##VIDEO ID:Sp9OlDb5VQE## [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] e e [Music] if you wish to speak to any item on the agenda or during the public comment portion of the meeting please fill out a speaker card each person addressing the board shall have three minutes to complete his or her comments on each agenda item for which he or she has filled out a card the chair has the discretion to determine or alter the time limits on any agenda item the board of County Commissioners requests that speakers appearing under the public comment section of the agenda limit their comments or presentations to matters relating to County Business that are within the board's Control Authority and jurisdiction well good morning morning and welcome to the normal County Commission meeting of September 17 2024 uh I normally do not do this but I am going to this morning um I'd like to recognize our former Speaker of the House Steve Chrisi Steve here today and and I can tell you from some of the people that have been in the legislature that is a big deal and it's an honor to have you here Steve so thanks for coming out [Applause] I just saw that yeah uh and also walking in the door as former state representative Dixie Sansom Dixie say wave at everybody if you would please it's nice to see [Applause] you okay uh let's start off with the invocation by Justin Renard Pastor Justin Renard First Baptist Church of Meritt Island good morning sir good morning let us pray father we thank you for your hand of blessing upon Bard County God we thank you for the citizens and the people that you have moved to this place God we thank you for the businesses and the leaders and those sitting before us God we thank you for provision and just your hand of blessing that has been Upon This Place God we ask for wisdom this morning as items are discussed God we ask that you would give Clarity for what is being asked and what is being discussed Lord and you would give wisdom God and I pray for peace and for your hand of protection upon Bard County Lord over our schools and over our families Lord we just pray for protection and peace and uh we we thank you for what you're doing in Jesus name amen amen thank you uh let's have commissioner Tobi lead us into pledge please stand to flag the United States of America and to the for stands Nation God indivisible andice all okay let's start the meeting out with a u a motion please for the approval of the minutes of the July 23rd 2024 regular meeting in the August 6 2024 regular meeting do I hear a motion to approve there a motion by commissioner Goodson seconded by commissioner pritchet in regards to approving the minutes any discussion hearing no discussion all in favor signify by saying I all oppos nay all right let's start out with um I believe commissioner felner you're going toh get our first resolution is that accurate sir thank you so much thank you Mr chair and uh today we have Cindy Mitchell and uh uh from the Salvation Army and I have a resolution you can come up I'll read the resolution you can bring your group you're welcome I'm going to read the resolution then we'll make a motion pass it and then the chair will invite you to speak and then we'll present you with the resolution okay okay whereas the crime of domestic violence violates an individual's privacy and dignity Security in humanity due to an abuser systemic use of physical emotional sexual psychological and economic control and whereas more than one in four women have experienced rape physical violence and or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime and nearly 8 million us women are raped physically assaulted Andor stalked by a current or former intimate partner each year and Nationwide an average of three women are killed by a current or former intimate partner every day and whereas in just one day in 2023 across the United States and its territories nearly 77,000 victims of domestic violence sought services from domestic violence program PRS and shelters and whereas the impact of domestic violence is wide ranging directly affecting individuals and Society here in bevard County throughout the United States and the world and whereas citizens of Bard government officials law enforcement agencies healthc care providers domestic violence programs social service providers Educators clergy and Community leaders must join together to end the abuse and vience that continues to threaten the health safety and well-being of so many in our community now therefore be it resolved that The Bard County Board of County Commissioners does hereby proclaim the month of October 2024 as domestic violence Awareness Month together with The Bard County Domestic Violence task force we urge citizens to speak out against domestic violence support survivors efforts to live free from abuse and hold the those who abuse accountable done ordered and adopted in regular session the 17th day of September 2024 with that Mr chair I'll make a motion for approval second there's a motion by commissioner felner seconded by commissioner pritet uh all in favor signify by saying I I all oppos nay the floor is yours all right thank you commissioner felner and um just a little bit if you would be so kind I want to hear every word you're sayner uh we appreciate that and all of the Commissioners um for recognizing October as domestic violence awareness month you know the it's a month that we focus as providers Professionals in the field and invite the community to really shine a light on domestic violence because this affects everyone we all know someone affected by domestic violence um someone in our lives and the more that we can educate and put information out there we can help survivors and avoid tragedies in our Community right here in Bard I'm here with half of our domestic violence task force um they are the most amazing professionals I can't say enough I'm I'm so proud to kind of be the informal leader right now um but we all have um you know amazing depth of knowledge and um professionalism and work really as a team in this community and if anybody else would like to say something um you know again we we thank you and and thank you all for coming and and you all recognizing I have a resolution and we'll take a picture okay okay he we got a crowd down there as it is and we wouldn't want to ruin all that beauty with my ugly face anyway sesel pretend like you really like each other can I get you to squeeze in a little bit all right one two three one two three thank you okay okay um we have another resolution coming up uh Janette and Wayne price are you here why don't you come on up and sit in the front here just for a second if you would Wayne are you here you're not coming up well the Price Is Right butum bump um real quickly let me make a comment because that resolution that just happened is uh an emotional res resolution and and it another one today is is the one that I'm going to talk about which is on suicide and every one of our Lives is affected by this I don't you know not only with the abusive spouse situation but almost on a daily basis or at least a weekly or monthly basis we we know somebody that's committed suicide that didn't get help so the resolution is whereas September is designated as National Suicide Prevention month as recognized by the National Association of mental health illness whereas National Suicide Prevention month has at a time to raise awareness and shift public perception of this often stigmatized topic while spreading hope and sharing Vital Information of people affected by Suicide and whereas many Health officials and Community leaders realize that mental health meal mental illness and Suicidal Thoughts can affect anyone regardless of age background or gender and understand stand at more open and honest discussion about mental health are required to address the issue and whereas although National Suicide Prevention month provides a dedicated time for communities to come together and address this difficult topic it is important to discuss Suicide Prevention year around because just one conversation can in fact Save a Life Now th therefore be it resolved that the board of County commissioners of Bard County Florida does hereby proclaim the month of September National Suicide Prevention month in encourages those with mental health issues to seek the help of family members friends colleague and or licensed mental health professionals to assist them at times of need I move that we accept the resolution there's a motion in a second is there any discussion hearing no discussion all in favor signify by saying I all oppos n Janette please chairman stale Commissioners staff thank thank you and good morning I'm johnette ginling I'm the president and CEO of Space Coast Health Foundation I'm here with representatives of 211 Bard Palm Point behavioral and a new not for-profit called do it for Hunter we have spent the last seven weeks Gathering proclamations supporting suicide awareness and prevention from the cities in Bard as well as Bard School Board we also have the enthusiastic support of our four chambers the partnership and collaborations in getting these proclamations and support show what we can do working together as a community suicide is horrible but I believe our community efforts to talk about mental health and the stigma associated with it are making a difference in 2022 the latest data that we have from the Department of Health there were 115 suicides on the Space Coast that was the lowest number since 2014 14 which was 114 suicides obviously one suicide is too many but it looks like we're trending in the right direction and I credit you and the other community leaders for being forthright in addressing this serious issue and noting that mental health is a key component to overall health proclamations like this one you issued this morning show that you care it shows that the Space Coast cares and that's an enduring message you should be proud of thank you for supporting us thank you Janette we have a [Applause] resolution two two thank you very much [Applause] app commissioner F I believe the floor is yours sir i' like comment oh I think uh commissioner Goodson want to say something okay commissioner Goodson thank you sir um September the 21st from 10: a.m. to 2: p.m. is you matter day at maridon high school Kelly is one of my constituents and she's running that so please attend if you can that's it maryon High School September 21st 10 to2 thank you okay we have a resolution acknowledging Early Learning Coalition yes so we have uh uh laori Gambino and Darby Miller from Early Learning Coalition of bard okay you're okay I'll uh you're welcome to come up and then I'll read the resolution and then we'll pass it and then you you'll be invited to speak my wife is a Dolly Parton fan so she'll uh maybe she'll be start maybe she'll be watching this today and appreciate that I'm I'm reading this uh okay so for the Early Learning Coalition of Bard and the dolly part and Imagination Library whereas the Early Learning Coalition of Bard believes that children of Bard County are our greatest and most important resource and their earliest experiences set the stage for their future success in school and in life and whereas the Early Learning Coalition of Bard County strives to make certain that children and families have access to Quality affordable Early Learning programs and services necessary to better ensure their successful Futures and whereas the Early Learning Coalition of Bard County currently serves between 8,000 and 9,000 children each year in the School Readiness programs and whereas the Early Learning Coalition of Bard county has partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in its Early Childhood book gifting program to provide a highquality free book each month to children from birth to age five since 1995 the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has become the premier Early Childhood book gifting program in the world and whereas the Early Learning Coalition of Bard and Dolly Parton Imagination Library will bring books into the homes of over 15,000 Bard children and studies conducted by the Dollywood Foundation show important increases in kindergarten scores for children participating in the program over their peers who do not aligning perfectly with the mission and values of the Early Learning Coalition of Bard now therefore be it resolved that the board of County commissioners of Bard County Florida does hereby unanimously recognize the achievements and outstanding accomplishments of the Early Learning Coalition of Bard and offers them congratulations on their significant contributions with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and sincere wishes for continued success done ordered and adopted in regular session the 17th day of September 2024 and with that Mr chair I'll make a motion for approval commissioner felner moves to approve is there a second second there's a commission a second by commissioner Goodson any discussion all in favor signify by saying I I all oppose nay the motion carries awesome thank you I could ask our our board chair and our um our board chair Alan Bergman and our community outreach coordinator um Darby Miller thank you first of all all of you for having us here and we appreciate the support as well with the resolution couple of quick notes just wanted to make sure everybody understands 85% of a child's development and success in school is developed before the age of five they're social they're intellectual as well as all their personality our partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library is actually bringing books into homes um of the uh data research that we pulled we have almost 20,000 children in the county from births of fire years old and our maximum um level of support can go up to 17,000 so we are super excited about this partnership it's helping children at their most critical time and it's helping our families engage in literacy family engagement and also helping our parents be the best teacher they can as a child's first teacher so we thank you for this um opportunity and board chair I'm not sure if you wanted to say a word Alan sure why not come on over it's our board chair Alan Bergman thank you I'm never read a shortage for words I appreciate you giving us recognition at this event um and realizing the value we have to the children of our community and the rest of the uh country really um there is a strong Network developing and realization that the children of our world need to be educated to deal with the technology and growth of our our society as it stands technology is growing faster than we even expected it to and we need people to fulfill those job slots as time passes on by preparing these children really early in life about the simple things like numbers reading they are get ready to take the first step into the world of Academia which is going to be very demanding and they're going to need to fulfill those positions thank you for your time thank you and I'll also mention we are doing a ribbon cutting event today at five o'clock at our um Melbourne office so if any of you are in the area please we would welcome you to stop by and say hi thank you thank you [Music] [Applause] okay let's move on to the agenda with um the consent agenda and I believe there is a I know there's a card on F1 uh and then we're also pulling F4 is there anybody else uh that has anything to pull on the consent agenda sir uh commissioner Tobias informed me that he is going to vote no on f17 without comment so let the record reflect the commissioner Tobias is voting no on f17 all right uh Chuck steel Chuck Sheran M Allen uh um we we've given a lot of money a half cent sales tax to the Indiana River Lagoon project and I'm all in favor I'm catching fish now in my backyard um but we've got a resource that we've not explored uh the when the property was acquired in the 60s by imminent domain the ENT domain law federal law states that it shall only be used for Federal purposes we've got a lot of private sector businesses at the Space Center right now and 196 uh 74 General Ford when he created meridon Wildlife Refuge in h855 stated that uh when the property would when Manassa no longer had a mission it would uh property that the county donated and Titusville donated would go back to the county and any it should that it could only be used for National for other governmental agencies that are non-military and uh should NASA ever lease facilities to the private sector that they to be subject to same taxes as a landside offsite not so as not to create an unfair Advantage uh state law 196 1992b says that uh my my new cataract bother me uh says that private businesses shall be taxed only as a tangible property tax on rent if it's a rental prop If Rentals are due if no rentals are due the leaseholds shall be subject to uh tax sale property tax and sales tax uh Bank of America owns a 20 $78 million facility out there that they leads to Blue origin that's on Federal Land zoned agricultural they paid $7,000 in school taxes last year that's it we would solve a lot of our uh property taxes and and River lagon for taxes if if we were to pursue that I mean we've got the facilities that they're not going to go away thank you okay I just want to make sure you were I mean was that just public comment is that what you were doing because F1 has nothing nothing to do with anything that you just said well it had to do with a grant didn't it uh no it really has to do with the pilot program that we're trying to establish to uh involve HOAs but that's perfectly apologize don't worry about it you have a right to say whatever you'd like to say thanks Chuck thank I appreciate it um commissioner toaya on F4 please thank you Mr chair and uh just to be clear I'm fully in support of f4 this just expands it a little bit more and this is to advertise so again um we can't do this after the fact so uh the motion I would have would be to move to adopt legislative intent and permission advertis as outlined in the Agenda Report with the additional direction to make the necessary changes to align the voting membership of the board with the minimum requirements found in Florida statute 163 3174 and relevant interlocal agreements okay is are you making a motion to do that sir that would be the motion Mr chair okay is there a second to that motion all right it's been seconded by both commissioner Pritchett and commissioner Goodson is there discussion in regards to that Morris do you have anything to say in regards to that are we okay with this no sir I understand the motion and we can definitely accomplish that with the ordinance cool all right great uh hearing no discussion all in favor of the motion signify by saying I all oppose nay the motion carries may I have a motion please to accept the rest of the uh consent agenda please so moved commissioner pitchet moves to accept the consent agenda with the exception of the change in F4 uh which commissioner just gave to the clerk's office it's been seconded all in favor signify by saying I I all oppos nay the motion carries thank you so much all right uh let's move on please if we could to I believe uh we're going to public hearings we have a okay uh public comment card let's go to public comments real fast before we get into public hearings uh Reverend Dennis thank you you have a public comment sir that you'd like to put forth today yes good morning my name is Johnny Dennis I'm the president of the National Action networking here in Coco Florida I'm also the chaplain at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church I'm here to talk about HB 1365 let the record show that I serve each one of you a copy of a petition and also I'm going to call it agreements for my birthday back in May I took the bright Line train the fol Lauderdale when I got the Fort Lauderdale on one side it was the city bus terminal on the other side it was the bright Line Station but in the middle for Miles homeless camps and I said to myself I pray to God that the city of coko and the county B does not get to this situation but we have a crisis a homeless crisis in ra Bo County and is not being addressed since March I have been applicating for the homeless shelter and a homeless tent city with the city of Coco and we have come up with well the mayor endorses BCI is being next County Rand and operated homeless shelter but I has been pushing for a 10th City and if the 10th city is approved uh my organization National Action Network we are personally Supply pets for floor under tents we'll Supply a garbage bag free for the next 6 months but the city of Coco I had a meeting with the city manager last week and he gave me a copy of the draft which I've been aware of uh HB 1365 since it was passed in the law and I personally think it's ungodly and it's an inhumane law but on the other hand it shows America where our leaders have been ignoring the homeless crisis it needs to be addressed before it gets out of hand and uh it makes us safer to have homeless shelters now I know for a fact that everybody is not going to attend them but the jail is overcrowded because of Ling trespassing and uh pring which jail should not be for a homeless person uh we should have tense cities here in Coco and County and a shelter so the petition I file means that the city cannot run off on their own and set up anything we've been talking since March on potential sites but we need the approval of this County Board to get something going and dcf's approval so as you'll see I did submit a copy let the record show that we need help in getting something for the homeless we got the we got to address this this uh issue I've heard a lot of uh excuses from the city uh where the money is going to come from I said well you didn't have no problem coming up with $5 million to give bright line or you didn't have a issue coming up with $1,000 to put vegetation in three fish ponds so get a grant you know there's always a way to come up with money even if we have to go to a half cent tax to get something to going for the homeless but this is an inhumane issue and uh we got two more weeks before it goes into effect and in January Fine's going to start flying thank you very much thank you sir thank you Reverend appreciate your comments um let's go to H1 I'll make a motion to approve you want to make a motion to approve or I second all right well so far your comments are really good because you've got a motion to approve already been seconded is there any discussion on H1 hearing no discussion all in favor signify by saying I I all oppose nay motion carries great job March keep it up buddy all right H2 who is handling this one make a motion to approve BB budget buddy Jill okay there's a motion on the floor by commissioner Bret to approve and a seconded by commissioner Goodson hearing no discussion all in favor signify by saying I I the motion carries all right all right going to new business J1 here you go all right um now let me just before we get into these cards on the the lighthouse uh and I've I've done this one before and I'm going to do it again just to potentially save everybody a lot of heartburn uh I would like to pull the board on where they are on this commissioner toaya where are you on this issue uh I'm going to be supporting your decision at the TDC Mr chair okay commissioner Pritchett I really need to hear some discussion okay well I just wanted to make sure all right I'm in I'm undecided okay you're undecided so that means that we'll go ahead with the the cards that are here uh so let me call up uh Ron Ecker thank you commissioner good morning my name is Ron eer I'm president of Cape can Lighthouse Foundation Foundation was founded in 2002 to help the Air Force run the lighthouse right now we have over 600 Members Plus another 150 active volunteers our goal as Foundation was to rebuild the footprint of light station right now in 2018 we got uh $500,000 from the commission and we built phase one which was the Head Lighthouse Keeper Cottage and the restrooms storage facility we're back this year to seek another two uh 775,000 to complete two more Cottages which would be a his educational college and then a replicate college and which we think it's important that we do this thank you okay thank you very much uh Jamie Draper thank you morning Jamie good morning can you hear me okay yeah if you could pull that mic up just a little bit that would be helpful thank you I know you're a little tall but that's great I appreciate it common problem all right my name is Jamie Draper I'm the director of the Cape Canaveral space Force Museum uh the Cape Canaveral space force station boasts 74 years of launch activity from Florida's Space Coast a fledgling country only decades old built a brick lighthouse in 18 48 to warn passing seaf fars of dangerous shs off Cape Canaveral the iron Lighthouse that stands today replaced it in 1868 the cape canaval Lighthouse connects visitors to three separate centuries of American history in Seeking a site for a new missile testing location the US government saw a federal foothold on the cape due to the existence and operation of the cape canaver Lighthouse the historic iCal significance of the Cape Canaveral late house is unmatched it stands as part of the DNA of the Cape Canaveral space forestation the lighthouse has witnessed over 8,000 launches from Florida Space Coast where niron braa himself would watch early launches from the top of the lighthouse the lighthouse Foundation introduces thousands of visitors each year to the rich history of the cape to see not only the late house but to experience and learn about the history of the US space program space launch Delta 45 or sldd 45 their primary mission is assured access to space it also assures access to its Rich history which extends from the Stone Age to the Space Age the cape canaval Lighthouse Foundation formed in 2002 and joined the active Heritage programs of the cape today they operate as an essential element for the preservation and dissemination of Cape history s45 supports their Outreach initiatives and is committed to continuing to allow access to Cape visitors from throughout the country with agreements in place that support will extend to many generations to come thank you thank you sir all right Rocky Johnson I expect the Rocky music to start in any sense it's hard to follow Roy hard to follow the Jolly Green Giant there and J uh chairman steel Commissioners uh staff uh as uh as Jason said I'm Rocky Johnson I'm a past president of cap canaver Lighthouse foundation and uh I I want to underscore what uh our president current president uh Ron Meer said regarding the importance of the lighthouse and sharing that Vision with not only Bard County the State of Florida and with our nation I want to thank you all for uh funding the uh the first phase which was wildly successful beyond anything we could have hoped for we we went from about one tour a month to multiple tours daily an education program that we have bravard County Children uh from the fourth grade coming out and visiting the lighthouse and and the museum there the heads and beds analysis commissioner toay referred to the um TDC uh committee and the full TDC vote uh the the heads and beds and the TDC analysis of our program uh certainly indicated the that it's warranted but most importantly as an active member of the lighthouse Foundation I'm here to ask you as Commissioners to make the decision today to complete the second two Cottages to complete the footprint I'm asking you to choose the preservation of our history I'm asking you to pres to choose the preservation of our story here in Bard County the story of how Mankind's Maritime navigation morphed into Aerospace and Celestial navigation there are so many people who want to see a lighthouse in this country there are so many people that want to see the Aerospace the birth of Aerospace in our country and man there are a lot of them that want to see the place where those two things come together which is right here in Bard County the history of Bard County the history of Port Canaveral the history of the Space Center I I want to emphasize what Jamie Draper said sir if you just please everything to up here please thank you I want to emphasize what Jamie Draper said we have the full support of s45 and that's been a wonderful partnership and uh an ability they've given us the ability to share this Vision this Rich history to build on our past and to bless the future with the understanding of the past and to use that tool of the lighthouse to show mankind what Florida is all about andica America's Rich history in the space industry through the lighthouse for voting yes on this measure today from the bottom of my heart I thank you thank you very much I you know I apologize before I move on with the cards uh Peter why don't you I I apologize for skipping over your comments but why don't you uh briefly give the uh your comments in regards to what happened at TDC to the board sure and and and move forward if you would yes sir uh good morning um the TDC recommended 5 to3 to bring uh a capital facilities Grant to the Space Coast or the cape canaval Lighthouse foundation for $775,000 okay thank you Leslie Brown please you're up I wave with the support of the liouse okay we like those comments Jenny Davis add my thank you very much okay Becky I W and support thank you very much Christine Eckler I wave in support of the lighthouse thank you very much Norm I'm here in support of the lighthouse Foundation I wait my time well whoever tutored you folks tutored you well right it might be the guy in the back of the room well we won't do that Mark are you uh here you waving and support all right anybody else that has a card up here are they waving and support okay is there anybody that would like to speak that's not waving in support because we can get to the discussion and see what's going to happen with this uh that so uh let's uh open the board up for discussion in regards to did was there did you do you want their names yeah let's go ahead and do that uh Heather Wing cop waves in support Cheryl Ben Bennett waves in support Janet AB waves in support Adrien Smith waves in support Virginia Blatz waves in support Todd mcdal waves in support former state representative Dixie Sansom waves in report Maran Smith waves in support Thomas lindstrm waves in support okay thank you for that okay the the floor is open for discussion commissioner pitchard do you have something I was kind he commissioner Goodson I had to comment there you go it's it's your District sir let's let's uh the lighthouse is in my district and so therefore I would like to think the commission would support it it's been in existence in the mid 1800s you heard all the good things you heard all this stuff it's very important that we keep our history close to us so I'd like to see the commission support this thank you okay commissioner Prett commissioner Goodson let me ask you a quick question um last time we gave him 500,000 so you know the total I I don't want to put you on the spot the total cost of this is it the whole total cost $775,000 Peter you want to answer that uh 775,000 is what they requested I'm not exactly sure what the total cost of that project was uh maybe somebody from the lighthouse could answer that question yes sir go ahead the $500,000 we received uh here and the 250,000 we received from the state completed uh the first half of the project which was the headkeeper cottage and the second Cottage this this time we are looking to complete uh phase two of the project which would complete the footprint of the original Keepers uh footprint there so that when people come and visit they see the lighthouse footprint as it was at the you know at the time that it was uh at its peak so this is an additional $775,000 to complete the vision that we had at the be you know at the beginning does that answer your question thank you yeah commission uh commissioner P do you have any other comments yeah uh real quick um so commissioner Goodson this is in your district and I know you're doing a great job of watch never projects and I'm hearing you feel pretty committed to this one correct yes um the only thing that I would request then sir is I I think um that we should change the groundbreaking from three years to either two or one years because we've done that in the past with other projects so that if this doesn't um be be able to come into fruition then you all are able to use the money later and we're not tied into a contract um question to you U commissioner PR yes sir did we do the same for your um million dollars a year for five five years in tville I think we made it one year is that correct do they have to do ground break actually I don't recall I don't recall how what the what the groundbreaking was but they had already broken ground so it really didn't matter I just think 3 years might be a little long can you negotiate that so you can always do extensions later as a commission but this way you're not tied up contractually well what benefit would it give us as a county to do that help me out okay well let's say that they they don't look like they're going to be able to do this and you guys need to use the funds for like say lifeguards or something then perhaps you've got the ability to to move it at that time I just know getting tied in for three years if there's no progress might be a little long I still all Qui okay thank you ma'am thank you uh chair May yes sir I still don't quite understand what is the difference between them and your police Grant what would be the do three years you didn't do three years you did a year Grant at a million a year for five years correct I I think they had to do a groundbreaking and showed potential that they were moving I don't think we well wouldn't they show potential groundbreaking by already putting 5 or 600,000 in the in the phase yeah that's just it's just saying that they must do groundbreaking within 3 years so I I just I'm just thinking it might let me ask you this and but sir what you can do later as a commission if you want to extend them you can yeah but this kind of gives you a little bit of more ability later if you've got an issue when would you may may go yes sir absolutely when do you expect groundbreaking if you get this Grant from TDC we would expect to break ground within a year and chair May yes sir absolutely the floor's open would you tell me would you tell me then if you were to get this grant groundbreaking within the year how long will it take you to complete the restoration of the $775,000 it would take approximately a year rounding it all okay do you have a problem with what uh commissioner pre prer we do not okay I have no problem then yeah and added to that commissioner Goodson uh I think commissioner pritchett's right on the the number this is just a accounting mechanism that I got you additional funds become available I just want to see it move forward because if you start talking about my age and years it might not be long I got it all right all right commissioner tobia I believe your lights on thank you Mr chair and um I'm I'm going to highlight some things that uh Peter went over real quickly but a little more detail I'll start with your comments here I thought they were excellent I listened to the TDC you pointed out uh that uh being located on the space Forest base will significantly limit the number of days tours can be conducted do the increased number of launches expected uh next year something uh that I hadn't thought of and I think uh is going to greatly impact we'll get there in a minute here and and I appreciate everyone showing up what you didn't hear was any of the numbers and uh uh how many room nights it would be created how many visitors I'm going to get to that because that's in the in the study I also like to go to Tom Hermanson uh who uh has a vested stake obviously in this he also uh voted know on this one he ra raised concerns about the lighthouse being on property with restricted access uh the limitations on who can go on the base and when is a significant timing Factor on tourism uh and and projecting uh total amounts let me tell you some other numbers here and I think numbers are really important it's it's wonderful to hand out money but I think we need to to look at and and since and and I appreciate everyone waving um you know the time but I I can't wave these numbers so we look at the IRS 990 we would see if you looked at the IRS 990 the last two you would see the total revenue is actually going down by uh this this Lighthouse that's a reflection of one of two things either visitors going down or Community Support going down uh so that's that's obviously not very good uh also not mentioned by Peter here is this this did not meet the minimum threshold to make it to us they had to vote it it it did not make the 7 points uh so there had to be a special vote to send it up here um what also is not mentioned the governor uh this was in the state budget the governor line it and vetoed that so the governor's office said this probably wasn't uh a worthy project I spent some time with the uh economic impact study and it's important to understand the economic impact study is given by the lighthouse so these are the best numbers that you're ever going to get because it says right in here that all the numbers of of uh attendance were were provided by the liouse so again these These are the best um uh and and and I want to put that with what was said at the meeting Becky and z n g a r l Li said that these two Lighthouse Cottages would add 25 minutes of time to visitors so they spend whatever an extra 25 minutes I find that very difficult uh one 1 hour and 1550 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes uh I find that very difficult to justify when attendance is going down right uh it would create an extra 1460 room nights so I don't know how an extra 25 minutes at the Lighthouse is going to translate into 1460 room nights but let's let's let's assume that's correct I I I don't think that is correct but let's take that as correct 1460 room Knights for an expenditure of $775,000 is wacky Noo-noo this is this does not make any sense compared to any of the other uh uh capital projects we've had uh uh commissioner Goodson you mentioned what's the difference between this and the police there's some substantial differences I had as many problems with the economic uh impact study of the police Hall of Fame but at least they showed they would create tens of thousands of room kns this was 1,460 so uh less than 110 on top of that the police Hall of Fame was getting dollars from the outside as we heard here 100% of this second funding would be coming from the TDC and a bulk of the first set so we would be funding you know uh somewhere in the neighborhood of 75% of this total project I don't know that that's the wisest uh economic decision um there's other ones here when we look at attendance attendance of this is by their own report it's by people that that are above the age of 70 if or 60 here if we look at the Young Folks uh there it's like three or 4% of people under the age of of of 40 or 30 going to this so it's fair to predict that attendance is going down and is continue to go down if there really was support for this we would see some sort of Buy in from the community some sort of Grant we would have seen the governor's office say that this is a worthy project we're willing to support some of this so again um there's not one good reason that I can justify voting in support of this on top of uh our our uh Capital uh facilities budget sits at about $1.8 million this would decimate it uh down to less than a million bucks uh moving forward I don't think that's fair to the commission to spend or future commissions to spend almost half of it at on a project that at best case scenario at best case scenario for that extra 25 minutes is going to create 1460 room nights so those those are the numbers I understand the feeling is great I understand why they didn't talk about the numbers because they're just not sparkling and they're just not worthy of this $775,000 it may be fair to offer them Mr CH uh Mr chair the opportunity to respond to some of those numbers but they're right out of the uh the economic impact study that they that they supported I again I appreciate your time I understand it's in your uh District uh and that's why I spent so much time looking over not only listening to what the TDC had to say but going over the economic impact study sure let me uh since since I voted no at the TDC in regards to this particular issue and I was a firm though I I basically and I think everybody there that was there that day I I said to you very candidly I didn't like the limited access I didn't like this I didn't like that and uh basically I was told you doesn't matter what you say when you come here today because I'm voting no well I'm eating my words and I'm telling you why I'm eating my words uh because once I got into many of the people that have been involved at the Space Center and because of all of the things that happened at the Lighthouse uh and and I did you know I did find out how you get access and I did start digging in to uh the potential for something that I think is probably one of the most important things in Bard County's history and the United States history is is uh the the launches that went there and the people that went to the lighthouses and and um I took a long time before coming to this decision this morning I T I talked to a lot of people and uh and and candidly uh you know our normal protocol is is that if the commissioner from the district wants it they normally know what's best for the district and I know commissioner Goodson's uh really would like to have this project done and I think I think not only that but I think it's in the best interest of of the county and uh people all over the United all over the world and and let me share with you I get a chance to travel and I see a lot of people with NASA hats on and the first thing they want to do is they want to go to the Space Center and once I started finding out what was going to be taught and what was going to be told in regards to the story of the Space Center uh I thought $775,000 was a lot of money and then I thought well you know what if this is lost we're going to lose the history of the Space Center and I think it's a potential that I don't want to lose for people that's out there so I I'm a yes vote today and uh hopefully uh if the commission needs to do whatever they need to do with this but commissioner felner do you have any comments that you like to commissioner Goodson yeah thank you chair um I think it's a little unfair to call the governor's name out because if you know anything about the budget last year he killed everything not just this one he went through it like arell of the hunt and that being said also as a board we just approved if you want to talk about heads and beds and all that I hear you and I you know I'm not sure but we have a certain amount of Duty to save our history and that means saving this Lighthouse it's no more special than Gettysburg or anywhere else I don't know how many people are going to come John you've got it down there so I understand that but we also appropriated what was it Peter $300,000 to palom Bay for a a walk for policeman how much did we put there uh two 250,000 okay and how many people are going to go down there and stay i i i v Mr chair yeah go ahead the floor's open for discussion I I voted I just to be clear I voted against that uh but but on fairness we're not talking about saving the lighthouse here let let me you're trying to you're trying to widen the scope no one's talking about destroying this Lighthouse we're talking about adding a third and a fourth Cottage to the lighthouse no one is talking about destroying a lighthouse no one's talking about destroying history we're talking about creating more houses than you know we we gave him $500,000 in Period correct Furniture okay so this board has made some listen I know the votes aren't here but I just want to be I just want to go on the record I'm not for destroying the lighthouse I'm just not for giving them another 100% to go out and build more cottages for something that people aren't visiting in the first place when I speak of Lighthouse I speak of Lighthouse and Cottages as a umbrella over all of it so I understand all right thank you chair commissioner PR do you have additional comments yes sir thank you commissioner Goodson um I know when we get up here we've learned how to do this as a commission we have to we have collateral that we have with each of our districts and that's what we do and we pay attention to um make sure you don't have a crazy commissioner that's going to do something totally off the- wall so sir on that I'm giving you the respect of those funds I do think they're a lot of money without them coming in but of respect for you sir I'm I'm I'm good with that but I do want to remind you because you brought up the other police Hall of Fame but I also voted to give you the veterans and I also voted to give you back the cultural funds so it's not like I don't play with you here some so um that's the last time I'm going to let you throw the police Hall of Fame in my facer that's all I'm saying with that well please please understand being old I forget a lot of well that you're from the state and I'm not used to fighting like the state does so I'm pretty honest I'll tell you what I'm thinking all the time but on the um so just on the year timing i' feel better since he said he could do it in a year if we make it a 1.5 years or complete it within five years I think I I could get comfort then okay commissioner feldner you uh have any comments or stff was on Peter do you want to make some comments no no sir okay uh is there any other discussion hearing no discussion is there a motion I'll make a motion for approval motion to approve the changes in the time period sir yes okay all changes okay there's a motion by commissioner Goodson to approve the item with the changes in the time period is there a second second sir there's a second second by commissioner pritet is there any discussion hearing no discussion all in favor signify by saying I I uh all oppose nay nay okay the motion carries 3 to two all right let's um go to the next one which is um Peter on uh you're up on H2 yes sir J2 is uh cultural and sports grants there are a couple of options here one option is to accept the uh grants uh guidelines as um defined and supported by the TDC uh back in March uh the other option uh so sorry for 600,000 up to 600,000 for the cultural and up to 240 for um sport um option two is the same amounts but a it's uh bringing a marketing Support Program which was something we had talked about last year uh where the funds would be used for marketing purposes to to help these events uh or option three would be uh at the board's pleasure now this has all the guidelines in it for anything yes sir got the guidelines applications all of the backup information is is in the p and that's part of the package that I read yes sir okay um any uh any discussion from the board commissioner toaya thank you Mr chair and just to be just to be clear I'm not asking for any uh Cuts or anything of that nature I do like the marketing uh support idea and I appreciate uh uh Peter working so diligently uh with me to come up uh and and and set the guidelines for that as well as bringing that to the uh TDC who uh it was met with uh it was met with support as as is indicated in the Agenda Report uh couple things on that um it combines Sports grants and cultural grants program into one reduces staff time reduces the number of TDC subcommittees potentially and simplifies the process of reviewing and approving applications program involves the county providing marketing at the value of the award amount as opposed to each recipient marketing individually and submitting for reimbursements that's very important we uh it it takes time for Peter to go out there and uh verify that marketing was actually spent correctly I spoke with um uh someone that came for one of these uh grants recently the surfing Santas and he had mentioned that uh the surfing Santas had used the marketing uh by the TDC and they had done a much better job than he or anyone had the opportunity the reach had been uh greater so whatever uh Peter who whoever Peter is uh Contracting out is doing a a very darn good job so I think that that is uh another good uh indication that these support grants are are uh effective and um and and reduce the amount of funds that that would be needed to uh administer it so um uh again this is not a cut this is uh a a reduction in potential reduction in the subcommittees as uh as well as a reduction in staff time for verifying the reimbursement so the motion would be to move the board direct staff to implement option two the tdo marketing support program at funding levels presented which would be the uh 840 with 240 uh from the marketing fund and 600 from the cultural fund that would be that would be the motion question uh commissioner gson question um Peter how much marketing funds or percentage would come out of say 240 of sports how much would come out of that um depending on the number of applicants we possibly would use all of the 240 for for sports events but uh this year we used about 200,000 so it's possible that it'd be a little lower than that and how much of the 200 all of the 200,000 went to marketing yes sir okay and how about the on the how much would come out of the 840 I mean the 600 uh the 600 um we're estimating about 400,000 would be used for that all right thank you chair yeah I want to make sure that this motion doesn't affect the guidelines in any way uh so I'm sorry commissioner PR go ahead you're no I'm with you on that are we approving the guidelines today yes ma'am because I I do have a couple of suggestions commission if I may oh ab ab absolutely on on the eligibility we have um we changed were they not any longer headquartered in Bard County um but I would like to if we could put a preference goes to local organizations and if there's others left that we can go to outside of Bard County just so we don't exclude local organizations everybody got that and then um as far as changing the availability of funds um I think that needs to be a little bit more discussion because we we changed it so that smaller crowds are getting larger amounts but I I think that needs to be discussed a little bit more with availability because when we changed that last time there was a lot of discussion of why we were changing it and then my only other one was um we get to the sport grants I think we should go back to keeping six and seven because I think this should always come before The Bard County Commission and not just authorized at the TDC level so six and seven I believe should go back to how it was originally stated so that all of the um items after they're done comes to the BC for final approval so these aren't material changes really to the uh it's just guidelines right housekeeping stuff yeah uh so I don't think we meant for not to come back to this board right I got it um commissioner felner you have something you'd like to say add to this I'm I'm looking to see if motion is going to be amended so okay well um let's go ahead and talk about the motion because it's not been seconded yet uh M Mr chair yes sir uh I'd like to confirm with Peters who we're all on the same page the the motion I have here does not affect the guidelines I I mean before we get to the changes it has no impact on the guidelines themselves is that fair no sir you you selected option two and the guidelines are part of option two so okay and then and and I forgot to mention uh and and Peter pointed this out for the sports events instead of marketing they could use it on uh the the fields they could get reimbursed for Fields operated by Bard County yes sir so that would give them a little more flexibility there um but but anyway so I just want to be clear as we discussed this my my has nothing to do with any of the changes here or the or the funding can I clarify yes ma'am you can Mr crannis did you just say option two does include the guidelines yes ma'am it includes a set of guidelines and um we would make sure that the changes that you suggested would be incorporated into those as well okay all right so who's going to word how the motion's going to be put forth you want to try it commissioner TOA uh sure um I'm going to do it generically though uh I move uh that the board direct staff to implement option two the tdo marketing support program with the three changes uh suggested by commissioner pritet uh at the funding levels presented 840,000 with 240,000 for the marketing fund and 600 for the cultural fund that would be uh that would be the motion it's probably good to check with the clerk if they need clarification on those three suggested changes okay um I I just have a question we have anybody from BCA here today are are you okay with what we're doing you okay good everybody's fine I'm gonna I'm G to ask George tret if he needs to speak George where are you you're all right okay so any more there's a sec there's a a motion by commissioner Tobias seconded by commissioner Pritchett commissioner felner wants to make a comment can I just ask a question for uh to clarify in option two 84,000 for the marketing support program so that takes um the 240 and the 600 and puts that all into the marketing Support Program sir right okay I just one Clarity okay all right so is there any more discussion in regards to this issue on this motion commissioner toaya do you have anything else no Mr chair all in favor signify by saying I all oppose nay the motion carries all right the least bit of blood liting we've had in a long time which I'm happy about all right let's go to the unfinished business I don't think we have any unfinished business yes pardon me3 j3 j3 okay I'm haven't gotten to j3 yet oh yes I have hello all right amendment to BCC 24 acquisition sale lease exchange dedication and donation of real property to Upstate who's handling this you handling it yes Mr go ahead sir thank you and I had a meeting with staff uh a couple months ago as I was leaving things that we could clean up some suggestions for staff and and and this was one presented and I think it was a good one so I I want to thank uh Mr bernath from public works for bringing this issue to my attention but this is under District 3 uh the current version of BCC 24 acquisition sale lease exchange dedication donation of real property has been in place since 2013 this process creates cumbersome requires excess excess staff time and delays development projects the proposed uh changes uh State the county manager design is authorized to accept delivery of approve and cause the recording of any Deeds dedication acquisition exchange grants AV easements and other uh instrument conveyed to interest in real property for any acquisition of property related to and then there's a whole list but the basic ones uh the policy still allows for these items to come to the uh before the board if there is a concern or objection by the county manager or they are uh outside of the scope of the items um listed in the policy uh all acquisitions outside of the list provided uh will still come to the board as an agenda item these changes will result in the reduction of Staff time and remove removing unnecessary items from the board's uh meeting agenda uh so the motion to approve the proposed amendment to board policy bcc2 24 acquisition sale lease exchange dedication and donation of real property that's the motion Mr chair is there a second second motion by commissioner toay seconded by commissioner pritchet commissioner feltner you have any questions commissioner Goodson all in favor signify by saying I motion carries nay motion carries all right now let's get back down to where we were uh there are no cards for public comments which is a rarity and let's get to County reports uh County man manager uh no report uh County attorney I have no report Mr chair commissioner Pritchett no report commissioner Goodson continue praying for Florence State all right I'm going to skip over commissioner tobiah for a second uh commissioner felner all right I do have a report uh just to let everybody know that I know we're coming up to budget hearings and there's going to be I just want to give everybody a heads up uh I I want to have some additional discussion on a variety of different issues one is is uh the lifeguards and U I'll have some motions at the agenda time but I did want to let everybody know that that I I think there needs to be some discussion on that there needs to be some discussion on uh the fire issues and and the monetary things and with that I would like to uh I'd like to make a motion to request that staff develop a report detailing the timeline and actions required to increase the fire assessment to include multiple options for potential increases uh one of the only ways I can see that we're going to be able to get some of these things paid for with fire in the future is is to up the assessments it's a long process and I would like to to at least start it if possible so that is my motion I hope it seconded and approved commissioner pett I I'm fine with them coming back with the report we increased the fire assessment about four years ago correct yeah we we've increased it twice in the last six years I believe six or seven years I I don't mind opening up that conversation um I'm not sure we'll be able to do that before budget time have that on the board but I I don't think I'm not expecting it to be okay it's not a bad topic to discuss but we had numerous public comment when we did that with the price analysis I appreciate that and the only reason I'm doing is is because I did an exhaustive study of what the fire assessments were in surrounding areas yeah ours is like so low it's ridiculous our is like $200 I'm fine but it's going to be a big process with public comment I understand and that's why we wanted to get it started and so I would so you are you going to Second it yeah I'm fine with them coming back with the report okay uh Mr chair yes sir go ahead uh I don't mind designating you to uh reach again I mentioned this before and and there has been a turnover in elected officials in in in West Melbourne but I think it's probably good uh to to reach out to West Melbourne and ask what their tolerance for a fee increase is because if they're sticking to what they said before and they were willing to pull out if we increased fees then that does quite a bit to fire Services the number of uh employees we have that that service that area and I don't I don't know how that works and and maybe West Melbourne is okay with that now and and it's a but they've definitely we had the mayor here we you know the former mayor here we had a former city council member here or current city council member here uh addressing those concerns so at least to give them the heads up by you reaching out uh on behalf of the board and finding out maybe they can bring it up and maybe they support it again but it it's important information to have as we move forward I couldn't agree with you more and I'll be more than happy to do that this is just the process to be able to get to where we're going to go and and West Melbourne's going to have plenty of opportunity during the process to have the new Commission address the issues I just see it as a major issue and talking to the county manager the county manager informed me it's going to take almost a year to get through that process so it's a long process I would I appreciate the motion in the second uh I have it's not approved yet is there any more discussion on it hearing no discussion all in favor of the motion signify by saying I I all oppose nay the motion carries thank you very much and now the most important part of the day the vice vice chairman uh I don't know about the most most uh most important but uh today is National Monte Christo day uh the useful Florida fact of today the conquer Republic is uh micr Nation declared as a tongue-and-cheek uh secession of the city of Key West Florida from the United States in on April 23rd 1982 as part of this uh protest mayor Ward Wardlow was proclaimed prime minister of the Republic which immediately declared war against the United States symbolically breaking a loaf of stale Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a naval uniform quickly uh surrendered after 1 minute to the man in the uniform and applied for $1 billion in foreign aid I imagine a billion dollars was a lot of money back in 1982 uh this day in Florida history on this day in 1574 Pedro Martinez day Ailes died 25 years before his death uh day Ailes was sent to Florida by the Spanish Crown to drive out French colonists he is credited to establishing St Augustine the first permanent settlement in the United States that ultimately claimed uh all of Florida as a Spanish colony and this is a little unique here the County employee recognition here is the library staff involved uh in the summer reading program uh the summer reading program is the busiest time of the year at Bard Library as all Library staff are involved it was all hands- on Deck as the staff helped patrons registered for library cards and programs put on programs and provided traditional Library Services all 299 staff across the system took part in making this summer reading a hit across the county uh Mary Bart the youth service coordinator played an integral role in supporting and coordinating theme the staff and the systemwide eff effort uh we had mascots every child got to select an adventure duck these ducks were intended to travel with them on summer activities to library uh grandmother's houses cruises Parks beaches and more every adult was eligible to get uh an astro duck created by uh Daniel Hearn a library uh librarian one at the Port St John's uh Library who is an artist the the uh County staff definitely did a important service to public education by continuing uh the children's education during the long summer period so we greatly appreciate all their effort and um uh what they did for bravard County and then on a personal note uh today is my mom's birthday so she has put up with me for many many many years and I greatly uh appreciate fabulous teacher also a wonderful teacher and a great mom so Mr Sher she does have a son who's a doctor she does yes a successful son yes thanks for pointing that out I I did forget one last thing uh we are still waiting on the Christy Grant uh approval of the bright line grant that we spent a lot of time and effort going to Washington on so we're waiting for that uh there's been questions by the city of Melbourne and a variety of other people on whether or not bright line would consider other areas for stops they have told me uh that Coco will be the last stop period now apparently Stewart has stopped has pulled out so that may leave a a slot opened in Fort Pierce but you know they've made their decision in Bard County The Bard County decision is a Coco place so we're moving forward with all that and as soon as I get any information in regards to where we are on it uh I will the board know immediately all right with that I hear a motion to adjourn there's a motion to adjourn is there a second all in favor signify by saying I all oppose nay motion carries thank you very much the opinions expressed by any member of the public during any period of public comment do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the board of County commissioners of Bard County Florida Space Coast government television or the program sponsor and are solely those of the presenter the board of County commissioners of bravard County Florida Space Coast government television and the program sponsor hereby expressly disclaim any and all responsibility or liability for any defamatory or slanderous statements expressed by any member of the public during any such period [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]