BCC Minutes 09/12/2023September 12, 2023
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TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Naples, Florida, September 12, 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. (Via Zoom)
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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September 12, 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
September 12, 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 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.
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September 12, 2023
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.
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
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September 12, 2023
THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DIVISION.
LUNCH RECESS SCHEDULED FOR 12:00 NOON TO 1:00 P.M
1. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
A. Invocation by Pastor Tracy Boyd, Grow Church
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.)
3. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
A. EMPLOYEE
1) 20 YEAR ATTENDEES
a) 20 Years - Rebecca Leocadio - Emergency Services Division
b) 20 Years - James Price - Engineering & Project Management
Division
2) 25 YEAR ATTENDEES
a) 25 Years - Brian Bower - Water Division
b) 25 Years - Patrick Estes - Information Technology Division
3) 30 YEAR ATTENDEES
a) 30 Years - David Sirenord - Road Maintenance Division
b) 30 Years - Barry Erickson – Water Division
4) 35 YEAR ATTENDEES
a) 35 Years - Samuel Poole, Jr. - Emergency Medical Services
Division
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September 12, 2023
B. ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
C. RETIREES
D. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
4. PROCLAMATIONS
A. Proclamation designating September 22, 2023, as Falls Prevention
Awareness Day in Collier County. To be accepted by Stephanie Gomez,
Executive Director, and Sue Haviland, President & CEO of StepSmart.
B. Proclamation designating September 15, 2023, as National Hunger Action
Day. To be accepted by Allyson Richards, Board Chair, Our Daily Bread
Food Pantry.
5. PRESENTATIONS
A. Artist Of the Month
B. Recommendation to accept an update on the Paradise Coast Sports Complex
from Sports Facilities Management, LLC. (Aidrian Moses, Paradise Coast
Sports Complex General Manager) (All District)
6. PUBLIC PETITIONS
7. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE CURRENT
OR FUTURE AGENDA
8. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
9. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. This Item has been continued to a future BCC Agenda.
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. (This item
was continued from the February 28, 2023, March 28, 2023, June 27, 2023,
and August 22, 2023, Board of County Commissioners meetings) (All
District)
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September 12, 2023
10. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
A. Request to appoint two at-large environmental members to the Collier
County Planning Commission. (All District)
11. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT
A. Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid (“ITB”) No. 23-8151, “98th
Avenue North and 99th Avenue North Public Utilities Renewal,” to Douglas
N. Higgins Inc., in the amount of $17,862,085.00, authorize the Chairman to
sign the attached Agreement, authorize the necessary Budget Amendments.
(Matthew McLean, Public Utilities Engineering Division Director) (This
item is a companion to 11B) (Project Numbers 60139 and 70120) (District
2)
B. Recommendation to approve a $1,146,154.00 Purchase Order to Stantec
Consulting Services, Inc., under Professional Services Agreement Number
14-6345, for Construction, Engineering, and Inspection Services for the
Public Utility Renewal Project for 98th and 99th Avenues North. (Matthew
McLean, Public Utilities Engineering Division Director) (This item is a
companion to 11A) (District 2)
C. Recommendation to approve an Agreement for Sale and Purchase with (1)
Michael Gutierrez, (2) Robert and Bernie Sponseller, (3) Mary A. Scotti
Trust, (4) Michael Geren Revocable Trust and Trust 81972, (5) Barbara
Perona, and (6) Michael F. Weir, Trustee, under the Celine Weir Declaration
of Trust Dated August 25, 1995 (Weir Trust) under the Conservation Collier
Land Acquisition Program, at a cost not to exceed $516,550. (Jaime Cook,
Development Review Division Director) (District 5)
12. COUNTY ATTORNEY'S REPORT
13. OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS
14. AIRPORT AUTHORITY AND/OR COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY
A. AIRPORT
B. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
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September 12, 2023
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
1) ROCK CRUSHING UPDATE
2) VERIZON WIRELESS UPDATE
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) This Item requires that ex-parte disclosure be provided by
Commission members. Should a hearing be held on this item, all
participants are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to
approve for recording the final plat of Seven Shores – Phase II
(Application Number PL20230002609), approval of the standard form
Construction and Maintenance Agreement, and approval of the
performance security in the amount of $1,663,044.90. (District 1)
2) This Item requires that Commission members provide ex-parte
disclosure. Should a hearing be held on this item, all participants
are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to approve for
recording the final plat of Maple Ridge at Ave Maria Phase 8
(Application Number PL20220000232), approval of the standard form
Construction and Maintenance Agreement, and approval of the
performance security in the amount of $4,428,612.16. (District 5)
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September 12, 2023
3) This Item requires that Commission members provide ex-parte
disclosure. Should a hearing be held on this item, all participants
are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to approve for
recording the final plat of Maple Lane Home (Application Number
PL20230000303), approval of the standard form Construction and
Maintenance Agreement, and approval of the performance security in
the amount of $444,062.98. (District 1)
4) This Item requires that Commission members provide ex-parte
disclosure. Should a hearing be held on this item, all participants
are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to approve for
recording the final plat of Esplanade by the Islands - Phase 3I
(Application Number PL20230000754), approval of the standard form
Construction and Maintenance Agreement, and approval of the
performance security for $369,681.04. (District 1)
5) This Item requires that Commission members provide ex-parte
disclosure. Should a hearing be held on this item, all participants
are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to approve for
recording the amended final plat of Randall at Orangetree - Phase 2
(Application Number PL20230002794), approval of the standard form
Construction and Maintenance Agreement, and approval of the
performance security for $195,959.08. (District 5)
6) This Item requires that Commission members provide ex-parte
disclosure. Should a hearing be held on this item, all participants
are required to be sworn in. Recommendation to approve for
recording the final plat of Terreno at Valencia Golf and Country Club
- Phase 2 (Application Number PL20220003949), approval of the
standard form Construction and Maintenance Agreement, and
approval of the performance security in the amount of $3,605,340.16.
(District 5)
7) Recommendation to approve final acceptance of the potable water and
sewer facilities, and accept the conveyance of the potable water and
sewer facilities and appurtenant utility easement for One Naples
R.O.W. Improvements and Utility Relocation, PL20220002615.
(District 2)
8) Recommendation to approve a Resolution for final acceptance of the
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September 12, 2023
private roadway and drainage improvements, and acceptance of the
plat dedications (including fee simple ownership of Tract R1), for the
final plat of Vanderbilt Reserve, Application Number
PL20180000356, and authorize the release of the maintenance
security in the amount of $344,510.02. (District 3)
9) Recommendation to authorize the Clerk of Courts to release a
Performance Bond in the amount of $144,735.60 which was posted as
a guaranty for Excavation Permit Number PL20210000486 for work
associated with Maple Ridge at Ave Maria 7A. (District 5)
10) Recommendation to authorize the Clerk of Courts to release a
Performance Bond of $25,000, which was posted as a guarantee for
Excavation Permit Number PL20220005092 for work associated with
Fairgrove Coach Homes. (District 2)
11) Recommendation to authorize the Clerk of Courts to release a
Performance Bond in the amount of $323,500, which was posted as a
development guaranty for an Early Work Authorization (EWA) for
work associated with Hacienda North – Phase 1, PL20220001518.
(District 1)
B. TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to award Request for Professional Services No. 23-
8057, “Design Services for Goodlette-Frank Road/Naples Zoo
Stormwater Outfall,” to WGI, Inc., in the total amount of
$2,595,040.40, authorize the Chairman to sign the attached
Agreement, and approve the necessary Budget Amendments. (Project
No. 60102) (District 4)
2) Recommendation to approve a Resolution supporting the County’s
applications to Florida Department of Environmental Protection for
Long Range Budget Plan Requests for Beach Renourishment Projects
for Fiscal Year 2024/2025 and make a finding that these projects
promote tourism. This action maintains the County's eligibility for
State Cost Share Funding for future renourishment projects. (All
Districts)
3) Recommendation to recognize and appropriate revenue to Stormwater
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September 12, 2023
Capital Improvement Fund (3050), Project Number 60266, in the
amount of $528,431.35 and authorize the necessary Budget
Amendment. (All Districts)
4) Recommendation to award Request for Professional Services (“RPS”)
No. 22-8054, “CEI Continuing Services Agreement for Transportation
Engineering,” to Johnson Engineering, Inc., HighSpans Engineering,
Inc., Hardesty and Hanover Construction Services, LLC, and Atkins
North America, Inc., and authorize the Chairman to sign the attached
agreements. (All Districts)
5) Recommendation to approve a Local Match Agreement with the
Collier Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to provide
matching funds for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Safety
Action Plan Grant. (All Districts)
6) Recommendation to approve a Budget Amendment in the amount of
$44,723.52 to recognize revenues received from traffic accident
reimbursements from Insurance Companies in Landscape Project
Fund (1012). (All Districts)
7) Recommendation to approve the fifth amendment to the cooperative
agreement with the South Florida Water Management District,
Agreement No. C-11759, regarding operation and maintenance of
designated primary watercourses in Collier County, to extend the
termination date of the original agreement and to address the design,
construction and maintenance of new structures on the Palm River and
the Gordon River to replace existing structures; and remove two
structures and a canal related to the Picayune Strand Restoration
Project. (All Districts)
C. PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
1) Recommendation to award Construction Invitation to Bid (“ITB”) No.
23-8112, “Western Interconnect Force Main Phase 7” to Accurate
Drilling Systems, Inc., in the amount of $1,983,346.20 and authorize
the Chairman to sign the attached Agreement. (Project Number
72009) (District 2)
D. PUBLIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT
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September 12, 2023
1) Recommendation to approve an after-the-fact payment in the total
amount of $19,250 to Benevate, Inc., d/b/a Neighborly Software for a
grant management software implementation, administration, hosting
services, and five subscription licenses through October 31, 2023, for
the Hurricane Ian Insurance Deductible program and online
application portal supporting the State Housing Initiative Partnership
Disaster Assistance grant award that was not properly processed as an
Amendment to Agreement No. 19-002-WV as required by the
Procurement Ordinance. (All Districts)
2) Recommendation to approve an after-the-fact First Amendment with
the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida, Inc., for the Older
American Act grant program to increase the contract amount by
$1,098,000 and supporting documentation with revision to the
Funding Summary (Attachment II), Budget Summary (Attachment
IX), and supporting Budget Amendments. (Human Service Grant
Fund 1837) (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chairman to sign a
Landlord Payment Agreement between Collier County and Mindi
4109 LLC, allowing the Community and Human Services Division
(CHS) to administer the Rapid Re-Housing and Homelessness
Prevention Program through the Emergency Solutions and Rapid
Unsheltered Survivor Housing Grants Program. (Housing Grant Fund
1835 and Housing Match Fund 1836) (All Districts)
4) Recommendation to authorize the after-the-fact payment of $28,203
in expenditures for grant support services for Hurricane Ian under
Agreement #17-7116 that were initiated under Purchase Order
#4500222434 to Tetra Tech, Inc., without issuing a formal Notice to
Proceed but were necessary to provide critical consulting services in
the disaster recovery grant funding efforts of the County. (All
Districts)
5) Recommendation to approve State Housing Initiatives Partnership
(SHIP) Annual Reports and Local Housing Incentive Certification for
closeout Fiscal Year 2019/2020 and interim Fiscal Years 2020/2021
and 2021/2022, and authorize the electronic submission to Florida
Housing Finance Corporation to ensure compliance with program
requirements. (SHIP Grant Fund 1053) (All Districts)
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September 12, 2023
E. CORPORATE BUSINESS OPERATIONS
1) Recommendation to award Invitation to Bid (“ITB”) No.23-8127,
Automotive Preventative Maintenance Services, to Sunshine Lubes,
LLC, d/b/a Valvoline Instant Oil Change and approve and authorize
the Chairman to sign the attached Fixed Term Service Agreement.
(All Districts)
2) Recommendation to approve the purchase of Aircraft and Airport
Insurance for FY 2024 from the Chubb/ACE Property & Casualty
Insurance Company in the annual amount of $252,406. (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to approve the purchase of Flood Insurance for
Fiscal Year 2024 in the estimated amount of $594,637. (All Districts)
4) Recommendation to approve the purchase of Excess Workers’
Compensation Insurance for FY 2024 with Arch Insurance Company
in the estimated annual amount of $244,428. (All Districts)
5) Recommendation to approve the purchase of Liability, Automobile,
Cyber and other miscellaneous insurance coverage for FY 2024 in the
estimated premium of $1,214,130.01. (All Districts)
6) Recommendation to approve a First Amendment to Agreement No.
15-6505 between Equifax Workforce Solutions, LLC, and Collier
County for Affordable Care Act Data Reporting, to include a new
employment verification service product and authorize a three-year
contract extension. (All Districts)
7) Recommendation to authorize the County Manager or designee to
sign agreements and make purchases associated with the procurement
of goods or services from vendors who have been awarded a contract,
as a result of a competitive selection process, by a federal, state, or
municipal government, or any other governmental agency, political
subdivision, or government-related association provided that the
originating entity utilized a competitive process similar to Collier
County’s. In addition to the agencies and political subdivisions
identified above, the County Manager or designee is authorized to
utilize cooperative agreements available from OMNIA Partners,
NASPO ValuePoint, HGACBuy, and Sourcewell for efficient
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September 12, 2023
purchasing with no further action by the Board if the operating
divisions have budgeted for the goods and/or services (All Districts)
8) Recommendation to approve Comcast Master Service Agreement No.
23-018-NS - Ethernet Dedicated Internet Service and Off-Net
Dedicated Internet Access, governing the future acquisition of
Comcast Ethernet and Fiber with projected annual costs anticipated to
exceed $50,000 per year, and to authorize the Chairman to sign the
attached agreement. (All Districts)
F. COUNTY MANAGER OPERATIONS
1) Recommendation to authorize a budget amendment in the amount of
$7,965,000 from the Infrastructure Sales Tax Reserve Fund (3018) to
fund the Career and Technical Training Center (Project No. 50287)
and approve the lease agreement with Collier County Public Schools.
(District 3)
2) Recommendation to renew the Greater Naples 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)
3) Recommendation to adopt a Resolution approving amendment
(appropriating grants, donations, contributions, or insurance proceeds)
to the Fiscal Year 2022-23 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 authorize a budget amendment in the amount of
$800,000 to allocate funding from the Hussey project (50205) to the
Camp Keais project (50224) to support master planning and zoning
efforts for the Camp Keais property. (District 3, District 5)
5) Recommendation to adopt a resolution authorizing the removal of
7,779 ambulance service accounts and their respective uncollectible
accounts receivable balances which total $5,220,427.30, from the
accounts receivable of Collier County Fund 4050000000 (Emergency
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Medical Services) finding diligent efforts to collect have been
exhausted and proved unsuccessful. (All Districts)
6) Recommendation to authorize budget amendments appropriating
approximately $1,711,039,732 of unspent FY 2023 capital project and
grant budgets into fiscal year 2024. (All Districts)
7) Recommendation to authorize staff to notify the Florida Department
of Revenue of its intent to terminate the collection of the Local Option
Infrastructure One-cent Sales Surtax as required by Florida Statute
Sec. 212.054(7), to ensure that Surtax collections will not continue
past December 31, 2023, and direct the County Attorney to advertise
an Ordinance repealing Ordinances No. 2018-21 and 2019-46, which
imposed a County-wide Infrastructure Surtax and established the
Infrastructure Surtax Citizen Oversight Committee with the exception
that the Infrastructure Surtax Citizen Oversight Committee shall
continue in the manner set forth in the Ordinance or until the Board
deems otherwise. (All Districts)
8) Recommendation to approve a Resolution repealing and superseding
Resolution 2013-63, providing for an updated distribution of the Five
Cents and Six Cents Local Option Fuel Taxes between the County, the
City of Naples, the City of Marco Island, and Everglades City, and to
authorize submittal of the Resolution and findings to the Florida
Department of Revenue for implementation. (All Districts)
9) Recommendation to approve a Sixth Amendment to Facilities
Management Agreement No. 21-7898 with Sports Facilities
Management, LLC to amend the budget to reflect the increased cost of
goods from $889,365 to $994,365, increased revenues from
$1,922,474 to $2,053,349, and the reallocation of $62,600 from
operating expense to management payroll; authorize the Chairman to
sign the amendment, and authorize all necessary budget amendments.
(All Districts)
G. AIRPORT AUTHORITY
H. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
I. MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE
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September 12, 2023
J. OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS
1) Recommendation to approve the request by the Collier County Tax
Collector and the Collier County Property Appraiser that the Board of
County Commissioners direct the County Attorney to send a “Cease
and Desist” letter to Florida PACE Funding Agency for operating in
Collier County in conflict with Board policy. (All Districts)
2) Report to the Board regarding the investment of County funds as of
the quarter ended June 30, 2023. (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to authorize execution of a budget amendment for
$500,000 to reimburse eligible expenses incurred in FY 2023. (Fund
1067) (All Districts)
4) 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 August 10, 2023, and August 30, 2023, pursuant to
Florida Statute 136.06. (All Districts)
5) Request that the Board approve and determine valid public purpose
for invoices payable and purchasing card transactions as of September
6, 2023. (All Districts)
K. COUNTY ATTORNEY
1) Recommendation to reappoint two members to the
Historic/Archaeological Preservation Board. (All Districts)
2) Recommendation to confirm the reappointment of the District School
Board representative to the Planning Commission. (All Districts)
3) Recommendation to approve and provide informed, written consent
waiving any conflict that the Board may have with the law firm
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. (“Baker
Donelson”), under its Retention Agreement with Baker Donelson to
provide specialized FEMA services, regarding Baker Donelson
providing unrelated representation to CitySwitch, LLC in connection
with that entity’s efforts to seek proposed zoning and construction of a
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September 12, 2023
wireless facility to be located in Collier County. (All Districts)
4) Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chair to execute a
settlement agreement in the lawsuit styled Collier County Board of
County Commissioners v. Roy Garcia, Case No. 23-SC-1135, now
pending in the County Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and
for Collier County, Florida, for the sum of $6,114.51. (All Districts)
L. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
1) Recommendation that the Board of County Commissioners (BCC),
acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), authorize
four members of the Bayshore/Gateway Triangle Local
Redevelopment Advisory Board and four members of the Immokalee
Local Redevelopment Advisory Board to attend the Florida
Redevelopment Association 2023 Annual Conference; authorize
payment of the associated registration, lodging, travel and per diem
costs from the CRA Trust Funds (Funds 1020/1025); and declare the
training received by the Board members as serving a valid public
purpose. (District 4, District 5)
2) Recommendation that the Board of County Commissioners and also
the Board of County Commissioners acting in its capacity as the
Community Redevelopment Agency Board (CRA) find good cause,
and approve the expenditure of CRA funds on the portion of the
Bayshore Drive/Sugden Regional Park Boardwalk Project located
outside of the boundaries of the Bayshore Gateway Triangle
Community Redevelopment Area, and find that the expenditure is
consistent with the goals of the Community Redevelopment Plan.
(District 4)
3) Recommendation that the Board of County Commissioners, acting as
the Community Redevelopment Agency, authorize necessary budget
amendments to recognize carryforward in Bayshore CRA Fund (1020)
and Immokalee CRA Fund (1025), transfer those moneys along with
reserve balances into Bayshore CRA Capital Fund (1021) and
Immokalee CRA Capital Fund (1026), and appropriate those funds
into specific projects pursuant to the Community Redevelopment
Plan. (District 4, District 5)
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September 12, 2023
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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. Recommendation to adopt an Ordinance adding a member of the Affordable
Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) to the Development Services
Advisory Committee (DSAC) as a non-voting member. (All Districts)
B. This Item requires that Commission members provide ex-parte
disclosure. Should a hearing be held on this item, all participants are
required to be sworn in. Recommendation to adopt a resolution amending
Resolution Number 2023-119, which expanded the boundary of the Town of
Ave Maria Stewardship Receiving Area to correct a scrivener’s error on
page one of the Executive Summary adopted as part of the Town Plan; and
providing for an effective date. The subject property consisting of 5,928
acres is located north of Oil Well Road and west of Camp Keais Road in
Sections 31 through 33, Township 47 South, Range 29 East, and Sections 4
through 9 and 16 through 18, Township 48 South, Range 29 East in Collier
County, Florida. [PL202300012619] (District 5)
C. Recommendation to adopt resolutions approving the preliminary assessment
rolls as the final assessment rolls, and adopting same as the non-ad valorem
assessment rolls for the purpose of utilizing the uniform method of
collection pursuant to Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes, for Solid Waste
Municipal Service Benefit Units, Service District No. I and Service District
No. II, Special Assessment levied against certain residential properties
within the unincorporated area of Collier County, the City of Marco Island,
and the City of Everglades City, pursuant to Collier County Ordinance 2005-
54, as amended. Revenues are anticipated to be $34,228,000. (All Districts)
D. Recommendation to approve by Resolution a settlement of the appeal of
Page 17
September 12, 2023
HEX Decision 2023-08 resulting in the approval of a boat dock extension of
35-feet over the maximum protrusion of 20-feet allowed by the Land
Development Code for a total protrusion of 55-feet into a 338± foot wide
waterway for property located at 167 Sunset Cay Naples, FL 34114 in the
Port of the Islands [PL20230006867]. (District 1)
18. ADJOURN
INQUIRIES CONCERNING CHANGES TO THE BOARD’S AGENDA SHOULD
BE MADE TO THE COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE AT 252-8383.
September 12, 2023
Page 2
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Good morning, everybody.
AUDIENCE: Good morning.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Good morning, everybody. We're
going to do something a little bit different this morning. I'd like all
of our Collier County sheriffs to come forward. Yes, sir. You, sir,
yep. Over here, up in the front. All of our first responders, if you
are or were ever a first responder, fire, EMS, nurse, doctor, come
forward. I see some of them in the back. Retired, even retired,
come forward.
If you're a veteran, you wore the uniform and you were
discharge honorably, okay, come forward. All veterans, come on.
Everybody come forward, okay.
Come on. Some of you back there with the short hair, you look
like you could have been in the Marine Corps. All right. Just
checking. Just checking. Come forward. Here. Gather around
here.
Okay. Yesterday was 9/11, and we didn't -- you know, a lot of
us didn't get a chance to honor that day. A lot of us were in this
building doing the people's work, our work, county work. There
were a few events around town.
But I wanted to take this time to just talk a little bit about 9/11.
So I'm from New York City, but I moved to St. Pete with my parents
when I was a kid. But I remember going to the World Trade Center
in that area, and a lot of you have been there as well.
On that day, a lot of -- a lot of innocent citizens were in the
wrong place at the wrong time, and that's what terrorism does; it
attacks isn't people who have nothing to do with anything, but they
just want to live their lives. But also there were a lot of casualties
that these men and women up here represent who ran into burning
buildings trying to save people, who took an oath and swore to
protect and defend and serve.
September 12, 2023
Page 3
And so people died for different reasons, but depending on the
stats that you look at -- I think that most of you know I'm retired Air
Force colonel, and I saw a couple of things. But 2,996 people died
on 9/11, and so there's ceremonies all over the world, right, honoring
those 2,996, '97, depends what you see. Maybe it was a little bit
more.
But a lot of people forget since 9/11 16,000 people have died,
soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, first responders. First responders
who died who made it out of the building but, you know, had
respiratory issues and all kinds of horrific things. Suicides from
9/11.
So, you know, yesterday -- I don't take anything away from the
ceremony. We honor 9/11, but I really wanted to take this time to
say 9/11's not over; you know, it's not over. I know some people
that are still struggling with things.
These men and women up here probably know some people that
are struggling with things, and I guarantee if a plane smashed into a
building here in Collier County today, God forbid, these would be the
men and women that will run into those burning buildings, right?
So when we have our prayer today, and maybe -- and I have no
idea what's written in the prayer, so -- who's our -- who's our -- so
you might have to make this -- oh, you're five star. You make it up
on the fly, right? Well, add in a little 9/11 spice.
But as a veteran, I can tell you, having gone to so many 9/11
ceremonies, not taking anything away from them, sometimes my
mind wanders a little bit to the day after 9/11, a year after 9/11, two
years after 9/11. You know, I have some dust on my boots from
some countries you don't want to go to, and bad things happened in
those countries to fight terrorism that were well after 9/11.
And I've knocked on doors of families who lost loved ones that
were fighting terrorism well after 9/11. It's one of those tragedies
September 12, 2023
Page 4
that, unfortunately, you know, keeps on giving, but it's not a single
day -- you know, it's been 23 years, right, since 9/11, and we still
have casualties. We still have -- 22 -- still have casualties from 9/11.
So I just wanted to start off this morning a little bit different by
having our Collier County heroes up here, and anybody that's also a
veteran who has served, because even if you served before 9/11, a
plane could have crashed into a building then, and a lot of terrorism
type things happened before 9/11 and happened after that created a
lot of casualties.
So it was very tragic that 3,000 people, you know, passed, but
we lost thousands and continue to lose thousands.
And, you know, just personally, having spent a little bit of time
in Afghanistan and then seeing our horrific exit -- and I don't say that
to make any kind of political statement, but just knowing the men and
women who sacrificed their lives trying to bring, you know, freedom
and democracy and peace to an area of the world and have it maybe
not end the way that we thought -- I mean, when I was there, I could
have never expected it would have ended that way, but a lot of people
died well after 9/11 because of 9/11.
And so when we say the Pledge of Allegiance, when we say the
prayer, maybe it's 9/12 -- and, you know, there's a lot of stuff floating
around social media. I even posted something. You know, one of
the things that always sort of surprises me but disappoints me -- and
let me know if you sort of feel the same way -- remember the day the
first space shuttle blew up? Tragic, right? Flags everywhere, right?
Everybody loved NASA. Every school was renamed after an
astronaut.
What happened a week later? A month later? A year later,
you know? And we can't let that happen with 9/11. That's starting
to happen now with Pearl Harbor because so many of the Pearl
Harbor survivors are long gone. So Pearl Harbor's, like, something
September 12, 2023
Page 5
in the history books that isn't even known by a lot of people. They
think of Pearl Harbor, the first thing they think of is Hawaii, not the
war and death and Arizona and all those things.
So even though today's 9/12, I think we live 9/11 every day, and
we have heroes walking among us every day.
And, like I said, in New York and at the Pentagon and in all
places in between, when bad people did bad things to good people,
these are the folks that stood in defense of us, of our nation, and I
think they deserve our gratitude, our respect, our admiration, and our
prayers.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So we always open up with a
prayer, and then when we say the Pledge of Allegiance,
everybody -- I don't think anybody takes a knee in here, right? If not
[sic], you have to report to us, okay. We stand for the Pledge of
Allegiance, okay. It's a free country, but, you know, it's like, please
stand.
But having said that, I think we start with an opening prayer and
then the Pledge. And I'd like you-all to stay here, if you would.
Item #1A
INVOCATION BY PASTOR TRACY BOYD, GROW CHURCH –
INVOCATION GIVEN
PASTOR BOYD: I first want to pray a blessing over all of you
and that God's peace would rest on you.
Father, in the name of Jesus, they have laid their lives down for
this country, for people. And so, Father, today just praying a
blessing over each one in Jesus' name; that they be blessed with your
kind of peace that passes all understanding; that they would be
September 12, 2023
Page 6
blessed with your kind of joy, that it would fill their soul, God.
And I thank you, Father. You placed in them this desire to
protect. You did that, and I thank you, Father God, for that gift on
them and for your protection, your healing, even if they have any
effects of what's happened, Father, that you would heal them today.
Touch their hearts in a special way. Bless their families, Father,
even extended family members, for all that they're doing in serving
this country.
Oh, Father, we give you praise in Jesus' name. And, Father, as
we open up this meeting today, I'm so grateful, Father, that this Board
of County Commissioners wants you involved. They want you here.
That's why they invite one to pray.
And, Father, I thank you that even that powerful prayer that the
Apostle Paul prayed concerning wisdom and revelation, which this
board needs to make the decisions for this county, Father, praying
that similar prayer that each one of these county commissioners, all
of the decision-makers would be filled with the spirit of wisdom and
revelation through the knowledge of you, Jesus; that special insight,
that special wisdom that can only come by you, Holy Spirit; that
disclosure of truth, that which is hidden that is now revealed, what
happened even today in all of their decisions and all of their
meetings, Father; that your kingdom come, your will would be done
today, every decision made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We welcome you, Holy Spirit, to rein today in all of these decisions.
In Jesus' name, amen.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Chair, could we pray for Bill and
his family as well?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Absolutely.
Commissioner Bill McDaniel's dialing in. He's dealing with a
family emergency right now. So if you would just -- maybe we take
a moment of silence. Commissioner Hall, if you would like to say,
September 12, 2023
Page 7
sir.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I'll pray for him.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: On behalf.
COMMISSIONER HALL: We thank you, Lord, for
Bill -- Commissioner McDaniel right now, Lord, and his family.
You know what the problem is, and we know that you are the healer,
you are the comforter, and we just pray a blessing and an
empowerment to prosper over him and his family right now. In
Jesus' name, amen.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Bill, we love you.
Where's Chief Butcher? You lead us in the Pledge, Ma'am.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Class dismissed. We'll
take our first break.
The business of the people doesn't go away even during times of
sorrow and tragedy, but we press forward. It makes you sort of think
sometimes that things that we're talking about today, which are
extremely important, sometimes when you compare it to across the
span of life and world events -- still important, but, you know,
sometimes trumped by other things that are, you know, maybe a little
bit more in God's plan or things that will stand the test of time
sometimes in a bad way. But we'll get through what we've got to do
today.
Okay. County Manager, boom. Let's get started.
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, agenda changes for the
Board of County Commissioners meeting September 12th, 2023.
We do have one add-on item. This is 11D. This is a
recommendation to discuss and consider options for potential budget
and millage reductions. This comes as direction from the Board's
budget hearing on last Thursday.
September 12, 2023
Page 8
We do have court reporter breaks scheduled for 10:30 and 2:50.
MOTION ALLOWING COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL TO JOIN
MEETING VIA ZOOM BY COMMISSIONER HALL; SECONDED
BY COMMISSIONER KOWAL – APPROVED
And if we can entertain a motion to allow Commissioner
McDaniel to participate by phone as he is available.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So moved.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Second.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I've got a motion by
Commissioner Hall and seconded by both Commissioner Kowal and
Commissioner Saunders. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: (No verbal response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right. Approved.
MS. PATTERSON: Thank you.
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
SEE REVERSE SIDE
Proposed Agenda Changes
Board of County Commissioners Meeting
September 12, 2023
Add-on Item 11D: *** Add‐on Item. *** Recommendation to discuss and consider options for potential budget
and millage reductions. (Board’s request from Budget Hearing)
Notes:
TIME CERTAIN ITEMS:
10/13/2023 4:03 PM
September 12, 2023
Page 9
MCDANIEL; SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HALL –
APPROVED
That brings us to the approval of today's regular, consent, and
summary agenda as amended. I'd look to the County Attorney to see
if he has any further changes besides those listed on the change sheet.
MR. KLATZKOW: Thank you, but no.
MS. PATTERSON: Okay. Commissioners, ex parte on the
summary and consent before we get approval of the agenda for today.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: No changes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- consent and summary.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: No disclosure for consent or
summary.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have no disclosure and no
changes to the agenda.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: None at all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner McDaniel,
do you have any disclosures or changes, sir?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I have no -- good morning,
everybody, by the way.
And, Chairman, that was a wonderful -- a wonderful
presentation this morning in remembrance and, Commissioner Hall,
thank you for the prayer, and keep my mum in your prayers as well.
I do have a question. I think it's on Agenda F1. There's an
agreement in there for an appropriation for the technical training
school over on that building that was donated to the County for -- for
this facility. I just -- I want to ensure that before -- and, again, I
apologize for my tardiness, but I just want to ensure that the easement
September 12, 2023
Page 10
agreement between the property owner who owns the land to the west
of that building and the land that the County already owns, that that
easement agreement has been effectuated so we have direct access
back and forth from our property to theirs.
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, Mr. Barone is going to
come up to address that.
MR. BARONE: Good morning, Commissioners. Tony
Barone, principal project manager, Facilities Management. Thank
you for the opportunity to explain.
As part of our project, we are -- we have open negotiations with
the adjacent landowner, the adjacent developer that is planning a
development there, as you folks are aware.
We currently have access to that property, but we have an
interest in improving the property around that building to support the
parking needs and the educational needs of that facility, and so we do
have ongoing negotiations with them and current access to the
facility, but we seek to enhance that as part of an overall agreement
with that developer that will handle parking and any easements that
are appropriate.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just a quick question. When that property was deeded to the
county, that was actually a gift to the County.
MR. BARONE: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: A friend of mine actually
donated that property, and along with it the right to use 200 parking
spaces. There was a court order to permit that. What's the status of
that? Has anybody contested that? Are we in good shape on at
least having the needed parking?
MR. BARONE: That is correct, Commissioner. That existing
agreement is in place and carries with the property. So we currently
September 12, 2023
Page 11
have access to all the parking that we need for the facility and access
around that building in accordance with that agreement. Nobody has
contested that agreement.
But as part of our interest in supporting this facility and the
unique parking needs of a school that would be operating during
daytime hours and some of the improvements that the school district
would like to have on the outside of the building, we have -- we seek
to enhance that and, you know, have a new iteration of that
agreement with that developer.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I met with the superintendent
of the schools a couple weeks ago and their finance folks, and they
had indicated that there might be some fluctuation in that dollar
amount that's needed. Has that -- I assume that's been resolved since
this item is set for a dollar amount, or are we likely to need to
supplement that at some point?
MR. BARONE: Currently, sir, we have a fairly conservative
budget built in the -- just shy of $8 million budget that we have set up
for this project, we feel, is a fairly conservative budget. It handles
the construction, the design, some of the access improvements that
we would likely need to make as well as a potential property
purchase around the building if that is something that's required as
part of that arrangement.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And just so everybody
knows, I think that -- obviously we all know here, but we had a line
item in the sales tax surtax for this facility so that our high school
kids would have an opportunity to learn a trade as opposed to -- if
they weren't going to college, that sort of thing, a very important
project. But we had $15 million in that line item. So if there's need
for a little tweaking there going forward, there should be money
available for that.
MR. BARONE: Absolutely, Commissioner.
September 12, 2023
Page 12
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel, could
you hear all of that, and do you have any follow-up questions, sir?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Oh, yeah. Yes, sir. Forgive
me. And just so you know, Troy, if you're watching, if you can see
the Zoom screen, when I want to say something, I'll raise my hand.
MR. MILLER: Yeah, I saw that, Commissioner, and I am
doing that and then alerting the Chair on his push-to-talk system.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. If you would -- if you
would warn him that I'm looking to speak, that's how I'll -- so I
don't -- because I don't know -- I know there's a lag. I'm on the
interweb up here in Nowhere, Pennsylvania.
So I just want to make it very, very clear: I'm certainly not in
opposition to this project, but what I just heard from Mr. Barone was
we're in ongoing negotiations with the property owner that currently
owns the property.
There is -- and, Commissioner Saunders, I'm not sure if you've
actually looked at the ownership interests here, but there is a sliver of
land to the west that we do not own, and without an effective
cross-easement arrangement with that property owner, we could be
excluded to only accessing this property in and out of its bounds on
Golden Gate Parkway and not to and fro from the land that the
County owns to the west.
I heard Mr. Barone say we have ongoing negotiations, but
they're not consummated. I heard Mr. Barone say that there may be
potential property acquisitions that need to be effectuated. So I
highly recommend that we ascertain those easement and rights of
access prior to expending any funds on fixing this facility.
And, again, I'm not stomping my feet. I just -- if you look at
the aerial photo, there's a -- I call it a sliver of land, Commissioner
Saunders. It might be 50 feet that's to the west of the building that
September 12, 2023
Page 13
was donated by your friend. But if we don't have that access
agreement, it can be very precarious for us for the utilization of this
piece of property. It still wouldn't necessarily preclude its use, but it
would certainly limit its use and access purposes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Barone, currently there's
access to that property from Golden Gate Parkway, so --
MR. BARONE: That is correct, Commissioner.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- I'm assuming -- I'm
assuming worst case is that that would be the access point,
if -- worst-case scenario there's access to the building and access to
the parking. I think Commissioner McDaniel's correct that we
would want to have access to the other parcels that we own. But if
that doesn't happen, that doesn't stop this project.
So I don't know if Commissioner McDaniel is suggesting that
we not approve this today. I would object to that, because I think
this is a priority. The school district would like to be under
construction by the first of the year and open by the early fall. And
so any delay in this appropriation would set that time frame back.
And I don't think Commissioner McDaniel's suggesting that. So
that's kind of a question for Commissioner McDaniel.
But we still have access and use of the building no matter what.
Worst-case scenario, this project goes forward?
MR. BARONE: That is correct. The existing agreement
provides us access and parking. So, again, worst case, if that didn't
change for some reason, we still have a facility, we still have a usable
facility, and we still have all the parking and access that we need.
But we do have an interest in upgrading that agreement to identify
some of the things that the school district has interest in.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And the new owner of that
easement or that area that we're talking about, is that part of the hotel
property?
September 12, 2023
Page 14
MR. BARONE: (Nods head.)
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So we have a developer
that's purchasing the hotel, hopefully closing by December. That
property owner is going to be looking to us -- or that new property
owner is going to be looking to us for a lot of cooperation. And I've
met with him; we've all met with him. There will be no problem that
I could see in getting access because it will be to everybody's mutual
benefit.
So, Commissioner McDaniel, I'm assuming you don't have any
problem going forward with this today under those circumstances.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And you are correct,
Commissioner Saunders. When I read the agenda item, I just
was -- I was going to propose that we defer it for two weeks just to
make sure that we could -- we could lock in that cross-access
easement, but I also -- as I've already said, I'm very aware that we do
have access. We can use the facility. Even if the current
developers -- as you've said, we've already met with -- aren't
successful in closing on the property, we're going to be left to our
own devices, but we can still use this piece of property.
I was just suggesting that we defer this item for two weeks, but I
didn't know also -- and thank you for sharing. I didn't know that the
school district had issues or wants to get consummated with
construction so they could open it up in the first part of the year.
So I'm okay with the -- with the item. I just wanted it brought
up for discussion because, again, when I was -- when I was listening
to Mr. Barone, I heard ongoing negotiations about the easement. I
heard ongoing negotiations about additional property acquisitions and
other things that would really have -- potentially cause us issues in
our decision-making process in the future.
But I'm okay with going forward. I just -- again, I wanted it
brought forward that, you know, I saw that there and that there was
September 12, 2023
Page 15
not, in the documentation that I saw, a current cross-access
agreement. I concur with you that those developers probably will
work just fine with us as far as mutual use and access and ingress and
egress, but I just -- I just didn't want us to get over the hump and then
have to look back and go, dang, we should have set that aside and got
that easement in place, so...
So to that end, I'll make a motion for approval of all of the
consent agendas, if it hasn't already been done.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I have no changes or any
disclosures for the consent or summary agenda. I just wanted to get
that in there, so...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Oh, I'm sorry, Commissioner.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Having said that, so we have a
motion to approve the consent and summary agenda. Do I have a
second?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We have a second from
Commissioner Hall. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Next?
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, that brings us to Item 3,
awards and recognitions.
September 12, 2023
Page 16
Item #3A1
20 YEARS ATTENDEES - REBECCA LEOCADIO, EMERGENCY
SERVICES DIVISION AND JAMES PRICE, ENGINEERING AND
PROJECT MANAGEMENT DIVISION – PRESENTED
Item 3A1, 20-year attendees. First we have Rebecca Leocadio,
Emergency Medical Services Division, 20 years. Congratulations.
(Applause.)
MS. PATTERSON: James Price, Engineering and Project
Management Division, 20 years. Congratulations.
(Applause.)
Item #3A2
25 YEARS ATTENDEES - BRIAN BOWER - WATER DIVISION –
PRESENTED AND PATRICK ESTES – INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY DIVISION – PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 3A2, 25-year attendees. First Brian
Bower, Water Division, 25 years. Congratulations.
(Applause.)
MS. PATTERSON: Patrick Estes, Information Technology
Division, 25 years.
(Applause.)
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Congratulations.
MR. ESTES: Thanks, Commissioner.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Congratulations.
MR. ESTES: Thank you very much. Thank you.
(Applause.)
September 12, 2023
Page 17
Item #3A3
30-YEAR ATTENDEES - DAVID SIRENORD - ROAD
MAINTENANCE DIVISION AND BARRY ERICKSON – WATER
DIVISION – PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 3A3, 30-year attendees, David
Sirenord, Road Maintenance Division, 30 years.
(Applause.)
MS. PATTERSON: Barry Erickson, Water Division, 30 years.
(Applause.)
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Do you want your reward?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: There's a Rolex watch in here.
MR. ERICKSON: Not paying attention.
MS. PATTERSON: Congratulations.
(Applause.)
Item #3A4
35 YEARS ATTENDEE- SAMUEL POOLE, JR. - EMERGENCY
MEDICAL SERVICES DIVISION – PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 3A4, 35-year attendees. Samuel
Poole, Jr., Emergency Medical Services, 35 years. Congratulations.
(Applause.)
MS. PATTERSON: Before you go, let's get the command staff
up here to get a picture. Thirty-five years is an amazing
accomplishment, and I know your admin is in the back, if they want
to come up and get a picture with you.
(Applause.)
September 12, 2023
Page 18
Item #4A
PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING SEPTEMBER 22, 2023, AS
FALLS PREVENTION AWARENESS DAY IN COLLIER
COUNTY. TO BE ACCEPTED BY STEPHANIE GOMEZ,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND SUE HAVILAND, PRESIDENT &
CEO OF STEPSMART - MOTION TO APPROVE BY
COMMISSIONER SANDER; SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER
KOWAL – APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, that brings us to Item 4.
Item 4A is a proclamation designating September 22nd, 2023, as
Falls Prevention Awareness Day in Collier County to be accepted by
Stephanie Gomez, executive director, and Sue Haviland, president
and CEO of StepSmart.
MS. GOMEZ: Sue's not here, but I'm joined by --
MS. PATTERSON: Okay. Congratulations.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Do you want to say anything?
MS. GOMEZ: Yes. Can I use the --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: The podium's yours, absolutely.
MS. GOMEZ: I'm ready. Honorable members of the Board of
County Commissioners, I'm deeply honored to be here today and
accept this proclamation for Falls Prevention Day on behalf of our
StepSmart in our community.
StepSmart is a non-profit organization formed by volunteer
members. Whether we're healthcare professionals, business owners,
again, just all coming volunteering with the focus on bringing
education to our community, which I believe is the key. We don't
know how we can prevent it when it's too late to act. We're not
aware of that. So that's what we bring for education.
And I didn't know if you guys were aware of some statistics for
September 12, 2023
Page 19
Naples in particular, but if you look at the Florida health charts, the
number-one reason for hospitalization rate is -- I'm going to share this
with, maybe, Commissioner Chris Hall to share with the rest of the
Board later, but it's falls. So falls at the rate of 100,000 people, it's
181.3; followed by poisoning, 92.8.
So falls -- the rate of falls is the highest rate of hospitalizations
for our county. So thank you, again. In honor of this, we're actually
partnering in our community. We're going to be having a
presentation with the Baker Senior Center open for the public. So if
anybody's listening to this information that could want to join us, it's
going to be on Monday at 1:00 p.m., at the Baker Senior Center. It's
going to be a presentation on fall preservation followed by free
screenings provided by different volunteer providers that are going to
come and screen our members who are participating. So thank you
again. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you.
(Applause.)
Item #4B
PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING SEPTEMBER 15, 2023, AS
NATIONAL HUNGER ACTION DAY. TO BE ACCEPTED BY
ALLYSON RICHARDS, BOARD CHAIR, OUR DAILY BREAD
FOOD PANTRY - MOTION TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER
SANDERS; SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER KOWAL –
APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 4B is a proclamation designating
September 15th, 2023, as National Hunger Action Day to be accepted
by Allyson Richards, board chair, Our Daily Bread Food Panary.
Congratulations.
September 12, 2023
Page 20
(Applause.)
MS. RICHARDS: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Ladies, the podium's yours if you
want to say anything.
MS. RICHARDS: Pardon me?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: If you'd like to say anything, the
podium's yours.
MS. RICHARDS: Thank you so much.
Chair LoCastro, County Commissioners, and all others. On
behalf of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, we are deeply humbled and
honored to accept this proclamation from Collier County.
I want to -- we all want to expend our heartfelt gratitude to the
County Commissioners, their staff, and the entire community for
bestowing this upon us because we all know hunger is not a local
issue. It's a global crisis that affects millions of people every day.
Here in Collier County, we see thousands every week. At Our Daily
Bread Food Pantry alone, not counting the other food pantries, we
feed 1,100 households a week. Just so people understand, it is a
huge crisis.
We want to express our commitment to working alongside each
of you to make a tangible difference in the fight against hunger. Let
us use this proclamation as a symbol of hope and a reminder of our
shared mission to create a hunger-free community where no one has
to endure the rumblings of an empty stomach.
Thank you very much for this honor.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just a quick question, if you
don't mind.
MS. RICHARDS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'd asked somebody who was
dealing with hunger about a month or so ago about the number of
people in Collier County that experience hunger and food insecurity.
September 12, 2023
Page 21
And you just said 1,100 households. But do you have an idea what
the total number of people is?
MS. RICHARDS: In total, Collier County?
Nancy, do you have an idea?
We do not. Sorry.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Do you have just a wild
guess, maybe, just on --
MS. KOT: I can tell you we're the fourth largest food pantry.
So there's three much larger. Harry Chapin, I think they're saying
something in the neighborhood of 300,000 a month they're serving.
MS. RICHARDS: Households, right?
MS. KOT: So the number is -- it's -- what we're shocked about,
actually, is the number of new families in need. We're averaging, on
a monthly basis, somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 new
households needing food. That's just our small pantry.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. Thank you.
MS. RICHARDS: And it's big. And we go all throughout
Collier County, basically. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you, ladies.
Okay. County Manager.
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, if we could get a motion
to accept the proclamations, please.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So moved.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We've got a motion from
Commissioner Saunders, a second from Commissioner Kowal. All
in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
September 12, 2023
Page 22
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Thank you so much for all that you do.
MS. KOT: Thank you.
Item #5A
ARTIST OF THE MONTH – RICKY PIRES – FGCU WINDS OF
HOPE PROGRAM DIRECTOR – PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 5A is Artist of the Month. I'll just
tell you a little bit about the Artist of the Month.
Ms. Ricki Pires is our September Artist of the Month. She is
the founder and director of the Florida Gulf Coast University Wings
of Hope Program which has won state and national awards as a
model of successful and inspiring environmental education program,
and she's here to tell us a little bit about her art.
MS. PIRES: Hey. Thank you, guys, this morning. It was
incredible, this art contest. We had 5,400 Collier elementary, middle
school, and high school artists participated in this. I mean, it was
just unbelievable. It really was. We had 35 schools. I mean, they
just kept bringing them. I kept telling my husband, we need more,
you know, paper for them. Another 1,000, another 6,000 and
everything, too. It was incredible.
The theme was the umbrella species. When we say the Florida
panther, and especially its habitat, the umbrella says habitat, we save
all of the wildlife that lives with us, okay, all the clean air, all the
clean water. So, actually, who does it save? It saves us, too.
September 12, 2023
Page 23
And so each student got one of these, and you can see it in the
back, and that was donated and created by the Naples Zoo, 5,400 of
them, okay, and they also got cash prizes, you know, especially our
high-schoolers; they really like the cash prizes from 50 to $150.
And that was donated by Audubon of Western Everglades, Florida
Wildlife Federation. And also we did not leave out the art teachers.
That's who does all the work, correct? All righty.
So they donated a cash prize to our top 12 art teachers, and they
were thrilled, you know, but they do all the work.
And last week I took pictures of where you guys sit, and I took
pictures of all of our art, and so today they know I'm here
representing them. And so I will email them everything, and their
families. Their families are so close with this. They're so proud of
their children, and so they asked me to ask you to please, please, help
them carry this message on to help save panther habitat, so -- because
that's their future also.
And thank you, guys, and please enjoy the posters.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just a quick comment and
question.
MS. PIRES: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Your passion has been
involved in this for a long, long time. How many -- when did you
start this?
MS. PIRES: Twenty-three years ago.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: How many?
MS. PIRES: Twenty-three years ago, 2000.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Twenty-three. And your
program has grown from 0 to 5,400 participants, 35 schools, but
that's just the art.
MS. PIRES: That's just the art.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: How many kids do you
September 12, 2023
Page 24
touch with your lectures and programs?
MS. PIRES: Five thousand every year, and then we hike them
at CREW lands in the springtime, too. That's the second part of it.
Now we're in reality. We're in panther habitat.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So you're teaching 5,000
kids a year the importance of protecting wildlife and the environment
for them and for --
MS. PIRES: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- future generations as well,
so --
MS. PIRES: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- congratulations. That's
incredible.
MS. PIRES: Thank you. We've even carried it across the
oceans. We now have the Planet Posse in Kenya and Ghana, Africa,
that will be connecting with our children.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Very nice.
MS. PIRES: Thank you-all, and thanks for your support.
(Applause.)
Item #5B
ACCEPT AN UPDATE ON THE PARADISE COAST SPORTS
COMPLEX FROM SPORTS FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, LLC.
MR. ADRIAN MOSES, THE PARADISE COAST SPORTS
COMPLEX GENERAL MANAGER – PRESENTED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 5B is a recommendation to accept an
update on the Paradise Coast Sports Complex from Sports Facilities
Management, LLC. Mr. Adrian Moses, the Paradise Coast Sports
Complex general manager, is here to present.
September 12, 2023
Page 25
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Hey, Adrian, thanks for coming
because, like we said at one of the last meetings that we had, you
know, there's a lot of good things that are happening out at the sports
complex so, you know, you coming here more regularly and,
obviously, that you are now, I think, is a great thing for us to get an
insight into the health of the sports complex and how it's doing, what
events have been successful, and everything in between, and for
citizens to know. You know, there's still -- a lot of them are still
discovering the sports complex.
I think 4th of July brought a lot of new people who had never
heard of it, found it, some people turned away because they realized
it's a great facility that has a lot of untapped potential. So, sir, the
floor is yours.
MR. MOSES: Thank you. For the record, Adrian Moses,
Sports Facilities Companies, representing as the general manager of
the Paradise Coast Sports Complex.
Thank you for those -- thank you for those words. It's always a
pleasure and an honor to be in front of you guys and be able to share
with you the news from the sports complex.
Wish Commissioner McDaniel well, wherever you may be, and
the thoughts from the team are with you.
Wanted to show an updated report on this fiscal year.
Ultimately, we've still got one month. We're in the final month of
the fiscal year, as we all know. And these -- this presentation was
built out based upon the end of July, so the timing to be able to
present this. So I do appreciate the opportunity to do this, and I hope
you find it interesting.
As we head into the final furlong of the year, the headline,
really, for the sports complex is, it's a remarkable team success
despite some of the challenges that we've faced in speaking with
colleagues around the industry.
September 12, 2023
Page 26
What we've been able to achieve has been noticed around the
industry, and we are being used as a case study about what can be
achieved with the circumstances that have been presented to us.
Hurricane Ian started the fiscal year -- literally started the fiscal
year the first day, so that was -- if you remember, I reported back
saying we had a full calendar for October, we canceled everything,
and then we rebooked everything, and that's the competitive nature
that we have going about this -- this job that we have.
We've had some issues with delayed construction, which has
meant that we've ended the fiscal year with the same facilities and
assets that we began the fiscal year with. But, again, that didn't turn
the team away from the challenge. We lent into the challenge, and
we found a way to be successful despite that.
One of the remaining shadows from the previous operator was
the point-of-sale system that they selected. We found that it was not
fit for purpose, and we've been dealing with that. And I'd like to
thank the Clerk's Office for their patience with us as we found a way
to report the sales that we do make in an efficient way.
I'm very, very, very happy to announce that we've signed a
contract, with the County Manager's support, with a new
point-of-sale system which is a lot more fit for purpose for us, so we
won't have those challenges moving forward. So that's a huge
impact on our day-to-day operation.
The reason why the success has been made possible -- and I'll go
into what the success looks like towards the end, but, ultimately, a
robust schedule of events. Our remit here, if you will, from you
guys was the facility needs to be made available for local sports
programming. We're sold out. It's difficult to get field time at the
complex because Monday through Friday it's booked. Every field
that we have is booked by local soccer, lacrosse, football,
cheer -- cheer events. So that is -- we can't do any more than that.
September 12, 2023
Page 27
We can't squeeze any more people in, if you will.
So the variety of revenue streams that we have has been key to
the success we've had as well. A very, very robust food and
beverage department led by Jimbo means that we're able to provide a
high quality of service and a high quality of product to people.
And one of the things that I make sure that we try to do is not
have that sticker shock of when you go to a sports venue or a sports
stadium that you're kind of put off, you know, by the price of the
product. We try to keep things as reasonable as possible while still
so -- providing that convenience factor to the people that come to us.
I'm very proud of the hardworking and versatile team that I
have. They get it, and they lean -- and the thing that I've been
encouraging them to do is they lean into it. They lean into the
challenge that we have. And they all take personal responsibility for
their own roles and responsibilities but also the success of the facility
as well. So it's not this -- it's not often that you come down on an
event weekend and you won't see everyone from the team, from the
business development director to the finance manager, all pulling
on -- all pulling on the right end of the rope.
Also, the support of the County Manager's Office and the
specific Collier County departments called out the Clerk's Office but
also the support that we get from Paul and the CVB office, not to
mention all of the other Collier County departments such as CCSO
that we require for our events. So we thank them for that.
And then, finally, the support that we get from the people that
you don't see, the people you sometimes see presenting alongside me,
our corporate office. It wouldn't be possible without the support that
we get from our corporate office. It's why we are the best in the
business, and it's why we're picking up so many venues across the
nation is because of the quality of individuals that we have at that
office.
September 12, 2023
Page 28
The story was, a few months ago I was up here saying, hey,
we've hit our annual budget already after six months, and that came
with a request for some more money to spend. And we are in a
situation now where -- we had a further revision, which means that
we need a little bit more money, but it also means that we're going to
improve our bottom line even further. So that's where we're at.
The revenue profile of the events that we have coming through
the end of the fiscal year are really important to us, and it means that
we were really kind of -- we were projecting six months ago, but
right now we're very much in a situation where we're dialed in with
the specifics because we're getting so close to the end of the year.
Some notable sports events: The three things that you asked us
to do was drive economic tourism and impact through sports events
alongside the aspect of providing the facility to local programming.
So some of the notable events that we have is the Peace River
Conference finals. That's the Pop Warner group that was displaced
after the hurricane. We had the Alliance Cup and the displaced Gulf
Coast Runners 5K on Thanksgiving Day last year.
Into December, the huge FBU football event, that was followed
with a quick switch-around of the facility to lacrosse with another
quick switch-around to small-sided soccer events, all national events,
all by the end of the year. So that was a heavy lift in December, but
very successful. That was our record month, December, in terms of
revenue.
In January, we support the local area by doing smaller events.
They provide a lot of income for us, a lot of showcase events that
doesn't put too much pressure on the hotels, which during a very
important part of the season for tourism, we're not taking up rooms
with sports -- too many rooms with sports events.
And as we head into February, we had the Weston Cup and the
excellent Southwest Florida Shootout, which was the Division 1
September 12, 2023
Page 29
double-headed games between Ohio State, Michigan, Virginia, and
Marquette. So that has re-upped for this coming year in 2024, and
we're looking forward to hosting that. I believe it's the same teams,
but switching the team that was home and away.
Moved into March, we had Trilogy's spring training. That was
three weeks of spring training. Notable because we fed every single
athlete there lunch and dinner. So that was 6,000 meals that our
catering department produced over that three-week period.
And one of my favorite events so far was the Pan-Florida
Bicycle Challenge showing the versatility and the different types of
events that we have.
Huge South Florida Cup in April, and then we hosted the state
lacrosse championships for boys and girls. That's the high school
state championships. Pleased to say we've re-upped that contract for
another further two years as well.
So the -- as we moved into June, we had rugby events, and then
also some lacrosse events as well to fill out our schedule. And, in
July, the huge Top Gun event, which Commissioner LoCastro came
out to visit, and that's one of the key -- the key events -- marquee
events of the year for the complex with the support of FBU.
Nonsporting events, we've had some art shows. With support
from the County Manager's Office, we had Snowfest, and we had the
July 4th fireworks, both community events attracting -- Snowfest, we
believe was around about six and a half thousand, and July 4th we
predicted -- that was estimated that was around seven and a half
thousand people on site. Certainly, the most amount of people that
we've seen on site at any one time.
We support other different parts of the Collier County
departments. So we did a reception for the Solid Waste Department
with a reception at the complex, and we supported the Collier County
Museums with a jazz concert, raising money for their event for their
September 12, 2023
Page 30
Naples Depot installation.
A couple of other things that we have. April, we showed -- we
showed up with a huge church service with Grow Church. We
estimated there was about 3,000 people that were there, and then on
the other side of those kind of community events was a crossover
between our sponsorship sales being able to turn into other revenue
streams for us with Naples Dealers, which is one of our sponsors
having an appreciation party, which we doubled as a Kentucky Derby
party, which was a great event. Looking forward to doing the same
again in 2024.
Some of the community use that maybe you may not -- so much
noise is made about, but making the facility available to everyone in
the community all the time. We did a Memorial Day ceremony in
May, which we look forward to hosting each year.
Things for people to do during the week, we have yoga classes,
which are free to the community on Sunday. We have a run club
involving -- we're actually re-branding that to a run-and-ride night
because we've involved the Naples Velo Cycling Club, and poker on
Tuesdays if -- if that's more your style.
We do bingo on Wednesdays. We do movies on the lawn, and
that's a good case study of a super event for the community. We
show blockbuster movies on the huge screen that we have, and that is
sponsored by Pelican Wire, a local company, which means that it
becomes a revenue stream while still so being a community event
for -- a free community event. Big props to Jeff there for pulling
that today, Jeff Walters, and also thanks to Pelican Wire to making
that available to the community at no cost.
We do live music. You have seen our sunset Saturdays
on -- with Reggae music, and then we have a variety of different
music on Fridays. All of which are identified in our monthly
newsletter, which comes out at around the 1st of the month.
September 12, 2023
Page 31
We have a further facility for open play for the community
during the day, and I mentioned earlier that we were at capacity, even
over capacity for local programming on a daily schedule.
The other community impact, this is the kind of stuff that really
makes a difference in the community from a perspective. It's not
necessarily the stuff that we need to do or we have to do. It's stuff
that we want to do. We supported the Department of Health and
food and families with the food stamp collection after the -- after the
hurricane in November. Every Monday St. Matthew's House
provide a food distribution from the south side of the complex, which
we feed around about 500 to 700 families a week. We mentioned
earlier about the good work that the other pantry was doing, but that
showcases another aspect of the community for the facility.
Every day we have the Collier County Public Schools interns for
the Gate internship program. These are students with learning
disabilities that we provide vocation opportunities around the
complex for. They're a group that come out, and we love having
them there. And we are in a position to close that circle by -- we
actually hired one of the interns out of that program to provide a
work opportunity for them.
We support other Collier County departments. Again, associate
leadership -- associate Leadership Collier events. Multiple
departments of Collier County come out and use the facility. I think
the road and bridge department came out, and recently we did the
Collier County Public Schools teacher training. So that involved
utilizing different aspects of the complex, the gym, and things like
that.
So I'm conscious that I've been speaking a lot. Any questions
on the events or the recap so far?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I've got some questions, but we'll
get to the end. Keep going.
September 12, 2023
Page 32
MR. MOSES: Okay. All right.
So as we look forward, we've got that robust calendar I
mentioned just -- it just keeps on coming. We're busy. We're
booked. It's in a -- we're in a very strong position.
Some things that stand out here is some music events that we
have coming up. So we have, on October 28th, Atlanta Rhythm
section and Pablo Cruise coming out to play a concert at the facility.
We're also looking at things in the first quarter of '24 for that same
thing.
We also have the Legends Concert Series, which will be the first
Friday of the month starting in November.
But much of the same that we have added. Two events
that -- sorry. Much of the same of what we had in 2023, which
provided us the base of the success that we had; however, there's two
events here that, really, we've added, which is going to take us into a
new -- a new realm of what we're able to achieve, and first being the
field hockey festival over Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks to the
TDC for supporting the purchase of field hockey goal equipment. It
means that we were able to attract this field hockey festival, which
will be around about 120 teams over Thanksgiving weekend. Again,
a different sport, showing the versatility of the complex. We're
really excited to invite that group out.
And AYF, which is in early December. That's the world's
largest youth football tournament that we managed to snag away
from Kissimmee. So we're excited to host that one leading straight
into FBU. It helps us from an operational standpoint because we're
leading from one football event into another one in a different [sic]
sport. So the operation team are pleased with that.
In terms of financials, the revenue snapshot, our initial budget
for 10 fields was 1,389,743. We revised that to 1,922,000 and
change in April. At the end of July, we were already at 1,878,000.
September 12, 2023
Page 33
We made a final revision to budget, which thinks -- which projects
that we're going to get to over 2 million for the year.
So with the same assets that we began the year with, we've been
able to showcase the facility, drive revenue through the calendar that
we have for the versatile different sources of income we have. With
the support that we have from all the different groups that we have,
this success is possible.
So, certainly, outside of the realm of what we thought was
possible, but with that comes a change of -- a paradigm shift now we
don't know what's possible still. So we're going to -- we're still
going to keep on shooting for the moon, and we might just end up in
the stars with everything that we do.
From an expenditure standpoint, so what we need to spend to
make that money, there was an increase in that that we asked for and
a final revision for us to see out the year.
The important aspect of this is we have attempted to stay as
close as we possibly can but, ultimately, with the assets that we have,
we had to go and drive new revenue from different places that cost us
more money than we first anticipated. But every event that we run is
profitable. It just comes down to the fact that some things are more
expensive, and we've had to drive revenue in some creative ways.
What that means for our net operating income, we were
projected to lose -- or ask for a subsidy, I should say, of around about
170,000 for the operating subsidy for the year. We revised that to
37,000 in April. There's a further revision to that where the subsidy
is 11,000. It's a -- it's a net improvement of 158- on the budget that
we had set out for the year, and comparing apples to apples, which
was our performance in the previous year, that's an improvement of
288,000 on the previous fiscal year. Going a bit further back to our
previous operators at the complex, that was 1.3 million as -- in
just -- just three years ago.
September 12, 2023
Page 34
So the turnaround has been quite remarkable. It wouldn't have
been possible without the support of everybody in the room and
everybody in the county pulling on the right end of the rope, and it's
my pleasure to present this to you guys, and I will take any questions
that you have.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I'll defer to my colleagues
first. Anybody have anything?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I'll jump into a couple questions,
and then it might spark something.
So we were out at the sports complex for the top-out ceremony
for Great Wolf Lodge. Any update on how your conversations have
been going with them? Is there anything in the works or -- you
know, at least you're talking. I mean, it was obvious that there's a
relationship, which is what we wanted. Anything to update us on as
far as, you know, something that you might do as a joint partnership
or just, you know, some sort of agreement you're coming to to allow
their guests to use the sports complex but at a certain fee or
something, or is it too soon for that?
MR. MOSES: No, we've been -- thank you for the question.
We're really excited for the Great Wolf Lodge facility to be
finished. The importance of the additional hotel rooms to the sports
industry specifically with the hotel, which is geared towards youth, is
very important to us.
The conversations that we've had, we've hosted people from the
sales department, the sales director at the complex. We're in deep
discussions with Great Wolf Lodge. We've shared our calendar.
We shared where their needs are, we've shared where we're going to
be busy, and we've even got as far as into the conversations
that -- getting ahead of some of the challenges that we think that
we're going to pose to them is that in the middle of the summer when
September 12, 2023
Page 35
we have a lightning delay, we need to have a plan in place for a large
group of people coming over to their facility to see out the storm.
So there's lots of conversations that we're having. We're putting
together some creative items such as some kinds of residential camps
that we can do creatively together, and we're really looking forward
to them.
The tricky thing about writing this year's budget was we don't
know whether it's going to open in the next fiscal year or not, so we
don't know the impact that it's going to have on us, so we've been
pretty conservative about what that impact will be; however, we think
it's going to be a really -- a really important addition to the -- to the
facility and also to our bottom line.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Your point-of-sale system, I
assume it accepts debit, credit, and cash, right; all the above, right?
MR. MOSES: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And so, obviously, you're
saying you found a better one than what you inherited. This might
be more for the County Manager, but we've been challenged at some
of our marinas where our previous vendor -- you know, there's
probably 10 different versions of the story, but you know, when you
hear things like, you know, the vendor might be strongly
recommending cash only, sometimes cash is hard to track. And I'm
not accusing anybody of anything, but some of our books didn't
balance out very well.
You know, Ms. Patterson, I just didn't know -- you know, I
know at Port of the Islands we're on credit only, and maybe a few
other places. And we agreed to that. I didn't know if that was going
to be permanent or not. But, I mean, I just throw that out there, if
Parks and Rec is listening, maybe seeing what you guys
discovered -- and it might be something that our vendors at our
marinas might be able to take a look at and either rule it in or out, but
September 12, 2023
Page 36
trying to -- you know, we want to be able to accept all types of
payment and, obviously, you know, you figured out how to do that.
You're a much bigger entity, but these little marinas are
struggling a little bit, I think, with a new vendor right now that is sort
of -- their arms are tied a little bit where they can only accept, you
know, credit or debit just to sort of keep things clean until we sort of
figure out a tighter way.
So, I mean, it's really -- I'm just sort of making a statement. But
hearing that, you know, you-all are a big company, you do a deep
dive, there's a lot of POS systems out there. You could probably
pick any one you want. To hear that you gravitated towards a
certain one, maybe we can learn from that.
I don't know, Ms. Patterson, if you have something -- a
comment on that.
MS. PATTERSON: No. Of course, we'll be happy to chat
with them and see how that might be able to help some of our other
companies that are, you know, in similar -- or management contracts
with us or the concessionaire agreements.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Or you might have some expertise
and say, you know, there's some smaller systems out there. You
don't need to have the one that we have at the sports complex. But if
there's anything you can do to help Parks and Rec maybe have them
zero in on something that might be a little bit more advantageous at
our marinas, I just -- sort of just more of a statement.
On the local bookings, like you say, wow, you know, we always
have -- the fields are always full, you know, you always go out there.
We've said before that the sports complex is an asset to the
community. We're not trying to make it a cash cow and suck people
dry, although it can't be a big, you know, huge sucking chest wound
and lose a ton of money.
At the end you were -- you sort of summed up and said, you
September 12, 2023
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know, we pretty much make money, you know, on everything.
On the local things, where we, you know, allow local entities to
use the fields and things, I'm sure that's maybe a different pay fee
structure than if somebody comes from North Dakota and has a big,
you know, tournament here. But how do we do on the local ones? I
mean, we're obviously not just giving them the fields for free,
correct? There is some sort of compensation when any of our
local -- or is there? And I'm not saying there should be or there
shouldn't. I was just curious what the answer was.
MR. MOSES: Yeah. We've found a position with the local
programming groups. We came into managing this complex with
the local programmings paying the same as they would pay at North
Collier.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. MOSES: We do have to identify that it is a premium
facility, and there is another entity involved, and the facility was
losing money for local programming at that rate because, ultimately, I
have to pay staff to be on the fields. And if that amount is the same
amount that people are paying, then it doesn't get close to making any
kind of fiscal sense to the complex.
So we've negotiated with the local programming groups. We
found a price that is acceptable to them and able to plan, now, their
seasons effectively without -- without, essentially, putting them in a
risk position based upon what they pay other venues.
It's important to support the local sports groups in that way.
And, you know, everything is done with transparency. All of the
groups pay, there or thereabouts, the same depending on how many
hours they rent over the year.
And while I'm sure they would prefer it be cheaper, if you speak
to anyone from outside of Collier County and they hear about our
rates, they're like, they're paying what?
September 12, 2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. MOSES: So it's still very affordable for the value that
they're getting in the facility.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, me, personally, that's the
answer I was looking for. I mean, there should be an advantage to
our local schools and different clubs and whatnot to have a facility
like this in the backyard. But it's just finding that algorithm in the
middle and making it advantageous for them but, like you said, you
know, you still have overhead as well.
And then my last question is, anything super big on the horizon?
And maybe you have to be a little cryptic because, you know, maybe
you're just in talks with somebody or something, and it might not be a
done deal or, you know -- but is there anything that, you know, you
want to leak to us, or tell us, or is there anything that might be in the
works that could be coming, like, next year, or later this year?
Anything at all that wasn't on your slide?
MR. MOSES: There's always something on the books.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I know there is. That's why I'm
asking.
MR. MOSES: There's always something up my sleeve. But
we're working on a few major events. We have to drip dry them out,
you know, to kind of drip them out to people because, otherwise, it's
just too much information at once, and we want to make sure that
each announcement has its own kind of moment in the sun.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Packaging.
MR. MOSES: So some major news will be coming out about
some events and also some partners that we're working with right
now.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. MOSES: Which will -- which will always be in the best
interest of the county first.
September 12, 2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Great.
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you. I see some of
our tourism folks are in the back there. If you could come on up,
because I'm going to have a couple questions for you as well.
We funded this primarily with TDC funds to construct this
facility, and the objective was to enhance our tourist industry and also
provide a facility for our kids, local programming as well, and it
sounds like you've accomplished both of those.
I'd like to get some specifics, if possible, in terms of hotel rooms
that might have been attributed to this. The question is, is this being
successful so far in its main mission, which was to drive tourism to
Collier County? So I'm not sure who would best be to answer that,
but I assume our tourism professionals would be the best to answer
that.
MR. BEIRNES: Thank you. And, for the record, Paul
Beirnes, division director of Tourism.
Yes, absolutely, a great success. In fact, the alignment of
tourism with Paradise Coast Sports Complex starting in January, and
technically even earlier than that, has really allowed us to create that
balance of when there's needs and when there's compression, which
was absent previous. So the dialogue on an hourly basis with Adrian
and his team definitely is taking place.
Specifics, we can certainly provide you those specifics. Some
of the celebrations that we were talking about on the near horizon,
American Youth Football is going to be just a monumental event
coming up the very start of December. Just a great example of
bringing these events in for the purpose of sports tourism. But, also,
every single thing that we're talking about during the -- during the
year, whether it is concerts, whether it's sporting events, any of that is
part of the fiber of what we're communicating to tourists as well to
September 12, 2023
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draw them in.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I would like to see some of
those specifics in terms of hotels.
MR. BEIRNES: Yep.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Hotel heads in beds, I guess,
is what you call it. Just the real impact on the community in terms
of this facility.
And then the next question, we have, I think you mentioned, 10
fields. I think we have another field that's coming online, is that
correct, or what's the number that we will have when our current
contracts are completed?
MR. BEIRNES: Well, we actually have four fields that are just
about to be turned over, so that will take us to a total of nine fields,
including the stadium.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So we have nine
fields including the stadium, and that's all we have under construction
or planned at this point?
MR. BEIRNES: At this point, correct, yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right. And so the next
phase -- and that's something, obviously, for the Commission to
undertake at some point. But with the nine fields, including the
stadium, how does that affect your operations? How much more do
you need in terms of fields? I know the expectation is that we're
going to build out all of the fields. That will take some time. But
I'm wondering, if we -- if we simply stayed at the nine fields with the
stadium included, what does that do to your operations?
MR. MOSES: The impacts on our operations is for the
medium-size events. It saves us money because we don't have to go
to North Collier and to Big Island Corkscrew to use those fields for
the larger tournament events, which has another impact of being able
to give those facilities back to the community on those weekends.
September 12, 2023
Page 41
For the very large events where we need additional fields, it just
helps us because we have four additional fields. Ultimately, it still
isn't enough.
The ability for the facility to be built out as planned with the
baseball diamonds helps us close a gap in the seasons. And we talk
about the tourism economic impact where the area requires the most
support from sports tourism being the middle of the summer; that's
the prime season for the diamond sports.
So there's an impact for how much money we spend
because -- and how much facilities that we use, but for our very
largest events, it still isn't big enough, so we would still need the
additional fields for those.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you. And, again, I
would like to see some indication of the success of this in bringing
tourists into the County and --
MR. BEIRNES: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- helping out the hotel
industry that way. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Adrian, great job on the
presentation.
MR. MOSES: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER HALL: And kudos for bringing in the
cycling world. So I did hear you say the Pan-Florida Challenge and
as well as Naples Velos. What kind of events are those?
MR. MOSES: The Pan-Florida Challenge was an out and back
ride. I think it was a short 10-mile ride around City Gate area. It
was a 32-mile ride, a 64-mile ride, and I think there was 100 as well.
That previously was in Fort Myers. It moves around Florida.
There's one in Miami and things like that. So we look forward to
hosting that again.
September 12, 2023
Page 42
The Naples Velo are going to use the City Gate area for time
travel races and criterium style races. So super exciting.
Something that I've had experience with at previous venues I've
managed as well.
So it's -- a lot of stuff gets me out of bed in the morning, but the
ability to provide different kinds of sports and versatile use of
facilities is one of the main drivers.
COMMISSIONER HALL: That's awesome. Then you also
mentioned feeding 6,000 meals to the one teams that were there.
MR. MOSES: Yep.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Are those private partnerships
with -- or is that just, like, a value-added thing that you do, or does
the park get to, you know, profit from that?
MR. MOSES: Absolutely, yeah. You're talking specifically
about the Trilogy spring training, which is -- this year was -- it was
over three weeks, on average. You know, we had, I think, eight
teams one week, 12 one week, I think 11 the other, and they come
from all over the country to spend the week in our lovely weather.
And while they're here, they're playing lacrosse all day; they need to
eat. So we feed them from our catering department, and they get
lunch and dinner with us every day. So when you add up the total
number of meals made, it's a lot. And that group is returning. A
really important model for us.
One of the reasons why our COGS were so high in March is
because we had to buy food for 6,000 people. But -- now, as we
look into 2024, that contract is being resigned, and it's been
increased.
So with the additional fields that we have now, we can go up to
15 teams a week. So we're likely to get even more. But, ultimately,
that is one of the marquee events that is in our calendar and
represents, you know, a large chunk of our actual revenue budget for
September 12, 2023
Page 43
the year, so it's incredibly important.
COMMISSIONER HALL: All right. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Adrian, one last question, and it
concerns parking. So if you were out there on the 4th of July, you
were probably -- we were all out there.
MR. MOSES: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, we ran out of parking
spots before we ran out of space in the sports complex. So then you
talk about adding more fields because, like you say, yeah, we can
always fill those up. Then you've got, you know, Great Wolf Lodge
being packed to the gills and maybe -- you know, I know that they've
accounted for parking, but there's always, you know, extra cars and
family that, you know, bring extra vehicles and just try to find an
empty piece of space.
What's your concern about parking? I mean, you know,
especially, like you say, you know, add a few more fields, you're
adding more people. Have a big, giant event like several 4th of July
events of that size, it seems like we run out of parking before we run
out of field space and bleacher space and that sort of thing.
Is there -- have you had any conversations about that? Like,
you know, I mean, I'm just sitting here spitballing, but I sit here and
go, you know, a few extra fields are great, but should two -- and this
is hypothetical. Should two of those fields be parking lots instead a
field? So it's great the fields bring people, but they're not going to
walk there, and it seems like for some of the really big events we ran
out of the parking before we ran out of stadium space.
What's your comment, you know, to that? I mean, you're much
closer to it than we are, but it seemed obvious that parking was
a -- you know, a premium issue for the really big events.
MR. MOSES: Yeah. We're blessed with -- we're blessed with
ample parking. So July 4th was the only event where we didn't have
September 12, 2023
Page 44
enough parking for the interest of the event at the facility.
The only other time where our parking didn't -- where actually
we used every single parking space was the July 4th -- not
July 4th -- was the Thanksgiving Gulf Coast Runners 5K, and that's
the nature of the event and the nature of the day. That event on
Thanksgiving Day, people were coming individually in their cars for
that race, and then because -- after the race they were going home.
They weren't coming -- they weren't carpooling.
The July 4th event was an anomaly. We encourage people to
carpool. But, ultimately, we find, for sporting events, we keep track
of the cars in the parking lot. We manage our parking. We direct
people in certain directions, and we find that, typically, it's an
average of three people to a car.
So when you break that down, there's plenty of parking. It's
those anomaly events that put us under pressure for parking
when -- you know, if you're going to have 7,000 people show up and
you have 2,000 parking spaces, you hope that they're coming in
minivans. So that's the case.
But the plans that have the facility built out at large, certainly for
sporting events, there's no question that there's enough parking.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: For some of those onesie, twosie
anomaly events, has there been conversations of using our, you
know, county buses and finding a location where people could park
elsewhere, jump on a bus, maybe even for free or whatnot to be able
to fill the complex? Like you said, these aren't your daily things, but
the more you become busy, I'm sure we're going to have more of
these sort of anomaly events. How are those conversations going?
MR. MOSES: It's -- the safety of the people that come to visit
the complex is always paramount. That's the number-one goal that
we have is to keep everyone safe, and in conjunction with the County
Manager's Office and CCSO over the July 4th event, we made the
September 12, 2023
Page 45
decision that offsite parking was not in the best interest of people
coming, should there be an electrical storm that came through,
because there isn't enough space for people to shelter from the storm.
And should an electrical storm come through, our direction was to
tell people to take shelter in their vehicles. If their vehicles were in
an offsite parking lot three miles away, that would have been a
challenge.
So that was the reason why we have -- took that decision for that
specific event; however, for events during our dryer period of the
year where we don't necessarily see that weather, we've been in
discussion with some offsite parking lots and had those discussions to
have offsite parking and bus people in, because that threat doesn't
readily pose an issue.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Thank you.
Does Commissioner McDaniel have his hand raised at all?
MR. MILLER: He does not, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Anything else up here?
MR. MOSES: That's a shame.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Thank you, sir.
MR. MOSES: Thank you.
Item #7
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS NOT ON THE
CURRENT OR FUTURE AGENDA
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, that brings us to Item 7,
public comments on general topics not on the current or future
agenda.
MR. MILLER: I have three registered speakers for this item.
Your first speaker is Papa Ndiaye. He will be followed by Robert
September 12, 2023
Page 46
Thurston.
MR. NDIAYE: Hello, everybody.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir.
MR. NDIAYE: You know, the more I sit here and listen to
things like bring more tourists, right, to the environment for
economic reasons and all the good things that you guys mentioned,
my problem is to have a basic good life, you know, quality of life.
That's my only issue.
I moved into Collier County 10 years ago. A couple years ago
somebody moved a couple doors down. You come, you set up a
shop, and you're running welding, right, at all times. Collier County
doesn't have any noise ordinance.
4th of July -- you mentioned 4th of July over there. Guess what
I was doing 4th of July? Calling the cops so can I ask them to beg
this neighbor to slow down, right, stop welding so the folks that came
to visit my family, right, we could barbecue. But there is
no -- Monday -- 365 days, and there is not a single restriction as far
as hours.
So what are you guys doing? You're screwing me and my
family. Now, I'm going to tell you my biggest problem is this: The
guy is welding. On top of welding, he's got hammers that he's
swinging, swinging, right. Those hammers can cause psychology
issues, because my kids are so traumatized that they will not leave to
go in the pool because they think those hammers are going to come
and slap them, right.
Code enforcement went over there. What do you do? You
come in and you say, hey, is this truck registered to your name?
Yeah, okay. Case closed.
And you know what happened? The guy normally starts at
9:00, 10:00. Today he comes in at 7:00 and start welding at 7:00
because Code Enforcement say, hey, you have carte blanche. You
September 12, 2023
Page 47
can do whatever the heck you want. You call the Sheriff's Office,
you get the same answer.
Oh, so now the question is, does the County have any rules with
regards to noise? And detailed rules, right. It's Monday through
Friday. It's this day, and these are the exclusions, right, because
there's a health effect, okay. That's number one.
Number two, the guy's playing games. He has one truck. He's
not fixing the truck. He fixing the beds, right. So you can stick one
truck there as a decoy, right, and attach as many -- as many beds that
you want, and guess what? You complying because it's the same
truck. Do you understand what I mean?
And then we're here, you know, saying, hey, I have a home.
My home is not a doubt [sic]. I improved my home over 10 years.
Probably put as much as I paid for it, right. So the County cannot
come and say, hey, you know what, tough luck. Come on, guys.
And the worst -- the best part is, or worst, last night as I'm doing
some research online, guess what? I come across a document that
talks about ordinance, codes, you know, related to noise, and I'm
looking at all sort of tools. We can measure this. We can do this.
We can do that. And meanwhile, while I have a problem, nobody
knows about the tools.
Am I being discriminated? Nobody -- what county -- what
place -- and who can come to Naples and feel like you made a
mistake? Moving to Naples, and you know what, tell the tourists as
well, you have a potential, right?
You may love the area -- I have a guy next door who's got a
double lot. Guess what? He's evicted. That guy hasn't moved in,
hasn't built his house but, you know what? We build his house, then
he'll find out that, hey, there's a truck shop next to him. Certain type
of work should be in industrial environment. Banging, right, in the
residential should not be when kids are at possible risk.
September 12, 2023
Page 48
Look, here's what I say --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir, can I ask you a couple
questions?
MR. NDIAYE: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So what is your exact name?
MR. NDIAYE: My name is Pape, spelled P-a-p-e.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. And what's your address,
your home address?
MR. NDIAYE: 3315 47th Avenue Northeast.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So you live in a residential
area, and you have neighbors one or two doors down from you that
are operating a commercial business out of their home?
MR. NDIAYE: Correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right, okay.
First of all, we do have ordinances against everything that you
just mentioned. So hearing you say that you've called the Sheriff or
our county, you know -- first of all, we can check how many times
you've called, and I don't dispute.
MR. NDIAYE: Oh, I've called at least --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I don't dispute that you've called,
but --
MR. NDIAYE: I've called the cops at least 10 times,
guaranteed.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. NDIAYE: Code Enforcement, I'm going to -- I'm going to
just try and use a different word. But if I was to, I would say
disgrace, because you don't come -- how do you go to investigate an
issue, right? And, okay, he's complying. Let's say he's complying.
Morally, just say, hey, you know what? There's people around you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. NDIAYE: You know what I mean? But, no, you
September 12, 2023
Page 49
disgracefully tell them you okay. And the next day they start at
7:00 a.m. For what? What is the --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: County Manager.
MR. NDIAYE: -- County gaining by screwing us?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, we got it.
County Manager, do you have a comment or can we -- you
know, I mean, he took the time to come here, and this is the nucleus
of the county leadership. So, I mean, everything I heard him say I
know can't just go unchecked, and I know you agree, so --
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir. So we have an active code
enforcement case. I would suggest that we refer him -- both
Mr. French and Mr. Iandimarino are both here. It would be
appropriate for them to speak with this gentleman, because this will
be moving its way through the code enforcement process, so --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: -- we do have that process in place.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So the top code
enforcement person here -- which I'm sure if you called Code
Enforcement, you probably didn't get him directly -- is right there.
So do not let this citizen leave until you-all talk. And I don't
know that we need a lot of comment right here because, you know,
he's got a lot of specifics, and some of them aren't falling on -- none
of its fallen on deaf ears here and I'm sure not you on as well. I
mean, I don't know code enforcement the way you do, but I don't
think my neighbor next door can operate a welding shop at any hours
of the day just because they want to.
MR. NDIAYE: Any day.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, I think we have some
things against that. So if you wanted to make a comment -- but I
think, more importantly, it's not letting him exit the building without,
you know, talking to the senior leadership. I mean, he took the time
September 12, 2023
Page 50
to come here.
Mr. French, did you have something that you wanted to say?
MR. FRENCH: Commissioner, just again, very quickly.
Thank you. For the record, Jamie French, your department head for
Growth Management.
This is an active code enforcement case, so we're -- staff would
prefer to refrain from comment. There is an ongoing investigation.
This case was just reported to us on Friday last week. And
Mr. Iandimarino did speak with this gentleman last night, so --
MR. NDIAYE: We didn't get anywhere.
MR. FRENCH: We understand that the gentleman has a great
deal of concerns. We'll continue to work this out with the neighbor.
We are aware of the location and, again, without divulging too much,
we'd prefer to be able to run our case, if that's the will of the Board.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Wait, let me let a couple of
commissioners comment, so -- and we appreciate you being here.
When -- I do need you to speak into the mic, too, when you're
speaking.
But, Commissioner McDaniel, sir, I see you lit up. The floor is
yours.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Chair.
And I just want to say this, that, you know, this gentleman lives
in Eastern Collier County. We are -- we are in a very, very difficult
time right now. And as Mr. French already shared, there is an active
code case going on. And, you know, there again, we're not always
sure when citizens file complaints and when circumstances come
about.
I want this gentleman to know that upon my return -- I'll be
home on Sunday. Upon my return, I'll be after this and make sure
that things are followed up on, number one.
September 12, 2023
Page 51
Number two, we also -- we, us, the Board, have issues with the
Senate bill that was passed a couple of years ago incentivizing small
businesses. It opened the floodgates for small businesses to pop up
on all over Golden Gate Estates. It's prolific in Golden Gate Estates.
This gentleman is suffering from a neighbor who's performing
mechanic work in a residential neighborhood. There are storage
facilities, camper -- campgrounds, all kinds of things, that are
popping up under this Senate bill that needs to get adjusted.
So for us -- as a comment, I would like for us to work with the
legislature in an effort to try to get some adjustments to the statute
that incentivizes small business. We all want to incentivize small
business, but on the same token, there are appropriate places and
locations for businesses to, in fact, transpire, and certainly not in a
residential neighborhood.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
I certainly understand your passion here for this, because no one
would want to live next to that, and no one should have to.
Noise is a big problem in this county. We -- the County
Commission has taken some action to deal with road noise, and we're
working with the Senate -- President Senator Passidomo on that
particular issue. That's doesn't -- that's not your issue. But code
enforcement is something that we've all talked about being one of the
most important functions of government is to make sure that people
can have peace and quiet in their homes.
And so I know you don't feel comfortable discussing this,
Mr. French, I'm not sure I understand why, particularly, but
regardless of that, if there's a way to get at this noise that this
gentleman is complaining about, we need to do that, because I agree
with you, there's just no excuse for that.
MR. NDIAYE: Sir, there was a case opened that maybe he can
September 12, 2023
Page 52
talk about that was closed because it's the same issue that they did not
resolve and closed the court, okay. That's one. Number two, his
folks should know what the ordinance is. You cannot come to my
house 50 times and tell me you have no recourse other than he and
deal with it [sic].
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Has the County Attorney
been involved in this at all?
MR. KLATZKOW: This is the first I've heard of it. I mean, if
it pleases the Commission, we can -- I'll get with Jamie and his staff
and come back on the next Board meeting on executive summary
letting out the issues. It will be on consent. If the Board wants to
pull it for discussion, we can do that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well, also a part of that,
would you talk about the state law that --
MR. KLATZKOW: Oh, no -- yeah, I'm fully aware of that.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I don't know if -- the
Chairman has pointed this out. We want to make sure that there's
communication today with the three of you, so --
MR. KLATZKOW: It's just hard to have a discussion with a
constituent when we don't all know what's going on. This will give
us time to give a thoughtful presentation to the Board as to what's
going on, and you can come back at the next meeting and --
MR. NDIAYE: I hope not.
MR. KLATZKOW: He could do it by Zoom, but...
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Well, you don't need to be at
our meeting. I mean, I know how difficult that can be, but we do
need to get at this.
MR. NDIAYE: Well, before we step aside and talk, I want to
say something to the Board. If you have an issue that deals with
morality, right, possible health risk, right, and degrading the quality
of life, you know what it means? Shut it down today, investigate
September 12, 2023
Page 53
and then -- you know, I feel personally that welding should be
permitted. Anybody who's welding, the County should know how
long, what are you welding, so at least the citizens can say, hey, I'm
dealing with this for two, three days, but not all year-round.
And up to the second, the County folks actually screwed me,
because they left the house. The guy start at 7:00 because, hey, you
have no problem. You're good. All you need is register your truck.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Sir --
MR. NDIAYE: Sorry, sir. I'm done.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, you're fine. I think we have
the details. I guess the thing that I'm surprised over is I understand
when there's investigations and there's sort of, you know, five
different stories and that sort of thing, but what seems a little bit of
black and white here is if there is a 7:00 a.m. start, I mean, I don't
care if you're welding or you're working on cars or anything like that,
that's pretty black and white. That doesn't take a 30-day
investigation. And there might be more to the story.
And then, certainly, there are provisions to operate businesses
out of your house, but just certain things. So what I would say is the
things that are black and white here that seem very clear to at least us,
if they're unclear, then maybe we need, you know, further details
after this meeting, but do not let this gentleman exit with, hey, we're
looking into it, and in 30 days we'll get back to you because it sounds
like, at least his impression -- and, you know, one of the things I
always say is, citizen impression is reality. So even though it might
be we feel something totally different, you know, what he's saying is
his reality, so we have to address that.
Commissioner Hall, I saw you lit, but did you have --
COMMISSIONER HALL: I did. I just wanted to -- thanks for
coming.
MR. NDIAYE: Yes, sir. Thank you.
September 12, 2023
Page 54
COMMISSIONER HALL: I want you to know that you've
been heard.
MR. NDIAYE: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER HALL: And I want to encourage you just
to -- in your discussion -- we know you're passionate.
MR. NDIAYE: Yes, sorry about that.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Just be patient. Be kind. There's
nobody here that doesn't want to treat you like we want to be treated.
So that's just -- I just wanted to leave you with that.
MR. NDIAYE: Well, you know, there's folks that led me to
this road.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I know that.
MR. NDIAYE: Okay. I didn't just come here. There's people
that showed me, almost like, you know, go pound sand. We don't
care. His folks have never told me what the ordinance is, if there's
one.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I think they're about to.
And Commissioner McDaniel who, unfortunately, isn't here but
you heard from -- it sounds like you live in District 5. I mean, I can
assure you if this is the first time he's heard it, action is about to reign
hellfire down on your neighborhood, possibly.
MR. NDIAYE: This is not a legal business, by the way, just to
clarify.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. NDIAYE: So as -- look, again --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sir, sir, we have it, so --
MR. NDIAYE: Shut it down. Can we shut it down today?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We've got it. You got your more
than three minutes at the podium and, with all respect, I think we've
got it.
MR. NDIAYE: So what do I do? Wait for these guys outside?
September 12, 2023
Page 55
MR. FRENCH: Commissioners, we'll get with him. But
again, just, if I might, Commissioner Saunders, the only reason why I
made the comment is this case was opened on Friday. That's when it
was opened. We've had -- that's -- we've had it for not even three
full business days, but --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But it does sound like he's had it
longer than Friday, so maybe we just got it, but it didn't sound like
this just popped up. And maybe that's where the disconnect is.
MR. FRENCH: Right. So, clearly, he's had interaction with
the Sheriff's Office, which we will reach with. We just don't know
enough about it, and we do have an ongoing case, and we will bring
information back to the Board. So, again, it's just still very new to
us. So we look forward to bringing it back to you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Anything we can accelerate it.
Like you said -- your brought up a good point, Mr. French. He
might have been dealing a lot with the Sheriff's Office and maybe
getting a little bit of the run-around. Now that we know that, let's try
to catch up to where we can --
MR. NDIAYE: Thank you, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- to resolve it. Thank you, sir.
MR. MILLER: Your next public speaker is Robert Thurston,
and he will be followed by Donald Braswell.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Good morning, sir.
MR. THURSTON: Hello.
Okay. A question: If you could have a career that was
successful by most standards, successful by most measures, but the
job secretly involved harming an innocent person or some innocent
people, would you still do it? The people named in these online
documents did.
Hello, my name is Robert Thurston. Thank you for recently
passing the Bill of Rights Sanctuary Ordinance. I recently spoke to
September 12, 2023
Page 56
the Board of Collier County Commissioners on July 25 and
August 22, 2023, about something called the Targeted Individual
Program. You can find these discussions on Collier TV.
The Targeted Individual Program is an around-the-clock
harassment campaign that attempts, off the radar, to destroy
American citizens' lives. I hope these three-minute talks help the
community understand that there are some people in our midst who
are wholly compromised and have no problem with weaponizing
government and law to try to remove, in one way or another, people
from society who are often law-abiding citizens, the compromise to
commit these crimes against their fellow Americans for control and
money, not to protect and serve. Violating your civil rights means
nothing to them.
We've talked about what the Targeted Individual Program is.
Today I'd like to warn the Naples Community who the people are
behind the Targeted Individual Program. Who is behind these
miserable torture programs that truly burden the soul of the people
they ruthlessly target? They've got blood on their hands.
This all starts with the deep state, a cabal of some, some police,
fire, military, politicians, and business entities who have organized
without the consent of the American people to try to impose their
agenda of greed. The only way to stop the deep state is to keep the
pressure on these people violating American's civil rights to the
Targeted Individual Program, bring their agendas of greed into the
light for all the world to see. That's why I'm here today.
This cabal, the deep state, is a well-connected and well-funded
machine crookedly using our own tax dollars against often
law-abiding American citizens through the Targeted Individual
Program.
From the deep state, the orders come down and process through
Senate intelligence committees -- think Mark Warner -- that okay
September 12, 2023
Page 57
funding and give these, what are really human rights -- civil rights
violations the air and appearance of legitimacy through the bills,
laws, and acts they create. These committees often don't allow for
much transparency for the average Americans who know all they do
through their closed-door sessions and heavily redacted documents
that do -- they do release to the public.
The committees distill the Targeted Individual Program down
through the FBI and CIA and regionally, then, through FEMA and at
the local level through each county's sheriff -- here Kevin Rambosk.
A person from the Department of Justice told me personally each
county sheriff is plugged into -- each county's head sheriff, Kevin
Rambosk, is plugged into what is essentially torture through the
Targeted Individual Program.
I have about 12 seconds, may I have another minute?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir. Keep going.
MR. THURSTON: Thank you very much. So what am I
hoping to accomplish here today with telling you people about the
deep state and the Targeted Individual Program? First visit my
website with --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Continue, sir.
MR. THURSTON: Thank you.
First, please visit my website with the documents naming the
people who violated my civil rights here in Naples through the
Targeted Individual Program at targetedindividual4.wordpress.com.
While there, read about my attempts to work with the Florida
Legislature to create Collier's law which would criminalize
participation in the Targeted Individual Program.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you, sir.
MR. THURSTON: Thank you very much.
MR. MILLER: Your final speaker for Item 7 is Donald
Braswell.
September 12, 2023
Page 58
MR. BRASWELL: Gifts.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I can't accept that.
MR. BRASWELL: Hello, gentlemen. I'm Don Braswell.
The reason I'm here today is real quick and sweet. I love using the
pool at Golden Gate and Santa Barbara, that little corner there. Nice
facility. But I do have one problem. I live in a really nice condo.
We have two pools, and both of those pools are like bathwater, not
too refreshing. So I go to the County's facility there for a pool that is
refreshing, has the kind of things I really, really like, but for the last
four months the cooler for that pool is not working. So now I'm
back to bathwater.
Can you help me out? Can we get that -- that's a maintenance
item. I'm not asking for new expenditures. Get that fixed so that
we have a great pool and I can do my laps. You know, the folks at
my condo, they go in the pool just to kind of bob around. I like to
get some exercise, and that's perfect, what we have at that facility.
MR. KLATZKOW: Commissioners, I was there Sunday. It's
now operating, and it's a wonderful facility.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. BRASWELL: So if you could help me with that -- yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: That problem's been fixed.
MR. BRASWELL: Oh, okay.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So go take a dip this
afternoon.
MR. BRASWELL: All right.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Cool off.
MR. BRASWELL: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Be gone.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So you got "round to it"?
MR. BRASWELL: Yeah. I was hoping you would get a
"round to it," so...
September 12, 2023
Page 59
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And in fairness, we were aware
that the problem was taking an extended amount of time. It's not my
district, but I had the same issue at a pool in my district, and at least
the challenge that we had in -- at a pool in my district was the ability
to obtain the part. I mean, it was -- you know, I mean, I even sort of
scratched my head and said do we need to, you know, break this
thing off of the International Space Station? Where's it coming
from?
But it was a difficult part to maintain [sic]. I don't know if it
was a different reason in Golden Gate.
Do we have -- just for the record, do we have any feedback on,
you know, why it was a little longer of a fixed than what we had
hoped? But I believe it was just because contractor couldn't get the
part. Or here comes Tanya.
MR. BRASWELL: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: While she's coming up, I
would suggest that you collect these things back from us. I've been
here for a while, and I suspect that there'll be something else for you
to ask to get around to.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: These are recyclable, yeah.
MR. BRASWELL: I do have one thing, because you're all
husbands and have a significant other, what husband -- his wife's
been bugging -- you know, you fix that front door or fix this, and you
always say, "round to it." So you can just amuse your special other
with those little --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let's hear from Parks and Rec
leadership just so we can close the loop on the final fix.
MS. WILLIAMS: Good morning. For the record, Tanya
Williams, Public Services department head.
And, yes, it has been an unseasonably warm summer, and we've
all had to combat with high temperatures resulting in
September 12, 2023
Page 60
higher-than-normal water temperatures. We have been working with
our vendor. It is a geothermal system. And we were having high
temperatures across all parks. We now have that under control. We
still have some repairs to make throughout our park system in various
systems. But, as Commissioner Saunders said, I'll meet with you
after this, so we can chat.
MR. BRASWELL: No problem.
MS. WILLIAMS: And I do ask that you go back to Golden
Gate and try the water out, so thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Great. Thank you, ma'am.
Sir.
MR. MILLER: That was our final registered speaker for
Item 7, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Do you want to break until -- is
11:00 too much? Okay. Let's just come back right up at straight up
11:00.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Perfect.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right. Thank you.
(A brief recess was had from 10:43 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.)
MS. PATTERSON: Chair, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I assume we're done with
public comment?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
MR. BRASWELL: Thank you, gentlemen.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you. And thanks for
reminding us to put your phones on mute. Yeah, you know. You
were busted. You need to get "round to it," right?
MR. BRASWELL: You got it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Go ahead, Ms. Patterson. 9A.
MS. PATTERSON: That brings us -- Item 9A has been
continued to a future board meeting.
September 12, 2023
Page 61
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: That's just a note because it originally was
continued to a date specific.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I gotcha.
Item #10A
RESOLUTION 2023-163: APPOINT TWO AT-LARGE
ENVIRONMENTAL MEMBERS TO THE COLLIER COUNTY
PLANNING COMMISSION. (ALL DISTRICT) - RESOLUTION
2023-163 - MOTION APPOINTING JOSEPH SCHMITT WITH
TERMS EXPIRING OCTOBER 1, 2027 - APPROVE BY
COMMISSIONER LOCASTRO; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER HALL – APPROVED 5/0 - MOTION TO
APPOINT PAUL SHEA WITH A TERM EXPIRING OCTOBER 1,
2027 - APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER SANDERS; SECONDED
BY COMMISSIONER HALL -APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: That moves us to 10A. This is a request
to appoint two at-large environmental members to the Collier County
Planning Commission. I'll hand it over to the County.
MR. KLATZKOW: Commissioners, you have two current
members whose terms are expiring, Joseph Schmitt and Paul Shea.
You also have two other applicants to this. All these applicants are
highly qualified, and it requires four votes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. KLATZKOW: Two positions.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I looked at all the bios. I know
the two current board members personally. The way I always look
at this is, I like to see some new people, and that's part of it, but also,
too, on the flip side, I know when we have really deep expertise, and
September 12, 2023
Page 62
they haven't overstayed their welcome. And I think we might have
had a conversation, are they past their term limits or whatnot.
I mean, we're blessed to have Joe Schmitt on the -- on this
committee, you know, who worked for the Army Corps of Engineers,
retired colonel. And I don't just say that as a veteran, but the
depth -- if you ever watched, you know, the board, his questions are
in-depth, and the County staff knows him very well.
I have no issues with Paul Shea either.
So I'll hear from the other commissioners and then, you know,
we'll make a motion to appoint and vote on these applicants.
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you. I agree with
you, Mr. Chairman, and we always like to get new opinions and new
folks. That's always great for our committees; however, there's
probably no committee more important than our planning advisory
group. And so I agree with you, Paul Shea and Joe Schmitt would
be great to keep on that board.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So I'll make a motion for -- since
Mr. Schmitt's in my district -- and we'll just do this maybe just for
personalization. So I'd like to make a motion to keep Mr. Schmitt on
the board. Do I have a second?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So I made a motion.
Commissioner Hall gave a second. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
September 12, 2023
Page 63
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Mr. Schmitt passes
unanimously.
And, Commissioner --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll make a motion to appoint
Paul Shea, who is in my district, just as you did.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Second it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We've got a second by
Commissioner Saunders for Mr. Shea, a second by Commissioner
Hall to reappoint him to the board. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously as well.
And we thank the other two applicants as well. There'll always be
openings on this committee as well as plenty of others.
Next?
Item #11A
AWARD INVITATION TO BID (“ITB”) NO. 23-8151, “98TH
AVENUE NORTH AND 99TH AVENUE NORTH PUBLIC
UTILITIES RENEWAL,” TO DOUGLAS N. HIGGINS INC., IN
THE AMOUNT OF $17,862,085.00, AUTHORIZE THE
CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT,
AUTHORIZE THE NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS.
(MATTHEW MCLEAN, PUBLIC UTILITIES ENGINEERING
September 12, 2023
Page 64
DIVISION DIRECTOR) (THIS ITEM IS A COMPANION TO 11B)
(PROJECT NUMBERS 60139 AND 70120) - MOTION TO
APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER HALL; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER SANDERS– APPROVED
Item #11B
APPROVE A $1,146,154.00 PURCHASE ORDER TO STANTEC
CONSULTING SERVICES, INC., UNDER PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES AGREEMENT NUMBER 14-6345, FOR
CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING, AND INSPECTION
SERVICES FOR THE PUBLIC UTILITY RENEWAL PROJECT
FOR 98TH AND 99TH AVENUES NORTH. (MATTHEW
MCLEAN, PUBLIC UTILITIES ENGINEERING DIVISION
DIRECTOR) (THIS ITEM IS A COMPANION TO 11A) - MOTION
TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER HALL; SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER SANDERS – APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, that brings us to Item 11,
County Manager's report. Items 11A and 11B are companion items.
Item 11A is a recommendation to award Invitation to Bid
No. 23-8151, 98th Avenue North and 99th Avenue North, public
utilities renewal, to Douglas N. Higgins, Inc., in the amount of
$17,862,085, and authorize the Chairman to sign the attached
agreement, authorize the necessary budget amendments.
Mr. McLean, your Public Utilities Engineering division director
is here to present.
I'm going to read 11B in at the same time. This is a
recommendation to approve a $1,146,154 purchase order to Stantec
Consulting Services, Inc., under Professional Services Agreement
No. 14-6345 for construction, engineering, and inspection services
September 12, 2023
Page 65
for the public utility renewal project for 98th and 99th Avenues
North.
And Mr. McLean will present on these items combined.
MR. McLEAN: Good morning, Commissioners. Matt
McLean, your division director for Collier County Public Utilities.
We did include the presentation in the backup materials of this
particular item, these two companion items. I'm happy to go through
that presentation. It's five, six minutes, if you'd like, or I could go
straight to any questions. Whatever's the pleasure of the Board.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No, please go through.
MR. McLEAN: Excellent. I appreciate that opportunity.
Again, our continued commitment to the Naples Park
community, this is the next two streets within the Public Utilities
Renewal Program, 98th and 99th Avenues. This is a joint project
which we really enjoy to do between the Public Utilities department
and the Transportation Management Services department. We like
to coordinate those projects together so that we can continue to try to
go through a neighborhood swiftly and efficiently on renewing
infrastructure.
So the two companions, as your County Manager identified, are
the construction award relative to the water, wastewater, and
stormwater infrastructure that we're recommending to the low bidder,
Douglas N. Higgins, who is represented here today. We also have
the construction, engineering, and inspection contract for Stantec in
front of you today as those two companion items.
These particular projects are in concert with our Collier County
Strategic Plan on our continued investment in infrastructure. We've
been committed within the Naples Park community to replace that
50, 60-year aging infrastructure of the water, which is asbestos
cement pipe; the stormwater, which is a bunch of old clay pipe -- I'm
sorry -- on the stormwater side, which is a bunch of the old
September 12, 2023
Page 66
corrugated metal pipe; as well as the sanitary sewer, which is a lot of
the old clay, a lot of older technology pipes that we continue to see
challenges with with continued maintenance, particularly when
you're looking at things that have been in service for 50, 60-plus
years. So we're continuing to try to renew those pieces of
infrastructure.
A quick location map so that we can see the limits of the
particular project. We have Vanderbilt Drive on the west end,
U.S. 41 on the east end, and this encompasses the complete renewal
of that infrastructure on 98th and 99th Avenues.
Here's a brief picture of some of the existing conditions that
we've experienced within Naples Park that I referred to. That
clay/sanitary sewer pipe is a couple of pictures on the top left and
also some stormwater pipes in the lower right where we're talking
about, you know, corrugated metal pipes that have compressed.
Over the 50, 60 years within Naples Park, oftentimes people also fill
in swales in the stormwater areas, plant trees, have impacts to the
stormwater system. So by going back through these areas in Naples
Park systematically like we've been doing for the last several years,
we've been able to provide some significant improvements to that
overall infrastructure so that when these projects are complete, they'll
be renewed for the next, 50, 60, 70 years plus.
Here's an example of some of the pictures during construction
that occur. There is some significant impact that does occur with the
neighbors. We have incorporated additional environmental
conditions on each one of our contracts. This is not our first project
in Naples Park. We continue to learn best lessons learned
throughout the course of those projects.
It is impactful. We are digging up pipes that in some cases are
12, 14-feet deep, and so we're pretty much taking out the entire
roadway network system and impacting the entire right-of-way as we
September 12, 2023
Page 67
go.
Certain things we put in place within the contract so that we
don't open up the two full streets at one time have been very
successful so that we can continue to try to maximum and compress
project schedules and get infrastructure installed as quickly as
possible and open roadways back up to our community members with
the help of the work that our contractors are doing.
And when we get done, we're always happy, and it's always a
great success for us to see that final lift of asphalt and the final
restoration where we can all have, you know, a good high-five and a
good success story to be able to go back through areas that we've
made improvements to.
We actually saw from Ian, when we had all of the flooding and
the inundation of stormwater that came in, some very successful
stormwater improvements that we've made within Naples Park we're
able to convey that stormwater out of the system swiftly and
efficiently as designed. So it is working, and we're continuing to
commit to the community to finish off the rest of Naples Park.
And so in this particular construction award in front of you, it
did go out on an intent to bid in May. We received two bids in June
before you; one from Douglas Higgins and one from Andrews Site
Work. Douglas Higgins was determined the responsive and
responsible low bidder.
We do an exorbitant amount of neighborhood coordination on
these projects. I, quite frankly, give a lot of credit to our staff
members that are out there in the field on a daily basis and our
consultants and contractors and our CEI groups that are out there
working with the neighborhood. It's very, very important for us to
have that front-facing, particularly when we're out there making a
significant mess, if you will, within these communities.
We go through a very exorbitant process from even before we
September 12, 2023
Page 68
start construction on working with the neighbors on neighborhood
information meetings, continued communication coordination,
working on right-of-entry forms and, as I indicated, Naples Park
program has been around for quite some time. We have a dedicated
website. We've got dedicated public information officers. We've
got dedicated phone lines and emails. There's weekly updates on all
of our website information relative to the continued coordination
that's happening out at Naples Park. We want to make sure that
we're conveying the information to the residents that are there what's
going on and when they can start to expect certain things.
There's many pieces of public information that are put out as
we're making certain milestones throughout the project so that they
can continue to be informed as to what's going on in their
community.
So before you today are, again, our companion items. For the
recommendation of approval is the construction contract with
Douglas N. Higgins as presented in the agenda item as well as the
CEI contract to Stantec Consultant Services for the requisite amounts
that were identified within the particular agenda item. And I'm here
to answer any particular questions that you guys may have.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you, Matt.
This is a pretty impressive project. I actually lived on 110th on
the first time -- on the first street that was done. And I saw -- I saw
where the contractor struggled a little bit in the beginning, but then
by the time they got up to our block, they had really caught a rhythm,
and it really flowed well.
And so I had another house on 107th that was done on that
street, and when some of the compacting is done, it's rather
aggressive. And I know that our house experienced a little -- you
know, some cracking, and I know neighbors -- we've had some
September 12, 2023
Page 69
emails come in from our district from the cracking. Is there
some -- is there some concessions made to the homeowners for the
collateral damage that's done during the process?
MR. McLEAN: I appreciate the question, Commissioner.
Within the contract, there is vibratory requirements that are
established in the contract to make sure that the monitoring is
happening so that there's assurance that the vibratory efforts that are
underway from the particular equipment that's out there is within the
thresholds within the laws that are out there.
And so we do monitor that, and those monitoring things are
throughout the course of the construction. We review all that
information. And if they do exceed the thresholds, we do have the
contractor's insurance. And as far as cracks are concerned relative to
anyone's particular homes, that is an issue that is handled between the
contractor and the respective homeowner.
We have recently met with one particular homeowner on an
existing street that we have out there to this exact situation that you're
referring to. And we've provided the information relative to the
contractor's insurance as well as they've requested now the vibratory
results that have taken place within the air -- direct area surrounding
that particular home. So we do help coordinate; however, unless
they're going over the threshold limits, it's really a third-party issue
for us.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I appreciate it.
And then, secondly, you know, how long is these two streets
going to take, you reckon?
MR. McLEAN: Each particular project carries about a year and
a half. I think it's five hundred and -- a little over 500 days that are
in the contract, in the initial. There are projects that run into
unforeseen conditions as well as acts of God, et cetera, that may
extend those particular time frames.
September 12, 2023
Page 70
But it's generally a little over about a year and a half for each
particular two-street project that we put together. We've broken
these projects up over time. Again, learning lessons. Initially,
within Naples Park, when we opened up and did a lot of the finger
streets that are adjacent to Naples Park, we had all those projects
going, as well as others, and we just -- we understood that we put too
much impact at one particular time within the neighborhood. We try
to compress as much as we can to those two streets. Two streets in
Naples Park is, effectively, two miles.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Oh, yeah.
MR. McLEAN: It's about a mile a street. So it's still a pretty
significant construction area; however, we do try to limit it so that we
can get a very good detailed, as-quick-as-possible construction
schedule.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Good. And then going forward,
you know, these are like one job repeated 10 times, because it's just
different streets. We're going to spend a little over a million dollars
for CEI services. And I just wonder if -- in the future if there's a
way that we can save that expense, being that the project is fairly
familiar. It's -- you know, it's the same, you know, process on every
street. I don't know what -- the possibility of saving that CEI and
doing it in-house or maybe requiring the contractor or paying the
contractor just a little bit extra to do -- you know, those are just
thoughts that I have, so I just wanted to throw that out there.
I talked to the County Managers about that yesterday, but I just
wanted to put that out publicly that I would love to see something
like that happen where we could save some county funds.
MR. McLEAN: I appreciate that comment, and we continue to
look at each and every project with respect to if we do CEI in-house
or we hire people to provide those CEI services.
So, again, each particular project we review independently
September 12, 2023
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relative to how we want to attack that portion of it. We don't want to
always let the contractors have free rein and count on the contractors
to do what they're supposed to do. We do very some very good
contractors within our area that do great work for us, but we do also
want to make sure we have that proper check and balance.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I agree.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal, and then
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chair.
Yeah. And like Commissioner Hall was saying, I'd like to just
follow up on that, because I was thinking that myself. I would think
in 1960 they did some final as-built drawings and documents of
what's in the ground and what they used and where they used it, so I
wouldn't think anything changed, since it's been undisturbed since the
'60s, a lot of these streets.
And, you know, knowing that, that more than likely these things
were documented, as-built drawings when the projects were finished
back then, it shouldn't be that much of a mystery what's there, you
know. Like, I would think maybe more of this could be done
in-house and save the taxpayer a little bit of money. Like you said,
we've already done how many streets? And what, there's 20
north -- or east/west streets?
MR. McLEAN: We're about halfway through Naples Park.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: So about halfway through. And
how about the north/south connections? Is there going to be parts
where they're going to have to be tore up, too?
MR. McLEAN: There is relative to 8th Street. We have
several lift stations that are along 8th Street that go up. That will
likely be one of the last components that may happen in the project.
It all depends on how we ultimately plan out and look at our
financing in conjunction with our partners from stormwater.
September 12, 2023
Page 72
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah. I'd like, really, to
encourage that we do kind of look in that direction, you know, to try
to save a few dollars here and there.
MR. McLEAN: Appreciate the comments.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
Commissioner McDaniel and I got this Productivity Committee
restarted for Collier County. I think that may have been before you
two guys were on the Board when we restarted it.
The reason I mention that is that committee is investigating
different areas for where the County can be more efficient and save
some money. And the one area that they are investigating now is
bringing much of this engineering and this type of work in-house so
that we don't have to pay exorbitant fees to engineers.
And I think we have a meeting -- I'm not sure. I think it's next
week we have a Productivity Committee meeting, and staff's going to
be making presentations concerning how to -- how much
money -- we're spending and what suggestions we have. But we
have some very experienced people on that committee that are going
to dig into this. And so I agree 100 percent; we're spending a lot of
money. Maybe we can save some.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Does Commissioner McDaniel
have anything?
MR. MILLER: He has not raised his hand at this time. Oh,
there -- it just went up. I'm sorry.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I could feel it. I could feel it.
MR. MILLER: You could feel it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Even when you're not here,
Commissioner McDaniel, I can feel the hair on the back of my head
stand up. Sir, the floor is yours.
September 12, 2023
Page 73
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Are we getting ready to start
talking about Rock Road again?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, yeah. Rock Road?
Sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just wanted to say a couple of comments, you know -- and I'm
really happy to hear that the circumstances are being moved over to
the Productivity Committee. I think that will be good. It's just
important to say out loud.
And, Commissioner Saunders, you are as well -- well, we all are
aware. But, you know, we're governed by a statute called a CCNA
which requires us to do certain things with engineering and planning
and hiring outside consultants, and I just want to -- I want to repeat
what you folks have said, that our efforts to internalize as much as we
possibly can can help us from being in that precarious state.
The second point I wanted to make was I have an enormous
amount of experience with managing vibration from back in my old
days of the mining business. And I've already sent a note to
Dr. George to further explore some of the successes that I reached
back in those days to help reduce the negative impacts that
potentially could come from vibration. It only takes one good bump,
and a crack that was six inches long is now nine inches long. And
there are ways to mitigate these things, so -- and I'll work with
Dr. George and Matt and his staff, and we'll come back with some
potential ideas that we may be able to add into our contracts.
The issue ultimately boils down, it's nice to have a contractor.
You've got that separation. But at the end of the day, these are
county jobs, and if we sic a contractor -- even though they're good
contractors, if we sic a contractor on a homeowner, we put -- we put
the homeowner in a litigious circumstance through no fault of their
own. And there are ways to mitigate that. So that's my point. I'm
September 12, 2023
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certainly in support of the projects and happy to hear the discussion.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you, sir. Okay.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Move to approve.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I've got a motion to
approve. Do I have a second?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. We've got a motion to
approve from Commissioner Hall, a second from Commissioner
Saunders. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
Thank you, sir.
Item #11C
APPROVE AN AGREEMENT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE
WITH, ONE, MICHAEL GUTIERREZ; TWO, ROBERT AND
BERNIE SPONSELLER; THREE, MARY A. SCOTTI TRUST;
FOUR, MICHAEL GEREN REVOCABLE TRUST AND
TRUST 81972; FIVE, BARBARA PERONA; AND, SIX,
MICHAEL F. WEIR, TRUSTEE, UNDER THE CELINE WEIR
DECLARATION OF TRUST DATED AUGUST 25TH, 1995,
UNDER THE CONSERVATION COLLIER LAND ACQUISITION
PROGRAM AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $516,550 - MOTION
TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER SANDERS; SECONDED
September 12, 2023
Page 75
BY COMMISSIONER KOWAL – APPROVED
MS. PATTERSON: Item 11C is a recommendation to approve
an agreement for sale and purchase with, one, Michael Gutierrez;
two, Robert and Bernie Sponseller; three, Mary A. Scotti Trust; four,
Michael Geren Revocable Trust and Trust 81972; five, Barbara
Perona; and, six, Michael F. Weir, Trustee, under the Celine Weir
Declaration of Trust dated August 25th, 1995, under the
Conservation Collier Land Acquisition program at a cost not to
exceed $516,550.
Jaime Cook, your Development Review division director, is here
to present and/or answer questions.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MS. COOK: Good afternoon, Commissioners, Jaime Cook,
your director of Development Review.
Would you care for the presentation or --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Please.
MS. COOK: -- do you have questions?
Okay. Before you today, you have six parcels for your
consideration for purchase agreements. The first five listed, the four
in North Belle Meade and the one in Winchester Head, were
approved as part of the Cycle 11A Active Acquisition List that the
Board approved on December 13th, 2022, and the final property in
the Gore Preserve was approved as part of the 11B Active
Acquisition List at the February 28th, 2023, board meeting.
For the first four properties, which are located within the North
Belle Meade preserve, on the left-hand side of the screen you can see
the four outlined in white. And it's important to note that the North
Belle Meade preserve connects the Triple H Ranch to -- on its west to
the Rural Fringe Mixed-Use District sending lands and Natural
Resource Protection Area lands directly to its east, as well as the
September 12, 2023
Page 76
Gore Preserve, RLSA lands, and panther wildlife -- National Wildlife
Refuge to the east.
They also connect -- this preserve area also connects to Picayune
Strand to its south through wildlife corridors. All of these preserve
areas provide habitat for wildlife, including the Florida panther. It's
part of the Red-cockaded woodpecker management area, black bear,
gopher tortoise, bonneted bats, and Big Cypress fox squirrels, in
addition to listed bird species.
And, again, this contributes to that corridor that connects these
lands with private and public conservation lands, and the habitats
consist of native upland and wetland communities.
So the first property, the Gutierrez property, is shown right here
on your screen. It is a little under five acres and consists of cypress
and mixed wetlands. The purchase price is $81,000. Initial
management costs for exotic removal are about $2,000 for the first
year and then $1,000 in subsequent years.
The Sponseller property, shown here in yellow, is five acres and
consists of hydric pine flatwoods and mesic flatwoods. The
purchase price is $90,000. And, again, exotic removal will be 2,000
for the first year and $1,000 for the subsequent years.
The Scotti Trust is towards the eastern border of the North Belle
Meade Preserve. It's 8.7 acres of forested wetlands and hydric soils.
The purchase price is $128,000, and exotic removal is a little higher
for this property, as it is larger. So 3,500 for the first year, and then
1,800 for subsequent years.
And the fourth property, the Geren Trust is, 7.84 acres of hydric
pine flatwoods, scrub-shrub wetlands, and hydric soils. The
purchase price is $129,500. And for your benefit, the two parcels
that are directly north of this one will -- are proposed to come before
you as part of a PUD rezone for a development in the Rural Fringe
Mixed-Use District probably within the next six to eight months, I
September 12, 2023
Page 77
would expect. But they would be doing a land donation and turning
these two parcels over to Conservation Collier to manage.
The Winchester Head Preserve is in the Golden Gate Estates
area. It is directly west of the Hyde Park SRA, which is also known
as SkySail. This preserve area is -- multi-parcel project is incredibly
important for flood storage, and the Big Cypress Basin, as part of the
Water Management District, has determined that this area is vital for
floodplain storage and flood control.
About 65 percent of the Winchester Head preserve area has been
acquired. And, again, in addition to floodplain storage, it does also
provide habitat for listed species, including wading birds and the
Florida panther.
The Perona property is towards the southern portion of the
preserve area shown in yellow here. It is 1.59 acres of wetland
marsh and cypress habitat, and the purchase price is $39,800. Exotic
removal a little bit less in this area, $677 for the first year, and 318
for subsequent years.
And then, finally, the Robert Gore Preserve which, again, is
shown in red, provides that interconnection for the wildlife corridor
both to the west, to the east, and to the south. It is a combination of
native plant communities of upland and wetland habitats and, again,
provides habitat for the Florida panther, bonneted bat, listed bird
species, black bear.
And the property that you are looking at on this one is the Weir
Trust. It is at the eastern extent of the preserve project area. It is
2.27 acres of forested/shrub, wetlands, and mixed hardwoods, and the
purchase price is $37,500. Just as a note for you, the three
surrounding parcels to this, the owners have -- have accepted
Conservation Collier's offer, and those are anticipated to come to you
at the next Board meeting.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Good.
September 12, 2023
Page 78
MS. COOK: So, overall, the costs to Conservation Collier are
broken down for you with the appraised value, the purchase price,
closing costs, as well as the initial and long-term maintenance costs.
So the total purchase price for these six parcels is $516,550 for the
purchase price and closing costs.
With that, staff recommends approval of these six purchase
agreements to acquire these parcels as part of the Conservation
Collier Land Acquisition Program at a cost not to exceed $516,550.
With that, I will take any questions that you may have.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, one of the things I think
we all like seeing is that we've got some owners here that accepted
slightly less than the appraisal value. So any money that we can
save on this program might allow us to buy another parcel.
You don't need to bring back up the slide, but it was one of your
first slides where you had one whole section to the east was, like,
white, or it was, like, light green. Are those parcels -- yeah, that one.
Well, yeah, that one, and then there was another one that looked sort
of similar. Are those parcels we've already purchased?
MS. COOK: This one?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: No. Go back. It's
just -- whatever's shaded in that sort of white, light green, are those
parcels we've already purchased, or those are things that other people
own? What is that showing us?
MS. COOK: That is the Rural Fringe Mixed-Use District
sending lands and NRPA lands, the Natural Resource Protection Area
lands. Those are all in private preservation.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So those wouldn't be
subject to future purchase or anything? They don't need to be.
MS. COOK: Correct.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right, okay.
I mean, you know, you see, like -- we've said it before, you sort
September 12, 2023
Page 79
of look at this, and it's sort of a hodgepodge mix of sort of puzzle
pieces here and there, and I know that there's still some advantage.
And then, like you said, there's other parcels coming to us that start to
join some of these, and in the end you hope that we have one big,
giant green area or something pretty close to it.
Okay. We have some public comment. Mr. Miller.
MR. MILLER: We have one registered speaker today, Brad
Cornell.
MR. CORNELL: Good morning, Commissioners, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you today on this.
I'm Brad Cornell on behalf of Audubon Western Everglades and
Audubon Florida.
I want to register our strong support for the purchase of these six
parcels. They're part of, as Jaime Cook outlined, the North Belle
Meade, HHH Ranch, the Natural Resource Protection Area, and
Rural Fringe Mixed-Use District easements that are protected that
connect to the Gore Preserve and the panther refuge. It's a whole
corridor of wildlife movement between all of those features that are
just north of I-75, and they connect to the Picayune Strand, which is
also being restored via the ledges under the Miller Canal bridge under
I-75.
And I want to note that these multi-parcel acquisitions are
fundamental to how Conservation Collier can reassemble natural
flowways and panther corridors and large ecological landscapes that
were, in the past, fragmented and subdivided.
It's an ecological jigsaw puzzle that we're reassembling, and
Conservation Collier and Collier County has a unique role and ability
to do this.
Florida Forever's not going to come in here and do this. The
feds aren't going to come in here and do this. It's Collier County's
opportunity to reassemble these.
September 12, 2023
Page 80
So thank you for -- and we in the public, the citizens of Collier
County, have a huge interest in seeing this jigsaw puzzle reassemble.
You know, it's an amazing feat, and it's happening before our eyes.
So thank you for your support for moving these to purchase.
Appreciate it.
MR. MILLER: That was our only registered speaker for this
item, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I don't see any commissioners that
are lit up with any questions.
Do I have a motion to approve?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So moved, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I've got a motion to
approve by Commissioner Saunders. Do I have a second?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Second.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I've got a second by Commissioner
Kowal. All in favor?
COMMISSIONER HALL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Opposed?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It passes unanimously.
MS. COOK: Thank you.
Item #11D
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER OPTIONS FOR POTENTIAL
BUDGET AND MILLAGE REDUCTIONS - DISCUSSED, NEW
UPDATE ON NEXT MEETING
September 12, 2023
Page 81
MS. PATTERSON: Commissioners, that brings us to our
add-on Item 11D. This is a recommendation to discuss and consider
options for potential budget and millage reductions.
Mr. Ed Finn, your Deputy County Manager, will begin the
presentation.
MR. FINN: Good morning. Thank you, ma'am.
Ed Finn, Deputy County Manager.
Troy, do we have a presentation?
MR. MILLER: I did not have one from you, sir.
MR. FINN: Sorry about that.
Okay. At Thursday's meeting, the Board directed us to bring
back a discussion item to consider some changes to the budget.
Reductions were primarily on the docket as the Board had previously
set the maximum millage rates that they could -- they could use for
next year's budget.
Today we're going to try to identify budget elements included in
the '24 tentative budget that are above the guidelines established by
the Board's policy. We're going to provide some potential budget
and millage rate considerations for reductions and obtain Board
direction to make some changes to that budget when we bring it back
in the second public hearing.
Outline of our agenda.
I'm going to try to orient the Board quickly. We had had
some -- a lot of numbers -- numbers in our Thursday discussion.
This chart attempts to show the Board the annual revenue by
source. So this includes both the ad valorem taxes as well as the
other revenue sources that constitute our total budget. This is the
new revenue. The balance of the budget typically is those funds that
are rolling forward in the budget to bring it up to the gross total of
2.8.
September 12, 2023
Page 82
What I'm going to show you next is of the -- and perhaps I'll go
back. I'm going to describe in the next slide the ad valorem slice of
this pie. And you can see the ad valorem is about $615 million of
the total revenue. That is primarily composed of the General Fund,
which is about 80 percent of that ad valorem. The MSTUs, of which
Rock Road is one of them, composes a very small percentage.
Conservation Collier, another countywide tax, comprises about
6 percent. Pollution Control is another small countywide tax
comprising 1 percent or slightly less. And the last one is the
Unincorporated Area General Fund. That is a tax on the
unincorporated area, as it says, and that -- that fund provides
municipal type services for those areas of the county that are not
already in municipality. Those municipalities being City of Naples,
City of Marco Island, and Everglades City.
To give you a sense of where those General Fund monies go,
we're kind of providing a pie that shows you that health, safety, and
welfare comprise about 280 million of the General Fund taxes. Debt
service is a small -- small piece of it.
What we're identifying is mandates, things like Medicare
payments to the state, basic facilities operations, CRAs, and
economic development zones that are established -- established by
ordinances, the constitutional officers, and the Board of County
Commissioners constitute the bulk of those mandated items.
General governmental, again, are shown on the left-hand side,
and there's a pretty thorough list of the general -- general
governmental functions that are supported -- supported in the General
Fund.
The Unincorporated Area General Fund, as I mentioned before,
we're trying to provide for the Board a similar breakdown showing
the health, safety, and welfare. And you'll see health, safety, and
welfare here because the Sheriff is all in the General Fund. Health,
September 12, 2023
Page 83
safety, and welfare, to a great extent, is the code enforcement that we
had a little discussion about this morning. The Ochopee Fire District
is another significant one, and that is a -- as you'll remember, is a
contract we have with Greater Naples Fire District to provide
coverage out in that area.
Mandates in this case, I think, are kind of shown. We have
payments for the collection of taxes to the Property Appraiser, Tax
Collector, and there's a mandate. Again, there's a piece of this
budget or this tax that is also distributed to the CRAs and the
innovation zones.
One of the key things that we were directed to do was to identify
the difference between the budget policy previously adopted by the
Board and the proposed tax dollars that we reviewed last Thursday.
This chart breaks that out. The top three are identified as
countywide taxes: The General Fund, the small Water Pollution
Control Fund, and the Conservation Collier Fund. Those institute
the countywide taxes. The other one is the Unincorporated Area
General Fund. And you can see in the far, far right-hand column the
variances to the Board's guidance -- policy and guidance that we had
established.
This -- this slide is an outline of where that marginal -- where
those marginal dollars were placed in the budget. Far and away, the
largest one is the portion of money, the 17.5 provided to refund or
fund up the 301 Capital/Hurricane Reserve. Seventeen point
five million of the 33 is earmarked to go to that. We can discuss that
a little more as we go along. I think I had a slide where we would
discuss that, if you'd like. In the absence of this margin on the
budget, the amount in that reserve would be incremented up by
$5 million.
Countywide capital projects, there's a number of capital projects
totaling about 4.1 million that are over -- over the original budget;
September 12, 2023
Page 84
Medical Examiner is one. There was a desire to update our
governmental building master plan concept of strategic land purchase
that we've talked about. It certainly is one of the County Manager's
objectives, and there was a small portion of this budget that was
earmarked for that.
Similarly, forward looking would be the concept of a Golden
Gate Estates government services center. So that would provide for
some planning, zoning, and potentially acquisition of property.
And Camp Keais -- Camp Keais planning and studies. And I
know this is an important project. And I'll mention to the Board that
in today's consent agenda, we actually provided funding for Camp
Keais planning. What we had is two acquisitions that were made
three or four years ago, Camp Keais and the Hussey property. When
those properties were acquired, there was a bond -- a bond put in
place. A portion of the proceeds of the bond were sitting in the
Hussey property project, and the action the Board took today was to
divide those monies to allow both those projects to have some
planning funding available.
Constitutional officers, the largest one here are the Clerk of
Courts, and I'm going to have to mention that the Clerk of
Courts -- this is a mathematical function. As a matter of fact, the
Clerk's baseline budget did not include -- include last year's or -- I'm
sorry -- this year's adjustments in the adopted budget. So this is a
math exercise. Effectively that is -- that represents both last
year's -- this year's adjustment and the proposed next year's
adjustment to her payroll. The payroll on the Clerk's side is aligned
with the payroll under the County Manager's agency.
Property Appraiser -- Property Appraiser and the Tax Collector,
those are simply a function of the taxes levied. The Supervisor of
Elections is a function of elections that need to be funded in '24 and,
the paid by board for the -- for the constitutional officers, that
September 12, 2023
Page 85
represents primarily increase in property taxes and some other
basic -- basic cost of operations.
The expanded requests in the County Manager's agency total
3.6 million. The largest, by far, of those is the swale program at 2.8.
There are some other additions in the public services division for
vehicles and personnel.
GMD operating expenses, that reflects adjustments to where
certain operations are now housed, so that would be -- correct me if
I'm wrong, Amy -- housing, economic development, and resiliency.
MS. PATTERSON: Correct.
MR. FINN: Expanded requests for the Clerk of Courts,
another -- on the constitutional side, I'm going to tell you that the
Clerk of Courts has been fighting a battle to get the State to properly
fund that side of the court operation. Thus far, while she's, no doubt,
having success in making her points, she wasn't able to get that in
place for the '24 budget. She came forward and requested the Board
to fund that, and that's represented by that $828,000.
The unfunded request list is a matter that has been discussed at
this level. That is, in fact, above the original policy. Insurance,
1 million. I've already mentioned property insurance. That's
another mention of it. It's spread out in other budgets. And the
CRA and innovation zones, those amounts simply move with the
amount of taxes levied both in the General Fund and in the
Unincorporated Area General Fund.
Unincorporated Area General Fund, increases over policy is
approximately $5 million. The Ochopee Fire District represents
about a million dollars of that. Stormwater capital projects are
receiving an earmark of $2.5 million out of that. Small increments
to capital reserves, and there was some expanded requests that the
Board approved that also reside in the Unincorporated Area General
Fund.
September 12, 2023
Page 86
The unfunded request list, a piece of that is also in the
Unincorporated General Fund, and the last thing is -- because the
CRAs and the TIFs are both General Fund and 111, you have that
increment here.
Conservation Collier, the increase over policy is about 2.3
million. That's roughly 75 percent towards acquisition, 25 percent
towards the maintenance escrow -- escrow fund. And you can see
there's -- Commissioner Kowal, there's a sense there of the budgets
that would be in place in '24 if this is approved. Land acquisition
budget would be approximately $44 million.
The maintenance reserve, what I would -- technically not an
escrow, but that's kind of how we manage it, would be almost
$50 million.
And, again, Pollution Control, I mention that just to be complete
and thorough. Small increments over the plan. That increment has
been put into reserve for future -- future relocation of their lab.
And I apologize if these look similar. There's a -- these are a
little bit different. And these aren't, per se, recommendations that
the County Manager's making but, rather, these are areas that we
would like to discuss with the Board as potential -- potential
reductions.
The first group, the unfunded request list. To a great extent, the
fact that this list exists is kind of a last-in, first-out approach to
things. These were a lesser priority than the core budgets that these
were added onto. I think we're all fairly familiar with what
constitutes those unfunded requests.
Conservation Collier, we mentioned that in the previous slide.
Capital projects. Going through the capital projects, at this
point we have some estimates on the replacement cost of the security
equipment, which allows us to make an adjustment here that's
probably not particularly painful. Government facility master plan,
September 12, 2023
Page 87
that was a staff-driven recommendation that the Board certainly can
weigh in on whether they want to pursue that or not. Same comment
for strategic land purchases.
The Golden Gate government services center, again, was a
staff -- staff-initiated look-forward to try to be -- have things in place
and do the proper planning so that we're not completely behind the
eight ball in terms of government services out there. And the Camp
Keais, I believe I described earlier. The Camp Keais funding is, in
fact, funded by action today.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Mr. Finn, what makes up the
security equipment replacement?
MR. FINN: Security equipment are the four -- four
scanning -- four pieces of scanning equipment at four different
locations, including this building, the annex, the courthouse, and the
EOC.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So they're looking to upgrade that
equipment, buy new equipment, replace it --
MR. FINN: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- obviously? That's the word.
MR. FINN: Yes, sir. The equipment we're currently using is
15 years old, and the original budget was about 1.5 million. That
was the allowance. And, as I said, subsequently they've done some
quoting, and they know what the number is, so we're able to provide
that back to the Board if they so desire.
The expanded requests, just maybe a little more detail than I had
on the last slide. We talked about the additional vehicles in public
services, a couple of -- of couple of positions, and I think an admin
vehicle for public services, and the resiliency in housing additions in
GMD Board-directed projects.
Stormwater, there's about 5.3 in additional funding for
stormwater, including the swale maintenance program, and the
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addition or margin for the stormwater capital reserves totals 18.1
broken down, as I had mentioned before, into the countywide capital
reserves, an increment in the unincorporated area and an increment in
the Pollution Control.
And I will say that the -- this page we're looking at are the
County Manager's highest priorities in her budget relative to making
adjustments, so we would -- if there's a strong desire to adjust these,
we're more than happy to enter into a dialogue. But that is, in fact,
our position at the moment.
Just some other budget considerations. There's always the
consideration of level of service when we're looking at budgets, and
the budgets that are identified here tend to be General Fund or 111
budgets.
Give you a sense of the agency-wide compensation adjustment
that's included in the budget and Conservation Collier program
funding, the potential to reduce that to a baseline. And if I could, I'd
like to maybe describe that baseline concept.
In the box noted in the middle of the page, the projection FY '22
to FY '31, the original projection when this item went to the ballot
was an estimated $284 million across the 10-year life of the program.
The updated projection, based on two years of collections thus far
and what's in the budget for this year would suggest the variance over
our baseline is about $68 million.
How we might apply that is kind of shown on this sheet. To
achieve our baseline would be a tax levy of about 28.6 million per
year and how that would apply to '24 to get to that baseline, if you
will, $28 million a year would be a reduction of $6 million.
I do have a couple of quick slides before I go back to the
question slide. The Rock Road was a matter of discussion on
Thursday. Chris and I have looked at that, and we're going to make
an adjustment to that tax levy. We're going to set the tax levy equal
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to estimated expenditures in that fund, leaving a little bit of reserves
in place. Basically, that's a 65 percent reduction to the -- to that
millage rate.
And, again, not directly relevant this evening -- or today, but it
will be relevant on Thursday. When we go through our millages, if
they're unanimously approved, then we're fine. If they're not
unanimously approved -- each individual millage has a specific
requirement on the number of votes. You can see on the left-hand
box are the millages that require a plain majority vote. The
supermajority vote are on the top box on the right-hand side.
Conservation Collier requires a supermajority, and a few of the
smaller ones that are either new or have substantial increases require
a unanimous vote.
With that, sir, I'll be happy to try to respond to questions.
Mr. Johnson offered to help me, which I'm sure I'm going to need.
With that...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, I'll make some opening
statements. The last time that we talked about budget, one of
the -- you know, I guess it goes into the category of be careful what
you wish for. But all of us collectively were saying -- and
Commissioner Saunders actually said it the most eloquently. He just
said, you know, we've got to -- we've got to really get the word out to
citizens, you know. I mean, we sit here in an empty room talking
about a huge budget and, you know, where is everybody?
So much to my chagrin, the County, you know, posted a few
things on the web that I actually called Ms. Patterson about, and I
said, man, you're using some wording that's sort of, you know,
scaring the general public. I'm sort of paraphrasing here. And she
said -- I said, because, you know, we haven't voted on anything yet,
yet some of the verbiage made it sound like, you know, we were
slashing and dashing and, you know, we were either cutting a whole
September 12, 2023
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bunch of programs or raising everybody's taxes.
And then she said, well, you know, let me just give you a little
bit of pushback. That's what you guys asked for, you know, to sort
of generate a little bit of discussion.
And I got to tell you, the pushback -- or the feedback I got was
minimal, but it was almost 50/50. You know, I get -- half of the
emails are, I can't believe you're doing away with all these programs,
you know, that are so great and wonderful, and that's why we live in
paradise. So I don't mind paying a certain amount of tax to make
sure that I live in a place that's incredible, and then the other people
were, I just want to pay the least amount of taxes possible but then,
you know, a week later we'll hear from those people: When you
planting bougainvilleas in my median, you know?
And so it was a little bit sort of like confusing, and then I think
our thought was, you know, we would have a packed house here, and
maybe that was a bit naive. But, you know, the feedback I got was
you can't -- or I guess my take-away was, you can't do it all. You
can't say don't cut any programs but then make sure you roll back our
taxes to the lowest possible, you know, number. You know, that
doesn't work in real life.
And I feel like -- I don't know about the other commissioners
here, didn't get a lot of, you know -- I mean, I think we get more
emails about the pickleball courts in Pelican Bay, you know, than we
got about our $2 billion budget.
So that tells you something about maybe where, you know,
people are concerned, or maybe they're -- you know, they're -- they
just figure we'll make, you know, smart, good decisions up here.
But at least from the feedback I got, which was minimal, it
wasn't -- it was very mixed. I don't know about the other
commissioners. You know, before we start diving into that, if you
have any feedback -- you know, we were in here pretty late talking
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about the budget, and I think we had a really, really good discussion.
But, you know, I think we're sort of just picking up where we left off.
Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I did get a few emails, and I
agree with you, there was 50/50, but I think I only got four of them
total.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And compared to our typical
budget hearings, I will say this is a packed house --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- compared to what we
usually have.
COMMISSIONER HALL: We have some.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I did have -- I know there's
going to be a lot of discussion. I did have one question, or a
question or two about Conservation Collier, because I just want to
kind of understand the chart. And this is the one that had the
projection -- one just before that. Yeah. Has the projection for the
10-year program at 284 million. The updated projection, 353; of
course, that's making some assumptions of --
MR. FINN: Yes, sir. That's a 2 percent growth factor going
forward.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So the theory would be --
MR. FINN: Which is quite modest.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah. The theory would be
that -- at least you could make the argument that there's $68 million
that could be collected that's over and above what would have been
anticipated back in 2022 when this was -- or, yeah, 2022 when this
was approved -- 2020 when it was approved, so...
That doesn't necessarily mean that we have $68 million more in
that program over that 10-year period, because you also have to
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factor in that we also know that there's going to be an increase in
property costs and costs associated with acquisition.
And so if you're only programming a 2 percent increase to get to
that $68 million number, that's probably not far off the mark in terms
of increased costs for maintenance, increased costs for acquisition,
increased costs for staff time, and all of that's included.
So I'm not so sure that we can walk away from here thinking,
well, that program has gotten really fat, a whole lot fatter than we had
anticipated if you're using a 2 percent growth rate. So I just wanted
to throw that out. I just wanted to understand where that number
came from.
MR. FINN: And, sir, I think your logic is not -- is not
incorrect. I think that's -- that's a true statement. There are
increased costs. Certainly, the percentage increase going forward
will probably be larger than we included in this conservative
estimate, but I think your logic holds in that sense.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Mr. Finn, in that Fund 301 where
we're putting reserves back, basically the hurricane, do we have a
target? Is there a target for that reserve fund that would be
comfortable?
MR. FINN: So on two levels -- and I don't want to make this
overcomplicated, and I know you like pithy answers. So the answer
is we would have two targets, kind of a two-prong test. The first
prong would be have sufficient funding in there based on recent
history to support a hurricane response. So order of magnitude, we
had $34 million in there prior to the previous hurricane. That is
down to 800,000 at the moment. I would say to you that from a
hurricane preparedness standpoint, somewhere between 35 and
$40 million should be the baseline in that reserve.
I would go a step further and say with about $1.5 billion in
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Page 93
assets that are depreciating, if not more, there needs to be a capital
reserve, which was part of the intent of this combination use, a capital
reserve that approximates a good fraction of the annual depreciation
costs on our asset base. That's not to say we would establish a
reserve of billions of dollars but, rather, at least a buffer in the 10 to
$20 million range that allows us to weather downturns in taxable
value and still be able to maintain and replace things.
Alternatively, a reserve that would be seed money for major
capital replacements that otherwise might need additional pay-go
money or may need us to borrow or bond money to do.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Just for the record, when we were
talking yesterday and we were talking about other counties that
maybe weren't as judicious as we were when it comes to reserves,
when they got blasted by hurricanes, correct me if I'm wrong, when I
asked the question, you know, did they print more money in the
basement, obviously, you know, your answer is a lot of those
counties now are in serious debt because they had to borrow the
money when they had something significantly emergent. We've
never had that issue here. But could you expand upon that a little bit
more for the general public before everybody figures out how we can
save a ton of money here by --
MR. FINN: I'm going to ask Ms. Patterson to respond to that,
and I'm going to mention something I should have mentioned,
Commissioner Hall, a second ago. When it comes to hurricane
response, the debris mission, the county actually funds the debris
mission for the City of Naples and the City of Marco Island and the
City of Everglades, so that's another factor to be considered when
we're doing that reserve.
With that, I think I'll ask Ms. Patterson to respond, if she desires.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
So we actually are recently back from a group of county
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managers and other officials getting together with some of the
legislators in advance of this next legislative session, and it was
another series of tales of woe from Hurricane Ian, as you can
imagine, specifically, some of the harder-hit counties. And we're
very fortunate, but we were also well-positioned.
Some of the counties that were harder hit were also not as
well-positioned as us and were faced with having to borrow money
from the State with a promise to repay it, and now the question is
becoming how they're going to do that because not only do they not
have the money -- they didn't have the money when the storm
hit -- they are faced with massive reductions in their taxable values
because things are gone, so they're not collecting taxes on homes that
aren't there anymore.
So it's a tough spot for them to be in. They were in a hard spot
immediately after the storm on figuring out how to cash flow even
their debris missions, and they have more work to do.
When we look around here and see how -- we have things still to
be repaired, but things are well cleaned up here. Some of our
neighbors to the north are not -- are not nearly as well off as we are.
They have places that are still quite devastated, debris missions still
to be completed, waterway debris removal still ongoing, and they're
looking to borrow in many different ways or get outright waivers of
that borrowing at this point because they have no idea how they're
going to pay that back, or it may be over a long period of time.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But that could have easily been us
if we would -- I mean, I'm not saying we didn't take a direct Ian hit,
but we weren't Sanibel. We weren't Fort Myers. If the storm would
have been a little bit further south, we'd be -- our bank accounts
would be pretty thin right now, but not as horrific as what they're
experiencing, correct?
MS. PATTERSON: That's correct. And the other thing we
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Page 95
have to remember about Hurricane Ian is that it was a very -- very
specific and terrible devastation, but it was a very coastal experience
for Collier County. We did not see the vegetative debris in the rest
of the county that we saw, for example, in Hurricane Irma. And
Hurricane Irma is a tale more like what you're saying, is it was a
widespread event throughout the County, massive amounts of debris,
and we did not have this type of reserve position going into that
storm. So we didn't have to go to borrow from the State, but we had
to borrow from ourselves, essentially. We defunded every capacity
project that we could get our hands on for an extended period of time,
and it takes time for those reimbursements to come in from the
federal government.
So you can imagine that if the government moves slowly just in
our day-to-day, think about when you've brought all of your capital
projects to a screeching halt, defunded them and now are thinking
about how you have to fund them back after a disaster.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chairman.
Two questions, I guess, or maybe three. And we're looking at
around 17 million to refund that account for emergency?
I think we're looking at -- now we're probably hitting
mid-season, right, hurricane? This is probably peak time, these next
few weeks.
MR. FINN: Yes.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Going until it ends in late
October, early November.
I mean, this -- this wouldn't even come into effect till next year
anyways, right, because we're not going to -- we would fund it in
October or --
MR. FINN: Yes, sir. On 10/1, we would have that budget
appropriation, yes.
September 12, 2023
Page 96
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay. So we still have money
that FEMA's still sending back to us, correct?
MR. FINN: Yes, sir. We have received some FEMA
reimbursement, and if we were to look at the -- if we were to look at
the way that's being counted, we basically use this reserve as seed
money to get the emergency response going and provide some seed
money to get the permanent repairs going. FEMA did, in fact, give
us a little bit of money. We paid back the operating funds that
needed to be paid back, and the FEMA money now is in that fund
providing the seed cash or the cash flow ability in order to do our
permanent repairs and any lingering emergency repairs.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah. But there's any
restrictions on monies that we may receive in the future over the next
fiscal year from FEMA that we can't put it in this fund, or does it
have to go -- earmarked for specific things, specific --
MR. FINN: Generally speaking, broadly speaking, no, that is
reimbursement for funding that we expended. So, yes, it goes back
where -- effectively where we want it to go.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay. That's what -- I just
wanted clarity on that.
I guess a second question is kind of going back to the
Conservancy Collier. From let's say the Fiscal Year '22 to '23 or '21
to '22 in the actual -- I know the Maintenance Fund was kind of fat
because there was money moved over there at times, and it kind of
grew. But has there been a time where we've actually used all the
money in the purchase part of it -- section, the 75 percent that goes
into the purchase part, or have we always had a carryover?
MR. FINN: When the program is operating, we always have a
carryover. I will say that when the program terminated on the first
cycle, there came a point where there was no more -- there was no
additional funding for acquisitions. I'm also going to say that
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because that was a fairly lengthy amount of time without the program
in place, the Board authorized us to internally borrow from the
maintenance escrow and fund up a couple of critical -- critical
purchases that were made. I'm going to say, order of magnitude, 3
and a half million dollars.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: And to date, though, I mean, the
Maintenance Fund is strong.
MR. FINN: The Maintenance Fund --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I mean, there's close to $50
million in there, and we don't, by no means, use that much amount of
money.
MR. FINN: No. And you're absolutely correct. The concept
of the Maintenance Fund is to establish essentially an escrow balance
and fund maintenance as much as possible with the earnings or the
yield on those monies. And there is a threshold when we have
sufficient money, and our interest earnings are good enough that we
do have an equilibrium. In the years when we had very lien interest
rates, it was -- it was not equaling our expense side.
But I'm going to suspect now with -- I think we're doing
about -- in the 4 percent range on a yield. It probably is breakeven
or a little better at the moment in terms of annual interest revenue
more or less matching our operating expenses.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: So I guess what I'm getting at is
regardless of where we go today or, you know, where we do -- where
we make cuts, this particular program that the people voted for -- and
it's been in place and it's unique to Collier County, because I don't
believe it exists anywhere else in the State of Florida. We have
means from this board here -- if we see a problem in the future, you
know, there's properties we want to buy, we have the ability to move
money around from its own funding, correct, from maintenance to
purchase, from purchase to maintenance?
September 12, 2023
Page 98
MR. FINN: The Board could take that action to advance
money. They've done it in the past. It's been authorized in the past.
I'm kind of saying that. If the County Attorney disagrees with
it, I'd like to know. But it is an action that the Board did take.
Now, the difference there is at that point in time, the program -- the
program had terminated in terms of a millage. There was a 10-year
increment. The Board turned it off, and then we had no new money
coming in, and some important purchases came along.
Long way of saying yes, there's a precedent for that in Collier
County.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I guess what I'm getting at is
we've been running pretty efficiently with more than enough money
to buy -- purchase properties every year as we move forward since
it's been reimplemented. We have a lot of reserve in the fund as a
maintenance side that we can always dip into if we ever get to a
condition where we can't purchase a piece of property we think is
extremely important for Collier County and its citizens. So we have
mechanisms in place that we can, regardless if we continue collecting
.25 moving forward?
MR. FINN: I believe the Board has a reasonable --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I'm just trying to simplify this so
I can --
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
MR. FINN: They certainly have a reasonable amount of
flexibility to allow them to carry out most of what they're trying to
do.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay. And I guess my third
question -- this might be for everybody on the staff. I know, because
of Hurricane Ian, the State was awarding some people a reduction in
their taxes. Have we got a finger on that moving forward now, and
are we going to lose certain properties because of the State's mandate
September 12, 2023
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because of total loss and we're not going to collect taxes on these
homes or -- you know, taxes on the properties moving forward? Do
we have any idea how many homes that might be?
MR. FINN: I don't have an idea. I will tell you that one of the
factors that went into our budget guidance policy that we brought
before the Board was considerable uncertainty over that, and that's
why kind of our threshold for our increase was a little bit lower than
it might otherwise have been. But that is -- that program is now in
hand. It has expired. They paid everybody out on what they were
going to pay them.
MR. JOHNSON: And the reduction in ad valorem collected for
the County was $3.2 million.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay. We do have an actual.
Thank you, Chairman.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you. Thank you very
much.
I was making notes while I was talking, or while you guys were
talking, and I couldn't find the doggone mute button, so now I'm off
mute.
First of all, I want to say out loud, Commissioner Saunders,
thanks for bringing it up, but I'm really happy to see that staff made
an adjustment in the Rock Road MSTU, my goodness. And I would
like -- as a portion of what I'm going to say today, I would like, as we
go forward, to say out loud that -- you know, I can't tell you how
happy I am that we're having these discussions even though the room
isn't full.
At the end of the day, it is the Board of County Commissioners
that makes these budgetary decisions, and having these discussions
gives our staff even greater direction -- better direction on how to
manage the available tax monies, and moving that MSTU, even
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Page 100
though it's a tidbit of money in this $2.8 billion budget, to equate to
actual ongoing annual-with-history expenses is a really good manner
to manage going-forward revenues with estimations on taxes
collected.
My second point is with regard to Conservation Collier. Father
Ed, would you pull that slide back up you had there a minute ago
when Commissioner Saunders was talking about Conservation
Collier?
MR. FINN: Yes, sir. Is that the slide you were interested in?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I don't know. It hasn't
popped up on my screen yet. It's the -- yeah, that -- exactly, that one
right there.
Your projection from '22, FY '22 to '31 was $280 million. Your
updated projection, is that updated projection, is that where you
increased annually going forward from '22 to '31 to come up -- for
that 2 percent increase? Is that where you got that 353 million?
MR. FINN: Yes. So it would be the two years that we have to
date, plus the estimate for '24, and then it would be incremented up.
And I may have misspoke; that may be a 3 percent increment there,
which is really equivalent to the Save Our Homes allowance. So we
can almost guarantee 3 percent a year based on that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: In fact, as a minimum. And
just for, and that's a -- that was the question that -- one of the points
that I wanted to make. What was the incremental increase actually
this year over last?
MR. FINN: It's 11 percent.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: In overall tax revenue. Ed,
what was the incremental increase in overall tax revenue? I had a
number floating in my head that it was close to 6 or 7 percent.
MR. FINN: It is -- the overall increase in tax revenue, order of
magnitude, is 11 percent, sir.
September 12, 2023
Page 101
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. And so you
conservatively estimated Conservation Collier's going-forward
revenues at a 2 percent when -- and Conservation Collier is included
in everybody's tax bill. You've -- this estimate -- and I'm not
pointing fingers, Mr. Finn. I'm just talking.
The estimates here are reflecting a 2 percent increase when this
year alone it was 11, and it's been significantly higher than 2 or even
the Save Our Homes initiative of 3 percent a year. It's been
considerably higher going across the board.
So that's just something for us to have a discussion about. I
wanted to bring that point up. And just as a point of discussion or
information for our two new colleagues, I think even Commissioner
LoCastro was not part of the discussions we had early on in
Commissioner Saunders' and I's tenure about Conservation Collier.
There was about 32, 33 million in that reserve fund for
ongoing -- and I'm happy to hear you calling it an escrow account
now, not a perpetual maintenance, because it isn't perpetual. There's
a burn rate, and the funding has to be appropriated for that ongoing
maintenance. So calling it an escrow account is a very good thing.
But just for edification purposes, we allowed for up to
17 million or so to be spent for acquisitions, and then I think over the
next few years, before the ballot initiative was taken up in '20 or
'22 -- Commissioner Saunders can probably remember -- but
the -- and the tax was actually reenacted then, we allowed for up to
17 million in appropriations, and that's just for -- that's just for
edification more than anything.
And then, Commissioner Hall, on my third point,
Mr. Chair -- but Commissioner Hall, that reserve number for capital
replacement and maintenance is a newly established -- is a newly
established budget line in Collier County's history. We didn't have a
fund like this before. And the goal with this -- and I believe the data
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Page 102
input -- because as Mr. Finn already stipulated, you know, there's in
excess -- almost $2 billion worth of assets that Collier County has,
both subsurface and surficial, and all of those assets have useful lives,
and all of those assets need roofs and paint and windows and so on
and so forth, and the data entry's currently still being put in. But
round numbers, the -- to equate to what we're going to need -- what
Collier County is going to need to have in the future to redo the
parking lots, fix the windows, paint the buildings, put the new roofs
on, and then ultimately replace those assets, because all assets have a
useful life, is close to between twenty -- last I heard it was
somewhere between 24 and $25 million a year.
Now, it has -- by having this fund, it has tremendously helped
Collier County manage the natural disaster circumstances. As our
County Manager already shared, we whacked virtually all of our
capital projects back in '17 when Irma came about just to take care of
the immediacy and necessity for our community to effectuate the
cleanup as expeditiously as possible.
But restarting that engine after those capital projects are set
aside for that long, not knowing when the revenue, in fact, was going
to come, really, really set us back on some necessary infrastructure
requisites for our community.
The goal with this plan -- and you asked a very pointed question,
and Father Ed was very good about not giving you a very pointed
answer. But, round numbers, that fund needs to accumulate nigh on
150, $200 million. That will then -- that fund will be divided based
upon the necessity of the availability of those funds so that we have
reserves put in place for parking lot repair, paint, windows, roofs, so
ons, shorter term expenses, and the longer term reserves for the actual
replacement capital necessary for when any particular useful life
expires, those will be funds that could be taken out early, used for the
immediacy and the immediate cleanup that's necessary when our
September 12, 2023
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community does experience another natural disaster without stopping
the ongoing planned capital projects.
We have -- we all know we have an AUIR, an Annual Update
and Inventory Report. We have a five-year CIE, and we're
continually putting money into known capital projects that are
coming up. This fund will allow us to continue running our
business, doing what we need to do all day every day, and also take
care of the majority, if not all of, the cleanup requisites in a fashion
so that, as the County Manager already said, we won't have to borrow
in order to take care of our community and get the reparations and
normalization that comes after -- that needs to come after a natural
disaster.
So there -- I may be a little aggressive in my 150 to 200 million
in this account, but we can get there at 24, $25 million a year. Over
the next -- over the next -- over the next eight, 10 years, that fund can
be brought up to a point where it will allow an enormous amount of
flexibility for our government operations to be able to take care of the
necessary repairs and maintenance on an ongoing basis, and then,
ultimately, have the capital available for the -- for the replacement of
those assets.
And those are my comments, Mr. Chair. Thank you for
indulging.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Mr. Miller, I think you
said we had about eight speakers, so why don't we go to public
comment.
MR. MILLER: Yes, sir. Your first speaker is Donald
Braswell, and he will be followed by Brad Cornell.
I'd like to ask the gentleman, if you could -- or all the speakers
to queue up to both podiums so we can expedite the process.
Mr. Braswell.
MR. BRASWELL: Hello, gentlemen. It's Don again.
September 12, 2023
Page 104
We're going to be talking about how we spend our money, and
I've -- ad nauseam we're going over numbers and spreadsheets. It's
boring stuff. Thank you for doing that, because it's a sleeper for
most of us.
Important, yes, but I'm at the point in my life, I'm a senior. I'm
a demographic. Here you go; look at him. As a senior
resident -- and I'm on a fixed income. You know, you've got
Mr. Social Security, a little pension, and I have to make life fit that
amount of money.
You can't fix the economic climate that we have today. That
would be asking you to be godlike. You can't do that. Most of the
financial woes we have in our world now is from government at a
much higher level that spends beyond their means.
And to the point that if you look at your 401k's, your investment
accounts, we have all -- oh, I had a gain of 3 percent. Yeah, but we
lost 7 percent here, and my retirement account is now 20 percent less
than two years ago. Ooh, that hurts.
I love this county. It's beautiful. But for a lot of retirees, we
have to look at not just one year. What's the next five years look for
for those retirees? Are they going to have to sell to go to a cheaper
taxing entity because of the influences of our federal government and
so forth?
So what I'm saying, in the -- as a walking, talking demographic,
please look at the idea that my income isn't going to increase
anymore. I don't want to leave this county. I love it here. We've
got great people here. But we have to be careful where -- how we
plan our monies in a three to five-year bucket so that we keep our
residents.
The other part of it is -- take another demographic -- and I'll
make this short, because we're going to lose time. What about all
the folks in the service industries, teachers, policemen, et cetera?
September 12, 2023
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They come to the county, and their wages aren't the highest. They're
in the service industry. Thank God for them. But are they renting?
They might be. They haven't had the privilege of owning property.
And when that happens, they're renting from someone who doesn't
get a homestead credit. Where's that money go now? That person
is going to, then, take that income and put it on the renter.
Food for thought. Thank you, gentlemen.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Brad Cornell. He'll be
followed by Kathi Meo.
MR. CORNELL: Good afternoon, Commissioners, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you on the budget.
I'm here -- Brad Cornell on behalf of the Audubon
Society -- Audubon Western Everglades and Audubon Florida. Who
am I?
And from Audubon's perspective, Conservation Collier in this
budget discussion is one of the most valued, popular, and effective
programs in Collier County. There is a huge role that Conservation
Collier plays in the resilience and the sustainability and quality of life
for our citizens. I want to -- so, you know, based on that,
Conservation Collier really deserves to receive full funding.
And I want to reiterate something that Commissioner Saunders
pointed out, and that is, looking at the projections for a 10-year
receipt or any particular year, as property values go up, taxes come
in, the revenues for the program goes up, but so do the costs. And I
think that's pretty self-evidence. And I just want to reiterate that,
that that sort of -- those two elements go up and down together.
I also want to point out that we currently have, based on the
review that I've done of the figures, about $8.2 million of pending
acquisitions that have already been through the process and are
waiting for your approval. You approved six today. Thank you
very much. That's great. There are more to come, over $8 million
September 12, 2023
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worth.
In addition, there are multi-parcel projects, some of which you
approved today, that those totals that are yet to be protected are over
$20 million. So that's in comparison to this year's Conservation
Collier budget, which was about $27 million for this year. Now, that
obviously goes up, but so do the property prices.
And I just want to make one comment about the use of
Maintenance Funds, Commissioner Kowal. The use of Maintenance
Funds has come up periodically, as was discussed earlier, but it's
difficult especially if we don't have -- in the future if the income is
constrained. If the millage rate is reduced or, in the further future, if
we don't have any more ad valorem coming in. So using
Maintenance Funds reduces the ability to, in the long term, manage
these properties.
And so the final thing I just wanted to point out on a different
issue is the stormwater projects. You're looking at stormwater
projects, and you've got to remember that stormwater mixes with
storm surge and creates compound flooding. It's one of the most
dangerous, most injurious forms of impacts from these storms.
Stormwater projects and capital and maintenance is absolutely
critical, so I would urge you to move forward with those as well.
Thank you very much for considering this.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Kathi Meo. She'll be
followed by John Meo.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Can I make a comment?
MS. MEO: Good afternoon, gentlemen.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Absolutely. Wait.
Go ahead, sir.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah, I didn't really go here
before, but, you know, I think everybody needs to know, and I think
the citizens of Collier County need to understand -- because we talk
September 12, 2023
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about these programs. You talk about Conservation Collier. But,
you know, the most unique thing I noticed, when I got the
opportunity to study Conservation Collier, is the fact that we use
taxpayer dollars to buy properties that we remove off the tax rolls
which we could never collect the tax on again. I wish somebody
would sit down with the math and figure that out, what that actual
percentage equals out over the years, and what we don't collect in
taxes the minute we use tax dollars to purchase a piece of property,
that we can no longer collect taxes on because we now own it, and
then we have to maintain it with tax dollars.
So that's the thing I don't think a lot of public really, you know,
kind of digest about Conservation Collier.
I love -- the program's great, don't get me wrong, but it also is
counterintuitive when it comes to -- we talk about taxes. It's -- it
diminishes revenue every time we use it. So I just wanted to put that
out there.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. I mean, I was going
to -- I've said before. I was -- and it's not to diminish the program at
all. And I know Brad comes up to the podium and speaks very
eloquently about it. But as a citizen, I don't think I was even
elected -- yeah, I wasn't a commissioner -- I was surprised at the large
percentage that it passed, and a lot of times that percentage is used as
sort of, like, evidence that citizens love the project.
But if this room was full of people that passed it -- I'll just throw
it out there -- I think sometimes when you read one or two lines on a
ballot -- and I'm not saying it's a bad program, but I think there were
folks that did sort of vote for it, but if you sit down and really sort of
do the math, there's a possible percentage of people that might go, oh,
I didn't realize that. And it's not -- like I said, it's not to speak
negatively about the program, but it does have some consequences
that I think the average voter might not have taken into consideration.
September 12, 2023
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It doesn't mean it's bad. But, you know, part of our job is, whether
the room's empty or full, we have to do the heavy lifting up here and
do a deep dive.
Anyway, let's keep going with our --
MR. MILLER: Ms. Meo.
MS. MEO: Yes, hi. Thank you for making that pointing,
Commissioner Kowal.
Obviously, I haven't done a super deep dive into the entire
budget. It is massive. And I know it's a very difficult thing,
obviously. You know, everybody's vying for money. Nobody
wants to cut any of the programs. Everything is valuable in some
respect; however, there does have to be somewhere that you can
possibly look to either cut some percentage across the board or pause
it.
The majority of the residents here, they just can't -- especially at
this time in the economy with Biden-omics and inflation and the
insurance rates going, literally, through the roof, everything is just so
expensive, as Mr. Braswell had mentioned earlier. It's just
impossible for a majority of the people.
You know, you have those in Port Royal and so forth that it
means nothing them, but the majority of the people that are
here -- and only 28 percent of them are homesteaded; 72 percent are
not homesteaded but, however, the people that are here every day, all
day long -- and, again, as you talked about, the service, the nurses,
the teachers, the first responders, an additional increase...
Last night I don't know that -- if you know about -- the school
board increased their budget, so there's an increase there. This
would just be a double whammy, and it's just too much. The people
just are not getting that type of raise in their income, and they're just
not -- you're going to be driving out the good people of Collier
County.
September 12, 2023
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I know Commissioner Hall, LoCastro, Kowal, and McDaniel all
signed a tax pledge with the Americans for Tax Reform. And I
know you can kind of spin it and say it's not really an increase with
the millage rates and so forth, but the Florida Statute says anything
above last year, that's more than last year, is an increase. That's
Florida Statute.
So I appreciate all your time for looking into all of this,
but -- also Conservation Collier -- I have 30 seconds. All right.
We're not against conservation, all right, but Florida -- Collier
County is Florida's -- one of the top greenest counties with
two-thirds, 67 percent, of the land being conservation land. We're
not against that, but, come on, when you boil it down, what's more
important, people or land?
So I'm not saying it's not -- and maybe you could just pause that
for a year -- they have 25 million in the bank -- and take it up next
year.
Thank you.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is John Meo. He'll be
followed Andy Wells-Bean.
MR. MEO: Hey. Good morning, Commissioners, Chairman.
Just to let you know, this is the last place I wanted to be today.
Today is our anniversary.
(Applause.)
MR. MEO: She drags me out here to talk to you people.
MS. MEO: Twenty-five.
MR. MEO: So anyway. She probably said most of what I
said, but a speaker came up before and talked about valuable assets in
Collier County. Do you know what the most valuable asset in
Collier County is? It's the people. It's not the land that you save.
It's not this -- it's the people. And you've got to come from this from
the point of view of the people.
September 12, 2023
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Kathi mentioned many things. You're faced, as people in this
country, with an enormous inflation rate. We know that. Just go to
your local restaurants and try to buy a chicken parmesan. It's
ridiculous.
So if this institution called Collier Conservation has this money
in their reserve -- and the speakers actually alluded to it. I caught
that point that he said they have enough in reserve that the interest
they're earning at 4 percent could cover their expenditures in some
fashion.
Think of the average family. Wouldn't it be nice if I had
enough money in my reserve that I could pay my taxes, my
insurance, my food, every other insurance? That would be a
wonderful option. But you know what, most of the people in Collier
County don't have that. Some do, but most don't.
So I would express to you my heartfelt concern that you do not
increase taxes another 10 percent, on top of what Kathi mentioned
before about the school taxes. So you've got inflation. You've got a
school tax going up. You've got a potential Collier County tax going
up. You've got interest rates that are through the roof. They're just
ridiculous. It doesn't help the average person or the average family
that's in debt up to their eyeballs to have a high interest rate. It does
help it if you have $250 million in reserve and you can invest that.
So really consider that -- in my last 55 seconds, consider that.
If you've got enough in there, you don't have to pull this money from
the taxpayers this year, don't do it. Let it ride. Let's hope that
things are, you know, economically speaking, not your concern,
Commissioners, but on the big picture, economically speaking, our
country gets in better shape with better leadership very near in the
future.
So with that said, I thank you for listening. And, again, I'm not
happy to be here on my anniversary. Thank you.
September 12, 2023
Page 111
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Andy Wells-Bean. He'll
be followed by Keith Flaugh.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Kathi, John planned this meeting.
He said it's our anniversary, but please try to, you know, throw it in
there. He's using us as a scapegoat.
Sir, you have the floor.
MR. WELLS-BEAN: Thank you.
Hi, everyone. My name's Andy Wells-Bean. I'm representing
the Audubon of the Western Everglades, which has been fighting for
birds, wildlife, and wild places for over 60 years.
We are here to affirm our strong support for Conservation
Collier. It has been, honestly, an extraordinary program, and with no
slowing of development in site, it's an essential program to preserve
the character of our beautiful home.
If you look at Facebook and there's a news item about a new
development going up, new apartment complex or new office
building, the comments are filled with people who wish that it
was -- had remained undeveloped. And, of course, we can't lock the
door, but we can preserve some of the most environmentally
important places left in our county.
We know that present and future residents and businesses do not
want to live next to polluted waterway, they don't want to see wildlife
disappear, they don't want to see traffic -- or, rather, more traffic.
They -- the voters have repeatedly and overwhelmingly cast their
ballots in favor of public acquisition of environmentally significant
lands.
There was a question about, well, where are they all? Well,
they think they settled it. They voted three different times. They
think that the program's in place and it should be working.
If you went to them and told them, hey, we're thinking about
slashing that budget that you voted for all those times, I imagine a
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number of them would be pretty upset.
So I would ask you to follow the will of the voters and support
setting aside these environmentally important lands and offer your
full support to Conservation Collier.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your work.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker is Keith Flaugh. He'll be
followed by Ted Staub. Keith has been conceded three addition
minutes from Ryan -- is this Keely? Yes.
MR. KENNEDY: Kennedy.
MR. MILLER: Kennedy, and he's right there. So he will have
six minutes.
MR. FLAUGH: Good morning. I think it's still morning.
No, actually, it's not.
I'm going to break my comments into two distinct parts. The
first is what I call truth, and you heard about this from Kathi. The
Florida law is very clear. If you vote for a set of millage rates that
raises more ad valorem tax than the prior year, Florida law, 200.065,
declares that to be a tax increase.
Burt, your comments at the last session, I thought, to define this
as an administrative law, I think, were a little bit offensive and pure
spin. That law is there to protect and provide the transparency to the
voters.
Now I want to shift gears to the second part, which I think is the
most important part of this discussion. It has to do with the
principles of less government and efficient government. Is there any
one of you that seriously believes that every aspect of Collier
government is as effective in its efficiency as it can possibly be? If
you do, please stand up and shout it out.
We seriously appreciate -- and I mean this. We seriously
appreciate this discussion -- I understand you haven't had a
discussion like this in seven years or more -- towards the
September 12, 2023
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conservative principles of less government and, more importantly,
effective government and efficient.
We understand the how that we've talked about a little bit today
may not completely happen in the next -- before September 21. But
the policy direction that you set can happen on the 21st that then
drives what we hope -- and I spent a lot of time last week with you
talking about what the really hard work of zero-based budgeting is.
You have to address the cultural issue. You have to address the
efficiency of people in programs.
In listening to the presentation this morning, which I thought
was pretty informative, there was, obviously, I'll call it, the
800-pound gorilla that wasn't addressed. The thing that drives the
majority of your expenses are your people, the number of people that
are there and the salaries. And I didn't hear any discussion about
how you're going to drive the efficiency and get rid of the -- change
the culture and get rid of the deadwood. The people that are doing
all the work, they know where that deadwood is. They would
appreciate you standing up.
And so I encourage you to be aggressive, be strong, and have the
courage to commit to a serious zero-based budgeting process and
verify that our Collier government is as lien and as efficient as it
possibly can be.
One action you can take as part of this until you sort through
that zero-based budgeting, which will take at least a couple of
months, is a freeze on people. Stop hiring. That will -- that, in
effect, will start the ball rolling. And then put some aggressive
budget cuts in place as a policy.
Commissioner Kowal, I thought your comments were right on.
Every part of -- every property we buy through this conservation
program removes it from the tax rolls and has a significant long-term
effect. That has to be part of the equation, so thank you.
September 12, 2023
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But I want to emphasize -- and I'll close with this. I want to
emphasize on behalf of Florida Citizens Alliance, which is about 35
to 40,000 strong right now, that our conservative -- these are
conservative supporters, and we want to be constructive in this
discussion, not negative. We want for find a way to provide you
with the backup to be more efficient, less government.
So thank you. I know it's really hard.
MR. MILLER: Your next speaker and final speaker is Ted
Staub.
MR. STAUB: Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to
speak in front of you. I've never done this before. I've never
spoken in front of any political committee or in any room, and I find
myself, over the last couple years, just driven to become more and
more involved because of what's going on in our country.
And so one of the benefits of being the last speaker is
everybody's made my point for me. I agree with everything that the
Meos have said. I agree with everything that the last gentleman said.
I was just elected the Collier County Republican Executive
Committee treasurer last month. And coming down here I was
thinking of -- I have constituents, as you do, about 300 of them. One
of the differences is that mine are in front of me at every meeting, a
third to two-thirds of them sit right in front of me. So when I
explain what we're doing with the money, they all know exactly what
we're doing with the money. And, unfortunately, I don't see the
thousands of constituents that you have sitting in the room. A
couple of you, Commissioner Saunders and Commissioner LoCastro,
made the point.
But I would -- I would ask you to ask the right questions when
you're getting in touch with your constituents. If you ask the
question, what would you -- what would you prefer? Would you
prefer to lose all of these things that you have here, all of these things
September 12, 2023
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that cost taxpayer money, or would you rather have a tax increase, a
small tax increase? You're going to get a different answer than if
you just say, look, we can maintain things. You may not get the
bougainvilleas you want in your median, but we can maintain your
services with a tax rollback. We can maintain them. We can't do it
every year, but we can do it this year. You'd get a completely
different answer. So ask the right question.
And then what I don't want to see is in the newspaper here, on
the news, that Collier County Commissioners didn't raise taxes.
They kept the millage rate the same. Well, that is a tax raise,
because my property value went up.
So let's ask the right questions, please. I live in your district,
Commissioner Saunders. Ask the right questions. You'll get the
right answer.
And it's incumbent upon all of you, since your constituents aren't
sitting here in front of you, to really reach out and make a huge effort
to get feedback from the people who live in your districts.
So I'm not in favor of a tax increase. I just got one last night.
I'm definitely not in favor of other one, and I want to thank you for
allowing me to speak in front of you.
MR. MILLER: That was your final registered speaker for this
item.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I just asked the County
Manager to pull up slides to separate rumor from fact on a couple
things.
MS. PATTERSON: So, Ed, if you can pull up the slide that
showed the -- besides the main points for potential cuts, the one that
had the wages, please. I think it's in the main -- there you go.
So when we were evaluating the things to put on these slides as
areas of potential reductions, obviously, the merit program as well as
a cost-of-living adjustment for the staff -- which does go across the
September 12, 2023
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county, not just the General Fund in 111 -- is something that needed
to be put on here for awareness for the Board.
Secondly, after our discussions in August, we froze our vacant
positions in both -- well, in all of the ad-valorem-funded areas, so
111, 001. At any given day in this hiring environment, we have
between 200 and 250 vacancies throughout the County. So any of
those that were impacted by these areas facing potential funding cuts
have been frozen, as well any special pay adjustments,
reclassifications, or any other salary adjustments in those areas until
the outcome of all of this is known.
Lastly, as far as rightsizing of the government sitting on that
number of vacancies, which are constantly being evaluated, the
reason that the number of positions being requested this year as far as
expanded requests is the way that it is is because of specific direction
from our office that with that number of vacancies, that it is
irresponsible to come in and ask for additional positions that we may
or may not be able to fill. And so you'll see that the expanded
requests are in very strategic areas like stormwater where there is no
other option, and that's why we're asking for those and we call
specific attention to them.
So there are aggressive cost containment methods being
employed already. And we have, amongst ourselves, embraced the
idea of piloting a zero-based budget concept in some of our areas that
are our most funding challenge, specifically some of the divisions of
public services: DAS, parks, libraries, those individual divisions
that have faced the most funding challenges here over the last several
years.
So I just thought that that was important to bring those things to
light maybe that weren't that well-known of what we have been doing
behind the scenes to really manage -- to manage costs.
For everybody out there that's experiencing increased costs
September 12, 2023
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everywhere in rent and electric and gas and food, the government
experiences some of those same challenges. Not only do we have a
very difficult time hiring people; hence, the reason why we went
through that aggressive wage analysis last year. We also have
increased costs everywhere, too. You saw insurance, electricity,
everywhere. So it's definitely a balancing act to not overburden
anyone but also to deliver the service to both the people that are here
and those that are moving here every single day.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. I mean, I think that's a
good point. I mean, every citizen -- and we're all citizens as well.
You know, we're not paying for stuff -- we're not paying less for
anything at the store or at the gas pump or in our power bill, but
neither is the County, you know. So it's not like we're sitting up here
in our ivory tower and we're getting everything for free and we're,
you know, beating the citizens down.
You know, I wrote a couple things down. I like -- you know,
when Mr. Flaugh said "be aggressive," I think that's exactly what all
five of us are trying to do up here but also, as you said, you know, it's
a balancing act.
The order word I wrote down here is we also have to be
responsible because we have some bills to pay here. On the flip
side, I don't want to waste money. I don't think any of us do,
but -- and we also want to be prepared. We heard some horror
stories from some other counties that maybe tried to tighten their
belts, and everybody got, you know, their pats on the back, you
know, when their meetings were over. And then, you know, it only
took one hurricane to realize they were in -- they're in grave financial,
you know, trouble now. So I don't think, you know, Collier County
wants to do that.
So I guess it's finding -- it's finding that balancing act, and we're
going to find it. I mean, I can tell you, I don't think there's been five
September 12, 2023
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commissioners up here in a long time that are putting the kind of time
into this that we are, so it's not lost on us.
But I did want -- I remembered in August we had talked about
the freeze and leaving the vacant positions vacant, so that
wasn't -- that wasn't some sort of new recommendation or whatnot.
That was quite a deep-dive discussion I remember back in -- you said
it was in August, right, that we started that conversation, correct?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I think we're at that point
now for a break since we've heard from all the -- do we have anybody
else, Mr. Miller?
MR. MILLER: (No verbal response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So let's see. What time do you-all
want to come back here? 1:45? 2:00? Too much? What do you
think?
COMMISSIONER HALL: 1:45.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: 1:45. Okay. We'll come back at
1:45. Thank you.
(A luncheon recess was had from 12:49 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.)
MS. PATTERSON: Chair, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So let me just simplify things a
little bit, County Manager. What's the homework assignment here?
What's our -- why don't you simplify it for us? And in a perfect
world -- nobody here wants to kick the can and leave everything for
the last meeting. So what's our homework assignment here?
MS. PATTERSON: So we were -- we were tasked with
bringing to you some options for potential funding reductions that
could lead to a millage reduction. What we would like is at least
some guidance on behalf of the Board so that we would be able to
take the steps -- you're not going to decide it finally today because
that happens -- your millage rates will be decided at the
September 12, 2023
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September 21st budget hearing, but that's a lot of work going to
prepare that, particularly in light of if we're going to be making
changes to the budget. We'd like to understand the areas as well as
the magnitude of any potential reduction so that we would be
prepared to prepare that information so that you'll be able to review it
for the last time at that budget hearing.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So let me just -- let me just spitball
here a little bit. The thing we've probably talked about the most is
Conservation Collier, right?
MS. PATTERSON: Yep.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So -- and that won't be the
only thing that we talk about. So it might sound like, you know,
we're starting there. We're picking on them, and we might decide to
do nothing, so I'm not being presumptuous. But I just think in order
to, like -- you know, to use Commissioner Kowal's analogy, he says,
we've got to take a bite out of elephant, right? I mean, we've got to
start somewhere.
So, you know, I'll just throw that out there. Do we want to have
an open discussion here about Conservation Collier as being, you
know, on the short list of some -- spitballing some ideas? You
know, who wants to take that one -- take that one on to start?
I mean, one of the things I liked hearing at the last
meeting -- and it wasn't a decision, so nobody, you know, freak out.
One of the things that I think's the greatest strength of the five
commissioners up here is, you know, we're willing to have an open
conversation, and sometimes those things are taken out of context
significantly by quite a few people when we're just trying to have a
conversation and figure out what might be possible.
But when we were talking about Conservation Collier, it
sounded like we could have a little bit of the best of both worlds. I
mean, to somebody that's a thousand percent in support of
September 12, 2023
Page 120
Conservation Collier, it's like, do anything to it, and it's total mission
failure, but we might not have that luxury. But I remember we
kicked around some ideas about even some ways to keep them
funded in a way that the taxpayers expect, and they voted for it, but
still being able to save some money. And we didn't know what that
algorithm was, but we knew that idea had merit. I don't know if
that's maybe a place to start. And like I said, we're not picking on
Conservation Collier. There's going to be plenty of other things that
we dive in here.
And like I said, maybe we don't do anything. But I think what
we were hoping to hear at this meeting is maybe a little bit more
specificity on what we could do, how it would affect that program,
and then if we don't like what we hear, then maybe we put it on the
side and we look at something else, and then we come back to it.
I mean, this group up here is wanting to do the -- to be
aggressive, to do the deep dive, to do the heavy lifting, you know.
We heard a lot of what people want the end result to be but didn't
hear a lot of, you know, how to go about doing that.
And then, you know, some that told us how to go about doing it,
it's sort of all or nothing, and that's not really responsible either.
And I don't think any of us up here who would consider ourselves,
you know, people that support less government, are conservative and
all the other things -- we also have to pay the bills, so we're trying to
figure out how to do it.
MS. PATTERSON: So up on the screen is the variation -- or
the variance from policy. So from that 5.75 percent that you-all
approved in policy, this is the difference, both on the land acquisition
side and on the maintenance side, representing about $2.3 million.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. So I have two
commissioners lit up. One's Commissioner McDaniel but, you
know, he's probably just going to talk about Rock Road, so does
September 12, 2023
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everybody just want me to skip over him and go to Commissioner
Saunders?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right.
All right. Commissioner McDaniel, you know how to put a
little levity in here for you. Hope you're doing okay, my brother.
You've got the floor, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. Thank you, my
friend.
I really appreciate having an opportunity to speak. I want
to -- I'd like to make -- I want to repeat what you said, so forgive me
for doing that, but it's really important that everybody know these are
just -- I think staff's looking for some specific direction from us, and I
would rather -- because as has already been stated, we're not going to
make the final decision until the 21st, next Thursday.
And so I would -- I would strongly recommend that we stay very
global with these discussions. I would -- and, you know, again, the
final vote is not going to come in until the 21st.
But I would -- I would like to see the rate in the unincorporated
area rolled back to the equivalency of $5 million. That was the
amount that it was raised, and it's still been -- you know, the taxes for
the people in the unincorporated area have been raised virtually every
year just because of the assessed valuations coming in line. But I
would really like to see that be a portion of the rolled-back rate
adjustment that could be made in the unincorporated area.
And, of course, you know, it's pretty funny about you talking
about Rock Road, but I'm really happy that staff went back, reviewed
the history of the expenses of Rock Road, and has adjusted that rate
to equate to approximately, with a cushion, what their expenses were
for the last couple of years. If my memory serves me correct, it was
21, $22,000 a year for the last two years. So having that -- having
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that rate adjusted back, again, it's a small portion.
But on the -- but on the global side and specifics with regard to
Conservation Collier, I think there is some room there that we could
make an adjustment this year to help lessen the burden for our
taxpayers throughout our community, not have a cut in services, not
have a cut in anything else, but have -- have a little bit of assistance
given back to our residents for all of the reasons that I've stated in the
past, so...
And so with that thought in mind -- and we can have an ultimate
discussion. Before next Thursday, I want to see what -- the current
expenditures that Conservation Collier on an annualized basis so that
we -- if we do choose to make an adjustment on the rate on
Conservation Collier, we are still funding up the reserves, the escrow
for the ongoing maintenance, and, you know -- and just as you like to
say, you know, a gross number of around half of what the tax rate
currently is is a number that I have floating around in my brain.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. And that's --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's all.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: As we've said here before, the
County Attorney has reminded us several times, the voters voted for
Conservation Collier to be up to .25, right? Isn't that sort of the
magic number? So --
MR. KLATZKOW: That was always the intent.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, that was always the intent.
So it's -- we have that at our disposal.
Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So just for my brain and my simple
math, Ed --
MR. FINN: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER HALL: -- we have a certain amount of
money that was going to be completely extra if we stayed millage
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neutral, and what was that figure?
MR. FINN: This chart shows you on the far right-hand column
the variance to policy.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So we were going to have almost
$41 million extra if we stayed millage neutral?
MR. FINN: Yes, between the countywide taxes and the
unincorporated area.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. So what is the figure of last
year's? If we completely rolled it back, that would be a $41 million
difference?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Finn, I think you might
have that number wrong. The question -- Commissioner Hall was
asking the question of if you went to the rolled-back millage rate.
MR. FINN: Rolled-back.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: What's the difference -- how
much money --
COMMISSIONER HALL: What is the difference between the
rolled-back millage and the millage neutral?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. I'm sorry.
That's -- I think that's --
COMMISSIONER HALL: Was it 60 million?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Sixty, yeah.
MR. FINN: Yes. So the -- the number to policy plus the
variance is, in fact, 62 -- 62.9 almost.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. So, then, what is the
difference between the rolled-back millage and the budget guidance
that we did earlier with the 4.75 percent?
MR. FINN: That difference in the General Fund is 27.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So the difference between
rolled-back -- and we would have to find $27 million if we rolled it
all the way back to make up to where our budget guidance is?
September 12, 2023
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MR. FINN: Let's kind of reset this. This whole thing. I'm
going to let Chris respond to these things to make sure we have crisp
numbers so we don't get mushy right now.
MR. JOHNSON: All right. Commissioners, for the record,
Christopher Johnson, your director of OMB.
So the -- Commissioner Hall, to answer your question, the
policy to rollback, so from what our policy was, to go back to
rollback is $18 million in the countywide.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. So a policy is the 4.75
figure.
MR. JOHNSON: The 5.75.
COMMISSIONER HALL: 5.75.
MR. JOHNSON: Correct.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. So that was 18 million?
MR. JOHNSON: Eighteen million in the countywide. Those
first -- those top three.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. All right. I just need to
know total monies.
MR. JOHNSON: Total money, okay. Well, I can do that for,
too. Total money is going to be 20 million.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. That helps me. So
20 million to the policy, 62 million to the over -- to what the
valuations are at millage neutral?
MR. JOHNSON: And that's actually going to be 70 million if
you include the unincorporated area.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay.
MR. JOHNSON: So 70 million to last year.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Well, I remember on Thursday we
had 12 million extra in an adjusted fund.
MR. JOHNSON: And correct. That was due to --
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay. All right.
September 12, 2023
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MR. JOHNSON: So that's where your delta's coming from.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you.
I guess let me finish up some questions that I had. So in these
slides where -- Amy, were you-all think you can -- where you can see
where you can save some things, let's -- can you sum that up for me,
like -- I didn't know where some of these things were mandatory or
really needed or some of them could be -- you know, could
be -- could be nipped. I don't want to -- I want everything that's
extra that could be nipped, and we could have life and live it happily
all the rest of the year.
MR. FINN: Well, what we had done, Commissioner Hall,
without, per se, making recommendations, we had put together a list
of areas that could be reduced. This is Page 1 of 3, excuse me. And
as I had mentioned, the -- kind of the last in and the first out is the
unfunded list. The next item on this page is the -- that Conservation
Collier number of 2.3 million.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Okay.
MR. FINN: And I'll go to the next page. The capital project
funding, most of which is potentially achievable with the Board's
direction.
The expanded requests are next, and this expanded request
group does not include the swale program for the Estates, and this is
where we have the swale program listed. And as we move toward
Page 3 of 3 here, these are the ones that are kind of the highest
priority for us to attempt to retain in the budget.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: If you added all of these up, let's
just -- and just thinking hypothetical -- it would give us well more -- a
much higher total of money than we really are looking for, right?
So, I mean, the savings are in these slides, or could be in these
slides, right? I mean, if we just made a blanket thing and said, yep,
all of these things, don't want to fund any of them, we would have
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more money available than we would need to be able to go back to
the rolled-back rate, or however we would change a --
MR. FINN: We're not going to hit rolled-back. We would get
a -- more or less back to the policy level.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. All right.
COMMISSIONER HALL: These figures take you back to
budget policy.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Budget policy, yeah.
MR. FINN: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER HALL: We could -- you could cut those
figures and still meet budget policy; is that what I'm hearing?
MR. FINN: Yes, that's correct.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Yeah, okay. That makes sense to
this country kid.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Me, too.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I think everybody knows
this, but -- pardon me. I'm going to say it anyway.
You know, you've got the tax pledge, and Mr. Flaugh has
indicated that if your tax bill is more this year than it was last year,
then that's a tax increase. And so he's asking everybody to go to the
rolled-back millage rate. And let's assume that we did that three
years ago or four years ago, and I asked staff to take a look at that,
where would we be at this point? And I think I'd asked the same
question, if we roll taxes back to the guidance this year, where are we
going to be in five years? Because we're setting our budgets not just
for '24 tax year, but for the future of the county.
And if we take the position that if you increase the millage rate,
that's a tax increase and we're not going to ever do it, and you
start -- but you use that as an assumption, then you start rolling the
September 12, 2023
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millage rate back, you're compounding into the future the impacts of
that. It's not just for one budget year.
So when you say, well, we can save $20 million this year, well,
we can reduce taxes by $20 million, no question about it, but that
same reduction goes forward. It doesn't just -- it's not just for this
year, because to ultimately make up those dollars, we'd have to
increase the millage rate.
And so I'm not suggesting that we not consider any kind of a
rollback of some sort, but I just want to -- everyone to understand
we're not just dealing with the '24 tax year. We're dealing with tax
years going forward.
When I got on the Board, we had a tremendous problem in this
county with unfunded capital improvements and maintenance. And
the policy decision of the Board prior to that had been to keep the
millage rate steady. So we started -- I think the millage rate was set
in 2014. When I got on the Board in 2016, we had a certain millage
rate, and we decided that we were not going to increase taxes, but we
weren't going to roll the millage rate back even though there had been
some increase in taxable values because we knew we had an
incredible backlog of maintenance and facility needs. That backlog
is, to a large extent, gone now. But it's not completely gone, and the
needs in the future because of growth, those are going to continue.
And so when we roll this millage rate back, I don't ever want to
vote to increase the millage rate, and I know the four of you don't
want to, because that's clearly a tax increase. And so think -- as we
go forward, think about the impacts of this going forward, not just for
the '24 tax year, but for the next 10 years, for the commissioners that
are going to succeed us. What kind of a hole are we going to leave
them in?
So we're going to be getting a lot of information, I think, going
forward, and some more public input, but I wanted to lay that seed
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that, you know, we're not really just talking about one tax year.
MR. FINN: And if I may, Mr. Chairman, one of the things that
we're going to bring to the Board is a hypothetical on that and what
that might do from a compounding -- a negative compounding effect
on our ability to support these critical functions, whether they be
maintenance or operations or just achieving an appropriate level of
service in areas that perhaps are a little bit short at the moment. So
we'll bring you some sense of what that looks like.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well -- and one thing that I said to
Ms. Patterson -- then I'll go to Commissioner Hall -- is, you know,
we're hearing some positive things about how, you know -- whether
people agree or disagree, you know, the five of us aren't sitting up
here with our arms folded and trying to make lazy decisions. We are
trying to be aggressive, and we're hearing positive feedback from
that, and I think we appreciate it, because we care.
But as I said to Ms. Patterson, I said, let's make sure as we go
through this process you guys aren't shy either, because at times I
know the County staff will say, well, we serve at your discretion,
Commissioners, but, you know -- as we've said before, you're the
ones that sit down with all the department heads and do a much
deeper dive.
You know, we get sort of the 50,000-foot view here but, you
know, you sit in the meeting where somebody shows you all these
pipes that are about to implode and communities all over the county
that are invisible to, you know, somebody that doesn't want their
taxes raised, but you have an X-ray look into some areas that could
implode, and then, you know, you're coming to us saying, oh, my
gosh, you know, we're in a -- we're in an emergent situation similar to
the way some other counties are.
So, you know, this has to be a two-way street. We want to
make sure we don't make a decision here based on thin, you know,
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information or, hey, it's what the commissioners wanted. I mean,
this is a team effort and a partnership here for sure.
Before I go to Commissioner Hall, I just want to just throw
some numbers out, because I was really interested in Conservation
Collier. So Mr. Finn and I, we were -- we were pulling out our
calculators yesterday. And what I said is, if we stay at .25 for -- and
Mr. Finn, tell me if these numbers are right, okay.
If we stayed at .25, right, Conservation Collier gets at
least -- this is what I wrote down -- 34 million was the number that
you threw out, right? Does that sound about right?
MR. FINN: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right?
Okay. So then what I said is, what would it -- and we were just
throwing numbers out. How would we change that rate to, say, get
them 28 million? You know, we were just playing with some
figures, right? We were spitballing, and it would -- and the rate
would be .2067.
And then I think I said to your counterpart there, if we wanted to
fund Conservation Collier at 20 million, which is still a significant
number, I mean, but we would save $14 million, the rate would be
.1490.
And so, I mean, you know, as we're looking for savings here and
there, we're not making Conservation Collier go away, and if we truly
do have the legal authority to say, hey, the taxpayers voted for it but
we're obligated to stay at .25 or less, I mean, you can still fund them
at a pretty significant clip instead of going from funding to zero,
which I don't know if that's -- anybody's wanting to do that. And I
remember Commissioner Hall just speaking out loud, and we're
trying to do that here saying maybe we skip a year, right -- and, you
know, when we were trying to figure out where money was.
But I was sitting here just playing around with the numbers with
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Mr. Finn, and I was, like, wow, you can still give them a pretty good
amount of funding, and maybe we wean them, you know, back a bit
or maybe we don't over the years, but trying to not take a bite out of
the elephant with one big bite and immediately have a pretty good
chunk of money available by trimming the fat a little bit and still -- I
mean, $20 million is nothing to shake a stick at, and that's practically
what they're getting now. If we do nothing, they get 34 million.
And so that's a pretty big increase. And I don't know that
necessarily we need that, especially when we're trying
to -- everybody's trying to, you know, tighten their belts a little bit, or
we're trying to make, not reductions, but, you know, trim the fat a
little bit here and there.
But those numbers were correct, right?
MR. FINN: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: More or less.
MR. FINN: I think, order of magnitude, we're okay. Relative
to the Board making policy, if they have a dollar amount in mind, it's
a little easier for us to work with.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Because that's how I was doing it
is, like, let me give you the dollar amount and then tell me what -- tell
me what the millage is, you know.
MR. FINN: And I think the path we're on here today and
coming out of our Thursday meeting is actually a good one. This
gives us an opportunity to work through these things. If we get
additional directions, we're going to work through them so that when
we get back to you next Thursday, we'll have the numbers tight, and
we'll be a little less nervous about being in compliance with
everything, and we'll be able to give you that good information.
Ultimately, the millage number, if it's lower, is going to be
lower. Ultimately, it's the dollars that are lower. The millage is just
the way to get to those dollars.
September 12, 2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. FINN: So we're perfectly comfortable and probably a
little more comfortable if you tell us, X dollars is what we'd like to
reduce it by, and we could bring that back to you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, I just thought that was a
good example to say, you know, I don't know that they need this big
giant increase because of how they -- how the economy and taxation
works and whatnot to give them a $14 million increase, or whatever
the number is. I'm doing sort of math in public here. But, you
know, I was sitting here saying you could -- you could reduce them
by, you know, quite a bit and still fund them at $20 million.
MR. FINN: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, that was a figure you
and I were throwing out. And I was like, okay, well, that still buys
you a lot of land. Maybe that's even too much. But I'm trying to
find us a starting point, or else we're just going to keep going round
and round.
MR. FINN: And relative to that program -- and I'll refer to it as
a pipeline. We're still working through our substantial pipeline of
properties that were on lists to be acquired, and we're still working
through those. So there's still plenty of work and plenty of property
to get even if we go a little slower.
There was a desire to increase the number of those cycles that
they approved every year, and that kind of created a little bit of an
excess pipeline, or a little too much backlog. And so that's kind of
been just slowed down a little bit by the County Manager. But we're
still going to have plenty of -- plenty to -- plenty of money to spend
and plenty of projects that are going to be on those lists.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, absolutely.
Commissioner Hall, and then Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Thank you, Chair.
September 12, 2023
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So let me just kind of rehash what my rationale is. At some
point in time -- at some point in time we have to stop the growth of
the government monster. Not to say we have to kill it, but we have
to stop it from going up and up and up. I say we "have" to. I
"want" to.
So when I take a look the millage rate for this year, or lowering
it to the rollback, what I'm saying is, yes, we can do that, but we're
not going to stick to just business as usual for the next five years,
because that would be -- just like Commissioner Saunders said, that
would put us behind the eight ball horribly. But what I'm saying is if
we roll it back, then that starts the process of us really looking inward
and seeing what we can do to operate as efficient as we can. And in
the end, if we fail, we can go back. But with our best effort, you
know, I don't think that we would fail.
And with -- you say if you ever increase the millage rate that
you're increasing taxes, that's at the -- if the valuations stay the same.
If valuations go down, you have to increase the millage to get to the
same dollar amount. So like Mr. Finn said, it's the dollar amount
that concerns me. It's not -- the millage rate is just how we get to the
dollar amount.
So even if you raise the millage and valuations go down, you're
not increasing taxes if you still collect the same amount of money.
But my thoughts are just to get us to the point where we're kind
of -- we're kind of jumping off the high dive with the hose in our
hand filling the pool, because that gets us to where we need to take a
look, and we have a year to do that. We have to take a serious look
at stop and turning this government -- you know what? It just -- we
have -- I want to put the brakes on it at some point, and this is a good
place to do that.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: The only thing I would like to see
us do -- and this is good, healthy conversation -- is, hey, roll back the
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millage, but in this same conversation, figure out where the other
dollars are going to come from, not roll it back and then over the next
six months or year we'll chip away at it and figure out, you know,
how we're going to be able to balance the books. I think you've got
to -- you've got to be able to do it all in one big hunk.
Rolling back to the -- rolling back the millage rate's the easy
part, but I'd rather -- I'd like to sit here and have a conversation and
say, if we did that, then what -- where -- where are the areas where
we're going to change how we're budgeted, if that, you know, makes
any sense.
I mean, I think it has to be done together or mostly together and
not just roll it back and then, over the next year, you know, we'll
chitchat and hope that we guessed correctly. Because then going the
other way, to your point -- and I totally get it -- boy, that's going to be
painful, you know, and probably not doable, and we might be in the
position that Commissioner Saunders was saying where all of a
sudden we're sitting here saying -- and we're in a worse spot than we
were.
Commissioner Kowal, and then Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Thank you, Chairman.
Just on the lines you were coming from, Chairman, you know,
even if we did the, say, 20 million, we pick a particular number to
take Conservation Collier back to, I think we already discussed that
we're looking at probably a projected $8 million rollover, so it would
be still about $28 million in the fund --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: -- you know, that would be there
in this fiscal year.
You know -- and I hate to keep harping back on it, but, you
know, traditionally, I think -- you guys can correct me, but I think the
program's been in effect for 12 years. It was a 10-year cycle, and
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then it was reelected again -- or it was voted on again to continue,
and we're two years into it. And over that 12-year period, it
purchased a lot of property.
And, you know, I'm not an economist, by no means, but I am a
groupie of Milton Friedman, and, you know, when you take
properties out of the tax rolls, somebody probably has the math and
the ability to figure out what we truly are charging our citizens. Is it
.25 today after 12 years of purchasing properties? Because we make
that up somewhere, correct? We have to make that up somewhere
when we're not collecting it anymore on these properties for the past
12 years we purchased.
So in reality, it's probably higher than .25 where we stand today
mathematically.
MR. FINN: Yeah. I think if we -- if we ran a sophisticated
math analysis, we would have a little margin there, yeah.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah. So that's what I'm
saying. So I think, you know, over the years, you've got to take into
consideration, that, you know, this .25 is the top, and we've been
staying at the top, and maybe it's time to start adjusting that as we
move forward. Because, you know, there is a calculation there that
says, you know what, we're still collecting .25 even though we're
only collecting .11 or something because, in reality, that's where it is.
This program is totally unique compared to anything else we're
going to deal with because of the fact that it does remove properties
from the tax rolls.
And, you know, that's -- and the other thing -- I just want to
make a comment because I know we're diving deep into this, and,
you know, we always talk about -- we're talking about the rollback.
And, you know, we have a responsibility to the citizens of Collier
County. And, you know, we control -- constitutionally, we control
the number we're going to pick, eventually, on the 21st. We're going
September 12, 2023
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to sit down, and we're going to come to a number we all agree on,
whatever that number's going to be. That's our job to set the millage
rate and look at the consequences by setting that millage rate.
And every year this county grows. Population grows,
construction, new homes, new condos. These are taxes that are
being paid to us at the same exact millage rate that -- whatever's set
that year. We do collect more money. We collect more in revenue
because of that. We have no control over that. The market dictates
that. Not us. The market will dictate who comes to this county and
wants to make it part of their home or where they want to spend the
rest of their life.
So in reality, we could probably sit back, because we are one of
the fastest growing counties in the United States of America. We
could be faced with, if we always do the rolled-back rate, rolling back
every year even though our population grows.
So at one point there's going to be a crossroads we have to face,
because the population uses the services, it uses the infrastructure, it
uses clean water, it uses sewer systems. So we have to be sure.
And even in our own homes, we budget our homes for the
future. And, you know, you kind of sometimes have to look at it that
way as government officials in setting that number, which we're
constitutionally going to be bound to do.
So I think there's room that we cut these millage rates. I believe
that. We demonstrated that today from staff bringing these numbers
to us. But do I think it's all the way back to the rolled-back rate?
Would that be fiscally responsible? And that's something I have to
decide. So I just want to put it out there.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: All right. Commissioner
Saunders, pull it together, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I agree with Commissioner
September 12, 2023
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Hall that we want to be efficient. We want to make sure that we're
not wasting money. And I will tell you that when we -- then, again,
I'll go back to 2016. I know that's a long, long time ago. But as I
said, we were in a dark spot there, and we made the decision that I
think was the right one, and that was not to start cutting taxes,
because we did have growth, and not to increase taxes. We didn't
increase the millage rate even though we had tremendous needs, and
so we stuck with that policy.
And I really think that that's -- the really responsible policy is to
keep the millage rate steady, not to roll it back, not to move it
forward. But we're -- obviously, we're going to roll it back. That's
kind of what everybody is saying. And it then becomes a question
of how much and what is the impact going forward, not just -- like I
said, not just for 2024 but for 2026, 2028.
And so I would suggest that we are not doing the hard work
today. We're doing the easy work today. It's easy to say, you
know, we want to roll the millage back so we can cut $20 million.
Staff, go back and cut it. We're not looking at specific programs.
We're not doing the deep dive. This is not a deep dive. We're not
taking a look at our budget book and looking at our different projects
and saying, well, do we really want this project, do we really need
this project. We haven't done that. That probably gets you back
into the zero-based budgeting realm.
So we're making a -- what I would consider to be more of a
political decision. And I understand the need to roll back
government and to eliminate waste, but we haven't done the
dive -- the deep dive to determine what this really means.
It's easy to say, well, Conservation Collier, .25 mills, let's cut
$20 million out of that and call it a day and go home, but I don't think
that that's really the responsible way to do this.
So I have supported keeping the millage rate steady, I still do,
September 12, 2023
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because I think that's the best thing for the long-term future. Maybe
that's not the best thing for 2024, but I think it's the best approach
going forward in the long run. But we will -- it seems undoubtedly
that we are going to roll the millage back, and that's fine. I think we
just have to give staff a -- you know, just pick a number out of the air
and say, go cut $20 million, go cut $25 million, but that's not a deep
dive.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But to follow up on that -- and then
I'll go to Commissioner McDaniel. I mean, I agree with you that I
think rather than figure out the millage rate, which to me is the end
result, pick the programs, look at the unfunded list, work our way
down, and then after, you know, we say okay, this is what we're
going to do to this program, this is what we're going to do to this one,
this is what we're not going to do to this one, then at the end, this
drives a certain millage rate. And, yeah, maybe it's rolled back -- it's
certainly not going to go forward, but it's rolled back all the way,
maybe even further, maybe somewhere in the middle, but I think
that's sort of like the end result. Some -- you know, after we go -- to
your point, we go through programs and then see what that final
number then comes out to.
And, obviously, if we start trimming certain programs, the
millage rate is going to slowly change. Is it going to be rolled back
to the number that we have here? Well, I don't know. It depends
how we go program to program.
Commissioner McDaniel just lit up. Commissioner McDaniel,
sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes, thank you.
And I agree with Commissioner Saunders with regard to picking
a number. It isn't necessarily just picking it out of the air, but I think
if we give staff a number and let them come tell us next week at our
budget hearing when we do finally set the budget, then we'll -- and
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hopefully we can come to that conclusion today. But, again, on a
higher level, I really want us to remember that this is the beginning of
a cultural shift that I would -- I'm really happy to see happening.
I really -- I really would like for us to do those deep dives,
Commissioner Saunders, next year, in the ensuing year. I really
would like for us to explore a portion -- you know, the zero-based
budgeting process is an old guy's methodology. It's what I -- it's
what I learned way back when I was in school, but I -- those are the
deep dives that I think can, in fact -- that I think can, in fact, come in
the future, and this is letting our community know that this board is
looking at these numbers, is looking at how our government is
growing or not growing, how our government is efficient or not
efficient, so on and so forth, and we do do those deep dives, and we
do that on an ongoing basis as we go forward.
So I'm -- I think picking a number and, you know -- and I've
heard several thrown around, but I think picking a number is, in fact,
the way to go.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: You know, Commissioner
McDaniel -- this is Rick LoCastro, obviously.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I can see --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I don't disagree, but I think the
staff's, I mean -- and this is where I'll turn it over to Ms. Patterson. I
think the staff's looking for us to do more than just pick a number and
then send them home. I think they're looking for us pick a number
and also zero in on particular programs. Maybe we don't have the
exact, you know, slice and dice of particular programs like
Conservation Collier or a bunch of things on the unfunded list, but I
think they're looking for us to set priorities.
And, you know, they've given us three pages of things that could
be looked at to tighten or to move around and -- I mean, correct me if
I'm wrong, County Manager, but I think you're hoping to leave this
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room not just with a number and then you-all, you know, put it
through a meat grinder, but to get -- to take some of these things off
of this three-page list and have us highlight some of the things. Am
I wrong?
MS. PATTERSON: So, Commissioners, there's two -- no,
you're not wrong. There's two different ways you could approach
this, but I think, at minimum what we are looking for your direction
on, or your guidance, is the buckets.
So we're basically looking at Conservation Collier, the General
Fund, and the Unincorporated General Fund. And so if there's a
consensus that you want Conservation Collier -- there might be a max
tolerance on Conservation Collier, or you can tell us to give you
some scenarios, dollar amount. Same thing with the General Fund,
same thing with the Unincorporated General Fund.
So, for example, Commissioner McDaniel threw out a couple of
scenarios, one for Conservation Collier and one for the
Unincorporated General Fund. That gives us, then, the ability to
show you what that looks like, what that millage rate looks like, and
what programs that will impact.
Now, you can go through this list and tell us if there are things
on the list that you are an absolute yes or no but, again, we still need
to be able to at least get into those couple of lanes because those are
the -- those are kind of -- the three big tickets is going to be, as far as
it applies to the property tax bill, is the General Fund, the
unincorporated, and Conservation Collier, and we really need to at
least get some clarity there, and then we go run scenarios.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, that was my point. I didn't
think you leaving this room with, hey, this is the millage rate we want
and figure out how to get there.
MS. PATTERSON: Right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I think that's just way too broad.
September 12, 2023
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And so, I mean, you know, it's 2:26. I don't think anybody's trying
to race out of this room prematurely and leave it all for the last
meeting but, I think, you know, that's what we definitely need to give
you as a homework assignment, which is a little bit more clarity on
where to start.
You know, we've beaten Conservation Collier to death, and
there's many ways you can slice that and still -- and still make it a
viable program and still make it be something that we're not un-proud
of but still find some savings, but I think there's plenty of other things
in the other funds as well, so...
MS. PATTERSON: I think, if we may, sir, also, I think we
need -- probably the first thing we need to decide here is if you're
going -- what we've showed you here is going back to policy or
somewhere between millage neutral and policy. If you-all are
looking to go further than policy, we're having a whole different
conversation, because these lists don't constitute going beyond policy
unless you go to the supplemental list of other considerations,
including level of service. So that's the -- starting here with about
$33 million in play doesn't get you to rollback. It gets you to policy.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And I think we unanimously
agreed at the workshop on Thursday that the starting point would be
the policy --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Policy.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- the 5.9 percent increase --
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- that gap between neutral
and the policy, not going deeper than the policy.
MS. PATTERSON: Correct, that was our --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I think we've all agreed to
that, if I'm not mistaken. That was the motion. And so I would
suggest that we start with that as the floor.
September 12, 2023
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MS. PATTERSON: That puts the three pages of potential
reductions in play and, again, it gets back to the three buckets:
Conservation Collier, the Unincorporated General Fund, and then the
General fund.
And, again, a dollar amount -- if you're just looking for an
overall dollar amount and you want us to make recommendations, we
can certainly do that. If you have a strong feeling about a floor and a
ceiling on Conservation Collier or any of the other funds, then those
are things we would need to know, and we can bring you those
options.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And I would suggest that we
have a list that you've put together, but that's your list. That's not
necessarily ours.
MS. PATTERSON: That's right.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So we can -- if we want to
cut Domestic Animal Services, we can cut -- you know, we can start
pulling out different expenditures and cutting those. I use DAS
as -- that's a bad example, but I just happened to see it on this list
here, that's the $170,000 contract staffing thing. And so there's a
whole -- we've got a whole book of projects and expenditures that we
can take a look at.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Can you page forward to Page 2
and 3 just as a review. Because, I mean, we're -- it's the three pages
that are the key. I wish I had all three of them in front of me, and I
actually left the slides in my office.
MR. FINN: The attachment to the agenda item actually had
it --
MS. PATTERSON: If you look at Page 1, that starts with
your -- our -- near and dear to all of our hearts is the unfunded
request list. That's the beginning, so that's starting at the top. So
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those are things that you're familiar with. That's programs and parks
as well as enhanced maintenance. And we just move down there
from there. So we spent a lot of time on this list. Everyone is
familiar with the things that are on here.
MR. FINN: And Conservation Collier, as it appears on this list,
is just bring it back to the policy level.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. FINN: There was some discussion from the Board and a
little deeper adjustment to the revenue generated, but this is just
bringing it back to policy.
These -- this page starts off with some capital funding. There is
a little bit of flexibility in that capital funding. The County Manager
isn't, per se, endorsing it, but she and I have talked about it, and she's
expressed some willingness to take some of those forward-looking
efforts off the table.
The expanded requests we had gone through when we had done
our budget workshops. These are fairly small. Probably the
resiliency and the housing expenditures are probably -- on this list,
probably the most important on this group.
On the next page, there's an expanded request that we've talked
about at length for the swale program in the Estates. I think all the
Board members had a pretty -- sense of a pretty high priority for that.
And the Stormwater Capital Fund, that is -- to be candid, that's a
product of the taxable value growth that was -- that's why that's above
policy. And the reserves we've talked about at length, and we feel
pretty strongly about trying to retain that, and I think -- I have a sense
the Board -- the Board feels the same way.
And let me say this about reserves: Staff can't get to reserves
without Board authorization. So if we go to use those reserves for
any purpose, we have to come back to the Board in an executive
summary and have that discussion with you. So while it may be a
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little uncomfortable from a taxation standpoint, no one is spending
that without Board authorization.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I got everybody lit up here. Let
me go to Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just -- I just, you know, again, our County Manager gave some
pretty good direction about where we go in the buckets. I don't think
today necessarily, unless it is the will, of course, of the Board to do
that, that we need to or should dive into the actual programs that will
be cut or not cut, as the case may be, but I think today we should
really strive to give staff some direction on the budgets that they
should go into to have a look on where reductions can be actually
effectuated. Let them come back and tell us those things at our final
budget hearing in September, and then know when we come out of
there that this is the beginning of a new era for our community. This
is the beginning of us giving consideration to what Commissioner
Saunders has talked about, what are those long-term impacts of these
reductions, and having those -- maybe not the whole company-wide
zero-based budget, but we pick five departments next year, and
throughout the first part of the year we do do zero-based budgeting
on -- I'm just throwing a number out. I don't know. Maybe it can
only be two. I'm not sure. I know -- all I know is in my heart that
it's an inordinately arduous process.
But we give staff some direction today on the budgets that need
to be hard looked at, we make those final decisions next Thursday
with additional direction that, come back January, we're going to be
diving in on those deep dives, specifically on the projects as to where
we're at and where -- what are the priorities of the community. I
mean, we adjusted those priorities back in February when we redid
our mission statement, vision statement, and budget directives, and
it's -- I've heard it regularly throughout this conversation today about
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infrastructure for our population that we have being a priority, and it's
not just building new infrastructure. It's maintaining what we have
and, ultimately, replacing it.
So I'd like to -- I hope that we can get to a point where we leave
here today with staff having as clear as mud, minimally, direction as
to where they can look at to make reductions in the taxation so that
we can, in fact, start that process.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And I think the key part of what
you said was -- and, you know, whether it's five departments or two,
you know, we'll figure that part out, but doing a deep dive. I just
don't know that maybe that has been done in a while or maybe ever
but certainly maybe not under our watches. So I think if we pledge
to do that, we will find the savings and the efficiencies, for sure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let's see. I've got Commissioner
Hall, and then Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So the question I have is on Page 2,
just for example. If we do those budget reductions, does that leave
anything funded for those -- for those subjects, or is that just -- that's
all of it?
MR. FINN: On Page 2 -- Page 2 we have the capital projects,
and we have the expanded requests. Those expanded requests are in
addition to kind of the baseline service. So that would leave the
balance of the budget behind those. Is that -- am I answering your
question?
COMMISSIONER HALL: I guess what I'm asking, does
this -- does -- these budget reductions, is that the fluff -- we're
removing the fluff, so there's still -- there's still things that are in the
policy guidance that's going to fund these type of things?
MS. PATTERSON: No, sir.
MR. FINN: And if I may, this -- so we have budgets that
September 12, 2023
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are -- that comply with budget policy. These are in addition to
budget policy.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, these --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: This is above and beyond, right?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes. So if you look at the maintenance
vehicles, if we decide that's something that we're not going to do,
they're gone. So there may be other vehicles for other divisions or
departments that are part of the regular vehicle replacement. These
are expanded. So --
COMMISSIONER HALL: Golden Gate.
MS. PATTERSON: -- if they come off the list, they're gone.
COMMISSIONER HALL: So the Golden Gate Estates
government services center, that half a million --
MS. PATTERSON: Gone.
COMMISSIONER HALL: -- we decided -- that's just gone.
There's not other --
MS. PATTERSON: No, no. We would look at that in the
future --
(Simultaneous crosstalk.)
COMMISSIONER HALL: That helps me there.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah. I keep harping on
Conservation Collier just because I have all the paperwork in front of
me here, and I keep looking at it. But, like, what we have here,
when you rolled it back to our policy, you have it in here at
$2.3 million. Even if you just did the rolled-back rate, it's 3.5
million for Conservation Collier, and you're still collecting $31
million in revenue this year, and that's just at the rolled-back, and
that's the reduction of 3.5 million. And so that's -- this is very, very
conservative, the 2.3.
And so I'm just curious, is that because we set a particular
September 12, 2023
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percentage of policy over what we thought -- okay.
MR. FINN: Yes, that's exactly right. With the policy, and this
is the portion above policy. We didn't want to presume that
Conservation Collier was going to be treated differently than
anything else in our analysis.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I gotcha. I'm just -- I saw the
raw numbers, and just in my mind I noticed than even 3.5 million still
gives them $31 million a year, which is the rolled-back, according to
the rolled-back estimate.
MR. FINN: Yeah. So if there's a -- if there's a -- if the Board
wanted to weigh -- weight the reduction in one area versus another,
that's -- that would be fine, too.
MS. PATTERSON: Yep.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, in between now and the 21st,
too, I would expect all five of us will be meeting with you-all
separately as well. I mean, that almost seems like that would be
mandatory. I think that would be totally irresponsible if we walked
in here on the 21st picking up where we just left off today.
So, you know, I think -- I don't have to tell my colleagues
that -- you know, I hope you get these folks on your calendar so that
we can come in here and not pick off from Step 2 but we're on Step 7.
But I think we're all paddling in a very similar direction.
I mean, there's money to be had. Nobody's sitting up here and
trying to not do something that's responsible. I mean, I -- you know,
to quote, you know, what's been said before, we want to be
aggressive. I don't see any of the five of us wavering on anything,
but we have to be responsible, you know, too. But there's a lot of
programs up here that we have a lot of choices. And so we do need
the County's -- the County staff and the County Manager's guidance
and, like you said, I think, you know, these are the buckets and, you
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know, I think there's plenty of -- there's plenty of savings to be had.
I like what Commissioner McDaniel said, is like, you know, if
our goal is, hey, we maybe don't decide everything on the 21st, but
what we do decide is come January we zero in on two departments
and we peel the onion back a lot deeper than it's gone back before
and see what we can find. We need to be doing that across the
Board. And, you know, the County should be doing that all the time,
not just because we've directed it as a new requirement.
What else? Anybody else have anybody comments or -- do you
think -- County Manager, what do you think? Do you have any -- do
you have enough homework assignments here? Was it -- it's clear as
mud as -- and, you know, something I do want to ask you is what we
said in my office. What's your concern hearing the direction that
we're sort of floating? Because, you know, in the end -- you know,
like Commissioner Saunders says, I think we'll all be gone. You
probably won't be, you know, or you know, Mr. Finn won't be. And
so, you know, it's like the County staff outlive the commissioners
every single time.
What do you think you're going to be left with here? You
know, what is your concern? You have so much historical
knowledge here, Amy, that, you know, it is really valuable for us to
hear, you know, what your -- you know, it's easy to nod and say, hey,
it's the will of the commissioners and then, you know, all five of us
leave, and then, you know, the County Manager's like, I'm really in a
pickle because the last five people were trying to do -- trying to be
nice but they weren't judicious, smart, and, you know, fiscally savvy.
What's your thought?
MS. PATTERSON: So it's difficult as an infrastructure
person -- you know, I came from that -- and both from the funding
side as well as the capital construction, knowing what we're facing
not only with the growth, but also with the age of our infrastructure
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and some of our maintenance practices over the years, it would
be -- it would be unfair of me to tell you that this will all be okay.
We have a big burden that we're carrying in backlogged
maintenance. To Commissioner Saunders' point, a couple of things
that have changed since he and Commissioner McDaniel came on the
Board is that attention to that backlogged maintenance, but things
are -- every year I'm getting older, and so is our infrastructure.
So, you know, as we pick away at it and really -- and get after it,
we still have things that are continuing to age.
I think aquatics sticks in my mind as our new -- my new
stormwater. The age of our aquatics facilities and the state of their
disrepair is concerning, even with the amount of money that we
continue to infuse into the program. And you did hear the gentleman
come in today to say, can you please fix my chiller. But, again --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: In the same breath, I think he also
wanted his taxes lowered.
MS. PATTERSON: Yeah, and there's a -- there's a cost to
doing everything.
So in this evaluation going forward, we really are going to have
to think about what that looks like. It's great to build nice, new
things, and it's nice when they're new, but they get old eventually,
too, and they have to be maintained, and so that's continuing to add
onto those things that are in our catalog of things to care for.
So how are we going to get after these things? That remains to
be seen. We're one, you know, downtick in the economy away from
having a different type of conversation. And I can't tell you how
difficult it was coming out of the recession and looking at the
aftermath of having not maintained things.
And I have told you before I don't envy the decisions of my
predecessors at all, but there's one thing that they fought pretty hard
for, and that is to try to at least maintain the millage rate to the best of
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their ability for their own reasons. Now, my personal emphasis is
that we have to maintain -- we have to maintain the things that we
own. Before we add anything else, before we do anything else is we
have to maintain things and we have to be sure that we have adequate
budgets.
We prepared a budget when we came to you in June not
knowing what the final taxable values were going to look like but
knowing that there ended up being a difference between policy and
those initial taxable values which gave us a chance to restore reserves
and to put a little bit of money towards those things that plague us the
most: Parks, libraries, DAS.
To Mr. Flaugh's point, when he told you that we would come to
you with these emotional choices, he's not wrong, but it isn't because
we want to put you in that position. It's because our choices are so
narrowed that the only places that we really go to make these types of
cuts are the most emotional places because you're not -- you're not
going after health/safety. You can't go into the Enterprise Funds.
You are left there with those things funded by the General Fund, and
that gets to the heart of our community. That's parks and libraries,
that's DAS, Code Enforcement. You're really getting into those
things that we probably talk about the most. So it is a -- it's a very
difficult decision.
We've showed you that we can make hard decisions, and we can
go back to policy. We've showed you that we could cut in different
ways. We can have a level-of-service conversation. I committed to
you earlier that we had already had a conversation about piloting a
zero-based budget because I think it will be very revealing for
everybody of the true cost of doing business even at the level of
service we have, let alone the level of service that people want.
And there's a -- you know, they may not be in this room, but we
hear them every single day, and I know you do, too, about people
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wanting us to keep the community the way that it is or even improve
the community. So that wedges us into a -- into a difficult situation.
But I do understand that growing government, that's not what
our aim is. We're not here just to spend whatever money you might
hand me. Now, today I would tell you, yes, whatever money you
give me I'll spend, but I'll tell you exactly what I'm going to spend it
on. I'm not making things up. I'm going to get after things that
have been let go a little bit.
So with that, it would help us tremendously if we could at least
get an idea of your appetite for these buckets. If it's -- if it's back to
policy, then we know our marching orders, and you may land
somewhere short of there. If it's as Commissioner McDaniel
suggested, $5 million in the unincorporated, that gives us a starting
place. But if not, we're only guessing, again, at what your appetite is
for this potential reduction. And it doesn't tie your hands, because
the final decision will be made on Thursday.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What I would like to see is
something in the middle. Like, let me just throw an example at you.
I had asked earlier, what is security replacement, 550,000, right?
Half a million dollars, right? And then the answer was, oh, that's to
replace all of the X-ray equipment in every single building where we
have it.
You know, in my prior life, sometimes you didn't get the luxury
to do that, so sometimes you picked -- even though everything might
be 15 years old, this year we replace half of it. Next year we replace
half of it. And you just saved a quarter of a million dollars, and we
did update security. We upgraded -- and I'm just talking out loud,
but we upgraded it in maybe this building and the courthouse that
sees maybe the most people, and then we leave it on the list because
we still have two or three other buildings to upgrade.
And so we didn't go from half a million dollars to zero. We
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didn't walk out of here and say, oh, we just made a really poor
choice; we didn't upgrade security equipment at all. How stupid we
are.
And, you know, you can go all the way down the list. You
know, there's library money on there. I don't think anybody here
wants -- is looking to go from $100,000 to 0. But is there something
that's sort of a little bit more in the middle?
And there are some big numbers on here, that, you know, the
answer might be somewhere in the middle, and that's -- and that's at
least something that I'm going to talk with you about between now
and the 21st to -- before we just do a line-item veto and go yes, no,
yes, no, yes, no. And I don't think anybody up here is saying that.
But I think the answer is there are some things on here that
maybe are nice-to-haves, but there's some things on here, too, that we
can make responsible decisions and just say, you know, do we really
need to upgrade all the X-ray equipment in every single building all
in one big chunk in -- you know, in this particular budget? Maybe
not. I don't -- you know, I mean, I sit here and go, sometimes the
answer's somewhere in the middle. And then we still have it as a
homework assignment, but it's a smaller chunk to swallow next year.
You know, same thing with library subscriptions. Is it really
335 or nothing? And I don't think -- I don't think it is. And so that's
the kind of thought process I would like to see. I don't know what
my colleagues think.
Commissioner Saunders just lit up. Sir?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah. I was just going to
take some exception to a couple things that have been said by some
of the speakers. And the -- there seemed to be an indication that this
is the first time we've had these types of discussion where we're
talking about budget line items and whether we should go to
rolled-back millage rate or not. This is not the first time we've had
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this discussion. This the sixth or seventh time since I've been on the
Board.
We go through this every year. We're spending more time on it
this time because we're at a different point than perhaps we were in
2016/2017. But I don't want the public to go away thinking, well,
we have some new commissioners now and for the first time in six
years we're talking about being frugal with our budgets. We've done
this every year. This year we're spending a little bit more time
because of, I think, a change in circumstances more than anything
else. But it's a good conversation, but it's one that we've
always -- we always have.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What more detail do you need
from us, then? Don't let us exit here or move on to the next thing if
we need to, you know, keep these slides up and do a deeper dive. So
it's like, yeah, you know where the buckets are. It's these three
slides. I actually don't think that's enough.
MS. PATTERSON: It's not.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I don't think that's enough detail
for you. I think we're going to come back on the 21st whether we
meet -- and even if we meet one on one, that doesn't help because we
all -- due to Sunshine Laws, we all can't meet together. So
Commissioner Kowal's going to have some great idea with you, and
then Commissioner Saunders is going to have something totally
different, and then we're going to come here, and we're going to have
possibly, you know, multiple -- and that may not be a bad thing, but I
don't think it marches us towards the best decision.
MS. PATTERSON: So let's start with Conservation Collier.
We have -- we have a couple of different options. It sounds like our
option's going to be something less than millage neutral, it appears.
We have rollback to policy. You know what that looks like. We
have rollback to the intent that the program generates about
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$28 million a year, which is about a $6 million cut this year. And
you could go north or south of that.
So if we could get even the Board's -- if you want us to stay at 6
and then you can make a final decision on Conservation Collier, you
want it to be 10, you want it to be 2, we can get a ceiling on where
you're looking at. That's the easiest place we can start, and that
makes one decision. We'll model that for you, and we'll be able to
talk about the ramifications of that.
Commissioner McDaniel asked to look at the historical -- some
of the historical spending, and we'll also give you visibility on what
we have outstanding, which we do have that running list that you all
see so that you can see how that positions us, but we do need to have
some idea about where you're looking with -- how far back you're --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, I think Conservation Collier,
leaving them millage neutral makes them richer than they have been
in the past, and --
MS. PATTERSON: Right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: -- I don't -- I mean, I
personally -- whether I like the program or not, I don't think they
need to get more funds. I'm sure they would love more funds and
they've like to buy more things, but I also would like to buy some
X-ray equipment so people don't come in here with shotguns, and so
I'm trying to find a tradeoff.
So me, personally, a starting point for Conservation Collier, it
was what exactly we talked about in the office. I said -- I looked at
more the bigger figures, not the fraction, not the decimal, but, you
know, if -- what would the number be to give them $20 million flat?
And then you told me that -- you know, that would be .1490.
And it's like, okay, there's your -- there's your decimal. And,
you know, I thought that was -- that was just fine. That gives them a
little less than what they've had in the past, still funds them. I
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thought that was a starting point. It could even be less than that.
So -- but, I mean, you've got to start somewhere. You know,
we all have to start making some tough decisions. You know, like I
said on the X-ray equipment, I don't want to go from 550 to 0, but I
think, you know, there could be some smarter decisions there.
But on Conservation Collier, leave them millage neutral, and
they get more money than they've ever gotten in the history of
Conservation Collier. I am not going to vote for that, okay.
Brad, I love you. I'm not going to vote for that, okay. I want
to -- I'd like to keep that program solvent and maybe healthy, maybe
a little less healthy than it's been. I don't want to go to zero, but I'm
not going for vote for millage neutral for Conservation Collier
because it gives them such a big, huge boost that I don't think is
required.
Could they spend it? Yes. Could Brad Cornell come in here
and give us a list of properties all over the county that we should have
bought, could buy, should buy? Absolutely. But, you know, we
don't have that luxury. You know, we can do anything, but we can't
do everything.
And so if we want to start at Conservation Collier, I look at a
round number, and, you know, bring me something that looks like
20 million plus or minus, probably 20 or less. That's just me, okay.
So I'm going to talk real examples here so you can go home with
something at least from Commissioner LoCastro. And I think
that -- that creates a starting point of some money.
Then you look at these three pages here. And as you start to
look and say, you know, hey, we could do this, but, you know, there,
again, we can do anything, but we can't do everything. What things
on this potential budget reduction list is trim-able without making it
zero? And then see what that looks like.
MS. PATTERSON: Honestly, on the other pages, we'll come
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back to you -- if we're not going beyond policy, then we'll come back
to you with what our recommendations are. Of course, you know
our recommendation was the budget that was presented, but our
secondary recommendation, working off of this list as well as the
supplemental page for recommendations -- because there probably
are things that we would remove from this list in lieu of leaving other
things on.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Let me make sure you leave here
hearing from every single commissioner on going beyond policy,
okay. And I'm going to go down the line.
Commissioner Kowal, you know, we stuck to a certain policy
when it came to, you know, funding. Are you looking for the
County staff to go beyond what we had previously voted for as
policy? And Commissioner Saunders can probably summarize this
better than me, but, you know -- and you actually were making the
point earlier, how we had already set the policy for a certain
percentage. What is it, 5.2?
MS. PATTERSON: 5.75.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: 5.75.
So, you know, Commissioner Kowal, do you want them to color
within those lines or, you know, do you feel like that vote was dated,
and, you know, we're at a different starting point?
Because I think you-all leaving here with that answer is critical
because that gives you a lane to stay in or not, correct?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I think -- thank you, Chairman.
I think when we did vote on that, we didn't actually know the
number, what the funds collected and where that actually increased
until after the fact. So I think we collected more funds than we
initially thought we were going to collect when we made that
particular policy percentage.
September 12, 2023
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And I -- like I said, just looking at Conservation Collier, I could
say, go to the rolled-back rate, and that's 3.5 million, which is a
difference of 2 -- whatever you have, 2.3, and I would probably take
it further than that. I mean, you're talking $31 million over what,
you know, they only collected 30 -- 30 million 573 the year before.
So they're actually gaining a million dollars just with the rolled-back
rate.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: So, you know, that, to me -- I
think we could set, like, a particular number and say, all right, let's
say a top -- you know, let's work the numbers and say a top, cutting it
back to 20 million, and then work our way somewhere --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And I actually think the will of the
people who supported Conservation Collier -- and there, again, I
mean, we've got the number-one -- one of the number-one experts
here in the room, Brad, and he may agree or disagree. But I think if
you went out to the person on the street who voted for it, I think
they're comfortable with where it is right now.
If, due to circumstances, it got plussed up significantly, I mean,
maybe the top environmentalist would say, great, you know, the sky
is the limit. The bigger it gets, the better. But I don't think we can
be that irresponsible.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Just back to -- like you said,
security equipment replacement, we're talking about X-ray machines.
I could arguably say the courthouse is probably the one that gets used
the most.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: You know, those two machines
that run consistently over there. I mean, you could say, all right,
maybe we need to replace those, you know, in lieu of something
breaking down, you know. I think you said we have four locations?
September 12, 2023
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MR. FINN: Yes, that's right.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Now, I know where I used to
work over at the Emergency Operations Center, we may have three
people walk through that building that aren't somebody that works
there -- that isn't somebody that works there -- sorry about my
English -- but, you know -- during the day, so that machine is hardly
ever used and probably never breaks down.
So I think this could be an area we could say, all right, let's look
at this with a broader, you know, idea and say, hey, yeah, we don't
need more than a half a million dollars to replace some X-ray
equipment.
And then some of these things, too, like even if I, you know, put
the rolled-back rate compared to some of these line items, you know,
it actually puts it more in line, and they're still getting a little bit more
money than they would have -- you know, than they collected the
year prior, you know, and we're not going as far with our policy
percentage.
And that being said, we did collect a little bit more than we
thought when we set that policy percentage. So I think that's what
we have to start looking at playing with, and I think there are some
line items here that, you know, even if we need to the rollback on
certain things, they're still going to be funded more than they were
last year, not increasing, whatever it was, 4.7, I think, was the policy.
MS. PATTERSON: 5.75.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: 5.75, yeah.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: 5.75. So, yeah, I think there's
some room. And it could even go a little lower than what we've got
here.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So 5.75 is a good starting point.
But to your point, if I'm summarizing correctly, there's a few line
items. That 5.75 still might be a little generous.
September 12, 2023
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COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yeah, a little generous, because
even if you -- you know, you looked at it at rolled-back, which is less
than the 5.75.
MR. FINN: And not notwithstanding the discussion, the
Board's direction was to kind of focus in on that chunk of the budget.
And, again, it's easier for me to look at it as a dollar amount. Let's
call it 33 million for the General Fund.
So to get to policy, looking at this list -- because this is kind of
the margin -- can we get all of that 33 million? I'm not sure we can.
If we -- you know, reducing Conservation Collier to 20, that's a
$14 million reduction, so that goes a long way to allowing us to leave
in -- for instance, you leave in the --
MS. PATTERSON: Reserves.
MR. FINN: Leave in the reserves, leave in the swale program,
and then some of these other things may not make the cut, but the
Conservation Collier adjustment would allow us to have some
flexibility on this operating side.
And when we look at these -- you know, we've looked at them
before. They were the UFR items. They were the expanded request
items that come out separately on your budget pages when we go
through them. So these things are not completely unreviewed.
They're in there.
And honing in on the capital stuff, absolutely, the Board is not
wrong. These capital items, including the X-ray equipment, was
outside of the policy. The Board gave us a policy. We had an
opportunity to program some additional funding. This is the way we
elected to do it. The Board reviewed that, and, you know, at that
review session, they were okay with it, but we're coming back and
saying, okay, if we're reevaluating that marginal budget, these are the
things that are marginal. So if these have to get reduced, if the
County Manager recommends it, we're going to get through it. If it
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means replacing two units instead of four, that's fine. We will, in
fact, get it next year, and if it breaks, we'll twist some arms, and we
will find the money.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: That's my personal strong position.
You know, it's called a phased approach and, you know, you do it in
your own household budget. Wow, our water heater just exploded
and our air conditioner isn't working. I can't afford both, but I think
the air conditioner's more important or the water heater is or the stove
or whatever. That's the way they do it in business. That's the way
they did it at IBM. That's the way they do it at NCH. You know,
we can do anything, but we can't do everything.
I really think as a starting point, yeah, there's some things on
here that might be more nice-to-haves, and there's a few things that
disappear, but I think if we have a really aggressive phased approach
on these items and they don't fall off the list -- you know, they
wouldn't be on this list if they weren't important.
And so the fact that they've made this list means they're
important. But I just think what we -- what we -- and it wasn't a
homework assignment. But what hasn't been done on these three
pages is a phased approach. This is sort of like an all or nothing.
Hey, these are the overages, you know.
And Commissioner Hall was asking, hey, does this mean if this
goes away, they get zero dollars, you know?
MR. FINN: And for those capital things -- it isn't the case for
X-ray --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. FINN: -- but it is the case for some of the others that are --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: For some -- right.
MR. FINN: They're forward -- they're forward-leaning
programs. We're trying to get ahead of some programming on some
of --
September 12, 2023
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CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But in the case of the vehicles, if
we made that zero, we still buy vehicles next year. We just don't
buy those.
MR. FINN: We still replace the core group of vehicles.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. FINN: These represent additional vehicles.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. And that's where I think
we need to make, you know, the tough choices or the phased
approach. Okay. That number represents X number of vehicles.
Let's just say it's eight. Okay. Same thing as the X-ray machines.
Can we buy four and still leave those vehicles on the list and try to
get to a more judicious way of budgeting over these next few years?
I mean, you're going to have the same names up here at least for
the next 12 months, you know, plus or minus, right. And so the -- as
Commissioner McDaniel was saying, come January, you know, we're
still not done being able to dig into this list a little bit -- a little bit
deeper and find those things that are must-haves and some of those
things that maybe have to slide a little bit.
I'm looking for a phased approach, not line-item veto and saying
this is zero, this is fully funded. And I think -- you know, and then
with the big number from Conservation Collier -- and to me I still
think we're keeping them very healthy, and maybe the end result
might be a little less healthy than they are now but, you know, that's
part of sort of weaning off of that program maybe just a little bit -- a
little bit further back.
I don't know if that has the support of my colleagues, but I
certainly think it's a starting point. You know, nobody's voting on
anything today, but there's money to be had there to spread around
the wealth a little bit and have a much more budget focused, zero
budget, whatever you want to call it, phased approach, but I think a
more judicious way of spending the taxpayers' money.
September 12, 2023
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MR. FINN: So to facilitate that, we'll be looking at the
countywide funds as a whole when we're trying to achieve our goals,
and 111, because it kind of stands alone --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Did I waver at all in that?
MR. FINN: No, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Just checking.
Who else? Commissioner Saunders, I see -- you're over there.
I can smell the wood burning over there. Got a lot of notes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I've got a lot of notes. I
can't read my writing.
I wanted to ask Commissioner Kowal, in terms of the
Conservation Collier -- because that obviously is where there's going
to be some substantial reduction. And, Commissioner Kowal, I
wasn't sure what you were trying to get at in terms of a number.
Commissioner LoCastro indicated 14 million, out of
Conservation Collier, kind of, they still --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So it keeps them at 20.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: It will keep them at 20, but I
wasn't sure if that's where you were, if you were deeper than that or --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Well, I think we were -- I think
the staff was wanting maybe a top and a bottom. So I was just kind
of like -- I threw out that one as a top and one as a bottom, and so I
didn't know what, you know --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What's your top and your bottom?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Well, the 14 million would be
the top, and then I think the bottom would be rolled-back rate.
MS. PATTERSON: Rollback.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And the rollback would be
what?
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Three point five million.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So we would be
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somewhere between 3.5 million and 14 million as a cut to
Conservation Collier, if I'm understanding.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I mean, I just threw out numbers,
because I think that's what they were asking for. But me, personally,
I'm comfortable with $20 million a year going to Conservation
Collier.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And the 14 million would
get them to that --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Fourteen's a savings.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Fourteen would be the safest,
and that would keep the program still operating, and it would really
help us moving forward on figuring out some of these other items
where we can cut and, you know, I think come to a point in the
budget where it actually functions and it actually provides for the
people of Collier County.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And me personally, I don't feel like
those numbers we're throwing out is cutting Conservation Collier. If
we do nothing, they get plussed up, and I just think with all the other
responsibilities that we have, I don't think that that's required. So we
can still keep them healthy, and I think $20 million -- I mean, there's
a lot of departments here that would love to have $20 million. I still
think it's a program that the people voted for. We're not sitting here
taking it down to zero, but I think, you know, my wiggle room area is
keeping them at 20 million plus or minus, maybe even a little bit
minus, and it's almost as much as they had this year.
So I don't think that -- you know, they get an extra $14 million
just because of how the numbers have worked out this year. I think
that's excessive.
And also, we're trying to tighten our belts on Conservation
Collier, and not in a negative way, Brad, but in a positive way to
make sure we don't waste money on lots that aren't environmentally
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sensitive, on lots that maybe aren't in the right -- I mean, look how
much we've saved just by saying, hey, you know what? Tell the
landowner here's the appraisal price, but we want you to pay less than
that. Didn't save us a billion dollars, but, you know what? We've
already, in this short amount of time, maybe $100,000 has been
saved.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: We saved 15,000 today.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Just today, 15 grand. I mean,
that's real money.
Commissioner Saunders, I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah, just a -- yeah. No,
that's okay. Just to kind of continue with the discussion, because I
think we're kind of homing in on some direction for staff that they
really need between now and the 21st.
So as a minimum cut to Conservation Collier, 14 million, and
then we have this list of other potential cuts that was three pages that
were on that outline that was presented. The only one that
was -- there were two that were fairly large. One was stormwater at
5.3 million, and the other was the reserves at 18.1 million. I'm
assuming we don't want to cut reserves. I mean, that may be a bad
assumption, but I'm just asking that question. Are we -- are we
going to stay at the --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I mean, what I would say is if the
staff realistically thought there was some wiggle room in there, I
would want to have that conversation, but as I'm sitting here right
now, I know that those are two places where we wouldn't want to
start.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So that would be an area that
we'd have to be very conservative if there's going to be reduction.
How about stormwater?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir. On stormwater, my preference
September 12, 2023
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would be to keep the swale program, and if we have to look at
ratcheting back --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Where is -- that swale
program is where?
MS. PATTERSON: Primarily in the Estates, but also would be
a strike team, then, for outside of rainy season in the urban area as
well.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right. So assuming we
don't cut that --
MS. PATTERSON: We'll have a look at the extra money going
into capital.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: That's the 2.4 million?
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Can it be phased at all?
MS. PATTERSON: We'll take a look at it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: One thing I do want to just clarify
is I don't look at it -- at that 14 million for Conservation Collier as a
cut. I look at it as they were about to get a raise, and we're not
giving of them that raise. We're going to -- we're going to sort of
keep them within the window.
MS. PATTERSON: Understood.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: It's just a reduction of the
millage rate.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I was saying "cut," but I
understand what you're saying.
So we're really -- unless you come up with some other
brainstorms here, we're looking at the 14 million plus probably a
couple million out of this.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir. I have a couple notes jotted
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down that gets us to around 18 to 19.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So what
would -- just -- what would the millage rate be at that point? How
much would you have to roll the millage rate to -- we're talking
maybe a 16, $17 million reduction.
MS. PATTERSON: It's 14 -- if we did 14 out of Conservation
Collier, just starting there, and then another 5 between 111 and 001 --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay.
MS. PATTERSON: -- just depending on kind of where those
final numbers shake out, and that is not considering a minor -- or
some kind of change to that stormwater number.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Wasn't that about where we were
trying to get, like 20-plus million, or it's still short by a lot?
MS. PATTERSON: Well, no. Policy would be a bigger
number than that but, really, we're honestly trying to tell you that
we're trying to get you to a place where you can make some of these
changes and protect those reserves.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So we're really talking about
maybe 20 million, maybe a little bit less.
MS. PATTERSON: Plus or minus, yep.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right. I'm just curious
what that millage rate would ultimately be. I know you've got two
different millages to --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: So that's 20 million under the
policy set?
MS. PATTERSON: Twenty -- so the policy number was about
40. We're coming in at, you know, half, plus or minus, of policy
between Conservation Collier, 111, and 001.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: I think the big question here, I
think myself and the rest of the commissioners, I mean, I guess, is if
we stay neutral and just stay at the 3.1 -- or 3.818, which is the
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neutral across the board, not changing anything, we've already rolled
that back with this to policy, which is a smaller millage rate, and then
taking another 20 million out of that.
MS. PATTERSON: No. So this is -- we're kind of between
the two. So if you -- if -- we started at millage neutral, and we
prepared these lists in accordance with rolling back to policy --
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Yes.
MS. PATTERSON: -- we're a little short of the full rollback to
policy because of trying to keep these reserves intact.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Well, we're closer.
MS. PATTERSON: We're very --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: And we haven't voted on anything.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir. We're much closer, but we're
just not all the way there. If we're trying to keep the stormwater
swale program in and keep the reserves intact, then we're not all the
way to policy.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I think the -- at least from
my perspective, the bottom line is we can roll the millage rate back
enough to result in the $14 million cut or reduction, cut, whatever
you want to call it, to Conservation Collier.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Lack of increase.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Lack of increase, yeah,
smaller increase.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Don't you hate that less?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah, I hate that
less -- smaller increase, and then from this list another couple
million --
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- and then we call it a day.
MS. PATTERSON: So the larger -- the larger reduction to the
millage would be in the Conservation Collier area but still a little bit
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also amongst these other areas.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And I would suggest this
talk about doing the rolled-back millage rate, I'd like -- I mean, not
the rolled-back millage, I'm sorry, zero-based budgeting, I'd like to
have one of our commissioners, kind of our representative, somebody
other than me, to work with staff on -- in the next budget to get to
the -- to get to some zero-based budget, someone who, on the Board,
feels that that's a good way to go.
I don't think that's a good way to go myself. I don't think it
works. I know Jimmy Carter, I think, was the president that got that
started at the federal level, and Ronald Reagan was the president that
ended it, because it's cumbersome, and it doesn't really -- it's a good
buzz word, but it's not really practical. But if someone on the
Commission wants to work with staff to make that happen, I think we
should appoint someone or have someone volunteer to do that.
I don't know if you -- if this is enough direction for you.
MS. PATTERSON: Yes, sir. I think I --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: It's just my comment, but I
think we're sort of getting there, but...
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah, Commissioner
McDaniel -- let me go to -- Commissioner McDaniel, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Saunders, I'll be your huckleberry. I'll
volunteer.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'd be happy to work with
staff.
And I have a couple of points. And, you know -- and, you
know, I've said this multiple times, I'd like for today, minimally, that
we stay global. You know, I'm happy with the number that has been
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discussed about not increasing as much or cuts to conservation, or
whatever you want to say, but I think the $20 million mark is
something that is -- that we can have a decent conversation with next
week.
I think it's important for us to stay high level at this stage today
with regard to the budgets, as our County Manager suggested that we
do, and then let them go manipulate and maneuver to get to what we
feel is a consensus with our board for what the ultimate rates are
going to be in the General Fund in our -- and then also in the
Unincorporated Fund.
And I think -- and from what I have heard from these
discussions, there's about -- you know, they came to us with a budget
policy of 40 million, and -- I can see us talking about 20 million as a
reduction. That is a start. And us remembering that these are all
different budgets. Just because we've cut Conservation Collier by
14 -- or reduced Conservation Collier by 14 million and what they
would have gotten if they'd have stayed rate neutral, that 14 million
doesn't flow over to pay for roads and bridges and stormwater and
those sort of things.
But at the end of the -- at the end of the day, it's all one bucket to
our taxpayers. At the end of the day, it's an effective reduction and
an expense for our taxpayers, and that's what we're actually doing.
The other side of this equation is, you can't cut your way to
prosperity. And we have to remember that we commissioned -- gave
direction to our staff several meetings ago to convene a rate study for
our services and things that we provide. You know, we had a
gentleman come and speak with us talking about the chillers at the
pool where he goes and swims, but the fee structures with the users
that are coming to use our facilities haven't been adjusted in quite
some time.
We saw enormous adjustments in our boat ramps.
September 12, 2023
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Commissioner LoCastro, you like to -- and you bring them up on a
regular basis. Most of them are in your district. We, you know,
were in a terribly adverse or poor position with a previous vendor that
was operating our ramps and our marinas. Those are things that
we're going to dig into next year as we go through the process of
having discussions.
I mean, you know, we -- you brought up earlier our libraries,
and maybe it's time for us as a community to have
discussions -- because of the advent of the digital age and more and
more people are getting their reading material from digital sources,
maybe it isn't necessary for us to have as many of the community
libraries that we have plunked all over the community.
Museums is another one that's on the -- that's on the watch list.
You know, we've had discussions with -- I have had discussions with
our staff about how many counties in the state of Florida actually
have and fund more than one museum? And maybe we start looking
at ways -- and I really like your phased approach, Mr. Chair, having
discussions about how we move from how we've always done
business to trying something different, and those are things -- those
are some areas, both an increase in the revenue and then continually
working and striving to save our taxpayers' money.
So for -- and I think it's about as far as we can get today. I'm
happy with the discussions that have been had with regard to the
strive of the reduction in taxation for our people.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. I agree.
My closing comment on this is, without sounding like a broken
record, I don't feel like we cut Conservation Collier. I'll just make
that clear again. We just didn't give them a raise. You know, we
just didn't give them a raise.
And what I'll be looking for between now and the 21st -- and I
would like to have a lot of one-on-one meetings so that I'm not
September 12, 2023
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surprised on the 21st with what you bring. And, you know, maybe
some of my discussion, and I'm sure the other commissioners will
feel the same way, that the phased approach across the board -- and
maybe you might even discover some things that aren't on these three
slides that we might be able to phase.
And even -- you know, to me stormwater and the reserves, you
know, like you say, hey, maybe that's taboo. I think everything's
subject to discussion. It's not where I would start but, you know,
when you talk about a phased approach, there's some things on here
that are some pretty big numbers. So you can't tell me it's like, you
know, when it comes to, you know, the swales, it's all or nothing,
unless it is. If you say it's just one big project and you can't sort of
do half of it, you can't build half a house, okay, great. Then that one
comes -- then that one stays on the list as it is, or we make a tough
decision to take it off, which I think would be a tough sell across the
Board here, because we know how important it is.
But I think there's a lot of things on here that could be a phased
approached, and then it keeps these things on the list, but it just drops
the numbers down a little less, and it gives us something to work with
a little bit easier the next time, you know, we're talking budget.
And then if Commissioner McDaniel is going to champion the
deeper dive on better budgeting for our different departments, we all
could do that a bit. And, you know, maybe, County Manager, you
come back to us and say, hey, each commissioner's going to take two
departments and do a deeper dive and come back with a suggestion, I
mean, that could be something. I mean, I'm just talking out loud.
But has that been done before?
You know, you look at our areas of expertise, I know there's
certain departments where Commissioner Kowal would be the perfect
person, I mean -- and Commissioner Hall would be the perfect
person, Commissioner McDaniel, so maybe you play towards our
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strengths a little bit, and we come back with just some
recommendations.
Hey, I did a deep dive. I think they're running lean and mean,
you know, and here's why, and, okay, we're all convinced. And then
we listen to each other. That might be something that we take on as
a pet project and not just put it in the to-do box of one commissioner.
I don't think that's probably been done before. But you have so
much experience up here. I'd love a director to come into my office
and go over their budget with me and convince me that there's no,
you know, fat to be trimmed. There's vacant positions that should
stay vacant. There's deadwood that maybe should be moved along,
as we've heard in here before, and that's certainly not a term that's
unfamiliar to us, and we might all come back with some suggestions
that add up to a pretty big number.
I'll just close by saying this: When you come back on the 21st,
after we've all had our -- whatever one-on-one discussions we need, I
won't be calling it a day on the 21st. I think that you're -- that it's
just going to be a very strong starting point, but I still think there's
going to be some pencils to sharpen and some things to do on the 21st
as well, but I think we'll be a lot closer, or in some areas it won't
make sense. You're going to come back with a pitch, and we're
going to go, okay, that's not what we meant. I think it's going to be
intuitively obvious, but I think we'll be a lot closer.
But I would really encourage all five commissioners to spend
time between now and the 21st to have some sort of conversation so
that we come in here with a list of questions with some observations
and on the 21st we're not just picking up where we left off today but
we're really even further ahead. Let's use that time in the middle to
really do something.
Mr. Finn, did you have something that you wanted to add? You
look like you --
September 12, 2023
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MR. FINN: No, sir. That concludes our program.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, it does. Oh, it's not
concluded, trust me. We're just getting started.
MR. FINN: For today.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: County Manager, your thoughts on
this particular topic; any final thoughts?
MS. PATTERSON: No, sir. We will look for those areas to
work on a pilot with Commissioner McDaniel, and then, as you
suggested, if it makes sense to maybe divvy up a few other divisions,
we'll look at those options as we would move into next fiscal year,
specifically starting earlier than our traditional February/March time
frame for getting your priorities and talking budget, also refreshing
the strategic plan.
So we've got a lot of moving parts now that are going to look
different than prior years, but I think it will get you more towards
where you want to go, and we'll get through this list and -- as well as
some of the other area and come back with recommendations on the
21st for you-all to evaluate, and we will reach out to your aides to set
up individual meetings between now and the 21st. As many as you
need, we're here.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I think if the Commissioners dive
into different department as well, if we continue that conversation
and it seems like it has some meat on the bone, I think there's also a
huge advantage to us learning a bit more. The same way that we all
decided that we would sort of mix who sits on what committees, you
know, that it no longer, you know, is the same person on the
Affordable Housing Committee for, you know, eight years just
because they like it.
I think being able to have us dive into the departments and come
back and tell our colleagues, wow, you know, I did do a deep dive,
and I found a little bit here and there, but not as much or, you know, I
September 12, 2023
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saw some things I didn't love. There are really great people, but I
saw some fat. I saw some deadwood. I saw some vacant positions
that I think actually could be taken -- they've been vacant -- if it's
been vacant for six years and this place hasn't imploded, maybe that
needs to come off the books. Maybe that FTE needs to disappear.
You know, things like that. I think it would be very valuable. But
that's for a discussion after the 21st.
Okay. What's next?
MS. PATTERSON: We are moving on now to staff and
commissioner general communications, Item 15.
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
Item 15A is public comments on general topics not on the
current or future agenda by individuals not already heard during
previous public comments in the meeting.
MR. MILLER: We have none registered.
Item #15B1
ROCK CRUSHING UPDATE - JAMIE COOK – PRESENTED,
NEW UPDATE TO BE DISCUSSED ON NEXT MEETING
MS. PATTERSON: All right. That brings us to staff project
updates, 15B.
15B1 is a rock crushing update. Ms. Jaime Cook is here to give
September 12, 2023
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you an update.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Oh, my God. There's other things
in the universe besides just the budget? We have rock crushing?
We still have the other things?
MS. COOK: We still have rock crushing. Again, Jaime Cook,
your director of Development Review.
So the lot has crushed about 171,000 cubic yards of material.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Wow.
MS. COOK: The drone footage -- they've done two most
recently. One last week shows about 10,000 cubic yards as being
left.
Once that is done -- they are also starting to remove some of that
vegetative debris that's piled up as well as the rebar and some of the
other construction debris in that pile. Once all the crushing's
completed, the owner has contracted with a company already to start
spreading those piles and material on the site.
I actually just, while you guys were discussing budget, received
an email from one of the property owners that they're also looking to
finish out some of the permit requirements that the district and the
County have for the lake that's on the property. So they're working
on planting the littorals and some of the others stuff that they've had
to do as part of both of our permits.
They still do have the densifiers working and separating the
material. So if go by, there's still a couple piles that haven't been
fully separated that they've been working on extracting the debris
material from. There was some damage to the crusher last week, but
it is up and operating as of yesterday again.
With that, do any of you have any questions?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So 1 October, is that possible? 1
October, they're off the property, everything's spread, and there's a
big for-sale sign on there? Because I know they're selling it.
September 12, 2023
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MS. COOK: I believe the crushing and the debris that needs to
be removed could -- will be done by October 1st. I'm not certain
that all the material will be spread by October 1st.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
COMMISSIONER HALL: October 2nd?
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. But some of those smaller
things are a lot less visible so, I mean, I think we're all being
pragmatic here and, certainly, we're being very generous and patient.
MS. COOK: Yes.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: But I think by 1 October saying,
you know, all the crushing's done, and if the crushing's done -- and
I'm just -- you might say it's not, so what I think the tasker is here is
go back to the contractor and say this is maybe what you
heard -- unless my colleagues feel differently. But I think when all
the crushing's done, then I want the big crusher gone. I want people
to be able to drive by and, you know, they're doing little things.
You know, if they're spreading crushed material, if they're
removing vegetation, we have -- that stuff happens on lots all day
long. And so it's not a rock crushing lot anymore. Now it
looks -- the rock crushing's done. The big pieces of equipment are
gone, and now they're doing aesthetic, you know, cleanup.
And not that we give them unlimited time to do that, but it's a lot
less visible, and the big things are already done.
I would like to see -- or I would at least like to hear back if all of
the big things which would -- crush all the rock, remove all the
largest pieces of equipment. I know they would still need some
equipment to spread the crushed rock and whatnot -- if all that is
possible. I mean, we've got to throw a date out there, and I think that
date actually has a lot of cushion.
I mean, we're sitting here. We've got two weeks. We're letting
these guys work on Saturdays. We increased their hours. I
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remember, there was a time where we were sitting here saying March
or April was generous, okay.
We understood the reality of reality, and they have made a lot of
progress. But, you know, since that thing sits flat -- right flat in my
district -- but I think we all care -- or I know we all care about it. I
think 1 October would be a good target date to put up there and tell
them, you know, that's the day where, yeah, you can continue to do
small things, but equipment would -- majority of equipment would be
gone, rock would be fully crushed, rebar and all that would either be
gone or pretty darn close to it, because that's another big, huge
muscle movement.
The other thing's vegetation, spreading of the crushed rock,
which is basically sand, coarse sand. I mean, that could continue.
We could give them a little buffer for that. But the heavy lifting
would be -- if it could be done by 1 October, 90 percent of what
makes that lot look horrible would be gone.
And so, I don't know, do my colleagues have any comments?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So is that something at our next
commissioner meeting you could come back and let us know what
their take is, but --
MS. COOK: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I don't think we're being suggestive
here. This is directive. You know, this is directive. And if that
sounds aggressive to them, then get more people out there because,
you know, now we're getting into season. The place is going to be
very busy, a lot more cars, you know, and not that, you know, that's a
big part of it, but it is part of the equation, and I think that we've been
patient long enough, so...
MS. COOK: Absolutely. I will have those conversations with
them and then be prepared to discuss with you at the next Board
September 12, 2023
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meeting.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
MS. COOK: You're welcome.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What's next?
Item #15B2
VERIZON WIRELESS UPDATE - MICHAEL BOSSI – UPDATE
ON TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS
MS. PATTERSON: Item 15B2 is a Verizon Wireless update.
Mr. Bosi is here to give you that update.
MR. BOSI: Mike Bosi, Planning and Zoning director.
And it's -- we met at the middle of -- August 16th, met with
Verizon for the last time to go over their proposed language, the
language we've been working with Verizon for over the summer to
update the telecommunications section 5.05.09 of our LDC.
And we also have shot that draft language out to SBA. SBA is
one of the larger tower providers within the country within the
wireless industry. Because not only -- I mean, Verizon is the
end-user. They hire SBA. They hire Crown Castle. They hire
American Tower to build the towers.
So we also wanted to have the perspective of the tower builders
because they're the ones who actually build the structures. We've
gotten their feedback from them as well, incorporated it into the
proposed draft. We have it within the staff review. It's right now
going through staff review.
We have a final meeting with the County Attorney's Office this
Friday. We're hoping to clean that up, and then we're going to
schedule it for the DSAC subcommittee, because this is an LDC
amendment, and this is the process it has to follow. It would be the
September 12, 2023
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DSAC subcommittee, the full DSAC, Planning Commission, and
we're hoping January or February to have those amendments to the
Land Development Code before the Board of County
Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What do you think could come to
us in January, I mean, if you had a crystal ball? Like you said, it's
got to go through a whole bunch of filters. What would we expect to
possibly hear in January?
MR. BOSI: The changes to the regulations for the
telecommunication towers. It's all it is. It's not new towers. It's
the new -- the regulations have been updated to reflect the industry of
practices to reflect some of the suggestions that we've heard from
Verizon, from the SBA in terms of how they'd be most effective in
promoting collocation --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: It would make them a little -- it
would make it a little easier for them to do what they want to do.
MR. BOSI: Yeah. We most certainly have not been more
punitive. We've been more flexible in the request, because what we
recognize now is every single telecommunication tower is an
essential service. There's no more landlines that are there. If you
don't have telecommunication towers, your citizenry cannot call
emergency services. And if your emergency services can't be called,
that's the basis of zoning, health, safety, and welfare.
So because of that, we recognize the paramount importance of
telecommunication towers. We also have to understand and respect
existing neighborhoods and the built environment. But we're trying
to find that right balance, especially behind something so important
as the ability to communicate.
When I was a kid, we had telephone poles, and most people
have telephone poles with electric wires and telephone wires that ran
through your streets. No one got a say in whether they got that pole
September 12, 2023
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in front of their house or not. It was just needed because it was
about public safety.
Telecommunication towers are a little bit different animal. The
1996 Telecommunication Act basically said it's an important
infrastructure, but it's an important infrastructure we're going to put
on private companies. So the way that -- the arrangement for every
jurisdiction throughout this county -- or throughout this country has
different ways for how these telecommunication towers can and
cannot act.
We recognize that the language in our code, outdated,
written -- over 30 years old, a different way in terms of the
environment, the industry. Things have changed, so we're
trying -- and we think we've got good solutions and good suggestions
from the industry, and we're going to be bringing it before the Board
of County Commissioners, and I think you'll have a positive
recommendation from the Planning Commission and, ultimately, I
think it will have some support from the Verizons, from the SBAs,
and they'll be able to test their ideas, and they endorse the product
that's being put before them.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Or in these staff project updates
that we always have on every BCC agenda, can you continue to keep
us updated? Like you said, there's a long process. I don't think any
of us want to be surprised in January with what happened. And so
even if it's just sort of a quick update, hey, it's at that point, it's
moving forward, it hit no speed bumps, everybody's happy, nobody's
happy, whatever, I think we're all getting sort of pinged by our
constituents curious about more cell phone towers.
And like you said, this doesn't build -- bring us more, but it
makes it a little bit more user friendly for us to have a -- to get more
without -- with a little less bureaucracy. Maybe I'm oversimplifying
it, but I think that's what's happening here.
September 12, 2023
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MR. BOSI: No, and I will. And I can just plan for the second
meeting of each month, I will just coordinate with the County
Manager's Office to have an update of --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So you and the rock crushing lot, it
goes together. Okay, all right.
I want to just give Mr. Bosi -- I want to give Mr. Bosi and
Trinity Scott and Jamie French a shout-out. I had two really
important NIMs in my -- in my district back to back. One one day,
one the very next day, really tough issues, unhappy community.
And, you know, Mr. Bosi, in particular -- but I know he's got his
teammates back there.
You know, the NIM wasn't really scheduled. There was a little
bit of confusion on the location, and to make a long story short, you
know, this proves what a great relationship you have with the
applicant to be able to call them up, and they could have said pound
sand, this is the day we're doing it, but, you know, it was a great
collaborative effort. And then having that NIM pushed back a little
bit -- and if you ever think maybe you're shoving a NIM down your
constituents' throats, you can always talk to Mr. Bosi, Jamie French,
Trinity Scott, and see if there's some wiggle room there, because
what we wound up doing is having a town hall with these citizens
without the developer before the NIM, and it made -- it made the
NIM from what would have been a fiasco to being, like,
extremely -- I got thank-you notes because we separated rumor from
fact, and you created that window. And, also, you know, the
developer was, I think, wise enough to realize we were trying to help
them out, too, instead of them walking in the lion's den.
So, you know, those were two nights in row, right? That even
created some confusion. We had people that were supposed to go to
one NIM and they heard, oh, it was the night, and it was, like, oh, it's
a totally different one. So I just wanted to thank you for that,
September 12, 2023
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because I did get a lot of positive comments from both sides.
MR. BOSI: And just -- and I appreciate the encouraging words.
I will say that I think it had a little bit to do with the commissioner of
that district where the project was in, being your district, and you
recommending strongly that they reconsider the NIM night. I think
that had a lot to do with it.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: I recommended strongly, yes.
MR. BOSI: But I also would like to tell you -- and I heard
about the conversation about the conversion of the Golden Gate Inn.
We had the neighborhood information meeting on the 31st, and we
had a big crowd. It was about 20, 25 people; we were surprised.
And let me tell you, I was so happy when I left that NIM. It was the
first NIM that I remember -- and people were just kind of just -- I
think they were just there curious as to what was being -- after Ryan
from Stix Company provided the overview of how -- you know, the
past projects that they've done through prior conversions of hotels to
efficiencies -- I had never been to a NIM where at the end of the
meeting all 25 people gave a standing applaud in terms of providing
for an opportunity for additional affordable housing within their
community.
So it was -- it was one of those NIMs where I was quite shocked
and surprised that we walked away with that kind of reaction at the
end of that individual neighborhood information meeting.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Mike -- and we talked about one
thing at Treviso Bay, but I think all the commissioners would be
interested in this. The developer is not required to have a dial-in or a
Zoom or what have you, but in this day and age, you know, we're
talking it's 2023, how do we make that mandatory? Because I really
think it really, really needs to be. We have seasonal people here, and
I think the reply to some citizens when they say, oh, my God, we
have 100 people that want to attend but none of them are in town, and
September 12, 2023
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then we say, well, too bad, so sad, how do we do that?
MR. BOSI: Well, the Board of County Commissioners, after
the fiasco we had at the sports park --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Right.
MR. BOSI: -- that the citizens -- told us to go and adjust the
NIM procedures. We're going to the Planning Commission in
October.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay.
MR. BOSI: We'll be back to the Board of County
Commissioners in November --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: So in the Planning Commission,
you're making it a requirement?
MR. BOSI: No, no. The -- we're making it -- we're making
the -- we're not making it a requirement. What I'm saying is this will
be something I can talk to the Planning Commission that you -- that
the Board has raised that as a possibility, have them discuss that
concept and see if they want to make that recommendation as well to
the Board of County Commissioners that -- not only require a
physical in-person NIM but have the Zoom availability, because it
really does -- I mean, that -- the neighborhood meeting we had at
Sabal --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Treviso.
MR. BOSI: -- at Sabal, there was more people on the --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yes.
MR. BOSI: -- Zoom call than there was in person. But I think
everyone got the gist of what was being proposed even if they were
sitting 2,000 miles away.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Yeah. And it's not even just
they're seasonal. They could have been sitting in their condo down
the street and around the corner, but when it's an option, we had way
more attendance, which made it more successful. Okay. Keep us
September 12, 2023
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posted on that.
MR. BOSI: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any -- gentlemen, any questions
that you-all have? You've got some NIMs coming up, I know, too.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: What else, County Manager?
Item #15C
STAFF AND COMMISSION GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
MS. PATTERSON: That brings us to 15C, staff and
commission general communications.
Just a reminder for the budget hearing. Final budget hearing is
Thursday, September 21st, in this room, 5:05 p.m. So that's next
Thursday.
And, also, October 3rd, although it may have come through as
October 2nd, that was actually just the calendar thing. Tuesday,
October 3rd, is our workshop on in-sourcing and outsourcing of
contracting and consulting inspections, CEI. So back to that
conversation we were having earlier today about the Stantec CEI,
we're going to delve into that a little bit in the work that we do, what
we do in-house, what we take outside, the reasons why, and --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: That's a meeting that we're --
MS. PATTERSON: A workshop, yes, sir. And it should be on
everybody's calendars. We reached out to your aides on that one.
I think Mr. Rodriguez has a couple of updates as well.
MR. RODRIGUEZ: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Deputy
County Manager Dan Rodriguez.
We hope to hear back from the City of Naples at your next
meeting on the beach permits. And, again, our last position was hold
September 12, 2023
Page 184
the rate, but we did -- the County Manager, working with
Commissioner McDaniel, who is the lead, was going to support them
in coming to the TDC for some other capital improvements for the
beach parks that they operate, so that's coming.
And, of course, we'll bring you the marina concession update at
your next meeting, and they are going very well, by the way. The
concessionaire has taken that and is doing a very good job and
providing the services at our marinas. So we're optimistic that that
will continue and do well.
And then, of course, we hope to bring you some updates from
our new CRA director, Mr. Greg Oravec. Many of you have met
with him, and I've heard some positive things, but he'll be coming to
the Board to give you some project updates on the two CRAs.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Just on the concessionaires
again, another reminder, maybe they can learn something from the
sports complex on point-of-sale, you know, system so that at our
marinas maybe we might be able to go back to where we were and
not lose money.
MR. RODRIGUEZ: We'll get Mr. Moses and Tanya together,
and then they'll review that system in place and see if that's
something the county manager and the team --
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Or a different system, you know.
MR. RODRIGUEZ: Sure.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Who else?
MS. PATTERSON: County Attorney.
MR. KLATZKOW: Nothing. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Mr. Miller, have you got
anything?
MR. MILLER: I do not, sir.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Okay. Commissioner McDaniel,
are you still on the line, sir?
September 12, 2023
Page 185
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Oh, you bet, my friend.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Any closing comments, sir?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I do. First of all, I just want
to say thank you for your indulgence to afford me and my family this
time that we're going through. It was wonderful accolades,
Commissioner Hall, in public. That was a wonderful prayer for my
family, and I really want to thank you for your indulgence in
allowing me to attend. This is my -- this is my first one that I've
ever Zoomed in before, so I really appreciate it. I really appreciated
today's discussion.
I really want to say thank you to our not new but new County
Manager. It's with her leadership, it's with her guidance -- today
we're -- we heard a report from Mr. Bosi about our cell tower
ordinance that hasn't been touched in over 30 years. These are
wonderful things. These are things that need to be done for the
betterment of our community. And I just want to say -- not only
her -- she doesn't like a lot of accolades but -- because at the end of
the day, you've said it regularly, it's the team. It's -- it's everybody
that's working together, but it's with her leadership, it's with her
guidance that we're starting to see these important items gel up to the
top for the residents of Collier County.
And so with that, I'll be home on Sunday, and I've already sent a
note to Christina to schedule a date with our senior staff prior to next
Thursday's budget hearing, and I'll look forward to seeing you-all
then. Thank you very much again.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you.
Commissioner Hall.
COMMISSIONER HALL: I stayed kind of quiet today
because I wanted to listen and learn, but I loved the conversation.
Just to rehash, I love what you said, Burt, about the long-term
responsibility that we have as commissioners.
September 12, 2023
Page 186
Rick, I loved what you said about a phased approach; it made a
lot of sense.
I'm looking forward the inward process of seeing how we can
streamline things and getting this ship a little tighter.
I have every intention of keeping every service that's vital to our
county. No way in the world would I even consider stopping any of
that.
I look forward to maybe lessening the tax burden on people,
especially this year with the certain economic conditions.
I want to -- as much as possible, with me personally, I want to
stay as much policy-minded as -- instead of getting down in the
details of micromanaging.
And with that, I wonder what the -- I just want to test the
thoughts, what you think, maybe, of -- you know, I appreciate
Commissioner McDaniel joining with staff to see where -- you know,
for his expertise in this internal process, but maybe hiring an expert,
an outside expert to work with him for an unbiased approach, you
know, to see -- you know, they have expertise in budget management
and larger entities. And so I wouldn't be opposed to us looking into
that. I didn't know what you-all might think of that. But other than
that, I thought it was a great meeting. I look forward to the budget
hearing on Thursday.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: We just -- we're just trying
to -- made cuts to the budget. Now you want to hire -- hire outside
staff. We're trying to freeze -- freeze wages.
COMMISSIONER HALL: Invest. Invest.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Invest. There you go. That's
better. Thank you, sir.
Commissioner Kowal.
COMMISSIONER KOWAL: Well, I just -- you know, I think
the discussion we had here is very healthy, and I think every day we
September 12, 2023
Page 187
have these meetings, I self-educate myself a little bit more. You
know, this is totally new to me, totally new.
I was on autopilot for 28 years doing law enforcement. So, you
know, of course, things are different on a daily basis, but a lot of
times you handle it in the same way and with the same outcome.
But I found out that government -- you make decisions, but you
have to make the decisions like more of a -- you take the time,
because the decisions are more long term and they last a lot longer,
and every decision you make, somebody else has to look at it, you
know, through their own prism. And, you know, I think it's very
important.
You know, and I'm glad to hear that the Paradise Coast Sports
Park is starting to make a little bit of profit because, like we say, you
know, moving forward, you know, I'm sure they're going to have an
ask here in the future for more baseball fields and more soccer fields
and, you know, I kind of think that's the way they're leaning.
But keep making the profit. Keep doing a good job. Put that
money aside and buy yourself some baseball fields. So I don't know
what to tell you.
But as long as -- you know, we inherited that, and we have to
encourage them to keep moving forward and keep being profitable
because we owe that to the taxpayers.
But I'm just looking forward to us going through the rest of this
process and it coming into fruition on the 21st.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I, too, think this was a very
good conversation that we had on Thursday night and today. I think
staff has some good direction. We all want to reduce the burden on
the taxpayers, but at the same time we're all trying to be very
responsible in how we do that.
And we'll start the budget cycle review much earlier in the next
September 12, 2023
Page 188
cycle, so we'll have a whole lot more time to look at some of the line
items and some of the projects.
But I think we're all trying to really get to the same point, and
that is provide the best product for our citizens, the product that
they're used to, whether it's excellent parks, a cooling system in the
pools. Things that this community really wants, we're all trying to
provide all that; law enforcement, emergency medical services, and
protection of the environment, and continuing the Conservation
Collier Program.
No one said let's eliminate the program. I don't think that
anybody would want to go in that direction, but we're trying to be
responsible in terms of where can we reduce the burden on our
taxpayers and not hurt these very important programs, again,
including Conservation Collier.
So I think the conversation has been very, very positive. We've
had these kinds of discussions in past, but we've never really gotten
into quite this much detail because it -- we haven't been kind of
dealing with the circumstances that we have now.
So I look forward to Thursday night. I think we're going to
have a good budget going forward, and I think our citizens will be
satisfied with it.
And I appreciate your leadership, Mr. Chairman, in keeping this
ship moving in the right direction.
CHAIRMAN LoCASTRO: Thank you.
I'll just close by saying, let's, all five of us, make really good use
of the time between now and the 21st. Don't come in here with a
blank piece of paper and a pen and pick up where we left off today.
And it doesn't mean you have to sit down for three hours with the
staff. Email, phone calls, Zoom. You can do all of the above to get
a little bit smarter on how our County Manager might be packaging
some things so we come in here a little bit more prepared than we
September 12, 2023
Page 189
would be if we just walked out of here and then walked in here out of
the blue on the 21st.
I want to give a shout-out to John Mullins and his team.
Yesterday morning we had Senator Passidomo sitting, I think, in this
seat right here. We had representative Bob Rommel, Melo, and
Botana, who were here listening to the priorities of the County, the
City, and 45 other people, every single school, every single agency
got three minutes at the podium. It's sort of a dance that I guess that
you have to do. And they already know our priorities, so it was just
a reconfirmation.
But, you know, Mr. Mullins -- I spoke on behalf of all of us,
and, you know, he prepared me with the things that -- obviously,
some infrastructure things when it comes to stormwater and things
that we've already talked about.
And then the City of Marco -- this is in my district -- but there's
a collaborative effort between the County and the City of Marco to
try to get Isles of Capri off of septic tanks at some point. It could
take years to do that, as we know. But the City of Marco made a
priority to ask for some money for some design of that project, and
that's sort of Step .0 in the process, as we know, but at least they
finally vocalized it. And then in my comments I echoed that, you
know, we're in lockstep with them.
But, you know, I think it was a great organized meeting.
Mr. Mullins was sending us all kinds of good information. So
whether you were here in the morning or not, I think you know what
happened. And we've got really good support up in Tallahassee.
There was no ambiguity as to what our priorities were.
And, you know, there's a lot of asks, but there's not enough
money to go around. So I bet if you added up every single thing that
everybody asked for here in the room, they'd have to print a whole lot
more money. So much like today we're having to make very
September 12, 2023
Page 190
difficult choices, you know, they nodded their heads at every ask that
they heard from the podium, but I guarantee you not everybody's
going to get a check. And so, you know, it's just the nature of the
beast. It doesn't mean we don't care.
But thank you, you know, to my colleagues for taking the time
and, you know, we've got a busy day on the 21st, and make good use
of that time in between.
So I think we're 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
RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF SEVEN SHORES – PHASE II
(APPLICATION NUMBER PL20230002609), APPROVAL OF THE
STANDARD FORM CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
AGREEMENT, AND APPROVAL OF THE PERFORMANCE
SECURITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,663,044.90 – LOCATED IN
SECTIONS 11 AND 14, TOWNSHIP 50 SOUTH, RANGE 26 EAST
Item #16A2
RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF MAPLE RIDGE AT AVE
MARIA PHASE 8 (APPLICATION NUMBER PL20220000232),
September 12, 2023
Page 191
APPROVAL OF THE STANDARD FORM CONSTRUCTION AND
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, AND APPROVAL OF THE
PERFORMANCE SECURITY IN THE AMOUNT OF
$4,428,612.16 – LOCATED IN SECTION 4, TOWNSHIP 48
SOUTH, RANGE 29 EAST AND SECTION 33, TOWNSHIP 47
SOUTH, RANGE 29 EAST
Item #16A3
RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF MAPLE LANE HOME
(APPLICATION NUMBER PL20230000303), APPROVAL OF THE
STANDARD FORM CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
AGREEMENT, AND APPROVAL OF THE PERFORMANCE
SECURITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $444,062.98 – LOCATED IN
SECTION 30, TOWNSHIP 50 SOUTH, RANGE 26 EAST
Item #16A4
RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF ESPLANADE BY THE
ISLANDS - PHASE 3I (APPLICATION NUMBER
PL20230000754), APPROVAL OF THE STANDARD FORM
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, AND
APPROVAL OF THE PERFORMANCE SECURITY FOR
$369,681.04 – LOCATED IN SECTION 18, TWONSHIP 51
SOUTH, RANGE 27 EAST
Item #16A5
RECORDING THE AMENDED FINAL PLAT OF RANDALL AT
ORANGETREE - PHASE 2 (APPLICATION NUMBER
PL20230002794), APPROVAL OF THE STANDARD FORM
September 12, 2023
Page 192
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, AND
APPROVAL OF THE PERFORMANCE SECURITY FOR
$195,959.08 – LOCATED IN SECTION 22, TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH,
RANGE 27 EAST
Item #16A6
RECORDING THE FINAL PLAT OF TERRENO AT VALENCIA
GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB - PHASE 2 (APPLICATION
NUMBER PL20220003949), APPROVAL OF THE STANDARD
FORM CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT,
AND APPROVAL OF THE PERFORMANCE SECURITY IN THE
AMOUNT OF $3,605,340.16 – LOCATED IN SECTION 24,
TOWNSHIP 48 SOUTH, RANGE 27 EAST
Item #16A7
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE POTABLE WATER AND SEWER
FACILITIES AND ACCEPT THE CONVEYANCE OF THE
POTABLE WATER AND SEWER FACILITIES AND
APPURTENANT UTILITY EASEMENT FOR ONE NAPLES
R.O.W. IMPROVEMENTS AND UTILITY RELOCATION,
PL20220002615 - A FINAL INSPECTION WAS FOUND
SATISFACTORY BY THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW STAFF ON
JUNE 20, 2023
Item #16A8
RESOLUTION 2023-151: A RESOLUTION FOR FINAL
ACCEPTANCE OF THE PRIVATE ROADWAY AND DRAINAGE
IMPROVEMENTS, AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE PLAT
September 12, 2023
Page 193
DEDICATIONS (INCLUDING FEE SIMPLE OWNERSHIP OF
TRACT R1), FOR THE FINAL PLAT OF VANDERBILT
RESERVE, APPLICATION NUMBER PL20180000356, AND
AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF THE MAINTENANCE
SECURITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $344,510.02
Item #16A9
THE CLERK OF COURTS TO RELEASE A PERFORMANCE
BOND IN THE AMOUNT OF $144,735.60 WHICH WAS POSTED
AS A GUARANTY FOR EXCAVATION PERMIT NUMBER
PL20210000486 FOR WORK ASSOCIATED WITH MAPLE
RIDGE AT AVE MARIA 7A
Item #16A10
THE CLERK OF COURTS TO RELEASE A PERFORMANCE
BOND OF $25,000, WHICH WAS POSTED AS A GUARANTEE
FOR EXCAVATION PERMIT NUMBER PL20220005092 FOR
WORK ASSOCIATED WITH FAIRGROVE COACH HOMES
Item #16A11
THE CLERK OF COURTS TO RELEASE A PERFORMANCE
BOND IN THE AMOUNT OF $323,500, WHICH WAS POSTED
AS A DEVELOPMENT GUARANTY FOR AN EARLY WORK
AUTHORIZATION (EWA) FOR WORK ASSOCIATED WITH
HACIENDA NORTH – PHASE 1, PL20220001518
Item #16B1
September 12, 2023
Page 194
AWARD FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NO. 23-8057,
“DESIGN SERVICES FOR GOODLETTE-FRANK
ROAD/NAPLES ZOO STORMWATER OUTFALL,” TO WGI,
INC., IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $2,595,040.40, AUTHORIZE
THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT,
AND APPROVE THE NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS.
(PROJECT NO. 60102)
Item #16B2
RESOLUTION 2023-152: A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE
COUNTY’S APPLICATIONS TO FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FOR LONG RANGE
BUDGET PLAN REQUESTS FOR BEACH RENOURISHMENT
PROJECTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024/2025 AND MAKE A
FINDING THAT THESE PROJECTS PROMOTE TOURISM. THIS
ACTION MAINTAINS THE COUNTY'S ELIGIBILITY FOR
STATE COST SHARE FUNDING FOR FUTURE
RENOURISHMENT PROJECTS
Item #16B3
RECOGNIZED AND APPROPRIATED REVENUE TO
STORMWATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND (3050),
PROJECT NUMBER 60266, IN THE AMOUNT OF $528,431.35
AND AUTHORIZE THE NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENT
Item #16B4
AWARD FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (“RPS”) NO. 22-8054,
“CEI CONTINUING SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR
September 12, 2023
Page 195
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING,” TO JOHNSON
ENGINEERING, INC., HIGHSPANS ENGINEERING, INC.,
HARDESTY AND HANOVER CONSTRUCTION SERVICES,
LLC, AND ATKINS NORTH AMERICA, INC., AND AUTHORIZE
THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE ATTACHED AGREEMENTS
Item #16B5
A LOCAL MATCH AGREEMENT WITH THE COLLIER
METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (MPO) TO
PROVIDE MATCHING FUNDS FOR THE SAFE STREETS AND
ROADS FOR ALL (SS4A) SAFETY ACTION PLAN GRANT
Item #16B6
A BUDGET AMENDMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $44,723.52 TO
RECOGNIZE REVENUES RECEIVED FROM TRAFFIC
ACCIDENT REIMBURSEMENTS FROM INSURANCE
COMPANIES IN LANDSCAPE PROJECT FUND (1012)
Item #16B7
THE FIFTH AMENDMENT TO THE COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENT WITH THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER
MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, AGREEMENT NO. C-11759,
REGARDING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
DESIGNATED PRIMARY WATERCOURSES IN COLLIER
COUNTY, TO EXTEND THE TERMINATION DATE OF THE
ORIGINAL AGREEMENT AND TO ADDRESS THE DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF NEW
STRUCTURES ON THE PALM RIVER AND THE GORDON
September 12, 2023
Page 196
RIVER TO REPLACE EXISTING STRUCTURES; AND REMOVE
TWO STRUCTURES AND A CANAL RELATED TO THE
PICAYUNE STRAND RESTORATION PROJECT
Item #16C1
AWARDED CONSTRUCTION INVITATION TO BID (“ITB”) NO.
23-8112, “WESTERN INTERCONNECT FORCE MAIN PHASE 7”
TO ACCURATE DRILLING SYSTEMS, INC., IN THE AMOUNT
OF $1,983,346.20 AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN
THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT (PROJECT NUMBER 72009)
Item #16D1
AFTER-THE-FACT PAYMENT IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF
$19,250 TO BENEVATE, INC., D/B/A NEIGHBORLY SOFTWARE
FOR A GRANT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
IMPLEMENTATION, ADMINISTRATION, HOSTING SERVICES,
AND FIVE SUBSCRIPTION LICENSES THROUGH OCTOBER
31, 2023, FOR THE HURRICANE IAN INSURANCE
DEDUCTIBLE PROGRAM AND ONLINE APPLICATION
PORTAL SUPPORTING THE STATE HOUSING INITIATIVE
PARTNERSHIP DISASTER ASSISTANCE GRANT AWARD THAT
WAS NOT PROPERLY PROCESSED AS AN AMENDMENT TO
AGREEMENT NO. 19-002-WV AS REQUIRED BY THE
PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE
Item #16D2
AFTER-THE-FACT FIRST AMENDMENT WITH THE AREA
AGENCY ON AGING FOR SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, INC., FOR
September 12, 2023
Page 197
THE OLDER AMERICAN ACT GRANT PROGRAM TO
INCREASE THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $1,098,000 AND
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION WITH REVISION TO THE
FUNDING SUMMARY (ATTACHMENT II), BUDGET
SUMMARY (ATTACHMENT IX), AND SUPPORTING BUDGET
AMENDMENTS. (HUMAN SERVICE GRANT FUND 1837)
Item #16D3
THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN A LANDLORD PAYMENT
AGREEMENT BETWEEN COLLIER COUNTY AND MINDI 4109
LLC, ALLOWING THE COMMUNITY AND HUMAN SERVICES
DIVISION (CHS) TO ADMINISTER THE RAPID RE-HOUSING
AND HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM THROUGH
THE EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS AND RAPID UNSHELTERED
SURVIVOR HOUSING GRANTS PROGRAM. (HOUSING
GRANT FUND 1835 AND HOUSING MATCH FUND 1836)
Item #16D4
AFTER-THE-FACT PAYMENT OF $28,203 IN EXPENDITURES
FOR GRANT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR HURRICANE IAN
UNDER AGREEMENT #17-7116 THAT WERE INITIATED
UNDER PURCHASE ORDER #4500222434 TO TETRA TECH,
INC., WITHOUT ISSUING A FORMAL NOTICE TO PROCEED
BUT WERE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE CRITICAL
CONSULTING SERVICES IN THE DISASTER RECOVERY
GRANT FUNDING EFFORTS OF THE COUNTY
Item #16D5
September 12, 2023
Page 198
STATE HOUSING INITIATIVES PARTNERSHIP (SHIP) ANNUAL
REPORTS AND LOCAL HOUSING INCENTIVE
CERTIFICATION FOR CLOSEOUT FISCAL YEAR 2019/2020
AND INTERIM FISCAL YEARS 2020/2021 AND 2021/2022 AND
AUTHORIZE THE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION TO FLORIDA
HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION TO ENSURE
COMPLIANCE WITH PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS (SHIP
GRANT FUND 1053)
Item #16E1
AWARDED INVITATION TO BID (“ITB”) NO.23-8127,
AUTOMOTIVE PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SERVICES,
TO SUNSHINE LUBES, LLC, D/B/A VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL
CHANGE AND APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN
TO SIGN THE ATTACHED FIXED TERM SERVICE
AGREEMENT
Item #16E2
THE PURCHASE OF AIRCRAFT AND AIRPORT INSURANCE
FOR FY 2024 FROM THE CHUBB/ACE PROPERTY &
CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY IN THE ANNUAL
AMOUNT OF $252,406
Item #16E3
THE PURCHASE OF FLOOD INSURANCE FOR FISCAL YEAR
2024 IN THE ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF $594,637
Item #16E4
September 12, 2023
Page 199
THE PURCHASE OF EXCESS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
INSURANCE FOR FY 2024 WITH ARCH INSURANCE
COMPANY IN THE ESTIMATED ANNUAL AMOUNT OF
$244,428
Item #16E5
THE PURCHASE OF LIABILITY, AUTOMOBILE, CYBER AND
OTHER MISCELLANEOUS INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR FY
2024 IN THE ESTIMATED PREMIUM OF $1,214,130.01
Item #16E6
A FIRST AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT NO. 15-6505
BETWEEN EQUIFAX WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, LLC, AND
COLLIER COUNTY FOR AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DATA
REPORTING, TO INCLUDE A NEW EMPLOYMENT
VERIFICATION SERVICE PRODUCT AND AUTHORIZE A
THREE-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION
Item #16E7
THE COUNTY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE TO SIGN
AGREEMENTS AND MAKE PURCHASES ASSOCIATED WITH
THE PROCUREMENT OF GOODS OR SERVICES FROM
VENDORS WHO HAVE BEEN AWARDED A CONTRACT, AS A
RESULT OF A COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS, BY A
FEDERAL, STATE, OR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT, OR ANY
OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, POLITICAL
SUBDIVISION, OR GOVERNMENT-RELATED ASSOCIATION
PROVIDED THAT THE ORIGINATING ENTITY UTILIZED A
September 12, 2023
Page 200
COMPETITIVE PROCESS SIMILAR TO COLLIER COUNTY’S.
IN ADDITION TO THE AGENCIES AND POLITICAL
SUBDIVISIONS IDENTIFIED ABOVE, THE COUNTY
MANAGER OR DESIGNEE IS AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AVAILABLE FROM OMNIA
PARTNERS, NASPO VALUEPOINT, HGACBUY, AND
SOURCEWELL FOR EFFICIENT PURCHASING WITH NO
FURTHER ACTION BY THE BOARD IF THE OPERATING
DIVISIONS HAVE BUDGETED FOR THE GOODS AND/OR
SERVICES
Item #16E8
COMCAST MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENT NO. 23-018-NS -
ETHERNET DEDICATED INTERNET SERVICE AND OFF-NET
DEDICATED INTERNET ACCESS, GOVERNING THE FUTURE
ACQUISITION OF COMCAST ETHERNET AND FIBER WITH
PROJECTED ANNUAL COSTS ANTICIPATED TO EXCEED
$50,000 PER YEAR, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO
SIGN THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT
Item #16F1
A BUDGET AMENDMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,965,000
FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE SALES TAX RESERVE FUND
(3018) TO FUND THE CAREER AND TECHNICAL TRAINING
CENTER (PROJECT NO. 50287) AND APPROVE THE LEASE
AGREEMENT WITH COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Item #16F2
September 12, 2023
Page 201
THE GREATER NAPLES 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 #16F3
RESOLUTION 2023-153: A RESOLUTION APPROVING
AMENDMENTS (APPROPRIATING GRANTS, DONATIONS,
CONTRIBUTIONS, OR INSURANCE PROCEEDS) TO THE
FISCAL YEAR 2022-23 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
A BUDGET AMENDMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $800,000 TO
ALLOCATE FUNDING FROM THE HUSSEY PROJECT (50205)
TO THE CAMP KEAIS PROJECT (50224) TO SUPPORT
MASTER PLANNING AND ZONING EFFORTS FOR THE CAMP
KEAIS PROPERTY
Item #16F5
RESOLUTION 2023-154: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE
REMOVAL OF 7,779 AMBULANCE SERVICE ACCOUNTS AND
THEIR RESPECTIVE UNCOLLECTIBLE ACCOUNTS
September 12, 2023
Page 202
RECEIVABLE BALANCES WHICH TOTAL $5,220,427.30, FROM
THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE OF COLLIER COUNTY FUND
4050000000 (EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES) FINDING
DILIGENT EFFORTS TO COLLECT HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED
AND PROVED UNSUCCESSFUL
Item #16F6
RESOLUTION 2023-155: BUDGET AMENDMENTS
APPROPRIATING APPROXIMATELY $1,711,039,732 OF
UNSPENT FY 2023 CAPITAL PROJECT AND GRANT BUDGETS
INTO FISCAL YEAR 2024
Item #16F7
STAFF TO NOTIFY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
REVENUE OF ITS INTENT TO TERMINATE THE COLLECTION
OF THE LOCAL OPTION INFRASTRUCTURE ONE-CENT
SALES SURTAX AS REQUIRED BY FLORIDA STATUTE SEC.
212.054(7), TO ENSURE THAT SURTAX COLLECTIONS WILL
NOT CONTINUE PAST DECEMBER 31, 2023, AND DIRECT
THE COUNTY ATTORNEY TO ADVERTISE AN ORDINANCE
REPEALING ORDINANCES NO. 2018-21 AND 2019-46, WHICH
IMPOSED A COUNTY-WIDE INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX
AND ESTABLISHED THE INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX
CITIZEN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WITH THE EXCEPTION
THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX CITIZEN OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE SHALL CONTINUE IN THE MANNER SET
FORTH IN THE ORDINANCE OR UNTIL THE BOARD DEEMS
OTHERWISE
September 12, 2023
Page 203
Item #16F8
RESOLUTION 2023-156: A RESOLUTION REPEALING AND
SUPERSEDING RESOLUTION 2013-63, PROVIDING FOR AN
UPDATED DISTRIBUTION OF THE FIVE CENTS AND SIX
CENTS LOCAL OPTION FUEL TAXES BETWEEN THE
COUNTY, THE CITY OF NAPLES, THE CITY OF MARCO
ISLAND, AND EVERGLADES CITY, AND TO AUTHORIZE
SUBMITTAL OF THE RESOLUTION AND FINDINGS TO THE
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE FOR
IMPLEMENTATION
Item #16F9
A SIXTH AMENDMENT TO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
AGREEMENT NO. 21-7898 WITH SPORTS FACILITIES
MANAGEMENT, LLC TO AMEND THE BUDGET TO REFLECT
THE INCREASED COST OF GOODS FROM $889,365 TO
$994,365, INCREASED REVENUES FROM $1,922,474 TO
$2,053,349, AND THE REALLOCATION OF $62,600 FROM
OPERATING EXPENSE TO MANAGEMENT PAYROLL;
AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THE AMENDMENT
AND AUTHORIZE ALL NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS
Item #16J1
THE REQUEST BY THE COLLIER COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR
AND THE COLLIER COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER THAT
THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DIRECT THE
COUNTY ATTORNEY TO SEND A “CEASE AND DESIST”
LETTER TO FLORIDA PACE FUNDING AGENCY FOR
September 12, 2023
Page 204
OPERATING IN COLLIER COUNTY IN CONFLICT WITH
BOARD POLICY
Item #16J2
REPORTED TO THE BOARD REGARDING THE INVESTMENT
OF COUNTY FUNDS AS OF THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30,
2023
Item #16J3
A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR $500,000 TO REIMBURSE
ELIGIBLE EXPENSES INCURRED IN FY 2023 (FUND 1067)
Item #16J4
RECORDED 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 AUGUST 10, 2023, AND
AUGUST 30, 2023, PURSUANT TO FLORIDA STATUTE 136.06
Item #16J5
THE BOARD APPROVE AND DETERMINE VALID PUBLIC
PURPOSE FOR INVOICES PAYABLE AND PURCHASING
CARD TRANSACTIONS AS OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
Item #16K1
September 12, 2023
Page 205
RESOLUTION 2023-157: REAPPOINTED TWO MEMBERS TO
THE HISTORIC/ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVATION
BOARD – REAPPOINTED BARRY O’BRIAN AND JANICE
O’CONNELL TO A THREE-YEAR TERM EXPIRING ON
OCTOBER 1, 2026
Item #16K2
RESOLUTION 2023-158: CONFIRMED THE
REAPPOINTMENT OF THE DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
REPRESENTATIVE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
- REAPPOINT AMY LOCKHART TO A FOUR-YEAR TERM
EXPIRING ON OCTOBER 1, 2027
Item #16K3
WAIVING ANY CONFLICT THAT THE BOARD MAY HAVE
WITH THE LAW FIRM BAKER, DONELSON, BEARMAN,
CALDWELL & BERKOWITZ, P.C. (“BAKER DONELSON”),
UNDER ITS RETENTION AGREEMENT WITH BAKER
DONELSON TO PROVIDE SPECIALIZED FEMA SERVICES,
REGARDING BAKER DONELSON PROVIDING UNRELATED
REPRESENTATION TO CITYSWITCH, LLC IN CONNECTION
WITH THAT ENTITY’S EFFORTS TO SEEK PROPOSED
ZONING AND CONSTRUCTION OF A WIRELESS FACILITY TO
BE LOCATED IN COLLIER COUNTY
Item #16K4
THE CHAIR TO EXECUTE A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN
THE LAWSUIT STYLED COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF
September 12, 2023
Page 206
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS V. ROY GARCIA, CASE NO. 23-
SC-1135, NOW PENDING IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE
TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR COLLIER
COUNTY, FLORIDA, FOR THE SUM OF $6,114.51
Item #16L1
THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS (BCC), ACTING
AS THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CRA),
AUTHORIZE FOUR MEMBERS OF THE BAYSHORE/
GATEWAY TRIANGLE LOCAL REDEVELOPMENT ADVISORY
BOARD AND FOUR MEMBERS OF THE IMMOKALEE LOCAL
REDEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD TO ATTEND THE
FLORIDA REDEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 2023 ANNUAL
CONFERENCE; AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF THE ASSOCIATED
REGISTRATION, LODGING, TRAVEL AND PER DIEM COSTS
FROM THE CRA TRUST FUNDS (FUNDS 1020/1025); AND
DECLARE THE TRAINING RECEIVED BY THE BOARD
MEMBERS AS SERVING A VALID PUBLIC PURPOSE
Item #16L2
THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND ALSO THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ACTING IN ITS
CAPACITY AS THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY BOARD (CRA) FIND GOOD CAUSE AND APPROVE
THE EXPENDITURE OF CRA FUNDS ON THE PORTION OF
THE BAYSHORE DRIVE/SUGDEN REGIONAL PARK
BOARDWALK PROJECT LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE
BOUNDARIES OF THE BAYSHORE GATEWAY TRIANGLE
COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AREA AND FIND THAT THE
September 12, 2023
Page 207
EXPENDITURE IS CONSISTENT WITH THE GOALS OF THE
COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
Item #16L3
THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, ACTING AS THE
COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AUTHORIZE
NECESSARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS TO RECOGNIZE
CARRYFORWARD IN BAYSHORE CRA FUND (1020) AND
IMMOKALEE CRA FUND (1025), TRANSFER THOSE MONEYS
ALONG WITH RESERVE BALANCES INTO BAYSHORE CRA
CAPITAL FUND (1021) AND IMMOKALEE CRA CAPITAL
FUND (1026), AND APPROPRIATE THOSE FUNDS INTO
SPECIFIC PROJECTS PURSUANT TO THE COMMUNITY
REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
Item #17A
ORDINANCE 2023-40: AN ORDINANCE ADDING A MEMBER
OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(AHAC) TO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ADVISORY
COMMITTEE (DSAC) AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER
Item #17B
RESOLUTION 2023-159: A RESOLUTION AMENDING
RESOLUTION NUMBER 2023-119, WHICH EXPANDED THE
BOUNDARY OF THE TOWN OF AVE MARIA STEWARDSHIP
RECEIVING AREA TO CORRECT A SCRIVENER’S ERROR ON
PAGE ONE OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ADOPTED AS
PART OF THE TOWN PLAN; AND PROVIDING FOR AN
September 12, 2023
Page 208
EFFECTIVE DATE. THE SUBJECT PROPERTY CONSISTING
OF 5,928 ACRES IS LOCATED NORTH OF OIL WELL ROAD
AND WEST OF CAMP KEAIS ROAD IN SECTIONS 31
THROUGH 33, TOWNSHIP 47 SOUTH, RANGE 29 EAST, AND
SECTIONS 4 THROUGH 9 AND 16 THROUGH 18, TOWNSHIP
48 SOUTH, RANGE 29 EAST IN COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
[PL202300012619]
ITEM #17C
RESOLUTION 2023-160: RESOLUTION 2023-161:
RESOLUTIONS APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY
ASSESSMENT ROLLS AS THE FINAL ASSESSMENT ROLLS,
AND ADOPTING SAME AS THE NON-AD VALOREM
ASSESSMENT ROLLS FOR THE PURPOSE OF UTILIZING THE
UNIFORM METHOD OF COLLECTION PURSUANT TO
SECTION 197.3632, FLORIDA STATUTES, FOR SOLID WASTE
MUNICIPAL SERVICE BENEFIT UNITS, SERVICE DISTRICT
NO. I AND SERVICE DISTRICT NO. II, SPECIAL ASSESSMENT
LEVIED AGAINST CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
WITHIN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF COLLIER
COUNTY, THE CITY OF MARCO ISLAND, AND THE CITY OF
EVERGLADES CITY, PURSUANT TO COLLIER COUNTY
ORDINANCE 2005-54, AS AMENDED. REVENUES ARE
ANTICIPATED TO BE $34,228,000
ITEM #17D
RESOLUTION 2023-162: A RESOLUTION A SETTLEMENT OF
THE APPEAL OF HEX DECISION 2023-08 RESULTING IN THE
APPROVAL OF A BOAT DOCK EXTENSION OF 35-FEET OVER
September 12, 2023
Page 209
THE MAXIMUM PROTRUSION OF 20-FEET ALLOWED BY
THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR A TOTAL
PROTRUSION OF 55-FEET INTO A 338± FOOT WIDE
WATERWAY FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 167 SUNSET CAY
NAPLES, FL 34114 IN THE PORT OF THE ISLANDS
[PL20230006867]
September 12, 2023
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 3:47 p.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX
OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF
SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL
RICK LoCASTRO, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST
CRYSTAL K. KINZEL, CLERK
Attest as to Chairman
:w. signature only
These minutes approv by the Board on /O' (0- ?-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.
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