Brevard County Board of County Commissioners

Tuesday, December 21, 2021 9:00 AM Brevard County Board of County Commissioners 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Viera, FL 32940 Commission Chambers Minutes Regular December 21, 2021 A. CALL TO ORDER 9:00 A.M. Commissioner District 1 Rita Pritchett, Commissioner District 2 Bryan Lober, Commissioner District 3 John Tobia, Commissioner District 4 Curt Smith, and Commissioner District 5 Kristine Zonka Present: C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Zonka led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. D. MINUTES FOR APPROVAL The Board approved the August 10, 2021 Melbourne Tillman, October 12, and October 26, 2021 Regular meeting minutes, and the November 16, 2021 Organizational meeting minutes. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: Curt Smith Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka E.1. Resolution acknowledging Blue Origin’s Contributions to building a highway to space Commissioners Smith read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 21 171, recognizing Blue Origin’s contributions to building a highway to space. Scott Henderson thanked Commissioner Smith and the rest of the Board; he stated the Board took a risk six years ago luring Blue Origin to Florida; it was competing against a lot of different States and the Commission was a big part of drawing Blue Origin to Brevard County; he thinks they have delivered on their commitments; and he appreciates the chance to say thanks on behalf of the Blue Origin team. He continued by saying the new Glenn rocket, as Commissioner Smith stated, is a reusable rocket which is going to drastically reduce the cost of gaining access to Space; it is named after John Glenn, who is pioneering from the Space Coast, and the first person to reach orbit; it will lift off from Complex 36, right here on the Space Coast; and it is the first new launch pad to be built in Florida in over three decades. He mentioned what makes this project special is it is not just a launch pad, Blue Origin brought a manufacturing complex to Florida and it is the only place where a rocket is actually produced and launched all in the same place; and that has been a huge benefit for the Space Coast. He stated Blue Origin’s vision is for millions of people to be living and working in Space for the benefit of the earth; it is not something that will happen in this lifetime, but maybe in the next generation’s lifetime or the generation after that; he thinks it is special that people are going to be able to say that the road to space started in the Brevard County at mile marker zero right there at Complex 36; on behalf of Blue Origin’s teammates he would like to thank the Commission; he advised they have hired over 1,000 high paying jobs in the County; and as Commissioner Smith mentioned, they have spent over a billion dollars of capital investment and they are growing. He went on to say they have over 250 suppliers now in the area that are supporting Blue Origin; they had an average of 500 construction workers working on the pad; it has been a big benefit to Blue Origin and a big benefit to the County; he thinks it says a lot for the Commission, that it is supporting this project back when it was only him and he was making the employee selections; he reiterated on behalf of Blue Origin’s team, he thanks the Commission; and he commented Blue Origin is really proud to be partners with Brevard County. Commissioner Smith explained a picture on the screen, stating to take notice of the sign and how it mimics interstate signs that are seen across the country and instead of interstate it reads Page 1 of 30 December 21, 2021 interplanetary, mile marker zero, Launch Complex 36; and he mentioned Blue Origin did a ribbon cutting last month and he and Commissioner Pritchett were happy to be there. Mr. Henderson stated one neat thing about Blue Origin is they are flying reusable rockets so he has for each Commissioner a pin with the feather, which is the building block of flight that has flown to space and returned on James Kirk’s mission, just recently. Commissioner Pritchett thanked Mr. Henderson; she stated the Blue Origin team have a happy program; she also thanked him because of expanding Blue Origin; she is hoping to go out there soon and take a tour with Mr. Henderson; it is just overwhelming seeing what Blue Origin is doing; and she wanted to thank Commissioner Smith and the Commission before, for helping to bring Blue Origin in; it is just a wonderful thing that is in the north end of the County; and she thanked Mr. Henderson. Commissioner Smith mentioned he is sure all the people in the room know it, or appreciate the fact that of all the thousands of rockets that have been launched from this County since the early 50s, not one has ever been built in the County and that is going to change now; and he congratulated Mr. Henderson. Result: APPROVED Mover: Curt Smith Seconder: Rita Pritchett Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F. ITEMS TO BE PULLED FROM CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Lober requested to pull the Items 17, 21 and 22 from the Consent Agenda. F.1. Memorandum of Understanding Between Brevard County and City of Melbourne (for the Pineda Causeway Water Transmission Main and Grand Canal Muck Removal Projects) The Board approved and executed the Memorandum of Understanding between Brevard County and the City of Melbourne for coordination of construction efforts for the County’s Grand Canal Muck Removal Project and the City’s Pineda Causeway Water Transmission Main. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.2. Permission to Accept a Grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Matching Fund Donations for Artificial Reef Construction The Board authorized and executed an Artificial Reef Construction Grant Agreement between Brevard County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; accepted matching fund donations; authorized staff to competitively bid and the County Manager to execute a Construction Contract with the lowest responsive and qualified bidder; and authorized associated Budget Change Requests. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Page 2 of 30 December 21, 2021 Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.3. Waiver Request, Re: Waiver of Wall Requirement for Gregori Construction, Inc. (21WV00018)(District 1) The Board approved a waiver of Section 62 3202 (h) (10) to require a six foot masonry or solid wall when commercial developments are adjacent to residential zoning classification to avoid placing the wall in an existing wetland. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.4. Final Plat and Contract Approval, Re: Pineda Boulevard - Segment H1 (District 4) Developer: The Viera Company The Board executed and granted Final Plat approval for Pineda Boulevard, Segment H1 – Developer: The Viera Company, subject to minor engineering changes as applicable, and developer is responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and executed the Subdivision Infrastructure Contract. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.5. Final Plat and Contract Approval, Re: Avalonia Subdivision - Phase 2, (District 4) Developer: The Viera Company The Board executed and granted final plat approval for Avalonia Subdivision, Phase 2 – Developer: The Viera Company, subject to minor engineering changes as applicable, and developer is responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and executed the Subdivision Infrastructure Contract. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.6. Final Plat Approval, Re: Hickory Ridge - Phase 3 (District 1) Developer: Granite Property Development, Inc. The Board executed and granted final plat approval for Hickory Ridge, Phase 3 - Developer: Granite Property Development, Inc., subject to minor engineering changes as applicable, and developer is responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and executed the Final Plat. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka Page 3 of 30 December 21, 2021 F.7. Acceptance, Re: Binding Development Plan with Rodney F. McConkey (District 1) The Board executed Binding Development Plan with Rodney F. McConkey. Said Plan was recorded in OR/BK 9365/2641. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.8. Standardization of Public Works Department/Road & Bridge Equipment - Countywide The Board authorized the updated standardized equipment list for Public Works Road and Bridge equipment, parts, and service; authorized the equipment list to remain valid up to five (5) years; authorized standardized equipment made available by a single vendor to be approved as a sole source and not be competitively bid; authorized standardized equipment available from more than one source be competitively bid; authorized the County Manager to reject all bids in favor of purchasing from the State, Florida Sheriffs Association, or other Florida Government Cooperative Bid, if the lowest bid received is not more competitive than existing State, Florida Sheriffs Association, or other Florida Government Cooperative Bid; and authorized the County Manager to approve any necessary Budget Change Requests. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.9. Approval, Re: Dedication of Sidewalk Easement from Melbourne Skyway Inc., for Wickham Commerce Center Warehouse Complex - District 5 The Board approved and accepted the sidewalk easement from Melbourne Skyway Inc. for Wickham Commerce Center Warehouse Complex located in Section 25, Township 27 South, Range 36 East, on Wickham Road just South of New Your Avenue in Melbourne. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.10. Adopt Resolution and Release Performance Bond: Sendero Cove and Sierra Cove at Addison Village, Phase 2 - District 4 Developer: The Viera Company The Board adopted Resolution No. 21 172, releasing the Subdivision and Infrastructure Contract and Surety Performance Bond dated October 27, 2020 for Sendero Cove and Sierra Cove at Addison Village, Phase Two – Developer: The Viera Company. Result: ADOPTED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka Page 4 of 30 December 21, 2021 F.11. Adopt Resolution and Release Performance Bond: Reeling Park South at Addison Village, Phase 3 - District 4 Developer: The Viera Company The Board adopted Resolution No. 21 173, releasing the Subdivision and Infrastructure Contract and Surety Performance Bond dated August 3, 2021 for Reeling Park South at Addison Village, Phase Three – Developer: The Viera Company. Result: ADOPTED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.12. Approval Re: Right-of-Way Use Agreement for the Savannah Landing Subdivision - District 2 The Board authorized and executed the Right of Way Use Agreement with the Savannah Landing Community Homeowner’s Association to permit improvements to be installed and maintained in the Savannah Landing Subdivision. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.14. Approval Re: Local Agency Program Agreement and Resolution with the State of Florida Department of Transportation for the Brevard County Intelligent Transportation System Operational Support - Countywide The Board adopted Resolution 21 174, authorizing the execution of Local Agency Program Agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for the Brevard County Intelligent Transportation System Operational Support Project FPN 428930 1 88 01; authorized the Chair to execute the Local Agency Program Agreement and Resolution with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for the Brevard County Intelligent Transportation System Operational Support Project FPN 428930 1 88 01; authorized the Chair to execute any necessary Supplemental Agreements (amendments) and resolutions contingent upon review by the County Attorney’s Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing Services; and approved any necessary Budget Change Requests. Result: ADOPTED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.15. Approval, Re: Conveyance of Ellis Road from Wickham Road to Technology Drive (East) to the City of West Melbourne- District 5. The Board adopted Resolution 21 175, authorizing conveyance of Ellis Road from Wickham Road to Technology Drive (East) to the City of West Melbourne; executed and approved the County Deed; executed and approved the Interlocal Agreement with the City of West Melbourne relating to the transfer of roadway ownership, maintenance, drainage, and associated functional responsibilities for Ellis Road from Wickham Road to Technology Drive (East); and authorized the Chair to approve and execute any future amendments to the Page 5 of 30 December 21, 2021 Interlocal Agreement pertaining to the construction phase of the Ellis Road Widening Project. Result: ADOPTED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.16. Adoption of State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Incentive Strategies Evaluation and Recommendations Report. The Board approved the SHIP 2021 2022 Affordable Housing Committee Incentives Strategies Evaluation and Recommendations Report. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.18. Approval of the 2021-2022 Emergency Management Preparedness & Assistance Grant Agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management The Board approved and authorized the Chair to execute the 2021 2022 Emergency Management Preparedness and Assistance Grant with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM); and authorized the County Manager, or designee, to submit and execute any additional changes, documents, or budget actions, as well as any amendments to the Grant Agreement, subject to approval by the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.19. Approval of the 2021-2022 Emergency Management Performance Grant Agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management The Board approved and authorized the Chair to execute the 2021 2022 Emergency Management Performance Grant Agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM); and authorized the County Manager, or designee, to submit and execute any additional changes, documents, or budget actions, as well as any amendments to the Grant Contract, subject to approval by the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.20. Approval of the Emergency Management Performance Grant, American Rescue Plan Act Supplemental Agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management The Board approved and authorized the Chair to execute the Emergency Management Performance Grant, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Supplemental Agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management; and authorized the County Manager, or designee, Page 6 of 30 December 21, 2021 to submit and execute any additional changes, documents, or budget actions, as well as any amendments to the Grant Contract, subject to approval by the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management. Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.23. Recommend Rejection of All Bids Received in Response to Invitation to Bid (ITB) B-4-21-82; James Jay Clark Pedestrian Crossover Bridge Recoating Project The Board rejected the two bids received in response to ITB B 4 21 82; authorized staff to revise and re advertise a new ITB; authorized the County Manager to execute any resulting contracts, contract amendments, and any necessary contract extensions upon review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing Services; authorized the County Manager to reject all bids received if the revised ITB and bid submissions are not commensurate with the Project budget; and authorized the County Manager to approve any necessary Budget Change Requests. Result: DENIED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober F.24. Approval; Re: Adoption into the Minutes of Proof of Publication for Notice of Change of Boundaries of Brevard County Commission Districts The Board approved the Proof of Publication for Notice of Change of Boundaries of Brevard County Commission Districts be entered into the meeting minutes as required by Florida Statute 124.02(3). Result: APPROVED Mover: John Tobia Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka F.17. Acknowledgement, Re: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) Revenue Replacement Funds (District 5) Commissioner Lober advised for full disclosure, so people can relax, he is planning on supporting it; he did have a discussion with a constituent who expressed some concern that the Board may have been somewhat inconsistent in what it has approved and what it has given hard times to by way of Federal stimulus dollars and how it is getting allocated; he has some questions that he thinks will clear the air and keep this on the up and up so that people do not mistakenly perceive there to be an issue that is not really present; first off, he presumes this is not something where the Board is simply cutting a check where there has not been any vetting; he would presume as well that the expenses, the monies that have been put in the Agenda Item with the request to transfer to these particular entities are all Covid 19 related; and he does not know if staff has had a chance to look at it or if all Commissioners had a chance to look at it, but he just did not want people to think that this is something having anything to do with something other than Covid 19. He continued by saying he thinks that the vast majority of these non profits, not just the ones that are included on this Item, but really all of them around here that deal with human beings, have had their costs increase and have an increased need for services and he just did not want anyone to get the wrong impression with respect to that; Page 7 of 30 December 21, 2021 that is the reason he pulled it; it is not a slush fund, it is not that anything illegal is happening with it, he is talking about a set of entities, he does not think any of the Board Members or Staff are on the board of any of these groups, at least that he aware of; he just wanted to pull it to say that; and he will leave it at that and move to approve. Chair Zonka noted she can assure this has been through not only the Housing and Human Services Director, but she has worked with Housing and Human Services at length, they vetted and made sure that all of these fell under the guidelines of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA); she mentioned it is not just a check, there are auditing procedures in place; and they will all have contracts with the County to make sure money is being spent as intended. Commissioner Lober stated that he felt safe when he saw it on Consent; and he figured staff would not put it on Consent if there is anything that is remotely ambiguous about it. The Board acknowledged Commission District 5’s identified uses of ARPA Revenue Replacement Funds; authorized the Housing and Human Services Department to negotiate and develop contractual agreements with identified agencies; authorized the County Manager to execute related Contracts, Agreements, Amendments, and/or Modifications upon approval of Risk Management and the County Attorney’s Office; and authorized the County Manager to execute all necessary Budget Change Requests for the projects listed on the Agenda Report. Result: APPROVED Mover: Bryan Lober Seconder: Rita Pritchett F.21. Approval, Re: Interlocal Agreement with the Town of Indialantic for Automatic Aid for Fire Protection and Rescue Services. Commissioner Lober advised he will address F.21 and F.22 together. He stated that these towns are so small and they are so far south of his District, he had assumed wrongly that the County had Automatic Aid Agreements with them in the past; it is his understanding at this point, he just wanted to pull these just to thank the cities, and to thank staff on the County side as well, for getting together and getting this done because these were two of the last three County wide that did not have Automatic Aid Agreements with the County; this is something that he thinks is basically filling the teeny bit of gap that is left; frankly, the one city that he is aware of that, after the Board is done with 21 and 22, will not have an Automatic Aid Agreement with the County is Cocoa Beach; the Space Force has stepped up and the County has the Space Force Base covering South Cocoa Beach and Snug Harbor; the Board essentially has the entirety of the County covered with Automatic Aid Agreements; and he thought it would be a decent thing to pull it and thank the cities and the staff for their hard work in getting this together because this really is getting to the point where the entire County can be colored in as having the coverage. The Board approved the Automatic Aid Agreement with the Town of Indialantic for Fire Protection and Rescue Services; and authorized the County Manager, or designee, the authority to execute any revisions or automatic renewals to the Agreement, as agreed to by both parties and as outlined in the Agreement, upon the review and approval of the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management. Result: APPROVED Mover: Bryan Lober Seconder: Rita Pritchett Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka Page 8 of 30 December 21, 2021 F.22. Approval, Re: Interlocal Agreement with the Town of Malabar for Automatic Aid for Fire Protection and Rescue Services. The Board approved the Automatic Aid Agreement with the Town of Malabar for Fire Protection and Rescue Services; and authorized the County Manager, or designee, the authority to execute any revisions or automatic renewals to the Agreement, as agreed to by both parties and as outlined in the Agreement, upon the review and approval of the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management. Result: APPROVED Mover: Bryan Lober Seconder: John Tobia Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka G. PUBLIC COMMENTS Brenda Wickham stated she is representing Green Gables of Melbourne, Florida; it is a 126 year old home on one and one third acres, that she is trying to save; she is asking the Board for support for a grant that is sitting in the State House; it is a $500,000 matching grant that enables her to buy the Green Gable house and property from the William Wells family; she thinks this deserves the Board attention and respect; and she has three reasons 1) They raised $500,000 on their own, they did not have a Government entity, no big business, and nobody wanting to partner with Green Gables, it was grass root support that came through with the money, wealthy people, working people, and Green Gable had some homeless people that liked the property and they adopted the homeless people, therefore, she is hoping for the Board is support; reason 2) it is on a beautiful parcel of green space and it is on one and one third acres on the Indian River, this area north of 192, has seen big commercial growth, it is good but it is also hard on green space for big concrete buildings that go up; she thinks they are in an important position to offer the public a green space that people can come to and offer all family events; reason 3) it is the Legacy of the William Twining Wells and his wife Nora Stanford Wells who were a pioneer Melbourne family that came down this way, after they had been in Saint Augustine looking for a home, because Mrs. Wells had a lung condition and she needed to escape the winters; their train stopped in Melbourne; and they were impressed with Melbourne because it had the wonderful Indian River Lagoon. Sandra Sullivan, South Patrick Shores, stated fiscal responsibility is important to taxpayers and increasingly so with the inflation on garbage, fire, and utility increases by this Commission; in the last meeting, she spoke about impact fees not being updated in 15 years; one additional point she would like to add is other counties include Parks and Recreation, and impact fees, as growth means the need for new parks; Brevard does not do this and she would encourage this to be considered so the taxpayers are not burdened with paying for growth; the beachside parks are now crowded even on weekdays with overflow parking where people should not be parking; she also would like to discourage the County giving Driftwood Hotel $40 to $50 million when this hotel is in the process of buying additional properties and obviously has money; the taxpayers are being burdened with additional increases and yet the Board is considering giving $40 to $50 million to a hotel; and she thinks a conservative value is not subsidizing business. She continued to say people know the Board of County Commissioners is charged with the responsibility of ensuring all purchases are made legally and responsibly in compliance with Federal regulation, Florida Statutes, County policies, and Administrative orders as applicable and bidding opportunities for all associated solicitation documents for opportunities exceeding $15,000 especially when there is a change in vendor involved, in what capacity, she does not know, an elected officials transparency for the contract is even important; recently she learned that for a contract that begins in January 2022, it is disturbing when a County Department Page 9 of 30 December 21, 2021 Director indicated in writing that the elected person had been the broker and his company since 2014, for Aflac; in fact, the Request for Proposal (RFP) contract was awarded to Aflac, directly under this 2018 disability RFP; the Contract, effective January 1, 2019; she is requesting the Commission to continue with the Contract with Aflac directly, in January 2022; and in the interests of following the County Policy, as stated on the purchasing website, until such time as the RFP can be advertised and fulfill per the policy of the County, as it says in writing, this is a change in vendor. H.1. Approval, Re: Resolution and Exchange Agreement between Brevard County and Space Coast Town Centre I, L.L.C. - District 5. Chair Zonka called for public hearing on a resolution and exchange agreement between Brevard County and Space Coast Town Centre. Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated this Item is a resolution and exchange agreement between Brevard County and Space Coast Town Centre requesting the Board to execute any and all documents required to effectuate this exchange agreement; the developer is proposing an exchange agreement with the County for a parcel, in exchange for easement rights to a new retention pond that they built; they would take over the ownership and maintenance of storm water runoff from Saint John’s Heritage Parkway; the County originally, with previous owners, entered into a Contract back in 2013, with a provision contemplated possibly relocating 4.65 acre retention pond while contemplating; it was a possibility, it was not a requirement; the County, as part of a larger deal, building St. John’s Heritage Parkway spent $72,100 in doing that; and the proposed exchange agreement is consistent. He mentioned as part of this, the increase would be an overall increase in tax revenue and it would provide overall employment opportunities and decrease the maintenance for County responsibility by $2,000 annually. Commissioner Lober mentioned he would be happy to do as Mr. Bernath would like with respect to this; the one and only concern that was brought to his attention by staff, it was the $2,000 a year, which really pales in value to the actual value of the land; it is in a prime location; but if Commissioner Zonka is comfortable with it then he will support it. Chair Zonka stated she has motion by Commissioner Smith; she will say of course the Board Members spent a lot of time with this; with the $2,000 a year, she thinks there is retention now, as far as value goes; she believes this is the best use of moving and swapping the retention; and it utilizes the best use for the property in the future. There being no further comments or objections, the Board executed and adopted Resolution No. 21 176, authorizing the exchange of County property for other real property interests owned by Space Coast Town Centre I, LLC; authorized the Chair to execute the Exchange Agreement between Brevard County and Space Coast Town Centre I, LLC; and authorized the Chair, or her designee, to execute any and all documents required to effectuate this Exchange Agreement and obtain the applications and documents required by the agencies that will be issuing the necessary permits. Result: APPROVED Mover: Kristine Zonka Seconder: Bryan Lober Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka H.2. A Public Hearing to Consider an Ad Valorem Tax Abatement Ordinance for National Service Source, Inc. d/b/a USSI Global Page 10 of 30 December 21, 2021 Chair Zonka called for a public hearing to consider an Ad Valorem Tax Abatement Ordinance for National Service Source, Inc. Kathy Wall, Assistant to the County Manager, stated this is a request for the Board to consider an ordinance granting an economic ad valorem tax exemption to National Service Source doing business as USSI Global; the EDC ad valorem tax Abatement Council is recommending a six year, 60% of what the company invests in and is added to the County’s Tax Roll; it is estimated this exemption will be approximately $3,900 a year; and they will invest $1.45 million. Commissioner Tobia asked who was in attendance for the EDC. Brian Baluta, Economic Development Commission of Florida Space Coast stated his name. Commissioner Tobia advised he was just curious this time, and he absolutely appreciates Mr. Baluta showing up. There being no further comments or objections, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 21 28, granting an Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Abatement to National Service Source, Inc. d/b/a USSI Global, for six years at 60 percent of the real and tangible personal property that the company invests in Brevard County, Florida and is added to the County’s property tax roll. Result: APPROVED Mover: Curt Smith Seconder: Rita Pritchett Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka J.1. Discussion item: American Legion’s request for surplus property Commissioner Pritchett mentioned to Commissioner Lober she reached out to the gentleman, Commander James Coney, and asked if he minded if she tabled this Item until she could spend some time with him since it is in her District. The Board tabled the Discussion of the American Legion’s request for Surplus Property. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: Curt Smith Ayes: Pritchett, Lober, Tobia, Smith, and Zonka J.2. Discussion item: Creating an option for recreation partners to opt out of County background screening Commissioner Lober stated he thinks it is important to talk about this; the crux of this and why he brought it up is because he had people reach out to him that have indicated that the additional cost of doing the background screening really is a burden for particular activities; the fact is, when it comes to recreation partners, when it comes to County parks they do not ID everyone that comes in the park; they are trusting people, they trust to serve as volunteers are going through the process that they have; he thinks it is a good process, it is very thorough; the County does not just run FDLE, it runs FDLE and FBI background checks; not only does the County do that, but it also does a recurring check, if there is an arrest even after it initially submits the information, it will alert staff and let them know that there is problem on the radar; Page 11 of 30 December 21, 2021 he thinks for certain recreation partners, now that the cost structure is shifting over, where they are more and more responsible and ultimately fully responsible for these cost, the question is if this is something that is going to prevent them from being able to have people participate and potentially hurt participation in their activity, simply because they do not have enough volunteers, is this something that the Board really needs to force them to do; he thinks from the County perspective, he does not want to lower the background screening that it does, because he thinks there is a liability concern with respect to it; if the County is saying it is doing screening, it has got to do thorough screening, which it is doing; however, what he is looking at doing, and this would presume that it passes legal muster and risk muster from the County insurer, what he is looking at doing is having an opt out provision where for those recreation partners who do not want to spend a small fortune, if that is what they consider it, they would be able to opt out of the County background screening. He went on to say just as the County trusts them not to bring people who have not been screened by the County, it would trust them to inform the parents or guardians of every minor that participates, and the County can give them a stock form; he is happy to draft and bring it by the Commission and by legal to review before going forward in that direction; but it could draft, essentially saying, the County has for a number of years performed background checks in the following manner; it could specify what was done in an effort to reduce costs to taxpayers, that the Commission had started to shift the cost of performing these background checks to recreation partners, which is something that the County has already done; however, recognizing this may be a burden or an inordinate burden to certain recreation partners, the County has provided an opt out provision whereby the recreation partner itself is directly responsible for any level of background screening that they wish to undertake; the County is not, with respect to those recreation partners who are opting out, taking any background screening measures; he would have a spot for the recreation partner to essentially indicate what they plan to do and they can certify to the County they have delivered or sent that to parents and guardians of every minor that is participating; and he asked is it riskier in the sense of having it ambiguous and potentially not having background screening, sure, but the fact again is the County is trusting them to have people go through the process that the County has no ability to enforce anyway. He mentioned the County cannot assure every recreation partner has every volunteer go through the process; he wanted to see, for today’s purposes, what the palatability is with the Board basically putting this on individual responsibility, again, informing every parent or guardian that this is something a particular recreation partner has chosen to undertake, therefore, it is not doing something to interfere with parenting, the parents have a choice to participate or not participate; and he just feels more comfortable leaving it up to the parents to determine what they are comfortable with as far as their kids; the recreation partners that want to continue to go through the County screening, that is wonderful, the County will continue to go ahead and do it at the same cost; for those that do not, simply because it is a financial burden, they have an alternative, provided they notice the parents; and that is essentially where he is at. Patrick Lepore stated he is a 31 year Brevard County resident, of his 57 years, and born and raised in Florida; he is the next door neighbor, at the Public Defender’s Office; he is also a father, and baseball is in his blood; he coaches his nine year old currently; he has been with South Beach little league for five years now; Stephen Bond, the President, contacted him for legal expertise and advice on this issue; he contacted the County Attorney Office and he is not sure if the Assistant County Attorney he talked to, but he also spoke with the Park and Recreation Director, initially just trying to figure out why the additional background check above and beyond what little league is already doing was imposed on the league; and in all due respect, because everyone was very courteous that he spoke with, he really did not get a solid concrete answer as to why the additional background check is required. He went on to say the stock answer he got was the headline type of answer; he was informed of the West Melbourne Skate Park incident and as he began to process that, he did some research and the West Page 12 of 30 December 21, 2021 Melbourne Skate Park Director was finger printed above and beyond the background check that little league would have done; and as a Public Defender, he is involved in the criminal justice system and Commissioner Lober has expertise in this area as well. He noted every day at the jail persons are arrested and processed through the jail and brought before a judge and a judge decides whether they are at a risk for a release on bond, or if no release at all; no fingerprinting is done every day; the cost would be enormous to the County; what is done is a person provides their name, date of birth, social security number and it is run through the FBI database and it is run through the Florida Department of the Law Enforcement office database and pre trial release presents the report, and the judges make the decision; it is obviously the risk benefit compared to the cost based on social security number and date of birth; it is sufficient for the judges to make the decision; the only thing he is aware of that the County is requiring little league to do is the fingerprint and he submits, he does not have any statistics to present to the Board, but he submits the benefit of extra fingerprinting is far outweighed by the enormous cost that it is going to require little league to do that type of process; and he can speak from his experience, he has represented individuals, one was an attorney in this County, who was a well respected softball coach fully vetted by the Florida bar, but fingerprinting is not going to catch that individual. He advised that individual had no background that would have been caught by a background check; and it is going require due diligence by the parents and the coaches of these little leagues to address this issue. Commissioner Smith inquired if he understands correctly that the background checks that are required by the national little league do not exceed what this Board is actually asking for and they are free. Mr. Lepore continued on by saying that Ron will be able to speak to that issue a little more authoritatively than he can; his understanding is the little league background check goes above and beyond the State requirements; essentially his understanding is what the County is doing is they are doubling up; they are doing the same background check that little league is already doing; the only further requirement that he is aware of is requiring a fingerprint analysis which is really what is driving the cost; it almost seems like they are doing the same process twice; and again he submits the benefit to that double process is far outweighed by the cost for little leagues. Commissioner Tobia noted Mr. Lepore has mentioned the Public Defenders Office two or three times. Mr. Lepore replied he works for the Public Defender Office. Commissioner Tobia asked Mr. Lepore if he speaking on his own behalf or if he is speaking as a Public Defender since he brought his name up. Mr. Lepore replied no he is a coach for a little league; he has been involved with little league baseball since he was child; and it runs in his family. Commissioner Tobia advised he is just looking for yes or no that he is not speaking on behalf of the Public Defender’s Office. Mr. Lepore responded absolutely not, it has nothing to do with this. Commissioner Tobia stated Mr. Lepore brought it up three times so he just wanted to make sure. Page 13 of 30 December 21, 2021 Scott Farnham stated he is from Melbourne, Florida and he is the President of Eau Gallie little league; he continued with what Mr. Lepore was talking about, little league does background checks on everybody, every year, not every five years; it costs them $0.95 cents for a background check, it does not cost them $90; he did a small calculation, and if this was to hit Eau Gallie little league that would take about one third of its operating budget every year for the background checks; and it cannot sustain something like that. He went on to say at best they would have to raise fees which causes their attendance to go down, because people cannot afford it; little league gets children out of the house, gets them doing some exercise, and gets them away from the video screens all the time; there is nothing wrong with playing video games, but that is what kids are doing more and more of these days; and this gets them out, gets them some exercise, and so forth. He mentioned he has been President for 11 years; he has been to these various ballparks and he has never seen anybody from the County out there checking IDs; part of this $90 the volunteers are supposed to get an ID card; talking with some of his fellow Presidents, nobody gets the ID cards; and at best they are doing the same background check that little league is doing if little league is not doing more. He noted he does approximately 200 to 250 a year; he understands the concern about getting a sexual predator in the league, that is the biggest fear he has is of getting a sexual predator in his league; he personally does the background checks to make sure he is checking them and finding out; this person at the skateboard park passed the background checks, in that case it did not help; with sexual predators, there are two cases, those who have already been caught that would be found during the background checks, and the ones who have not been caught yet, and the background check is not catching them; he is not trying to say not to do background checks, they are done the entire time he has been president, and even before when he was on the Board, the league was having them to do background checks, this is nothing new; everybody gets background checks including himself; he is not trying to skirt on it, it is simply saying little league already does it; little league is probably willing to sign any reasonable form for it; and he is sure the Board lawyers can vet it out properly. He mentioned this is something that is just a cost that hurts the kids, to be honest; everyone is there to serve the people, and the kids; and it is a worthy goal. Aran Hissam stated she is the Vice President and registration officer for Viera Century little league; this is her seventh year serving as a volunteer in this Organization and she is there to share the detrimental impact on all of the little leagues in the community that will suffer by imposing a new background check mandate on the organization; the financial impact alone is significant and in Viera it will cost them over $30,000 a year with its over 300 volunteers; little league prides itself on being a non profit, run by volunteers; if the volunteers do not exist, the ultimate impact is on the children of the community; some of these children will rely on coaches, team parents, and teammates as the only positive parts of their day; they need these mentors to teach them the life skills such as working on a team, learning how to celebrate successes, and how to cope with losing gracefully; kids learn more on the ball field than just basic baseball and soft ball skills and that is thanks to the volunteers that help them every day; and the organization cannot afford to pay fees and cannot expect the volunteers of the organization to have to pay for registration fees, along with an additional $100 impact fee based on being a volunteer. She advised she would also like to point out that the security that the organization offers through running background checks is far more intense than what would be offered here; the background checks are pulled by Social Security Numbers; she also would like to talk a little bit about how the volunteers are monitored; she is on the field multiple times a week; and she did get her badge through the County and she has never been asked to show credential on the field. She noted she would like to leave with a quote, “A truly great volunteer is hard to find, difficult to part with, and impossible to forget”; she asked the Board please do not penalize little leagues by having great volunteers whose ultimate goal is to help the children Page 14 of 30 December 21, 2021 of the community. Commissioner Tobia stated he is trying to figure out the $30,000; he appreciates Ms. Hissam putting a number on it; and he asked if she stated there were 300 volunteers. Ms. Hissam responded they have been told it will cost about $100 a volunteer and they have over 300 volunteers. Commissioner Tobia asked Mrs. Hassam who told her that. Ms. Hissam responded she had figures sent through emails. Commissioner Tobia stated first of all, the number she is getting is not per annum it is for five years. Ms. Hissam responded they do it every single year; and she explained people leave and people come in, so they still have to pull based on new people coming in. Commissioner Tobia mentioned if she did that and it was one year it is $44 and that is the full cost, but the Board voted unanimously for the half cost; assuming her numbers, not this first year because this first year the Board is even paying half of it, times 300, so it is less than half of the $12,000; not that $12,000 or $13,000 is not a lot, but her $30,000 even a worst case scenario with her numbers, is more than double the actual cost; he advised he does not mind having a disagreement but as long as they have same information; and these numbers have been provided by County staff that the one year is $44.26. Ms. Hissam responded that is different information than she was given but she can tell Commissioner Tobia, because she is a registration officer and she monitor all of the funds that are coming in and out, even that is significant, where they are already having children that have to come in on scholarships; they are covering their registration fees; and if anyone is going to come in on a scholarship, then the parent has to volunteer; and it is going to cost the registration fee plus the volunteer fee to the organization. Commissioner Tobia stated he is with her and he understands, but he just needs to make sure the numbers that they are looking at and the numbers she may have heard, and he does not know where she received those numbers, but knowing a lot goes on Facebook that the Board does not monitor, all he has and he is more than willing to share what the actual numbers are; and everyone can go from there and decide if there is a middle ground. Ms. Hissam stated regardless, an extra fee on top of what little league is already trying to do with what it brings in, would be significant; it would impact the children; and she appreciates the opt out option that was discussed because it could help. Stephen Baughn thanked the Board for their time; he stated he is President of South Beaches little league; every year they have two seasons, fall and spring; there are 200 or more players playing every season; they also have 150 to 200 volunteers every season; as a volunteer organization, they see about 75 volunteers are turned over every single year; kids decide not to play baseball anymore, kids get older, coaches decide they do not want to coach anymore, and every year they have to conduct 75 extra background checks, on average, simply for turnover; Florida is one of only 10 states in the entire country, that has enacted background check requirements for volunteers of non school associated activities of youth sports and athletics; and yet little league requires it of every single entity in the entire country. He went on to say Page 15 of 30 December 21, 2021 Florida law requires private, non governmental entities that organize, operate, or conduct, coordinate youth athletic teams in Florida to conduct annual level one background screenings, essentially for anybody who works over 20 hours; sexual predator, sexual offender checks, employment history checks, and Statewide criminal correspondence checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE); little league international’s background check through J.D. Palatine conducts all of that, and extends it even further, requiring of every single volunteer, a physical copy of the driver’s license, conducting a national criminal search, instead of just a Statewide search; also a review of the U.S (United State) Center for Safe Sport centralized disciplinary database, meaning any coach who has ever been disciplined with any affiliation will show up, as well as the little league international ineligible list from affiliate leagues; and the interesting part about the background check through AUE is this year alone the background check from little league found four individuals flagged in his league as volunteers that were passed by the Brevard County background check process. He went on to say their league was never told of any issues with any of those individuals; they were never given any notification, and one of those individuals had a felony from another state; there is a concern with what is being actually conducted, as far as the background check and being provided by AUE; and it kind of talks to what some of the other individuals talked about, the value of what the little league background check is able to provide above and beyond. He mentioned financially half of their revenue comes from registration, the other half comes from sponsorship from the concession stand and fundraisers; the league is constantly having to hit the pavement; the 30 percent figure is straight operational, it actually is the additional 75 background checks they would have to conduct every year; it would represent 30 percent of their actual budget every single year; and that is just a cost, that without being able to rely on sponsors and fundraisers and everybody else, that would significantly impact the league. He commented he hopes the Board understands they are not looking to avoid the background check; it is just kind of a duplicate process; finding volunteers is extremely hard, it is the 80 20 role; some people put way more time into it and it is extremely difficult for them, to have this process already in place; and he thanked all the Board Members for offering the opt out. Ken O’Neill stated he serves as a District Administrator for the local little leagues in Brevard County; he acts as the liaison between little league international up in Williamsport and the local league in Brevard County; they wanted him to bring the message to the Board that they need help to get this done; one thing that little league does require, and it is not negotiable, is the background checks of any volunteer that comes into any of the parks, whether it be a County park or City park; people rely on the leagues to do 100 percent background check on them and to make sure it is done, they have a data center and it does show the amount of volunteers that they do have; little league does know the amount of volunteers, the percentage, that have been background checked; and that is forwarded down to him. He advised he lets them know if they need to continue with the background checks before they can proceed; they also have the background check when they have tournaments, and stuff like that, the umpires they use as a district are also screened again through the district staff, to make sure that any league that is coming to them, if they want to know if these umpires have been background checked, they can say yes; and they can show them they have been checked. He continued by saying little league is very strong and determined that the background checks all be done, regardless; to add an extra fee onto this, it is not going to help their mission; little league’s mission is to continue to grow, to give kids a fun and safe place to learn and play; they do not want the league shrinking because they do not have the volunteers that cannot afford to pay this; one thing that he wants to mention is about the scholarships; there are a lot of kids out there whose parents need the help to be able to play; little league does not turn any child away, the leagues incur that cost of paying 100 percent out of their budget to cover that; they also have the challenger division which he believes it is a two to three leagues pay out of their pockets and they do not charge any child with any disability to play; they fund that all the way Page 16 of 30 December 21, 2021 through going to their tournaments out of State; and every one of them is background checked. He stated they do not want to take away from that, they want to continue to provide these kids an opportunity to play; adding on to the leagues is going to certainly hurt some of the smaller leagues; and little league just wants to send the message that they do need the Board Members help with this. Chair Zonka stated she knows she spoke with Mary Ellen Donner, Parks and Recreation Director, about this in the past, but based on her expert knowledge and what the Board has done so far with this issue, she asked if little league’s background checks are more intense than the County’s. Ms. Donner responded, as far her knowledge and from what she has heard from the little league, no because the County goes through FDLE to run FBI fingerprints; she did contact their agency, J.D. Palatine, and asked if they in fact did fingerprinting; and J.D. Palatine responded no, and stated they do not do national level FBI background checks. Chair Zonka responded that was her main question. Commissioner Tobia stated some interesting issues were brought up here, unfortunately someone in his office just checked this; he appreciates Commissioner Lober is eagerness to bring this forward, even though he believes the Board voted unanimously months ago, to institute the sharing of these fees; he thinks even he voted for it, even though he thought the responsibility should be on the recreation partners; but it is simply a placeholder and the subject line is to create an option for recreational partners to opt out. He went on to say he does not know, that is very wide ranging and there is really no policy here, so at this point he is uncomfortable in moving forward on what literally says placeholder, period; he certainly would like to see the differences; there are a whole bunch of issues here; Palatine charges $0.95 but just the charge alone for FDLE is $8.00, the FBI is multiple, some interesting issues were brought up, J.D. Palatine apparently, and he does not have way to confirm any of this stuff, was able to catch somebody who the FBI was not; he thinks the numbers that have been spread are significantly many times less, there is a lot of misinformation here, and he certainly would like it to be written down; he does appreciate this being brought forward because he thinks it is a worthy issue; but he thinks it is a lot to expect anyone on the Board to make a decision with the term placeholder, especially when it is dealing with the safety of kids. He noted the last individual got up here and he is ready to vote for this opt out; he thinks the Board agrees that the Governor is doing a pretty good job; the Governor was a little league player; he played in the Little League World Series and if he got up here and said the little league should be able to opt out of background checks and fingerprints then this would have his support; but short of that, he certainly would like to see the policy; and at this point, he would not feel comfortable even though Commissioner Lober just put down discussion. He stated he appreciates everyone’s time coming forward, but he unfortunately will have to vote no because there is really nothing there other than a placeholder. Commissioner Pritchett stated she wants to start out with thanking the people for working with the kids; she grew up playing ball; she had the kids, grandkids and she knows it is so important for kids to learn team sports and to have trusted coaches and mentors in their life; it is very important; she does want to mention that the County has been doing these background checks for five years, although the County has been covering the cost; and in those five years they have picked up 137 people that have been denied, so it is doing the job. She mentioned she did ask some questions about the little league background checks; she knows they say there are no cut costs, but Brevard County School has a cut cost; they are able to do $47 for five years because they do it now; she just knows $0.97, even if it is cut down, it is not the kind of background checks that they are able to do with fingerprinting, and the fingerprinting is Page 17 of 30 December 21, 2021 nationwide; and the reason why that is important is they have so many people transferring to the State of Florida, currently. She commented, now again, it does not catch all of them, but if it catches 137 that is significant, with protecting children; her number one thought is always going to be protecting the kids; with the other position she has held in her life people would be surprised how many children are grown up into adults, that have been violated, it is significant; she will always err on the side of the children; as far as the background checks, she is not going to budge on that, but the cost has her attention; if it is going to stop the ability for children to place sports and have the cost covered, that is a different issue; she would be willing to figure out what the Board can do, but as far as background checks, she is not going to disagree with what the County has, it is a good process; and she mentioned she asked some questions of the County Attorney. So she advised she was able to talk to Mr. Stephen Baughn, and she stated he is great person and she is thankful he is heading up what he is doing; she does want him to get a hold of the Parks and Recreation Director and let her know which one he caught that the County did not; she needs to know what is going on with that; and she noted that had her attention. She stated what she heard Mr. Baughn say to her is the coaches would totally understand, but there is the concession stand workers which are parents; she thought, Mr. Baughn is right on that, because she does a lot of ball on weekends and the parents are required to go in there and volunteer once a month to work in session stands, and they are working with other parents, therefore that does not make sense to her to have to do background checks on them; it might be a little overkill; and she talked to the County Attorney and there is a way that the County could redo some things to where they have to do the background checks on the people who are working with the children. She noted if the volunteers that are maybe selling items are not directly working with the children, developing trust with these kids, they possibly could work on some language, depending on how the rest of the Commissioners feel about it; but Co