--------- You're on. Good morning and welcome to our April 22nd, 2025 board of county commission meeting. Please join us but for the invocation by Reverend Victor Gomez from the Higher Purpose Pentecostal Church followed by the pledge of allegiance which will be given
by Bill Bergstresser. Good morning. Good morning all. Uh let's uh let's bow our heads and ask God to bless this meeting. Uh Father, we love you. We thank you for your presence. We love you for what you're about to do in
this place. Take all the hearts in this place and make it one that you make the choices that we bring to you in this committee. Uh bless it in Jesus' name we ask and bless every person that makes these decisions for the community, our
commissioners. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. Mr. Bergstresser. I pledge allegiance 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. And you are an Air Force veteran. tell us a bit about your service, please. Okay. Well, thank you for having me. Thank you. Just after the Gulf War ended in the
early 90s, I entered the United States Air Force at age 22. This was in 1992. Uh my goal was to fly airplanes. And uh I had family members that were
pilots. I had family members that were involved with jet aircraft. It was amazing to me. So that was my goal. I got in uh as an enlisty and um was chosen to work on F-16s. You'd have to go to a lot of schooling in
order to fly. So I was going to go to school and work on F-16s, which is a Air Force fighter jet. uh I ended up not having enough time for the school and also realized that I was nowhere near as competitive as all the fighter pilots that I worked for. So uh I worked on
F-16s for four years in the military. Got a ton of stories. Uh some are fun, some are not so fun. Uh I'd like to just tell one that my mom seems to like because she tells all her friends. So I'm born and raised here in
Martin County. actually happened to be born in Fort Pierce because my family doctor was up in Fort Pierce at the time. Uh but never really got out of the state often and so I didn't know what fall was. I knew palm trees and oak trees. That's about all I know.
And one morning I'm sitting on a flight line now a young airman sitting on a flight line watching the F-16s uh start up and get ready to go out for practice missions. And between me and the flight
line is a nice row of trees. And I'm stationed in South Carolina at the time. And the trees the the color of the leaves were amazing to me. And one of the jet aircraft during its uh testing before its flight uh ran up to 80%
thrust and blew all the leaves off the tree right in front of me. And so it was my first experience with fall. Instant fall. Um, on the other end of the spectrum, at the end of my service, my last year of
my first four years, I was to make a decision whether or not I wanted to continue on and uh reinlist for another four years. And I was riding the fence on that. I had some other ideas of what I wanted to do in life. And um, working on
aircraft uh, wasn't really high on the list anymore for me. I'd lost hearing because of being close to uh jet aircraft and um I kind of wanted to build that was kind of I had a a desire to build homes and other buildings and
so I was out in Saudi Arabia in Operation Southern Watch which was uh where the United States had the task of patrolling the 42nd parallel making sure that Iraq is no longer advancing south
towards Kuwait. So, I'm in Saudi Arabia working on jets and uh one evening I was to go on shift. I was working a night shift and I was sitting on a couch with three of my fellow airmen. Uh we were in very
nice buildings that Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia put us up in. They were called Cobar Towers. Uh I was on third floor. Uh we had 8 foot tall sliding glass doors with a balcony overlooking a big new mosque. And then in the background,
the Persian Gulf. It was it was quite the scene. Uh while I was sitting there with these other individuals, I felt my face and realized I'd forgotten to shave. So I got up from the couch and I walked back
into a bathroom to shave. And um the building shook from under me. I fell to the ground, realized we had uh what felt like a missile had hit the building, but actually 200 feet away there was a
terrorist bombing. Uh and so kind of helped make my decision. It uh it was a frightening event. Uh I had to offer uh a lot of first aid to people out in a
parking lot. uh I 19 people died in this uh particular bombing and again I guess that's uh that's what settled my uh my decisions for not staying in any longer in the Air Force. So those are my two stories. Thank you.
Thank you for your service. Thank you. [Applause] Uh we have a number of presets today. At 9:05 we'll hear public comment. 9:30
we'll hear the business development board's annual report. At 1:30 we will hear contracts that meet the threshold for board approval of a million dollars or greater. At 5:05 we will hear from the public. Um there are no additional
items. Uh, commissioners, can we approve the regular agenda minus the consent agenda? Commissioner Heatherington. Yes. I will move that we approve the agenda. Second. There's a motion and a second.
All those in favor? I opposed. That motion passes unanimously. Now, we'll begin our proclamations. Uh, the first proclamation is hurricane preparedness week. The 2025 hurricane season begins on June 1st. And as a coastal county, Martin
County is extremely v vulnerable to storm surge, tornadoes, flooding, and high winds. Whether hurricane forecasters have predicted an average, above average, or below average season, it takes only one storm to have a bad year. In recognition of Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 4th through 10th,
the board urges the cooperation of municipalities, businesses, homeowners, and condominium associations, hotel associations, and all media to help inform residents and visitors of appropriate awareness, preparedness, and safety measures related to hurricane season. And here to accept, we have Amy Heimberger Lopez, who is our deputy
emergency management director. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good morning, commissioners. Mr. Donson, Miss Woods. As we observe hurricane preparedness week in May 4th to 10th, it is crucial for both our board of county commissioners and also our residents of
Martin County to reflect on the importance of readiness before the next storm threatens our community. The 2024 hurricane season serves as a reminder that early preparation saves lives and protects property. Our emergency
management team is working diligently to enhance response plans, strengthen community partnerships, and ensure resources are in place to support the residents before, during, and after a storm. However, preparedness is a shared
responsibility and we encourage every household and business to take proactive steps such as reviewing evacuation routes, assembling emergency kits, and staying informed through official alerts. We ask for the support of our county
leaders in reinforcing the importance of these efforts by promoting preparedness initiatives and ensuring our communities have the resources needed to withstand future storms. Investments in resilient infrastructure, public awareness
campaigns, and emergency response capabilities are essential for safeguarding lives and property. As we move forward, let us work together to foster a culture of preparedness, resilience, and swift recovery, making Martin County a model for hurricane
readiness. By taking action now, we can reduce risks and emerge stronger from any storm that comes our way. It is our privilege and pleasure to serve the board and our community. So on behalf of your of your emergency management team, we thank you all and appreciate your
support as we head into yet another above normal predicted season. Thank you. Thank you very much. Join us team. Cool. Thank you. Our next proclamation is a proclamation declaring sexual assault awareness month
in Martin County, Florida. April is recognized as sexual assault awareness month and this observance calls attention to the fact that sexual violence is a widespread public health problem. Every day too many women, men and children across our state suffer the pain and trauma of sexual assault in all
its forms. At every level, we must work to provide necessary resources to survivors of sexual assault without judgment and with dignity, including medical attention, mental health services, relocation and housing assistance, and advocacy during the criminal justice process. And here to
accept from uh board members from the Inner Truth Project, we have Carrie Norbraten and Marshall De's. There she is. Bigger than she is. Yeah. Right. Honor talent is not as glamorous as it is.
Morning. Good morning. I'm Marshall D and I'm a member of the board of directors for the inner truth project. On behalf of the inner truth project, its staff, board members, and most importantly our survivors. We are honored to receive this proclamation from the Martin County Board of Comm County Martin County Board of
Commissioners. Founded 12 years ago by Mindy Fedterman, the Inner Truth Project was established to serve individuals affected by the direct and indirect consequences of sexual violence and abuse. Since our inception, we have provided counseling and other services to hundreds of
survivors, helping them embark on the journey to reclaim their power. As a former law enforcement officer, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects experienced by survivors, and I am privileged to be part of such a transformative organization. The recognition of the Interruth
Project's efforts through this proclamation brings muchneeded awareness to an often unspoken and underreported issue. So we thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Okay.
Thank you very much. Our next proclamation is a proclamation declaring Earth Day in Martin County. Today, April 22nd, marks Earth Day, a global observance highlighting the need to protect the Earth's ecosystems, which span 510 million square kilometers and
support millions of species. Sustained efforts by residents and organizations can preserve these resources, ensuring their ecological and economic value endures for future generations. Earth Day provides an opportunity to celebrate Martin Countyy's commitment to green initiatives such as expanding stormwater treatment areas, promoting native
plantings, and fostering community engagement and conservation. And here to accept, I think you all know this gentleman. Uh we have Mark Perry, executive director and CEO of the Florida Oceanographic Society. I've got a a handout for you and as they say is a terrific a picture's worth a
thousand words. So I only have 50 words to say. So, but thank you commissioners in Martin County for recognizing this important day which which we celebrate back in 1970 when we started. But it's a it's a special day. And the the photo
that I'm passing out to you here is a NASA Apollo 17 photo taken about 125,000 miles above the Earth um 1972 in December. It's a beautiful photo of our Earth and it really shows. So the 8 inch
diameter uh sphere that you're holding here, if we put that into scale of 1 in equals 1,000 miles, that would put our our moon at about 20 feet away, only about 2 in in diameter, like a tennis ball. And then our sun would be about 72
feet in diameter and it'd be about a mile and a half away. So just kind of give you a little scale. And as you can see by the swirling clouds above in the atmosphere, we're we're moving rather rapidly. You know, the Earth is rotating at about 1,000 miles an hour and we're
also orbiting around the Sun at about 67,000 miles an hour, but it's the 197 million square miles that we just stated that that are on our surface. And out of that, of course, 71% is in ocean
and water coverage. That's why it looks like a blue planet. And uh it is. And it's 140 uh million square miles. And it's it's a big big area, but it's also volume. It's about 321 million cubic
miles of volume. One of the largest living spaces here on Earth. Our atmosphere above it is it's very thin. In fact, if I took this paper and wrapped it around that 8 in sphere, that's about how thick our atmosphere was is. It's a but it's it's a volume of
about 5 million cubic miles. 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, and 1% water vapor. That's all those clouds that you see swirling around and things are always in motion in energy. It's 62 miles up in space. It goes up and then
we reach space. But the big mass of the atmosphere, of course, is right here near the surface, only about 6.8 miles above. And that's where we get all that energy moving around. Of course, we've caused a lot of change in our climate. Um the the levels of CO2 back in 1970
when I started working on this are 325 parts per million and now it's in 25 they're up to 430 parts per million. That's a higher concentration continuously of carbon dioxide. What does that mean? Of course you've heard about climate change results clim global
warming. Uh thermal expansion of our ocean is causing sea level rise and ocean acidification. and all that carbon dioxide sequestered in the in the ocean um is getting oversaturated and that ocean acidification is dissolving all
the shells that we normally think of. So what we need to do is just respect our planet. It's all about what we do on those 57 million square miles of land that impacts the 140 million square miles of water. And Martin County has
done a tremendous job to right here, right on the coast to help do that. and protect our planet. So, I appreciate everything you do to respect uh respect our Thank you. All right. If you look really close, you can
see Katie Perry. I was going to say it louder, but then I figured his name is Mark Perry. It gets confusing. That's what I'm Thank you so much. Thank you guys. Thank you so much. There's more. And our next proclamation is a
proclamation declaring Historic Preservation Month in Martin County, Florida. Historic preservation is an effective tool for revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride, and maintaining community character. Historic preservation plays an important role in our lives, helping to preserve
the tangible access of the heritage that has shaped us as a people. The Martin County Historic Preservation Board has planned events throughout the month of May to increase awareness and public participation in historic preservation in order to save our local treasures. In recognition of Historic Preservation Month, the board calls upon the people
of Martin County to join their fellow citizens across the United States in recognizing and participating in the special observance. And here's our historic preservation board chair, Evan Anderson. Thank you. Uh, good morning. Evan Anderson with the Historic Preservation
Board. I'm the current chair and I'm pleased to be here this morning. Um the board of county commissioners will declare the month of May is historic preservation month in Martin County. Uh we'll be celebrating along with the rest of the country. It's actually uh May has
been designated nationally as historic preservation month. Uh and thanks to you guys, we're doing the same. Um, we will also be uh commemorating and celebrating Martin County's centennial anniversary uh which takes place this
year, 100 years. Uh, we're lucky to live in a county where our elected officials have recognized the importance of historic preservation. Thank you. Uh, to our quality of life. Uh, in 2003, the Martin County Board of uh, commissioners
adopted its historic preservation ordinance that created a historic preservation board, which I sit on, and a designation process to place buildings more than 50 years old on the Martin County Register of Historic Places.
Another duty of the board is promoting an awareness of the benefits of historic preservation to the community. For the past 17 years, the Martin County Historic Preservation Board has coordinated Historic Preservation Month
as an important means of accomplishing this goal. 2008 was the first year that the board coordinated historic preservation week, which grew to a month after that. uh they coordinated activities with its
partners in preservation including the city of Stewart and many of the organizations that are participating this May. Each year community support for historic preservation month and historic preservation has grown
stronger. In 2008 the schedule listed a mere six events all planned by the board. In 2019, the year before COVID hit, there were 40 events on the calendar. 2020, it had to be cancelled
due to COVID. Um, here we are, 2025. Uh, we have 33 separate events listed on the schedule of events, which looks something like this, but in color. Uh, and you can find that, uh, at at 20 different locations around the county.
Uh you can also go on to the county's website and and find a list of those events and where they're going to occur. It was the board's hope uh when it started celebrating this very special month that through public education about our historic treasures, a
preservation ethic would take root in Martin County. This year's 2025 schedule of events planned by a diversity of organizations shows that a preservation ethic has indeed taken root. 2025 is a
very special year and that we are celebrating the Martin County Centennial. Martin County was created in 1925. Historic preservation is an important element of Martin County's quality of life. Historic preservation preserves valuable local history.
Through its preservation program, Martin County has preserved and placed on its local register of historic places valuable historic treasures such as the Serno Colored School, the House of Refuge, the mansion at Tuo, the Log
Cabin, and the Captain Su House for future generations to enjoy. Historic preservation is important not only to what Southerners refer to as our sense of place, but to our economy. A 2010 University of Florida report,
Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation in Florida says, "Historic preservation activities in Florida contribute some $6.3 billion dollar annually to the state. Heritage tourism is a great way to bring tourists and visitors to Martin
County. According to a 2021 report, preserving Florida heritage, uh, more than six out of 10 visitors to our state participate in heritage tourism in some form or fashion, knowingly or
unknowingly. And those that do participate stay longer and they spend more money. Um, the board invites you to join us uh at the Steuart uh Steuart Heritage Museum 5:00 May the 1st as we join our
partners in preservation uh Steuart Heritage, the city of Steuart and others to celebrate the kickoff for our historic preservation month 2025 and commemorate the Martin County Centennial. We also invite you to join
us at the Elliot Museum on May 15th when our board will honor the 2025 preservationist of the year. The board wants to thank our partners who are participating in this very special month. We look forward to working uh
with you as we celebrate both Historic Preservation Month 2025 and our 100th anniversary. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause]
She is. I was wondering. That's good. Thanks. Thank you. We'll take up public comments now. Uh, our first speaker will be Willis Milner. Following Mr. Milner will be
Bill Miller. Thank you very much for the opportunity to come and speak with you today. Willis Milner is my name. I like to say that I've been a permanent resident of Martin County. Had the good sense to move here in 1999. So I've been here for quite a
while. Moved on to uh Glenidge Trail. Bought a house on Glen on Glenidge Trail. Um Hurricane Francis and Jean took care of that. So we built a brand new house uh there uh at the end of the circle there. So, there's a a circle at
the end of the of the uh of the of the road and uh for years we would put our yard debris down there, which only makes perfect sense to do. Um, however, I learned now and we know now that uh
there's a rule against it. Uh and so we we don't do that anymore. Now, a sign popped up. Now, I'm not talking about a a small sign. I'm talking about a 9- FFT sign with a big old white thing at the top that talks about being fined $5,000
if you put yard debris into the circle or any other uh garbage there. Of course, nobody's ever put any garbage there. And so I went on the website to uh to um I'm not going to use the word complaint to make my concerns known. and
the field operations folks came out uh and put on put notices on mailboxes uh saying please don't do this anymore neighbors and of course the neighbors and I have not done that since then and they removed the sign which was and by the way your field operations folks are
uh are super very very very good efficient and so forth. So, I thought it was over with. Uh, and now the sign is back. And, uh, I'm asking you folks to please, you know, consider, uh, Commissioner, you go by our street every
day on on your way home. If you want to go down there and look at what this thing, which I understand could be a obviously a rural county sign to keep people from putting trash there, which I doubt works, but uh, it works for us. We're not putting debris there anymore,
and I want the sign removed. Thank you. Thank you. That sounds reasonable to me. Yeah. Bill Miller is next, followed by uh Linda St. Julian. Good morning, commissioners. Thanks for
the opportunity to present today to you. Um my name is Bill Miller and my family and I live in the Cobblestone community. 1268 Southwest Squire John's Lane is our address. We've been there for the greater part of 10 years and Martin County residents for since 2011. and I'm
a native Flidian uh born and raised in the state. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with the board today about my strong support for the proposed fire station uh project on the western side of the county on Martin Highway close to I95. The fire station project is long
overdue and essential to the safety and well-being of our residents. I believe uh our community has experienced multiple total loss home fires in recent years in addition to serious unwanted forest fires uh that required mandatory evacuations of our community and
multiple day fire responses. As our county grows and as areas around us grow, emergency response needs on the turnpike I95 Martin Highway are creating even more demand for the fire station that currently serves western Martin County. Fire stations are often the hub of
communities and provide a sense of security, community pride, and and identity intangibles that help to uplift and broaden our sense of value for our community and evokes a commitment that we care about our well-being and safety. Um, these are examples, I believe, of
taxpayer dollars going to a purpose that uplifts the community and shows a commitment to the people. The needs have outgrown the services provided and now is the time to take action to approve the fire station project and ensure that all residents of our county receive the protection and
emergency response services that we pay for and deserve. Uh thank you for your consideration and please vote to approve the additional fire station. Thank you. Thank you. TV is frozen. Linda St. Julian is next, followed by John Seymour. Good morning.
Good morning, commissioners. My name is Linda St. Julian, and today is actually my birthday. Happy birthday. Thank you all. What would you like for your birthday? Thank you. Thank you. What would you like for your birthday? A new fire station. Well, how about it?
While birthdays are usually spent celebrating, and of course, the day is still young. I've chosen to be here with you because I believe so strongly in the importance of ensuring the safety of our community. I've lived in Steuart West for 24 years. In that time, I've witnessed firsthand several house fires
in both Steuart West and Cobblestone and just within the past month, two brush fires in less than 20 days. You may recall the brush fires in 2024 that spread over 100 acres next to Steuart West where evacuation looked imminent. Our current fire rescue station is at
least 15 to 20 minutes away and that's when they can get drivers to cooperate to let them through on Martin Highway. Commissioners, every minute matters, especially when lives and homes are on the line. We simply cannot continue to gamble with response times this long. As
you know, your recent county study clearly highlighted a dangerous gap in fire rescue coverage for Western Palm City. The need is unmistakable. Fortunately, we now have an extraordinary opportunity. Ashley Capitol, the developer behind the Martin
Commerce Park project directly across from our community, has been actively engaged with Martin County Fire Rescue. They are willing to donate land as part of the public benefit component required for their project's final approval later this year. Accepting this donation would
greatly reduce costs for taxpayers, particularly at a time when expenses related to land acquisition, building construction, and fire equipment are dramatically rising. This is an immediate solution to a dire problem. As taxpayers and as as your constituents,
we ask you to recognize and act upon the very real dangers we face daily. You've seen the study, you've witnessed the rapid development, and now you have the land practically gifted to you. There is simply no reason to delay. Please prioritize funding in your budget for a
new fire station in western Palm City. We trust you'll put public safety first and make the responsible decision for our community. Thank you all for your consideration. John Seymour is next followed by Cornelis Pamir.
Good morning. My name is John Seymour. Uh I'm also a resident of Cobblestone. Have been there for over 20 years, arriving just in time for Francis and Jean. Notwithstanding that nice welcome from Minnesota, I stayed. Uh and
uh also would like to ask that you uh consider and I endorse the idea of the the new fire station on 714. Um I think uh I'm not going to be as eloquent as the previous speakers, so I'll try to be shorter. I just note that as has been mentioned, there have been three total
loss fires in in the our communities in the recent years. Uh thank goodness there haven't been any fatalities associated with those. And I would urge that we take immediate action to reduce response times and build a new fire uh station and not wait until after we have
had a fatality due to those delayed response times. Thank you very much. [Applause] Cornellis Pamager. If I've mispronounced
your name, forgive me. Very close. Thank you. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Cornelius Pomeier. Um, I was elected president of the Steuart Board of Directors and one of the issues that I noticed when I did my
campaign was the need and the absolute worry about not having a fire station nearby. Um, I know all of you are very busy. I hope that during the Easter weekend you were able to pick up a short
clip that the uh TV aired. They neglected to tell you that there were only three brush fires. There were three house fires in two and a half years. Two houses were completely destroyed. The
third one was partially destroyed. Had the uh respond time been within normal limits, let's say 10 minutes, 12 minutes, those houses may have been saved. They were not because the fire station, the nearest we have,
is at Map Road. And traffic on 714, as you have all experienced, is not the easiest traffic, not even for an emergency vehicle or a fire truck. We are taxpayers. We choose to
live in an isolated area. I admit that. Yet, we ask that you consider a fire station in view of the continued expansion west coming from Palm City. We've been here six years and the change
in six years has been tremendous. I did not think when we moved in here that things would develop so rapidly, but they have. As taxpayers, I came up with a rough estimate that we contribute
perhaps six to eight million dollars. So, I'm asking you, would you consider allocating perhaps half of that money to get started with a fire station, surveying, determining the suitability
of the land that has been made available by Ashley Capital. And then we come back to you next year. I'll be off your back for a year. And I have a year to prepare my three minute speech next year for more money.
I would be very pleased if you would look at it. Of course, I could ask for the full 11 or $30 million, but I approach it very carefully. I understand you have obligations to other people, other projects. I just humbly ask,
please look carefully into the need that we have. Thank you. Thank you. Tammy Mazota is next followed by Tom Pine. Tammy Mazota is next followed by Tom Pine. Could not hear you over all the
applauding. Tammy Mizota here. Good morning. Morning. Um, I just want to take a minute to address all of you today and ask you if during today and later today
and beyond today if you could all take a few minutes and reflect on yourselves and your positions here at the commissions. Um, maybe ask yourselves if you're upholding your oath to the communities
and doing your best for your community or are you doing what's best for you individually and maybe a handful of people? Are you listening to your community? Are you trying to help your community?
And and are you being true to yourself and the community also? Are you being transparent? Are you being sincere? Or are you being selfish or detrimental to the community?
I'm not here making any accusations. I'm just asking you all to reflect upon the choices that you're making for your communities and your districts. And I'm asking you to reflect on the support for
each one of you supporting each other. If you really truly feel that the decisions are the best for your communities or are they getting you the next commissioner's
vote for the next thing that you want if that makes sense. I have a lot of confidence in every one of you. I see a lot of good in every one of you. But I'm also seeing
things in one specific community that are not okay. The community is not being heard. They're being ignored. Things are not transparent. Things are being hidden.
And that's not why you are here. That's you're here to be transparent. You're here to do your best person because I believe that each one of you as an individual person are
really good people. But when you come up in to your actual jobs here, I understand it's not easy. I understand you cannot please everyone. But when you have an entire
community asking for transparency and to be heard and that's not being done, why are you here? Okay. Thank you for your time. Thank you.
Tom Pine is next, followed by Ken Haynes. Good morning. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Tom Pine. I've been a resident of Martin County for over 50 years. I presently live in the Jensen Beach area. Today, in the consent agenda, this county commission will
approve 18,615,1320 that was spent between March 24th and April 6th of 2025 without identifying the payes or the purpose of the payment. Democracy dies in darkness. Welcome to Martin County. I have spoken several times
about the illegal expansion of runway 1230. How part how the airport director lied to the county commission at a county commission meeting when he stated there were no homes west of runway 1230 and showed photos to back up his statements. The photos were over 30
years old. The vote by the commissioners were 5 to zero. At least one, if not more of the commissioners at the time knew exactly what was happening. Within a few months of that meeting, two county commissioners apologized in the Stewart News for being duped into voting for the
expansion of runway 1230. The airport director was not disciplined in any way for lying to the public, but I got a golden parachute on the taxpayers's back instead for doing exactly what he was hired to do. The
original price approved at the county commission meeting for the renovation of our county golf course clubhouse was $5.5 million. The final cost is still a secret because it was all hidden in the consent agenda over a few years.
Estimates at least double the $5.5 million. Last week, I was at a meeting with our Jensen Beach Commissioner and the head of the parks department where he gave me another presentation of why the county operates the Beachside Cafes
and also noted $300,000 in losses at the county golf club restaurant. I was at the meeting when the contract was awarded. One of the good old boys, I guess. Who else would but a good old guy Who
else but a good old boy wouldn't have to put up a sizable amount of security to operate a restaurant anywhere, even a county facility. $3 million on the taxpayers's back. Good deposit for a
firehouse. Thank you. Thank you. Hen Haynes is next, followed by uh Rachel or Michelle Goldman. Good morning. Hi. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Ken Haynes. I live in Steuart West and I'm currently a
board member of the Steuart West POA. Um, I haven't spoken here for quite a while. It's been over 10 years. I'm one of the original members of the Martin County Consensus, if any of you remember that group. Um, one of the
things that our charter really prioritized was to advocate for responsible growth in the county. And along with the many issues that you have before you, part of responsible growth in our opinion would have been things
like responsible services. As you know, we've other people have spoken here this morning. The issue that I've come to talk about is the firehouse as a responsible service to the western side of Palm City. Uh you I congratulate you
for doing that study and I think the study from what I understand pointed out that there was a lack of uh response time because of the firehouse right now being located in central Palm City on Map Road. Um there's been a rash of
fires, there are brush fires, uh as reported some house fires, and the response time for the last house fire was over 20 minutes till they actually got water on the fire. Imagine if you were sitting outside your home watching
it burn, waiting that long. That's a pretty hard pill to swallow. Now, fortunately, Ashley Capital has graciously offered to donate land for this firehouse. So, you know, that should be half of the battle to where to
put it, where to locate it, and it sounds like there's at least a tentative plan in place that that land would be offered. And, you know, I don't know that we would get that out of too many other commercial businesses or commercial developers. So, that's a
great thing. Now, the thought that the board, the county commission has in front of them is to decide whether they can approve that. and of course budget for it. And due to the fact, you know, we've had this real estate boom over the
past at least half dozen years, you would think that there would be some funding available for something like a a vital service of a firehouse, a new firehouse in a highly needed area. Facts are over time that area out Martin
Highway is going to build up and there's going to be even more need for it than there is now. Um Canopy Creek is there. They would get service by it. Of course, Steuart West Cobblestone um Newfield projects coming in. There's going to be vast need for that and I'm
sure the fire station's not going to happen overnight even if it's funded. So I think you know like I said the responsible growth part, responsible services, it would make just absolute sense for the commission to vote to
approve it and to fund it and u you know take Ashley Capital up on their generous donation and you know I'm sure there's going to be people speaking after me but please give it some thought. I'm sure this is going to happen over the next
few months whether your approval is yes or no. And I would really urge all five of you to help us out in district 5 with that firehouse. Thank you. Miss Goldman is next followed by Michelle Titco.
Hi all, morning. This is my first time speaking for y'all. I'm gonna ramble for a couple minutes because I didn't come as prepared as everyone else with my little speech. So, and I'm use my phone. Speak into your microphone. Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm going to ramble because I didn't come prepared 100%.
Okay. So, I'm Rachel. I'm a native Floridaian. I was born in North Miami Beach. Um, I moved here 10 years ago. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. I love cobblestones west. Um, beautiful natural place, but this year definitely prone to brush fires. Um, some of my
friends homes were involved. Um, we also had the house fire some other folks spoke about. One of them was two doors down. I'm watching a fire thinking, "Wow, I'm about to lose my house." My
dad was a firefighter rescue down south. I know what can happen. It's bad. I have a fire hydrant at the end of my street. Not at the end of my street, I'm sorry. At the end of my driveway, okay, it's
useless because by the time firefighters get there, they're saving the foundation of my house and that's it. Because it's just too far away. And like other people have said, 7:14, I was late to this
meeting. I came in after it started because I had to come up 7:14. It's a problem. We're about to have a church built at the beginning of Cobblestone Short West. The driveway, I don't know if y'all know about that. Well, you must
know about it, right? You had to approve it. Imagine what everybody would say if the church burns down. It won't be good. God forbid there's people in the church when there's a fire. that will be worse because it will be bad. What nobody's
mentioned yet also is that in Cobblestone Stewart West, we only have basically one access road. In a fire, there's only one way for us to get out. Okay? It can burn to the ground. We will be trapped. There is a boat ramp, but
we'd all have to go into the canal with the alligators. So, you can have fire or you can be eaten alive. Those are your choices there. So, it's really, really, really necessary. There's a lot of buildings going up, the industrial
center, yada yada. More risk for fire, more risk for not just for fire starting, but what we can lose, the church, the industrial community. A lot can go badly wrong.
Um, yeah. I think that's all I have. Is that my buzzer? Is that the egg timer? Okay, I'm done. Thanks everybody. Thank you. Michelle Titco is next, followed by Deborah Vicotsky.
Good morning. Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Rochelle Techco and my husband Steve and I live in Stewart West. We've been there for approximately 5 years. I'm deeply concerned about the fire response time in our neighborhood.
But what's even more alarming is the inadequate ambulance response time. In western Palm City, it currently takes 15 to 20 minutes for emergency medical services to arrive.
That's nearly double the recognized national benchmark according to the National Fire Protection Association. The standards for EMS response times ver vary by area. First, there is a target of under
8 minutes 90% of the time in urban and suburban settings. When it applies to a rural area, it recommends a response time of 14 minutes for 80% of the time. Even by rural standards, we are
not meeting expectations. And Western Palm City is not rural anymore. We are considered suburban. It's a rapidly growing suburban community that deserves timely emergency care. I personally spent my
entire career working on the heart. I saw firsthand the outcomes of patients who received immediate emergency care versus those who did not. The delay of even a few minutes can lead to permanent damage or
worse. This just doesn't apply to cardiac arrest. Timely emergency response is critical for strokes, traumatic injuries, respiratory distress, severe allergic reactions, which I'm allergic to bees. I could die
and countless other emergencies. Minutes lost waiting to help can mean the difference between recovery and lifelong disability or even loss. In the case of cardiac arrest, brain damage begins within four to six
minutes, and the chances of survival drop by 10% every minute without treatment. They aren't just statistics. They're real consequences for people that affect us in our community. I understand there are a lot of factors involved in choosing the location of a
new fire station, but I ask you, imagine if your family was waiting 20 minutes for an ambulance or standing helplessly while your home burns. Western Palm City is growing. We pay significant taxes and our emergency infrastructure does need
to reflect that. I respectfully urge you to support the placement of a fire station to our neighborhood because every second truly counts. Thank you. [Applause] Deborah Vagotssky is the last request to
speak form I have. If you would like to address us, please fill out a request to speak form and make and give it to the baiff. Thank you. Thank you. And good morning. Thank you, chair. Also, you perfectly pronounce that name, which can be somewhat intimidating. Thank you. So,
good morning, commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this morning. My name is Deb Vagotssky and my husband Tim and I live in Steuart West. We have been residents there for the past eight years and have owned property in Martin County for over 18 years. I along with many of my neighbors
wish to express strong strong support for a fire department and rescue on 714 Martin Highway. I am here today not only as a resident but as someone who knows firsthand how critical response times
are. On December 12th, my family lost our home to a devastating fire. By the grace of God, we got out alive along with our golden retriever champ. But between the fire, the water,
and the smoke damage, our home is a total gut. And we are the third home in as many years. The fire departments that responded were incredible. They were brave, professional, and they did everything that they could, but 15 to 20
minutes for help to arrive was meaningful. By the time they got there, the fire had already taken a hold. A few minutes could have changed everything. It was gut-wrenching to stand there with many of our community
members and watch our house burn and not be able to do anything about it and just waiting for the responders to arrive. and we lost everything that we have worked so hard to build. That's why I'm asking you today to support the proposed
fire station near our community. It isn't about convenience. It's about saving lives, protecting homes, and giving families like all of ours here today, a fighting chance. Our entire community, Steuart
West, and Cobblestone alike, supports this fire station, and we're asking you to make it a priority. Please don't wait until the next emergency. We can't afford to lose more than we already have. Thank you for listening and thank you for commitment, your commitment to the safety of our
entire community. Thank you. Thank you. Glenn Harm is the next speaker, Glenn Harm. And that's the last request to speak form that I have. Good morning, Martin County Board of Commissioners. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak. My name is
Glenn Harm. I'm speaking on behalf of Revive Church. Recently, about a year and a half ago, we purchased 15 acres out on Martin Highway by I95 with the great idea and the dream of
building a beautiful church there to serve the community. We've been serving the community in Martin County for over 10 years now, and we see that there's really a need there for a fire station.
So, I want to let you know that I was there when a tornado went through that land last year. I was there. I brought many work crews to help out the neighborhood, clean up trees, brush, and other things that happened there. I was
there when the fire went through and it demolished our property there. I was there with the policemen, the fire department. I was on site and as a design certified engineer registered
with the federal department of transportation in Washington DC. I'm involved with moving hazmat hazardous material and I recognize and and involved with many catastrophic events
around the United States. And what I don't want to see happen here in Martin County is a catastrophic event with our church. Our church has every plan and intention of building a beautiful building there,
having many people congregating and worshiping. And if there was a fire there, I just don't know how it could ever be attended when the closest fire department is on map road 20 minutes away. So, I would not want to see
another event like what happened out in California where they couldn't handle fires properly. I don't want to see this in Martin County. So, I would respectfully ask the board of commissioners to carefully consider the budget in trying to develop a fire
department close by to where we plan to build our church. I thank you for this time. Thank you. Would anyone else like to address us? Thank you. Then we will move on to our 9:30 preset which is the business
development boards. Anything from us? No, it's we're going to we have a preset. I'm like to make a comment first before Commissioner Campy before you leave. I would like to just we're going to take a preset, but I didn't want all of you to come all this way and not at least hear something back
from us. As your district commissioner, I think it's important uh that you started the process. What you did this morning is exactly what's what's you're supposed to do. Supposed to come and speak to your commissioners, your elected officials about your concerns.
Um this issue has been an issue for many, many years, but I think the timing is perfect. Many of you had mentioned the generosity of Ashley Capital who purchased the property across Martin Highway from you all. That's a multi-million dollar donation that had
it not been for that company, the county and all taxpayers would be responsible for finding the appropriate uh finances to purchase that land. Not only is it a donation of land, which is super important, it's at the exact right spot
for it. I agree with you. Now, some of us will debate on the the speed of development, but there is absolutely development happening in western Palm City, Martin County. Uh all you have to do is ride up Newfield Parkway and see
what's happening there. The other advantage of some of those projects is they're building a tax base for not just you, you residents that could particularly benefit right now from that, but for all Martin County residents. We have to be able to look at our tax
base. It's long overdue, I think, not just for you all because if you think about it, you're almost the halfway point from the Palm City Map Road Fire Station. What about the folks that live out on the Martin Grade? They've been asking me since I came to office about uh how do they have their fire
protection? Imagine if you're concerned in Steuward West and Cobblestone, what if you're way out on the grade? That map road station or Tropical Farms is there is their station as well. I don't know if God is sending us a signal, but it seems that there's a lot more fire activity happening in your neck of the
woods in the last couple of years everywhere in America, but especially in in yours. the other day I could see the the tower of smoke coming uh from your neighborhood in your area all the way in Palm City and I and I just knew that
this we've received your emails. I think it's not just fire as one of the speakers said more likely it's going to be a medical emergency and every minute uh is not only as some of the speakers said not only super important from a medical point of view
emotionally seconds make a huge difference. I can't imagine standing in front of your home as it burned. I think we can all relate to how horrific that must have been. I would tell you that I can't speak for my colleagues, but we have a large budget. We have concerns
and we have priorities. But as far as I'm concerned, obviously as one of the five, but your district five commissioner, uh I think it's important that we give direction to our uh administrator and financial staff to prioritize our budget to put this uh
into um into our mix. There's I have always said when the fire department comes or the sheriff comes, the first dollar that you give us of your tax dollars, you expect to be public safety. And this is exactly what it is. So, I will give you my full commitment as long as I'm sitting up here that we will that
we move full steam ahead to help you have a fire station in western Palm City. Thank you. I didn't I did not want you to leave without hearing that and wonder what's going on up here. So, thank you. Thank you. Now we'll take up our 9:30 preset
which is the business development board's annual report. Thank you. Let's wait until the room clears. Give these to Leila. Okay. Mr. Stokas, we are ready. Good morning, Madam Chair. George Stokas,
assistant Kai administrator uh for the record. Uh it's my uh pleasure to uh present Mr. William Corbin, our executive director of our BDB this morning, as well as his uh we'll call it entourage of board members and private businesses. Uh pursuant to their
contract, the business development board uh is here to present their 2024 annual report as per their contract. Uh in the agenda item is both uh the excuse me the board item as well as their required annual audit which I believe showed no
findings. And with that it's my pleasure to welcome Mr. Corbin to the das for his presentation. Okay. Thank you Mr. Stokus. Good morning everyone. Good morning commissioners. Uh thank you for the opportunity. Appreciate that. Thank you
for the opportunity to uh give our annual update. I'm William Corbin and I'm the executive director for the business development board of Martin County and we are the county's officially contracted economic development partner. Um before I begin,
I'd like to mention and highlight a few facts for you all um relating to the agenda item. Um number one, the first one is overhead costs have increased um you know rent and insurance. uh we are not immune to that like many of our other businesses and um in the community
and across the country. Uh number two, the city of Stewart Commission majority voted to remove their annual $10,000 financial contribution uh to the BDB in support of our services to the city um from its budget. And number three, and this is most important, we'd like to
implement and include $61,000 of new programming into our operating budget in response to requests from our Martin County small business and entrepreneur community. Um, however, I will say being a fiscal conservative and a fiduciary of
the county's funds, we're only asking for a modest 4% increase uh from the county's portion, 20 thou $20,000 from $465,000 to 485,000. We tried to bootstrap around the budget uh and to more aggressively
go after uh the private side of the funding. Um, I've got only a handful of slides where I'll summarize and underscore the value of the BDB to Martin County as we help grow the tax base and increase county tax revenues while helping small businesses and entrepreneurs exceed. Here's our vision
uh to foster a strong Martin County economy characterized by a diversity of businesses and a growing and sustainable tax base. Our mission is to lead economic development by supporting local contributo businesses, attracting investment, and fostering job creation.
Here's an overview of what we do. We help select businesses and target industries grow, expand, and stay in Martin County. Uh we oversee and organize programming and events. Um and I'll talk to that a little bit more. We are a liaison uh to the government. Um oftent times, as you can imagine, many
companies are hesitant for various reasons to speak directly with the government and we help to um escort and um um escort them through that process, whether it be permitting or anything else. Uh we also conduct uh individual business visits. Um and I'll talk a
little bit more about that and that guides feedback that guides programming and services that we do. Um and I always like to highlight uh 80 to 20 uh fun fact 80% of net new local job growth and you may have heard me say this before comes from your existing industries, the
companies and businesses that are already in the community. Um and so this really illustrates the importance of what we call business retention and expansion BRE in the field of economic development. And that's what we put most of our focus on. And of course we do focus on um you know attraction as well. There are opportunities that we'd like
to continue to be um a good location for. And of course, we support the county in their uh business recovery after disasters, hurricanes, and things of that nature from the business perspective where we're trying to uh talk to companies and talk to businesses after a disaster to see um you know,
whether they're open to connect them with resources that can help them recover uh more efficiently and quickly. Uh responsibilities, again, I talk about contributo businesses and I'll explain that in a bit more for everybody um and refresh everyone's me memory on that. We assist the county, the city of Stewart,
the village of Indiantown with coordinating incentive programs. Uh we're currently working um to um to implement um the toolkit, the economic toolkit that the county is um is updating and we're hoping to do that um
with the county by uh the fiscal year beginning in October. We're the uh single point of contact for prospect client services as it relates to the state department of commerce. as I mentioned that 20% of um attraction and recruitment and we also oversee the industrial development authority which is a really important tool in our
toolkit um that uh that organization is able to uh offer tax exempt financing uh and under better terms to certain eligible projects. Thank you for um appointing and filling that board. It's now fully full fully um fully um they're
the board is full um in terms of the five members and u they are excited to hit the ground running. They met for the first time in over a year uh recently la a couple months ago and we're excited to continue to look for opportunities whereby they can help spur um development or redevelopment in the
county. And we promote Martin County as an ideal place to do business. So when people ask me what uh we do in economic development, we're a cheerleader for the community that we work in uh for both existing industry and for other industry that's looking to to come in and do business. Contributo businesses, as I
mentioned before, these are essentially companies that derive more than 50% of their revenue from outside of the county. Many of these companies are manufacturers. This is where we play mostly. This is our space and this is the added value that we bring, helping these types of companies to come and
locate and expand into the county. um such as um you know aviation, aerospace, uh marine uh manufacturing, boat building service companies are not included in that. Uh those are oftent times um uh focused more uh with the
chambers um and those include retail, restaurants which are also important but the added value of contributo businesses is really where we um you know we can see value uh from the BDB perspective. This is an example of our uh process
where we um essentially pulse or visit businesses proactively uh to speak to them and talk to them about their their uh you know industry trends, any pain points, challenges that they may be experiencing, barriers to connecting with resources like uh capital like
access to capital um and technical assistance. And we've done about 50 of these in the past year. The important part here is uh the last three rows is the follow-up items that derive from those initial visits. And that ranges from anything from, you know, again,
permitting issues um or even trash. You know, it's surprising how much trash is a uh is an important thing for businesses and and on-time pickup and things of that nature. Any kind of problems or or challenges that they're having. Um some of these oftentimes turn into official projects like hey uh we
are running out of space and we need to expand or we need to look for new opportunities. We try to keep them in in the county. If we don't do that, you don't hear about those companies that may have those issues and they will just leave um the county. And so we're trying to be here to help improve the business
environment and help them access all of that. CIS security solutions. We're helping them with a um you know access a um a foreign trade zone and to to help create one for them to expand their reach. Uh we've worked with Palm City Millwork on their u property um out in
Palm City. Grindhard Ammo. We've been involved in their both their Stewart location and their um expansion in the village of Indiantown over 150,000 square feet out there. um IM group um and pursuit aerospace are just some of the companies that we work with that a
lot of projects come directly out of these pulse visits. Talking about pulse, pulse to programming, the engagement of the business community is really important because a lot of these items that you see here came directly out of that. The manufacturers roundt we found that companies and businesses are
looking for peers to really engage with them to have a forum to talk about strategy to talk to talk shop with them to talk about how um you know one does talent retention a different way than the other. And so we started the manufacturers round table a couple of years ago in order to fill that need.
Out of that recently became uh came a concern from our manufacturers that work with the department of defense uh or you make a part for the department of defense. We have one of those companies here with us now. Now the the government is requiring companies that do those um
that do those things to be uh compliant with cyber security. Um, it's called the cyber security maturity model certification that unfortunately has a cost to it and a consultant to help you or company remain compliant. It can cost up to $150,000 annually. We received a
lot of concerns from our smaller and medium-sized manufacturers who this would have a regressive effect on and who literally the business could close because of this requirement that they have to um you know be compliant with the government in terms of um you know
cyber security from bad actors. Uh so we out of that we did a a workshop on cyber security compliance and out of that we've been working with our partners economic development state partners to create a loan fund for these businesses that would not be able to access those funds through the traditional banking
methods. We're working with a CDFI who's able to loan as small as $5,000 up to $150,000 to help fill that gap and that need. So we're doing things um and programming like that to help um lift up our business community. things like Access to Capital Workshop, um Export
University 101, which connects companies from a foreign direct investment perspective, and we're working um to create a county focused small business loan fund, regardless of your industry, to help with those smaller to medium
micro loans that uh businesses have trouble and challenges getting to help scale their business and create more revenue and investment in tax base for here, us here at the county. Um, I will say that the entrepreneur education programs is another um aspect of that. The small business loans loan fund and
the the entrepreneur education programs, they represent about $61,000 in expenses that I mentioned before that we had to cover in this FY26 budget proposal. And um um and so that's really the two newer
programming that we have gotten feedback from the business community on what they need. Direct business assistance. um that hair aerospace, as you know, they um recently working on the um lease with the county um and they will be implementing $30 million of capital
expenditures for their two new production lines. So, we're helping connect them with resources um related to financing, resources at the state um related to workforce, how we can kind of um um you know, prop them up in terms of helping support their um their growth
and their efforts and their their goals here in Martin County. Hinckleys, they're exploring expansion on on their campus. We've helped with that um in terms of creating a u a meeting, a pre-application meeting and helping them along that. power systems manufacturing. They have about approximately 11.3
million in equipment um tangible personal property and a projected $5.8 million in tenant building improvements in their project um that they are potentially coming to the county in terms of um um an incentive in terms of the TPP exemption that was approved by
voters. And so uh that would bring 101 jobs over three years with average salaries around $74,000 um per worker. Last year, we influenced about $150 million um of total capital investment and $315,000
square feet of commercial real estate space. And we've also helped bring in an extra $675,000 in tangible personal property or TPP uh to county tax revenues. Um, for example, that $1.3 million in estimated tangible personal property tax
with Power Systems Manufacturing represents approximately 383, excuse me, $386,336 uh, excuse me, $366 in TPP over 8 years. And if they are to get that um, incentive, uh, this TPP would come back on the tax roll after that incentive
period. But the important part is that it would be plus a $1.2 $2 million return on investment in fiscal benefit over that same time period from offering that um incentive. So with that um you know the BDB is bringing this type of value to Martin County. I believe on a
daily, a monthly, a yearly basis. I believe that we bring value to the county. I believe that we um help to to raise the tax base and therefore ease the pressure and the burden on government in terms of operations. So um with that I'd like to respectfully request your support for this new budget
amount uh for FY26 which again is about 4 point uh 4% more than the previous year's amount and uh to reiterate uh the three points at the beginning that I mentioned overall head costs they have increased um you know rent and insurance
uh they we we lost $10,000 from the city of Stewart um to remove their contribution and most importantly we really want to implement what is needed from the business community, small businesses, entrepreneurs who are trying to grow here in the county, keep them here, and we're trying to uh really
raise all raise all boats um to increase county tax revenues while helping these small businesses and these entrepreneurs succeed. So, I thank you for your time this morning and happy to take any questions uh at this time. Any questions for Mr. Corbin? Is there a public
comment or no? Is there I don't have any request to speak. Okay, then I have a request to speak. Please pass your request to speak to the the uh baiff, please. Look like an auction for a second.
Sold. I was going to say a lot of people sitting there for no problem. I was going to say a lot of people hanging around for just to hear the story. Want to hear from the public first? Sure. One or two. [Music]
Steven Hartz is first followed by Susan Rabininoich. Good morning. I'm Steven Hartz. I'm the owner of Value Tool and Engineering, which I founded in South Bend, Indiana. And in 2017, we opened a facility here in Palm City. Value Tool and Engineering
is an advanced manufacturing operation. We service the aerospace and defense markets with a focus on engine components and ground support equipment. We also build components for missile defense and night vision systems. We're what William calls as a contributo
business. All of our revenue comes from outside the area and we're able to bring those dollars into the local economy. Like many employers, we deal with a large variety of issues, but by far the most complicated is workforce. I
am highly focused on talent development. In Indiana, I co-founded a charter school which is now involved into four separate schools. and we help prepare the local workforce for successful employment, not only in advanced manufacturing, but in other non-ol
careers. The Treasure Coast is much like South Bend, Indiana before our training efforts really got underway. Excuse me. Right now, I'm working on strategies to help cultivate the local workforce and the business development board and its partners have
been an excellent resource in this effort. I've also been impressed with his executive leadership and the staff that has wasted no time in pursuing that I wasted no time in pursuing an opportunity to serve on their board of directors as soon as it became
available. The modest funding request will help the business development board remain successful in addressing the priorities of industries like advanced manufacturing and the overall result is more and better job opportunities which will result in a more diverse tax base
and stronger economy. We hope you will approve this request. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Susan Rabinowitz is next followed by Nelson Levy. Good morning, Martin County Commissioners. Thank you for the
opportunity to come before you today and for your consideration of this request. I'm Susan Rabinwitz, chair of the business development board, an organization that I have had the privilege of serving for nearly three years.
During my tenure with the BDB, we've assembled a strong board of directors with diverse leadership experience in legacy industries. This leadership deserves a lot of credit for its thorough search for a high caliber executive director,
which led us to William Corbin. Thanks to his guidance and the BDB team, we've concentrated our efforts to relationship building across the business community, particularly with contributo businesses. These are the companies that
largely serve national and international markets, infusing capital into Martin County and enlarging the local economy with minimal efforts offsets. These businesses primarily aviation, aerospace, marine, advanced
manufacturing. These businesses are where high wage job opportunities are created. Through our pulse visits, the BDB team has established trust with the CEOs of such businesses and the insights they provide inform many of our
programs, including the access to capital initiative you've heard about today. Your yes vote will make this initiative possible, positioning the BDB to serve as an essential conduit, enabling small
business owners who are currently unequipped to readily access bank capital to attain muchneeded funding more efficiently and effectively. The monies that will be awarded through the access to capital program do not come from the BDB or
local tax dollars. They are derived through financial institutions specializing in such funding and they're assisted by the guidance and advocacy of the BDB. The simplified process and the speed with which the BDB and our
financial partners will be able to facilitate the request is the real strength of this program. Thanks to careful and responsible budgeting, the BDB has been able to make the request to achieve this goal in a very conservative
manner. We respectfully request your support and we thank you for your service. Thank you. Nelson Levy is next followed by Debbie Peas. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Nelson Levy. I'm a IDF veteran. I served
over 10 years in combat as a major. I'm here to talk about two points. A little bit about my company and more about the BDB. Bit about the industry I am in. It's the ammo business. Um, and in the US, most of the ammo is actually made
and owned by entities outside of the US. I see that as a national threat. Mr. Skolick who is a huge investor entrepreneur philanthropist has decided to invest in this county tens of
millions of dollars and our company is not only making ammo in the US for Americans for the law enforcement but it's actually owned here and I see that as a big ad value additional add value is that we're building two more facilities on top of the one we have 5
minutes down the road that will create 400 jobs in the next few years and those are high-end jobs. A bit about the BDB for us. The BDB has been very impactful in building our business, in
building opportunities, in creating revenue opportunities, in saving money, and in making things happy happen much faster. examples are working with different entities that give us the um the licenses for the different
businesses we're building and have here. The next point is what we see that the BDB has bought for us. And I think in your eyes the important thing is to see what is the ROI for the BDB. That's the main point.
They're asking for money. What are they giving back? And I'm telling you what they're going to give us from our side. Just the tax that you will be collecting from businesses like our mine or other businesses are huge and I see that ROI as a huge ad value. I would like to
continue in seeing their add value to companies like my own. I deeply thank them and I hope you consider that in a deep way. Thank you very much. Have a great day. Thank you. Thank you. Debbie Peas is next followed by Dan Romance.
Morning. Good morning, commissioners. Pull the mic down a little bit. There you go. A little shorter. Uh, good morning. My name is Debbie Peas. I'm with Deair, an aerospace manufacturer here at WiMfield in Stewart. Um, since Deair's arrival in Martin County, the
business development board has been hugely helpful and remain so to this day. At the onset, they helped us get in front of key community leaders and solidify important partnerships. They've helped manage media interviews and amplified the messaging of our presence
here in this community. Today, they are helping us achieve an exciting new milestone at the Steuart location. We will soon begin assembly of our TBM aircraft, one of the fastest single prop um tur sorry, single turborop aircraft
in the world. In the future, we hope to further expand to include the Kodiak, our multi-purpose aircraft that is popular with government agencies and humanitarian organizations. We are in the process of preparing to replace an existing hanger, building number four for those of you
who have been out and upgrade the facilities, which is about a $30 million investment. In fact, there was an article in the TC Palm recently that you may have read. These new facilities will enable us to assemble the TBM and Kodiak on-site
right here in Martin County as well as continuing to build large structures for our customers Boeing and Gulfream. This initiative will will require job creation and expansion. The BDB has assisted us in organizing important meetings with key
stakeholders. They've put us together with leaders from Space Florida, Florida Commerce, and FPL to continue to help us access resources and navigate the development process. The knowledge network of key contacts and business advocacy of the
BDB has really helped smooth our entry into the community and is playing a direct role in expanding our investment here in Martin County. Our experience is testament to the return on investment that the B BDB brings to Martin County.
I hope you will consider their request. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is Dan Romance followed by Mayor Depalo. Morning. Good morning, commissioners. Morning. My name is Dan Romance. I am the president of Indiantown Marine
Center. I'm also the president of the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast and I'm also on the BDB executive board. One of the key challenges we're seeing in the marine industry and this is a challenge that's seen across many of the legacy
industries is the need for qualified talent. These days there's a lot of buzz about the importance of workforce development and there are a lot of players working in this space. But at the Marine Industries Associ association, we've benefited
tremendously from a direct partnership with the BDB and helping us address this issue for our association. With their help, we're at the table with the leaders of the institutions that we need to work with to find and train the talent that our
industry needs. The staff does even more behind the scenes to help these put these priorities into action. and we're starting to see real progress on this on this front. This level of involvement and attention to detail is one way that the
BDB serves the needs of existing businesses. This is vital to business retention, and we understand and appreciate our community's discerning approach to business attraction, which actually makes business retention all the more important. None of us want to see existing
businesses go elsewhere, especially if there's a way to keep them in our community. That's one of the many reasons why the professional services that the BDB provides are so important. The connections and the trust the BDB is
building with the leaders of essential industries plays a vital role in business retention. Their responsiveness and professional service brings tremendous value to Martin County and I hope that you will support this funding
request. Thank you. Mayor Dalo is next, followed by William David Snider. Good morning. Good morning. Morning. Um, mayor of Indian Town. Um, also sit
on the business development board. Um, great things as you all know are happening in Indian Town and um, we're attracting investments. We're improving our infrastructure. Right now we have more than 250,000 square ft of
manufacturing uh, approved under the construction. We have seen an increase in jobs and the BDB is playing a big role in the impact role of efforts to get the job done.
I've um as I said I've been on the board and since my election and I'm very impressed with William since since William has come to the board. He has made a big impact on the
board and on the community. I um refer people to them just about two or three times a week and uh they're all happy with once they call me back and say, "Yeah, met I spoke to William. We got a meeting set up. Thank you so much." So
it's the business development board is a big part of the growth of Indian Town and that is going to have a positive impact on our tax dollars. not only for the village of Indiantown but Martin
County as a whole. So I um ask the commissioners please support the request. Thank you. Thank you. William David Snder is next and that's the last request to speak form. If you'd like to address us, please fill out a
request to speak form and hand it to the baiff. Thank you. Good morning madam chair, commissioners. Thank you. My name is David Snyder. a member of the BDB board of directors and a second generation small business owner here in Martin County. I'm raising my family here and Martin County is very special
to me. My professional experience also includes service in law enforcement in the United States Marine Corps. So, I understand command structure and I understand clear objectives and the importance of mission accomplishment. My interpretation of my role with the
BDB is fulfilling the mission as directed by the board of county commissioners. The mission is straightforward and it's it's pretty simple. It's support existing business and strengthen the local economy and help diversify the tax base so the cost
of services aren't borne inordinately by our homeowners. A lot of requests today and I think that diversification of that tax base is very important. There are three main ways we achieve this mission. Number one, we prioritize existing companies through our business
retention efforts. You've heard about the pulse visits today and I've had the privilege of attending dozens of those. Um, and I can tell you just anecdotally and from my own experience, the impact that that has when you go into a small business owner's office and you sit down and you have a conversation with about the challenges that are that they're
facing, there aren't a lot of forums to to express that as a business owner. And so it is a safe environment and I think that we have began to establish strong relationships with business owners but that takes time and confidence to uh to build those relationships. It does take
some time but that's exactly what the BDB team is doing and why the results have been so effective. Number two, we aim to attract business that will contribute to the resilience of our economy. And most important to me and one of the
reasons why I'm on this board is because our goal is also to find those businesses that respect our local culture and our small town family centered values. You've heard about some good examples today. Um just just recently
you heard about uh Grindard Ammo IM Group um Dair and and I think that really is what we're looking for in this community. So, it's our goal to continue to to attract those businesses here. And finally, number three, we uphold a positive local business climate so existing businesses
and entrepreneurs like me and others in our community can thrive and succeed. That's what this program is about and that's what this request is about. The BDB is your we we're your ambassador. We are an arm of you. We're the ambassador to the business community
in Martin County and we represent your thoughtful commitment to the business community at large. Thank you for your service to our community and please consider this request. I appreciate it. Thank you, Commissioner Campy.
Thank you very much. I know that for a lot of the folks that came to speak this morning on behalf of the BDB, they left work to do it. So, I appreciate it. Um, I tried to just jot down a couple of quick points because there's so many things to discuss.
Um, my regular job beyond the commission is I work for a local manufacturer that is a 90-year-old company, fourth generation family company. I'm not a family member. They've been in Martin County for over 30 years. And we, like
some of the speakers this morning, we manufacture locally. We employ locally. and all of our products, 99.9% of our products are sent out of the county, the state, the country. Uh without the
organization like the BDB, my boss and and our company like so many thousands of others or hundreds and hundreds of others in Martin County would be completely on their own, would not have the ability, the financial capacity to,
you know, have the the foresight to hire consultants at at high hourly rates. The BDB has come in many occasions and given them the the direction for free. So they are taxpayers, they're employers in Martin County. They're receiving
services from the BDB for free. Uh and without them, whether it's small or medium, we don't have to have the concern for the gigantic corporations, they have the wherewithal to do these. But the small and mid uh companies that
are the backbone of of Martin County in most counties, we wouldn't have that. I think by offering our support for their very um reasonable request today, sends a message to our local businesses, both
existing and potential. that we as a board as the representatives of their local government as the representatives of the people that are collecting all of these taxes that we appreciate and understand it. It's not work. I agree that the BDB needs to be a separate
outside entity. There has been conversations in the past what should be inside this organization. I disagree. folks need to be able to come and if they have some issues with one of our departments, they can't go to another department to discuss the other, you
know, uh, one of our colleagues. So, I think it's important that we send the proper message to our businesses as we collect all of their taxes that we will also, uh, support an organization that supports them. Uh, Mr. Corbin mentioned the IDA.
Uh I know that it has we've recently through our appointment of citizen leaders has really we have breathed new life into that organization and for smaller businesses you can get better rates more attractive rates through the
IDA than you can uh potentially through banks. Um, I would say as a commissioner who's been up here for quite a while to my newer colleagues, the best way for you to find out who's doing business quietly uh and professionally in Martin County,
many of the introductions and the tours that I have had of local businesses has been uh arranged by the BDB. And I would not have had that opportunity if it wasn't for an organization that is the liaison between not just the county
government but the five of us individually. Your connection to these local businesses uh is through the BDB. I watch as I have said in the past I watch all of the city of Stewart meetings. I think it's important to know
what our colleagues at the city are doing. uh they are the seat of our county and so I was very disappointed when after Mr. Corbin and and others made their presentation uh to to again newer commissioners that
might not have had the historic references of the value that the BDB if I feel that it brings it to the county it certainly brings it to the city and for them to have eliminated their financial support in my opinion was a
mistake. And then finally, I would say that there is a collaboration that I have seen firsthand, not only having served on the BDB board in the past uh many years ago, and I would certainly like to be on the BDB board again when we do our
reorganizations, I have always I'm already a huge supporter and a big believer in the value of the BDB um and the people that work for us in it. So, I've always relinquished my uh desire to be on the board to allow new
commissioners to have that opportunity to see firsthand. But when I was on, you know, the collaboration that we have with the Small Business Development Center, IRSC, Select Florida, which used to be Enterprise Florida, the Department of Commerce, our local chambers of
commerce, the economic council, the TCBA, the marine industry, and the realators. that collaboration is is a wheel and spoke kind of a hub and spoke uh philosophy for me and the BDB is the hub of all of those spokes of that
economic development. So, uh, even before hearing from my colleagues, I would hope to kick off and show my continued support of an organization that when we talk about, oh, we support local businesses, we need to literally put our money where our mouths are. And
I would uh make a motion to accept staff's recommendation if or at least the BDB's request for that additional funding. I think it's a small percentage of um the value that they bring to our community. Thank you. The staff's
recommendation is simply to receive the report, not to approve a budget request. Well, then I would make a motion that uh we approve the budget request when it's appropriate. Mr. Stokus. So, Madam Chair, thank you for leading this.
I just wanted to point a point of clarification. What is before you today is the presentation. Uh but I did hear loud and clear we we've been in receipt of the budget request from the BDB. we will be including it into your normal budget process that's coming before you in about I think it's within about two
or three meetings from uh from today's meeting. Um but yes, we're looking to accept the report s which does satisfy the requirement under the BDB uh contract and I think what the BDB is trying to do is be very transparent in what they're going to be asking you here in a future date. Um, and I as staff
appreciate the clarification uh from the board as to um actually including that budget request into your normal budget process. So, just wanted to be clear clear what you're accepting is just the report with their audit which does satisfy their contract.
Commissioner Caps, I would like to just begin by saying that I uh appreciate the opportunity to be the board of county commissioners representative on the BDB this year. I have learned an awful lot already from
each and every one of you. I I want to thank each one of you for coming, those of you who are on the BDB to share your perspective. Um, I have three adult kids and one
son-in-law who live in Martin County and so good jobs and economic development are certainly close to home and in our household and I see the value of it. We need economic
development and good jobs for existing residents for the future generation and also to keep our taxes in line. And I think the budget request is very modest and very reasonable and I would be supportive of it when the time
comes and certainly I'm in support of receiving the report at this time. Thanks, Commissioner Heatherington. Yes. We'll try not to duplicate. Um, thank you for many of you business owners for coming here. First, I want to compliment
uh Will Corbin because it is not easy to come in and and the board who who hired Will Corbin. It is not easy to come in from Martin County and I've been here for, you know, my entire life and my family's been here for generations to come in and really hit the ground
running and learn all the intricacies of Martin County and the unique characteristics and then to go and actually start implementing those. So, I'll compliment you. You've done a great job in learning and hitting the ground
running. So, and then secondly on the pulse program, the pulse program, you you kind of acquainted me with it and then I went and followed up with some businesses that you did visit and to make sure that that the return on
investment was there and I heard nothing but really good things from the businesses in the community that you've been working with for expansion and retention. So I would say by and large that program has provided a measurement
tool for us to measure the return on investment. So I think good for you on the pulse program. And then on the um the additional requests this year and some of the tools that you're um offering to businesses, until I met with
you, I didn't know that this cyber security um initiative and requirements were impacting some of our local businesses and some of our our high producing um manufacturing business as they were. So you you definitely had
your pulse on that community. And to clarify, and I know you said it, a couple speakers said it, we won't be offering loans p, but we will be helping those businesses be connected and get the assistance they need. And again, but
for you, I wouldn't have known that cyber security um issue with our manufacturing businesses was of consequential concern. So therefore, you also demonstrated your return. And one of the most important things that you
said today was talking about the return the businesses um growing and thriving in our community. I too like Commissioner Caps, I have um adult kids. I was born and raised here and it's important to me to see us economically
um being able to have our um kids and our our people that want to stay in Martin County have good jobs to come back to and to ease the pressure you said on the residential tax base. So the biggest thing that we can do for the
benefit of our residents is continue to help businesses expand so we do ease the residential um the burden on the residential tax base. I think that um you have it's I want to send a message
to loud and clear to to businesses um throughout the county and it is unfortunate um and I was happy to see the mayor of Indiantown here supporting um economic development and growth and I think that our cities need to be
supportive as well um supporting the businesses that are in their districts. So, um I will defin certainly support um your request for this year when the time comes and I think that you have done a really good job um in demonstrating your
return on investment. So, thank you. And I certainly will support the uh receipt of the report today, but when it comes time to review your budget requests, you're going to have to to include performance measures to quantify the success of your board. And you're
also going to, as I've been saying for 22 years, you're going to have to diversify your investors. Martin County. It can't just be Martin County taxpayers's obligation each year to support your your uh budget. It has to
be the um private sector also. It's the way that it is elsewhere. Commissioner Campy. Mr. Corbin, I asked you that question when we had the opportunity to meet. Can you come forward? I agree with what Commissioner Herd is saying. I have been sitting here
next to her many years when she has said about the diversification. Can you share with us uh how your funding is now diversified? So the uh two years ago uh the percentage of our budget operating budget was at uh about 70 75% um and the
last year and and certainly in this budget we are moving that to 67 65 67% of the budget. So we're heading in the right direction. I think I'd like to really focus on the private sector. I think that there are opportunities that
we haven't captured yet in the private sector, in the business community, companies that understand and appreciate what we bring to the community and how that can help them with their growth. We just got a truest, we just is on board now as a new investor. We'll be u making
an investor presentation tomorrow at our board meeting. Um, and there are other companies like that out there. And I think the business community understands and appreciates the value, uh, you know, our vision, our mission, and the value that we bring and what we're trying to do, um, for the community. And I think
that there's opportunity there to to make those asks um, for so that is my intention certainly. Thank you. So you're saying it's about 60 to 65% of the funding is still government related whereas in the past as Commissioner Herd had mentioned it was
much much higher than that and also years ago yeah it was at least 73 plus. So you're definitely heading in the right direction. Can you tell us how long you've been affiliated with the business development board? I've been here for approximately six or so months. I started in midepptember of
2024 last year. Um, so it's been um just before Hurricane Milton and so we had our big annual event in December and you know really been working a lot with the board in terms of what I call board development. We revised the vision and mission. We've refreshed things and we're looking at strategies to capture
additional revenues. And so I'm trying to like I mentioned before bootstrap around the ask is not 60. It's not the dollar for dollar, you know, and I understand, you know, the challenges that you all as leaders face financially in terms of making decisions. So, we're trying to be good partners and good good
fiduciary uh for for the organization, for the county. Thank you, Commissioner Vargas. Yes. Uh several things. We are just going to vote today on their presentation. They've made the presentation. We're
just receiving it. Okay. Just receiving it. That's fine. This is an excellent time for us to cut the budget. It is reduce our spending and do our part to save our taxpayers
money. I urge my fellow commissioners to help end wasteful choices and make bold decisions. I'm a business owner also. You're heading in the right direction, but we're not in that climate anymore.
You finished? I am. I don't think we need a motion, do we? In that case, in that case, it's received and we will take a 10-minute break. All right. Thank you. Thank you for your time today. Thanks. You're
on. We are back and we are returning to commissioner comments. Commissioner Vargas. Okay. I think these are light comments for right now. Sure. All right. Sure. Um, Community Greening Partnership. Uh
they had a recent tree giveaway in Hobes Sound last weekend. Well, we're going to have ours this weekend at Indian Riverside Park. It's from 10 until 12. Yes. But please get there early because they expect to run out by about 11:30,
11:45. And it's a free event because we like free around here. And uh they have uh Florida Keys, black bead, live oak, mango, red maple, barbados, cherry, all sorts of varieties. So this is the time to spring
plant. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Caps. On the 14th, which was about eight days ago, I had the privilege of attending the fire rescue class 44 graduation at
New Hope Fellowship Church in Palm City. And this event was just done so well. I was so impressed. We had very heard very inspiring speeches from Chief Jen Chile and uh some of the students. It was just
excellent. We saw a very dramatic video of what can go on in the lives of firefighters. And there was a very emotional moment where one of the students or the graduates
um her father had been a firefighter and had apparently died in service uh and he the this new graduate was given her father's
badge number and uh it really kind of choked me up. It was uh very very touching and I left there being very proud of the fire department that we we have. Uh it just seems like they're a first uh class
organization and I'd like to congratulate the graduates. Uh, the second thing I would mention is that I'd like to give some kudos to our parks department for new playground equipment
in a park in my old neighborhood in East Ridge Estates in Hobestown. We bought our first house there in 1994, 31 years ago. And uh so the park has a special meaning to me uh because
our kids were small at that time and we have some really nice playground equipment there for the kids now. So good job to the parks department. Thank you, Commissioner Campy. Thank you very much. Uh this Saturday in
at the patio in Palm City Place on Map Road, which is just directly next door to the Palm City Fire Station, we're having another uh edition of music in the park. Uh we're bringing in some food and beverage trucks, an ice cream truck. There'll be live music. It starts at 6
with the food trucks to give people a chance to bring your own chairs and blankets. Uh and the music starts at 7. We've been going through a series of local bands and musicians. Uh this weekend on Saturday stands to be the
same. We've had uh increased turnout each month that we've done it. So I invite anyone who's interested in socializing, being outside, listening to live music, enjoying you can bring pack a dinner, you can order from local restaurants, takeout or you can uh
participate in the food trucks that we'll have there. and I invite everyone to come. It is a completely free event and as Commissioner Vargas said, we like free. We do. Thank you, Commissioner Heatherington. Yes. This morning we
heard a proclamation for um historic preservation month here in Martin County. And uh I just wanted to recognize one of our own Golden Gate residents who will be honored um in May for preservationist of the year, Sadia
Safferites. and we will have a chance in May to officially honor her, but she was selected by the committee for preservationist of the year um May 15th and we believe we will be officially honoring her. But she spent many many years on the Golden Gate Neighborhood
Advisory Committee on our CRA and um as well on the historic preservation uh committee. So, I want to congratulate her and recognize her and thank her for all the many, many years of volunteerism for Martin County and I look forward to
honoring her in May. Excellent. I agree with you. She perfect choice and I'm sure her husband Chris could not be more proud. Mr. Johnson, I have two things. First, um, uh, last week we had, uh, Martin
County attended the safety council of, uh, Palm Beaches and, uh, which is an organization that's made up of both private and public entities on to deal with safety in the workforce. Um, and we had a number of award recipients. So, if you just give me a second to go through
them. First, our HR and risk management department received a merit for vehicle employee safety. Um, and we're also recognized as having a 10-year low on our workers compensation mod rate, uh, which is at 7. So, we are well below the
average of one for the state of Florida. And that's a testament to our group's commitment to, uh, safety in the workforce. Um, next, our fire, rescue, and parks department really in combination with the border county commissioners, which we initiated the
life-saving initiative for the AEDs in our parks. And so we were recognized for those uh uh uh devices that you all helped uh and our staff put out throughout our parks department. I I think a really unique one too was our library system in combination with our
uh Martin County Sheriff's Office. Uh Je uh Deputy Jenkins and Remy the uh a blood hound uh has participated in um uh uh with the library uh in regarding uh Alzheimer's or folks with the dementia and how we can use the sheriff's
department can help find folks and and uh and help uh um educate our residents on that program. So that that was a really nice event. And of course, uh, Remy the hound dog was when we went up to take a picture of the dog instantly posed and knew he was his picture was
being taken and it was a great amusement to the crowd. So, uh, uh, that was good. And then of course finally uh of course you all know that we had one of our employees of the year um Jose Machado uh was also recognized for heroism award
for his uh uh previously recognized um here for taking swift action when he saw a child in a busy street unattended where he helped uh get the child uh um to uh safety and alerted the sheriff's office um and then got him rejoined with
his family. So anyway, it was a once again reminder to me and how our staff and our many awards stacked up to the rest of the group. I I thought we um uh were well represented and of course I felt we were the best of best of all. Um and again there was large companies
there too with Pratt Whitney and other large corporations and and that were represented but ours I thought did really well. Lastly, I just there is a the we have an Everglades summit and June 10th. Um, and a number of you all
have uh uh thought that that that would be a good week to attend. So, we have three commissioners that are interested in. So, I'm suggesting that we may need to cancel the BOCC meeting for June 10th. U but uh take a look at that. uh
uh and then maybe at the end of the day we can discuss that to see um if we want to uh have the meeting and uh or uh uh attend uh the Everglades summit. So uh with that, thank you. Thank you, Miss Woods. Excellent. We'll take up our
consent agenda now. There are several polls. Consent 9, consent 10, consent 11, and consent 13. Uh can can I have a motion to approve the remainder of the consent agenda? So moved. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those
in favor? I opposed. That motion passes unanimously. Let's begin by cons with consent number nine which is a code enforcement action. Good morning commissioners. Jeff Derty, director of the building department.
This agenda item is for consideration of a fine reduction in accordance with the ordinance that the board has previously passed. uh the trans the property has come into compliance which is always the goal and in that the county has received
the 10 10% minimum as required by the ordinance and it has gone through the adjudication process with the magistrate and the recommended order with the magistrate's signature is attached to the agenda item. Commissioner Vargas.
Yes. Um, I had requested that these three be pulled because uh, if you could please explain to the audience and those here in attendance and my fellow commissioners. So, what happens if if I have a violation on my property? You
come out, you cite me and I refuse to pay it for any length of time. What What happens? It just disappears. Do you come back again and put another lean on the property? So, I'm unable to refinance or sell the property. It's a
cloud on the property title. The process is the property is identified as non-compliant. It goes through a formal process of being notified to the owner and then they uh given a time to come in compliance. If they do not, then it's
brought before the magistrate. At that point, the magistrate would issue an order as they determine to come into compliance with the timeline. If that timeline not is not met, it comes back to the magistrate and then an order is uh uh filed and then uh a running fine,
whatever that is, $100 a day depending on the situation that then is recorded in the public records as a lean if you will against the property. In order to remove that, you would have to come into compliance and then you would pay the lesser of 10% of the outstanding fine or
10% of the assessed value. And then you would go back to the magistrate to confirm that it has been come into compliance. The money has been paid and then the signature is done and then we currently come to the board for the
final approval. If you do do not pay it, the fine continues to run. Typically, a fine will be addressed when either financing is put on the property and the bank requires it or the property sold. If the fine is not paid over a
20-year period by state statute, the fine goes away after 20 years. Our alternative is that is to start a new case as a repeat offender and then go through the whole process again for compliance. go before the magistrate again, get another order against the
property and record it again. We can go if the board so desires to the court to foreclose, but we're not allowed to do that on homesteaded property. We're estimating probably half of our leans are against homesteaded. So that would not be an option on them. It would only be on non-homesteaded property, whether
it's commercial or a rental type thing. So that's generally the process. If it times out, then our only option in that case would be to start another project, another uh uh uh compliance request again and go through the process in front of the magistrate. Okay. Is this
something that we would have to propose or is this somebody already something already existing within Martin County? I mean, do we need to make a motion to put this on our our calendar to be able to review this? Because if somebody stays in the house for 40 years, it's 20
years. You say it time's out. So why wouldn't you go back to renew that? And maybe our attorney can explain that or you. Well, Madam Commissioner, Sebasti, senior uh assistant county attorney. We It doesn't happen very
often, as you can imagine, within that 20-year period, someone usually refinances, passes away, tries to sell the property, at which point it's taken care of. I believe and and Mr. Dohy, you can maybe clear this up. We in the last how many years we've had one that's
almost timed out. We've had one in I think 2011 to the best of our knowledge. And in that case, we started a new case. Yes. Because I I definitely don't want us to be a paper tiger here. You know, we told you you have to pay. Well, I'm not going to pay. I'm going to stay here forever. And and then the property is
still not taken care of properly for whatever reason. So, is this something that we need to bring before the board to to say that we give the authority for this department to refile again after 20 years or how how do we handle this? Mr.
Johnson, I I was just going to say that there are circumstances under the worst cases, you know, where the property is so poorly maintained that the house is deemed uninhabitable. And in those
particular cases, um it's it's a it's not a simple process either where you determine and we've demolished homes. We haven't taken property ownership, but we've had to to um remove the structure um to to deal with it. So, it is a it is
a touchy issue to where the government has the authority uh um and to take somebody's private property rights. So, we it's a very, you know, limited um process when we do that. I think staff fully has the capability of reissuing um
code violations and typically um uh the the the strongest impetus on maintaining vigilance on these properties is their neighbor and their neighborhoods who see the deteriorated property uh who are continuing to to challenge us to uh to
try to bring it into compliance. And so that is a balance between you know uh um taking the most uh um our strongest legal action which is whether it's foreclosure or or um in the in those
cases where our building official has had to uh make a call to have a property demolished. Um it it is uh we do take that very seriously and it's not an easy thing to um to to deal with uh on on as as your government agents. Uh but I
think the staff does have the um full understanding that if a property is not in compliance and the because of a statute, we will um reissue restart the process to uh to maintain it in a state
that it is um it will be uh brought up into compliance uh meeting all the rules of the county. Okay. So, it's your understanding that you can go forth and refile again. Is is that what I'm understanding? That's currently what
we've done on the one case that it's happened. Okay. Now, if the county does have to go in because the property is uninhabitable and does have to demolish, you would have to hire somebody from the outside, an outside vendor to do this. Is that correct? That's correct. And then we would be looking to collect
those fees. that would be additional actual costs to recuperate upon the sale or refinancing of the property etc. So um so that's correct if it when we go to that point the public health and safety
we're expending public dollars to remove the hazard and we're adding that to the to the lean of the property so that we can recover it. All right. Sometimes properties are vacant, person dies, property, you know, needs to be demolished. What happens then? What's
what's the path for the county to recoup their their money? That that's a different path because that follows under the Florida building code for safety as opposed to local ordinance and they prescribe some methods. In those particular cases, we would hire a vendor to demolish the house. In which case,
that would be what we would call hard cost lean as opposed to the fines that run. And those are not extinguished to the 10%. They are collected in full before we release any uh leans associated with it. All right. So, uh my understanding then is the county attorney's office will follow this case
in case there are no heirs or nobody is making claim to the property. It's abandoned for all purposes. Is that correct or is it kind of forgotten? I'm I'm a little confused about that. No, no, we follow those. But in in the case of a a structure that needs to be
demolished under the building code, those properties are hard lean gets filed. And whether that goes to taxdeed, we we always end up getting paid on that uh 100 cents on the dollar, whether that's resold or some of these
properties end up going to tax lean. Yeah. Some kind of foreclosure. I understand about tax lanes. I I do understand that. And whoever the purchaser is must satisfy correct um all outstanding leans including the county. So you file with the clerk's office then? Correct. You you you do you follow
that? Yes. Okay. I just don't want things abandoned, you know, in mid-stream because Well, we do follow the process through the magistrate. The legal due process. We don't automatically it goes through a public a hearing before the magistrate. The magistrate makes a ruling. The
magistrate creates the order and then we record that. So the magistrate is the one at the hearing that creates the order. All right. For the hard cost and of course the leans also. So these particular three cases right here I think I've seen a few in my short time here on the dice. So So what tell me
about tell us about these cases please if you can. The the second and third one are similar. They're weeds and trash in the yard. The first one was they did not uh obtain a building permit to do the work. In all those cases, they were
given an a note on the door type thing by our code enforcement staff saying, "You didn't do X, Y, and Z. Please come into compliance." At that point, they didn't do it at the timeline, 30, 60 days. We scheduled a hearing before the magistrate. At the hearing, uh they're
given notice to appear. Whether they do or not is up to them based on the evidence presented. Um we have outside counsel that represents code enforcement. It represents the county at that time. Uh Mr. Tui and uh the magistrate creates the order says you
need to come into compliance in so many days. If you don't the fine will acrew the brought back the magistrate uh presents evidence again that it was not in compliance. At that point the order is done at $100 a day or whatever it is. Once it's completed, then it's taken to
the clerk of the court and recorded. The fine continues to run until they come into compliance. And when they come into compliance, they have the opportunity to come in and ask for a fine reduction in accordance with the county ordinance. All right. So, have all of these three come into compliance? Yes. And the the
recommended order is attached by the magistrate proving that they have come into compliance. Okay. So, so they're they're they're at what 10% or is it a negotiated rate lowering? Per the ordinance, uh we are
uh obligated to collect 10% of the outstanding fine or 10% of the assessed value, whichever is less. All right. At this point, even if they've come into compliance, then you will continue to collect and you'll pass the paperwork so that it's recorded with the clerk.
Correct? uh once they pay once the order has been issued by the magistrate it automat we record everything uh commissioner so it's in public records okay it's it's then upon them to get into compliance we do not allow them to uh we do not
release the leans without their first being compliance us checking that there was compliance uh and then the 10% of either the value or the fine okay I think this conversation is valuable people don't understand it they see it here they may be listening they may be here and certainly maybe some of my
fellow commissioners not familiar with the whole process. So, wanted just to bring that up this morning. Thank you, Miss Woods. I'm sorry, it was an old light. Attorney Paprowski explained what I was going to say. Okay, Commissioner Caps. Yeah, I was wondering about the
the 10 and 10, the 10% of the value of the house or 10% of the value of the penalties. Does the magistrate have some discretion for those oddball situations where you don't just have a an extremely
neglectful homeowner, but say somebody's in a really u extreme situation, healthc care crisis in their household and you know they just don't have the money to fix the property. Does he have some
discretion to go easier on them uh for extreme circumstances? Prior to the most recent uh ordinance that was passed, I think it was in June or July of last year, the 10% was a practice, if you will, and the final decision was left to
the board in June July last year when that ordinance was amendment that 10% rule became part of the ordinance. So the magistrate would not have discretion to go below 10%. Mhm. Um I think we have on the agenda coming up in a couple
weeks uh one that will say because it is now in the ordinance and it is a rule as opposed to a practice if you will that those ones signed by the magistrate that were in compliance with the ordinance would not have to come to the board
because that 10% is no longer a practice but actually in the ordinance. Okay. So, it right now it's kind of a hard 10%. I mean, the magistrate has to assess that. So, if if you had $100,000 worth of penalties, the person would
have to pay $10,000, assuming the assessed value was in line. Yes. Yeah. I I guess I just feel for that odd situation, you know, and it almost seems to me like it'd be better
to to leave that in the hands of the magistrate and let him use his good judgment on it rather than uh us exacting a a firm number. Uh I think that would be my preference, but maybe that's a discussion for another day. We
would have to amend the ordinance to allow that. I should let you say that. Miss Woods. Yes. I just wanted to kind of back up. So Sarah Woods, Martin County Attorney, during Commissioner
Caps, during the um code enforcement violation hearing, those sort of extenduating circumstances are taken into account by the special magistrate. So when you do have somebody who's elderly or an estate or those type of
instances are very often taken into consideration before he or she levies the amount of time they have to bring it into compliance. Uh there are situations where uh the compliance state they come
back in and ask for additional time. So, a lot of th that those that flexibility is far before it ever gets to the to the final uh determination for the lean. You know, they try to they because again, the overriding goal is to get
compliance. So, we're trying to work with people to get the compliance. So, once you're at the lean stage, you you've gone through sometimes years or a year or so of going back and forth if there if it's more complicated.
There's a tough balance between coming into compliance and giving them time and the neighbors very upset of the situation. So it is it is a tough job for the magistrate to balance all those. Right. Mhm.
Okay. So let's take up uh consent 13. Do you need a motion to app or do we just hear those? No, we don't. We can do it either way. Okay. which is a request for approval of an interlocal agreement between Martin County and the Treasure Coast Regional
Planning Council to develop a complete streets design concept for Southeast Dixie Highway from Cove Road to Jefferson Street. Morning, Mr. Zamas. Yes. Good morning, commissioners. My name is George Zama. I'm the public works deputy director. Um this uh agenda
item is to work uh facilitate an interlocal agreement to work with the Treasure Coast regional regional planning council uh to um identify complete street design concepts for the Dixie Highway uh roadway improvements
project from Cove Road to Jefferson Street. Um the as you're aware the corridor for the project is quite long and it's bookended by two different CRAAS. Um the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council um performed a study
with the MOO in 2018 for complete streets throughout the county. Um this project corridor uh was identified in that study and uh staff has uh applied um uh with the consent of the board uh
to do for the MO list of project priorities which ultimately turns into a local agency program project. Um and at the request of D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do DOT uh Florida Department of Transportation District 4 local agency programming
office they uh requested Martin County to also I apply for a small county outreach program grant um so the county did so as uh the board approved the permission to apply um DOT um approved
the project in the Scott program um and it's now in the DOT 5-year work plan and it also is in our CIP. Um we are a program for design this year and um public works is requesting the assistance of Treasure Coast Regional
Planning Council to uh help scope out the project for complete streets. Uh as you may or may not be aware complete streets concepts uh encompass safety, quality of life and economic viability
uh in urban environments and in this corridor um it is a constricted corridor and uh with uh within several different CRAAS and um Treasure Coach Regional Planning Council will assist staff in
developing renderings for public outreach. uh uh public works has taken uh the next steps in in outreach and identifying stakeholders in the public. We'd like to get the design uh scoped out um before construction and uh as
many of you are aware during the um construction of the Dixie Highway through Golden Gate um staff had to make changes during construction and we'd like to mitigate that and identify all the scope uh coordinate with the community and um you know we feel that
Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council can greatly assist us so this so the community can can get a very good visual of what we're presenting uh for the project. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions and also uh members of the Treasure to Coast Regional
Planning Council are here as well to answer questions. Commissioner Vargas, are you making a presentation? Treasure Coast Regional. You're not. Okay. So, you know, this is a new age of minimizing excessive expenditures and we
should capitalize on the chance to do our part and to conserve our taxpayer funds. The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council is asking Martin County taxpayers to fund another study while
they have been unable to deliver on the last research that we needlessly funded. previous year, a previous year 23, uh they were given the opportunity for a
$115,500 study of the Treasure Coast Mall, a private entity that was never delivered to us on time. There were no deliverable dates that were made and certainly this should have been delivered by February of last year.
Let's not make the same mistakes again. I'm not saying they didn't do a good job in the past for other studies, but let's tap the brakes on unnecessary expenditures. What are we doing with all of these studies? This is an excellent time for
us to cut the budget, reduce our spending, and do our part to save our taxpayers money. I urge my fellow commissioners to help end wasteful choices and to make the bold decisions
that they were elected to make. The time is right to lower taxes. I do not agree and I will not support this additional study. I have one request to speak for
him and that's from Tammy Misota. We meet again. Tammy Mazota here. Um so as he is very well explained to everybody you know the the road that they want to put through
um in go through Golden Gate sorry. So this it seems to be something that's been put into the innovation hub by the business flare about 3 years ago and this is something that was slid into the
business hub innovation hub something that none of the residents or local businesses had a chance to even voice their concerns on. Um so the bridge is aligned directly with
business flare's prior recommendations for three walkways in the EFC railway. Uh page 27 and 29 of the business flare report. While the modernization and safety improvements are important, these plans should thoroughly be evaluated for
their real impact on surrounding communities, including the potential disruption of local character, access, and business viability. Um, I also urge all the commissioners to please reconsider the
approval of this because there was no transparency in here at all. And I would like to say also that last Thursday we had an NAC meeting and Susan Kors was there and Miss Herurd was there for approximately 20 minutes. Neither one of
them brought it up in our NAC meeting but yet it's here today on the agenda. This is something that has been sliden in no transparency with no community knowledge to a lot of people
or input and it's just not right. Thank you. Thank you. Uh let's see, Mr. Gordon. Uh Jim Gordon, public works director. Uh the intent of doing this this work is to create some
public outreach. um documents that we can then share at future NAC meetings because what we want to do is create some options and some visuals that we can bring to future meetings so that we can um share it with the community because it it would be a departure from
what we have there right now. But because we have several studies, the uh complete street study that went to the NO and then we also have a straight uh safe streets for all action plan. And both of those studies identified this corridor as one that that could be improved um as far as pedestrian and
cycling safety. So, we are um so so we'd like to come up with some of those design concepts through the use of this contract or or inter in interlocal agreement so that we can then go out to the public and and discuss it with them and to show them some ideas and get input on on what they want to see in
their community. Commissioner Heatherington. Yes. So, uh, as a part of this, it actually does go through district 2 and four and, um, I I wasn't aware of this until it came on the agenda, but I I do
support it and I I've heard what Tammy you said this morning both in general public comment and what you just pointed out. Um, what I think this this is not approving an actual plan or the cons a complete street plan. This particular
agenda item is specifically for the Treasure Co's Regional Planning Council to go out and and correct me if I'm wrong, if I'm misinterpreting, to go out and to get that community engagement and the public input on the projects that
are going forward for pedestrian safety on Dixie Highway so that we can get it right the first time when we design it. And I'll speak as, you know, District 2 commissioner, the Dixie Highway project started long before I was in office and
it was in the planning process and we did make changes at the last minute and those changes that were made um which really it it at the end of the day it cost more to make those changes at the end of the project. So if we had had the
proper input many years ago when that project was being designed and planned, I think that the residents, the community, Dixie Highway would have been better off. We did make those changes at the end. So I do see the return on
investment from proactively engaging the stakeholders prior to a and maybe you come back with some of you know some of the com uh proposed things that you mentioned were not um necessary or warranted or the residents they want
this or that. That's what I think is the objective and I hope I think it helps us get in tune with what the residents want, how to properly design, fund and use the tax dollars to build a responsible
um project. So for that reason I will support this because it does take into account all that engagement and it is not supporting a particular uh design of a project because that's the information I'm thinking that the regional planning
council is going to bring back to us so then we can approve a project that is in the best interest of the residents. Is that correct? Uh yes, Commissioner Heatherington, you're correct. And um just just to reinforce so you know staff
identifies roadway these really start out as roadway resurfacing projects and we identify the infrastructure needs the the b the basic infrastructure needs um the roadway itself and safety improvements um so and with that if
we're do a project you know we always get asked why didn't you add um these other amenities so we want to make sure as we scope out projects that we include um additional requests where feasible from the community and um the these
efforts assist or you might be removing requests. Right. Correct. That is absolutely correct and this is really is for transparency so the community can visualize what improvements we are proposing for the project. Um you know this this corridor has many users. Um
and you know we want to identify safety and roadway improvements for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, uh transit users. There's also freight hauling in the area for the many shops and businesses. Um so you know there's many stakeholders and we want to make sure
that the the all those stakeholders um uh uh requests and scope are encapsulated in the project uh before we proceed with furthering design. Commissioner Vargas. Yes. Uh, don't we already pay $70,000 for the privilege of enjoining
with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council? Do we? I think it's 42 cents per citizen. Yes, we do. Don't we? I don't remember the exact amount, but yes. Well, I'm pretty close to it. I'm pretty close to
that. Um, I I I I've already spoken about the Treasure Coast Mall, which that was never delivered. Is there no other entity to do this study if it's so critical to the area? Uh commissioners, we can uh employ um u
private sector uh planning agencies to help us with this. So it's just uh uh historically we've used the regional planning council for projects like this giving their um local knowledge of the area and it's one of the services they
provide uh as a as part of their services to all the counties. Well the Treasure Coast mall was farmed out to an entity in Washington and I believe Massachusetts they have offices also. So it wasn't done inhouse. Uh again, I I
laid out what happened and I had to chase that report and also try and find out what's happened with taxpayers money. They're asking for another $34,000. It's only money, but it's not our money. And we are charged to be excellent guardians of taxpayers money,
of which I am one of them. I didn't hire them, by the way. They just showed up on their own. So having said that, I think we need to back off for this moment right now and really take a hard look at this and it may be necessary uh for the betterment
and the safety of those that are in that area or that travel that area and that's fine. But again, we're in a climate that we have to measure every nickel that we spend, every single nickel.
Commissioner Campy, I tell you, I'm not sure where to begin. uh if there's going to be allegations that I have never heard of about a very legitimate organization in our community, very well regarded throughout the state of Florida, the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, having had
the benefit of being involved here for many years, having seen their work across dozens and dozens of projects, the huge advantage that we have is that other communities have to use the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council
uh as outsiders. Paris, we have the benefit of having them here. If there is an allegation of some kind of malfeence, I'm interested in hearing about it. Not during this agenda item. Uh I'd like to meet with our staff because when we're up here and people are casting uh these
kind of um criticisms and claims, I'm interested in hearing about it. Um our staff is tasked with doing all sorts of work to the to the public speaker's comments. I agree with Commissioner Heatherington. This is exactly what you
would hope for is an opportunity to have an in this particular case, I know you have some concerns about some of our staff and departments. This would give you an opportunity to have an outside organization do the things that you have felt and others have said to me feel
they are lacking. Um, I'm a steward of taxpayer dollars and we could get into a back and forth on, you know, what dollars are appropriate and what dollars, uh, spending taxpayer dollars are not. I plan on doing that in the future. Um,
it's easy to get up here and, you know, hey, you know, we're saving the taxpayer dollars. Well, the taxpayers have entrusted us to review these. uh I have entrusted our staff to do the research to decide if there is a time when we can do the projects inhouse with our own
internal professional staff and sometimes there's uh situations where we would take a project outside having the benefit of a long history and tremendously positive experiences with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning
Council. I may make a motion to um accept and approve staff's request for the dollars used for this particular project. I think in particular in the area that it's being proposed, having some additional outside
uh resources available would be beneficial. Second, Mr. Zama or someone, what happens? This is a very important project. And what happens if we don't hire this this
consultant to do to help us with design work? Does the project fall apart? Do we advertise for outside consultants to do the work? Uh Madame Chair, um the project will still proceed. It isn't within the gr
the um Florida Department of Transportation grant work program. There are milestones we have to achieve. So we do have to proceed with design. Um staff would um identify scope. We would
present to the CRA community uh NAC meetings as well as um our own public involvement meeting uh for the project. um we may not get to all the stakeholders. Um and
um a lot of times the stakeholders, you know, we could give presentations, we could talk about the project, we could present plan plans to the project. A lot of people don't know how to correlate that to a finished product. Um, we feel that Treasure Coast Regional Planning
Council can help us with renderings and visuals to present to the public so it can manifest ideas from the public to present to us so we can encapsulate the appropriate scope for the project. So, it's not necessarily um an absolute necessity, but it does
help us help, you know, talking about transparency, it really helps the public I you know, understand what we're trying to accomplish uh for the project. I have looks like two request to speak forms. Walter Lloyd is first followed by Tom Pine.
Thank you, Commissioners. Walter Lloyd, um, in listening to what's going on and hearing a little bit about it before I came here today, I first of all, thank you for making every attempt to manage our dollars and do the best you can for our community. But I would say that uh
transparency as I heard earlier is is a big concern of ours. We'd like to see exactly how you're doing that. So we would like to see uh dollar figures probably added to these items on here so that we can understand what the
magnitude is. And uh also I I think it would be a great suggestion to not only depend on just one but maybe do bids and get several players involved so that there's some sort of pressure on these people that are providing a service to
do it at a cost-effective way. Thank you for your concern for our tax dollars and I hope you all will take that into consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Tom Pine is next. My name is Tom Pine. On this issue, I'm
concerned that it doesn't turn out to be another disaster that's already on Dixie Highway going south from Indian Street. It looks a lot prettier than it was, but it's a lot more dangerous. The median street of course makes it
look real pretty and the turn lanes are gone. So people have to stop in the lane that they're driving to make the turn. That's where the accident starts. Speeds are out of control. Nothing new. But we can't have that same death
trap continue south on Dixie Highway. Are we going to start teaching crossing in the middle of the road? is now the right way to do and not at the corners like it's still starting school I believe. Please don't let this be
another disaster like the one on the Dixie Highway that's there now. Thank you, Commissioner Vargas. Yes. I would like to request that uh we solicit other bids for this project. Um I've already given
you um and it's not a complaint, it's a statement, it's a fact. We never received the mall report on time. I have no idea why it was done, but it was done. That was $115,500 that they requested and they farmed it out and it wasn't delivered.
So, I've already stated the facts. I had to chase that report. Also in addition to that I think that competition is healthy and I think this is the moment that we depart from our usual modus operandi uh that seems to be
quite comfortable here with this board. Um so I would request I would suggest that you not continue along the same venue and let's get some other bids for this project. You've stated how important it is. I'm speaking to staff
possibly they can do some work in-house. We need to be able to save money. We're not in this climate anymore. I stated that earlier. We are not there anymore. Commissioner Caps. Mr. Zama, I wonder if you could tell us
a little bit of more about what a complete street is. Uh complete street is a concept uh through a corridor primarily urbanized corridors um in which um there's uh constrained
right away um typically um there you know it's it's a corridor that promotes um not only mo traveling uh from the motoring public but uh walkability um and for pedestrians and
bicyclists and um it's accommodates aesthetic features um including landscape and street lighting and um uh as well as accommodations as I
mentioned before um for transit potential transit users um there's freight hauling you know these these are areas that get pretty like I said pretty constrained and you got We try to accommodate all the users in an area.
Do we have a couple of examples of a complete street that has been done in Martin County in the past? Uh we have several uh primarily uh they are uh implemented in the CRAAS um like Bridge Road in in district 3 uh map road.
um you know this area porto does have um a complete street measures in place um already but we're looking to um add uh the potential for a multiodal pathway through the area to continue the east
coast greenway. Um uh other and other areas include uh downtown um and city of Stewart um Golden Gate, the area we just completed. So there's several throughout the community. Downtown Jensen Beach, those
are areas of complete street concepts. It it sounds to me like it's a really complicated thing. you know, you're dealing with an older area of town. Constrained roadways um create all kinds of complicated
infrastructure issues. Um you know, I think we need good consultation and advice and input. Um and uh the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council has has
done that for us in the past. And frankly, if if Mr. Gorton and Mr. Zama think that they need it, I have a great deal of respect for what they do in the public works department. And that is another big factor in my mind. Um, you
know, I I think their judgment is very important and um I sit on the board of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and I've been impressed with the work that they do thus far and uh I think they've done good work in the
past. So, uh I would be glad to support their efforts. There is a motion and a second on the floor. All those in favor? I opposed. opposed. That motion passes 4 to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. And we also have to approve
uh consent 9, 10, and 11, the code enforcement issues. Motion to approve. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? I opposed. That motion passes unanimously. We will now break for lunch. Want to come back at
1:30? Sure. Okay. Thanks. Part: 2
we're on We are back and we are taking up public hearing number one which is a public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending article 12 land development regulations to revise the standards criteria and process of alternative compliance in the community
redevelopment areas Miss Cores is that we have a preset at 1:30 Oh goodness Okay we'll take that up What is that Miss Brotherington's agenda item Okay
we'll take that up Department two Let's there Good afternoon commissioners Christy Brotherton chief procurement officer Um joining me today we have your general services director uh Shawn Donahghue Uh the first item for your consideration
is the contract award for the House of Refuge Historic Restoration Project Never heard of it Nope Um staff is to approve That's There we go All right I'm done Um recommended action Uh staff is recommending that the
board award the contract to the sole responsive and responsible proposer which is the tradesman group in the amount of 1,792,11 Uh move that the board approve the revised CIP sheet to fund the project and move that the board authorize the county administrator or
designate to execute all documents related to this request Uh the next item for your consideration is the continuing services agreement for temporary employment services This contract um has a maximum
not to exceed value of $50 million and a maximum not to exceed term of nine years So this is a three-year term plus two three-year renewal options and staff is recommending that the board award the contract to the highest scoring firm which is resource
government services and move that the board authorize the county administrator or designate to execute all documents related to this request And last but not least we have another continuing services agreement This is for bioolids dewatered sludge
hauling and disposal services And this contract has a maximum not to exceed value of $6,500,000 with a maximum not to exceed term of 5 years And staff is recommending that the board award the contract to Appalachian
Material Services Incorporated and move that the board authorize the county administrator or designate to execute all documents related to this request And that concludes this item Questions for staff or shall we go directly to the public We'll go to the public We have
two request to speak forms The first is Katherine Larson The second is Rob Steele Yes please Rental number one Hi Good afternoon Afternoon I am Katherryn Larson I am keeper of the house at the House of Refuge And it's um I'm I'm very
honored to be in this position and I think that um I have been liazing with the county for a lot of maintenance things that have been going on at the House of Refuge and the time is now because uh we're going to be 150 next
year and this house structurally I know and we'd like to be here for another 150 of course but um as I always say to a lot of people she's a little old lady with her stockings falling down and if she needs some help And um I hope I
think my heart my voice is a little heartfelt and I had a couple points that I wanted to share with you because you know um if we don't take action soon there's going to be some irreversible repair and we're not going to be able to keep her up and running and very
representative of our community and she is when we get awarded these wonderful titles you know gorgeous seaside town um in Florida or actually in the United States US um Newsworld Report and um other publications they're always
flashing to the House of Refuge and uh she anchors us in our in our history 1876 was a long time ago when none of us were here And uh she is still here telling a a tale And I've got a lot of volunteers here that are here that also
feel that strongly because they dedicate their hours to us And it's a generational thing We get grandparents great-grandparents parents kids and um ones on the way coming to to us to continue perpetuate um learning about
our story Um and I I I think it's time to safeguard this legacy and a big giant restoration project I know that um these are big big numbers but that's what it is And if we want to continue this then
I think it's really important that we act now Um I have only been here a year as keeper of the house and I see just last season um it was remarkable We it wasn't even a hurricane There were just storms out at sea and high tides and
waves were crashing and they do a number on her but um we don't want her to go anywhere regardless So it's uh it's it's concerted effort and funding is very necessary to do this Um uh let's see Um this is kind of a reinvestment into
Martin Countyy's cultural and economic vitality We do use her We do flash the house Um and um I just I hope that um we can we can act favorably here favorably here to secure these fundings um because
she needs it And um I I actually recommend everybody to come out to visit us so they can really learn our maritime history I sometimes get people that come in and say "Well gosh I've lived here 30 years and I haven't been here." Well the history is the same but come and learn
it Come enjoy it And so thank you Thank you for your time Thank you Thank you Thank you I'm Rob Steele the president and CEO of the Historical Society of Martin County and it's been my honor to serve in that position for the last six years It's interesting I always referred
to the House of Refuge as he until Katherine arrived a year ago and now she has become she But I'm a-okay with that just as long as we can preserve her It's hard to imagine that 70 years ago the Historical Society of Martin County
which was formed by the Adventurous Women of the Seroptimus Club in 1955 they were charged with the duty of operating a museum at the House of Refuge and we've done so successfully for the last 70 years And that's through a partnership of collaboration with
Martin County and the Historical Society of Martin County And I think if you look around you won't see many 70-year collaborations in Florida or any other state that have sustained that much time the passage of time to keep things rolling It stands without saying that
the House of Refuge is the most iconic structure in Martin County It's certainly the oldest building and it's certainly under a continual barrage of of weather and ocean and wind and sand and everything else you can throw at it By some miracle it's the only one out of
10 houses of refuge in Florida that is still standing In 1930 the Coast Guard moved it back 30 feet and anchored it to the rocks and that's probably why it still stands It's withtood 22 hurricanes There could be no better time in history
to to undertake this endeavor to restore the House of Refuge than on the eve of its 150th anniversary in 50 years after the last major renovation of the House of Refuge the time is upon us This this
is our our time to act We will partner with the county as we have for 70 years Um whatever we can do to en encompass the efforts that are made on on the main house structure we will do so We'll go out and fund raise on our own Three
years ago in our management agreement we agreed to take care of all the interior spaces of the House of Refuge and the House of Refuge campus and we've done so very successfully since then redoing all the exhibits and and everything else We
introduced the Refuge Runner a 12 passenger shuttle about a little more than a year ago and we have doubled attendance at the House of Refuge since then As you know there are only 15 parking spaces out there And with the shuttle we take 40 50 sometimes 60
people a day out to to see the museum and understand about our local history So we're thrilled with the success of that program We see it only continuing Thank you for your consideration of this proposal and I hope we can continue to partner together Thank you
[Applause] Any questions for staff Commissioner Vargas Yes Um Rob could you come to the front Yes you Thank you You can come to the front Okay that's fine He kind of ran I do
have a couple of questions What about other funding sources to maintain this Because I'm I'm looking here It says 2,24984 I I I don't see I don't see I see a minimal amount of grants I mean you know we're in
budget time right now This this is really tough to keep coming As in as I mentioned in in my comments we're taking care of all the interior spaces and and we'll go out and fund raise to take care of the buildings that aren't included in this deep deep deep dive restoration
project And uh we've also discussed the opportunity of taking advantage of the 150year anniversary to do some fundraising to create an endowment for the long-term um sustenance of the the House of Refuge
Come up with a fund so that we can supplement the county budget on an annual basis to make sure we have enough money to to keep it uh under steady repair The uh uh it's like a battleship if if you ever stop painting it if you
ever have been on a battleship or an aircraft carrier they never stop painting 20 24/7 And that's essentially what we're dealing with now It's not in the water but it's close enough to the water that you have to keep everything up on a continual basis So we'll continue we'll continue to support that
but th this opportunity popped up very quickly and we'll we'll surround it and and support it Um but our ability to to raise you know $1.7 million very quickly is is somewhat limited but we can
certainly be a part of the solution Yeah Um because I I feel that um if you have this large bill that you're asking us to cover then wouldn't fundraising be
something you'd be working on quickly Uh I mean can this be done in steps because it's only about the money and we have so many responsibilities You heard some of them this morning and there are more coming this afternoon and we have to look at the total picture I'm certain
you understand that Absolutely I I completely understand and and as I said we're we're happy to be part of the solution um we don't actually own the facility or or the property that the county does and always has and we're
we're happy to to help and partner and everything else but ultimately the uh I think that the the party that owns the building ultimately the responsibility falls on them to make sure that it's preserved or that it's it's raised Yes I
understand Um but you do receive income from this entity don't you We we get we have a management agreement that we do and then our of course our admissions income because there's only 15 parking spaces even with the the
shuttle the income is is somewhat limited from the property because of its position and uh tourism attraction value Yes I understand what you're saying Um another question do you have the 990
Miss Brotherington of this organization Do do you never request it or are are you a nonprofit We are a nonprofit Yes Yeah Because I think that's important to look at the numbers also I mean if you're asking us to give this huge amount of money I mean I think that we
should have the transparency to look at that I mean wouldn't you agree Um I I I don't know how to elaborate on that I mean we we can do what we can do We're we're a small nonprofit This is a a big budget item
and and we're happy to help on every front and and to continue the preservation right Uh but but would you be willing to provide that the 990 I'm sorry I didn't hear you The form that you file with the IRS every year the 990 Yes of course Okay So I think that would
be really important because we have to look at every item that's coming before us Absolutely And that's where I stand very good on that So I would start making my phone calls to people Great Thank you Mr Candy
Um having had the opportunity to be out to the house of re refuge many times uh when my children were little and now they're all grown and long out of college I remember the last time I toured I had an opportunity with Rob uh
several years ago to talk about the continuing maintenance that you all were handling as he had mentioned you know he said it briefly the inside maintenance which is tremendous amount of effort and work and expense If you break it down and I do
differently if you had a 150y old house that was well away from the ocean it would be very very difficult to maintain a 150y old house Um very few structures ever make it to 150 years Now combined
that with the fact that it's as close to the ocean as you possibly could be new homes on the ocean are very very difficult and expensive to maintain You and your group of
volunteers and passionate supporters have been doing both very very successfully and the county has benefited from it as you had mentioned in your comments that um every PowerPoint I've ever seen
anytime anyone's doing any presentation about Martin County you can guarantee one of the pictures is the House of Refuge Uh if you look at people's engagement photos it's the House of Refuge Their wedding photos it's the House of Refuge So I think you know look
there's five of us for a reason We all have been duly elected uh we all campaigned and presented ourselves and our beliefs and philosophies to the public and they've decided it's going to be the five of us as this most recent iteration
Um and that's because everybody brings a different perspective of what they think is important and you know yes the budget is always an an issue Uh everyone has their hand out but having the added benefit of
having 12 years plus of sitting up here and being through these presentations and understanding the value of our different um entities and our different uh items that we own like like you said Mr Steel
the county owns your building You're the I like the keeper of the house I thought you said speaker of the house at first but the keeper of the house is very clever and and you it and you literally are We have entrusted you the county not just the five commissioners and our
staff but the community the residents of Martin County have entrusted you all to take care of our very very valuable property And yeah a million half dollars is is a large amount of money Uh it's not as large as it used to be had you
done this maybe 101 15 years ago But um I I'm very pleased with your steward financial stewardship and your management of a val very valuable fragile asset And when push comes to
shove at budget time and we need to uh pick and choose where we're going to put our taxpayers hard-earned resources uh I have no problem giving you the number that you're asking for And I would make a motion to accept staff's
recommendation And if we need to we can separate Why don't we do this Miss Mchair Should we separate this one out Sure I'd separate What number is this Uh this is A1 I would separate out A1 from the remainder of your agenda item to
make a motion to accept staff's recommendation for funding A1 with my thanks Commissioner Heatherington Yep I I agree with pretty much all of your comments and I won't repeat them And um I just
had to lean over to um our administrator and say is this a this is a county owned building Yes Yes And um and I think the we kicked off this morning with the historical preservation
um month and I think this organization has done a good job in managing our assets and I see the urgency and if if this is not preserved then there will be no more house of refuge and um so with
that I will definitely support this motion I do have a question on the another item if you want to proceed Yeah Um unrelated I seconding your motion and then after we vote I'd like to come back
with a question about something completely different Okay Commissioner Vargas Yes I I hear all the comments about brides taking pictures and and visiting I mean I'm from Miami I was born and raised I can tell you about a lot of historic places there and it's it's a
nice property and I understand it needs work However you know I'm I'm being asked to look at something this huge number here We talked about a fire station this morning that's 17 million Um I I have to look at numbers and and that's what makes sense to me I I have nothing in front of me You know there's
a lot of emotion floating here but we really have to get down to the facts And I asked a moment ago can some of this be broken out because it's a big number We have to take the totality of all the requests and then make a decision how much we can do and that's pretty much
what it is It's nothing more eloquent than that So Miss Woods Yes I just wanted to make sure for the record that that it's clear the county owns the property The county's
responsible for the property The relationship with the historical society is a programming management agreement which as they've mentioned is we we als they also program uh provide the the
tours and that sort of thing to a county owned property So that's their programming and their interior management of that and that's been in place for decades Um
so this is an historic uh building and because it's an historic building we are limited in what we can do to repair that building And one of the the constraints
is that we are required to use certain building materials uh in order to for it to remain an historic structure And those building materials are not weatherproof And the materials that
you're proposing that we're going to use are going to require repair and replacement very soon You can't The building will not dry Uh we're going to we're going to attempt to dry it out It's soaked
completely through and through Uh we will attempt to dry it We will attempt to get paint on it Uh we will put paint on it It will adhere hopefully for a while and then it will get wet all again And we're going to
be looking at the same problems that we have today 10 years from now and looking at the same really substantial bill bills to pay There are materials today that are far superior composite
materials that if they were used in order to do these repairs would last a long long long long time and the building would look the same and it would be serviceable for a much longer period of time
But because we desire to keep this an historic structure we're not going to use those materials that are sustainable If I may Sean Donahghue general services director and we have uh Mr Brian Laura he's with REG Architects We can talk about some specific uh
standards and requirements for historic building renovation and rehabilitation like we're talking about here Um some of the things that we that we're limited to from a historical perspective uh allows us to get grant funding So we we
received grant funding for the roof replacement in 2023 for this project uh in the order of $231,000 uh because it's a it's a historic building So we we need to match those standards and maintain that to be able
to start work to continue to work with the uh historical society of the state to receive some grant funding Okay It's it's 200,000 and our investment is 1.5 million Understood So it's that's rather inconsequential quite
frankly Um and the building would look and function as a beautiful historic building um if we were inclined to use modern composite materials to make the replace
to do the repairs right Yes Yes But we'd have to look and see you know how we would back out of being a historic building Yeah I don't know if that's possible Have an answer to that You know talk me out of it commissioners
but I this is a really big investment and It's maybe not the wisest investment that we could make at the moment Commissioner Campy recently the last several meetings quite often I feel like I'm in the
Twilight Zone I can't imagine that we would be talking about stripping away the historic value of the most important historic building we have in our county I get the the nuts and bolts would be
like "Hey tear it apart rebuild it and modern." Then it's not the house of refuge anymore It's a model of the house of refuge The building has lasted 150 years It's one of the few houses of refuge left on the coast and we have been
blessed with the opportunity to preserve it I think if we put this out and the public knew that we were even considering letting it fall apart or completely artificializing it if that's a word they would fill this room with
people Um I would I'm shocked we're even having this conversation Um we spend millions and millions of dollars Miss Brotherton not to put you on the spot can you tell me the one about um
waste services again or sludge services Can you give me just repeat that one for us Sure Okay So for the bioolids this is um a continuing services contract with the maximum not to exceed value of 6.5
million over a maximum not to exceed term of five years You can stop right there Bioolid is a fancy word for sewage sludge We're going to spend $6 million for five years worth of getting rid of
sewage No one blinks an eye because it has to be done I maybe that's why again I'll go back to I can't imagine that we would be debating the value of the House of Refuge I'm I'm stunned I will
certainly not participate or or would die to if I had to participate in being the board that after 150 years and Martin County being in existence for a hundred with a 70-year partnership this is going to be the five of us are going
to have our names on the one that pulled the plug on it I I think that's a terrible uh history for us to have We spend so much money on so many things We have a threequarter of a billion dollar budget
Yes $1.5 million is an expensive number They're not asking for it Those are the folks that take care of our building It belongs to the five of us representing everyone else 1.5 million We spend more on soccer fields that are not 150 years
old We can't be the we've been entrusted to take care of this this building and I can't believe we're going to talk about either destroying its historic I mean people preservation it's all over Julie Priest is probably in her car driving over here right now and um I can't
imagine that we would want that reputation throughout the state or in the historic preservation world that a county would be um thinking about stripping away its historic value to make it more weatherproof or worse not
funding the desperately needed repairs at all That's not how we want our county to be known throughout the country And this sounds like a news story to me Well I'm absolutely certain that our our uh residents are grateful that we are
hauling out between 160 and 600 tons of sludge every month I will vote for the sludge as well I was using that as an example that Commissioner Caps Yes I toured the House of Refuge It was
a fun afternoon and I saw the need and it was interesting seeing the effects of salt air deterioration on construction and um and u I've seen this a lot in my own
business life u that salt air is hard on things I I think as far as composite materials go they're nice but they won't match Uh it it won't look good to have two different kinds of materials and
unless you're going to tear the whole place down again and redo it with composits Uh you don't want it to look like a a patched up thing So um I I think it would be best to use those same materials And I I tend to
think that they would last longer than 10 years and probably longer than 20 or 30 years And I would imagine some of the old boards that I saw uh that were all deteriorated are probably 50 or 60 or 80 years old Maybe they're original I don't
know But um but I don't think they they rot away that quickly um even with the salt air and uh so I I'm in support of the effort to restore it with uh the types of materials that we're supposed
to use in order to maintain the historic designation that it currently has So I'd be glad to support the motion Commissioner Vargas you know um the architect there those that are building they know how
to put the new type of products together which look authentic but will have durability Um construction costs are going to be going up So we'll be talking about a far greater number within 8 n
years 10 years A a residence a building on the ocean with the salt air and I'm a Florida native so I know it very well uh cannot withstand any real length of time and
more so Um this is a huge number and it's manuscal what we're getting for the grants and I think that we'll be able to have many many more years of enjoyment if we were to take a different
TAC and use new materials that are beneficial for the integrity and the structure and also for those to enjoy the building We are not raising the building We're not abandoning it We're not destroying we're not doing any of
those things That's all emotional talk We're talking about a number here We haven't even gotten into the budget items Um I I can't support this at this time because I have no information whatsoever from this nonprofit I did tour the building also and I saw that it
did need work but not just to continue to use the same um wood or other products that they used 150 years ago just to maintain a semblance of this is what it was this is what it is and this is what it'll all be
Uh we'll have more durability and longevity by implementing new products and techniques also So that's what you're hiring the engineers the architect those that'll be doing that and they can certainly speak to the specifics more than I can at this time
Commissioner Heatherington next item after we vote Okay How do how do these items become prioritized and come before us Because this was this was a a surprise to me Yes we like I said before
we we received a grant back in 2023 and as part of that grant you start working with the architects to develop a set of construction plans uh to implement the grant So as we were looking at the facility to replace the roof uh RE architects and their structural engineers analyzed the facility and
found significant flaws that were you know uncovered as we were preparing the the documents Uh the structural report the structural analysis was prepared that created a list of priority items that needed to be repaired Uh so that's that's kind of the history of it I can
say that the last major structural repair on this facility was back in 1999 So we're looking you know 26 years 27 years later uh as we're fixing as we as we're trying to do this project Uh it's a long time It's it's it needs some major TLC It's these are critical
repairs uh we have floors that are starting to sag and uh you know other other issues that are happening with the building um that it's it's it needs some help right now Um as far as uh using different types of materials we tried to
maintain the historic uh designation and ma maintain the historic construction Uh so that's the the direction we were in at the time leading from 2023 to now I I remember going to ga a couple gatherings there early in the in the
2002 2003 era and there were the facilities were used then because it had been recently repaired and it was usable and it was attractive and it hasn't been since then because it's not
uh as desirable it isn't as as as uh wellkept And I see that the um this CIP sheet wasn't initiated until last year I mean if you knew that the building was falling apart that it
needed was in desperate need of very expensive repairs then why wasn't the CIP sheet created in 2015 so that we could begin preparing for it saving for it instead of all of a sudden being being asked to approve uh
$1.7 million uh project that pre that previously didn't even have a CIP sheet I don't I don't have a good answer for that question I'm sorry Commissioner Um you know I started here in 2022 and we when we started getting the grants and
moving through the process of uh preparing for the implementation of the roof replacement and we found this this problem I think you know we could do a little bit more uh uh upkeep u more more frequently to try to curtail some of
this I I don't think I don't think you could do it I just don't It's too wet It's too wet It's too windy It's too salty You know what What kind of of repairs or what kind of maintenance are you going to do that's going to stop the deterioration This is is not a weatherproof site And that's not going
to change The building is 150 years old They've been doing a pretty good job But I concur what Mr I I concur what uh uh Chairwoman Herd has said Um this building will not survive They they didn't have the materials They didn't
have the techniques at that time and and what we've been doing is just trying to shore it up I hate to use that word but we just trying to you know prop it up as we moved along And I understand what you're saying about when you arrived here at Martin County and and there should have been acknowledgment that this is coming up and this is the
reasons why we need to do this such as what we're seeing today Uh I mean this should be something that gee we really have to plan for or they need to fund raise or can't keep just coming back to the county and asking for these big numbers I mean they're huge numbers and
call the vote and it's excuse me I'm talking That's it's parliamentary procedure I'm calling the vote As I was saying if you can look at other materials to use you're you're not receiving a whole lot of money for this
It's $20 and some odd thousands versus what you're asking us Everything that we've spoken about today it's nice to have historic structures and where I grew up plenty of historic structures but they're using different materials today so that they have some life left
to them and for the enjoyment of everybody I see the consultant would like to address us You have three minutes I called the vote I'm the chair Right Hey you don't have to go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower You can see it in Las Vegas
No that's fake Thank you I'm Brian Laura from Reg Architect It'll be real Um original the uh the structure has you know there's a lot of work that needs to be done from the the re- roof to the the foundation There's issues with piles
with uh you know structural issues and through the assessment with our structural engineer we're able to uncover that there's a lot of unknowns once you go into the actual construction or preservation of the building but the materiality has to match what is there
it's been lasting over 100 over 150 years the wood I mean it's essentially sustainable the materials that you're looking at now and trying to match would be out of polymers and plastics And those don't tend to last as long
especially in the sun And sustainability really has to do with natural materials things that aren't added glue and you know pieced together You want whole wood You want things that are natural that'll last longer and it'll be more as a
preservation It has to match what's in the historic standards And the historic standards dictate dictates what grants you get right So you have to you have to kind of preserve and restore what's there and be and you know the that's one
of the most critical things for historic preservation Um those materiality and and this is a landmark building being on the water's edge Um it's been probably through you know 50 hurricanes been through quite a quite a bit of you know time and um and and weather So it's it's
going to weather once you replace these materials in kind with what's there it's going to last just as long or longer Um I think it's a a val valuable asset for Martin County Um and yeah I think you know once we go through the process
there may be uh you know it uh there may be things that are that are unknown that we'll find and we'll have to address then Um but it's it's fairly it's really critical that we do uh maintain it and we uh address the issues structurally
for the the piles and the the rafters and the and the joists and all these things that are in dire need of sustain sustainability So yeah so I think I think having said that you know I think to move forward we
we need to really look at it and kind of address what's needed now because time is of the essence You have to do this If you don't it's going to it's going to be in disrepair and it's going to decay and you don't want to have this landmark
building in decay Okay Thank you Appreciate it So it sounds like even you're anticipating that we're going to have to replace piles and raptors and joists more money We don't have any idea what the extent of that is and it certainly is not going
to be historic or original when they're replaced That's right It's not how it works Yes that's how it's worked You can still maintain its historic preservation status if you go about using the same materials the same building instruction and the same uh details of how they do
the work If you've watched any project it still maintains the historic value if you use similar materials and the same techniques That's what we're saying Use similar materials that look like that Now I will say that there are better products out there for holding up a
structure So that's not something from 150 years ago And this is what we're saying So I I heard the architect say "Well once we uncover we could have other items to tend to," which means more money more than what this number is here in our book You need three votes of
yes We have a motion and a second I called it There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed Opposed That motion passes three to two with commissioners Vargas and Herd descent [Applause] Mr Hedington
I have a question on the next item but I I just last comment on this It it might be I don't want to ever be in this um conversation again about historic buildings because they are important to Martin County So perhaps um county owned
historic buildings should have reserve funding put and maybe they have in the past I don't know like as in the um state legislature passed a a reserve funding mandate on condo owners that had threetory maybe there's um some better
planning we can do in the farb future So I I'll just leave it at that and then uh Miss Brotherton I have a question on sludge So we um we bid it out and it looks like
I I read in your um explanation that the number two Wait you don't want to listen to the sludge conversation You got that one Um you this the the the award is going to the second um lowest bidder So it it
looks like they didn't turn in the proper they weren't the responsive bidder Is that correct Yeah So um for this particular bid we did receive um per the bid tabulation there was a lower bidder per the read out loud um bids However they submitted two bids instead
of one and both of those bids contained contingencies um or alternates So it was a non-responsive bid So that bid was thrown out So the lowest responsive and responsible bidder is actually the Appalachian Material Services Okay And
then as technology this technology is changing as fast as we can blink an eye Does this contract give us flexibility to adapt as that as things change in the bioolid world I I think I can answer
that one and that is this provision does allow for we have another solicitation on the street regarding the processing of bioolids itself This is just the hauling and this contract would accommodate a change in that activity should we choose that in the future Okay
Very good Um with that if no one has any I will motion for this item number three is approval Commissioner Caps just a point of clarification This is for hauling and
disposal Correct I you know this thing that might be happening in Indian town called Sedbron Yeah we're actually out to bid That is the one that Mr Donaldson was just speaking of So we're actually under the cone of silence So I don't want to You're fine But we do have an
active solicitation for something for the residuals processing recovery I can't remember the title I'm sorry Are those is this the same kind of activity and subject matter or uh they are the same They are a similar subject matter
This is simply the hauling of a dried material that's currently being generated at our facilities Our future action is to have a completely different method of of handling both creating the material and how it's disposed of And so
um we don't see this allows us to keep the operation that we currently have uh but it also accommodates should the commission decide to make a change in how we process and dispose this contract would allow that transition Okay Thank
you No problem Was the um motion for two and three or just three Yes The all of the ones that we didn't separate out Was there a second
Yes Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Let's see if we can move things along Commissioners we got a lot of a lot of work ahead of us today
Yes you are We will take up public hearing number one which is a public hearing consider adoption of an ordinance amending article 12 to revise the standards criteria and process of alternative compliance in the community redevelopment areas Go Sure Good morning commissioners Elise
Elder deputy county attorney I'm here with Susan Cores who is the manager of the CRA community development director Director Sorry Um we're here to talk about an ordinance Hear you very well Elise Okay Can you hear me now Okay We're here to talk about an ornament
ordinance that proposes some changes to the alternative compliance process in the community redevelopment areas the CRA Alternative compliance is really similar to a variance It's when a someone who wants to build in the CRA is asking for a deviation from a code
provision And right now we have a current process in the CRA where someone can fill out an application for alternative compliance Growth management staff will do an analysis and then the growth management department director makes the determination on whether or
not to grant alternative compliance So the standard that um he uses or she uses it's he right now to determine that is whether it meets the intent of basically article 12 So we're here today to propose some changes to that process
This process was changed in about two 2021 2021 when we when the county adopted article 12 for the CRA Prior to that there was a public hearing process It went before the NAC and they made the determination Um Miss Corores can tell
you but there were issues with that process which is why the proposed proc the process now was proposed We're seeing there are issues with the current process So we're proposing some new changes and basically we are going to make it so the process goes back to a
public hearing So um so for a request for alternative compliance right now it goes to the growth management director There's no notice to neighbors or anybody in the community And part of the zoning code is so you know what you can build so your neighbors know what you're building So we're proposing to give a
public hearing process And we're also uh proposing changes to the actual criteria um to make it more in line with what someone who requests a variance in the rest of the county Um the criteria they have to establish and that's the
variance criteria under Florida law So I I'll go over that first Under section B it's right on your screen This is the criteria we're proposing It's the criteria for a variance under propo uh Florida law and it's very similar to what you would have to demonstrate if you want a variance outside of the CRA
Um so it's one through little five and that's the standard we're proposing Um and that is going to be for architectural and dimensional requests for alternative compliance for landscaping requests for alternative
compliance Um that's the criteria following in section C We mimic that from the rest of the county Um we have a procedure for the rest of the county if you want landscaping alternative compliance So we just took the same um criteria for that And then the final
change is really just to change the process So if it's a major development that becomes before the board of county commissioners the request for alternative compliance would be decided during the um site plan approval during the major development If it's any other request for alternative compliance for
dimensional or architectural it will go to the CRA board and there would be a public hearing uh the growth management staff will present the request and then the CRA board would make the determination based on the criteria um that we're amending PE public would have
an opportunity to comment um and they would make the decision that would be for like minor developments building permits things like that Um that kind of summarizes what we are proposing today Um I don't know if Miss Corores has anything else to add Yeah I just had a couple of things to add Um good
afternoon commissioners Um one of the reasons that we wanted to bring it back in house in 2021 was some of the issues that we had in bringing those things to the NAC Uh one of the big ones is that they meet every other month which
sometimes can really hold people up in terms of their building permits and those types of things So that occasionally became or more often than occasionally became an issue uh for those applicants The other issues that we faced were neighbors judging
neighbors and that was a little bit of a problem as well NAC members change fairly often So that it was difficult sometimes to get uh a quorum of folks that understand code and could actually make um a decision that made sense I
think uh for the applications um I think that it will be easier moving forward doing it this way It certainly is more transparent We certainly have public notice It's a public meeting It's held once a month The folks are there for longer periods of time We will give them
some additional training as well so that they can really uh make good decisions about these applications And as well we changed our architectural standards I think you might remember that we brought that to you a couple of months ago Um
and we firmly believe that that is going to cut down the amount of applications because the rules are so much clearer and easier to follow for applicants and for developers and for property owners So I think for all of those reasons the
uh change in process is going to be very helpful And we did present this to both the CRA and the LPA and both boards uh approved it recommended approval unanimously Questions for staff I have one uh public
request to speak form and that's Tammy Modota Okay three times the charm rate Tammy Modota Um I would like to draw attention to the proposed changes in article 12 specifically 1212
um effectively removing the neighborhood advisory committees from the process of approving alternative compliance Um these amendments grant full discretion to the growth management director
cutting out all vital community input and oversight It undermines the principle of transparency community involvement um that NAC's are established to uphold Additionally the removal of language
referencing existing site characteristics such as the historical agricultural features and the acceptance of the generalized comparable but different design solutions is concerning And some
of these changes have such broad descriptions that you don't really know how far things are going to be changed because these changes are just way too broad And um so you're you're saying
that you're talking about transparency and um Susan was at our last NAC meeting She put this on the agenda She knew about it but did not bring it up to the NAC
It's a prime example of the transparency that's not happening and um the changes will not be transparent I don't know how anybody can expect us to believe in transparency when it hasn't been hap happening in the
past So um you want to talk about the NAC and the CRAAS when there's talks of dissolving the NAC and CRAAS So why would you go through all of that
trouble for something that's supposed to be dissolved It It's just strange to me Um I understand that I've been talking about transparency off an awful lot
today but there there really has How can we trust We're supposed to trust but when there's consistently no transparency how can we trust We want to trust we want to support you and we want
you to support us but there is no transparency So um I I don't even know what else to say honestly because we've been misguided to say the least
Thank you Commissioner Campy Thank you I have received um decent amount of emails on this with people that had concerns I did have an opportunity to speak to Miss Cororus ask her some of the questions that were asked of us I'm assuming when I get them
they I look to see they were mostly for commission Um I've sat through some alternative compliance uh presentations at the Palm City NAC One recently for the map road project that's under construction now at 33rd Street
Um pretty cut and dry Um how often is this are there requests for alternative compliance Is this a common occurrence Is it rare Would have to be relatively rare Correct It's relatively rare We um in
2023 for minor site plans there were six total for 2023 and 24 Um building permits might be a little bit more but it they're not that that frequent So let me just be clear For the year 2023 and
2024 across the six different CRA neighborhoods there was only six for minor site plans for 2024 For building permits there were 27 And those building permits would then go before the CRA
board Whereas currently they are discussed exclusively at the neighborhood level No they are the NAC is not part of the process Once in a while the growth management director will refer it to the NAC but the process is you fill out an application The current process staff analyzes it The
growth management director makes a determination There's no public process right now unless the growth management director refers it to the NAC which happens infrequently I think Thank you The one that I was mentioning the example on map road was that minor or
major Minor Minor It's a full building with a parking lot So a lot of those uh building permits um I would say probably about a third of them are the architectural So again we expect that to be half if not less than
half because the criteria that they need to follow like I like Elise pointed out is the same as they would follow in the rest of the county and because we have instituted new standards uh we believe that that's going to be easier for the applicants Now I know in the past that
without the ability for the neighbors to know that someone's up to something there was another one that I sat in on where a homeowner residential homeowner was looking to build a large do you remember Large garage on the side of their property that was going to go way into the back Yes And the neighbors were
at the NAC meeting and some of them were in support and some of them were not But the frustration was that they had no idea that that would have come forward versus if it is going to the CRA level It would have been decided at a meeting
with an agenda where people could come and make a threeminute public comment That is correct As Miss Moda um quoted in 1212 presently none of those go to the NAC and haven't since 2021 So
we agree that it needs a public it needs a better public process So that's why we're changing that part of it Okay And with that in mind I remember with that and I'm just using anecdotal examples that I sat through Um some of the residents I mean some of the board
members on the NAC felt uncomfortable because they live directly across the street from that project They always ask if they can abstain and I was there yesterday and someone asked if they could abstain which is not a thing Correct Correct If you're sitting there you'd have no choice either to say yay
or nay based on a very personal you know so the neighbors approving neighbors Now the CRA board some people have no idea what we're discussing That board is made up of an individual from each of the NAC's sometimes the chair but not not only the
chair Correct Each one of the NAC's has a representative on the CRA board and then we have one member at large so that we have an equal a better voting Correct But the CRA member from the individual NAC is not necessarily the NAC's chair
Not necessarily But quite often most of the time Okay So there's still a neighborhood representative that's representing the CRA and an at large who could just be from wherever Mhm Um what happens is in my mind I'm trying
to figure out the differentiation when you have six of them I would tell you when I pulled my NAC members in Palm City they didn't have an issue with it I don't know Obviously there's other CRA NAC areas and CRA areas where it's a
little more contentious I don't know what my colleagues are thinking about their NAC's Let's hear it What Let's hear it Yeah And so but based on that I understand that I represent each of the
six and I'm pretty tuned in with some of the folks that are in that area of contention uh friends of mine And so I'm I'm leery but I think when I weigh it as a countywide issue I can see myself supporting it I think that there is more
benefit universally um than there would be And as well as the fact that my last question I wrote it down Uh how many items does the gen the growth management director have the authority to approve I know that if
something came forward with um live local that stops at the director of the growth management This is an area these minor ones would be approved by the growth management director So is this there are a lot of leeway for the growth
management director Is it very rare And then does an applicant beyond the neighborhood wanting to participate does an applicant that's looking to bring an alternative compliance and it's going to be approved by the growth management director do they have the opportunity to
meet with the growth management director to present their case How does how do they what's the process for that Paul Schilling growth management director Oh there he is Thank you
So a couple things I'll try to u address each one of those commissioner if I may Uh minor developments are the same uh with respect to thresholds So that process would not change Simply the only quite frankly the only change that is
proposed today is taking an application that is currently reviewed by my staff and me uh and introducing a public participation or a public decisionmaking element into that application Major developments do not
change You are the decision maker for those applications Minor developments with respect to minor final site plans You mentioned one on in Palm City the uh that would not change other than that particular item would be brought to the
u CRA board uh in the cases now as it is today uh the development review team reviews these applications and then they make a recommendation within the staff report and I take that recommendation uh and approve the development order based on
the record uh based on quasi judicial u uh the record based on uh competent substantial evidence uh and then the uh um criteria within the alternative compliance with respect to um the only
kind of hesitation I did have with this particular introduction and do it public uh would be um not for any reason other than just time uh because a lot of the applications we are looking for or at involve building permits whether they be
a shed or a simple carport or whatever the case is and we we do our best to get those turned around within a couple weeks at this point and maybe it goes a little bit longer at for that at times but this could potentially u involve more time which as you know uh
causes um some aggravation for the public Thank you Commissioner Vargas Yes So um I had a case in Rio where uh an applicant wanted to have the ADA ramps So would this be more lenient for that
individual So if they were looking for um a deviation from a code for an ADA provision they would they would travel under a different section of code which would be for reasonable accommodation That's a completely different standard and there's no cost to that We have a hearing officer that comes in and hears
them independently So that this wouldn't really be applicable to an ADA accommodation It it's a different process So so this is uh less restrictive This is more restrictive than the ADA process because ADA they would if if you're established that you
have a disability and you need it we have to give it to them Yes I understand But but this the changes that you're making though the strike off is that more lenient or is it we are proposing um a little bit stricter criteria to bring it into compliance with Florida
law just like you would get under a variance It's it's it mimics the variance language because that's what you need under Florida law to get a variance So the criteria we're proposing is a little strict is stricter than the criteria that we're striking out right now Commissioner Heatherington Yeah it's
always interesting up here to hear people's perspectives and comments for the first time Um so I have things that I absolutely don't like about this and that I I don't want to support today have some things that I think are are of
benefits So I do like the fact you know of being notified um the neighbors being notified um and potentially having a public hearing Um I I don't like um the
fact that a volunteer appointed board would be you know expected to have technical expertise that I don't think that you can depend on them to have I think our growth management department um and our professional staff is well
suited to analyze these things And I did ask the question that you had asked of staff how how many people are requesting these and when are they being requested So I had a list of in 2023 six of them
and then in 2024 there were 27 And I don't I don't know if they're major or minor or I know so I know you're going to jump in major but I'll I'll just kind of run down because I was interested to see interested to see what are people asking for alternative compliance for
and how do we make the process better without um creating undue regulation and allowing for public um participation And there were things like architectural design and a metal garage
and outbuilding size setbacks frontage open space architectural design metal garage couple garage setbacks parking setbacks parking setbacks and frontage Architectural design architectural design Some of them are commercial some
of them are residential But I I think that this I I'm not prepared to support what you have in front of me today I think that it needs there are some a couple good attributes and there are some things that I think need to be
amended I like having the NAC's participate Um I agree with having a public hearing process and um but I I do like professional staff to be determining these I think if you put this on the CRA which is you know some
of them have been there a long time have a lot of expertise but there's a lot of very complicated I think and technical issues going back to what the code allows and I think those determinations
are best suited for the professional staff and it's best for the public then to hear and be able to have input in the process So for that if if this would come back at a different time and it
includes public hearing and public um input um but not some of the things that I see in there today I'd be willing to listen to it again but the way it's written today I'm not willing to support it So for clarification you
want staff to be the decision maker after it goes to the NAC I would I would be in favor of notifying you know notification and public hearings but I think professional staff is there there's a lot of technical details in
some of these requests and I I think that requires someone who is in the profession and is skilled at looking to these things and you when you bring it to a volunteer board I think that it
it's going and I understand that staff is going to um recommend and present in front of the board but I like the process that is happening now Um maybe with some additional public hearing input Commissioner Vargas Yes
Um could we could we look at it this way that the uh growth management director would make a presentation to the NAC you know in layman's language uh explaining and fielding questions which
we do here uh to be able to you know have a meeting of the minds or a dissension whichever it may be or rebuttals uh might that be something that we could craft in this document So right now the way it will be is growth management will take
the application and the growth management department will analyze it and make a recommendation to the CRA board We can't have the NAC make the final decision honestly because they're an advisory board and if you give them final decision making power that changes the whole aspect of their board and
under Florida law it's not really appropriate So we do have staff analyzing it and making the recommendation to the CRA to make the um to make the determination We do the same thing for our Bozer board for border zoning and adjustment So we can put the
NAC in the process and bring it back to the growth management director to make the decision if the board desires to do that Uh the remark that I would make on that commissioner is that again we're back to two or three months lag time if
not more at that point because the NAC's meet every two months and then the CRA board meets every month Um so again we're moving back to permit holders You know a lot of these are the the majority of these things are building permits So
you would hold up someone who wanted to build their home or do something you know in their yard for 2 or 3 months Okay I understand that Yeah And I understood the growth management you know can make a decision and approval right there on something that might be minor Is that correct Major would come
here However I think as was stated by somebody in the audience that we don't want to circumvent the public's input either I understand they're an advisory board the NAC and we definitely want to give them the opportunity I I mean this is a process It's a process The CRA has
public their public meetings that are noticed as well I I understand that but I'm talking about the NAC and those folks that live in the area and and you know have to live in the area and either appreciate it or you know grind their teeth every time they go by So it' be one or the other But I understand not
leaving you out of the piece Of course I'm speaking to the director right now Uh thank you just u I think it maybe got a little mixed up but I don't wanted there to be any uh confusion about the fact that either way any of this uh moves forward the analysis is done by
the department and the professionals and then that recommendation is conveyed to whatever whichever decision-m body that is uh and then and currently I have the option of of uh requesting that the NAC weigh in on applications I think I've
done that twice within the last couple years and in one case the NAC NAC did not make a decision and sent it back to me Um so I think from the public's perspective they're interested in what's going on in their neighborhood and
they're they're the the well-versed in what's going on U just to give you a little idea the board of zoning adjustment works in that there is an application Uh we don't typically bring applications to the board of zoning adjustment with a recommendation of of
denial Uh maybe once and once in 200 of them or something if someone insisted So and then it's just a matter of the public having an opportunity to state their their objections But uh I don't know how I don't know the process of getting into a neighborhood meeting when
there was a resident who maybe had objections and how those could be tailored into the decision in the board of zoning adjustment That's quasi judicial Those are notice neighbors and then at times the uh board of zoning adjustment takes the neighborhood's
recommendation and can integrate that into a resolution Uh that can often take some time and finessing but um that's all I have Okay Commissioner Caps Yeah I see the problem with the NAC having an advisory role because of the
uh every other month thing You know you just Sorry you just missed the the last meeting You'll have to wait 59 days to be heard again So that's a serious problem you know I think So it seems
like the CRA board is is better equipped from a timing standpoint And um but I was wondering if we ought to have the CRA board make recommendations rather than final determinations and for the growth management department to continue
with the final decision making power Uh how about that How I know uh Commissioner Heatherington expressed concerns about whether the CRA board had the technical expert expertise maybe they
could make a recommendation and uh growth management could make the final determination they make final decision we Mr Donaldson briefly My suggestion was unless you chair think
there is a strong consensus to wrap this up we may want to bring this back I have a strong feeling to wrap this up Yeah Okay Thank you That' be great Commissioner Campy wrap it up I think out of all of Look as Commissioner Heatherington said and I reiterated
again we're not allowed to hear from each other We're not allowed to speak to each other So we're getting to hear each other's perspective for the first time now and I hear things that I completely agree with I do That being said I think the most detrimental portion of what I
heard is that the NAC's which look more transparency the better I get that But I don't think the neighbors weighing in on something every other month If I was trying to get a garage built or
my builder was trying to get my house built in a volatile uh market of interest rates and two or three months makes the difference between an interest rate lockin that I have I think the timing is the most critical decision uh decider for me So I would make a motion
to accept staff's recommendation the way that it was presented with the caveat that as Mr Schilling said that he has the ability in his purview to send something that he believes uh could be potentially conflicted to the NAC to
have them weigh in on it Not not every single time but certain CRAAS it's more important than others to uh you said you've only done it a couple of times Maybe have that as one of your options um more readily available to you I think that might knock down some of the people
that feel disenfranchised Okay there's a motion Commissioner Heatherington I just adding on that and um it it does work in some areas and it doesn't work in in some and I I believe it's not in the
best interest of my CRA Even some of the additional language that you know is added in implements an eco art element as approved by the growth man There's there are things that I think are overregulatory and are
unnecessary Um I don't think this broad brush approach is the right way to go Um and I think the process is working as it is and I think the process is way more timely the way it's currently operating than it's going to be to bring it to a
CRA board So I it everybody has their perspective I just think in the best interests of District 2 I'm not going to support this Commissioner Vargas I concur with Commissioner
Heatherington Um I don't think folks are looking for more restrictions and certainly not in District One at all Um the time frame is the time frame If somebody is planning a project they will comply with the time frame and make sure
that they're aware But I think it's critical that you allow people to express their opinions I think throughout the country people are running away from conformity You must do it one way or there's no other way Um in
this case I cannot I cannot go forward as it's been presented You said it's more restrictive I can't I cannot do that There's a motion Is there a second It dies for a lack of a second Let's
take a 10-minute break We The meeting will resume in 10 minutes Not 12 minutes not 15 minutes 10 minutes and we were You're on So does legal want to make a recommendation
to the board of county commissioners on item number PH one Our recommendation would be to make a motion to deny or not approve Based on the previous motion's lack of a
second Yes Correct I will make that motion Sorry I was chewing Second There's a motion in a second All those in favor I opposed Opposed That motion passes 3 to one with Commissioner Campy
dissensing and Commissioner Vargas absent Now we'll take up public hearing number two which is amending our doc building code For the record Jeff Dy director of the building department This is a simple
uh request The dock ordinance predates the building code origins at the time It was very prescriptive in nature which meant it said specifically materials sizes fastening devices and connections And if you followed those that the county designed you would not have to
have a design professional sign and seal your drawings The building code came into effect in 202 was prescriptive as well but later additions became more performance-based and required a Florida design professional architect or engineer under the appropriate board
sign and seal and prepare the documents This simply is changing our doc ordinance to mirror the state requirement of the Florida Building Code Chapter 553 and we are required to do that Okay that's it questions for staff Public
comment I think coming in Is there any public comment I think so Is that one I don't think there is this is uh Mr Cosgrove Do would you like to speak on this agenda item It's in the
lobby Realize how efficient you are He's going to the parking lot It says open public We'll just yeah assume that that's what it is Uh any questions for staff I would make a motion to accept staff's recommendation Second There's a motion and a second All
those in favor I Thank you very much One second Les Mr Cosgrove Did you want to speak on the dock ordinance I didn't Public comment Okay Thank you The next item is public hearing
number three which is a legislative public hearing to consider transmitt of comp plan amendment 2426 rural lifestyle Did you Mr Walton I don't think you announced the other vote Commissioner has been absent or what Oh
yeah on the last let me let me go back for the record Um on public hearing uh two the vote was four to zero in favor with Commissioner Vargas absent Yes Thank you Now public hearing number three Mr Walden Good afternoon Peter
Walden deputy growth management director I'm sitting in for uh Clyde Dulan today He's uh not feeling well He must be feeling pretty bad because I know that missing a board item would be pretty heavy on his agenda So um this is
a um hold on one second Thank you This is a request to make an amendment to the comprehensive growth management plan It's CPA 24-26 regarding the rural lifestyle text Uh I'm going to go into a brief synopsis of the uh amendment and then
I'll go into Clyde's uh staff report a little bit But on uh December 10th 2024 the board approved a resolution to initiate a text amendment to the comprehensive growth management plan regarding the rural lifestyle land use This is the second public hearing
regarding the text amendment The first public hearing was before the local planning agency on April 3rd The LPA voted 3-1 to recommend approval as written Should the board vote to transmit this item today a third hearing
will be held to adopt the amendment once received back from the state agencies There are currently three existing sites with the rural lifestyle land use totaling approximately 6,613 acres There are locationational
criteria used to limit where a rural lifestyle land use can be implemented Currently a land use amendment sought for properties with a minimum 1,000 acres must be adjacent to the primary secondary or freestanding industrial
urban service district in order to be considered for the rural lifestyle land use Also a land use sought for properties with a minimum 3,000 acres must be within 6,000 feet of the primary or a freestanding industrial urban
service district to be considered for the rural lifestyle land use The proposed text would text amendment would remove the secondary and freestanding industrial urban service districts from consideration of proposed amendments
Staff have proposed additional language to acknowledge existing properties with rural lifestyle and would allow the expansion of the existing properties that have the royal lifestyle land use as they could now propose So let
me go into the language Okay So this is the proposed language scratched out would be removed uh in order to be eligible for the rural lifestyle future land use designation removing size and location under the
criteria required And it's a pretty simple uh process Basically removing the secondary urban service district or freestanding urban service district from the 1,00 contiguous acre
criteria and also removing the freestanding or urban service district from the uh 3,000 contiguous acre criteria So staff have recommended some additional language PNC of having an
existing rural lifestyle future land use designation on the approval date and also to be able to be adjacent to and this is to expand an existing to be adjacent to a rural lifestyle future
land use to expand a rural lifestyle planned unit development existing on the approval date So basically this is protecting some of the uh the three existing properties that have the lif rural lifestyle land use So I'll get into some of the
graphics that show how this is implemented Make this a little bigger This hatch area shows the 6,000 ft uh distance from the primary urban service district So if this uh uh text amendment is implemented as written to
if you only have a thousand acres you would have to be adjacent to the blue area And if you have 3,000 acres you would have to be adjacent to this hatch mark along where I'm drawing with the cursor So no longer would the Gateway um
freestanding urban service district expand that that area for adjacency or for the 6,000 uh linear feet The other area that this impacts is up by the 7JS and Attech mark shows this hashmark shows
the current area available to both 1,000 acre and 30,000 acre land use proposals And this would be the revised one going back towards the primary urban service district So no basically no longer would
the secondary or freestanding urban services district provide adjacency or the 6,000 ft rule for rural lifestyle So um that pretty much is my
presentation Like I said this is to vote for a transmitt hearing and it will go to state agencies after this if approved And we would move that the board approve the transmitt of CPA 2426 rural lifestyle to the state agency
and other state and regional reviewing agencies Be glad to answer any questions you might have Questions for staff Would anyone from the public like to address us Good afternoon Commissioner Afternoon For the record Bob Brains uh with the
Gunster Law Firm I'm I'm here this afternoon on behalf of a number of clients Atlantic Fields um excuse me uh Three Lakes Golf Club LLC and also Discovery Home Sound Investments LLC Atlantic Fields Club LLC and also the
Atlantic Fields Master Association Inc Um the amendment is before you today Obviously it's this commission's um discretion to decide whether they want to curtail some of the abilities with the uh rural lifestyle land use Certainly understand that But
representing these property owners that have existing rural lifestyle We just want to make sure that the language in section A uh let's see excuse me policy 4.13A.8
18 uh 1A that the additional language for uh item C and D are also included any anything you transmit You know these uh property owners have already heavily invested in this community These are wonderful projects and it's important
that their rights and property rights be protected in the future uh irrespective of what you may do with resp respect to the rest of the rural lifestyle land use amendment So our request would be if you are going to move forward with these amendments that that uh language C and D
is important to be included to protect the property rights of the clients that I just referenced So thank you very much Appreciate it Mr Vargas Okay So I need to get clarification here what your department is proposing Give me one or two sentences for
clarification because this rural lifestyle is already well as the rural lifestyle text was initiated to remove the freestanding urban service district and the secondary from the criteria the locationational criteria of rural
lifestyle and to add this PNC and PNS D uh language in there to basically protect the existing uh royal lifestyle properties that are already in effect Okay So what the the speaker just asked
for is he's asking for his clients to be exempt No he he's asking for this language to be implemented which would uh see is particularly what he's interested in That's what I thought if they have a existing rural lifestyle Candy
Mr caps I think our existing rural lifestyle land use designation is too broad and could lead to unintended uh consequences and unintended pockets
of growth throughout the western land So I'm in favor of of slimming it down scaling it back I think I would go a little further than the recommendation here and take out the part about 6,000
feet and 3,000 acres and just have a simple amendment that says that your land must border the primary urban services boundary um and and leave out the part about
6,000 ft and 3,000 acres because when rural lifestyle was originally sort of sold to the public that was the the rule at the time and then it sort of morphed into the uh 3,000 acre thing and the
6,000 ft thing So my recommendation would be to take that out and just say the land needs to above the primary urban services boundary and then also to factor in
um attorney reigns uh points about preserving the property rights of the current uh holders of the rural lifestyle designation So I I think I'll just make a motion now to do that And perhaps I'll
be more enlightened from my colleagues uh after they weigh in So the ranch this language the the uh 6,000 ft and 3,000 acres was created for the ranch Is that right Correct That's
correct So you want to grandfather them in Well they So subsection C would in in essence grandfather them in That's why we put that in there So okay That that wouldn't impact the ranch Bob you can I'm not Oh you're not the ranch That's
Tyson But I don't think it would either So your motion is to eliminate B Uh where is it Show me again Here Uh right Okay Works for me Any further comments Is there a second
I'll pass the gavl and second the motion That was a fast pass Anything I think we need public comment too Is there any more public comment Comment I forgot Sorry Oh I have the gavl Take a 15minute
recess Any public comment Seeing none back to the board You have a motion and a second You have the second Yeah thank you I wasn't sure exactly how that was going to work Um we have a motion by Commissioner Caps
excluding uh also eliminating BNB B PNB B seconded by Commissioner Herd All those in favor I I all those opposed Motion carries unanimously Good job
Thank you Thank you Uh next up is public hearing number 54 uh to consider uh comprehensive plan amendment 24-21 nine gems And here to present is Miss Offenbach
Thank you So again my name is Amy Offenbach planner with the Martin County Growth Management Department This is CPA 24-21 a future land use map amendment for the property known as Nine
Gems The property owners are the South Florida Water Management District in Martin County The applicant is the Board of County Commissioners And this was heard before the local planning agency on January 16 2025 with
a vote of 4 to zero to recommend approval The board of county commissioners heard this for trans transmitt on January 28th 2025 with a vote of 5 to zero to approve transmitt
to the state and local agencies And this is the final hearing for adoption on Earth Day which is appropriate for this amendment So the request is to change the future
land use of 1533 acres from agricultural to institutional public conservation and a concurrent resoning for this will follow this hearing There is a restrictive
covenants requiring a land use that is uh dedicated to open space and conservation And the property is located south of Southwest Bridge Road between Prattton Whitney here
and the turnpike the um the parcel the parts of land that are subject to this amendment is highlighted in blue and red And the adapted future land use map
is here with the subject outlined in red and it's currently agricultural The proposed future lanes map would be institutional public conservation in this bright green color and let me change
this And so this amendment complies with section 1-11 of the comprehensive growth management plan and all four of the criteria were met for uh staff to recommend approval The
amendment discourages urban sprawl pursuant to all 13 of the crawl sprawl criteria required by the state And the amendment also discourages the proliferation of urban
sprawl meeting uh eight additional sprawl criteria required by the state And so this amendment is consistent with the comprehensive growth management plan and staff recommends approval
Oh and by the way public notice was included in the work file And questions for staff Is there any public comments Motion to accept staff's recommendation Second There's a motion and a second All those
in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Thank you On to public hearing Quasi jud judicial number one which is a public hearing to consider adoption of an amendment to the
zoning atlas to change the zoning district classification on nine gems Uh commissioners any exparte disclosures if I have any they've been filed Commissioner caps if I have any they have been filed If I have any they've
been filed Commissioner Campy I don't have any And Commissioner Heatherington I don't have any and that's been filed Have you filed all your materials to the clerk There it is Anyone who's going to be providing sworn testimony please stand raise your right hand and be sworn
in Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth Proceed Miss Offenbach Thank you again My name is Amy Offenbach planner with the Martin County Growth Management
Department This is a request for a reszoning concurrent with CPA 24-21 for the nine gems property This was heard by the local planning agency on January 16 2025 with
a recommended recommendation of 420 of approval And this is the final approval on Earth Day once again for this amendment So the request is to change the county zoning atlas from the A2 agricultural
zoning district to the PC public conservation zoning district on the 100 1,533 acre properties known as Nine Gems Again the location is south of Southwest Bridge Road between Prattton
Whitney and Florida Turnpike and 95 The area for the change is highlighted in blue in red here And so the only um zoning district that is implements
the institutional public comfort conservation future land use is PC public conservation and the only use permitted in the district is public parks and recreation areas
passive And let me change this So the development standards and setbacks for this district are in tables 3.12.1 and 3.12.2 in the land development
regulations And so this amendment is compliant with the comprehensive growth management plan and the standards for amendments of the land development regulations and staff recommends approval
Questions for staff Is there any public comment Commissioner Caps move approval Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Thank you
Next up is uh quas judicial public hearing for um number one for a revised major final site plan approval for Florida Superior Sand Mine Mr
Elam Oh well this is quasi judicial also Commissioner Vargas any expparte disclosures Uh if I have any they've been uh filed Commissioner Caps if I have any they have been filed I If I have any they have been filed Commissioner Campy also if I have any
they've been filed And Heatherington if any they've been filed Mr Elam have you provided all your materials to the clerk Anyone who's going to be providing sworn testimony please stand raise your right hand and be sworn in
Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth Afternoon Please proceed Thank you Madam Chair Commissioners just want to say this seat is warm Uh
that kind of day Thought I'd mention that It's a hot seat Uh this is a request by Haley Ward Incorporated on behalf of Mirandi Properties LLC for approval of a revised major final site plan for the Florida
Superior Sand Mine for the purpose of mining to a depth of 30 ft Florida Superior Sand Mine is an established development approved for mining to a depth of 20 feet in September of 2017 The original approval included a preserve area management plan that
covers approximately 3 acres of upland preserve Included with this application is a request for a certificate of public facilities reservation The subject 100 acre property is located at 4700 Southwest Green Farms Lane in Palm City at the
junction of Southwest Green Farms Lane and Southwest Secretariat Drive The existing zoning district on the property is AG28 General Agricultural District with an agricultural underlying future land
use This is sheet one of the revised final site plan As a mining operation proposing to exceed the 20 foot maximum allowable allowable depth of an excavated body of water the site must comply with the requirements listed in the mining standards defined in section
4.348 of article 4 division 8 in the Martin County land development regulations The mining standard regulations require a minimum setback from rights of way and property lines to be 300 ft unless type five landscape buffer yards are installed No excavation
is allowed within 100 ft of any property line or road rideway or roadway easement The mining standards require groundwater samples to be collected and analyzed semianually to demonstrate site compliance This proposal to increase the lake depth to 30 ft does not change the
approved geometry of the existing lake nor does it impact the protected preserve area This proposal includes a type five buffer on the east and south sides where the distance from the boundaries are less than 300 ft as required by section 4.348 mining
standards In addition to the preserve area management plan the applicant has submitted landscape plans that provide an additional 34.59 acres of preserved native landscape area This is just uh sheet two of the revised
final site plan demonstrating the uh cross-section showing the lake new lake depth of 30 feet Development review staff have found the Morandi properties LLC application excuse me to comply with the applicable regulations of the comp plan as detailed
in the staff report Review of this application is not required by the local planning agency and staff recommends approval of this application We move that the board receive and file the agenda item and all its attachments including the staff report
is exhibit one and move that the board adopt a resolution approving the revised final site plan for the Florida Superior Sandmine project And that concludes the presentation Questions for Mr Elam Commissioner Vargas Okay So this is a mining company
Yes So so what what are they allowed to do I mean what what are we asking for that's a variance from what is already regulation That's uh whenever you want to go exceed 20 ft in depth then you
have to comply with the standards of the mining section of the excavation and fill piece of uh code And so that requires greater setbacks from rights of way than you could if you were just excavating um a lake to 20 feet Uh this
site already complied with that but they had to uh provide type five buffers where their excavate where their setbacks weren't 300 ft And so that's all we've done is revised the final site plan to show the new depth proposed
depth of 30 feet and to show the type five buffer yards in place where they're required to by code Okay So the type five buffer yards are what again Um step back from No it's it's landscaping Okay
So where would they be placing that It's essentially all along this area here wherever it's not 300 ft So it's essentially all along uh this eastern portion and then a little bit of the west I think
Yes Where it's 220 here whereas the west and uh the other sides are set back farther and that's because the the landscaping is placer because that's on a street backs up to the point of property because I see
equestrian trail I don't know why they I imagine that's why I don't know why they wrote it that way That's just our regulation that they have those buffer yards uh if you're not 300 ft or more
Uh Commissioner may I Paul Schilling growth management director So the criteria are for as you can imagine with a with an operation like this to just simply buffer it from the adjacent users whether that be the rightway or uh in this case the equestrian community to
the south Any further questions Commissioner Caps is uh is there an an environmental benefit to having a lake shallower 20 instead of 30 or uh or is it harm Um is
the lake less environmentally friendly when when it's real deep Commissioner we you know there's been uh when Gary Roderick was here there was some look at um lakes and I think what you find that
in most of our freshwater lakes and our county engineer can chime in The uh layer of oxygen uh supporting portion of the lake is like around 12 ft So once you get beyond that it really doesn't matter And our aquifers are typically
shallow aquifers are sometimes over hundreds of feet So it really just is a matter of then a function of the geology of trying to avoid impacts where there might be some old saltwater pockets or things like that that staff looks for
and when they look at the geology below that 20 foot limit to make sure that there isn't something that they're penetrating Otherwise there isn't much difference between the depths Yeah for the record on Michael Grisela the county engineer yeah we have
requirements in the code now for the mining operations to have to pull um groundwater samples to 10 ft below the bottom of the excavation And we've got minimum standards set for dissolved solids and chlorides which basically are
the salts Um and throughout the mining operation they have to continue to monitor it to make sure that there's no um degradation of the groundwater or any movement of the groundwater A lot of this is done especially out in these western areas There's a lot of old
artisian wells that are out there that already have contaminated um areas because artisian wells came from the Florida aquifer which is a lot higher in chlorides So we check for all that or we we require them to do all that stuff
prior prior to uh coming in and then semianually right like semi yeah there's a there's there's a schedule when they have to do it Okay Thank you Commissioner Campy Is there an applicant Applicant You want to make
your presentation I don't have anything Well coming you know we can't mail it in Might have to introduce himself So I'm with Haley Ward I'm a bassoon Um one of the engineers working on the
project Just here to answer any questions you guys might have Questions for the applicant How long is the um Madam Chair Yeah How long has the project currently been in existence I think since 2017
Okay Thank you I happen to be familiar with this locations in my district One of the issues sometimes with you know I think the the term mining is confusing because you're talking about digging basically a lake of 30 ft Most people hear mining
mining companies they're thinking Pennsylvania They're thinking somehow you're tunneling under the ground That's not what these are I learned that a long time ago This particular location is bordering on the western side of 95 It's
in a very uh undeveloped rural area I've been past this site many times looking at property in the vicinity It's actually well done uh wellkept Uh it's buffered from um view from most of the
roadways There's no real houses near it Um I think 20 to 30 is appropriate The other advantages being where it is situated so close to 95 that if they're mining product off the property which I guess they are correct uh they're not
driving through roadways that are vulnerable road systems or neighborhoods or businesses So I would make a motion to s to accept staff's recommendation Uh if you look at that aerial that he's showing there's really the only thing
happening out there for the most part There's a handful of homes very far away is this So I think it's it's an appropriate approval Second Is there any public
comment Seeing none for as long as I can remember uh commissioners we had a 15 foot mining depth for very good reasons And I don't know when and I don't know why our uh excavation and fill uh rules
were changed to permit uh 30 ft It's a bad idea You you you'll remember Commissioner Caps that we had a statewide mining moratorum not that long ago and we had a statewide committee impanled to study the impacts of mining
in Florida because it was contaminating the wells down in South Florida So mining depth is extremely important So who can tell me when and why our mining depth was changed from a conservative
15t which it always was to 30 feet 20 This guy's going to go to 30 Yeah Again this is Michael Griszulka um the county engineer The the code allows currently right now there's a 15t depth
in there with a 20 foot additional or or up to 20 ft with additional geotech being performed to show that you're not degrading anything the the mining code came into effect four years ago I think
22 2022 three years ago Um which then allowed it with additional um testing and geotechnical work and groundwater testing to go to go alternately to 40 ft Um keep in mind
this up and down the I95 corridor There are multiple lakes in Martin County that are over 50 ft deep that were all dug in the 80s for I95 as borrow pitch for I95 So this is right in that same corridor with the other lakes that haven't shown
any real degradation to um any of our groundwater or anything else Um may I ask a question Sure Mr Griselulka I'm not sure if you know but I remember being here for some of those conversations What is the mining depths
allowed in our neighboring counties I want to say they St Lucy County I don't think they have an absolute maximum They just dig I think they just dig Is correct Donaldson are you aware I think in Palm Beach County I
want to say it's 80 feet I don't recall I don't recall either But it it is deeper It's much much deeper than ours You are correct Yeah So I mean Okchobee County goes as deep pretty much as what you want out there Yeah Uh so my my point being that we are still very very
conservative environmentally sensitive It's 20 And what's happening today is you're coming forward asking to go 10 ft deeper to 30 And we've given you a whole set of criteria environmental safeguards to make sure that you don't just start
digging I know we don't like 50 foot deep ones but uh but that being said I think we do have the safeguards in place I hear what Commissioner Herd is saying but we would probably have one of the most restrictive maximums and uh a lot of
safeguards in place That gave me comfort to make the motion that I did Well and two years ago we had even more safeguards in place Mr Vargas seems as if the safeguards have been eroded in St Lucy County as 40
ft We're not St Lucy County Didn't say we were and we want to preserve uh any impacts that are detrimental to Martin County which I have to agree with
uh Chairwoman Herd on her position Okay What are you doing $10 Unfortunately a bad rule is in place and we have to comply with that rule whether we disagree with it or not I'm
certain that I didn't vote in support of it two years ago If I remember correctly you definitely made the motion I This is very This is very anti Mother Earth day Oh wait I was still Commissioner Heatherington I I um that was going to
be my question is that are we bound to that Um we are bound to what they're allowable to right Yes it's in our land development regulations that they can go up to 40 feet as long as they meet the criteria So going to 40 Yes they are They have a they have a right to do that
based on our land development regulations and I think they're going to 30 which so they even have 10 ft to go if they wanted to I do remember the conversation and I didn't support it because I thought it needed more I thought it needed more exploration but
I will support um second your motion because the rules are in place Oh you did Yeah sure Oh sorry We'll take your third Okay Who's the second Oh okay Any any further public comment Any further commissioner comments There's a motion
and a second All those in favor I begrudgingly all those opposed That motion passes unanimously I'm at it Next up is quasi judicial uh public hearing number two which is uh request
for plat approval for the preserve at Lobali North planned unit development And here to present is Mr Aguilar Oh it's quas judicial Uh Commissioner Vargas do you have any exparte disclosures I have any They've been
filed How about you Commissioner Caps If I have any they have been filed If I have any they've been filed Commissioner Campy I don't have any And Commissioner Heathering If any they've been filed Excellent Mr Aguilar do you have you presented all of your stuff to the clerk
My work history has been turned in as exhibit one Terrific Anybody who's going to provide sworn testimony please stand raise your right hand and be sworn in Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth Thank you Madam Chair Thanks Good afternoon members of the board My name is Luis Aguilar principal planner for their growth management department I'm presenting a PL application for a property owned by LLY North
LLC This is a request for PL approval for the preserve at LLY North PUD The plan is to be consistent with the preserve at LLY North Pod master final site plan approved by the board on
December 12 2024 which included 13 single family lots on approximately 51.20 acres The subject site is located east of Southeast Gomez Avenue west of Indian
River Lagoon approximately 6 milesi north of souththeast Osprey Street and directly north of the existing Love Loly Bay PUD in Halpound This is uh the approved master
final site plan for the preserve at LLY North Pod And you can see here an enlarged image of the site plan You can also see the 13 lots The plat is consistent with the site
plan The complete set of the plat comprises of five pages which are included in the attached documents Review plat is now required by the local planning agency Final action on this application is required by the
board of county commissioners in a public meeting Development review staff had found the application to comply with all applicable regulations and the comprehensive growth management plan as detailed in the attached staff report
Staff recommends approval of the preserver droply north pod plat And we recommend move the board receive and file the agenda item and its attachments including the staff report as exhibit one And move the board
approved the preserver at Globaly North PUD plat including the contract for construction of required improvements and infrastructure And this concludes my presentation Excellent Thank you Questions for
staff Applicant presentation Good afternoon For the record my name is Morris Krady I'm here on behalf of the applicant Laali North LLC and also Labali Service uh Labali Community Service Corporation and Laali Bay HOA Um this was a process we started about 5
years ago with the land swap with Florida Inland Navigational District This is the last step of the process and as was mentioned the plat is consistent with the approved final site plan the PUD agreement we've met all the conditions of approval in the PUD
agreement and uh I I I'm here to answer any questions but again this will allow us to um convey the lots to potential lot buyers and most of them actually are within the community so we're we're looking forward to to start that process
questions for Mr Krady Mr Campy Mr No nothing Uh I just wanted to say that I remember when we started this process and it was involved as Mr Ky said in a land swap
with the Florida Inland Navigational what a find district Um Lobli is a beautiful community Some people are familiar some people are not Uh terrific community partner Uh the
residents have been exceptionally generous The homes are beautiful The uh neighborhood is gorgeous I'm happy that they were able to put this together and add in a handful of additional probably premier homes uh in district three So I
would make a motion to accept staff's recommendation Would anyone from the public like to address us on this matter Seeing none Commissioner Caps Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes
unanimously Thank you Next up is Department One Office of Management and Budget items which require board approval Miss Merley Good afternoon commissioners Stephanie Merley director of OM here to present
five items on OMB today Our first item is a permission to apply for the drug-free communities support program grant Um year six our human services division is requesting the application of funding to support years 6 through 10 to establish and strengthen local
efforts to prevent youth substance use Um it's 125,000 per year for 5 years So 625,000 over the five years and the match will be funded through inind and opioid settlement funds Our second item is a permission to
accept the Edward Burn um justice assistance grant or the JAG grant Our human services department is requesting the acceptance of a grant award of $75,991 to support Martin County's mental health court staff continuing education and drug testing expenses And
there is no cash match required on that one Item number three is a permission to accept the clean water state revolving fund or SRF loan for the old palm city septic to sewer conversion project Um we
have applied and have been awarded um the 1.83% interest loan over 20 years in order to construct the um old Palm City subject to sewer conversion project That's part of our 10-year connect to protect plan Um
this is for 15,989,523 We've been waiting Yes Item number four um is a permission to accept the Clean Water State Revolving Fund um Coral Garden septic to sewer conversion project We've been awarded a 1.83% interest loan for uh
$4,10,000,477 um in order to I like the clapping Thank you for that Um in order to construct the Coral Garden septic to sewer conversion pro project And last but not least we have been awarded a permission to accept the
drinking water SRF loan for the old Palm City Water Main Extension Project Um a 2% interest rate loan for uh $7.5 million in order to construct the Old Palm City Water Main Extension Project Thank you
questions for staff It's more for Phil Yeah Phil's here I have a question for Phil Um have you applied for um a state revolving fund for septic to sewer for Rocky Point Not as of yet When will you go in alphabetical order We have We're
about 60% designed I thought we were 90 We're a little over 60 We're still evaluating some properties in that area So we're still at around 60% And we have to have the design and the permits in place to apply for the loans And when do you expect to have the design and
permits in place It'll probably be after the first of the year Which year It' be the first part of 26 because we have So then perhaps if you're successful you
might get it in 27 August of 26 would be the earliest we could get funding the 27 Okay Thanks [Applause] Move approval Second Commissioner
Heatherington That's That was my light Okay There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Uh let's see Done that
one Done that Okay Amazing commissioners You're making progress I'm so proud Now it's time We're going to move directly into the CIP Break No I'm going to hit it for a half an hour or so Oh no I was only saying I
thought maybe you legally had to stop We don't do we a lot of badges coming in the room Okay Hey commissioners before um Shelby gets started with uh the CIP just wanted to let you know that this is um we're reviewing the proposed capital
improvement plan which would identify all of the funding approvals for next year It also outlines um more detailed planning for within the five-year planning period And then in the second five-year planning it's more gross estimates of what might be needed uh in
various projects or those items that are shown in that uh 5 to 10 year period or 6 through 10 uh are are projects that uh are uh maybe unfunded Um but I just wanted given today's uh progress to date
um I just wanted to remind you that this is for a tenative approval um the final approval or the this would also be included in your budget wrap up in July and and none of this gets approved until your second and final hearing in
September So they'll have uh a couple of times more at this Typically um most of the items within the CIP you would not review individually again unless there are some adjustments either to a particular project or to the overall budget that you asked us to look
at and then we may reopen up uh portions of some or all of the CIP as necessary during the budget review process As far as today goes um there if depending upon the speed at which you go through this um we do not have to conclude it today I
know our chair is leaving tomorrow so that uh we would not continue this over through tomorrow We would uh continue this at another um agenda and I think um uh one of the meetings in May um we would have time to put it on as it is
lightly scheduled So I don't want to put any uh rush that you need to finish this today So go at the pace you feel comfortable with and if we get it done great And if not we will continue it on into May Good afternoon Commissioner Shelby Baker
budget CIP coordinator As Don just said we're here today to present to you the fiscal year 26 capital improvement plan Well should have music During this workshop we'll walk through the key objectives of the fiscal year capital improvement plan It begins with defining
the CIP outlining projects origination process and reviewing revenue planning and proposed expenditures Then we'll move into project highlights the CIP's impact to the overall budget and wrap up with board review When we talk about the capital
improvement plan or CIP we're referring to a multi-year planning tool that helps identify needs of ident identify in infrastructure needs and the funding sources to address them The CIP plays a key role in supporting the public services Martin County provides to the
community It helps ensure that the county plans for constructing maintaining and protecting the county's infrastructure over the next 10-year period which includes fixed asset replacement budgets also known as FARBs that you'll hear throughout this
presentation All the revenues in the CIP are both required to be available and feasible With approval of the CIP the board acknowledges that the projects contained the plan represent a reasonable interpretation of the anticipated needs for the county
Projects contain the first year of the fiscal year 26 CIP will be included in the fiscal year 26 budget CIP projects originate from a variety of sources such as master plans mandates infrastructure needs and levels of service requirements and many
more The CIP is a ever evolving process of identifying needs The capital improvement plan is an important step of the annual budget process Starting in December departments create and/or refine their CIP sheets then submitted
to the Office of Management Budget for funding Sheets are then reviewed by staff and county administration In April we have the CIP workshop as we are here today With approval the CIP projects presented to you today will be included
in the tenative budget In July at the annual budget workshop the board will review the annual tenative annual budget and will set a tenative millage rate The final step in the budget process will be in September where the annual budget that will begin on October
1st 2025 will be adopted by the board at two public hearings While most of the fiscal year 26 capital improvement plan is a continuation of previous year's projects let's take a look at some project highlights included in this year's CIP In parks and bre we have Jensen
Beach Rushroom and Cafe Ecosystem management Eastport Creek phase 2 Coastal we have MacArthur Boulevard June Restoration Storm water management we have the Bessie Creek retrofit In roads we have the rail safety
improvements Community development we have Petway Village and Hopetown CRA Utilities Tropical Farms Water Treatment Plant Public Buildings Supervisor of Elections Expansion Library We have the RFID
replacement at Hoke Library With the CIP as presented today it has an additional 5.1 million in budget Avalor revenues over fiscal year 25 This slide represents the AVLM impact per department which totals to approximately 5.1 million increase over
fiscal year 25 Here's a snapshot of projects that have contributed to the fiscal year 26 abarmor impact These will be discussed in depth with each department's highlight slides The county CIP is approximately
15% slice of the total countywide budget pie which is still in the budget preparation process and will be brought to the board in July As we know CIP projects typically involve the outlay of substantial funds Therefore numerous sources of revenue are necessary to pro provide f financing
over the duration of the project Most capital funding sources are earmarked for particular purposes and not cannot be transferred from one capital program to another An example of this would be an enterprise feebased project such as airport fees to assist in the rehab of
runway With the CIP being presented to you today Advalorum only makes up 21% of all the revenues proposed This ends my part of the presentation Is there any questions before we dive into department highlight slides Questions for Shelby
Nice job Thank you Uh oh Okay If there's any questions we can start with airport with Mr Andrew McBine I'll let you and commissioners um department
heads will give presentations and then feel free to ask questions about any one of the sheets in their department Okay But today is just a presentation No you can ask questions about the I understand that but we're not voting on anything today
Are we Uh the request is to vote tenatively It's not a it's simply binding It is it's not binding but is what we would be submitting in the budget in July for um and be reviewed again But it is today will be part of
the budget be part of the tenatively part of the budget Right But then at that point depending on what the revenue is uh you can make changes later then we'll make changes Yes Deletions Okay Minor Well I don't know about minor I
mean we only have so much revenue coming in So you know we don't have estimates yet do we We don't know that we do not at all Chair Would we like to vote after each department as we've done in the past um to approve Okay Thank you
Good afternoon madam madam chair and commissioners Andrew Mcbine airport director Commissioners just want to remind the commission that with themfield Martin County Airport remains an enterprise fund a fully funded uh self-sufficient enterprise fund with no
support from the local taxpayer dollars Uh the airport operates um all of its aeronautical facilities in a safe and serviceable condition with uh adherence to the minimum standards prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation
Uh Commissioner that means that all of the projects that you see in the airport's uh CIP originates from the airport's master plan which is approved by this board of county commission in 2023 with concurrence with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation
Uh some changes to the airport CIP commissioners is that the airports finalized a few lease negotiations and adjusted its fee and raise schedules which enhanced the airport's revenue generating capabilities and strengthened its position as an enterprise fund a self-supported enterprise fund
Additionally we are also seeing an increase in federal grant matches to 95% which now provides an additional support to the airport's capital program reducing the airport's local match from the airport's enterprise fund to either 5% or 2.5% which share from the state on
eligible projects That being said commissioners in fiscal year 25 the airport enterprise fund used about $400,000 in capital projects In fiscal year 26 we're anticipating $235,000 in capital projects This
reflects a reduction of $164,841 in our capital project Some of the projects completed in in the current fiscal year commissioners is the airport operations center which some of you were present at our grand opening last Friday our
airfield signage design and the roof rehabilitation on the Liberator medical facilities The current CIP projects that we have ongoing is the taxi lane bravo rehabilitation that's scheduled to start in July The airfield signage construction which is also scheduled to
start in July and the airport security improvement project which is wrapping up Upcoming projects commissioners include the taxiway alpha holdway extension the runway 1230 precision approach path indicator and runway end light systems and the residential sound
insulation program And with that commissioners if there are any questions on the airport CIP has presented I'd be happy to answer them Questions for Mr McBine I have a question on page 40 It's airport facility improvements I'm looking at improvements in South Airport
facilities in fiscal year 29 and 30 Are those hangers shade and box Yes Commissioner So is it still a combination of shade and box It's just a combination right now of just shade hangers no box But that will come back on the commission for the commission to
make a decision on what the commission would like to see there Okay good Any further questions Campy I think Heatherington was first Commissioner Heatherington Yep I will um make a motion to approve staff's
recommendation for this um the airport Tentatively approve staff's recommendation and my son who's a pilot will thank you for the papies Any further questions or comments There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes
unanimously We'll now move on to community de Oh library Library Miss Jennifer Sales Go Good afternoon commissioners Jennifer Sales library director I I also have here with me Richard Ri Riley our deputy
library director Afternoon Our FY26 advalorum request is $110,000 That is $46,500 of a reduction from this current fiscal year Uh what has stayed the same
is a continuation of requests for funds for our radio frequency identification system as well as our library materials fund uh that is funded through impact fees Uh what has changed is the reduction We had a one-time project this
current fiscal year for an audiovisisual equipment replacement Our completed uh CIP pro projects for this year were the Hobound public library renovation which was fully funded by a private donation through estate funds as well as our Robert Morgade library radio frequency
equipment upgrade Our current projects are the Hoke Library Jensen Beach outdoor space the Blake Library RFID upgrade the Peter and Julie Cummings Library audio audiovisisual upgrade and the Hobound Public Library outdoor
space Our upcoming projects include the Newfield library You're not going to see um this CIP sheet in the libraries category It is with the other new field projects in the miscellaneous fund in the miscellaneous projects which will be discussed shortly
Okay Happy to answer any questions Questions from Miss Salas Commissioner Campy I would tentative move to tentatively approve the libraryies CIP sheets Second Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes
unanimously Thanks Thank you Next is law enforcement Mr Sha Donahghue Good afternoon again This is Sean Donahghue uh general services director Uh the law enforcement CIP is a sim a uh maintaining the budget from last year
4.9 million request Uh we are um asking for well we we we we still have the need to protect and and uh maintain the sheriff's assets including the old buildings uh new buildings replacement buildings and uh whatever maintenance needs they have Um there are maintenance
expansions and and uh priorities that the sheriff has outlined and and then also there's a continuing need to keep the sheriff's training current We can talk about a few of those those projects Uh what's changed is a prioritization of the sheriff's uh requests Uh the the
fuel depot is the top pri priority right now The firearms range would be second in funding request And then lastly would be the sheriff's logistics and operations center Uh that that's been rearranged since past years Sheriff in town Current projects uh that
we've completed uh the maintenance or the marine operations facility at the Sandsprit Park Uh the canine operations facility at the Hulk complex uh the the whole correctional uh facility enhancements or the hardening enhancements where we had the uh the vehicle issue last year and then we did
a weatherization project on the entire jail facility Current projects include the new Monrovia uh substation Uh we did an exterior weatherization roof and walls uh and windows on that Uh we are replacing the uh 30 plus year old
firearms range modular building with a couple new modulars and we'll talk a little bit more about that Uh we are planning uh later this year a dispatch renovation project 911 dispatch renovation project that's grant funded partially and then uh the Hulk correctional facility mental health pod
uh which was an approp appropriation by uh Representative Snyder is help funding that Here today to talk about some of the improvements is Major Cluster from the sheriff's office Good afternoon Good afternoon commissioners Miss County Attorney Mr
Donaldson thank you all for having me Um I'll start by saying that last year myself and Mr Donahghue were asked to prioritize our CIP needs And what you're going to see here today is that we did just that We went through and triaged things based off of necessity and public
safety being the first and foremost as we look at these projects to keep us on track with serving the community the best way we can Before I get started I would like to hand out if I can a couple of packets I have with some pictures on some of the top priorities just so we can kind of follow along and y'all can
see exactly what I'm talking about That's all right The first four photographs that are in that packet are going to be of the fuel pump project That is our number one priority And after that the following three
photos will be of the logistics center So commissioners what you're looking at in that first picture is our current current fuel pump area Um this has four gas pumps and our main tank Um just to kind of give you some history and backstory on the fuel pump area itself
it was built in 1987 It was built to support the fleet at that time Our current fleet today is 380 vehicles with over 500 assets Um the tank last year has deteriorated immensely As you can
see from the canopy itself we actually had to take down the canopy because it was getting ready to fall down So for safety issues we worked with the county CIP group and we had that removed so that we wouldn't have an accident or anything go wrong on that
end The tanks themselves are degraded to a point where they're probably breaking bi-weekly if not more frequently We actually received gas cards today that our CIP team back at the sheriff's office had to do through Palmdale Fuel
Company They have two stations in the county but we got enough gas cards for every watch commander and lieutenant in the agency That way we have a contingency in place in the event this tank goes down That's where we are as far as our
concerns with that Um additionally with the tank um the window that we have to get a refueled tanker in there is about a 3-day window Um without going too much into the numbers these fuel trucks that we have delivered carry about 8,000
gallons And to prevent us from using the bad fuel at the bottom of that tank and not doing a complete offload of the fuel truck we have about a 3-day window to thread the needle with that order Um and what we found is based on the current size of our fleet we're using fuel more
frequently We're not using it at the same rate we did back in 1987 So we've actually since I've been in this unit over the last year I think Captain Mardino two or three times since we've been in these spots we've actually run out of fuel and had to figure out a
different way to get fuel and that was through using the county's fuel tank offsite and the fire rescue tanks as well So um I'm happy to answer any questions on the fuel pump project itself
Okay I'm going to move on to our next priority which is going to be the shooting range project So as a whole the range project itself um what we'd like to see out there is two standalone buildings One would be a firearms training classroom
and then the other would be for weapon storage and maintenance Um right now what we have is two modular buildings that were delivered about a month ago and that was part of last year's CIP budget Those are temporary buildings which we are extremely grateful for
They're a huge improvement from where we were last year Um and some of the old buildings that were deteriorating So looking at this project as a whole as far as triaging it and prioritizing it what we found to be most beneficial
which could benefit our agency and the community right now would be a live fire training firearm shoot house And what that is is a complete cement block building where our personnel could train in a real world application with the guns that they actually use long guns
handguns and an assortment of firearms the benefits that this building would provide I I don't think I can expound upon how many There is nothing that can prepare you for a real world tactical
situation or get you as close to be ready as a live fire shoot house It's one thing to be shooting at a paper target which is currently what we have out there It's a plain target with a threat whatever we decide to put up there hostage situation It's one thing to shoot at that but to actually go
through and do a building clearing or a reenactment of clearing a school a public building a house whatever it may be there's nothing that can prepare you better than the live fire shoot house And we've seen that when we send our
SWAT team to train from what they brought back they train with live fire shootous And we're trying to bring that back here and be able to have that capability with our agency And I'm happy to answer any questions on the training center if needed Questions
Yeah Thank you very much Where when you said the SWAT team goes somewhere else where do they go Right now it's Little Rock Arkansas Okay And so I remember when we were um discussing the necessity for us to
create our own fire rescue training facilities that our members were going to other counties uh utilizing services of other counties Are any of your department utilizing services in other counties or you just making do with what
we have here So we're making do with what we have here We do branch out We work closely with PBSO and our partners in St Lucy County but the capabilities that this certain training center has in Little Rock Arkansas we feel is what's best for our SWAT team and those members
are able to bring some of that back to our agency but it's not the same thing as everybody experiencing that in that firearms training center here Correct Yeah Um my question is based on the fact like would you allow Stewart or Jupiter
Island or SS Point would they your other brother and sister agencies here in the county would they be able to use your facility as well Absolutely It'd be no different than we do today We partner out with all those agencies and allow them to train with us and we we do cross train So yes
And they would pay you to do that Um I don't have that answer Just wondering Bruce I know that when we were doing it with fire rescue we were there was an income potential opportunity for smaller communities that didn't have the ability If we're trying to look at first off I'm
completely in favor of doing this but if there's opportunities where we could start to create some revenue streams that never hurts especially if it's with brothers and sister in law enforcement because then we would be offering them a local benefit as well Yes sir Thank you
so much Commissioner Heatherington So the way um and you did a nice job of explaining it because in years past I thought it was an outdoor So is it a a mix is an indoor shooting um facility or So the range today is completely outdoors This facility um when it's
constructed is going to be made up of concrete walls It's going to have 15 20 different rooms that you can come through different hallways and it'll have a catwalk above that so you can walk upstairs There's a catwalk so the trainers and supervision command staff
can actually walk the catwalk and look down live and watch the training operations And then above that it'll have a pole barn style roof that'll keep everybody shaded and out of the weather So it'll be open air but it will have a covered
roof Okay All right Thank you I'm looking at your at your uh capital improvement plan sheet for this facility and I'm seeing um $15 million in total Uh 8 million of
it is in 31 to35 So that means that 7 million of it is before then In 2026 you propose to spend $850,000 and in 27 you proposed to spend $4.3 million And it
says that the initial phase is at 26 and 27 The the initial request is a is the shoot house facility with the when we brought in the new modular buildings to replace the uh the classroom building Now we've kicked that can that need down
the road a little bit and that's what you see in the out years the 8 million or so in the outears What's that That would be to replace the modulars with a hardened classroom So what's what's the uh $850,000 26 and the $4.3 million in 27
$850,000 is to design the entire site including the shoot house and the classroom building down the road and the the 4.3 million is to build the shootute house and we would hold on the uh class What's the $8 million for five years hence
We're building the permanent facilities not interim facilities in 26 and 27 I hope that we don't have to build a permanent structure in 19 in 2030 The the plan would be to replace the modulars with a hardened facility at
some point in the future We bought some time with new modulars but it's not the ideal solution So we're going to build these at a cost of $6 million and they're interim No ma'am We're we're replacing the uh
the modulars now with current funding But then you said that you're going to be constructing hardened facilities in the 31 35 year in the out years Yes ma'am To replace the the current modulars that we're putting in now Not the shoot house
just the not the shoot house No ma'am This is for the shoot Yeah Okay Excuse me Which page are you on looking 63 Okay U the final priority that we have is
going to be the logistic center So that is the last three photos So that current site is over 50 years old Right now our body shop is operating out of there um fleet maintenance and we also have very
minimal asset storage that can use that building You can see from the photos the building itself is deteriorating It's not ideal for what we have to do out of there We had a space needs analysis done that
kind of coincided with this project and what we found based off of the amount of assets we have that this building would need to be demolished to help for current asset storage Um on the conversation of asset storage we are currently running a space
out at SNS Commerce which we've been running for the last five years and that's used to store 15 to 16 assets and three of those assets are high water vehicles Um speaking of high water vehicles our preference is to have them kept at headquarters which would help
with an efficient response time Um the location of Sands Commerce is about 15 or so 20 minutes from the office So that's part of that conversation is keeping those assets housed on site and not having to pay rent out there at SANS
Trying to get away from that Um right now as far as the total assets we have that are being stored outside because of insufficient storage that number is around 37 and that consists of generators watchtowers trailers and message boards In addition to the asset storage
side of the logistics center a proposed component of it is going to be an indoor two bay firing range for annual qualifications And these annual qualifications would mainly be for the correction staff who is across the street Those members have
to re requalify once a year And to do so they have to go out to our current range which is out at western Martin County To do the qualification and do a roundtrip drive takes about an hour and a half With the
135 deputies that we have doing an hour and a half trip to include the qualification that equates to about 203 man-hour And those could be hours that are unmanned at the jail which would have to be backfilled with overtime or a
shift running short That is just one of the benefits to having this also on site The next benefit that this site would provide is a purchasing space The current purchasing space that we have at the sheriff's office for outloading or
excuse me offloading pallets is a 9x9 space and that has been there since that building was constructed It's not ideal for deliveries and offloading the pallets So with this building we would also be moving the purchasing unit over to the logistics center
Okay So currently you're we are spending $65,000 annually for storage and this proposal proposes spending $16 million
for some very specific buildings Uh and and we're going to we're going to start saving up our money this year by by uh by uh uh dedicating
$566,000 toward this new logistics center Next year we're going to dedicate $3.2 million Next year we're going to dedicate $3.5 million The year after that we're going to dedicate $3.5 million The year after
that we're going to dedicate $3.5 million so that we can build this facility for $16 million that we're currently renting for $65,000 a year The the facility we're currently renting is a quarter of the size of the space
that's needed Okay The uh rent something that's four times that that big The asset that we're replacing is 50 plus years old It was the old packing warehouse uh from when that that land was a uh an egg
field So it's it's it needs to be replaced It's way beyond its useful life It's it's to the point where it's going to be deemed unsafe at some point down the line So the the plan would be to replace it with a larger hardened facility uh to store the sheriff's
assets on site But right now we're spending $65,000 a year and what you're asking us to do now is to dedicate $3.5 million a year Where where's the money going to come from
Commissioner there I see it's adorum There's only so much adorum What are we going to tell me what we're going to give up in order to be able to dedicate $3.5 million a year for five years So so what they've done is they've take the take the existing revenue stream This
isn't adding new revenue So they're taking the existing revenue stream and through the priorities of putting the money where the the sheriff felt that was uh and staff felt it was our highest priority And so this is not this is this was also the replacement of that
building So whether you kept renting the space out for the uh the vehicles you still need to replace the existing building that is there now And that is a cost So So they're really taking the current revenue stream that you have today and not adding to it but just
prioritizing it And this logistics facility that also included uh storage for other equipment um was is what the $16 million is for So the rental space was just a small component of what we're doing and they're not asking for you to
appropriate more money next year They're taking the same money that we appropriate So what's the three million three and a half million bucks next year the year after the year after year the year after being spent on now and last year if it's existing funds So some of it was a logistics facility right
$65,000 And uh well the there was there's always been a logistic CIP project in here that we were saving up money for So um yeah that that CIP started in 2000 2021 Sorry So there was money being
saved up for that facility Uh that that money is being rep prioritized to the firearms range shoot house So we can carryover is $173,000 This is just not making fiscal
sense to me And the advorum that we're requesting would stay the same next year It would be rep prioritized to the to the to the um firearms range facility What's that money being spent on now If it's not new revenue it was for the marine ops
facility the K9 facility the gym complete And all those projects are done Correct Okay that is all I have Thank you There's one more uh slide or picture on the uh upcoming projects It's the
bottom right one Uh this is a replacement of the sheriff's um Holt Correctional Facility pod windows Those windows are 30 plus years old They're original construction You can see in the picture there's damination uh happening
There are uh hundreds of windows in that facility This would be a multi-year plan to replace those uh as needed until complete Mr Campy Uh barring any public comment I would make a motion to tentatively
accept or approve the law enforcement CIP sheets Second Is there any public comments Please come forward and speak on the record please Maybe we can find a Yeah he's he's going to bring you the mic ma'am You don't
have to bring a mic to you That's a first Oh in the back Oh with the growth factor Martin County need more sheriffs and more um departments on the west side of 95 or
toll road Is that in consideration for this year's planning financial planning or we have to wait another 10 years before they consider that It's me Well there's there's not a current plan to to build any new facilities off site The plan was to consolidate facilities
on to the uh Hulk complex site uh for for speed of use uh instead of going all the way across town to get certain assets when they're needed So that was the the initial plan Commissioner Vargas as I said at the beginning of this meeting there's only
so much money to go around Um there's been no money saved and money's been appropriated where they felt it was more important at a given moment I mean we have a lot of asks here and I I understand I concur with Commissioner Herd's statements spending
$65,000 and get a larger facility Are we going to go back You have to wait There's a motion on the floor and a second All those in favor I opposed Opposed That mo motion passes four to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting
Thank you You got to sharpen your pencils people Next is miscellaneous capital Um this is a $510,300 request this year What stayed the same Um this section of the CIP was created I believe back in 23 um due to
the new field project development sheet Um this sheet in the CIP is page 258 in the book This sheet in the book is to show the impact fees we are receiving for the comprehensive plan Along with that sheet you're going to find the new field library as we are planning for the
construction of that What changed this year was um communications equipment FARB was created for $10,300 Um Stephan Nielsen is here here to answer any questions on that And then the countywide radio replacement um
which is a $500,000 ask this year and Russell Norville is here to ask um for any questions questions I have a question on the library sheet Um so it it looks like they're getting
impact fee credits for [Music] $2,54,000 Is that correct Yes So they are going to um talks with the developer to fully outfit the building for a movein ready space for us Um so there would be no cost for
construction for the county So what is this sheet telling us So it's just breaking down where we will be um getting the funds So the private contribution would come from our library foundation They would cover the equipment furniture and um any type of
um collection materials that we would need The builder would build the building and then there's a note at the bottom for the operating budget impact Um so we're trying to keep it to the impact on the county to just be staffing So the So it's not this building is not going to cost and all of its uh
belongings all of its furnishings are not going to cost $2 million They're just going to get an impact fee credit for $1.7 million Correct Okay But they are going to provide the site and the building and and and
and the the uh private contribution is going to provide for all the furnishings Yes the equipment furniture and collection Okay Commissioner Vargas Yes that was my question So this has already been agreed upon with the developer You said you were going to ask the developer so I'm a
little confused So we have been in talks with them and we've drafted anou with them to outline our agreements and so far we are in agreement but we have not brought that forward for approval yet Might might that be a good idea to do
Yeah our legal our legal teams are still working on the agreement [Applause] Any further questions on Newfield Barring any comment I'll move um tenative approval of this item
Just a point to make Earlier today we were having a conversation about our historic buildings and there was a good suggestion of uh creating a historic building far Would that fall into miscellaneous capital CIPs We do have
one in public buildings a historic FRB currently that's funded every year Okay See that It's a question Oh here he is over here Sean Donahghue growth manager on sorry
general services Yes we we do have a historic building far We have a couple other FARBs fix fixed asset replacement budgets We did use some of that money to fund the House of Refuge uh rehabilitation project along with public buildings and uh building envelope So we farm wasn't so
gigantic that you could pick up the tab for the whole thing It was not big enough to do the entire project on its own No sir Okay Thank you Mr Vargas So how much do you have in the fund then to put towards the house of refuge As we spoke about this morning it was it was all funded uh by current FARBs current
budget There was no new money requested This was all advalorum money that was in the FARBs already and approved Yeah But didn't they ask for money this morning for that building It was a request to pull that money from FARBs to put it in the CIP project to do the construction
rehabilitation for the House of Refuge Did you have do you have a second No I will second it There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Public buildings Mr Sha Donahghue
Okay This is a uh aorum request of $7.8 million It's a it's an increase of $1.45 uh million Uh what stayed the same is the funding Would you Would you pull your mic closer It doesn't pull closer It's fixed Move your head lower You're too tall
Pull your head closer Head shorter What what stayed the same um was the fixed asset replacement budget funding for most of the most of the FARBs Uh what's uh we are we are still continuing to upgrade some fire stations That also stayed the same We're moving some MSTU
money into fire rescue farb to do some more building envelope work on some of the older fire stations Uh and then we are still maintaining funding for building systems uh life safety and security systems Uh what's changed is an increase in the advorum for uh fixed ass
or for in the fixed asset replacement budget for generator replacements We had to replace a couple major generators this year and that ate up our budget Uh we have a couple of generators that are coming up next year that also needed to be replaced in this program Uh so we're asking for a little bit more funding to to accomplish that Uh we will talk about
in in a couple slides later the increased advalorum funding for the supervisors of elections expansion and Miss Vicky Davis is here to help us discuss that and and then there's a new project uh that we're requesting some funding for down the line uh which would be a safety uh security enhancement
program for the space between the two courouses and to create a secured entrance facility between the two courouses Completed projects include uh redoing the roof in the facade on fire station 32 in Hope Sound Uh we added a uh fuel
facility at the uh fire rescue fleet maintenance facility Uh we've been working on trucks for several years and didn't have any fuel station to to fill them Uh there was a jury room Excuse me Mr Donahghue Commissioner Heatherington I I before you got too far into that I
just wanted to reference the FARB again What's the methodology that you use to to fund the farm Is it a percentage of facilities Like what's what is the methodology you use Because obviously
the methodology as we talked this morning you know and the suggestion of the the historic buildings probably could use some refining but it it seems somewhat low So what how do we calculate the farm there Mr Donahghue before you
chime in Mr Donaldson would like to to put his two cents Let's uh I just wanted So our the farm has been a an important discussions for over 20 years and it really wasn't until recently public buildings was the very
last of your FARBs to that you've attempted to to address Uh uh if you recall that uh in the uh we we attempted some sales tax referendums to deal with our backlog Uh roads was uh one of the
cornerstones of that deficiency with the um Jackson Pollock roads that we would use the tar to just cover up the cracks Uh and uh and and we attempted to and we included all of our backlog at that time which was parks buildings um uh water
quality uh and and then you all helped with the uh franchise fee to kind of catch up on roads and um water quality with a contribution to this kickoff of the um septic to sewer program And then since that time we've been slowly trying
to inch up the fund for public uh buildings And it was really only what two two years ago that we got the FAR up There's been and and Sean has been instrumental in actually going through the buildings and he can elaborate on the analysis on every air conditioner we
own all of the different things to try to um catch up on them Uh and that's why we use these other contracts like with train and others to try to uh buy down the cost of those by the energy saving contracts But I can tell you that from
my experience when I was public works director that the building directors or general services manager from Harold Marky on there was always a a long list of backlog in public buildings and I think Sean's done the best job uh thus
far in terms of identifying um more down to the units of every roof every component that we have And Sean you can describe what you've done Yeah we we do have a a capital expenditure plan a five or a 10-year plan depending on what it is Uh this right here is an
HVAC capital expenditure plan We work with Train on Uh we we project out when we need to replace certain items in certain buildings This is every building across the the general services uh maintenance area Uh so we do try to plan out and strategically uh fund FARB and
move monies uh to certain FARBs to to cover certain expenditures Uh unfortunately we had a major hit uh in the U generator farb Uh there was a large uh generator that actually it's the supervisors of elections generator uh that that died unexpectedly this year
As we looked into replacing that that generator we found out that only half the building was being served by a generator with backup power So we have to double the size of the generator uh to to capture the entire building and put that on emergency power So that's just an explanation of things that
happen as we I get one as we uncovered them But I would agree with your assessment that we still haven't caught up on all of the correct design Sorry We still haven't caught up on all of the the quote backlog but I think we've made a huge dent in the last few
years and are comfortable with the where the board is funding it but we're going to have still some failures um here and there that set us back So what I what I understood you to say was it's sort of a building by building
assessment You're not taking into account a particular percentage for a building with a lifespan of XYZ or you're doing a building by building assessment That's gener Yes Yeah We try to be more strategic than doing a rule
of thumb or a cost per uh maintenance Uh there there are there are ways of analyzing that Um and we're we're meeting those needs based on those analytics But uh this is more on a specific equipment replacement So when we do uh quarterly or monthly or annual
inspections of the entire building and its systems we can we can categorize and we can strategically say "This needs to be a 10-year replacement cycle This unit's good for another 15 years We don't have to worry about it." And then we can start building that that budget and that FAB request based on that those
inspections So to our award-winning budget um preparers is do you you are are are there recommended um percentages that we should be using in best practices for your
um I will say that there is no set hard and fast rule only because each government works so differently um as far as um planning for your maintenance But I will say I think we probably have one of the more robust methodologies for
projecting at an asset level um specific asset level Um but it's something I can definitely dive into and see if there's any additional best fiscal practices on that Okay Thank you Appreciate Okay Uh back to completed projects We
did a a renovation of the uh jury courtroom in the courthouse building And then there was a a major renovation of the uh Hopetown Library interior space that was uh funded by a donation to the library foundation Has anybody else got current CIP projects include the House
of Refuge rehabilitation Uh there's a a building department expansion that's currently underway Uh Hopetown Beach Ocean Rescue is under design And we've we've made some big progress with uh the town of Jupiter Island uh recently and then the supervisor of elections general
replacement that I spoke spoke of earlier Uh upcoming projects uh includes the supervisor of elections expansion and with us we have uh Miss Vicky Davis uh that that can help us uh provide some
explanation of that need Good afternoon Thank you Sean Thank you commissioners Don Sarah Thank you for the opportunity to be here Um as many of you know and thank you commissioners for meeting with me and Sean on an
individual basis so you could really hear us lay out um the need for expansion of the building renovation first phase and then actually expanding um to the west side of the building for
warehousing Early voting has become such a trend and popular way for voters to cast their votes 2002 was the first year that early voting was actually made available in
the state of Florida It was not mandatory but we did have it Um voters still uh went to vote at their precincts in 2002 76% in 2002 voted at their precinct 8%
voted early So the trend has really changed throughout the years And you've all been in the office You've you've all seen the backup in the foyer of the office it's become really really tight and congested
during that period of early voting um and when the elections start So this proposal will actually move the early voting room into our training and uh canvasing room So that actually means
that our canvasing which has become very tight as well would encroach into the current warehouse creating a need for the expansion to the west side of the building which then takes up parking spaces
So um if you need stats any additional stats than what I've already provided when we met on an individual basis I'm more than happy to provide those Early voting for the 2024 election just in the
elections office 9,000 voters voted in the office in a matter of 12 13 days And then we had 3,738 ballots dropped off during that same 13-day block of time So you can see
that almost 13,000 voters were in and out of the lobby just the lobby area um of the office which as I said becomes very congested very tight And then also canvasing
um in 2018 when we had three statewide um recounts for the very first time in the state of Florida when you have a recount and they were high-profile elections It was the U a US Senate race the governor's race and commissioner of
agricultures race Statutoily if you have recounts individuals representing those individuals are allowed to be in the canvasing room itself And court recorders were in the
room It's extremely tight whenever we have a recount for an election Fortunately we haven't had any since 2018 but we do need additional space Vote by mail is increasing in this in
2020 44% voted by mail We had an 83% overall turnout Almost 100,000 votes cast So 44% were by mail Um all of that is tabulated All of those ballots in the canvasing room They're all laid out in
the canvasing room They're protected And that's one of the main things about this renovation pro process is the security and the integrity of the elections and of the building itself And timing is really going to be crucial as we go
through if approved um to expand this building The timing is going to be crucial because we're so cyclic um we can't have construction taking place during an election And in 2026 we will start we will actually
start our election process the last quarter of 2025 because we have a presidential preference primary which will be March of 2026 So as you look at these um plans
and proposals please keep the timing in mind um as you go through because of the election process have to keep it secure every step of the way So questions Sure We do We have a question from Commissioner Heatherington
I will I've had the pleasure of serving on the canvas board a number of years and I it it's actually is a pleasure to serve on it and I enjoy it Um and I've learned so much and bar none we have the best supervisor of elections in all the
67 counties of Florida uh everything goes without a hitch and it it does so because of the supervisor of elections you you and your team and having sat on that canvasing board and been in that room and watched the number of people uh
over the years and I've done it a couple different election cycles the sheer volume of people walking in um with questions to drop off their ballots and then the sheer number of uh ballots we have as the canvasing board because if
you think about that not everybody thinks every one of those as vote by mail increases and how much did you say the vote by mail percentage well in 20 2020 44% voted by mail but that was through
COVID um this past election cycle there were um 30% that voted by mail but that increased the early voting 51% actually voted early throughout the
entire county So between all those people coming in early voting which many many in Martin County do and the vote by mail and and for the general public every one of those vote by mail you know they're verified and then they're um
opened and the canvasing board sits there through that chain of command and they're organized and categorized and protected and and I can tell you that room was busting at the seam teams and
because of so many and I think we had like 86 whatever the general election turnout was very high of all the voters Yep We had 85% that voted overall So almost 100,000
voters cast their ballots in this last election I I think it's so so necessary this expansion And um I I wanted to ask Sean about the timing because I could see we you need to have this project
completed by general election of 26 if at all possible So how does that work What is the process design planning Yeah So that would be really the last
quarter of 25 would be the latest So you for completion 25 So it would be it's it's going to be very difficult to to accomplish it before the 20 you know before the next election the next major election You can do it Can
you with the funding um with this in in two-year cycles Can you do this with the funding 1.5 and 26 and 27 or is it necessary for us to make sure the funding is available
for to ship some things around and make sure the funding is available when the design is ready to go to have it um the facility ready for the next because election integrity is going to be the most important thing So is is it we need
to kind of hard and fast this deadline would that be achievable We're going to need to speed it up Yeah With with to get it done before the March uh 26 election Correct Early voting is is going to be very difficult if not impossible right now So yeah speeding it up would be the best plan I don't find
you the money Yeah And the and the really positive too about early voting and moving it into the training room is voters would come in through the front doors and immediately make a right go into the the um early voting early
voting room and then exit out the side door So it would eliminate that turnaround in the lobby I I would ask that we try to facilitate if the
I'll hear my my board members comments Commissioner Vargas Uh yes Miss Davis I I think that we talked about about a quarter of a million dollars for renovation of the existing building reconfiguring in other words taking down walls that type of
thing to facilitate you know as best as we could because you know this is $3 million You know another is another and another You know we can only do what we can do And again we don't have the numbers yet as to what we're bringing in this year
So very leerary of saying it I I agree that your office is I think one of the most important for us here I I truly do But it's a matter of the
numbers getting them in Sure So you know we can say we can try and push things up but we have to make sure we have the capital to do it I understand Thank you Thank you Thank you for your consideration Thank you for all of your
support And I really want to thank staff too because staff is always very very supportive of what we do in elections So all of you who are here um thank you for what you do That's beautiful Thanks
Okay Okay the the next uh upcoming project or new project on the list is the courthouse and constitutional office uh secured entrance uh building addition Uh clerk Timman is here to help describe that need She's been waiting patiently all
day I just want to preface that Commissioner Caps and I don't hold any grudges Thank you for that Thank you Commissioner more of an inside joke but if you think about it if you know you know It's the first time the three of us have
been together Not really but in our in our official capacities but thank you for giving me the opportunity to come here and speak about this project Um to me I believe it's extremely important My main job is public service and that's what this um particular project is
really all about And I thought it would be helpful if I kind of gave you the current situation and then told you about some of the benefits of this particular project Um and I don't know Sean if if you had anything else that you just wanted to add to it like the cost or Yeah the I can I can describe it
a little bit more in detail Okay So this would be a about a 4,000 square foot improvement in between the two uh buildings the two large four-story buildings Uh currently as you see in the top right picture on this slide uh there's a uh stairway and a walkway between the two buildings right now And
then you have to go right or left to get into each each uh uh facility Uh this would be a a combined entrance um secured entrance uh with with some hardening included it would it would move the uh the X-ray scanner devices to the central facility and allow a better
motion and a more secured and free flowing motion uh from each side uh to get into the courthouse or the courthouse office building Uh the current uh estimated budget uh because we really haven't started a design yet Uh the design would be about $500,000
and then uh to construct it and still keep the courthouse open and still manage the construction but with the stairwell and the uh walkway in between it uh would be about $4 million $3.5 million So the total request is $4 million It's currently listed in the
unfunded category at this time Okay Thank you Madam Chair Thanks Go ahead Go ahead Sure Okay All right Um as as you heard there is a walkway that connects the two buildings So one we call the constitutional office building
At one time when it was originally built all the constitutional officers had a presence there Of course Martin County has grown That's no longer the case My office takes up most of the building My offices uh the sheriff's office has a civil division there We have the local
public defenders offices are there The local state attorney office is there Um and you know it really brings in a lot of individuals Right now I summons about 24,000 jurors a year So that's just a small number of individuals who are
coming into this building Roughly we have about 200,000 people coming into the building every year Right now the majority of those people go between the two buildings And there was at one time and that was before um the tragedy of
September 11th the buildings were open air connected with that walkway between the two buildings and individuals could go back and forth They could go from court over to my office Things had moved around a bit and and change where the uh individual offices are located But after
that and then there was a um security analysis done by the US Marshall's office and then that walkway was closed So it's been closed since that time with a gate This project would allow that to be reopened which is really significant to allow individuals to go directly from
the courtroom to the clerk's office They could go to the sheriff's civil division They could arrange for paperwork filings They could get documents immediately We've moved forward greatly with efficiencies in the courtroom process where we are now doing in court processing of documents So they could
effectively go from court and get their final paperwork and just walk right across and do that Now they have to go back downstairs They have to go back through security again Um and many individuals quite honestly they're eager to get back to work or they're nervous
and they don't necessarily do that last step They're not coming to my office to pay their court-ordered financial obligations and they're not picking up the documents that they need This would allow that to be far more um seamless And I am certainly not a law enforcement
expert or um officer There are some here if you had any specific questions on that But when you talk about the two entranceways there's an entrance way to the courtroom building I'll call it and an entrance way to my offices If there was an altercation which we do have
altercations um in our business if there's an altercation in between those two buildings law enforcement effectively has to face each other with that individual in between because those two doorways face each other from the opposite buildings This would close that
off and have one entrance one secure entrance where all individuals would come in You would still have employee access or badge security access through the other side but there would be one public entrance and that would be far
more efficient um and really far more safe Right now there are no lobbies If you go into the courtroom side for those of you who've been in there the elevator's right there You're lucky if four people can stand there to get the elevator People are waiting It's
congested It's not a safe environment On my side there's a little bit more room We have a reception desk There's no room for any public messaging We can't put up any any type of uh we have a little video screen but we can't really provide
information to those individuals coming in If I need to come out and talk to someone who's in a stressful situation or one of my staff does there's really no safe place where we can do that This would provide a centralized lobby where
individuals could gather We could come out and safely talk to people because there would be security there have a real good presence there We'd have that reopened area between the two buildings It' be far more efficient uh and far more effective for everyone We hope to
add a walk up window to the outside which many clerk's offices are doing now where individuals can just come up they can pay they can pick up documents not have to come in through security not be you know nervous about that particular process It's faster and again far more
efficient We would not leave that open 24 hours for safety and security reasons but I would staff that um during the daytime I mentioned how many individuals come into our office I know a lot of you are familiar with some of the um more stressful things that we we do Domestic
violence injunctions for instance risk protective orders when law enforcement finds it necessary to remove weapons from an unsafe uh situation Um and mental health cases which are unfortunately on the rise as I know you hear about from the sheriff's office So
we have all of those things going on where we really need more safety and security We also have happy events going on So we perform a lot of weddings here in Martin County by the way Uh they're growing in number which is great I know we're all a little bit concerned about the uh potential loss of maternity
services which is another happy event I certainly don't want to lose our wedding services And now when individuals come in quite often because of the costs and other things they're coming in with a full wedding party You have brides and their gowns and you have you know all
these individuals and family members They come in and there's no excuse me there's nowhere for them to gather either They're crowding into the room where I'm trying to do passports and recording and those things They're trying to crowd into the jury room which is certainly not open to the public at
all times We don't know when we'll have jurors in there So we want to make sure that those individuals feel welcomed as well And when I mentioned jurors law enforcement so we have deputies Our sheriff provides full sworn deputies They are escorting the jurors at all
times So when a juror comes from the jury room and has to go over to the courtrooms they're going over they're walking out in the open air for the most part There's a little overhang and then they're going in the other building and up those elevators They can't gather in that lobby They'd finally have a place
to wait or to gather or certainly in inclement weather where they're all trying to huddle outside on a you know a little bench or try to stand under a small awning to stay out of the weather Um this would provide a safe and secure location We don't like our jurors to
leave the building Right now we have to let them because there's nowhere else for them to go out When they go out believe it or not we've lost a couple and that's never a pleasant situation when you have to go find them again Um as our officers in green
know we also hope to be able to provide public kiosks and that would be in that central lobby area Again it's a uh very big efficiency issue Saves a lot of money The easier it is for people to pay
the greater our collections are That's the reality of it Um and I would have more staff available to help people with things like payment plans and all of those things to make it easier for them to pay less intimidating to come into the buildings and not having to go through security twice if they're going
back and forth um and greatly increase those collections on behalf of everyone as well and to make it easier for them There are certain documents that according to Supreme Court rules you can only look at in my office So you I can't put them online for people to see This
would provide them with that opportunity to come into the lobby go to a kiosk be able to look at their documents in a safe secure location that's also accessible to them So there's a lot of benefits I feel like for this project I know it's a big project Um I hear
certainly what everyone's saying I have the same concerns Um I am the chief financial officer for the county So I'm very much aware of all of those concerns and certainly with investments and all of those other issues that are going on with it right now I tend to look at this
as I said public service efficiency and also I'm hoping to be able to increase collections and increase that increase that revenue stream where possible and then cut back on some staffing costs on some of the um things that we can then
shift to electronic means and more um access that way through our kiosk and payment window and things of that nature So I'm happy to answer any questions about it Um I know you have a lot to think about and a lot to balance Um but I hope that you can approve this project
and if not I will continue working towards it So questions Thank you very much Thank you We also have the best clerk of court of six Thank you I appreciate that Thank you
Okay Okay And then the last two items on the upcoming projects are uh the library outdoor spaces There's a a pavilion uh ready for construction Uh we're just waiting for the materials to come in at the Hoke Library and the same thing down at the Hopetown Sound Library Uh and
then finally uh on the last bottom portion of this slide uh generator replacements We have uh not only the the supervisor of election generator to replace but we have the uh fire station 16 uh the Blake Library and the public works uh general services field operations generator are all under uh or
scheduled for replacement for next year So that concludes my presentation Questions for Mr Donghue I have some I'm on page 108 admin building first and third floor remodel Correct That's um the third floor is the
uh IT area the cubicle uh area Uh those cubicles are 25 almost 30 years old at this point Uh they are in a state of disrepair Uh we're we're having uh major problems finding parts and keeping them safe and operable uh for the workers for
the for the employees Uh so we'll be looking at replacing those areas Uh we have a little bit of a project started now uh with some FARB monies that we can uh replace a few of them but there's a 30 or 40 more in that space that need attention Same thing in the first floor
uh growth management area Uh the old um I think it was the building department service desk Uh there's cubicles in that area and that area needs to be uh remodeled at some point to make it more useful uh for that department I didn't realize that cubicles had a shelf life
they with over time when you start moving them around and changing use and and you start losing parts and and things get old Uh so and administration building third and fourth floor window hardening that is an unfunded request Uh
it's it's we're seeking uh grant opportunities for that to harden this building So uh we have a kind of a placeholder there uh if we can find some hardening monies and there's there's a lot of money out there from uh the previous hurricanes Okay I'm on page 112
Martin County Operations Facility and this project is dire and it's unfunded and it's there it doesn't appear to have a future So what are we
what are we doing in order to to move this project forward George Zama public works deputy director Um we are uh currently um we are under contract for conceptual design We performed a SK conceptual um
site plan design and um schematic floor plan for the facility We've um done a full-blown needs analysis for all three departments that would occupy the facility Um moving forward um we will be
presenting a a board item to discuss the um future progression of the project whether it be in phases multiple phases or a singlephase project which may include a public private partnership Okay When do you think that that might
come before us Um I think it's safe to say within the next three months Okay good Um I'm on page 113 Fire rescues FARB It's $600,000 in
FY26 and every other year it's 250,000 Correct Uh as I stated before we are working through the older fire stations uh looking at weatherization upgrades to to those facilities So there's a few more fire stations on that list that we would capture with the funding for next
year [Applause] and page 114 fire rescue fleet services storage expansion When did we do the initial one 2009 The initial construction of fleet services the
storage the the the building that's that that we currently use I I think it's on Ronkey Yeah 2009 And we already have a need to expand it They are storing uh fire rescue is storing uh all the pieces and parts uh
their stock uh equipment Uh there is a need uh for additional storage to keep that in-house Okay And then we get to these new fire stations And it seems to me that they're
all uh responses to approving development outside the urban service boundary It's it's based on the uh fire station needs assessment that the county just performed Yeah But the the the the big
group that was here this morning from Steuart West and Cobblestone and the Revive Church those those facilities have been outside the urban service boundary knew they were outside the urban service boundary forever And yet now there's a need because commission
majorities have approved development outside the urban service boundaries Now there's a need to create urban services way outside the urban service boundary in order to serve these communities that are no longer in our urban service
boundary And this is just one of the costs of sprawl and it's a huge cost Uh Chad Shane Julie fire chief Martin County Fire Rescue And uh you're correct There uh there was comments today and that was about outside the urban service
district But I think what's important to understand is in our current comp plan inside our urban service district we are not meeting our comp plan So the need of that Western Palm City station it'll it'll fit that need So currently in the comp plan it addresses that we have to
inside the urban service district respond within 8 minutes 90% of the time We are in 21 zone Palm city only doing that 77% of the time So we are already if we just strictly want to talk about inside the urban service district we are
not meeting the mark of what is identified in the comp plan If we address both outside the urban service and inside the urban service with one fire station we can accomplish the task of meeting the comp plan inside the urban service district and provide a
service to western Palm City with one with one fire station The fire station that's proposed on 714 That is correct Yes ma'am Well I I disagree That's from the farmer study ma'am That's uh he identified that if we put that study there and we
already map out the road miles and what Newfield is doing with their construction their infrastructure and the roadway that is connecting Bush Street to Citrus it's going to give us that corridor to where we can access Newfield And because it's inside the urban service district within the 8
minutes and then it'll also allow us to service the areas of western Palm City including Stewart and Palm City uh Stewart West and Cobblestone um in a timely fashion It'll completely change the landscape of western western Palm City That doesn't change the facts that the reason that we're having to uh
construct new fire stations outside the urban service boundaries is because it we have never built we have rarely built uh developments outside the urban service boundary until very recently Stewart and Cobblestone are the
exceptions and it's extremely expensive and the cost of the fire station is just one small component of the expenses It doesn't include the land It doesn't include the equipment and it certainly doesn't include staffing So this is this is the we are seeing uh the
repercussions of urban spa sprawl Commissioner Campy try to keep it nice and polite Steuart West and Cobblestone are decades old communities The folks that were here this morning were not from Newfield They were from Steuart West and
Cobblestone They've been taxpayers You heard them say this morning when our board sat silent That they spend millions of dollars in taxes They've been out there for decades It has nothing to do with urban sprawl What about the folks that live west of of 95
all the way on the Martin canopy out on the Martin grade There was an old derelic fire station building out there that you was utilized you know 40 years ago So there was a need when it was volunteers There was a need to have a fire rescue facility way out on the
Martin grade They knew then that it was important to have response times to try to bundle this up into some sprawl conversation again And when you added in land if it wasn't for a very generous uh business owner and uh project developer
across the street who's willing to donate up to five seven acres of property which no one has ever done what is station 21 on currently What how much acreage is 21 on I think they're less than two acres roughly acre and a half Average is about two and a half acres
Yeah So he's willing to donate five or seven acres right next to 95 which is probably worth millions of dollars So that's that And I don't understand how those residents are somehow classified as hey you live too far away I heard the same thing when we were talking about
our interlocal agreement with Evergreen These are Martin County taxpayers They don't get a discount They pay the same amount of money that everybody else is paying And it's easy when the room is empty but if I have to fill the room up I spoke this morning to that group because it's it's my district It's
everyone's district all five of us And when the residents come and they say that there's you're the chief much more brush fires that's happening nationwide based on a whole multitude of reasons They're entitled to rescue We you have
to respond to the full Martin County length north to south on the turnpike and 95 That would give you access to immediately get on 95 and respond to uh all sorts of traffic incidences I I don't understand how we're going to make it like oh shame on you You have a
sprawl issue They've been out there for decades They're entitled to the services Everyone that lives uh from the turnpike to 95 on 714 in Palm City Farms they're entitled to fire rescue services It's not a spraw issue It's a matter of
public safety for our residents New field will generate so much tax base that everyone will be glad to put into the situation when we talk about how are we going to pay for these things the three projects that you know the majority and it's a different majority now
uh Atlantic Fields Apogee and the ranch that's nearly 9,000 acres less than 500 homes that will generate approximately $60 million in tax base that doesn't sound like a bad idea to me so I don't
want to get into a sprawl no sprawl growth no growth this is the finances I disagree with my colleague respectfully She's always had that opinion That's fine But when she says that the farmer report is wrong and that your decades of
experience is not adequate her opinion should trump that I disagree Commissioner Vargas Yes Um Okay I agree with uh Chairwoman Herd Um there's been there Yes Those folks they chose to live
way out there My understanding is that St Lucy County is closer to Newfield for response time And I understand that you know the insurance costs are higher if they're living further out or the response time isn't there But you know
we're talking about a lot of money as chairwoman herd said It's not just the building and it's just not the land donation It's the cost of the employees that you have to be there and their benefits also So you know it's not an isolated thing
and and you know we can we can get the emotion in here and if you have to fill the room and whatever you have to do but that's why we have to be very judicious in what we decide to approve here We cannot keep going to do this We don't
have the funding We just don't have it anymore This is a time for belt tightening as I said this morning if you were listening to our meeting And this is something that this commission must I
would suggest strongly keep at the forefront of their mind everywhere in the county This is our responsibility Commissioner Heatherington Yes I pulled out this level of service Every department has one And I I just want to
re reiterate and make sure I heard what you said properly We are not meeting the level of service outlined in our comp comprehensive plan for basically outside the urban service boundary in the area
of the western um Palm City No ma'am that's not correct What I'm saying is we're not meeting it inside the urban service district not outside Outside in the comp plan it's identified as 20 minutes Um 90% of the time we are barely
meeting that 20 minutes inside the urban service district we have to do it within eight minutes 90% of the time we are not meeting that we're not even meeting it inside the urban service This is before Newfield isn't even built yet I'm talking about right now when Newfield
gets built and all the other developments get built The calls for service in western Palm City could increase roughly by 88% And I'm telling you today we are not meeting the level of service inside the urban service
boundary This all came from an unbiased study that came in and did a needs analysis and that's from the David Farmer study That's what was identified Well I think that we need to take action and do something I mean
the people here this morning and I'll have to say about um people that chose to live out um in rural areas they've been there for generations and it is our
it we are required to maintain a level of surface I think both inside and out for the residents I mean you can build a a 1 acre a house on any 20 acre you know parcel per and we're required Yes it's
expensive but I I support the folks that were here this morning um regarding the Western Palm City Fire Station I see a need not only today but yesterday for it And I think that we need to actually find funding for that particular one And
of all the public buildings in here I think there's there's needs versus wants right And we have to prioritize those The Western Palm City Fire Station I think that we can't wait That would be a need to me versus a want And I think
that we need to find funding for it to meet our obligations to our residents for our level of service Needless to say I agree You need anything else on this particular item I would make a motion to tentatively
approve this uh public buildings CIP project Second Commissioner Caps I was just going to add that you know there's been a lot of development in the western part of the county
that some of us were not a part of approving and we're doing the best we can to control it You know we just voted today 50 to limit rural lifestyle significantly you know and so but we do have an
obligation to take care of the needs of of residents uh even though perhaps we might not have approved certain things in the past uh there's still a pressing need So uh I uh
I support uh the Western Palm City Fire Station uh project and and we're going to need to do something Uh so my sentiments are with uh the motion
Is there any further public comment on this agenda item Yeah I I I certainly support most of the agenda of the CIP sheets but not all of them So I'm not going to support this motion All those in favor
Opposed Opposed That motion passes three to two with commissioners of Vargas and her dissenting Would anyone like to address us um at our 505 public comment If not then we're going to take a 10-minute break and we will be back precisely at 5:30
That's 9 minutes You're on Right You're on Yeah Fire rescue and Matt Rush is here to speak on behalf and chief Fire chief Are we good You want Yes Yes Okay All
right Uh for the record Chad Chantuli Fire Chief Martin County Fire Rescue So today we want to present our excuse me sorry our FY2526 CIP uh budget Um but first what I'd like to do really for the general public and I think it's important to do is I'm going to highlight just five equipment items that
is important to talk about and I'm going to go back to the date of 2019 because those are precoid dollars and I want you to understand the financial impact that we absorbed along the way and still pulled off what we did So first let's talk about a firetruck Since if we go back to 2019 a firetruck has gone up by
70% We used to be able to buy a firetruck for 540,000 Today that same firetruck speck the same way is $920,000 A ladder truck used to be um $752,000 It has gone up 72% to that same
spec truck now cost $1.3 million Bunker gear This is the ensemble that our firefighters wear going into a fire has gone up 67% I used to buy one set for $2500 Now that same set
$4,200 Um patient stretchers this is where we load our patients up to put them in the trucks Gone up 50% Used to be able to buy them for $14,000 Now $21,000 And then last thing I'll talk about is the cardiac monitor Cardiac
monitor This is the item that saves lives This is when your heart is in irregular um heart rhythm This is the thing that makes the difference and really has an impact They have gone up by 27% It used to be $30,000 Now
$40,000 So barring all of those significant increases since 2019 our CIP budget has only gone up $43,785 What that really does is clearly demonstrates the fiscal responsibility of this organization and we're able to
push through these tough times So with that I'll conclude my portion of the CIP presentation and then more than happy to take any questions Questions Proceed Matt He's got you We're short and sweet You've been here all day So any
questions Commissioner Campy I appreciate that Chief I think everyone that is bemoning the cost of living increases and how things are changing That's not even you haven't even begun to discuss how tariffs could relate into all of those things uh with the types of
materials needed to manufacture the equipment you need Um you know in certain other areas of the county government these increases can be absorbed or or if we postpone them But the things that you're
talking about needing stretchers bunker gear um heart equipment that's life or death issues and you've still been able to keep a real handle on it So I do appreciate that effort Um I think we
should also acknowledge when our departments are you know meeting the fiscal challenges that everybody is So with that um barring any public comment I would accept tentatively approve the fire rescue department's CIP sheet
Second Any further questions comments There's a motion in a sec Any public comment There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Thank you And now it's time for 505 public comments Sir would you
like to address us Thank you guys Please come forward You'll have three minutes to address us Thanks Thank you Actually my name is Joe Cosro I live in Stewart Um I was here about six or seven months ago There are different people out there now Congratulations whoever
they may be I was here about a major safety issue I've been spoke about these ebikes electrical bicycles go-karts golf carts scooters skateboards you name it on the sidewalks Um from what I understand the Florida statute
316-1995 prohibits anything except humanpowered vehicles on the sidewalk Um these bicycles are not the typical 20 lb bicycle we think of These things get up to like 75 lb They can carry 300 lb They
can go up to 30 miles per hour Uh big knobbyby tires like a motorcycle They have throttles It's it's not just um pedaling They have an actual throttle They can throttle these things up My concern is safety I know we all talk about safety That's a big item and I
understand we're all on top of that I'm just concerned that someone's going to be seriously injured or worst by one of these vehicles on the sidewalk I know there are certain classes of them There are state statutes that address it but I
was wondering if there's any local ordinances or something that may be able to bolster that enforcement of restricting these vehicles where pedestrians and bicycles now enjoy Right now if you can go anywhere in the county you'll see that a bicycle and a
pedestrian is a minority on the sidewalks We're the minority They're more powered ve some gas powered in fact Uh it's getting to biblical proportions and I'm seriously concerned with injury damage to property someone seriously
seriously injured or worse Uh that's why I'm here for the second time I wonder if there's ever been any progress from the first time uh when we spoke about this and I believe people concur This is an issue that it's becoming uh something we're going to have to start to deal
with Uh those are all valid concerns I agree with you Commissioner Campy Sir I wholeheartedly agree with you We have had a fatality on an electric bike in Palm City several months ago But beyond that I think that the other point that
everything you said in those statistics are accurate The only other thing that's really scary is they're silent If someone was riding a motorcycle you would hear it You'd have a chance to at least step out of the way You know we've been working on Map Road for a long time I spent a lot of time there We've
widened the sidewalks to make it more pedestrian friendly but it's also completely made it much more friendly for um there's several new battery operated versions and you're right they can go up to 35 miles per hour And you know I remember in the old days I worked
in New York City and there used to be bicycle messengers that would be on a 10-speed bike and you know they would race all up and down the streets and everything And even if you're a pedestrian if you got hit by someone riding a bicycle you could be seriously
injured But if you get hit by someone riding you know a 50 60 70 lb um electric bike that's got the batteries and you're exactly right about those big tires They look like motorcycle tires and there's no rules or regulations So it could be a 10year-old on it They
don't wear helmets except the kids I see them now wearing full face helmets because they're just doing that not for safety so that no one knows who they are so they can hide who they are And then they have the other version which is the standup scooter In the old days they
used to have a little razor scooter that thing then could barely get out of its own way These scooters are super fast So even if you're driving in your car and you're looking to pull out of a side street and you look to the left and you don't see anybody so you start to pull out and then someone who's going 35 miles an hour 30 miles on the sidewalk
crashes into the car and everyone looks at you like that was the the motorist's fault So my dad's been asking me about this every week He's like you He sees it He's focusing his attention on it I don't know what the answer is We're
going to have Mr Donaldson look into it Yeah Most of it's state statute So it's not like we can do local I have asked our local police in in in my district the cops the community oriented policing and we've been trying to catch them but it's hard even if you're on foot as a
police officer or even educate them right to Oh the you know this they're not looking to be educated The parents spend those those bikes are expensive They're three or4 thousand $5,000 a piece and the parents give them out for birthday presents or Christmas and then
just send the kids out to just do whatever they want But it's a h it's a they're wreaking havoc in the community I may say one more thing on that same vein These things aren't insured They don't have tags There's no signal light There's Well a motorist like ourselves we have to have insurance You have to
have And that's probably half the people on these vehicles have had their license suspended or revoked so that they can't drive an automobile on the street Right But now we have one where here we are the general motor in public required to have all these licenses insurance safety
equipment and such and they can just go unscathed You know that's that's what my concern is I was always hoping there was something the local ordinance or something maybe could do something with it I don't know Well at least put the police say if you get to see something do something And
technically by statute you have to be six Yep If you're 16 years old you have to wear a helmet Yeah Which they don't do either Don't confuse the story with the facts All right Thanks Thanks Thank you Continuing on Office of Community
Development Miss Susan Cororez and Shar Good afternoon commissioners Good evening commissioners Maybe I should say So you can see from our first slide uh our budget for 2025 Mrs Merley and Miss Baker then
perform their formulaic calculation um because that's how that works and uh an estimate of what the projections would be and they have estimated that we will see an increase of 1.695 uh for
FY 26 So let's stay the same as always Uh we look at infrastructure as our focus and you're going to see in the upcoming slides um lots of different ways that we're doing that and we have done that
Uh what has changed So new communication strategy I'm just going to point out a couple of things Uh we have a new communication strategy and we're doing that so that we can increase participation and knowledge in our communities in our 6NAC areas
Um and what I mean by a communication strategy we it's a three-touch strategy We call it our community pulse Maybe you've seen some of those eblasts that have gone out So we send out an agenda for a meeting Then we send it again a couple of days before and then
we do a recap a few days after so that the community gets touched three times and we're seeing already an increase in participation and certainly in I believe the knowledge that the community has of the projects that we're doing and uh the
initiatives that we're moving forward We've gotten five project awards this past year Um that's been really exciting We got three for Ripple one for um Golden Gate actually our monument sign
in Golden Gate and one for the patio in Palm City and one for the Rio Bioale So just important to note as well that we often very often work with other departments here So we want to give a
big shout out to uh public works field operations division because they helped us with three due to their expertise and their work on three of those projects and a nice assist from parks and wreck on another one So thank you to my other departments Um I'm going to move forward
and just pick out a few projects from each slide to talk about and um happy to answer any questions on any others that you may want to discuss So completed project for us completed projects for us recently Um again looking at
infrastructure this is some of our above ground infrastructure We did unpaved roads in Golden Gate with uh public works as a matter of fact We did a man manatee pocket boardwalk enhancement with parks cove road sidewalks very important um seems
like a small thing but sidewalks get kids to school and keep people safe And the underground infrastructure that we completed uh Ripple storm water eco art project Palm City patio in place which
was a mix of both underground and above ground and infill sewer in Rio And that's uh something to note We now have three CRA areas that are complete with water and sewer and thanks to the county
for the Golden Gate Assist Uh we appreciate that Moving on to current projects We are excited to talk about El Camino You maybe you can all see the big sign that's now on Indian Street It says that
the project has started April 8th So I know every time I drive down there I big smile Uh so we're excited about that That project should take a little over a year We are continuing to work with affordable housing in Pway Village in
Hope Sound Uh unpaved roadways in Hob Sound is also a big focus this year and we'll be doing that with public works as well Park Drive improvements in Port Solerno That's project has already begun as well
Working with utilities and with public works on that New Monrovia Park improvements Uh really well-loved neighborhood park in New Monrovia is getting a beautiful facelift Dixie Park sidewalks That's something new that was added recently that came from the
neighborhood Um and the reason that that came up and it was something that they were interested in is public works is doing a project there now And it was a great opportunity for us to add I know earlier today we talked a little bit about complete streets It was a great opportunity for us to add some dollars
in there to do sidewalks and landscaping which really adds to the project that public works will be doing and and a great amenity for the community Um in Palm City we're looking at Southwest Cornell Avenue improvements And again that's going to be a more complete
street kind of concept If no one has ever been down Cornell it is one of the streets well probably the only other street other than Map Road that goes north and south I'm really bad at that Goes north and
south uh runs parallel to map and the sidewalk butts right up to the street where you can and the sidewalk is only about 4 and 1/2 ft It's really tough to walk down that roadway and uh not get into trouble It also has terrible drainage issues So we're looking at
doing some nice infrastructure work there again with utilities and public works as well And in Rio we are looking at town center redevelopment um that's going to take into account the civic center and some other properties that uh
the CRA and the county own right in the center of town and looking at also a big streetscape enhancement as well on Dixie Highway So that's some of the things that we're working on currently Upcoming we're looking at a huge pro
project in Golden Gate It's a neighborhood improvement project in their uh community redevelopment plan Golden Gate really focuses a lot on infrastructure and complete streets So we've started working on that Uh getting
them curb and gutter getting them on street parking all of those things that really add to a neighborhood Um and we're doing that by doing some concept drawings and some initial little bit of engineering so that we can go out for grants for that
So that's what we're focused on there In Hopes Sound huge project in Hopes Sound Dixie Highway Stormwater and Streetscape That's the project that you might have heard that will take into account the historic train station plaza Um it also takes in so it's it's Dixie Highway from
Bridge Road all the way to Saturn and it takes into takes into account old post office alley as well and seven of the connecting side streets And it's going to complete the drainage the storm water and uh new roadway and sidewalk
landscaping all of those things And again will connect to that historic train station plaza Jensen we are looking at Church Street um which is again probably one of two or three roads uh that connect Indian
um River Drive with Pineapple Uh and we're looking to do some redesign on that street so that we have some on street parking and some sidewalks undergrounding the utilities Port Solerno of course septic to sewer will be throwing uh some money towards that
project and looking at some unpaved roadways And I'll stop there and be happy to answer any questions you might have Any questions Commissioner Vargas Yes What are the spark funds SPARC is a program that
allows a property owner a business owner a developer to pay in lie of the required parking So in other words if you are located on Bridge Road for example and you want to open a particular business that
requires five parking spaces and you have a small piece of property that you really can't make any bigger it is what it is uh you can pay in lie meaning you pay money into a fund that uh will take up
say two of your parking spaces and I don't remember off the top of my head commissioner all the criteria that uh goes into that so there's a certain you can only do it in certain subdists there's a certain amount that you can do etc etc so it has that kind those kinds
of um boundaries to it I know you have revenue in your CRA in Jensen and from Spark Um okay So when we meet maybe you can have those particulars for us Absolutely All right Any further
questions There a motion to approve Motion to tentatively approve Office of Community Developments CIP sheets Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes
unanimously Thank you Thank you Parks and Recreation Mr Kevin Abbate Good afternoon Good afternoon board Kevin Abbate parks and recreation director Um as you see before you um we
are requesting $200,000 over last year's um CIP Um and that's primarily to develop a master plan for Pineapple Park pickle ball complex which we can go into um in the next sheet But right now um
the funding levels for our fixed asset replacement budget that parks buildings and pavements um and pavement fiber security and Wi-Fi have remained the same We also are going to try to maintain our funding for boat ramps over
the 10-year plan We are capitalizing funds within the current CIP sheet um to um rebuild the old Jensen Beach Cafe and public restroom which was caught on fire during
New Year's Eve of last year We're also going to continue our phased capital improvement of Wisec Park smallsided soccer fields This is the last year of the funding And of course and finally we are um this year this summer this fall
we'll be looking at replacing the aging pumps motors and pump houses at the golf course Um the three pump houses We we just received if not this week or next week the permit from South Florida Water Management District for um our
consumptive use permit at the golf course And our goal for the next capital um improvement uh is to replace those pump houses so we don't lose our golf courses water supply Good
Yep So last year um we completed um the concrete pads uh the first phase of it at Fibs Park campground We paid for that with the revenue from the campground that we achieved um over the past few
budget years Um and that that being said the campground has done quite well We are sitting on right now roughly um $623,000 in um net net proceeds that will go in towards the second phase of adding the
concrete pads um throughout the campground Um and then we completed last year the um the Indian Riverside Park uh boardwalk expansion over at uh the EPwood If you haven't seen the boardwalk
boardwalk expansion it's done quite well in terms of its use When we posted our video on it when we opened it last month it had over 170,000 views from the public and they they really enjoyed it It's 1.5 miles long We also uh finished our Sanvet Park boat ramp renovation and
of course the final project was the Indian Riverside Park Bird Fountain So currently um we're working on Charlie Leighton Park improvements and the boat ramp That project just came
in The bids were uh within budget so far um and uh we will hopefully be awarded a contract soon We've completed the playground at East Ridge um park and um we also uh used um some funds for that
from the American Rescue Plan dollars to help pay for most of that We are now in the middle of our Langford Park playground which also has ARPA funds Um we expect that to be done in May and then we will be starting Tropical
Farmers Park Playground which also has ARPA funds attached to that one Also upcoming uh the continued funding of Wise Park smallsided soccer courts um and restroom facility Um and
what that is um it's been on the CIP for a couple budget cycles Um what that is it's um four artificial turf fields with fencing um for soccer at Wesk Park It's about a 1acre uh project and it's um capacity We're at probably 80% design We expect
it to be fully designed by the end of this fiscal year with construction starting sometime at the end of this year or early next year uh when that final round of funding becomes available the Jensen Beach Cafe and public restroom That restroom was um was
burned down in New Year's Eve of last year We're working with insurance right now to uh get some recovery um in the CIP We have capitalized other um sections of our budget for example under the public uh public buildings CIP sheet
we moved that money to pay for the public restroom and we've moved some funds around similar to what we did for Charlie Leighton Park to get the project completed Um we are in the middle of design right now um for the Jensen Beach Cafe and public restroom We just moved
past conceptual and we're now moving towards um vertical design the Francis Langford Dockside Pavilion improvements that was on the first floor of the building It's been vacant for more than a decade and of course unfortunately um we had a fire there uh just a few
weeks ago up in the attict and that has caused um early damages through our uninsurance of $275,000 between cleanup and dry out So now we're re relooking at that project um since we have right now programmed
about a million dollars to for improvements but now we're working with insurance to get some immediate payback from insurance due to the cost of it Um so we're using our fixed asset replacement budget to to front the funds um for this cleanup and then we'll go
back to the proverbial drawing board to look at the top floor to see the improvements that need to be made and hopefully it will be covered by insurance But we will take this opportunity to look at the first floor to see if we can harden the building with impact windows and just do some
efficiencies But um it's quite um it it'll be quite the project for us to conquer over the next year Um the Vince Bino Community Center is also a funded program where we are basically modernizing the uh inside of the Vince
Booko building Um the building is um is need of improvements And then as I said earlier selfish ends golf course pump house replacements is the first thing you do um before you start um replacing or improving any grasses We have not
made any improvements on the 18hole course other than adding pathways many many years ago Um but we need to get our water situation straight That's was kind of a board directive That's is our plan um over the next year is to make sure that we have um adequately working
vertical turbine mowers uh motors and pumps uh that we are if there are water shortages that we are having a good water source We've had we have um struggled with water in the past um and the golf course while it's you know
financially doing really well I I pulled some numbers this morning We the golf course um as of this morning was $636,000 in net profit just the golf course not the hitting bay So it's doing quite well and the last thing that we want to do is lose our grasses in our
program that we work so hard and we have invested in over the last many years and I that's the end of the presentation Questions for Mr Abate Commissioner Caps move approval Second There's a motion and a second All
those in favor Oh I got some questions Uh let's don't vote Commissioner Heatherington Okay So uh the first one is the the parks farb We talked about farb earlier for public buildings What's the
methodology that you use to calculate the parks farb So long long ago when we um were trying to initiate a sales tax initiative for parks for our back our backlog replacement which we have right now excluding assets like the water park
the golf course the cafes and morning fields about $und00 million in assets So we use life cycle replacement costs So we have um you know for example the best example I can give is playgrounds They have a 15-year life cycle replacement cost So we have 20 23 or 26 playgrounds
I have it here Um and those playgrounds you know to replace them are quite expensive now versus what we paid for them So we paid three or $4 million for them many many many years ago And and as a part of them part of replacing them after every 15 years we sometimes
squeeze it to be a little longer We will replace them based on their life their years in their life cycle And everything in parks has a life cycle every pavilion roof every sidewalk every grill every every building And so we use life cycle replacement costs And and what has
happened for us in the past um in 2022 for example we had hurricane Nicole hit We had just restarted our fiscal year and we had all these projects that we had planned but as you recall Sanit Park
got hit pretty heavily for about $700,000 in damages We use RFR program unprogrammed to replace all those peers docks seaw walls over the next year to be reimbursed 14 months later So we put every single project that we had in
parks farb on hold for about a year to take care of all the hurricane projects which we're still doing some to make sure we got proper reimbursement through FEMA which will probably come in a couple many years from now So we were able to get some fund balance 14 months later So we end up having a bigger lump
sum because we kept the funding the same and and then we spent $2.7 million that year between the coal and a million dollars worth of parks far projects But when you have a hund00 million in assets in parks just for the park side not including these self-independent farms
that FIPS has its own farb now and the cafes have them because they're generating net cash Which ones have their own farbs So we got the cat beach cafe Well they're they're creating their own farms because when we have net revenue we're we have over the last few years we've created ones for um for the
go the hitting bays the golf course the moring fields the cafes and the campground So we've created these fixed asset replacement budgets so that we can use them towards those amenities And so as we move along each year um you know we we haven't shifted funds outside of
those cuz at the campground for example we we cut all of the concrete pads as a budget reduction many many years ago And we found out that we actually we so we're putting those back Um they're a lot more expensive now concrete than it was when we cut it long long ago But we return those because the customers want
to be on concrete versus gravel that moves around and weeds grow in it and and all the issues that we're having with the roadway moving around through these very expensive RVs That's for example So generally speaking we program our fixed asset replacement for parks
far on life cycle replacement costs of those assets But we can't exclude all the emergencies that we've been under like hurricanes fires things are unplanned And what we do is we fund them with FARB unprogrammed like the cafe that we had a bulldozed down like the uh
like the doside pavilion that just happened hundreds of thousands of dollars So we always like to hold back a little bit of money in our fire for those moments where motors fail pumps fail and we've done a really good job of it And we've and generally speaking in a given year we complete roughly a 100
projects a year through our fire program So you're carrying over like 2.6 6 million or did I That's correct Yes because we were reimbursed in last year in March 1.7 million during fund balance of the money we spent in fiscal year 23
We received that money 14 months later And then so that that 1.7 million that we spent on Hurricane Nicole repairs moved over into this fiscal year And that's why we're carrying that fund balance And we have a new 2.2 2 million
uh for basically this this year allocated for all the other parks Correct And and so when Nicole hit for example we paused every single project in the parks department for a year we p unless it was a dire emergency we didn't
know the extent of the damages you know at Sandsprit at the causeways and the seaw walls So we paused everything until we really understood So we didn't spend any money because we didn't know how much money we were going to spend and we didn't you know at the direction of administration we we were using our FAR
money because it was available as opposed to using reserve dollars Um so we use that for and it was a brush by storm from the hurricane Nicole which hit north of us So we were lucky in that regard Um so we had the money to make those repairs and that's why we're carrying more of a fund balance But I
can assure you that I'm I'm looking at a $4 million list of stuff that has not got done yet And it really comes down to resources Our parks team handled 100% of all repairs I mean our superintendent $1.7 million of working with Lacante
Engineering from start to finish to make sure that we did it properly so that when that we could get reimbured by FEMA and they did a fantastic job The team just my hats off to them But everything else suffered in the balance meaning products that should have been done things that should have been replaced
Yeah I don't I don't love fronting from FARB money for other projects but um and park building improvement program We've got nothing this year We've got you got 40,000 So we moved and typically
it's 535,000 every other year but 40,000 if this year if you move to the So we move those funds to the Jensen Beach public restroom and cafe project so we can take
those funds and capitalize it and re reallocate it to that CIP sheet so we can be part of the rebuilding efforts Now I will tell you the restroom will cost more than $535,000 but we did move those funds there so that we can start that project sooner than later When will we get our
insurance proceeds for that It's um I I will say that we are negotiating with insurance We we had an exactate estimate done um um that was done to submit to Trio um you know to challenge their their numbers that they gave us So we're
asking them to look at re reconsider Um so I don't know what the final amount will be I'll give you another examples We the same another storm that came by with not Nicole that damaged the the moring field dock where it's a year later on insurance Sometimes it's quick
sometimes it's not We don't have uh I don't have a lot I don't have any control over when they submit to us We will get it at some point um back and replenish those funds For example the 275,000 that we're spending right now is improved by insurance that the
contractor at the Dockside Pavilion agrees that this is this much clean up and clean up and dry out that needs to be done So we'll get the money back Um same thing with the other projects the the the dock the cafe we front it um for insurance to get so we can get it going
and cleaned out so we don't have a moldy building Um it it could take up to a year Um and so but I'm I'm I along with my team are quite pushy in terms of trying to get it back As long as it comes back by the time we're ready to build I'm okay with it Do you anticipate
that the rest the public restroom facility will exceed um the insurance proceeds It always does And it I it looks like that Jensen Beach public restroom is at the tune of
like $4.5 million dollars That So that's the entire project itself That that is you know dune crossovers sidewalks um uh replacing the cafe that we demolished a couple a few weeks ago Um rebuilding that cafe back um in its place I don't
know We basically have about 9,000 or so square feet of space available Um I don't know the cost of what the cafe will come out at because we are in early an early vertical design So once we the square foot cost estimate at 550 but it
could be less Um that was the high number I rather just put a number out there So we're we'll know a lot more by the end of the year but this is uh this is a multi-year funding project for the cafe and the restroom Um there is a restroom that's further to the south in Jensen Beach but there's it's quite the
walk when you have a very popular car crossover near a lifeguard stand So we we're anxious to get the project going Are we serving just aside not from the Se Are we serving the public right by having temporary restrooms right now Not yet We just demolished it We're going to So the the
Port Salerno um Morenfield building we have our we call it our parks portable temporary restroom trailer that's currently servicing that area until that building is done It should be done in within a few months at most We're going to see the condition of it see if we can
trailer it over to Jensen Beach to see cuz it's high volume So right now what we're doing we have a restroom we call the Octagon restroom We're servicing it three times a day right now So to make sure it's clean and so um we'll determine that you know probably this summer sometime to see if we can get
that thing over there But I I'm really not a fan of portallettes I'd rather have a restroom trailer with that kind of volume for at least at least at this moment Good Um parks you said earlier in your intro that you were going to try to fund the parks boat ramp but we're going
to actually we're going to continue funding Yeah I I I meant Well the board funds it Kevin Abbate doesn't So um but the good news is we're all many of the boat ramps that were what's up next is Jensen Beach and we're submitting for a
nice grant to match half of it So this funding source will fund it fully We're projected to be around a million Our grant we submitted basically almost half So if we have that funding but what the way it's working now we're we're designing these we're designing and permitting these uh boat ramps like we
did at Sansrit Up front of the design for Yeah when and all the design money was was uh funded by the Florida Boer improvement grants for all the boat ramps So we've got all those funded Now we're on the permitting side And the nice thing about what we're doing Mr
Kerwin has done is um he has submitted these fully funded and permitted plans to um the fine Florida Inland Navigation District And usually it's a lot more receivable receive well received when you have a fully funded program So we're
excited that that Jensen Beach um boat ramp will be done Leighton Park is fully funded That will be going on work this summer and then we'll fund the next boat ramp and um probably a few more after that Good job on the boat ramps Thank you Um paving there's so we have no park
um we have no paving but but subsequent years we have 300,000 for every year So in 2026 you have no so so part of the the same we are moving those dollars to reallocating those dollars to capitalize the Jensen Beach project the
the cafe and public restroom so we have the funding to build it without asking for new dollars you know because it's going to require sidewalks etc to move to that cafe and a walkway up to it so we we're just taking the dollars that we have in our CIP and moving it to this
project so we can get it funded That's pretty much what we're doing Okay So speaking of moving money in the CIP um we you have parks fiber and security There is an $85,000 item and for cameras
Wi-Fi and you've reallocated that to Jensen Beach public restroom for this year when when I I believe particularly in my district there's a need for cameras and security So why are we moving items out of a
designated CIP fund to re to allocate to another project when we do have needs in for that particular category So we see so we currently have again as part of a part of capitalizing the cafe project We know that we're going to need security
there security cameras there and $85,000 is not going really what $85,000 does for us generally speaking is replace cameras from time to time and then that's really about it a full system approach to a building or to a park is is pretty costly because you have to run
fiber there You have to have a server in the building and you have to have the equipment It's pretty expensive So and it's getting more expensive So we move those funds there again as as the effort that we have fiber there We have some uh license plate capturing cameras at
Jensen Beach right now but we would really like to have more cameras on top of what we have at Jensen Beach when we build the project because of the fire Jensen Beach but this is a c this park's fiber and security is I assume presume
countywide So you've taken the entire which is only 85,000 a year but you've taken it out and put it into Jensen Beach public restroom and there's not even a public restroom right now We're working on it when there's a need in
another part of the county like Lamar Howard Park that needs a camera today The community policing officers has been say they've been saying it The neighborhood advisory council have been saying it and they've been we there's so I don't believe that you should be reallocating the funds that are needed
in other parks to fund the public restroom What what I would offer is that our our current FARB carryover could help do those things Um and we um Mr has met with the community policing division million in it That one that has some
carryover we can use for projects like that Correct I look forward to to that So Chen Jensen Beach public restroom we talked about that It's a $4.1 million project and we're going to to be
determined what we're getting for insurance proceeds Correct So we're going through that process now Um we've had many insurance adjuster meetings there and we'll determine what the final amount is Um
we'll use it to be if you look on the CIP sheet you're going to see a million dollars in park fees So what we plan on doing is the the Seaside Cafe as of today probably has around 1.2 million in
net revenue We're going to be moving some of that revenue over to fund this project along with insurance but there wasn't a drop down button for insurance So we put it under park fees So it'll be a combination So as we get closer to the project and we look for um our funding
source we're going to look at as much revenue that that we could stand um so we can keep some revenue for repairs and maintenance at the cafe and as much insurance as we can so we can get the project fully funded one time That's the goal Sounds like a loftly goal A lot of
belt tightening with that project Yes 100% So the um Oh waack I'm familiar with that Pineapple Park pickle ball complex It says master plan When is the last time
that the board approved a park's master plan So 2016 is our last master plan We'll be having meetings with each commissioner over the next month We're starting to schedule the meetings We've the master
plan is in draft form to no surprise You know pickup all trails some things rise to the top So we'll meet with these commissioner meet with administration go over the results of that and then we'll we'll do a f a fully adopted master plan a 10-year plan
sometime in 2025 this year and we will adopt that And again it doesn't identify funding sources It just identifies what the community says it wants But when was that master plan When the community's wants which is included in the master
plan when was that presented to this board We haven't presented it yet We will So how who determined that it gets this is a new project right It's 12 acre new facility in Jensen Beach So and I'm not I'm not disputing that
there have been you know public has asked for pickle ball Yeah But they have also asked for fire stations So what uh who determined that it goes into the CIP this year when we haven't yet had a
master plan that included it So we do surveys for the community We get inbound emails um probably in the hundreds for pickle ball What we've done in the past for pickle ball in general which is our hottest sport for the last eight or nine
years is we have stolen tennis courts We've taken tennis courts we have converted pickle ball and the Jensen Beach community in particular over the last many years has um we've looked at some vacant property like this in Heritage Ridge about planning documents about the opportunity to do some
planning And I'm being more forthcoming now and the results that I know that are going to come to the the board to talk about a sport that the community wants and especially in that in this in in the Jensen Beach area where we haven't really haven't done anything um for
pickle ball was probably about 12 years ago So I took the opportunity to talk to have this on the CIP sheet fully knowing that this year we'll bring the master plan uh to the board to talk about all the wants and needs And so really it's
more of a planning document to have the discussion about the things that are going to be coming up And there's a lot in the master plan Uh things that are going to be surfacing um indoor space trails shade and playgrounds all these things that we do on a constant basis
Did all those other things that you talked about indoor spaces did they make up a sheet in the book I I did not do that No M So I guess then my question is because I have a lot of people that want um
new outdoor um baseball and softball fields and the Tourism Development Council talks about soft field ball fields and um how much revenue they bring into the county So who determines that this makes it in the book but that
doesn't when we haven't received the new master plan I I will take full responsibility for bringing the CIP forward for as a planning document for discussion about something for the last decade that is something that I've talked about with many board members in
the last 10 years to talk about something that is going to be a need that I know is coming I think this has to be removed until we actually receive the master plan and we find out Um I and I completely support the idea of
building um additional pickle ball courts but I think we need to see the county in a totality to see what that master plan is going to look like So then we can make an educated decision up here on what things we might fund what
things we might tighten our belt upon and um how we're going to move forward And I like that you said wants versus needs because I think this year it sounds like we're going to need to have a very serious conversation about wants versus needs Absolutely
That's that's all Is there a motion to approve parks with that in or out What In or out on that what that piece you just mentioned move approval to see a master plan I'm
back until we There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes 4 to one with Commissioner Heatherington desenting Thank you Thank you Next starts public works section We're
starting first with coastal with Mr Jim Gorton and Mr George Llama Nice Nice I like the little intro Very nice Is that nice Yeah that was good Good evening board Uh Jim Gordon public works director With me I have uh George Zmer our deputy director Uh we're going
we have the next five sections So we're going to take turns with with these sections Very well So with uh coastal we um kept a constant level funding for the uh uh inlet management shoreline nourishment artificial reef and then the
BATA beach and Salvage Point restoration The additional aorum of $100,000 is to the MacArthur Dune Restoration Project which is a project that's largely funded by D grants and an MSBU on the island Um
and this is just our our match money to go with that project Some recently completed projects are on the screen there We just finished the Twin Rivers living shoreline project Our artificial reef staging area right near the rental shop bridge has also
been completed Um we did the nourishment project on Bathtub Beach and the St Lucy Inlet dredging this year projects that are underway Indian Riverside Park Living Shoreline Um that one's uh well underway If anyone uh has
been out there I I would suggest you take a look at it because that's going to transform the um shoreline protection at that island at that park It's critically eroded right now and this living shoreline is going to protect it And then we also have the Hutcherson Island Shore Protection Project the four
mile beach project that's going to be in winter 2025 Upcoming projects are the uh another dredge project in the inlet in 27 We have the dune restoration project also program for winter of 27 And then the south jetty which is a joint project
with the army corps which will be in summer of 27 with that Do you are there any questions on the coastal element I just have a comment This funding on MacArthur Boulevard dune restoration is astonishing Good job Thank you No
advor And it's a big project Is it necessary Is it necessary It is Do we need to tenatively approve these one by one or what Okay Is there a motion to approve So move
Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Ecosystem It's okay There you go Does this clicker work or you could just do it I'll move it for you All right On to
our ecosystems uh section Um we've uh staff has done a great job of of leveraging a lot of funding for projects over the years and and that will continue Um so there will be a constant level of funding for storm water
treatment area water and qual water quality improvement projects as well as uh the implementation of our BMAP and TMDL compliance projects Uh as most of you are aware we have uh met our thresholds uh for nutrient reduction but
um you know we set the bar high and and staff is continuing um to uh implement water quality projects to stay well ahead of the curve Uh we also have constant level of funding for environmentally sensitive land management and public access and uh
those funds will increase with the addition of properties that we acquire Um so we will receive uh additional up to 5% of of the acquisition cost for uh improvements to the properties we
acquire Some of the completed projects uh East Fork Creek phase one uh has been completed uh there um in uh Hope Sound off of US1 Hawks Hammock Preserve access has has also been completed There was
also 16 acres of seaggrass that has been planted and Jensen Beach impoundment restoration has been underway Uh what we're currently working on is Eastport Creek phase 2 It's that linear lake Um that's the second
addition to the project and uh we should be completing that later this year or early next year Uh we're also going to continue seaggrass planting Uh another 20 acres is our goal Uh we also have estuary poor water and water quality
analysis that we're continuing And as I mentioned our our Martin County Forever land acquisition program Uh we uh had our first uh environmentally land acquisition committee meeting last week
Uh so we have officially begun the process Some of our upcoming projects uh we've been working on design and modeling for the Cypress Creek flood plane We we're hope we're we've uh received concurrence from the district So we're positively moving forward Um uh
so we're going to be finalizing design and hopefully moving into construction Uh Manatee Pocket Southwest Prong is a is a STA a little mini STA in Port Solerno that we're also uh wrapping up design and and will be going to
construction And Federal Crab Access is a um kayak launch across from Jensen Beach Um so for access of uh to the estuary and Golden Gate north outfall project uh
will also begin soon and that is a brief and that wraps up ecosystems section We're happy to answer any questions questions about ecosystems I have a comment and that is that this is my favorite CIP sheet ever Martin County
forever 20 million bucks a year Way to go Best CIP sheet ever It is Is it necessary Is there a motion to approve I'll move um staff's recommendation for
approval Actually just I'll move approval A second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Transportation Transportation Okay this is the uh public trans
transportation sheet for um our transit system So we have a constant level of funding for the uh fleet replacement budget and then uh as well for the facility installation and maintenance This is the only sheet that there is largely it goes to you know the buses
kind of like chief uh Chantuli would mentioned about um fire trucks buses also have gone up in cost so that we have to do multiple years of funding to um fund the replacement Uh this sheet is this program in capital projects is
funded with 86% grants and then the rest are local funds Any comments Commissioner Heatherington I I think that number 150 I I think we're going to need to have a
conversation in the future on how to retool this sheet as we start having the conversation to revamp public transportation I I get it It's not funded and it's in there but
we're going to have to have a conversation in the future on what's the next vision Stay tuned We just uh awarded a new uh contract and we're um very engaged and excited with some um proposed
improvements So once we get uh that coaleses a little bit more we're going to schedule meetings with each of the commissioners to talk about the you know what what we see and then get your input on what you guys would like to see Okay I'll I'll move approval and I look
forward to that conversation Thank you There's a motion We'll second Second and a second All in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Okay Roads
Um what stayed the same We'll start with what stayed the same So we've have a constant level of funding for our traffic safety measures and traffic signal maintenance as well as intersection improvements So our traffic program has has stayed level We also stayed level for our bridge maintenance
program uh which we set aside um money every year for for our m bridge maintenance improvements We're trying to get to a systematic approach for our bridge bridge maintenance Um and we also stayed level with our heavy equipment replacement uh purchases Um what's
changed as you could see it is a big jump Um we've uh requested an increase in one for $1 million in advorum and $500,000 in road MSTU for our roadway resurfacing program uh which also includes neighborhood restoration
projects Um our goal is to really focus on resurfacing itself and roadway improvements Um as you're aware road road costs have have gone up substantially uh in the past four years Uh we we were four years ago we were
just standard milling and resurfacing roads for 125,000 and now it's up to 190 for a mile So um uh and and that doesn't even c account for the drainage costs So in our in our neighborhood restoration
projects they're they're multi-phase projects and uh we set budgets and and uh we try to set a 5-year work plan for our neighborhood projects And we also work with utilities with that phasing And um over time these increased costs
have really um uh uh the phase one costs and drainage has has taken away from the resurfacing on the back end So um in addition to that we also have uh what I refer to as one-off projects They're projects that are within our resurfacing
program that aren't identified in a in an individual sheet Um those projects we need to provide funding for And so that's where our increase is Uh one one example is 84th Avenue in uh Palm City
um which has um been susceptible to uh increased volume of of heavy truck traffic And uh I don't know if any of you have seen a pavement deterioration curve but there's a there's a tipping point where the the pavement condition will will really drop off and and we've
really hit that point uh a lot sooner than I anticipated And um it's you know we try to do our best with these higher volume roads to get uh in a in a Florida Department of Transportation grant program Uh but it gets to be difficult whenever you have uh basically one or
two roads a year that we could program and um so some of these roads um to to these industrial and commercial areas have have fallen off at a rapid pace Um we also have a uh an increase of 300,000
in Avalorum as well as uh 300,000 in road MSTU for rail safety improvements And this this really derives off of the um the presentation for um uh the rail
presentation for the the crossings the um quiet zones the quiet zones Thank you Don Um so we identifi we als we recently applied for a grant um with the with the board's permission um for intersection
improvements uh five intersections in Hope Sound It was about $3 million So we programmed 600,000 uh per year uh to move down the line So the the goal is to to move uh you know perform improvements for one crossing a
year You can take all of the District Five uh crossing improvement cash and use it elsewhere I I donate it all back Remember that when I need some cash later
Thank you very much You're welcome We have one crossing Uh just to highlight some of our uh recently completed CIP projects Uh MacArthur Boulevard has has recently been completed That was a multi-phase project We installed
a a wall under the dune The wall will hold the line for erosion and we raised the road two and a half ft uh next to Bathtub Beach Uh so kudos to staff for facilitating that project It's it's been a long time coming and um you know
that's uh that was that was a resilience project before that that was programmed before resilience you know I became cool you know that's that's that's been my motto Martin County's been per been performing resilience before it became a
thing So um kudos to staff on that Uh East Fork Creek Box Culvert we're continuing uh our bridge this is part of our bridge maintenance program Unfortunately a lot of the highest cost of bridge maintenance is replacement but um thanks to the board for for
dedicating funding We've we've really um uh come a long way with uh preserving our our bridge assets and um we have one more bridge project um which we'll be performing this year and we are we are going to be sitting in a very good
position with with well over 95% of our bridges in excellent condition So or a high sufficiency rating Uh Golden Gate neighborhood restoration We recently completed the the resurfacing of that project Uh so all three phases are are
done Uh it's a totally revitalized neighborhood The the roads uh did cost a little more than we expected but um uh we had to perform a lot of reclamation in in that in that area but uh we hope those roads will will last for for well
over 25 years um beyond a normal life cycle Uh Jensen Beach Boulevard resurfacing and Indian Street resurfacing Both of those were there's a question from just just a comment I wanted to compliment uh how you have worked together with utilities to
collaborate for these neighborhood restoration projects and time them so that the neighborhoods are least impacted and we're getting the most efficient bang for a buck So um compliments to both you and uh public
work public works and utilities Thank you Yes Yeah Staff has done an excellent job We meet quarterly Um we want to work together and uh we actually are going to be bidding up It's Oh it's on this next slide Port Salerno Uh well
Ports No it's not on this one but uh we're going to be doing Port Salerno uh neighborhood project uh together Uh it's going to be a drainage and sewer singlephase project So um we're looking forward to that Some some of the other current CIP projects uh we'll be we're
wrapping up Southwest Wateride Way That is the road to our 30 acre operations facility property So we'll be completing that soon and we'll talk more about the facility itself Um County Line Road bridge replacement We received our $3
million uh federal appropriation through HUD Um so we'll be moving forward with that That's $6 million contributed to the count to uh the to the project of of three of which is state appropriation and another three federal appropriations
So um I commend the staff for for leveraging more grant money to complete county projects Kudos Yep uh Port Salerno Peninsula neighborhood We just started with that That's another uh project where we're teaming up with utilities Public works is installing the
low pressure force man along with the drainage So it's a singlephase underground project and afterwards we'll be paving the neighborhood as well Rocky Point neighborhood restoration This is uh uh the first of of uh multiple phases
The about 25% of the neighborhood already has water and sewer So public works is going to those areas now and we'll be performing drainage and resurfacing uh this year Uh Southeast Avalong Drive sidewalk that's a transportation alternatives project It's
uh it's administered through the local agency program grant lap grant Um so these are projects that are three-year work plan projects and uh we we execute these projects for around uh anywhere from 5 to 9 cents on the dollar So uh
we're able to add uh pedestrian pathways um within our uh county facilities And then uh Fox Brown Road we just received bids and we'll be begin resurfacing that project in the very near future Upcoming CIP projects Old Pump
City North neighborhood restoration This has been in the CIP for a little while I am getting the look from Commissioner Campy It's it's it's been delayed but with reason So we originally identified this project as a normal uh what we'd call a typical neighborhood restoration
project where we replace all the metal pipes and just simply resurface the projects or the the roadways Um but this project is very uh vulnerable Um it's low-lying area susceptible to sea level rise and so we uh applied for a
Brazilian Florida grant We received 3.2 million for design and construction And um we will be looking to uh perform this project uh for about 50 cents on the dollar So this is really our uh our first neighborhood pro neighborhood
restoration project uh for drainage and and paving that we actually received a grant for kudos Um county bridge road Basco bridge We've um there's two bridges in the county that are scour that are labeled scour
critical by the Florida Department of Transportation Um Bridge Road Basco Bridge and a Rundle Bridge are two of them They're both in the FDOT work plan uh for SCOP small county outreach program So these are projects we'll be we'll be um uh adding rip wrap around
the pilings to protect from scour and after storms Uh DOT requires us after a hurricane comes through we have to perform a scour analysis and survey Um this will mitigate us from having to perform um those surveys Um Island Way
West Bridge replacement This is a another small bridge in South County that we are going to be starting design and we're also going to be seeking appropriations and grant funding to replace um county road Oh Dixie Highway
Cove to Jefferson We discussed that this morning We'll be starting that design here soon And uh we also will be starting Southeast Washington Street sidewalk in the near future That's another um uh TAP
project And that wraps it up We're happy to answer any questions you may have Questions No questions I will gladly um move tenative approval Second There's a motion and a second All
those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Okay This is the last of the five from public works This is for storm water management Uh we've kept a constant level of funding for our storm order management and flood control and largely
we use this funding to leverage our our um local funds with grant funds So we try to find matching funds to be able to construct projects Uh we did ask for $600,000 for storm water infrastructure Uh it's going to a project in Palm City
for some uh Bessie Creek improvements uh in Bessie Creek uh we've done a study and it's determined that some flooding that occurs in the Bessie Creek basin is related to the crossings that exist in Martin Downs So this year we have an
appropriation state appropriation to do some design for those bridges and and this funding is to carry that forward into the the future years to to try to pull off uh each one of those uh three phases So um once we get those three
crossings completed we won't see the flashy flooding that occurs in the in the Bessie Creek basin So completed CIP under storm water was the Palm City Farms storm water modeling which we just just talked about The Bessie Creek um analysis is a part
of that that model That's the number one recommendation from that model is to improve the drainage in in Bessie Creek And and I just want to point out that the the that improvement actually is not in Palm City Farms The improvement is in Palm City proper It's all interconnected
Yes Yep Uh our current project southwest southwest mockingberg lane that is a resilience project It's at elevation one and a half and uh that roadway floods more than 30 days out of the year when we have uh king tides and and lunar tides Uh so during high tides you see
the the photo there that's what the roadway looks like It is passable but it's it's not ideal So this project is to raise the roadway We've got two grants for that one An HMGP grant through FEMA and then a resilient Florida grant and then the homeowners that live along that road will also
contribute to the project The other one is uh something that is also related to sea level rise which is backflow preventers So on on the lower roadways sometimes we can install back black backflows in the
pipes themselves and that keeps the water during those high tides from backing up and flooding the roadway So um Pine Tree Lane is one of those That one's in Palm City Um but so too is uh Old Palm City backflow preventers That's another project that's upcoming is to
address some of the backflow that occurs in that neighborhood as well And then um we also have some storm water enhancements that are that are going to be done Uh that one is an STA for the Danforth Creek and um we need to adjust
the weir to improve peak flows through that weir So any questions on storm water Move approval Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I oppose That motion passes unanimously
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Solid waste Take the rest of the day off You guys go home early Make sure you introduce yourself Yep Good afternoon commissioners Uh Jeremy Kobe deputy director of utilities and solid waste
department For the record um we'll start out with solid waste Um we're currently asking for $2.1 million in fees for fiscal year 26 These are solid waste fees Uh no advalorum Um the impact is a negative $648,000 from the previous year
What stayed the same Um renewal and replacement projects are still such as roadways capital improvements and scale replacements are still in the CIP Um we also continue to fund replacement of equipment used on site Um a little fun fact we have over 50 pieces of equipment
on site Um from tractors to gators to vehicles So little fun fact Um what changed in fiscal year 26 Um we actually include the construction of the fuel island proposed Um in fiscal year 25 the
fuel island uh design money was anticipated Um also fiscal year 25 included the one-time water and sewer installation um which should be wrapping up hopefully this month or early to next month Um and an additional project in
the actual CIP now is for $200,000 for a feasibility study for the uh South County yard processing facility in Hope Sound Um going into the completed projects um we have roughly about 500 plus or minus
vehicles per day that come in and out of the site Um so paving is a constant need out there So as you can see at the upper left picture is uh the transfer station roadway resurfacing we just recently completed Um to the right the photo there is a rehabilitation of the
transfer station restrooms Nice little photo showing it there Um and then also recently completed is the covered storage shed for all that equipment I mentioned Um the pole barn on the bottom bottom right Current CIP projects for solid
waste is the design of the transfer station fuel island Um currently we have three tanks there Uh off-road diesel on-road diesel and also uh gasoline Um that was installed back in the 1990s early 1990s We're going to replace those
single wall tanks with dual wall tanks and get rid of that uh containment area Um the upper right shows the solid waste administration building which is currently under construction Um one nice feature about this administration building is
currently the customers have to use a portallet on site or multiple portallets on site So this will actually have a built into the facility Um there you go literally and figuratively Um and we're also going to do rehab to
the hazardous waste storage shed is on the photo on the bottom right or upper right Um and then also the water and sewer line installation is expected hopefully early this month or or early next month Upcoming projects Um right now
roughly 60 plus% of our budget is uh equipment replacement So that's the largest chunk of the $14 million over the 10 years Um the largest piece this year is a new excavator in fiscal year 26 We also have a covered area for
employee parking and equipment It just says park employee parking there but this is kind of located right where all the birds are and and there's a massive amount of uh debris falling from the birds So debris you got to say it the right way And then
also the construction of that fuel island that I talked about That's it First solid please Questions for Mr Kovi Is there a motion to approve So moved Second There's a motion and a second All those in favor I opposed That motion
passes unanimously Home stretch And here we are Last one utilities The last one is the big one here So uh we're currently asking for $60 million in funding for the uh huh just stop right there huh For the utility side which is
obviously an impact of $37 million over the previous year and we'll get into the reason of that in a minute Um what stayed the same Well we're currently focused on the septic to sewer program Um you'll notice in here the the four large vacuum program uh projects porto
Palm City Rocky Point are not in here That's because they were funded in previous years So that's why you do not see them in actual CIP Um we still fund obviously the subject to sewer ongoing RNR projects rehab and re rehabilitation projects Um we also
have specific re rehabilitation projects and also the water and wastewater treatment plant projects for uh concurrency Now the main driver of this $60 million where that pretty much the it's $37 million impact is two projects
to increase the capacity at both our north plant and tropical by 5.1 million gallons per day Um the largest project is Tropical Farms which is $40 million in there Um what changed We added an additional project in the CIP for the
Martin DS chlorination facility Um recently we put a portable re uh repump station at Martin Downs but are running into issues keeping chlorine residual in the system with that online So this helps keep the uh minimum of 6
milligrams per liter in the system And then we also added the north water treatment plant filter media replacement project Um the media and associate equipment is roughly 20 plus years old at this point and is in need of re rehabilitation All right Um current CIP
projects uh the tropical farms or completed CIP projects The tropical farms water treatment plant CO2 project which added about.7 million gallons per day of permitted capacity um was recently put put online The Martin Downs portable reef pump station I just
mentioned to help with pressures in Palm City mostly western Palm City um was recently put online last month Gaines Avenue Harbor estates water main extensions to serve roughly 150 homes was put online in
December Um the Rio East Crossroads Hill Small Dmer Force mains which was roughly 332 properties was put online back in August of 2024 Um we did uh the South Souls Point phase 3 water main relocations in conjunction
with SS Point and over the past year we've installed 175 grinders and also we've also done our uh lift stations collection systems water meters chemical tank placements the rehab programs uh current projects Evergreen Windstone
started construction in March which is roughly 400 homes and hopefully we're going to finish that one late this year early 2026 Um proposed to start in May is the Bovage water manes and forest manses It's roughly 259 homes Uh South Souls
Point phase 2 water main relocations will start in May or June of this year The Rio force main extensions just wrapped up to three streets Banyan Exor and Orange which roughly 40 homes The north water treatment plant high
service pump improvements is currently under construction to add two VFDs at the north plant The Dixie Park generator replacement which is replacing our 400 kW generator with a 1000KW generator is currently under construction
Um a third pump at the Martin Downs wastewater treatment pump wastewater repump station uh is anticipated to be constructed hopefully in the next couple months Uh now the big driver the tropical farms water treatment plant expansion which will add roughly 4.6
million gallons a day in capacity is currently in design Um the estimated construction cost for that is $40 million And uh in addition to that we have in currently in design the north water treatment plant operating which is
an additional.5 million gallons per day So a total of 5.1 between the two projects in design and also our rehabilit rehabilitation projects such as lift stations hydrants meters that kind of stuff the ongoing
projects And then upcoming CIP projects is actually construction of the uh water treatment plant expansion and the upgrading that I talked about Um the new project the Martin Downs chlorination facility uh replacement of 156 vessels and
membranes at the north water treatment plant which is done every 8 to 10 years Uh parallel force bins in Palm City to handle additional flows from Newfield and also old Palm City when it comes online uh advanced wastewater treatment plant
pilot to begin to look at the feasibility of treating uh wastewater at high level disinfection standards to hopefully use that as a groundwater recharge and then also our additional lift stations fire hydrants meters the rehab projects
Is it questions Motion to up there are questions One quick thing Commissioner Heatherington on the the water main replacements do we have people that are in this day and age we're still reading individual meters
Yes we still manually read I think roughly about half of our meters at this point Yes How many full-time equivalents We have six Six meter readers That's not an easy job No Any further questions Is there a motion to approve I would make a motion to
tentatively approve the utilities CIP sheets Second There's a motion in a second All those in favor I opposed That motion passes unanimously Thanks Mr Kobe Thank you That brings us to the end We don't need
are we we need to do anything Intentially approved all sections Okay Well in that in that case Mr Donaldson no I was just gonna say your mic isn't on Uh just as utilities was leaving but I I
think they were also an example where you've asked many questions about um uh how we do farbs and uh and if you look at our utilities department is very similar in their their uh detailed analysis of what they own and operate in terms of rehabilitation costs and their
ability to plan ahead So that our we're fortunate that we have a utility that is uh is is uh ahead of the curve in terms of their maintenance and their future capacity needs where a number of communities if you when you talk to members at Florida Association of
Counties where they're struggling with a utility that's behind in maintenance or behind in capacity and the numbers that they have to deal with are extraordinary I mean the uh Charlotte County we're talking they were trying to do an $80
million upgrade uh to meet their capacity needs and the bids came in at $120 million and they're trying to scramble figure out how they continue to find service and deal with those So I I just wanted to point that at our our departments over the years and and it
really started with the board uh hammering on maintaining what we own and dealing with uh it took us a long time to build up some of these farbs as you know and but as a part of that um um progression is was a constant
questioning on the details of how we came up with the numbers and I think that has has done this county well in terms of all of our departments identifying down to the unit of what when that air conditioner has to be replaced or when that pavement needs to
be replaced or that bridge or that or that building painting all those different things really um um are reflected in this budget throughout So I just wanted to thank you all for for going through that and and providing the staff with the tools they need to to at
least keep up with what we own Thanks Do you have the overunder for 7 p.m Is that what you're doing Yes 704 is what my number was So give me a few more minutes Tell us something else about Charlotte The last thing though
the last thing if you do have to give me some direction on is are we going to keep the meeting in uh in June or do you all want to head to the uh um uh and maybe you can get back to me uh before the next meeting We'll make the announcement Uh keep the meeting
You can go You can come all right with that I'm done People need to see us Shelby thank you Terrific job Thank you What about that other person What's your name What's Miss Merly Departmently
Any commissioner comments Nope Saturday music in the park in Palm City 6 to 9 food truck We are journ free giveaway Time to stand Time to stand