--------- Oh, hey. Heat. Heat. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll call the meeting to order. Thank you all for being here. It is certainly a pleasure to be here with so many energized young people, very talented young people in
our audience. So, we're going to bore you a little for a little while before you get your accolades. That's fair. Um, so, welcome to the county commission meeting for January 13, 2026. I would ask that everyone would silence any
electronic devices that you may have. also call out that if you wish to speak on the consent agenda, please fill out a form and turn it in upfront to uh Dominique Dreger. Dominique's going to raise her hand for you. And we will start this meeting by uh invocation and
the pledge of allegiance with Pastor Ron Williams from the Palmetto Avenue Baptist Church. Thank you, Pastor, for being here. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this new year and for the opportunity to worship you here because these people
that you have allowed to be elected are our ministers. They're ministers to us for good and uh they're going to praise those who do well, which they're going to do here in a few minutes. And then of course to punish those who do evil. And so we pray that here in Simol County
that when folks come here they'd realize that we still believe in one nation under God. And uh if they want evil upon our community, they're not welcome here. But those who are welcome here are the military personnel that are here uh to
uh honor with us uh Sergeant Jordan. And thank you, Lord, for his service and for the service of the others that are here today as well. We thank you, Lord, that uh our young people worked hard and they have indeed won the championship. And so
we're glad we can recognize them today as well. Uh once again, another team from Lake Mary has won. And so help these young men to know that we appreciate their hard work and that they represent our community and we're proud of them. And uh I just thank you, Lord,
personally. Last time I was here, we got an opportunity to to recognize Lee Corso. And so we have a wonderful heritage here in Simol County. Help us to always have a wonderful heritage here. It is a natural choice for us. We chose to live here and to raise our kids
here and our grandkids. And so we thank you for this blessed place. We would be aiss if we didn't rec recognize our law enforcement officers today. I pray that you'd protect them. And uh thank you that we still honor the flag and we still honor law enforcement. We thank you Lord for our medical uh personnel
and first responders and they're all on their job today and thank you for that because there's going to be some folks that get sick and need their help. And so we do thank you. We take these these things that we enjoy in Simino County for granted. Help us not to do that. Help us to realize we're a blessed
people and to whom much is given, much is required. Thank you, Lord, for this month. And we get to celebrate the work of Martin Luther King Jr. And though it's almost 60 years since he walked the planet, his words live on. And I thank
you Lord for what he said when he said we may have all come on different ships but we in the same boat now. And so help us to realize that be knit together in unity and love and peace in Simol County. And though the the rest of the world may be in chaos, I pray Lord that
we'd be at peace with each other. Help these commissioners to make wise choices based on the word of God, not on popular opinion. And help them, Lord, to have the wisdom of Solomon because no matter what they decide today, some folks are going to be happy and some are not. And so, help them to stand by their
convictions and help those convictions be based on the word of God. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to start this time together with prayer that these commissioners believe in you and they invoke your blessings. And so please show up today in a wonderful and mighty
way as we recognize our military and uh these boys that have worked so hard on the football team. For in Christ's name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. >> 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 the ladies. >> Oh yeah. >> And my volleyball. >> And we certain certainly recognize the
lady athletes in the room as well. We continue to keep all of our children in our not that you're children. Some of you are not. You're probably more adult than some of us up here. I'll stop talking because it's going south. Uh so what we're going to do today is
we're going to do some awards and proclamations. We're also going to go through the consent agenda because there's someone on there that does want a picture. We'll take pictures after the consent agenda. And the order of the pictures, the ladies will go first, right after our veteran. Our veterans
get first for everything in our county. So, with that uh proclamation, the first proclamation proclaiming Sergeant Jerry Jordan, United States Marine Corp, will be read by Commissioner Zimbau. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. It is with great pleasure that I introduce this
proclamation of the Semino County Board of County Commissioners recognizing United States Marine Corps Sergeant Jerry Jordan for his outstanding service to the United States and Semino County. Whereas the brave men and women of our Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast
Guard, and Space Force demonstrate a resolute spirit and unmatched selflessness, reminding us that there are few things more American than giving ourselves to make a difference in the lives of others. Whereas throughout our country's history, generations of service members have answered the call
to leave their families, their jobs, and put their futures, and even their lives on the line to violently defend our nation. And whereas for many service members, the sacrifices ended in permanent injury or death, yet their spirit remains in a continued preservation of our freedoms and the
promise of liberty. And whereas there are more than 30,000 living veterans in Semino County who have served our nation in times of peace and war, through their service, they kept America strong. Whereas Sergeant Jerry Jordan enlisted the United States Marine Corps on active
duty March 10, 1969, and was an honor graduate in boot camp at the Marine Corps's recruiting station in San Diego, California. Upon completion of Vietnamese language school and recon training, he performed combat m missions for one year in Vietnam. Following
redeployment, Sergeant Jerry Jordan was a provost sergeant for the military police. Throughout his military career, Sergeant Jerry Jordan received numerous medals, including the Vietnamese Service Medal, the Vietnamese campaign medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon. And
whereas upon release from military service in 1972, Sergeant Jerry Jordan utilized his VA education benefits and entered the workforce beginning as a train car builder. Then with UPS and lastly with the United States Postal Service, Sergeant Jerry Jordan moved
with his spouse Chris to central Florida in 2018 and presently lives in Geneva, Florida. Whereas upon Jerry Jordan is assistant veteran service officer for the American Legion Post 243 and a member of the Marine Corps's League where he has been active the Marine
Corps league toys for tots which assists hundreds of military and veteran families each holiday season. Sergeant Jerry Jordan also served on the committee for the Geneva July 4, 2025 celebration. And whereas Sergeant Jerry Jordan has brought great credit and
distinction upon himself, the United States, the United States Marine Corps, and Semino County. Now, therefore, it be proclaimed that we, the Board of County Commissioners of Semino County, Florida, express our gratitude, admiration, and respect for Sergeant Jerry Jordan for his outstanding service to the United
States Marine Corps, and the residents of Semino County. Be it further proclaimed, this proclamation is presented to Sergeant Jerry Jordan along with our sincere congratulations and recognition as Semino Countyy's Veteran of the Month. Adopted the 13th day of January, 2026.
>> Second. >> Commissioners, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor? >> I. >> Motion passes unanimously. Congratulations. Mr. Jordan, would you like to say a few words? I want to thank the board, my family,
especially my wife of 51 years, American Legion, Marine Corps League. And uh I'm going to give a little history lesson. I hope you guys don't mind. I know you're getting out of school, but in November, I was going to be honored.
And November 10th, 1775, Marine Corps was organized. We are 250 years old. But even before then, October 13th, the Navy celebrated their
250th birthday. But even before then, on June 14th, the Army served their the Army celebrated their 250th birthday. And what are we celebrating this year? >> America.
>> July 4th, the United States of America. So remember, when you honor a veteran, they were here before the United States of America. Also, Coast Guard was organized in a August
4th, 1790, right around the Revolutionary War era. September 18th, the Air Force in 1947 they were organized. But I know people wonder World War II had had air had
airplanes but at that time they were called Army Airore. And then in uh September 18th, oh that's when the air force report. Then on uh
December 20th, 2019, the space force was organized. I'm going to end with this commander. You don't mind, but I'm going to invite everybody to the American Legion, Ovito's American Legion. Every Wednesday
between 10:00 and 12, we have coffee and chat, what we call. And during that time, if you are the first time you're visiting our lodge, we will um kind of give you another
education of why the flag never dies. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you for your service. Next is recognition of Eric Moore for winning the Florida Association of Counties January calendar photo contest. This will be read by Commissioner Constantine.
>> Uh thank you very much, Chairman. Um a little bit about uh the uh u the contest. Every year, the president of the Florida Association of Counties gets to pick out 12 of over 600 plus pictures
that are given out throughout the state of Florida from counties on a theme. Um, couple years ago when I was president, my theme was um water around Florida, water, water everywhere. and it and the the um
the calendars come out and are given to folks all over the state of Florida. Um other than uh when I was picking them out or we had a chairman or president of Florida Association County, Seminal County has never been in the calendar.
So this year it was wonderful when we got January uh of the calendar and this photograph from Semino County that everybody has seen or or you know received up here in the das but just to let you all know and
this was taken by a individual citizen Dr. Eric Allen Moore and Dr. Moore is the CEO of the medical director of the Moore Medical Group serving patients throughout the state of Florida and North Carolina and is based in Lake
Mary. He recently launched the Kaya health and integrate integrated model of care in Lake Mary. Dr. Moore serves the executive medical director for did serve as the executive medical director for Advent Health Hospice serving patients
throughout the country. He was born in Chicago but raised in Nashville and Atlanta. He received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. He completed his medical doctor degree from the Medical College of Georgia in
Augusta, Georgia, and then completed his residency in family medicine at Florida Hospital at and now Advent Health Orlando. Dr. Moore has achieved board certification in family medicine, hospice uh medicine, and hospice medical
director cert certification. He has served the central Florida community for over 30 years in private and public practice. He is passionate about the whole person integrated model of care that addresses physical, spiritual, and mental health. He is also passionate about end of life care, helping patients
and families navigate throughout the challenge. He was also very passionate about photography and we are very proud that um he submitted this to the Florida Association of Counties and in recognition the the Florida Association
of Counties is giving him this plaque uh to show his photograph. So Dr. Moore, would you please come up and accept this? >> Can I believe we're going to do that afterwards? Thank you. >> Well, Dr. Moore, thank you very
You know what? I might need this gavvel after all. Was that a motion, Commissioner Commissioner Constantine? >> Well, I think this is just a recognition. I don't know if it needs a motion, but um if it does, I'd be happy to do it, but this is just a recognition of Dr. Moore. Thank you, sir. >> Thank you, Dr. Moore. And more
importantly, thank you for the service to the community in terms of keeping us all healthy. >> Yes. >> All right. Our next one is a resolution honoring Lake Mary High School football team who may or may not be in the room for winning the 20257A Florida State
Championship. Congratulations and this will be read by Commissioner Lockhart. Commissioners, it is my honor and privilege um as a former Lake Mary mom and a former school board member that had the privilege of representing Lake Mary High School on the school board to move the following resolution
of the Seminal County Board of County Commissioners recognizing the 2025 Lake Mary High School football team as state champions. Whereas Semol County proudly recognizes the outstanding achievements of its student athletes and the positive representation they bring to the community through excellence and
competition. And whereas the Lake Mary High School Rams football team achieved a historic milestone by winning the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A state championship in 2025, making the first state champion football championship in the school's history.
And whereas the Rams secured their championship in a thrilling contest against previously undefeated Vero Beach High School, winning by a final score of 28-27 in a dramatic game decided by a last second Hail Mary touchdown. And whereas
quarterback Noah Grubs, wide receiver Barrett Schultz, running back Tovarius TJ Brundage Jr., and the entire Rams roster demonstrated exceptional athletic skill, teamwork, and leadership and perseverance throughout the season. And whereas the Lake Mary High School
football team overcame adversity and demonstrated resilience, determination, and composure under pressure, exemplifying the highest ideals of sportsmanship, and competitive spirit. And whereas the team's success reflects the leadership of head coach Scott Perry, a proud Lake Mary High School
alumnist, whose commitment to excellence, character development, and community pride has played a pivotal role in the program's historic achievement. And whereas this championship has brought significant recognition to Semino County and serves as an inspiration to the community both
on and off the field. Now therefore, be it resolved that we, the Semino County Board of County Commissioners, do hereby congratulate the Lake Mary High School football team for winning the 2025 FHSAA Class 7A State Championship and extend our sincere congratulations to the
players, coaches, families, and supporters for their historic accomplishment. >> Second. >> Thank you. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor? >> I. >> There we go. recognition range
>> and I do believe it was a Hail Lake Mary pass that won that game. >> Is Coach Perry going to say >> uh yes, Coach Perry, would you like to say something? >> Not here. >> I'm here.
>> I recognize you. Well, while Coach Perry's coming forward, I will tell you um if there was uh if your ears were burning recently, your name was mentioned around a table of gentlemen talking about some openings potentially in some uh other places
where there may be some head coach positions available and they nominated you. >> Well, thank you. I'm honored by that. But um most of all, I'm proud of these guys. Uh like you said in the uh proclamation there, uh they overcame adversity. We started out the season um
with uh two losses, two and two, and a lot of people wrote us off, but but not these guys. They kept fighting and kept going after it and came to practice every day to get better. And uh really by the end of the season, we're playing in championship form obviously and uh it took a lot of work on their part to to
just stay the course. And uh when you talk about overcoming adversity, these guys I'm I'm really proud of them for doing that. So thanks guys. Thank you so much, coach. Thank you for all the hard work for everyone to get the team here. Next is a resolution
honoring the Ovido High School girls volleyball team for winning the 2025 6A Florida State Championship. Congratulations, ladies. This will be read by district commissioner for Ovido, Bob Delari. Thank you, Mr. Ch Madam Chairman. And I
would also first say that uh as a commissioner, it's nice to see all the schools doing as well as they do. And there's no amazement that every time we turn around, another school is winning a
state championship. And it's not just the boys, it's also the ladies. And the ladies work just as hard, if not harder, than the men. And I will tell you that is truly an honor and a privilege to
recognize all the students in Semino County in all the different cities and it's truly an honor to hear to be in front of you. It's humbling to see the hard work that you all do. I say that because not only do you excel in academics,
you excel in sports and that is not an easy thing to do these days. So congratulations. So with that, Madam Chairman, is my honor to read the resolution of the Sim County Board of County Commissioners recognizing the 2025 Ovita
High School girls volleyball team state champions. Whereas participating in the high school sports promotional leaderships, confidence, teamwork,
equal opportunities while fostering community pride in excelling among student athletes. Whereas Avita High School Lions girls volleyball teams captured the high Florida high school athletic association class 6A state
champion in 2025 demonstrating exceptional athletic performance and competitive excellence. And whereas the Lions secured their championship through a remarkable comeback victory, rallying from a two
set deficit and defeating St. Thomas Aquinus High School, a two-time defending state champion and a top ranked team in Florida. And whereas under the leadership and guidance of head coach Jen Dy, the Ovito High School
girls volleyball team earned its third state championship under her tenure, reflecting excellence, preparation, and commitment to the development of student athletes. And whereas the Vito High School girls volleyball team
achievements in the results ensured commitment to excellent preparation and unity demonstrating throughout their championship year by the entire program and school community. And whereas the state championship has brought great
pride to Devito High School in Semino County serves as an inspiration for young athletes in reinforcing the value of perseverance, discipline, and teamwork. Now therefore be resolved by the board of seminal county commissioners hereby recognize and
commend Ovito High School girls volleyball team for winning the 2025 state championship for class 6A and extending our sincere congratulations to all who contributed to their outstanding achievement. >> Second
>> ladies ladies and gentlemen we have a motion and a second. All those in favor I >> passes unanimously. Go Lions. Congratulations. And do we have coach Jen Dy here? Would you like to say a few words? We would we would be delighted to hear from you.
>> First off, I want to say thank you so much for having us here today. Uh it was an incredible accomplishment by our team and I'm honored to be here with them. Uh congratulations also to Lake Mary football. no easy task and it sounds like we both had very resilient victories. Uh I got to watch the end of your game with your Hail Mary. Uh and it was a similar setup for us going down
two sets to none against the defending powerhouse state champion in St. Thomas Aquinus. Um but the resiliency and the pride and the passion that my girls played with in that match was incredibly special. Uh and we take a lot of pride in our core values of our program which are selfless, tough, discipline and love. And they absolutely displayed
those, put them on a show uh in that final match and I couldn't be more proud of them. So thank you again for having us today. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Commissioners, if you would join me on the floor for pictures, we're going to do them with honoring our veteran first with his picture so that the entire
audience can do that as well. Then Dr. Moore so that we can get you back to work healing folks. And then we're going to switch it up and let the ladies go first and the boys round it up. >> Madam Chairman, do you want to do the consent >> first? And because we have one more we have more recognition on the consent
more recogn. >> All right. >> So we'll take it to consent. Is there public comment? >> No, ma'am. >> Would you like to read your public comment even though there's no public comment? >> Not necessary. Thank you.
>> Awesome. Awesome. That's that's great. Commissioners, I'll look to you. Madam Chair, I'll move to approve consent agenda items number five and 6 through 18. >> Second. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I opposed. Passes unanimously. Thank
you. And I think we'll move right into pictures. Thank you, Dar. Heat. Heat. Oh, you found me. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. down. Heat. Heat. Oh, God. Heat. Heat.
All right, commissioners, if we could reather, that would be wonderful. Well, that was an exciting morning. >> Now, nobody's here. >> That was an exciting morning. So, we'll move on to the regular agenda, which may be just as exciting. So, Christian, I'm
challenging you to keep the momentum going with a scout update. I have no doubt that it'll it'll be just trucking along. >> Christian Swintson, assistant county manager, here to talk this morning about Scout. Uh thank you, Commissioner Her and good morning uh all the board
chairman and commissioners. So the uh before I get started on the agenda, I just would like to actually say a thank you because I'm going to be the one up here presenting, but but candidly I I've done very little of the work in regard to the the stuff that we're presenting today. So I've really
been supported by our great communications team. Truthfully, the whole department has done fabulous. They're they're they're really top-notch. Our interns team that they've participated in this as well and been and and been fully involved in it. We've had two consultants that have assisted
with it and the media has helped as you'll see in one of the slides. It has been a lot of uh a lot of teamwork to get the the word out and I I think I think it's been a great job and I appreciate everyone's help. With all that said, I'm going to run through a couple things. I'll talk about the purpose. We'll go through the background
and then we'll talk about the next step. So the purpose is obviously to give you an update on what communication methods took place from the inception of the scout concept until the reduction of the links routes which occurred. Um the last day of their uh service was Saturday.
Sunday was the first day of the discontinuation. So with that I'll get into the uh the background and the uh the progress. So starting we'll just kind of give a little history. You all have seen this before but it's it's mostly just for the audience. In June, we contracted with
Freebie to provide the SC the scout microransit system. In August, we sent a letter to Lynx um advising um of the routes to delete and also the scheduled changes to make. As you'll notice from the slide, that was done in collaboration with links. We met with
their planning folks and and we went through and determined what was the uh the productive non-productive routes and what changes need to be made. In September, we provided a soft launch of the service where in select zones, we started the service that worked just in those zones. And October 15th was our
first day of scout and we started that we started that in the entire service area while at the same time maintaining the link service. And as just before mentioned, um January 10th was the last day for the routes to be uh deleted from links that were the deleted routes. So with that, I would just like to just
kind of refresh everyone on what the discontinued routes were. As you see from the slide, link 34, which is the north 1792 route. Link 45, which was Lake Mary. 46 is obviously State Road 46 in Sanford. 103 was another section of
1792 around the Walmart area. The 434 route was discontinued. And then also the two neighbor link zones, one in Sanford and one in Ovido were also discontinued. Now, there were some service changes that also took place as a result of this. Link one, which is a uh a route
that starts in Orange County. It starts in the Eatenville area and comes and did come up to the Ultimont area, that was reshaped to uh to not come up into Semino County, but instead reconnect over toward the 436 route. The link 23 route, which was 434 in Matland over
near the Semino State Elimon campus, that one just uh changed the changed a little bit and connect to 436 to make a continual route through the county. And then also the 102 which was the 1792 route that comes north into into the county from Orange County. It previously
used to stop at the Ferns Park Superto which is the old highlight for for those of um everyone that's been around a little while. That that super stop has since been relocated to the Sunrail station um in Elimon. And the changes for the 436 route also um impacted that
as well. instead of previously going to the Fern Park superto say now the super stop is at the Ultima station. There were some other minor changes that that links thought were were good to change some schedule adjustments just due to lack of wrership on individual buses and things like that. But those were the
routes. So with this I'll get into now talking about what the methods for communication that were uh that were utilized to to let everyone know about the changes coming up. And as you can see from this re this list, it's fairly extensive. We did community outreach. There were digital and online methods.
There were links, public meetings that were held. There were media mentions as I mentioned earlier. There was printed and in-person materials uh developed. And then there were writer surveys. And then there was obviously a number of uh speaking and community engagement um
presentations. So let me go through each of these individually and just hit on them a little deeper. The community outreach and engagement, we did 35 tableabling events. We sent three targeted emails to customers that were either access links customers or known
links customers to get the word out to let them know about Scout. We did digital brochures to businesses and then we also did outreach visits to apartment complexes and businesses as well. On the digital front, we launched the Scow website on September 24th and as you can
see, we've had 130,000 views, fairly significant. We also created social media accounts on all the popular platforms and 24 posts have taken place. Scout was also listed in the county news uh newsletter 11 times and then a full page ad was also taken out in the parks
and recreation leisure guide. Then links meetings the other topic uh another topic that was mentioned in the list links as part of their service changes does public outreach meetings. um we collaborated with them and we were a part of those meetings. All the ones that were in Semino County and the ones
down at the main branch and the the main link station and the virtual ones we participated in. Um we were there to answer questions to be a resource to advise about scout and things like that. Media mentions as I as I put the thanks initially the media has been a big um
you know a big part of this success for us. They've run 150 media mentions uh you know across the system. That's just a lot. All all types of media was there. It really got the word out. We also had two events that were dedicated media events. We had one at the testing phase
to kind of put things out and then also a launch day event as well. So print media was also available to to either um place around places or to hand to people in person. We developed banner stands, posters. We developed bilingual
brochures about scout. Tip cards were developed to give just kind of quick information. Informational signage at every stop was put out there. Links developed that. We worked with them with it um to develop it to to to add comment to it. And then additionally, we added supplemental signage as well regarding
the uh the route reductions. In addition to that, we were getting information from links pretty regularly as to what wrership was and what we were noticing where the writers were not necessarily coming off of the links routes. They were staying fairly consistent. So, we wanted to say, you know, we wanted to
test it. We did we have the word out. We wanted to get on board and see as they made contact. So, we actually did um onboard surveys of 15 links bus trips to get on and ask the questions. And what we learned from that was people knew about the program. It was, you know, it was pretty well known. our efforts were
getting out there. We continued to market it and and to get the word out, but but people were choosing to stay on it. Um we also did a number of speaking engagements. There was a a variety of us that did this. We did 30 presentations across community event at different community locations, some of them
organizations, some of nonprofits, things like that. In addition to those type of things, we also looked at the ridership from links and we also and also based this with the onboard surveys is what the actual riders were um and decided that we
needed to add some additional vans. So we we added seven additional vans to the fleet, hired additional drivers. We made some scheduling changes and had some flex drivers and things like that and we continued to monitor service and in preparation for the uh the service the service uh reduction. So the NE so and
then talking about next steps we will continue to market and to educate people about the system. We will continue monitor the system and system performance. And just to touch on that a little bit I'm part of a team that we we meet weekly with the vendor and we go through everything myself and G um we
look at the you we look at the data at least three times a day each and then you know pine on the system and and try to you know troubleshoot issues or see what changes they need to make. With all that said, it's all done to to make adjustments as needed. We want this to be a successful service. The board was
gracious enough to say that, hey, they knew that there would be some speed bumps along the way. This is a green field service, very unique. Um, you know, most transit systems have a history and they make changes. This was green field for us. We knew we couldn't rely on necessarily the links data. What we saw when we were the goal was to to
put people in the vehicles that were previous on on on links. What we since realized was due to the transit deserts out there that there was a big need and those folks flocked to the system relatively quickly. So, you know, our our our commitment is to continue to
make adjustments to we plan to make this just an absolutely fabulous system that it's a which arguably it it is now and and providing benefit um you know benefits that were not available to other folks. So, with that, I'll happily take any questions and
>> thank you Christian. Uh, first let me start by saying a big shout out to Commissioner Lockhart for helping us to think beyond the bureaucracy and rethink how we were doing this. And then Christian, your lead in was rather humble. Your engagement in this was deep
for a long period of time while holding your other job. This was this is on top of and we very much appreciate you, the entire team, but very much appreciate your leadership. Darren, I'm not leaving you out or legal out, but >> all to them. >> You're not looking at the thing three
times a day. With that, I'll uh I'll How about start at this end? Uh Jay, >> I'd also like to thank Commissioner Lockheart um for getting this thing over the finish line. This is something that I've been beating on the table against since the day that Commissioner Lockheart and I arrived here. Went
through our first links budget session and I went, "Oh my gosh, why why are we paying all this kind of money for this kind of ridership?" So, good work. Thank you. Um, fantastic job by staff, as you mentioned. Um, there was going to be
some hiccups and some speed bumps, but quite frankly, they haven't been that large. Um, and I think that's a testament to, uh, what you all have been involved with your hands-on and monitoring it. And I would tell you that my input from the business community
thus far has been 100% happiness. Uh, I haven't heard any complaints, any concerns. It's actually in some cases allowed employees to get to work at a better time than what they historically were in some of the retail
establishments that they otherwise had to either carpool or tried to get a bus or whatever the case might be. Um, but I also think what I'm what I'm observing and hearing from people that traditionally didn't use transportation is a lot of our and I'm going to be
falling into that category before long, elderly. Um, they don't want to get in their car and go to the grocery store. They can go call scout, go to the grocery store. I mean, it's fantastic. Or go to the restaurant. Um, which we anticipated that was going to occur and
in fact has. So, I think it's it's good work all the way around. I think the monitoring will continue. Uh it's like I told one resident who reached out earlier this week. We're not perfect, but we do have a 4.8 out of five rating from the ridership. We know there's going to be some holes here and there
and staff will investigate those, figure it out, whether it's communication, help them understand, whatever the case might be, or we have to shift and do things. Um so, good work. Good stuff. Thank you, >> Commissioner Constantine. >> Thank you. Um, also just wanted to
congratulate everybody involved. It's uh uh the emails of concern that I've received seem to be coming from another county. Is that uh is that what you're finding out too? >> So, I'm a I'm relatively a harsh critic
on the system to be honest with you and unfortunately I probably need more hobbies. Um, I I I I get sucked down the rabbit hole a lot of the social media stuff and I go quite down the rabbit hole of who the folks are and things like this. And I too am seeing there's a
number of external folks that are opining about things for whatever reason that are not users are not county residents. You know, I would say this. I like to hear the complaints. I mean, if we've got a driving complaint, if someone's had trouble, we're not
perfect, but you know, I'd rather you contact me and tell me what the problem is. And I say me, I mean, collectively me, the entire team, we will troubleshoot it. I mean, folks have have hit us up about, hey, there's a driver issue. We will we will head down that rabbit hole full on. If you've had a a
service issue, we will hit it full-on. We have we have some secret shoppers on on the system. We're looking to enhance that program a little better. Some of them have gone gone well, some of them haven't. But I want to know about problems. I can't make it better without knowing about it. But unfortunately, I
think there are some there are some folks that are not championing the cause as much as I would like them to. >> And Christian, I bring that up because number one, there have been very few. And number two, um I can't identify
anybody that I know that has called me or sent me anything of, you know, that lack of service or or concerned about the loss of of links. I think we hit the sweet spot where we keep the the the the
main arterials and at the same time, you know, use this which can be more used, you know, more available for everyone. I know that you have and you've identified the concern about the time. Um almost the answer to that is tell people call
40 minutes in advance instead of 30 minutes. But I know that you added the seven. You're looking at different things. I've also noticed that in the beginning it was topheavy as far as mostly from the Sanford and the north
Lake Mary area, but it's starting to come down a little bit and being used more and more by the, you know, in the southern part of the county, which is great. And um the thing that's I'm I think I'm excited about the most is the use by the elderly. As Commissioner
Zimbar said, almost 32% um they're they're battling with a 21 to 35 for you know who has the most percentage but I think that's great and obviously a 4.8 which is what we're getting right now is fantastic. I I you
know I could say something that people just give it some time about the uh about the wait time but I know you've already addressed that and um you know it's still I mean if you know it's going to be 40 minutes is going to be 40 minutes or 35 minutes going to be 35
minutes you call it you know that much time in advance for the church or whatever you're going to go to. if if if it's okay just to respond to a couple things on that. One thing I just want to bring it out and it's mostly for the audience is you know looking at this one of the system development was they come up with a trip planner tool. You know
when we started this we didn't know how long it's going to take. We didn't know what the wrership is but as much about the wait time. It's really about calibrating expectation. If you know how long something takes you just plan accordingly to do it you know and and and so we we've launched that app so that that were that portion of the the
app to go there. And additionally, another change before booking it actually comes up and gives you an estimated weight before you before you you plan that. So that's there. And then another thing is, you know, I hope people don't move the goalpost on us. I mean, as I said, I obviously don't have much of a life and went down the rabbit
hole. I also decided to map Quest how long it would take me to get to a Lynx stop myself just to calibrate. We're talking trips to trips and I live relatively close to to a Lynx route. And for me to walk to the stop, it would take 16 minutes due to due to our good
friends at Google. And then there's, you know, our trip length is is 18 minutes. That's what it is systemwide. You go through it. That's how long the average person spends in a vehicle. You get on a bus, you know, you've got a longer trip, it's stopping at other places, and then you get off and you have to walk again.
You may have another 16 minutes. So, I just hope people aren't moving the the goalpost and saying, "Okay, well, you know, I can get my Uber in 7 minutes and this is taken or whatever the number is." And I'm making that up. I'm not saying all Ubers are 7 minutes, but I I hope people look at this in totality of
what the trip length is compared to other public transportation when putting it together. They have our commitment to strive to move forward. We're going to continue to roll out tools to help that planning. But, you know, these are things we're making in regard to that time and and hope people understand that.
>> And Madam Chair, the last thing I just wanted to say, the proof is in the pudding. It continues to rise as far as um uh wrership and passengers. Um we're on we almost broke the 20,000 last month. We're in line to break the 20,000
this month. And I just, you know, obviously I think it's just going to continue to go more and more. Congratulations. Thank you, >> Mr. Delorei. >> Thank you, Madam Chairman. And to say thank you is an understatement because there's a lot of people to thank. I know that uh Kristen standing in front of us,
so he'll be getting most of the accolades right now, but there's a lot of people as he said, but it was with his leadership that actually helped get this across the finish line. Doing something of this size within 12 months is no easy task. And so that needs to be
front and center. Obviously, >> uh, the issues that I've heard were not that great and every time I've brought them to staff's attention, they've always been solved. So, I wanted to thank not just Christian, but the entire staff for doing that. And I think what
Christian's just talking about with the total trip time, the walking to the bus station, getting the bus, walking from the bus station to your destination is really the selling point because it is the total time. So, I think that's appropriate and I look forward to seeing
where this evolves to because it's going to keep on evolving as uh staff is telling us and you know breaking the 20,000 uh people uh per month is just the beginning. I think it's going to go a lot further than that obviously and I've
heard nothing but compliments. So, there's a lot to be said about this and uh compliment everyone that's been involved in it. Thank you, Madam Chairman. >> Commissioner Lockheart, let's uh bring it home. We started with you, we'll end with you. >> Well, well, we'll see. Um, I was having
a conversation uh with Martin Komas from the Orlando Sentinel the other day and he said, "I'm I'm asking you these questions because you seem like you have been, you know, one of the biggest champions of this and brought this to the forefront." And I said, "Well, Martin, here's the deal. If people hate it and it fails, it was my idea. If it's
fantastic, we all worked really hard together on it." And I'm okay with that because um the the truth of the matter is, you know, it t it does take a team of people to step out and give our staff the the cover to make some really risky
decisions. Um, I think that when we looked at this initially, it was the slide, it was the PowerPoint slide that started me on a spiral from from lengths that had the projected cost out five
years that in 2030 we their their costs were absolutely their own projected costs were going to be unsustainable for this county to continue to participate. And I think that's what started all of us down the path of okay, we can't continue to do the same thing over and
over again. Um, we had no choice but to make a different choice. And I'm so thrilled um that that we're in this place in as quick a time as as we are. One of the things that I also admitted is that um
we probably did too good a job of advertising Scout as a transportation solution to this entire county except for the rural area. Because the real root of why we went
down this path was to replace the fixed route links service that was going away, not to become a competition for Uber or Lift. And as many times as we said that from this disas it was still very hard to communicate to people well what's scout what microtransit what's
microtransit so what do you do the first thing you do is you say well you know it's similar to an Uber or a lift I can't tell you how many times I said that in front of a TV camera and now I think when someone asks how is scout going is it a success my answer is well it depends on your frame of reference if
you were someone who rode the lynx bus and had to walk in the rain or the 90°ree heat and humid humidity to for 20 minutes to get to your bus stop and then had to sit on the bus for 40 minutes and then had to walk another 15 or 20 minutes. You everyone that's in that boat that I have spoken with that
switched over to Scout thinks it's fabulous. It's life-changing. And I can tell you story after after story mostly of of of moms who are traveling with young children who either need to get their laundry done, they're going to a laundromat or their child was able to get to school on the bus, but they
weren't able to then go to school to have the parent teacher conference because they didn't have transportation from their house to the school and they can do that now with Scout. So I I I wish that the media was able to find those stories to be able to share. Um, if you're someone who has been a
consistent user of Uber or Lyft and you're familiar with that service, you may be um disenchanted with Scout because it is it is not intended to replace Uber or Lift. This is public transportation and it's providing a service for people who are
transportation challenged, who need public transportation. And so while I hear loud and clear and I I unfortunately go down the rabbit trail on social media as well. Um and sometimes people send me screenshots. Um thank you. Uh
um I I still believe that what we have pivoted to is not only the most economically responsible thing to do for the taxpayers of Semino County, but it is also the most compassionate form of transportation for people who need it the most. we are telling you we will
come and pick you up and we will take you to where you need to go and most likely that cost for you is going to be incredibly affordable because of the discounts and that's the other thing I would ask our friends in the media when you say our fairs start at $4 that is
the fair the base fair but the discounts on top of that $4 make most people's rides a$150 or or $2 um so I'm so please help us get the word out that this is an incred incredibly affordable program for people who need those discounts. They
exist. Um, couple of different things I'm going to ask you to answer for the good of the order. Um, if someone is disabled, can they ride scout? >> Depends on the level of disability. So, disability is a is a a big ruler.
>> If you are ambulatory or have a conventional wheelchair, yes, you can ride scout. If you're in a a wheelchair with supporting systems, headrests, tra things of that nature, and no, Scout is not for you. That that is a that is an
access links paratransit mode of transportation. >> And do we still offer that? >> Yes, absolutely. That's offered through links. We have not discontinued that. That's 100% there. We have not touched it. Now, if you are ambulatory, scout may be a a much more convenient way for
you to travel and cheaper way for you to travel. So, it it just depends on your level of of disability. >> Okay. Do we uh if you are a bike rider, do do we allow bikes? >> We do allow bikes. The um the fleet is outfitted the the Volkswagen fleet is
all outfitted with um with bike racks. In fact, when you look at them in the back, there's kind of these little rabbit ear things that look there. So that they in the trunk, they have a bike rack that attaches to that that can actually hold an ebike. It's it's fairly substantial bike rack. All that being
said, we have not had one bike ride request to transport a bike since the full service started. So since we've been tracking, let me back up. Since we started tracking that data, which was very early on, because we weren't seeing it, we said, "Can you make this a
request on the app?" So, if you were before that period and you rode a and you had a bike on there, my apologies, but almost the entire service, it's it's zero. >> Interesting. Um, sunrail times, the syncing up of being able to call for a
ride. If you're coming in on a Sun Rail train from Valuchia or Orange County and I know I'm going to get off at the Lake Mary stop at 10:04, how do I coordinate that arrival? >> So, it used to be, and this is one of the changes that we made, it used to be that when you got to the stop, you would
book and it would the pin would, you know, would find you, your phone would say you're here. We we have a, you know, to to try to stop shenanigans of people scheduling rides, putting around. They have that. So, it's where you're located and you can move it a little bit, but you have to be within the service zone to do that. You had to
be within so many feet of the location. It was posing a problem for Sun Rail riders. So, we've since released that restriction to Sunreil. So, if you're booking or um if if you're booking a ride for pickup or drop off, you can just place the pin at a Sunreil station
and at any, you know, at any one and it will it will get there. So, if you're in Valuchia County and you know, hey, my train is coming to wherever, you can put that in there and then and then you know and then be able to launch it. The one thing I'll say, I'm always a devil's in the details guy. There could be a chance
that you may have to be in Seminal County. I'll follow up with you on that to see if the overall app you know you have to be in that global space. Um but I don't believe that to be the case, but I will follow up 100% to be sure. But you can still be on the train and drop it at the station and and that will
start your request to be picked up. And and to go on to add to that, we looked at the amount of riders at each station to say, you know, do we need to have a vehicle there to do it? You know, and it didn't really justify having a bus there. It made more sense for people to
say, hey, you know, let me let me pres, you know, let me preschedule it with the pin. Having been slightly obsessed with links buses and Sunrail the last year or so, um I've spent time sitting I do I also need hobbies apparently. um
sitting in the parking lot at various Sunreil stations to see when the Lynx bus pulls up how many people are getting off and how many people getting are getting on because I I the the numbers you can't really tell from the numbers that we received from links who was
actually moving where when so I saw very very few people actually the bus would pull up it would sit there for whatever time it needed to sit there no one would get off no one would get on and the bus would continue on its way. And so now that was not every time. Of course,
sometimes people got on and off, but um not to the degree that made me think that that was something, but but we have at least identified the the problem that problem of being able to order ahead of time and we've believe we've mostly solved that. >> That's correct. And we'll continue
monitoring and if we need to make other changes, we'll certainly make other changes. >> Okay. >> Oh, sorry. >> Hold on. >> What other challenges? because you are you are a critic of the system and I appreciate that. It is very hard to be a critic of your own something that you are so intimately involved in. What
other things do you see that we don't see because you do have a peak behind the curtain that you see as challenges for us? >> So a a couple things yesterday I'll focus on yesterday. I mean there's some other challenges. I think I'm going to be back here after we've kind of had some time in March to to really give a
full recap of what the full transition looked. I'm trying to take a measured response to things because yesterday was kind of the first business day as a result. So, I'm trying to, like I said, take a measured response just to see. But I I think there'll be some changes. Yesterday, there were some there were
some unique things that happened. We had 204 requests and 124 completed trips from people that just created their profile that very day. So, we just went through all that outreach that we did, which is a crazy amount of outreach in a
relatively short amount of time. And I would say crazy amount of outreach in a short amount of time. And yet, people still chose to wait till the last minute to do things. So, you're getting into a system that you're not familiar with and you're trying to learn it. I mean, it's not difficult to learn it, but there's
like anything, the first time you go somewhere, you're not as familiar with it. You go to the second time, you have a little bit better what to expect. So, so that was a challenge yesterday. worse was we had by the time the end of the day I asked poor Jason from freebie I talked to him all the time I'm sure
his wife would prefer I go away um I asked him at the end of the day I said after business closes all the data settle send me a recap some of the problems we were seeing through the day and we talked about them but I wanted to get a full recap so so one of the biggest ones we saw yesterday was 30
users were responsible for 231 cancellations yesterday. So, and I'll I'll give you an example. This started to come on our radar. We talked about it. I was bothering poor Jason when he was flying yesterday. There was a number of texts and email exchanges going back.
Um, whatever airline he was flying, apparently had very good Wi-Fi. Um, but we we then had a an impromptu meeting at lunch to go through it. And the numbers were not as bad as that. We had 18 users with 150 cancellations at
lunchtime. So I said, "Run the top two for me and let's look." So the top one was a customer that is a normal customer of ours. He made 16 requests in 45 minutes. Booked it, cancelled, booked it, cancelled. I believe this individual
thinks it's, sorry for the poor analogy, thinks it's some kind of transit ch Tetris where, hey, I'm waiting for the right piece to fall and then I'm going to move it to me and hopefully I'll get a fivem minute ride. It doesn't work like that. He's really going to the back of the queue every time he does this.
It's also screwing up other riders. What it's doing is their routes have to be re-calibrated. You know, their times on their phone look like we have no idea what's going on because hold on, you you are three behind. You know, three Bob's your driver. Well, hold on. Now Tim's your driver and you're five because Tim,
you know, Tim's route may now be quicker and his people are closer to you. So, that caused a problem. There was another the second highest user was a or the second highest counselor was a person that doesn't really ride with us that have taken two rides um in the entire
time since October and they didn't book. So there was a bunch of cancellations from this person I think at noon they had done 14 and they they had not they had not booked of all those 18 riders at lunch and I have the detail on those ones because we went down the rabbit
hole. only four of them actually made completed rides. So I Jason and I again his wife I'm sure was loving to hear from me before the 8:00 hours. I'm calling his house. We talked in links this morning about trying to make some app changes to try to quite frankly
block people if they get to a point where they're frozen out of the app and if they need to make a ride they can call the call center. But that type of that type of thing has having a massive impact on on times. is having a massive impact on service delivery to other folks. I don't know why they're doing
it. Like I said, some people may think, hey, I've got the ability to game the system if I just keep, you know, looking for, you know, they think they're like the the 10th caller of the radio for some competition. I don't know. But that's it. But, you know, another thing we learned yesterday on a more positive note is, you know, we have the ability
to to launch surveys and things like that out at a moment's notice. I can throw things out. So, we decided, hey, let's let's throw a survey out. G actually spearheaded this and thought it would be great to launch a survey on the first, you know, the first business day and we got some really good data from that. So, so here's some things of the
customers yesterday. 16% of them previously relied on links. So, only 16%. 37% were Uber Lift riders. Now, that doesn't mean that they're affluent. They may have lived in a transit desert and they
had no other choice. And and and there we go. The next number is, and I won't go through all of them, I can if you have further questions, but the next one that I think is the most telling one, and I think truthfully this is a feather in all y'all's cap, is 32% of the people would not have been able to make the
trip without scout. They're that much in a desert. They obviously couldn't have afforded the Uber or Lift option and they didn't do it. So, you know, the these numbers, you know, as much as, you know, it's frustrating on people with the times and things like that, the service is providing things and, you know, we're learning this. I mean, this
is a a massive, you know, a massive change for some folks is quality of life and and quite frankly, that that speaks volume to the decision and it's, you know, you know, it's well done work. Um the the other piece that I know you're still working on um and so I'm
wearing two hats in this conversation admittedly is our seminal state students. >> Um previously um both UCF and uh Seminal State gave money to links to provide quote free
rides for their students. And I've had a couple of conversations with some students um who I I had to, you know, make help make the connection point that that ride was in fact not free. Someone was paying for that ride. It just wasn't you. Um and so the fact that some of our
some students are now having to pay $150 or $2 for a ride is is troublesome for some of them. They're although I haven't found one that lives in Semino County yet. Um, I'd love to hear genuinely would love to hear from a a Seinal a
Seinal County resident who attends Seminal State or UCF and find out um if they've tried to utilize the system yet and what their circumstances are. Um, it will be up to Semol State to deter because we already offer the student
discount. Semol County we have we as a board have already identified students are important elderly are important um lowincome not that everybody else isn't important but in terms of offering a discount let me rephrase that we we want to provide accommodations for students
elderly and disabled and lowinccome right okay >> and sun rail sun rail riders so we're already offering a student discount to students if any of our other academic institutions ions wish to provide additional discounts for their
students or faculty, it will be incumbent upon them once we really dig into the data and see how many of their students are actually riding or faculty or staff to determine to what level they would like to further subsidize those rides. Is that a fair statement? >> That that is a completely fair
statement. So, we we've we've got a there's a couple folks we're in conversation of. One of them is is Seminal State. There's another uh educational institution we have. We have a couple ways that I mean there's really a number of ways to do this. You you you were very eloquent early on saying, "Hey, we can geoence. We can do all
these things." And that allows us to do it. So we have things where I mean they can if they want to chip in and pay a portion of it, they could. We could do that. If they want to pay the whole thing, they could. We could get make them a free zone if they there's a number of things to the degree that that anyone and even outside of educational
institutions that they wanted to assist that we could in fact do this. Um, but to your point, you know, it it is being subsidized by the board. It's not a free ride. You know, there even at the discount or even truthfully the full fair, it doesn't cover the price. So,
we're very much open to those conversations. We can help design it in a number of ways. Um, if there's a willingness, >> I think it's critical to continue to remind people that we understand that this is a taxpayer provided benefit to
the community. and and it is it is the taxpayers of Semino County and via some grants through uh state and federal government that were able to provide the service, but the people who who ride it uh need to have some skin in the game to varying degrees to be able to get around
town. And and I know there are other uh places around the country and around the state who like to offer free uh transportation or at least talk about offering free transportation for their citizens. Seol County, I don't believe, is one of them. um it is not it is not fair to the taxpayers of this community
to offer um completely free uh transportation. So that um I just thought I needed to say that because there's been a lot of conversation about that in in my space. So um thank you. That's all I have. >> Good. Commissioner Constantine, you had
one. Just just one last thing since we went through a litany of concerns, all of which I think are doable to work out and I I'm very pleased with the the progress obviously. But in at the last National Association of Counties
meeting, um I was talking to the editor of the newspaper um and magazine that goes out to all the counties in the state or the nation, excuse me. and he Charlie Van was very interested in the
innovation that we have put together here at Semino County specifically this and Seminal Forever both of which are unique uh throughout the state of Florida in the United States. So in um a upcoming article they're going to
separate them but in the upcoming article they're going to do one on uh scout and uh I mentioned obviously to get a hold of Christian and uh I mentioned uh commissioner that also if uh you know to get a hold of you so um you know I I think that that they want
to highlight different innovative programs throughout the United States and it's kind of exciting that uh they saw that two that we're doing are um so innovative and something that they want to write about. >> Commissioner Zimbau,
>> I just wanted to we have talked about quite a bit. The one thing that I was missing in bringing up was the one thing we've not discussed in this and and and I I knew when we started down this path this was going to be a benefit to some of our elderly that either rely upon
neighbors, family or somebody at the church or whatever to get them places. I think this is going to grow um in in that narrative higher than 32%. Mhm. >> Um, and most of these folks have the
wherewithal to pay the $4, $3, whatever it is, but there's a mental health as aspect of this as well. These people are not locked down in their homes with nowhere to go. I mean, if you knew how many of our retired or or older folks have
nobody they can rely upon or have to wait for somebody else's schedule to rely upon who have to sit and watch TV all day with their dog and cat, have no way to get out. Now, they have the ability to get out of the house at at their desire and get back at a
reasonable time in a safe fashion without walking to a a bus stop. Um, but I think these numbers clearly prove out we didn't have much links ridership to begin with.
>> Um, is what it tells me. You know, I've been asking for the numbers for links since the day I got here. And they just don't jive. And I think we're going to see people that use Uber are going to use Uber, excuse me, because they want to go direct there quick. They have the
wherewithal to do that. But, you know, the other aspect, people just want to share a ride, get there, get outside the house. I think we're going to be faced with this growing to the point where we're going to have to make additional decisions to bring more vehicles on board, which is
fine as long as it's helping pay for itself. We'll have that discussion. So, good stuff. >> Thank you. And I'll round it out with with a a couple of short comments. Number one, we I think did a good job in picking a good partner. We didn't give a shout out. We gave a shout out to
everybody, but a shout out to Freeb and the team that takes Christian's calls at 8:00 at night and their spouses. Uh they have been a very good partner. My comment with regard to the counselors, the what I would call frequent flyers,
um you can hide behind anonymity. There's nothing to say that we can't do an outbound phone call to those frequent counselors to point out that we know who you are, which may end it. >> So, so we actually So, yesterday we
called the we tried to get a hold of the the the top frequent flyer. We have not got a call back. Jason this morning is going to have his team reach out to him again to try. But, you know, we're going to try and and that's the part we're at now. We're doing a deep dive on not only what happened yesterday across history.
We're going to try some education, but then we're going to we're going to put a cattle shoot to make sure people can't can't do this too much. Education is still most important and having the contact with them is part of the plan with that. >> Well, that may be an ongoing thing to do
be just because of the world we live in today. I I would love to see and I think this is where Gee probably was going with the survey etc. but there's a positive economic impact to this for the folks that were getting out of the house that were locked in their house before
and that would be wonderful to report. Um the comment about moving the goalpost I think I I'm sure you didn't mean this but I think that's us. We can't move the goalpost. No, no,
>> I know for you all. No, absolutely not. >> You didn't mean that. But but I think we need to own that we can't move the goalpost as time goes on and forget the roots of this because I do think the savings are significant. It's important to maintain the savings and this thing
is growing. There's a significant number of roots coming in and out of Heathrow. So just that's me chasing buses around on that side of town. uh VW buses. And so we really we really need to think
about how we do this so that we don't end up with a big slice. We need to be monitoring and pairing as we go. Um and and then the last comment that I'll throw out there is that I can't help but to think about how proud Commissioner Henley would have been of you and all of
us for actually taking a step because he used to complain about that escalating cost and the uns sustainability of it 20 years ago. >> Yep. And so I just hearken back to former commissioners that that led this path as well. Christian, thank you so much. >> Just just one one comment. Thank you.
And I won't believe the point because this has been a successful program and it's it happened organically as as you know how how we started looking at the balloon cost as Commissioner Lockheart was saying with our Lynx budget um when Commissioner Zimbra were sat on there.
You all have have heard that and this is a taxpayerf funded program, public transit program. I'm glad that was this is not a private Uber. You know, we this is successful. We are we do have some hiccups. I >> can't commend our team enough for I mean
Christian him and I have had I would say we buted heads but we have buted heads because some of the projects that he was working on I have to do now. So because he's focusing on this so much, but we've got that cleared up. But one thing to realize when we looked at this, our
budget for links, if we did not make this change was se well this year was $17 million. This program has saved us 10 million. We've cut the links budget by by 10 million. Now when we add our freebie contract with the additional vehicles,
we're paying about 6 million. So, we are saving with the with the make sure Mr. Jackson got these numbers right. We talked about this yesterday with the fairbox. We are saving approximately $5.5 million on for taxpayer dollars
providing a better service um for our residents here in Sol County. So, I don't want that to go without without saying. And it's more friendly to the environment. >> Mhm. >> Because we don't have residents stuck in traffic behind links buses on all these
roads at an idle waiting for the bus to get loaded and unloaded and all that. So there's a there's a benefit there as well. >> And we're preserving First Street in Sanford, which I never understood why we let a bus drive down a brick street. >> Wouldn't happen on Park A.
>> Right, >> Christian? Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you all. All right, we're going to move on to the website redivine redesign project update. Commissioners, this is one that I asked to be on the agenda because there was so much emphasis when I first got here around the website and
this and that and the other. We made a significant investment in it and really never rolled it out. Um, I don't think it got the red carpet that it deserved. So, I've asked Chris to do this >> and uh Darren agreed. >> Good morning, chairman. Good morning, commissioners. Chris Patton,
communications director for the record. I'm joined today by Tim Williams, our web manager. We're going to go through a couple live views of the website as I move through the presentation. Um, starting off our agenda, purpose, background, progress, next steps. Starting off with the purpose, provide
an update on the county website redesign, demonstrate improvements in performance, accessibility, and citizenf facing services. And onto the background. Um, as you might know, last year we uh did this project with the new website. It's still
one of our most heavily used communication services. We average about a third of a million people a month that view our website. Unfortunately, the previous platform was built on a proprietary CMS content management system. Um, for layman's terms, that's the software backend that
allows us to update the website. Updates were slow, costly, and difficult to scale with old website. and also mobile performance lagged behind user behavior. In addition, emergency updates required manual workarounds and page refreshes.
On October 22nd, 2024, the board decided to award a contract to SGS Technologies for the county's website redesign. We kicked off that project this year that year and continued um through last year and completed it in July in June 15th of last year.
Um why the action was required is that the content management system that we were currently working on no longer supported our needs. Maintenance costs increased without performance gains. Security, accessibility, and scalability risk were growing. And the modern CMS was necessary to support service
delivery emergencies and growth. So onto the progress that we've made. Um we have a new content management system called Sitefinity. What's nice about this system is that we own the license to it. county owns the software license. So if our vendor perhaps leave
or we want to choose a different vendor, we don't have to go and get a new software. Um, site Finn is also widely used by a lot of state agencies. FDOT, FHP also use this system. So we have partners in knowing how to use the system and enhances our security,
stability, and long-term support for the county's digital services as well. Um, one of the top things is emergency management. When we have emergencies, our old website, the user had to refresh it to get new information. When you're in a fastmoving emergency and we're putting new information out, for
instance, evacuations or boil water notices, having the user dependent on refreshing the screen can be troublesome. So, our new website has what's called sight sync. So, every two seconds we can push information and the page is automatically updated for the user. Um, kind of eliminates that manual
refresh, but also gets information to the people quicker. Also important is uh mobile friendliness. Our old website didn't really work well on mobile devices. Why that's important? Because twothirds of our traffic is from mobile devices. Um
the new site was designed mobile first. Meaning as Tim and I and Office of Information Technology were looking at new pages, we were looking at mobile pages first and making sure they worked appropriately before we moved on to the desktop. Um this improved readability, navigation, accessibility for the end
user. Okay, we're going to go and switch over to the new website, but I wanted to show you our accessibility tool. And what this allows us to do is to, you know, meet the federal requirements of ADA accessibility accessibility standards. So over in the right hand corner,
there's a little guy. And when you hit that, it opens a lot of tools for um increasing the contrast of the site, page text, all these things help um users that have um assisted technologies like page
readers. Also has built-in language tools that allows people to change the language of the website. Next on is our custom forms. Before our forms on our website were all custom, made it very hard to maintain and to manage those. Now we have a widget um
where they're all basically the same. We're able to maintain them and and uh they look a lot nicer, too. Moving on to our page templates. Um before our website was very unique. every page kind of had a different look and feel. It can make it difficult for the user when they don't know where to
find things. So you see our homepage, it's got a nice template to it, but most important, our departments all have the same recognizable template. And so when you go to a department page, you see the contact information on the right hand side. It's all consistent. It's there for the user. And as you flip through them, you see um they all have this
they're all unique in some way, but they all have that same look and feel. Another important upgrade we made was API integrations. These are thirdparty applications and how they interact with our website. For instance, YouTube, some of our calendars and scheduling tools are now integrated into the website. And
previously, you sometimes had to click and leave the website to access those features. Um, another important part of the website that we're really happy about is our front page. has a lot of news and stories and events. It makes it feel more dynamic. And so the office communications takes the content we
develop for the newsletter and our social media and we place it on the website every month. So there's new information. It doesn't feel like a static. In addition, the calendar is really nice. It has a lot of different events on it and those things are pieced up and put onto the department pages as
well. Another important feature of our website is the improved indexing. This helps with search functions. Um, so when you search on the website, before you would just get a whole bucket of different things. Now we have it split up into different categories. So when you make a search, you can see different pages,
news, events, or even documents that relate to that search that you entered. It helps find the user what they need quicker and eliminates frustration. Finally, I want to talk about how the website's maintained. Before we had a decentralized system of about 150 users across the county that was part of the
challenges with security and now we have a team of two people here. Lee Hicks is behind me, our specialist, and Tim Williams, our web manager. And all those requests from the departments come into the office communications are managed and with the help of Office of Information Technology, those are then
put onto the new website. Going on to next steps. Um we continue to work on improvements on the website. Even though the project is done, we are coming out with a new media and partner toolkit template this week for our scout program so we can share some of those great videos and graphics we shared with our partners. In addition, we're working
on a new boil water advisory um system with our utilities department. And future enhancements include asset management, digital integration with the citizen engagement center, and API integration with alert seminal. I'm available for any questions you might have. >> Thank you very much for the
presentation. And I'm going to I'm going to give a shout out to Trisha who this project started with. And this probably gave you a little bit of PTSD with remembering the 150 users and us all thinking it was easy to get the pages to match. >> I do remember those discussions. They were pretty good.
>> It was easy. All we had to do is write a check. >> Yeah, >> write a check in a year's worth of progress. Commissioners, any comments? >> I'll just say thank you very much to the entire team for pulling this together. Um, I've been involved in one way, shape, or form with the county's website
since 2004. I I think I was one of those employees at one point in time that was responsible for maintaining our border county commissioners web page, and it was um a nightmare. Um, so this is fantastic and and it's because we were
able to invest in having dedicated folks who can own this responsibility. That was not something that, um, previous boards were willing to give the county manager the ability to do. So, um, thank you for taking it on and for owning it
and, um, and getting it to where where we need it to be. So, appreciate it very much. Commissioner Zimbau, >> it is now user friendly um to the public, which which was always the challenge uh in navigating through it and getting to where you think you want
to be or where you wanted to be. Um what I would like to voice maybe a consideration is a citizen reporting portal uh that man could be managed by AI.
potholes, sidewalks broken, uh whatever it might be that the citizen can just go in, put it in, it'll automatically route to the department. They can call the the resident and say, "Take some pictures, whatever. We'll send somebody out there to check it." Um it's being utilized in
other jurisdictions around the country to great success. Instead of waiting for the letter to come from the bodily injury firm that someone tripped and broke their leg on the sidewalk, a citizen has sent them and said, "Hey, by the way, sidewalk fell apart out here."
So, just a thought, but good work. Thank you. >> That reminds me of it. Do do we still have the app that was that where citizens could >> sell app that was I think was purchased during co is still active where you can do some of those things but it's it's
not as well advertised as it should be >> and it's a little antiquated when I tried to use it. >> It is I just wasn't sure if it was still active and if we needed to make it not be active if people aren't using it might be >> there's still some activity but it is very low. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> A transitional opportunity. Any other
comments? All good. I would add uh we all know I can't wait for the day when I can pop into that website and see all the dashboards, the departments and how we're doing and how permits are flowing through the system and all of that. That's the dream state as well as
the citizens being able to do that. Um and then I I'll tag on to the reporting of potholes, but it's probably bigger than that. the ability for somebody to go through the website, interact with customer service, and get a response as opposed to phone units only. I think
that's becoming more mainstream. I I am I don't want to go to AI there yet because AI is still a little frustrating in that environment, but eventually it could migrate to that. Um, with that, thank you, Chris, for the presentation. Thank you for indulging the request. And
the next item on our agenda for this morning is the basin study work session like Monroe and the big little econ. Uh thank you chairman her and fellow commissioners. Uh we're here for our second basin study update to the uh
board of county commissioners today. Um this is of the 16 basins in the um in the county. We've studied 13 of them. This is the second group. We'll come back one more time at the um at the end of the month uh to put a bow on the last
one as well. And I will do very similarly as we did the last time. I'll turn it over to Joe. He will walk us through all the details uh and then we'll be here and available for any questions of of staff or our consulting teams. All right. Thank you, Director Slott.
Thank you, Madam Chairman, fellow commissioners. My name is Joseph Lefaso. I am the chief design engineer, Seminal County Public Works. Um, today we're here to present an update on the Lake Monroe, Lockheart, Smith Canal, and Big and Little Econ Basin Studies.
Today's agenda will be basin study overview, basin study timeline. Uh then a deeper discussion into the Lake Monroe Lockhart Smith canal basin study followed by discussion into big and little econ drainage basin studies. Our next steps and requested action.
Uh as we said there are 16 drainage basins in Semino County. Um you know we study these all the time because these are important facets of our drainage program, our storm water management program. these, you know, basins are composed of smaller areas um such as the subbasins. Some of these subbasins are
closed subbasins, which means they don't have a natural discharge point. So again, that's another important reason is to discover where those are located. Um and so all of that is again part of our overall public works program. Why we study these things? Again, um the basin studies are used to generate project
concepts which then migrate into the storm water master plan, which then is used to create our five-year work program through the prioritized project list. And then those projects where we end up designing and constructing in order to prove storm water infrastructure in the county. Our indicators that we use to help us study these issues are what they call
level of service and also we run we discover those levels of services based on different storm events that we run. So 25 years, 10 year storm, 50-year storm, etc. Just to see how the infrastructure performs under these different design scenarios. Once we have
that, then we're able to use this rubric in order to grade each of the storm improvement concepts to give us that order of priority. And so going into the basin studies, again, you can see here this map, we have 13 of 16 studied today. We are
looking at the two basins in green. Um, and we began this process in 2019. So now we're happy to bring it to a final conclusion. Um our timeline so far between 2019 2025 we've been updating the basin studies same time we held public meetings and incorporated public
comment um and now we are here today January 13 2026 to discuss and ask for acceptance into service the lake Monroe and big and little ecomachi basin studies uh to begin with the Lake Monroe Lockheart Smith canal basin study um
this basin consists of 24.9 square miles and includes the cities of Sanford and Lake There are a total of 15 project concepts. There are 1,036 subbasins which compose this basin, 136 of which are closed. The timeline for this specific basin
study began in 2021. We had a first public meeting that year and we began all the data based in collection. In 2022, we had a second public meeting as well as continue to develop the basin model. In 2023, we had the first basin uh board of county commissioner meeting
and then we had a sec a third public meeting and we did our LOS alternative analysis as well as submit a draft basin study and CIP report for review by staff in 2025. All of that was then bundled into our final draft report. And now here at the very beginning of 2026,
we're here to accept into service at this BCC meeting. um going into the basin more in depth in and of itself. This particular basin study was performed by our consultants at Atkins Realis. Um the project overview for this just to give a general review of the scope. Um we're here to
update the 2001 watershed model. This will help us create a flood map and planning models going forward into the future. Uh we held public meetings regarding this in order to help us identify and assess those flooding problems that were present in this basin. that helped us then develop the conceptual improvement projects to reduce flooding and improve water
quality and the deliverable of the study was the basin study report itself as well as the recommended conceptual improvement projects. All right, check the clicker. >> One second. >> Thank you.
Got it. Okay. So, moving on to the results of the basin study. We're going to begin uh as we did with the previous rendition. Um the FEMA effective 100-year map. This is the current map that's in effect. It is 6.9 square miles of flood plane. Um it is the one that's currently used for flood insurance
purposes. The map dates back to 2007, but it's based on 2001 data. And again, because of that, many of the floodprone areas are not currently mapped in this map. Um, however, we will now wait for the surprise. >> So, we have paper copies up here, but
that doesn't help those watching. Does the overhead >> electronic copy? >> Does the overhead work? >> I do as well. >> Yeah. >> Yep. >> Yep. >> Or you can It's online. Um
>> if you go to the online agenda, you can bring it right up. There you go. >> Will work. Okay. So, let me know when you're ready. >> 608. >> Okay. Got it. So, let's see. Perfect.
All right. So, back to where we left off. Current flood map, projected 100-year flood ination map. So we see an increase to 8.7 square miles. Um this is mapped using our new model with the latest information and as we
can see that what that means is that the map flood plane area would we project increase by 26%. At the bottom left we have the table detailing that breakdown by total parcels, total buildings and total area. Um so that's our projected
increase for the flood plane in this basin. Moving on, we have our proposed flood improvement projects. Um here the map ID is is the order in which the project is the area really the problem area that project is going to address was identified. Then in the middle is
the name of the project area and then on the right in the box that is the priority ranking of the project. So that is the order in which we would perform them if we were just going to do this basin by itself. Um, it's important to note as part of the stormwater master plan, all of the basin study projects
will be amalgamated and then reranked on a countywide basis using that same grading rubric. So, this is just for the sake of the individual basin as to what its order of priority would be. And then when we do the storm water master plan, a reranking will occur based on the entire county.
Um, it's also important via of those 15 projects, the ones denoted by the asterisk, those four projects also have the water quality benefit. And these maps here again we had a zoomed out map. So just to give a little bit more detail to the displacement of all the projects within the basin, we
divided it into two segments, west and east of I4. So this one is just showing a zoomedin um image of the western section of the Monroe Basin. Uh the projects with the red star emblem are those with the water quality attributes.
And then just switching to the east side again just to show a more clear image of where these are all located in in the county. And then here again because some of them were again really clustered together, we wanted to make sure we had that
locked in as a clear image rather than just leaving it as a blown out um wider scale map. So that concludes the Lake Monroe Lockhart Smith Canal Basin. And now we have the big Eon La Hatchee and Little Econ Basin study. Um they are the areas
in green here. Um the little Econ is 10.4 square miles in Semino County. Big Each has 42.4 square miles in Semino County. And we note that because both basins do have um part of their overall area that extends south into Orange
County. So we're just classifying that as we've covered the seminal county portions of those basins within the project scope. They include the cities of Castlevary and Ovidito. There are 16 project concepts, 3,35 subbasins within the two basins and there are 25 closed
subbasins. Our project timeline for these in 2021 we began the basin study. In 2022 data collection was complete and the first public meeting was held. In 2023, a second public meeting was held and model development was complete. 2024, the
storm water model development and LOS analysis was added and the flood plane mapping was also performed. In 2025, that was all amalgamated into the final draft basin study report. And now here at the beginning of 2026, we come to ask for acceptance into service at this BCC meeting.
This one is prepared by our consultant staffs at our Dura in association with half for the Big Each and the Kalahhatche drainage basin studies. The scope of work was similar. Develop a hydraologic and hydraulic model to flood inundation mapping, flooding assessment, deficiency identification, preparing a
concept project, scoring the concept projects, and then evaluating the conceptual improvements to serve as to alleviate flooding and to improve water quality. The results of the basin again presented in that same three-step format. So, our first step is taking a look at the current FEMA effective 100-year flood
map. There is 15.9 square mile of flood plane between the two basin segments. Um this map was dated 2007 but it's based on a combination of 1985, 1996 and 2001 data. So again we're we feel a lot of those front areas are not currently
mapped and that's indicated by our current modeling which now increases the area to 23.3 square miles of flood plane. This is again using the latest data available to us and this is going to lead to an increase in these basins of 47% of that flood inundation area. The table on the lower left breaking it
down between parcels, buildings and total area. Then moving on to the proposed flood improvement projects. Same format here. The concept number on the left is just the air the number order in which the projects were identified. the project name in the
middle and then priority ranking on the right for just these basins. The re-ranking will occur similarly when we do the amalgamated reranking for the storm water master plan and similar because these basins are so large and the projects are moved around here and there. We wanted to give everyone a
better look. So we have our big economache project area zoomed in here. Um the red star indicates water quality improvement benefit. And then moving on to the lily kahhatchee. This basin is special because it's actually bifurcated in two
parts by the How Creek Basin. And again, we can see here those in red with the red star, excuse me, have the water quality benefit. Um the next steps for these uh we will provide the models to development review for use as the latest best available
information and we will submit final approved studies to FEMA for review and their firm map updates. Uh the next steps overall for the basin study program. Again, we have today the meeting to approve into service the Lake Monroe and Big Little Econ basin studies
coming up on the 27th the final clutch of basin studies which are big and little KYA and Yankee Lake. We will come back to the board and ask for acceptance into service and then once we have all those we will finalize the county storm water master plan. Our requested action this day is board approval for acceptance into service of the basin
studies for Lake Monroe Lockart Smith Canal and Big and Little Econ the Hatchee basins as recommended by staff. And that concludes my presentation and I thank the board for its time. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Move for approval. If there's not any questions, >> there's a public comment opportunity here.
>> No public comment, ma'am. >> Thank you. And we'll skip Kate's dissertation again. >> I have a motion. >> Second. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >> passes unanimously. Well done. Thank you for the upgrades to the maps. I sincerely appreciate it.
>> Long time coming. >> Yes, Commissioner Delari. >> Thank you. Quick question, Joe. Uh, a lot of these basins interact with cities. What's the status of the cities completing their portion of the basin studies? Because we're not really
getting into the cities portion, just the unincorporated areas. And so, it's just as important that the cities do theirs. Yes, we've had good coordination in these basins in particular. Um, Ovidito and Winter Springs both have recently indicated their readiness um with their
basin studies as they're on their city level. Um, so we've been in coordination with them. Um, we, you know, haven't initiated any joint projects, but we know that their status they're also, you know, nearing the end of their basin study programs or at the end of their basin study programs for what's within their city limits.
>> Okay. Just want to make sure we're doing that with all seven cities. That's all. >> Thank you so much, gentlemen. Very well done. >> Uh do you have anything to add, Darren? >> No. No, ma'am. >> I have one thing to add with regard to the basin studies, and that is that I'll give a shout out to Commissioner
Zenower, who's been shouting from the highest mountain to get this done since the day I arrived here. So, thank you for that push and prod, and thank you for your team for getting it done. Uh thank you, Darren, for the leadership on that. Uh with that I think we rest
adjourned until 1:30. Part: 2
All right, we're going to call the afternoon session of our meeting to order. Uh we will start with the public hearing agenda. Uh accept proof of publication. >> So moved. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I.
>> Motion passes. Exparte disclosure. We'll start with Commissioner Lockhart. >> I have none. >> None. >> All right. It says none. >> Okay. But you were about to hand me something. Thank you, Mr. I have a different form, but it still also says none.
>> Fabulous. >> None. >> None. >> And none. >> Thank you. We'll go to our esteemed county attorney. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh I will read the rules of engagement for the public hearing process. While the board
welcomes comments from all persons with an interest in these proceedings, Florida law requires that the board's decision in quasi judicial actions be supported by competent substantial evidence presented to the board during the hearings on the applications. Competent substantial evidence is such evidence as a reasonable mind would
accept as adequate to support a conclusion. There must be a factual basis in the record to support opinion testimony from both expert and non-expert witnesses. Persons presenting testimony may rely on factual information that they present, information presented by county staff,
information the applicant presented, or on factual information included in the county staff report to support their testimony. All persons who present written materials to the board for consideration must ensure that a copy of such materials is provided to the clerk for inclusion in the board's record of
the proceedings and the official minutes. Madam Chairman, >> thank you. We'll go to item 22 first. We'll have a presentation by staff. Then the applicant, should they wish to speak or present, can do so. Then we'll go to public comment. If there is anyone here
that would like to uh comment publicly, we ask that you fill out a form and turn it into Miss Drager up front. Thank you. And now we have Caitlyn Abgar, our senior planner. Thank you, Caitlyn. >> Hey, good afternoon. Caitlyn Abgar,
Planning and Development Services. The applicant is requesting the approval for a reszone from C2 general commercial to PD plan development for a proposed office and warehouse building on approximately 0.47 acres located on the southeast corner of Division Street
Division Street and Wells Avenue. The property currently has a zoning designation of C2 general commercial and a future land use of mixeduse development. This future land use supports the proposed PD PD plan development zoning.
The mixeduse development future land use allows for a maximum floor area ratio of 1.0. The applicant is proposing a floor area ratio of 0.2. The property currently exists as a vacant lot. The applicant proposes to develop the
site as a trades office with a warehouse component. The warehouse area is accessory to the office use and would exist within the building. The PD proposes sufficient setbacks and buffering between the proposed development and the abuing existing development to the south. The site is
currently located within the city of Castleberry's water service area, Seminal County sewer service area, and outside of any reclaimed water service area. The site will be required to connect to Seminal County's water and sewer systems. Prior to development, the property will be transferred to Semino
County's water service area during the final engineering stage to ensure both water and sewer services are provided by the same utility provider. The property proposes access onto Division Street, which is classified as a local road.
A minimum of 25% open space is provided on site. The proposed development is consistent with the PD criteria as stated in the following slides in staff report. As a summary, the benefits of this development include the provision of the
expected reduction in vehicle miles traveled per household, new multim multimodal connectivity through sidewalk connections and bicycle parking, and innovative development via the integration of trades office and warehouse uses. The PD proposes more than the required tree plantings via the
additional buffer provided on the south side and minim and minimizes transportation impacts by promoting accessibility. Consistency with the comprehensive plan is achieved through the projected um comprehensive plan policies on the slide. The the property is a new
single-use non-residential development proposing office and very light industrial uses. In order to develop the property as proposed, the applicant is required to reszone to plan development in accordance with the comprehensive plan future land use policy 4.2.2F6
as the property is a new development on a non-residentially zoned lot. The proposed building facade is oriented to the west to provide direct pedestrian access and a sidewalk connection to the existing network, thus meeting the walkable intent of the future land use.
staff finds the proposed PD plan development zoning classification to be consistent with the comprehensive plan. This the planning and zoning commission met on December 3rd December 3rd, 2025 and voted unanimously to recommend the board of county commissioners adopt the
ordinance. Staff requests the board of county commissioners adopt the ordinance enacting a reszone from C2 general commercial to PD plan development for proposed office and warehouse building on approximately 0.47 47 acres located on the southeast corner of Division
Street and Wells Avenue. >> Thank you very much, Miss Sapcar. Are there any questions of staff? >> Would the applicant like to make a statement? If you would give us your name and address for the record.
Uh Johnny Herbert, American Civil Engineering, 207 North Moss Road, Winter Springs, Florida. Um, I'm here as the applicant's civil engineer should any uh questions need to be answered regarding uh the site layout. Um, I'm here. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Is there any public comment? >> No, ma'am. >> Thank you. This is Commissioner Lockhart's district. Commissioner Lockhart. >> Yep. Uh, if there are no other questions and the board is ready, I would like to make a motion based on staff's findings and the testimony and evidence received
at the hearing today that we find the request meets the identified portions of the Semol County Land Development Code and recommend uh and adopt the requested reszone from C2 to PD and approve the associated development order and master plan development. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. All those
in favor? >> Opposed? Passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you for being here, sir. Our next item is item 23, Vantage Bank special exception. This will be uh presented by Annie Siloway, our
principal planner. Welcome. Thank you. Good afternoon. Annie Siloway, principal planner with development services. Um, the applicant is requesting a special exception to reinstate the operation of a bank on the subject property located at the corner of State Road 434 and East
Lake Brantley Drive on approximately 1.52 acres. The property has a future land use of office and OP office zoning which allows for the use of a bank if approved via a special exception. The property was originally approved for
a special exception to operate as a bank by the board of adjustments on September 17th, 1984. In 1996, the board of adjustments approved a special exception to reinstate the bank use after the facility had been vacant for more than 180 days, causing the previous special
exception to expire. No site improvements are being proposed at this time, and the existing building will be reoccupied as a bank. The site has two existing access points. Primary access is from State Road 434 and the secondary access is from Lake Brantley Road.
Based on staff's analysis of the special exception criteria, the rein the reinstatement of the proposed use is not detrimental to the character of the surrounding area and is consistent with the existing development patterns. The area to the north and west consists of
residential professional office uses and there is an existing bank establishment across the street on the west side of Lake Brantley Drive. The request complies with the additional use standards criteria for sites located in the OP office zoning district and the
use is compatible with the low inensity nature of the zoning district has established access to urban services. The planning and zoning commission met on December 3rd, 2025 and voted unanimously to recommend the board of
county commissioners approve the request. Staff finds the request meets the identified portions of section 30.3.1.5 special exceptions of the seminal county Land Development Code. Therefore, staff requests the board of county commissioners approve the special
exception and the associated development order to allow the use of a bank in the OP office zoning district. And that concludes my presentation. >> Thank you. Do we have the applicant here? >> Yes. Would you like to speak, sir? >> Please give your name and address for
the record. >> Hi, Greg Nak with Vantage Properties, 400 Caroline Parkway, St. Petersburg, Florida. I just am here and if there was any questions, I'm happy to answer them. >> Thank you for being here. Welcome to Semino County. Is there any public comment?
>> No, ma'am. Thank you. This is Commissioner Constantine's district. >> If there are no questions, then I will move the board of county commissioners approved the special exception on the associated development order to allow the use of a bank in the office zoning
district on approximately 1.52 acres located at the corner of South of of State Road 434 and East Lake Brantley Drive. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >> opposed. Passes unanimously. Thank you, sir, for being here.
>> Long trip. >> Wouldn't have gone that way if you didn't come. We'll move on to item 24. This will be presented by Mr. J. This is I feel compelled to say happy new year because we know it's the new year when you come for this item. >> Y. >> Thank you very much, commissioners. I'm
Timothy Jex with the Office of Management and Budget. Item 24 is our annual grant and project carry forward B. This is a budget amendment that will carry forward available balances of approved projects from last fiscal year 25 and reappropriate them in the current
fiscal year 26. This item was advertised on Friday, January 9th on the county's website. Last year, the approved budget included a total of 835 projects that fall under the category shown here. Of that 140 projects were completed and 695 are
being carried forward. Any remaining budgets from completed projects is being returned to reserves. The total amount of the B is $516,686,432. In the darkest blue section of the chart, you see the grant carry forward of $94.2 million. This includes grants
in our community services department who administers the county's housing assistance programs. We also have the septic to sewer grant, midway drainage grant, and public safety grants administered by our fire department and emergency management. Next, we're carrying forward $100.6
million in bond funding issued for the court phase of our Five Points development project. Remaining funds are primarily associated with a renovation to the criminal justice center. In the sales tax program, we're carrying forward $11.6 million across 168 active
projects. Next, we have enterprise funds which include water utilities and solid waste capital programs where we're carrying forward 108.5 million across 190 projects. In the fire department, we're carrying forward 43.2 million related to new fire stations,
renovations, and fleet replacement. In our general fund, we're carrying forward 11.2 million primarily associated with projects in support of the Seminal County Sheriff's Office and our facilities department. And finally, we're carrying forward $21 million in projects from other restricted funds,
including the building program, tourism, and countywide donations. That concludes my presentation. >> Thank you very much. We'll go to public comment. >> None. >> Thank you, commissioners. Any discussion needed? >> I'll look for a motion. Move to approve
and authorize the chairman to execute a resolution implementing budget amendment request B number 26-008 in the amount of 516,686,432 to carry forward available balances for existing projects, grants, associated revenues and assigned 2526 beginning
fund balances. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> I >> passes unanimously. All right, we have sped right through to the county attorney's report. >> We're going to speed right past it because I do not have a report today. Thank you, chairman.
>> All right, that's a good day. That is a good day unless you had any good news for us on settlements. Other than that, no report is a good report. County manager. >> Well, I won't speed through mine. And it's still a good day. And I have some exciting news. And if you would allow
me, I would like to invite Chief Kinley up. We have some great news with the fire department with our recent accreditation that I'd like him to announce. >> Good afternoon. Afternoon. >> For the record, Matt Kinley, fire chief, Siml County Fire Department. Um, as
county manager Darren Grace said, uh, some great news. As you know, um, you have one heck of a fire department. um from the boots on the ground running into fires, providing medical services, prevention, all the way to those unsung
heroes that take the 911 phone calls. Uh very stressful job. Um as you also know, we've been working towards accreditation within the comm center and we were just recently told uh by the internationalmies of emergency dispatch that we have achieved our ACE accreditation, accredited center of
excellence status. It's a big deal. Um, like all the accreditations, uh, it's always about seeking that that improvement, that continued excellence, uh, being on the cutting edge of doing everything that is new and right to knock those seconds off because they
matter so much. Um, makes it even extra special. just there's about 65 agencies uh internationally that have this accreditation about 15 in the state of Florida but um it it would appear that we are one of one do not only hold ACE
accreditation but ISO1 CFAI fire accreditation CAS accreditation um we're it >> congratulations >> so on behalf of the me men and women of the Selma County Fire Department. I just want to thank uh the county manager's
office, the board of county commissioners for your continued support. Uh it's it's very evident that uh you've made public safety a priority in this community. Um and it shows. Thank you. >> Good work. Thank you. >> Thank you. We appreciate everything that you and your team do and and it is our
responsibility to support you in those efforts. So, congratulations. Well recognized. We have bragging rights for at least a period of time until somebody else chomps up there. But maybe it'll be a long while. >> I dare them. >> I dare. >> Well, it would be good for everyone. >> Yes. >> Thank you.
>> And just icing on the cake. Uh we will be opening fire station 39. Promise. Uh I promise you all that has been actually we're operating out of there now. Uh the ribbon cutting is set for February the 4th at 10 a.m. And we'll make sure I'm sure that's already at your offices, but
we'll ensure that it's on your calendars as well. That's all I have. >> That's all you have. All right. That brings us to uh board appointments. I think the board appointments were all shared in advance in detail. So I will take a motion if it is acceptable for
all of them at once. >> So moved. Second. >> All those in favor? I >> I >> opposed. Motion passes unanimously. That brings us to the district reports. Commissioner Zimbau, you are first on the agenda. Well, that doesn't happen
very often. Not lately. >> Happens every sixth time. >> That's right. Um, a lot of things. Um, I attended the St. Lucia event and MCE that event um on behalf of the county's historical
commission on December 13th. Great turnout. People from all over Central Florida were there. It was very good event. Um, also received a call from a resident in Alamont Springs that was very, very
thankful to our fire department. Um, she had some grandchildren or children that were locked in a car uh at the ballet studio and she was couldn't couldn't thank us enough for how quickly the fire department showed up and was able to get into the car and and get the children
freed. So again, chief, good work on behalf of our firefighters. You know, we always say our firefighters, when nobody else in the county has a job title to do something, firefighters always do it, whether it's cut a tree down out of the road or whatever it might be. So >> h a cow out of a that's mud
>> or chase the emu across my district. Uh uh the Scottish Highland Games are this Saturday and Sunday, 17th and 18th at Central Winds Park. Good event. I know uh Commissioner Lockheart will likely be there and several of the others will be.
I unfortunately will not make it because this is hunting season and I will be in the woods u playing Scottish games in the woods. Um Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and prayer breakfast will be in Ovido. Ovito on the park. That's this Saturday.
Uh, Ovito's American Legion post uh flag education and retirement will be also January 17th this Saturday from 8:00 to 2:00 p.m. Uh, also the Jurassic Jog 5K will be in Ovido uh at the mall Sunday on the 18th
starting at 8:00 a.m. Uh, January 31st uh the couplet fern folks are having their annual sale of their plants. That'll be over at the museum on Esinglinger Way at 9:00 a.m. till noon. Uh, Semol County Gun and Archery
Association had 90 participants complete complete the club sponsored FWC Youth Hunter Field Day classes in 2025. They also have two new instructors certified over there. Next class is scheduled for February. Bill, thank you and your folks very much
for getting our young folks involved and getting them to the classes and the schooling they need for FWC. Good work. Uh, also have a request for the commissioners to write some letters on behalf of Honor Flight Central Florida. I'll circulate that to y'all's office.
Um, so you'll have all the details on that as well. I also want to take a minute and uh recognize I know we all got this memo back in December and this is uh our 2026 property and casualty insurance renewal detail and uh I want
to thank Mr. Gray and Lorie Bailey Brown uh for saving the taxpayers almost $400,000 in the renewal. Um, so as you can see for the public's intake, we continue to have staff looking for savings across the county and $400,000
is $400,000. That's playground equipment for kids at a park. It's other things that we can do in libraries and and >> so know that your your people here working for you uh are trying to find any and every savings they possibly can. With that said, that concludes my
report. Madam Chair, >> thank you very much, Commissioner Zimbau. Commissioner Constantine, >> thank you very much. And um just a few things. First of all, the last day of the Central Florida Zoo Asian Lantern
Festival will be the 18th of this month. Uh it has already broken records with the number of different tickets or number of tickets sold. And I urge all of you that have not done it yet to get out there. And uh it's a beautiful
festival and it's become a uh iconic here in Semino County and it is the number one fundraiser for the Central Florida Zoo each year. Also, I had the uh privilege of being the judge for the
Sanford Chamber uh throwdown for the chili and chowder cook off this past week. I brought my toms with me and uh I will just say that uh it was a lot of fun. Um enjoyable always good to see the chambers whatever one we have number of
them here uh doing such a good job. Uh and the Sanford my choice for the best chili was the Sanford fire department. Um so uh and and for chowder it was the Harley-Davidson group and it was done at
the Harley-Davidson. I will tell you though that um and and I I found this out. The the chili that you're used to is the one that you always pick. You know, your mother's chili. No matter all the good chilies, it's always seems
every time I do this, it's the one that's closest to my mother's chili that uh I you know, I pick. Also, I did want to say that St. Mary Magdalene, which is one of the largest parishes uh and churches that we have here in in Semino County and especially in in Altoont
Springs, is having uh after a couple of years hiatus their winter festival on the 23rd and the 24th of January. Welcome you all out there if you can. And uh other than all the other things
that uh Commissioner um uh Zimbau had said and I'm sure others I'm not going to say everything. That is all I have. >> Well, I hope that St. Mary Magdalene has red candied apples because that is the only reason I go to all these festivals.
So, that is that I wrote that one down. I know you were looking and wondering why I was writing that down. So, I thought I'd answer the question. Uh, District 4 Commissioner Law Carter. >> Do you think we can still do red? Can we like red dye number 40? Is that still a thing? >> I think I think I have some time. I
think there's some time. >> Okay. All right. I worry about that. >> You know, like Fruity Pebbles. Is it still going to be as bright? And was it going to taste the same pebbles? >> Anyway, things to think about.
>> The things you ponder in a county commissioner. >> Yeah. Mine is Captain Crunch with Crunchberries. >> Yeah. Mhm. >> Jeez. >> Um, so happy new year. Obviously, it it's amazing how quickly we went from Thanksgiving to Happy New Year. It seems to go by faster and faster every year.
So, I hope everybody did have a wonderful time um with family and friends and got to take some breaks because um things are ramping up very quickly here in 2026. Uh we did hold a Rosenwald Community Project meeting at uh Milwe Middle School uh middle of
December, which was great. There was a great turnout. Um, our team, staff and consultants did a wonderful job of representing uh the project, answering questions. Um, the the reality is because this project
has gone on for so long, the community is still wary with good reason and concerned that we are actually going to fulfill what it is that we said we were going to fulfill. and and they are very very um ex they are happy, they are excited, they're looking they're
cautiously optimistic at this point, I would say that this is going to come to fruition and and and they have some overall overarching concerns about their community and the preservation of their community. And um with Martin Luther King Jr's birthday coming up and being
celebrated this next uh week, I think it's important to mention one of their biggest concerns is gentrification. and they were you all have received some emails I believe in your offices uh to that effect from one of the members of that community who grew up there. Um
they are um an incredibly historically knowledgeable community. Um they understand and know and remember and continue to talk about what has happened to them in the past and they will not forget it and they will not let us forget it and they are not going to put themselves in a
position to have it be repeated. So, um I have seen those emails that you've received. Um Miss Johnson interact and other members of our team interact um with members of that community regularly. Any of anyone can give you a briefing or an update on those concerns in your offices, I'm sure, so that you
can understand the the depth of those concerns. Um and and I think there's some some founding to them. So um yesterday I had a virtual meeting with uh a company called Molar. They uh do
water quality treatment with nanobubbles and I have never heard the phrase nanobubbles before and so it was very enlightening and I've put them in touch with our water quality team and our our lake management team to talk about the potential of doing some type of a pilot
project or what have you. It's it's a com completely new to me way of understanding how we can uh better manage water quality issues especially when we have emergency algo blooms or things like that that affect and impact our citizens ability to access um and
enjoy water in our community. So it was very very if if they reach out to you I think it's Corker and Partners is the group that's representing them. If they want a meeting it it was very very informative. I would encourage you to to um take that meeting as well. Also want to say that the Florida Association of
Counties is having their legislative days in Tallahassee next week and I think some of us will be attending that. It's always a a good opportunity to meet with other commissioners from other counties and meet with our legislators. Of course, we see them all the time, even when they're not in session, but
it's it's good to go up there and give them support when they're in the trenches and thank them for all that they do. And um so that'll be a great opportunity next week. And um also want to let you all know about um a resignation that we had on the historic commission. My appointee, Tyler Winnick, um has submitted his resignation to me
and I will be looking for a uh replacement for him. So that is all I have. >> Thank you, Commissioner Lockart. Commissioner Delari. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Two quick things. I know that Commissioner Zimbau spoke about the uh Martin Luther King Day parade in Ovido. Uh I just want to
make sure everybody's aware that it's changing a little bit this year. It normally starts at a Veto High School. It goes down to Round Lake. This year it's starting at Round Lake and it's finishing up at Center Lake. So if you go to the Veto High School to see the
beginning of the parade, it will not be there. So, if you go to Round Lake, that's where it'll be starting and it'll finish at Center Lake. So, just FYI. I also wanted to uh thank the staff for
their hard work on the ECNL games. Uh the boys played at the end of the year, uh going over New Year's, I believe it was, and the girls just finished up this week. Uh I went to the uh fields this past Saturday. uh spoke to several
people. Uh everyone had such wonderful things to say about the event. So uh Gee, I know Gee is in the audience. Uh please pass on our thanks to the great job that Danny, his team is doing as well as I don't see Rick Dur and his team, but they also play a part of it as
well as other staff people. People talked about how uh the fields were very green and uh how they're pristine so to speak and how this is one of the highlights that they have all year has come down here not just to central Florida but to seminal county. They say
our staff does such a phenomenal job. It's a pleasure to come down here to be in the warm weather depending upon where they come from. Most of them come from up north and uh play a couple days worth of soccer. So I just wanted to thank everyone. And I know the hotels are very
uh thankful because it was uh more teams this year than we had in the past. And uh good job to everyone. So thank you. That is end of my report. >> Thank you. Uh for the district 5 report, I did attend the OEP
chairs holiday reception. It was thrown by Tracy Stockwell and the team. She's the CFO of Universal Orlando. It was a lovely event. I think I probably passed Commissioner Constantine somewhere on the street. I was an early attendee. He came in a little later, so we didn't get to
socialize, but uh it it was lovely. Um I'm going to give a shout out to the county team and the city of Lake Mary team for pulling together on very short order a wonderful celebration for the Lake Mary gentlemen that were here this morning that won the state championship.
That was no easy feat, but it really was a great celebration. Um, and on to stuff that's actually less exciting than that, but probably more meaningful. Um, this is a report out from my first airport meeting and OEP
hired Burns and McDonald and they're going to do a mock review of a prospective economic development selection process for the airport. The outcome will be a site readiness report
including a SWAT analysis and it will better able the airport to prep for future opportunities. I thought it was remarkably interesting and something that we may want to consider in the future. Um and then the last one is really
mundane, super mundane, but it can create a lot of uh a lot of wrinkles in the operation. We just want to get it out there that my office is picking up the mail. The mail gets picked up every day. Mail that is
labeled for an individual commissioner is delivered to the individual commissioner unopened. Mail that comes in to the board is handled accordingly. So we have it nailed. Don't worry about it. We don't need what's happening is occasionally somebody will go down there
and grab all of it and then we miss the submissions process. So there's your heads up on mail. >> Could I >> never thought I must have missed something such a thing. >> Yeah. So interesting uh dynamic with the mail. So I had a certified letter sent
to me uh at this office although it was related to Seminal State College responsibilities. I guess this was the address that people found online. and um and it arrived to me opened um it somehow it managed to wind up in the clerk of the court's office. Someone
at the court clerk's office opened the certified mail um and then a couple of weeks later it made its way to my office. So I think there there are there are male issues um just for whatever that's worth. Not
>> understood not among us. >> I'm not taking it that way. >> Yeah. But >> sounds like we need a male etiquette deal going on. Well, and and we've tried very hard since it was certified to figure out who signed for it. Um, but that uh the piece that gets sent back to the the sender has not been received by
the sender yet. So, maybe it's just the mail. Um, that's problematic. But just be aware that just because someone sends mail to you at this location doesn't mean your office is the one getting it or opening it. So, >> the clerk's office brought it to you.
>> Um, it was sent to to my office eventually. Yes. which I guess is the good news at the end of that story, right? Yes. >> So, I'm going to keep going. >> Good job. >> Uh I'm going to keep going. Uh Darren
and I did have a preliminary prep for the budget sessions that are coming up. Um the team had a meeting just like they did last year. The constitutionals were included this year. The reason I'm
bringing that up is that I would like to send a letter to the constitutional officers prepping for what we expect in terms of the budget this year. That draft will be shared with all of you. The concept behind this is that instead of being
disappointed that it didn't come in the way we expect it, let's try to get the expectation set up front so that it we we can maybe shorten this process, make it a little less painful. We went through so much last year that creating a little bit of a new um order of
operation on this might be beneficial. So be be on the lookout for a draft for that. And then the last note is I'm going to give a shout out to the animal services team because over the holidays uh we did a ma manage to we in the
process of man of adopting two beautiful doggies from there. Don't panic. I'm not over the number. My sister promptly took one from me because she fell in love with it minute one and um and then there was a backfill opportunity.
So, but the team over there can't be more helpful. And it was a wonderful experience. It really was a wonderful experience. >> So, what is this new addition's name? Does it have a name yet? >> Brandy Alexander. Because she looks like somebody spilled the drink on her head. And you know, I like middle names so
that when we go to the vet, the vet says Brandy Alexander her. can't just have an average name. She does not answer to it, nor does she do anything else yet that we want her to do. Um, and that concludes my well, it does not conclude my chairman's report.
I do want to call out call your attention to there was a large document that was sent to our offices. I didn't bring copies of it. You all have it electronically. It looks like this. So, shout out to David Johnson for sharing this document with us. If you have not looked at this, >> yes, >> you will feel really good about us when
you do. >> I actually looked at that. Um, the Florida Associations of Counties had a similar document >> that I went through early on last year. >> Right. >> Yeah, it's very telling. This is broken down much better. >> This is broken down in much more detail
and you will be seeing uh a handout that will be created that will be timed with our um state of the county. So, this will be the meat of that discussion. >> I sent mine to Bill Hyde. >> He didn't hear you.
>> That concludes my chairman's comments, unless anybody has any questions, Dominique, is there any public comment? >> Yes, ma'am. There's one speaker, Chris Peterson. >> Mr. Peterson, this will be comment not related to anything that was on the
agenda. name and address for the record. >> Yes, Chris Peterson for Fortify, uh 800 Waterford Way, Miami, Florida. Um I'm here to give a brief update about the recent uh Supreme Court decision regarding the FPFA, the Florida Pace
Funding Agency, um and several of the counties and tax collectors around the state. So, um, back in October of 22, there was a judicial bond validation in the second circuit which allowed the Florida Pace Funding Agency to operate statewide. Um, there was pretty
significant push back on that decision. Uh, and that was uh appealed by several of the uh, uh, county attorneys and um, tax collectors. Um, during that time, we actually stopped doing business after we got the push back. We realized that um,
this wasn't the right way to do business in Florida. We went turned around and fought for SB770 which included a home rule provision that passed in July 1st of 2024. And so moving forward everything has to have an ILA. However, um you know after the appeal there was
there was a rehearing that um did not was not favorable for the for the counties. Um then that went to the Supreme Court and that ruling came in just before Christmas and it did uphold the lower court ruling which does specifically state that those assessments during that particular period of time need to be collected um
by the tax collector as part of the uniform method of collection as part of his ministerial duties. So that is that is very clear. Um I have a copy of this happy to leave it with the clerk if you'd like to see it. We have reached out um to to get an answer of whether um the Supreme Court ruling will be um
upheld here in in Seminal and I have not heard back from your tax collector yet. Many of the counties have already indicated they're going to put these on the tax ro at this point. Um you know, it's a pretty interesting use of taxpayer dollars to continue fighting this after three different attempts to
try to overturn it. And the fact that it's been solved legislatively, like statutoily, we can't do this without home rule anymore. So, we're not going to if counties don't want us in here, that's fine. We won't we won't come in. But, you know, when we were forced to direct a bill, we got over a little bit
over 50% of people paid anyway, even though it wasn't on the tax bill as we agreed as was supposed to be part of the deal. So, really spending taxpayer dollars to continue pushing these folks that this 40% that haven't paid, you know, we're looking at three years of back of back payments at this point,
that's that's pushing it into into dangerous territory. We want to avoid further issues. We want to put this behind us and just move on. That's our goal. So, my goal again today was to give you this update uh and come to you and make sure everybody understands where where we're at and if there's any discussions we want to have, we can
direct them to the FPFA and and again, all of us want to just put this behind us. So, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it. >> We appreciate your comments. Did you have a leave behind? >> I do. I have uh these these for you here. Thank you, chair.
There's five question. >> Thank you everybody. >> Thank you >> Commissioner Lockhart. >> Um to the county attorney. Is this an item that you are um aware of? Can you give any other additional feedback? >> Yes, commissioners. I'm familiar with
the Supreme Court case he just covered. I take no issue with his summary of it. Um my only comment in response would be that my office is not representing the tax collector in in those cases. He has retained outside counsel for anything PACE related. Um so I'm not familiar
with whether the tax collector what his decision is now that that Supreme Court case came out at the very end of the year. Um so it doesn't really involve this board making a decision at this point. So I would just say that for the record. >> Yeah.
>> Fair. Any other comments? Seeing none, I believe we're at the end of our agenda. Meeting adjourned. Great meeting. Thank you all for for all of your help today. Thank you.