making all of this noise
to help people focus on them. So it's a real problem.
There are a lot of different cars, trucks, motorcycles that do this,
but there are a series that are absolute regulars, sometimes twice per
day.
So there's probably all kind of strategies that I'm sure the
officers know about to have a team come out, just like they do in
speed traps. If we can give some of these regulars tickets and send
the message, that may help. We have a couple of officers on Fifth
Avenue South that focus on Fifth Avenue, and they're doing a really
good job for loud music, which is an ordinance, and for the mufflers,
but there's two guys. And this is probably happening 14 hours a day
every day of the week. So they can't be in a situation where they can
help enforce this.
So two sides of the coin: One is the recognition of the issue,
and number two is the enforcement actions. And it's been said, it's
not only ticketing the cars, but it's not only going to full-size
dealerships. It's going to these little modification shops that are
doing the work and making sure they understand it and what their
February 28,2023
Page 27
legal liability is.
But it is an issue. We would appreciate your support. Thank
you.
MR. MILLER: Mr. Chair, your final registered public speaker
on this item is Paul Schwinghammer.
MR. SCHWINGHAMMER: Good morning. My name is Paul
Schwinghammer. We live at 4050 7th Avenue Southwest. As a
point of reference, if you know where the Golden Gate's VFW is, we
are about a hundred yards north of that and about a hundred yards
west of 951. We purchased this home about 18 months ago, my wife
and I, and quickly noticed that the noise was pretty constant and
steady, really at all hours, and it wasn't long before we realized we
could not sleep at night unless we had a white noise machine or a fan
running because the noise was constant, particularly after the hours of
10 p.m.
And we understand, and I understand, coming from a
construction background, that trucks, triaxial trucks, et cetera, they
make noise. You can't get around that. The diesels, semis that go
by that intersection are frequent and constant, particularly in the
daytime working hours.
But the biggest problem is the modified mufflers of the sports
cars of the motorcycles, et cetera, particularly when they're leaving
the intersection of Pine Ridge and Collier. For us, it's when they're
heading north on 951. From that intersection when the light turns
green, it basically turns into a drag strip. People punch on their
accelerators and, man, you can hear it. You're sitting out on your
lanai, and you're embarrassed, frankly, when we have friends and
family over visiting to have to explain, wow, what's that noise, they
will ask, and we're like, yeah, we have to put up with that pretty
much all the time because of the amount of traffic and the fact that so
many of these vehicles are modified to make this noise.
February 28,2023
Page 28
And I can attest to the Sheriff stating about the manufacturer's
modification on the mufflers. I'm actually looking at purchasing a
Corvette, and one of the options is a performance exhaust, which
actually does nothing, really, more than gives you about five more
horsepower and just makes noise so -- as that gentleman said on Fifth
Avenue, so people will notice you. I'm not opting for that option if I
decide to purchase that car, by the way.
So I just wanted to state that I agree with everything. I
certainly appreciate everything Mary does with Quiet Florida,
because she is a very diligent advocate for everyone's benefit in
Naples to try and keep the noise down for all the -- for the reasons
that she mentioned. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner, did you want to --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Go ahead.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel, and
then, Commissioner Hall, you're on deck.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: If Commissioner Saunders
wants to go first --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No, no, no. I want to hear
from the commissioners. The purpose -- the reason I'm bringing this
forward is I want to give staff some direction if there is a recognition
by the Board that there is a problem that we need to address. So I
want to hear from all of you in terms of what your thoughts are on
this.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well -- and, you know, in
that light, the recognition of the issue is real. There's no argument
that there's an enhanced noise factor that's coming along with these
modifications that are, in fact, happening. How we manage it's the
key to success.
And, Lieutenant, if you could come back, I have a question for
you, if you would, please. You, in the beginning of your
February 28,2023
Page 29
presentation, talked about the noise ordinance that you're currently
operating under. Have you or the Sheriff's legal counsel made
recommendations to adjust that to make your life better? Because,
you know, that's our goal is to make your life better.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Right. I actually participated in
the OPPAGA study that Commissioner Saunders mentioned. I gave
them my recommendations as far as what would -- what would make
it better for us. And to be perfectly honest with you, I don't -- I
mean, I don't have the magic bullet for that. It's a very complicated
issue that --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: There's no argument that it's
a complicated issue. But I understood you to say that you're trying
to operate under -- you have a local noise ordinance, and then the
statute that governs your actions as to how you get through that. Did
I misunderstand what you said?
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: No, we are only operating off
state statute.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Then I did
misunderstand it, because I was under the impression there was a
local noise ordinance that was prohibitive for your actions.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: It won't -- the local noise
ordinance won't affect vehicular traffic.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Well, maybe we
could make some adjustments to that as a beginning of the effort to
help -- help with the enforcement. The bottom line here, in my
perception, is enforcement's the key to success. Well, the beginning
is education. Education is key to success.
If we can transition away from the modification of the mufflers
and better educate the population -- I know that there was
enhancements to the statute with regard to the penalties that come
along with the modification. That's certainly an incentive that will
February 28,2023
Page 30
help people comply with the noise statutes that are, in fact, there.
I guess my question then comes over to staff from an
educational standpoint. Are you aware, Ms. Patterson, of anything
that -- what are we doing from an educational standpoint to try to
help our Sheriff?
MS. PATTERSON: I'm going to look to the back at Trinity,
Transportation, to see if she wants to come up and answer some
questions.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: She doesn't look too
enthusiastic about that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, she really wasn't.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Somebody check her vehicle. She
might have a modified muffler. She's freaking out right now.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Excuse me. Just one quick
statement I want to make --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- if I may. I have had
experience with Jake brakes on dump trucks. In my other life I used
to be in the mining and excavating business, and we had enormous
success with the utilization of the Jake brakes just from an
educational standpoint by going to the mining operations for the folks
that are -- and we're about -- by the way, if you haven't seen our
agenda today, we're about to have a lot more dump trucks coming
into our community, especially downtown Naples and such with the
beach renourishment project that we have commencing immediately.
So education with regard to the utilization of those Jake brakes.
We know it's a key component of operating a 70,000-pound dump
truck, but at the same time, not utilizing the Jake break can be a huge
benefit. So just as a -- from an educational component, let's maybe
get that out from a messaging standpoint.
February 28,2023
Page 31
Trinity?
MS. SCOTT: Thank you. For the record, Trinity Scott,
department head, Transportation Management Services. And I just
bought a hybrid over the weekend, so it's really quiet. Not by
choice. I had to turn the old diesel in.
Anyhow, sorry. I digress.
At this time I'm unaware of any targeted education that the
county is doing but, certainly, if that's direction from the Board, we
can work together collectively with all of our departments and our
communications staff and come up with a strategy.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Good. I -- short
of -- short of the educational aspect of this, I want to see -- because
when I met with Ms. Mary last week, we talked about a pilot program
that's currently going on over in Miami, and I want to see the data
from that before we make any moves with regard to these noise
cameras.
I want to -- I want to ensure that we don't go down the same path
that we did before with the traffic light cameras that were an absolute
debacle. And I also know the technology and advancements in
technology have certainly been enhanced, and privacy can be better
maintained. But I really want to see the results of that pilot program
that's currently transpiring in Miami before we make a move on
anything ourself.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall, and then,
Commissioner Kowal, you're on deck.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I will definitely agree that the noise
is an issue. I live right on Trail Boulevard right on 41. And it's a
racetrack. And it's always been that way, but it's worse now. And I
know it's worse because I can also hear them when they turn on Pine
Ridge and go east. It's like -- it's that pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. It's
their backfiring muffler, and I know that that's illegal.
February 28,2023
Page 32
So to the lieutenant, you said that we lead in enforcement in
South Florida.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So since it's not like we're not
doing a good job with the enforcement, it makes me think maybe the
penalty's not great enough.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: The legislation actually -- so the
law that we're charging them under is a moving violation, which is
normally a $113 ticket. The legislation, I believe, in '21 passed an
enhancement for the -- for that specific statute that increases it by
$200 on the first offense, so the first ticket is $313, and anything
subsequent after that is 613. So we are seeing repeat offenders. It
will get expensive for them.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Yeah. Well, that's my thought. If
it stings the first time a lot, then maybe the word would get around.
Would the noise cameras -- you know, you also mentioned that
it's an issue enforcing because of discretionary, you know, like the
decibel levels. Would the noise cameras help eliminate that
discretionary challenge on enforcement?
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Honestly, sir, I don't know
enough about the noise cameras to make an informed decision on
that.
COMMISSIONER HALL: And then education-wise maybe a
slogan could be, "let's be loud and clear, noise will cost you money,"
and that's all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal, and then
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: How you doing, Lieutenant?
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Good, sir. How are you?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Good.
I agree with Commissioner McDaniels [sic], it's definitely a
February 28,2023
Page 33
problem. I hear it myself. I live at the corner of
Parkway -- McDaniel. I always put the S on it. Sorry.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Nice job.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: But the Parkway and Airport.
So I feel -- I feel it myself. Certain nights I sit outside, and I can
hear it. It sounds like it's going through my backyard. But also
knowing that my background -- and I know how challenging it is, and
I know what we went through with the red light cameras, and
identifying the driver was impossible, and we ran into a
constitutionality and the enforcement of that, and that's why, I think,
we don't have them anymore because of the fact that -- to civilly
charge somebody with a citation and moving violation, you have to
be able to identify the driver in court as the body that's acting under
the color of law in citing that person.
I don't know enough about these noise cameras either. I know
that Miami is doing the study, but from what I understand, I could be
corrected if I'm wrong, but they are not enforcing it. They are not
actually citing.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: They are not. They are not
enforcing it. They're not issuing citations through the noise cameras
that I'm aware of.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay. So they're just in a,
basically, study mode and collecting data?
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Correct.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: So, you know, I think the one
statute that's already on the books may work with the noise cameras,
the one where it goes after the owner of the vehicle with the altered
muffler, but the other one we're operating would probably not,
because it would fall under the same area as the red light.
So I think this is something we have to go after -- not on the
noise study, Commissioner Saunders, maybe you can let me know,
February 28,2023
Page 34
was that over -- done a long period of time, certain times of day, or
was this something that -- when we went out and did the study itself
in these areas, or when you went out and assessed it? I guess that's
the question I should ask.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: We really haven't assessed it yet.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Oh, okay. So would it behoove
us to maybe have somebody, an independent organization go out and
do certain times of the day or over time to actually monitor this with
equipment that can monitor decibels of the sound and say, all right,
we know exactly at this point to this point on these days that we are
having a heavier amount of it? And then you, the Sheriff -- I can't
put words in you and the Sheriff's mouths, but utilize maybe YRD
with the educational part of it, then move on to using YRD on
weekends, if weekends are the heavy time when they're off, you
know, get some task force out there during those times. So we have
an exact plan. When you attack something, you want to have a plan
when you attack it. You know, that's kind of my idea. So if -- we
want to fix the problem, but we can't fix the problem if we don't
know the exact problem we're fixing.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What's YRD?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Oh, I'm sorry. Youth relations
deputies. That's the largest unit in the Sheriff's Department --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I got you.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: -- and they have the most
manpower. And they don't work in the summer -- well, they do
work, but they're off. And they don't work on weekends. So this
may be something that we could utilize, you know, the Sheriff for
manpower to help enforce it when we identify the times, the dates,
areas, because if you just go out blindly, it's fishing, you know.
So I think we need more information to have an actual plan that
will work and have some results. So I just -- these are just some
February 28,2023
Page 35
ideas I'm throwing out there, but, you know, I don't -- you know, I'd
love to have feedback on all of that before we just say this is what
we're going to do, you know.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I agree with you that we need more information before we make
any decisions, and that's the reason I brought this forward was to start
to generate that information. And so I'd like to suggest a couple
things. First of all, I think we do need to have staff evaluate these
noise cameras, to meet with the folks in Dade County and other
communities that have them, and just find out how they work and
report back to us on the cost of those, how they work, what type of
enforcement issues there are, because there are some communities
where I'm sure that they must be enforcing those cameras at this
point. And, of course, Dade County is not. But just to generate
information from the manufacturer, from other communities that are
using these cameras, so we have an understanding of how effective
they are and what type of community reaction there has been to them.
I know on the red light cameras, we had a tremendous
community reaction to it. I wasn't on the Board at the time, so I
don't feel responsible for it, but I know that the community really
reacted to it. Well, it would be interesting to see how other
communities are reacting to those as well.
So I'd like to make that as a recommendation in terms of having
stuff fully evaluate these and report back to us during our budgeting
process over the next couple months.
Also, I'd like to have staff work with Mary Tatigian and her
group on what type of education might be effective in terms of
getting information into the schools, into these shops where these
modifications are taking place. Come back to us with some
February 28,2023
Page 36
recommendations on how we might help educate the businesses that
are modifying these mufflers and doing these things that are illegal,
let them know that it's an issue that we're serious about.
And I'd also like to recommend that -- I know, Lieutenant,
you've said that you had some recommendations to the OPPAGA
group that's doing the study. I'd like to see what those
recommendations are because, perhaps, we need to get those to
Senator Passidomo to see, perhaps, if she could do something with
those this legislative session. So there may be some issues there.
And as part of that, I'd like to suggest that we have our lobbyist
involved in this. If we have some recommendations for our
legislative delegation, we need to have our lobbyist help us in getting
that word out.
So I'd like to make those recommendations. No decision today,
just directing staff to do those things that I've just outlined, if the
Board's willing to move forward with that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal and then
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chairman.
Just -- something popped in my head, and I just thought about it.
But we were talking about the citations itself and the progressive
citation, if it's a repeat offender. And if I remember correctly, we
used to have the old 316.610, the fix-it ticket. And you probably
remember like I remember was -- we had the incident at Sugden Park
where there was two teenage -- a male and female that were sitting in
a car, and they were overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning
because the gentleman had the muffler altered. And it was pretty sad
for the family. And just being an unsafe equipment vehicle, if this
would be something maybe in the future we could look at and
accompany the 316.610 with the initial citation of operating with the
altered muffler, then that forces them to fix it. They have so many
February 28,2023
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days to fix it, bring it back to the Sheriff's Department, and show
them that it's been fixed, if that ticket's cited. Because when
we -- Florida took away the inspection system, the inspection system
here in the state of Florida, they created 316 just for that reason, for
deputies and police officers to enforce unsafe equipment.
So that may be another angle to accompany the regular ticket.
When they get cited for the altered muffler, cite them with the unsafe
equipment, and that forces them to fix the unsafe equipment. So, I
mean, hopefully, the judges in town will look at it the same way I
look at it, but I think that might force them to fix it instead of having
repeat offenders.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I like it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah, thank you.
And on the note that Commissioner Kowal talked about earlier
with data collection -- and, you know, I'm not a huge advocate of
studies, but maybe if -- two things from an educational standpoint,
the community that's impacted, all of us -- well, I'm not impacted, I
live in nowhere, so -- yet. I'm not impacted yet. But if we can
direct our 311 calls to a particular database, if the Sheriff can go
through and assimilate the current complaints that have transpired
identifying hot spots. We've had several people come and speak to
us about particular areas that are worse than others, and with that
comes -- I know we've had effective enforcement on other
circumstances when I get specificity on timing because we're limited
on manpower, that's the rationale behind the cameras is -- the noise
cameras is that you don't have to stand there and go fishing all day
long.
So maybe if we had an assimilation of the complaints and then
aggregation with regard to the timing that it's transpiring, then we
could actually do some additional testing in those hot spot areas to
February 28,2023
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better help direct enforcement and be more effective with the
enforcement.
With regard to your point, Ms. Mary shared a story about one
young fellow who had -- I think he was on his second ticket, so he
was pushing the $600 button for his ticket, and the judge offered
them 10 days to go fix and replace his muffler back to stock, and in
lieu of paying the $600 fine, go fix your muffler, bring it back, and
then they let him out of the fine, which was an incentivization, which
I'm really in favor of, as opposed to additional regulation. So that's
already necessarily happening with the enhancement to the penalties
that are coming from the violation. It's already necessarily worked
into the court system.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I was just going to make a
comment before I think -- we'll have --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Can I get his response to the
aggregation of the data?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Absolutely.
LIEUTENANT BREUNING: Yes, sir. Let me respond to
what you were talking about as far as the -- letting them fix the
violation. I know personally that I do that as well. When I cite one
of these drivers, I tell them, I said, if you can fix this within 30 days,
my name is at the bottom of the ticket. If you make contact with me
and I inspect your car, I will dismiss it. It won't even go to court.
And I know one of the sergeants that works for me is also doing that.
Most everybody in the traffic bureau is taking that approach.
As far as the aggregation of the data, we do have -- what we
have found by looking at it so far is our biggest -- I mean, it's no
real -- you know, it's no real epiphany that our noisiest times are
going to be our commute times. So we see it in the morning, during
the lunch hour, and in the evening, mostly on your major corridors.
The thing about a modified exhaust versus an aggressive driver or
February 28,2023
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some -- or a DUI, it can happen on any road at any time.
Certain -- you know, it's not specific to the roadway, where, you
know, aggressive speeds are, they're -- I mean -- speed bumps and
roundabouts slow cars down. The car's still going to be loud in
those, so...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: All right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I was just going to make a
comment, and then I'm sure Commissioner Saunders wants to either
sum it up or add something.
You know, one thing to add, I had two town hall meetings last
week and, actually, this came up. But one of the things that I tend to
get, and even in emails, is citizens who say, I was having dinner on
Fifth Avenue four days ago, and somebody was racing down Fifth
Avenue with a really loud muffler. You guys need to do something
about it.
Just as a sidenote to citizens, sometimes -- most of the time we
either have a City of Naples police officer on one side street who can
respond in 30 seconds or if the -- if the call is made somewhere else
within Collier County, you know, sheriffs are out and about. You
know, if their call goes off, and it's, you know, at a cross-street and
they're 10 seconds away, they can often sometimes, you know, catch
the culprit. But, you know, sending any of us up here an email, you
know, five days later saying, oh, my God, we hear all this noise.
And then my reply is, so did you report it so, number one, we can get
the data? Because some of the data you might bring back to us
might be a little thin because we've got a large percentage of people
that are venting about it. And it has merit, no question, but if they
don't report it, then the issue might not seem as big, or we might be
focused on the wrong, you know, community, because the issue
might be in another community that's just not picking up the phone.
But, you know, I just encourage people, call the non-emergent
February 28,2023
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number, call 311, and, you know, that's not going to fix everything.
But I'm flabbergasted a lot of times when I do hear complaints and I
say, you know, so when you called it, you know, did you get a
professional response? And they -- oh, I didn't report it. It was just,
you know, we're all upset about it, and I wish you guys would do
something. And the reporting does help because often there is, you
know, a police officer or a sheriff close by that can respond.
But, Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
I'd like to move the ball a little bit here today. So I'm going to
make a couple of motions and just see if there's any appetite of the
Commission to explore this more fully and to really dig into it and
get more facts. So with your permission, Mr. Chairman, a couple
motions.
I'd like to make a motion that our staff evaluate noise cameras
just as a fact-finding issue. That would involve contact with the
manufacturer, that would involve contact with Miami Beach, or
Miami, and other communities where these cameras are being used
just so we know what we're talking about, because right now all we
know is there are cameras out there that do something. And I'd like
to know more about it. And I think it would be important -- an
important message to send to the public that we're willing to look at
these different possible solutions. We may not adopt those. I'm not
suggesting that moving forward is implementing them. It's just
evaluating them.
So, Mr. Chairman, I would like for our staff to evaluate those. I
would also like our staff to work with the Sheriff's Department and
Mary Tatigian's group on what type of education would be important
in terms of getting the information into the schools and information
to the manufacturers or the -- not the manufacturers, but the folks that
February 28,2023
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are modifying these mufflers in their shops.
And so I'd also like, as part of that, that we get the
recommendations from Lieutenant Breuning in terms of what he's
suggested to the OPPAGA group so at least we know what that
information is with the potential of directing our lobbyists to work on
that. Now, I can break this down into separate motions if necessary,
but --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. I think it's great. We've
got a motion. We have a quick second. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We have a budget cycle
coming up, Mr. Chairman, and so this is something that should be
fairly expeditious on the part of our staff so we can, perhaps, get
more resources into our Sheriff's Department if that's part of the
recommendations.
So thank you. I appreciate the Board's consideration of this.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No. I'll just confirm. So
sometimes we're misquoted up here. This is exploratory in nature,
so the front page shouldn't say we're putting noise cameras at every
intersection or, you know, we unanimously gave guidance. But
there's a lot to look into. We want to do this right. You know, it's
the old "measure twice, cut once."
So, Lieutenant, thank you for coming.
February 28,2023
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And, Mary, as always, thank you for the information.
And, you know, we'll move forward and see what's realistic and
what can help our community.
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. What do you think,
Ms. Patterson? What -- should we dive into the next one? It will
probably go longer than our break but -- or is there some quick
business we can jump around and knock out anything quick that you
see?
MS. PATTERSON: I think we can move on to First Tee.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay, great. Okay.
Item #10C
GULF COAST JUNIOR GOLD TOUR, INC., DOING BUSINESS
AS THE FIRST TEE OF NAPLES/COLLIER, ON THE
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF FIRST TEE NAPLES
COLLIER LEARNING CENTER ON A PORTION OF THE
GOLDEN GATE GOLF COURSE PROPERTY –PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 10C is a recommendation to hear a
presentation by Gulf Coast Junior Gold Tour, Inc., doing business as
The First Tee of Naples/Collier, on the construction and operation of
First Tee Naples Collier Learning Center on a portion of the Golden
Gate Golf Course property.
This item is brought to the agenda by Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman and members,
the reason I asked this to be presented today, we're at the -- at the
very close position of getting some of our projects at the Golden Gate
Golf Course finalized and started, and I wanted the Board to be aware
February 28,2023
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of how significant this project -- this overall project in Golden Gate
Golf Course will be for -- not just for the Golden Gate community.
It will be important for that community, but it will be important for
the entire county, especially our youth. And so I wanted
Ms. Darland to show a video on what their plans are and how well
they're doing in terms of the fundraising and what this really means
for the community as we go forward in this.
So with that, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to have the video.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir.
Ma'am?
MS. DARLAND: Thank you very much for this opportunity to
give you an update on our learning center. We are -- before we start,
I -- like Commissioner Saunders said, we will show a quick video on
our progress as well as some of the children we reach through our
First Tee program.
(A video was played as follows:)
The future of the First Tee Naples/Collier is almost here. Now,
for the first time, First Tee Naples/Collier will have a home base.
This new learning center will be part of a larger public golf venue
which will include a BigShots driving range facility and a 12-hole
Nichlaus design designed golf course.
This Golden Gate campus will allow us to expand our reach to
more children in Golden Gate, Manatee, East Naples, and beyond.
Inside The First Tee Learning Center will be the most advanced
interactive technology and learning facilities which will inspire our
youth to stay in the program through high school. Our new home
will provide the foundation that will enable kids to build strong
character and develop core values as they learn the game of golf.
The center will also provide a safe place for our youth to gather
and office space for our dedicated First Tee staff to manage the
1,000-plus participants and 30 Collier County in-school programs.
February 28,2023
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The First Tee Learning Center will strive to teach and challenge
the children of Collier County to be the best they can be on and off
the course.
Join us in celebrating our future by partnering with us as we
continue to build game changers in our community.
First Tee is an organization that focuses on teaching kids and
youth life skills through the game of golf.
The First Tee, you know, really has built me up as an individual.
It's taught me a lot about how to present myself in front of others. It
gives me the confidence to know that, you know, at the end of the
day, I can do anything I put my mind to.
What I've learned the most is probably patience and acceptance.
You know, patience being golf is each shot at a time, and I just have
to focus my mind on each shot, and acceptance being I make some
mistakes, I make some bad shots. I just have to move on and try not
to dwell on it.
Golf is such a bonding sport. It allows for the parent either to
come and watch their student play, drop them off, the student hits a
good shot, the parent's watching: Mom, look. Did you see? So the
kid loves when their parents are able to see them succeed.
Just to see them go out there and where they started, they
couldn't even hit the ball, to where they ended, and having those
opportunities to go out and say, we're going to go to the driving
range. I mean, it just changes everything.
It's made a major impact on our family to not only participate in
the program, but Julian and my daughter Amelia were able to be
standard bearers at the QB shootout, just a huge memory, and also the
fact that they're able to give back to the community.
There is a $10,000 scholarship for four years. I've been
honored to get one of those last year. So now I don't have to worry
about being able to pay off my school or to be in debt.
February 28,2023
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I am the first one in my family to go to college in the United
States. When they first called me, I started crying and, like, it felt
like a weight off my shoulders. It made me feel like I could do it.
It's a cyclical thing that we want to build. We teach, and we
also want them to one day be able to come back and give back to the
community. I mean, it's just been a tremendous partnership that has
really brought the game of golf to the Immokalee community.
I'm thankful for the First Tee teaching me that I could be
whoever I want to be.
I'm thankful for the First Tee for inspiring me and to also really
keep me moving forward.
Thank you for having a positive impact on my life.
It's been a blessing being part of the First Tee here at
Naples/Collier.
(Videotape ended.)
MS. DARLAND: Thank you very much.
As you can see, we reach several positive kids all throughout
Collier County. We are excited to be part of the cornerstone in the
Collier County golf center that is being built at Golden Gate Parkway
and 951 where families, young and old, can gather in a positive
atmosphere to learn the game of golf, to learn our life skills through
First Tee, and to have positive influence and friendships throughout
their life. So it's very meaningful.
Our learning center will be a flagship for the First Tee across the
United States. Currently, in Collier County we reach 1,000 young
people each year in our life skills programming. Once the doors
open at our new facility, we anticipate doubling that size, and the
reason being is there is a great need for after-school program in
Collier County, especially in the Golden Gate area. And we feel and
we know that the First Tee will fill that niche with our learning center
where kids can come after school in a positive, safe environment with
February 28,2023
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mentors and trained coach to greet and meet them every afternoon
and on the weekend.
We have had the opportunity over the past few months to meet
parents, children, businessmen, business women, retirees, people in
the Pars community, which is around the golf course, and everyone is
ready to go. We are excited to put the shovels in the ground. It's a
public facility where this community needs for our families to gather.
We are ready to go. The First Tee is ready.
We have raised over $5 million in our $10 million campaign,
and we are confident that once the shovels are in the ground, the
funds will come. And we will make it a spectacular place for
families to attend First Tee.
There's nothing like it in Collier County, and we should all be
very proud of it where families can go, they can drop their kids off at
First Tee, or we can bus them into First Tee, and afterwards they can
go over to BigShots and have dinner, or they can go and play another
six holes of golf with mentors or some of our coaches. It's a good
thing, and the county is behind us. They're behind you, and we want
to see this done. And what a better gift to give to our community
and our young people than a place like Collier County -- I'm calling it
the golf center -- and what a great gift to give them that is lasting for,
you know, many years to come.
So we are excited, to say the least, and if there's anything we can
do on our part to get this going, we're here to help, and I'm open for
questions if you have any questions.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No, I don't have any
questions. I just -- I wanted to bring this item forward. As I said,
we're very close to getting all of these projects underway: The
veterans nursing home, the golf course, this facility, the workforce
housing project. There are several projects out there that we're really
February 28,2023
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on the cusp of, and I wanted the Board to understand and see
firsthand how important this is to the overall community. So this is
a good-news -- for me, this is a good-news story that I just wanted to
share with the Board. I'm not asking for any action on the part of the
Board, just to let you know we're moving forward.
MS. DARLAND: Thank you. It's a good-news story for us as
well, so thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And you said let's get this going.
It's going. It's already going.
MS. DARLAND: All right. Thank you. We appreciate it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay, Ms. Patterson.
Item #10D
RESOLUTION 2023-40: THE BOARD PROHIBIT ANY
CONNECTION OF AUTUMN OAK [SIC] LANE, HIDDEN OAKS
LANE, SPANISH OAKS LANE, GOLDEN OAKS LANE,
STANDING OAKS LANE, SHADY OAKS LANE, BUR OAKS
LANE, AND ENGLISH OAKS LANE TO LOGAN BOULEVARD
– ADOPTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 10D is a request that the Board
prohibit any connection of -- I'm sorry. This is correction for the
record -- Autumn Oak [sic] Lane, Hidden Oaks Lane, Spanish Oaks
Lane, Golden Oaks Lane, Standing Oaks Lane, Shady Oaks Lane,
Bur Oaks Lane, and English Oaks Lane to Logan Boulevard. This
item is brought to the agenda by Commissioner Saunders.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman, that
community has been under the impression for probably 15 or 20
years that these roads would not be connected to Logan Boulevard. I
February 28,2023
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searched the records. There is nothing official in our records that
says that. So their concern is that at any point in time the
Commission could change its mind and connect up Oakes Boulevard
to Logan Boulevard which would create a massive problem in that
community.
And so I advised their board of directors that I would bring
before the Board a request for a resolution that specifically says that
there's no intent on the part of the Board to connect these roads to
Logan Boulevard. Now, obviously, a future commission can undo
that, but it's more difficult to undo something like this than it is to
make the decision in the first place. So this is just to give comfort to
that neighborhood that it is not the intention of the Board to connect
those roads to Logan. That's a community that we're looking to
protect.
So the motion would be for the Board to adopt a resolution
basically saying what this says so that there will be something on the
official records to give that community some comfort.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I've got a motion and
second. Anybody have any questions or anything for the staff?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I just want one
clarification. So what you were saying, Commissioner Saunders, is
these -- the citizens on all these roads were under the false impression
that these roads were going to be connected, but it was never the
county's intention to connect them, correct?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: It's really not just the
residents on those roads. It's the entire Oaks Community, because --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- this would have
a -- connecting any of those roads to Logan would have a significant
February 28,2023
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impact on Oakes Boulevard. And so it's the entire community. It's
not just those roads. And it's -- as I said, it's never been the intent of
the prior boards to connect those roads to Logan, but we have that
potential, and I just want to go on record indicating that at least this
board certainly has no intention of doing that. It will be more
difficult -- as I said, it will be more difficult for a future board to take
this resolution and rescind it than it would be to just connect the road
in the first place. So that's the purpose of this, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah, just as a point of
discussion, I'd like to take -- I mean, I'm totally in support of the -- or
the motion, but I also, when we -- we had the -- we had the elderly
care facility built on the north end, which used to be 24th, there was
specific direction from this board with regard to limiting the left-hand
turn. So somebody make sure that that's, in fact, transpiring as well,
because the neighborhood reached out expressing a concern about the
increase of traffic on Oakes. And so I just -- as a footnote on this
item just, if you would, get back to me at some stage, Trinity.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Mr. Miller, do we have any public
comment or anything?
MR. MILLER: We do not.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So we've got a motion and second.
All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. It passes. I'm sorry?
You oppose? Do you want to make any comments or --
February 28,2023
Page 50
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah, just -- the reason I oppose
this is just because these are public roads. These are roads that are
maintained by the tax dollars and the taxpaying public. So I just
don't know if -- you know, there was never any intention to connect
them, but to create a resolution to make it harder for a future
commission to do it, if it's -- if it's something that's necessary to
betterment [sic] the taxpaying public to connect the roads, that -- you
know, we're almost privatizing roads that we're using tax dollars to
maintain, so -- and that's just kind of my position on it, so...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, I think that has merit.
Anybody want to make a -- and the reason I was asking for the
clarification is because -- not that I have a lot of depth of knowledge
on the history of this -- these neighborhoods, but I was just a little bit
concerned about precedence, because we do widen roads, we
lengthen roads, and, you know, don't want to give the false
impression to different neighbors that, hey, if you come in here with a
thousand people all wearing matching T-shirts or get to your
commissioner, you can -- you know, a lot of times these roads are
made wider to connect different areas because it does help with
traffic. I'm not saying that's the example here. This might be a
totally different example. It sounds like it might be.
But, you know, my concern was it's not, like you said,
necessarily, you know, an immediate option because somebody's
worried about noise, which we just talked about or traffic, that at
times connecting the roads is what makes the community more
connectible, more easily traversed, but -- so I think, you know, what
you say, I don't -- I don't think I disagree with it.
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I don't agree -- I don't
disagree either. I mean, there's certainly rationale, but on the same
token, you know, those of us who have represented the Golden Gate
February 28,2023
Page 51
Estates area, virtually all of the streets are cul-de-sac streets. And I
remember -- and transportation folks, engineers especially -- I won't
throw anybody under the bus -- but they have a different perspective
on ease of move about and so on and so forth. I remember when
Vanderbilt was being finalized. There was a move to open up five
or six streets in Golden Gate Estates Rural, east of 951, and allow for
cross-access through those -- through those cul-de-sac streets,
so -- and then we, the Board, chose to not do that and made some
amendments to Vanderbilt as well.
So -- but, I mean, you're not -- you're not -- I agree with what it
is you're saying, that they are public roads, but on the other side, they
are not built wide enough. They don't -- they don't have -- they
barely have traverse-ability for the neighborhood that's actually
utilizing them to get to their homes, and they weren't -- it wasn't
really contemplated for them to be connection routes throughout -- to
different corridors. That's why I'm supporting the motion.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Do we have any -- you know, I
don't want to beat a dead horse here, and I don't have, like I said, the
depth of knowing that all these are cul-de-sacs or what have you but,
you know, from our traffic, you know, experts, is there any pushback
or concern? I mean, if Tony was here, you know, or Trinity -- and
here she comes -- you know, it would make me feel a lot better
saying that, no, you know, you're exactly right, these should have
never been connected, because sometimes they have a little bit of a
different perspective, but, you know -- and like I said, I'm not trying
to be Scrooge or anything here, but I'd just like a little bit more
education. Ma'am?
MS. SCOTT: Once again, for the record, Trinity Scott,
department head, Transportation Management Services. I thought I
was going to be able to sit back there quiet all day.
Certainly, from a Transportation perspective we support all
February 28,2023
Page 52
interconnections, but they have to be done in a manner where
we -- typically, if we're interconnecting, we want to look at the
roadway that we're connecting to, what type of other improvements
would be necessary. I haven't been out on these specific roadways
in a while, but typical Golden Gate Estates roadways are very narrow
roadways without sidewalks, et cetera. So, certainly, putting any
type of connection in and encouraging an abundance of traffic, we
would want to look at that.
Commissioner Saunders and I spoke about this. There's been a
long-standing history with the Oaks community, if you will. And,
quite frankly, I thought that there was something in board policy
where the roadway would not be -- the roadways would not be
connected. I searched the record, as did Commissioner Saunders
and his staff.
So as I said, from a transportation perspective from when you
put the engineering hat on, we certainly appreciate and value
interconnections in the proper place. At this time we have no plans
to connect those roadways.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And these would be bad
examples of roads that would welcome a connection. Obviously, the
citizens don't, but to Commissioner McDaniel's point what I'm
hearing you say, you know, you can't just arbitrarily connect roads.
I mean, you can't connect an interstate to a, you know, one-lane road;
it's not a smart move. Are these examples of those type of
cul-de-sac, one- or two-lane roads where the connection wouldn't
even make sense or -- and I don't want to put you on the spot if you
don't have that knowledge. I certainly don't.
MS. SCOTT: They're very -- yeah, they're very narrow
roadways that were built in a time when, you know, pavement widths
were not what they are today. They're not similar to a brand-new
road that I would build today as far as lane widths, et cetera.
February 28,2023
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So prior to even proposing to make any type of connection, we
would come to the Board and say, we need to look at that road. And
I'm going to use Massey Street as an example. Vanderbilt Beach
Road extension --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You're going to go to
Massey?
MS. SCOTT: Well, we connected that roadway. We proposed
making connections to that roadway. Very similar roadway, very
narrow. We're investing a significant amount of money to improve
that roadway to make sure that it can be viable for an interconnection.
So that would be what we would be looking at in the future
should we want to come before the Board to make an
interconnection.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And there's always that
option.
But, I mean, I have a question, I guess, for Commissioner
Saunders. The reason you're making this motion is really to alleviate
confusion in the citizens' mind and to give them peace of mind that at
least now going forward -- and there's always something that could
change. And like you say, if there was some big major reversal -- I
don't necessarily -- I know exactly what you're saying. It would be
difficult for, you know, five different commissioners up here.
But I think if county staff came up here in X number of years
and said, wow, there's been a really major change, you know, the
commissioners back in 2023 made a really smart decision that made
sense at the time, but now we really need to approve three of these
six or seven roads, like you're doing on Massey, because of some
changes in the community, I mean, we wouldn't have a crystal ball to
know that. But it seems like in the short term, the reason you're
making this motion is to alleviate some confusion. And we know
we're not doing that today or maybe in the near future; is that correct,
February 28,2023
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sir?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah. And this particular
community was under the impression, as was Ms. Scott, that there
was already something in the records to reflect that there would not
be those interconnections, something going back many, many years
ago.
We searched the records; that was not contained in the records.
And so I just wanted to clarify for that community that was the
intention before; that's the intention now. But I've also advised them
that a future board -- almost everything we do can be undone. You
know, we can't bind -- you know, we often say we can't bind a future
board except for, perhaps, contracts and that sort of thing, but we
can't bind a future board on a policy like this, but we can make it
clear that this was what the intent was and what the neighborhood
had understood for many, many years.
This is a little bit different because you've got really just some
very narrow streets that would be connected potentially to a road that
has a tremendous amount of traffic on it, and that would just be the
wrong thing to do to that neighborhood.
So that's why I brought this. It's to clarify something that
everyone understood was already there.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel, then
Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. And not to belabor
the point, but we -- I served as chair of the East of 951 Horizon
Study. Two years we went through with public input, brought in the
Sheriff's Department, the fire department, EMS, talked about the
connectivity, talked about -- and similar roads, by the way, that are
cul-de-sac streets that weren't built for throughway traffic.
And then we got a grant from the state for $10 million to build
three bridges. The state said, hey, we have some money, and we
February 28,2023
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know you want to build some bridges. We identified those roads for
connection 15 years ago by the community, brought it to the Board of
County Commissioners, and identified these interconnecting roads.
And the consequences of the expense, they had to be widened,
they had to have sidewalks, they had to have streetlights, and the
county burnt the $10 million on the first bridge. And it wasn't the
cost of the bridge. It was the improvements to the street that were
requisite -- the two streets on -- 8th was the first one that we did, and
the consequences of interconnection demanded additional swales and
sidewalks and lighting and so on and so forth.
So it is, in fact, a process, as Commissioner Saunders said, that it
would -- it can be undone if, in fact, staff came to us, another study
was done, and the greater good was served that we interconnected
between Logan and Oakes. But I certainly support the motion as
he's brought it forward.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chairman.
I just -- I don't want to be misunderstood, but I'm just -- you
know, I'm looking at it a certain way. And it just almost looks like
we're using government again to fix something that's not broken.
I mean, I heard, you know, over and over, keep saying
something that was intended not to ever happen, but the problem is, it
was never -- if it was intended, it would have been written
somewhere when it initially was there. So I don't think it was ever
intended not to do it, because it was never written down. It might
have been an assumption. But we don't work on assumption, you
know, and rumor over time. You know, just because somebody says
it over and over again don't mean it's true.
You know, I don't know -- I look at a public safety aspect of it.
I don't know what's going to go on the other side of Logan some day.
We don't have that crystal ball, but I think that will come to the Board
February 28,2023
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in the future, and it will be something that whoever's sitting in the
seats on the dais will make that decision.
So I think if it comes down to it then, when that time comes,
they'll make the right decision. But, like I said, I don't know if
foreseeing something that didn't happen yet or fixing something by
using government and overreach in a way that we have no intention
of doing right now or not -- and you can't say that, you know, in a
public safety aspect of it -- I know what it was like working in
Golden Gate City, and you have to respond to an emergency call, and
you're like, all right, I'm right on this street, and I know I can go
down this way and that other street's at the end of 29th Street
Southwest or whatever, and you get down there, there's a canal.
Now I've got to drive 25 minutes around another way to get to
somebody that needs my help.
And we don't know where that deputy or that EMS or that
firefighter might be at the time. And if there is a community on the
other side of Logan some day, maybe that is the quickest route to go
down one of these smaller streets which, in an emergency situation, is
not a problem. Then they would have a connectivity to get across
over to Logan.
So I just -- that's just my feeling in not using us to change or
reinforce something that was never a fact. And I just don't think
that's our use at this time. So that's just my opinion about it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ms. Patterson, let me ask you a
question, because hearing Commissioner Kowal, I think his
comments definitely are resonating with me. Is there a better way to
word this? And I realize that the wording of 10B isn't maybe
necessarily what goes into writing, but when we say request that the
Board prohibit any connection, it does sound so finalized.
Is there a way to say, you know -- I don't know. You know, if I
knew how to say it, I would -- or maybe Commissioner Saunders
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wants to, you know, chime in here, but a way -- you know, and we
don't want to be sort of loose about it or, you know, not committal.
But when you just say "prohibit," I mean, that does make it sound
like, wow, if anybody wants to overturn that, it could be, you know,
more difficult or just the verbiage is so final. Do you have thoughts
on that? And then, also, you know, Commissioner Saunders might
have some thoughts on the motion to -- on the wording. What's your
thought?
MS. PATTERSON: Sure. Well, it was interesting that
Commissioner McDaniel brought up the Vanderbilt Beach Road
extension because that one, the interconnection plan came to the
Board with recommendations for many more interconnects than
ultimately came to be.
So that's an example of how we would propose to make these
being interconnects should we look to connect those streets to Logan.
The staff can propose anything, but, ultimately, that authority lies
with the Board and, to Commissioner Saunders' point, anything that
this board does like this could be undone by a future board. But I
think it's a balance of not -- not seeming too restrictive but also
providing that assurance to the community, that's not the intent.
What the exact wording is, I'll look to the County Attorney if he's got
any suggestions that we've done prior.
But I think you're attempting to find a balance here to provide
that reassurance that that's not what we're planning to do, but
understand that we can't promise what a future board might do or
what planning may provide in the future that everyone may feel
differently about.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. I guess the point is, I don't
want to wordsmith this thing too much. But, you know, you sit here,
and when you say something like, well, it's not the intent. That's not
as hard over as saying prohibited, you know, that kind of thing. And
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so I don't know.
I mean, County Attorney, do you have any advice? And then
Commissioner McDaniel's on deck here.
MR. KLATZKOW: Well, ultimately, it's Commissioner
Saunders' item as how he wants the resolution to read. You can do it
prohibit or you can do it as the Board's current policy not to connect.
But that's -- Commissioner Saunders, that's really your call.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Let's leave it alone.
I mean, we've all already reiterated multiple times that what -- and we
all have learned that what is done by a Board of County
Commissioners can, will, and oftentimes is adjusted by another
Board of County Commissioners. And if our staff comes to us and
says, hey, we've got a great big development over here on the east
side of Logan Boulevard, and it would help for an emergency access,
that's an entirely separate process than opening up the through traffic
for ease of -- ease of people to get from A to B. That's an
entirely -- that could be done, but it would come through staff.
There would be -- there would be EMS, fire, sheriff, so ons and so
forth, that would come to -- through our staff to the Board and say,
hey, we want to open up one of these streets, because it will -- it will
cut our -- it'll cut our response time in half.
And so I'm in favor -- we voted 4-1, and Commissioner Kowal's
not incorrect in his perceptions, but we've already -- this has passed.
Let's roll.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But, I mean, this is healthy
conversation, and this will come up again.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Sure.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: My only question is that the people
that replace us, then, if they do make a change, which they have, and
as you said, you gave some great examples, if first responders come
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up here en mass, you know, you're also going to have a bunch of
citizens waving what we just approved and say, but way back when
they prohibited, you're not standing by your word. You have no
integrity. This county is awful. You commissioners should all be
thrown out. And so I don't want to set our replacements up for
failure. So, you know, I agree, and maybe we're splitting hairs on
this.
But I really want to give Commissioner Saunders the last word
here.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well -- and I have no
problem in having a revote, because I think there was some
conversation that was -- that took place. So if any commissioners
want to change their vote, I don't have any issues with that at all.
But I'd like to leave the language the way it is just because it
sends a strong message, and I think that's what that community had
expected, and it can -- as we've all said, it can be changed. But if
anybody wants to change their vote --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- we can revote.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I'm a supporter for clarity. I
mean, I appreciate what Commissioner McDaniel is saying: Hey,
we vote. Move on. But good healthy discussion here.
So for clarity, I'll just say, there's a motion on the floor and a
second. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes 4-1.
February 28,2023
Page 60
Okay. Let's take a break now. Let's come back here at 10:55.
(A brief recess was had from 10:39 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.)
MR. MILLER: Mr. Chairman, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We will resume.
Ms. Patterson, I guess we'll head over to 10E.
Item #10E
RESOLUTION 2023-41: THE BOARD PROHIBIT ANY
CONNECTION OF ROCK ROAD TO THE FUTURE
VANDERBILT BEACH ROAD EXTENSION –ADOPTED
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir. Item 10E is a request that the
Board prohibit any connection of Rock Road to the future Vanderbilt
Beach Road extension. This item is brought to the agenda by
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And this is almost like deja
vu all over again. Rock Road's a little bit different, and Ms. Scott
has some information for this.
But this is a request of the -- again, the folks -- residents on
Rock Road just to clarify that Rock Road's not going to be connected
to Vanderbilt Beach Road, but there's some other circumstances that
make this a little bit easier.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. SCOTT: Good morning. Once again, Trinity Scott,
Transportation Management Services department head.
Yes, we've been approached by some citizens along Rock Road.
As you know, we are currently under construction with Vanderbilt
Beach Road extension. Rock Road does not come adjacent to the
roadway. It would actually have to go through -- if the county
wished to connect the roadway, which is not identified in your
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Long-Range Transportation Plan at all -- it would have to go through
a single-family home, a well site, as well as a school property. So
the residents -- it's just been something that's been coming up pretty
much since we let the contract for Vanderbilt Beach Road extension
about does the county have any intention of connecting this roadway.
It's not identified on any plan.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And by what you just said,
this is one that, literally, there's a lot of stuff in the way, right?
MS. SCOTT: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So it wouldn't make sense.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And this is just to give some
comfort to the neighbors that have been very concerned about it as
the construction goes on. So it's basically the same thing, just that
we're not going to connect Rock Road to Vanderbilt Beach Road. If
a future commission decides to do that, that's an option, but we're
committed to not doing that.
MR. KLATZKOW: Do you want a resolution on this as well,
sir?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yes, sir. That would be just
so there would be something of a record of that. So I'll make that
motion. I know there may be some discussion about it, but I'll make
that motion.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'll second it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any discussion? I've got a motion
and a second.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
February 28,2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. It passes 4-1.
Okay. Let's move to 10F.
Item #10F
PRESENTATION BY TOM KEPP AND DOMESTIC ANIMAL
SERVICES VOLUNTEERS ON HOBBY BREEDERS AND
CONSIDER PROVIDING STAFF DIRECTION TO SCHEDULE A
FUTURE BOARD WORKSHOP ON HOBBY BREEDERS IN
COLLIER COUNTY – PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED; STAFF
TO WORK WITH DAS, SHERIFF, COUNTY ATTORNEY AND
TOM KEEP FOR AN ORDINANCE UPDATE IDEAS
MS. PATTERSON: 10F is a recommendation to hear a
presentation by Tom Kepp and Domestic Animal Services volunteers
on hobby breeders and consider providing staff direction to schedule
a future Board workshop on hobby breeders in Collier County. This
item's brought to the agenda by Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman and
Commissioners, I brought this forward because there's been hanging
out there a request for a continuation of a workshop for a number of
years now on the issue of hobby breeders. I'm not suggesting that
we should have a workshop, but I do think that the Board should at
least make a decision as to whether we're going to have one. I
listened to the folks that want to have a workshop on this, but also
significantly is our staff is going to provide you a little bit of
information about the successes there at DAS and what their needs
are going forward. And one of the issues was, do we need to make
any amendments to the existing ordinances, and I think the County
February 28,2023
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Attorney will have some opinion on that. But I just wanted to give
the folks that wanted to have a workshop an opportunity to hear this
issue, let us make a decision on that, and also hear what DAS will
need going forward.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Mr. Kepp, the floor is yours.
MR. KEPP: For the commissioners that are new on here, my
name's Tom Kepp. I live at 6491 Sable Ridge Lane. I was born
here in 1950, so I've been in Collier County for all my life.
I started -- I got involved in the animal issues 20 years ago. I've
been in front of the Commission since probably 2002 on different
cases. I started going out to, like, Bayshore Drive, Holly Avenue.
And I was on the Humane Society board for about eight years. Then
I was on the original advisory board for DAS, and I was probably on
that about seven years.
I saw the problems. I started going to Bayshore
spaying -- taking dogs, getting them spayed and neutered, paid for it
myself.
In 2013, I started Tom Kepp Spay and Neuter. I would go to
Immokalee. I made a deal with Cape Coral. Our Gulf Coast
Humane Society in Fort Myers, they'd bring a bus. They'd do 15 to
30 animals every single month for me.
And then in 2015, a couple ladies talked me into doing a
501(c)3. We're a non-profit, and it's called SNIP Collier,
Spay/Neuter Initiative Program.
And from 2015 until approximately 2020, we would do
these -- we probably did approximately 2,500 spay and neuters for
dogs and probably rescued about a thousand animals, and we had a
program where we'd take puppies and moms, put them in fosters.
We would spay the moms, and we'd keep the puppies at the shelter,
whichever shelter I could get them in, and I'd take the moms back.
Most of that was done in Immokalee and off the East Trail, places
February 28,2023
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like that.
Since -- it will be two years in May we started our own
spay/neuter clinic right across the street over here on Davis, and we
do -- we spay and neuter about 4,000 animals a year, dogs and cats.
We have a TNR program right now. We've done thousands of cats
and -- to help the population.
And so that's my background. I've been in front of this board,
advisory for many, many years. I have all the history here of all
these ordinances being put together in 2'08, 2012, 2017. I was part
of that. We have discussed this hobby breeder issue, and that's what
we're here -- we're -- we have no discussion on what goes on in the
buildings. We'll let the staff and the volunteers deal with that kind
of stuff. But these ordinances on this hobby breeder were passed,
and it's actually -- they're actually in their hobby breeder packets that
they pass out now, but it was never brought back to this commission
for a vote.
So -- but all that being said, I've been muzzled, kind of. We
have a new executive director, and I want to introduce her, Jessica,
Jessica Orlando, and so she's going to speak, and I know some of you
will be very happy about it.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I was just going to say.
MR. KEPP: Don't say it. You can say it. It's all right.
Jessica, why don't you come here and speak, please.
MS. ORLANDO: Thank you, Tom.
MR. KEPP: And Al back there's going to cough if I get out of
line, and Chuck.
MS. ORLANDO: Good morning, Commissioners. My name
is Jessica Orlando. I'm the newly appointed executive director of
SNIP Collier. I've been on the board almost two years and
volunteered in animal rescue pretty much since I was a little kid. I
live at 298 Spider Lily Lane, which is in the Pebblebrooke Lakes
February 28,2023
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community at the corner of Immokalee Road and 951, and I do hear a
lot of 951 noise at my house as well, so I was interested in that
discussion.
So I'm here today to discuss the hobby breeder workshop and
the ordinances that were previously in process but I think that lapsed.
You guys can correct me if I'm wrong. Ninety to 95 percent of that
work has already been completed, but we think it's really time to
finalize it and enforce it.
We work out in the field every day; Tom more than myself, but I
do get out there. And we believe that having an enforceable hobby
breeder ordinance is one of the best ways to ensure that the critical
overpopulation of animals and overcrowding at shelters is addressed.
So just a little bit of history. I know some of you know it. At
the October 8th, 2019, meeting, Board of Commissioners meeting,
Chairman McDaniel stated that it was moved and seconded that the
Board of County Commissioners reach out to the advisory committee
and develop an ordinance to further regulate retail sales, and he also
stated that he wanted a provision of enhancement for the punishment
on bad actors, and that was voted unanimously in favor.
In October of 2020, there was an email passed around by Darcy
Andrade, who was the former director of Animals Services at DAS,
regarding language specific to breeders that had been previously
discussed. It was proposed in February of 2020. And her email
notes that it would be subject to change after the workshop that was
being held on Monday, October 5th, 2020.
So that email included a lot of information. I have copies for
you if you'd like, but it really laid out in Section 11 what it means to
have animal care and what manner of keeping these
breeders -- hobby and commercial breeders need to adhere to, and
then a long list of regulations, including, you know, that they have to
keep all the animals, dogs and cats, until eight weeks of age. They
February 28,2023
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need a health certificate from a vet. If one of the puppies or kittens
dies, they are required to take it to a licensed veterinarian and get a
death certificate and understand why that dog passed. They have to
be tested, vaccinated. They must retain all of that information, the
health certificate for one year. They must be implanted with a
microchip. They must know who they sold or gave that animal away
to and keep that as part of the records for two years.
These are all things -- you know, the license tag numbers of the
parents, the name and address of the new owner. All of these things
that they're required to keep under this proposed legislation.
In July of 2022 in an email from the County Attorney, this was,
again, brought up. And I'm not sure if COVID, you know, caused an
issue here, if the -- you know, Darcy leaving and new management at
Animal Services was the cause for the delay, but in July of 2022, the
County Attorney was suggesting that this workshop is the proper
mechanism to ensure the change in the ordinances.
And I think the previous workshop was -- it was a great start,
and in anticipation of it passing, as Tom mentioned, DAS has already
included a lot of those regulations in the hobby breeder packet. If
you go into DAS and ask for a hobby breeder packet, it lists all of
these things, but I don't think the ordinance backs it up. And I think
we really need to align those and make sure that it's in the policy and
procedure manual so everybody knows what they're supposed to be
enforcing and how to enforce it.
So I'm happy to take questions or leave you guys with some
more detail on the rules and regulations that were included. But we
really just want to make sure that this moves forward. I think it's a
great way to move forward. As you said, enforcement is the key to
success.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any questions? Anybody have
anything?
February 28,2023
Page 67
Sir, Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Mr. Chairman, thank you. I just
have one question. I don't know anything about this. I just was
curious, what exactly is your definition of a hobby breeder, I mean,
what -- in your words?
MS. ORLANDO: And you guys -- Tom can correct me if I'm
wrong, or somebody from DAS, but it's less than -- two or less litters
a year. If you're a commercial breeder -- you have to be a
commercial breeder if you're breeding more than that in a 12-month
period.
MR. KEPP: May I speak to that?
MS. ORLANDO: Sure.
MR. KEPP: That's the definition of it. And here's the -- here's
why hobby breeders are separated from commercial breeders. First
of all, if you go to the county records and you say, I'd like a list of all
the commercial breeders besides stores, you're only going to find a
few, because you have to prove that they're selling these animals and
that they're having five or seven litters a year. There are very few.
Everybody's a hobby breeder.
This includes like -- and I'm best with the examples. I go to a
house, and there's six puppies running around, and they're four weeks
old out in the dirt. And most people will go, oh, look how healthy
they are. They've got fat bellies. This is hookworm, and I've got
videos of dead dogs many times that I deal with on a daily basis
almost from hookworms -- and these are mainly puppies -- and
ringworm, things like that.
So what happens is, they pay $200 for a hobby breeder license,
and -- but nobody does -- there's no follow-up after that as far as,
like, testing these animals. And what happens is after four
weeks -- it's easy to take care of them up to four weeks, but once they
start crawling around, you can imagine the mess. All you do is,
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before four weeks, you feed the mom, and she cleans them. So what
they do is start giving them away or selling them for 50 bucks or 100
bucks, and pretty soon they're gone, and a lot of them die because
they get no healthcare.
So what we've petitioned for and asked for, that you make it
eight weeks -- they have to keep them eight weeks. They have to
keep records of -- well, what she said, so I won't go over that.
And this is what was really -- and there's a history of it -- was
supposed to be in in 2012, it was supposed to be in the ordinances in
2017, and Darcy's exact words when I said, how come that wasn't in?
She goes, I forgot to put them in.
So those have been talked about for 15 years that I know of, and
we came up with these at a workshop, and they put them in this. But
the advisory board never brought them back to this commission to
have a vote on them, and that's what's happened.
So that's why if -- I hear all the time with the Domestic Animal
Service how full the kennels are, and we have to do this because
there's so many. If you had done this 15 years ago, we'd have
25 percent less -- and I don't know the exact numbers on that, but
you'd have so many less, because I run into it daily, these people
pumping out puppies, and they're just giving them away or selling
them for $100, and that's what needs to be corrected. And we
wouldn't have the problem in our facilities now if we had done this.
And we need to lead and not listen to other counties how they do
it. We need to lead here, because that's been a problem, too. We
use every other county's ordinances, but we have smart people in this
county. And this is a taxpayer issue also, so thank you.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Mr. Kepp.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Well, the question is
for staff. I have -- it's is there an outstanding ordinance that needs to
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come back to this board?
MS. PERRY: Hi, Commissioner. For the record, I'm Marcy
Perry, your Domestic Animal Services director.
I'd like to just correct a few statements that were made. Our
current ordinance has those requirements in it. Under Section 1481,
which is regulations for breeders and pet shops, it clearly indicates
that.
Requirements: Puppies, cats -- dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens
acquired for resale must be examined by a licensed veterinarian
within five days of physical acquisition.
Dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens offered for sale must be at least
eight weeks of age.
Dogs, cats, puppies, kittens offered for sale must be
accompanied by an official certificate of veterinary inspection.
That's the health certificate. Then the ordinance continues to go into
the definition of the health certificate and what the health certificate
requires.
It additionally goes into the required vaccinations for puppies,
including distemper, leptospirosis, Bordetella, and so on.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: My question -- is the
ordinance as it currently -- have we voted on this?
MR. KLATZKOW: The ordinance it on the monitor. We've
had this ordinance for a number of years now. That's our current
ordinance, all right, and my understanding is that the advisory board
does not recommend any changes to this ordinance.
Now, what Mr. Kepp is talking about may be enforcement.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, I'm going there.
That's where I'm going now.
MR. KLATZKOW: But that's what we have.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ms. Orlando, let's just wait for one
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second. Everybody's going to get a chance to be heard and talk.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Sure. This isn't a debate. I
mean, we're not -- you and I aren't arguing about this. I need to hear
from our staff what prohibitions you're running into from an
enforcement standpoint.
MS. PERRY: Absolutely. So we also do quarterly
inspections. So it's not that they just register, get a permit, and that's
the end of the breeding checks. We go out quarterly. We inspect
quarterly. We get the disposition forms as well.
So we are conducting those quarterly inspections on any
licensed breeder. If we receive a call for service for a -- to
investigate a breeder that's unlicensed, we do that investigation.
The amount of calls -- we ran the statistics. The amount of
calls that we receive every single year to investigate breeding is just
2 percent. That is 2 percent of all the calls that we receive for calls
for service.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So what are the prohibitions
to enforcement of the ordinance?
MS. PERRY: I'm not sure that there is. We are enforcing our
ordinance.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let me ask you a question, and
then I think Commissioner Saunders is queuing up here.
So an ordinance -- this ordinance is in place, and it was voted
on. It's not in draft form, correct?
MR. KLATZKOW: This is right out of MUNI code.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right. Okay.
So let's say I have a Golden Retriever. My neighbor has a
Golden Retriever. We're not breeders. But, boy, our dogs like to
play together a lot, and we have a bunch of people that say, wow, you
should get them together and, you know, we'd love to have some
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puppies. And so they mate. We have a litter of nine, and we sell
them all for a $100 apiece. This ordinance here, I would have to
follow that? Because, technically, right, is that -- is that a hobby
breeder? I mean, somebody that just offhand -- and if that's the case,
how the heck would they know about this? I mean, if they're not a
professional breeder, they're not doing it five times a year, and they
just decide that two neighbors have a litter of puppies, and they put a
box out in front of the house that says, you know, Golden Retriever
puppies, $100 apiece, that actually violates a whole bunch of things
in the ordinance if they don't do all these things, correct?
MS. PERRY: That is correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So that's where you're hoping
somebody would catch that as a neighbor and say, hey, you know,
you have to actually do A, B, C, D, and E, but I'm surprised -- I'm not
surprised it's 2 percent, because who the heck's going to do that?
Who's going to turn in somebody like that? You know, they
probably -- because they probably don't even know there's something.
Everybody welcomes it. Kids are on the street with a cute little sign,
"free kittens," and everybody thinks it's cute. But that's really what
we're talking about here, correct?
MS. PERRY: Correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, there's other examples, and
Mr. Kepp and Ms. Orlando will come back to the podium, obviously,
and we'll -- you know, because we want to hear from all sides. But,
you know, there's some things going around in some other places that
are more aggressive than just two neighbors, you know, have two
dogs. I mean, I think that's what we're really kind of talking about.
But to my example, it would -- this ordinance still would cover
that, correct?
MS. PERRY: Yes, this ordinance does cover that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Questions? Anybody
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else? Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: One of the things that I
spoke with Ms. Perry and Ms. Williams about was the -- what plans
you have for going forward. So at some point, not necessarily right
now, but at some point I'd like to hear that.
But the issue, then, is whether or not there's a need for a
workshop, and it sounds like there is not, if I'm hearing that. I would
like to hear from the Kepp and Ms. Orlando just on that issue again
just to make sure. And if we don't need a workshop, then that's fine.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ma'am? Ms. Orlando?
MS. ORLANDO: Yes. The question I would have with
regards to something that's, I guess, in Section 1481 is this new
information from 2020, expanded to no person shall make or offer for
sale, trade, delivery, barter, lease, rent, auction, give away, transfer.
I don't know if that's in -- that may be one of the relevant changes,
that it's not just, you know, puppies for $100 by the side of the road,
but it's anybody that's actively having puppies and giving them away
has to be covered by this. So that would be my first question is, is
that in there?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Ma'am?
MS. PERRY: So we do not currently regulate when somebody
decides to give away their pet. If they want to give away their dog
or their horse or their cat or a puppy, they are free to do so currently.
That is not a regulation that we have in our ordinance.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And they wouldn't have to
follow -- I mean, because -- I mean, what I was reading in there, if
somebody wanted to give away their puppy and it was four weeks
old, could they do it?
MS. PERRY: No, they need to keep the puppy till it's eight
weeks of age.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right. So they would -- some of
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the things that you mentioned would still be -- they still have to meet
the minimum requirements. It's not illegal to give it away. It
sounds like it's probably not illegal to sell it for 50 bucks, but they
still have to meet the minimum requirements in there of have to take
it to a vet, have to -- I mean, if you found out about, you know, a
neighbor who their two dogs had puppies and somebody reported it
to you anonymously or on the record, they would have to follow that
ordinance that's already approved and in play, correct? What you're
just saying is a lot of -- you don't chase down a lot of those people
because you don't have a crystal ball, and a lot of it isn't reported,
correct?
MS. PERRY: Correct. And if they choose to give their puppy
away at eight weeks of age, then they choose to give their puppy
away. We do not regulate that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ms. Orlando, do you have
something? And then Commissioner Kowal's got a question.
MS. ORLANDO: Yeah, I just -- the language that I read that
includes, you know, deliver, barter, lease, rent, auction, give away, or
transfer. It was -- came from that 2020 workshop. So that -- you
know, I'd just be interested to know, if that's not in the ordinance, you
know, what else from that 2020 workshop didn't make it in, because I
think this is what we're -- what we would be supportive of, so...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I just -- this is a question for
you. I think it's more or less just identifying who's abusing this
more, say, than just, like, what Commissioner LoCastro kind of gave
an example of, two neighbors wanting to have a litter of puppies
because, you know, their friends like their dogs and would like to
have one like it.
It sounds like Mr. Kepp and them, when they're out and about,
they're running into more of an organized individual that's doing this
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to make a profit and is not obeying the rules that we already have set
forth in the ordinance. So I think it sounds like everybody wants the
same result here from both sides. But it more or less sounds like
identifying these particular people and having the manpower from
your office to actually address them and enforce it.
So I don't know that -- you know, we have an ordinance in
place. It sounds like it's pretty much in line on what they wanted to
have from initially -- their initial presentation. So I think it's more of
us finding the problem childs and identifying them and enforcing it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Mr. Kepp.
MR. KEPP: I could be wrong. I don't think so --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No.
MR. KEPP: Thank you, Bill.
Show me in the ordinances right now where it says that a -- that
you can just give your puppy away at four weeks. This is where
we're getting confused.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, but it doesn't say that.
MR. KEPP: No. What I mean is, a commercial breeder has to
keep -- that's what it all says: If you sell your dogs, you have to
keep them eight weeks. What we -- Mr. LoCastro, you've been to
Immokalee with me before; you've seen it. And it's not just
Immokalee. It's Golden Gate Estates.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. KEPP: Golden Gate City.
Bill, you know, that's not -- I'm not talking about the -- that
would be covered under this new hobby breeder permit, but -- our
ordinance -- the ordinances for hobby breeders, it would be covered.
But those aren't the people we're after. We're after the people that
are just like -- you know exactly what I'm talking about. You've
been out there. These are people that are just letting their animals
have puppies anytime out in the dirt. If they live, they live. If they
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die, they die. They don't care. I deal with them every day. I've got
probably 150 files at home that I can show you.
And as far as these inspections go, just a little heads-up. There
was a dog fighting ring that was broken up in Golden Gate City a few
years ago. DAS had given them a hobby breeder permit nine months
before that, and they had inspected them three times. And if you
read the report, which I have if anybody wants to see it, they said, can
we come in the house? And the guy goes, no, I ain't got time. And
so they inspected it from the outside. And I guarantee you they
probably had dog-fighting dogs in the house.
And they had inspected this place three different times, because
it's every four months -- or three months. So some of these
inspections -- and it says -- when you sign that hobby breeder permit,
it says that you can inspect the premises, but they don't do that.
They just -- you know, if it's convenient for the owner, they let
them --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So let me ask you a question.
MR. KEPP: And I have that file if you want to see it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, Mr. Kepp, in the
current ordinance, do you think there's something missing or verbiage
that should have more meat on the bone and be more specific? And
then the second part would be, regardless of what that answer is -- I
already think I know the answer to part two, which is you feel like
regardless of what's in the ordinance, the -- we're not being as strong
with enforcement.
MR. KEPP: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So let me just ask you
question number one again. Is there anything in the ordinance that
you think is missing or it needs to be worded in a stronger manner?
Because if we had a workshop, that's probably what we'd be kicking
around here, but we're here now.
February 28,2023
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MR. KEPP: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But we're here now. So what's
your thoughts?
MR. KEPP: Let me just read you what's in the packet that is
already -- it's already in their packet. They're the ones that put it in.
I didn't. Let me just find it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But what you're going to read me
is going to be a good thing. It's going to be something you agree
with, but I think you're going to just say --
MR. KEPP: Yes, this is my point.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, but what you're going to say
is enforcement isn't there, correct?
MR. KEPP: Exactly. Well, this hasn't even been put into our
ordinances.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. KEPP: This is what was basically talked about in the past,
and it basically -- it says that as a hobby breeder, what do you need to
do? And let me just find it. And I apologize. What do I need to be
a hobby breeder? Two litters of puppies or kittens per year.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But you're reading from something
that's a Collier County ordinance or a directive or --
MR. KEPP: What is involved in quarterly inspections -- what's
involved in quarterly inspections and what do I need to do to provide
my quarterly disposition report? On a quarterly basis, four times per
year, the hobby breeder will be inspected by an animal control officer
to verify that all standards of care are being met and to verify if any
intentional litters have been produced or unintentional litters. Each
quarter the hobby breeder must provide Collier County Domestic
Animal Services with a disposition report for the previous quarter to
include name, address, telephone number of new owners of any dog,
puppy, cat, or kitten. You also need to provide the animal's
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microchip number. If no animals were placed in the previous
quarter, the hobby breeder shall submit a notice to the CCDAS that
no animals will be sold or given away.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But you're reading from what?
That's not the actual ordinance. That's what?
MR. KEPP: This is what -- if you went into Domestic Animal
and said, I want to be a hobby breed, this is what they would give
you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But it's not in the actual, like,
ordinance?
MR. KEPP: It is in there under sellers.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I gotcha.
MR. KEPP: Hobby breeder is not a seller. They're just
somebody that has a couple of litters accidentally. And what it does
is the people that I deal with, if they had to respond to this, they
would not have any more puppies. They can't afford them. Their
health is terrible. And it's neglect. But if you go and see how many
neglect charges we've given at Domestic Animal the last 10 years,
you can put them on your hand. We don't give that citation.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
MR. KEPP: And that's not -- my point is we need to put these
in there.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Sir?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well -- and I come back over
to you with regard to the enforcement aspect of this. What can we
do to enhance the enforceability of the ordinance that we, in fact,
have? Because right now I think what Tom is talking about is -- are
folks that aren't registered as hobby breeders and -- but the -- and so
we're not inspecting them. They're not required to adhere to the
ordinance that we, in fact, have in place. And we're -- the
enforcement's not there. It's not sufficient. And what obstacles are
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you running into that are prohibiting you from enforcing the
ordinance that we, in fact, have in place?
MR. KEPP: We are enforcing the ordinance that we have in
place. We have created a work rule that's standard operating
procedure. That came out in January for all of our staff to ensure
that we are effectively enforcing the ordinance. So that was
delivered to staff January 17th, 2023, where we've done a review of
our ordinance and, as well, created that work rule.
We've created the disposition forms. We are working with
staff. Quite a bit of our staff are new, and so we are training them in
the hobby breeder work rule as well as all of our other work rules.
What we are looking for is more proactive, you know,
enforcement of the ordinance. And that would be an expanded
position for animal control officers to get several additional officers
out in the field. We're a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation. So
our staff are out there all day every day. So you will be seeing very
soon a request for additional officers to help us to enforce that
ordinance for hobby breeders as well as all of our other activities that
we receive.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I will say one thing, though, in
response to that. So I spent some time -- and it's been a bit, but I bet
much hasn't changed out there. But when I spent some time driving
around with Mr. Kepp, he wasn't saying there weren't animal control
officers driving around. It's just that -- and maybe I'm paraphrasing,
but my takeaway was, you know, we might have more than a couple
that just, you know, are driving around in their air-conditioned
vehicles driving by, you know, places that need to be inspected and
also, you know, if they knock on a door and the citizen says, no, I'm
sorry, I'm too busy, that's not a good answer.
So -- and some of that is dated. And, Marcy, you know, after
this I don't want you to leave, because I mean, a lot -- a lot has been
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improved in the last 12 months. And one of the things I'll say is we
met yesterday, and I asked you -- not to throw my colleagues under
the bus -- and this isn't throwing -- I said, how many of the
commissioners have visited DAS, you know, in the last six months,
and your answer was "all of them." And I was, like, wow, that's got
to be a first, because you know I've been out there a lot. But hearing
that they have as well -- so this isn't something that's foreign to us. I
mean, I speak for all of them here that animal welfare is obviously
something that's a major concern for us, but we want to make sure, as
I always say, there's meat on the bone that, you know, we don't just
have a well-written ordinance and plenty of people driving around in
trucks but then, you know, Tom who's got, you know, boots on the
ground is seeing stuff that isn't impressive.
MR. KEPP: May I say this?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir, and then I'm going to go
to Commissioner Kowal.
MR. KEPP: Then I'll be quiet, and I apologize because I
was -- I would invite all of you to sit down with me, because cases
are better than -- we can talk up here, and she can talk and I can talk,
and who knows, but I would really appreciate it if any of you would
sit down with me and go through some files that I have of
enforcement issues that I've turned in, and they put my name on
every single one, and I get nice threats on here occasionally, but I
don't care.
The animals are more important to this. And they give my
name out. In fact, I have one case where the lady says, who turned
me in? And instead of saying, like they used to say, go to public
records, you can find out, he says, I told them who it was, and that's
fine with me. I don't care. But it used to be the policy was to tell
them to go to public records, that they could find out. Now they
volunteer it's Mr. Kepp that turned them in, which is fine.
February 28,2023
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But if you guys would sit down with me, look at some of these
files, it will be -- I won't have to ever come up here again, because
you're going to respond to it. And if any of you would like to go out
into the field with me and see what we deal with on a daily basis, that
would be great, too.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, you know what I would say
to that? Great. And that's up to all five of us here. But have
you-all sat down? Because, you know, if you've got this huge
file -- and I'm talking to the person that's getting paid. She's not a
volunteer. You know, she's running -- and I've got a lot of positive
things to say about the improvements I've seen in DAS, and I have a
feeling that my colleagues would say the same thing. But it would
seem like you're the ones that need to sit -- this is nice frosting.
MR. KEPP: Right here. I would love to sit down with you
Thursday or Friday, both of you, and go through these files and have
you answer -- or look at them and say, oh, why didn't we do this?
Or, Tom, you were wrong. This -- any of you -- and anybody else
that would like to be at that meeting, that would be a workshop.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let me just take a little pause here.
MR. KEPP: That would be a great workshop.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Mr. Klatzkow, did you have
something you wanted to add?
MR. KLATZKOW: I understand Mr. Kepp's frustration on
this. We're frustrated, too. But you just can't knock on somebody's
door and kick it in to inspect. I mean, you need an administrative
warrant to do that. And for an administrative warrant, you're going
to have to get probable cause. So, you know, it's easy to regulate the
commercial guys who have their stores and whatever, but a private
homeowner, I mean, sometimes staff will look in the backyard to see
what's going on, but they have no legal authority to go in there.
They can ask, but if the owner says no, we're done, and there's
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nothing -- there's no ordinance change you could do that will change
that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So for clarification -- nobody's
going to kick any doors in, but clarification, if I have an animal
control officer that drives by a house because they got a -- because
there was a complaint, they see 10 puppies out in the yard covered in
blood and starving to death, they can't do anything?
MR. KLATZKOW: No, they can, because now you've got the
probable cause, and it's right there. What I'm saying is that if there's
something going on inside of a house --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. KLATZKOW: -- staff has no authority to go into that
house, not without an administrative warrant, which is very difficult
to get.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. But like you said, they do
have cause to investigate it and not just drive away and say, oh, the
owner chased us off.
MR. KLATZKOW: They look at the outside yard all the time.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I gotcha.
Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Hi, Mr. Kepp. If you remember
my very first question, I wanted some clarity on what a hobby
breeder was, and the definition was given to me, and then
Commissioner LoCastro asked you to enlighten us on what you feel
may not be in our ordinance, and you read from the packet that's
actually distributed from our DAS to individuals that want to be
hobby breeders, but then you got off on an example about, you know,
your neighbor's dog impregnated your dog and you have a litter.
MR. KEPP: That was Commissioner LoCastro's.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: No, he said he intentionally did
that.
February 28,2023
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MR. KEPP: Right.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: He invited his neighbor over to
impregnate his dog. You're talking about your neighbor --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: First of all, I didn't do any of that,
okay. All right. Let's bring this back to center.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Not your neighbor, your
neighbor's dog.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Hypothetical example. Just for
example, okay. I've just got to correct the record. Terri? Terri,
strike the last three minutes.
Go ahead, sir. Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: But you gave an example of
talking about you go to these homes, and the dogs get pregnant. And
I would think a hobby breeder would have to have an intent. There
would have to be some intent there to create a breed, create a litter.
But you said you go to homes where they just -- these dogs get
pregnant, they don't care about them, they just leave them to have the
puppies in the yard. To me, that wouldn't be a hobby breeder.
Now, that is something that -- we have state statute on that.
That's animal abuse. We have statutes in place already by the state.
When something like that happens and it's reported, it goes much
beyond DAS. DAS works alongside with the Sheriff, and then the
Sheriff, then, will have an investigation into abuse of these domestic
animals. I mean, but that, to me, is not a hobby breeder by your own
definition.
So the example you gave at the end was a little skewed. That's
all I just want to put on the record.
MR. KEPP: I really agree with you, 100 percent, but this
is -- this is a way to keep people -- a person that's going to sell them
or give them away, or whatever, if they have to adhere to these rules,
they're not going to do it anymore. They're going to get their
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animals spayed or neutered, okay. That's what they're going to do.
But you know what, I agree with you, but remember another
comment I said. I look at this as neglect at least, but just go to -- go
look in public records and see how many neglect charges we've given
at Domestic Animal Service in the last 15 years; that I know of, very
few.
And I sent -- we have a cruelty division at the Sheriff's
Department now. And Chris Goldhorn is the leader of that. I took
some pictures of some terrible, terrible situations. And, actually,
Domestic Animal Services had been at one of these houses, and I had
actually taken two dogs that died of hookworms already. I sent these
pictures of these two dogs in this cage full of feces and one laying by
the side of the road just covered -- matted and all this.
And I said to Chris Goldhorn -- and I said, okay, you're the
leader of this organization. Is this cruelty, neglect, or nothing? He
answers me back, if you think you've seen cruelty -- and I have this
on text if anybody wants to read it. If you think you've seen cruelty,
call 911 or our local office.
And so, actually, about two weeks later, I did just that, because
the lady -- again, I'd already turned them in for breeding. They had a
breeder permit, but they were still having puppies and nobody -- you
know, whatever. I can show you that report also.
And so I said, can I help you? And she goes, get off the
property. I got off. And I called 911. They sent three officers
over. They didn't inspect anything. They called Domestic Animal.
She came out. I haven't pulled that report up yet, but -- so I agree
with you --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: We don't know --
MR. KEPP: -- I think they all ought to get neglect charges.
That's the point.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let me -- go ahead.
February 28,2023
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COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Well, what I'm trying to say is,
we have a system in place. I mean, an ordinance has so much teeth,
and then a criminal statute has a little bit more, but they all require us
to have some level of probable cause or reasonable suspicion to act
on.
MR. KEPP: What Mr. Klatzkow says is correct, but I don't -- I
don't want people banging doors. See, everybody wants to make it
out like that's what I'm -- I never said that.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: No, I think identifying is fine
enough, and then we'll take it from there.
MR. KEPP: When you get a citation to get a breeder permit,
you sign a paper that says they can inspect the premises. Just like
a -- like a cat rescue here, like a sanctuary or somebody that sits for
pets, when they inspect those houses, they go inside. They're subject
to much more search than the people that I'm dealing with, and that's
what you should be doing. They signed a paper that says that you
can go in the premise, but if they tell them no, they don't go in. And
that's -- you know, and that's how come the dog fighting thing wasn't
ever caught. So, I mean, I'm not asking them to bang on doors.
And as far as the idea that you have to get a warrant, for years
and years that's exactly what I've heard. Well, Tom, we can't do that
without a warrant. Well, then, why hasn't somebody stepped up and
got with the court system and figured out a way to get a warrant real
quick just like the Sheriff's Department? But that's been an excuse
forever. And so let's correct that one. There's one we can correct,
too.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let's hear from Commissioner
Saunders here. Sir?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I think there's a couple
takeaways from this discussion. Number one, I don't think we need
to have a workshop with the County Commission on the issue, but I
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do think that it would be helpful for the County Attorney and staff to
work with SNIP and DAS and just see if there's any tweaks to the
ordinance that are necessary. There may be some. There may not
be.
And then, secondly -- and I would suggest that you do that fairly
quickly just to bring this to a conclusion.
And then, finally, I think you've indicated that you're going to
need some additional staff for enforcement purposes. So perhaps
during the budget process, you'll come back and let us know what
you need, what those additional resources would be used for. And I
think this -- this would be a positive outcome of this hearing knowing
that there's going to be some further communication concerning the
ordinance and that you're going to come back and tell us what you
need. And if that's acceptable to the Board, I think -- I don't think
we need to do anything this morning other than to recognize that
we're not going to have an official workshop with the Commission,
but our staff and our attorney will take a look at the existing
ordinance and see if we need to do anything. Maybe we do. Maybe
we don't.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, I would agree. I would
love to hear the outcome of that, you know, more aggressive
discussion. You're fairly new in the seat and have turned around a
lot of things. You know, Mr. Kepp's, you know, out there in the
field. So I think the workshop -- workshop, number one, should be
between you-all and then, you know, hear the feedback from us.
One thing I will say, though, about, you know, increasing
staff -- and I'm going to put you on the spot here. And we've had
this conversation, but, you know, I'll throw it out in the open air.
You know, asking for additional staff is great, but I want to make
sure that every staff member that you have is awesome. And, you
know, the example that I have. I'm going to say it right here without
February 28,2023
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mentioning any names. But, you know, when an irate citizen calls
me up about an animal control officer that didn't represent the county
in a really polished way, and before I even say the name, I give you
the badge number, and you say, oh, God, I know exactly who that is,
that's our worst ACO, and I've counseled him, you know, X number
of times -- working for the county is a privilege. I guarantee that
person doesn't make $2 an hour. That's a person taking taxpayer
dollars and driving around in a vehicle with stickers on it, you know,
representing the county.
So you know, before we throw, you know, extra manpower at
DAS, I want to know that every single person up there is eligible to
win an award from us, because this is an important, you know, job.
So, I would say, you know, we're here to empower you with
what you do need and if the -- if the problem is bigger than what you
have staff for, but -- and you have, you know -- and I'm not sitting
here, Marcy, beating you up at all. We've had very healthy
conversations, and I'm so proud to hear that everybody's -- you know,
we've all gone to DAS, and we've seen the changes.
And before you exit the podium, I would like to give you the
microphone and the last word to tell us a lot of the things that you
have been doing so we can get it on the record. But, you know,
make no mistake, your job as a leader there is to assess your staff, as
you have been doing.
I loved hearing that you've added so many more volunteers, and
some of the ones that maybe were sort of walking around with the
polo shirt but stirring the pot and causing problems, you either
counseled them or they realized they should volunteer somewhere
else.
But, you know, the animal control officers are a key piece. We
could have the best ordinance with all the teeth in it in the world, but
if the people driving around in the pickup trucks, you know, don't
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want to be bothered with it or, you know, as the one ACO told a close
friend of mine, if you don't like the answers, then go complain to
your county commissioner, because they're the ones that set all the
ordinances. And what he obviously didn't know is this person's a
close friend of mine, so she called me in 30 seconds and then, you
know, I was able to report it to you.
But please do all you can to assess. I'd rather you be short of
ACOs than have the wrong ones, and I'm sure there's plenty of people
out there that would love to, you know, get a decent wage and work
for DAS and help support, you know, animal welfare and make it
better in this county.
I don't see anybody else lit up. I would just like you to, you
know -- the podium's yours, you know. And don't miss an
opportunity here to tell us some things that, maybe on the record, that
a lot of people who are watching or in the audience or even just all of
us hearing it at one time, you know, the things that you've done at
DAS in a short time as the director.
MS. PERRY: Yes. Thank you, Commissioner LoCastro.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, ma'am.
MS. PERRY: I also just -- I did want to recognize the Sheriff's
Department, Chris Goldhorn, Lieutenant Chris Goldhorn. He's been
an exceptional resource for us at Domestic Animal Services, as well
as the other sheriff's officers. Each and any time we call for them,
they came; they come immediately. They are our support system as
well. So I did want to make sure that that was known, that they do
an exceptional job, and they help us every single day with all of our
tasks that we call for them for.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Is this your -- you have a
presentation here?
MS. PERRY: Yes, and this is --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, I think it's very appropriate,
February 28,2023
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and educate us more on DAS and what you've done and then also,
like I said, I think the homework assignment here is exactly as
Commissioner Saunders stated, is get together as a group, and it
might even be more than Mr. Kepp. You know, there are some
others folks. And I know you're open to that. So it's not a big
debate here. But go ahead, ma'am.
MS. PERRY: Absolutely, thank you.
So the photo that you're looking at on the screen is a picture of
the front of the Domestic Animal Services. And going inside
Domestic Animal Services, starting with our enforcement statistics,
our animal control officers do incredible work. In Calendar Year
2022, they achieved an impressive 87.3 percent compliance rate.
That means that 87.3 percent of violations were fully complied with.
And for that very small percentage of violations that are not complied
with, we move those forward to the Special Magistrate.
Also in 2022, we issued 3,113 violations. And in just the past
60 days, we've issued 636 violations. We are on track to exceed last
year's numbers already.
Our officers also, as I mentioned previously, we're a
24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week operation. So we have officers on
from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and then we go to emergency calls from
9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. And we responded to nearly 1,900 calls for
service just in the past 60 days.
In addition to our officers, our animal care staff at the facility
are also doing incredible, amazing things. We have really ramped
up our rescue efforts. Our pet placement partners have increased to
138, and we've developed a new rescue transport type program. And
in Calendar Year 2022, never before have we transferred that many
animals to organizations. We've transferred an incredible 855
animals to various different rescue organizations, with 533 of those
animals being transferred out of Collier County and even out of
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Florida.
The photograph on the right is a photograph that was post
Hurricane Ian where the Humane Society Naples and Domestic
Animal Services worked together. Humane Society Naples invited
us to the airport, and we were able to transfer hundreds of animals out
of Collier County to various different states to safety, and that is at a
cost savings to the county as well. We just paid for the fuel to put
them on the vehicle and get them to the airport.
Same as the rescues that we're continuing to work with every
single day. The rescues take on those animals. Some of them are
broken. Some of them have behavior issues/concerns, and they take
care of them, both medically, behaviorally, and they find them really
great homes.
Our Helpful Hearts initiative, that is a program that we've
expanded on. Every dog that comes into Domestic Animal Services,
while it's in adoption, if it's heartworm positive, it now receives
heartworm treatment, so it does not sit there and wait for an adopter
to adopt them. We immediately start treating them. We have
100 percent success rate currently with treating heartworm-positive
dogs.
We've also increased our foster families to 348 families
fostering in Calendar Year 2022. Our volunteers have also increased
to nearly 300 volunteers that have donated almost 19,000 hours of
service. That is a 28 percent increase from the previous year.
And our volunteers, they're invaluable. As you guys saw when
you toured Domestic Animal Services, they're there every day.
They're out in the play yards, they're walking the dogs, they're
socializing the dogs, socializing the cats, they're assisting the doctors.
Our volunteers are invaluable to our business and the animals, and I
can't thank them enough for all the hard work that they put in at no
cost to Domestic Animal Services. They donate their time because
February 28,2023
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they want to donate their time at our organization.
Some facility improvements as well. You'll notice when you
came to Domestic Animal Services our lobby is now very
professional. It's inviting. It's an environment now where people
feel welcomed, and they want to come to Domestic Animal Services.
In the past there were cats in that lobby. We removed them and
put them in their own little room to make it an incredible
environment for them as well. We've also added three commercial
washing machines and three commercial dryers. We do upwards of
30 loads of laundry every single day. So those three loads of -- those
these washers and dryers do us very, very well at the shelter. All of
our dogs and cats get clean blankets and towels every single day.
Some additional facility improvements. If you take a look at
this picture, I really want to reach out and thank our Facilities
Division. They've been on site every day. They have been just
amazing and incredible to work with. They have painted the
buildings. They've built us shelving. They've fixed and repaired
anything and everything that we've put in as far as work orders go.
Even that fencing, if you'll notice toward the back of the photo,
there's a white fence that's pretty far back. That was closer up to
where we only had one building accessible for the public and for the
volunteers. And now we have moved it back to make more dogs
accessible for the public to adopt. Now, we didn't increase the
amount of animals that we have but, rather, we increased their
accessibility. We increased their exposure so that they are getting
adopted. Adoptions are very, very important to us as well. We've
adopted 1,975 animals last year, which is a very impressive number.
And in addition to facility upgrades, we also were very, very
grateful to receive an extremely generous donation by the Benny
Fund. The Benny Fund helped transform our play yards. We had
two existing play yards that are in this photo. They expanded the
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fencing, and they put Astro turf down, and then they created a third
play yard.
Domestic Animal Services is now open seven days a week. So
those play yards are used every single day, seven days a week. We
expanded our hours to make this more accessible for the public. If
you lose your dog, your cat, your horse, you should be able to come
to us every single day to claim him. We shouldn't be closed on
Sunday, as we were in the past. So we have increased our hours as
well.
And that's the presentation I have for you guys today, and thank
you for this opportunity to speak with you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I'm just going to chime in and say,
if you toured DAS a year ago, two years ago, six months ago, it looks
totally different now, so -- and that's to your leadership and the
group. Watching the stats come up. So, you know, nobody can
question that or throw that under the bus. Those are facts.
The thing that jumps out at me, and I would just, you know,
reiterate it, is the 642 violators, you know, if it goes to the Magistrate
and nothing really happens or it's not followed up or whatnot,
sometimes that's where things sort of fall through the cracks.
So, you know, I just encourage you to really stay, you know,
focused on that. Writing somebody up for a ticket and then them
actually doing something -- I know that -- and this might be a little
dated, but when Mr. Kepp drove me by different houses, he had a
stack of, you know, copies of violations. He's like, this house has
been written up 20 times. Look at the dog out there in the sun. You
know, it's skinny. It has no water. It has nothing. And maybe
that's dated. But following it all the way to the end, you know, or
else everything that happened up to that point was worthless. What
the ACO did, worthless; ordinance, worthless. I mean, unless in the
end it was fixed. And it takes staff and your leadership to follow it,
February 28,2023
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you know, all the way to the end.
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you. I don't think we
need a motion. I think staff understands that we want you to work
with the County Attorney and Mr. Kepp and Orlando -- Ms. Orlando
to see what changes may need to be -- need to be brought back to the
Commission on the ordinance, and just let us know what you need
during the budgeting process, but I don't think we need a motion.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, agreed.
Comments anybody?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No. I'm happy about the
expanded hours, because I remember I had a couple of runners back
in the day, and I had to -- I actually went in and had to break them out
of jail on Sunday. That was before I was a Commissioner, by the
way.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Thank you all.
Appreciate it.
MR. KEPP: Thank you for hearing us, and welcome to the
Commission, both of you, the new ones.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ms. Patterson, what's next?
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, we're moving on to
Item 11. Looking at the time, we could do a couple of different
things, if you want to take the 11A, I think there will be some
conversation about that regarding Code Enforcement liens.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yep.
MS. PATTERSON: Or we could also, if you're looking to go
to lunch at noon, we could take the sand item and then come back for
the items with more discussion.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let's take sand, and then see how
long. I had, like, 12:20, 12:25. I mean, we could -- you know,
straight-up noon lunch is fine as well. But let's see if a couple of the
February 28,2023
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ones that are sort of just quick hits -- let's start with sand.
MS. PATTERSON: Sure, absolutely.
Item #11B
AWARD INVITATION TO BID NO. 23-8076, BEACH
COMPATIBLE SAND SUPPLY FOR EMERGENCY BEACH
FILL TO VULCAN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, LLC;
STEWART MATERIALS, LLC; AND GARCIA MINING
COMPANY, LLC; AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE
ATTACHMENT AGREEMENTS; AND MAKE A FINDING THAT
THIS ITEM PROMOTES TOURISM – APPROVED
Okay. 11B is a recommendation to award Invitation to Bid No.
23-8076, beach compatible sand supply for emergency beach fill to
Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC; Stewart Materials, LLC; and
Garcia Mining Company, LLC; authorize the Chairman to sign the
attachment agreements; and make a finding that this item promotes
tourism.
Mr. Andrew Miller, your Coastal Zone manager, is here to
present and/or answer questions.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir.
MR. ANDREW MILLER: Thank you, County Manager.
And, good morning, Commissioners. For the record, Andy Miller,
your Coastal Zone manager. Happy to answer any questions about
this item.
We've got an emergency berm to build. We've got a lot of sand
to put on our beaches. We knew fairly early on after the hurricane
that we were probably looking at a lot more sand than one supplier
was going to be able to provide in a timely manner, and so we
immediately went out with an ITB to get some additional suppliers
February 28,2023
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on board, and this item will allow us to do that.
With your permission, we'd like to get this thing going hopefully
by mid to late March. And we've got 75,000 tons available to get us
started, but this item will allow us to do the project entirely.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Is there anything you can tell
us -- and then I'll go to Commissioner McDaniel. Anything you can
tell us, you know, the short version of, over the last couple weeks as
your team and our County Attorney staff's been assessing, you know,
beaches and berms and erosion and different things.
Can you give short, sort of in a nutshell, the latest info on what
you're seeing? Like you said, no question more sand is needed.
Give us an idea of when and where.
I know I spent a half a day at Pelican Bay and driving up and
down the beach there with our staff, and I was really shocked at it
was worse than I even thought, and the sand is gone, you know,
so -- but give us, in a nutshell, an update on what you're seeing since
you've got boots on the ground.
MR. ANDREW MILLER: Sure. You may remember the
earliest estimates were closer to the neighborhood of about
500,000 cubic yards that we're going to need. But as the weeks went
by, obviously, we surveyed the beaches, and we got our designer on
board to do some measurements and volume quantities. And the
good news is, he's whittled that down to something closer to
300,000 yards.
And so whether that's the result of Mother Nature putting sand
back on the beach or, you know, our eyes were deceived early on just
because it was such an abrupt change, I think what we're looking at is
something a lot less than we were feared we were going to have to
put on the beach. So the quantities now are closer to 300,000 yards.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But we still locked in a
competitive price. So what I'm hearing is we're going to be spending
February 28,2023
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less than we initially thought or, you know, is it 300,000, you know,
cubic yards, but it's at twice the price? How has the price changed,
if anything?
MR. ANDREW MILLER: No, the price will remain the
same --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. ANDREW MILLER: -- as per the item, but -- and the
other thing is, this sand's going to be available if we have an
emergency next year or the year after as well. These additional
sources will be available for us.
So, no, the prices are set, and, yeah, if we're going to get
more -- or less sand, need less sand, then we hope to get bids to the
effect that it will be less money.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, first off, I'll make a
motion for approval as recommended, and then I have a comment.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll second that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We have a motion and
second.
Sir, your comment.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Comment/question.
Which mine is Vulcan planning on utilizing for this bid?
MR. ANDREW MILLER: It's the Moore Haven mine.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: The Moore Haven mine,
okay.
MR. ANDREW MILLER: Correct.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And Garcia's location?
MR. ANDREW MILLER: Clewiston, I believe.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay, okay. Because I'm
February 28,2023
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familiar with Stewart. We've used Stewart in the past, so I just
wanted to hear where the deposit was that we were, in fact, bringing
in, because that's going to have an impact on our truck traffic and all
that sort of --
MR. ANDREW MILLER: Absolutely, Commissioner. I have
some maps available if you care to look, but --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I'll volunteer, as a
comment, if in the event that we need to help herd the truckers with
regard to that, I'd be happy to work with our staff to get the
information out to those truckers so that we're having -- this is a
direly needed enhancement for restoration for our beaches, but I
certainly want to keep -- mitigate the negative impact to our residents
as well.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We've got a motion and a
second. Any other questions? Any comments?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously. Thank
you.
MR. ANDREW MILLER: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What else, Ms. Patterson? Any
other quick hits we can knock out?
MS. PATTERSON: Sure. We had items formerly 16F5 and
16F6, the two tourism items. Those might be good ones to take.
February 28,2023
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That's the JW Marriott and the Visit Florida.
MS. PATTERSON: This was moved via the separate requests
of Commissioner Saunders, LoCastro, and McDaniel, and Mr. Paul
Beirnes is here -- your tourism director is here to answer questions or
present.
Item #11D
AN INCREASE OF AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES THROUGH
AN EXEMPTION FROM THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO JW
MARRIOTT MARCO ISLAND FOR TOURISM PROMOTIONAL
EXPENSES UP TO $85,000 PER FISCAL YEAR FOR A
FIVE-YEAR PERIOD AND MAKE A FINDING THAT THIS
EXPENDITURE PROMOTES TOURISM AND THAT THE
EXEMPTION WAIVER IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE
COUNTY – MOTION TO APPROVE WITH TRIM TO ON-YEAR
PERIOD AND MAINTAIN OVERSIGHT BY COMMISSIONER
MCDANIEL; SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS –
APPROVED
So we could start with item -- now Item 11D, former 16F5,
which was continued from September 10th, 2022. This is a
recommendation to approve an increase of authorized expenditures
through an exemption from the competitive process to JW Marriott
Marco Island for tourism promotional expenses up to $85,000 per
fiscal year for a five-year period and make a finding that this
expenditure promotes tourism and that the exemption waiver is in the
best interest of the county. This was moved via the separate requests
of Commissioner Saunders, LoCastro, and McDaniel, and Mr. Paul
Beirnes is here -- your tourism director is here to answer questions or
present.
February 28,2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. BEIRNES: Good morning, Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Good morning, Sir.
MR. BEIRNES: Here to answer any question, give any
feedback or insight as required.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner Hall, and
then Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER HALL: You know, when I read this, I'm
reading that we're spending $85,000 a year for five years so that JW
Marriott can advertise for themselves, and my thoughts are, why in
the world would we spend $85,000 a year of taxpayer money when
they're going to do it themselves?
MR. BEIRNES: And I appreciate that. What we do, we
actually have a sales convention team that are out on the streets.
They're actually soliciting and securing leads and big -- you know,
and big conventions that come to -- come to market. About
30 percent of all of our visitation is actually meetings and
conventions.
We're not just doing that for one particular property. We're
actually representing every one of our hotels, the small boutique
hotels, as well.
What we end up doing is we bring those opportunities to the
hotels which they would fit. Some of them are -- the conventions
are far too large for some of the smaller boutique hotels, so we fit
that.
At that time we turn it over. It becomes a negotiation, if you
will. We know that these meetings are considering many other
destinations. It's very, very highly competitive, because the
economic impact is so significant.
I'll just use the example of JW Marriott, but it could be Naples
Grande and all them. We'll continue to negotiate, fine tune, and
February 28,2023
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really refine it to the point that they're about as tight as they can get
on the offer. And the reconnaissance will also indicate that there are
other destinations that are bidding, and they're usually probably going
to have some CVB or destination enhancements, if you will.
So what we have done is we have actually created a stair step.
The maximum ever -- and it would require 950 room nights or more.
The maximum ever we put on the table will be $10,000. How that
multiplies out, just to give you an example, it's about twice the
amount of TDT that would be collected. Sorry, other way around.
The $10,000 would be half of the TDT that will be collected on that
meeting block.
What we do is we simply say, if you believe that this is enough
to just put them over the edge, lock and load them into a future
meeting, we will provide a credit towards something -- like food and
beverage for this meeting.
JW has tightened the screws as much as they can, but this would
just be enough to put it over the edge. We put that as a credit for
them to apply to secure this very significant meeting.
So we operate -- right now we have secured or we're engaging in
conversations as far as 2029 for these major conventions that are
coming into market and, actually, to date, just the incentives that we
have put on the table through 2029, working through Oxford
Economics and Destination Marketing International's model, it's
about $24.3 million worth of economic impact direct to the
destination. So it is a final straw to just nudge it over the edge.
Coming out of the pandemic, we know that we were hit hard,
and we lost that entire 30 percent of meetings. We are trying to get
the wheels under the destination to truly catapult at this point.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I mean, I hear what you're saying.
So if we take the $85,000 away, JW Marriott is not going to say, oh,
shoot, we can't do it now?
February 28,2023
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MR. BEIRNES: It may not be enough for that particular
meeting to decide on our destination as where they would like to go,
because the Marriott would have to trade off some other use or other
more profitable --
COMMISSIONER HALL: But do you think that it would
cause them to get creative with their dollars and not on our dollars?
MR. BEIRNES: I do believe that they are highly creative.
We're only talking a small amount of numbers compared to the
hundreds, if not, thousands of meetings that they're bringing in. The
conversations truly are very, very fruitful, very open. They are
coming saying, this is -- this is as tight as we can go, and we'll
probably lose it otherwise.
COMMISSIONER HALL: There's only one Southwest Florida
in the world, and there is people that want to come here. I'm
just -- I'm playing devil's advocate here, because I can't see justifying
giving a company like that 85 grand of taxpayer money with a fuzzy
figure of what it does bring back.
MR. BEIRNES: And as well, I'd want to make it certain that
it's not just the JW that we are applying these funds. But, but --
COMMISSIONER HALL: But we're giving the money to JW.
MR. BEIRNES: We are opening up the opportunity that should
those big-block conventions come to fruition, we have the
opportunity to be able to secure it.
In the past, we have been under the -- under the threshold, if you
will. I'm looking to see where we're at right now. For instance, two
thousand and -- I'll give you an example, 2025, for instance, we have
three major conventions, and we only have put on the table $25,000
of incentive, but in the next year and a half, we do believe -- and if
you've hired us to do what we need to do, which is to drive that
meeting block, we're going to do everything we can to try to help,
you know, stoke the fire.
February 28,2023
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What we want to do is set ourselves up for that success. And
we are highly frugal. When you consider that the threshold -- if
we're talking about a meeting of 50 to 100 room nights, we're only
talking about an enhancement of 500 to $1,000. I mean -- and those
would be applied to very small boutique hotels. Case in point, might
not have the wherewithal to be able to do that. But the JW is
bringing in thousands of conventions, and we just would love to bring
those larger, really affluent economic impact engines to the
destination.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel, and
then, Commissioner Saunders, you're on deck.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And to your point,
Commissioner Hall, these are -- agreed, they're taxpayer dollars, but
they are taxpayer -- they're user taxpayer dollars collected through
the TDT. These are consumption dollars that are -- they're being
collected by our hoteliers and convention inventory, if you will. So
it's not just a straight pump out of the -- out of the ad valorem, per se,
number one.
My concern with -- which is why I asked for this to be pulled,
was the waiver of the procurement process, the five-year term, and
the utilization of P cards in lieu of POs. I had a meeting with Crystal
yesterday, and she talked about the difficulties she has from an
auditing perspective when we go over into the utilization of the P
cards.
So my suggestion that may help even Commissioner Hall a little
bit is shorten this window from five to one, go ahead and do this
increase to 85,000 for one year, allow the Clerk's Office to increase
their -- and they are working on a better audit trail process within
their own system. But my suggestion is shorten this -- and I'm aware
as well that these conventions are planned three and four and five
February 28,2023
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years out.
It's not to say that we won't do this again a year from now, but I
would like for us to have -- I'd like to shorten this from five to one
year, and I would like to have a report next year when this item
comes back as to the efficacy of what's, in fact, transpired and how
the Clerk feels with regard to from an audit perspective. So that's
my rationale for pulling this item, and -- and I'll make that in the form
of a motion if you want -- if you wish.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I've still got a couple.
Commissioner Saunders, and then I've got some comment.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you. I pulled the
item because I also had spoken with Ms. Kinzel concerning some
issues that she had and also, Commissioner McDaniel, you're our
representative to the Tourist Development Council, so you probably
have more information about this than the rest of us.
So I would be inclined to follow your lead. And I do want to
make sure that going forward the Clerk does have some comfort as to
how this all takes place.
I would be somewhat -- I would feel somewhat compelled to
follow your recommendation. So I'll second your motion just to get
it on the floor, but --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So I pulled it for similar concerns.
I mean, I love it, but I hate it. I don't love the five years. I like
people to have to come to the podium or send us a letter or however,
smoke signals, you know, every 12 months, and earn the money.
You know, also, too, I mean -- and I don't want to oversimplify
things, but I don't want to hear we used $85,000 of taxpayer money to
pay for a cheese tray or a pasta bar for a group that was going to
come here anyway, and alls we did was offset the cost of the money
that JW Marriott was already going to expend.
February 28,2023
Page 103
So you're, say, fairly new in the seat, but no longer. You
definitely have been tried and tested.
So I feel, you know, confident with your oversight and with
Commissioner McDaniel being our representative on the TDC. But,
you know, we've got a Clerk of Courts back there that, you know, has
a really sharp pencil and a calculator that has fresh batteries in it, and
we all appreciate that. And the things that she brings to our
attention -- and some of us already had stuff written in the margins
before we met with Ms. Kinzel -- has real merit.
So your job's to make sure that it doesn't have merit and that this
is an investment, not an offsetting of cost, because if we give JW
Marriott $10,000 for a pasta bar, do you know what it costs JW
Marriott to do their own pasta bar and have us pay for it retail? It
cost them $1,500 to do that pasta bar, and they pocket the difference.
Now, I'm oversimplifying. I'm not saying that's a real example.
But there's been some things in the past that that actually was a real
example. And so to me, if the investment is an advertisement or
things that really are making a big difference or it is something that
maybe I scratch my head on, but you stand there and say,
Commissioner, I'll fall on my sword on this one, this was a small
expense that put us over the edge and brought back exponential
dollars. It's just -- you know, I don't want anybody to make a fool
out of us at the county, and a lot of people get rich off the county at
times because we don't have tight oversight, and we're changing that
exponentially, and this is another example of -- you know, I don't like
to beat up poor history, but I like to learn from it.
I think previous to maybe even all of us, a lot of expenditures in
this area were loose, you know, to say the least. So that's just my
comment. I love the idea of the every year, because I sit here and
say, you know -- and it could be an easy approval every 12 months.
Hey, it's a no-brainer but, you know, let's talk about it. What did we
February 28,2023
Page 104
see over the last 12 months? Hey, you were supposed to give us a
report. We never got one or, you know, the money wasn't spent
correctly or it was -- okay, it gives us a chance to reevaluate. So
that's, you know, my comment. But I like the idea of the motion and
the second. I certainly would support it.
Commissioner Kowal, sir.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Commissioner. If
I'm -- correct me if I'm wrong. I think in December we looked at
this, and that's why it's here today. And I think back in December it
was 105,000 or somewhere around that ballpark, and I think -- I had
questioned how long the program has already been up and running,
and I think we all wanted to see these large conventions connected to
the past. You know, like, in hard number, like saying, yeah, we
definitely know this large convention, you know, five years ago was
part of, you know, the result of us giving this $105,000 to the
Marriott.
And I agree with Commissioner McDaniel that -- I think this
should just be a recurring thing that we visit and see hard numbers
and start tracking it along the way because, who knows, two years
down the road maybe Four Seasons would be the better idea, you
know. And then what do we do then?
And, you know, they pay a lot more for a room than the Marriott
does. So, in retrospect, that creates more tax back into the tourism
dollar -- you know, collection fund just by, per se, just the cost of the
room itself and the taxes. You know, so I definitely agree that I
think -- I feel more comfortable, and I think some of my colleagues
do, too, with, you know, revisiting this on an -- on a rotating basis.
MR. BEIRNES: Very fair questions, and I appreciate it. I
would concur with one year. We can certainly do that. I do want to
set framework. And, Mr. Chair, I have stood here before and said
absolutely nothing gets paid and goes across my desk without a lot of
February 28,2023
Page 105
analysis. I actually approve each one of these. I make sure that it's
in the season, there's a need, that the return on investment is
significant. I actually have to authorize that.
We also track --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Do you think that wasn't
happening before at your level?
MR. BEIRNES: I just -- I had to say it for -- you know what, it
doesn't matter what has happened before. I know what I'm doing
right now is a -- is very, very focused on the bottom line. So I can't
speak for the past.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But you feel like you've tightened
the -- and it's not to throw, you know, sticks at the people before you.
But, you know, you as a fresh set of eyes that have come in, you've
injected things into the process that possibly weren't there or that you
feel have -- are a lot more robust now as far as oversight; is that a true
statement?
MR. BEIRNES: I will simply say that the filter to which I, you
know, ask and challenge is very poignant.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: That's fair.
MR. BEIRNES: And so that's one case.
We do track very, very definitely. And some of the interesting
nuances, while we certainly want to stay within the purchasing
procedures and such, in a lot of cases we will commit, if you will, an
investment, but, perhaps, 2020 comes along and meetings cancel.
That money doesn't go to anybody. It literally goes -- gets pulled
back. So we've got a list of status of whether it's booked, whether
it's -- whether we lost the business.
So some of these numbers go up and down. To the point of
Four Seasons, absolutely, you know, and I'm glad you brought that
up.
The funding that we've set aside for the entire county, we have
February 28,2023
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$200,000 for investment across all of the hotels. It just so happens
that those of the largest big boxes -- conventions are the JW. Second
would be Naples Grande, and we'll see how Four Seasons -- but, you
know what, it's a matter of where we bring a convention of 800 -- 800
individuals who could actually host that. It wouldn't be some of the
small boutiques. But we are definitely tracking it very, very
articulate.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So let me ask a stupid question,
then. So we don't do the same thing for Naples Grande, the Ritzes?
MR. BEIRNES: No, we do.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We do, okay. All right.
MR. BEIRNES: Absolutely.
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We're just talking about this one
right now.
MR. BEIRNES: That's why I was saying, it just happened to be
that the JW, the volume of conventions do more. But right there just
behind them is Naples Grande, for sure.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Any other comments?
We have a -- we have a motion and a second that I think we all agree
with. Trim this to one year and, you know, continuing the tight
oversight.
Any other comment?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
February 28,2023
Page 107
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Thank you, sir.
Anything you think that's a quick hit, or should we break for
lunch?
MS. PATTERSON: We have the second one of these two
tourism items that is the Visit Florida.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: I'll read that one in.
Item #11F
AN INCREASE OF AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES THROUGH
AN EXEMPTION FROM THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO
VISIT FLORIDA FOR MEMBERSHIP FEES AND
DESTINATION MARKETING PROGRAMS UP TO $150,000 PER
FISCAL YEAR FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD TO ALLOW
PURCHASING CARD USES WHEN THE USE OF A PURCHASE
ORDER IS NOT POSSIBLE OR PRACTICAL, TO MAKE A
FINDING THAT THESE EXPENDITURES PROMOTE
TOURISM, AND THAT THE EXEMPTION WAIVER IS IN THE
BEST INTEREST OF THE COUNTY – MOTION TO APPROVE
WITH TRIM TO ONE YEAR PERIOD AND MAINTAIN
OVERSIGHT BY COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL; SECONDED
BY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS - APPROVED 5/0
This is the formerly Item 16F6, now Item 11F. This also is
continued from December 10th. This is a recommendation to
approve an increase of authorized expenditures through an exemption
from the competitive process to Visit Florida for membership fees
and destination marketing programs up to $150,000 per fiscal year
February 28,2023
Page 108
for a five-year period to allow purchasing card uses when the use of a
purchase order is not possible or practical, to make a finding that
these expenditures promote tourism, and that the exemption waiver is
in the best interest of the county. This was moved to the regular
agenda via separate requests of Commissioner McDaniel and
LoCastro.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner McDaniel,
what do you think? We're going to carbon copy the last motion on
this one?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Ditto.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I second it. Any
comments or questions? It's a similar type thing, but I don't want to
stifle anybody.
Okay. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So it will pass 4-1 [sic]
with the same change and verbiage to one year. Okay, sir? Thank
you.
THE COURT REPORTER: You said 4-1.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: 4-1? Who voted against it?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I said
unanimous. Did I say 4-1? Oh, I'm sorry. I misspoke.
Unanimous.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Kowal down there on the
end, he's --
February 28,2023
Page 109
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, it's possible. Correction,
passes unanimously, with the changes as stated to one year.
Okay. What else, ma'am?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Let's go to lunch.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Yep. We'll break for
lunch, come back here. What do you-all think; 1:15 do it? Okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Perfect.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Come back at 1:15.
(A luncheon recess was had from 12:13 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.)
MS. PATTERSON: Chair, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Let's go ahead and
continue. It looks like we are going to move to Item 11A.
Item #11A
PARTIAL RELEASE OF CODE ENFORCEMENT LIENS WITH
AN ACCRUED VALUE OF $860,230.36 FOR A PAYMENT OF
$16,623.98 IN THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS TITLED
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VERSUS TARPON IV,
LLC, SPECIAL MAGISTRATE CASE NO. CEPM201000018647
AND CEPM20170007818, RELATING TO PROPERTY FOLIO
NO. 40687400009, COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA – MOTION TO
APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER HALL – APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 11A a recommendation to approve
the partial release of code enforcement liens with an accrued value of
$860,230.36 for a payment of $16,623.98 in the code enforcement
actions titled Board of County Commissioners versus Tarpon IV,
LLC, Special Magistrate Case No. CEPM201000018647 and
CEPM20170007818, relating to property Folio No. 40687400009,
February 28,2023
Page 110
Collier County, Florida.
Mr. James French, your Growth Management and Community
Department head, is here to present or answer questions.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Mr. French, it's all yours.
MR. FRENCH: Good morning -- good afternoon,
Commissioners. My apologies. For the record, my name is Jamie
French. I'm the department head for Growth Management Plan and
Community Development.
Commissioners, with me today is our Code Enforcement
director, Mike Ossorio, and we're prepared to answer any questions
regarding this case.
Essentially, in a nutshell, our staff on a day-in and day-out basis
with our Code Enforcement team, they do -- they work with the
community. The intent is to educate to drive more towards
compliance than the actual enforcement action. Unfortunately, at
times those enforcement actions do take place. They're in front of
your Code Enforcement Board or your Office of Special Magistrate,
and Mr. Ossorio certainly has been doing this for better than seven
years now in his nearly 30 years with the county.
But in this particular case, this property is under the same
ownership of a property that was an infraction property in
Immokalee. And, really, the bottom line here is is that when we file
a lien under the Florida Statute, it encompasses all of the real
property that may be under that common ownership. And so what
the petitioner is asking for is they're asking for that partial
release -- and the reason why we lien those properties, all of the
properties, it's really a tool for the Board to be able to really rectify
the issue.
This property is tied up. The owner has purchased the property,
and our understanding is is that a title search was not done. So the
transaction's been completed, and it's -- then the lien just transfers to
February 28,2023
Page 111
the new ownership because it's attached to the property.
And so what the petitioner's asking for is asking for a partial
release and, in exchange, what they're willing to do is they're willing
to pay the county our hard costs -- not the actual reoccurring fine, but
the actual hard costs that the county has actually invested into that
infraction property out in Immokalee, and that equates to just a little
over $16,000, and that's for things like lot mowing, that's for things
like cleaning the property up, demolition of buildings, and those type
of -- those type of things.
But this does not bring that -- this does not release that property
that actually caused all this, and that -- the Pelican Venture Group,
that they own several properties in the county, but they sold the
property even though it had a lien on it.
And, again, Mr. Ossorio and I are here to answer any questions
that you might have.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I'll open it up with a
couple of questions. So as I understand it, so the 860- -- the
860- included many more properties that this one person didn't
purchase, right? So we're trying to -- we're trying to remove the one
piece of property and charge them a fair amount, right? Rather than
they have to absorb all of it, correct? Am I understanding that
correctly?
MR. FRENCH: You are correct, sir. In fact, this company has
done this before. You've had another property sold that they sold
that the Board waived all of the -- they removed the lien --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. FRENCH: -- and allowed that property to get clear title as
well.
So we don't believe that this pattern of practice is unique. We
believe that this property owner will probably do it again.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So the properties that are left over,
February 28,2023
Page 112
does his 860- go down by 16,000 because 16,000 is being paid for,
you know, for the one piece of property? And so he's -- he's slowly
reducing the overall number?
MR. OSSORIO: For the record, Mike Ossorio, director of
Code Enforcement. That number is the hard costs, which is 860-, so
the number shouldn't fluctuate anymore since the --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. OSSORIO: -- original code violation on the Immokalee
office we abated. There might be some weeds or some future
costs --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. OSSORIO: -- in the future. But as of right now, it's 860-,
and the fines have since ceased.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: The person paying the 16- was
that -- you know, when the work the algorithm, was that, like, the
in-full amount, and then we reduced it -- you know, we came up with,
like, 16,000 as a fair amount? But if we wouldn't have given
any -- if we did -- but if we did give some sort of discount -- you
know, if we didn't do that, would it have been a much higher amount?
It wouldn't have been 860- because it's not all the properties. It's just
one. Can you give me a guestimate as to what it might have been?
MR. OSSORIO: Well, the 16- is the -- Mr. Resnicky is
offering to settle his partial release of lien on his property.
As the resolution calls for, he's requesting a partial release of
lien. And the number is -- he came up with a particular number. I
came up with a number that satisfies the Immokalee citizens that
helps --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What number did you come up
with?
MR. OSSORIO: Sixteen thousand.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, really? So that was just a
February 28,2023
Page 113
fluke or --
MR. OSSORIO: It just happened to be there. I think he
actually offered less, and I said no. I worked the numbers.
Unfortunately, as the director of code, that's -- the resolution calls for
me to do this. And we've done this in the past, and so we look at the
surrounding neighborhood, how do we recoup hard cost dollars from
us, what I paid for? I mean, this was -- this Immokalee house was a
drug house.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. OSSORIO: And so we did some boarding. That didn't
work. We worked with the Sheriff's Office over the years, and
finally we took the steps of we're just going to demo. And so he's
paying for all that hard cost --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But this one is different and unique
compared to some of those ones we have that are a little bit more
black and white where there's -- and I'll just use these numbers, but
this is just a hypothetical. There's an $860,000 lien on one piece of
property. That property owner sells it to somebody else at a discount
because they're like, oh, you're responsible for 860,000 but then that
new owner who got the discount then works with us and doesn't pay
860-. So, you know, sometimes my concern is when that happens,
wow, that person got a discount on the property because of this huge
lien, but then they negotiated more of a discount with us. But that's
a little bit of a different example. This one's more complicated with
multiple properties, correct?
MR. OSSORIO: It is. And your first scenario is something we
shored up in 2021 with the County Attorney's Office when
Commissioner Saunders basically said, we need to look for windfalls,
and we do look for windfalls.
I would tell you over the years it was a common practice to
waiver fines, but since -- you know, since I took over, there are far
February 28,2023
Page 114
and few between. You can see that the numbers have not -- have
[sic] increased. As a matter of fact, you'll see one, but I denied 10.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, stick around at the end of
this meeting when it comes down to Commission comments, because
one of the things I want to talk about is something that Mr. Klatzkow
and I have been working on, but I don't want to jump ahead. I think
in that -- we actually have been waiving a lot and giving super-duper
discounts and being Santa Claus to a lot of people that actually had
the money, but that's debatable, and it's more of just some statements
I want to make and see what colleagues think.
But you've answered my questions. This one's -- and I knew
some of that, having met with Mr. French yesterday, but just wanted
to clarify that I did -- I did sort of absorb the details on this one
correctly.
So Commissioner McDaniel, and then Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Well, my question is,
how did this -- what was our -- was our code enforcement lien not
properly recorded?
MR. FRENCH: No. Thank you, Commissioner, for the
question.
So they were recorded, but when you record a lien against the
property, based off of your ordinance as well as in line with the
statute, you record a lien against all of their real property. So it's a
wide net you cast that ties up all other real property so that it -- we
believe it's -- it's there to encourage the property owner to clear these
violations and these fines up.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. So assuming we
waive and accept this settlement payment, is there sufficient value in
the other properties that are liened to cover the outstanding?
MR. OSSORIO: Concerning the other properties, I believe
there were 18, and they're all -- I believe they're all vacant pieces of
February 28,2023
Page 115
property. Unfortunately, this particular company out of -- that
bought all these 17 bought it as a tax sale, and they -- quite often they
do.
This is a very unusual tax sale that, historically, when they
bought this as a tax sale years ago for X amount 5-, $6,000 on a tax
sale, we went in there, and we spent a significant amount of money in
Immokalee to fix the code violation. Obviously, they didn't cause
the violation. They bought the tax sale.
Historically, once the lien goes on, we encumbered all the
properties that he or she owns, which is a corporation. But this fine
of 800,000 is unique because usually when you buy a tax deed and
there's a lien on the property, you don't pay your taxes, and we get it
back in three years, so you would never see this. We would do the
administrative -- the fines, the leases. We would work with the
County Attorney's Office.
But this particular corporation has decided to pay the taxes, and
so there was no violation except for the lien on the property, which
the lien is for 20 years, and we're going to work with the property
owners, and we still try to reach out to this corporation, too, as well.
MR. FRENCH: Commissioner, I'm sorry. Just to answer your
question, of the 17 remaining parcels, most likely not, the value of
those properties would not equate to the total amount that's owned to
the county on this lien.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
MR. FRENCH: And that's a swag, but it's --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I understand. You're close
enough. I don't have to have specifics at this point. But, you know,
when you buy a piece of property at a tax sale, you get it as-is,
where-is with the attached liens as they are. And my concern is is
this is going to happen again and again and again and again, and
we're going to -- we're going to -- the county's going to end up eating
February 28,2023
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this exposure.
And I'm just -- I'm hesitant on this. I understand what
Mr. Ossorio's, in fact, done, but I'm hesitant on approving this just
because the communication with the property owner, the previous
property owner that actually accumulated the infraction is just
ditching this property off and/or allowing it to go for a tax sale.
MR. OSSORIO: It wasn't a tax sale.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I'm not sure -- I'm
concerned about that.
MR. FRENCH: So the property was acquired under a tax sale.
There were multiple properties, and then this gentleman bought it
individually from that property owner that original acquired it from a
tax sale. This was a different property. But, again, when we file the
lien, it goes against all of their properties.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And this gentleman bought it
with title insurance?
MR. RESNICKY: No. I tried to get it --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Come up to the mic.
MR. RESNICKY: No. I tried to get a quick closing, and I
forewent title insurance, unfortunately.
MR. MILLER: State your name for the record, please.
MR. RESNICKY: Jamie Resnicky. It was, obviously, a huge
mistake.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall. Or, sir, are
you finished for now?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Come back.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I've got a couple of questions. So
the property that accumulated all of these fines is not the property
that he brought. This property that he bought is just attached to it?
MR. FRENCH: That's correct, sir. It's a vacant parcel that
February 28,2023
Page 117
was owned by the same company.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. So two thoughts. I'm an
investor myself, been in your shoes, been on that side of the podium,
and at $50,000 later with zero abatement, I had a property, and it was
my fault. Where is the "buyer beware" attitude with the county?
Why is it our responsibility to bail everybody out when we have
ordinances, we have code enforcement, we have fees that -- there's
nothing on there that's not illegitimate, or it's not excessive. It's been
over time since it's been to this amount of money, so that's my first
question-type statement.
And then, secondly, what is the county's -- what is our privilege
with the lien with the remaining properties? What's our way out? I
mean, can we foreclose and take the property back and then sell the
property, each individual lot, or what's our -- what's our options?
MR. KLATZKOW: You can foreclose on anything that's not
homesteaded.
COMMISSIONER HALL: These are all vacant lots that are
not homesteaded. The people that sold him the property, they're
getting -- they're getting their money.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: They already got their
money.
COMMISSIONER HALL: They got their money, and they're
down the road, you know, scot-free on Mr. Resnicky's, you
know -- so I guess to the Board is -- 17 properties that aren't worth
the 800,000, we could foreclose on it and get whatever we get out of
them, or is what -- is -- those 17 properties, are they even worth
fooling with?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But what I think what we're trying
to figure out here is what's fair for him. You know, the remaining
properties, right, I mean, that's still in flux. So that's a whole
different thing.
February 28,2023
Page 118
COMMISSIONER HALL: I guess I should have -- I'm going
to be on your side.
MR. RESNICKY: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER HALL: But as far as going forward...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I am more in line with
the buyer beware from that perspective. I mean, you made -- you
made a calculated error to buy a piece of property, didn't get title
insurance, didn't do a title search, and then you probably went to
develop it or build on it and found out that this lien was out there.
So I'm less concerned with you but, on the same token, it's your
responsibility.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Before I go to Commissioner
Kowal, let me just ask you, sir, a question.
Did you move forward with that action because you -- and I
don't want to put words in your mouth -- because you somehow knew
that the county had a precedence of sort of not being really forceful
on liens and things like that and --
MR. RESNICKY: Not at all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. RESNICKY: I went ahead with the purchase because I
thought it was a good deal.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Did you not know about
the liens and the money and all --
MR. RESNICKY: Not at all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Okay. So you went into it
not thinking, boy, maybe I'll get lucky here. You didn't realize and
then found out the penalties afterwards.
MR. RESNICKY: No clue.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. RESNICKY: I would not have -- would not have went
February 28,2023
Page 119
down that avenue if I would have known anything about it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I gotcha.
Commissioner Kowal and then, Commissioner Saunders, you're
on deck, sir.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chairman. I
agree -- kind of agree with Commissioner McDaniel. You know,
you do have a due diligence as a purchaser in property. I mean, you
know, anybody that invests their own money into something, you
know, hoping to, you know, have an investment that pays off for you
down the road, I mean, that's kind of like on you, you know. I mean,
if you were taking money or getting loan money, they wouldn't allow
you to do this. It would have to be -- you'd have to have a title
search done, and you would notice up front. But kind of the risk you
took is kind of like where we are now.
I guess my question to you, Mr. French, is the problem property
that acquired -- that we've got the $860,000 accumulated over, is that
still an issue?
MR. FRENCH: No. As Mr. Ossorio has indicated that it has
been abated. What I've seen, looking back within our software
application for CityView, other than lot mowing, which we will
occasionally do when the grasses get above 18 inches, so they're not
maintaining it, the property owner.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay. So this -- this LLC that
purchased this tax buy-out for these lots is still not pretty much, you
know, cooperating or doing his due diligence to upkeep the property,
and it's still on us. So that's -- so knowing his property's not the one
that accumulated this --
MR. FRENCH: Right.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: -- but, of course, the attachment
to all properties, real properties, is where we're at.
And I guess -- you know, I'm not saying it's going to happen but,
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I mean, if his 16,000 or whatever, plus we foreclose on these other
lots and sell them, do we get close to what this person owes us?
Because it doesn't sound like he's going to do anything to cooperate
with us here moving on out.
MR. FRENCH: So we would owe you that. But based off of
just our quick conversation, these are vacant lots, typically scattered
throughout the Estates. The remaining lots would probably not total
that amount, but we can -- we can provide you what the -- at least
what the Property Appraiser says this unimproved land would be
worth. Even if you applied a multiplier for market condition, again,
we don't think we're going to get close to it, because there could be
wetland determinations, there could be exotic removal, there could be
a number of different key factors here that you would be able to pick
up one of these lots for, you know, 30-, $40,000 depending upon its
size.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: The other 17 lots are still
owned by the individual who was responsible for the code violation;
did I understand that correctly?
MR. FRENCH: So they bought the violation. The violation
existed. They bought the property on a tax -- on a --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So the original bad
actor is out of the picture?
MR. FRENCH: They're long gone. They didn't pay their
taxes. They went in. This company bought them, and when they
bought it, they bought the code enforcement problem.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And the $16,000 that we're
talking about right now, is that an agreed-upon number at this point?
MR. FRENCH: So what that is, as I was indicating earlier, for
lot mowing. Any monies that have been ongoing with this property
to maintain it, we just put it on that. That's our hard costs currently
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up against that lien. And so it only becomes a code violation when
the lot doesn't get mowed.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So this gentleman has not
agreed to pay the 16,000?
MR. RESNICKY: Sorry. The 16,000 has already been paid,
just to be 100 percent clear.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So then what we're
talking about, then, is releasing the lien on this particular property
because of the payment of the 16,000 --
MR. FRENCH: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- which I would support
doing.
MR. RESNICKY: Thank you, thank you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: You're not the guy here that
created the problem, and it looks like you're being punished enough.
MR. RESNICKY: Yeah. And I agreed to mow the lawn, if
that's at all -- if that would help at all, to abate the issue. I know
that's, obviously, an issue, and it's going to be ongoing.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Are there ongoing liens
on -- or fines on this parcel? Okay.
MR. FRENCH: It settles him up.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So we agree with this, he's
out of the picture. He pays the 16,000. You still have 17 lots.
And I don't know how much money the county is really out of in
terms of your overall costs for all of the 18 lots that you were dealing
with here. What was your overall total cost to the county?
MR. FRENCH: Well, that would bring us to zero after the
16,000. Those would represent our hard costs that we've put into
maintaining that lot, and then the remaining is just the lien. That's
not a -- so that's just the monies owed.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We can go ahead and accept
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this and let this gentleman go home knowing his lot is free and clear
at this point, and then we can have a conversation about the other 17
lots; is that fair?
MR. FRENCH: And that's what's on the executive summary.
I know Commissioner LoCastro had mentioned that he had had
comments, and we'd love to hear them. I don't know if now or later,
but that was one of the -- within your executive summary, we are
seeking guidance, because we know that we've got over 700 of these
liens that exist out there.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So why don't we -- why
don't we make a motion to accept the 16,000 on this particular parcel
as settlement of that. So that lien will go away, so you can go home.
And you would owe us the 16,000, but that would be the end of it,
and then later on let's have a conversation about the other 17 lots.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yep.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I'll second.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll make that as a motion.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We've got a motion and a
second. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
MR. RESNICKY: Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We will have that
conversation, for sure.
Okay. Ms. Patterson, we're not going to have it here now. It's
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coming, unless somebody had a question or wanted to belabor it or --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Because they have to
assimilate the data, they've got to get hard costs and so forth and so
on, so...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Are we going to 11C?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes. May I, just before we close out on
11A, I think part of guidance -- and we can talk about it
later -- is -- and we've had this conversation individually, is we see
these large-dollar lien amounts that represent the accrual of fines and
any number of things.
Is there something we want to do differently than how we've
been allowing this to go on 20 years? I'm now understanding we've
settled for the hard costs, so the county's not out money, but it does
create, in some cases, a perception -- a public perception problem that
we're just continuing to waive these fines. That's where the staff is
looking for, if you're looking to see, perhaps, a report on these once
they reach a certain threshold, a certain amount of time where we can
give you an update. And we can talk about this at the end of the
meeting. But that's why this item actually appeared on the regular
agenda was to open that conversation up a little bit.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let's table that. I have something
prepared that I want to talk about at the end that Mr. Klatzkow and I
have been working on, and this was a -- this was a great example,
although this one's a little unique.
MS. PATTERSON: It is.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: This one's a little unique, but I'm
glad we did this because it put a spotlight, and we want to separate
rumor from fact. I mean, we didn't just take 860- and erase it away
and make it 16-. This was a piece of a bigger puzzle. But there are
examples where there's one thing -- one unit, it's 860-, and we wash
our hands of it by somebody writing a $10,000 check, and
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everybody's fine with it, and that's what we're going to talk about.
And Mr. Klatzkow and I have a little bit of a prepared discussion at
the very end when it comes down to Commissioner comments.
MS. PATTERSON: Understood.
Item #11C
AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF ACQUISITIONS IN THE
ALREADY BOARD-APPROVED CONSERVATION COLLIER
LAND ACQUISITION CYCLES AND MULTI-PARCEL
PROJECTS, REVIEW CYCLE 11B, PROPOSING
CONSERVATION COLLIER ACTIVE ACQUISITION LIST, AND
DIRECT STAFF TO COMPLETE CYCLE 10 AND 11A
ACQUISITIONS AND RETURN TO THE BOARD IN THE LAST
QUARTER OF 2023 TO CONSIDER CYCLE 11B AND
POTENTIALLY CYCLE 12 – MOTION TO APPROVE WITH
OPTIONS TO PURSUE OTHER AVAILABLE AGENCY
PARTNERSHIPS BY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS;
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL – APPROVED
Item 11C. Item 11C is a recommendation to accept an update
on the status of acquisitions in the already Board-approved
Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Cycles and multi-parcel
projects, review Cycle 11B, proposing Conservation Collier Active
Acquisition List, and direct staff to complete Cycle 10 and 11A
acquisitions and return to the Board in the last quarter of 2023 to
consider Cycle 11B and potentially Cycle 12.
Mr. Edward Finn, Deputy County Manager, will begin the
presentation.
MR. FINN: Thank you, ma'am.
Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, I'm going to just have a couple
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of comments here up front on the status of the program and some of
the acquisitions, and Ms. Araque will take over and do her normal
presentation for Cycle 11B.
So try to provide an update. Where we are right now is in
January the Board approved Cycle 10. Cycle 10 was about $17
millions.
In December of '22, the Board approved Cycle 11A. Now, that
was another $12 million.
In February, today, we're looking at a potential 11B cycle. That
cycle is 36 million dollars. And that -- and that is probably most
distinguished by a single parcel in the order of magnitude of about
$29 million in excess of 7,000 acres.
So with this kind of high level of activity or tempo going with
the program, we wanted to come forward and provide -- provide this
status.
So just for the benefit of the newer Board members, I'll just
cover kind of the broad -- broad swath of the program and where we
are.
November of '20, the electors approved Conservation Collier
millage of up to a quarter of a mill for 10 years to fund Conservation
Collier. This was the second round of the Conservation Collier
Program. The first round, similarly, was for 10 years, and that ended
with ad valorem collections in FY '13.
The initial year of the re-established Conservation Collier tax
levy was FY '22. The '22 budget included the tax levy of a quarter
mill across the county, and it generated 25 -- $25 million.
The FY '23 budget, again, a millage of .25 generated 20 -- a
net -- 29 million net of 5 percent collection fee.
Twenty-five -- 75 percent of the collections goes to acquisition.
And you can see there that about 21,8- in FY '23 proceeds, and right
now, as the budget sits, there's about $30 million available for
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acquisitions.
In accordance with the statute, 25 percent of the tax levy goes to
support ongoing maintenance in a -- somewhat of almost an escrow
where we try to fund the program up with interest earnings on that
money.
The intent there is that the program be perpetually funded for
management. Certainly, we can look at it with the funding we have
there. And we're comfortable at a pretty long time. There's no such
thing as perpetual when it all comes right down to it, but certainly, in
the 40- to 50-year range it's funded.
Again, the broad background, a brief financial -- financial brief
for you covering five years. The first three years starting from the
left, '19, '20, '21, expenditures at the top, sources or revenue at the
bottom.
You can see that those years were not -- there were no taxes
levied. There were no ad valorem taxes levied; rather we were
operating, essentially, on carryforward and interest earnings on that
carryforward. There were some land acquisitions during that period.
The Board authorized the use of management reserves to fund up
those acquisitions in the interim. Those reserves have subsequently
been paid back with proceeds in FY '22.
And if -- you can see in '22, the ad valorem taxes, again, plug
into the financials, and the FY '23 budget shows the ad valorem
taxes, the other aspects of the revenue down below, and up above
there's two major budgets there. The first is for land acquisition and
the second is the reserve I mentioned a moment ago that supports
maintenance.
This is the table that is in your executive summary. This table
is -- shows kind of the status of acquisition cycles on top. Cycle 10,
as I said, was $17 million gross. There were some adjustments,
some dropouts, some properties that were rated B that moved to
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future cycles. There were some acquisitions that have been made to
date, leaving available funding, order of magnitude $2.5 million out
of that cycle still to be covered by the budget.
Cycle 11A mentioned earlier, about 12.2 million gross. There
are some changes, some dropouts, some B -- B-rated properties that
will move to a future, so that leaves about $7,800,000 that's still in
process.
And then, finally, 11B which is the primary subject of today's
presentation, that is the best part of $36 million gross, and that is
awaiting Board approval so that staff can commence action on that.
Funding availability is shown towards the bottom. The
available budget for acquisition in the current budget is about
$30 million. If the next year's budget is approved, as it has been, at
the full quarter mill, that would generate approximately
21 -- $21 million in additional funding for acquisitions, and the
potential/pending expenditures column kind of shows how that
$46 million in potential expenditures would be covered in the
combination of the two years, leaving over about 5 -- or $5.5 million
left over for any properties that subsequently get approved in a
follow-on cycle. And there is a follow-on cycle that is going to
follow pretty shortly upon our action today. That is Cycle 12, the
size of which we don't know.
And this is not going to be very long; I'm going to try to wrap up
real quick. One of the key things that the Board discussed in
December when they reviewed this, they reviewed both
11A -- Cycle 11A in December as well as a purchase contract for
some property on Marco Island, and considerable discussion resulted.
The discussion revolved around pricing at the appraised amount
versus allowing some level of negotiation, disclosure of adjacent
property or property owners' interest in the preserve property
proposed to be acquired, and creating a little more clarity in our
February 28,2023
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appraisal reports relative to the impairment or the deductions made,
for instance, for gopher tortoises on the property or other
environmental impairments.
So staff has taken -- made adjustments to all of those things. So
the appraisals will be presented in a slightly different fashion to put
those items right up front. The additional disclosures have been
added to the application process so abutting properties that have an
interest will be disclosing that, and we've reengaged with the sellers
to determine if they would entertain some level of price -- price
adjustment.
So the slides you're looking at here are from Cycle 10. These
are properties that we had, generally speaking, reached some level of
price agreement in a contract with these folks. Given the Board's
direction, we thought it prudent to reach out to them and entertain a
little more discussion. You'll see from this that of the -- excepting
the No. 17 property at the bottom, of those 16 properties, 11 of them
have accepted some negotiated adjustment to account for either
changes in market or perhaps just simply being asked if they would
take a lower amount. So that's -- those will be returning to the
Board.
Some of the properties, of course, did not -- did not want to
entertain some pricing adjustments. I believe it's our intent at this
point in time to proceed with those as they were and present those to
the Board for approval.
This slide is additional Cycle 10 properties that staff will be also
contacting the property owners to finalize. They're in a
different -- different state of contract readiness, which is why they're
on a slightly different slide. Ms. Araque will be discussing this.
This is the Cycle 11B properties. These are the properties that have
actually been closed relative to Cycle 10, and the closing dates and
the Board-approved dates are shown there in the two right-hand
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columns. And one more eye chart type slide. These are
Board-approved properties for closing with an estimated closing date.
So if -- indulge me for one second, I'll attempt a summary.
Staff has -- staff has forced or requested the disclosures from people
applying to the program and the pricing approach to allow
negotiations from the appraised value. As Cycle 11B and future
cycles are approved, we're recommending maintaining reasonable
balance between the approved acquisition cycles and the available
budget. I think what we have now, the overlap to '24, is not, on its
face, unreasonable. I think the actual timing is probably going to
allow us to move forward with that.
But as these additional cycles pile on, we're a little concerned
that the pipeline is going to become overfilled, and the expectations,
perhaps, can't be met with the timing that we're going to actually
move forward with. The other, kind of, key thing is staff
is -- moving forward is going to seek to shield the appraisals from the
process, allowing those appraisals to be reviewed after the
negotiations are done, but that would be our desire to facilitate
coming off of the full appraised amount.
And I want to make -- it's kind of important for me to say that
staff always proceeds in good faith, and we certainly want to meet all
the objectives of the program and have a successful program, but at
the end of the day, these decisions are the Board's decisions, not
staff's decision.
And the last thing I'll mention is Cycle 12 is going to follow
somewhat hard upon this. I haven't met the County Manager to
determine exactly what that schedule will be, but there is another
cycle that is going to be coming at you very shortly.
With that, if there are no questions, I'm going to turn it over to
Ms. Araque.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, there's questions. I'm going
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to ask you a couple, and then Commissioner McDaniel and
Commissioner Hall are lit up. So I don't know if -- we'll hear from
the commissioners, and then we'll go to public comment.
If you can go back to Slide 4. So on Cycle 10, so we've
purchased and acquired the vast majority of the properties; is that a
true statement?
MR. FINN: Let me explain it this way: The acquired to date
is actually the column that has 3.5 million in it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, so that's smaller than I
would expect, but then you had some other slides that showed Cycle
10, and it looked like the people had agreed and yes, yes, yes, yes,
yes. So we didn't acquire it, but it's in the final stages or...
MR. FINN: Those actions took place subsequent to your
December meeting on this subject. So that's the process that staff
has moved forward with since December is recontacting those
property owners and adjusting -- adjusting for current pricing on
those properties.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I'm just going to say two
more things, and then there will be more once we hear public
comment, and I want to hear from my colleagues.
But, you know, a couple things -- and Jaime Cook will love this.
This reminds me of, like, the rock crushing lot. We're moving so
forward on Cycle 10, 11A, 11B, 12, 13, 14, 15. Are we buying -- I
mean, we need -- we need to purchase as -- and not delay in the
purchases as quickly as we're identifying.
So, like, on the rock crushing lot, they're bringing in a billion
tons of rock, and we're crushing three pounds a day. I mean, it feels
that way. Somebody tell me that it's not right.
But bringing all these lists is great, so we're doing the
exploratory work, and we're finding out where these environmentally
sensitive properties are, but, gosh, you know, I'm seeing dates on here
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that, you know, these lists came before us, we approved the priority
list and, you know, now we're still -- and I'm looking for an eloquent
answer. Hey, we're not stalling on these, and it takes time,
Commissioner, and all that, and then, you know, maybe that has
merit and maybe it doesn't.
The second thing is, I like the negotiation part, but I said this to
Ms. Patterson yesterday, you know, part of that discussion that we led
here was for those unique circumstances where -- and I gave the
example of somebody owns a $50 million house next to one of these
lots, the lot is appraised for $20 million, but they get a huge benefit
by us paying full market value, and then they get a -- they get
a -- basically a preserve state park next to their property for the rest of
eternity and get -- you know, their sunset view is never blocked, and
they never have renters next to them. I would -- I would think that
was a really great example for negotiation.
I do like that, you know, we're not just sort of saying, hey, this is
the appraised value and we pay it, you know, blindly. I like the
negotiation piece. But, also, too, I don't -- I don't think it was the
intent of the Board at all to say, oh, we're no longer paying face
value. We're going to negotiate everything. That's not a horrible
thing, but I also don't want to run the risk of possibly losing a lot that
has significant environmental value over a haggling of $1,400.
And so I don't know if somebody took our direction on adding
some verbiage that would allow negotiation -- and we were very
specific here -- in those very unique circumstances where we don't
want to be taken advantage of as a county. And also, too, the
additional money saved allows us to maybe buy additional things.
So no haggling, we pay face value, we buy 10 lots a year. A
little bit of haggling, maybe we acquire 13, you know, with the
savings.
So these are more of statements, but -- and I think we're going to
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circle back. But I just feel like we're getting all these -- all these lists
of how about this, how about this, how about this and, you know, I
want to know we're buying these things or not. And it seems like
we're kind of -- we're kind of stalling a little bit. We're racing on the
proposed list, but I don't see the purchasing sort of catching up to the
nominating.
But if I'm wrong, that's what I want to hear. I might be
summarizing this totally incorrectly, and all the experts are here. So
I'll just leave that on the thing. I don't think even think it requires an
answer because I think, you know -- and it's more of just a statement.
Let me go to -- I want to hear once from all the commissioners
that are lit up, and then let's go to public comment, because I think
that will definitely add. And if you're a commissioner that's lit up
and you'd rather hear from public comment, then let me know.
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'd rather hear from the
County Manager first, then me.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: She's over leaning --
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: She's waving her hand? She's
waving her hand?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: She's been over there
throwing stuff at you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: She's not lit up.
Ms. Patterson.
MS. PATTERSON: So, Commissioner, I think part of why this
might feel a little bit different -- so we probably should have
mentioned that we used to have an annual acquisition cycle. So you
would see this once a year, and then things would go on behind the
scenes before you saw another list.
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Going back in a little bit of time, probably back to summer
period, we went to a quarterly acquisition cycle. So now you're
seeing these with more frequency. So that's the first thing that
maybe is seeming this to compress and is one of the reasons that we
wanted to bring this update to you so that we could position where
we are in these cycles and get you some perspective on what's going
on. Not that we're trying -- things -- things move slowly sometimes.
We know that. Government's not the speediest entity; however,
we're not artificially dragging our feet or trying to slow things down.
As far as the -- as far as the negotiations or the haggling, really, I
think the staff did a great job, at my direction, at looking at
everything that we had in our basket that you hadn't approved, looked
at what -- what reasonable reliances property owners had on us, as
well as changing market conditions as well as those other factors that
we talked a lot about, be that listed species or other environmental
factors on the property, and tried to find some balance to meet the
Board's objective that we don't just write a check for an amount with
no questions, but we're not trying to unreasonably haggle with
people. So I think you can rest assured.
And if people -- we had a case, not naming names, where a
property owner said, I wasn't that happy with the appraisal, but I
agreed to it. They weren't willing to talk any more about it, and
that's okay, and those will come back to you.
And so we want to be sure that the message that gets out in this,
no matter where we go from here, is that when staff is out doing this
due diligence, talking with the property owners, the final action still
rests with the Board. It's not -- staff can't do this. We don't -- we
can't promise anything. We can execute Board's direction and move
Board's policy, but in the end those contracts are between the Board
and the property owner. So things sometimes change, and we want
to make sure that property owners understand that. We're going to
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try to -- we're going to carry the ball, but you could say no to one, all,
half, and that is absolutely your prerogative, so that's clarification.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Perfect. Okay. It makes
sense.
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes, thank you.
What are we buying today?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. You said it way better than
I did. That's all. That was it. What are we buying today?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's my first question.
MR. FINN: The properties lined up are shown on your screen.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So we're going --
MR. FINN: And this set of properties is also ready to go.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And that's all on 10?
MR. FINN: Those are 10.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And that, then, leads into
your beginning statement, because I was over here feverishly writing
on the numbers. And you said Cycle 10, Cycle 11A, Cycle 11B, and
my notes said it was 17 million in 10, 12- in 11A, and 36- in 11B,
which total up to 55 million, plus/minus.
And so one of the things that I want to clarify here is, first off,
we have to be careful that we don't lean out over our skis and commit
to -- and I understand we haven't made an acquisition on anything at
all until it goes through the entire process, the appraisals and
negotiations, the contract, and then comes back to this board. So
we're not ever going to -- even if -- even if this list that you now have
up here, 10 -- you know, even if this list with 12 that you say is fast
coming upon us blossoms up to 100 million, we're not going to
exceed the available funds that we have, ever. We just can't do that.
And we certainly don't want to put the Board in a position
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where, because we set this millage rate -- the way the question was
worded was up to .25, and that if a board -- a future board chooses to
adjust that rate in the future, that number could be -- could be less
than the .25.
So my first question was, how much are we spending today and
then how far along are we on -- because if my math is correct and
these numbers that are out here -- you're going to be about 5 million
of the 17 million that was given to us back for 17 -- or for Cycle 10.
And so that leaves 10 million left of approved acquisitions.
MR. FINN: Yes, sir. The acquisitions still moving their way
through, prior to the Board considering 11B, is order of magnitude is
$10 million. The current budget supported by cash in the fund is
$30 million presently.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. So today we're going
to buy a -- on the previous -- the previous two slides, about, 1.3.
We're going -- we can approve those --
MR. FINN: Yes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- as brought forward?
MR. FINN: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall, and then
Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Mr. Finn, so we haven't purchased
cycle -- the way that Chart 4 looks to me is we have 2.4 million in the
bank ready to spend left.
MR. FINN: That is -- yes, for all intents and purposes.
Rather -- I think I prefer to look at those numbers as the properties
that are teed up for us to purchase moving forward.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So when we get Cycle 10 finished,
how much money are we going to have left in Cycle 10?
MR. FINN: Cycle 10, we will have
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27,5- available -- 27,500,000 available in our budget.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay.
MR. FINN: So -- and if I may --
COMMISSIONER HALL: So if we go forward with 11A --
MR. FINN: Yes, we will have 20 million still in hand in the
budget.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So that's for Fiscal Year '23?
MR. FINN: That is for Fiscal Year '23.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So Cycle 11B that's including the
Hammock Isle deal, that couldn't be purchased until next year, Fiscal
Year '24?
MR. FINN: Some of it could. It's -- remember, it's $36,000
[sic] in total properties, and Summer will cover the specifics of that.
One property is 29-, and that property owner has expressed a
willingness to staff and in public to negotiate the terms and the timing
of that -- of that particular acquisition.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just a quick editorial. It's
36 million, not 36,000.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thirty-six million.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thirty-six million in Cycle
11.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Did you negotiate it down to
36,000? Wow, you are amazing.
MR. FINN: I spelled that one.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sold.
COMMISSIONER HALL: And so, secondly, on the
negotiations -- and I think County Manager may have answered
it -- are we talking to these, individually, owners, or are we sending
them, like, a blank, "would you be willing to give up 10 percent"
letter?
MR. FINN: We're speaking to them on the phone, and we're
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working through, like, person to person, something of a relationship
with the property owners.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Good, good.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: They even did that on the
actual -- and, again, staff's -- and forgive me for jumping in, but the
actual associated contracts, they went back to those people that were
negotiated contracts still pending Board approval, because they're not
done until we say go. They even went back to the ones that were
previous -- the other list that he had up there. There was 1,400,
2,500, so on and so forth, that folks agreed to a reduction in their sale
price on those contracts on the precept that it's not a done deal till the
Board approves it.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Sure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Going forward, this should
be a little smoother because we're going to be negotiating in advance
before we get to a contractual arrangement pending Board approval.
It should -- the negotiation should be a little bit smoother.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And known by --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Great. Agreed.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Can I go to Commissioner Kowal?
Are you done?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Sure, go ahead.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner Kowal.
Then I'm going to go to Commissioner Saunders so we've all at least
spoken once, and then we'll go to public comment.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chair.
I just -- I know we talked about the frequency and where we
were before quarterly, and then down to two year.
I've been here three months, and I think you're telling me I'm
going to find my third one in front of me here really soon. So I don't
know where we're at now with this quarterly and, you know,
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what -- because I just don't want to -- listen, I applaud you guys,
because when I heard the 11 out of 15 accepted our negotiation, you
know, I think -- you know, in a way, that -- I think that's a win, and I
think that shows what we talked about here, that, you know, it can be
done, and we don't have to pay the market value, so -- and that
doesn't mean the other four won't come around or we won't actually
find the need to purchase them at market value. So I think that
shows that we did save a little bit of money in, you know, the little bit
of work we did in a few months.
But I just don't want to give this impression to, you know, the
citizens out there that, you know, we just keep approving these lists,
approving these lists, and we're approving lists that we can't even
really vouch for how we're going to pay for them in the future. You
know, I just don't want to -- it's the visual thing of it.
So, you know, like I said, I'm going to see my third list here, and
I've only been here three months, so --
MR. FINN: And if I may, Mr. Chairman -- and that was a little
bit of our concern is we saw the tempo of this picking up, and we just
wanted to make sure the Board had an opportunity to see all this.
The actual schedule now is two cycles per year.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay.
MR. FINN: So they've adjusted that kind of acknowledging
that the pipeline was getting -- had the potential to get overfilled.
So, you know, one of the key things that we're kind of striving
for here -- and I probably should mention -- I'll play this off of the
County Manager's comments -- is we want to maintain the
appropriate backlog of properties. We don't want to have such a
backlog that it's creating expectations that we can't achieve, but we
want -- we need to have something backlogged so that the program
can be effective, so the processes of procurement can happen in a
timely fashion. So we need to just find that middle ground, and
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that's part of why I'm having this discussion with you today.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you.
MR. FINN: You're welcome.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'd like to wait -- reserve my
comments until after the speakers.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
All right. Let's go to public speakers, Mr. Miller.
MR. MILLER: Mr. Chairman, we have six registered speakers
today. Your first speaker is Michele Lenhard. She'll be followed
by Patrick Utter.
I would encourage our speakers to queue up at both podiums.
MS. LENHARD: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Michele
Lenhard at 1442 Galleon.
I've met some of you personally. I'm the new chair of
Conservation Collier. So I will get to the rest of you that I haven't
met one on one with yet.
So in relation to the agenda items before you today, I wanted to
say that we would encourage you, the CCLAC, to accept the updated
status and approval of acquisitions so we can complete Cycle 10 and
11A, which has been presented to you. I would actually ask you to
also review Cycle 11B today, which is the Active Acquisition List for
Cycle 11B and approve those properties that you feel, you know,
hopefully approve CCLAC's recommendations on those properties or
properties you feel merit looking at in a different way, but that we
move forward on Cycle 11B today.
And then I want to address this timeline conversation that we're
having from CCLAC's perspective, which some has been brought up
today in executive summary. I would say CCLAC, as well as
property applicants, and the public have been operating under the
direction of the Commission to accelerate the acquisition process to
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meet the increasing market demands that we're all seeing in the area.
On April 26th of '22, a request was made by your board to
Conservation Collier to look for ways to accelerate the timeline.
The Board approved those recommendations on July 12th of 2022
and then revised it post Hurricane Ian on December 13th, 2022.
The recommendation to move the ranking to the last
quarter -- whoops. I think I missed my line here. Hold on.
The established timeline would have Cycle 11B ranked January
or February, which is where we are at today.
Okay. And that is a -- we initially did see, as has been
mentioned, a quarterly recommendation, but your final approval was
for two cycles a year, meaning that that pipeline would get overfilled
and that we should backtrack to two a year. But this would sort of
balance, right, the market demand and time frame of staff, et cetera.
So the recommendation to move the ranking to the last quarter
of 2023, in CCLAC's opinion, is contrary to a decision you made just
two months ago. Oh, sorry. I thought you were -- you looked like
you were going to ask me something.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'm going to eventually.
MS. LENHARD: Okay. So to move the ranking -- so
something that was decided two months ago now we're saying should
be moved to the end of 2023, and that seems to me very close on the
heels of a decision that was kind of just made. Property owners will
be especially impacted by this delay, and we may lose the
opportunity to purchase property that we intended to. So I
encourage you to move forward with Cycle 11B today, the Active
Acquisition List.
Cycle 12A will come before the Board. It's scheduled for
September. So if CCLAC moves at the current schedule that we're
working under, you would see that list in September. That would be
Cycle 12. And we would work forward -- you know, whatever
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deadlines you give us we will adjust to, but that's currently how we
would operate. And we encourage you to stick to this proposed
timeline for Cycle 11B and Cycle 12.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders, do you
have a question?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yes. Can you kind of
articulate for me what the committee wants us to do today? This is a
little bit confusing.
MS. LENHARD: There's been a lot of cycles thrown out here
today, and I have to say I'm a little confused, too.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So it's not just me.
But I just want to know exactly what you would like us to do today.
My understanding was that we were going to be requested to approve
Cycle 11B today and that there may be some confusion as to whether
this is going to be continued. But I was prepared to support
acquisition of Cycle 11B today. Is that what --
MS. LENHARD: Well, my thoughts initially was that that was
happening today, but when I read the wording of the agenda item --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: What I'm asking --
MS. LENHARD: I would recommend that you approve Cycle
11B today.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: What I'm asking is just what
does this committee want us to do today? Now you're saying that
the committee wants us to acquire Cycle 11B?
MS. LENHARD: Correct. To approve the Active Acquisition
List for Cycle 11B.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just move it forward.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: What about the other cycles
that have been mentioned today, Cycle 10? Cycle 11A?
MS. LENHARD: Well, as you've already approved the Active
Acquisition Lists for those properties, I was encouraging you to
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support staff's recommendation and continue to purchase those
properties.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So we don't need to
take any action on those today because --
MS. LENHARD: I don't believe you do, but I think staff would
advise you on that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So then the
committee would want us to continue with Cycle 10, 11A, and 11B
today.
MS. LENHARD: Correct.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. And that's what I
was prepared to do this afternoon. So I just needed some
clarification.
MS. LENHARD: And then my further comment was to
maintain Cycle 12 on the current schedule.
So -- and the final point I have is not actually relating to the
schedules but sort of relates to your budget discussion.
So when you approve an Active Acquisition List, we're actually
recommending that you approve the A-listed properties. If there's a
B-list property that is of interest to the Board, then we would
encourage you to move it up to the A list. But if you also approve
the B-listed properties, you're actually tying up your budget.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But we didn't do that. In the past
we did it -- and like you said, you're new to the position. At least my
recollection is that's exactly what we did do; we saw properties on the
B list that some of us thought should be on the A, and that was part of
our motion.
But, you know, I will just say, you know -- and I don't -- I mean
this in a very respectful way. But like you said, you know, we're all
a little bit confused. We need you to be the least confused because
you're leading Conservation Collier.
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So it's great that we all got emails from a thousand residents that
all said, stop delaying, stop doing this. Nobody here's doing any of
that. What we want is somebody to come up here, show us a list,
and explain to us how you want us to spend the money.
So 99 percent of the work and heavy lifting is done by your
organization and the county staff. We're here as the final approval
authority. So somebody needs to come here with complete clarity
and explain to the five of us, exactly like Commissioner McDaniel
said, what are we buying today?
So, you know, whether it's quarterly or twice a year, I don't think
anybody up here is going to debate for five hours. What we want is
clarity. And we will make the final decision, and in the two years
I've been in the seat, there were several properties on the B list in a
district that I lobbied hard for to move up to A, and my colleagues
agreed. So we know that we have the latitude to shuffle.
Where I just get concerned is what I said at the beginning is that
we're moving deep into these cycles, but I want to be purchasing, or
not, as quick as we're also being offered things because, like
Commissioner McDaniel said -- he's said it perfectly -- we get out
ahead of our skis, and we're sitting here saying yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
we might be overspending the money that we actually don't have.
So nobody's here delaying anything, but if someone feels they have
that perception, you are the one person working with the county staff
that can come to the podium and clear that perception so it's not -- it
doesn't look like --
MS. LENHARD: My perception is you're not getting out over
your skis because the county staff keeps it all in order for you in
terms of acquisition cycles and what we're recommending and where
your budgeting is.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. LENHARD: CCLAC is not -- doesn't have purchasing
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authority. We only review properties and nominations of properties
and recommend to you what we feel meets the ordinance.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But you bringing it to us with a
clear list --
MS. LENHARD: A ranking, correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: A clear ranking. And also, too,
before we sit here and, you know, all say yay to List 12, I want to
know what the heck happened to List 10 --
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- that we approved a year ago or,
you know, year and a half ago, and there's still a couple of properties
lingering on there. So I want be somebody with some, you know,
eloquence to come up and say, well, there's two properties that are
sitting out there. We're not delaying. We're not lagging or the
property owner changed their mind or, you know, those -- that kind
of clarity, you know, would help us here.
MS. LENHARD: Well, we see that also. There's follow-up to
CCLAC on each acquisition list, and we can see what offers were not
accepted, but that takes time because the process has to go through.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sure.
Okay. Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, I was just going to say,
April will clear all that up when we get to her.
MS. LENHARD: All right. Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We'll go to the next public
speaker. Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Patrick Utter. He'll be
followed by Brad Cornell.
MR. UTTER: For the record, Patrick Utter. I'm senior vice
president of Collier Enterprises. I'm here to discuss Owl Hammock.
And in my primary comment, I just wanted to assure the Board
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that if Owl Hammock gets approved to go forward to the next step,
which is the appraisal process, that Collier Enterprises would
entertain a staged takedown, likely a takedown, but a delayed
payment over two years is what I've been authorized to let you know
at this point, but, you know, obviously, it's going to depend on the
appraised value as well, so...
And beyond that, I know the staff has a very thorough report,
and I'll be here to answer any specific questions if you might have
any.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you.
MR. UTTER: Great. Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Brad Cornell. He'll be
followed by Gary -- Gerry Manning.
MR. CORNELL: Good afternoon, Commissioners. I'm Brad
Cornell, and I'm here on behalf of Audubon Western Everglades and
Audubon Florida, and appreciate the opportunity to address
Conservation Collier Cycle 11B.
My first comment is just to emphasize our view that there
should be no delay in consideration of Cycle 11B. It's been fully
vetted with all the inspection reports and the data to support that from
your staff and your advisory board and with the detailed ranking, so
it's ready to discuss and vote today. So we urge you to do that.
This list is to be followed by Cycle 12, which Michele pointed
out, isn't going to be heard by you until the end of September of this
fall, and then the next one, 12B, isn't until the end of March of 2024.
So this is not piling on super fast. I think you're going to have the
ability and staff will have the ability to vet and process and pursue
the acquisition process appropriately.
I do want to emphasize that if there were a delay, it's really
important to remember that's going to undermine the process that
people understood existed in Conservation Collier. So it makes it
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difficult to attract future applicants to sell property to the county, so
that's a really important facet of keeping moving and approving this
cycle today.
That cycle has some really important properties on it. There's a
14-acre parcel with swallow-tailed kite roosts included on it really
near Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, there's 273 acres of Florida
panther habitat on several different parcels that also has water
resource value, and there's also an addition to the very first
Conservation Collier preserve, which was Otter Mound on Marco
Island back in, like, 2003 or '4, so there's an addition to that, and then
the Owl Hammock parcel, over 7,300 acres that's in the area of
critical state certain, the Okaloacoochee Slough, and it's adjacent to a
strategic panther roadkill location at that bend in State Road 29.
Lots of panthers have been killed there. In order to get FDOT to put
an underpass under that, we need to permanently protect land on both
sides. This is one way to get that.
And I'll also point out that when you buy the land, those
7,300 acres, you're retiring the credits and the ability to build
additional towns and villages with those credits. So you're reducing
that development potential.
There's also -- it's also really important to remember you've got
multiple parcel -- multi-parcel projects. The Panther Walk/Horse
Pen Strand in North Golden Gate Estates is an important one to
rehydrate to help protect Golden Gate Estates from catastrophic
wildfire, which is going to be happening more and more.
So we urge you to move forward with an excellent list on Cycle
11B. Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So let me ask you this,
Mr. Cornell. So I agree with you that -- you know, 11B, we all
studied the list, so we understand it.
But do you have concern that there's been -- do you feel like the
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List 10 and 11A have been stalled on as far as purchase? So, you
know, there again, I sort of reiterate without oversimplifying. It's
great to see these new lists come up and all the education on how
important they are, but why aren't we buying things faster off of 10
and 11A, or should we not be concerned because they're moving at a
good rate, and it's just a perception?
I mean, I would have been more impressed getting emails from
citizens saying, please don't delay on buying lists that are starting to
gather dust before you approve something brand new today. Do
both. But do you have concern that Lists 10 and 11A are getting a
little bit dusty, or what's your --
MR. CORNELL: My understanding is that your staff have
been pursuing the acquisition process fully.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. CORNELL: There was a pause that was put on to go back
and look at those parcels again. I don't know what influence in
terms of timing that may have had. You heard your staff talk about
that this morning. I have full faith and trust in your staff to pursue
those acquisitions appropriately, and I think that's, you know, just a
reflection. We had a little hurricane in the midst of all this that has,
you know, thrown a wrench in all kinds of works. I don't have any
concerns that --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. CORNELL: -- your staff can pursue these adequately.
And I think now with only two cycles per year, I think that the
capacity has been shown to be there, and your funding capacity,
especially with the willingness of the large parcels from Collier
Enterprises, the Owl Hammock, to be phased, I think you've got the
capacity to address all of these at once.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I just want to make sure whoever
came to the podium for Cycle 10 and 11A gets the respect they
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deserve, because people sat there when Cycle 10 and 11 was up and
told us how these were critical properties, and, you know -- and I just
want to make sure they're not lagging in purchase and, you know,
we're not getting out, like you said, ahead of ourselves, and we're
identifying all these new parcels, but we've got some that are sort of
sitting and then, you know, you've got the ability of a property owner
to change their mind or property values to change. But I appreciate
your answer. So we'll keep going with public comment.
MR. CORNELL: Okay. Agreed.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you, sir.
MR. CORNELL: Perhaps you want to get a regular report from
your staff so that, you know, everybody can have a scorecard to
understand where the process is. But I'm confident that they're doing
a great job.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Great. Thanks, Brad.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Gerry Manning. He'll be
followed by Brittany Piersma.
MR. MANNING: Hello. I'm Gerry Manning. I live at 7399
Monteverde Way in Naples.
I'm here as a private citizen, a semi-retired businessman with
considerable experience in small-scale mining in South Australia
having dealt with the environmental regulations there, which are far
more stringent than they are here. I'm familiar with some of the
similarities in land use vis-a-vis water issues and other resource
protections and controls.
Having said this, I'd urge you to vote today in favor of the Cycle
11B and A recommended properties including the swallow-tailed kite
roost parcel near CSS and the large 7,300-plus-acre Owl Hammock
parcel.
As a member of the Corkscrew Sustainability Board and a
significant contributor to the Florida Audubon, I endorse the need to
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keep open space and wild habitat for now and for future generations.
I applaud the support shown thus far by our elected officials to set
aside these properties and I, along with three of every four voters in
our state and county elections, am eager to see a favorable vote by the
Commission today.
Thank you for permitting me to speak to you today.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And just one point. If you
ever really want a lesson on regulation in mining, schedule a meeting.
MR. MANNING: All right. Let's do it.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Brittany Piersma. She'll
be followed by Meredith Budd.
MS. PIERSMA: Hi. Brittany Piersma, field biologist for
Audubon Western Everglades. I'm here to focus mainly on being the
voice of Marco Island since I work there more than anything else.
But I give a lot of presentations this time of year, this is season,
and I highly promote to everyone all the work that county staff and
the Board is doing for this Conservation Collier Program.
So everyone is very excited about a lot of the properties,
especially on Marco Island. Yes, Marco Island is a very urban area,
but I don't want that to fault you in thinking that we don't have an
immense amount of wildlife in that area.
Obviously, I've mentioned that we have over a thousand
tortoises on the island, but they are facing a lot of threats. So having
the linkage of these properties and showing that they have areas to
feed and roam and limit the roadways that they're going to come
across is really vital to this area.
As I mentioned, these Marco citizens are so excited. From the
past properties in 11A to now even looking at properties with the one
adjacent in 11B to Otter Mound, this is just going to continue with
not only the conservation within these linkages, but it's promoting
more of a concept of having people now change their front yards.
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They see these tortoises that are living next door, and we're trying to
promote a campaign to have people create native plants in their front
yards.
You may be aware of our burrowing owl program. That's
where we have starter burrows in the front yards that were attracting
burrowing owls to live in the front yards. Same thing is happening
for tortoises. So I don't want you to just think of it as we're saving
these little plots of land, and these tortoises are all confined in these
areas. The Marco citizens are extremely supportive of this. They
want to create these linkages and ensure that we can really protect
them in the area.
Along with that really exciting news, we actually have BBC. If
you're not familiar with BBC, British Film Company. They're in
town right now, and they are filming a documentary on the Americas.
They specifically chose Marco Island because of its wildlife.
So from the marine life to the tortoises to the burrowing owls,
their main focus right now is the burrowing owls. They chose this
area as a part of their whole 10-series documentary. They've been
spending time with us over the last two weeks. So just to show that
Marco is very unique, and there's people from all over that are really
hoping to increase the conservation in our area.
And last note, I'm sure you've seen that after the hurricane there
was immense effects to a lot of the tortoises that were living in
Naples coastal dune areas. It's good to say that on Marco Island, I'd
say 90 percent of that population had minimal to no effects from that
hurricane because of the immense areas that they have that's this
upland habitat that's suitable for them to be able to survive. So most
of them didn't even have water come near their properties
whatsoever. So important to think going forward.
But thank you so much, and I look forward to coming back,
talking more about these properties.
February 28,2023
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COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Mr. Chairman, just for the
record, I'd like it to be noted that Brittany supports density increases
on Marco Island for turtles.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I don't know. She dug a
burrowing owl hole in my yard. I still don't have anything.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Meredith Budd. She'll be
followed on Zoom by Oscar Anderson.
MS. BUDD: Good afternoon, Commissioners. My name is
Meredith Budd, and I am here today as a resident of Collier County,
Golden Gate Estates.
I have been working in the environmental field in Southwest
Florida for the last decade and specifically on the local land issues
here in Collier County in a professional capacity.
I'm here today to emphasize the importance of moving forward
completing Cycle 10 and 11A and moving forward with the process
for 11B. All of the parcels that are up for consideration are added
value to the Conservation Collier Program. And I want to explain
what I mean by that because each of these parcels before you for 11B
are actually adjacent to existing conservation lands.
The conservation lands on much of these parcels that are
adjacent are actual Conservation Collier lands, like Nancy Payton
Preserve, expanding that preserve; the Gore Preserve. So expanding
upon the investments you already have here in Collier County.
Others are adjacent to CREW, like the Brewer Parcel, and Owl
Hammock is adjacent to I believe it's a mitigation area, but it's
marked in a green conservation managed area on the maps provided.
So every single parcel in 11B is in addition to existing conservation
land that's being managed as conservation. So that's an added value
to the program.
I'll slow down.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
February 28,2023
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MS. BUDD: And I also just want to echo support for
specifically the Owl Hammock piece. Collier County is one of the
few counties throughout the state, all 67 counties, one of few that
actually have a local land acquisition program, and the state does
have land acquisition programs, Florida Forever and Rural and
Family Lands. But they have a list of two-million-plus acres on that
list, and Owl Hammock is not even currently on a list for the Board
of Trustees to review. So should it be enrolled, which it's not, it
would be competing against a slew of other properties, and it would
linger for years or just be lost.
So Conservation Collier has a unique opportunity. Owl
Hammock is right in our backyard, and Collier County can play a
huge role in the legacy of protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor of
which, I believe over -- I think it's close to 80 percent of Collier
County falls within the designated Florida Wildlife Corridor, which
has been designated by the state.
So Collier County has a unique role to play in that legacy, and
so I urge you to consider moving forward especially with -- well, the
whole cycle, but especially considering the options and discussions
for multi-year purchases with this Owl Hammock piece, because it
will be a huge addition to Collier County.
So, again, urge you to move forward with 10 and 11A and then
move forward with the process, 11B, because you can really lend to
that legacy of the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
So thank you again for your time.
MR. MILLER: Mr. Chairman, that takes us to our final
speaker, who is on Zoom, Oscar Anderson.
Mr. Anderson, you're being asked to unmute yourself, if you'll
do so. I see you've done that. You have three minutes, sir.
MR. ANDERSON: Hello. How are you? Oscar Anderson
getting to you today from Orlando on behalf of the Beleny (phonetic)
February 28,2023
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Family Capital, LLC. I was and am still part of the lobbying effort
in Tallahassee which created the Florida Wildlife Corridor and works
every year to get funding statewide for this. I also happen to serve
on the board of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation.
First and foremost, I want to thank you for taking up this agenda
item today. Specifically, I want to talk about the Owl Hammock
purchase. For the efforts of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, the Owl
Hammock purchase will create about -- or include -- enable us to
include about five-and-a-quarter miles of the gap between Big
Cypress and OK Slough as a part of the large statewide effort, and is
a crucial piece.
Even with about half of the wildlife corridor already in
conservation, it's still a major undertaking to preserve it. Efforts by
local governments, like Collier County, are vital to the effort. Part
of what we do is work with local governments, private trusts that aid
in the federal government, along with the state, because it's going to
take all of us together to make the preservation of the wild corridor a
reality.
The importance of the Florida Wildlife Corridor has been
recognized by the governor who had a bill-signing ceremony inside
the wildlife corridor, as well as the speaker of the house, Paul
Renner, and also the Senate president and your senator, Kathleen
Passidomo.
President Passidomo has continued her support of the Florida
Wildlife Corridor and the efforts to preserve it. She has a priority
this session, in fact, to increase public access to the corridor. One of
the interviews posted her designation. She made a comment that at
100 years, when legislature leaders look back at what happened in
this decade, the thing they're going to take note of that was an
amazing effort was this decision by the legislature to put focus and
attention on the Florida Wildlife Corridor. She said it will be
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considered one of the greatest accomplishments of this decade.
I believe Owl Hammock is crucial to the Florida Wildlife
Corridor, and I urge the Commission to support it.
Thank you.
MR. MILLER: And that is our final registered speaker,
Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Do you want to call
anybody back for questions, Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Maybe we should bring back
staff just for a reiteration of what we're actually buying today.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And pull up -- can you maybe pull
up the slides for just a review, 10A -- or 10, 11A and, then especially
11B. One of the things I did want to do is really -- and I wish
Brittany was still here. But, you know, thank my colleagues up here.
When we really, a couple of meetings ago, whenever it was, when we
were looking at List A and B, you know, a lot of times sometimes
people have a -- an aversion to some of the -- maybe the lots on
Marco because they're expensive but, you know, real estate, you get
what you pay for. And real estate on Marco tends to be high priced.
But as Brittany was saying, there's a huge concentration of
environmental type things that need protection.
So it's like, you know, I don't want to get scared off by prices.
That's why I really was a big supporter of negotiating the price so we
don't lose something but, you know, if we just look sort of at the
cheapest prices, you'll never buy anything on Marco. And I'm happy
to say that, you know, collectively as a group, we have juggled the
list, and we do know where the priorities are and, you know, to
protect the right type of wildlife.
But having said that, ma'am, over to you. So what are we
looking at here? This is 11B, right?
MS. ARAQUE: Yes. For the record, I'm Summer Araque,
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Conservation Collier Program supervisor, and I can answer some of
the questions that are lingering in addition to talking to you about
Cycle 11B. And thank you to Ed for giving you-all an overview of
where we're at in our fiscal impact.
So in regards to -- somebody just had a question about -- your
one question was about Cycle 10. Did you want me to start with
11B or --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No. I think -- start here. We can
always work our way backwards.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Can I make a suggestion?
MS. ARAQUE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Start with 10. Go to what
we're buying today, because the staff report -- the executive summary
is calling for a continuation of 11B till basically when you're ready to
bring forward 12, and I don't see the consensus with this board today
to actually follow that recommendation. So let's start with 10,
11A -- or 10 and what we're buying and then have a discussion about
11B and its validity or not.
MS. ARAQUE: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: When you get to B, though, do you
have -- like I just saw it was cut off at all the priority A's. Do you
have a second slide that shows, like, what sort of missed the cut?
MS. ARAQUE: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. You do, okay.
MS. ARAQUE: Okay. So let's take a step back. Okay. I
was here last year in January of 2022, and I brought you Cycle 10.
So you-all approved a list. It had $17 million worth of property on
it. So far to date we have spent 3.5 million. Many, many
properties, millions of dollars of properties just dropped off the list
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because either, one, they didn't make it to appraisal, they didn't want
to wait that long, they wanted to sell to somebody else, or by the time
we gave them the offer, they didn't accept the offer.
So you approved 17 million, and we have spent 3.5 million to
date. The 3.5 million is your list right in front of you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We have bought these?
MS. ARAQUE: Yes, we have acquired these properties,
320 acres, and --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Are there any that are still, though,
in flux? Like you said --
MS. ARAQUE: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- there's still a few hanging loose,
right?
MS. ARAQUE: That is a separate -- that's the next list. But
these are the properties that Collier -- that we have acquired. Those
are now in ownership. These were on the original list.
These are the properties that you have approved the purchase
agreement but we probably will close on them in the next month or
two.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So we won't lose these, you know,
most likely, right?
MS. ARAQUE: Most likely not.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. ARAQUE: Okay. So let's -- one detail that I think is
missing is that these preserve expansion and multi-parcel projects
areas -- which I will go into detail when I talk about Cycle
11B -- those are areas where you have these small 1.14 -- and you see
on here Panther Walk is a preserve expansion existing, Red Maple.
Look at the acreages that you see on here; 1.14 acres, okay. So what
happened with this cycle and will happen with many more cycles if
we keep going like we have is, once we got to the point where we
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realized we are not going to consume the budget -- and you-all
approved 17 million, but our budget was actually 14 million.
When we realized we have preserve expansion areas, which the
way that we presented it to you was that if there's budget left over, we
will sent letters. Multi-parcel projects, same; if there's budget left
over, we sent letters. So by the time September of 2022 came
around -- and, of course, we had things in motion, before that -- we
were like, we have the budget. We can send letters.
So in September of 2022, we sent letters to four areas: Gore;
Panther Walk, which is Horse Pen Strand; Winchester Head; and Red
Maple Swamp. And those -- the majority of the -- whoop -- of the
people that you see on -- I don't know where that -- maybe Ed can
pull it up for me. This list right here, these are from those letters that
were sent in September. So when you're asking, well, are we so
delayed we haven't even closed on the properties that you approved
last January? Those are because of these multi-parcel project areas.
So those are going to be continually going. So if we're at a point in a
cycle where we get to a point and we've got plenty of budget left,
that's when we send offer letters, and they're offer letters that we
send. So that's what these are.
Did you have a question?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I do. And do you want me
to light up when I have a question, or just --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, Commissioner Saunders has
been lit up, so let me go to him first and then you. You're next, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well, okay, what I was
trying to understand -- and I think you're getting there, so I may want
to wait just a minute. But on Cycle 11A, that's the 35 million.
Staff's recommendation is to hold off on those until September. My
view is, we should vote today to move forward with those as the
CCLAC has suggested.
February 28,2023
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COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: 11B.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'm sorry, 11B.
MS. ARAQUE: I agree.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And so I think that will
probably be the motion that's ultimately made, and so we'll move
forward with that.
The other cycles that you're talking about, we've already
approved those?
MS. ARAQUE: Correct.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So we don't really need to
take any action on those, or do we?
MS. ARAQUE: Those are updates that are -- we were asked to
provide you-all.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So the only vote
today, then, is going to be what to do with 11B?
MS. ARAQUE: Correct.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And the purchase of the
properties that you have here today on 10?
MS. ARAQUE: I don't think so.
MS. PATTERSON: No, those contracts -- the remaining
contracts will come back to you for approval. This is just --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We've already done that
from our --
MS. PATTERSON: The individual contracts will come back
for individual Board approval. So the ones that we've talked about
on Marco Island, those are working their way through the process and
will come back as agenda items. You've given direction to go do it.
Now we're to execute.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So, Mr. Chairman, would it
be appropriate to make a motion now to move forward with the
CCLAC recommendation to move forward on Cycle 11B for
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acquisition? Is that the appropriate motion?
MS. ARAQUE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: With one proviso, and that is
something that we haven't talked about. It was mentioned, Meredith
or Brad, one, mentioned it, and that's the --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I was going to say, Mr. Utter
I think has indicated that if we need to have a two-year --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, no. That's -- personally,
specifically on the Owl Hammock piece, that will come back to us
when the contract -- after the appraisals and everything are done.
One proviso is there -- there are several state organizations that
are out acquiring land and that we should, with the approval of 11B,
entertain partnership relationships with all of the environmental
organizations as they're going along. I would like that to be part of
the actual motion to move forward on 11B.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Just me, personally, I think we're
all supportive of what we're doing here. I just -- I don't want to
artificially speed. I mean, I have some questions about 11B just
more out of curiosity, and so we'll get there when we get there. But
so I think, you know, the motion's coming but, you know, that's
where -- I like what you're saying about -- but, you know, we were
very dynamic talking about negotiations, and that seems to have
borne some fruit, because the money that we saved, maybe we can
buy an extra parcel. And I'm also wondering, when you look at
some of these things, like, you know, some of the really large parcels,
is there a smarter way to acquire it in some sort of partnership or
something like that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir. Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We have a motion.
Commissioner McDaniels -- or whoever you are --
February 28,2023
Page 160
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Sam. Sam Brown.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- wants to change that. So
I'm -- could you restate that again so I'll understand, and I'll amend
the motion.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Moving forward on 11B, on
Cycle 11B, with the pursuit of available partnerships with other
agencies.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll amend the motion to
reflect that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And then I'll second that if
you'll make that amendment.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I would just -- and let's
vote. If you want to go ahead and do the vote on that for now or --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, I'm just making a
suggestion. I just still have a few questions, and so that we all, you
know, vote either unanimously or split or whatever. I mean,
Commissioner Hall, Commissioner Kowal, I don't see you lit up. Do
you have any questions?
COMMISSIONER HALL: No.
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, I shut you off, but I'll put
you back on.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I just want to be clear. Cycle
10 -- because I know Commissioner McDaniel mentioned, what are
we spending today? So we're not spending anything.
MS. ARAQUE: Not spending anything.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I just want to be clear on that.
And the biggest thing on the table is us getting this 11B moving
forward, just getting it into motion. And I feel much better that I'm
not going to see one of these every meeting. That sounds like we are
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going to have some sort of scheduled cycle we're going to stick to.
MS. ARAQUE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: And like I said, I just felt
overwhelmed, like three months and looking at two already.
MS. ARAQUE: And if I may, so the reason that you -- you're
seeing us so close together is we were -- I was actually sitting out
there ready to present to you on -- not to you; you weren't here -- on
September 27th, okay. And then we all know what happened on that
day. So Cycle 11A was supposed to be heard on September 27th,
and then it got delayed because of the hurricane.
So now you will see us every six months with that list, but you
will also probably see me sometime after I talk to the County
Manager to present to you the target areas for Cycle 12 when we're
ready to do that, because the way that we get the majority of the
people on these lists is by sending target letters, okay.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I just feel -- I feel comfortable
that -- you know, dealing with 11B today, and -- you know, and
dealing with anything that comes before us once it goes to contract,
and we'll just handle it as they come, so...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I just have two quick things, then
I'm going to give it to Commissioner McDaniel.
But before we vote, because I just want to see it out of curiosity
to just sort of complete the cycle here.
Number one, I do think it's important that, you know, it's great to
move forward, but, however the County Manager decides to keep us
updated, I don't want to vote on $17 million worth of properties on
Cycle 10 and then hear a year later we only bought $2 million worth
of those properties. So, you know, keeping us updated on, great, we
voted. Voting is not the goal. The goal is what did we -- what did
we acquire? And added to that, I don't want to just get a list that
says, well, we bought three million, we lost, you know, $14 million
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worth of properties.
I'd like to know why, because part of tightening up the process
might be, you know, to your words, you said, wow, a couple of
sellers dropped out because they thought we were taking too long.
Okay. I kind of want to know that, because maybe we need to
smarten up our process or, you know, they sold to somebody else at a
much higher value. Okay. Well, we're not going to pay well above
the appraised value, but that report card coming back to us -- and it
might not even be at this meeting that certain commissioners want a
deeper dive, and we can get it from the County Manager. So, you
know, I would just say that.
And then I would like to see the B priority list on 11B, if you
have -- if you're able to pull it up. So 11B. We all see the A.
We're all familiar with it. We've been studying it, but I wanted to
sort of see the slide below it and see the ones that didn't make the A
priority list. And then --
MS. ARAQUE: It should be right on your screen there, A, B,
and C.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And then on the proposed
A category, when you had the Priorities 1, 2 and 3, explain to me
what those -- what those mean again. So are we trying harder on the
ones that are priority 1, or it just means they have more stuff on
them? What do those numbers mean?
MS. ARAQUE: That's just the order that appraisals are
obtained. It gives staff -- it's CCLAC and the Board giving staff
direction.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What to chase first?
MS. ARAQUE: Which ones to obtain appraisals on first.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I gotcha.
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah, I forgot what I was
February 28,2023
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going to ask.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, no, no. I'm joking. I
want -- I want you to say out loud or I want to hear from you out loud
that just because you send a letter of an offer and you've got this
theoretical surplus of budget -- because that's one of the things that
we keep arguing with ourselves. We approved a Cycle 10 of 27
million in aggregate acquisitions, and you spent 5-.
And Commissioner LoCastro said 2-, but in my math, it's closer
to 5-. Assuming we get through the balance of your shown
agreed-upon contracts for 10-, we're going to be close to 5-.
But just because you send a letter out offering somebody,
because you move into this solicitation process as opposed to
voluntarily coming to us and telling us you have land you want us to
buy as a seller, I would caution you, similar to what Commissioner
LoCastro just got done saying, we need to know where you're at
from -- either from you or from our senior staff, because we're over
here approving 17 million in Cycle 10, and you've only burnt
10- -- or 5-. You've only spent 5- so far. We need to know
potentially on a more regular basis an update on the activities that are
going on with the cycles that we've already approved.
We don't approve a cycle until it's gone through your staff and
CCLAC and recommendations, and then we approve the cycle, and
then that sends you out to go get appraisals and that sort of thing.
So I think for a better -- my own better edification, if we had
more regular updates on the progress of these other properties that
have fallen off the list, I mean, you know, if there's $5 million worth
of property that's not on Cycle 10 anymore, it isn't on Cycle 10
anymore. What have we done with that money? Where are we
appropriating it? And how are we going forward to manage the
difference?
February 28,2023
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It doesn't mean you have this excess budget that theoretically
you can spend or go out and do. It just means that there was money
that we appropriated to make those decisions that didn't get spent in
that cycle, and that's something that I'd like to be -- I'd like to be
better informed on throughout the process.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Me, too.
MS. ARAQUE: Okay. And that was carried over from FY '22
to '23. So that FY '23 number that you see includes that, includes
that money there, because our initial budget would have been
around -- for FY '23 would have been approximately $20 million.
So you see how much was carried over.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I like how you put on B, too, those
are still going to be carried over. We're not just going to throw them
by the wayside; that they might rank a lot -- maybe they didn't make
the cut this time, right? I mean, that's what I'm inferring here is that
they're still important; they might rank higher on Cycle 12 or 13 or
whatever, correct?
MS. ARAQUE: Correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. All right. Any other
questions? We have no more public speakers, right?
County Manager?
MS. PATTERSON: Sure. Just like we provide regular project
updates on some of the higher visibility capital projects, we'll develop
a way that we can keep you informed as we move through these
acquisitions. You'll be seeing the contracts coming forward, because
you are the final approval, but we can keep you informed as to how
they're progressing.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I just don't want to pat ourselves
on the back that, like, wow, we approved $13 million worth of things,
and then 12 months later we find out we only bought 3 million.
MS. PATTERSON: I understand.
February 28,2023
Page 165
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And then, you know, we're hearing
from either a property owner -- which I've gotten emails before
saying, gosh, you guys took too long, and you know what? I moved
on to something else. And I'd rather hear that from the staff first, not
from folks out in the field kind of thing. But it sounds like we're all
paddling in the same direction.
MS. PATTERSON: Understood.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Is there anything other -- I think
we've got a motion on the floor. We have a second, unless there's
any commissioner comments.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any public comment left?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I've got a motion on the
floor and a second. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously, 11B.
Didn't delay anything at all, did we?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I do have a question.
Why are we not approving the properties that have been renegotiated
under contract? Why aren't we just buying those today?
MS. PATTERSON: We're going to bring the contracts to you
back. That's the way that they're traditionally brought back, not in a
bundle, and delegate -- it's not delegated to my authority to sign
them. So we've brought them back as individual agenda items. It
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doesn't mean we can't have multiples on the agenda, and that's the
intent. They're just not on this agenda today.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I just was curious,
because they're ready, they're done, they're negotiated contracts.
Why didn't we do that today?
MS. PATTERSON: I'm not certain that they're ready
paperwork-wise. We can check with the staff on that but, secondly,
I think we wanted to make sure that we had full transparency and
your direction on this agenda item before we loaded up a whole
bunch of contracts. Same reason why we took a little extra time to
look at each, to be sure that we were consistent with your direction.
We will expedite them onto the agenda.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It would be my vote that we
have them in bulk.
MS. PATTERSON: Absolutely.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I don't need to see individual
ones on each one.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I think anything you can
streamline, you know, because we're talking about there's a
little -- there can be a little lag in this process. So anything you see,
Ms. Patterson, we're all for it.
MS. PATTERSON: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We're going to take a court
reporter break here, and we'll come back at 3:00.
(A brief recess was had from 2:49 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
MS. PATTERSON: Chair, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Ready to resume. Where
we going, County Manager?
Item #11E
February 28,2023
Page 167
CHANGE ORDER NO. 3 AND CHANGE ORDER NO. 4 UNDER
AGREEMENT NO. 19-7650, GOLDEN GATE GOLF COURSE
REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT, PROVIDING FOR A TIME
EXTENSION OF 730 DAYS AND A REALIGNING OF TASK
FUNDING WITH A ZERO-DOLLAR CHANGE, AND TO
APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES FOR WORK
ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGE ORDERS NO. 3 AND NO. 4,
WHICH WAS VERBALLY STAFF DIRECTED PRIOR TO
APPROVAL OF THOSE CHANGE ORDERS – MOTION TO
APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER KOWAL – APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: We are going to former 16F7, now
Item 11E. This is a recommendation to approve Change Order No. 3
and Change Order No. 4 under Agreement No. 19-7650, Golden Gate
Golf Course redevelopment project, providing for a time extension of
730 days and a realigning of task funding with a zero-dollar change,
and to approve payment of invoices for work associated with Change
Orders No. 3 and No. 4, which was verbally staff directed prior to
approval of those change orders. This was moved to the regular
agenda via the separate requests of Commissioner Saunders and
Commissioner LoCastro.
Mr. Ed Finn, your Deputy County Manager, is here to answer
questions.
MR. FINN: Thank you, ma'am.
Yes, sir. The time extension on this contract is largely driven
by the site conditions -- unforeseen site conditions, regulatory
conditions at the site. This particular contract includes services all
the way through construction, and that's why it's such a -- such an
extended period, in excess of 700 days.
I will tell you that the trajectory this is on, it looks like
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construction is -- early start date is probably in the January range on
the golf course itself at this point in time.
So I know that's a big chunk of days to bite off on, but we
wanted to bring it to the Board in the single -- single chunk so that
we're not distracted by those days as we try to close this thing up and
bring it to a good conclusion.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What were your concerns,
Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: You know, I asked for this to
be pulled off, and I really don't know why.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I mean, I asked for it to be
pulled off -- sometimes, you know, I ask for things to be pulled off.
I get the right -- an answer that I like from -- usually it's from the
County Manager's team when they come in to brief me the day
before. And on this one, I did get the answer that I liked, but I just
want to make sure my colleagues also like it and also -- and so that's
why I pulled it, because sometimes it's worthy of discussion.
Sometimes it's not.
Also, the general public, sometimes when they pull the agenda,
there's kind of like not enough explanation here, so it looks like we're
sort of, like, stupid. You know, wow, 730 days. Why would you
do that? And so, you know, for discussion in public to explain, you
know, should it maybe come to us twice, and we take a smaller bite
out of the apple? Is there value to that? I mean, I don't mind
hearing something. I don't mind getting, you know, issues coming to
us on a more regular basis if that's what's smart, similar to like what
we've done in some other instances.
So that was why I pulled it. It just seemed like a big amount of
days. Wow, you know, two years, is that what we want to vote on
today? And then, you know, when you pull it, it gives the other
commissioners a chance to maybe ponder it, think about it or, you
February 28,2023
Page 169
know, they've got a different, you know, perspective.
So I don't know, Commissioner Saunders, if that's the thing that
jumped out at you is the 730 --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No, no --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- or something else.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- because I knew that it was
going to be that much, because we've had delays, a lot of which were
caused by our initial engineering contracts that we had going back a
couple years ago.
And so I think really I just wanted to let the Board know that
everything seems to be on board now for the BigShots facility.
They've got all of their permits in place. My understanding is
they've had to increase their loan because everything's gone up, so
that loan has been approved now, and so there's some paperwork
going forward for the BigShots, and everything is moving along.
Though it's a couple years delayed, I just want the Board to know that
things are looking very positive. Construction should begin the first
of May on the BigShots and then, as you said, maybe January of next
year, but, I think, perhaps a little sooner than that on the golf course.
MR. FINN: As you might imagine, we would like nothing
better than to move that forward.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well, the good news is
everything is moving. The bad news it's been a long time.
MR. FINN: I fear much of the time is sunk at this point. The
time was incurred long ago, and we're just trying to make this thing
move now that we have a little bit of forward momentum.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. I got a satisfactory
answer out of staff yesterday on this item as well, but now that you
brought it up for a discussion, I did have a concern with regard to the
verbal approval of change orders outside of the guise of the contract.
February 28,2023
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Can you give a little explanation on that?
MR. FINN: I certainly will. The timing of that was in
between -- as we were changing project managers. The timing of it
seemed very critical to get that moving forward. Commissioner
Saunders just alluded to a time in this contract where there was a lot
of stagnation in what was going on and a lack of direction.
The County Manager and myself kind of became engaged in it.
We gave what we thought was clear direction, and it was, and it
allowed this thing to move forward a little quicker. Unfortunately,
the staff member that was running this project actually left the
county, and this particular piece of important contract administration
was not completed in a timely basis.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No worries.
Move for approval.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders, why
don't you make the motion.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah. I'll make a motion to
approve --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- the change.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I've got a motion and a second.
All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
February 28,2023
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MR. FINN: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Moving to?
MS. PATTERSON: 15A.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: 15A.
Item #15A
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE
CURRENT OR FUTURE AGENDA BY INDIVIDUALS NOT
ALREADY HEARD DURING PREVIOUS PUBLIC COMMENTS
IN THIS MEETING
MS. PATTERSON: 15A is public comments on general topics
not on the current or future agenda by individuals not already heard
during previous public comments in this meeting.
MR. MILLER: And we have no such speakers registered.
Item #15B
STAFF AND COMMISSION GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
MS. PATTERSON: Okay. We're going to go to Item 15B,
which is staff project updates. Would you like to start with the rock
crushing?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, absolutely.
MS. PATTERSON: I thought so.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Who's in charge of that?
MS. COOK: You know, I never thought I'd care about rocks as
much as I do.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, somebody corrected
me and said we've been saying rock. It's actually concrete.
Somebody sent me an email on that. We're like, yeah, we know
what it is, thanks.
February 28,2023
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MS. COOK: Jaime Cook, your director of Development
Review at Growth Management/Community Development.
So at the last meeting that I had updated you, which was the
second meeting in January, we had estimated that they were about
30 percent complete with the crushing activities. The two weeks
immediately following that were actually very good. They crushed
about 6,100 the first of those two weeks, and about 7,000 the second;
however, the last two weeks have been a bit of a setback due to
equipment failures. Both of the crushers had mechanic failures and
have been down for about a week and a half.
As of this morning -- I did go by the site this morning, and my
inspections team has also been out there. The track hoe is operating,
so it is separating and moving material around. There is -- one of the
crushers is operating again, so they are doing some crushing
activities.
And from what we understand, they have ordered another
crusher that is being shipped here from Sweden. So given the fact
that we're now, based on staff estimates, maybe about 45 percent of
the way there, we're slightly hesitant that they will be able to finish
by that original May 1st deadline that was discussed.
As -- Troy, if you can pull up the other.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: As we were talking about the
break, it's not really an additional crusher. They've got a broken one,
and so they're not sort of gaining momentum with additional
crushers. They're sort of fixing the one or replacing the one that's
broken, right?
MS. COOK: Correct.
And I did want to remind you of the stipulations that we had set
forth with them when we originally renewed their Site Development
Plan for the rock crushing activities only. The hours of operation
were limited at that time, but at your December Board meeting, you
February 28,2023
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voted to extend them to allow them to crush in accordance with our
Land Development Code hours of construction, which is 6:30 to 7:00
Monday through Saturday.
We have put additional restrictions on them such as watering on
the crusher must be maintained at all times, which they are doing.
They are continuing to send me the weekly report. Staff is
continually going out there to verify the conditions, see if they're
working, and making sure that they're maintaining the rest of these
requirements that we've set in place; however, as I said, you know,
we are a little skeptical at this point that they may be finished by
May 1st.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, in keeping with the
theme, I've been in the belly of the beast before. I've owned two
different crushers myself. If you ever asked for or feel like you want
somebody who's been there, done that to come and look to make sure
that you're being told the truth as to what's, in fact, going on, I'd be
happy to go. I mean, there's a lot of things that -- there's a lot of
moving parts on a crusher. There's a lot of moving parts on a track
toe. And unless you've actually been in them, literally, you really
have -- you showing up and seeing that it's broke and the operator
saying that it's broke, you can accept that. I can go look at it and
maybe offer you a little different perspective.
So if you would like, I'll follow --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Officer, please escort
Commissioner McDaniel out of the building immediately over to the
rock crushing lot.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. I'll go. Not now.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: But Sweden rock crushers are --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I've just got to say, I'm not pleased,
you know, with the inconsistent, you know, rock that they've been
February 28,2023
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crushing. I realize machinery breaks and things happen. But, you
know, I said last year, is it possible, is it appropriate, you know, is it
an option to, you know, bring in some dump trucks and pick up some
uncrushed rock and at least try to, you know, burn the candle from
both ends. And at the time maybe that sounded crazy. I can tell
you, we start getting closer to 1 May and that lot -- I have been out to
that lot. I maybe don't have the depth of Sweden crushers, but it you
can -- one of the things I told you, Jaime, that I think's just ridiculous
is, yeah, the crush -- the rock that they've crushed, they have it in a,
like, five-story pile sitting right by the edge of the road which --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's not five story.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It's pretty high.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's not five story.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What is it?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Words matter.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What is it, Cliff?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It's tall.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's probably 20 feet high.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, it's -- oh, God, no. It's way
higher than that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, it's not.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. But it's a high pile. So, I
mean, you're spreading the rock or you're not.
I think even a layperson could go out there, and it doesn't look
like a polished, you know, operation. And, you know, so, I mean,
we're sitting here at the end of February and, you know, if you work
the algorithm, they're not going to make it till May.
I just think that we don't sit here and wait to May and just sort of
watch the spreadsheet change, good or bad. We start to anticipate
what we think might happen and come up with some viable possible
February 28,2023
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options and get some direction from them.
And also, too, to both Jamies, we had said before, if we wanted
to have the property owner here, you know, I think maybe at the next
meeting, the next update, you know, we make it mandatory that
they're here. You've been giving us great updates and reporting back
as directed, but I'm just -- I'm just concerned it's starting to slow a bit.
And things -- everything that's happened happens, but I don't
know if this is a priority for this, you know, landowner or not. I
mean, I don't know. I mean, I've driven by there a lot and just
visually -- I didn't go out on the property and, you know, work the
algorithm. But, you know, there's been more than a couple times
I've had to call and say, weeds are tall, the rock is piling up. I didn't
see any activity out there. And it just seems like, you know, we're
expending a lot of our own personnel to sort of confirm what he's
doing or not doing. But if you do the math, they're not going to be
close on 1 May.
MS. COOK: Well -- and based on the way we wrote these
stipulations, after May 1st they're not going to be able to crush
anyway without coming back for additional approval.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
Commissioner McDaniel, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just as a thought, I mean, if
you would like, I'd be happy to meet with them, talk to their operator,
talk to the owner. At the end of the day, this boils down to a dollars
and cents. This is a -- this is a how much money does the owner
have to spend in order to rectify a previous contractor's error. It's
that simple.
So, if you -- I mean, there are people that -- I have friends that
own crushers, and you can call them and, per ton, they'll
come -- they'll bring their crusher to your property and crush your
concrete. So they're over there in a huddle right now.
February 28,2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, let me just ask you-all. Do
you feel like, you know -- I mean -- I mean, I appreciate, you know,
Commissioner McDaniel's expertise and offering it but also, too, we
have a whole bunch of people on the county staff that should have
some of this expertise, maybe not to the level that he does, and if you
think adding him to the evaluation team would help, then we
probably should have done it a month ago. But what are your
thoughts? What can you tell us?
MS. COOK: So, yes, I would be happy to try to arrange that
time for Commissioner McDaniel's staff and their contractor to meet.
But, again, this May 1st date was not the date that staff had originally
wanted. This was the date that they said, based on these hours of
operation --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I understand.
MS. COOK: -- they could meet, and then at the December
Board meeting when they were here and you extended their hours,
they indicated to you that that would help them finish much sooner
than May 1st.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, and we never agreed to a
final date.
MS. COOK: Correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, I remember sitting here,
no, we're going to take smaller bites out of the apple. We want an
update every seven days. We'll watch how the numbers change, and
then, you know, 1 April might be the day that we hold you to, or we
might sit here and say, well, you know, it's not going to be 1 May, but
they're 98 percent done, so it's 15 May. But we couldn't tell that last
fall, last winter. But we're starting to get closer to it now. So, you
know --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I just sent a note to Christina
to set that up with you, so...
February 28,2023
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MS. COOK: That's good, thank you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So as soon as possible, I'd be
happy.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And I think regardless of what
happens at that meeting, at the next BCC meeting, we need the
property, you know, leadership here so we can have a deeper dive,
you know, discussion.
MS. COOK: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And I can tell you, the rock crusher
from Sweden won't be here tomorrow. So, you know, track that
arrival. And, like Jamie French said, it's not additional. So it's not
like they have three crushers going. They've got one that's dead, one
that sounds like it's partially dead, and they're just sort of moving the
peas around on the dish, you know, making it look like they're eating
the dinner, but they're not. So I'm really concerned.
And, you know, to Commissioner McDaniel's point, you know,
it is about dollars and cents and everything, but let's not -- and you're
not inferring this, but I want to make sure the citizens aren't lost in
this. You know, at the end, you know, we had a gentleman sitting
here who bought a piece of property that then found out there was a
whole bunch of liens and we're like, hey, you've got to really do your
homework. You know, if this guy took it over from somebody that
didn't do their homework, well, then, you know what, he's
responsible. And if he doesn't have the dollars and cents to get 10
crushers out there or be smart enough to use the extended hours -- I
mean, I'm not sitting here feeling bad for him.
And so if we have to give direction to say, you know what, over
the next seven days, there's going to be hundreds of trucks trucking
out uncrushed rock and bringing it to a -- to a dump or a location, that
very well might be possible to get this thing done. But I don't think
he gets an unlimited amount of time just because boohoo, you know,
February 28,2023
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he took over something from somebody that sort of screwed it up.
I mean, we've got expectations here, and this is smack dab in the
middle of my district. And I heard from these citizens, and they've
been damned patient.
So I think, you know, patience are running out. That lot looks
horrible. Whether it's a 10-foot pile of rubble or whatever it is, it
looks unsightly. Aesthetically, that lot looks horrible, and, you
know, I'm very disappointed that the numbers aren't exponentially
growing when we've, you know, approved the extra people, the extra
machinery, the extra hours. And, you know, granted he had a bad
week and had a couple of good possible spikes, but I was hoping, and
I know you were as well, that we were going to see, you know,
some -- you know, a stretch here of a good run, but we're not, so...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And on that point, our
landfill receives construction debris.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Absolutely.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We have a fee structure out
there that's very -- candidly, it's very prohibitive. That's one of the
reasons why this site ended up with so much material is because we
were charging $1,000 a load, and Bobby was charging 200 and went
to 400.
So all the in-haul stopped coming to our landfill and going
to -- going to this site. And so maybe -- maybe, depending on cost
associated with the extra crusher and so forth, maybe we just stop the
crushing and tell him to -- and cut him a deal with our landfill and
reduce our fees over there for the receiving of that. Because that's
material that we, ultimately, then recycle and use for restructures and
habitat out in the Gulf of Mexico. But I'd like to go have a look.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And you also have a relationship
with those folks, so I think it's --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I do.
February 28,2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So whatever you-all can -- so at
the next meeting let's have a great update. Not only will we get one
from Commissioner McDaniel, but you-all, but then also let's have
the property owner here, too, so we can have a deeper-dive
conversation. We've got two weeks. And --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I'll make that happen.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We're not voting on anything,
obviously. So anybody have any other questions?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Thank you.
MS. COOK: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ma'am.
MS. PATTERSON: Yep. Before we go to our parks updates,
I was going to give you a quick update on our conversation last
meeting about the impact fee deferral question for the Golden
Gate -- the affordable housing at the Golden Gate Golf Course.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: So we've been looking into some options,
have reached out to Mr. Kirk and will be talking with him. Part of
this is understanding the time frames that he needs in order to make
this financing piece work, which is common for this type of project,
making sure that we're aligning those time frames. Having a 10-year
deferral to a 35- or 50-year affordability period creates some
difficulties. So that is in work now.
We have found out some information about how other counties
are managing -- it's something new in the last couple of years to the
statute that allows us to handle these impact fee deferrals and waivers
a little bit differently. So we're going to be provided some
information from Nassau County and look at how to structure that
now. Super important is the income levels that are going to be
provided at this have to only reach a certain point in order to qualify
February 28,2023
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for this -- essentially, this statutory provision. So once we have that
information in hand, I'm going to work with the County Attorney,
and we'll return back to you with some options.
Rest assured that this type of option does require a long-term
land-use restriction on the property so that for the public benefit we
can guarantee the affordability of these units. But moving in a
positive direction and looking forward to bringing that back to you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Didn't we have that -- the
Golden Gate property is being held in perpetuity in affordable status?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, but they cannot -- part of the
statutory provision, they cannot exceed 120 percent at their entry into
this program. Now, if they earn more money over time as they're
living there is okay, but that has to set that cap at the income at
120 percent of AMI.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's to get in the front door.
Once they're in there and they elevate their income --
MS. PATTERSON: Then they can go to 140. So we're going
to work with Mr. Kirk on that as he's working to adjust those
AMI -- his percent of AMI for those various units, and that's in work
now.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: What was his ask? Was he
asking for a 10-year or for a mirror of the deferral; do you recall?
MS. PATTERSON: He was looking for a longer-term deferral
or payment similar to a couple of other developers that we've been
working with. This 10-year limit that we have as part of our
ordinance has -- has presented some difficulties as it fits into
their -- into their financial incentives layering.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I think when I met with
the folks at the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance, we amortized that
over a 30-year period, and they could -- because it was a known
expense that they could build into their budget and carry the -- carry
February 28,2023
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the costs. So that 30-year AM might be something for us to look at.
I mean, because if we attach it to the property as -- on an amortized
basis and as a non-ad valorem assessment, then we have a guaranteed
capacity to receive that money back irrespective of the operator.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders is lit up
here. Let me give him the floor.
MS. PATTERSON: Sure.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: First, I want to thank you for
having some priority to this, because the folks that are contributing
money to this project, the philanthropists, if you will, are obviously
very nervous about this because it's been so long. And they're
looking at other options for their money. So time is of the essence.
The 10-year waiver doesn't do any good for the financing.
The problem is that because of an increase in costs, there is a
gap between what this project will generate in terms of revenue and
the amount of money that's needed to build the project. And so
we're trying to close that gap. That gap's about 5- or $6 million.
Impact fees happen to be about that amount. And so if we're able to
alleviate the problem of impact fees on this project to a point where it
satisfies the bank, then this project moves forward. If we don't do
that, then we have a problem. So an amortization or some sort of
payment schedule on impact fees won't do the job.
MS. PATTERSON: Understood.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: There's going to have to be
an elimination of some of the costs for this project to move forward,
and the impact fees just happen to be right about the same -- the right
amount.
So if there's a way to use that statute to eliminate the payment of
impact fees, that really is probably the only alternative that we have,
so I would encourage you to do that. And time is of the essence.
MS. PATTERSON: Absolutely. Completely understand.
February 28,2023
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COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So we need to move that.
MS. PATTERSON: And we have provided that. There was a
little bit of misunderstanding, I think, that was directed back to our
partners about our -- about our -- our dedication to this cause, that we
have not stepped away from this project. We fully intend to run
down solutions to these current challenges until we have a solution,
so -- and I did communicate that back to the Community Foundation
to rest assured we weren't walking away from either the impact fee
issue or the remediation issue. Both are in work now, and we're
continuing to work those issues. And they will hopefully set us up
for the next successful affordable housing project to follow this one.
So this is a good thing.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Which would be a really
nice template for other projects, but we've got to get this one across
the finish line.
MS. PATTERSON: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal, and then,
Commissioner Hall, you're on deck.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chairman.
Now, would this be -- and correct me if I'm wrong. Would this
be an opportunity to -- because I know statutorily we have to collect
impact fees, you know, because of statute. It tells us we have to.
But would this be an option to where, with the affordable housing
fund that we do have, with the $20 million, could those monies be
used to offset the difference?
MS. PATTERSON: So those monies from the sales tax are
earmarked for land purchases, and there are other funding sources
that can potentially be used for backfills. We're looking at,
essentially, what's a statutory exemption and how that's being
handled by other counties.
There's always been this question of the backfill required. This
February 28,2023
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statute takes that backfill away to some extent, but as the County
Attorney and I have discussed, it doesn't eliminate the need for the
infrastructure. So we're looking, between us, are discussing how
we're going to address the needed capital improvements driven by
these types of projects while still finding that relief for the project.
And so that's kind of -- that's the challenge that we have, being able
to articulate that to you and also have a plan as to how we address
those infrastructure needs absent impact fees, in theory.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you, Chair.
So I'm just thinking about, you know, it was mentioned that we
can defer impact fees for 10 years, and we can fairly get away with
that, with the intention.
So what if after 10 years Mr. Kirk executes a note that's inferior
to his regular financing to the county that has terms on it kicking it
down however long else -- and it just balloons? You know, no
payments. Just a small interest-bearing note that balloons 10 more
years after that or 20 years after that. Just a possibility. I just
wanted to throw it out there as another method of kicking it down the
road further.
MS. PATTERSON: Sure, absolutely. And that's why we
really -- we want to talk with Mr. Kirk -- which we intend to do this
week. Our schedules didn't mesh up last week at the end of the
week -- so we can understand exactly what type of time frames and
other things there are.
So as Commissioner Saunders said, we know that we've got a bit
of a funding gap -- well, a funding gap in this project as it stands
now. The impact fees are only one of those tools that we could use
to try to realign. But he may. He's very -- he's very experienced in
affordable housing. He understands these layering of incentives.
February 28,2023
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So when we understand his needs, we'll be able to properly position
ourselves.
But we wanted to communicate to the Board and also to the
public that our commitment still stands to work through this financial
issue and come back to you with the options that work both for us
and you for Mr. Kirk.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any other discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders, do you
want to wrap this one up?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Nope.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: Okay. If you're -- if it's the pleasure of
the Board, we'll get an update on Caxambas Pass from Ms. Olema
Edwards, parks -- interim parks director.
MS. EDWARDS: Good afternoon, Commissioners.
All right. What you have before you today on the prompter is
the update for the Caxambas boat park marina. We are planning on
doing a soft opening for March 15th that is for limited recreational
use only, no commercial.
As you can see right now, we're phasing this project into two
phases. Well, let me back up. Let me show you the initial damage
assessment first.
So, initially, when we went out after Hurricane Ian, Caxambas
sustained a lot of damage. You can see the damage to the ship store,
the parking lot. The boardwalk was destroyed. We have parts of
the boardwalk missing. Docks was missing. We have seawall
erosion, and the gasoline fuel pumps were -- dispensers were
damaged.
For our Phase 1 opening plan -- like I said, we're opening
February 28,2023
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Caxambas on March 15th, and that's going to be for limited
recreational use -- we need to be able to move the fence, and that
happened today. We fenced off the entire site. Some are
permanent. Some are temporary fencing. The temporary fencing
will be by where the ship store was.
We're going to use this for limited recreational activity, so no
commercial, and that will be for kayaks, paddlecraft. But currently
right now it will not be for motorized vessels, because we have to
move the smaller dock, and that will be in Phase 2 getting that
relocated back to the seawall once we get that repaired.
Right here, and the temporary fencing went along today. We
just completed that today. Contractors were out. As you can see,
we're putting chain link temporarily along the -- I'm sorry. I'm a
little nervous. We're putting fencing along the seawall area to keep
it safe for the constituents that come out to use the ramp. We're also
putting fencing around the marina ship store, and we're adding gates
to where we can come in and out as we need to.
Again, like I told you, we also need to relocate the 8-by-30-inch
[sic] dock from the east side ramp towards the west side of the ramp
for limited boating. That will be in Phase 2 of our opening plan.
The way that we're going to -- you know what? The way that
we're going to manage this plan is that we're going to have two park
rangers. They're going to be there. We modified the hours from
8:00 to 5:00. We're going to have two park rangers, one to check to
make sure that people are not trying to come in for commercial
activity. The other one is also to make sure that the ramp is safe, and
people are coming and going as they need to go. This will be seven
days a week that we'll have it staffed.
Once people come in, to go out, as you can see, we have the
float [sic] plan. Excuse me. We have the float plan that people will
put on their cars. The rangers will check. We met with the City of
February 28,2023
Page 186
Marco police officers this week to let them know about our plan, to
let them know how we're going to execute. If anybody gets locked
in, they can contact the police department there.
And then Capital Contractors is working to confirm that the
fencing will be -- will be there. We worked with Dan Smith with the
City of Marco to get that approved to where we do not have to have
permits to put up the temporary fencing. So they're involved, and
we did get approval from them. So they've seen this plan. We
presented to them last Tuesday to the Marco City Council, and they
are fine with this plan for right now.
Okay. So your Phase 2 permanent repairs -- and this is what we
have to do to go through FEMA to get Caxambas up and running
hopefully for commercial activity as we move forward.
Currently, right now, we've demoed the ship store. The debris
has been picked up. We've had power restored but, like I said, it's
still unsafe because of the seawall, so we can't let people go in just
yet. The insurance adjuster visited the site. The structural
assessment by WSP Environmental was completed on October 31st
of 2022. We had change orders, number one, that authorized Aptim
to do the inspection and report on the impacts due to Hurricane Ian.
The seawall assessment was completed by Aptim Engineering.
In January of this year we received, the Aptim field observation
report that showed the impact of the seawalls prior and after
Hurricane Ian.
We talked about the Caxambas Park options of, like, opening up
the boat ramp, and we've had a team meeting to discuss how we'll
move forward.
The ongoing task is to make sure that we get the seawall
repaired. That's probably going to take about nine to 12 months. It
was initially scheduled for repair before the hurricane happened.
After the hurricane, it kind of pushed us back a little bit, but we are
February 28,2023
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working with our Facility Management team to make sure that those
repairs happen. And, again, like I said, it will take about nine to 12
months.
And then for our fuel dispenser, we had a PO issued to Guardian
to order materials to install new fuel dispensers. We're working on
getting the fuel back at the marina at Caxambas.
I know I went through a lot. I was a little nervous, so maybe
we'll do better with the question-and-answer period, so I apologize.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Here's where it gets worse,
Ms. Edwards, with the questions. No.
Just for my colleagues -- this is obviously in District 1, and I
was out there last week again with the whole team assessing.
Caxambas took worse of a hit than you can imagine. Even the
pictures here don't do it justice. So it's been closed, you know, since
the hurricane.
Appreciate the overview, obviously. We were out there on site.
But just a couple things that we talked about on site. But for my
colleagues, anybody who's listening, let's make sure we really launch
the announcement and it's not confusing or ambiguous, because many
people have said multiple times, it's closed to commercial. It's
closed to commercial. It's also closed to motorized vehicles -- or
vessels. So if you're a citizen and you have a little motor boat,
you're not commercial, but you can't bring it out there. And if we
don't get that word out clearly, the street is going to be
lined -- because it's season right now -- with Marco residents saying,
yay, no commercial. I can't wait to go out there and launch my boat.
And the reality is because of the damage in the dock, so we've got to
be very clear.
And then if you remember, we talked on site about having the
right kind of signage well in advance on Marco, because a complaint
that I get from, you know, the 3,000 people that are all in those
February 28,2023
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condominiums and are watching, you know, what goes on there, one
of the complaints they have that does have merit is confused,
uninformed citizens or business owners come barreling down that
road on their way on Caxambas 50 miles an hour only to be turned
away, and then they're frustrated, and they barrel back down that
road, you know, at 50 miles an hour.
So we want to stop people. So, you know, either a sign at the
Jolley Bridge -- and there's an electronic sign there now that says
something else, but maybe we could put something on there. And
then well before Caxambas, but we've got to make sure we really do
couple no commercial and no motorized for anybody, because I'm
getting feedback from some people, and I posted it on my social
media. And when I launch my newsletter today, there's a whole
chunk on Caxambas that has all this. But we've got to burn the
candle at every end.
The other thing, too, is we talked about, it's great to see the two
park rangers out there, but I can tell you there's going to be
aggressive people going out there, and park rangers aren't armed
guards, and I don't want to see those folks put in harm's way or sitting
there trying to have an argumentative debate with somebody that
thinks, you know, the park looks fine. I've got -- I sold 10 tickets to
my jet ski people here because I didn't get the proper word. And
while they're doing that, you know, five cars are going around them.
So, you know, if you need me to make a call to the -- you know,
the Marco police chief, or if we want to call, you know, Colonel
Bloom and have the Sheriff out there, but I really think we have to
have somebody out there.
The park rangers are going to direct traffic and confirm what the
park will allow and what it won't, but as we both know, we've had
people out there that have really treated those park rangers horribly,
and the 15th, that day's going to be the Wild West show regardless of
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how we -- so let me know if you need my help. Like you said, you
all did a great job speaking before the Marco City Council, and I'm
sure -- you know, we don't want to just have them on speed dial,
because when something's exploding at the gate, it's too late to call
911. So I wanted to say that.
And then the other thing, too -- and correct me if I'm
wrong -- when we move forward with the plan to totally replace the
seawall, the entire park gets closed again?
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So what we're doing here is
opening it up for a window of time until such time that we get all of
our ducks in a row for complete seawall replacement, and then we're
going to shut it down again.
And as Mr. Rodriguez and I were talking, let's make sure we
really make smart decisions to try to -- just like we did on the
Goodland road, to maximum -- or minimize the close -- the full
closure of the park in any type of season.
You know, when we were just talking off the top of our head, it
said, yeah, we'll probably, you know, close the park around October,
and it will be closed until the following, you know, April or May.
And then that's when my head exploded because I thought, okay,
that's the dumbest thing in the world. I'd rather keep it partially open
but pull the trigger on the seawall. And it's going to bleed into some
season, but we want the bulk of it, just like we did on the Goodland
road. You know, the county got so many accolades for that saying,
wow, that was a huge project, and 80 percent of it was done when
there was hardly anybody in Goodland. It's the same thing, you
know, in that park. But, you know, we all saw it up front.
So when I was there last week, when we were all there, that
plastic yellow fence has now been replaced, and it's a cyclone chain
link fence, right? So it's sort of to keep people away from the most
February 28,2023
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dangerous places and to sort of funnel them into just where they
safely can launch, correct?
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir. They completed that today. Once
we leave here, I can send you pictures. I did follow up with staff.
And like I said, I was a little bit nervous, but now I can tell you-all
we have reached out to the Marco City island police to let them know
about the detail. We will have more park rangers, especially for the
first week, just to see how everything goes. We've also contracted to
have armed security.
So while park rangers are doing traffic detail, if we have any
issues, we already have armed security there if -- if the City of Marco
cannot provide its detail. So I'm looking at both -- both options just
in case. Just in case.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And then at the end of the day on
the 15th, let's really assess. I mean, we're trying to be as proactive as
possible and allow citizens to utilize the park. We know it's safe for
kayakers and for people that are going to sit there at the picnic tables
and whatnot. But if that park gets overrun, and even by the proper
folks, but we think it sort of can't absorb the parking, the commercial,
or we see any type of unsafe issues, I know we won't hesitate to jump
on that.
MS. EDWARDS: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I know Commissioner Bill
McDaniel's lit up here. Before I turn it over to him, I want to just
shift gears because you're sitting here. We talked about Tigertail.
What was wrong with that vending machine? Why did it break in
the first two days? Did we figure that out?
MS. EDWARDS: Believe it or not, you were actually right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I knew it.
MS. EDWARDS: Somebody put some type of coin in. But
they went out this morning, got it fixed, so you should be good to go.
February 28,2023
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That's what it was. I knew it, because I said, these are brand-new
machines.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So we don't have a snack bar out
there, but Olema's just been great, and the whole staff has, to try to
deliver as much service out there as possible. So we put a bunch of
vending machines in place to at least allow people to get beverages
and some sort of snacks and food. And, of course, immediately,
somebody put a homemade out-of-order sign on there, and then we
were getting all this hate mail saying, you know, the county is stupid.
They bought crappy machines. They broke after day one, and then
you saw my email which was, I bet you it's jammed with Canadian
coins, and that's a homemade sign. We would -- the sign that was on
there, we would -- that would never be our sign.
How about the arm going in and out of the parking lot? So
that's -- that broke during the hurricane as well.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Did we pull the trigger on what I
was suggesting, that we have some sort of, like, Bob's Barricade there
at the end of the day saying "park is closed"?
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And like I said, it won't keep
people from coming into the park, but if they come into the park and
slip on a wet noodle and break their arm, you know, they're
trespassing.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But as of now, it was sort of
always defaulted in the up position. That was confusing a lot of
people, so we fixed that.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir. And we have a "park closed" sign
that goes in front of the barricade.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay, great. Okay, thanks.
February 28,2023
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Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well -- and, Commissioner
LoCastro, you know, you're all over this stuff with -- back on
Caxambas, that's where I'm going. Fix the vernacular. When I
was -- when I was hearing what you all were saying, we all know
what you're saying about commercial activity, and you have to be
very, very specific. No motorized vehicles, period, the end.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That was what was shared
with me. But you say "commercial," and that opens it up --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- to all my crazies that are
out there that want to go fishing.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And then, No. 2, prioritize
getting the ramp open so that the motorized vehicles can go.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: The ship store's nice, the fuel
station's nice, but us fishermen, we're, like, self-contained. We've
been using Kelly -- Bayshore/Thomasson Drive when it was Kelly
Road ramp, and stop and getting our bait at Del's before we went
down in there. So niceties are way off on the list. Get the ramp
open so that the people can utilize the ramp to get their boats in and
out. That's the primary priority. I mean, even if you have to keep
the seawalls blocked off from a safety perspective because, as you've
already shared, the seawalls were on the list to be fixed anyway.
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: But get the access point so
that the people can dump their boats and go.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What are we doing for restrooms
on the 15th?
February 28,2023
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MS. EDWARDS: Port-o-potties.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Port-o-potties?
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Just the normal, straight
up, like, construction type or, like, anything fancy?
MS. EDWARDS: We're doing construction type right now.
We have three. One is ADA, two regulars, and hand-washing
stations.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Yeah. And those are fine.
It's just the quantity. Because there will be people out there that, you
know -- I mean, we don't want everybody waiting in line over
one -- and then it goes without saying -- and I know I'm just repeating
things, but let's make sure that we have the cleanup crew. You
know, those port-o-potties three days after we open aren't, you know,
out of toilet paper, trash, nasty, because that park's -- there's going to
be a lot of people out there on the 15th, some confused people, and so
that word will travel fast if somebody didn't get the word, but it's
going to be a busy place on the 15th and even a couple days after,
so...
MS. EDWARDS: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any other questions from
anybody?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, the one thing I have
told citizens is, you know, the glass is more than half full. Parks and
Rec, I mean, think about just days after the hurricane, all the beaches,
all the parks, all the places that were repaired, restored, reopened.
Caxambas is an anomaly. Yes, we were going to replace the
seawall, but now the seawall's even in worse shape, and everything
else that we saw out there.
So it's not a matter of, you know, we took a lot of heat. We all
February 28,2023
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got a thousand emails from people: Open the damn park and, you
know, add more parking and all that. And, you know, I worked
really hard to educate the masses that it's the City of Naples [sic] that
zones that park, it's the City of Naples that actually cut back on
the -- City of Marco, I'm sorry -- City of Marco that cut back on the
parking for a reason. We now have a new Coast Guard station out
there that eats up, you know, a bit of square footage. So it's
not -- it's not an optimum setup, but it's a small, very popular park
that we cannot make any larger.
And so we've got a lot of big decisions to make down the road
when it comes to re-permitting boats and things like that, because that
park just cannot absorb the popularity of it. But thanks so much for
all the hard work that you're doing out there.
Jim Morton, who was -- you know, he's leading the charge here,
so we blame him if something gets messed up, but thank you.
MS. EDWARDS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. What's our next update,
Ms. Patterson?
MS. PATTERSON: Tanya Williams is going to give you an
update on our commercial permits for the boat launches.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: This is the last staff update that we have.
MS. WILLIAMS: Good afternoon, Commissioners. For the
record, Tanya Williams, your interim Public Services department
head.
For the benefit of Commissioner Hall and Commissioner Kowal,
I just wanted to kind of brief you on our commercial boat launch
permit process. Parks and Rec staff is in midstream of working with
our commercial launch vendors that currently hold permits from 2022
that have been renewed for 2023, but I wanted to bring everyone up
to date on where we started and where we're at today.
February 28,2023
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So just to quickly recap, November 9th, 2021, agenda item was
brought before the Board that was adopted as a boat ramp park
management strategy to better provide balance of
recreational/commercial use of your public boat ramp facilities.
Then in -- February 22 of 2022, the Board set a limit on the
commercial boat launch permits to cap at 200 permits issued.
Currently, your Collier County Parks and Recreation Division
oversees six motorized launch sites with an additional paddlecraft
park, which is strictly nonmotorized. So all total we have seven
access points.
For your information, just kind of hold this in the back of your
head, of those 200 permits that we issued for commercial use, I want
to make you aware that you have a total of 620 parking spaces
available for commercial vendors as well as the public across the
seven sites.
So, obviously, commercial vendors want access to the public
boat ramps, and our public want access to our public boat ramps.
And we have a very limited number of space as well as access points
and parking sites.
Parks and Recreation engaged your commercial boat launch
permit holders back in January. We wanted to hear directly from
them, give them a voice to let us know their concerns, what worked,
what doesn't work, what their business model was. We just really
wanted to get to know our commercial boat launch permit holders.
So we launched a survey. That survey is still currently active, and
we're still having it open for at least another week to try to solicit as
much information as we can at this point in time.
Once we solicit that information, we're going to start analyzing
and seeing where -- where we can make some adjustments. The
original management plan that was approved back in 2021, Parks and
Recreation staff will be bringing that back to you with further
February 28,2023
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recommendations. We do need to clarify some language that's
contained within our commercial boat launch permit policy. A
permit means different things to different people.
So we need to clarify some things. We need to take a look at
the number of sites that we have. We need to look at the limited
parking that we have available and see if we can't better balance the
use between commercial and public.
So I just wanted to kind of brief you where we are, where we
started, for our two new commissioners, and that we are
midstream -- your Parks and Recreation Division is midstream in
looking at the management plan as well as our current policy, and we
will be bringing back recommendations for possible adjustment, and
we'll see what direction you give us.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just a quick question. Do
you need direction from this board to go forth and persevere to find
other locations for public ramps?
MS. WILLIAMS: I'm going to ask the County Manager for
direction on that. Would we need direction from the Board to look
for additional sites?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, because what I heard
out of you was a synopsis of what we have, a shortfall of what we
have with regard to what we have, and no plan for -- other than
asking the people that we're already theoretically underserving --
MS. WILLIAMS: Correct.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- what do they want us to do.
And so I'm thinking the forefront needs to be additional ramp sites
for both motorized and nonmotorized vehicles.
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, we've had standing
direction probably since the mid 2000s to bring opportunities to the
Board as they become available for both beach and boat access.
February 28,2023
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Mr. Rodriguez just confirmed that last year that direction was
reconfirmed to us.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: So we'll continue to explore those
opportunities as they become available, however rare that may be.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I thought -- I thought that we
had, that's the reason I was asking, but I didn't hear that as part of
your process as to what we're doing. So I'd like that to get escalated
in the staff's eyes as well, our eyes and ears that are out amongst our
community.
MS. WILLIAMS: Thank you, Commissioner, for that
clarification. Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, I look forward to the
recommendations. One of the things I think we're really going to
seriously need to consider -- and I'm not saying it's the answer, but it
definitely should be on the short list, is when you look at all the
different marinas, you know, some are used more than others.
We had talked about having marina-specific stickers, because
it's hard to really know who uses what. We hand these things out,
and we say, oh, we gave out 400 stickers, and then what we don't
realize is 399 of them are going to Caxambas. And then we're like,
oh, crap -- oh, darn. Strike that from the record.
That's hard to do, but I really think we've got to do something
hard to do in the next iteration. You know, we're seeing what's
happening at all the marinas. And it's not just Caxambas. I mean,
Goodland. You know, it just so happens that a lot of them are in my
district. But all the beaches, all the marinas are becoming much
more popular.
Give us a little -- like, I have a little bit of a peek under the tent,
but for the rest of us, talk about that big meeting that you-all had at
the -- at the -- was it North Collier Park where you invited all the
February 28,2023
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businesses, and it was more successful than I thought. I thought it
was going to be World War III. But just give us the short version of
who came, what you said, what happened, and the feedback you're
hearing.
MS. WILLIAMS: Monday evening, January the 30th, we had
an open public meeting for all commercial boat launch permit
holders. We had over 90 people in attendance that evening at North
Collier Regional Park.
Deputy County Manager Rodriguez was in attendance as well as
park staff. Dan Smith from the City of Marco was also in attendance
and assisted.
We gave them a very good -- we gave them basically an
overview of the damage that all of our marina sites sustained during
Hurricane Irma. We briefed them on our recovery efforts and where
we were in those efforts. And then we, basically, opened the floor to
hear from them. It was a guided open discussion about what they
felt the county was doing right in offering commercial boat launch
permits for purchase, where we had areas for improvement. We
heard from a wide range of business models from commercial
captains to ecotourism and, believe it or not, we were able to hear
from people that were using our sites without an actual permit.
So the trust factor was actually to the point that it was
heightened. So we got -- what I feel, we got very good -- good
information and good factual information from the people in
attendance that night.
So I think that that really opened their trust in us in wanting to
actively hear from them. We did not sugar coat anything. We let
them know that we were just here to listen, that there would be
recommendations coming back.
I go back to the original intent that back in 2021 we have a
management plan. The word "management" is in there. So that
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means that we have to be diligent in managing access to these limited
number of sites that we have. So thank you for bringing that up,
Commissioner LoCastro.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And, obviously, that feedback you
got will be part of what you work into your algorithm for
recommendations to us.
MS. WILLIAMS: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Anybody have any other
questions?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you for the update.
MS. WILLIAMS: Thank you.
Item #10B
A DRAFT ESCROW AGREEMENT FROM THE FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (FDVA) AND
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES (DFS) FOR THE
COUNTY TO APPROPRIATE $30 MILLION FOR THE “STATE
VETERANS’ NURSING HOME” PROJECT USING
INFRASTRUCTURE SALES SURTAX FUNDING (FUND NO.
318), CONVEY PROPERTY INTEREST IN THE PROJECT SITE,
AND TO APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO
EXECUTE THE FINAL VERSION OF THE ESCROW
AGREEMENT ONCE RECEIVED FROM THE STATE – MOTION
TO CONTINUE TO THE MARCH 14, 2023 BCC MEETING BY
COMMISSIONER SAUDNERS; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER LOCASTRO – APPROVED
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I think we're going to 10B.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
February 28,2023
Page 200
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- we're going to need to
continue that until the next meeting. I think March 14th is the next
meeting. We're still waiting to get some information back from the
state agency that's drafting the agreements. So I'd like to make a
motion to continue that until March 14th.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Second.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Continue it, unanimously.
What else?
Item #15C
STAFF AND COMMISSION GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
MS. PATTERSON: That brings us to Item 15C, staff and
Commission general communications. We have two updates. I'll
start with Mr. Rodriguez with his update.
MR. RODRIGUEZ: Sure. This is for, actually, District 1
[sic]. For the record, Dan Rodriguez, your Deputy County Manager.
As you know, Barefoot Beach Preserve and Barefoot Beach
access, two different parks, received substantial damage in north
Collier County. This week, as a matter of fact, the Parks --
February 28,2023
Page 201
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Not District 1. You've got
District 1 in the brain.
MR. RODRIGUEZ: I know.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But you know, I respect that. I
respect that. That's right. Stay on District 1.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I thought Commissioner
LoCastro was starting to take over here.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, that's right.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's District 1.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I absorbed Pelican Bay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's all District 1.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It feels like it.
MR. RODRIGUEZ: So the good news is Barefoot Beach
access opens -- is it March 4th? The 4th. So a lot of work by
Facilities Management as well as your Parks and Recreation staff and
some of our contractors. So that's the first beach access in north
Collier County.
We're still working on Barefoot Beach Preserve; substantial
damage there. All of the boardwalks were pretty much destroyed, as
well as the stairs going into the bathhouse and some work there. But
staff is working on that. We have cleaned out the parking lots and
whatnot, so you'll see a phased approach at Barefoot Beach. As
soon as we get an updated schedule, we'll keep the commissioners
informed. Thank you.
MS. PATTERSON: We also have a meeting this week with the
City of Naples regarding the beach permit parking issue. We talked
about that last meeting. So we are meeting with the city manager
and his staff this week to go over some of those details and look
forward to not only getting Commissioner McDaniel and Mayor
Heitmann back together --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Awe.
February 28,2023
Page 202
MS. PATTERSON: -- but also bringing some information back
to the Board.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You woke me from my nap.
Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: That's all we have.
To the County Attorney.
MR. KLATZKOW: Nothing, thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I'm good.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner Hall?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Can we talk to his wife?
COMMISSIONER HALL: I've got something I just need
you-all to bear with me with. So we all know on December 22nd I
had my first AHAC meeting. Commissioner LoCastro had been in
there for the last two years. And I campaigned hard on workforce
housing and getting this off the ground. It's been talked about
forever.
So I've been to three meetings, three of the AHAC meetings.
And I was clear on Day 1 that I didn't want to hang around and just
talk about things. I wanted to get things done.
So the current -- the current chair that's leading the committee,
in a year's time that he's been the chair, he's brought forth two things.
One was the landlord thing that we turned around. It had nothing to
do with workforce housing or adding affordable housing. The
second one, he brought forth four initiatives that got postponed
through the summer, got postponed because of the election coming,
and then it's -- it looks like we're going to get to bring that forth on
the 28th of March, in that meeting.
But those are the only two things that he's done. And
he's -- I've seen 12 different articles and -- either articles or
interviews in the media, and every one of them are pandering to the
February 28,2023
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crisis. You know, it was a problem, then it's a crisis, then it's
overwhelming, we're not going -- you know, it keeps getting worse,
and it keeps getting worse.
And so it's obvious that he's good at building the problem, but
he's not -- he hasn't done anything to bring forth anything
solution-wise. And the advisory -- the mission of the advisory
committee is to review and recommend policies, procedures,
ordinances, look at incentives, look at the Comp Plan, and bring back
to us ideas that we can either implement or not implement. And so I
haven't seen that committee acting in that capacity.
And so I know that the more that you focus on the problem, the
bigger the problem gets. The more you focus on the solutions of
things, the bigger the solution gets. I also know that the speed of the
group is determined by the speed of the leader.
And so I think prior to -- maybe one meeting prior to me getting
there in November, they brought the staff into the meeting, and we've
got Growth Management, we've got Planning and Zoning, we've got
Development Review, we've got Economic Development and
Housing representatives, all senior staff are there, and things started
progressing from there.
We have established a surtax committee. We got $20 million.
How do we spend it? So we've established that surtax committee
that's met once. It's going to meet again this month for the second
time. And we have a pretty good -- pretty good plan to bring forth to
us how to spend that money.
So we need someone that's leading that group that's not more
focused on getting in the media and building the problem, and we
need someone that's results oriented and that's not -- doesn't want to
build a platform based on their position. And for that reason, I'm
going to make a motion to remove the current chair from the
committee and let us find someone that's got -- I think we have some
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people on that committee that can fill that seat pretty good.
I've talked to the County Attorney. Executive order -- or
executive summary's not required here. It's just between us. We
have the power to do it or not to do it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, I will tell you one of
my frustrations I had -- and we did make quite a bit progress there
because, I mean, I can tell you prior -- the person that was the
commissioner chair prior to me had the worst attendance record of
anybody there. So like you said, I like what you say when you say,
you know, you lead from the front.
But one of the things that I got frustrated with quite a bit in that
meeting, you know, we talk about everybody screaming, we want a
workshop, right, for affordable housing. We want a workshop for
Parks and Rec. We want a workshop. And what we always say is,
you know, bring us the plan first before we just sort of book a date
and we're all in here sort of just chitchatting with no homework
assignments and no anything. You know, I recommended so
strongly, great, go to the county -- the County Manager, and when
she says they're ready for prime time. You're not going to pull us all
together to tell us stuff we already know, and, you know -- and those
things sort of, you know, lollygagged a bit.
I guess I need some -- I guess we all do -- from the County
Attorney, what is the process if that's something we want to support
or entertain? And I see Commissioner Saunders lit up.
Let me go to Commissioner Saunders first and then,
Mr. Klatzkow, let's hear from you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Clearly -- and I'm sure
Mr. Klatzkow's going to say, clearly, we have the authority to put
people on a committee and take them off. That's without question.
Commissioner Hall is our representative to this committee. He
campaigned on helping to develop workforce and affordable housing.
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You've had work experience in that arena, and I'm going to follow
your lead. So I'm going to second your motion.
I hate to see somebody removed from a committee that's been a
volunteer, but you're the guy that now is focusing on that, and I'm
going to follow your recommendation.
Now -- so I'm going to second the motion.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Have you talked to him about
this yet?
COMMISSIONER HALL: I have not. Commissioner
LoCastro has talked to him numerous times about it, and I was going
to talk to him until I found out that he's had multiple conversations
with him. And I thought, you know what, there's no sense in saying
anything else to him.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. And I'll clarify, so my
conversations with him were --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'm not done, if I can.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I just wanted --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I just -- you reiterated the
mission of the committee, its duties, its responsibilities. And now, if
it's already been told to him and that hasn't been followed, and if
that's the follow-up that you were just about to say, then I was going
to second the motion because I remember having a conversation with
him myself, and I said, bring me a deal. Bring me a deal.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Said it over and over.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Bring me a deal, and nothing,
so...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, in the conversations I
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had is, you know, when I would see, you know, letters to the editor in
the paper -- which is any citizen's right, so it's not like that's the
smoking gun or anything.
But, you know, the disappointment is, wow, I like everything
that you wrote to the editor. I would have liked that to have been a
meeting that you had with the County Manager or something that you
had with the Chairperson. You know, you're writing letters in other
publications sort of reiterating the problem, but, you know, we
already know that.
So, I -- you know, I think -- you know, some flesh blood, new
direction. I mean, certainly, you know, one of the reasons why we
were very supportive of you bringing that to the AHAC was not just
because you campaigned on it but your knowledge and mixing things
up a little bit. And there are some really great people on that
committee, but I don't -- you know, I don't know that it helps the
community. And, you know, there's been other people that have
done similar things where they've written things in the paper saying
we're a bunch of greedy commissioners and this and that. And I
don't know that that really helps the process.
And so it's not like we're looking for a yes man or yes woman,
but, you know, if you have this great passion and these complaints,
you know, voice it to the right folks, because anything else is sort of
working against the process and not making us focused any more
efficiently on the problem.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Just for the public's -- the
comments and the mantra of his articles is that we don't care. We
don't -- we don't even care. There's not one of us up that doesn't care
deeply about this issue.
And it's -- I've always said it's a private-sector solution. We can
get out of the way, but bring us deals. Let us look at some things
where we can make some decisions, whether positive or whether
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negative, and -- but it seems to be like we don't care. Other counties
in the state, they've all got this handled. Collier County's lagging
behind because of the care factor, and I just --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Not true.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I just don't want to deal with that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I think that has merit.
So just for clarification, if -- we have a motion and a second. If
we approve this, then is the next step, when you go to your next
AHAC meeting, then you have a discussion with the folks that are
there, elect a new chairperson, right?
COMMISSIONER HALL: I'll just call him on the phone.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, obviously, and contact him,
but then you'll come here at the next meeting and say, we've elected
Mr. or Ms. Smith, that kind of thing, right?
COMMISSIONER HALL: I can do that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. County Attorney, do you
have anything to add?
MR. KLATZKOW: No, three votes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So we have a motion. We
have a second. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Anything else, sir?
COMMISSIONER HALL: I would like to mention, I think
Louise may have sent everybody a Senate Bill 102. There are some
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really, really great things in this bill, but there's some lines in that bill
that just didn't sit right with me, and it has to do with taking the
authority that we have as a local governing body to make some
decisions. And it's lines -- I want to say it's Lines 302 to Lines 345,
somewhere in there. So you don't have to sit there and read the
whole thing. But those are the critical lines, if you just would take a
look at that, because when we go to Tallahassee, I would like to
address that to Senator Passidomo, because this is her baby.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER HALL: That's all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes, bear with me one
second here.
My first, I'd like -- speaking of Conservation Collier, with the
Governor's initiative for moving Florida forward and a huge amount
of money being appropriated into transportation, it's been a
well-known fact of the intersection of Everglades Boulevard and I-75
getting to be opened up as a partial interchange. And the thought
that I had was giving staff direction and establishing a target
protection zone on the north side of that intersection up Everglades
Boulevard for at least a half a mile.
There is -- there are movements afoot for the four-laning of
Everglades Boulevard from Oil Well down to Golden Gate
Boulevard, the extension of Vanderbilt Beach out to Everglades
Boulevard, and with that activity, we'll be able to hold that south end
of Everglades Boulevard to a low-speed two-lane neighborhood road
and still be able to handle the traffic.
But one of the concerns back in 2010, 2012 when that
intersection was proposed, there were two main issues. One is you
can't supplement your lack of an internal grid system by utilization of
a federal highway. It's counterintuitive to me, but that's their role.
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And then the other is commercial creep that comes along with the
opening of an interchange, and with Conservation Collier's
acquisition, we -- acquisitions or capacities of, we put off a lot of the
concerns with regard to the commercial creep that might come in that
area if I am successful in getting the Federal Department of
Transportation to authorize the opening up of that intersection as a
partial interchange.
So before I went through the motions of an executive summary
and all that to establish that target protection zone, I just -- I wanted
to run it ahead and run it in front of you and get the positive head
nods and then move forward with that as a -- as an area that
Conservation Collier could look at just from an environmental
standpoint, from a habitat standpoint, huge corridor of travel out of
the panther preserve over into the North Belle Meade. We don't
have capacity of any wildlife crossings on Everglades Boulevard.
It's just -- it's fiscally infeasible. We can't put fences up in front of
people's houses and manage the critters to the hole that would be put
underneath the road.
So I'd like to go forward and pursue that target protection zone
if, in fact, it meets with you-all's approval.
Dr. George, I received a phone call today from Mayor Grimms.
Everglades City's in tight, as you know we have a failing -- not a
failing. We have a wastewater system in Everglades City that is in
the process of being upgraded. They've been -- Everglades City's
close to $10 million to redo their wastewater plant. And I got a call
from Howie today. And I know Dr. George has been in
communication with them when they were doing the permitting and
that we would back them up, but they're needing to be backed up.
And I just want to make sure that we authorize the County
Manager -- as she leaves -- to support Dr. George and his team for
whatever's requisite for Everglades City to be able to make sure their
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wastewater and their effluence that are coming off of that plant are
properly managed. You good with that?
DR. YILMAZ: (Indicating.)
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I got a thumbs up out of
Dr. George.
This item is a circumstance that's -- this is a new item that's been
going on for quite some time. I'm getting a lot of conflicting
information from our staff, Code Enforcement -- I didn't talk to our
County Attorney about it yesterday -- and the Sheriff's Office with
regard to panhandling in our community. It's an issue. And I'm
being told -- what I would like to do is bring an agenda item forward
with a proposition of some recommended adjustments to our
ordinance with regard to panhandling to enhance our Sheriff's
capacity to better enforce and protect our citizens. So I've got
positive head nods on that. I'm, like, hitting all cylinders.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let me just ask you a question.
So we did pass an ordinance --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We did.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- and I remember the Sheriff
saying, you know, it's not illegal to walk through a Publix parking lot
and ask somebody for money. So there were some things that, I
think, we were all hoping we could put in that ordinance that we
didn't or couldn't. Do you feel like you've -- that thing's been sitting
out there long enough and not 100 percent effective --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right, yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- that you've got some things that
we definitely can beef it up?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Excellent.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Terri hates it when we both
talk at the same time.
February 28,2023
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So the Sheriff's folks that I've been talking to have found the
holes, think they know how to fix the holes, and I'd like to make the
adoption or adaptation to the existing ordinance to help them help us,
and in coordination with our County Attorney as well so I don't get
too far down the road.
Is the burn ban in effect, County Manager?
MS. PATTERSON: No, not yet. We haven't hit the required
index yet.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Man, oh, man, oh, man.
As you all know, it's past time for one to be in place.
It's -- there is a myriad of matrix that has to -- calculations that have
to go through, humidity and rainfall, blah, and a bunch of people that
have to okay it. And I'm not a -- I'm not a proponent of banning
anything, but that's one that has actually worked and had positive
effects in our community, and the sooner we institute it, the better off
we're, in fact, going to be.
I think we did authorize the County Manager, upon all the boxes
getting checked, you can enact it.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
COMMISSIONER HALL: How close would it be?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: How close would what be,
sir?
COMMISSIONER HALL: The burn ban.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's -- do you have a timeline?
MR. RODRIGUEZ: Based on the history, we're still about 30
days out, the dryness, the dry index as well as the winds and whatnot,
in coordination with the state forestry and state emergency officials.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I know with communication
with Greater Naples, they've already responded to two flare-ups.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And if it weren't for -- and,
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you know, when we're talking about budget constraints and requests,
if the Sheriff wants to buy another Huey, I'm going to tell him to get
two. That thing is invaluable to our fire departments for protecting
our community, because it takes -- the Forestry Department has a
Huey, and that's the one that's equipped to carry the big water bucket
and extinguish the fires. And it takes two hours for the Forestry
Department's unit to get here, and that fire's already lit and burning
and virtually out of control. And our Sheriff's been able to be on
them like that and contain them into relatively -- and so far, no
property and, certainly, no life has been lost.
But the sooner we take a proactive step and get that burn ban in
place, until -- I mean, it's only going to be for a couple months where,
as soon as it starts to rain on a regular basis, we lift the ban and let
people take care of their yard waste. But there's so many people in
Eastern Collier County now. They're coming in flocks of people in
eastern Golden Gate Estates. And after Ian, there was an enormous
amount of yard debris that they're wanting to get rid of.
So that's all I've got for now.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have an item that's not at
all controversial.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. We'll see.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I've got a little bit of a fear in
even bringing this up. But we canceled the grant with the CDC for
the migrant healthcare program, and we all had problems with certain
specs of that grant. But I think we were all in agreement that the
general healthcare that was being provided in the migrant community
was something of value.
And I understand that that program is going to continue for a
couple of months. There's some other funding that is being used for
that. I didn't know if the Commission would have any interest in
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exploring whether we want to fund the continuation of that type of a
program for the community that's being served. And, you know, if
the answer is no, then that's fine, but I just thought I'd bring it up to
see.
We canceled the grant because of certain requirements in the
CDC grant. We eliminate -- if we eliminate all that and just simply
have the healthcare program continue, I guess the issue is do we want
our staff to come back and let us know what something like that
might look like.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: The answer's yes. I'd like to
explore that. If nothing else, you know -- yes. If nothing else, we're
going to learn. We're going to be able to -- if, in fact, we do -- the
county does decide to continue with some assistance there, we're
going to be able to put measurables and milestones in. We're going
to be able to have trackable information, which we weren't
necessarily having in advance of this. And I think there's no
argument that the Healthcare Network does an amazing job for our
community. They're the largest provider of Medicaid services in the
entire county, and they do service that community and service it
extremely well. So I'm wholeheartedly interested in seeing how we
could do that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Anybody else?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yep, absolutely.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah. I thought at some point
in the language we said we were going to try to seek other sources, at
some point when we voted that day, but...
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So the direction would be for
the county to meet with the Healthcare Network, come back to us
with some potential recommendations on how we might continue the
program without the CDC type of requirements, obviously.
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COMMISSIONER HALL: Yeah, non-COVID-19 related.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. And, you
know -- because when -- that day before that meeting that we actually
extinguished that grant, I was actually pinged by -- I'm pointing at
our clerk. Because we have regulations on where we can pull money
and what we can and can't do with it, and we have to be aware of
that. But staff could give us that report, and then we can make some
decisions as to how, when, and where and what we do.
MS. PATTERSON: Understood.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I don't have anything else.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I'll end it on three very
controversial things. No, they're not.
First, I just want to say on March 8th all five commissioners up
here will be joining Mr. Mullins up in Tallahassee. And just,
personally, you know, whether I'm Chair or not, just how impressed I
am that all five of us are going to be making a trek up to Tallahassee,
so -- I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: He told you --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It's on the 8th.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, no. He told you the 8th.
We're all meeting him on the 7th.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Yeah. They're always
messing with me.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Meeting there on the 6th, or
the meeting's on the 7th.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I'm going to be up there just
hanging out by myself.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We'll see you on Thursday
that week.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Hey, listen, listen, who's got the
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floor here? Okay. All right. I'm giving you a positive shout-out.
So how disappointed I am that I have to join these four knuckleheads.
No, I just wanted to say, just personally as a citizen, just how
proud I am that all five of us are going to be up there showing the
Collier County flag. Mr. Mullins is going to take us around. And,
you know, sometimes even a five or 10-minute meeting, even if it's
just shaking hands and putting, you know, a name with a face of
some key people, it's a big deal, and I burned a bit of shoe leather up
in Tallahassee, not as much as Commissioner Saunders.
But it's valuable just to have presence. And then we have a
good team that's up there that it will be, you know, very valuable.
And, you know, we're not going to have three-hour meetings, maybe,
on affordable housing, but at times you might meet the key person for
the follow-up call.
So, you know, we'll be front and center on whatever -- John,
give me the correct date. Make sure I'm not set up here, okay. No,
I don't mean to come up here, but you -- so I just wanted to say
how -- I don't know the last time all five went up there. The last
time I went it was just three of us, and I'm proud that all five of us are
going, and there's a lot of merit to it, especially with the state-funded
veterans nursing home. We want to keep that on the front burner,
and there's lots of other things, too.
And if we get to pop in and see Senator Passidomo, but I'm sure
she'll be impressed that all five of us are there, and that will be great.
But the thing that I'm working on with Mr. Klatzkow,
similar -- you know, you talk about we've let the panhandling
ordinance sort of simmer a bit, and now we see where there are some
holes. And where I've had some issues, but I wanted to be educated
on it first before I brought something to you-all that I hope you will
support, and we're working on it, and it has to do with the collection
of fines.
February 28,2023
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You know, there's two things that bother me. So 11A was not a
great example, but it did shine a light on something, but I'll give you
a better example. So someone owns a piece of property. It has
$500,000 worth of fines, it has liens on it, it has all the bad stuff on it.
They sell it to somebody, and they sell it to that person as a discount
because they go, wink, wink, you're assuming all the liens and fines
and everything, and then 30, 60, 90 days later, whenever it is, that
person comes to the county, and at times we have had the precedent
of being very generous in significantly lowering the fine and all the
bad stuff that goes with it.
The person that I have appointed to the Code Enforcement
Board has said at times -- and I've watched Code Enforcement -- they
seem very quick to take a very high fine, and rather than maybe in
slow increments and figure out, you know, what we can get, at times
it defaults to zero very quickly. And that example is somebody that
has a fine. They're accruing $1,000 a day in fines for two years. It's
a huge number. They finally build the wall, plant the tree, pick up
the rock, whatever the issue is, so they're, quote, in compliance, and
then that, you know, multi six-figure fine at times either goes away or
gets reduced significantly.
What I would like to see us do -- because the feedback I've
gotten from people that are on the Code Enforcement Board and
even, you know, folks on the staff, Ms. Patterson and I have talked
about it a bit, is that we might need to blow the dust off and send
a -- just a renewed message to the Code Enforcement Board and to
some people on our staff that our going-in position isn't default to
zero and then work up from there, but our default position is,
remember, this isn't county money. This is taxpayer dollars. And
so when that money comes back to the county, that's money that can
be used in other areas.
So it's not so much -- it's not changing the ordinance, you know,
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to Mr. Klatzkow's point. He was talking about it's just a resolution,
sort of an add-on that just reconfirms, hey, if a fine is a certain
amount -- and the example I always use is, we're not trying to chase
the old retired couple who have been in the hospital for a month and
didn't mow their lawn. You know, it got taken care of. We let it go.
But there's some fines out there that are significant that I think
too quickly get sort of dumbed down to a very small amount, and
then, you know, there's some people on the Board that have relayed
to me, well, that's the guidance we kind of get. That's what -- you
know, hey, they're in compliance.
So we're working on something that we're going to bring here
and see if you're satisfied with it. So I just wanted to plant the seed.
And the reason I also wanted to also do that is be thinking about that
so we can have a really good discussion and come up with something
that is an improvement, or maybe we just leave it alone and it's more
of just a verbal type thing through the County Manager to the powers
that be.
But I think we're -- we're losing out on collecting things that,
you know, people that aren't following code and the law and whatnot
should be bringing back, and that's real money. You know, we've
sat here for hours talking about $10,000, yet somebody had a
$500,000 fine; it got lowered to 10 grand. They walked out the
door. That was $490,000 Christmas money that we just gave them,
and that's not county money.
So I think the next meeting we're going to have something.
We've been working on it for -- we actually have been talking, but
the time to bring it wasn't during the Isles of Capri marathon meeting
or, you know, during the David Lawrence Center. We wanted to
sort of pick and choose when the timing would be right. So it
sounds like maybe at the next meeting or sooner than later we'll be
talking about maybe a couple of ordinances that we can improve on.
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And then, lastly, I think recognition is extremely important. I
think we all do. You know, Dan will agree with me, in the military
it's a really big deal. You know, sometimes you might give
somebody something that only has minimal value, but it has
maximum appreciation.
So I wanted to take the time to end on a positive note. And I
wanted Olema Edwards to come forward up here. So she's nervous.
She can't speak in front of a group, but I'm going to just tell you what
a superstar Olema is.
If you're in charge of Parks and Rec right now, you have one of
the toughest jobs on the staff because you can't do it fast enough for
the citizens. You can't do it good enough. Everybody -- you know,
we've got people that peer over a locked gate at Caxambas and are
smarter than us and tell us we're all stupid. And they must have
X-ray vision, because they can't see the damage but, you know, they
want -- they just want the gate unlocked.
And she has just been doing such an incredible job at Tigertail,
Caxambas, and the other areas. She's not a District 1 Parks and Rec
person, although it feels like you are, right?
The amount of emails that she gets from citizens are
always -- first of all, some of them are just rude and vulgar, because I
get CC'ed on them, or I get it, and then I run interference.
But I just wanted to say, like, how proud I am of how you serve
this county, how your replies to citizens that send you emails that are
horrific, how you replied just recently to somebody about, you know,
something that was broken at Tigertail, and your reply is something
that, you know, represents the county just with such polish and
professionalism.
So on those days when you get those emails and people are
screaming and yelling at you and telling you that, you know, you're
dumb and I'm dumb and nobody's doing anything, and the county
February 28,2023
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doesn't care and, you know, we don't -- you know, we're all a bunch
of greedy people with our hands in the pockets of, you know,
developers or business people that own jet ski companies, you're
doing a fantastic job, you know. I just want to tell you that.
Your sense of urgency to go back to citizens, and me as well,
with the right answer and to jump on it and the follow-up, you know,
you're in the right place at the right time, and we're damn lucky to
have you.
So I'm going to put my Colonel LoCastro hat on now, and if I
was Colonel LoCastro -- you know, anybody that's been in my office
sees that I've got a whole pot of what we call challenge coins. And
those are, in the military, given out for excellence. And when I was
a commander, I had my own coin at the Air Force Academy. I had
my own coin at Andrews Air Force Base, and I had my own coin at
Eglin Air Force Base, all three places where I was a senior base
commander.
And I don't have many of those coins left, but I kept a few.
And if you would come up here, forward, I want to give you a coin
that's an Air Force One coin. And when I was a senior commander
responsible for a lot of important things for Air Force One, and
people would help us -- and we used to say, if you help me, you're
helping the President of the United States.
These coins don't even exist anymore because they get changed
out, you know, from every commander. But on behalf of the United
States of America and the President of the United States and Colonel
Rick LoCastro, I just want to give you this coin, and it represents the
great work and the leadership that you do for our county every day
that oftentimes goes unrecognized and unappreciated. On behalf of
all five commissioners here, we do appreciate it. Thank you, ma'am.
(Applause.)
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You know what I'm really
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happy about? I thought he was going to make a Chairman LoCastro
coin.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I was worried about that.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: He's working on it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And with that said,
meeting adjourned, thank you.
****Commissioner McDaniel moved, seconded by Commissioner
Hall and carried that the following items under the consent and
summary agendas be approved and/or adopted****
Item #16A1
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE POTABLE WATER AND
SEWER FACILITIES AND ACCEPT THE CONVEYANCE OF
THE POTABLE WATER AND SEWER FACILITIES FOR
ESPLANADE AT HACIENDA LAKES PHASE 4C1 AND 4C2,
PL20220004770 – BY THE STAFF ON NOVEMBER 21, 2022
AND FOUND THE FACILITY TO BE SATISFACTORY AND
ACCEPTABLE.
Item #16A2
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE SEWER UTILITY FACILITIES
AND ACCEPT THE CONVEYANCE OF A PORTION OF THE
SEWER UTILITY FACILITIES AND APPURTENANT UTILITY
EASEMENT FOR FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FORCE
MAIN, PL20220005035. – BY THE STAFF ON DECEMBER 8,
2022 AND FOUND THE FACILITY TO BE SATISFACTORY
AND ACCEPTABLE.
February 28,2023
Page 221
Item #16A3
RESOLUTION 2023-27: FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE
PRIVATE ROADWAY AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS FOR
THE FINAL PLAT OF ESPLANADE AT HACIENDA LAKES
PHASE 2A, APPLICATION NUMBER PL20150002005, AND
AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF THE MAINTENANCE
SECURITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $66,337.86.
Item #16A4
RESOLUTION 2023-28: FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE
PRIVATE ROADWAY AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS FOR
THE FINAL PLAT OF ESPLANADE AT HACIENDA LAKES
PHASE 2B, APPLICATION NUMBER PL20160001208, AND
AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF THE MAINTENANCE
SECURITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $42,990.14.
Item # 16A5
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE POTABLE WATER UTILITY
FACILITIES AND ACCEPT THE CONVEYANCE OF THE
WATER FACILITIES AND APPURTENANT UTILITY
EASEMENT FOR NAPLES SENIOR CENTER OFFSITE
UTILITIES CONSTRUCTION, PL20220005036. – BY STAFF ON
DECEMBER 9, 2022 AND FOUND THE FACILITY TO BE
SATISFACTORY AND ACCEPTABLE.
Item #16A6
February 28,2023
Page 222
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE POTABLE WATER AND
SEWER UTILITY FACILITIES AND ACCEPT THE
CONVEYANCE OF A PORTION OF THE POTABLE WATER
AND SEWER UTILITY FACILITIES AND APPURTENANT
UTILITY EASEMENT FOR NAPLES SENIOR CENTER,
PL20220005035. – BY STAFF ON JANUARY 3, 2023, AND
FOUND THE FACILITY SATISFACTORY AND ACCEPTABLE.
Item #16A7
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE POTABLE WATER AND
SEWER FACILITIES AND ACCEPT THE CONVEYANCE OF
THE POTABLE WATER AND SEWER FACILITIES FOR
SONOMA OAKS, PL20220006730. – BY STAFF ON DECEMBER
2, 2022 AND FOUND THE FACILITY TO BE SATISFACTORY
AND ACCEPTABLE.
Item #16A8
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE POTABLE WATER AND
SEWER FACILITIES AND ACCEPT THE CONVEYANCE OF
THE POTABLE WATER AND SEWER FACILITIES FOR
VALENCIA GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB PHASE 2B,
PL20220006250. – BY STAFF ON JANUARY 5, 2023 AND
FOUND THE FACILITY TO BE SATISFACTORY AND
ACCEPTABLE.
Item #16A9
THE CLERK OF COURTS TO RELEASE A PERFORMANCE
BOND IN THE AMOUNT OF $103,800 WHICH WAS POSTED
February 28,2023
Page 223
AS A GUARANTY FOR EXCAVATION PERMIT NUMBER
PL20210003049 FOR WORK ASSOCIATED WITH SONOMA
OAKS.
Item #16A10
RESOLUTION 2023-29: AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2004-
66, AS AMENDED, THAT CREATED AN ADMINISTRATIVE
CODE, TO REVISE THE PROCEDURES FOR COMPARABLE
USE DETERMINATIONS, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE. (THIS IS A COMPANION TO ITEM #17A)
[PL20220000207].
Item #16A11
REASSUMPTION OF MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITIES OF
THE AREA LOCATED WITHIN THE PERIMETER DRAINAGE
EASEMENT AROUND THE THREE SIDES OF THE
NORTHEAST SECTION OF THE IMPERIAL GOLF ESTATES
DEVELOPMENT.
Item #16A12
APPROPRIATED REVENUE TO TRANSPORTATION
OPERATING FUND (310), ASSET MANAGEMENT PROJECT
(#60037), IN THE AMOUNT OF $91,221 AND AUTHORIZE ALL
NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS.
Item #16A13
February 28,2023
Page 224
RESOLUTION 2023-30: THE CHAIRMAN EXECUTE LOCAL
AGENCY PROGRAM (LAP) SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT #1
WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
(FDOT) UNDER AGREEMENT 437924-1-98-01, AND
AUTHORIZED A SOLE SOURCE WAIVER TO PURCHASE
ITERIS BLUETOAD® CV2X RSU TRAVEL TIME MEASURING
EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS, ACCESSORIES,
LICENSES, SUPPORT, REPAIRS AND UPGRADES BY THE
MANUFACTURER, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE LAP
PROJECT #33800.
Item #16A14
A CHANGE ORDER NO. 5 TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
AGREEMENT #06-4000 WITH CH2M HILL, INC., ADDING
1,140 DAYS FOR POST DESIGN SERVICES ON THE
"VANDERBILT BEACH ROAD EXTENSION FROM COLLIER
BOULEVARD TO 16TH STREET N.E." (PROJECT NUMBER
60168).
Item #16C1
AWARDED REQUEST FOR QUOTATION NO. 19-7539, “GMD
ANNEX AND STAIR TOWER ROOFS,” UNDER AGREEMENT
NO. 19-7539, ROOFING REPLACEMENT CONTRACTORS, TO
ADVANCED ROOFING, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $476,136,
AUTHORIZE STAFF TO OPEN A PURCHASE ORDER FOR
THOSE SERVICES, AND APPROVE THE NECESSARY
BUDGET AMENDMENT.
Item #16C2
February 28,2023
Page 225
AWARDED REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ) FOR THE “CCSO
JAIL (BUILDING J2) ROOF REPLACEMENT” PROJECT,
UNDER AGREEMENT NO. 19-7539, ROOFING REPLACEMENT
CONTRACTORS, TO ADVANCED ROOFING, INC., AND
AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF A NUMBERED WORK
ORDER/PURCHASE IN THE AMOUNT OF $749,352 (PROJECT
#50229).
Item #16C3
AWARDED INVITATION TO BID (“ITB”) NO. 22-8018,
“COLLIER COUNTY JAIL FIRE ALARM REPLACEMENT”
PROJECT, TO NATIONAL SECURITY FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS,
LLC, IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,671,000, AUTHORIZED THE
CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT, AND
AUTHORIZE THE NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENT.
Item #16C4
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, EX-OFFICIO THE
GOVERNING BOARD OF THE COLLIER COUNTY WATER-
SEWER DISTRICT, AWARDED A $728,345 WORK ORDER
UNDER A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (“RFQ”) FOR
AGREEMENT NO. 20-7800 TO MITCHELL & STARK
CONSTRUCTION, CO., INC., AND AUTHORIZED THE
CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE WORK ORDER FOR THE “50TH
TERRACE SW GOLDEN GATE CITY WATER MAIN
IMPROVEMENTS AROUND AREA SCHOOLS” PROJECT.
(PROJECT NUMBER 70222).
February 28,2023
Page 226
Item #16C5
ACCEPTED UPDATE ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMEN PROJECTS
AT THE COLLIER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SPECIAL
OPERATIONS FACILITY.
Item #16C6 - Continued from the January 10, 2023, BCC Meeting
RESOLUTION 2023-31: THE REMOVAL OF UNCOLLECTABLE
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,328.83
FROM THE FINANCIAL RECORDS OF THE COLLIER
COUNTY PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT IN
ACCORDANCE WITH RESOLUTION NO. 2006-252, MAKE A
DETERMINATION THIS ADJUSTMENT IS IN THE BEST
INTEREST OF THE COUNTY, AND AUTHORIZED THE
CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION.
Item #16C7
AWARDED REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #22-8022 "BACKFLOW
PREVENTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE" TO SPRYPOINT
SERVICES, INC., AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO
EXECUTE THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT.
Item #16C8
AWARDED INVITATION TO BID (“ITB”) NO. 22-8008, “SOUTH
COUNTY REGIONAL WATER TREATMENT PLANT
(SCRWTP) FRONT ENTRANCE IMPROVEMENTS,” TO FORT
CONSTRUCTION GROUP OF NAPLES, INC., IN THE AMOUNT
February 28,2023
Page 227
OF $607,988 AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE
ATTACHED AGREEMENT.
Item #16D1
APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN
ONE (1) MORTGAGE SATISFACTION FOR THE STATE
HOUSING INITIATIVES PARTNERSHIP LOAN PROGRAM IN
THE AMOUNT OF $3,000 AND THE ASSOCIATED BUDGET
AMENDMENT. (SHIP GRANT FUND 791).
Item #16D2
APPROVED THE ELECTRONIC SUBMITTAL OF THE
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE RETIRED AND SENIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
APPLICATION, ACCEPT YEAR-THREE OF THE GRANT
AWARD IN THE AMOUNT OF $91,933 FOR THE OPERATION
OF THE PROGRAM, AND AUTHORIZED THE NECESSARY
BUDGET AMENDMENTS. (HOUSING GRANTS 705 AND
HOUSING GRANTS MATCH 706).
Item #16D3
APPROVED NON-STANDARD AGREEMENT #22-038-NS “IN-
SHELTER PET FOOD” WITH HILL’S PET NUTRITION SALES,
INC., TO SERVE AS THE EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER OF PET
FOOD PRODUCTS AND PET NUTRITION EDUCATION
SERVICES FOR DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES OF COLLIER
COUNTY AND APPROVED EXPENDITURES IN AN AMOUNT
NOT-TO-EXCEED $100,000 PER FISCAL YEAR.
February 28,2023
Page 228
Item #16D4 - Continued from the January 10, 2023, BCC Meeting.
RESOLUTION 2023-32: THE REMOVAL OF
UNCOLLECTIBLE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES IN THE
AMOUNT OF $53,747.18 FROM THE FINANCIAL RECORDS OF
THE LIBRARY DIVISION IN ACCORDANCE WITH
RESOLUTION NO. 2006-252, DETERMINE THAT
ADJUSTMENT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COUNTY,
AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE THE
ATTACHED RESOLUTION.
Item #16D5
APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN
THE FIRST AMENDMENT BETWEEN COLLIER COUNTY AND
NAMI COLLIER COUNTY, INC., FOR THE ADMINISTRATION
OF THE ERA-2 EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE GRANT
PROGRAM UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN.
(HOUSING GRANT FUND 705).
Item #16D6
APPROVED THE TERMINATION OF THE SUBRECIPIENT
AGREEMENT ON FEBRUARY 28, 2023, BETWEEN COLLIER
COUNTY AND COLLIER HEALTH SERVICES, INC., FOR THE
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE
FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES PROGRAM; AUTHORIZED
THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN ALL NECESSARY GRANT
RELATED CLOSEOUT DOCUMENTS AND AUTHORIZED THE
February 28,2023
Page 229
EXPENDITURES TO BE PAID UNDER THE COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT-CV AWARD AGREEMENT.
Item #16D7
APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN
AGREEMENTS BETWEEN COLLIER COUNTY AND THE
DAVID LAWRENCE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER, INC., IN
THE AMOUNT OF $2,072,645 AND NAMI COLLIER COUNTY,
INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $146,700 PURSUANT TO THE
STATE-MANDATED LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENT FOR
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
Item #16E1
AWARDED REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (“RFP”) #22-7994,
“FULL-SERVICE AUCTIONEER,” TO ROYAL AUCTION
GROUP, INC., AND AUTHORIZED THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN
THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT.
Item #16E2
APPROVED AN ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT ASSIGNING ALL
RIGHTS, DUTIES AND BENEFITS, AND OBLIGATIONS TO
CIVICPLUS, LLC, CONCERNING AGREEMENT #92-1913
“RECODIFICATION AGREEMENT”.
Item #16E3
APPROVED THE ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT PREPARED BY
THE PROCUREMENT SERVICES DIVISION FOR DISPOSAL
February 28,2023
Page 230
OF PROPERTY THAT IS NO LONGER VIABLE OR WAS
DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR DURING HURRICANE IAN,
AND THEIR REMOVAL FROM THE COUNTY’S CAPITAL
ASSET RECORDS.
Item #16E4
APPROVED AN AGREEMENT WITH GOLDEN PAWS
ASSISTANCE DOGS INC., TO PROVIDE TRAINED THERAPY
DOGS FOR IMMEDIATE THERAPY DOG MENTAL HEALTH
TREATMENT TO COLLIER COUNTY EMS.
Item #16E5
RECOGNIZED ACCRUED INTEREST FROM THE PERIOD
OCTOBER 1, 2022, THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2022, EARNED
BY EMS COUNTY GRANT.
Item #16F1
RENEWED A CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND
NECESSITY FOR A CLASS 2 ALS NON-EMERGENCY INTER-
FACILITY AMBULANCE TRANSPORT TO JUST LIKE FAMILY
CONCIERGE MEDICAL TRANSPORT SERVICES (D.B.A.
BREWSTER AMBULANCE SERVICE) TO ALLOW POST-
HOSPITAL INTER-FACILITY MEDICAL AMBULANCE
TRANSFER SERVICES.
Item #16F2
February 28,2023
Page 231
APPROVED A REPORT COVERING BUDGET AMENDMENTS
IMPACTING RESERVES UP TO AND INCLUDING $25,000,
AND MOVING FUNDS IN AN AMOUNT UP TO AND
INCLUDING $50,000.
Item #16F3
RESOLUTION 2023- 33: AMENDMENTS (APPROPRIATING
GRANTS, DONATIONS, CONTRIBUTIONS, OR INSURANCE
PROCEEDS) TO THE FY22-23 ADOPTED BUDGET. (THE
BUDGET AMENDMENTS IN THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION
HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VIA SEPARATE EXECUTIVE
SUMMARIES.)
Item #16F4
RENEWED THE NORTH COLLIER FIRE CONTROL AND
RESCUE DISTRICT'S CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC
CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY FOR ADVANCED LIFE
SUPPORT NON-TRANSPORT SERVICES FOR ONE YEAR AND
AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE THE PERMIT
AND CERTIFICATE.
Item #16F5 Continued from the December 10, 2022 BCC Meeting.
RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVED AN INCREASE OF
AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES THROUGH AN EXEMPTION
FROM THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO JW MARRIOTT
MARCO ISLAND FOR TOURISM PROMOTIONAL EXPENSES
UP TO $85,000 PER FISCAL YEAR FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD
February 28,2023
Page 232
AND TO MAKE A FINDING THAT THIS EXPENDITURE
PROMOTES TOURISM, AND THAT THE EXEMPTION
WAIVER IS THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COUNTY.
Item #16F6 - Continued from the December 10, 2022, BCC Meeting.
APPROVED AN INCREASE OF AUTHORIZED
EXPENDITURES THROUGH AN EXEMPTION FROM THE
COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO VISIT FLORIDA FOR
MEMBERSHIP FEES AND DESTINATION MARKETING
PROGRAMS UP TO $150,000 PER FISCAL YEAR FOR A FIVE-
YEAR PERIOD, TO ALLOW PURCHASING CARD USE WHEN
THE USE OF PURCHASE ORDER IS NOT POSSIBLE OR
PRACTICAL, TO MAKE A FINDING THAT THESE
EXPENDITURES PROMOTE TOURISM, AND THAT THE
EXEMPTION WAIVER IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE
COUNTY.
Item #16F7
APPROVED CHANGE ORDER NO. 3 AND CHANGE ORDER
NO. 4 UNDER AGREEMENT NO. 19-7650, GOLDEN GATE
GOLF COURSE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT, PROVIDING
FOR A TIME EXTENSION OF 730 DAYS AND A REALIGNING
OF TASK FUNDING WITH A ZERO-DOLLAR CHANGE AND
TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES FOR WORK
ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGE ORDERS NO. 3 & NO. 4, WHICH
WAS VERBALLY STAFF DIRECTED PRIOR TO APPROVAL
OF THOSE CHANGE ORDERS. (PROJECT NO. 80412)
Item #16G1 - Continued from the January 10, 2023, BCC Meeting.
February 28,2023
Page 233
RESOLUTION 2023- 34: REMOVAL OF UNCOLLECTIBLE
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,050.36
FROM THE FINANCIAL RECORDS OF THE AIRPORT
AUTHORITY FUND (495) IN ACCORDANCE WITH
RESOLUTION 2006-252, DETERMINE THAT THIS
ADJUSTMENT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COUNTY,
AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIR TO EXECUTE THE ATTACHED
RESOLUTION.
Item #16H1
AUTHORIZED THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN A LETTER
DESIGNATING THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA CRIME
STOPPERS, INC., A NON-PROFIT AGENCY, AS THE AGENT
FOR THE PURPOSE OF APPLYING FOR AND RECEIVING
FUNDS FROM THE. CRIME STOPPERS TRUST FUND.
Item #16J1
APPROVED THE SIGN OF A MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING (MOU) FOR THE FLORIDA 911 REGION 6
NEXT GENERATION 9-1-1 PROJECT. THIS WILL ALLOWS
FOR A FIVE-YEAR GRANT AWARD FOR REGIONAL
PROJECTS. THESE STATE GRANTS ARE AWARDED TO
ASSIST PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINTS (PSAPS) IN
UPGRADING TO NG911 CAPABILITIES.
Item #16J2
February 28,2023
Page 234
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 PERIODS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 2, 2023 AND
FEBRUARY 15, 2023 PURSUANT TO FLORIDA STATUTE
136.06.
Item #16J3
THE BOARD APPROVE AND DETERMINE VALID PUBLIC
PURPOSE FOR INVOICES PAYABLE AND PURCHASING
CARD TRANSACTIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 22, 2023.
Item #16K1
RESOLUTION 2023-35: REAPPOINTED A MEMBER TO THE
HALDEMAN CREEK DREDGING MAINTENANCE ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.
Item #16K2
RESOLUTION 2023-36: THE COLLIER COUNTY
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL
OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AUTHORITY TO
ISSUE REVENUE BONDS TO BE USED TO REFUND BONDS
PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AT
AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY.
Item #16K3
February 28,2023
Page 235
AUTHORIZED THE COUNTY ATTORNEY TO FILE A
LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF THE COLLIER COUNTY BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGAINST ELIZABETH
MCGUIRE IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE TWENTIETH
JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR COLLIER COUNTY,
FLORIDA, TO RECOVER DAMAGES INCURRED BY THE
COUNTY FOR THE REPAIR A COLLIER COUNTY TRUCK
INVOLVED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WITH
ELIZABETH MCGUIRE TOTALING $1,860.79, PLUS COSTS OF
LITIGATION.
Item #16K4
AUTHORIZED THE COUNTY ATTORNEY TO FILE A
LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF THE COLLIER COUNTY BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGAINST JULIO HERRERA
IXCHACCHAL IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE TWENTIETH
JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR COLLIER COUNTY,
FLORIDA, TO RECOVER $20,028.62 DAMAGES INCURRED
BY THE COUNTY FOR THE REPAIR OF A MEDIAN,
LANDSCAPING, LIGHT POLE, AND IRRIGATION SYSTEM
FROM A SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT INVOLVING JULIO
HERRERA IXCHACCHAL, PLUS COSTS OF LITIGATION.
Item #16K5
RESOLUTION 2023-37: REAPPOINT THREE MEMBERS TO
THE VANDERBILT WATERWAY MSTU ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.
Item #16K6
February 28,2023
Page 236
APPROVED A STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT IN THE
TOTAL AMOUNT OF $173,000 PLUS $50,150 IN STATUTORY
ATTORNEY AND EXPERTS’ FEES AND COSTS, FOR THE
TAKING OF PARCEL 112FEE REQUIRED FOR THE
VANDERBILT BEACH ROAD EXTENSION PROJECT NO.
60168.
Item #17A - Continued from the December 13, 2022, and January 24,
2023 BCC Meetings.
ORDINANCE 2023-16: ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY,
FLORIDA, AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBER 04-41, AS
AMENDED, THE COLLIER COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT
CODE, WHICH INCLUDES THE COMPREHENSIVE LAND
REGULATIONS FOR THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, TO PROVIDE THAT
COMPARABLE USE DETERMINATIONS ARE SITE SPECIFIC
AND ADD CRITERIA; BY PROVIDING FOR: SECTION ONE,
RECITALS; SECTION TWO, FINDINGS OF FACT; SECTION
THREE, ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND
DEVELOPMENT CODE, MORE SPECIFICALLY AMENDING
THE FOLLOWING: CHAPTER TWO ZONING DISTRICTS AND
USES, INCLUDING SECTION 2.03.00 ZONING DISTRICTS,
PERMITTED USES, ACCESSORY USES, AND CONDITIONAL
USES; AND CHAPTER TEN APPLICATION, REVIEW, AND
DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURES, INCLUDING SECTION
10.02.06 REQUIREMENTS FOR PERMITS, AND SECTION
10.03.06 PUBLIC NOTICE AND REQUIRED HEARINGS FOR
LAND USE PETITIONS; SECTION FOUR, CONFLICT AND
February 28,2023
Page 237
SEVERABILITY; SECTION FIVE, INCLUSION IN THE
COLLIER COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE; AND
SECTION SIX, EFFECTIVE DATE. (THIS IS A COMPANION
TO ITEM #16A10) [PL20220000207].
Item #17B
RESOLUTION 2023-38: DESIGNATING THE CLOSE-OUT OF
THE ADOPTED WALGREENS PLANNED UNIT
DEVELOPMENT (PUD) WHICH HAS FULLY COMPLETED
DEVELOPMENT PURSUANT TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT
ORDERS CONSTRUCTING UP TO THE AUTHORIZED
DENSITY AND/OR INTENSITY AND HAVE BEEN FOUND BY
COUNTY STAFF TO BE COMPLIANT WITH THEIR SPECIFIC
DEVELOPER COMMITMENTS AND TO HAVE ONLY ONE
REMAINING TRANSPORTATION COMMITMENT WHICH
WILL BE TRACKED THROUGH THE COMMITMENT
TRACKING SYSTEM. (PL20220002238)
Item #17C
RESOLUTION 2023- 39: AMENDMENTS (APPROPRIATING
CARRY FORWARD, TRANSFERS, AND SUPPLEMENTAL
REVENUE) TO THE FY22-23 ADOPTED BUDGET. (THE
BUDGET AMENDMENTS IN THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION
HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VIA SEPARATE EXECUTIVE
SUMMARIES.)
February 28,2023
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 4:26 p.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX
OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF
SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL
C /
RICK LoCASTRO, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST
CRYSTAL K. KINZEL, CLERK
PC
Attest as to Chairman's
.signature only
These minutes appr ved by the Board on 3- a,g'2,3 , as
presented or as corrected
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF FORT MYERS
COURT REPORTING BY TERRI L. LEWIS, REGISTERED
PROFESSIONAL COURT REPORTER, FPR-C, AND NOTARY
PUBLIC.
Page 238