Now, okay, >> ladies and gentlemen, it's now 6:00. Our Bradford County Planning and Zorning Board meeting is now called to order. We will have the invitation by um Miss Andrews. If you could all stand,
let's bow our heads. Dear heavenly father, Lord, we thank you for this day, God. We thank you for the opportunity to come and do the work of the county, dear Lord. And we just pray, heavenly father, that in our decisions, Lord, that you will be present, God, that you will
lead, guide, and direct us in whatever it would be your will to have done for this county. Yes. >> God, help us all, Lord, to be humble and caring about for each other. And we give you all the praise and the glory. Amen. >> Amen.
>> Amen. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> At this time we're going to turn um the
meeting over to Miss Alicia Dy um if you want to come forward. Thank you. And good evening again, commissioners. This is our planning and zoning meeting held on Thursday, February 19th, 2026. For the record, I am Alicia Dye,
executive assistant for building and zoning. Let's start out with some old business. We just need to consider approval or correction to the minutes from the following previous meeting. Planning and zoning board held on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025.
There's comments, motion, and a vote. >> Are there any comments at this time? Um before I take a motion, I want to make under um sure that it's in the record that um Commissioner Dohy is not with us um this afternoon. Um so we have
four board members with us here. All right. Um there no comments. I ask for a motion for approval. >> I make a motion we approve. uh the old business, the minutes and the
planning and zone become December the 2nd. >> Okay, there's a motion um second to the motion for the approval of the minutes. Second by Commissioner Andrews. Any further discussion, questions?
All in favor by the sign I. >> Any oppose? 40. >> Very good. Thank you. New business. I'll go ahead and let the board know now that signs were posted, public announcements, all of that. Uh we did
not have any calls. No one came and asked that were negative or for it, you know. So, no one ever no one ever called. So, I guess we did good on this one. So, um, application S250904A,
an application by Mimosa Tree Investments LLC, applicant and property owner to amend the future land use plan map series of the comprehensive plan by amending the future land use map classification from agriculture to and
commercial to industrial for the property described as follows. A parcel of land lying in sections six and seven at township 8 south range 22 east in lots 3456 and seven of Davis brothers
and troub subdivision as per plat recorded indeed book E as an echo page 680 of the public records of Bradford County Florida said parcel being more partic particularly described as follows
tax parcel number 04 4 734- 0-0000200 and 04739 dash 0-0000. I'll read the I'll read also the resolutions. A resolution of the board
of commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, serving as the planning and zoning board of Bradford County, Florida, and the local planning agency of Bradford County, Florida. Recommending to the board of county commissioners of Bradford County,
Florida, approval of an amendment to the future land use plan map series of the comprehensive plan pursuit to an applica application by the property owner under the amendment procedures established in
section 163.3161 through 163.3248 Florida statutes as amended. providing for amending the land use classifications from agricultural to and commercial to industrial within the
unincorporated limits of Bradford County, Florida, repealing all resolutions in conflict and providing an effective date. For now, we just need any comments. >> Are there any public comments at this time?
Seeing and hearing none. Any questions from the commissioners? If not. >> Okay. Can I have a motion to approve the resolution as read by title approving application S250904A as in alpha?
>> I'll make a motion that we approve it as read. >> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Andrews and second by Commissioner Thompson. Any further discussion or questions by the board? If not, all in favor by sign I. I and oppose four opposed.
>> Very good. This is an application Z25-05 by Mimosa Tree Investment LLC applicant and property owner to amend the official zoning atlas of the land development regulations by amending the zoning district of certain lands from
agricultural to to com and commercial to industrial for the property described as follows. This is the same property we were talking about prior. So I will skip and just read tax parcel 04734-
0-0000200 and 04739- 0- 0 0. A resolution of the board of county commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, serving as the planning and
zoning board of Bradford County, Florida, and the local planning agency of Bradford County, Florida. recommending to the county commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, approval of the reszoning to the official zoning atlas of the Bradford County land
development regulations as amended pursuit to an application by the property owner of said acreage providing for reszoning from agricultural to industrial of certain lands within the unincorporated limits of Bradford
County, Florida. repealing all resolutions in conflict and providing an effective date. At this time, we just need comments. >> Are there any public comments? >> Okay, if you would come to up to the
podium, state your name and address and make a comment. Kate Ellison. Um, I just wanted to ask if we know what this is for, why they're asking for reasonzoning.
>> Sure. Um, the owner is here, Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis, would you like to step to the podium? >> Sure. and just state your name and your address, please. >> Uh Jimmy Davis, uh 7630 Southwest County
Road 18 Hampton. Uh we're also Mimosa Tree Investments is the family company for Davis Express with the real estate holdings. There is no plans right now. This is over 30 years. We probably
lumped seven or eight pieces of land together and some of it got left to agriculture. Part of this is where some retention plans are now. And so it's really there's nothing at some point. Will we sell the property when we liquidate our equipment? Sure. We don't know who that'll be. But it's just
trying to get my house in order is what it's about. Is that answer satisfying? >> So you're not planning to put anything on there now? >> No, ma'am. Not at all. I'm just trying to clean my mess up. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you.
Um, any other public comments? Okay. Any questions from the board? >> All right. If not, >> and can I have a motion to approve the resolution as read by title approving application Z25-05?
>> Request for motion. >> I make a motion we approve the application as read. >> Motion by Commissioner Thompson. Is there a second to the motion? >> I'll second. Second by Commissioner Andrew. Any further discussion or questions? All in favor by the sign. I >> I
oppose for. >> Thank you. Next application S250904B. An application by Mimosa Tree Investments LLC. An applicant and property owner to amend the future land use plan map series of the comprehensive
plan by amending the future land use map classifications from agriculture to industrial for the property described as follows. A parcel of land lying in section 8 of township 7 south range 22
east and in Davis properties and Troub subdivision as per plat recorded indeed book Echo page 680 of the public records of Bradford County Florida said parcel being more typically
described as follows parcel 04776- - 0-00000000 A resolution of the board of county commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, serving as the planning and zoning board of Bradford
County, Florida, and the local planning agency of Bradford County, Florida, recommending to the board of county commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, approval of an amendment to the future land use map plan series of the comprehensive plan pursuit to an
application by the property owner under the amendment procedures established in section 163.3161 through 163.3248 Florida statutes as amended providing for amending the land use
classifications from a 2 to industrial within the unincorporated limits of Bradford County Florida repealing all resolutions in conflict and providing an effective date for Now we just need comments
>> any public comments at this time. Okay. Hearing seeing none any questions or comment from the board. >> If not I ask for motion for approve as read.
Motion to approve as read. >> Motion by Commissioner Andrews. Is there a second to the motion? Second by Commissioner Thompson. Any further question or discussion? All in favor by the sign. >> I I opposed. >> And this is the rest of it for Z25-06,
an application by Mimosa Tree Investments applicant applicant and property owner to amend the official zoning atlas and the land development regulations by amending the zoning district of certain lands from a 2 to industrial for the property described as
follows. And of course this is the same so I won't read the legal tax parcel is 04776-0-00000000 and a resolution of the board of county commissioners of Bradford County Florida serving as the planning and zoning board
of Bradford County Florida and the local planning agency of Bradford County Florida recommending to the county commissioners of Bradford County Florida approval of the reszoning of the official official zoning atlas of the Bradford County land development regulations as amended pursuit to an
application by the property owner of said acreage providing for reszoning from act 2 to industrial of certain lands within the unincorporated limits of Bradford County Florida repealing all resolutions in conflict and providing an
effective date and just need comments >> any public comments at this time seeing none any comments from the board. If not, >> yep. And can I just have a motion to approve the resolution as read by title
approving application Z25-06? >> I have a motion. >> I'll make a motion to approve it. >> Okay. Motion by Commissioner Andrews. >> Second by Commissioner Thompson. Any further questions or discussion? If not, all in favor sign I.
>> Any oppose for O. >> Okay. Uh that is it for the planning and zoning, but I did want to add like I've done every year and when there was a new year, um last year for just some fun facts real quick, um I wanted to give
y'all the last year's totals for new single family dwellings and mobile home placed in our county. It was 124 and that was new builds and mobile homes. and we issued 1,836 permits between building and zoning. So,
we were a little busy. So, that's all. >> That's it. Uh there's nothing more. The um planning and zoning meeting is called is adjourned and we will be um commencing at 6:30 for our regular board meeting.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's now 6:30. Our regular board of county commissioner meeting is now called to order. We'll have the invocation and pledge allegiance from commissioner. >> Let's pray. Our father in heaven, father, we just thank you so much for another day in life, dear Lord. And
father, we just thank you, dear Lord, that you'll just allow us to come and pray to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thank you for everything you've done for us. Father, I just pray you'll please have your hand upon this meeting tonight. I pray for everyone that's here. I just pray you'll have your hand
upon each and every person in here. And please be with this board, dear Lord. Help us to listen. And um I just pray you'll give us wisdom from above to do what is best for the citizens of Bradford County. Thank you again, Father, for everything you do for us. In
Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all.
Please note for the record that Commissioner Dhy is um absent for the moment and so there are four of us that are here. Um at this time we're going to receive our public comments. Again, when
you approach the um podium, if the mic is too low for you, just raise it up to where you can speak into it. And then if you forget what you're supposed to do, you could just kind of turn around and see what what you're instructed to do. Okay.
All right. The first person I have is Anna Griffith. >> Good evening, commissioners. My name is Ana Griffith. I live at 1949 Northwest 135th Lane and I run Protect Rural Florida. I'm here to speak directly to
you as the decision makers who will determine whether this site at the Douglas warehouse is appropriate for continuous occupancy. This isn't political and it is not about immigration. My concern is whether the Douglas warehouse, which has documented
groundwater contamination, is safe for people to live or work there continuously and whether that information was fully understood before moving forward. A resident nearby contacted me about receiving a TPOC notice. That's a temporary point of compliance from D marking the boundary
where temporary exceedence of groundwater standards is allowed while cleanup is ongoing. They asked about vapor intrusion, meaning whether chemicals in groundwater can become vapors in buildings. I pulled public DP documents, verified facility ID, and
checked the monitoring history. Everything I'm sharing tonight is public records. Here is a brief timeline. 2001 TCE first detected and Deerwood private wells. 2005 D requested permission to sample wells. Some residents were already removed from service. 2007
initial notice of contamination for formally issued. 2011 to 2012 remediation began with carbon substrate injections. 2012 to 2025 semianual monitoring shows tce and 14 dioxane
remain including off-site areas. February 2026, D confirmed no immediate risk for existing buildings, but long-term occupancy has not been evaluated. Some residents are concerned that construction or disturbance could push chemicals further. TCE and 14
dioxane are serious can cause serious health effects over time, including liver, kidney, and nervous system impacts, and 14 dioxane is a possible carcinogen. Environmental risks remain. Groundwater could migrate. Vertical aquafer gradients could carry chemicals
off site and construction could remobilize what is currently stable. Commissioners, as the decision makers, your role here is critical. Approving this use without updated environmental assessment, transparent public reporting and full consideration of residents
safety could put people at risk and create liabilities. I'm asking that before any occupancy or construction proceeds, the county ensures a full updated environmental review that considers long-term residential or work use. This is about safety, informed
decisions, and protecting the community, not politics. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Next, we have um Kate Ellison. Kate Ellison, 971 Southeast 32nd Way, Melrose, Florida, and Bradford County.
First, I want to state for the record that of course I want every violent criminal caught and punished. No one has ever said violent criminals should go free. It is simply slanderous to imply that. ICE may say they are removing the
worst of the worst from our communities, but the truth is they are trying to meet a quota. 3,000 arrests a day. One giant detention center filled each and every day. There are not that many evildoers anywhere in our country for each and
every day. They are rounding up landscapers and nurses aids along with their children to fill an arbitrary demand. Second, back in Bradford County, uh Scott Belelfford, a friend of mine with
an econ background, is developing a careful and conservative report on what economic effects a 30,000 bed ICE detention camp would have on our county. He is a retired senior certified cost
and economic analyst who served with the US Air Force and the office of the Secretary of Defense. His primary expertise is in operations and support cost and economic analysis including cost analysis related to military
installations and government operations. His focus is on the costs and risk for the county and this report will be available in March. While most of his analysis goes right over my head, the conclusion he reaches in the draft
document I've seen is very plain. Sabbath's stated 3,000 bed cost recovery amount is $199,177 per month. This will be insufficient. It will be highly likely that Bradford County will experience a budget deficit
and serious stress on county and city services. The chances are high that you will have to hire extra staff. We already know about ICE reimbursements. The state of Florida is still waiting for reimbursement for al Alcat alligator
Alcatra. Florida emergency funds were used, possibly illegally, to construct it, and we have not seen a penny from the fence. Same with the Baker County facility. Florida is still on the hook for the cost of establishing it.
Tallahassee is already threatening to destroy all county budgets by eliminating some of our property taxes. We are not ready. We will not survive these additional financial burdens. If you want to be good steward stewards of
taxpayers money, you will realize this proposed ICE detention facility will break the county budget and >> thank you the public notice. >> Okay. >> Um next we'll have Hastings. Hi, my name is Bo Hast. I live in
Bradford County, 12917 Southeast 21st Avenue, Bradford County, Florida. Um, I'm for I as far as this facility where it's at. Absolutely not. The building's not stable. The ground's contaminated. We don't really need it
right there by our shopping center, but I guess somebody's getting something out of it. So, that's why it's being pushed so bad. I mean, it was kind of sneaky in that meeting you had on there uh the Sabbath consultant that didn't have DHS or eyes. So, I think there would have been more people here and more people
are showing up. But what I'm here to speak about tonight, I went back through my minutes and I noticed that Sheriff Smith had gotten with y'all on May 6, 2025 about this old fair board of doing a investigation. And I was wondering if anything's been done about it or anything's come of it because I noticed
I've been watching these meetings online and somebody had asked the other night at one of the fair meetings and they were shut down instantly. This ain't the time to ask that. But when is the time to ask the questions? If there's corruption going on, then we the people have a right to see it. And then I also have something to say with the county
buying 320 fair tickets. Yes, it was at a discounted price. But don't y'all make enough money you can buy your own fair ticket for $5 at a discounted price? I mean, we're already paying uh 3.7 billion in 100% healthc care insurance and $3,000 co-pays of $72,000 on the
taxpayer. What more perks do you need? I mean, it's not right. We got all these impact fees coming in. We got the fire assessment. Property taxes went up and y'all just keep perking yourself more perks while we the taxpayer just have to keep paying it and go along with it and
nothing be said. I mean, honestly, y'all could afford I mean, a senior pay, you can afford a $12 ticket. Yeah, it was discounted, but then why does Brford County have to pay for all y'all's tickets? I say the 70 employees that don't get insurance on us and hospital
co-pays that actually are struggling like me, they should get the free fair tickets from the county, not all these other people making $158,000, $81,000 that we should be buying y'all a fair ticket. I'm sorry, but you know the
perks need to stop. The budget needs to get cut and y'all need to quit taxing us to death cuz it just ain't right. But then we're told y'all just skip a meal and get on board with it and we're we're just supposed to go along with it and nobody say nothing about it. Well, it's
not right. You're you're you're fleecing the people. It's not right. And something needs to be done about it. And I'm going to be at these budget workshops because Miss Spear, you told me back in September, maybe y'all can cut some of them professional services. I think what $50,000 y'all y'all's
pdeium went from 7500 in 5 years to $30,000. Something's got to give. It ain't right. And y'all don't care about we the people. You don't care about the taxes we're paying because your budget just gets patted where you don't feel it. And we do. Thank you and have a nice
evening. Next, we'll have Gary Nolles. My name is Gary Nolles. I live at 14011 Southeast 48th Avenue, Stark, Dearwood subdivision. My wife and I and family moved to Stark back in 1997. We moved to Dearwood
subdivision. At that time, it was a quiet, rural, really nice, peaceful area. But over time, progress has moved in on us with Walmart, with the uh urgent care, and with Zach's. Uh traffic has increased. Um our quality of life
feel just went down. But my concern is I'm not really against facilities. Uh I'm just opposed to the location of it because studies I've done show that ICE detention facilities have a tendency of bringing property values
down simply because they people view them as undesirable areas once those uh detention facilities are established. Um, another concern I have is we are one of those that's on a well in that area and any disturbance to the disturbance
to the ground could upset um the contaminants that's in the water and pollute our well. Now, currently our well has been tested for many years and it's al always show negative, but I'm I'm so afraid that with any construction out there to establish this facility, it
might upset that groundwater and contaminate our well. Um, other than that, um, I just I hope that y'all would just understand us and see our point of view. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next, we have Brad Green.
>> Hi, my name is Brad Green. Uh, my wife and I live at 13857 Southeast 48th Avenue in Stark. that is the Dearwood subdivision. Um like my neighbor Gary, uh we live in that area, but unfortunately for us, uh when we moved in, we found out we were on city water
because our water is contaminated. Um and so we have TCE in our water, which is a known, it's carcinogenic. Um and so our groundwater is is contaminated and that contamination came from uh the Douglas warehouse area. And so we get
our water tested every single year, twice a year, and they keep telling us, "Yes, it's still there." So for us, working on that land is not a hypothetical that we could get that the the contaminants into our groundwater. It's already there. And so this to me, like like the young lady said earlier,
this isn't political. This is about family. And so my family lives there and my family has contaminated water. And if we do any more work on that land, the contaminants could spread. It can be there could be different ones in my water. It could spread to Garry's. It could spread to our community. We're
real people and we know that this committee you you guys do say that you're for the people. Well, we are the people and we're asking you do your homework. Do the due diligence. You know, the the studies that came out said that before any work could be done. There had to be further testing. That
was in 2018. All right. If anybody is there right now in that facility, they can't even be there without the doors open. That's what that report said. It said anything that is done there is going to potentially increase more migration into the houses. It could actually um uh create new like I said
earlier and and you're going to put the workers at risk. You're going to put the detainees at risk. This isn't about politics. It's about people. So what I'm asking is before you guys do one more thing, please do your due diligence. Don't let something like this come in
and let the families that are under right now under this contamination make it even worse. There's a lot of people here. It is right across from from Walmart. It's across from the family medical center. It it is right there in that area. There's a produce place right next door. What are we going to do to those people? And I really got you.
You've got to think about that. You know, one of the things I thought about today is while they're doing that water study twice a year, they're not checking the ground. Do we have more issues that I don't know about? Should somebody do ground testing in our area? We have pets. I know people, we love our animals, right? Our pets run around
outside. What what happens if they drink that water on the ground? I don't know, right? What testing is going to be done for us? What's going to be provided? You got to think more about the people and you've got to think about doing your homework, doing your due diligence before anything else is done. This isn't
something that can be rushed. I get it. You guys are thinking about it, but please stop, go slow, make sure that you are protecting the people of Bradford County, which is your job. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. make um all steel
all still 14167 Southwest at 1001st Avenue start. I again want to point out that I believe there are very serious critical errors in the process that led uh that resulted in what I assume are now ongoing discussions between the
sheriff and the county manager and Sabot related to converting the Douglas building property into a 3000 bed ICE detention facility. I would suggest that it's critical that the Bradford County Commission ask the county attorney to review the process
that led to the adoption of the motion to accept the proposal for use of warehouse and acreage noted in the minutes of your January 15th, 2026 meeting that are on today's consent agenda for your approval.
What does accept a proposal mean? Does it uh does it mean to receive the proposal presented or does it mean that Sabah Sabot is uh authorized to undertake the following steps outlined in their
proposal included in the January 15, 2006 minutes. Action requested. Authorize this proposed use of county owned property. Authorize advancement of county-led IGSA
proposal preparation and presentation to ICE. Allow negotiations to proceed following submission. If county ICE proposal negotiations are successful, embark on the project as uh
proposed. Under next steps, it says confirm approval to proceed with full proposal development negotiations and uh conditional ex uh execution of execution of the project. Uh submit to ICE,
negotiate IGSA and if successful, begin site preparation upon approval. I would suggest to proceed with these items uh with no contract with Sabot would create a significant leg legal issues that should be evaluated by the
county attorney. How can Sabo negotiate with ICE if it has no contract with Bradford County? A quick question uh is do the sheriff and county manager have the skills needed to negotiate and evaluate a
proposal that Bradford County will be expected to enter into with Sabot and ICE. Any proposal drafted by SEBO should be fully evaluated to make sure all potential county costs will be covered by any and any agreement. This may
require the county paying for an independent cost analysis. >> Next, we'll have Steven Wine. >> Hello. My name is Steve Wine. I live at 8789 State Road 100 West start Florida. And my being here is about the ice
facility or concentration camp, whichever way you want to look at it. Uh, you know, Gordon Smith was actually hired to be the sheriff of Bradford County. Then all of a sudden, we had corruption in the city of Stark and Sheriff Gordon stepped right up and
says, "Okay, I can handle this." City of Stark is supposed to be giving a certain amount of money to the sheriff of Bradford County. Then after that all happened, supposedly we are making our money back for Sheriff Smith. Okay. Then
we needed a dog catcher. Okay. Sheriff Smith said, "All right, I can do that." So sure enough, he got involved in it and he's taking care of the dog catching outfit out there by Samson Lake. Uh now
he's part of uh the uh emergency management. All right. Now all of a sudden they come up the billionaires stand up and say, "Oh, we need an ice facility." So what are we going to do? Sheriff Smith says, "Well, I could do that." Well, this man
is a superman. He's he's got to eventually get to a point to where he can say no. This building was built in 1965. In 1965, they took and had the ability to put asbestous on pipes on everything
inside the building. We have not, from everything, all the studies that I've seen, we have not done anything on the inside of any of the buildings. Now, I used to physically go there to the auctions. The three chicken coop things
that are behind the main structure, there were all kinds of stuff that came off of ships. pipes. That's all kinds of things that were sold there. All that went into those buildings and then we bid on it and then we took and uh took it home.
Literally when after I bought a bunch of stuff one day, I found out I had a a can that uh had a poisonous and I had bought it but I couldn't take it back to them. I couldn't take it to the dump. You know, my literally my
property, the fence, the old original fence of that piece of property. I have a my my back of my property is fenced by those poles and the actual fence because I got to b all of it off of it. But there is a lot of contam possible
contamination on that piece of property that hasn't even been even addressed yet. And we don't need a nice facility or concentration camp in the middle right in front of Walmart. And every time somebody comes to town, they say, "Oh, there's, you know, Bradford
County." They they they they want a concentration camp. We don't need a concentration camp. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll have um Ryan Harris. >> Good evening, commissioners. Um, I'm here tonight to talk about the plan to
turn the Douglas warehouse uh into a private detention center. >> State your address for >> uh 666. >> And your name is >> Brian Harris. >> Okay. Uh this isn't just about a building permit. It's about what this project will do to the daily life and
reputation of Bradford County. Uh the biggest red flag for me is um the location. Uh this warehouse is right next to our main Walmart. Uh for most families in this county, that's where we do our grocery shopping and run our errands. Uh we have to be realistic.
Facilities like this bring a lot of attention. Uh you're going to have frequent protests and media crews setting up in the area. We don't need to be afraid of that, but we do need to be smart about the traffic. Uh when those demonstrations happen, it's going to clog up the main road. Uh none of us
want a simple trip for milk and eggs to turn into a headache because of road closures or extra police lines. Uh we shouldn't put up a high tension project right in the middle of the county's biggest shopping spot. It's bad for the families who shop there. It's bad for the local businesses trying to operate.
Uh there's also the issue of the land itself. We've all heard rumors about contaminated groundwater at the site. Now, maybe those reports aren't 100% proven yet, but uh shouldn't we be sure before we let uh people live there? Uh if this county approves a project on the site that turns out to be toxic, that's
a massive legal mess waiting to happen. Uh before anyone has moved into an old industrial warehouse, we need proof that the ground isn't a health risk or long-term liability for the county. We shouldn't be rushing into this without knowing exactly what's in that water. At
the end of the day, warehouses are for storing stuff, not people. Uh they don't have windows, fresh air, or set up for human beings to actually live in. We're better than that. Bradford County should be known for good growth and taking care of its people, not for warehousing folks
and the metal box meant for freight. Commissioners, the risks to our traffic, our environment, and our community's image are just too high. This project is a bad fit for this spot. I'm asking you to listen to what everyone is saying tonight and vote no on this permit.
Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we will have Jill Van Bapt. >> Good evening. Joe Vantor, 20764 God's Acre Lane, Sanderson. Uh I'm Joe Vaner. I'm running for
district 3 uh United States Congress US House. I come to you today. Let's about the ice facility itself. Uh first of all, I was a coach here in Bradford County from 2007 to 15. The
kids were great. Bradford's like the other three or other two rural counties I work for. They they got faith. They love their people and they work for that Friday night lights and it's all good on
the three counties. Great atmosphere. Come to you about this ice facility and about the passion of the people that's speaking out about it there and acting perfectly fine. I love it. The thing is
is where is the money coming from? FEMA has let down North Carolina. The ice comes up under FEMA. They've let down North Carolina. They've also the state house
is got a bill now that's going to take your emergency management money is only going to be used for hurricanes or disasters. It's not going to the money that they used for alligator Alcatraz and stuff like that. It's just not
right. The thing is Stark also is noted for old Sparky down the road. You've got that label. Whether you think it's a a badge of pride or you're against it, but the one thing I would add, one big
question y'all need to ask uh Sheriff Smith because I love Sheriff Smith. He's always been fair in my life. Is what kind of clients are you going to have in there? Is it going to be male? Is it going to
be female? And God help us if they put kids there cuz that's going to be another another you consider a black mark on Stark or Bradford County. I urge you to vote against this. Look
into it deeper. It it sounds all bad from what I've seen and heard from the people here. Let's do the right thing, you know? Let's say no to this. Especially if it's kids going in there cuz I I would not like that.
Anyway, thank you for your time. Thank you for your consideration. And I know you're in a tough job and I hope to get in a tough job and represent y'all next November. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, next we'll have Amelia Rodriguez.
Good evening, board. My name is Amelia Rodriguez. I live at 13931 Southeast 48th Avenue in Stark in the Dearwood subdivision. Um, I'm just going to read through this as quickly as I can. I appreciate all of my neighbors and I share their concerns when we talk about environmental impact. I just also want
to take a moment and express the human impact of the decision for the ICE detention facility less than one mile from our neighborhood. Um, so my name is Amelia Rodriguez. I live less than one mile from the proposed side of the ICE detention facility at the entrance to
the only main highway into our town. I am here as a homeowner, a mother, and a concerned member of this community. Sorry. This proposal is not simply about constructing a building. Historically, when detention capacity increases in a region, enforcement activity increases
alongside it. Expanded facilities require increased federal personnel transportation operations and sustained enforcement presence. That changes the daily character of a town, especially when placed at its primary entrance and within residential
proximity. I am deeply concerned about what that means for families like mine. My husband is Hispanic. My children are half Hispanic. The increased enforcement present that often accompanies these facil facilities creates fear. Not because we have done anything wrong, but
because heightened visibility and operations can make families feel scrutinized and vulnerable. As a mother, that weighs very heavily on me. My youngest child is autistic. he would not be able to effectively
advocate for himself if approached or detained in a misunderstanding. The ideas of increased enforcement activity so close to our home brings a level of stress and anxiety that I cannot adequately describe. Families like mine should not have to
live with that fear in our own neighborhood. There are also broader impacts to consider. The facility would sit at the entrance to our only major highway, as I've stated, raising questions about traffic, transportation, logistics, and long-term infrastructure
strain. The sustained federal presence may influence property values and residential desiraability. Um, and then economic development and small business growth could be affected by the perception and character of our town's primary gateway. Introducing a large-scale detention facility risk
creates uh risk creating division, fear, and mistrust among neighbors. This is not about politics. It's not about anything other than thoughtful planning and long-term consequences for our community. I respectfully ask this commission, has a full traffic impact
study been completed? Have property value and economic implication been assessed? Have alternative locations been thoroughly evaluated? and have nearby residents been meaningfully consulted. So once build, this is not temporary. It is a structural shift in the identity
and daily operations of our town. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. And next we have Lorie Jones. >> She had an emergency and she had to step out. >> Okay. Thank you. Um next we'll have um Diane Williams.
Oops. I'm supposed Diane Williams, 1018 Palm Street. Stark. Stark has come a long way overcoming some of the negative reputation associated with the prison nearby. We have great restaurants and shops
downtown as well as the Walmart business shopping and business hub which serves the local area. As was pointed out by the commission, we also have a growing number of community events that provide recreation, entertainment, and
activities for the local area residents. And we'd like to hold on to all of that. Studies have shown where these detention centers go in small communities. Any positive gains like employment are limited in short term. On the other hand, negative impacts are significant
in long-term. That includes infrastructure strain, especially water supplies and healthc care facilities, the power grid causing brownouts, declining business activity, and lost opportunities for positive development. They are also associated with increased
poverty rates. They divide communities with concerns of public safety and the inhumane nature of these facilities. Operational challenges nationwide are significant as numbers have increased. Reports indicate overcrowding in
substandard medical care. The 36.6% 6% decline in inspection reports in 2025 indicates in a reduction in oversight and accountability. As news is continuing to report, the federal government is going into
communities big and small all over the country trying to acquire facilities to convert to detention centers which by definition are concentration camps. Notably all over the country, communities red and blue alike are resisting and successfully blocking
these detention centers. It's also not notable that it's not just the people, but local and elected officials leading that resistance and push back because they understand how damaging these detention centers can be on small communities. We have no
reason to believe that the detention center in the middle of Stark would be any different. However, here, in spite of all the available information and data outlining the detrimental effects on small communities, it seems our local elected officials are seriously entertaining bringing a concentration
camp to Stark. So, I asked, do we really want the significant risk and negative impact on our community for a limited aspirational short-term gain? I don't. Most of the people here don't. And I believe the long term in the long term this project would be a bad investment
for the city of Stark and Bradford County and I believe we can do better. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um next we have um Mr. James D. Valerio. >> Good evening board. I'm James D. Valerio. I live at 12933 Southwest 83rd
Avenue Florida and Bradford County. And I want to say thank you for the wreck department, the fire department, fire out there in Samson City, some of the road work you done. Although if I live past my house back on my yard, I might want the the maintenance to go further
down, but uh that's another day. So I do I came here tonight to talk about the intersection of 227 where it comes out on 301. I addressed the board months ago and there was some widening. That's a dangerous intersection. And there was some widening done at the time. They put
the white lines, 3T of pavement out there. The trucks are too big. There's tore up soil at that intersection. So, if I would just like to ask the board when you do development to really have whoever's moving in there to plan
accordingly cuz right now it's a dangerous intersection. Sometimes that traffic is backed up over a/4 mile, particularly if racetrack has very competitive prices and you got two areas, the trucks and the cars. And if people hang back to let people in and
out, they miss two couple lights. And it's it's traffic jam. So I do want to take the time to tell an analogy, a story. In this story, the hog is the main character. And I like the hog represents our good life in Bradford County. So there was a young city guy.
He goes to the farm visits for the first time. He likes what he sees. The farm is beautiful. He's admiring all the livestock, the fresh vegetables, and he can't take his eyes off this one prize hog. And he goes, he asked about it. The farmer says, "That hog is so good. That
hog, he he woke us up one time when the house was on fire. That hog uh he saved my young that was drowning in the pond. We just can't live without that pond." And the young man says, "Well, what? How come he's missing his right rear leg and his left front shoulder and the farmer says, "Well, you don't eat a hog like
that all at once." And you know, when I know when you make decisions for the for this county and we citizens, don't forget about our good life here. A lot of us moved here to get away from
cities just because you get some extra income um that's shortterm and I know you got bills to pay but um sometimes when you bring businesses in it changes the reason why a lot of us live here and um
I'd just like to thank you for keeping that in mind. As far as the ice facility, I don't think it makes Bradford better. even if all the environmental stuff and all that was handled, I just don't think it's what we want for our community. And
last time I talked to Cindy, she she felt the same way. So, thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Um, next we have Linda Ricker 227. Linda Ricker, 13342
Southeast 21st Avenue, Start, Florida. Um, I would like to say this is the first county commission meeting I've been to, even though I've lived here for 30 years. So, I'm a little embarrassed, but I do want to thank you all for being so involved. Um, but what brought me
here tonight was a deep sadness that I'm starting to feel and I I feel it in the room. Um, I am not a scientific expert on the um the talking points that were generated, but I can um I can just
give you my heartfelt request that we can do better. It would break my heart to know that there were children in that facility. um it would break my heart to know that there were inhumane treatments being um held and it wouldn't make us
any happier. It would bring sadness and the type of jobs it would bring would bring sadness and I I am not a native Bradford County person. I came here because it felt like home. It was a place where
we could start our own business and we have um worked in the community, raised four children and um have been blessed and um a lot to be grateful for. And I feel like this is a fork in the
road for you all and for all of us that if we go down the wrong path, we can't retract. And I just beg you from the bottom of my heart to to really consider that. Um, thank you very much. >> Thank you. And next we have Michael
Ricker. >> Hey, my name's Michael Ricker, 13342 Southeast 21st Avenue in Stark. And um, I just wanted to address the ice facility issue. Um the um it seems like some decisions have been made based on
some rosy projections from a a consulting group. Um and um a lot has changed even since this was originally put before the board. Um in this last month um the last budget negotiations in
in Washington, DHS is only funded through the end of this month. Um and then who knows what's going to happen beyond uh the end of February here. Um DHS may not have funding and then where is the money going to come from? If there if we
have started into building the facility, we may have construction people on the ground here and you know they're going to be idled. Um they promised a thousand jobs. What if um come midterms or come the next uh administration
all of this is lost? where are those thousand jobs going to be? Um there, you know, we're going to have a thousand people in the county that um you know, would become unemployed if they had to close this and they're going to move on. Um so I don't see a long-term financial
benefit from this. Um you know, maybe short term, maybe if you've got some rental properties and you say, "Oh gosh, a thousand employees, I'm going to, you know, I'm going to make some money." Um but long term we're not going to have uh any kind of stability in that in that
facility. Um it's not uh there's no promise of of anything long term. I so I really think that the county should be looking kind of past this rosy picture that's been been painted by a consulting group and that's their job is to paint a rosy picture um and and put the best
best foot forward in their proposal. Um, and um, I know you people are intelligent enough to kind of look past that and and not just take what's spoonfed u by a by a consultant and do do the homework and and look at a longer
term um, prospect for for Brford County. I I appreciate the work you guys have done and appreciate the time to speak to you. >> Thank you. And next by the strong Vander Strong, Post Office Box 530, Lauy, Florida. I know y'all have a
better appreciation of me because I'm not going to talk about ice and I'm not going to talk about my mom's ditch either. Um, I would just like to say that it's refreshing to see all of these people
here for a county commission meeting, but I would like to see all of you guys come back to the meetings for other business also. We have a budget shortfall that's going to come up and we
have other things that are going on in the county and I would like for our citizens to come and with the same vigor to be here
when we have those things going on. I have the issue that the county doesn't make all of our people that they give money to
sing for their supper equally. We have Acorn that they brought in and said they had to give a detailed um statement of what they were using the
money that the county gave them. We had concerned citizens that they had to come in prior to getting receiving funds from the county. But on the other hand, we give money to other organizations
like uh the chamber and some others each year and we don't ever get them to come back and tell whether or not their um
their Strawberry Fest or whatever was successful and they bought in any whether they actually raise the money that they said that they were going to raise the money for. But where people
are helping people, you make them come in and sing for their supper every year. So, I would like for you to balance the scales and make everybody either make
everybody come in and give a detailed uh report or don't make anybody come in and give a detailed report prior to you giving the funds. Thank you.
That concludes our um public comments. Um did I miss anyone's card? Thank you. Um, next we'll have our public hearing on the zoning and land use change. >> Oh, that's the attorney. One or the other.
>> So, I'm sorry. Let me Let's start off by reading the title of the ordinance. So an ordinance of Bradford County, Florida, amending ordinance number 91-09, the Bradford County Comprehensive Plan as amended relating to an amendment to the future land use map plan map series of Bradford County's
comprehensive plan pursuant to application S250904A by property owner under the amendment procedure established in sections 163.3161 through 163.3248 Florida statutes as amended providing
for the amendment of the future land use plan maps series of the comprehensive plan from agricultural to and commercial to industrial of certain lands within the unincorporated limits of Bradford County, Florida, providing severability, repealing all ordinances in conflict and
providing an effective date. >> This time, Madam Chair, you have already heard this through the planning and zoning board. Um, it would be appropriate to open a public hearing to solicit any public comment. >> Yes, the public hearing is open and at this time we solicit any public comments.
Are there any comments from anyone? Okay. If not, we'll close that public hearing and uh any um questions or anything from the board? If not, um ask for a motion
um for approval. >> I'll make a motion to approve S25 09048. Motion by Commissioner Thompson and second by Commissioner Ray. Any further questions or discussion?
>> All in favor say I. >> I. >> That's 40. So, Madam Chair, next for your consideration would be the approval of S250904B, the Mimosa Tree Investments LLC land use
change from agricultural 2 to industrial for Bradford County parcel number 04776- 0-000000. And to read by title, it's an ordinance of Bradford County, Florida, amending ordinance number 91-09, the Bradford County Comprehensive Plan
as amended relating to an amendment to the future land use plan map series of Bradford County comprehensive plan pursuant to application S250904B by the property owner under the amendment procedure established in sections 163.3161
through 1633248 Florida statutes as amended providing for the amendment of the future land use plan map series of the comprehensive plan from agricultural 2 to industrial of certain lands within the unincorporated limits of Bradford County, Florida, providing severability,
repealing all ordinances in conflict and providing an effective date. At this time, Madam Chair, it would be appropriate to open a public hearing or to solicit any public comment. We now open the public hearing and elicit any public comments that you may have.
Seeing and hearing none, we'll close the public hearing. Uh is there any further questions or discussion from the board? If not, I'll ask for a motion um of approval as read by the attorney. >> I make a motion to approve the ordinance
as read. >> Okay. Motion by Commissioner Re. Is there a second to the motion? Second by Commissioner Thompson. Any further discussion? If not, all in favor by sign I. >> I. Let the record show that Commissioner Dh has joined us and so it's five up.
Okay. All right. Um, next on the agenda is the approval of our consent agenda. But before we do, um, before I call for a motion, I just want to clarify 4. um 4 was um asking for an application
for the historic marker at the Bradford County Health Department for Miss Joyce Reichard. Miss Reichard had worked at the facility on Church Street. And so I just wanted to clarify for the um for the body here that the location would be
at the original site as opposed to the Bradford Health Department where it's currently located off of 301 to honor her and the location in which she had worked. Okay. So um do I have an a motion of
approval for the consent agenda? >> Yeah, I make a motion to approve this consent agenda. >> Okay. Motion by Commissioner Reddit. Is there a second to the motion? >> Second. >> Second by Commissioner Andrews. >> All right. Any further discussion, questions? Not. All in favor by the sign. I
>> the oppos. And at this time, uh, we'll hear, um, a presentation from our fair association, Miss Harley Hudson. if you just come up. >> Good evening, county commissioners. >> Good evening. >> Kind of want to steal Harley's thunder
for just a minute. Um, my name is Paul Huntley. I'm the president of the fair association that y'all appointed. I'd like to say thank y'all for what the county did for the fairgrounds. I do feel like that's a mark in the county that everybody's aware of. If it wasn't for what y'all done, that could not have
been possible. Uh the we were put together back in May as a fair board and we were thrown together as a fair board with no experience. We did the best we can do. That's what we're working on now. And I feel like we felt like we needed to hire a fair manager. And
that's where Harley Hutcherson come into the picture. She has hit the ground running. And everybody told us we were crazy for going to 11 days of affair. She has booked 11 days of events and I think that's pretty amazing. She has
booked every sponsorship spot in the venues. They're booked out. So I thought that was pretty amazing for her to do that and hit the ground running. We've gotten so many appraises for the hire of her and I just like to say thanks. I'm going to turn it
over to her for this. Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Um, I've got some slides and Amanda's going to be helping me out over there. So, tonight I'm here to share an update on the fair that I, our board, our
volunteers, and this county have all worked hard to bring together over the past few months. Um, since stepping into this role, I've had the opportunity to meet so many members of our community and reconnect the fair with many of its long-standing partners. Although I'm
still new here, I've truly felt welcomed and supported every step of the way. You're an amazing group of people and I'm deeply grateful that you gave me the position of planning this event. Many people have dedicated countless hours to this effort and I'm proud to say that this year's fair will be a
major step forward. Can you hit the Thank you. So, um, here's some pictures of what we have going on. This year's Midway will be presented by Dreamland Amusements alongside all of your favorite livestock exhibits, youth showcases, and family entertainment that
reflects the spirit of the people of Bradford County. Our fair dates are next Thursday to March 8th. Um, and if you could go to the next one. Our 2026 fair theme is the heart of Bradford, strengthening our roots to grow the
future. This was inspired by the incredible collection of memorabilia that was entrusted to me when I began this role and by the 86-year tradition that this community has worked together to restore and protect. Here are just a few Next, please. Thank
you. of the experiences that you can look forward to at this year's fair. From a exhibits and youth contests to exciting live entertainment and fair food, I can promise you that there are memories to be made at the fairgrounds next week. Most importantly, I want to
express my gratitude to you, our county officials. Thank you for ensuring that the fair association could bring this event back for everyone. I was so grateful to have your support in making this all possible. and I'm excited to share this moment with you. I'd also
like to invite each of you to join us next Thursday at 4:15 for a brief celebration of this milestone followed by our official ribbon cutting. Thank you for your time, your partnership, and your continued support of the Bradford County Fair. I look forward to many
more. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um and here's schedules. >> Okay. All right, Penguin. We're looking forward to it. >> Okay, next we'll have um the clerk's
report. >> I'll defer to Rachel for just one second. She has some very important dates we need to record minutes. Madame Chair, board, you should have a copy in the packet of the important dates uh for calendar year 2026. So, I
just want to briefly go over those with you all. Um your county manager has already scheduled uh some budget workshops, but I'll go over those. Um March 3rd at 10:30 a.m., April 7th, 10:30 a.m. and May 21st at 5:30 p.m. are
your scheduled budget workshops. July 16th, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. you all are set to set the proposed millage rate. That will help the clerk's office prepare the tenative budget that we will need to present to you during the August
4th uh commission meeting at 9:30 a.m. August 17th is when the property appraiser is scheduled to mail out its trim notices. That's a schedule that they work out with their vendor and that starts the clock for budget workshops and things of
that nature. August 25th is the value adjustment organizational meeting. Both Commissioner Riddick and Commissioner Thompson serve on that board, so these dates are important to the two of you. September 10th uh is the first public
hearing to adopt the tenative millage rate and tenative budget. Um, Chair Spooner, you had asked last year if we could move our uh, budget hearing dates from 5:30 to a little later. So, I put in there as a marker for 6:00 p.m. Is
that okay with the board? >> Yeah, sure. >> Okay. Thank you for doing that. >> Yes, ma'am. And um, September 10th was selected uh, because we have to stay within a time frame. That Monday is a Labor Day holiday. That Tuesday is a school board public hearing and
Wednesday is typically church. So, that's how I came up with the 10th. Um, these dates have been confirmed by the school board, and there's no conflict with these dates. September 26th at 6 p.m. is our second public hearing to adopt the final millage rate and the final budget.
Again, no conflict with the school board. I confirmed that with their finance director. October 9th is the scheduled VAB hearing at 9:30 a.m. Again, Commissioner Riddick and Commissioner Thompson uh will need to be present for that. And then November 10th is the value adjustment for uh good
cause hearing. And those are the only dates I need to I wanted to share with you. Any questions or concerns? >> Thank you for making that adjustment. >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. >> I've got uh I'm happy to say we got u looks like all of our appropriations
even if they were partial. Uh Southwest 106 bridge out of sportsman's form, that one lane bridge, they're finally fixing that. Uh, airport wastewater water study. I I think that was partial as well. Uh,
sheriff's office get 750,000 for slurs upgrade. That's not to him. That's actually a state radio system. They're putting an antenna here. We're going to get better reception. Uh, RJ School looks like they're going to get a million half dollars. Courthouse renovations. which we were
funded to have and um ARC got 750,000 for a employment program to try to get some of their clients or some of their attendees partial work or you know some kind of work training for that. But I noticed that we didn't have the broker
fire station in there. I didn't know what happened with that. I didn't I don't know. I >> still working on it waiting to hear that. >> Okay. Anything else? Mr.
>> No, ma'am. Budget season's upon us. Y'all have the days. >> How about the wreck? Did we get the 150 for the >> Yes. Yes, we did. >> Well, I'm not sure about that, Commissioner. But I saw it in there, but I I don't remember them. I remember seeing 150 or 125 in there.
>> Anything would be good. I I know but I saw it in there but I don't know if it's in the final or if it was in the preliminary from Okay. >> Thank you. >> It was me. >> Okay. >> Um anything I don't see anyone from our
sheriff representative anything from the door? >> Okay. County manager. >> Yes ma'am. Thank you madam chair. Just a couple reminders. Um, March 5th, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. we will be
observing employee appreciation day. That'll be our lunchon. Uh, will take place at station 6 right across the parking lot in the EMS bay. So, that is March 5th, 2026. I believe that's Friday. Is it? It's a Thursday. I'm
sorry. Thursday, March 5th at 11:00 a.m. Uh, another reminder, um, Miss Rhden already mentioned the budget workshop coming up on March 3rd immediately following the regularly scheduled board meeting.
And once again, I'd like to uh reiterate what Miss Hutchinson uh talked about earlier with the grand opening of the fair coming up a week from today, uh, 400 p.m. next Thursday. and uh at the fairgrounds. We're looking forward to a very exciting grand opening and ribbon
cutting and we hope that we'll have many many Bradford County residents and our neighbors in attendance. >> That's all I have, Madam Chair. >> All right. Thank you. All right. Um from our 20 >> I have nothing else, Madam Chair. Thank
you. >> Thank you. All right. from the commissioners. Commissioner Scorses. >> Well, I just like to say um thank you to the people that come and spoke today and gave us different documents to review.
Um I want you to know that we are taking this very seriously. and we are doing our due diligence to check many many of the things that you said. They've already been different um
processes gone through and um I don't want you to think that this isn't hard for us um a hard decision. So, and nothing's been decided. I know that there's a lot of talk out there that we've already moved forward. We haven't
moved forward. Um, it's just a process that we have to and we have to have time to look at everything. So, don't think that we've already made up our mind or anything like that. Um, because we haven't. And we do hear what you say and
we do feel when you get up there, we feel the ones that are hurting or are afraid. Of course, we understand that. And um I just ask that you you understand that we're we're
we haven't made a decision and we're trying to check every single thing out. So, thank you again for being here. Thank you to the fair board for all the hard work. I am so excited about this and I know that the people of Bradford
County is too. And um this is my last my granddaughter's last year of showing. So, we're excited for her and I hope that everybody will have a good time and thank thank you again. >> Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Thompson.
>> Yeah, I'd like to just echo on what Miss Andrews just said. Thank y'all for coming out. Uh, I appreciate y'all coming. I mean, taking time out of your busy schedule to come and express your feelings on this. And like Miss Andrew
said, there's nothing been decided, you know, I mean, so just sit back. I mean, I know the Lord will lead us in the right way. So, and I want to thank Miss Hutchinson,
Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Paul for the hard work y'all have done. And I appreciate y'all. Thank y'all. Thank you. Y ready. Hey, um thank everyone for being here tonight. I really do appreciate the comments. Um we
definitely listen to them. So, thank you so much for all your good comments. And um also to the fair board. Uh we got the the president here, the vice chair, the secretary. I I think that's all I see here from the fair board tonight. And then and who
think I'm missing somebody? >> Two other members. two. Oh, Mrs. Strong and >> Pathway. >> Mrs. Pathway, thank you all so much. >> Pedway Pedway, >> thank you all so much for being here and and I can't thank y'all enough for what
y'all have done with this fair board. I mean, like you, like I believe Paul said, it was literally dumped in your laps and um y'all took the ball running and um it I'm I'm looking forward to the fair. Really excited. Uh Harley Hutcherson, you've done a great job.
really really do appreciate it. And uh again, I'm looking forward to the fair for um Thursday at 4 o'clock. So definitely excited about that. Um and just a quick update, I'm really excited about this. We've got 228 kids signed up
for our rec ball for baseball softball. We got 19 teams put together and um it's it's coming together fast. Our opening day is uh March 21st. So um just want to throw that out there. But God has really blessed us there too. So, so, but
anyway, but thank you. Thank you all again. Thank you everyone for being here tonight. >> Madam Chair, board and folks out in the audience. I do apologize for my tardiness and uh for my hat. Uh do apologize. I came from an event out of
town and got here as fast as I could without running anybody else off the road. Um, and just to echo again what the rest of the board has said about the fair association. We appreciate everything y'all have done. I don't think we ever had any doubt that y'all could do it and uh we're just glad to
see it all happen and unfortunately I'll be at a conference out of town next week too. So anyway, uh be thinking about you and certainly be attending the fair and all the shows. So thank you'all. That's all I have. Thank you. >> Okay. Um, and I just want to express my
appreciation to each of you for coming and allowing a meeting to still be conducted in an orderly fashion and and following those rules and I appreciate that. Um, what you have um to say is important and it is important for you to
be heard. Um, also I want to um thank our cl and and um Miss Roman for getting our schedule together for our workshop so we can begin to look critically in our budget because we have to be
proactive. Uh we don't know exactly what would happen in the legislator with our legislators or um how the vote is going to go but we have to prepare oursel in case it goes in the other direction. So those are some critical areas that we be
will be looking at when we do our budget if we don't have a certain amount of money for our revenue. What will we be able to do? So those are some things um and um we just appreciate being able to
move forward with that. Um, I want to um express um my um sympathy for some of the losses that occurred recently na on the national level with um Reverend Jess. He instilled in us that no matter
where who you are, what station you um had in life, everybody is somebody. And so we express our condolences to that family and also um Mr. Terry Fields from the Jacksonville area was a city council
person and also one of our state representative in the past that u also just recently passed away. Um but I I want to um express um an appreciation for a historic appreciation
um during this month of of February. Um, our first commissioner from my district um to serve was Elder Ross Chandler and he served I think uh Mr. Thompson was still here and I think Commissioner Rig had served with him. Um and we honor him
uh during this month of of Black History and um also Reverend um uh Herman Johnson. He's deceased now. Um but their pictures are in the hallway and so we give homage and honor to them um for
their good work. Elder Chan particularly was one who tried to feed the community and and Troubine is still doing that. Um, but I just wanted to give a special recognition to them for their work in our county.
Um, I want to impart to you the importance of obeying the burn ban. It's so important. Our county is so dry, not just ours, but our surrounding areas. So please encourage your neighbors and
people who were in the community that please don't burn. We had a near mist in so many different location in my neighborhood. It wasn't caused by the person. The limb fell on the line and the sparked uh it sparked a fire that
would came within feet of a person's home. But there were others um that had burned uh trash or or those barrels sometimes. But the amber from those barrels can go out into by the wind and
cause um areas to burn. I stopped the other day to um to discourage a person from burning a barrel, you know, the wood in the barrel and they they were obedient and they stopped. So, if you see that happening, um I don't know if
you might approach them, but just let them know that it's not okay to burn. We still have a burn ban and we want to keep our communities safe. Um, for the board, um, I'm going to be traveling to the National Association of Counties and I don't know if Commissioner Dhy is
going to that event or not, but I want to know if you have some particular issues that you would like for me to address with our legislators while I'm there. If you can get that information to me tonight, I'll be happy to do my very best. and I love this community and
we want to find out all that we can um that can help to improve our community and the resources that are available to um make Bradford a better place. Um, with that, just a reminder, I know you've been reminded, but our commissioner meeting, uh, Tuesday, March
the 3rd. It's going to be a morning meeting, and of course, we reminded about workshop, uh, at 10:30 and the other board, um, meeting is on March the 19th. All right. Anything else would go to the order? If not, this meeting is
adjourned. Thank you all.