Check Click. There you go. This is the board of county commissioners regular meeting on April 14th, 2026 in board chambers to various Florida. Okay, good morning everyone. Welcome to
our Lake County Board of County Commissioners meeting this April 14th, 2026. We're going to open our meeting today with an invocation. And I'm looking for Pastor Bobby Row. >> There he is. I looked all over here and I didn't
>> I know usually you do sit over there. Welcome. And um after the invocation, we'll remain standing for the pledge. >> Before I pray, I just want to say thank all of you for your service, your commitment to Lake County, and your
commitment to the call that you serve your county. Let us pray. Lord, I thank you for this day. This is the day that you have made. We choose to rejoice and to be glad in this day. Lord, I pray that you will continue to give our commissioners wisdom as they make decisions for Lake County. Lord,
continue to guide them. We ask all of this in Jesus name. Amen. To 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. >> Thank you, pastor. Now to check to see if we have any modifications to our agenda, our county manager, Jennifer Barker. >> Yes. Good morning, Madam Chair, commissioners. On tab 7, the Lake County multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation
and resilience plan, it's quite a mouthful, was revised to include Semol County. All right. And no other changes. Moving along then to our employee service awards and quarterly awards. Janine Nelson,
associate director of human resources will present those awards. >> Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Madam Chair and commissioners. I'm Janine Nelson with the Office of Human Resources and Risk Management. This morning, you are recognizing employees who have reached significant milestones in their careers with Lake
County as well as some quarterly award winners. All right, let's get started. Going to be five years. First of all, we've got Office of Human Resources and Risk Management. One moment. >> We're good. Okay. Thank you. All right.
Office of Human Resources and Risk Management. We have Candace Porbay, risk management coordinator. Cecilia Koa, office associate 4, and Freya Sturgeon, office associate 1. Office of Code Enforcement, we have Christopher Boyce, compliance and monitoring specialist,
and Megan Herd, office associate 5. Fire rescue, Christian Cortez, firefighter paramedic, and also Bruno Musen, firefighter paramedic. Building services, H Homeman Horton, licensing and investigator and Nancy Schultz, development review tech 3, office of
development services, Sherry Hutchinson, our senior financial coordinator for that office. Water resources, Anna Powell, laboratory associate, county probation. Wendy Wilcott, probation associate, public works, Jesse Fulen, roads maintenance operator. And that's
for five years. for those individuals that are here that we're recognizing for five years, please stand up and we'll give you a round of applause. Thank you for your moving on to 10 years. Uh we have a fire class of fire lieutenant paramedic Thomas Blifen, Dylan Malden, and Austin
Morsette. Fire Lieutenant EM EMT Nicholas Fiak, firefighter paramedic Daniel Lang, Rinker Robinson and Gregory Sandler, and firefighter EMT William Snider. We also have individuals from the Office of Solid Waste, Tony Ellis,
Financial Coordinator, County Probation, Kieran Johnson, Probation Officer, IT, Larry Martin, GIS Administrator, Housing and Community Services, Robert Nora, Office of Parks and Trails. Kelly Ellis,
public works in engineering. Oz Nunees. Let's have those tenure employees stand up. I saw several of them here. Let's give them a round of applause, please. 15 years. Public works maintenance area 1, Leburg. We have Donald Gardner, roads
area maintenance supervisor. Public works road construction. Les Whistlake, construction inspector 2, public works maintenance area 2, Minnola, Richard Marino, road senior equipment operator and office of library services, Aaron Taylor, library assistant, and he's at
Cooper Memorial Library. Let's recognize those 15-year employees. 20 years. Uh, fire rescue, Robert Fett, battalion fire chief. Matthew Barton, fire lieutenant paramedic. Public works design engineering, Roy Shores, roadway
designer 2, and public works traffic operations Dwayne Turner. He's a sign and striping technician one. Would those 20-year individuals stand, please? Have any We also have some 25-year employees that we're celebrating today. Uh fire rescue,
James Drake, firefighter EMT planning and zoning. Um Miss Baron, planning manager and IT business office. Rebecca Brown, records management technician. Chris Hicks, roads area maintenance supervisor for area 3 Umatella, 25
years. Thank you. Stand up. three retirements that we're also celebrating. Frederick Bowler from Parks and Trails, seven years. Katherine Blandon, 19 years. She's with Housing and Community Services. And in 23 years,
we have a fire lieutenant EMT, Jeff Khart. So, uh, I don't believe any of those individuals were able to make it, but we could give them a round of applause. We're going to move on to our quarterly awards. Our um employee of the quarter was not able to be here today. He had a
previous engagement. Uh we are recognizing William Campbell, parts and supply technician, office of facilities management. He's the recipient of the quarter because he was nominated not only for his consistent level of excellent customer service over time but
especially for his level of excellence which was showcased during the recent work on the county administration building during the window replacement project recognition. This recognition is welld deserved. He always makes a positive impact in his work assignments going above and beyond to support his
facilities team. He delivers a strong level of expertise and customer focused attitude. Congratulations, Bill, for your consistently pleasant demeanor and your ability to help everyone in every situation. >> Our supervisor of the quarter, could you
stand, Miranda? >> I thought it was her birthday when I first came in. And I was going to say happy birthday and then when I got up close the banner says supervisor of the quarter. So we'll have to pass it along. Okay. Miranda Lambert, excuse me, Miranda Lenoy. I said Lambert by
mistake. Ah, so sorry. Miranda Lenoi, budget manager, office of management and budget. Budget manager. Miranda Lenoi has been selected for the supervisor of the quarter award. She has demonstrated a monumental impact in the success of the office of management and budget during the most recent leadership
change. Not only has she stepped up to the plate, her dedication and contributions highlight her impact on other departments as well as the entire organization. Several other departments have reached out and given her praise, citing her patience and empathy during the budgetary process. She remains
positive no matter what the situation. She's the backbone of the budget team and they we express appreciation for all of her hard work. Congratulations, Miranda. Our team of the quarter. Team of the quarter
is the cold weather sheltering response team. All right. And it's a large team. Would you stand up, please? Because it takes a lot of people to make things like this happen. All right. And so, um, I'm going to read the names of the people, but I'm going to mention first
of all what they did. All right. They're receiving this award in recognition of their outstanding dedication, teamwork, and compassion in supporting the community during the recent cold weather events. I know you all know this, but between January 1st, 2026 and February
28th, 2026, the county supported 18 nights of cold weather sheltering at four different locations to protect vulnerable residents during periods of dangerously low temperatures. This effort required significant coordination, flexibility, and commitment from staff who worked
diligent to ensure each shelter site was properly prepared, staffed, and safe. Team members assisted with shelter setup, guest registration, transportation coordination, supply distribution, and on-site support for individuals seeking refuge from the cold. This team's work made a meaningful
difference in supporting the residents of our community. Congratulations on your selection as team of the quarter. going to go ahead and read the names. All right. Megan Milanise, Anna Ruiz, Lynn McNamera, Dana McGee, emergency management. Jeff Foley, Lexi Farmer,
Communications, Maria Abdul Kareem, Lynette Torres, Daisy Woodard, Edna Scott, Johnny Dubose, Anna Hall, Sonia Galis, Gonzalez, Terorado, Housing and Community Service, Jill Brown, Joshua Smith, David Lazerson from Transit Services, Brad Kio, Anthony Moore, M
Godwin, Zack Totten, Karen Bert, public safety support, Roose Shaw, Cassandra Flint, Trent Rodriguez, Rya Susa, library services, Jeremiah Lerno, building services, Whitney Boston, Brena Dorfer, Animal Services. Would these
individuals please stand for their recognition? They're already doing so. Thank you. >> Thank you all so much for your participation. Thank you. Good morning. >> Thank you. And thanks to everybody and especially that last team that was recognized. We know there's a lot of
moving parts when you are um undertaking cold weather sheltering and a lot of things that can happen that you don't necessarily expect will happen and we know it's not an easy an easy task. We appreciate you. >> Yeah. Yes, sir.
>> 11:00. >> Maybe we can all leave at 11. >> What? >> Maybe we can all leave then. >> Okay. Just in case. Yes. >> All right. Looks like we can get rolling here. Um, we'll move on to minutes
approval. Um, Mr. Cooney. >> Good morning. I have two sets of minutes for your approval this morning. >> All right. Do we have a motion to approve the minutes? >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. I that passes 5 to zero. Citizen question and comment period. We're now entering the public
comment period of the meeting when the public can discuss items on today's agenda with the exception of any zoning items. Anyone who's joined the meeting via Zoom using their phone may press star 9 to virtually raise their hands. If you're participate participating online, please click the raise hand button to let us know that you wish to
speak. Um, everyone will have three minutes to speak and um we would just ask that you wrap it up once we get to the end of that three minute period. Um, I have three speaker cards uh today. Do we have anyone online? Okay. All right. So, we'll move to the speaker cards. A couple of them are things that there's a
little bit of background that staff might be able to help us with. Um, and um I'm going to I'm going to take the first one, which is growth in Lake County. Kevin Knisser. >> Uh, that one's fine. Uh, we know this county is really
growing very fast. I think it really needs to slow down, but your fairgrounds you're going to build, build a big one. I'm from Hendrickx County, Indiana originally, and they have a 110 acre fairgrounds they built 12 or 14 years ago. You should look at it on its
website. They get a lot of activity there, and they had a lot of sponsors that helped them build that facility. And I don't know why you're letting used annex all your ground in Lake
County, but that's up to you guys. I'd like to talk to one of you about it. >> We don't have >> Actually, we don't have a say. We can't stop a city from annexing. So, that's kind of a one of those things that is out there that folks think that we actually have the authority to stop them. >> Are they taking your tax money? Are they
getting the money and using your roads? Our roads. So all of our roads are all of our roads and um as far as the tax base, the underlying county mill is the underlying county mill. Well, it's that runs the countywide
services and then when the city annexes, they add their millillage which runs their additional services. But as far as the roads, if they don't take a road in and under take the maintenance of it, it remains a county maintained road so that we're all covering the expenses, which
has been a point of contention between us and a lot of our cities because we feel if you're going to add the population, then you should be taking on the additional maintenance of the roads. cuz they're they're they should be servicing it with their police too instead of Lake County servicing it if
they take it in. Speaking of which, nobody's got the pay grade, but they still got them gambling joints running up on 19. How they get by with that? Does anybody know? >> We know. Yeah, the sheriff is in charge of enforcement of the laws with regard
to the um online gambling operations. He's shut down several of them. Usually what happens is they go back to the um division of corporations, they set up a new corporation, they reopen it, and then he has to actually um be able to
show that they're doing something illegal. Once that happens, closes it down, and then the cycle starts again. Um it's it's a difficult situation, but he is he is on top of it. >> Everybody says it's above their pay grade. I talked to
that. That's my three minutes. That's about all I got for you. >> All right. Well, >> look at the fairgrounds. >> You'll be impressed with it. >> And you said Hendendrick. Did you say Hendricks County? Okay. Indiana. Gotcha. All right. Thank you. Appreciate it.
>> All right. The next The next card is regarding Burhans Road and Lake Dhusi Boat Lanch. That's Paul um Perkins. Um I and I appreciate you coming up and talking about it. Would you like me to have staff first address the things that we've been working on and what we're
planning to do or would Okay, Justin or Angela, would one of you be willing to go over what we have been able to do so far? >> Good morning. Uh, for the record, Angela Herald, operations director, parks and
trails, facilities management, public lands. Um, we have installed a gate um on down the road towards the boat ramp. Uh, new signage has been installed. Um, as you're leading up to the boat ramp to
let everyone know that it is gated now. Um, we had some complaints of partying and bonfires and things happening overnight. It is technically a private boat ramp, but there is an easement for FWC to still um, utilize the boat ramp to do any work on the lake. So, we've
been in contact with them. They um have confirmed that we are allowed to gate it as long as it is open from dawn to dusk. So, we've already modified our current contract with our contractor that opens and closes Pine Meadows. So, they will be opening it in the morning, closing it
in the evening, and we will be updating all of the signage. So, it is actually in the works right now. So, and have we confir confirmed that swimming, picnicking, those types of things are prohibited on that property? >> Yes, ma'am. There is an ordinance in effect, and I'm blanking on the number,
but there is an ordinance that uh that says specifically for Lake Delhusi, swimming, sunbathing, those things are all prohibited. So, we're updating all the signage to reflect that. >> Okay. And I know that I've gotten some complaints and I've gone out there myself a couple times. Um, and some of
the problems that are happening now are happening outside of that particular area where cars are parking along the side of the road or they're just being obnoxious if, you know, they're asked to leave. Um, but to a large degree, I mean, we're getting more into the enforcement
>> realm of things and we're working with Marine Patrol on that. >> Yes. Yes. >> Okay. All right. So, um, Paul, if you would like to come up and give us your perspective and maybe more information that we need to know about. >> This is a copy of the petition that I
had emailed to each of you uh, previously with with an attachment for the signage that previously had been there. Um, thank you for your time and listening to this, but Burhanss had been a really had when I first moved here two decades ago, Burhanss Road was about 10
feet or 12 feet wide. U for a part a car to pass another car in the opposite direction, one had to pull off into the grass and allow person a person to go through. Um the the u road maintenance has been very good, but it's a dirt road
and it's being eroded consistently by an increased traffic. I mean, in the past decade, I guess this county has grown by 100,000 residents. More people are utilizing the boat ramp and and people are going down there camping, picnicking, fishing, swimming, and uh
and it's creating conflicts between the neighbors and the and the uh the people involved. So, I don't want anything you take anything away from any of the public. I mean, boat launching is great. Everybody enjoys the recreation on Lake Delhuzi. It's a beautiful lake. It's
great for fishing and such, but um to go out there and, you know, set up a tent and set up picnic tables and do a bonfire at 10:00 at night, um two weeks ago in front of my home, uh a huge pickup Whoops. Excuse me. a huge pickup
truck came, stopped, and then just accelerated as rapidly as he could, fishtailed down the road, nearly hit some people that were walking on the road. And in in this group me chat that we have going on, everybody everybody was complaining about it. So, this
petition represents, I think, nine signatures, and I think there are 10 homes along the way. I got an email from the 10th person asking if they could please sign and I had already sent you two two updates to this petition. So I said, "No, I'm not going to email bomb them." But, you know, it it's a
situation that, you know, I think just with a sign and some enforcement, you know, it's not a road problem. It's a management problem. And it's be and and it's not, you know, the public doesn't have the opportunity to uh to know what's going on because there was no signposted. I'm glad to hear that
there's ao signposted in the works, but if you could please ensure that the the sign verbiage is what previously was there consistent with the county ordinance, boat launching and retrieving only. It's not a general purpose recreation area. You know, it's too small for that and somebody's going to
get hurt with these trailers backing in and out and such. So, thank you for your time. >> Yeah, I appreciate you being here and organizing getting the petition. Um, I I know I've been working on this for a couple months and working with the county attorney on this because it is an unusual situation. We don't own the
property. It's not a typical boat ramp that is um owned by the county. Um, it's actually owned by a private individual and that private individual purchased it in a taxdeed cell which was unusual in and of itself. Um, and it has an FWC um,
easement on it. So, we have uh an agreement with FWC, as I understand it, to oversee >> the the area. Um, and as Angela uh indicated, um we've been in contact with them and confirmed that it is okay with them if we close it off during the
evening. So, we know we can at least close it during the evening hours. Um and um and then it's going to come down to neighbors are going to have to call um the sheriff when they see if somebody's violating the rules there and also let us know if it's if if these
kind of activities are picking up. We're going to have to look for other ways that we can, you know, prevent this area from being misused. >> Perfect. Thank you. And um just a final compliment, whomever put up that gate did a fantastic job. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Justin, and your
team. All right, the next one is um Donnie Kent. This is regarding Blue Creek Lodge Road, Lake George Road, and Boat Ramp. And let me just check with you, Donnie. Would you like to have Bobby Bonia come up and give an update or would you prefer to just go ahead and use your
three minutes and then we'll address comments? >> I'm not sure. So, good morning. >> Good morning, >> all five of you guys. Right. I'll just give you a little rundown about myself. So, I only got three
minutes. So, my wife helped me short my list down. So, I was born in Eustace in old hospital and I went to Umatella. That's where I was raised, right? All in Leslie's district. I moved to Pitman to
escape the growth and then I moved to Aers to try to get away from all of it. Right. So a year ago or so, you built bathrooms on Butler Street at the public boat ramp in Aster, took
up parking spots. At the same time, Blue Creek Road closed their boat ramp to private only. Well, guess what? All those people found our little boat ramp at the end at Lake George Road. Okay, so we just went through a terrible rain.
Lesie met me out there. She didn't even know where it was. So, I got a few dates here. >> Well, I didn't know where it was. >> Yeah. So, October the 8th, I emailed you. The 13th you texted me. The 15th
you met me, which was awesome. I couldn't believe it, actually. It was pretty quick. So, Bobby came with you. I hadn't I hadn't talked to anybody or seen anybody since basically then. Okay. On
the 30th, I sent you another email. Bobby answered me and said, "Our road was on a twoe schedule." Well, that was nothing we talked about was a twoe maintenance schedule. Nothing at all.
Had nothing to do with that. Jeff, I'm glad he come back. One of my buddies. Soon as he seen me, he knew what I was here for. Everybody in Lake County knows our road, it goes through a swamp, right? The low road is lower than
the swamp. So when it rains, they come and cut grooves in the road, which is awesome. When it's dry, it lets the water off the road, right? Which greatly appreciative. But guess what? when the swamp fills up, the water
comes back through the grooves into the road and it's a disaster. So, I just I just basically want to know where we're at. That was October the 8th of 25. Today is the 14th of 26,
six, seven months, nothing. Let me ref. They did come and attempt to mow the side of the road. Some of it looked really great and some of it was So, where are we at with it? What are we
doing? >> Bobby, you mind coming up? And I know when we were out there, what we were Bobby gave me a schedule of things. >> There he is. >> Awesome. >> Um, we talked about the things that he was his team was going to be working on.
From my standpoint, at that point, I toss the ball. And that's basically what we all do. We don't go out and grade roads ourselves. We don't cut ditches. We don't mow the sides of roads. We work with our staff and and I was given information about what would be done in
the future. But it that that road a lot of things that are going on out there with regard to boat usage and or uh boat ramp usage. We have a tremendous number of people that are coming up to Aster in particular and even like this Lake Dhusi boat ramp we were talking about that are
coming out of our county coming into the county using our facilities. Nothing we can really do about that but there's a huge influx of additional activity. So the uh the bathrooms at Butler were needed big time. Bobby is also and Angela were working on uh trying to
create more space for boat trailers at Butler. Um but as far as you know losing a couple spaces and then that was the cause of people coming out uh to to the Lake George ramp um you know we're we're managing a lot of boat boat traffic but
but Bobb's very aware of of what those issues are on that road and it it's a longterm I mean this is a it's it's a longer term fix and like you said the road literally goes through a swamp. So when the swamp fills up, swamp goes over the road. When it's dry and we get a
little rain, at least it can drain off. But it's it's So Bobby, you fill us in on the the technical side of of what's planned. >> Good morning, chairman, commissioners. Bobby Ben, Donnie, thank you for coming. In the audience today, I have the road superintendent and the engineer of that
section of the north part of Lake County. When we met out there, one of the things that is obviously that's a lowline area, it floods. So the intent as a future permanent project, the ramp itself needs to be raised. That means the row itself will be raised. That is
part of the design engineering that has to take place. In the meanwhile, we'll continue to do the temporary repairs through 57 storm lime rocks, but we cannot do a permanent repair until we have design engineering. There are other stakeholders involved with this one. The Florida forestry, they own part of that land. So this is a joint effort. We're
doing our due diligence to make sure that we elevate the ramp, the staging area and the parking at the proper height that is needed. For years, that area constantly gets flooded every time we get hurricane or tropical storms. So again, we want to do this right. We want to create the swells and ditches to have
the water runoff properly. So it's a longer term project. The board of county commissioners did provide funding this year to begin that design process. So we are working. >> Thank you, Bobby. And I I I mean I from my understanding we were working on it.
It's just that there's multiple step but there are multiple steps Donnie and you know this. >> I know that >> you worked in public facilities for years so you get it. >> And so you know this is like not just uh you go out there and just start dumping uh concrete on it to raise the road.
There's a lot that goes into this. So we're working on that. Our ramp systems have been seeing improvement in phases over the years and this is the same situation with the Lake George. >> Appreciate it, Bobby. >> Our staff is ready and we'll continue to serve the residents of that area. Anytime there's a concern or the road is
not passable, the depressions, we'll go out there and make sure we can make that uh passable. >> I get that. That's why I'm here because all you get is a runaround. Everybody, all my friends, a lot of them work here today, which bunch of them I'm glad Jeff came back, but every one of them knew
what I was here for when I showed up. They all knew. Everybody knows the road's bad. The greater was there Thursday, right, in the pouring rain. He was there cutting ditches and it and now he won't be back for two weeks. So, the road is a complete disaster right now.
So, what are we supposed to do for two weeks? >> You don't have to wait two weeks. If it's when it's needed, if it needs to be repaired, we'll make sure it gets repaired. >> How long is the road that you're going to >> long >> road? Miles and miles. This is next. >> You got to raise it, right? Because it's a wet one.
>> Yeah, that's going to be a lot. >> This is and again, the restructuring of public works with the engineering operations. All this plays into how we're going to look at things moving forward. There's an operations component, but there also the engineering design of that. And this is
how we're going to look at every role. So, Donnie, I'm curious. How many how many houses are down there where you live? >> Well, >> how many houses are down there where you live >> from Blue Creek and my road? >> Well, that over here by the boat ramp. >> By the boat ramp, there's only nine of
us. I know. >> Yeah, >> I chose to move out. I did, but the traffic and everything else in the road is I grew up out there. The road was
never like it is now. Never. There's about 31 of us, 32 of us total back there. I'm not just talking about Lake George Road in a ramp. I'm talking about Blue Creek Lodge Road. It's a disaster.
And they all know it. Chris knows it. Jeff knows it. Terry knows it. Steve knows it. They all know it, >> right? I mean, it's literally roads going through swamps. So it's it's and when we get extra weather or bad weather, we get a storm and the lake goes up. And when I was out there that
day, the boat ramp was 100% covered with >> with water because the water was so high. >> So I mean it is this is not your typical situation. This is a difficult engineering situation and it's a lot of money to raise that road. So we're looking for a solution here. And
>> where are we at with it? That's why I'm here. So what are we doing with it? Is it stopped for seven months? We got to wait another 70 years for somebody to do something or >> and I'm gonna we're gonna we we'll take this conversation out out of the meeting because we got to get moving with the
meeting. But I think the answer was pretty clear that they >> Who's going to call me? >> I'll call you. >> You got my phone number. You also have my wife's phone number. >> I'll call you. >> All right. Thank you, Bobby. I appreciate what you guys are doing. >> I got exactly what I expected today.
Okay. >> Yeah. Right. >> No answer. Thank you. >> Yeah. All right. Well, I think everybody else heard an answer, so that's up to you to hear what you want to hear. All right. Moving along then to the presentation of proclamations. Um, David
Kilbury. >> Good morning, commissioners. David Kilbury, public safety director. Uh this week uh April 12th through the 18th is our national telecommunicators week and we're just here to recognize I know
the board has a proclamation for our dispatchers. Uh, I just want to put a few things in perspective because a lot of people probably don't think about this, but from Key West, Florida to Cape Flattery, Washington, in Madawaska, Maine, down to San Diego,
California, and everywhere else in between, there stands a 911 communications center to help visitors and residents for any type of emergency that may come their way. And when that three number digit of 911 is called,
it's answered with police, fire, ambulance, and we have an elite team here in Lake County with the sheriff's department. We love our acronyms in public safety. And so there is one called a PAP and that is a public safety
answering point. And over in our communication center, everything goes into law enforcement. If it's fire and ambulance, it's moved over to our dispatchers on the fire side. And I'm going to have them step up here and join me because these are people that are the
opposite of kids should be seen and not heard. These professionals are heard, but rarely seen. So, if they could step up here and join with me, they are truly our first first responders. Nobody knows
of the emergency before these men and women that serve in our center. They bring calm out of chaos and I'm truly proud. Deputy Chief Kim Stevens and Division Chief Joanna Buchanan have an
elite team. It's an accredited dispatch center and I'm so proud of them. You'll recall this past summer all of the fire chiefs were here for a perfect 10 out of 10 score for our ISO and it's what these men and women do and I'm so proud of
them. And so I just wanted to share one thing. If you have not been over there in the center, a local artist has designed a mural called the tree of life. and on that are little leaves. And these dispatchers were instrumental in
saving a life or bringing a newborn uh into the world through the voice coaching of those emergencies. And so with that, I just want to introduce them and acknowledge for our national public telecommunicators how proud I am. And
one shameless plug, if you are a resident and you're not on the app of Smart 911, do it. It gives the dispatcher vital information before you say a word. Smart 911. And with that, I'll turn it back. >> All right. Well, and we have a Thank you
so much for those comments and we can tell it's an emotional issue for you because it it it means so much. You can't do what you all do if you don't have these folks answering those calls and knowing where to direct it and how to keep people calm in the process of waiting for a response to an emergency.
So, um, we have a proclamation this morning, proclamation 202618. I need a motion for approval. >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> All right. I think it was like unanimous first, unanimous second as far as who made it. Y'all clerk's got to decide who who made the motion and the second. All
in favor say I. I. that passes 50 and I'll come down and present it. Let me just read it uh into the record. Whereas 911 was designated by Congress as the National Emergency Call Number under the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999. And whereas the 911
public safety telecommunications telecommunicator plays a critical role in emergency response as the first line of communication for persons needing law enforcement, fire or medical response and are very often the first public safety employees handling the emergency.
And whereas the 911 public safety telecommunicator requires specialized training and skills to gather vital information to make split-second decisions to form the foundation of an effective emergency response. prevent the worsening of a situation, provide situational awareness to first
responders, and or provide life-saving directions. And whereas County Fire Rescue Emergency Dispatch handled approximately 122,33 emergency and non-emergency related calls and dispatch 72,259 incidents in 2025. Now therefore, be it
proclaimed by the board of county commissioners of Lake County, Florida, the week of April 12th through 18th, 2026 shall be known, designated, and set aside as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Lake County and recognizes the men and women telecommunicators as being more than
clerical employees as they serve in their critical role as the first responders and proclaim them as the first first responders. Um, a copy of this proclamation shall be spread upon the minutes of this meeting and shall be effective on this date. So, let me come
down and present. >> You make your way down. I will share a story with you. Uh, nobody plans to call 911 and when you do, it is truly refreshing to know that someone's there to help. On Sunday afternoon, my mom called me. She's 83 and she had fallen.
And so, I did not take my phone or my radio with me and found where I could not get my mother up. and I as the public safety director called 911 and can tell you I was totally happy with the service and relieved to get the help that I need. Uh I'm glad to say my mom
is fine, but we did have a trip to the South Lake Emergency Room and you've got a great team out there and I can attest to it as a not only the director but as a customer. I think it was on Sunday. I was coming back from the fairgrounds and I was on
44A and there was a car on fire. >> So I pulled over and called 911. And fortunately other people had already called and they let me know right away. But it was so fast from the time that you dialed the number to you got the the first person on the line to the time
that um you got the dispatcher and they let you know what was going on and they had already received calls. But um we're we're fortunate to have such a great team. We really are. Okay. Moving along now to the clerk of court's consent agenda. Mr. Cooney.
>> Morning. Again, I have three items in my consent agenda for your approval. >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. I. >> That passes 5. We have consent agenda 4 through 14. >> Move to pull tab five.
>> I'd like to pull tab 14. just for some clarification. >> Okay. All right. So, we're pulling five and 14. Do we have a motion to approve um the other items on consent? >> Move for approval of tabs four through
14 - 5 and 14. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? That passes. Now moving back to tab five. Uh this is an interlocal agreement to uh allow the county to directly pay for uh
various lease holds that the tax collector has purchased. Um I think that the growth in those lease holds is inordinate and inappropriate. I think that some of the buildings don't fulfill the statute uh that he's required to
meet uh regarding taxpayer lease holds because they're not really branch offices. statute says he can have these leases as long as they're branch offices. I don't probably have the votes for this, but I would probably litigate that issue because I know firsthand that some of those offices are not branch
offices. They're not publicly accessible. They're not conducting state business. One of them is equipped with a bar. One of them is equipped with a bunch of novelty license plates uh that the tax collector um decided to use taxpayer money to piss away uh for I
guess his own personal gain. So, I don't support an interlocal agreement to um alleviate uh his abuse of the statute and the law and abuse of Lake County taxpayer funds. Um he does have the legal authority to go and try to strike these agreements independently of an
interlocal agreement. I'm sure he will do so. If he does, I will not vote for the budget this year because the growth in our county constitutional offices um officers budgets is again inordinate, insane, unpredictable, not sustainable,
and it's prohibiting this county from ever fixing its road problem. I'll be voting against this for legal and other reasons. Uh and I encourage you guys to vote against it, too. Um, could I get some clarification from the county attorney on that
interpretation of the statute with regard to branch offices? Is that something that >> he can explain to us? >> Yes. So, I I haven't looked at his statute in quite some time. These are leases he's already entered into, so they're already in effect. And what he's
asking at this point is for the county to assume the lease payments. Um, currently he pays them out of his budget which reduces the excess fees that he returns to the county. If we take the lease payments, then he obviously gives that money back to us in excess fees. Um, I'd have to go back and look at the
statute to to verify, but he has his own attorney, so I don't represent him when he signs these leases. Um, so as far as like where we come out from a financial standpoint, if he pays for them directly, then it reduces the excess
fees that come back into the general fund. >> That's correct. >> If it goes through us, then he gives us those excess fees. So it's moneywise, it's the same result. It's
just a question of whether he pays for the lease directly. Is that correct? >> Correct. And and we're not in this interlocal. We're not assuming the leases. We're just making the payments on his behalf. Again, he has already signed all of these leases. They're
already in effect. I'm I'm just trying to understand from our standpoint as the board of county commissioners, how is it beneficial to our role for us to be making the payments versus him?
I mean, why why even go through this step? >> Yeah, you don't >> I don't have a legal answer for that. I don't know if Jennifer has a practical answer for that. Uh we do have several items that we pay for on behalf of the
constitutional officers. Um it's called um in-house support for lack of a better term. Um it it could include insurance. It includes um utilities in some of the branch locations, things of that nature.
And because some of his leases were already wrapped up in that in-house support that the county has um provide provides direct payment for, I think it was a matter of consistency in his way of thinking. So the county pays for all of the leases rather than he's paying
for a few and then the county pays for a few directly. >> Is this particular one the place where he has his his own office like his like >> that's the one in district? Correct. >> The >> correct it it does include the the lease on Distant Avenue. So there's five
leases. There is the Pricket lease which is North Citrus Boulevard in Leburg. Um there is the John Olden property which is here in Tavaris. There's the Diston property. There is um the Jawad Leburg property um which I believe is where his
uh walk-in his main office is in Leburg. And then we have Southridge Shops, which is a recent lease over by um Twisted Biscuit and the sheriff's office where I believe he does some of his driver's license um types of functions there. So, those are open to the public as well.
>> And I wouldn't have an issue with the businesses that are in fact the open to the public. I think my my issue is the building that doesn't have a sign on it that's used as an office. So, if I'm trying to have a meeting with the tax collector, I don't even know that he has
an office there. To me, that's problematic. Um, I feel like if that should be paid for, if he's going to pay have that, he should be I just don't like the idea that we're like blessing it by bringing it under the realm of the county paying for it. I
think a public official should have an office that has a sign on it and that the public knows where that official is and when they want to have a meeting, there's a place that's open to the public for a meeting. Anyway, that that's that's been my concern and so I
wouldn't support it as long as that particular property is in there. >> So, the only the question I have is um has the tax collector ever gone over budget with his leases or is he always
given money back from the excess fees that he's collected? >> We've always received um excess revenue back as long as I've been with the county anyway. and that's been since 2013. Um, we've obviously received excess revenue back. It varies
depending on things that may pop up throughout the year. Um, for instance, when he had to build um build out a new facility for the plantation area, he had additional costs related to furniture, fixtures, and equipment that were
unplanned, a onetime expense. So, he did a budget amendment. He paid for those himself. However, those did it did reduce the excess fees for that year. So, you have variables like that from year to year. >> Correct. But he's he >> but we've always received excess revenue
back. Yes. >> Okay. And he's never gone over that. >> Correct. >> What what uh Commissioner Campion was um talking about, he has an office that the public pays for that no one knows about.
>> Is that right? >> There's not a sign on it. You wouldn't know that it's >> where where is this >> distant? >> It's it's you're the Taris guy, so you'll know. >> Oh, is it the >> He saw >> I thought he was getting rid of that.
>> So, are you referencing the Dist? >> The Dist property. >> The Dist property or the Oldm property? >> The The Oldm is over here and it's got >> here is a Tommy Scott property. I thought he was getting rid of that and that's why he took a sign down. >> I've never seen a sign there. >> There was never a sign. I was I saw a
sign there once because I've had a meeting there. >> I never saw it. In fact, I drove in the back. Didn't see a sign in the back either. >> Yeah, the the distant property. I believe he signed that lease not that long ago. So that >> yeah, I've got to say that if the citizens of Lake County are paying for
the building that it needs to be designated as a county building and that's where whether he has his office there or or not where people can can meet. I don't know if he's ever received a phone call and refused a meeting at one
of his offices. Has he? I >> mean, how would we ever know that? I mean, that's not something we would know. It's just that it it it it >> I I would I would say that I would agree that he needs to have a sign on the each property is paid by the citizens of Lake County.
>> So what do we do there? Do we just say, "Hey, put up a sign." >> We can make the request. >> Well, but where does the statute come into play if it's not a branch office? Is it a branch office if the if the public can't come in, open the door, and conduct business there? >> Well, they couldn't do it across the
street either. I mean he if he had his office across when he had his office across the street you had to walk up get go through a secretary and then get to then get to him. I'm assuming it's the same way only he's using less space. >> So how about we do this since this was a consent item and the tax collector is
not here. How about we table it and bring it back at the next meeting and ask him to come and have that discussion with you. >> Okay. >> All right. So do we need a motion to table? >> Move to table. >> All right. Second. And is that to a a date certain based on when he's
available? How are we going to do that? How >> we can reach out to him to see when he's available? I would anticipate it would be in May. >> All right. So, we're just tableabling it and and you're going to just put it back on the agenda based on a >> correct. Okay. All right. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? All right. That passes. >> I'll second it.
>> Yeah. >> Oh, okay. >> They were looking around. They didn't know >> for the second. >> Oh, okay. >> Commissioner Parks. All right. Now, moving on to tab 14. T tab 14. I just got a couple of um questions. This is on the supervisor of
election building. Um good morning, sir. How are you? Uh the question I have is we have a guaranteed maximum price of $3.1 million. What I'm concerned about is change orders. Um as
you know, change orders can come out and then drive this cost up exponentially. what is our safeguard against change orders? >> So, we will be working closely with not only the architect, our facilities department, and the supervisor of
elections as well as the the firm that is ultimately approved for the construction contract. Um, our staff has worked closely with the architect on the design. Um, we had a lot of back and forth to make sure that we had as much incorporated into that design as
possible. So, there were no surprises, which usually drive up the change orders. Um, we do know of one change order at this point, and it was just a discrepancy in in the flooring in the lobby. You're right. No, it's a discrepancy in the lobby flooring. Um,
but aside from that, we do not anticipate there would be any change orders. We don't think there's any surprises. However, we do have the additional $300,000 built into that 3.1 number for contingency. So, if things do pop up that we were not anticipating,
that funding will accommodate those changes. >> Okay. So, the honorable um Alan Hayes is here. You don't need to come to to the stands, but do you anticipate any big change orders? You can just shake your head yes or no, or you can come up.
>> Oh, he's going to come up. Hey, they're friends, so he can say that. Dr. Hullman, >> do you want to start your timer now or? No, >> you got three minutes. >> No, a short answer your question. No, sir. We don't anticipate any change
orders. There is, excuse me, there is a list of projects or additional parts of this project that I have intentionally taken personal control over because one of them is called the security system and we don't want that out here.
Understand that completely. Okay. >> Bottom line is that 300,000 that Jennifer talked about will cover that list of projects. So going forward, I think everything is going to fit in with that $300,000 additional over the contract. >> Okay. What about our lease at our other
facility? Are we getting rid of that lease? >> Which facility you talking about? >> The one you're currently in? >> No. No, absolutely not. Where I'm currently, that lease where I currently occupied is going to become the warehouse. >> How many square feet are you currently in?
>> The the total building is 18,000. How many square feet are you going into? >> All we're doing is moving the administrative functions of my office to the 20,000 square ft at Jo-Ann's. But the the 18,000 where we are now is
going to become the warehouse. >> So this will be the storefront for the public. That's right. >> Here where Jo-Ann's was. >> Okay. So, and and and the building over by bills, don't we have a a lease building over by tractor supply that you had stuff in
>> right now? That'll go bye-bye. >> That should that should go away. >> Yes, sir. >> Are there any other spaces you've got spaced away that that are housing other locations that can be consolidated into your 18,000 ft?
>> No, sir. We do have a 53- ft trailer and a 48T trailer behind the building that we currently have stacked with stuff in there. And it's my hope that we can get rid of them and get it moved inside. >> Perfect. Okay. >> But really it to to summarize everything, what we have here is the the
20,000 square feet facility that this contract is pertaining to is going to give us what I would call an interim facility for our administrative functions. You know, the board had a a a feasibility study done, a need study done, paid over $20,000 for it. And that
need study said that we needed 48,400 ft. >> Well aware of that. >> Still not there yet. And so this this will give us some breathing room. It will allow our warehouse to finally expand and become an efficient operation instead of the inefficiency that we're working with.
>> Okay. And all of your equipment is going to be housed in in one location. is going to be secured with security cameras and all your alarm systems and stuff. Okay. >> Okay. And everybody knows this county is not growing anymore. So >> Oh, sure. >> Right. We're going to stop that today. Matter of
>> fact, we're looking we're going to have a fire sale, you know, get rid of something. >> Thank Thank you for the information. >> Yes, sir. >> Well, I I I said that if you could keep it to $3 million that I would approve it. So, I'll make a motion to approve. >> Second.
>> All right. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? All right, >> there you go. >> Thank you for being here. Appreciate you being available to answer questions, too. >> Come and see us in December when we get moved in.
>> All right. I'm sure we will. Okay. All right. Um, we would be up to tab 15, but I want to um I would like to move up tab 18 because I have a member of the public here and I know that he needs to get on um with some things he's
got going on today. Dr. Hullman is here and he's the one who had reached out to me about this situation. This is tab 18. Um it's discussion and direction about a proposed ordinance amending section 144.02 O2 of the land development regulations regarding zoning permits to require an
HOA um compliance affidavit. Um so that uh when someone brings in their plans, they have to certify that they've actually done what they were supposed to do with their HOA if there was an architectural requirement so that we don't get in a situation where they proceed to build and then it's on the
HOA and the people in the neighborhood to try to pursue some action against them. it at least puts the burden on that property owner to say, "Yes, I've done everything that I need to do." Um, we anticipated the situation where you might have a builder that's still involved so that they would be in the
position to be able to if if they're actually in charge of the uh architectural committee, they can verify they've met the requirements. Um, so I did ask him to be here in case you all had questions for him about what he's gone through in his own HOA where this
has become a problem. Um, so I'll wait to see whether anyone has questions or whether you all want to move ahead. >> I got a quick one. Um, with these changes are re would we be responsible for litig litigating this? >> No, the the Yeah, the ordinance is
pretty clear that if somebody lies on the affidavit, it is not the county's responsibility to verify the information. It would not revoke a permit. It would not hold up a development. This is really just a notification process. Thank you, >> commissioners. Uh, it's a real privilege
to come and discuss things with you. I'm going to tell you some things that you probably didn't know about. Uh, I've been around u Orange, Seminal, and Lake counties for a number of years. I started in Orange County. I migrated to
Seminal County and I ended up in Lake County. Um, I was a Navy medic for eight years. Right out of high school, I uh became a dentist. And I was a medic because I
needed to have uh my reserve to protect me so that I didn't fight in the Vietnam War so I could get my dental degree. And uh that worked out really well. Uh, I also taught in
colleges. I taught down at Valencia for about 15 years. I, uh, was in graduate school at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. Then I was a professor at those two
institutions for a number of years. And as I say, there was one other thing I did that I wanted to tell you about and that was it was kind of the pinnacle
of my life. I got involved with politics. Um so consequently, um I am still interested in politics. Uh I got involved in Orange County and
Simol County. Uh they made me uh board of adjustments uh appointee and chairman of that committee for about two to three years. And uh then I ran for county commissioner. I wanted to see what it
was like to sit in your seats. Uh, and that day I lost by 800 votes in the whole county and never had run for an office in my life. Um, and I was very sad that day.
Um, and so I got over it real fast the next day when I decided that it was better to lose than to be a county commissioner. So
I continued uh my wife was involved in the uh Lake County um jail. She was one of those people that would go in and talk to the the uh women who were there for a
partic for various reasons. and she uh really enjoyed that. We had uh her son actually uh was on drugs and she would
go in to try to help these other women in that process and we became familiar with some of the Lake County operations. Um, and so as I say, I migrated from Orange
County to Semino County to Lake County. And Lake County was kind of interesting. Uh, and there's a little bit of a history which you probably don't know. Um, I've been around for a few years. I'm 88 years old and I'm still still
involved with county and particularly Lake County. And as Commissioner explained, uh I'm not presently associated uh well, I am associated but not
president of the HOA in Rolling Oak Estates. But what I here to say is that this is not just a Rolling Oak Estates problem that we're dealing with. And the good news, before you get upset, it'll
cost you about $10. And I'm hoping that we can have you uh approve this uh resolution. But there's a another part that you don't know. Some of you are not as old
as I am. And uh that was that Katherine Hansen uh came before me here and Katherine started in Orange Semino County. She had a dairy
and she uh had cows and she kept moving her cows from Orange County to Semino County to she didn't go across the bridge. She said that was going to be too uh crowded if you went
across the Lake Monroe Bridge there. So, she took a left and came down 46 and ended up uh in Sarrento where I live and have lived for 40 years now.
Um but more importantly um she decided that uh we needed to hire a consulting firm. She was one of you for a number of years. I think about 12 if I'm not mistaken.
Uh and at that time uh she had heard that I was involved with various things along the way and that she would uh like to have me uh on a committee that she appointed
and that committee had to do with um the president uh expressway. way. The state at that time had decided it was supposed to go right through Sarrento
and there were five people on our committee including Sheriff Borders who I met and at that time there were five commissioners. So there were 10 of us
and we spent a number of literally years trying to put this thing together. uh as I say she hired a consulting firm and formed this committee. Well, uh, the consulting firm came to
the same conclusions that we were, and that was that we wanted to have that we kind of a parkway moved south so as to not disturb the Sarrento area, which is supposed to be peaceful and not have a
expressway running down the middle of what is now known as Sarrento Avenue. And so she again had heard that I was interested and and appointed me. So I I have to say that I feel special that I
was one of 10 people counting counting five county commissioners and the the five of us on the committee and Sheriff Borders was on the committee uh at that time too. So I knew him pretty well.
Um, and that I was one of 10 people responsible for moving that expressway off of our properties down Sarrento to
the present location and uh that was an accomplishment that I really felt good about. So, the vote was upheld and I guess the state went along with the county's recommendation
that it be moved and so be it. So, why do we have a HOAS? Well, I happen to have been president of the one that uh that I live in uh Rolling Oak Estates
and uh after the developers uh developed about three quarters of it, they turned it over to us, actually they turned it over to me. And right off the bat, believe it or not,
well, not right off the bat, but uh very soon into the into the u presence of this development, we had uh somebody that wanted to challenge
our HOA. and and so challenging they wanted to put up a beautiful metal building in the middle of our HOA. Um now why do we have HOAs? Well, most
people don't understand why we have HOAs. It doesn't b benefit the individual but it benefits his neighbor and his neighbor and his neighbor such that
it keeps the value of the houses up where they should be in the neighborhood and it maintains the beauty and continuity of that area. And so we tried to work together and we
tried to keep it for for all. Our our dues annual dues were $50 a year. Um when this situation occurred, we had to raise the dues to $150 a year.
So what happens when people don't work together? Well, they can't read. I guess we have two walls that has signage on it that says deed restricted community. Um, they were supposedly given documents
by the realators who didn't do their job. They were interested in making their money and getting out of there. And so we ended up with a case that the applicant ignored the HOA authority.
the county signed off on it, said it was okay to have metal buildings in here. Um, and yet the only opt op option that we had was
to go ahead and as an HOA and I being the president spent many hours up up in these buildings going over the HOA documents which were made and uh
really expressed well by our attorney. And so, uh, we proceeded to sue them. And as we sued them, we lost.
And I guess the judge at that time was in a hurry to get home that day because he obviously didn't read the documents. And he uh decided that our secretary didn't do a very good job at holding
this thing together. So he said that the secretary's notes weren't uh adequate enough and he made that decision on the secretar's note. >> And Dr. Hman, I don't want to cut you off, but we really have a long agenda and I think we got
>> just about we understand what the concern is. >> I appreciate your listening though and uh you know I'm I'm just about finished. If you'll give me another two or three minutes, I think I can finish this up.
So basically what happened is that we got sued. We in turn or we didn't we we um we basically lost $38,000 in this situation. And the interesting
thing is that the guy that got the okay went ahead and paid half of of the dues, half of the the attorney fees, which brought us down to the 25,000 which we actually had.
But he went ahead and put up the building anyway because the county said it was all right. And so in so doing uh we had no choice but to to sue him. There were three basic regulations
and I think these are kind of basic in all of these HOA situations. Uh one was that the metal wonderful metallook buildings uh be be made of the same material the houses
were made of. That means if it was a wooden house, it was a wooden construction. If it was a brick house, it was brick, concrete, concrete, and so forth. So, uh, what we ended up with is
cappy, what I call copycat applicants. they after he did his thing uh and other people found out that hey maybe we're not very strong as an HOA let's go ahead and do it and we just forget it because the county said it was
all right. So, what I'm doing is I'm asking the county that if there's some way that we can have a rubber stamp about a $10 stamp or something where you stamp the documents
uh and the county who county person who uh has that document will ask the simple question and this is my point. >> I move to approve the item. >> Okay. and that is simply
have you seen whether this is in an HOA? Would you go and make sure that the HOA signs off? And like I said, a rubber stamp is probably for $10 all you need to get
them to sign off so they come back to the county and then sign off. >> I'll second the motion. >> Sorry. So we you you've got what you're asking for. It's not exactly the way that you want it, but it's very close in light of what we have to do to protect the county's liability. So I think so
>> I'm representing all HOAs, little or small or whatever. Okay, >> good. >> Thank you very much. >> Just to clarify, is the motion for approval to advertise? >> It's approval to advertise the ordinance as proposed. >> It will then go to the planning and zoning board and it will come back to you at a future meeting.
>> Okay. All right. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you for your service. We appreciate that and we'll >> thank you for allowing to speak. >> All right. All in favor say I. >> I. All right. That passes 50. We'll move on to advertising. Thank you, Dr.
Hullman. Moving then to back to tab 15. Um Meg Brew presentation as our economic development director. Good morning. For the record, Meg Brew, director for the Office of Economic
Development. I am here this morning to provide an overview of our economic uh development recovery and resiliency plan. Perhaps here we go. While the sudden closure of Kroger this past November was the immediate catalyst for developing
this plan, its intended use and application go far beyond any single event. Our goal for this plan is twofold. First, we wanted to establish a clear framework or an SOP, if you will, for how Lake County responds to future economic disruptions. Documenting our
response tactics, partners, and processes now ensures that we can act quickly, consistently, and effectively when other disruptions arise. Second, and more importantly, we wanted to create a long-term roadmap for building a stronger, more resilient community. It's important to emphasize
that this is a living document. It will evolve as we learn, adapt, and continue to refine our approach. Developing and maintaining a resilient economy is long-term hard work that will require consistency and commitment. Our hope is that the bad news that we receive this
fall can spur work that creates a long-term positive outcome for the community. To put it simply, this plan represents our best efforts at squeezing a little bit of lemonade out of the lemons that we were dealt. The recovery plan is organized into four
parts, each addressing a different dimension of response, recovery, and resiliency. The first part of the plan really focuses on data and revolves around quantifying the economic impact of losing a major employer. We're working closely with regional partners to gather and analyze data so that our
ongoing response remains informed, strategic, and impactful. The second part of the plan centers on the immediate response to this specific event. As I've shared at previous meetings, we approached this disruption with a very people first mindset. Working with Career Source Central
Florida LEAD and Kroger leadership, we hosted three on-site job fairs during the months of December and January. And I'm happy to share some of those numbers with you today. We had just under 700 employees who were connected with over 60 actively hiring employers at these events. Support agencies were also
present to ensure employees were aware of available community resources. And one of our fairs even included a toy giveaway by a local charity organization to asssure that Christmas remained merry and bright for the children of Kroger employees. Participants in the career
fair expressed a deep appreciation for our proactive outreach and as public servants, we were grateful for the opportunity to support our community through a difficult transition. Of course, our rapid response work did not end with the final job fair. Career Source continues to engage laid-off
workers, providing reemployment services, counseling, and individualized assistance. To date, 128 workers have attended one-on-one counseling sessions with Career Source staff. Last month, the board approved our funding agreement with Career Source to support upskilling
and retraining for Lake County residents. And we have 60 residents currently in some stage of enrollment and 17 have already begun training. Career Source is currently conducting individ individual outreach with everybody who participated in the fair um to monitor employment status and also
make them aware of their eligibility for programs. We'll be tracking along very closely with the outcomes and sharing success stories and metrics with you in the community. We're also collaborating with the Orlando Economic Partnership right now to extract Lake County specific insights from the recently
published regional workforce report. This will help us understand which jobs are growing locally, which jobs residents are leaving the county to pursue, and what skills are currently most in demand. Once complete, this analysis will guide the development of clear career pathways connecting job
seekers with education providers and industry partners. Additionally, our team has compiled a list of businesses that may have been indirectly affected by this closure and is beginning to conduct visits and interviews to better understand those impacts and craft an appropriate response if needed.
The third part of the plan is really focused on the site itself. In many communities, when a major employer leaves, the building they leave behind is often outdated and requires significant reinvestment. The Kroger building is really an exception to this. It is a nearly new state-of-the-art
turn-key building. We're working with lead to identify industry sectors that are a best fit for both the site and for Lake Countyy's long-term economic goals. Our intention is to aggressively market the site to attract highquality employers that can absorb some of the losses. The final and most important
part of the plan is of course the resiliency piece. An important component of emergency management, as the other Megan would tell you, is evaluating vulnerabilities and implementing plans that account for and correct them. Likewise, we want to make sure that this disruption sets Lake County on a path
towards a more resilient economic future. This begins with a resiliency audit to understand our current vulnerabilities to industry shifts, supply chain disruptions, and workforce gaps. We also want to identify opportunities for Lake County to be future ready and lean into emerging
technologies, industries, and opportunities. This long-term work is being informed by case studies and recognized professional back best practices. In March, Kathleen and I along with a colleague from LEAD attended the International Economic Development Council's leadership
symposium in Washington DC. Prior to this conference, we reached out to IEDC leadership and asked to be connected with practitioners from around the country who had successfully navigated similar disruptions. The insights that we gained from these conversations were really invaluable and has helped inform
our work moving forward. We also plan to leverage state and federal resources to support this work and will be aggressively pursuing grants over the next fiscal year. To this end, our funding agreement with Career Source did require that they leverage existing state funds prior to mobilizing any
funds that we made available so that we can extend the impact of each dollar to its greatest number of residents. Of course, a key component to the recovery pan plan is also evaluating our current economic development strategy and doubling down on what is already working. We are strengthening our
business attraction efforts and partnering with lead to develop a new marketing campaign that clearly differentiates Lake County as someplace special. Our site site readiness program is also being refreshed to identify and advance sites that are prepared to welcome targeted industries. Our
incentive program remains an important tool in our economic development toolbox. One kind of silver lining over the past few months is that in terminating our incentive contracts with Kroger and Okado, we were forced to really take a critical look at the effectiveness of our incentive programs.
An analysis of tax dollars paid by Kroger and Okato compared to incentives paid to Kroger and Okato revealed that before any repayments occurred, the county had already realized a 600% return on investment. I don't know about you, but I have never made an investment with that good of a return. This
reinforces the value of performance-based incentives when deployed strategically. We're also working alongside our entire development services team to streamline processes and reduce red tape for businesses of all sizes. Often the most meaningful incentive that we can offer to a business is assistance with speed to
market. By coordinating every step of the commercial development process, we strengthen our businessfriendly reputation and better serve our employers. Of course, small businesses remain the backbone of our economy. Truly resilient communities don't rely on one or two
major employers or industries. We recognize that an important piece of our resiliency plan is having a diverse mix of small, medium, and large employers in Lake County representing various industries. Our entrepreneurial and small business support ecosystem, which includes LEAD, the SBDC, and the UCF
business incubator, is working in close alignment to ensure that no small business is left behind. This year, we have also deepened our partnership with Senfluence in the Florida high-tech corridor to asssure that we have all of the right people at the table. Finally, we are committed to open, honest, and
transparent public engagement. It's essential that our residents understand the importance of intentional economic development and feel confident that their voices are being heard. We are dedicated to nurturing a strong, resilient, and prosperous future for all of Lake County, and that will require
public buyin and support. We've already presented a version of our plan at the Lake Eustace um chamber meeting and for the South Lake Chamers's economic development and public policy committee. We plan to continue to share the plan and more importantly the results with the board and the community. And with
that, I am happy to answer any questions you might have. >> Any questions? >> Okay, quick comment. >> More just a comment. I appreciate the presentation, Megan. And again, um we've talked about this several times before, but certainly appreciate you very much. you, Kathleen, everybody uh the you know
your whole team and getting through the Kroger incident if you will and appreciate you're just really out there in the community too. I will add some of you know this but you're really out there working economic development for us. It's awesome relationship oriented.
I think you're perfect for it. Um the you mentioned this influence in the Florida high-tech corridor. That's just something again that is really good for us. I know some of you know this, but um that relationship, we're already starting to see some connections and some really good opportunities
uh from this influence in Florida High-Tech Corridor Connection that uh you've helped foster. So, really appreciate that. >> Absolutely. My pleasure. >> All right. Good job. >> Thank you, M. >> Appreciate it. >> Good job. >> All right. Annexation report. Mike Fitzgerald.
Good morning. For the record, Mike Fitzgerald. I'm the office of planning and zoning director. We have two annexations to report on today. Uh the first one is one that we're revisiting. It was presented at the last meeting. This is a notice that was
provided by the city of Claremont. Uh we received a notice that Claremont is annexing 15.9 acres of land located west of US Highway 27 east of Roer Boulevard. The site is developed with a Kohl's department store and the adjoining retention area and this is an approved
commercial site uh pursuant to the original putt ordinance of 1994-h10. They are proposing a commercial land use. Um, and this is the aerial for the site. Claremont did provide information to
staff to confirm that this is a voluntary annexation by the property owner. >> So, it's voluntary. And again, I I brought this up last time just to point out that it's part of a larger PUD. And when we're talking about roads, um, you know, the roads, and I'm not going to I
don't want to oppose the vanexation to make that clear, but I'm just it's just a thought here, you know, again, as we move forward with all these discussions about who's doing what and JPA and everything, those roads are still going to be on our dime to maintain. Um, so
it's just a why not annex the rest of it. I I get it. I understand. I know there'll be some lo there'll be some net loss in revenue for the fire safety side, right? And then we go through those numbers, but it it's it's all
right. I mean, we don't have to go through that now, but it's just just I'm getting I'm pointing that out on the record that that's what's happening here. And it's voluntary, which was it's good to know. So that that that you answered that question for me and I appreciate
that. But >> yes sir, the the application did specifically state that they are pursuing some unified city service including police and fire service. >> Some unified >> they already receive city utility service. >> Okay.
>> And the application was to unify the ser the city service that they're getting. So utility, police, fire. That's straight off the application to Claremont >> and to for the calls. Yeah. Okay. >> Correct. >> All right. >> It was a pud that had um residential and
then it had a commercial component. Is that how it was originally approved? >> Right. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. >> Yeah. That's I mean it's just unfortunate that would ideally you would want to see it stay together and if it were to be annexed because you've got
the residents as well having utilities um through the city. But of course, I would assume the residents wouldn't want to pay the additional property taxes. So, >> probably not. >> And they certainly don't like >> I just had to ask the question. Yeah. Because it I know that
>> just to put the facts out. >> So, so we're going to So, they're going to annex this. They're going to take the the fire MSTU away from us and we still get to support the community behind it because
it's not in right city. Right. >> That's just wonderful. >> Yeah. And it's, you know, >> it's just >> Yeah. And these are the kind of things we're, you know, starting to really think about now and as we move forward, but it's not much to do right today. But it's just >> Well, and it but it's and it's not
necessarily something you can do something about. It's really about everybody being um, you know, I hate to say, you know, play by the rules, but there's a level of >> they're taking our fire income basically
away. operation and collaboration between city and county governments and you kind of hope that everybody you know plays um I'm trying to I know there's a word here and I can't quite find the word
maybe it's fairness um transparency I mean it's just >> yeah and you know we're going to they're Claremont's going to provide good fire service to Kohl's um we're going to provide good EMS service as well just to point that out, >> right? >> Yeah.
>> And to the to the rest of the area, too. >> Okay. Thank you very much for tracking that down. It was you got one of the big questions answered and the other one is just more food for thought. So, appreciate that. >> Okay. For for the board's benefit, that city commission meeting is April 28th.
So the next item is we have received a notice from the city of Eustace that they are proposing to annex 18.03 acres located at 1539 North State Road 19. Property records show that a single family residential home is
currently located on the subject property and the intent is to develop the property with 55 town home units in accordance with the city uh of Eustace's regulations. Per the Lake County solid waste department, these properties will remain on Lake County residential solid waste
through September 30th, 2026. So the current Lake County zoning is residential professional. The proposed city is suburban neighborhood design district. Current flu is urban medium. Proposed city flu is urban residential.
The city's flu is 6 to 12 units per acre. So the 55 town home units puts them at the lower end of that uh land use density. This is the property aerial and you can see the the black hash marking is the
city of Eustus. So this property is surrounded by the city. >> Okay. >> And if I can give the zoning and flu, this illustrates it a little better how this is pretty much an enclave in the city of
>> Eustace. And I I mean the only access would be straight on to 19 right there. >> Yeah, it's right there at the um exit to the fair grounds. >> You mean it's near where 452 branches off?
>> Any any type of access would be coordinated with DOT. So, it looks like a lot of the site is is probably wetlands and then there's the uplands in that area that's clear. >> Yeah, just there's a little bit of uplands up on the north end of of the property.
>> Yeah, I thought I Sorry, I've did not include that map today. >> Okay. I mean, the the thing about it is is that it is an on it looks like it's surrounded pretty much by the city. >> Our
density is the seven units to the acre. This is just a little bit above >> the according to my math the 55 units puts them at the lower end of that future land that city future land use >> the city future land use not too far off what our land use is >> correct
>> below what we recom what we had right >> the six to 12 yeah that if we are a medium density which is up to seven dwelling units per net acre and their their uh proposal is 6 to 12 dwelling
units per acre. And at 55 units, 18 acres, I pulled out the wetland and it looked like it was right at the the lower end of their land use >> and that's before any of the engineering has been done or any of the site work. >> That is correct, sir. Excellent point.
>> Certainly change drastically from there. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And what you mean is it could go down, I guess. >> Correct. Right. It could be more wetlands than what is perceived. Land use is one thing. Engineering reality is another. >> Correct.
>> All right. >> Thank you, Mike. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> Um public hearings. Um this is uh recommended adoption execution of an ordinance call on the county attorney. >> Okay. This will be an ordinance of the board of county commissioners of Lake
County, Florida, creating section 1090, Lake County code, appendix C, land development regulations to be entitled relief concerning declared emergency under chapter 2025-190 laws of Florida. Addressing the provisions of section 28, chapter 2025-190, laws of Florida, providing for severability, providing
for inclusion code, providing for filing with Department of State, and providing for an effective date. If you choose to approve it today, it become ordinance 2026-16. >> All right, this is a public hearing. I'll open it up to the public. Do we have anyone who wishes to speak on this item? Do we have anyone online? Okay,
we'll bring it back to the board. Um, >> move to approve. >> Second. >> All right. And just for discussion, I mean, this is a voluntary process. >> Yeah, it's it gives um we can proceed with um what we have left of home rule
and that hasn't been preempted. >> Feeling very defeated today, right? then we we can proceed with that. And then at the same time, if somebody's very adamant, it does provide the due process on the other side. If somebody feels very adamant, it actually gives them a tool to go through and start the process
if they feel like it's being ownorous to them in light of the Senate Bill 180. >> And just for purposes of the record, we have received zero complaints or claims that any of our ordinances um have violated Senate Bill 180. So, I don't
foresee it being used, but it is available if something comes up in the future. >> I mean, the only time it was raised is by the state as opposed to somebody who would actually have an interest in claiming that they were being burdened. >> That's correct. >> Okay.
>> Um All right. Um so, we had a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? That passes 5-0. Moving then to um tab 17. This is regarding a um
vacation of u rightaway easement. Jeff, >> good morning. Jeff Hehart, um public works engineering. Um this is a vacation petition that you previously heard, 1310. It's um it's in the Groveland
area. It's right near um Mount Vista, Pine Island, and Redwing um down in the in the south portion. It's related to the uh the proposed vacation is in the red on the graphic shown as as as we zoom in.
This is the one where we originally came to your before you and we wanted we were only we wanted to maintain 33 feet on Redwing and um the applicant wanted to maintain 25. They've since come back and
agreed to uh leave the 25 the 30 feet and then we'll we're willing to vacate all the rest that's that's in red because that just kind of it it makes sense and allows us to have consistent right away along with Redwing. So the the I think the lawyer and their the the owner is here. I don't not sure if if
they need to need to talk, but they're available when there's any questions. So I'll move >> approval. >> Okay. It is a public hearing, so I do need to open it up for the public. Um, do we have anyone online? Anyone in the public that wishes to speak?
>> All right. And we do have a motion in a second. >> Second. >> All right. For approval, all in favor say I. I. Any oppose? That passes. 50. We appreciate uh Mr. Bailey and his cooperation. And I think it's good for that overall community to have that
consistent rightway. So, we appreciate your coop cooperation and we wish you all the best. All right. Thank you. Okay, moving then along to um this is tab 19 regarding the school district.
>> So this is a request to advertise an ordinance the school district under section 1011.73 um is authorized to direct the county commission to place a referendum on the ballot in November. Uh this is related to the um the security and mental health
tax that was uh put in place after Marjgery Stoneman Douglas. Um so they are asking to re-up it. Instead of threequarters of a mill, they're asking for a mill. But again, this would strictly be approval to advertise. It will come back for public hearing. All you're doing is putting it on the ballot as allowed by the statute. Voters will
have the ultimate say. >> Okay. So we've been requested by the school district to put this on the ballot. >> Correct. So, this is approval to advertise. It will come back at the next meeting for adoption of the ordinance and then it will be sent to the supervisor of elections and he will put that on the ballot in November.
>> Okay. All right. So, we're not we're not endorsing it or any of that. We're just doing what we were required to do by law. >> Correct. >> All right. And in the past, this was the one this was adopted previously and it school resourc >> Yeah.
>> For the record, they're asking for higher authority for mill this time. Last time it was 75. This time it's one. >> That's correct. >> Yeah. So, they're going to need to make that case to the public and let people know what it what it covers. >> All right. Do we have a motion?
>> Move to approve. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. Any oppose? >> No. >> That passes. Uh 41. And I would just ask Commissioner Sabatini when if you do talk about it on social media, at least tell everybody what the situation is.
>> Just Yeah. For the record, I'm not going to make a post about this. But I'm not going to talk about it because the law is clear. Unfortunately, it has been litigated. It did get to the appellet level. It was two trial decisions, one appallet. It is not discretionary. We have to
advertise it. But, uh, I still would rather force them to work harder to get the process in play because I think it's unjustified. Personally, having gone to public school like everybody else on this dis um, in Lake County, I don't think it's justified. So, I think that
it needed to be notated, but I will not be talking about uh this in the context of our our role. >> All right. And I'll just yeah note and acknowledge that we're just following what we're required to do. All uh we already voted. Um we're moving along
then to um Mike Fitzgerald, a presentation on minimum lot size, road frontage, landscape buffer for public roads for residential development. >> Thank you, chairman. For the record, Mike Fitzgerald. from the Office of Planning and Zoning Director. Uh just a little background on this item. On
January 6th, 2026, the board of county commissioners directed staff to look at the possibility of updating the land development regulations to require a minimum lot width of 65 ft in Lake County and also look at uh the landscape
buffering that is required fronting county roads. With that said, the current code uh we're looking at establishing a minimum landscape buffer. Any parcel adjacent to a public rideway now requires when it is
developed to have a typea landscape buffer and that has a range of widths from 10 to 15 to 20 ft. The current regulation does not specify specifically what that width should be.
So today's discussion is the proposal for that minimum width to be spelled out in our regulation to specifically be at the 20 foot width for development along those county rideways. This illustrates the buffer a standard.
As you can see as discussed it is a 10, 15 or 20 ft and then it has landscape requirements pursuant to each each width. So we are now just spelling out that when you do develop you have to put that type A abuing that right of way.
So this would uh moving on to I'm sorry moving on to the lot width presentation. This is for the road frontage of the lots. Currently, uh we regulate the minimum road frontage of lots. We don't have any
minimum standards for planned unit development districts. No minimum lot size for zoning districts. No minimum lot width for the zoning districts. The requested action is to potentially amend the minimum required lot fringe to 65 ft, establish a minimum lot width of
65 ft, minimum lot size of 6,500 square ft, and that will apply to all newly approved uh proposals in Lake County. It will not be retroactive. There are certain specified exceptions. Uh specifically, it would be if you have
already received an approval by the board of county commissioners. This rule is not retroactive. Wellness way is an example. Joint planning areas are another example. Any approved PUD prior to today or prior to the execution of of this ordinance.
Uh any residential development going forward would be required to adhere to this requirement. Current residential lot standards. We do have lot widths pursuant to each zoning district
or road frontage I should say, but we don't have the lot width, the minimum lot width. So all residential lots created after June 1st will have an amended road frontage and rideway width and a lot size uh according to our table. And that
would be amending the road frontages to a minimum of 65 feet. So now you have that minimum road frontage, but it also means a minimum lot width of 65 ft. So you can't have a road frontage
of 65 ft and then taper it back to a point where you have no width in the backyard. So, we're looking at a minimum lot width of 65 ft across the entire lot as well as the road frontage and then a minimum uh a minimum lot size of 6,500
square ft. So, staff did uh just a cursory review of what that would mean for a basic 50 acre lot. If you assume open space of 25%
in an urban low density and then there's an assumption of 20% of your development goes to uh infrastructure with the square foot that's left over. If you had 4,000 square foot lots, you would get your maximum density. 5,000 ft
lots, you would get your maximum density. With a 6,500 ft lot, you would lose some of that density. Moving on to urban medium, you have an open space requirement now of 20%, an assumption of right-of-way requirement
of 20% as well. A total maximum allowed allowable development of 350 units. At 4,000 square ft, you have 327, 5,000 is 261, 6,500 is 201. So, the density starts to pair down the bigger the lot
size is. So, moving on to urban high, same kind of of of assumptions. The acreage is 50 uh 50 acres. Open space now is 15% in an urban high density. The right of way still remains at 20%. 4,000 ft is 354.
5,000 is 283 lots. 6,500 would would put it at 218 lots. What that means for a PUD that's coming in is that the developer is going to want to maximize their their number of units as
much as they can. So the less single family lots you have in a proposed pud, the more multif family they're going to propose. So a 40 foot wide frontage. This gives an idea, conceptual idea of what those
homes look like. Very uh garage dominated. A 50-foot frontage is the same. It's it's limiting the floor plans and the facade. still a garage dominated feature.
Whereas 65- ft minimum lot widths now provides a a wider lot width that offers more of a street presence, an elevation design, and uh just more of a ranch style home, you could say.
With that said, I'm happy to answer any questions. So your comment though was the the un I don't know if you'd call it an unintended consequence, but the consequence could be that they would actually in order to get their land use
designation density, they would use multif family as opposed to tiny lots. >> That is a that is an assumption that that can be made for a pud that's coming in that's looking for a mixeduse. the the less lots they can get with the
amount of square footage that they have left over, they may start pushing more of that into a multif family development. That's an assumption that staff is is making to to for for discussion. >> And and visually you one could argue though that when that happens that it
might actually be more attractive to have that end product as opposed to a whole bunch of teeny tiny lots. I mean, I've heard people argue that point before
that, you know, if you have wider lots, at least your your single family product has this more appealing curb appeal and it just I >> I can just tell you from from past experience, the city of Taris used to
have a 40 foot minimum. It was changed to 65 foot lot sizes. It made no increase in multifamily units and it just made the neighborhoods a lot nicer from that point forward using
utilizing 65 foot lot lines. Um just because you have a 65 foot lot line doesn't mean you have to have a house this big. You can actually have a smaller house with bigger yards. >> So >> okay, it's a good >> they're wanting to live in Lake County. We need to say, "Hey, this is what this is what Lake County requires. If you
want if you want to live in an urban area, then moving into the urban area into a city. But if you want to live in Lake County, 65 foot lot lines. >> You ready for my comments? >> Yes. >> I will I will um pair some of my comments down. I have a lot of concerns
with part of this. Um not saying that maybe this isn't something we can do, meaning the lot size, the buffer. totally supportive of that part of the change, the the type A buffer. I I would go a step further. I think that should be native plants with the exception of
you have entryways and things like that that I know are going to be Florida friendly. We could define that in the code, I think, quite easily. So, I think that is a great a great idea. Um, regarding the lot size. So, my concerns are this um
and if you could put I I sent a picture in. Yeah. I want to share with you. I mean, so again, I'll say it may not necessarily be a bad idea. It's just we need to think about a few things. Um, the one-sizefits-all approach is totally not nobody recommends that anymore. Just
focusing in on lot size as a way to control urban sprawl and we are trying to control urban sprawl for the li for our own lives literally in Lake County. So, it is the top concern. Everything we do is try to get a hold of this the the you know implement a better
growth management system. So, um, I don't want to do something that's a maybe it's just a one-sizefits-all category and assume it's going to work out. I think the whole code needs to be changed and then maybe we look at lot size as well. This is an example. This
is in Lehigh acres. So, what what they did with a one-size approach was they said quarter acre and halfacre lots throughout Le 50 square miles. And as you can tell, it had it really did not do anything to to prohibit urban sprawl. Um, I would be more interested in in
changing the code entirely, requiring more open space if we were going to do a 65 foot lot. And by the way, the 40 foot lots, if you have alley loaded and there's alleys behind them, you get more of that traditional looking neighborhood that's more actually kind of more attractive, more the what they would
call the traditional neighborhood development. So, I I would be for changing the code like maybe wholesale uh changing the code. I'd also be interested in seeing a map of where this will actually be implemented. I I appreciate the you pulling out well in
this way and some of the PUDs and and things like that, but um I'd like to see where it would actually apply as well uh moving forward. And I think I think that um if I read the comprehensive plan correctly, we're also going to have to do a housing analysis on how it you'll
actually have to do a housing study to determine how much how it will affect housing affordability. I think that's a requirement in our comp plan. So, we'll need to see that, I think, before we adopt anything. Um, because that's things like this could unintentionally, and we're all nobody
wants to see this in the urban sprawl. Things like this could unintentionally actually encourage the sprawl. So, I just wanted to before we do that, I'd want to um I'd want to make sure that uh um it's not going to encourage that. And then it's addressing the I think just
whether you like it or not, it's a requirement. I think we're going to have to do a housing affordability study on it. Um, and then I would look at other parts of the code like could could we increase open space make the open space requirement um might be a better way to go about this. So
>> So can I make a comment on that? Um the 65 foot and you're and you're right this this certainly could be bad, but um you got to remember that we also have in there the what I'm talking about took out the PUD process. And if you have a
development more than 49 homes, you got to go through that PUD process. So, it's up to us anyway. This is for any of the developments below 49 homes. And just if you want to live in Lake County, you got to have 65 foot lots. >> That's true though. >> I'm just looking at >> my my understanding was the direction
for 65 ft wide >> across the board. >> So, correct. >> But you pulled out PUDS, right? >> Already approved PUD >> already approved. future have been granted. >> So if you want to pull that out, then it would give you the flexibility that Commissioner Parks is talking about.
>> Well, I'm and I'm still I still am going with if you want to live in Lake County, got to have 65 ft. Um it's got to fit within we're still going to have that PUD process where they have to come through at 65 foot lot wide lots. So we
still have an opportunity to look at the the neighborhood. Um, if you want to live in a more urban area, move into the city of Eustace, Trafares, Mount Door, Umatillaa, um, Claremont, Miniola, but if you want to live in Lake County, it's going to be
65 foot or more. >> I think in Umatillaa, they went to 75, just so you know. >> Yeah. And >> I I I kind of didn't want to take Umatillaa back, but >> No. What? >> Um, >> yeah, they they said I they put a 75 foot wide lock. So, I only see positives
in this, no negatives. >> I mean, I think you could see um I think you could also look at various zoning types where you understandably like in an A140 or an A RA zoning district, yeah, you might want to have a larger minimum lot size. I I could see that as
well. That's why I think the map might be more helpful, but I would not be just in my experience and what I know, I would not be like right now so quick to just approve that part of it. I'd want to see some other code changes as well. I think that could be done.
>> But would you not prefer to at least make something better while you're working on the >> Well, I don't know if I'm not sure if it'll necessarily make things better. I think it might feel it might be a feel-good thing to say it, but I just don't I mean, I could be I I could be wrong. I'm like I'm keeping I'm keeping
an open mind on it. I just want to I would I'd want to see some other code changes with it as well. I think that's a that's a part personally I think that's a bigger problem. >> Okay. I do need clarification though on this PUD thing because just so got to be clear the way that this is being
proposed if a a new PUD came in there's no lowering the 65 foot width. And I kind of thought when you started this was is more like if you come with a straight zoning and it's 49 lots or less or 50 or less. No, 49 or less. Um, then
yeah, it's got to be 65 ft wide lots. >> Um, that was original, but I wouldn't mind even having a PUB have a minimum lot size of 65 ft. Again, you're moving into Lake County, which is we need to start thinking about this as you're
moving into county services. You're not going to get the roads that city has. you're not going to get all the extras that cities have because you don't pay the taxes that the cities put on top of the county. So if you want to live in
Lake County, live on bigger pieces of property, understanding that. >> Yeah. But but again, I mean, so that would be more of a problem if you can't you could have I could see scenarios where you have PUDS where maybe you do have some clustering
that's that's uh um less than 65 foot, you have a much larger open space area and that's when it comes to I know everybody get we get focused on density and lot size. I see it all over all over the state, but there's more to growth
management than just density and lot size. There's open space, there's uh buffering, there's uh some whatever the state will allow us now to do with some design basic design criteria. That's more of what you're like your everyday citizen when they see the problems with
goat management that they're looking at. So if you want to protect there could be scenarios. I I maybe it won't like I said I'm trying to remain open. Maybe it won't be an issue but I think it could be and I'm just not there yet with it. And I think what we're doing is we're going through the comp plan now and then
it comes to our LDRs later. Right. So that's correct. >> Staff just needs direction on where to go with this to try to meet up with the >> I'm trying to understand where staff is going with this. Staff needs the direction on whether to include the 65 and the LDRs or No,
>> that's correct. Staff is here to receive direction on moving forward with an ordinance that would propose a minimum lot width of 65 ft across the board in Lake County starting that right now. I understand that you have figured you want it to be
a holistic approach. I I like the idea of one step at a time. I think putting that in the ordinances right now is a great way to start. >> So, what about pocket neighborhoods? thinking back to Josh Blake and and the Hubble Pocket neighborhood where you're trying to take like something that's an infill and you're trying to make
something that's unique. Is there a way to carve that out? So, I mean, it's really you could do something different if you truly were doing like a little pocket neighborhood just because it does rarely does it come up. It would usually be more in a city setting that that would come up, but you know, I I hate to
shut the door on something like that where somebody's trying to be really creative and they're working with a, >> you know, like a >> Yeah. In the in the case of a pocket neighborhood, uh making the assumption that we had the 65 foot width in our LDR,
>> a pocket neighborhood would come in and be designed as a site plan the same way as a multif family a multif family project would be and then in order for the individuals to purchase the home, it would have to be for example a condo
plat. Okay? where the the homes themselves are platted as condos and then all the ground around those homes would be common area. >> Okay. So, we have a way to do it if it were to come up and it wouldn't fall under this. >> Just include a clause in here that says if they have a pocket neighborhood
concept broadly defined, they're allowed to ask the board for discretion to >> or it comes under a site plan. So, it literally doesn't come under this scenario. I don't think I I think we've got a way to get there based on what you one. That's one path. >> And maybe there's maybe you maybe
Melanie can help us with some language that would >> or or the pocket neighborhoods would be if there was just rental housing, then it would just be a site plan. No one owns the building or the land. You know, it's it's just one single ownership. They own the buildings and the land and they maintain it and it's just a rental
situation. >> Melanie, is this a votable action or is it just consensus? >> This is just direction. it's its direction on how you want us to move forward. Um, but keep in mind too that because these are minimums, that doesn't prohibit somebody from seeking a
variance from the board of adjustment. >> Okay. All right. That's one other way for some flexibility. I want to go back to the buffers. I just want to make sure I understand because I I feel like a lot of it has to do with how much landscape material is there. Um,
>> can we go back to the screen that has the the type A buffer? >> I mean, my preference has always been if there was a way to actually if there's a vegetated property that you actually utilize what's already vegetated as your
your buffer. Um, and provided it's not invasive, but you're using hardwoods or whatever is there. I mean, even pine trees make nice buffers, right? So, is there a way to incentivize
keeping what's there or even so that you're better off using what's there as opposed to um taking it all out? I mean, can we prohibit them taking it all out? I mean, is there some way that that could be incorporated?
>> Well, when they do their tree survey, they have to tell us where the protected trees are and the heritage trees. Um, we can work with the developers in terms of how much protection they want to have in their buffers, it's to their benefit anyway because they don't have
to purchase the landscaping to >> I know it's in their benefit, but they never do it. So, you know what I mean? It's like they if it's not a heritage tree, but it's already it's it's nice and it's thick and it's existing, it seems like that should stay. Other places in this country do that. I don't
know whether developers choose to because it makes sense for them. In Florida, they just don't. I I feel like there are other places in Florida that have done this where if you've got mature trees that you leave those intact
for your buffer areas, >> well, they clear most right up to the rideway line >> usually. And that's what I was hoping that we could get away from something like this. >> I I mean, I like that too. And again, you know, landscaping it, keep the trees, tree survey would be available,
although there's some trees that maybe could go, but a different story. Um, but they should plant. I mean, it could be a vegetative buffer that's planted as well with native trees and shrubs. >> So, in this type A, you could have a
five foot as long as you had a solid wall. Is that basically what it says? >> Yes, ma'am. If you put up a wall, you could have as little as five feet. That's why the this ordinance would require that 20 foot width at a minimum.
>> Yeah, that's >> so no matter what you would have to have 20 ft >> with this >> where where it abuts a county right away. >> Yeah. And that five foot wall that's I mean that's that's suburbia in my opinion. I know it's beauties in the eye
of the beholder, but that's where you see >> is that five foot of vegetation and a six foot wall. >> Just the six foot wall. >> Okay. >> I we there are other codes that are
>> We have a lot of work to do with our LDRs. >> Why don't we just take a good one and just >> Well, yeah. And that goes that's that's my point about the >> They're in Lake County, right? >> Right. Commissioner Parks. >> I mean, well, no, I would I would do
completely redo that. That's why I think like the previous discussion, I would I would redo LDRs. Uh, and I think there is, >> but I want to make progress. I don't >> No, I mean, I think I I mean, look, I'm going to be exaggerating a little bit. I'm be facitious a little bit, but I
think you can make a lot of changes in a short period of time and like within two weeks and bring it forward. It might change some when we go through the comp plan process. We have to realize that >> at least we get something better in place while we're waiting >> with a lot of these. Yeah.
>> So, could we just could our direction be that we're looking for something that um would preserve the current vegetation um encourage the use of native
vegetation and be at a minimum has to be 20 ft wide. And then Commissioner Parks, you could look at this language and maybe come up with a way that you know, right at your entrance, if you want to add additional
vegetation to enhance the look of your entrance way, that's fine. But we want you to at least keep what you've already got. You can add to it, but we don't want you taking mature pine trees out when your 20 foot buffer already has pine trees in it, you know, or it
already has some hardwoods in it, even if they're not heritage trees. I mean, if if it's growing and it exists, we should be promoting keeping that. That kind of goes handinhand with this whole wildlife corridor thing, too. leaving the natural stuff in place
>> unless it's deemed to cause danger to the structure or a structure. >> That's that applies to private residential property. >> It does not apply to common area. The buffer would be a common area.
>> Okay. >> But if this is were devel were were developing from scratch, they would take out any trees that were dead or dying. >> If they're dying, right? Well, if you want my two cents, I say go move forward with 65 foots and working on the
>> work on this and bring it back. >> All right. >> Yeah. And I I'll just say that, you know, I'm very very skeptical of it. Um I think there needs to be more changes. I would really caution you that if you want to nail growth, you know, the growth management issue, look at open space more than anything.
>> And I would and I would say thank you for that, but go ahead and talk to the city dares and see how much has helped them. Yeah. Well, I know the cities are that's part of it, too. If you want >> space in the front of the neighborhood, so when if you're on the road and you see the neighborhood, what you really see is the open space that the houses
back there. >> Could be. I just think we need to look at that. Um, so I'm I'm pretty skeptical on that. I do think you're going to have to do a housing analysis though. >> So, so we'll do we'll split this apart in separate ordinances. Yeah. Landscaping would be a little quicker than
>> uh a housing analysis, >> right? And I may I mean I can come up with a few other ones too. Open space and >> but I understand the housing analysis >> it all together. >> I'm just saying the housing I know is going to be required in the comp plan whether you like that or not. I just
think that's going to be when I read through the comp plan that's what I interpret it to be. But >> maybe we can take a look at that. >> Yeah. >> Well, I'd say working on them all together so we can get it done as done as quickly as possible. >> Okay. Instead of kicking the can down
the road, let's kick the can through the goalpost and get it done. >> Just for clarification, Commissioner Parks, >> were you proposing an increase in open space in addition to the 65 ft width? >> Um, I think that would further cut the
developable property. >> I think I think let me just say it's more important. I think when the growth management concerns, I think open space is more important. And nobody and again I'm going to keep we're going to have a discussion on this but nobody's I mean very few people across the state
counties and cities are cities some some have narrowed in especially the small towns to the minimum lot size as their as their tool to control growth but a lot of most counties are not doing that they're going more towards well you know rewriting codes and hybrid form based
codes and things like that to better address growth management so >> may I ask what the U board's position position on is on a percentage increase. >> No, the board's pos well my position is go with what you have in front of us the
65 foot lot lines in the bumper with some >> percentage increase for the open space >> keeping in mind that we need a holistic approach. I'm all about one step at a time. >> I mean if you can come up with some alternative either or scenario that I think is will work for me just I'm just
speaking for myself based off you know my experience and who I talk to then great. If not. Yeah. >> Yeah. I mean, I I I like the idea of a larger lot width, um, larger lots, and I like the I think the entrance way and
the buffers along the roads are critical. I think what people are so tired of seeing is the really cookie cutter looking teeny tiny lots all crammed up against the road, no vegetative buffer. And I think the other thing that really bothers people, and it really bothers me, is when they clear
cut the whole property, totally flatten it, bring in top soil that has no nutrients, no ability to maintain the new vegetation they plant. And to me, that's like one of the big things that we could do to
actually improve the process is >> sterile soils, everything. >> And we started working on that with our heritage tree protection thing we just approved, right? >> Yes, sir. >> Yeah. So they can't just go out and mow down all the trees. So they have to do work around it. >> Yeah. I mean they'll mow down everything
else. Just not the heritage. >> That's true. >> That was just a clarification. If you really want to get serious, >> but we are trying our best to preserve Lake County. >> Yeah. If you if you want to get serious about that, I think you need to have it goes back to open space and you would identify areas that have not only have
heritage trees, but maybe have some other natural habitats or somewhat natural habitats and maybe require that that be included in the site plan for protection as part of the open space. >> Yeah. And that might be a way to find some sort of compromise between this
position and that position is that if you were to maintain your um some natural zones and you do that as part of your open space that then you could propose a some flexibility through lot size. You know, maybe you you could come
up with something like that. I mean, I I just want to see some natural areas preserved instead of these areas just completely whole scale um you know, bulldozed except for the heritage trees. >> I agree 100% because we're in Lake
County, right? It sounds like we're describing rural conservation subdivision. >> Yeah. >> Can you throw in that they don't change the contours, the natural contours of the land? Can you can you throw in something about following contours of the land?
>> We we do have a maximum amount of cut that they can do on a property before they begin to be considered a sand mine, >> right? I just don't know if that goes far enough to actually like allowing the lay of the land to remain as opposed to
just you can't take any more than >> you can't take any more than 200% of what the requirement is for your storm ponds. If you exceed that, you you uh become a sand mine. >> Okay. I I just feel like there might be a little bit more detail in there that
would just say just like you're preserving open spaces, you're preserving certain areas that just stay naturally contoured as opposed to but you can still take this much off. What about a percentage of the property staying contoured or again that being
something that could be negotiated with in return for clustering? As long as your if your buffers are far enough back and you have natural areas, you can do a lot to make a property
>> more more natural than just saying 65 foot lots. So, I know where he's coming from. I just think there might be a way where you could use that as the way you could write it in a way that it would promote more natural spaces as opposed to just
larger lots. I'm okay with more natural spaces and larger lots. >> All right. >> Hey gum, we're in Lake County. >> All right. So, let's see what you come back in a couple weeks with and we'll beat it to death. Again, >> just to remind the board that the concern is the reduction of the number
of units for the land uses that are already assigned. >> Yeah. And then we just have to figure out how and we've got our little this ordinance that we worked on today, >> right? The resil the um 180 process. if somebody doesn't like it and how they
could >> bring that forward to us. Um >> I just want to know one thing, Mike. Is this clear as mud to you now? >> It is. You know, that's planning and zoning.
>> Okay. So, for confirmation, I think we've got it. But I think for confirmation, we're working on the 65 foot lots, retaining as much natural vegetation and contouring as possible and moving forward with two bifurcated
ordinances. One for the buffering and one for the lot size. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Good. Thank you. >> Okay. Moving then to tap 21
regarding FEMA. I'll be right back. >> Back break. Make sure everyone can hear me. Good morning, commissioners. So, Carl Bersa, nice to see you folks again. Uh, this is my first time addressing you as a member of the parks
and water resources staff. I am now the operations manager of water resources and I'm still your flood plane administrator. Uh so I'm coming to you today with an update to the CRS program. Guess the benefit of being last is at least in theory everyone should be happy to see me. So
So this is just a real brief rundown here of what we'll be discussing. We'll be discussing the National Flood Insurance Program insurance, the CRS program and the benefits of the flood insurance, Lake County's current CRS status, and then uh the current status of the program. So you've a lot of you have seen this
before, so I'll be brief. Uh the NFIP was established in 1968 and it requires participants to follow federal flood plane management regulations. Um it is basically how we offer flood insurance to folks who need flood insurance for their federal mortgages and it also is
essential for us to get um hazard mitigation and um uh sorry and basically any kind of um any kind of disaster relief. So Lake County joined the NFIP in 1982 and we received our first firms in April of that same year. Our current
flood insurance rate maps have been in place since 2012 and again publicly available. The NFIP is publicly available for all communities and legal non-conforming pre-irm structures. Um it is not NFIP insurance is not included in basic uh
homeowners insurance. So, if you do have if you do need uh flood insurance as a part of your federally backed mortgage, you're required to purchase it through the NFIP. Um or you have to go with the private insurance and in that case it can get a little expensive depending on the age and the and the uh quality of
the structure. So, the community rating system program is a program which offers discounts to flood insurance and as you can see there are 1500 more than 1500 communities that are part participating nationwide. There are 244 communities participating in
Florida. Um these numbers are a little old. They have not provided us with recent updates, but we're hoping to get those relatively soon. So Lake County is still currently a CRS class 7 community. We recently completed our 5-year cycle visit and um the person
who was in charge of that cycle visit was very complimentary of of our status and what we've done and they uh went ahead and they scored us and we got scored enough to go up to a class six. So that will increase everyone's flood insurance from or their flood insurance discount who has NFIP back flood
insurance from 15 to 20%. There are a couple of programs that are in place that we have an opportunity to to get into. If we're able to do that, we have an opportunity to increase our class again. Um it'll take a little bit of time, but it's something that we've been
that's been on the on the on my radar to try to get done. So at issue right now, the current contract for the company that is managing the CRS has been placed on inactive status. It's not canceled. There was a real there's a hub a while back that everyone in March where
everyone was saying, "Oh, it's been cancelled. It's been canceled. It's not been cancelled." It's been rendered inactive. What that means, and again, I spoke to the folks about this is that this basically means that with inactive status, everything is paused. So, we were supposed to go through our I'll get
to that in a second, but at that point in time, due to this change, no movement can occur anywhere in the CRS program. So, as I was getting ready to say, our class improvement, which was scheduled to take effect on October 1st of this year, has been put on hold. Um, that hold is indefinite until whatever action
they're going to take on the contract gets done. Um, in addition to that, um, not just for Lake County, but for the for nationwide, there are anybody who was in the program who had a class, uh, upgrade that they were looking to do is on hold. Any new applicants, and there were several hundred, they're on hold.
So, we're kind of stuck here, waiting on the on what goes on here. The program is in effect, and all reporting requirements are in effect. So, basically, I can't get anybody any more savings, but I still have to have all my paperwork in order. So, at this point, a staff is asking for
the commission to uh issue letter or to have us issue letters of support from Lake County BCC to our federal legislative delegation and FEMA that they resume the funding for this CRS program. Um, and again, that's something that if we can get that back in order fast, it will keep us on that October
1st uh timeline, which will help save everybody a little bit more money on their NFIP flood insurance. >> Move to further recommendation. >> Thanks very much, Mr. Commissioner. >> Okay. Um, and just for the record, Chair Campion has stepped out for a moment, so I'm filling in as the role of vice chair for the minutes. You know that
obviously. Um, are there any questions? I'm just making sure that everybody that's listening knows. Yes, sir. >> Um, so what is there any questions? Any discussion on the motion? >> Great job. I appreciate the presentation and good work, Mr. Vice Chair. >> Um, all those in favor of the motion say
I. I opposed. There are none. That passes unanimously. That's which and just in time. >> Okay, >> thank you folks so much. >> We'll now hand it back over to the chair. >> All right, I listened to the whole
discussion and appreciate it, Carl. Um, moving ahead then to tab 22. This is a recommend approval to appoint a member to the Well Florida Council as a Lake County provider. >> Yeah, question. >> Two applications received. There's only
one position available. We have one for Christopher Gonzalez and one for Wana Dela Cruz. Um >> chair, this is district two. So I would I would like a little more time um to go over this and if it's not going to pose a problem to staff, I would table like
to table this. I just want to do a little more research on >> Okay. >> Yeah, I'm fine with that. But I will say also very late applicant, not from the district, so it's your choice obviously. I'll defer to you is uh Colleen Wallace. She's a medical professional North Lake
County. She's been wanting to be on there for a little bit. She just recently applied, so I hope that the board or Sean specifically will consider her. >> Okay, we'll put >> I don't know if you've met her yet, but she's been very involved in the community. She's very professional, very wellliked. I think she she's very eager
to be on there. To me, that's always a sign that they're going to do a good job. So, something to consider. Colleen Wallace and u she's in a different district. I don't know if there's two openings or just one, but something just, you know, maybe a conversation with her would be great. And then whatever, but whoever you choose, obviously. >> No, I appreciate that. Um maybe since if
we table this, I can look at that application as well. Staff has that, they can send it to me. >> So, is it by district or is it by um the type of position? Because it says Lake County provider position. So, it's someone who
is a provider of medical services. >> Yeah. I don't think it's based on district, but it it's not a county board. It's a state board. >> You recommend they finalize it. Is that how it works? >> I I think so. Yes. >> And it would be someone who is a provider.
>> Okay. >> Okay. All right. Well, that that clarifies and can can we still table with those? >> No, I think that that's it's worthy if you've got people who are very interested. Let's look at who's the people that are asking and then go from there. >> Okay. We're going to table it. >> Commissioner, I'm sorry. Did you say
that Miss Wallace has already applied? >> I think she just applied last week. >> Okay. So, what I can do is send that application to all five of you to review and then we'll bring it back at the 28th meeting. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Okay. Then tab 23. This is a recommend approval to appoint a member to the affordable housing advisory committee.
Uh the resident is a concerned citizen for affordable housing, Don Spivey. Um unless otherwise listed here and the applicant is not a current member of the board. And of course, Commissioner Morris is the liaison and it you would need a waiver as well if we recommend
approval for Don Spivey. >> Move to approve. >> Okay. And that includes the waiver. All in favor say I. I. >> Don is a good guy. >> That passes unanimously. Um four to zero. And then we're moving on to reports. County attorney report.
>> County manager report. >> No report. Commissioner Sabatini, >> no report other than just sessions coming back up. They're still going to finalize the budget and continue to advocate for reform of SP 180, which I think will be a topic alongside the budget. That's all.
>> Commissioner Parks. >> Yeah. Two items. Um, and if you could put the photo up. Um, there we go. Um, two things. So, one, I'll start off first with Claremont. I'm going to give uh Claremont a huge compliment, shout out, whatever we're calling it to a
project um in downtown Claremont redoing the entire streetscape um in all native plants, completely 100% native. Uh it's uh I was blessed with the opportunity to donate my time to do
the design, but I will give Cherry Lake a lot of credit because Cherry Lake, a local business, had a lot of input. They have a lot of knowledge. They're also going to be maintaining it for for several years. And it is way under what a typical streetscape budget cost, by
the way. People have asked uh and it'll be uh much more maintenance-free and it'll be leadership by example of promoting Florida native plants. Uh so really uh you'll probably hear the news about that coming out
soon. Just want to thank Claremont. That's awesome leadership. That's a a great example they're doing. Sort of ties into my next point. We have the wellness way meetings that Kathleen and Meg and Richard and city of Claremont do we put on so well uh to not only go over
the tactical aspects of wellness way but then the strategic focus again putting um job centers on the map as you know and and then also respecting people, place and environment. This last meeting we had the Florida Wildlife Corridor come in and make a presentation of
course again as a reminder and a little more detail about why some parts of wellness way and the plan requirements that are important including the recent uh landscape design standards for wellness way. So want to point out this map which I thought was super super
impactful and I think Lake County would find very interesting. If you go to the next one, um these the the circles that you see, so you know there's I4 that's running diagonal and then 27 and then you see where Wellness Way is in Lake
County to the um east of Highway 27 where the first star is on the top of the map. The stars represent the um remaining opportunities. They're they're actually uh connection points to the Green Swamp from the Everglades
headquarters. So, literally this area, this is very poignant if you're in into this kind of stuff like I am. This is literally the one area where wildlife, panthers, bears go from South Florida to North Florida all the way up to the panhandle. They
pass through this area. That's why this area is super important. You'll see the circled areas um were opportunities for connections for the wildlife to get underneath I4, which is the major barrier. It kills all wildlife unless they go underneath or fly over. Um,
you'll see that the one in the middle, the middle circle is now gone. We got the news on that. That is all built out. That's down 27 in Pulk County. There's no connection point across 27 for wildlife from um the Everglades headquarters. Um there there is only two
left. The one at the top, which is Wellness Way, and the one at the bottom there. So you see why this is really important and we're trying to be corridor compatible with all our design standards to promote that literally through that final pinch point at the top where the star is where there's a G
and that's where you'll have bears u and panthers move probably not as frequently as you might think but they will and um if you're into this and protecting our species that's why this part and what we do in all wellness way is of extreme
importance so I want to thank the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Uh Meg and Kathleen, I think it was your idea to bring them in and do the presentation. I saw a lot of eye opening eyes being opened and people understanding and and grasping what was going on. So I thought
it was a pretty cool opportunity which is my leads me into my final point um or just update for you. I have been blessed and invited to be part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor uh trek as they call it. They do these treks every couple years. There's maybe been three or four
started with the thousand mile green thread. Um they do great productions. They get picked up by National Geographic. Um so it's a it's a wonderful way to showcase what the state is doing to protect a Florida wildlife corridor. They're taking this particular
one. They're taking four elected officials. The first time they've ever done it. Um there's a little bit of you know really you want to do that that kind of thing. But it's important because now we're as a as a um what we're trying to do across the state policy will matter and we're Florida
wildlife corridor of course works wonderful with uh all of property owners and agriculture ranchers uh to build uh to promote that Florida wildlife quarter is about 10 million acres. We have about 18 million acres uh to protect the Florida wildlife
quarter in its entirety. there's about 54 million acres or maybe close to 60 million acres total in the state. So, it kind of put that in perspective. This trek is uh I'll be doing with the Florida Wildlife Corridor for a week. Um there's a commissioner from uh Pulk
County, uh me from Lake. Then we have a commissioner from Lyon County, and a city council woman from uh city of Tallahassee. Um I I think if you're into this counting, it's two Republicans, two Democrats. That doesn't really matter. um because we're seeing great um
unification on this issue across the state of Florida and this will be a wonderful chance to um promote the corridor being corridor compatible. So I encourage you to anybody that's listening all commissioners pick up that book. I know it's long maybe a little bit dry but it's important what's in the
corridor compatible communities book uh as well and I think this will be a good opportunity to um showcase Lake County as well. So, I'll I haven't camped in a I slept in a tent in a few years, so it's going to be interesting as we go 150 miles uh from the Red Hills and
Thomasville, Georgia, all the way down to the lighthouse at St. Vincent Island. Um we'll have people from Tallahassee, elected officials, the legislature, maybe not doing the journey with us, but checking in on us. We have the state of
Texas, the state of Georgia, and the state of Alabama all very interested in what's going on in Florida. So, they'll be watching this and be a part of it as well. >> So, I'm excited. I'll give you a full report next week if I make it back. >> Yeah. When do you leave? Did you say when? >> On Sunday. >> On Sunday. Yeah.
>> Oh, are you walking 150 miles? >> I will not walk. It's going to be walk. It's going to be hiking, biking, and canoeing and maybe a swim or two. >> You have a GoPro? >> Nice. Uh, I have uh, no, but we we No, I should maybe get one of those. Yeah, >> you need to get it. Put it on your head
so we can see. >> There going to be cameras all over the place, too. But >> if you don't make it, who do you want us to replace you with on the commission? >> I have a notorized envelope that's sealed. Uh, that goes to the governor if I do not make it. >> But I I appreciate it.
>> You're going to make it? >> I I I hope so. Yeah. I mean, you know, I've camped. It's just been a little while. you've been training for this whole life >> somewhat. It's a great opportunity. Um, but I'll I'll keep you all informed as best I can, but and hopefully represent
you well. >> I'm sure you will. All right, Commissioner Smith. >> Um, I just have one quick thing. As you know, um, last weekend was a big weekend at Hickory Point. I just want to give a
shout out to our parks and recreation crew. They've did an absolute phenomenal job. In case you didn't know, we had a fishing clinic for the for the little kids there. We had a soccer tournament
there. We had a volleyball tournament with over,00 participants and and visitors. We had pavilion rental all going on at the same time without a hitch. everything ran as
smooth as possible. So, I can't thank Bobby and his team. Excellent, excellent, excellent job at making Lake County shine through all those visitors, not only across Central
Florida, but other states and a couple of teams from Puerto Rico. So, uh, thank you very much for that. >> All right. um on my report. First of all, I want to say thank you to Bobby for um handling the situation this
morning and for the fact that you guys were already working on that and it's clear that there is a plan and it's being worked on. Um and um you just do your best sometimes to get information out and you hope that people will understand that these things don't
happen overnight, especially really major projects that are very expensive projects um that are difficult to engineer because of where they're located. Um so anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to Bobby for going the extra mile um like he always does. Um,
and um, I wanted to um, mention I wanted to ask the county attorney first of all, is it possible or is it is it appropriate if I were to give an update on what I'm doing this week with regard to the deposition or >> you can update in general, just no
details. >> With regard to the um, case involving the Mid Florida Materials Landfill, um, there are depositions on Thursday and I'm one of the people being deposed. So, you >> working on my preparation right now. Um,
not right now, but soon after this meeting. >> Is it video or just audio? Do you mean the transcribers? >> I don't know whether they'll video. >> I have not heard that it's video. I I don't think it is. >> Okay. >> All right. >> So, who do we need to send get wild
cards to? Who's deposing you? >> Um, objection. The other thing I wanted to mention is um we were talking about um we were looking at the map with the wildlife corridor and lake um looking at South Lake County and I wanted to bring up the um Lake Louisa road corridor to
see if we could um look at that again for purposes of I know in the past it was reviewed for purposes of trying to um calm traffic and dissuade people from using it as a highway basically because of the nature
of that road and its proximity to Lake Louisa Park and the lake itself and just it's it's from what I understand people travel it often at high speeds and it really needs to be they really need to be slowing down. It puts wildlife at risk. It also puts people humans at risk
um that are walking or trying to cross the road and so forth. So I just wanted to put that request in that we could take a look at what we've looked at before and maybe um um come back with a plan on how we can try to calm traffic. >> We'll take a look at that. I I'll just
say I support that. I um we know Jeff, some of us have been on and off talking about that road for years and we did do the reworking of a of a curve. I think that may have helped a little bit with safety, but there's always the issue like you said of the crossing and people
going 55 miles per hour when people are crossing over to the other side. You know, the thought is maybe uh some crosswalks that are elevated um with a not elevated bridge, but like a speed table, you know, something like that. Uh I mean, whatever. I'm sure there's some
options, but I'd be I'm supportive of that as well. So, thanks for bringing that up. >> Yeah. And it it's not something just in Lake Louisa. There's something going I don't understand why all of I mean it's been going on for years but people are just absolutely
being crazy with their driving. 4419 0441 Lakes Shore Drive. They're passing on double yellows 48. I mean it's all over the place. I don't know why people are in such a hurry to make the extra 15 seconds.
>> It's it's crazy. So I don't know. You can't regulate stupidity, but you can just certainly go out there and try to say, "Hey, you know what? Wait the 30 seconds. I I don't understand. I've been passed on double
yellow lines and I'm going just above the speed limit. Certainly not as fast as they want to go." >> Yeah. >> And I just don't get it. I don't know what happened to our society to have everybody go in that big of a hurry. I
just don't get it. >> But I understand the issue and I understand the problem. >> You can't regulate stupidity, but they don't have to give as many people as they do driver's licenses either or let them keep them. But >> correct. So, uh I I guess we'll just have to hire more law enforcement across
the board and start doing >> I don't know. >> And and I appreciate what you're saying. I think we've all witnessed it. But um at least you know when there are opportun opportunities for some modifications to be made that actually cause people to maybe not want to use a
route as they're cut through um or it just make it forces them to take it slower. Um I think >> that's that concept of calming of traffic calming and and a lake like I mean a road like uh Lake Louisa road would hopefully be a good candidate for
trying to slow folks down. Um, okay. All right. Well, >> appreciate it. Appreciate everybody's support on that and um, good meeting and um, we will be back when Commissioner Parks gets back from his trek and we
look forward to seeing maybe some sort of a presentation, some pictures, a little video. >> Um, >> yeah, I'll do it. >> You guys are going to be like the astronauts. you know, you come back and you're going to say, "We're we're never going to be the same after this 150 miles that we went together across the state of Florida."
>> That's right. They'll probably never be the same, the people that were with us. But >> speaking of astronauts though, what an amazing thing that happened over the last week and and just so cool to be a Fidian right now and >> to, you know, it's like the old days
with the launches and going back to the moon. Amazing. and so proud of our country and so proud of the astronauts and all of the people that made that happen. So, um and it's just really cool to see the the kids and the young people. They're really into it. Um and
so way to go uh Artemis and um way to go America. So, I'll turn it over to you to close out the meeting. >> Okay. So, my dad would be uh really proud about today. I don't know if he'd be proud or kind of shaking his head,
but in case you were wondering, today is National Pecan Day. So, go out, chuck a couple of pecans, have pecan pie, and her pecans from Georgia. That's >> all I have.
>> All right. Well, everybody enjoy some pecans and uh appreciate that. All right. We stand adjourned.