A regular MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

may 23, 2017

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 9:00 a.m., in the Board of County Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida.  Commissioners present at the meeting were:  Timothy I. Sullivan, Chairman; Leslie Campione, Vice Chairman; Sean Parks; Wendy Breeden; and Josh Blake.  Others present were:  David Heath, County Manager; Melanie Marsh, County Attorney; Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Neil Kelly, Clerk of Court; Kristy Mullane, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance; and Susan Boyajan, Deputy Clerk.

INVOCATION and pledge

Pastor Greg Watts from the Liberty Baptist Church in Tavares gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

sales surtax oversight committee presentation

Councilman Keith Mullins from the City of Clermont recapped that the citizens extended the one-cent sales tax in 2001 to be divided between the School Board, the County, and the 14 municipalities; and there were guidelines set as to how those taxes could be spent.  He explained that the Sales Surtax Oversight Committee meets twice a year, and the committee went over the expenditures for the fiscal year October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016 at their last meeting.  He mentioned that one of the questions received by the cities was why a large amount of that money was in reserves rather than being spent, and they answered that it would be spent next year.  He pointed out that the committee was tasked with the duty of making sure the money was spent the way it was intended per the statute, and he reported that everyone, including the County, was spending their money the way it was intended by the citizens.  He added that they would be meeting again to go over the proposed budgets.

Commr. Sullivan commented that the Sales Surtax Oversight Committee does great work overseeing those funds, noting that the ordinance required that an oversight committee would be set up to make sure that the money was being spent in the proper manner.  He thanked the members of that committee as well as the citizens of Lake County who pay that tax.

Agenda update

Mr. David Heath, County Manager, requested to pull Tabs 13 and 14 under Human Resources on the Consent Agenda, so that those items could be heard with the Human Resources and Risk Management budget under Tab 33.

Minutes approval

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Breeden, and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Minutes of March 8, 2017 (Special Meeting – Library – Cooper Memorial), March 9, 2017 (Special Meeting – Library – Leesburg), April 8, 2017 (Special Meeting – Library – Cagan Crossings), and April 8, 2017 (Special Meeting – Library – Mount Dora) as presented.

citizen question and comment period

Mr. Vance Jochim, a resident of Tavares and writer of a blog about fiscal and governmental issues, pointed out that the Clerk’s Consent Agenda contained an Inspector General Audit of the Economic Development and Tourism Division and commended Mr. Robert Chandler, Economic Growth Director, for the responses that he gave to that audit.  He suggested that the County have an operational controller to look at performance analysis and operational procedures for all of the County departments and divisions who would specifically evaluate efficiency, effectiveness, economy, cost accounting, and management accounting rather than managing through internal audit.  He also suggested that the County budget only a .3 of one percent increase in their funding, since that is the amount that Social Security recipients receive, and he pointed out that the state and federal budgets both contain billions in reductions.

Mr. Raymond Flynn, a resident of Winter Garden who lived adjacent to the Prominent Pointe Phase 2 development under Tab 21, expressed concern about the density increasing in the future for that area and looked for assurances that that would not happen.  He commented that the plat before the Board for approval was exactly what he and his neighbors wanted and what they have strived for as a community over the past year.

Commr. Sullivan clarified that there was a proposal before the Board previously to expand the number of units which never made it through the process, and this third proposal was back to the way that the neighboring residents wanted.  He assured Mr. Flynn that the applicants would need to go through another rezoning process and public hearing again before that could happen.

Commr. Campione noted that the approval on Tab 21 was for a final plat, and the applicants would need to vacate the plat, do a replat, and go through a whole process that would be harder than just a typical rezoning if they decided to change it.

Commr. Sullivan stated that it would be noted in the record in case this issue should appear before the Board again in the future.

emergency medical services week proclamation

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Proclamation No. 2017-26 declaring May 21 through 27, 2017 as Emergency Medical Services Week, per Commissioner Sullivan.

Commr. Sullivan read the proclamation aloud into the record.

CLERK OF COURTS’ CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the Clerk of Courts’ Consent Agenda, Items 1 through 12, as follows:

List of Warrants

Request to acknowledge receipt of list of warrants paid prior to this meeting, pursuant to Chapter 136.06 (1) of the Florida Statutes, which shall be incorporated into the Minutes as attached Exhibit A and filed in the Board Support Division of the Clerk’s Office.

Inspector General Report

Request to acknowledge receipt of the Inspector General Report BCC-154 Audit of Economic Development and Tourism Division.

Order from Florida Department of Economic Opportunity

Request to acknowledge receipt of the State of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s final order pursuant to Section 380.05(6), Florida Statutes, approving land development regulations adopted by Lake County, Florida, Ordinance No. 2017-14. The Ordinance amends the Lake County Code by repealing and replacing Chapter XI “signs,” and amending Chapter II, Definitions.

Audit Report from the City of Eustis

Request to acknowledge receipt of the City of Eustis audit report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 delivered March 31, 2017, in accordance with the “Single Audit Act.”

Ordinance from the City of Tavares

Request to acknowledge receipt of Ordinance 2016-34 from the City of Tavares amending the boundaries of the City by annexing approximately 9 acres of land centrally located approximately 700 feet north of Slim Haywood Avenue and 1,000 feet west of SR 19 and rezoning said property from Lake County Agricultural (A) to the City of Tavares Mixed Use (MU).

Property on Lands Available List

Request to acknowledge receipt of property placed on the Lands Available List.  Lake County has until July 20, 2017 to purchase property from the Lands Available List before it is available to the public.

Request to acknowledge receipt of property placed on the Lands Available List.  Lake County has until July 30, 2017 to purchase property from the Lands Available List before it is available to the public.

Proposed Operating Budget from Country Greens CDD

Request to acknowledge receipt of proposed operating budget from Country Greens Community Development District for Fiscal Year 2018, along with letter transmitting same dated May 1, 2017 stating that the public hearing on the budget is scheduled for June 26, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sorrento Christian Center, 32441 CR 437, Sorrento, Florida.

Ordinance from City of Mount Dora

Request to acknowledge receipt of Ordinance No. 2017-01 from the City of Mount Dora annexing property located on the south side of US Highway 441 and west of Morningside Drive, comprising 1.25 acres more or less in accordance with the voluntary annexation provisions of Section 171.044, Florida Statutes.

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from City of Umatilla

Request to acknowledge receipt of the 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016 for the City of Umatilla.

The Villages Public Safety Budget Packet

Request to acknowledge receipt of the Villages Public Safety Budget Packet for Fiscal Year 2017-2018.

Proposed Budget from Founders Ridge CDD

Request to acknowledge receipt of the Founders Ridge Community Development District Proposed Budget Fiscal Year 2018 in accordance with Section 190.008(2)(b), Florida Statutes, with accompanying Resolution 2017-03.

CONSENT AGENDA

Commr. Campione stated that Tabs 9 and 10 were regarding a school impact fee exemption for two mobile home parks where residents are 55 years or older, and she asked if the County should look at whether or not to give those kinds of communities a full exemption in the future since they were allowed by law to sell a small percentage of the homes to those who were under age 55.

Ms. Marsh responded that she could look into that but added that the agreements for these two particular mobile home parks state that the entire park has to pay the fee if any children reside there.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Consent Agenda, Tabs 4 through 22, pulling Tabs 13 and 14, as follows:

Proclamations

Request for approval of Proclamation No. 2017-44 designating June 2017 as Tobacco-Free Parks Month. There is no fiscal impact.

Community Safety and Compliance

Request for approval to award a purchase contract for various medical supplies and medicines under Request for Quotation (RFQ) Q2017-00080 to MWI Animal Health (Boise, ID) and Merritt Veterinary Supplies (Columbia, SC) for the Animal Shelter Division and authorize execution of all procurement supporting documentation by the Procurement Office. The estimated annual fiscal impact is $80,000 (expenditure).

Request for approval to award term and supply contract 17-0217 for provision of animal foods to be used at the Lake County Animal Shelter to American Family Feed & Supply (Groveland).  The actual annual fiscal impact will be dependent upon needs, but is estimated to be $30,165 (expenditure).

County Attorney

Request for (1) approval and execution of the Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between Lake County Board of County Commissioners and Melanie Marsh and (2) authorization for the Chairman to execute any necessary documents required for the establishment of retirement accounts allowable under the County Manager and County Attorney Employment Contracts.

Economic Growth

Request for approval of the City of Mascotte's annexation request of 43.58 acres, located on the south side of Tuscanooga Road and north of Highway 50.  Pursuant to Section 3, paragraph C(iv) of the South Lake Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement (ISBA), Lake County must consent to the proposed annexation in order for Mascotte to annex the property. There is no fiscal impact.  Commission District 1.

Request for approval of the School Impact Fee Agreement Exemption for 117 lots in Griffwood Mobile Home Park where residents are fifty-five (55) years of age or older.  Commission District 5.

Request for approval of the School Impact Fee Agreement Exemption in Bonfire Mobile Home Park where residents are fifty-five (55) years of age or older.  Commission District 3.

Facilities Development and Management

Request for approval to award term and supply contract 17-0424 for Elevator Full Maintenance, Repair and Modernization to Skyline Elevator Company (Groveland, FL).  The estimated annual fiscal impact is $182,970 (Expenditure).

Request for approval to award contract 17-0227 for replacement of the epoxy floor coating at the Animal Shelter facility to Scaife Enterprises, LLC (Dade City / Eustis).   The fiscal impact is $44,109 (Expenditure).

Public Safety

Request for approval of services contract between the United States Forest Service and Lake County for Lake County Fire Rescue (LCFR) to provide fire suppression standby support for the federal helicopter base in the Ocala National Forest during the elevated wildfire threat; and ratify the contract that has already been executed under the County Manager's authority in the event the contract amount exceeds such authority.  The fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time as it will be based on services rendered.

Request for approval to apply for grant funding from the 2017 3rd quarter Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation in the amount of $20,000 for the purchase of self-containing breathing unit identifiers and voice annunciators. The award would provide for improved unit identification, supervision, and communication in high hazard conditions. There is no funding match required with this grant.

Public Works

Request for approval to execute an Agreement between Lake County and Cartegraph Systems, Inc. to provide an updated proprietary software system from Cartegraph Systems, Inc. (Dubuque, Iowa) in support of the operation of the Public Works Department.  Execution of the Agreement consists of the Cartegraph Master Agreement, Addendum to Cartegraph Master Agreement, Purchase Agreement, Addendum A – Software Products, and Addendum B – Field Services.  The estimated fiscal impact for FY 2017 is $64,976.00 to be funded from the County Transportation Trust – IT Repair/Maintenance.

Request for approval to execute an Interlocal Agreement between Lake County and the City of Groveland to Transfer Jurisdiction of Eagles Crossing (CR 1426) at a fiscal impact of $30,654.08 to be expended from the Renewal Sales Tax Capital Projects – Public Works – Resurfacing Fund.  Commission District 1.

Request for approval and signature on Resolution No. 2017-46 authorizing the reduction of the speed limit on a section of Adair Avenue (3987) from 35 MPH to 25 MPH from 600' west of Jubilee Way to the existing 25 MPH zone, west of Rainey Road, in the Sorrento area, Section 31, Township 19, Range 28. There is no fiscal impact.  Commission District 4.

Request for approval and execution of a Non-Exclusive Drainage Easement from Lake County to VK Avalon Groves, LLC for a joint water retention pond for the Sawgrass Bay Blvd. Extension Project. Also, approval of $73,000.00 transportation impact fee credits for a 3-acre parcel of land, per the BCC roadway agreement executed October 11, 2016 with Avalon Groves, LLC. The project is located in South Lake County, (Four Corners Area). The fiscal impact is $73,000.00 (transportation impact fee credits). Commission District 1.

Request for approval to accept the final plat for Prominent Pointe Phase 2 and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Prominent Pointe Phase 2 plat, and approval to execute a Proportionate Share Mitigation Agreement between the School Board of Lake County, Extreme Groves Investments, LLC, and the Board of County Commissioners of Lake County.  Prominent Pointe Phase 2 contains 9 lots and is located east of US Highway 27, north of Hartwood Marsh Road in Section 1, Township 23 South, Range 26 East.  There is no fiscal impact.  Commission District 2.

Request for approval to accept the final plat for Heathrow Country Estates Phase 4 and all areas dedicated to the public as shown on the Heathrow Country Estates Phase 4 plat, execute a Developer's Agreement for Construction of Sidewalk Improvements between Lake County and SLV Redtail, LLC, and accept a performance bond in the amount of $33,996.88 for sidewalk construction.  Heathrow Country Estates Phase 4 consists of 14 lots and is located north of SR 46, off CR 46A, in Section 20, Township 19 South, Range 28 East.  There is no fiscal impact.  Commission District 4.

presentation of health department annual report

Mr. Aaron Kissler, Administrator and Health Officer from the Lake County Health Department, noted that the Health Department presents an annual report each year to the Board and thanked the Commissioners for the support that the County has given the Health Department.  He showed a list of the client services that they provide in their two dental clinics and three health clinics across the county, which total over 200,000 services for the residents in Lake County.  He mentioned that they have a great relationship and partnership with the school district, and the nurses are able to do over 35,000 health screenings and immunizations.  He added that they also help to ensure that school children get the proper immunizations at the beginning of the school year, and their mobile bus unit has been used to provide dental sealants and preventative dental care for school children.  He commented that children are able to learn better if they are not distracted by health problems.  He reported that they have done 3,588 environmental health inspections and sanitary nuisance investigations working in concert with the County, and he commented that being located near the County’s Planning & Zoning Division has been going very well. He related that they have done investigations into 855 epidemiological cases of reportable disease, including chicken pox and the zika virus, and they were able to use their reporting system to make sure that none of the infectious diseases spread.  He stated that the Health Department has issued almost 24,000 birth and death certificates at its two offices.  He presented a pie chart illustrating the Health Department’s financial overview showing that 79 percent of their budget is from funding from Medicaid and federal and state appropriations, with 4 percent each from vital records fees and clinic fees.  He elaborated that although County contributions make up only 3 percent of their budget, that amount was an important piece of their budget which allows them to focus on services that are important to the community such as emergency preparedness, investigation of environmental complaints, and children’s dental care, since many of their grants are very prescriptive about how they are required to spend those funds.  

Mr. Kissler listed the accomplishments of the Health Department during this fiscal year, including collaboration with the Lake County School Board to offer immunizations for students who would be entering seventh grade, receipt of the Gold Award for worksite wellness from the American Heart Association, increase of the WIC breastfeeding initiation rates from 75.6 to 79 percent, Environmental Health Septic evaluation score of 99 percent, and swimming pool evaluation score of 96 percent.  He added that they were chosen to pilot several electronic health records projects, since Lake County was a leader in that field.  He reported that any cuts from the state legislature in funding for the Health Department are expected to be minimal.  He related that they were working with several partners to offer free classes for people with prediabetes before they develop full-blown diabetes and have finished their Community Health Improvement Plan, which will focus on access to healthy foods, obesity, and diabetes.  He noted that the City of Clermont was awarded the 2017 Healthy Weight Community Champion Award.  He stated that they did over 210 community outreach events from May 2016 to May 2017, including participation in the Keep Lake Beautiful cleanup events, Get Fit Lake, Water Safety Day, 22 tobacco cessation classes, and screenings for blood pressure, vision, and hearing; and they handed out over 17,000 educational and informational items to the public.  He discussed their public health preparedness activities, including a full-scale disaster response exercise, zika tabletop exercise and planning, active attacker response awareness training, trauma exercise, and response to Hurricane Matthew with the County, which helped them to prepare for other natural disasters in the future.  He added that they opened up the opportunity for people to drop off “sharps” containers at all of their clinical locations.  He invited input from the Board about anything they wished to see at the Health Department.

Commr. Campione commented that the ‘sharps” program came up at the Keep Lake Beautiful meeting, since their volunteers came across needles and similar items during the cleanup events.  She elaborated that people without easy access to places where they could drop off their needles would find other ways to dispose of them, but Mr. Kissler started that drop off program after she had discussed this problem with him.  She added that Mr. Kissler has also been very involved in discussions about improving accessibility to healthcare across the board with the healthcare providers and other agencies in the county that are trying to make health care as accessible as possible, since the largest obstacle is communication and information to help people get the services that they need.  She commented that Mr. Kissler has been instrumental in improving that process.

presentation by gray robinson - legislative outcomes

Ms. Angie Langley from the Government Relations Team of Gray Robinson stated that they would provide an update on their efforts on the Board’s behalf during the legislative session in Tallahassee, which she noted has been a very unique one this year in terms of having a whole new appropriations process.  She pointed out that the appropriations were not final until the Governor signed off on the budget, and she thanked the Commissioners for reaching out to the Governor’s office to support them regarding the appropriations that are currently in the budget.

Mr. Chris Carmody, another member of the Government Relations Team, commented that it was a very interesting legislative session and that the change in the process resulted in more information regarding the state of the appropriations and which bills had a better chance of moving up through the budget process and which did not.  He reported that the requests of $10 million for Citrus Grove Road, $3 million for CR 437, and $200,000 for the Veterans Court were all granted in the state budget.  He added that library funding was up this year, with some of that focused on technology grants, and $750,000 has been put in the budget for the Smart Horizon online learning courses after a lot of effort from their team in cooperation with other partners.  He related that $450,000 was set aside this year for bear conflict funding, but they fully expected that the same grant program that was out last year will be put in place for this year’s money; he also pointed out that the County’s trash can ordinance for bear-proofing will result in the County having a better chance to get that grant.  He summarized that a total of over $14 million was granted to Lake County.  He explained that the Governor would receive the budget by mid-June and would then have 15 consecutive days to decide whether to approve the budget, veto the entire budget, or veto line items.  He related that there has been a lot of discussion about the seven reforming bills that went along with this budget, including one that dealt with a lot of policy issues regarding education, which are expected to have a high chance of being vetoed by the Governor.  He added that the Government Relations Team has already been working with the Governor’s staff to make sure they are very well aware of Lake County’s issues and the importance of Citrus Grove Road and CR 437, and he encouraged the Commissioners to communicate with the Governor or his staff if they have the ability to do so.  He expressed appreciation to the members in the House and Senate who have worked with his team to get as many of their appropriations as they could into the budget.

Ms. Katie Flury, a member of the Government Relations Team, reported that the back-to-school tax holiday was approved for the beginning of August, and the hurricane preparedness tax holiday would be the beginning of June.  She also mentioned that the super home exemption was passed in both the House and the Senate, would be put on the ballot next year, and would go into effect on January 1, 2019 if passed by 60 percent.  She elaborated that the FRS (Florida Retirement System) bill also passed, which included state employee pay raises, and made a default for the investment rather than the pension plan, with nine months to opt into the pension plan.

Mr. Carmody pointed out that the homestead tax exemption would result in a $200 per homeowner savings if it was passed in 2018, but the business community expressed concern about a raise in the millage to make up for the loss of this tax revenue which would result in an increase in the taxes commercial property will pay.  He elaborated that there was discussion about a lobbying campaign to convince people to vote against this homestead exemption on the ballot.  He reported that the implementing bill was approved this year for the constitutional amendment in August that passed which created an exemption on new renewable energy devices on commercial businesses similar to what was already in place for homeowners.  He mentioned that there were numerous attempts to take away home rule and charter county authorities, as well as to eliminate the local business tax, but the Senate successfully defeated those efforts, although he expected that those types of bills would be brought back.  He concluded that they would be focused on some policy issues next year on the County’s behalf.

Commr. Parks commented that he believed the County should prepare budgetarily for the homestead exemption amendment now.  He asked Mr. Carmody about the line item vetoes.

Mr. Carmody responded that it was hard to determine what the Governor was going to do, although the Governor has expressed frustration regarding education funding and other issues, as well as Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida funding.  He noted, however, that the conforming bills regarding Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida have all of the transparency measures that the House wanted, and the Governor wanted those organizations funded but without the funding for business incentives.  He expressed concern that the request for $10 million for Citrus Grove Road would be large enough to conceivably get the Governor’s attention as an item considered for possible veto but commented that they will point out the importance of that project in light of the fact that Lake County grew by 44 percent versus 10 percent for the state as a whole.  He mentioned a change that was made to a public records request law which fixed a problem for government entities receiving those requests.

Commr. Parks asked what the state did regarding the problem of opioid addiction.

Ms. Carmody answered that there was increased funding in the budget and legislation regarding controlled substances which included fentanyl, but the exceptions in that particular legislation which would have allowed judges to use discretion on the mandatory sentences were taken out of the bill.

Commr. Campione related that their preliminary evaluation showed that the homestead exemption bill would impact the budget by roughly $7 million to $8 million for Lake County, and although the County was working hard to attract more commercial activity that would create jobs, their tax roll was heavily residential.  She commented that she agreed with Commr. Parks that they needed to be prepared for that and possibly be able to do a rollback if the homestead exemption does not pass, since increasing the millage would have a negative effect on their businesses.

Mr. Carmody opined that most homeowners would not want a decrease of $200 in their tax bill if it meant a decrease in some of their services.  He mentioned that it was a priority in the House but was held up in the Senate due to concern about the impact.  He commented that educated voters might not think of it as a tax cut when they have all of the information but that he believed it would be difficult to keep it off the ballot.

Commr. Breeden asked about the issue concerning the mini cell towers.

Mr. Carmody related that the bill concerning that issue passed and was expected to be approved by the Governor.  He elaborated that the bill initially started out prohibiting cities and counties from charging any fee and allowing the telecommunication companies to attach the 5g cells on any of the towers that they wanted; however, ultimately it was decided that cities and counties could charge a fee of about $115, although the fact that it was not market rate would be problematic in some communities. He opined, however, that there was room to ask for an increase in that rate if there were problems in the future which caused local governments to lose money while allowing the utility companies to pay below what it costs to get the towers permitted and installed.  He asked the Board to keep him informed of the costs in the future so that he could keep track of those numbers and whether that is something he needs to work on next year.

Commr. Parks clarified that the County could track the costs of permitting those on a spreadsheet and send it to him.

Mr. Carmody responded that that would be helpful and encouraged the Commissioners to also have their colleagues at the Florida Association of Counties keep track of this issue as well.  He reported that the bills regarding Workers Compensation and medical marijuana did not pass.  He explained that some of the tough issues with the medical marijuana bill were whether to put caps on the number of dispensaries, how many would be allowed if a cap was instituted, and whether the dispensaries would be treated similarly to a pharmacy.  He pointed out that the Department of Health would be required to promulgate the rules if ultimately no bill regarding medical marijuana was passed, and those rules would be released later that summer. He concluded that there would be an early session next year which would start in January or February, with committee weeks beginning as early as September 2017 and bills starting to get filed by late in July, so they needed to get to work sooner on legislative priorities next year.

public hearings:  rezonings

Mr. Tim McClendon, Planning and Zoning Division Manager, Economic Growth Department, commented that he has learned a lot about city planning as well as the actual process of planning from Mr. Heath.  He reported that there was only one rezoning case this month, Case No. RZ-17-01-5, Grand Oaks CFD Amendment, which was properly noticed.  He elaborated that this case was unanimously recommended for approval by the Planning & Zoning Board held on May 3, 2017 by a vote of 6-0, and he requested that the Board approve the consent agenda consisting of this case.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

There being no one who wished to speak regarding this rezoning case, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

Commr. Blake disclosed that he toured the property with the applicant and the owner of the property.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Breeden and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Ordinance No. 2017-27 and Rezoning Case RZ-17-01-5, Grand Oaks Holding Rezoning, CFD Amendment to amend Community Facility District (CFD) Ordinance No. 2014-56 to increase the zoning district by rezoning approximately 6 acres from Agriculture to CFD and replace the dormitory and lodge with cabins accommodating 86 beds, two 80-stall barns, and additional 36 event RV parking spaces.

public hearings

alternative educational impact fee study ordinance

Ms. Melanie Marsh, County Attorney, placed the proposed ordinance on the floor for its first and final reading by title only as follows:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; CREATING SECTION 22-26, LAKE COUNTY CODE, TO BE ENTITLED ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL IMPACT FEE STUDY; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; PROVIDING FOR FILING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

There being no one who wished to speak regarding this ordinance, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

Commr. Parks asked whether the School Board has formally approved or commented on this ordinance.

Ms. Marsh answered that the School Board saw a version of this at a workshop in March and made comments but did not vote on it.  She elaborated that she had spoken with Mr. Steve Johnson, the School Board’s attorney, who had no further comments on it after seeing this version and the errata sheet that the Board has been requested to approve with this ordinance which makes changes to what was advertised.

Commr. Campione elaborated that the ordinance took into account concerns expressed by the School Board by including the requirement that a decision about whether the criteria has been met be made by the School Board Superintendent rather than the Board and an added requirement that a bond or letter of credit would need to be put up to demonstrate that a development would not generate the number of students that the School Board study showed that they would generate.

Commr. Sullivan noted that they had also put a limit on the period of time that the School Board could review and make the decision about whether the criteria were met.

Ms. Marsh responded that the time period was decreased from 60 to 30 days on the errata sheet.

Commr. Parks commented for the record that he believed that the ordinance was good and that he supported the safeguards contained in it; however, he wanted to make sure that the School District was involved formally first.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Breeden and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved the adoption and execution of Ordinance No. 2017-26 creating Section 22-26, Lake County Code, entitled Alternative Educational Impact Fee Study.

Commr. Parks voted “no.”

vacation petition no. 1232 – plat of paddock hills

Mr. Jim Stivender, Public Works Director, explained that this vacation brought by Harvey Massey and Kenneth and Lydia Cook was for a plat and roads located south of Leesburg, and he pointed out the location of the property on an overhead map.  He added that they retained right of way along the Number Two Road, and he requested approval of the vacation.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

There being no one who wished to speak regarding this vacation petition, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

Commr. Breeden asked for more background information regarding the petition.

Mr. Stivender responded that Mr. Massey bought this plat during good economic times but no longer wanted the plat.

Ms. Marsh elaborated that the developer that owned the land before Mr. Massey bought it went out of business and into bankruptcy, and the County was not able to collect on the letter of credit that the developer posted.  She added that the infrastructure was never put in, and the County has no security for it.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Breeden and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2017-47 and Vacation Petition No. 1232 (Harvey Massey, Kenneth & Lydia Cook) to vacate and annul the Plat of Paddock Hills, lying South of Leesburg.  There is no fiscal impact. Commission District 3.

vacation petition no. 1234 – mark hucek – plat of royal trails

Mr. Stivender explained that this vacation was brought by Mark Hucek to vacate two platted drainage and utility easements in the Plat of Royal Trails, and there was no need for this easement.  He elaborated that a signed Unity of Title combining both lots owned by Mr. Hucek has been provided and will be recorded upon approval of this request.  He recommended approval to vacate.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

There being no one who wished to speak regarding this vacation petition, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

Commr. Campione asked whether the County has been able to secure the alternate access in Royal Trails for purposes of fire safety either through cooperation on the part of nearby or adjoining property owners from the subdivision or condemning the right of way needed.

Mr. Stivender answered that the Emergency Operations Center has been working on that, although they have not yet made any progress in getting property or right of way for that purpose, and they wanted a practical access that could be utilized over time, such as a permanent road.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved Resolution No. 2017-48 and Vacation Petition No. 1234 (Mark Hucek) to vacate two (2) platted drainage and utility easements, in the Plat of Royal Trails, Unit No. 1, in the Eustis area.  There is no fiscal impact.  Commission District 5.

recess and reassembly

The Chairman announced at 10:20 a.m. that there would be a recess for 15 minutes.

departmental business

public safety

feasibility study of consolidation of lcfr and lake ems

Mr. Heath recapped that the Board discussed doing an efficiency study as a result of an audit of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to explore the efficiencies between EMS and the fire department, and last year an RFP (Request for Proposal) was issued, which resulted in Fitch and Associates being hired to perform that study.  He elaborated that Fitch and Associates were in the middle of that study and recommended a hybrid deployment system, although they had never finished that task.  He related that the Board requested at the retreat in January that a study be done of consolidation, whereby he brought forward an RFP to hire a consultant to do their own consolidation study, but the consensus of the Board at the next BCC meeting was to have the EMS board modify the contract with Fitch and Associates to look at consolidation in order to be compatible when looking at the various alternatives.  He reported that Fitch and Associates had stopped their work on the original plan, have done the consolidation study, and will present their consolidation report.

Mr. Bruce Moeller from Fitch and Associates explained that they were tasked with looking at a potential consolidation and the issues associated with that between Lake County Fire Rescue (LCFR) and Lake EMS, and they identified three alternative consolidation approaches based on their experience nationally and in the State of Florida against those of the current system.  He related that they focused their analysis largely on the personnel services cost, including wages and benefits, but not including other operating costs related to equipment and supplies that were assumed to be cost neutral.  He mentioned that they had assumed in their methodology that there were certain characteristics based on Phase I that they would be able to optimize and implement into this.  He elaborated that they obtained the budget for both the County as a whole and particularly LCFR as well as Lake EMS and worked with both County and Lake EMS staff to obtain raw data based on personnel, payroll cost, and benefit data and to clarify issues that they had a question about, with the County Manager coordinating and leading this effort and all the analysis conducted by Fitch & Associates.  He listed some of the assumptions for the analysis, including that it was a “snapshot in time” of the current operations and the costs associated with various alternatives, and they used payroll and benefit data from the last fiscal year and budget data from the current budget year.  He noted that they also used the most efficient implementation for each of the alternatives, with the cost assumptions reflecting the most favorable impact on the budget, and they quantified the short-term or immediate impacts they believe were available from a potential consolidation, with the long-term impacts identified but not quantified, since there were too many unknown variables.  He pointed out that they were sensitive to the fact that any potential consolidation could have significant impact on employees, and they always recommend that time be given for communication to employees both collectively and individually for any policy changes.  He reported that Alternative 1 defines a structure where the County operates a third service EMS agency within the County’s existing Public Safety Department as a fourth division; Alternative 2 was a more typical consolidation which fully consolidates EMS into the LCFR operation under a single division and command structure; and Alternative 3 represents a hybrid system where EMS would remain a separate entity with day-to-day provision of services continuing to be provided by Lake EMS but with the existing non-operational services such as human resources, accounting, and information technology contracted out by Lake EMS to the County in order to leverage the efficiencies that could be achieved through a larger base. He pointed out that since there is nothing comparable within the County dealing with medical billing to the degree of technicality that EMS utilizes, they recommend that the billing responsibility stay with that operation.

Dr. Steve Knight with Fitch and Associates recapped that Lake EMS and LCFR both provided their most efficient model to them to evaluate and integrate.  He noted that LCFR offered one more 24-hour unit and two less 12-hour units, but they had some float vehicles that were capable for each, and the net total ambulances deployed in each plan both totaled 25, although there were some subtle variances between the two.  He reported that one of the things they identified in Phase I for Lake EMS was that several 24-hour units had workloads approaching their threshold, and while they have not calculated the cost and impact of changing those, they would follow up on that after they have completed this phase.  He added that the LCFR budget numbers and projections that they would be presenting do not include the anticipated increased cost to manage workload moving forward in order to keep everything comparable for this study.  He related that they identified that the LCFR plan did not specifically contemplate the rural transport that they put together in the Phase I report with Lake EMS, but their analysis led to their recommendation that there was sufficient capacity in the LCFR plan that was put forward to mirror the rural transport that they put together in Phase I.  He presented a graph showing that if LCFR does not follow the dynamic plan and reverted back to a more traditional deployment model, either the performance will not mirror the performance of Lake EMS or there would be some additional costs for increasing the capacity of the fleet in order to meet the demand.

Mr. Moeller stated that they evaluated the deployment component of the analysis by assuming a very similar deployment of apparatus and resources, and they would be focusing the rest of the presentation on the cost to do that.  He highlighted three areas of the support and administrative functions, including that the County was able to handle human resources more efficiently because of some economies of scale, although the cost for salaries, overtime, and benefits may be similar.  He explained that since Lake EMS had some specialized technology needs related to medical reporting and billing, some of their workforce was compensated at a significantly higher level for a higher level skill set that was needed.  However, there were times when someone with a different skill set that was not as high of a classification can do some of the work within a larger operation, which was a potential opportunity for the future.  He recommended that the communications dispatch be moved under the County’s Public Safety Department exactly as it currently is, noting that 20 percent of the workload in the communications center is related to just fire activity and 80 percent related to EMS, and he added that currently that is funded fully from the Lake EMS budget.  He related that they had calculated the costs that could be reasonably allocated to providing fire-related dispatch service at $447,000 and that they believe there was an opportunity for the Board and the budget office to consider some cost allocations.  He mentioned that since Lake EMS used the same health care provider as the County, there would be no difference regarding that aspect with consolidation, but the County offered one holiday more per year than Lake EMS and handled time off differently, with Lake EMS providing less paid hours off per year than LCFR based on the current contracts and governing documents.  He elaborated that they anticipated that employees would get 58 more hours of time off per year in Alternatives 1 and 2 where the employees come under the County, and they calculated a value associated with that.  He commented that pension costs were a large issue to consider, since currently Lake EMS provided an 8 percent contribution towards their employees’ 401 retirement plans, but County employees were eligible to operate under the Florida Retirement System (FRS); however, firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs were considered special risk by FRS, resulting in a significantly higher pension contribution to be made by the County.  He summarized that there would be essentially no difference for regular class employees or about one-half a percent less than the County paid, but the differential for the field employees is almost 15 percent and would have an impact of about $944,000.

Mr. Moeller explained that they received raw data from all of the parties and assembled payroll information.  He displayed a chart illustrating that the average salary that the paramedics were paid was $22,000 plus $14,000 in overtime, with $49,000 in W-2 pay, and the total impact on the budget with the retirement cost was just over $53,000.  He noted that the W-2 pay would remain $49,000 under Alternative 1 or 2, but the impact on the pension is reflected as an almost 15 percent increase, resulting in a cost for that employee of $60,000.  He pointed out that dually-certified firefighter/paramedics were used in a fully integrated fire rescue system, which had a value associated with it, with a higher W-2 pay of $57,000 rather than $49,000 and a total cost of $70,000 with the special risk FRS costs associated with that position.  He added that many employees who were paramedics or EMT’s would likely choose to become certified as firefighter/paramedics, and the cost of that position would go up.  He commented that while they could not quantify the full impact and exact timing of this scenario, they expect that personnel costs would go up over time under Alternative 2, which would be balanced by the fact that these employees would have the capability to perform dual roles and to do whatever was necessary on the scene of an emergency.  He related that most cities and counties contract out their ambulance billing, which was very technical and required a tremendous amount of attention to constantly-changing Medicare and Medicaid regulations, and he specified that Lake County is currently paying 5.1 percent of the revenues for that, which fell within the range of what they normally expected the costs to be of about 4 ½ to 6 percent.  He suggested, however, that it may have value for the County to consider looking at outsourcing using a carefully-crafted RFP, which may result in quicker billing and higher collection rates.  He opined that there was an opportunity to only require two human resource employees dedicated to the additional demand from Lake EMS and to reallocate the other two positions with a cost savings of about $175,000, as well as an opportunity for about $103,000 in savings by adjusting the classification in the skill set of the Information Technology employees for the additional demand of Lake EMS functions.  He added that there would be some potential administrative savings in Alternatives 1 and 2 by bringing the EMS operation under the County umbrella of about $150,000, and he summarized that the total budget impact would immediately be $429,000 with human resources, information technology, and administrative savings, with an opportunity down the road for additional savings through further efficiencies.  He summarized that the net impact of bringing Lake EMS under the County would be about $600,000 for Alternative 1, $1.3 million for Alternative 2, and $362,000 for Alternative 3 using the framework of how the County currently operates.

Mr. Heath suggested that the Board allow Fitch and Associates to calculate the costs and fiscal impact of Phase 1 regarding the fire department transporting in the rural areas as well as Phase 2 regarding the alternative for enhanced EMS before looking at other areas, which will give the Board the fiscal and operational impacts of all five alternatives, before the Board takes any other action.  He commented that since there was some concern about the objectivity of the study, he provided the consultants with just what they needed to perform their study and presented the Board with the unabridged version of their results.  He mentioned that Mr. Jerry Smith, Lake EMS Director, and Chief John Molenda, Public Safety Director, both had comments on these work products, and he suggested that they have Mr. Smith and Chief Molenda provide an analysis of the impact of all five alternatives.

Commr. Parks clarified that this was not focused on potential outcomes such as improvement of response times, since those factors would be looked at in the future.  He asked whether they would be consulting with Chief Molenda and the leadership team of LCFR about the FRS issue.

Mr. Heath responded that he suggested having Mr. Smith and Chief Moldenda evaluate everything after Fitch & Associates finished the rest of their study and report back to the Board.

Commr. Campione opined that it would be helpful to at least get a written memo which outlined anything that Chief Molenda and Mr. Smith had an issue about for the Board to keep in mind as they continue their research into this matter.  She stated that she agreed with going back to look at what the original plan would involve cost-wise compared to what they get in return regarding operational response time.

Commr. Breeden clarified that they needed to look at the original Phase 2, which would now be Phase 3.  She mentioned that she believed the consultants indicated that they were assuming there would be no change in the level of service.

Commr. Campione opined that there should be an inherent efficiency in having the employees become dually-certified as a firefighter/paramedic.

Commr. Parks asked about turnover for EMT employees who were getting a low salary.

Commr. Campione commented that having a stable workforce that would not have to be continually trained would have an inherent benefit as well.

Commr. Parks asked about differences in firefighter salaries between the County and the cities within Lake County.

Mr. Moeller responded that they did not do a comparative salary study but believed that information was readily available due to the County’s ongoing negotiations and was a fairly typical piece of data.

Commr. Breeden asked if there was any consideration of whether combining logistics would be more efficient under Alternative 3.

Mr. Moeller answered that there was a potential for that longer term, but they did not quantify that as a dollar amount.  He noted that Lake EMS was primarily focused on the day-to-day operations of keeping the units on the streets, staffed, and running.

Commr. Blake indicated that he agreed with Mr. Heath’s assessment that it would be important to have all the information before they made a decision.

Commr. Sullivan clarified that there was a consensus for acceptance of the study and to continue to move forward with the rest of the study as well as to look at the cost.

presentation of fy 2018 budget for public safety department

 Chief Molenda provided the Board with an overview of the Public Safety operations and proposed FY 2018 budget.  He related that the mission statement reflected that the Public Safety Department provided exceptional emergency response and support to assure the protection of life, environment, and property; and services were responsive to the changing needs of the County, municipalities, adjoining counties, and state and federal agencies to enhance the community and quality of life for their citizens.  He displayed an organizational chart showing that the Public Safety Department was made up of the Emergency Management, Communications Technologies, and Fire Rescue Divisions and employed a total of 230 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees.

Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Emergency Management Division Manager, related that their division’s mission was to prepare and provide for the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens, visitors, and employees of Lake County from the effects of man-made, natural, or technological disasters.  He presented an organizational chart illustrating that their division encompassed four full-time positions, noting that they have deleted a vacant part-time office associate.  He explained that their office was responsible for managing the Lake County Emergency Operations Center, maintained and updated Lake County’s preparedness plans, managed the emergency notification system known as Alert Lake, managed and coordinated countywide training and exercises, managed the special needs population registry, managed and processed the approval of special events in unincorporated Lake County, and reviewed and approved healthcare facility emergency management plans.  He listed some of the division’s accomplishments for the past year, including management of the recovery effort for Hurricane Matthew to qualify for public assistance funding from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), securing of $150,000 from the Florida Division of Emergency Management to provide automatic transfer switches for generators and impact resistant windows to public schools that function as emergency shelters, obtaining the use of the Everbridge Emergency Notification System at no charge to Lake County which powers Alert Lake, working out the secure use of the WebEOC Information and Resource Management system at no charge to the County as an enhancement over their current SharePoint system, and implementation last year of the Disaster Volunteer Program to assist in emergency shelter operations.  He reported that they implemented the use of the Sheriff’s Office resource deputies to perform as American Red Cross trained shelter managers in emergency shelters last year during Hurricane Matthew, noting that Lake County was the only county to do so, and he commented that all emergency hurricane shelters in public schools are pet friendly.  He added that they have also coordinated with municipalities to provide public outreach to residents throughout the county and coordinated multi-use of the Emergency Communications and Operations Center for meetings, trainings, and exercises for the County departments and constitutional officers.  He presented benchmarks showing that Lake County had the third highest registry of the special needs population behind Polk and Orange Counties as well as the third highest number of healthcare facility emergency plans reviewed last year after Volusia and Seminole Counties.  He also noted that Lake County had the second smallest budget of all the nearby counties, with about 50 percent of the budget made up of grant funding.

Mr. Carpenter presented a pie chart illustrating the FY 2018 estimated revenues totaling $384,000, and he pointed out that the state and federal grants made up just over $195,000 while $188,000 was expected to come out of the general fund this year.  He related that the largest noticeable change between the FY 2017 and FY 2018 budgets was a 16 percent increase in personal services due to the Special Event Associate position being moved from Tourist Development Tax to Emergency Management General and Trust Fund; however, the operating expenses went down by 31 percent to balance out their budget.  He reported that the total proposed expenditure budget was $384,112 or $233 less than their current year’s adopted budget.  He listed some of the required and mandated expenditures for all of the emergency management offices in the state per Florida Statute and Florida Administrative Code, including a requirement to maintain and update the County’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, local mitigation strategy, and special needs registry.  He also explained that they are required to coordinate with all of the entities such as the School Board, Sheriff’s Office, and Health Department to make sure public shelter space will be available when needed and to review and approve comprehensive Emergency Management plans for various health care facilities such as nursing homes, care facilities for the developmentally disabled, and assisted care communities.  He added that the requirements for the federal and state grants they receive annually included maintaining a multi-year training and exercise plan, participation in a minimum of three exercises within a 12-month agreement period, maintaining 24/7 Emergency Management Operations for the County, maintenance of an Emergency Shelter and Retrofit Program and Logistics Management Program, and attendance at the state meetings, training, and Governor’s Hurricane Conference.  He related that one of the division’s unfunded challenges is vehicle replacement in accordance with Fleet policy, since two of their vehicles exceed the age criteria, and this need is expected to be addressed through the Infrastructure Sales Tax Reauthorization.

Commr. Sullivan asked whether the grants they receive are recurring grants.

Chief Molenda answered that they were recurring and renewed automatically on July 1.

Commr. Breeden asked him to explain the increase in personnel costs.

Chief Molenda responded that the cost for the Special Event Associate was being paid for through the Tourism dollars, and it was moved into their budget and no longer being subsidized.

Commr. Breeden commented that it would be interesting to see a benchmark illustrating the percentage of the special needs population as part of the total overall population.

Mr. Greg Holcomb, Communications Technologies Division Manager, related that their division’s mission was to provide effective and reliable emergency communication support to first responders for the safety and welfare of their citizens in Lake County, and he displayed an organizational chart showing that the division contained six full-time employees.  He listed some facts illustrating their level of service, including that their radio system had exceeded 10 million transmissions or a daily average of about 28,000 transmissions in 2016, which equated to over 24,000 hours of airtime.  He also reported that the call volume for their E911 system for the entire county including administrative calls totaled over 880,000 calls.  He mentioned that they have noticed a trend of decreased use of landlines and increased use of wireless.  He listed their accomplishments, including that they completed a School Board radio interagency communications interlocal project which inter-connected the School Board and County’s radio systems together to allow for communications with school resource officers; also, they are currently in the process of implementing the 911 recorder system through the state’s 911 grant program.  He elaborated that they improved and increased network access and speed for fire stations and traffic operations resulting in a savings of over $40,000 per year, established their physical Continuity of Operations Plan for the six 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP), and deployed database applications and services to correct a 911 deficiency that was identified in an audit.  He pointed out the division’s efficiencies, some of which were a result of the previously-mentioned accomplishments, including that the 911 recorders increased capabilities for the Next Generation 911, the physical Continuity of Operations established backup facilities in case of unplanned evacuation, and the deployed database application for 911 reduced their IT support costs and ensured network continuity.  He displayed a benchmark illustrating that they had a higher call volume than some of the more populated counties such as Seminole County, although they were at mid-tier in comparison to the other counties, and he pointed out that there was no funding for the influx of temporary residents they experience which makes their call volume and need for services go up.  He added that the benchmark showing their radio users in service were comparable with the last benchmark and specified that there were 3,293 users in Lake County.  He reported that their proposed division budget consisted of total operating revenue of $3.8 million which was made up of the E911 Emergency Services Fee, grant funds, other revenues such as chargebacks for services they provide other agencies, and about $1.8 million from the general fund.  He added that the total revenue with the estimated fund balance of $262,500 was a little over $4 million.  He explained that the decrease in personal services in their proposed expenditure budget was based on their hiring of an employee at a lower salary range after retirement of a higher-paying employee, and the operating expenses reflected normal increases based on contracts and lease services on towers and equipment; also, the expenses for capital outlay were lower, and grant funding was expected to increase.  He pointed out that reserve funds were no longer available to transfer to the General Fund for 911 call takers.  He summarized that overall there was an 8 percent reduction in their expenditure budget.  He related that Florida Statute 365.172 identified the authorized expenditures for the E911 services, including the functions of database management, call taking location verification, call transfers, and the certification process that each tele-communicator has to go through in order to be able to answer 911 calls, along with the fees and costs for training to do so.  He listed their unfunded challenges, including the replacement of old and obsolete radios and hardware, a projected increased need for three new radio towers due to infrastructure demands based on population growth, and vehicle replacement for at least five vehicles in accordance with Fleet policy, all of which are expected to be addressed through the Infrastructure Sales Tax Reauthorization.

Commr. Breeden commented that she does not know if the residents realized the high impact on the quality of countywide public safety that Mr. Holcomb’s division had, since they routinely kept a low profile.

Commr. Blake asked what the Fleet policy was regarding age and mileage.

Mr. Heath responded that vehicles are due to be replaced after 7 years or 140,000 miles.

Fire Chief Jim Dickerson stated that he would present the budget of the Fire Rescue Division, whose mission was to respond to fire, medical, and other emergencies to protect the citizens and properties in Lake County and to assist neighboring agencies when requested.  He pointed out that their organizational chart showed that their administration includes three full-time and two part-time employees, with their remaining 212 full-time employees assigned to field operations.  He related that the LCFR deployed from 25 fire stations strategically located throughout the county and operated on a three-platoon system with minimum staffing per day of 69 personnel.  He added that 18 of their 25 stations are Advanced Life Support (ALS) and three are designated as Special Operations.  He specified that their front-line fleet consisted of 18 fire engines, 1 aerial truck, 3 squads, 14 tankers, 19 wildland fire vehicles, and 5 specialty utility vehicles.  He commented that 2016 was another busy year for Fire Rescue, which responded to over 22,500 calls for service and performed over 31,000 medical procedures, and the Fire Marshall conducted 42 fire investigations which resulted in three arson arrests.  He announced that they opened their 25th fire station in Dona Vista, finally moved personnel out of the hotel and into the joint station in Clermont, and broke ground on a new fire station in Altoona, with completion estimated in the next 6 to 8 weeks.  He elaborated that they also replaced three 2000 model trucks with over 200,000 miles on them, added six new Life Pak 15 defibrillators, implemented a new reporting system for emergency reporting that would go live on June 1, and worked on the upgrade of two stations from BLS (Basic Life Support) to ALS expected by the end of the summer.  He related that they hired and deployed 15 new firefighters using the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant and sponsored 12 firefighters in the Paramedic program.  He announced that Chief John Jolliff received the Outstanding Community Service Award, and Lieutenant Donovan Miller received the Firefighter of the Year Award at the annual Elks Club first responder awards.  He stated that their community outreach program held 97 community safety events, 298 public assists, installed over 700 smoke alarms, and implemented the Fired Up reading program with the community schools.  He noted that they had applied for a grant that would outfit all of their rescue units with mobile data terminals and an EMS matching grant that would complete their ALS deployment for all stations, and they have improved their command and control through internal reorganization with the promotion of three lieutenants and a battalion chief.

Chief Dickerson presented a benchmark of total emergency incidents which showed that they took over 22,000 calls, which was an 8 percent increase over 2015, and a benchmark comparing the number of stations to other counties.  He pointed out that the benchmarks also show that the only county that has more citizens per firefighter per capita is Volusia County.  He reported that they are projecting close to $23 million in total operating revenue, with the Fire Rescue Assessment making up the majority of that revenue, along with ad valorem tax (Municipal Service Taxing Unit), grants, other revenues, and the general fund, and an estimated fund balance of $1.8 million for expected total revenue of $24.8 million.  He noted that their ability to maintain reserves is limited because of the continued decline in fund balance over the last five years, and reserves are expected to be exhausted by the end of FY 2017.  He related that their proposed expenditures are $25.5 million, which does not include impact fee expenditures but does include upgrading two stations to ALS and addressing command and control needs by adding 6 lieutenant positions.  He pointed out that personal services increased from FY 2017 mainly due to hires for the SAFER grant, and the FY 2018 total expenditures exceeded revenue by $672,000; however, they were expecting about $400,000 in new operating revenue from impact fees.  He stated that proposed expenditures from the impact fees are $1.8 million, and their capital outlay has declined from last year by about $900,000 as a result of the completion of the Altoona Fire Station this year.  He pointed out that the capital outlay included a new pumper for the newly-open station in Dona Vista and 3 LifePaks for the ALS upgrades, and they were still pursuing property for Lake Yale and Seminole Springs.  He commented that the mandates and required expenditures for his division included the use of the National Fire Incident Reporting System under the U.S. Fire Administration for reporting, Occupational Safety and Health requirements for firefighters, workplace safety requirements, and EMT/Paramedic certifications and renewals; and he added that there were 6 Interlocal Service Boundary Agreements.  He listed their unfunded challenges, which were infrastructure demands for facilities due to growth and vehicle replacement in accordance with Fleet policy, both of which were expected to be addressed through the Infrastructure Sales Tax Reauthorization.

Mr. Heath clarified that the six lieutenant positions that were to be added in order to address commanding control needs would be promoted from within rather than resulting in the addition of new employees, and the number of employees was to stay constant.

Chief Molenda summarized that all of the divisions in Public Safety have been active, doing community outreach as well as their day-to-day functions of community preparedness, transmissions and communications, and  actively responding to fire and emergency incidents; and he commented that he hoped they would be able to expand on their community outreach efforts next year.  He reported that the FY 2018 estimated revenues were $15 million from the Fire Assessment, $4.2 million from the MSTU, $394,000 from impact fees, $1.3 million from the E911 emergency services fee, $1.2 million from grants, $1.8 million from other revenues, and $2.8 million from the General Fund for a total revenue of a little over $31 million including the estimated fund balance of $3.6 million.  He pointed out that the Communications Technologies 911 Fund can no longer contribute to the General Fund as it had in past years, and the $672,000 Fire Fund revenue shortfall resulting from a collective bargaining agreement to bring employees’ salaries up to what was presented in the salary study and SAFER impacts will be addressed in the fire assessment presentation later in the meeting.  He presented the proposed budget, noting a 5 percent change in personal services, a 2 percent decrease in operating expenses, a 35 percent decrease in capital outlay, and a 55 increase in grants for a total expenditure of about $31.8 million, which was a 2 percent decrease from the FY 2017 budget.  He summarized that the Emergency Management budget remains status quo, and the Communications Technologies Division budget maintains the existing levels of service, contains funding for replacement of a 911 recorder system offset by a grant, and the reserve funds were no longer available.  He added that the Fire Rescue budget also maintains the existing levels of service, with the exception of converting two stations to ALS, addressing command control needs by adding six lieutenant positions, and addressing the $672,000 revenue shortfall.

Commr. Parks thanked Chief Molenda for all of his hard work to keep the county safe and commented that he had great faith in the direction of the Public Safety Department. He stated that he has appreciated their discussions recently about the changing role of firefighters and public safety as a whole.

Chief Molenda commented that he appreciated the Board’s support.

fire assessment study by tindale-oliver

Mr. Steve Koontz, Assistant County Manager, related that the purpose of this presentation was to provide the Board with the results of the Fire Assessment Study done by Tindale-Oliver.  He recapped that the Fire Assessment is used to fund fire protection services such as fire suppression, fire prevention, and fire building inspections, as well as first response medical services (BLS); however, it cannot be used to fund Advanced Life Support (ALS) services but could be used for capital expenses.  He further explained that call data and the distribution of incidents are analyzed, and the assessment rates are calculated based on the allocation of resources and the budget across the proportionate share of each land use.  He elaborated that although previous studies have always used five land uses, the presentation today would discuss using six land uses.  He added that the Lake County General Fund provided the calculated fees for buildings identified as governmental within the institutional land use and 66 percent of the funding for buildings identified as not for profit, using the Property Appraiser’s data to make those distinctions.  He noted that Tindale Oliver and Associates was tasked with providing an annual technical study using the most recent budget information, call data, and distribution of resources by land use; and the Board was still required to provide a discount of at least $500,000 from the maximum that could be assessed per a previous legal settlement.  He gave an overview of the vacant land analysis per an internal audit which recommended that staff analyze the possibility of assessing vacant land, noting that there have been some recent changes concerning vacant land, which were due to a Florida Supreme Court Ruling that validated the ability to assess developed and undeveloped property and House Bill 773 exempting agricultural property from being assessed effective November 1, 2017, so they have kept agricultural property out of the analysis.  He recapped that a Fire Assessment workshop was held on February 7 to discuss the inclusion of vacant land as a sixth land use category, and the Fire Assessment Study would need to consider the methodology for the assessment of vacant land and the level of benefit assigned to vacant land.  He relayed that staff recommended that they initiate the 2018 fire assessment study, which would include the maximum assessment that could be levied based on the budget, the amount that could be levied using the current rates, and including vacant land as an option using the two previous scenarios.

Mr. Steve Tindale from Tindale-Oliver noted that they had been involved in the assessment study that was last done in 2015 and presented the results of their latest study.  He mentioned that the ALS and non-ALS factor was very stable, there was an increase in the maximum assessable budget compared to the FY 2016 budget used for the current rates, the properties were stable without much variation in terms of distribution in the number of units of development, and there had been a slight change in the calls by land use.  He presented their conclusions, including that it has been common to charge about $20 to $70 per parcel for vacant land, and the Board has some latitude regarding this decision.  He added that they had calculated vacant land’s assessable budget at half the full allocation due to a reduced benefit received, and he noted that a reduced assessment option was based on the staff-recommended budget.  He specified that the calculated rates by maximum assessable budget and by the staff recommended budget were based on the distribution of incidents by land use and taking into consideration the ALS vs. non-ALS factor, the assessable budget, and property units by land use; and he noted that they would be focusing mainly on the staff-recommended budget, since that was what the Board would be taking action on.  He mentioned that there was a slight shift from residential uses to other uses that were small sample sizes, and he displayed a chart illustrating the distribution of incidents showing a frequency rate of about 21 percent ALS and 79 percent non-ALS statistically very consistently throughout all of the studies from 2014 through 2016.  He stated that the County’s current budget was reduced well below the maximum assessable budget of about $17 million, and the maximum they believe the County could charge was $20.1 million, which was a 19 percent difference.  He also noted that the recommended budget was $18 million, which reflected a much more moderate increase than the 7 percent that was recommended.  He went over the distribution of total resources by land use using the existing fee structure, noting that residential changed from 84.9 percent to 85.2 percent of the total resources or a .4 percent change, commercial changed from 5.1 percent to 5.0 percent or a -2.0 percent change, and institutional changed from 7.1 percent to 6.9 percent or a 2.8 percent change.  He mentioned that those small changes for commercial and institutional will show quite a variation in some of the assessment rates because of the small size of the number of units.

Mr. Tindale then presented a chart illustrating calculations for the distribution of total resources by land use which included vacant land showing a reduction in the assessment rate for almost every land use because of the ability to redistribute the benefit and cost over the extra land use allocation.  He summarized the revised changes in land use categories, including a 1.6 percent increase in residential units reflecting the population growth, a decrease in hotel and motel uses of 2.3 percent, a decrease in commercial of 2 percent, an increase in industrial and warehouse of 1.7 percent, and a very slight institutional increase of .1 percent.  He presented a chart showing the calculated rate schedule for the maximum assessable budget showing the current rate, the maximum rate, and the percent of change averaging 19 percent; and he pointed out that adding the vacant land for each one of those change decreases the percent of change for the maximum calculated rate.  He presented another chart similar to the previous one of the calculated rate schedule, but for the staff-recommended budget, emphasizing that adding the vacant land use would allow them to use their recommended adopted rate and reduce the current rate for almost all existing uses while still being able to adopt the recommended budget.  He concluded that they have seen some real positive aspects of charging everyone who would benefit from fire services, and he mentioned that at least 20 Florida jurisdictions assess vacant land at $20 to $70 per parcel, which is half the full allocation due to a reduced benefit received.  He emphasized that their recommended option would result in a 7 percent increase in total revenues but an actual reduction in the assessment rates for those currently paying the fire assessments.

Mr. Koontz recapped that the Board has set the fire assessment rates at less than the maximum rate in previous years in order to be conservative, which also ensures that the funding is not used for ALS services, was consistent in meeting the obligation of a discount due to a previous legal settlement that will be finished with next year’s recommended rates, and minimized the potential for future legal challenges.  He also pointed out that MSTU funding was also available to fund the Fire Rescue budget.  He reported that staff concurred with the methodology used by Tindale Oliver in coming up with the maximum rates and provided Tindale Oliver with the recommended numbers to identify those rates.  He reiterated that there was a slight change in incident/resource distribution from last year to this year.  He commented that the inclusion of vacant land would more equitably distribute the cost of fire rescue services, and rates for all land uses would increase if vacant land was not included in the allocation.  He related that the staff recommended budget would maintain the current levels of service and provide a minimal amount of reserves.  He reminded the Board about the $672,000 shortfall within the budget, since the actual revenues estimated under the current rates this year of about $17.3 million would fall short of the $18 million recommended budget.  He stated that the initial Fire Assessment Resolution with the assessment rates was tentatively set to be heard before the Board on July 11, with the public hearing set for September 12.  He requested that the Board accept the Tindale Oliver Fire Assessment Study and include the staff recommended budget with vacant land and the associated assessment rates in the Assessment Resolution on July 11 for inclusion in the TRIM notices.

Commr. Campione asked whether they would look at the size of the parcel for the assessment on the vacant land, noting that it was based on benefit as opposed to impact.

Mr. Tindale explained that vacant land was being charged for only 5 percent of the resources under their scenario even though they found that 10 to 11 percent of all of their resources went towards vacant property when they looked at the distribution of those resources, but there was not enough differentiation to tier that distribution.

Commr. Campione expressed concern about those properties that were made up of multiple lots and which did not have an agricultural exemption.

Mr. Tindale answered that they would not charge for property that cannot be built on.

Mr. Koontz elaborated that staff has been working with the consultants to look through all of the data on the vacant land and pulling out the parcels which were not buildable.  He noted that there were some government properties that were vacant that they had to take into consideration.

Commr. Campione opined that including vacant land seemed like a more equitable way to do the assessment, with everyone who receives the benefit participating in funding the system that covered all of the property.

Mr. Heath elaborated that there was currently a $672,000 deficit in the fire assessment, and the budget would not be able to be cut without impacting the level of service.  He explained that the discussion on July 11 would be important in order to give the Board enough time to change anything without having to re-notice everyone.  He asked the Board for direction so that the next County Manager could concentrate on the millages and the operational budget when he starts in June.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the acceptance of the Fire Assessment Study by Tindale-Oliver.

Commr. Parks commented that although he supported the direction they were going and believed it would be more equitable, he wanted more time to discuss and look into this issue.

Commr. Breeden commented that although she did not think she would have been in favor of assessing vacant land in the past, she believed that it is apparent that it was appropriate given the dry conditions lately, and she liked the fact that they could reduce the assessments for almost all of the other land uses by doing so.

Commr. Campione pointed out that this study was based specifically on data showing where the County needed to make adjustments by looking at where the calls were coming from, the costs to provide that service, and the resources that had to be expended.  She opined that this was the right decision and would be a more equitable and fair system.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried by a vote of 3-2, the Board approved to include the staff-recommended budget with vacant lands and associated assessment rates in the assessment resolution on July 11, 2017 for inclusion in the TRIM notices. 

Commr. Parks and Commr. Blake voted “no.”

Mr. Heath expressed concern about the fact that the vote on that issue was not unanimous and asked whether staff should prepare an additional resolution for consideration that leaves vacant land out of the assessment and increases the other land uses as well as one that includes the vacant land category in order to be prepared.

Commr. Campione stated that she did not want a resolution that would increase the residential assessment.

Commr. Breeden commented that it would be difficult to find an extra $672,000.

Commr. Sullivan clarified that there was consensus for direction to prepare two resolutions which reflected the two scenarios that were discussed.

budget for department of facilities and fleet management

Mr. Kristian Swenson, Facilities and Fleet Management Director, stated that he would present the FY 2018 budget for the Facilities and Fleet Management Department, whose mission was to maintain and repair all of Lake County’s facilities, vehicles, and equipment; and he presented an organizational chart showing that the department employs 46 full-time employees.  He related that the Facilities Management Division’s mission was to support the County’s goals and objectives by developing and maintaining well-planned, attractive, and high quality County facilities in a manner that assured longevity, cost-effective energy efficiency, and quality through professional customer service.  He displayed an organizational chart illustrating that the division is split into two sections, one that handles administration/contracts for their outsourced maintenance services and another that is responsible for the in-house maintenance.  He specified that his department maintains 153 owned and leased facilities encompassing 1.9 million square feet, and he displayed a pie chart showing that four buildings make up 65 percent of their inventory, which were the jail, Courthouse, parking garage, and County Administration Building.  He pointed out that over 55 percent of the buildings they maintain were over 20 years old.  He listed some projects that were completed last year, including the fourth-floor of the Courthouse renovation, the Chiller Line replacement behind the Sheriff’s administration building with the City of Tavares, the fairgrounds sewer line rehabilitation, and construction of joint Fire Station 90/104 with the City of Clermont.  He reported that there were currently a number of projects that were in progress, including the Tax Collector building, Fire Station #14 in Altoona, some security and flooring improvements to the County Administration Building, renovations to the Public Defender building, and Animal Services improvements.  He related that his division has been evaluating a potential fire station prototype, working on an initial assessment for performance contracting to be brought back before the Board, and continuing implementation of some Facilities Management software.  He presented several benchmarks, including the number and square footage of County maintained buildings compared to other counties showing Lake County with the third smallest inventory and total number of facilities staff members showing that Lake is the second smallest after Sumter County.  He also displayed a benchmark illustrating that Lake County has the second lowest cost per square foot to maintain their inventory and was maintaining their facilities very efficiently as well as a benchmark illustrating that Lake was the second highest at almost 72,000 square feet of County buildings maintained per staff member.  He presented a chart depicting that they outsource more maintenance than any of the other neighboring counties.  He reported that his division was requesting approximately a $5.2 million budget, which represented a 1 percent decrease from last year as a result of savings that they gained from their custodial contract rebid, and he pointed out that the capital outlay budget contained the cost of a mower, a trailer, and tractor accessories for the inmate work crew that the Sheriff provided.  He noted that Florida Statutes required them to fund the cost of construction or lease, maintenance, utilities, and security for the Circuit and County Courts, Public Defender’s office, State Attorney’s office, guardian ad litem offices, and the offices of the Clerks of the Circuit and County Courts performing court-related functions.

Mr. Keith Stevenson, Fleet Division Manager, stated that the division’s mission statement was to support County goals and objectives by managing County assets of vehicles and equipment to ensure longevity and maximize cost efficiency from asset acquisition through disposal while providing exceptional customer service and professionalism.  He presented an organizational chart showing that the division is composed of 18 full-time employees, including a financial analyst and those responsible for either parts or service.  He specified that they provided service for 852 pieces of equipment for the County, and he displayed charts illustrating the equipment they maintain broken down into the County departments that utilized that equipment, including Public Safety, Public Works, and Conservation and Compliance.  He reported that in FY 2016 they processed over 4,000 work orders or 402 per mechanic and completed over 1,100 preventative maintenance services that helped to keep the older vehicles running and in good condition.  He added that they continue to evaluate and repurpose vehicles with remaining life that have been turned in to Surplus, and they managed the state contract which had dispensed over 400,000 gallons of fuel last year.  He listed some of their accomplishments, including that they had received the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence recognition for the second year in a row, provided technical assistance and emergency response for the 2016 Leesburg Bikefest, and implemented incentive pay in order to reward employees for enhancing their education, which has made them more efficient and has resulted in eliminating technician turnover since being implemented on October 30, 2016.  He mentioned that they have been working on a system that would allow them to look up specific information regarding vehicles in order to be more efficient and have provided a monthly report to management of performance measures.  He provided benchmarks showing that Lake County has the sixth largest fleet as well as the sixth largest number of technicians and a benchmark showing that Lake County is fifth in assets per technician compared to the nearby counties.  He presented a chart showing the types of assets maintained in FY 2015 illustrating that the only vehicles the County does not maintain were the EMS vehicles, wastewater vehicles, and sweepers.  He reported that the Fleet Management FY 2018 proposed budget reflected a reduction of 11.6 percent in the revenues from the FY 2017 adopted budget due to the new transit contract and that there was an associated reduction in the proposed budget expenses of 11.6 percent.

Mr. Swenson presented a slide that showed the revenues for both the divisions within the Facilities and Fleet Management Department in the amount of about $8.9 million, noting that the revenue was made up of the General Fund fees from chargebacks to other departments and other charges including fuel, parts, and labor.  He displayed a pie chart illustrating how the budget was divided between the two sections, with 58 percent of the budget to Facilities and 42 percent to Fleet.  He summarized that the department would be providing a constant level of service and that their budget was reduced by 6 percent largely due to the transit maintenance being included on the new contract.

human resources and risk management budget & work session

Mr. Robert Anderson, Human Resources Director, provided the Board with an overview of the proposed budget for the Human Resources (HR) Department, whose mission was to assist the Board through the development, implementation, and facilitation of cost effective and efficient programs for managing County employees, employee benefits, and loss control programs.  He showed an organizational chart depicting that they currently had 8 full-time and one part-time employee divided among the Human Resources and Risk & Benefits sections.  He related that they provide services in the areas of state and federal compliance reporting, investigations, employee and labor relations, policies and procedures, performance management, and training; and he pointed out that their department spent a lot of effort and time managing programs to protect the County’s non-human assets such as property, casualty, and liability administration.  He mentioned that his department provided services to other offices besides the Board of County Commissioners, such as the Lake Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Clerk of Court, Lake EMS, and Water Authority.  He listed some of the accomplishments of his department this year, including opening the employee health clinic, Primary Care Connection, on October 7, 2016; conducting comprehensive health risk assessments (HRA) for 875 participants or 80 percent of the employees; implementing interlocal agreements for risk and benefits programs with the Clerk of Courts, Tax Collector, Lake EMS, Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser, Water Authority, and the MPO; and implementing and monitoring health plan design changes to decrease costs.  He related that the Board approved bringing the Animal Shelter back under the County, and his department has advertised and recruited for various positions, filling 17 of the 18 positions.  He added that they also had revised and simplified the volunteer online application process for the Animal Shelter, since they found the process too cumbersome after reviewing it, which helped to increase the approved number of volunteers for the shelter from 14 to 61.  He noted that they also went through the process of filling 15 positions needed after receiving the SAFER grant, as well as three other existing vacancies that occurred at the same time, and they conducted employee training on a variety of topics, including use of social media, back safety, office ergonomics, heat safety, CPR, successful supervising, and new employee orientations.  He elaborated that their department also assisted in the negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement between the County and the Professional Fire Fighters of Lake County, coordinated 16,200 hours of volunteer service, and designed and implemented a certification pay program for fleet management, building services, and road operations.

Mr. Anderson related that the Human Resources Department managed a self-funded health insurance plan that enabled the County to invest any savings and earn interest if claims are lower and purchased stop-loss insurance coverage to pay for any excess costs in the event that claims are higher than usual.  He elaborated that they were able to get the discounts that the Florida Blue network provided, which were about 60 percent over billed services, by being part of their network, which has saved the County almost $14.7 million on billed medical charges and $5.6 million as a result of pharmacy discounts.  He noted that they use an online application process to recruit and screen potential employees and the County intranet to schedule and track training of County employees whenever possible.  He added that they also conduct employment, driver’s records, and reference checks in-house and are looking at outsourcing certain classifications of jobs with high turnover and high workers compensation claims.  He displayed benchmarks showing that Lake County has one of the lowest number of total full-time employees, the second lowest of full-time employees per 1,000 population, the second lowest average wage cost per full-time employee of $40,840, and in the middle for the number and average value of workers compensation claims compared to other nearby counties.  He reported that the proposed budget for the Human Resources Administration Division reflects a slight increase of .16 percent due to differences in the FRS (Florida Retirement System) assessment, and the proposed budget for Property and Casualty contains a slight increase in operating expenses from anticipated increases in both the property and casualty premiums and the workers compensation premiums that they pay.  He stated that the total FY 2018 estimated revenues for the Human Resources Department was $24 million, which was made up of $3 million for property and casualty from the departments, $14.7 million in employee group benefits, $44,650 in interest on their accounts, $796,000 from the General Fund, and an estimated fund balance of $5.5 million.  He summarized that the revenue from the General Fund remains status quo, and the employee group benefits fund is adequately funded, since claims expenses have stabilized, which resulted in an increase in fund balance and adequate reserves.  He opined that no changes were needed in the employer or employee contributions to the health insurance fund.  He presented a pie chart illustrating that 16.1 percent of their budget was for property and casualty, 80.6 for employee group benefits, and 3.3 percent for HR administration.

Mr. Anderson listed some of their mandated and required expenditures, including the Worker’s Compensation Assessment, unemployment compensation under certain circumstances, Affordable Care Act requirements, FEMA-required property insurance, automobile insurance, and First Responder life insurance.  He discussed some of their unfunded challenges, including a simulator for improved driver safety training, Advanced Automatic External Defibrillators at each major County location, and the declining fund balance in the Property & Casualty Fund due to higher than projected claims, which may warrant a change in the future allocation of costs to the user groups.  He explained that the current health insurance premium structure has two plans with two tiers, and he recommended continuing the employer and employee health insurance contributions at the same level as FY 2017 as well as continuing the HRA incentive for those employees who complete a new HRA between September 11 and October 20, 2017, including retirees who participate in the plan and are paying in full for their health insurance.  He mentioned that they had conducted an RFP for an employee prepaid legal services plan, which was entirely employee paid, and he recommended approval of the proposed contract with their current vendor, U.S. Legal, under Tab 13, which they were able to renew at the same rates as before with additional optional identity theft protection.  He explained that the Internal Revenue Service had increased the account limits for the medical Flexible Spending Accounts for FY 2018 from $2,550 per year to $2,600 per year, and staff recommended approval of Tab 14 changing the County’s medical plan limit to $2,600 per year.  He noted that Florida Blue had agreed to keep the County’s current ASO fee of $43.25 per employee per month through September 30, 2021, and they were still working on that contract.  He added that staff had conducted an RFP for the employee group dental plan and are recommending Florida Combined Life as the provider, and staff was currently finalizing the contracts with these providers, which will be brought to the Board for approval.  He summarized that the Human Resources operating budget is status quo.  He requested approval of Tabs 13 and 14 previously mentioned as well as of the recommended full premium equivalents and employees premium share amounts for health insurance and proposed continuation of 7 percent waiver of premium for those completing a new HRA as previously stated.

Commr. Parks clarified that the uses for the prepaid flexible spending medical plan were the same as in FY 2017 and reiterated that retirees are paying the full rate for their health insurance, despite rumors to the contrary.

Commr. Breeden requested that the Board consider some cost of living adjustments for staff at some point during the budget process.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the recommended full premium equivalents and employee premium share amounts for health insurance for FY 2018; the proposed continuation of the 7 percent waiver of premiums for those employees who complete a new HRA between September 11 and October 20, 2017; the Prepaid Legal Contract with U.S. Legal under Tab 13; and the Section 125 Plan amendment for the Flexible Spending Account limits under Tab 14.

other business

appointment to public safety coordinating council

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointment of Judge Brian Welke to the Public Safety Coordinating Council.

appointment to mpo bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointment of Ms. Susan Martin to the District 2 position on the Lake Sumter MPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) to serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2017.

appointments to parks, recreation & trails advisory board

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the appointments of the following individuals to positions on the Parks, Recreation & Trails Advisory Board to serve two-year terms beginning May 21, 2017:  Kelly Price (District 2), David Clutts (District 3), Michael K. Matulia (District 4), and Charles Gary McKinney (District 5); and approval of the waiver of potential ethical conflict for Kelly Price.

reports – commissioner parks – district 2

appreciation expressed to mr. heath and staff

Commr. Parks thanked Mr. David Heath, County Manager, and staff for handling an issue and answering questions about transportation availability for transportation disadvantaged trips for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, noting that some critical and needed medical trips would not be cut.  He also thanked Mr. Heath for his service to Lake County for the last six years and commented that he appreciated everything Mr. Heath has done for the County.

reports – commissioner breeden – district 3

appreciation expressed for mr. heath’s service

Commr. Breeden also thanked Mr. Heath for his service and noted that he would be missed.

streetscape in four corners area

Commr. Breeden related that she had taken the Four Corners bus tour on Wednesday, May 17, which was very informative, along with Mr. Robert Chandler, Economic Growth Director; some other representatives from Lake County; and a Commissioner from both Orange and Osceola Counties.  She added that there was interest shown in expanding the streetscape further out on Hwy 192, and staff was looking into entering into agreements with other neighboring counties in that area that would possibly address that issue, since that was one of their main gateways.

Commr. Parks asked if there was any discussion about a pedestrian crossover from where the school would eventually be built to Cagan Crossings.

Ms. Breeden responded that the discussion was primarily concentrated on Hwy 192.

Commr. Campione mentioned that there had been discussion about a possible CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) at that location that would include that streetscape.

commissioner campione – district 4

best wishes to mr. heath on his retirement

Commr. Campione commented that she appreciated the hard work Mr. Heath has done in the last six years and that the Board would miss him.  She wished him a good retirement.

commissioner blake – district 5

mr. heath’s retirement

Commr. Blake stated that he appreciated all of the guidance Mr. Heath gave him as a new Commissioner.

library advisory board meeting

Commr. Blake reported that the Library Advisory Board received the initial draft of the long-range plan last week that had been done by the consultants and would make comments and suggestions before it came before the Board.

east central florida regional planning council meeting

Commr. Blake related that he attended the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council meeting on Wednesday, May 17, and the council discussed raising their dues, which would cost the County between $10,000 and $15,000 more per year starting next month.

commissioner sullivan – chairman and district 1

position on florida association of counties board

Commr. Sullivan reported that he attended the legislative session in Tallahassee, and he had put his name in for nomination for an at-large position on the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) board, since he was impressed with the way the FAC went before some of the budget committees in Tallahassee to discuss County issues.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 1:22 p.m.

 

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timothy i. sullivan, chairman

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

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NEIL KELLY, CLERK