Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

If you wish to speak to any item on the agenda or during the public comment portion of the meeting, please fill out a speaker card. Each person addressing the board shall have three minutes to complete his or her comments on each agenda item for which he or she has filled out a card. The chair has the discretion to determine or alter the time limits on any agenda item. The board of county commissioners requests that speakers appearing under the public comment section of the agenda limit their comments or presentations to matters relating to county business that are within the board's control, authority, and jurisdiction.

The invocation will be delivered by Reverend Emily Waser. Let us pray. Oh Lord and Creator, by your holy prophet, you taught your ancient people to seek the welfare of the cities in which they lived. With this in mind, we commend our neighborhood to your care on this day. We commend it with the hope that we might be a good place for all who live here, that it might be kept free from social strife and decay. We ask that you would renew the ties of mutual regard that form our civic life as we seek to work together to eliminate poverty, prejudice, oppression, that peace may prevail with righteousness and justice with order. We thank you for all of your servants, for honest and able leaders. We ask that you would give all in authority the wisdom and strength to know your will and to do it in the world. Help them to remember that they are called to serve the people as lovers of truth and justice. Give them strength of purpose and concern for others that they may create here a community of justice and peace where your will may be done. In your holy and everlasting name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Like to wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day as well. Okay, please stand for the pledge. Commissioner Actis of Alus the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, first item is the minutes for January 5th soral workshop. Make a motion to approve. Second.

Motion and second and approve. All in favor say I. I. Carries unanimously. Okay. Um we also have um E1 resolution acknowledging April is the month of the military child district 4. Uh sir, real quick before we do that, uh would you like me to make a motion to allow Commissioner Goodson to participate by phone? Yes. Yes. Thank you. Okay, there's that's my motion, sir. Second. The motion is second to allow Commissioner Goodson to participate by phone. Okay. All in favor? I. Okay. All right. Okay. All right. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

I'm honored that you would ask me again to uh do the resolution for the military child. Um, you're welcome to come up. We have many members from AET here today. I'll read the resolution. We'll pass it and then uh you'll be recognized to to speak. Okay. And uh we have Linda Vicki and Chachi, right? And no, Joanie. Okay. All right.

You have to be of Oh, okay. Well, sorry to hear that. All right. April, the month of the military child. Whereas Avet Project, Inc. An all volunteer 501c3 nonprofit organization is asking you to join us nationally to include state and local governments, schools, military service organizations, companies, and private citizens in recognizing and applauding the daily sacrifices and courage the military child has to overcome by celebrating April, the month of the military child, which is a part of former defense secretary Casper Weinberger's legacy through the Department of Defense's commemoration in 1986. And whereas there are more than 1.6 million military children in Florida has 1.5 uh million veterans, their families and survivors. Our military children who face challenges and unique experiences as a result of their parents' service to our country, serving around the world, and sometimes for many months or even years. May we not forget about our youngest warriors, the military child who also serves. Remember to recognize the hardships they face. Americans everywhere should find ways to support the military child. And whereas the military child plays an important role to our country, not only dealing with uncertainty and concern for their parents, they take on many family responsibilities working as a team while their loved one is serving our country away or at home. And whereas on average, military families are on the move every 2 to 3 years, moving from one station to another, which often includes out of state or even out of country. This is not always easy going from school to school, not to mention making new

friends while saying goodbye to old ones. Far too often, birthdays, holidays, important life mile milestones are celebrated via phone call. Whereas, we encourage schools to plan special events honoring military children and that administrators and principles incorporate this month's themes into their everyday duties. events and responsibilities. These efforts will reinforce the importance of providing children with quality services and support to help them succeed in the mobile military lifestyle. And whereas the month of the military child provides an opportunity for every American to show our appreciation and gratitude to our youngest warriors, the military child who also serves. Donate, volunteer, do something to show support. One way to celebrate the military child is by wearing the color purple for the month of April. Purple highlights all branches of service. Now therefore, be it resolved that Avet Project hereby proclaims we must all honor April as the month of the military child. We ask the people of the United States to honor military children everywhere with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Done, ordered, and adopted in regular session the 17th day of March 2026. And with that, Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion. Second.

Second. Um, any discussion? All those in favor? Yes. Go ahead. I would just like to say from a mom of three military kids, thank you guys so much for what you do. Okay. Well, all right. And uh you're welcome to to address the board. And all those in favor say I. I. Okay. Very good.

Good morning, commissioners. Good morning everyone. On behalf of Avet Project and all the brave men and women we serve, we want to say thank you so much for this proclamation which recognizes sacrifices of our military children as their parents fight for this great nation. As a military child myself and then a veteran and now a proud parent of a veteran, I can tell you firsthand and testify that the sacrifice never ends. It continues. In 1986, Secretary of Defense Casper Weineberger declared April as the month of the military child. And this proclamation here today is proof that Weineberger's legacy continues. Once again, on behalf of Age Bed Project and all of the veterans here in Bvoulevard County, we would like to say thank you and all the on behalf of all the military children as well. Thank you so much.

I have a resolution for you. Okay.

The resolution Ready? One second. Thank you.

Thank you for being here. Next item, item F, consent agenda. And the entire consent agenda will be passed in one motion which includes includes everything under the paragraph F unless someone wishes to pull something off and then we'll have discussion and vote. Yeah, I would like to pull F4 F6 and F10 please. F4, F6, F10. Okay. All right. Is there a motion for the consent agenda with the exception of F4 6 and 10? So moved. Motion second. All in favor say I. I. Motion carries. Okay.

F4 approval transportation impact fee technical advisory committee for South Mainland benefit district project fund recommendation. District three. I think I read the wrong one. I did. approval amendment contract for Excel Inc. to include permit hub digital plan room.

Thank you. Um before we take action on this, I'd like to ask staff to provide an overview of the e-ermit hub, including how it will streamline the planning uh review process, improve productivity, and reduce costs associated with manual handling of the digital signatures and large project files. Good morning board. Um yeah, this is a request to amend the existing Excela contract that the board authorized in 2024 which was to upgrade and modernize the county's implementation of Excela. Uh this request is now to include e-ermit hub in that soft in that software which Excel has acquired in the interim between when the board approved the contract in 2024 and now. Um this would be use 100% uh building permitting fee revenue. So no general fund allocation is necessary. It is there is also no associated fee increase necessary or anything like that. This will be done with the existing budget. The same was true of the underlying contract. So essentially time is of the essence to all parties in the permitting world. Um and also accuracy is essential and it's staff's judgment that um this this software this plugin to our software would vastly help on both of those fronts. Um the and ultimately the county uh controls through Excel over 3 million records. Um uh we deal with 33,000 records annually, new records annually. And by record I don't mean a single document. That's 33,000 different records as as in a number overall record number in Excel. So, it's it's it's kind of the backbone of the Bvard County development uh as as far as our processes and things like that. So we believe that it will help us take uh truly modernize our platform and be a benefit for the public who wants their

projects done as quickly as possible and as accurately as possible. The builders who are in the same place and those and our staff who you know we want to spend as much time substantive building code rather than technical things like checking signatures. This will allow them to spend their time on the things that are most impactful to everybody. Thank you. And um the uh would you go into a little bit about why we're choosing this um product versus other products?

Well, we we had initially looked at a few different plan review softwares uh pre- Excel acquiring E permithub. Uh the other competitors we looked at uh e for a couple different reasons they weren't we didn't look at them as uh as superior to this product. Uh first they didn't integrate into Excel if at all nearly as well and they also didn't deal with the way the Florida building code implements digital signatures. And that's really truly critical for us again if we're going to use this to to get generate efficiency. Um, we want the program to be doing as much of that technical work and it has to understand for lack of a better term how Florida does uh those kinds of things because we have unique uh administrative requirements and they Excella has done a very good job it seems of implementing those to automate that and by the way we do have a representative from Excel here today if you have if you have any questions for him.

Cool. So basically, this is going to speed up the processes, make it more efficient and um more accurate, and this is going to be the best bang for our buck as far as software goes, I believe. So, Commissioner. Awesome. Okay. Do we have any other discussions? I don't make a motion to approve. Second. It's a motion, a second to approve. All in favor say I. I. I. Okay. Now we have F6 approval. standardization of single um source of detention door access control system in cell door.

Thank you. Um I I pulled this item because I just figured this is um not really a super routine thing. Um but I just wanted to highlight that we are making improvements to our jail and um to make make sure that it's a safer environment and whatnot. And with that, Mark, if you wouldn't mind giving a presentation. Uh good morning board. So this is uh standardization request uh and single source for detention door access uh control system and cell doors. Um under a previous contract we did approximately 290 uh plus doors. These are uh high security uh doors that uh go back to a nerve center so that this way the sheriff's department at uh remote locations can control open and and and uh close them. And so uh that both the nerve center as well as the doors are um owned by MTI control systems and uh MTS which is uh Montgomery Technology Systems is a subsidiary and so they have a proprietary system. So, it is in our best interest uh to standardize this as the system for the jail and then uh be able to do a change order to the contract.

Awesome. Thank you. And with that, with that, I'd like to make a motion to approve. I'll second. Motion second. All in favor say I. I. Motion carries. Next item is, excuse me, is F10. Approval requests uh the board of county commissioners approve a recommendation to provide $5,984,640 in funding for opioid abatement services with invar county. 5 million

5 million. Did I say thousand? I was say 5,98,000. Okay. All right. We do have cards, but let's go ahead and discuss the item first, then we'll hear the cards.

Thank you. I um I pulled this item from the consent agenda to provide a little bit more um transparency before the board takes action on this item. I know that this is um this is a significant um amount of money and um I just figured that it's it's a great thing. we're putting resources out there to help um this serious need that we got through settlement funds. Um and I just wanted to uh make sure that we talked about it so that people know that this is happening and um that that the settlement money is moving and it's going towards um you know organizations that are going to go and help with opioid addiction. And with that, Lanita,

good morning commissioners. Um item F10 is requesting the board to approve recommendations of the together in partnership recommendation committee um to provide 5.9 million in funding to the opioid abatement services. Purchasing services released the opioid misuse abatement funding request or RFA housing and purchasing held a mandatory pre-proposal meeting after the closing date. 21 applications moved forward to the TIP recommendation subcommittee. On November 21st, the TIP recommendation subcommittee voted to recommend funding to the following agencies. 2 million to circles of care to provide jailbased medication assistant treatment for incarcerated adults with opioid use disorder to reduce opioid related mortality, prevent overdose, overdose. 1.7 million circles of care. Also, circles will expand and enhance existing medication assisted treatment services in Bvoulevard County. 780,000 to STEPS or specialized treatment education and prevention services. steps will provide access to BVAR County indigent residents to participate in a drug court program um which will address those that are incarcerated and um address repeat offenders coming back and then 785,000 in steps living room project which will primarily target adult and Bvoulevard County residents in need of access to care. steps will increase access to behavioral health supports by providing wraparound service services and linkages to care. I haven't had my full coffee this morning.

Um 597,000 Recovery Connection of Central Florida or RCCF will serve individuals seeking assistance for themselves or families related to the use of opioids and other substances. and they will focus on individuals transitioning from treatment facilities. And Jeremy, yes, thank you. Um Logan, would you put up that? Um so that is all of the requests that we've gotten and

and um I just wanted to to highlight this because it shows the the serious need that we have in our community. And um Wanita, I didn't know if you wouldn't mind going into a little bit more the process that you guys went through and the possible changes that are um that are possible moving forward.

Yes, absolutely. So what you see up here on the screen, those are the 21 applications that was that were received. Then and the review committee, they made the recommendation of three areas of concentration. The opioid settlement dollars can only be spent on approved uses um through the state abatement program. So the three areas of concentration were the support people in treatment and recovery, address the needs of criminal justice involved persons, prevent misuse of opioids and then all other areas of concentration which is inclusive of again those approved uses from the state. There was a um there was a um so again after the recommendations committee put out those four areas, it went to the review committee and then the review committee reviewed all 21 applications and made the recommendation of the four that we have before you. Thank you so much. And did the committee did they talk about doing stuff a little bit differently going forward?

Yes. So going forward, which it was discussed and when we meet again, the um agencies that receive funding this round is a discussion that next round they would be excluding excluded from um applying for the opioid dollars. So then we can spread out the dollars into those other areas that did not receive funding this time.

Thank we have uh three cards. Two for questions only. Uh Steven Lord of Circles of Care and Jeremy Weiss. Laura McCarthy like to speak, I believe. Good morning. My name is Laura McCarthy and uh in 2023, the president of the United States awarded me the Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteerism for over 5,000 hours. in 2023 dedicated to volunteering my services specifically to this topic of opioid misuse. I have been serving the opioid misuse task force of Bvard County since 2018. I'm an editor of the one of many editors of the original abatement plan that sat before the county that was done as a gift to the county by our organization because it was truly originally designed by state statute to be developed by the county. I'm also the founder of the Bvard Recovery Fest, which is an action item that came out of the task force in 20121, whose mission is to end the stigma of addictions and mental health in Bvard County. And we are the largest collaborative effort of providing a

platform for all of our providers to showcase their services so people can survive. I have been watching this process from the beginning as a TIP member and I am an atlarge member of TIP. I would like to read the following executive summary of the events as outlined by one of our members who is unable to be here today. Bvard County issued four separate RFAS RFA 52604. Each targets a distinct priority. Those priorities were listed earlier. Applicants reasonably understood that each RFA represented a separate funding category and expected intracategory competition. Instead, during the public scoring meeting, the county staff instructed the recommendation committee to treat all applications as a single pool and ranked uniformly and fund sequ se sequentially from the top down with no discretion for category balance and no ability to reduce awards. As a result, two of the counties declared priority categories, prevention and treatment and recovery, received no funding. prevention or tenatively disappropriate and ineffectually treatment and recovery portion funding defeating the very purpose of issuing separate RFAS. State statute 287 clearly states that if you set out four separate RFAs, they need to be scored, procured, and ranked according to four separate RFAS. The county did not do that. That is the process that we would ask that it get corrected in the next time we do this. And we do ask that the funds be released. We've been waiting over a year for these funds and we're ready to spend

that money. Thank you for hearing my report. Okay. Thank you so much.

You have a comment or a question? I um if if possible, if we have the a couple of the groups that are receiving some of the money, I would love to hear what um what your plans are what um your organizations will be doing with the money. I'm not sure if the cards that um were here for questions if they're available. You can put one in after you don't have to. Only if you're only if you want to. I just felt like

otherwise I'd like to make a motion to approve. Okay, there's a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Okay. Uh motion second to approve. Uh,

I just have a little bit of discussion. I'm sorry. Okay. I um this was not to uh obviously we we want to disperse this money. Um and so this was not meant to be a negative something. It was meant to bring light to this and have these organizations share what they're doing for our community. So it was not meant in in any negative way. Um, so I'm just I'm surprised that we're not going to let the organizations um share what good work they're about to do in our community. So that's all. Okay. All in favor say I. I. Motion carries.

Okay. We we we did uh have a card on F5. General Jordan had a card. Is he still here? Did you want to speak? I'm sorry I overlooked that. Well, you approved it. So, um, we would we would just like to maybe talk to the, um, public works staff that's working just to see the details. You can say a few words. We filled out the card and I got it mixed up with the public comment. Okay.

Gerald Jordan, resident of Palmetto subdivision and um, retired military. Um, we would just like just to maybe get a point of contact inside of the public works department just to look over the details of the plan just to make sure they align with the request that we originally gave to um, Tom Goodson, Commissioner Goodson at his office. So, um, but we are thankful that you guys did find the funding and worked out all of the issues behind this little project because it will, we think, save a little lives and hopefully we have a follow- on project with DOT that we can get them to change their mind on where to put that red light. So, but I we appreciate you guys help and support on that. I have a question. Sure.

Mark, is that an easy answer that we could answer right now or um I can't tell where Mark is. Oh, there he is. So the the project is uh there's about a 40 foot uh linear uh 40 or linear foot um uh grass area between Glenidge View Circle and Vadilla Rain. And so in discussions with uh the district 2 commissioner and FDOT uh in preparation for the North Courtney project uh we are going to be uh connecting that uh with uh a roadway uh due the appropriate drainage. Um and so this will enable residents that uh will be precluded from making a left-hand turn on North Courtney once the divider project goes in. They'll now have a a way to do that. Uh so we've coordinated this with FDOT and in fact FDOT is funding the project uh for us to execute.

Does that answer your question? That's partially but um I I I'll now I know who it is. I'll talk to Mark afterwards and just talk there just one we don't have a problem with the funding. We appreciate it. So we just have a little other little question about if we can make a left turn on to Villa Dina and that would call for moving the median out which was our original question to Tom Goodson. But I don't want to stop the project because we've got some motion moving forward. So, I thank you for the funding. So, I'm not going to tit for that little piece if that's not possible. Sir, I I would encourage you to call the Florida Department of Transportation, Mr. Chair, if you allow me just for a sec. I they'll be able to better answer maybe that when when it comes to medians.

Okay. No, I'm talking about the median located on Villa Arena that once we do this opening at um Glenidge Circle and Villa Arena that may be part of the whole design part of the and that's why I said I didn't want to bog down the details here. I just want to get a point of contact and just go back with with that with um the the worker bees. Okay. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. You guys have a great day. Thanks. Thank you so much. Let's have a vote on F5. Just just I'll make a motion to approve, sir. Second. It's a motion. Second on F5. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion I.

Motion carries. Okay, we will proceed to item G public comment and we do have one card. I think one card for public comment. Rick uh Hefinger He Hefinger

Hefinger Rick Hefinger 2000 Juniper Drive District 1. Um, I wanted to come up actually I was wanting to come up later on an agenda item um that my commissioner has on that I have a strong passion for about uh getting some visibility into the cost of some of the stuff we do under consent because I don't know if anybody here's added it all up but uh I was shocked to find there's 27,674 worth of decisions that you just approved or made. Some of that stuff we don't care about as taxpayers because it comes from the state. But it's also kind of nice to know what does come from the state and where these things come from. But to know those numbers may may flag me to say, "Hey, maybe I should I should dig into that a little more." So that helps me to do that. I don't know if you have a total that's different than mine, but

well, no, but if you're speaking to an agenda item, we need to call him up during the agenda item, not during consent agenda.

I'm not going to be able to be here later. I have a doctor's appointment, so I wanted to This is kind of a comment on all the stuff you just did on consent. So the agenda item is F1 through if you want to look at it that way. Um I also think that that I support the this this the agend the consent having values is because that it lets the taxpayer know but I think it also would inspire you guys and just a quick look at I mean I had to go to find out what the cost was. I had to dig through the the uh agenda items on um what do we call that program that's each one of the files to dig out and there's a specific column there called uh fiscal impact but to be able to see that and know that I wanted to come down or do some research would be extremely helpful to me and I I think it also would hopefully elicit some discussions questions and concerns from the board because I saw Katie pull a few of those and sometimes we feel like and it does a good job to also illustrate the good things you do for the community like the opioid thing. So, I think that's nice to know that we we are we are funding that effort. I don't know what the total of the opioid funding was, but that's a big number and I and I'd like to see that get used. Um, so a lot of big items. I mean, so I I I think it's a good idea for that item later. So, I just like to state my sport since I may not be here for that. Thank you very much. Okay, that is our public comment section of the agenda. We move on to our public hearings. First is H1. All right. H1 is an ordinance um revising chapter 14, article 2 of the Bvard County Code to update the code to reflect changes made by the legislature to chapter 767 of Florida statutes regarding dangerous dogs. Last year, the legislature passed the Pam Rock Act,

named in honor of a male carrier who was tragically um mauled by dogs in 2022. Uh the amendments provide for a definition of what's known as the Dunbar bite scale, which is used to determine the severity of dog bites. It requires for dangerous dogs to be implanted with a microchip. Uh previously, there was an option for tattooing. It provides that dogs who have killed a human being or made certain severe bite marks to a person be confiscated by animal services and held pending the outcome of the investigation and hearing without provision for release and for other updates to dangerous dog hearing procedures. Additionally, the amendments provide for increased criminal penalties for the owners of dogs that attack an animal or human again after being declared dangerous. Um, and once again, these are required changes to come into um, compliance and to be consistent with the changes made by the legislature to chapter 767. Okay. I remember when this issue came before the legislature. I think it took a few years to pass, but it was a horrendous attack and um it's I think the state did a really good job of trying to protect the public and also u allowing for local governments to be involved. Do we have any we have no cards on this? We have any comments and discussion on the matter. So we have no public input. A motion for the approval of the ordinance would be in order.

So moved. It's a motion and I'll second. Second. All in discussion. All in favor say I. I. I. I. Carries unanimous. Let's move down to J1 uh development environmental services group.

Good morning again board. Um J1's a contract for sale and purchase an addendum from Mr. Terrell. Uh this is for the wastewater treatment plant down uh off of uh Mo um in district 3. Uh the purchase would be $5 million for approximately uh for 80 acres. And uh this is part of a a larger project for the utilities uh department in which um there are two other uh pieces of land that are contemplated or will be contemplated in subsequent uh actions. Okay. I don't think we have any cards on this item. Any discussion

on J1? Motion. I'd like to make a motion to approve. I'll second. Motion second to approve. Um, sorry, I was yielding to you. All in favor say I. I. I. I. Motion carries unanimously. Okay. Um J2, but it's yours.

Good morning, commissioners. Item J2 is a request for the board to provide staff direction regarding allocations of additional special district and MSTU funds that were generated when the board increased those uh this past year's budget cycle. The board has four options for each funding source. Pull that mic a little closer.

The board has uh four options for each funding source. Option one would allow for the projects that were cut in the previous year's budget cycle to be returned as well as some additional projects that had been identified by the department. Excuse me. Option two would allow for those projects to be returned and then the additional revenue from those special districts to be offset with cuts to general fund for reallocation by the board. Option three would allow for a total reallocation of general fund for all those funding sources except the south recreation district which actually has less general fund available than what is generated by that special district fund. So the board would also have to allocate approximately 1.6 6 million in that option three for the South Boulevard recreation district. And then option four would be any other direction that the board provides. We would ask that you provide an option for each of the funding sources.

Okay. Thank you. Do we have any I don't think we have any cards. Okay. Do I I prefer option one just for my vote. So just the board knows. Um I think it's up to the board to decide how we want to allocate the these dollars.

I think I'm just going to bring up sir. May I Mr. Chair? Let me bring up something that um you know for the county's had a goal in resurfacing roads um and you know I think we do a really good job of preservation mode and that's the that's the cheaper way at at at this um point in time is is to preserve what we have and uh I think we had to cut some of that back in the in the last budget and if we could restore it and I'd have to ask um I know Mark might not have been ready with this but I I think we were to to get us to the number of miles of road that we've resurfaced in the prior years. We were somewhere in that three and a half $3.8 million. Does that sound right? Okay. That that would be where I I would want to go to to to restore that. So restoring money to the general funds so that public works could um resurface those roads. That would be my

master. Yes.

So my thought is along those lines as well. I like too because we get to um put the money in parks. Uh but we also get to put some money back in the general fund and I think roads is is pretty significant. A million and a half that goes back to general fund could be used for something like that. Um that's how I feel. I like two because it can sort of give a little bit to both. Well, I I'd be willing to to sort of split that option. Um, if that's where the board goes with with the idea that the that 1.5 going back to general fund that we we put toward the road resurfacing,

I would be comfortable with that. I think that's a pragmatic thing to do. I um I would have to agree with that. I think that there's um a couple of things, you know, that are important to to my district. And so I'm I was leaning more towards option two as well. Um so that's where that's So if I made a motion for um option two with the 1504, before we do a motion, I like have more discussion if we could. I know Commissioner Goodson is on the phone and want to hear his input if he has a strong opinion.

Yeah, but chair I could drift to option two. Okay. I I chose option one. I felt that um we got a lot of funding funding sources for roads but parks are pretty limited to uh our general fund and I think from a quality of life point of view um especially for kids young people that parks have a high priority but obviously I am out voted here I think well um and I was at least two has both it has both

I was really just asking the question to clarify If I if I made a motion that we did option two with the 1.504410 general fund going back to general fund that we in the same motion we allocate that toward the resurfacing of the roads shortfall um for this year. Yes, I would that if you made okay sir with Okay, I'm going to go ahead and make that motion then and I'm going to second it. Okay, it's a motion and second. Uh any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion carries.

I I hear Goodson, I think. Sorry about that. Okay. All right. We will move forward to J3. Resolution authorizing the issue of nonavalorm refunding revenue bond series 2026. We have no cards.

All right. Good morning, Mr. Chair and chair uh commissioners. This item is a request to refund the county's local option fuel tax bond series 2016 with the issuance of Bvard County, Florida non-Avalor revenue refunding bond series 2026, not exceeding $50 million in aggregate principal and a present value savings of at least 4%. and delegate authority to the chair to execute the resolution and various closing documents related to the issuance of series 2026 bonds and authorize the county manager to approve all necessary budget amendments to implement this requested change. It is estimated that under the current market conditions, the county will save approximately $2.7 million in net present value savings in debt service, which the public works department will realize a reduction in annual debt service payments of approximately 200 20 $262 million through the final maturity in 2037.

Okay. Hey, do we have any questions? Any discussion? Is there a motion? I'd like to make a motion to approve. We have a motion, a second. Motion, second to approve. Discussion. All in favor say I. I. I. Motion carries unanimously. Okay, we'll move on to J2. Legislative intent and permission to advertise an ordinance related to county's optional vessel registration fee. J3. That's J4. J4. I'm sorry. Did I say J3? We heard J3. J4. Legislative intent. Vessel registration. I

think we have staff is going to J4. J4 is actually mine, sir. Oh, was that yours? Okay, good. So, if you guys will bear with me just a second. All right.

My staff made me some handouts that I wanted to share with you. My book will cooperate. Oops. Thank you. So, if you pass a few down that way, Commissioner, that one's mine. If you can pass those that way, that'd be great. So, if you bear with me a few minutes, we've put a lot of work into this, so I I kind of have a lot to say. Um, we're a water county. We have natural bodies of water everywhere. Um so we have a really strong boating community and members of the boating community have approached me regarding concerns about the condition and accessibility of our boating infrastructure um primarily boat ramps. So the first purpose of this item is to better understand the condition and potential improvements our boating infrastructure um as well as take steps to address the matter. Uh as it stands right now, we haven't done a study um in almost 20 years, a boating related study. So while the recommendations of the previous study might still be valid, um it's important, I think, for us to make sure that the information is updated and reflects our current conditions. So the study would allow for an objective review of current boat launch capacity, location, and condition relative to the demand and offer suggestions for improvements. These improvements would include launches, parking, boat ramp locations, and improving and adding boat ramp amenities. A more comprehensive understanding of the need as well as the feasibility of the improvements will allow the board to make a best decision uh for the good of our community. The Bvard Boating Improvement Program, the BBIP, which is funding uses using the county share of the vessel registration fee, currently has approximately $1.9 million in reserves. Of this, 195,000 are not

committed. Some of these funds could be used to pay for the study as long as the study is limited to the following things. providing, maintaining or operating recreational channel marking and other uniform waterway markers, public boat ramps, lifts and hoists, marine railways, boat peers, docks, mooring boys and other public launch facilities, removing derelict vessels and debris that specifically impedes boat access, not including dredging. And removing vessels and floating structures deemed a hazard to public safety and health. The second component of this item is legislative intent and permission to advertise an ordinance imposing the optional county vessel registration fee. There's no reason to do the study or figure out the problems and identify the solutions if we can't pay to fix it. Pursuant to FSS 328.66, 66. This fee can be utilized for the patrol, regulation, and maintenance of lakes, rivers, waters, and for other boating related projects located within the county. If imposed, this fee is estimated to generate over 466,000 annually that could be added to the approximate 166,000 the BBIP currently receives. This will be recurring funds. This fee is added directly to the annual vessel registration cost and varies depending on the vessel class. The annual fee increase ranges from $2.75 for vessels that are less than 12 ft to $94 for vessels that are over 110 ft. If you look at your um chart, you see that the largest class of Boers that we have, we have over 19,000 between 16 and 26 feet. Their fee would increase by $14.38 per year. the county would receive $13.38 because the first dollar of the optional county fee goes to the uh save the

manatee fund. This increase will not affect those people who currently are exempt from the registration fee. So once the results of the study are available and the parks advisory boards and marine advisory council have had an opportunity to form their recommendations, the boating community will be able to review the benefits and voice their opinion uh on these user fees. From the conversations that I've had, um the general consensus is that the fee is acceptable if it means uh access to water and enjoying their boats will improve. So that's my explanation. I have a question. Yes.

Um I I too have heard um of people coming to me saying that, you know, they'd like to see some improvements in um some of our boat boat launch areas and whatnot. So I think that this is definitely um a good idea and I appreciate you bringing this forward. Um, I had a question about the study and is that something that we are required that our staff could do or do we have to go for a consultant for that? Maybe Jim is the right person to ask. I would say Jim is probably the right person to ask about that.

Um, based off of what I done previously, I think you would want to get a consultant. It's just the staff time to get it all done and and you want a neutral party handling it. So, and what Jim around what do you think a a consultant would cost for a study like this? It might uh I just lost Ian. Uh I think our discussion was 50 60,000 and we have money in the voting the BBIP the boating improvement program to be able to pay for that study and it's an eligible expense out of those funds. And do we know about how long that study will take? That I don't know. I'm sure six nine months. That's a bit of a swag but yeah I would hate it to be that long. Yeah.

Yeah, I know. So, that's that. I don't have the answer. I'm just That's why it's swagging it for you. Yeah. Probably a good good idea, though, because uh what's the old adage? Measure twice, cut once. Mhm. And I commend the commissioner for bringing this up. It's fascinating. And I I'm interested. We only have five vessels over 110 ft. I know. I was surprised. I would have thought that we'd have had more. So, so I understand. So, this graph Yep. is interesting. So I'm going to look at the five the vessels over 100 ft. That's interesting. There's only five. So the current fee registration is 193. Am I reading that correct?

Yes. They can get a discount if they have met certain things like equipment on their boat. I don't exactly understand it. So they would either be without the discount $193 and with this discount would be 144 and then the additional county optional fee would be 94. Exactly. Okay. Good. Yeah. Okay. I'm sorry. Is that one of your boats that you have? Okay. Are you one of the five? I have I have void boats. In fact, I I went and took a tour of a cruise ship just uh just so I can say that I've done it.

So, um I do have a question for staff though if I could, Mr. Chair. Um I don't understand that we need to do a study for this or should do a study for this, but we didn't do that for storm water. I voted against storm water. So honestly, I don't have an answer for you, but it's two different funding sources, two different sets of regulations would probably be the difference there. I think in prior years when the board has uh increased storm water fees, there there was a corresponding study. We've had I mean there's an existing study for storm water fees.

Okay. Well, I I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm I'm not going to be there today. So, thanks. Well, with that, I'd like to make uh a motion to direct staff to prepare an RFP for a boating infrastructure study limited to the authorized uses of the BBIP funds to be approved by the board no later than May 5th, 2026, regular meeting, and for legislative intent and permission to advertise an ordinance imposing the optional county vessel registration fee to be brought back to the board along with the results of the study and after being heard by the parks advisory board and the marine advisory council. I have a question.

Okay, there's a motion on the table. We have a question. Do we have a second on the motion though before following parliamentary procedure? We have a motion. We I'll um second to get us to discussion. Okay. If that's okay.

Um Commissioner Felner, would you mind sharing a little bit your concerns? I think when uh what was done with this with the storm water um and that happened I think that happened pretty quick with the um getting rid of the design credit um that affected district 4 disproportionately uh much I mean the disparity between what district 4 voters will will pay in that is is extreme compared to the other districts. And so in that moment I realized what was happening and I and I voted against it. Um most of uh I mean if you just think of this zip code by the way I mean it has storm water retention everywhere and that's that's why those design credits um uh exist and that's why I voted against it. But there wasn't there wasn't a I don't think there was a corresponding study um for those increases. So that's

my thought. If I'm hearing you, you're more opposed to the study, not so much opposed to the increase of the I'm wondering why why a study is why a study would be done for this. And I'm not totally certain or were certain that you have to do one, but uh before raising the storm water fees there there wasn't a study. M I I'm just I mean as a technical matter. Mr. Chair, may I? Yes. So Jim, is it is it possible to not do the study follow the guidelines of the old study from 20 years ago?

Um or the recommendations of staff because I'm not stuck on this study necessarily. I'm stalling a little. Um to be honest, the study the study is 20 years old. Um I I don't want to say

Commissioner if Yeah, if if I if I may. Um like Jim said, the study is quite old. Um I don't know what the change in land that's underneath the parks and recreation department as our assets have changed in those 20 years. So, I don't know if there's other assets that have come into the department that could be developed into the future, which would be a part of what this study would be looking at. You know, I suppose also the fact that this county has changed so much where people live over 20 years, it it might be important to know who's using what where. Yeah. Um, I have a question.

Yes. Um, is this something, and I know that time is, you know, an issue, but is this something that our staff has the expertise on? So, we could potentially resources, usage rates, a lot of it will be anecdotal. Um, we look at the current inventory, but again, some of the engineering we don't do in-house. some a lot of those design type questions we go out and we have, you know, engineering firms that do that for us. Um, that being said, we could probably get a rough idea of what's potentially developable, but I don't know that we could come up with a good cost estimate.

Would natural resources be able to help in that capacity? I think that'd be a question for Virginia, but I would say that they a lot of the stuff that's allowed underneath this statute is not something that, you know, they don't they don't build docks. They don't build ramps. At least I don't think you do. And and I jump in. They're they're actually short a couple engineers right now to get their own projects done. So, just just a thought for the board. uh if you could proceed with legislative intent with the study and uh we'll research if we don't need the study then we can come back to the board and say we don't need the study. I like that.

Um and then I would like commissioners if you would like to add to the agenda item if you can let us obligate the unused funds for the BBIP to pay for the study. At least they have that motion in there then we get the BCR but we'll we'll research and come back if the board agrees to it. If we don't need the study then we'll bring back and tell you we don't need the study. I could be in favor of that. Yep. Does anybody want to help me put that motion together with all of those bits and pieces? My recommendation and your fine legislative intent that we had with the study and if we if we don't need the study, we as staff will bring that back to you to let you know that it's not needed because I I I'm no attorney, but the legislative intent should cover that.

Okay. I'd like to amend my motion to include county manager suggestion. Second. Okay. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. Nay. We have one negative. Commissioner Felner. Um, okay. Good. I am so embarrassed. I apologize to everyone out there. Nope. Sorry. This J5. We're still good. I'm not in trouble yet. Oh, we didn't have any cards. No, we did not.

Okay, we have um item J5, speak up Bard 2026 efficiency and effectiveness recommendations submitter presentation. Now I have a question more of a technical question and don't we have a policy on this? Didn't the board come up with a procedure by which how we would have these presentations? The board took action at a prior meeting to state that the board would schedule a time certain to receive the sears and presentations from citizens, give citizens five minutes for each presentation and um decline to schedule a workshop to hear separately from the citizens on these sears. So that's the board's procedure and I have we selected the meeting date yet? I I know it was going to be in May and we know

the the meeting date well it's it's in May it's in May probably the it's either the first or second meeting so we'll be done with we'll have the reports back to the board the deadline is 90 days is May 1st we'll have it before then and that's consistent with the charter and the board's adopted policy that we receive the sears staff prepares analysis and recommendations on those then the board hears them and has to act on each sear at a board meeting. So we have we done that have we staff we're currently going through all the SER responses so working on those.

So if I could chime in I the reason why I brought this forward was because I don't feel comfortable um hearing from the citizens and in that moment having to make a a off-the cuff decision. Um, and you know, of course, if it's something that's an emergency, we have to do that. But I don't feel that this is an emergency. And um frankly, if this was against the rules, I would have thought Morris or Jim would have said something and you know between the briefings, between the conversations we have, between all of these different things and all these people showed up here today, we have all these cards and to not hear this item, it just would be such a disservice to the public

in my opinion. Yes. So, I just want to make sure I understand. Um, if presenters do come up and present to us, we can't do well, we can only consider what they've written in the SEIR, which is currently being looked at by staff. So, no matter what they might say here, it doesn't affect or change what they've written. Is that accurate? That's what the charter provides and what the pro policy provides. Okay. Isn't it isn't it though that that's bas that's the staff recommendations can only respond based on what's written not the board can make any decision we want based on whatever we want.

Well the board has to make an take an action on the formal written recommendation that's submitted the charter compels that but it does not disclude the comments that commenters make.

Morris can you is it how long is the charter language? Could you read that to us so we know exactly because unlike a lot of the this is something that's set forth in charter the process by which we follow. The board of county commissioners shall develop procedures that will provide a mechanism for an individual or an organized group of individuals to submit a formal written recommendation for the enhancement of the effectiveness and efficiency of county government to the county commission on an annual basis. The county commission's procedure shall include the following provisions. An annual fi filing date. The written recommendation shall be reviewed by the county commission. And following the review, the county commission shall vote to either accept the recommendation, accept the recommendation with revisions, or reject the recommendation. And the county commission's final vote in consideration of the recommend recommendation shall occur no later than 120 days after receipt of the written recommendation. And then the board has adopted a policy implementing those requirements. But um the board can always act on citizen requests that they make during public comment or through commission offices. But this process was enacted specifically to provide a formal written recommendation mechanism and for the board to take action on those written recommendations. So we have a procedure by which the board is established that we follow. This is something over beyond the procedure that we have. I'm going to turn to the board whether we want to change our process and hear these hear these recommendations and in fact we'll be hearing them twice. We would hear them now uh and then we would have this them staff go through the written procedures by which and then they would make recommendations and I assume we'd have to hear them again under the charter.

The policy allows and under sunshine they would be allowed to comment at the meeting. the board considers it, but this this board specifically decided very recently that you would receive presentations from the citizens at that meeting in May and that you would provide a time certain for that. May I sir? Yes, Commissioner. So, I apologize to all the people who came here thinking that you would present um to us, but I would like to make a motion to table this to the May 5th meeting um at 6 p.m. and where everybody's going to get five minutes to actually do their presentation. That's my motion.

I'll second it. There's a motion in the second discussion. I think I might add to that. um it would be an a scheduled item on the agenda. We'd have the benefit of of reading the recommendations as well as the technical review from staff. So, we'd be in a much better position to make a decision. And it's not like we hear them and then boom, we have to make we'll see these we'll see these well ahead of schedule and be prepared to ask questions. Yeah. Can can I ask I have I do have a technical question though just just in general. But go ahead. No, I I have a technical question also.

Do do we have to vote at that meeting when the presentations happen or could could we have the presentations at the first meeting and we vote on the items at the second meeting? Um if if there's a concern that there's not enough time in that moment when people are presenting uh you know with enough time to think about it before they a commissioner votes. Is it is it to be voted at at that same meeting? You can as long as it happens within 120 days under the charter. Okay.

And you would probably want to make clear at the first meeting that you've closed the comment portion of the meeting so that you don't by having a second meeting then have the same presentations again. I'm I mean I'm not opposed to that if that if that makes uh better for you the amount of time between the presentation to the the time that you're voting. Um I think we're going to have the information and the staff um comment comments and everything by that meeting that we where they have the time certain to come uh you know speak on their item. So, I I feel like I will be ready at that time, but if if that's the pleasure of the board uh to to vote at a separate time, I'm I'm open to that, too.

I I think same day is is not Jeez,

I I think that if it's, you know, um if it's the same day, it really doesn't matter that piece of it. I the thing for me is that I really feel passionate that these staff recommend or these um presentations um are are made visible and public and you know um like I've said before when I was advocating for the workshop, you know, some people are more um are better communicators when they have an opportunity to speak versus writing something down. And so I was just trying to make this program as accessible and um open to the public as possible. Uh which is what the intention was. And nowhere in the charter does it say only um and that we can't expand upon the the um the the inclusion of our citizens. So that that argument is just outrageous to me. And um

can I say something on that just real quick? I don't mean to interrupt you, but when I think you're on the on the item and then because we have to take some action on it and you want to sort of amend it. I mean I I don't I don't see why the board can't do that in that moment. So the the board can accept except with revisions or reject a recommendation. Okay. I it in my mind that that sounds like in that but the board must consider the written recommendations. Okay. I Okay. But it doesn't say it can't it can't um think about the oral presentations as well. There's nothing in there that says that we can't make this program more.

I don't disagree with you. Okay. Thank you. I I I don't disagree with you. And that's why I'm saying I I think in that moment um you you you could amend um when I suggested and I had terrible cold I didn't want to give the rest of you um and I was I was calling in on Zoom. I suggested the time certain so that no matter what happens in the meeting and I just that's just an efficiency thing. So separate from a workshop we in in short we're basically doing the workshop in a commission meeting. So, we're all here and we're going to do it and they and I think we agreed that they could come up and they'd have five minutes um instead of three on um each of their items. So,

some of these things are pretty complex though. So it's, you know, the idea to only have that that, you know, few minutes to think, you know, through all of the things. Um, you know, it's just why wouldn't we want more opportunity to come to the best um outcome? If I may, sir,

I think the the the point of what I'm saying is it's not efficient to hear them here and hear them again. Primarily, for my opinion, is because I'm I'm not prepared right this second. I don't have good questions to ask where when we hear you on the 5th, I will have been able to prepare questions on your items. I will have already made it my business to go through it, see what staff's thoughts are, see what my thoughts are, clarify it with you while you're standing there in front of me. Right now, you'll just be saying things twice.

Right now, what the people could do is is tell us their presentation. We could, you know, think about it, write notes, and have, you know, a few days to think about what their suggestions are and have time to mull over it. It's it's not we're we're not I think another issue voting on anything with this. This is just for us to get more a better idea of what the citizens are asking of us. I think another issue is that we as a body had a lot of deliberation and discussion about this and developed a very specific procedure and this flies in the face of that.

The question I have is a couple two two of questions. Um one um since this first first of all um technically any one of these individuals could have given the presentations during the public hearing part of our our meeting and they still can

and they still can if they sign up. So we do provide for that in the public meeting. It's not in the not even the body of the formal. Secondly, um this is not under the public hearing part of our agenda. What do we allow in terms of time per card? What is our procedure? Is that is that Well, this is this is a normal agenda item. You typically allow three minutes

um per card. In this case though, that is that is when people speak to the proposal that's on the agenda. And the proposal that is on the agenda is that the board receive presentations. So people could speak during this item on whether or not the board should receive presentations, but they could only give the presentations if the board voted to give special disp dispensation to to receive the presentations. Otherwise, they can speak during public comment about any item that's not on the agenda. I think these would have been probably more appropriate on the public.

Can I ask one more technical question, sir? um when they're doing presentations at our time certain uh time and date, uh will they will they send that as a as a PowerPoint potentially that would go into the packet with all the rest of the the SEIR information or how how does that work? They will have that ability, but that's up to them. If they wish to do a PowerPoint presentation, they have to submit it in advance of the meeting so that it can be reviewed for propriety for presentation at a live meeting and and broadcast. 24 hours is the policy. 24 hours minimum. If it's 24 hours, it certainly won't be part of any packet.

Okay. Well, not for nothing. I mean, I I think that would be beneficial for the commissioners if you for anyone who's uh doing a SEIR that they send information early. There's there's nothing that u precludes you from doing that now. You can you can send things to um commissioners. I I'm I like what I had suggested before the time certain. I think that's the um everyone's going to know because I'm not sure how many people here are today versus how many people submitted this year. 66 there 66 people submitted this year. I don't know how many people Well, Sears there were multiple 40ome people.

Oh, okay. 40 people submitted. 66 Sears. Okay. Understood. But they're not all here here today. Correct. Um yeah. No. Another question I have just technically um because we haven't talked when we have the formal SEIR presentations, how much time are we allowing for those or do we need to set that in policy? The board previously stated that it would be five minutes per speaker on each sear.

Okay. Okay. in in the future if if this comes up again, I would appreciate our county manager and county attorney to say something prior to a board meeting. I think this is completely inappropriate and um you know, this is this is part of your job and throwing one of your commissioners under the bus is not part of your job. So, I would appreciate that in the future. Motion second. And and commissioner, I understand. I Let me take the burden on that. They we're not allowed to talk, but I they're professionals. Morris is a lawyer. This is something that's more of a board decision. No. And um

because you guys are going into the technicality of this decision. And so if it's if it's a technical something, then we should I should have been apprised of that from Morris or Jim. And so I'm just gonna say that that's if if we're gonna throw Commissioner Delaney under the bus, then I publicly I'm going to say I don't appreciate this and I would ask for um a heads up next time. This is not a staff thing. This is purely our commission deciding. Nope. That's not according to your guys' arguments. That is very important. Something's in our charter. Okay, we have a motion to second. Is there any discussion on on the U?

No discussion. All in favor say I. I. Opposed. I. Nay. Uh, passes 4 to1. Commissioner Delaney. Voting against. And anyone who would like to speak still, you can sign up during our K portion of public comments. But we do want to hear from you and we want to follow the procedure that the board has established. And uh, and this will give us time to give you due diligence. Okay. Um item J.

No, no public com. You can sign up and if you would like this. But you can speak during public comment on your SE item if you'd like to. Was that motion to table? It was a motion to table to me. Okay. Thank you. Okay. J6, improving agenda transparency through financial disclosure. We do have u three, one, two, three, four cards.

Thank you. Um Logan, is there any way you could pull up slide number three? And if you wouldn't mind keeping it up during my um introduction. There we go. Awesome. Thank you. Um, I'm bringing this item forward as a follow-up to our uh 2025 citizens efficiency and effectiveness recommendation or SEIR and as part of my ongoing commitment to improve transparency and how this board conducts its business um so that residents can get more uh easily informed on board business. One of the concerns that residents have shared is that it can be difficult to follow um public how public funds are being allocated during our meetings, particular particularly when items are included on the consent agenda where multiple items are approved together in a single vote, typically without much or any discussion. Currently, the dollar amounts associated with those items are not generally read aloud into the record and they are not included in the printed agenda descriptions that citizens in the room often rely on when following the meeting. Um, so basically when the when residents come in, it could be their first meeting, they grab our agenda and it tells them basically nothing. um you know, it just gives a a short um title, but besides that, you're not really informed on um what business we're doing. And before we discuss the proposed changes, um I'd ask staff to pull a couple short clips from nearby municipalities to show how other governments handle this. And Logan, would you mind showing the um the Titusville clip?

City manager. So, moving on to item eight, the consent. We have eight items on the agenda. Do any members of council wish to pull any of those items for discussion? Uh, yes. I'd like to uh pull um 8E, the brackish water discussion.

8E. Any other items? Council, seeing none, city manager. Sir, I'll go ahead and read 8 A, Student Advisory Council SC Scholarship Policy Expenditure. 8B, contract with Edgewater Group LLC for professional engineering design services for the Titusville Marina Hurricane Repair Project. 8C, the property donation of lot 5, block 45 of Sun Valley subdivision. 8D, Space Coast Health Foundation grant to purchase Hand Devi Pediatric System from Pediatric Emergency Standards Incorporated. 8F, the limited bidding and construction services for the Blue Heron filter project. 8G, task order WPT00004 for Knox McCrae master pump station project for bidding at construction services and 8H, the first amendment to tender and release agreement.

Thank you very much, city clerk.

Um, so I won't play the other clip we have. Um there's there's more from Cocoa Beach, the city of Coco. Um a lot of the different m municipalities, they do things a little bit different here or there. Um but they I really like the idea of um putting it out for the record what business we are um conducting in that consent agenda. And it would be nice if we could read the dollar amounts associated with those items as well so that um all that information could be there. Um so and also uh Logan if you wouldn't mind going to slide four. So these are a couple examples of um the city of Titusville and the city of Coco and their agenda and what it looks like. and it shows a a short description and it has the dollar amount in there so that when the residents are looking through the you know three or four page agenda. um all the all the pertinent information is right there. And that way they don't have to do a deep dive of every item to see if they are um you know uh needing to research certain items that is already out there um for the for the public so that they can see the dollar amount and the general idea of what um the business of the board is. And um one of the things that I was hoping for was that we could get um which is something that Wanita did this time on F10. Um she had the dollar amount right in the title so that all the people that are here today when they picked up their agenda um on F10 it says the $5.9 million right there. And so I just thought that this was a small thing we could do to make our government a

little bit more accessible and transparent. And this is a little bit of a silly thing, but um I asked our staff to um to pull this and it's um from the Florida room and it's our values and our our mission statement. And um right at the bottom it says our values are honesty, accountability, quality, leadership, openness, and innovation. And I just think that this is a small thing that we could do to help fulfill our our values that that we are putting out there. And with that, I'd take any discussion or um if there's any public comment. I just say something. Mr. Chair, I I'd like to uh maybe think about this more at the SEIR workshop uh time certain uh time frame.

It was this year last year. What's that? It was this year last year. No, I'm I understand. I I have a couple ideas myself, but I', you know, I'm I'm not opposed to I mean, the reading what they that they did. Um and um even possibly reading reading the consent and then asking commissioners if there's something they want to pull and then voting on the item. I don't I don't think I mean, you know, I was the chair here for a year and I think for me to read F1 just as the chair to F F11 would have probably taken me all of three minutes,

right? I I don't I don't think that's um but I I probably have something, you know, more thoughts beyond that uh around about the time of the SE workshop. That that's all that's all I have. I guess I have a question about that because at my last item we were just talking about how we can make a snap decision and now we're saying this has been on the agenda. You've had it and I I don't know why like we need to drag this out. It's a simple ask. Can we put the dollar amounts in the in the agenda? Can we

Well, you know, okay. I think you got a couple things there. So the dollar amounts in the title of the agenda so that these pages that are printed for people in the back of the room. Is that exactly that's part of it today? Okay. Is that okay? I'm fine with that. I I don't I'm not I'm not fighting you on that.

As far as reading um the consent before we vote on it. I don't I don't have a problem with that. I'd like to think about it just for um you know if we're if we're talk going to talk about things that SER works uh seir time certain anyways whether that's something the chair ought to do as part of asking for a motion or if that's something that um you know the city or the county manager does

typically the managers will do that some some of the cities have the um attorney do it but I I haven't seen any board member read through it I don't think of the meetings that I've seen, but um I I would personally suggest that one of the staff members, either the manager or the attorney, um read that into the record, but it's really just a simple ask. Well, how about for today, we agree that we'll put the dollar amounts as part of the title so that for the folks who are going to pick up an agenda packet that we print that they that they have that information. I could I I could do that today. I'd like to think just

sure a little bit further about um how how we read that in, you know, before we ask for a motion for consent, before we ask to pull something if it's part of that process. That that's all that I'm saying. But I would go with you to put the dollar amount in the title of um for the agenda packet. I appreciate that. I have a question.

Yes. Um, so the dollar amount is is there for me still being feeling fairly new, I feel like I have to read the the whole item before I understand sometimes what that dollar amount means. And I and I wonder if while we're trying to make it more transparent, if that might make it a little bit more confusing just because you're just getting a number and what's behind that number? What's the full story? Just a thought. I mean, I think a sentence dedicated to what the what the dollar amount is for as part of the title, I I think I think is appropriate, but you're right. We we can't we can't print 600 pages for everybody um every single meeting. That's that's just not something that we can do. But I think a little common sense dictates that we we put one complete sentence with the dollar amount and what the item is. I mean that it's largely the items are are there now proposed ordinance amending this um you know board direction advorum related to parks recreate or you know I wasn't reading F I'm sorry but I mean on the on the on the F items I I don't I mean I think they pretty much spell it out and one of them's got it on and and and to her point um Wanita had it in there today for F10. I don't think you have to and that's only that's that's just one sentence. I don't think you have to do anything more than that. So,

so I have a lot of questions on this and I would like more time to consider it and I look at what I'd like to do is to look at our own agenda and get a sense of what would be the impact and I'll use an example here on J3 resolution authorizing issue of non-evalor refunding revenue bonds. Um first and foremost it's important to note that this information is public record is is readily available to the public under the staff analysis which are done timely days ahead I don't know maybe a week ahead of the agenda and um in this particular case you have an entire paragraph it's not a long paragraph but you're talking about refinancing revenue bonds and you're talking about different types of bonds and different revenue sources. So there's a four or five four sentence paragraph that describes each one of the line items and how that affects. So if we were to take that same paragraph and put it in the agenda packet, I think it would make the agenda u confusing. It would be long and might even have the effect of making it more difficult for somebody to look at a brief summary of what our order of business is in the course of a day. And agenda pretty much is there

to have a quick a quick summary of what's happening of that that putting that on the on the agenda seems to defeat the purpose of an agenda which should be pathy concise and easy to look at and to give you a sense of the order of business. You start putting content in the agenda it's no longer an agenda. It's it's more involved. I would just like to have more time to look at it.

I wasn't I wasn't asking for a summary to be in the agenda. All I'm asking for is the dollar amount to and I I would be happy with um even simplifying it to put it just on consent agenda items. Um so that that's more of a this is a definite what the dollars are going to be versus um the J items which can have some discretion based on board um decisions. Um, but some of this requires a summary and this is an agenda item because you don't know for sure what the dollar amount's going to be. It's based on market conditions and that's all I

Well, that's what I was saying just for the F items, the the consent items that are already pretty much a done deal. If we could put the dollar amounts on those um because that's not really subject to board.

So, your only yours only applies on consent. Well, I sir say something real quick on the on the F items just like we do on any other item where they basically on a top line in the in the packet anyways they're saying the the the fiscal impact is $300,000 just that just just that and if it's option one option two option three then commissioner I think you would agree that um I mean that when when they do that we have to discuss it and that wouldn't stay on consent right that would be new business. So, typically any dollar amount that's on the consent agenda is just a fixed amount that we're, you know, they believe they have five votes for today. We we all agree we're going to fix the sidewalk at, you know, whatever that dollar amount is, right? That's that's the that's the purpose of it. So, just that one line, just that one line says here's what the fiscal impact is. I'm okay with that. I don't I don't think that adds that much

and it's it's already in the packet. So I Commissioner Dwayne, I would go with you on that item today and then the reading of the agenda. I just uh a couple more questions on that. I I think we could could we table that the the piece of and that's why I was kind of suggesting I don't mean to interrupt you. I'm sorry, but uh at the during the SEIR workshop, I think that would be appropriate. Um so I'm I'm good with that if just we wanted to bring that part of the discussion up later, but adding the dollar amount now, I'm I'm good with that today. So, I would go with you on on that motion if that's what you want to do. Okay. I'd like to make that motion. Um, do we have any cards? Yeah, we do. Before we vote,

um, I I have a question. So, it sort of applies under under your request under your agenda item, you're it sounds like you're asking that each consent item would be read aloud. Yes.

By the county manager prior to the consent agenda voting. I mean the the I the reason to have a consent agenda is to enable you to get through a very lengthy agenda with a lot of issues in a in a a very quick and efficient way. There is a check and a balance in that any commissioner can pull an item from consent and also any public member can fill out a card on the consent. To me, that's going to add just more time and would be redundant and unnecessary. And it flies in the face of the idea of a consent of enabling you to go about the business efficiently. Now, I know you've looked at some cities. Um, what is the population of Cocoa Beach? What 10,000? Uh, 15,000 maybe.

Titusville has 50,000. Coco has I want to say around 30,000. and we have 650,000 boulevard. So the whole idea is we have a very Anyway, but it's the same amount of items. I mean for the most part that's just the my my input here on that. Um okay, do we have any other discussion?

Well, before we go to the cards, I I just rephrase though. I think we were talking about having that discussion of reading the items aloud at the SEIR workshop. So, we'll sort of table that discussion uh on that. And um but for today, I I think what we were tenatively agreeing to before you go to the cards was that we could put the dollar amounts in the agenda title. I I think I think that's not hard. So, I think those are the kind of two separate things there um that we could consider after you after you do the cards, I guess. Okay. J6. Uh Tom Shafalo. Tony sh Tony sh

Good morning Tony Shalo the historic Norwood House Titusville I often speak before my city council on issues concerning my immediate neighborhood and I find many issues affect mine and many other neighborhoods so I'm there a lot often issues are buried in what is called the consent agenda. While there may be many reasons to find fault with how my town is run, I can only applaud the way our agendas are presented. Since 2020, when I started attending council meetings regularly, the city manager or the attorney has read out loud for the record the consent agenda item by item with the associated dollar amounts. This information is also printed in the paper agenda printouts at the meeting and the agenda posted on the bulletin board outside city hall where we go to pay our water bills. Most importantly, it is easy to find and read on the published agendas online at the city website. Perhaps the problem with the county agenda lies with the clerk of the court who publishes the agendas, but more likely this is something that can easily be fixed by the commission itself directing the county manager to include this information in the agenda and by reading these consent agenda items and the dollar amounts at the meeting for public record. After all, millions of dollars are spent in consent agenda items. For instance, today 27 million674,000 of which only um how many million was it? 5 million were decl. So with millions of dollars in the consent agenda items, the public is

entitled to know this with a lot without a lot of research, digging, and clicking in the uh p agenda online because often our agendas in Titusville are hundreds of pages long and I don't think that each of our um council members has time to study everything. So transparency is easy to achieve if it is desired. So just direct Rachel Sat, your county clerk of court to put the dollar amounts in the consent agenda and ask for this to be read in public record at your meetings. Thank you for allowing me to speak on this issue. Thank you. Um, Mr. Chair. Yes.

I'm sorry. I got I got to defend the clerk's office. We put the agenda out, not the clerk office. Just want to put that on the record. I apologize to um, Miss Sat because um, I was looking online where they're all printed and all the clicking and everything was so confusing to me, I wasn't certain where that was coming from. Tom Canelli. Oh yeah. Yeah. I think you're one of the few that said it right the first time. Got lots of variations. I Okay.

So, uh, with regard to this item, you know, you look at the federal government. You know, they're so distant from us. We really never get to see in their big bills all this nuance. So, I'm sitting here and I'm watching you do the consent agenda and I do see the $5 million for the opioid opioid stuff and I go, "Oh, that's pretty cool that, you know, we're investing in that sort of thing." And so just me, Joe average, I'd like to scan down if it's $100,000 for a road. I believe the county staff. I don't need to look at that. But interesting stuff like the opioids. Hey, we're doing something for people. That's pretty good. So I I agree that uh with what Commissioner Felner suggested that the dollar amount get in there and thank you for proposing it. And that would do me as a citizen a lot of good because you know when we're in business, we're looking for the big amounts, not the small amounts. You trust the people in the small amounts, you just want to question the big amounts. So, thanks for listening.

Thomas Perez.

Good morning. Uh, thank you for hearing me out here. Uh, if I my teeth start shattering, uh, you'll know why. Okay, it's kind of cold in here. I am in support of transparency with the consent agenda and clearly disclosing spending amounts that would help to have citizen support. While these agenda items are characterized as routine or non-controversial in practice, significant board business is passed under the consent agenda amounting to millions of dollars in public spending that often receives little public visibility. Right now, all consent items are passed together in a single vote. The individual agent items are not read out loud into the record before the vote. The printed agenda that residents pick up in person does not list the dollar amounts involved for each item. To see the dollar amounts, residents must go online, click into each individual agenda item, and then dig into the background materials. In plain language, if you're sitting in the audience with only the paper agenda in your hand, you can't tell how much money is being approved when the board votes on the consent agenda. Titus, as you heard, and other nearby cities already do this to make their spending decisions easier for the public to follow. Our city manager, Mr. Bati, as you saw, reads the consent agenda out loud and discloses the spending dollars. Therefore, I ask the board to change how consent and business items are presented to the public and to direct staff to update board policy BCC97 to match. The request changes are straightforward for the consent agenda. Each consent item would be read aloud by the county

manager before the consent vote, including the associated dollar amount were applicable. The dollar amount for each item would be printed directly in the agenda description and also shown in the online title, not just buried in back backup documents. For the business agenda, the items are already discussed and voted on individually. The dollar amount for each item would be listed in the printed agenda description and in the online title as well. These changes would make it much easier for residents to know at a glance how much money is being allocated or spent before the board votes in that item. It also aligns with the Brevard County's own stated values of honesty, openness, and accountability to citizens. Thank you, Elizabeth Baker. Good morning folks. Um, so there were probably there were a lot of really good ideas in the consent agenda and you guys spent a lot of money today. Um, but I'm absolutely with you Katie like those dollar amounts should be there. they people really should have easily accessible information rather than digging into things and having to click and open a file and it makes it really really difficult especially for a lot of senior citizens or people with eyesight problems. Um the father of the Freedom of Information Act was Harold Cross and he says that public business is the public's business. The people have a right to know. So the way that I see it as the public is

that the more information that you can give to the public and the more ways that you can give it to the public, I don't care if it's written 27 times and I don't care if you've heard something 27 times. The more that you can get something out to the public and get their understanding, the more transparency you have. And that's really all we ask. We just want to know what's going on. We want to have it as easily accessible to every single person. So, you know, it kind of I am from Titusville, so it kind of scares me a little bit when my city that has had so many issues with transparency is doing something a little better than anybody else. It's a little scary. So, I mean, kudos to Titusville, but this board can can achieve that same goal as well. Thank you. Okay, that's all our public hearings. We'll bring it back to the

We have you don't have your card.

Then you can fill one out. Come on up. You fill a card later. Um I'm going to be speaking for my husband too on his is on the consent agenda because um he had an operation and it was supposed to be six weeks recovery and it's now almost six months and he's really not able to stand up and talk. So hopefully it's okay. Um I'll read his first. Good morning commissioners. I am reading the following on behalf of my husband, Bill Hodgej. I support the county in increasing the transparency of the consent agenda and county spending. Last year, I submitted a speak up submission on the importance of transparency in the consent agenda. I raised concerns because county business and spending decisions are quickly passed during county meetings without meeting attendees being fully aware of the business item detail or how much in taxpayer funds are being spent for the items that are approved collectively. The consent agenda is simply a brief board action that occurs during meetings that attendees are often unaware and which often allocates and spends millions of dollars in public funds in just a few moments of time without even reading the items into the record. I support the commissioners increasing the transparency of the consent agenda by instructing the county manager to read the consent agenda out loud at each meeting prior to the vote and including the fiscal impact of each item. I support the commissioners instructing the county manager to clearly disclose the financial impact of each agenda item in the title description to be easily viewed by taxpayers in both the online

and the printed meeting agendas. While background information is made available for those residents that have time to do online research before each meeting, I would like easier access and clearly disclose spending without having to do online research. This makes the county business more accessible to those that have the technology and time limitations. The practice is done at other local meetings and can be done at the county too. Please vote yes on this item. Direct the county manager to take these reasonable actions and update the county policy accordingly. Thank you. That was my husband. And uh this is mine because I have been fighting public records for 30 some odd years when Florida today got uh had to pay $30,000 for their public records and they sued and got the money back and not from the county of the school. But but anyway, I've been this is my issue. Um uh my name is Sarah Hajj. This year I submitted 3C aere request. Sorry, I've got congestion um related. Um okay, I get just one for um

you want to give her two come back for herself. Is it just now one? Yeah. Yes. Go ahead. There's two different I understand because you mentioned earlier your husband. It's two different. Yeah.

Okay. Um Okay. Uh easy access to public information is very important to me. I'd like to share three practical transparency improvements that could make county records easier for residents to access while also saving staff time responding to individual requests. First, residents currently do not have online access to Bvard County's administrative orders, ordinances, and resolutions as individual adopted documents. If a resident wants to review one of these records, they have two options. either submit a public records request to the county staff or try to locate it or organized online in the MUN code, the county's online code library. While Municode is useful for viewing laws organized by subject, it does not make it easy to locate individual items by number or adoption date. Residents that wish to review individual items encounter unnecessary barriers and require sta county staff time responding to individual requests for documents. A simple solution would be to provide a readonly public listing of these items on the county website allowing residents to access them by number, title, and adoption date. Bvard County staff already has online internal access to this requested content, but the public does not. Other Florida governments already provide this type of access, including the city of Panama City and Miami Day County. Second, Bvard County receives a large number of public records requests each year. Nearly 2,000 requests were received in 2024. Over time, county staff gain viable, valuable insight into which records are

requested most often. However, there is currently no ro routine process to review these requests to determine whether some information could simply be made easier to find on the county website. Establishing a quarterly or byianual review of public records requests could help identify opportunities to the post commonly requested information online and improve website navigation. Third, many county records are already available on the county's legar meeting calendar, which stores commission meeting agendas and supporting documents. Providing clearer guidance, directing residents to this searchable resource could help people become informed on a large amount of county business and background documents. These suggestions align with Bvard County's mission and core values emphasizing openness, accountability, innovation, and effective communication with residents. Commissioners, please support these values. Thank you. And I'm going to give a copy of this to the clerk and to all of you commissioners. Okay, I think that is our last card. So, we'll bring this back to the commission.

Could I uh clarify one thing? I said I said workshop earlier and I and I meant the sear time certain portion of that county commission meeting. I just make that clear. Okay. Okay. We're back on the agenda item at hand. Um J6. If there's no other discussion, I'd like to make a motion.

Okay. Um, I'd like to make a motion to approve the dollar amount to be put in the consent agenda um, title. And I also move to table the conversation about reading the consent agenda item to the meeting where we do the SEIR um, recommendations. Okay, I'll second that. Okay, there's a motion and second to put the dollar amount And I would assume in the case where there's multiple dollar amounts or it's an estimated dollar amount, which one would would they put typically with the consent there's not multiple dollar amounts.

Yeah. Or estim it's it is there is estimates. I'm looking at one right now that has an estimate and depends on how a project's done. So it's not always cut and black, right? Black and white. I would say whatever is in our pack, whatever's in the agenda item that that dollar amount. All right. Okay. There's a motion and a second. Um any discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. Opposed. There's Well, I'm sorry. Commissioner Goodson,

are you I or A nay. A nay. Okay. All right. Motion fails for 32 with Commissioner Felner and Delaney voting in favor. Can I make another motion um to simply put the dollar amount in the consent agenda just as in F10? I'll second that.

I'm looking at F10. So you said just as an F10 that was the oneita item. Okay. It's affectionately known now. Okay. How is that different from the first? I just want to be clear. Well, it was um that was a joint motion for discussion about reading out loud at the next um Right. So you tabled that portion of that though. No, that that's done for now unless there's board direction that we would like to talk about that further.

Yeah, the motion was dollar amount in the agenda and to table for discussion in a later time the staff reading out loud and this motion is only just putting the dollar amount in the title. That's all. Okay. Putting the dollar amount in the title and and she used an example a good one F10 as an example. Okay. Okay. Is there a second? I I second of that. Second by Commissioner Felner. Uh any debate? All in favor say I. I opposed. Nay. No. Okay.

I think for now I'll vote and nay, but maybe at a future time we could look at it. Motion uh fails for 32 with Commissioner Delaney and Felner voting in favor. Okay. Item J7, Vince Lamb.

Approval. Good morning, commissioners. Yes.

Hi. I'm here to speak that the uh the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy have both come forward and offered their their free assistance to Bvard County to help us pass the uh save our Indian River Lagoon uh referendum that's proposed for for November. Uh there's again there's absolutely no cost. this uh this type of service was used in uh in 2016 and again in 2022. Uh Virginia Barker was uh had had she's here and can state that she had good experiences with with this assistance. Uh the letter that's in your package unfortunately doesn't does not include the Nature Conservancy. said the Nature Conservancy just came forward in the past the past week or so and stepped up to do this. I have printed copies of uh of the full letter. Uh the reason the reason that I think this uh this help is valuable is because uh because of the uncertainty that we're facing at the current time and leading up to November that uh I I believe there's you know a lot of uncertainty that affects affects the voters. There's economic situations. There's a war going on. uh uh there's uh you know uncertainty as to exactly what the state legislature is going to do with this shift between property tax and sales tax. The uh these two organizations are involved deeply in in in hundreds well they've been over the years they've been involved in hundreds of referendums like this and they've got lots of good experience. uh my personal experience with them in 26 and or in in 16 and 22

was uh was that they were quite helpful and I would I would welcome to uh to them to come back to the party. So uh I think this is straightforward uh and I hope you will uh will decide to request their help.

Tal I talked to u Mr. lamb about this letter. Um and and my first question is why you need the letter and uh does this doesn't commit to us in any way, shape or form any dollar amount or any action. It doesn't really reflect any endorsement of the data that's found or advocacy whatsoever. Uh it's strictly u uh acknowledging that we're not in opposition. Uh, and from what I understand, Trust for Public Land, Nature Conserv 501c3 nonprofits, they're um they're grantf funded and and this requirement they have placed upon them that they start working on getting information on these type of things that the the local government is not in opposition to them. It it's more of a technicality to enable the Am I reading that correct?

I I think that's it. I mean, I think it's reasonable that they're going to extend these services that they understand ahead of time that you're receptive, you know, receptive to paying some attention. And uh and apparently the that's what they explained to me was that uh that their grant funding that that they're dep that the way they work is basically they have to ask for this uh technical assistance request letter and and I wanted to get that question because I figured it might come up while we were here. that simply allows us to accept their uh their technical assistance and information gathering because basically what they're doing they're

and they're they're working right now with nine other counties in Florida and this group out of Birmingham and Tallahassee is working with about 70 other uh uh counties around the southeast. So they they've got their finger on the pulse in a way that uh that we you know we're pretty isolated and uh and you know when we get into questions about what should we do you know my experience I I have three successful campaign assistance experiences with uh uh with 2016 two really that also I helped deliver Bard County for amendment one for the uh uh for the state. So, uh, so I've got a a bit of campaign experience, but I don't hold myself out to be a campaign expert. And, uh, and I like to have a campaign expert to to reach out to with the hard questions.

Okay. Any questions? Yes. Um, I was wondering about how do they go about getting the public input and the recommendations regarding the program design? Do you want me to answer that? Yes. Okay. Sure. I don't know if staff knows or you know

they will they will conduct a highly professional poll uh that uh they did this in the past two times and the most important thing part of it to me is uh is that they got they got a lot of experience and and some of the questions will reach out to like what do people think is the most import what's the most important benefit that you'd expect from the soil renewal

and uh in the past uh In 2016, I was kind of surprised that the public basically stood up stood up for endangered wildlife that live in the lagoon. And so when we then were developing a campaign for why should we work, you know, why should we do this? Then we kind of tailored our response in the campaign was going back to, you know, the things that came out of that that poll is to what was important to the voters, right? I guess my only concern is, you know, and why I asked that question is because people could make data say whatever they want it to say based on who they ask. Yeah.

So, um it's to me it's really important when I think about polls and things like that. It's what was it like? How did they gather the data? That's the biggest thing for me that I look at. And so that's I have I have a strong wonder about that. Well, I think it's I don't know how familiar you are with the uh with the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, but they are really high integrity organizations. And so I sat through a lot of the development of the questions or the improve approving of the questions for the uh for the polls in the past and there was nothing that indicated any bias. It was just a highly professional what's the information that we need,

right? And uh and you know how do we how do we I'm not saying that about the questions. I'm more wondering where does where do the questions go and how do they determine what people get asked the questions. Do you happen to know anything about that? I could say something on this if okay everybody prefers. Uh I did uh speak speak with them uh had a zoom and uh call and um you know when I was a graduate student I had to write papers on why polls are wrong. Mhm.

That that was the thing. Here's here's three articles. Go tell me why they're wrong. Get it get it in less than 10 pages for next week. And um and and so I'm I'm very much a critic of it. And and for a lot of reason good reasons. I mean, you know, you have caller ID in your in your hand all the time. You don't know what that number is. You don't you don't pick it up. And uh so that makes that makes polling and such hard. And I I spoke with them about that and and that's something that they deal with every day. And they they have uh other means of of asking folks um questions. I think um first of all, polling in say u you know political campaigns just like what you've seen on TV. They asked a thousand people across the country, which is ridiculous. There's 400 million people and you asked a thousand and and they say likely voters. And when Gallup invented polling, um you know, most homes in 1936 had a phone. And so they would they would ask three questions. Do you know where your polling place is? Do you know when election day is? And who would you vote for? And those three questions determined a likely voter. that. So when you hear that term likely voter, they they came up with that. It's changed vastly different now. Now I will say and and I I think that's still very hard. I and in fact Gallup has even given up. They're they're not polling in presidential uh elections anymore because they recognize that it's almost an impossible thing thing to do. But on issue polling, especially when there's a a big disparity between yes, we we want this thing or maybe no, we want this this other thing that's in competition and and and there's just a lot more support for the first item. That's how they they determine. So it's it's it's not quite the same as candidate A um candidate B. So, um, also this group, I

think they're pretty objective. They're they're not here in Bvard County. So, they they kind of don't have a a stake in, you know, the the campaign that's going to happen here from they are genuine environmentalist. Um and so that's their that's their motive and um so they're really going to provide um some some guidance, but whether whether you take it and you use it and that turns into something um next next fall is is the bigger question. And that ultimately won't even be up to us. this really today is sort of an invitation for them because if if we if we said no uh I think they wouldn't sort of waste their time here because they have a lot of other projects that that really was the short of it when I when I talked with them. Does that help answer?

I guess I'm not an expert. I'm just wondering about maybe you could help with this because um but my concern is that it goes out to 300 or 3,000 people that are somehow linked with the lagoon versus 3,000 blind, you know. Um well, that violates the first rule of polling, which is, and again, if I go back to my Gallup example, they they randomly called numbers,

right? And and so then they determined what was a likely voter because they had they had a random chance everyone had an equal chance mostly equal because they had a by virtue of they had a phone in their house had an equal chance of getting a phone call right that was the that was the random part of it. Then they were trying to determine well okay who's a likely voter. They know when election day is they know where their polling place is and they intend to vote. Um so in in this case um let's just say we said well here's all the people who who in the past said um they support the lagoon effort and they only pulled them that's not a that's not a poll right

and it would be very clear too you know when you see stuff like that right to your earlier point right you know lying with numbers right okay I don't think that's what they're trying to do there's no education in that whatsoever because I'm guessing this this work that they're going to do is going to be used by whatever group is campaigning to say look at all this data we have or for the commission to digest too,

right? They'll they'll pro they'll provide that information also to the board to say hey this might not be something that you had considered but through our and I don't mean to answer for you Vince but through our um our surveys and feedback and however they they glean all of that we're hearing a lot of folks saying saying this and to his point he wasn't expecting in 16 that a lot of folks said well I'm concerned about the wildlife um in in the river endangered species specifically in in the river. Right. Okay. And I would be happy to provide you with with Zoom or telephone contact with uh with one of the leaders of these organizations. Uh

that would be great. You know, you can have your personal guidance into it. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. Okay. All right. Do we have any other questions on item J7? So the mo uh there' be a motion to approve the letter to the trust for public land. So move motion second. Second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Carries unanimous.

Thank you. Commissioner Goodson. Carries unanimously. Okay, we're back to public comments. We have Tom Canelli. Tom, do you mind? I'm kind of new with this. I'm good. He showed up. So, what I'd uh I really intended to speak on other topics during public comments, but I want to come back to some of my SER recommendations. Yeah, you're up there. You're one of those wizards. if you're looking real closely. Um, the reason I thought J5 was so important was that we got a chance to preview with you, allow you to think about what our suggestions might be. And I'm just going to go through this rather quickly, but before I can have my time stopped because I I I need to know if Commissioner Goodson is he on Zoom or anything or is he only phone because I I don't want to leave him out.

I think he's watching online. You think he's watching online? Can somebody ask him? I don't know if it's my place to ask him. Absolutely, you can ask him. Commissioner Goodson, did you want to You're listening to us. Can you see us? Yes. Thank you. Yes. Yes. Did not want to exclude him. Okay. Thank you very much. Make sure you're included. All right. So, I did submit uh three sir items. Restart your time.

Okay. I did submit. Thank you. That's kind uh three sir items and it has to do with Indian River Lagoon water county I think I heard earlier and uh the three are using the Canaveral locks the controlled drainage some specific stuff on on Brook Hill Drive and something about using some uh backflow preventers. So let me just kind of go through those since I don't have a lot of time. But here's the persuasion reason why J5 could have been important. How many of you boy that's a little dim? You can see that water is all the way up across the road and in the houses along there. I mean in in October we had a month of this and I suspect some of the other districts had this as well. I don't think this was unique to us. So we're looking for some solutions here. And I suggested in the SEIR that uh the Canaveral locks be used as a way to drain out some of this. So up in the upper leftand corner, the St. John's Water Management District gives us the data. I drew the line. That's not their line, but that line that says flooding, that's mine. That's when I think we get flooding. Anyway, I'm saying that because you have objective data to look at. I would look be looking at the EOC emergency operations center to work with the folks that operate the locks to coordinate opening and closing them. This is not what I am not talking about is anything to do with sorrel where they talked about flushing the lagoon or bringing new water in. None of that. I want it open just long enough to resolve the flooding then we close it. And so back in uh uh 2008 tropical storm uh Fay they did open it. So there is precedent and down there at the bottom under under yellow it says they confirm they will do it they will open it in an emergency. Now in black on the right this is AI. We

all know AI can be really good or it can be bad but it calculated if there was a 3-in difference between the Banana River and the ocean that we could flow about a million gallons per minute. That's a lot of water to move. I don't know if I believe that yet, but I thought I'd uh um show that to you. My second suggestion was you can see on the lefth hand picture that's a storm water management drain Bvard County that is backflowing salt water onto the street. I don't think we're the only place that has this in the county and so I can measure it in the middle and on the right our great folks at public works came up with a plan to to fix it raise the drain a little bit and still have it be a drain. Unfortunately when sorrel came along that kind of went away because why tear up the road twice? Makes perfect sense. So my my seere ask is, hey, make sure that Sorrel is working with public works to resolve a problem. They already know about it. I don't expect them to tear up the road today. That would be twice. All right, let's go on to the the final one. Backflow prevents. Everybody know what a backflow pretor is? I I just won't go through it. That can be used throughout the county. Thank you. Appreciate it. I got it.

Thank you, Jennifer Duffin. Do I have permission to approach to give you some handouts? Yes. Yes, you do.

Thank you. and one correct. Good. The still morning. Good morning, commissioners. A traditional intersection has 32 points where vehicles can collide. A roundabout has just eight. That single design difference is why studies show roundabouts can reduce fatal crashes by up to 90%. Because of that dramatic safety improvement, along with smoother traffic flow and lower pollution, I'm recommending the county consider roundabouts where they make sense. According to the Federal Highway Administration, converting traditional intersections to roundabouts can reduce fatal crashes by about 90%. And injury crashes by about 75%. Overall collisions drop by roughly 37%. These improvements occur because roundabouts fundamentally change the geometry of traffic conflicts. Instead of high-speed crossing movements that cause severe crashes, vehicles move through the intersection at slower speeds and yield to circulating traffic. Roundabouts also improve traffic efficiency. Instead of drivers sitting through red lights during low traffic periods, vehicles yield and keep moving, which can increase intersection capacity by 30 to 50% and significantly reduce delay. They also provide measurable environmental benefits. Because vehicles are not repeatedly stopping and

accelerating at signals, studies show roundabouts can reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 20 to 30%. Pedestrian safety improves as well with slower traffic speeds and refuge islands. Roundabouts have been shown to reduce pedestrian crashes by about 40%. And importantly for taxpayers, roundabouts eliminate the need for signal equipment, electricity, and ongoing signal maintenance, which reduces long-term operational costs for local governments. Roundabouts are not appropriate at every intersection, but when applied strategically, they are one of the most effective tools available to improve roadway safety and traffic efficiency. I respectfully encourage the county to evaluate intersections where roundabouts could provide these benefits. Roundabouts aren't just a traffic design. They're a proven way to save lives, reduce congestion, and reduce unnecessary fuel waste for our community. Thank you for your time and consideration and commitment to improving safety and mobility in our community. Did you have any questions or

I do I I How do you spell your last name? Dustin. D U S T I N. I couldn't read. There was a second card, so Okay. Yeah, that's all right. Thank you. I agree with you, by the way. I love roundabouts. Thanks very much. I know they're very controversial, but I appreciate Everybody Everybody says nobody knows how to drive in a roundabout, but that's how you learn. You have to We get a lot of calls about the roundabout and practice. Thank you. lived in UK for 12 years. She lived in UK for 12 years. Wow. So, she knows roundabouts. Yeah. It's a fascinating subject and you're talking about lives and injuries, so it's important. Elizabeth Baker.

There's the eyesight again. I spent a lot of time walking around in Bvard County and some people walk for exercise, but I tend to walk with a trash bag. Uh over time, after picking up trash for years, I've noticed a lot of patterns where litter collects, where dumpsters overflow, and where trash escapes into storm drains and eventually into the Indian River Lagoon. Bvard County is clearly growing. We're welcoming new residents, new development, and millions and millions of visitors every year. Tourism alone brings billions of dollars into the Space Coast economy. Our cruise terminals, beaches, rocket launches attract people from all over the world, and growth is definitely something to celebrate, but it also means more packaging, more disposable items, and more pressure on our waste systems. Globally, aside from cigarette butts, the most commonly litter littered items are food wrappers, plastic bottle caps, plastic bags, disposable food packaging. And these lightweight materials easily escape from overflowing dumpsters and unsecured trash areas and end up in roadways, storm drains, and waterways. Litter is not just an environmental issue. It becomes a public safety issue, an infrastructure issue, taxpayer issue. It damages mowing equipment, clogs storm water systems, harms wildlife, increases maintenance cost, and ultimately that falls on the county, and ultimately that falls on us. The good news is the Bvard County already has strong laws addressing it. Chapter 94, the county code requires proper waste storage and litter-free properties. My proposal simply adds a preventative step that helps ensure those existing rules are followed. I'm asking the commission to consider a simple waste management confirmation for brickandmortar commercial properties and multifamily developments with shared trash systems

in the unincorporated areas of Bvoulevard County. It could be a short one-page plan just confirming trash and recycling capacity, pickup schedules, dumpster placement and maintenance, and basic litter prevention practices. In most cases, things already exist. This proposal does not create new fees, new staff or new departments. It simply confirms that waste systems are adequate before problems occur and we end up with code enforcement violations. It's costneutral, pro business, and supportive of tourism because clean commercial spaces and well-managed properties protect the visitor experience and reduce infrastructure cost. Importantly, we have to know and everybody here knows that growth works best when the systems that are there support it. So, I am respectfully asking the commission to consider directing staff to review the proposal and evaluate whether simple waste management confirmation could be incorporated into existing permitting or inspection processes. Thank you. Thank you, Melissa Brandt. Good morning, commissioners. Uh, my name is Melissa Brandt. I've been a Bvard County resident for 26 years, and 18 of those I have served as a public servant. Recently, I've been um I changed a little bit, went to a nonprofit organization, and I've been doing outreach the span of 72 miles in this county. Formerly, I do understand the responsibility of balancing many priorities across a county that spans so many miles. But at its core, one of the most important roles of local government is protecting the safety and well-being of your residents. When temperatures

drop, access to overnight shelter is not just a social concern. It's really a community safety issue. On cold nights in Bvard, shelters quickly reach their capacity. How do I know? I was at one in January in Titusville at Life Point Ministries. It was amazing to see the staff, the volunteers there on a Thursday night. I was doing outreach for substance abuse, but they open their doors as a common table to invite people in that do not have shelter to have a meal, a shower. They have organizations come out, provide phones, anything they can to homeless individuals. That night, they flipped after dinner and they open their doors to a cold night shelter of which over 65 people were there. These people were from 70 years old to one. It was amazing to see families in need. It was heartbreaking, actually. So, what I wanted to ask is it should all remind us how hard our faith-based organizations and our small nonprofits are working. Um, Bvard Homeless Coalition sent me this yesterday as I do work also. Um, I'm am a member of the continuum of care. Lifepoint Ministries served 32 nights of which actually cold night shelters operated on 30 night 34 nights so far between January and February. Matthew's Hope 20 nights. Our friends and neighbors Providence Connects Church of the Nazarene 16 nights and the Central Bard Sharing Center 11 nights. Across these activations, an average of 215 individuals were sheltered per night through this coordinated community response. What I'm asking is, can the county open shelters or can the county direct staff to look at some partnership idea? We have over I know point in time count is just a point in time, but what I see out

in this community and what I even seen at my workplace at our front doors are people in true need of help. And if we could open shelter during cold weather and extreme heat, Orange County does it. They partner with a nonprofit. They go in, they run the shelters, they provide s small case management and sometimes can get people to the help they deserve. And I'm just asking if Bvard County would help our citizens in need. Thank you,

Sarah Hajj. I already Okay, you all right? We got you covered. Okay, thank you. Um, that's all our public comments. Did you have one? It's easy. Come on up. What was your name? Joanne Maxum. We have it. And I also submitted uh prior to today's meeting uh my original speak up provide recommendation. I missed it. I must have got it. M okay.

Sorry about that. I'm glad you spoke up.

All right. Well, thank you. So, good morning commissioners. My name is Joanne Maxim and I live in the Vera East community. I recently noticed a posted sign identifying a future Spyglass Hill extension and I 95 overpass. I submitted this to Would you be able to assist me? Did not come up on the overhead. I photographed this sign and submitted the photo so it can be included in the public record. I previously submitted a request for an ADA mobility accommodation to use a golf cart on certain sidewalks in the city of Rock and that request was not approved. I understand that the city of Rock ledge and Breard County are two separate governments. I am not here to challenge the city's decision. I am here to highlight that this limits safe, accessible access and creates a barrier between communities for residents who rely on mobility accommodations. What was intended to connect communities has instead created a barrier. Our community deserves clarity on this. This project has been identified for decades. It is currently projected between 2031 and 2050. 30 years is long enough. It's time to build connection instead of continuing division. I respectfully ask if staff could clarify the current status of the future Spyglass Hill Extension and I95 overpass referenced on the postage signage. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Could I ask one thing on that? Isn't Is that V? I'm sorry. It's Vieier Company that's that's doing that. I I know Vieira company owns part of the rightway. Yes. So, I'm sure it's part of Oh, thanks. Mark's way Mark's naughty because and I had a similar question because I was on the regional planning council when we approved the DRRi and was on the commission when we approved the development and the DRRI development regional impact. I remember the project. Here's a part of the capital plan for

it's um if you I'm sorry commissioner it's a requirement of their u doo for the regional development of impact for vieiera. I think it comes in in phase four and that there's a traffic count associated with it. I don't know what the particular number of units in for the traffic that they would have to make that improvement.

Ma'am, may I may I ask what is it that you're hoping for from that overpass when when it does eventually happen? Well, actually that would connect Vieier East and Vieier West and um people that would be able to walk and or people who have mobility devices would be able to cross over 95. As of right now, there is no safe pathway to get over onto Vieira West for the residents that live on Vieira East, which I do because we cannot go across uh Vieira Boulevard and I know barriers. I I think that F dot doesn't permit taking golf carts like for example over the Diamond interchange and I think you can't you can't even cross underneath I 95 um on Wickham Road.

Correct. Um so I and I'll ask FOT this question for you. Okay. We'll we'll follow up because if you're talk a mobility device like a scooter, a personal mobility scooter, I am actually talking about a golf cart that is considered a mobility device under the ADA accommodation that accommodates for my family. Okay. And and I understand that golf carts they they have concerns when they're in traffic, especially at Diamond Interchange. Um and uh so that's okay. I'll ask I'll ask the question about ADA style golf carts and and get that for you from FDOT.

Okay. Correct. And you are correct with Vieira because you cannot go across either way. They have the barricades as well as in fact when I was coming here this morning I actually saw a golf cart going through the diamond and all that, but I'm not going to put my family at risk for that. And under n under um I 95 down on Wickham. Golf carts go that way too. But by I think they go around ballards though. I think they have some things there to to prevent them. I think they're not supposed to to go underneath under 95. They do. I There's places where they're not supposed to be for for sure. Correct. Um

Yeah. Well, I'm just trying to go about it the correct way. in when we bought the golf cart years ago. Um, and I also noticed that this signage. So, I mean, it's been on the books for 30 years and another 30 more. I mean, that's a hundred years. Yeah. You know, in the planning, I mean, in the science, and the design may still change before they they get it done. So, I think you're I think you're right to ask a question before they start putting concrete in the ground.

Yeah. I think it' just be a good overpass to unite both communities for people that live on Vieira West if they want to come to Vieier East and Vieira East to Vieira West and people that have mobility that they at least have a safe crossing over I95. It was a shame they couldn't make some type of I will say that I think Ver has been mindful of the golf carts and I'm sorry, Mr. here. Um over here with the the tunnel, if you will, that they they they put um on the Pineita West um extension. I'm not a golf cart person. And by the way,

yes. And um I'm even trying to work out something with the schools where they can take golf carts into the back of the school rather than the front. And that's just simply trying to handle traffic in front of the school. You got pedestrians, you have golf carts, you have you have cars. and if we could get one of those three out of that loop and maybe go to a separate entrance. So those those are those are things that we continue to talk about. So I'll I'll find out from FDOT for you on the it kind of makes it difficult because when you live in Vier East if I go to the right out of my development I go into the city of Rock. If I go left I'm in my jurisdiction which allows golf carts. You go city of Rock Ledge. Understood. You know. Yes.

I'm not here to some of that, by the way, I mean, you know, Vieira was was was built with the idea that the that, you know, it's a golf cart friendly community. They have the multi-use trails that are wider um in Rockolledge Boulder neighborhood that doesn't have those those wide sidewalks that can, you know, golf cart can travel on and someone can can be still walking and they not a section a section of Barnes and Morell. It does have the extra wide sidewalks and that those were the only two sidewalks that I was requesting access to. So, thank you for your time and consideration.

Okay. Thank you, M. You brought up a point. I had a question, too. Just um they don't allow golf courts going in passes or but but if it's a street approved, street certified. Yeah. If it's licensed. So, that's the whole difference. If it's got the tag on it. Um so, then that's a So, yes, that's a low-speed um vehicle. Otherwise, it's a golf card. Yes. Okay. Yes. I And I think I mean, we've we've been through this too over on the beach where you know the e being on A1A, crossing A1A, parking at the at the parks.

Um all all those things have come up because you know, you're not supposed to be on A1A or cross it with a golf cart. Um, but if it's got the tag on it, then then that's considered a low-speed vehicle. I think 35 miles an hour is the is the limit on that. You do have to have a driver's license with the golf cart. Remember, the legislature caught statute up a little bit. You've at least now have have to have taken the um written exam for your temporary permit before you can drive a golf cart or you're 18 if you don't have a license. Um, so they're different distinction. I know. I live it. I live it here every day. I know you know for not being a golf cart guy, you know, golf carts.

Well, I'll tell you my parents my parents had a golf cart. My dad had a mobility issue. Um, my dad was hurt as a young man and so um and uh and scooter ended up being pretty good around his neighborhood, but the golf cart was funny. My my you know, someone's car had to stay in the driveway for the golf cart to go in the garage and be charged and everything. So my parents fought over the golf cart until finally they got they got rid of it. And um so I remember I remember those um days very vividly. So

the um the overpass that is going to be spy glass um and I grew up in Hammock Lakes and so we used to play in that area so that was um that's pretty cool. But um that is is it just going to be an overpass over 95? It's not going to be an exit. It's not an interchange as I understand. And in fact, I I think they were even at one time it only being two laned. Uh you know what I mean? Just was one eastbound and west one westbound. Is that so I wonder sound vaguely right. Tad. Sorry.

Reach out to the Vier company. Eva from the Vieier Company. She is just incredible. I mean so much. she cares deeply about what she does and is um really just uh an awesome lady. And so um I don't know if we could talk to them about, you know, even putting a golf cart pass uh path on that overpass or something, especially because it's so um golf cart friendly. I know V,

I think the only way they could probably get that done is if there aren't cars there, too. If it was strictly pedestrian and I Uh, okay. Morris Morris's giving me the uh LSVs can only be operated on streets where posted speed limit is 35 or less, right? Because they're limited at 35. So, yeah. Okay, ma'am. I'll follow up with you. We'll have your information from the card. Okay. And uh I'm not requesting for it to be strictly legal. It's sidewalk with the uh the ADA Got

two two of three of my family members have a placard so that accommodates our family. Okay. I'm I'm very sensitive to that. Okay. Okay. Great. Thank you. That concludes our public comment section and we will move on. Got to find my agenda here. Um, okay. We're uh now in board reports. Um, county manager.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just have one. Um, I don't know if everyone knows, but Tom Schuler, the president of the Bvard Farm Bureau, passed away earlier this month. He was a leader in the agricultural community. Worked with him over the years. Um, so send out his condolences to his wife Lori and the rest of his family. Okay. Well, miss him. Sorely missed. Um, county attorney, new report, Mr. Chair, District 1.

Thank you. Um, I just have a short one today. I just wanted to give a shout out to our fire department, um, Bvard County Fire Rescue. Um, we had some pretty serious uh, fires a few weeks ago and um, they're just incredible. They just they they saved the structures. They um, are just so professional. And I know that um, Chief probably told me this uh, I don't know if in confidence or not, but I'm going to brag on them anyway. Um, our our firefighters, they uh they got some pizza, you know, um that night for dinner and our people went out to those houses that um dealt with the fire that night and gave them some of their pizzas and whatnot. And so I just we have some incredible people that work for BVAR County and they care so deeply about um our community and so I just wanted to give them a shout out and uh say thank you to them. Um, and then our public works department this weekend. Uh, we had some, um, or maybe it was a couple, I can't remember exactly what day it was, but we had some torrential downpours in D1 and some of our streets started flooding. Um, and they uh, were very quick to go out there and double check all the drainage and stuff just to make sure that nothing was clogged and whatnot. And luckily, no water in houses this time. But um they and by the time they got there it had uh dissipated. But I just really appreciate our public works um maintenance guys, our our north area guys. They they went out um you know when it wasn't their normal work hours and I I just really appreciate the um care and concern for our community out there.

Thank you. Thank you. Uh, district two. Okay. We have no report from Do we have a report from district two? None, sir. Thank you. District three. No report. No report for No, sir.

And I have no report either. So, that concludes uh our agenda. Thank you so much. The opinions expressed by any member of the public during any period of public comment do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the board of county commissioners of Bvard County, Florida, Space Coast Government Television, or the program sponsor and are solely those of the presenter. The board of county commissioners of Bvard County, Florida, Space Coast Government Television, and the program sponsor hereby expressly disclaim any and all responsibility or liability for any defamatory or slanderous statements expressed by any member of the public during any such period.