##VIDEO ID:H84K1-lahtU## e e e e e it's uh 2 o' if you could make your way to your seats please uh please take your seats the putam county legislative delegation meeting is now called to order uh please stand commissioner Larry Hardy Harvey will lead us in prayer let us bow our heads gracious Heavenly Father we thank you for today a day we've never experienced before in our life a day that we can Propel putam County into the future today we ask that you give our lawmakers ears to hear and wisdom wisdom to know what they can move forward for us and wisdom to disintegrate the ideas that we have father we thank you for every speaker that's going to come up let him speak clearly and openly let him speak from their heart father about the things that are needed and Lord let us move again putam County forward we ask that you let us do everything decently and in order and we give all the praise and glory to you in Jesus Christ we pray amen and uh Senator leak if you would lead us in the pledge I will please dra me the pledge of allegiance iedge to the flag of the United States of America Justice for uh Tammy if you would please take the roll call here here thank you very much uh we must we got we have to do a little housekeeping very quickly here um so at this as both of us are newly elected as Senator and representative we have to officially elect the chair and vice chair so at this time is there a nomination for chair of this delegation meeting I nominate Justin Sapp to be chair forever I I guess I have to second that thank you uh thank you uh and I nominate uh Senator leak as Vice chair so see no objection any objection out there it's good all right that passes um so a few announcements the 2025 legislative session will convene in Tallahassee on March 4th 2025 uh I'd like to acknowledge elected officials uh if you snuck in we probably don't see you so I apologize we'll get to that in who we miss um I've got uh County Commissioner Leota Wilkins there we go County Commissioner thank you for being here Larry Harvey thank you for being here County Commissioner J.R newold um we have County Commissioner Josh Alexander we have uh County Commissioner Walton pelier and uh we have t uh cler of the court and comproller Matt Reynolds thank you tax collector Brenda Bridges thank you property appraiser Kay Davis thank you and supervisor of elections Charles overturf we have school board member Phil ly uh for with the city of pla we have mayor Robbie Kora Korea sorry apologies you will notice a trend today I have a habit of mangling names so enjoy the show uh from City of Crescent City we have Mayor mik Michael Myers Michelle Myers sorry again that's that's one of these things uh once it starts it never it ends with uh city of Crescent City uh City we have commissioner William Lori and also from the city um we have commissioner Linda Moore with town of panoma Park we have Anthony Tony quis thank you sir and with town of Waka we have Jessica Finch there we go and just seeing if somebody snuck in there uh we have County Administrator uh Terry Suggs uh we have uh executive director Shay St Starling is that correct is it Sterling or Sterling because I can't read the handwriting here no okay thank you all right and uh with the we have associate uh with the putam county school district we have associate superintendent uh Laura France here we go with the city of uh placa that we have the chief of police Jason Shaw thank you for being here sir and uh with fdot uh we have commissioner John Browning who's here thank you sir and that's who we were able to see that didn't sneak in so if if I failed to recognize you if you wouldn't mind just standing up real quickly and letting everybody know your name that'd be great well thank you'all for being here we really appreciate it thank you everybody all right uh if you have not been placed on the agenda or have not already filled out a a speaker card and you would like to speak we request you fill out a speaker card now if you just raise your hand we will bring one to you and I also request that everybody please silence their cell phones uh we're going to do some quick introductions I'm representative Judson SAP with District 20 District 20 as everybody in here knows is all of putam County uh southern part of Clay County at parts of Marian County and parts of St John's County it goes from the city district uh from the city limits of St Augustine to parts of the city of Okala um I just got elected and thank you very much for that uh this meeting is often very hard on us because it's we're here to listen and not engage so don't be surprised if we reach out to you afterwards to have that engagement our goal is to try to get you home for dinner and so we are having we will keep time and we're going to try to keep this moving as quickly as possible but please don't be offended if we don't comment because we'll probably reaching out after the meeting for that because again the goal is to get this done for you and now I'd like to introduce uh Senator Tom Lee thank you I'm Senator Tom leak I'm I'm honored and humbled to be able to represent uh all of putam County let me start by introducing uh my staff over here got Danielle kerbo Lynette Phillips and Mike Mera and U they'll frequently be the folks that you'll have contact with I I'll use them to help me out to help me get a a sense of what the issue is and help me you know kind of boil it down so we know where to go uh let me tell you what I'm looking forward to in you know I think in many years in the past uh communities like ours have been overlooked in the state legislature uh and I think it's time that that stop now what I I can't do is I can't promise you that we will win every fight that we're in but I can promise you that we will fight every fight there is to be fought uh and with that I just want to say thank you again and I appreciate the opportunity thank you Senator uh and my staff is also here and we appreciate their help getting this meeting up and going uh I've got my district Aid Tammy still and my legislative Aid shorty Robbins and um the last thing I'd like to say is in this room we all care about this community we just might not agree on on how to get there but let's start from that place that we all care about this community we all want the best for for this community for the state for the country for the world but we might disagree on the how but our hearts are all in the right place so we really appreciate hearing from you today and let with that let's get going uh first we recognize the honorable Leota Wilkinson with the uh chair of putham County B bccc good afternoon gentlemen thank you uh Senator leak and representative sap for being here today um we know you don't do this for the money because there's no money in this job but we appreciate um the support that you have given and will be giving us in the future in putam County um today we have before you um three funding requests the first is for the uh East Paca Wastewater Plant infrastructure expansion um we're requesting appropriation for expansion of this plant um we do have limited capacity there we are currently extending services to our residents in the East Palaca and Sano area for uh septic to sewer conversion however we will reach full capacity very soon and still have about 2 to 300 homes um that are existing homes in that area that need to be uh transferred to public uh Services sewer services and as you know putam is rural and so we do not have you know full Avail availability to provide sewer throughout the county and this is one of our biggest this is really our biggest area that we're doing that in um we did receive a grant in the past from St John's River Water Management district and last year there we had an appropriation in it received traction um however it was not funded um and as you know uh the Florida leg legislature has made it a priority to remove septic tanks uh especially particularly on the river to sewer systems and so the expansion of this plant will Aid our County in reducing the nutrient loads along the St Don's River a lot of those homes in that area are directly on the river and so we would just um ask for your support we did complete complete and submit an application to FD for Grant under the Springs Protection Program and um so if we either way we'll take the money whether it's through the grant program or through the appropriation but that is a ve it's probably our number one priority um because it's very important for the future of this County um secondly we have the port putam infrastructure um we want to first thank the Florida legislators um for helping create port putam and making Port putam an official Port recognized by the Florida C port transportation and Economic Development Council that thereby making it eligible for state and federal funding in 2024 put Port putam received State appropriation funds from the Flo and funds from the Florida sea ports Transportation Economic Development Council for Demolition and reconstruction of the dockage facility we are moving forward um and getting things done out at that Port we're now asked for the next phase of this project Port putam infrastructure uh request is for improving a 16,000 ft² cargo area to accommodate imports and exports at the facility this consists of improving cargo Management Area adjacent to Port putam dockage facility this will as you know thereby increase economic opportunities in the area and our third um Financial request sorry I've got uh there's not a trap door here I do know that um Financial software putam county is seeking an appropriation for a new Erp Financial system putham County's Current financial Software System is obsolete It's actually an old green screen which is very out outdated and Antiquated so this software is not supported anymore um the hardware isn't even available so we're asking for that support because uh that's very important to our Clerk of Court's office and to our customers here in the community and would just make it very very more efficient for our community um lastly we want to just give our support for the tri count partnership on the medical examiner office I know you'll hear that through the other counties but do know that we are truly supportive of that and would like to see that move forward uh particularly we have um some Grant requests in and we would like from each of your offices a letter of support um I'll get with your staff on that but of course the one I just mentioned for the wastewater treatment uh facility in East Palaca for the Springs Protection Program we also have a port putam Annex property an orange Springs bridge and Fort Gates fery uh replacing some some um boat slips and areas down in that area which is the um it's been operational since 1914 and the only four remaining uh Gate fort Gates Ferry uh Ferry operation in the state and so um those are all raiseed grants and so we would just ask for a letter support and then um we also are asking for support um for a grant for fdax we have a grant in for the expansion of our um facility we were building at the fairgrounds and so we that's something that the state has been supportive of of in the past and then just real quick I know I'm around of time we would also ask that you continue to support uh rural Broadband um even though starlink is available it is not affordable to everyone and we have pockets in this community that are completely there there's people without access to um internet I know that's hard to believe in today's world but it's truly that's what happens here um also duns Creek State Park you will be hearing from um a constituent of ours who represents the waterways and trails and um the request there is to make that an active State Park to allow camping and other things we have 6,200 Acres there that's truly not being utilized and also completion of the trails we have um a great bike trail system however there are two gaps in it and we would like to see that completed so thank you for your time do you have any questions I don't have any questions but I think this is probably a good good opportunity to uh point out that you know last year most communities I think all communities actually had their water project the water projects were vetoed because the state is taking the the gambling compact money and making it a dedicated funding source to fund water projects so those will now be achieved through grants uh from the state uh so just because a water project was vetoed last year doesn't mean not going to happen it's just a different path you're going to go forward it relieves some pressure off of us it provides a dedicated funding source but it also relieves a little pressure off you guys because now you don't have to come to the legislature and fight for that money you go through the grant process thank you for that thank you we appreciate your time oh thank you and we also appreciate you hosting us in your house and and it's an important write of Passage that every County Commissioner gets buzzed so that's why we did that just so you could see what it's like on the other side Fair thank thank you all very much okay we recognize the honorable Matthew Mets Office of the public defender seventh circuit okay uh we recognize the honorable Matt Reynolds putham County clerk of court and com controller's office thank you sir thank you representative and and Senator leak I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you guys today um before I I get started I just would like to um um thank you guys for your help especially Senator leak for all of your help in the past um supporting legislation that have helped uh the court system our judicial Partners as well as um the clerk of courts last year's legislation um House Bill 1077 and Senate Bill 1470 helped bring um further additional changes to um the stability of the clerk's uh Revenue side at least on our article 5 funding so we are very appreciative of that thank you for your your help and your assistance on that um our association is currently uh finalizing our priorities for this year and once we get those finalized I'll be sure to try to follow up with both of you um hopefully if I get a chance in Tallahassee coming up we've got Clerk's day at the capital and whatnot so I hope to uh to catch both of you there and um the only other thing that I would like to say is that I am in full support of the County's priorities specifically the upgrade of the financial software um as chair Wilkinson mentioned um our software is is quite Antiquated and um a security risk so that'll that is something that we'll be looking at either through cyber security grants if that would be the best Avenue or um in appropriation so I would certainly look forward to any help uh guidance that you guys may be able to provide and again thank you very much and I look forward to working with y'all thank you um oh yeah that's that's a good idea and we're going to just to speed this along we're going to get you but I'll let you know who's next so that you can start to make your way up so that uh you don't have to wait each time for for for walking uh purposes so it we're going to call Honorable Charles overt Turf I third putam County Supervisor of Elections and uh Laura France from the putham county school district will be after that thank you gentlemen and welcome both of you congratulations on running successful campaigns uh and so we just look forward to working with you um one of the things that I would mention would be the last three or four years the legislature has made some drastic changes in elections couple of years over 100 Pages worth of new changes and we've done the best job we could to make sure that we fulfill what you all's request and and statute changes are U I would ask you if there is things that are going to come up and I know you don't know maybe what's on the agenda just yet but please reach out to me and let me help in any way that I can any questions um I will say this in closing we on November the 5th had the record turnout for putam County 88.5% turnout which we've never been close to that before uh we were through by about 9:15 with all of our results and they were accurate the State of Florida was was uh concluded by about 10:30 and they were accurate and there was another state that I won't name that a week before Christmas was still counting their ballots so we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we continue to provide putam and the State of Florida with the best election results and again anything we can do uh to help you all or answer anything please reach out and let me know okay thank you very much all right on Deck we've got the mayor of of pla Robbie you're you're on deck and uh will we now recognize uh Laura France from the putam county school district good afternoon representative sap and Senator Lee um I appreciate us being here us being able to be here today I have our chair um Phil ly and our board um member Holly Pickins with me today Dr C C S is regrets he is presenting today at the Florida Career Pathways Network on um and you'll probably hear more about the program he's presenting on from our Educational Foundation in a few minutes thank you for the opportunity to speak according to the health department um putam county has one of the highest obesity rates in the state with approximately 40% of our adults classified as obese the Count's rates of physical inactivity and preventable diseases related to obesity such as heart disease and diabetes are amongst uh are also significantly above the state average schools play a pivotal role in programming um public health and promoting Public Health by offering spaces that encourage regular exercise um and benefiting both Stu uh in our students and our community our request will be the pathways to Wellness which aims to create safe accessible and sustainable Fitness facilities that encourage physical activity promote cardiov vascular health and support the wellness of students and our broader Community currently um existing tracks at narlock and Junior Senior High School and Crescent City Junior Senior High School have deteriorated and they are limited in their use um and they create a safety hazard for those students that could be using them by resurfacing these tracks and adding versatile Fitness stations we will transform the facilities to sustainable Wellness areas and hubs for our community to be able to combat combat obesity in putam County the requests would include fencing and security upgrades due to the recent school safety requirements that our community would be able to use them as well we would be dedicated to maintaining the resurface tracks and fitness stations with budgeted allocations so that the future maintenance would um ensure that they remain in excellent condition um we would use them during our PE classes and allow our community to use them well as well we want to thank you again for your time and your um consideration putham County School District appreciates your service thank you and thank you for the school board members that were here too all right we've um on Deck we've got uh uh Michelle brilhart interim city manager of Crescent City and we recognize honorable Robbie cor Korea I did it again it's I we'll do this for my entire career of getting to know you so I apologize you are not the first you won't be the last um city of palaka would thank you for having us here and um we have the three top three as well um portable water Mainline replacement Paka had state-of-the-art Water Systems in the late 19th century not so much now um so we've been working diligently and replaced 6.8 miles of portable water lines um but we have to continue that process so that we don't have the um color of water we have and the qual poor quality and excessive water loss and intrusion um that that's important to our city and to our residents we also our other Focus um this year is to address the need of folks that are without a home at this point in time we're requesting funding not just to build a facility but to provide wraparound services and support women children and men that are without a home um right now there are at least us between 60 to 70 people residing in their cars at the train station and abandoned buildings in our house and I know it's a Statewide Nationwide issue and but it's something we really need to address now and not wait until it grows further our other request is roal transportation improvements um to address our road repairs many of our roads again were built state-of thee artart in the late 19th early 20th century but now are are in pretty rough shape we have brick roads underneath paved roads those are beautiful but again um restoration is pretty costly and um they are also sinking in places creating sink holes and potholes that people are pretty upset about um so we are looking forward to working with you we understand not everything we hope for can be accomplished but we certainly want some success thank you fol I I I don't have much more to say I think our mayor summed it up uh we are in need of funding to address this outcry Public Health crisis that we have with homelessness and it seems to be a a a problem that has many facets to it in our addressing of it we will also have a positive impact on crime and other matters uh that we're facing as well so we do appreciate however the funding that we received last year we're very appreciative we are utilizing it to improve our roads Etc but thank you thank you all very much uh just if you guys don't mind uh so when you when you come up here and and ask for projects now listen you didn't get advanced notice this but I'm telling you when you come up here and ask for projects you one of the things that we like to see at the state is we like to see everybody's got to have some skin in the game right and so when you come up and you ask for money also tell us what the match is going to be what is the local community going to be putting in to achieve that same objective because that way everybody has some skin in the game and it's not just doing out money from the state you got 16 seconds left yes so the match in the game well or the skin in the game all right so the city of P is committed to our share and Improvement matter of fact we put in our budgeting at least 500,000 to address the various concerns and and and particularly the row we put in this year 1.4 million or 2.4 million from our funds to address our own concerns and also the homelessness we did uh put funds in and we have expended money in those areas thank you very much and and and I know some of us have talked separately remember when you do submit that please submit that documentation with it it's very helpful to our offices because we're here to fight for you and we want more more tools to fight for you with um so we have on Deck The Honorable Ricky Haynes mayor of town of interlockin and now we recognize Michelle brilhart interim city manager of the city of Crescent City thank you both Senator leak and representative sap for allowing us to be here today I am Michelle Myers the mayor of Crescent City I've got with us today we've got our interim city manager Michael brilhart uh we have also our vice mayor uh William Lori we have our commissioner Cynthia Burton and our commissioner Linda Moore and with that I also want to thank you um representative sap for coming to Crescent City and taking a tour and meeting with Michael I'm sorry I wasn't there that day but um you see all the city has to offer and with that I'm going to turn it over to Mr brilhart and he's going to go over um of course a lot of ours are the water projects that you talked about earlier thank you good afternoon uh we do actually have six projects the first one in highest priority is Public Safety uh the city has a decades old several decades old A Fire EMS station where we were fortunately able to receive phase one Appropriations last year in the amount of $1 million where we will be uh currently designing uh and constructing U bays and office for our facilities last year we served over 932 calls going out from our community for fire and health uh Public Safety so we need this critical project what we're requesting F funds for is phase two which will actually construct um an ambulance B and fire Bay so that all the all the components of this facil public safety facility is in one location and so we're requesting $2 million the other five projects are utility-based projects actually the city is contributing $119,000 for the design component of of the requested new uh fire station so we we do have some some match involved regarding the other five projects they are utility water line projects we have applied for Grants and we are continuing to do so but in hopes of looking at any available legislative dollars um this is in the amount of approximately 3.3 million for constructing new water lines on North Tower um Lake arenta um Lake Street and South Tower water loop we have very old lines as many jurisdictions do they need to be placed uh the these will enable fire protection and they will enable uh homes to have the adequate pressure that they need to service the community on a long-term basis again our projects are in the the realm of 5.3 million uh we have uh established some Grant dollars in the amount of over 500,000 in arpa funds that we used for the design of these projects and now we're just simply looking for construction funds thank you just real quickly folks if um if you don't mind I think it's probably a useful time to tell you a little bit about the Appropriations process and what we should expect going forward uh in the preco Years uh there was approximately 500 uh $500 million in what member projects or or legislative Appropriations projects during the covid years the federal government was just dumping money on the states uh and they dump money on the on the State of Florida maybe a little reluctantly but they did it uh they dump money on the State of Florida as well and our choice was to either give that money back to the federal government and have it go into the black hole or make sure that that money was used for you know citizens of of putam and and Floridians so we chose to keep that money that pot then grew to about 1.9 billion dollar I think we're going to see a return to preo numbers so you should expect uh total legislative projects to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 million maybe maybe it gets to 750 billion but but substantially less than it's been in the past that's the importance of the grant programs you have a dedicated funding source for for water grants water projects you should be pounding those those grants as much as you can because there's going to be fewer dollars for the legislative projects in the coming years thank you thank you both again and we look we're encouraged by your leadership representing puam County and Crescent City Tallahassee thank you so on Deck we've got uh mayor Finch so you're ready and uh we've got mayor uh Ricky Ricky Haynes now recognized I just want say congratulations to representative South Senator Lee uh we are not seeking any funds or anything today uh I just wanted to introduce myself as the new mayor of V locket and let you guys know that I'm looking forward to working with you that's all we have thank you and now we have on Deck uh I do I see is is President Pickins out there okay there he is sorry well so you're on Deck sir and uh we we've got uh mayor Finch now thank you good afternoon gentlemen um I wanted to first thank you both for uh allowing us this opportunity and I want to introduce my fellow Council uh members able to attend um councilwoman Kathy Washington and councilwoman uh Kimberly Dugger um we have no appropriation request either at this time we are working through quite a few grants at this moment um I want to thank you representative Sapp for your help with one in particular our wastewater treatment expansion plan that we have uh run into some snags and with your help I think we're going to be able to move forward and appreciate that um we just wanted to put our face in front of you so you know who we are we want to invite you to Waka visit any time we'll be happy to show you around I also want Above That Base is a high Hazard Dam and I'm I'm concerned about some of our residents that live in Waka in those low Ling areas and I want to also pass this along to my fellow counsel if they have anything that they want to add um at this moment but really I just want to say thank you and come visit visit us in Waka thank Youk you thank you uh Dr wck director of northeast Florida education Consortium you're you're on Deck uh next we're going to recognize um really quickly um big shoes to fill where I'm sitting with rep pay uh previously you also had a great representative in who uh in in in President Joe Pickins and I just wanted to recognize that uh we appreciate his leadership for the community he's offered for over the years so uh president Pickins you're your yours to go now well well thank thank you for that I'm also well known here as Holly Pickins brother-in-law and I I like that just fine too um so I going to see each of y'all on Tuesday of next week and so thank you um for that so I'll keep those comments a little shorter Tom I think hiring Mike mura was brilliant and I hope that works out for you but it's a pleasure to see you again um it's going to be wonderful working for you and that vein my assistant is here and in the back and hiding and that's um Susan Sutliff and so um y'all all know her and she's great to work with but um she deserves mentioning too what I want to do first is is thank you most of the folks in the audience um think that you're new to putam County and you are officially but you and I know that what you and representative Payne and speaker rener did for the college over the last two years especially has been remarkable and look if you help the college you help this County um but the all of the things I'm going to talk about today are things that follow what you personally did as the Appropriations chair with the at the request of of Bobby and the support of speaker rener and so this County needs to know that you have represented putam County damn well long before you ever officially represented putam County and I want to thank you for that Senator um Judson we all know that your father o is on my board and he is an incredible supporter of the college and of me and so in your own ways each of you before you were ever elected by the people of putham County have served the people of putham County and your family has and I think that bears mentioning the move to the state health insurance plan is a remarkable remarkable benefit for our employees and I'm grateful for it but it's also expensive and as you know the funding to the college system for to help defray some of that cost was um did not survive the um executive branch scrutiny so our health insurance costs in recurring dollars went from 2.8 million to 5.4 essentially a $2.6 million recurring additional cost that we had to absorb on our own because no new funding went to the college system last year Senator you however know know that $6 million came to St John's River State College again as a result of you and representative Payne and representative rener 3 million of that however was non-recurring our first request is that you restore the 3 million non-recurring to recurring so that we don't start this year with a $3 million cut money that we actually need for our health insurance um and so number one is could you please consider taking that 3 million that you funded last year in non-recurring dollars and make it recurring you also helped the college with a $28 million appropriation for our T building we only asked for it in bits and pieces so we get 10 million of it last year we're asking for 10 more of it this year um I have the forms one for the house and one for the Senate already filled out and prepared and I will leave them with your assistant with a little note from me that says 10 and three that's 10 for the Pico and three for the recurring appropriation and I look forward to seeing y'all on Tuesday thank you thank thank you sir um on Deck we've got Ivan Kimi um with SMA Healthcare but right now we recognize Dr Patrick wck good afternoon gentlemen and thank you for your leadership you're willing us to serve and being here today in putham County to listen to us I represent the northeast Florida Educational Consortium we work very closely with putam County we've been in putam County now for 48 years serving the students of rural Florida we have 15 school districts we're also part of the tri consortia so they the Heartland educational Consortium and Pace between us we have 36 rural school districts we provide all kinds of services to to our districts the uh full spectrum of what their needs are and our board of directors is made up of our superintendents Dr C he serves as our chair also want to thank president Pickins who got us in statute several years ago and we just want to thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to working closely with you as we move into this legislative session thank you thank you uh on Deck we have Sam car and we now recognize lur um oh I'm sorry I skipped Ian so I sorry about that oh is I so obviously I'm not I speaking his but on so on Deck we have Laura pal uh P pavlas um president of putam County Chamber sorry I just I need to look who I'm talking to before I say their name Laura you're on Deck go ahead sorry Hi obviously I'm not Ivan I am Sandra Jackson uh the regional director at SMA healthcare for putam in St John's County Services and I'll be speaking on his behalf today we do not have a request at this time we just want to have the request that you let us say thank you and share a couple of our services with you um SMA is we're on behalf of SMA we're very grateful of the support that we've received um over the past few years for our services specifically our putam and St John's fact team which we came year after year and finally were able to get recurrent funding uh so that was was really helpful and it was huge for us um so so thank you very much for that and for letting us come today and just have a couple of your minutes I wanted to share a little bit that over the past uh fiscal year SMA was was able to get some funding for a substance use residential program at our Karin location here in patka and that will work in conjunction with putam County and St John's County jail rantry inmates the facility is going to be a 15 bed co-ed facility and it's not only just for substance use residential it's also going to be providing some re-entry Services wraparound services and support as well as Primary Care Services at that location we're currently in the process of construction with a Target date of May of 2025 and a Target date of commencement for July of 2025 if everything goes as planned in putam County SM just continues to provide a wide array of services to Children adolescents and adults we have also expanded some of our services at our current location to include a primary care clinic and we have a future goal of adding an onsite pharmacy at that location as well myself and my counterparts will be attending rural Health day so if you have any time that you'd like to set aside to meet with us and get better acquainted and learn a little bit more and ask some questions we'd be really happy to do that again we we're just really grateful that you are here and we're looking forward to your support and continuing on this endeavor every everything that you all do in the support you provide is making a huge difference in the citizens of our community so thank you this probably also a good opportunity to say that when you do come and visit us in Tallahassee best we'll see you whenever we can the best practice is to ask for that appointment about two weeks in advance because those those slots fill up very very quickly and sometimes it's it's just we to to take somebody who walks in the door that day means we have to knock somebody else out so if you just think about that when you schedule the appointments thank you yeah and most of us have a standing just ask and if we can fit you in we will and we try really hard um at the often at the expense of our family which is tough on us so but we're but that's our job and we're happy to meet with you um so on Deck we have Sam Sam Carr uh but recognize Laura sorry good afternoon Senator leak and representative Judson with me here today I have our vice president of Economic Development Mark Linton our vice president of Tourism Julie Lyndon and our chairman of the board of directors Benji Bates thank you like others we stand before you without any legislative request but just as a reminder um the mission of the chamber is clear we're focused on fostering Target economic growth creating primary jobs and enhancing quality of life for all residents um specifically our executive team met yesterday and we do fully endorse the county and the other municipalities ask for the expansion of infrastructure particularly sewer and water expansion we understand that's a grant process but we're in full support of that also we're um also very interested in the expansion of Port putam um we believe with the outer Beltway coming in that that could be a vital Intermodal hub for the community uh not just in Ships coming an easier access from mport but also we have easier interstate traffic through the Beltway um we also have Rail and we have airports as well so that's a vital of importance to the future of putam County uh we also which you'll hear from later we're in support of the aviation program through the Education Foundation as well and again we're here to help and help Foster that alliance between public and private Partnerships throughout the last year we've seen our private sector step up to help this community with economic development so please um you mentioned that match you know again we're not Limitless but if something comes across your desk and this is a good project and they don't have the money and it makes sense for this community that meets ours give us a call maybe we can rally the troops and come up with some private dollars to help see that project through because so many times we hear that um heard it numerous times asked for money there was no match and then you talk to a business owner an entrepreneur or somebody and they're like if only I would have known that would have helped me out in my business and it helps the community I wish I would have known I would have supported that project so we're here to help the community help our public Partners um and make it the best for putham County thank you very much and we appreciate yall uh on Deck we've got Jeffrey Harvey and now I call we recognize Sam Carr co-chair of putham County waterways and trails committee hello thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you I was uh selected by the putham county waterways and trails committee to bring this forward we uh we have a state park here in puam County by the name of duns Creek State Park it's 62 6200 Acres of pristine Flor and it's beautiful however you can't Camp there you can't pull your boat up to it and you can't take a shower there which is just totally ridiculous so for the past 20 years we've had management Plans by this by the Florida Park Service uh that included all of those those items and um we you know it's been a long time so we C uh we did finally get where we heard that they had allocated funds for the development of dun Street State Park then a hurricane came and blow away some Park in CER County and of course they took all of our funds and put them down in CER County which we really appreciated so here we still sit with a park that is totally underutilized if we could put a campground in there we would be able to earn TDC funds out of all those camping fees and that would help the the the whole putham County we have an asset that is totally available and it's beautiful and it's uh we uh the Cs so has 58 members that regularly uh regularly attend the thing we put on 20 different events at that Park without these facilities and uh we just need to have somebody in Tallahassee screaming bloody murder to please build our park for us so the uh handouts that I provided to you have the uh 2019 management plan funding and all that kind of stuff and so uh to to fully do this thing about $6.7 million which for hor Park service is nothing and uh we know that they will going to be building condos in St John's County which they sure need more condos in St John's County and golf courses over in Tampa Bay area and they surely don't need golf courses in Tampa Bay we need us Campground we need us a dock we need to have this park re uh to be uh be opened up for the public so um we we'd appreciate it uh uh if y'all would consider that I know that those are not a a uh and pment uh requests that we're making but somebody needs to Rattle some cages to get us a part built down here for our benefit and for the benefit of of all the people here in putam County okay so you have all the information our hand out okay thank you you very much on Deck we've uh got Jack Jacqueline Cox and hopefully I pronounced that right uh but now we call it we recognize Jeffrey Harvey CEO of Community Legal Services okay so we will call uh on Deck is Wendy uh KW but I'm gonna call Jacqueline Jacqueline Cox there we go good afternoon chairs and members my name is Jacqueline Cox and I'm the director of the petam count County Family Resource Center with Children's Home Society of Florida on behalf of all of us at Children's Home Society thank you so much for the $2.1 million appropriation for Community Partnership schools during the 2024 legislative session at CHS we are focused on redefining home by implementing a community impact model that supports children Cradle to Career this funding supports the Now 50 existing Community Partnership schools in Florida including the seven new sites that were just added in November we know for many of our students schools need to become more than just place to learn but a hub that serves as resource for our students their parents and the community with opportunities for expanded learning and addressing need to access Healthcare including Mental Health Services we are proud of the impact we are having on students in these schools by removing barriers to their ucation positive impacts include higher test scores less disciplinary referrals greater teacher retention stronger parent engagement and more we are requesting the legislature to increase funding for the 2025 session to continue to implement a similar model here in putam county and expand this proven model and impact more students their families and community ities and we ask for your continued support the petam County family res Center modeled similarly to a community partnership school provides essential resources to families in puam like mental health and substance abuse uh counseling outpatient services and emergency food pantry a professional clothing closet as well as support groups for parents teens and families inh house we also have our Healthy Start team who supports pregnant women with babies under 3 years of age as well as our M Response Team a 247 Mental Health crisis hotline they have been instrumental in helping the putham County Sheriff's Office lower Baker acts in the county by 40% our in-house partner UF Healthcare connect also hosts a teleah health Kiosk for Community residents to speak to a physician for acute symptoms at no cost to the patient Our putham Family Resource Center is funded locally and would like to invite you out for a toour of the Family Resource Center to see firsthand the services we offer to your constituents we'll be scheduling kind of a reshaping event um for putham County in the near future so a fulal invitation will be sent to you and we will not be scheduling it during one of the interim committee weeks thank you so much for your time your enthusiasm to serve our state and for your consideration for these priorities I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any we appreciate it thank you so much thank you uh on Deck we have Rachel Mueller and I we recognize Wendy kilu from the Tim TBO Foundation night to shine good afternoon I'd like to thank you so much for allowing me to speak before you T today I am Wendy kerw I am a representative of First Baptist Church um we are partnered with the Timbo foundation and we host the night to shine uh with a co-host Calvary Missionary Baptist Church here in Palaca last year was our very first year hosting this event um not to shine is actually a prom experience event for anyone living with special needs or disabilities age 14 and up so what I would like to do is just kind of walk you through the event and tell you about the event I'm not here to ask you for funding or anything I'm just here to show you that there is exceptional uh assistance here in patam county for some disabled and special needs kids 14 and up so um what we do is we register uh our attendees on a website when they come to the event they are checked in they are assigned a buddy a buddy is someone who stays with them the whole time they are at the prom experience so their parents are given a time of rest away from them they are at the same location but they are not in the prom experience so their buddy takes them around to herbo and shine area where the girls get a little ensil little fluff the guys get a bow tie and their shoe shine and then they are escorted with their buddy back around to the entrance of the event where they are limos and classic cars the classic cars and limos take them around to the red car experience around to the front of the building a red carpet experience as you know signifies honor and dignity so that's what we like to do is we like to show these Special Needs attendees that they are honored valued seen heard and loved on um as they go into the come down the red carpet if they are a sensory sensitive person all of the flashing lights the music is turned off so we don't want to overload their sensories so if they are not they get the full effect of a Paparazzi the camera the music the high five and the signs the padding on the back um once they go into the prom experience they have a catered meal their Buddy's still with them they have a catered meal and then after the meal they dance and they dance and they dance the night away with a DJ so we also have a karaoke room uh so that if they choose to sing karaoke they have an opportunity to go outside of the dancing experience that experience was so popular last year that we're going to have to have two PR on the flip side of this the caregivers are given a catered meal and they are given uh a couple hours of rest away from their working 27 24 hours a day 365 days a year so what we have seen is that after the event there is a sense of well-being amongst the attendees so um last year we had 96 this year we have 110 already registered our our goal is 125 this year uh special needs attendees so um I want to thank you for your attention and uh my opportunity to present before you today I do have a flash drive if after the meeting if anyone would like to see the event from last year to actually see what night to shine is thank you and thank you for what you do for the community and and we appreciate that uh on Deck we've got Les Sims now I call Rachel Mueller Goodwill Industries of North Florida good afternoon I'm Rachel Mueller Goodwill Industries of North Florida I'm on our leadership team as our chief fund development officer with me I have Philip Simmons who runs our mission programs Wendy Letterman um who runs our local Tak stock and children putham County program in addition to our doc um program our adult education program that we were funded last year um and we are grateful for the support of you guys in addition to Serena Martinez um local takestock and children um team member here we've grown that program from one to over a 100 students so we're grateful for the community support all the mentors all the funding we bring in about 70% of the funding for that program um last year we expanded our adult education program asep into putam County um through an appropriation um that went through the doc um Senator Hudson and representative Payne we're grateful for their support and hopeful that you guys will consider um supporting us again this year um we have seen a huge amount of success in a very short amount of time took us a minute to get it up and running with the doc but we are signed sealed and delivered um so far in a short amount of time we've served over 50 individuals these individuals have have earned nearly 50 certifications Sur sa forklift Earth moving equipment operator Florida ready to work security licenses CDL the list goes on um not only are they earning certifications um they're getting jobs um these individuals have been impacted by the justice system um so we are requesting additional funding based on the success we've seen right now to continue the funding um and to be able to monitor those individuals so that we can help improve the recidivism rates in putam County um so that is our program we're grateful for the Pass Support looking forward to seeing you guys in Tallahassee um our lobby group gray Robinson will be reaching out to set up a couple of meetings um and thank you for having us thank you very much on on Deck we've got um main Silla I'm apologize and we'll you'll you'll correct me when you're up here uh but now we recognize lesim chairman of the Education Foundation of butam County I apologize on Deck we have Heather Hudson I I since you signed up ahead of time we're going to make sure you get to go Heather Hudson as next on De apologies good afternoon thank you for this opportunity uh my staff uh wrote me a speech but if if I use big words in proper grammar you're going to know it's not me so I'm going to shoot from the hip here um I'm chairman of the board for the Education Foundation of putam County I have been for the last couple of years our sole mission is to seek out funding sources and opportunities and bring it back to the district for our teachers and students last year we applied for a state appropriation and we got some help from representative Payne in the house and the Senate and the governor and uh we were able to take $167,000 and apply it to our Aerospace program which is a big industry here in Florida we all know so what did we do with that money that we got this year in conjunction with the district because they did all the hard work here we just provided funding we were able to put 200 students into this program at the end of this year we're going to Gra graduate approximately 27 students with a pilot's license we have 200 kids ready to enter the industry Aerospace industry through manufacturing engineering and whatnot so this year what we're asking is a little larger as we're asking for $337,000 and what we would like to do is to take that same program but expand it we need to focus on the engineering and Manufacturing side this is what we're get hearing from the large corporations in Cape Canaveral we would like to take that and and and with a goal of introducing 600 kids a year into that industry it's it you know may not reach that but we that that would be the goal um so we have filled out our paperwork for the house and the Senate you will see that in your offices but that's going to be our ask and if you have any questions feel free to ask now no thank you we appreciate it on Deck is now Molina um and then we recognize Heather Hudson hello my name is Heather Hudson and it's nice to meet you and congratulations to both of you this is my husband Gary um I'm here to talk about something that's difficult and a lot of people don't want to talk about it um I actually have a muscle disease so it's hard for me to breathe and see so um I might struggle a little bit and this is very emotional as well some of you may know me and I have talked to uh Robert Kennedy Jr Tucker Carlson moms for America and more um my son is named Cody and he was significantly injured by the covid-19 vaccines his Cas is peer-reviewed and published I'm a published author on covid-19 vaccine injury um I am here to talk about medical care for them um I'm not sure how you can help me but I'd like to get this out there and see if there's anybody in this room um that maybe I can open eyes number one and number two see if there's some level of care or help within the state or even my County my son Cody was 21 and he was a runner five days a week five times a week so more than 25 miles a week um he had been tested for autoimmune disorder because I have autoimmune disorders and they were negative before the pandemic he took his covid-19 vaccines and once he did after his second shot handed up with rashes and then what's believed to be a DBT on his right leg then he was hospitalized we lived in St Augustine at the time and he had a massive pulmonary embolism in his left lung lesser emble in the right lung waky heart valves left ventricular hyper Trophy and then he ended up having another infar in the left lung and a partially collapsed lung he had a suspected stroke at that time at the age of 21 he turned 22 at the hospital he had a massive reaction as you all know the the hospitals and the medical care system were ill prepared for what took place we have a congressional report that came out recently that specifically addressed covid-19 vaccine injury in the compensation programs cicp and I'm going to say vicp as well and I am very well involved and as a matter of fact I just got a text from Brian Dron of react 19 to see how this was going so there are a lot of people that are supportive of what I'm about to say including um the flccc react 19 and the vaccine Safety Research Foundation most people do not know that during this Pand mic there was $42 billion that was spent for covid-19 infection Testing Research and mandatory reporting there were no dollars spent for Testing Research or mandatory reporting of vaccine injuries there's yes yeah I apologize I and I'm I I will do this for everybody to be fair I'll try to let you finish the current thought you're on when you reach the time but obviously you can we'll we'll reach out with our our staffs and offices to be able to hear what the full what when we we we're so sorry for your your families in our prayers um but thank thank you for coming and uh and that and that'll be you'll see as we all go through if you go over the time I'll just try to let you finish your thought and then and then go on the next person but we we thank you and uh we're going to need to call the next person now thank you so thank you so much can talk about Cody's law that I wrote just for a moment please uh we okay we've got a copy of it but we we do have to stay on schedule and I apologize it's only fair for everybody but we like I said we we'll we'll try to schedule meetings to talk to about it thank you for your time thank you very much uh so we on Deck we've got um Brenda uh Bridges and we recognize melenia sold I apologize you thank you for correcting this and you are with the CDs family and Behavioral Health it's Melanie sold melie well there we go that was the worst one of the day so far so good job you win the priz thank you for having me and hearing me um while CDs um sorry CDs operates a wellestablished and respected Behavioral Management and delinquency treny and Substance Abuse Prevention programs in 11 North Florida counties including putam County U while our vehicles are in service um in all three shelters are maintained and safe for the intended purposes they are reaching the end of their useful life and they need to be replaced uh based on cdss history programs and plans and the in the interest of Public Safety and transportation of the youth under our care we request the delegation support of our local funding request and you're you're asking what we give to the community in return we're a nonprofit so we don't ask the parents that need the help to pay for anything we want them to come to us because they need the help and not wonder how they're going to eat that night versus getting help for their children there any questions for me oh we appreciate what you do thank you so much thank you on deck we have Timothy hotling apologies again uh but we now have Brenda Bridges good afternoon Brenda Bridges tact collect thank you I just saw the the job to thank you thank you um first I want to uh welcome you on behalf of the putham County tax collector's office and congratulate you on uh your seats we are glad to have you here um historically both your offices have been very supportive of the Tax Collectors Association uh for the State of Florida and uh for all the agencies that we represent Department of Highway Safety Florida Fish and Wildlife and Department of Agriculture so we thank you for that and ask for your continued support there uh I hope you won't be disappointed if we don't have an Appropriations request the tax collectors are not good at asking for money but we're really good at collecting it uh so I am here to support uh my county and Municipal colleagues as we all work to uh provide for the needs of our citizens so we thank you for your dedication and your support of putam County thank you thank you and we appreciate the job you do uh so on Deck we have Wendy melini meline will'll find out uh but uh sir uh Timothy you're you're you're up hi I'm Tim hotelling I just had the Good Fortune to live on the St John's river had the bad fortune to uh be living there when all of the submerged aquatic vegetation went away to took out over 60 miles of the river I had some more Good Fortune by bumping into Dan colterman of the Fish and Wildlife Commission aquatic Rehabilitation and something something that's uh found found out that he and water management came and put a little cage in the river there was nothing you could see the cage kept uh Critters Turtles primarily from coming in and grazing we had grass yay big in three months 30 days anyhow it's there he'd been working our our time in my money my fence to help support the thing and some contributions to fish and wildlife management I've uh paid a lot of attention to what's going gone on and I would encourage you all to put all of your funding support the Fish and Wildlife Commission Foundation they have a plan and it doesn't include paying contractors and and whatever I've given one one flyer with some pictures with how it literally it was when you could see the plant popped up and there was flowers and and it was everything like Bob Dr Bob Burstein said it would be and then we've had some hurdles to overcome we've overcome it um you have to realize that in there there is an attachment talking about a learned Professor that makes the observation that when mother nature she has quite a capacity to absorb but when she she goes down as our River's gone down it's going to take a whole more energy to flip it again which means a whole bunch more effort time money and a plan and my opinion plan's not there I've included a bass master uh folk when they came here last time they made a real good U article explaining a lot of the progress we've made I would be indebted if you all take a a few minutes of your time as you're right from here to there to read it it's good writing it's not my fumbled talking and uh it is a project you've seen Leo how how long they've been fighting for that you've got that ahead of us and unless people acknowledge the fact that there's a huge huge project you're going to be 50 years and we'll all be dead and somebody else will be hearing the same thing okay thank you sir on Deck we have Diane woic and I now call Wendy masselin uh with UF ifas extension we musini it was that I was I'm just kidding it's museline um born and raised here in putham County appreciate yall representing putham County um I am here to just say hello uh I want you to save and preserve as much agriculture in putham county that you possibly can anything comes across your desk farm bill is important to our local farmers something I'm really EXC excited about is um the Florida agtech accelerator program which University of Florida is partnering with President Pickins and uh the St John's River State College to actually have a legitimate a degree um maybe just a two-year Degree come out of our state college because we have so many rural kids that are really raised in agriculture and they we have great a programs in our high schools but then they they either have to go off to UF or ABAC or somewhere like that we'd like to keep them in putam and employ them in putam in our Farms so I am excited about that program it is I think already been funded by the legislature so if it comes across your desk be a nice check off um I'm not here to ask for anything specifically just for you guys to remember um there is no culture without agriculture so please support our local egg our farmers get out to County Line the stand our Fresh Veggies while they're in season food security is about having food grown locally and and we need your help to keep that going I've never really seen uh houses produce uh food so keep that in mind thanks guys yes thank you oh sorry yeah if you don't mind it's a good opportunity to tell you that you know every every term really has a theme and whether it's stated or unstated and I look at this you the presiding officers uh in the Senate the presiding officer in the Senate and he's a farmer and I look at the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and he's a farmer so it looks to me like 's going to have a couple of good years now if you want a library it better be an a library but I think everything coming at you is going to be pretty entric so it's going to be a good couple years and on Deck we have Michael Greenman and we recognize Diane uh o thank you good afternoon Senator leak and representative sap sap my name is Diane wojek and I'm a registered voter in putham County I'm asking for a call for change there's an urgent need for an independent Ombudsman office for Florida's Department of Corrections there was a bill that was drafted and passed in the federal system earlier this year and in about a dozen other states and I'll provide a copy for a copy of the bill summary for each of you and I hope that you'll consider sponsoring or at least supporting the bill why an um budsman an um udman serves as a critical bridge between the incarcerated individuals the correctional system and the public this role involves investigating complaints monitoring facility conditions and advocating for necessary reforms as Nelson Mandela famously shared it is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails and on budsman office could free up your time by addressing issues that constituents would now come to you for to resolve legislators across the state are currently being asked by their constituents to do unannounced prison visits to investigate the deplorable conditions and treatment of their incarcerated loved ones I have many family members and friends who work for the Florida Department of Corrections in administrative as well as um correctional officer positions and the abuse they witness not only for the incarcerated but also for some of the officers is disturbing some of them have quit or retired early because they just can't stomach the consistent abuse and violations that they've personally witnessed it's time for action it's time for accountability and it's time for change the Florida prison system is at a Crossroads and we as advocates are no longer asking for change we're demanding it here are the facts Florida ranks among the top States for prison population yet transparency and oversight are shockingly inadequate reports of inhumane conditions abuse and neglect continue to rise with no independent voice to hold the system accountable families are often silent Victims Watching their loved ones Suffer Without recourse or Justice an on budsman Bill would change this and here are some ways how number one an independent oversight and budsman serves as an impartial Watchdog ensuring fair treatment and of the residents as well as the staff number two accountability for all no more hiding behind closed doors mismanagement corruption and systemic failures will be exposed and addressed number three family advocacy families could finally have a trusted Advocate to ensure their voices are heard and their concerns addressed the time to act is now pass the edsman Bill show us that Justice is not just a word but a promise to every person in this state State this isn't about politics this is about Humanity this isn't about sides it's about Solutions this isn't just a demand this is a movement please let's stop this type of treatment no one deserves this stand with us to advocate for an ombudsman in Florida because accountability transparency and Justice should be the pillars of our correctional system thank you thank you very much we appreciate your you're speaking today uh uh next we have Michael Greenman I will say uh before you step up we this will be the last speaker that's filled out a speaker card if you filled out a speaker card and I did not call you uh let me know let my staff know because that means something went wrong and I and I will get you in if you took the time to fill out a card so thank you thank you Michael uh with the putam Federation of teachers United good afternoon my name is Michael greenan I've been a teacher in this County for 22 years on the elementary school level and I'm the vice president of pftu and I'm also a member of the Republican party from the energy in the elementary school cafeterias to riding buses to football games on Friday nights neighborhood public schools are where communities happen I see this daily in my classroom and it Thrills me to see our children growing and learning something new every day recently the legislation has made strides to address the issues facing education and we thank you for that including one of those strides is making more Pathways for teaching certificates and regulations in education we know that our working environments and our students learning environments so as you consider education policy during this session I have suggestions to help the issues faced in our campuses and classrooms and since so many people haven't been asking for stuff I'm going to ask for three quick things one um expand the financial investment in our Public Schools allocate sufficient funds to compensate all School Employees fairly investing just $1 more th000 per student each year in the fefp will ensure students have access to worldclass public education and simultaneously move Florida's teacher salary ranking from the bottom into the top 10 in the nation two please support Senator Rodriguez's Senate Bill 136 addressing Merit pay issues for educators this bill is a step in the right direction for helping more teachers stand the profession and three I would ask that you look into helping create better disciplined policies and laws for the doe to implement for students that continually disrupt classes physically Andor verbally attack staff and students this way our neighborhood Public Schools can continue to raise the academic bar in Florida thank you for your time and I'll see you in Tallahasse thank you very much and if I missed anyone now it would be the time to let me know thank you very much all right uh now we must uh officially nominate chair for the next delegation meeting uh and I hereby despite his attempt to get me to do it nominate Senator Tom Lee and so he seconds it because he has to uh and then you'll need to nominate me as Vice chair I nominate representative sap as Vice chair second and so with no opposition that passes um so we'll have some closing remarks uh Senator I'll allow I'll let you go first thank you I I just want to say um how honored I am and how humbled I am to be able to represent you all in Tallahassee uh this has been an amazing trip for me one of the most meaningful things that I've ever done in life was run for for office and serve in the House of Representatives and I'm hoping that I can carry forward you know putnam's purpose in Tallahassee and make sure that we take care of putam so thank you all very much uh it's an honor to serve you and we really appreciate your time and coming here today and being part of this process uh our offices are always open to you you know that we we we will work really hard to represent you and and all of Florida uh thank you for your time and with that I make a motion to adjourn this meeting all right this meeting is adjourned