Brevard County Board of County Commissioners

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 5:00 PM Brevard County Board of County Commissioners 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Viera, FL 32940 Commission Chambers Minutes Regular April 9, 2024 A. CALL TO ORDER 5:00 PM Rollcall Commissioner District 1 Rita Pritchett, Commissioner District 2 Tom Goodson, Commissioner District 3 John Tobia, Commissioner District 4 Rob Feltner, and Commissioner District 5 Jason Steele Present: C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Rob Feltner, District 4 Commissioner Feltner led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner's Comments Commissioner Feltner stated for the benefit of those who support the Board, specifically the Clerk, Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV), when the Board is using the microphones, to please turn them on and off; obviously, for the Clerk, that helps with the minutes; for SCGTV, it is especially helpful, now with the closed caption and American Disability Act (ADA) compliance is handled automatically by YouTube and those sorts of things; therefore, it would help everybody if the Board was a little better with the microphones. Chair Steele thanked Dana Blickley, Brevard County Property Appraiser, and Lisa Cullen, Brevard County Tax Collector, for being in attendance. E.1. Resolution to recognize and commend Lieutenant Colonel Albert Therriault, Civil Air Patrol. Commissioner Pritchett read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 24-023, recognizing Lieutenant Colonel Albert Therriault, Civil Air Patrol, for demonstrating outstanding dedication and commitment to serving his community and the United States Armed Services veterans. Lieutenant Colonel Albert Therriault stated he is humbled and honored to receive the Resolution, for doing something that he loves to do; and taking care of veterans, he has been there, done that, and he wants to keep doing it. Result: ADOPTED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: Rob Feltner Ayes: Pritchett, Goodson, Tobia, Feltner, and Steele E.2. Resolution acknowledging April as Second Chance Month in Brevard County Commissioner Feltner read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 24-024, acknowledging April as Second Chance Month in Brevard County. Susan Kowalski expressed her appreciation for the Resolution. She stated she is the Deputy Director of New Hope, the Space Coast Office; Operation New Hope has been in existence for 25 years providing re-entry services throughout Florida; Operation New Hope is a leader in the field of re-entry, whose work has been praised by the last four White House administrations; it is a national model; Operation New Hope was established in Jacksonville in 1999 and now has offices in Orlando, St. John’s County, the Space Coast, and is opening an office in the Tampa Bay area in the coming months; Operation New Hope plans on opening offices throughout the State of Florida, North Florida as well as South Florida in order to make a re-entry network; and by providing extensive wraparound care and job training, it provides second chances for the formally incarcerated. She went on to say Operation New Hope is ready for work and ready for Page 1 of 47 April 9, 2024 release programs that equips its clients with what they need to become a productive and responsible citizen of the community; at Operation New Hope, it is believed that everyone is better than their worst mistakes, their worst days, or worst decisions; it believes in people’s ability to learn from their mistakes and transform their lives through commitment and hard work; it values safe communities, strong economies, stable families, and second chances; and she thanked the Board for its continued support in Operation New Hope. Result: ADOPTED Mover: Rob Feltner Seconder: Rita Pritchett Ayes: Pritchett, Goodson, Feltner, and Steele Nay: Tobia F. CONSENT AGENDA (The entire Consent Agenda will be passed in one motion to include everything under Section F.) Chair Steele stated he would like to put out a couple little things for everybody to listen to; speakers are welcome to have a sign this evening, but please do not disrupt the people behind, please do not incite the crowd, or anything of that nature; there will be three minutes each on these conversations, so the Board is not cutting anything back; and before he gets started on the Consent Agenda, he asked if Commissioner Goodson had anything he would like to pull. Commissioner Goodson advised he would like to pull Item F.13., Brevard County Lifeguard Services Grant Program. Chair Steele advised there are different people who would like to talk on different subjects; and he called for the speakers. F.1. Final Plat and Contract Approval, Re: Watermark Phase 1 and 2 Developer: Stanley Martin Homes, LLC District 1 Sandra Sullivan stated it is her understanding that this property, the sewage goes to Port St. John sewage treatment plant; her concern with that is, she had done a records request in February 2021 and it was at 85 percent capacity, in February 2022 it was at 86 percent capacity, and in March of 2023 at 96 percent capacity; once it is over 85 percent, the County is really not supposed to be adding development to a treatment plant until there is a plan to replace it; there are plans to replace it, but there is no way to pay to replace it yet, it is $170 million; she requested that the State help with that and the feds; it used to be $50 million to replace a plant; she objects to it; and she asked why this Board is still doing large developments on a sewage treat plant when it knows it is at or near capacity. She mentioned it just seems like when the County is taxing the people to try to clean up the Lagoon, and then putting it at risk, is just not good business; until there is a plan in the works to replace that plant, and that is probably a multi-year process, she does not think the Board should be placing a lot of added development on that sewage treatment plant; and it should probably be looking at placing a moratorium on that plant to protect the river. Chair Steele asked to please try to keep everything civil; and it is his fault he did not say no applause for the evening. Commissioner Goodson stated in the Agenda Report it states the City of Cocoa is providing the sewer and water, so undoubtedly, they are the ones providing the sewer and water; therefore, the sewer plant at 85 percent, is not affected with it. Page 2 of 47 April 9, 2024 F.6. Approval, Re: Appointment to the Local Health Council of East Central Florida, Inc. Kristin Lortie stated she is commenting on Item F.6 right now, and she is commenting on several Items under Consent because she went through the meeting back up Items and the definition she wants to read will apply to all of her Items; first of all, the definition of Consent Agenda, according to the Assistant Attorney General is, ‘routine matters that are typically non-controversial and do not deviate from past Board direction or policy’; Brevard Citizens Coalition is a Facebook group that she founded; on this Item she wants to talk about the appointment to the local Health Council of East Central Florida in which former Commissioner Zonka was recommended for this appointment and she has graciously agreed according to the backup documents; in looking at the background, what she appreciated about it was that there is a summary explanation in the background that talks about the history of this particular Item; and it does not assign a person as the recommender, it just states Housing and Human Services. She went on to say for a high-profile former Commissioner to be appointed to a current position brings a few questions; she asked if it was listed, were there other people that had the opportunity to apply for this appointment, and was it canvassed to the public; she noted it is being put on the Consent Agenda which means that it is low-profile, if she had not spoken to it; she does not feel that there is enough information provided to support the Agenda Item as to why Ms. Zonka was chosen and whether or not other candidates had that option; and she thinks for positions that are opened up to the community, they should be opened up to the community. She noted that Ms. Zonka is being appointed as the County representative for the Health Care Purchaser Group; she forgot the Board does not actually state these in the meeting, so the requested action is, “it is requested that the Board of County Commissioners approve the appointment of Dr. Kristine Zonka as the County representative for the Health Care Purchaser Group; what she wondered, because there is this other Item that has ended up being related on the lifeguard funding, and that there is going to be lifeguard funding redirected to healthcare initiatives, is if there is any connection there, but she does not have an answer to that; she does have questions on the appointment; and she has an interest in making sure these petitions are opened up to the public or explained to the public why they are not, which could be included in the narrative detail for it. Chair Steele inquired if Ms. Lortie is finished with all of her comments. Ms. Lortie noted not on all the Consent Items, she has others. Chair Steele advised she only gets three minutes on all of the things that are on the Consent Agenda. Ms. Lortie stated that is not correct. Chair Steele responded it is correct and he sent her an email to tell her that as well. She advised she had not received an email from him on that. Chair Steele stated he is sorry that she did not receive it, but she has three minutes regardless of how many things she wants to speak about on the Consent Agenda; and once she uses her three minutes, her three minutes are up. Ms. Lortie commented that is not part of the current Policy. Chair Steele mentioned he had checked with the County Attorney prior to this meeting to make sure he was correct on this issue; and he asked the County Attorney if he has any comments. Page 3 of 47 April 9, 2024 Morris Richardson, County Attorney, explained the specific question that was asked was related to the Item I.2. with the CEERS, where people had multiple Items within that Item and he believes Ms. Lortie requested to speak individually to the separate Items, and the answer to that one was that it was three minutes; that was not applicable to the Consent Agenda; and that was not the question he understood was being asked. Chair Steele apologized to Ms. Lortie and asked if she would like to go through all of her Items. Ms. Lortie responded certainly. Chair Steele stated to get started then. F.8. Approval; RE: Appointment of Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee (SMC) Member - All Districts. Kristin Lortie stated this Item is where former Commissioner Curt Smith is being requested to be appointed by the Board as the replacement Tourist Development Council representative to the Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee for a term of two years, until April 2026; on this one there was much less detail than there was on the other one regarding Ms. Zonka; she felt there should be more that is provided; in this instance, it was recommended by the Parks and Recreation Department, and she would have liked to have had more of an explanation on the background, what Commissioner Smith's qualifications were for this particular Item, what was the selection process for it, and was the position made available to other members of the public; and once again, former Commissioner Smith is in an especially high-profile member of the public to be appointed to the position and to be on the Consent Agenda. She mentioned there was enough information provided to support this; and she did not feel it should be on the Consent Agenda. F.12. State Lobbying Services Contract with Ronald L. Book, P.A. Kristin Lortie stated the next one is the State Lobbying Services with Ronald Book; he is being recommended for a $72,000 annual contract and $6,000 per month for one year; the comments on this are a little bit nuance because there is one piece of this in particular that she commends the Commissioners on; first her objections are there was no disclosure on this at the March 12 meeting that Commissioner Tobia has received $2,000 in funding for his campaign from this; and it was interesting enough to the media that there was an article in Florida TODAY on April 2 about this, 'Brevard County Commission Backs Extending the State Lobbyist Book’s Contract for Another Year.' She went on to say it talks about the potential conflict of interest, although Commissioner Tobia disagreed on it, but that was not disclosed at the March 12 meeting when this was discussed; she objects to Commissioner Tobia being the one to bring it forward; the Florida TODAY article does give more backup on that; it states he saw the Item on the County Commission’s March Agenda and then prior to the vote he reached out to Mr. Book to determine if Mr. Book still wanted to work as the lobbyist; and he also contacted members of Brevard’s Delegation to the Florida Legislature to determine what kind of relationship they had with Mr. Book and determined that Mr. Book has a very good relationship with the local delegation, and that Mr. Book is the father of Florida State minority leader Lauren Book, a democrat from Davey. She mentioned she feels there was a lot of additional information that was revealed in the Florida TODAY article, and she would have liked to have seen Commissioner Tobia not involving himself in it since he had personally benefited, and then abstain from voting on it as an Agenda Item; she felt those would have been more helpful to herself as a member of the public, to let staff take care of it because he was recommended for a raise, a three-year contract, Commissioner Tobia personally involved himself in the matter, and now it is being presented as a Consent Agenda Item; and what she commends the Page 4 of 47 April 9, 2024 Commission on is that she appreciates the Board supporting it as a one-year versus a three-year, albeit a no-bid contract. She commented she did like that, she even contrasted that with what the City of Cocoa did in extending the City Manager contract; she appreciates that it allows the next Board to make that final decision as of next year; she would also like to draw attention to the Florida TODAY quote that said, Mr. Bobanic who is the Supervisor of Elections, in a similar situation said that he did not vote on that relevantly similar item because he thinks all elected officials should avoid any appearance of impropriety; she appreciates that statement from candidate and Supervisor of Elections, Bobanic; and for those reasons she does not support this Item. Chair Steele stated there is nothing illegal or unethical for any person on this particular Board to be taking a campaign contribution from Mr. Book; Mr. Book has been excellent as the Brevard County lobbyist for many years bringing the County millions and millions of dollars; he would say he is probably the best lobbyist in Tallahassee; in addition, the reason why the Board did this in the first place is it was Commissioner Feltner’s idea and the lobbying contract was just about up; and the lobbying contract would have to be extended for three years. He mentioned Commissioner Feltner in his wisdom asked the Board to try to get Mr. Book to take a one-year extension so that when the new Commissioners come on they can make the decision on who he or she would like as a lobbyist; therefore, the thing Ms. Lortie is talking about with Commissioner Tobia is completely unacceptable as far as he is concerned. He also mentioned he understands Ms. Lortie’s concerns, but advised this happens all the time. Ms. Lortie stated she concurs about the one-year versus the three-year; and she mentioned she also put a card in on the lifeguard item but she will not speak on that now since it was pulled, she will wait. F.14. Bill Folder Kristin Lortie stated she went into the Bill Folder and expected this to be not really interesting, but she found that there are a couple of items she would like to speak to; a few of the items that were included and requested for submission, one of them had to do with copies that were made by the Commissioners; there was a contrast between the Commissioners in terms of who went over contract on their copies; Commissioner Pritchett went 2,518 over contract, including 1,668 color copies, Commissioner Tobia went 1,509 over contract including 1,112 color copies, Chairman Steele went 531 over contract including 375 color copies, and zero over for Commissioner’s Goodson and Feltner; and both Commissioner Pritchett and Tobia are current 2024 candidates. She commented that does not mean those copies had anything to do with their candidacy and anybody is welcome at any time to send her anything after the meeting, she would be happy to take in that information, but she found that curious; next, she found in Commissioner Pritchett’s reimbursements, she is billing $48.69 for one ream of classic linen paper and $19.82 for 500 envelopes which appear they could complement each other; she does not know what those are for and Commissioner Pritchett’s office has not been responding to her emails, so this is something that could have easily been addressed beforehand; then under Commissioner Tobia’s expenses, he is requesting reimbursement for $28.05 for the truthfinder.com membership fee, plus $3.99 for data access for the unlimited persons report; and she objects to that because she does not understand why a Commissioner needs to have access to the truthfinder, which is a background service. She noted she went to the website and it states, “what is truthfinder used for“ and under questions and answers it states, “to learn more about your neighbors, to catch a cheating spouse, to research potential romantic partners from dating apps, and she would like to think those are not being done with public funds; she does not understand why, if the Board is going to subscribe to a service like this, why it cannot be a government thing that goes through one government office that is audited and explained to the public because she inquired if these people that are being researched know about it in Page 5 of 47 April 9, 2024 advance, and what is the tracking on it; and once again, she would welcome any information to come back to her on that so she could feel a little more comfortable with this expense. She went on to say she also noticed on the Florida TODAY subscriptions that Commissioner Tobia has the most extensive subscription to the Florida TODAY, print subscriptions of $43.87 which includes $12 in premium subscriptions plus the monthly online subscription for $14.99; he does get a better deal than Commissioner Pritchett who is getting an online subscription for $19.99; she wonders with the subscriptions to Florida TODAY, just under Commissioner Tobia adds up, that would be $58.86 per month and $706 per year just for one Commission office to have a full scope subscription to Florida TODAY; and she wonders about that. Commissioner Pritchett asked Ms. Lortie if she called her office and asked why they bought 500 sheets of paper and the envelopes because she is asking Adrienne right now; Adrienne does not remember getting anything from her, because she would have told her; every year at graduation, her office sends out congratulations to all the graduates; she has done it for eight years; that is what her office does; if that was asked, she would have told her because Ms. Lortie is really painting a picture that is really troublesome; and with Mr. Book, she knows Commissioner Feltner did that, but if the Commission would have just kept the same guy over the next three years it would have saved $36,000 in tax payers dollars because he upped it $1,000 per month. She mentioned the Board has been through this before, and the new Board is going to have to do a lot of work because it will never go back that low again, he would have locked in for that amount; and again, if Ms. Lortie would have called her office, she would have told her that. Ms. Lortie interjected by saying there is no need to disparage her as the worst… Commissioner Pritchett advised she is not done talking. Ms. Lortie interjected again saying to ask her to sit down first if she wants to insult her while she is talking. Commissioner Pritchett asked Ms. Lortie to sit down and advised she is not insulting her. Chair Steele asked Ms. Lortie to be civil. Commissioner Pritchett asked the Chair to have Ms. Lortie sit down. Chair Steele noted the insults were coming from Ms. Lortie not from Commissioner Pritchett; he stated Ms. Lortie’s insinuation on Commissioner Tobia and Commissioner Pritchett is unacceptable; she may have whatever opinion she wants, and she voiced that tonight; he thanked her for that; and he asked that she please sit down. F.13. Brevard County Lifeguard Services Grant Program Commissioner Steele inquired if Commissioner Goodson would like to hear from those who filled out speaker cards first. Commissioner Goodson responded affirmatively. Chair Steele reiterated please no applause, he would like to get through this and get a little bit of resolution this evening on where this is going to go. (Inaudible Conversation) Page 6 of 47 April 9, 2024 Chair Steele stated called up Katie Delaney and stated he is trying to clean up the Consent Agenda then get to the ones that are important. F.14. Bill Folder Katie Delaney stated she is not going to repeat the things that were mentioned; she thinks the concern is the look, not necessarily that anybody is doing anything nefarious; what she would like is a little more transparency in this so there are no unanswered questions, for people to know what they are looking at and why certain purchases are made; and she reiterated she does not think things need to be repeated, but she thinks that is the intent of those questions. Commissioner Pritchett stated five years ago this Board did not use to put any of these things in the Bill Folder, and it made a unanimous decision that anything a Commissioner would spend money on to put it out there; the Board did that themselves so everybody could see it on the Consent Agenda; the Board thought the transparency issue was adequate for the public to always know what is going on; she thinks probably all of the Board members get the Florida TODAY yearly subscription; the Board places everything they are going to spend on there as individual Commissioners and she wishes every elected official would do the same; she would love to see the other ones put the travel on there and everything else as well; and she thinks that is a good thing to do. F.1. Final Plat and Contract Approval, Re: Watermark Phase 1 and 2 Developer: Stanley Martin Homes, LLC District 1 The Board, in accordance with Section 62-2841(i) and Section 62-2844, executed and granted final plat approval, subject to minor engineering changes as applicable, and developer responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and executed and approved the Subdivision Infrastructure Contract for Watermark Phase 1 and 2 – Developer: Stanley Martin Homes, LLC. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.2. Approval, Re: Dedication of Public Access Sidewalk Easement from Central Viera Community Association, lnc. for the Pineda Boulevard West Extension -Segments F, G and H, Phase 2 - District 4. The Board approved acceptance of Public Access Sidewalk Easement from Central Viera Community Association, Inc. for the Pineda Boulevard West Extension Segments F, G, and H, Phase 2. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.3. Adopt Resolution and Release Performance Bond: Reeling Park North, Phase 5 - District 4 Developer: The Viera Company The Board executed and adopted Resolution No. 24-025, releasing the Contract and Surety Performance Bond dated January 10, 2023, for Reeling Park North, Phase 5 – Developer: The Viera Company. Result: ADOPTED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia Page 7 of 47 April 9, 2024 F.5. Approval, Re: Dedication by Warranty Deed for Tract M of Crossmolina - Phase 1 and Bill of Sale from The Viera Company for the benefit of Lift Station W-45 - District 4 The Board approved acceptance of Warranty Deed for Tract M of Crossmolina – Phase 1; and approved acceptance of Bill of Sale from The Viera Company for the benefit of Lift Station W-45. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.6. Approval, Re: Appointment to the Local Health Council of East Central Florida, Inc. The Board approved the appointment of Dr. Kristine Zonka (Administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Brevard County) as the County Representative for the Health Care Purchaser Group. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.7. Confirmation, Re: New Members to Board of Directors of Golf Brevard, Inc. (District 3) The Board confirmed Marcy Torrant and Frank Vega as new members to the Board of Directors of Golf Brevard, Inc. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.8. Approval; RE: Appointment of Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee (SMC) Member - All Districts. The Board acknowledged the appointment of Curt Smith, as the Tourist Development Council (TDC) replacement member to the Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee, replacing Malcolm McLouth, with said term to expire April 9, 2026. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.9. Approval of Coordination Agreement, Re: Bus Transportation Services with School Board of Brevard County The Board executed and approved the Transportation Coordination Agreement between the School Board of Brevard County and Brevard County for the purpose of Bus Transportation Services. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.10. Approval, Re: Federal Transit Administration Fiscal Year 2024 Certification and Assurances. Page 8 of 47 April 9, 2024 The Board executed and approved the Fiscal Year 2024 Certification and Assurances for Federal Transit Administration Grants; and authorized you to execute the Certifications and Assurances electronically. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.11. Appointment(s) / Reappointment(s) The Board appointed/reappointed Debbie Thomas, to the Building and Construction Advisory Committee, with said appointment to expire April 10, 2026; Thomas R. Brandon, to the Building and Construction Advisory Committee, with said appointment to expire December 31, 2025; and Donna Richardson, to the South/Central Brevard Public Library Advisory Board, with said appointment to expire April 9, 2026. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.12. State Lobbying Services Contract with Ronald L. Book, P.A. The Board approved the one-year Contract with Ronald L. Book, P.A., for State Lobbying Services at the negotiated rate of $6,000/month or $72,000/year. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.14. Bill Folder The Board acknowledged receipt of the Bill Folder, as submitted. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.15. Precinct Boundaries - Altered and Added (Chapter 101.001(1) F.S.) The Board approved the revised precinct boundaries due to annexations by the Cities of Melbourne and Titusville. Result: APPROVED Mover: Rita Pritchett Seconder: John Tobia F.13. Brevard County Lifeguard Services Grant Program Wayne Carragino stated he is the City Manager of Cocoa Beach and he is in attendance to discuss the lifeguard issue; the City respectfully looked at the grant proposal, it was very well prepared; he thanked the County Manager for his professionalism in the preparation of it; the City did a lot of research and homework on it and the one thing that rang in his mind as he looked at it was Commissioner Steele’s statement at the Budget Workshop, where he said, “I will vote for this but I will make a prediction that none of the cities will go along with this and we will be back at square one”; and the City of Cocoa Beach has elected to not participate in the grant agreement that has been presented. Commissioner Pritchett inquired if the City went back to revisit this year’s commitment with the Page 9 of 47 April 9, 2024 seasonal lifeguards because after they had that conversation she thinks the City might have made the vote to not pay anything for lifeguards; and she asked if that was changed. Mr. Carragino answered no, the City has no intention of paying that. Commissioner Pritchett asked if the City is not going to pay anything towards lifeguards. Mr. Carragino replied no, he thinks that was made clear in their response. Commissioner Pritchett commented okay, that is interesting. Commissioner Goodson stated that was the question he had and zero is the answer. Commissioner Tobia stated he looked at the City of Cocoa Beach’s budget; the City’s mayor had stood up there previously and said safety is a priority; he understands that did not come from Mr. Carragino; he thinks the budget follows that and it is Mr. Carragino’s job to create the budget; the cost in Fiscal Year 24, the municipal golf course that Cocoa Beach maintains is $3,661,330, the revenue on top to coincide with that is $2,175,350, so in other words the City of Cocoa Beach has a deficit of $1,485,980; and he asked Mr. Carragino if that sounds correct. Mr. Carragino stated he will answer that very respectfully by saying, at this point he just made a statement that the City of Cocoa Beach is not going to participate in the grant agreement, so this is irrelevant; the Board can cherry pick anything it wants out of the City’s budget… Commissioner Tobia interjected by stating this is not a discussion, he just asked a question. Mr. Carragino replied he does not know the answer, frankly, he is not going to answer questions. Chair Steele noted that is fine, he has the right not to answer it. Commissioner Tobia stated that was all he was asking is if Mr. Carragino was familiar with the numbers and the deficit of the golf course. Mr. Carragino commented he is familiar, but he is not going to answer the question. Chair Steele stated he wants to end this on a civil note; and he thanked Mr. Carragino. Chair Steele passed the gavel to Vice-Chair Pritchett. Sandra Sullivan stated looking over how this has progressed over time, in May 2023, the Board has substantially increased the lifeguard budget; between last May until now, it has been almost a 45 percent increase in budget; that is a pretty substantial increase in one year; part of that was a request made to give lifeguards to Indialantic which there are a lot of drownings there, so she understands that; in part of funding that city, they agreed they would pay for those costs in 2024; it is 2024 now and they agreed to pay and they are not; therefore, that agreement did not even pan out. She continued by saying obviously, the State has a definition for the sand re-nourishment project where the County gets additional funding for beach re-nourishment for what they define as tourism beaches, that is beaches that have over 100 parking spaces; since this is the County’s tourism project, she is not quite sure how the Board is tying in Tourist Development Tax (TDT) dollars because at the Budget Workshop it was said that the County could not use that; she thinks that needs to be explained; but she thinks with Page 10 of 47 April 9, 2024 the tourism beaches, using the definition that the State uses which is over 100 parking spaces, that the County should be funding 100 percent of those as essentially premium beaches with additional services, and moving in that direction; she thinks that people have to plan and not do just one beach at a time and add beaches and have creeping on the budget, because obviously, who is paying for this 45 percent increase in one year; and this is just not a fiscal way of doing things. She mentioned she is supportive of the staff report and them looking at where the drownings were and prioritizing that; for example, from where she is from in the Satellite Beach area, they did not have any drownings; looking to the bigger picture since the Board is going in the tourism direction, hopefully the State Representatives will bring some legislative changes with TDT next year; working towards that can offset that expense; but she thinks the Board should look at the whole tourism picture of funding 100 percent of the beaches which are a tourism product, that have more than 100 parking spaces, which is how it is defined for the beaches program. Commissioner Pritchett asked the County Attorney if it is possible to use the TDT funds to fund all of the lifeguards. Morris Richardson, County Attorney, advised it is possible to use TDT funds for lifeguards, the amount would determine if the County could entirely fund lifeguards with it. Commissioner Pritchett noted they had that conversation before; that might not be a bad idea, worthy of a thought to find out how much they would be allowed to pursue on that; and she asked to get some data on that. Attorney Richardson stated it is not a legal issue, it really comes down to available funds, but the Board can expend TDT on lifeguards. Don Willis stated he certainly understands being on the other side of the comment table; he is from the City of Cape Canaveral, City Councilman, resident, and taxpayer; he believes the decision on this Item if it were to go forward, would have detrimental effects on the local community; in the past, until now, Cape Canaveral has had a wait and see attitude over these issues because they do not have a dog in the fight; they have Cherie Down Park that is part of Cape Canaveral, but it is fully-operated by the County; and because the County has proposed to carve Cape Canaveral out of the park system there, out of all of the beach side cities they are the only ones who have not been given a County park. He continued by saying what is in it for them, Cherie Down Park may in the future become a City-owned park and the City would welcome whatever the County Commission were to deem appropriate, but at this point in time, Cape Canaveral feels it needs to be in support and solidarity with the other beachside communities; he thinks this represents a future tax increase for the City of Cape Canaveral if it were to go to them; and it becomes another string in the Cherie Down Park proposal. He went on to say the City agrees with the position of the other beachside communities; beach city residents do not use lifeguard services any more than anyone else in the County; the City also believes that the Tourist Development Council (TDC) bed tax should be considered to offset the share of lifeguard services; and he appreciates the Board’s attention. Commissioner Goodson asked if he understands correctly that the City would help pay for Cocoa Beach. Mr. Willis replied, no the City will pay its own. Commissioner Goodson asked if the City of Cape Canaveral could be placed in the pot to help pay. Page 11 of 47 April 9, 2024 Mr. Willis remarked if the City were to have that park, it might be a consideration. Commissioner Goodson stated that is great and he thinks that would be wonderful. Mr. Willis stated Cape Canaveral will have to have something but without the strings attached. Commissioner Pritchett thanked Mr. Willis for the way he came up, it was very delightful; she is sure he is a real asset to his City; and she asked if there is any paid parking on his beaches. Mr. Willis replied they do not. Commissioner Pritchett stated that is something she is looking at. Mr. Willis mentioned that is something they would have to consider in the future. Commissioner Pritchett stated not for him necessarily, but those that do have paid parking that is what she is weighing in on. Commissioner Feltner asked so none of the beach access, those points along Ridgewood, there are no meters. Mr. Willis advised there are no meters. Sherri Quarrie stated she is Vice-mayor of Town of Melbourne Beach; quite frankly, the City just does not have the money for the lifeguard grant that the Board has proposed; they do have paid parking, they have $95,000 as a prediction of revenue in the 2024 budget; right now the paid parking is over 50 percent lower than it was for the same time period last year, so she does not see that the $95,000 is going to be a figure that the Town will be able to hit; and the Town has been working and looking into this, and there is no feasible way they can pay for it all themselves. She continued by saying they were looking at trying to put something together that maybe Brevard County should look at doing and that is perhaps an ambassador program, where the County could put together some people that would maybe patrol the beach as a volunteer and help with keeping people safe so that some of the lifeguard issues would be a little subsided, and perhaps the Town could have a part-time lifeguard station at the current price; however, right now, that does not even look feasible for the Town. She commented the Town is still trying to figure out how the County can pay for it because they cannot seem to put the money together; they are only a one-square mile town so this would ultimately become a tax burden to the residents; she thinks that the whatever County’s revenue sources that it can come up with would be greatly appreciated; this seems to be something that happens more when there are visitors; she does not believe any of the residents are having difficulty with the safety on the beach other than perhaps when there was a shooting at Spessard Holland and there was no coverage from Brevard County; and maybe there could be some security added into that in an ambassador program so that the County could make the beach safer and also help from a drowning standpoint. Commissioner Tobia asked what the Town’s budget was. Ms. Quarrie stated $95,000 was what they put in for 2024. Commissioner Tobia stated he looked at the City budget and some line items because she said she did not have any money; she may hear the Board say things, but she will not hear it say Page 12 of 47 April 9, 2024 there is not enough money, but better uses for that money; there is a line item for decorative light poles; and he asked Ms. Quarrie if she knows how much her City spends on decorative light poles. Ms. Quarrie replied she does not know the number for the decorative light poles, but the Town needs light poles for security. Commissioner Tobia reiterated these are decorative light poles. Ms. Quarrie stated she thinks that anything that is not provided by Florida Power and Light (FP&L) is considered decorative. Commissioner Tobia noted this is a line item in her budget. Ms. Quarrie stated she agrees. Commissioner Tobia stated okay, restoring dolphin carvings is a line item in the City’s current budget. Ms. Quarrie responded affirmatively stating that was paid for by the parking; and that dolphin carving was a piece of art. Commissioner Tobia interjected asking if that parking could be used for paying lifeguards. Ms. Quarrie stated that is where the money is coming from and that is why she cited what the revenue from Ocean Park parking is. Commissioner Tobia stated last year the City’s parking revenue in Fiscal Year 2024 is $202,000. Ms. Quarrie advised that is not Ocean park, it is everything. Commissioner Tobia inquired the cost share that the Board asked for would be what. Ms. Quarrie responded by saying 50 percent, and the Board has given a part time of $63,967. Commissioner Tobia stated the cost share would be $127,000; in other words, the City’s parking draws more revenue than the lifeguard would cost her City; she might have to cut out the decorative… Ms. Quarrie stated that is incorrect; they would have to cutout Rickman Park playground upgrades; and she asked if Commissioner Tobia would prefer the children not have any new equipment. Commissioner Tobia stated he would prefer that she prioritize safety and not decorative light poles and restoring dolphin carvings. Ms. Quarrie added the dolphin carving is a piece of art that is part of the history of the town and it was done as a preservation. Commissioner Tobia commented he appreciates that and prioritizing that over the safety of the people on beaches. Page 13 of 47 April 9, 2024 Ms. Quarrie stated she thinks Commissioner Tobia is totally incorrect in his statements and she would like to go on record as saying she thinks that the County not paying for all of the lifeguards, when it is bringing in all of this money and all of the tourists, that is disregarding the health and the welfare of visitors, not to mention the other people who have to go out and try to rescue those poor people that do not know how to navigate Brevard County beaches; and she has not seen any material. Commissioner Tobia advised the Chair that he asked a question and believes it was answered. Chair Steele thanked Ms. Quarrie for her comments. Commissioner Pritchett stated Ms. Quarrie is very nice and this is not an easy subject whenever talking about money and lives. Ms. Quarrie stated she agrees. Commissioner Pritchett stated she knows everyone agrees that people’s lives are of the utmost importance whether they are guests or people who live here in Brevard County; no one wants anybody getting hurt; the majority of drownings, from what she is hearing from cities, is the people that are visiting the city; and she inquired if that is true. Ms. Quarrie stated yes, in January they had a PhD that provided them a breakdown of everything. Commissioner Pritchett asked again if that was correct data. She mentioned the thing is these people live in tourism towns on the beach; it is the personality of the area and probably has been since Ms. Quarrie was a little girl; this is what she has to manage; it is everybody’s responsibility, the cities and the County because these people are guests; the cities and the County all need to figure out a way to start moving the needle a little bit; she thinks the cities need to participate; and her thought is, if a city is charging parking to tourists visiting their area then maybe they should be charging a little more to help cover some of the cost to help protect those tourists when they are there. She went on to say she thinks the cities need to go back to the drawing board and come back with a way to help move the needle; if Ms. Quarrie had said she has no paid parking then she would probably just leave it alone, like the other gentleman, but her city is making money on the tourists and a lot of the city’s ad valorem is from tourists, by the way she has a great community, but she thinks the cities need to go back and start moving the needle; and she thinks that would be a better conversation than just saying they are not going to do anything anymore. She mentioned she thinks that is just irresponsible; but if they would work on it, maybe the cities and the County could get somewhere. Ms. Quarrie stated they have their paid parking meetings at $2; the way that the income is coming in they would have to make that $6 an hour in order to break even. Commissioner Pritchett stated maybe that is what her City can do. Ms. Quarrie continued by saying they already have their police and fire putting together an ambassador program for patrols; they have already increased and streamlined their signage that was recommended; they already have a lot of other things that are on the beach; and she thinks the City is doing their part and she would implore the County to do more of its part. Commissioner Pritchett advised the County is already paying almost all of it and it is going to Page 14 of 47 April 9, 2024 continue paying half; the cities have to start moving the needle a little; if they were to start charging more for the parking, the tourists are then paying for that; and they are agreeing, she is hearing the TDC money needs to do it, and that is tourism money, so as the tourism comes they can help pay for that service; if the cities would come and say they are going to double the parking and every bit that comes in extra they will help cover the lifeguards, then the needle is starting to move; but this cannot be a shutdown conversation, they will not get anywhere; and the cities know as well as she does that they need tourism in their community because they are tourism communities, so getting rid of the tourists is not an option. She commented she wants the cities to thrive and to do well; it is a wonderful community; and she reiterated if the cities would go back and start moving that needle with a real conversation then this could probably get somewhere with a way to move forward in the future. Ms. Quarrie advised she will take it back to the commission; and she asked the Board to realize her City does not have hotels. Commissioner Pritchett stated but they have parking meters. Chair Steele inquired if at this point in time, the City of Melbourne Beach is not planning to enter the program. Ms. Quarrie commented she is not there to say that, she is just there to say the City does not have the money, they are still striving. Keith Capazzi, Mayor of Cocoa Beach, stated just to reiterate on the lifeguards and the revenue that the County also makes, Brevard County has 643,000 residents and Cocoa Beach has 11,350, less than 1.8 percent of all the residents in the County; he does not think it is fair for Cocoa Beach to pay for 50 percent of all the lifeguards when it makes up less than 1.8 percent; Cocoa Beach cannot handle a $700,000 lifeguard bill, it is just not going to happen; Commissioner Tobia likes to bring up that the City makes revenue from their parking, and it absolutely does, it makes about $3.7 million; and just so the County knows, they spend about 43 percent of their budget for safety which is $5.6 million just on resident emergency alone. He went on to say the City is doing their part; just because it makes money on parking does not mean that it is not spent on tourists, making sure that the parking lots are maintained; Commissioner Tobia also likes to say on public television that the City prefers vanities over safety, which he thinks is a cheap jab; they had talked before that and the City did not plan to do the caricatures, that was from the previous City Manager; and with that being said, the City does not plan on paying into it because they feel it is the obligation of the County. He noted they pay County taxes,and it would be double taxation for lifeguards; they already pay taxes, everybody in the County pays taxes, and Cocoa Beach actually has the highest taxes per capita out of anyone in the County, with almost $3 billion in taxable assets; and he does not think it is altruistic to make the City pay for half of the lifeguards. He continued by saying the Board did mention TDT could pay for lifeguards; TDC actually pulls in over $3 million per month from Cocoa Beach alone; it advertises from here to New York for people to come and use Cocoa Beach beaches, swimming near lifeguards; the County advertises Cocoa Beach because it knows that Cocoa Beach brings in that TDT money; and he asked if the County is bringing in $3 million per month, why not just spend half of a month of that income and use it for lifeguards for the year, it just seems logical. Commissioner Tobia stated of course the mayor votes for the budget; and he mentioned that the City’s taxpayers are the highest taxed in the County. Mayor Capazzi commented they are and they also have the biggest debt. Page 15 of 47 April 9, 2024 Commissioner Tobia pointed out he got that; and he asked how Mayor Capazzi responded at the March 7 meeting, he used the word ‘we’ but he is not sure who the ‘we’ was that he was speaking about whether it was the Mayor himself or the council, but a Commissioner Skip Wilson, who sits on there said, “I believe we owe it to our constituency in our City to provide lifeguards at our City beaches.” Mayor Capazzi agreed there was one out of four that thought, or was afraid, that the City of Cocoa Beach was not going to have lifeguards, but he himself is not afraid because it is honestly not the City’s responsibility it is the County’s responsibility to provide safety for life and that is whether it be on land or on the beach. Commissioner Tobia stated his question was very simple, when the Mayor said ‘we’ was he speaking for himself as an individual or for the board in total; and that was the question. Mayor Capazzi advised he would cannot speak for the board in total, other than that vote, it was a 4:1 vote to not fund with the County. Commissioner Tobia stated he wanted to be clear that there was a member of the City’s Commission who spoke contrary to what the Mayor is actually saying here, and who prioritized public safety and thought it was incumbent upon the City to pay for half of the lifeguards; when the Mayor flippantly used the word ‘we’ he thinks it was unfair for him to generalize the entire council; he would like to say that he really appreciates what Mr. Williams said; and he thinks it was very important and wanted the Mayor to recognize that as well. Commissioner Pritchett commented Mayor Capazzi had said a moment ago that the City of Cocoa Beach brings in $3 million for tourism money. Mayor Capazzi asked her to repeat that. Commissioner Pritchett reiterated Mayor Capazzi just said that the TDC has $3 million per month coming to them because of Cocoa Beach’s tourism. Mayor Capazzi stated the County had a printout that said 24 month record-breaker… Commissioner Pritchett interjected by asking how much Cocoa Beach gets from tourism in Ad valorem, restaurants, and all those taxes. Mayor Capazzi stated the City does not get money from tourism, Peter does. Commissioner Pritchett stated no, they visit Cocoa Beach, they eat in Cocoa Beach’s restaurants, the City is getting all those business taxes coming in and it is giving… Mayor Capazzi questioned if the City receives sales tax from people eating in restaurants. Commissioner Pritchett stated if he wants to go run the numbers on that and see how much the City gets from some of those taxes because it does get a share of those. Mayor Capazzi stated the County can use half of a month and pay for lifeguards, he thinks that would work. Commissioner Pritchett asked what if the County took the parking garages and used that Page 16 of 47 April 9, 2024 money to pay for all the lifeguards. Mayor Capazzi stated the City has to pay for its safety, the fire and safety; and like he said previously, 46 percent goes to non-residents, which is $5.6 million. Commissioner Pritchett stated but the parking garages are there for tourism to park in, and the City is making money off the tourism parking in the garages. Mayor Capazzi asked how much of a loss does the County have on its golf courses, is it more than Cocoa Beach. Commissioner Pritchett stated she is in North Brevard and does not have to use any of this; she gets that the City needs to keep people safe but that argument will not work with her because North Brevard is not using any of those funds; to participate, she asked how much money the City has to take out of the parking garage fund, because it is all tourism parking there, and maybe to apply it to some of this, is the City willing to work on that needle a little, charge a little more money to start paying some of these fees; she asked if the City is willing to do that; and she noted it is tourism completely paying for the lifeguards. Mayor Capazzi commented it used to until the County decided to charge them $700,000 more that the City does not have; and the City is not going to play this game. Commissioner Pritchett advised this is not a game; she is an accountant and she is trying to get some numbers; for Mr. Capazzi to say the City is not going to be responsible for anybody who visits his City anymore is really irresponsible; she thinks he needs to go back and work on something to help move that needle; and to just shut it down is not a good situation. Mayor Capazzi stated the County’s Code of Ordinances 262-27 states that the County pays for lifeguards. Commissioner Pritchett noted she did not ask that question. Chair Steele thanked Mayor Capazzi. Commissioner Pritchett noted that is subject to change. Chair Steele stated he apologizes but what he is trying to get is some conversation going from one side and answered from the other side, and when there is talking over each other he is not able to catch any of it. Commissioner Pritchett apologized by saying that Commissioners have to do this because he or she has to vote, and that is what it does. Chair Steele asked if Commissioner Pritchett is going to lecture him now. Commissioner Pritchett stated she has to get information. Jeremy Hutcherson stated he is a Commissioner of Cocoa Beach; he looks at this very simply as asking his residents to consider revenue share rather than the cost share side of it; it is really a hard pill to swallow to tell residents that the brand of Cocoa Beach is very valuable, it makes a lot of tourism dollars off of that; but if one looks at the revenue share versus the cost share, he thinks it is as easy as that. Page 17 of 47 April 9, 2024 Katie Delany stated she is coming at this from the citizen’s side; she wishes a conversation would have happened prior to that budget hearing because personally, looking from the outside in, it is like a bomb was dropped on the cities out of nowhere; she does not think that is fair; and she does not think it is helpful when people are trying to work together and have a conversation, especially about money. She added to be honest, that is one of the hardest things to have a conversation about. She went on to say going forward, she hopes this Commission would change the way that it does that rather than dropping the ball on these cities; have the conversation and the deliberation between the elected officials even if it has to be a workshop or whatever it is; the County does interlocal agreements all the time and there is not this much combative nature going on; and as a citizen, she hopes the County can do better. Commissioner Goodson stated the Board gave direction to staff for the County Manager and County Attorney to go out in May 2023 to talk to these people; it was not dropped on them at the Workshop, they were well aware of this; and he asked if that is correct. Frank Abbate, County Manager, responded affirmatively; and he noted there were multiple meetings with each city. Morris Richardson, County Attorney, advised in May 2023 and September 2023 the Board gave direction to deal with the cities on that 50/50 cost share basis; and they met with each of the beachside cities, even the ones not receiving lifeguard services currently. Ms. Delaney remarked they seemed like they were blind-sided, and that is just from somebody looking in; she is a citizen, the Board is paid to be there and paid to do what it does; but from the outside looking in, this should not be the way it does business, the way this has happened. Commissioner Goodson commented they looked blind-sided; and he asked if Ms. Delaney could advise what the Board is supposed to do next time. Ms. Delay responded by saying she does not think that is her job, that is why the Board gets paid the big bucks. Commissioner Goodson reiterated staff did go to them prior to the Workshop. Kristin Lortie stated she has an answer for Commissioner Goodson; she has a few ideas; she was aware that there were discussions that happened in 2023 about the lifeguards and that this was a matter that was not resolved; now that everyone has rounded the bend into 2024, the conditions are not right for this discussion to have happened; these were brought up at the February 29 Budget Workshop and these people were not notified; the Board needs to be clear, these people were not notified that there was a non-agenda walk-on Item presented at the February 29 Workshop; and this very Item tonight on what is being presented was presented as a Consent Agenda Item, not as a ‘let’s chat about it’ Item. She reiterated it was a Consent Agenda Item in which the Board is moving forward with; there is no reference to the three Florida TODAY articles, no reference to the two feature stories on the television, no reference to the controversy, just marching forward with this grant program, and the funding is a done deal in the rearview mirror; that is not the setting that people have a conversation in; people in this meeting are being talked over, not just herself earlier, but people that she listened to on this Agenda Item were talked over after they were asked a question because this Board is so eager to get its own answers and to control the conversation; and she wants to commend Chairman Steele for something he said in Florida TODAY, that would present much more favorable conditions if it were to really happen. She went on to say in the Florida TODAY Page 18 of 47 April 9, 2024 article by John Torres it states, “Steele explained, the Item will come back around again when the County Manager releases his final proposed budget in July and he’s promised there will be plenty of time for public input then. We’ll address it in July very intensely, Steele said, because I’m going to demand that everybody knows exactly when that conversation shows up, and I’ll tell you what’s going to happen when it does, we’re going to have a lot of people in that County Commission meeting”; that meeting appears to be happening right now, tonight under a Consent Agenda Item to do an up or down vote on the already marching forward of the grant program where these cities have been stripped, some of them to 90 percent, that the County was doing a 90 percent contribution prior and now stripping it down to 50 percent, and acting like that is normal; she objects to the conditions of this, there being no reference to the controversy in the Agenda Item, and to presenting it as a win in the Agenda Item, so someone who is looking at it does not know how much the increased cost is for the municipalities; she mentioned even though those dollars are all there, it does not state the extent to which the budget is changing and that these cities might not be happy about that; she objects to the funding discussion on February 29, where her speaker card was denied personally when she saw that the Board was doing a non-Agenda Item; her speaker card was denied and the County Attorney was gracious enough to provide a response, which she has disputed, but nonetheless, she was not able to speak on that, but she is able to speak now; and she objects to the process, she wants something where there is an actual workshop where there is an actual two-way discussion, and not just people asking questions and people being cut off. Robert Klimkowski stated around the time he launched his business, Launchpad Solutions, he is not trying to lobby, but he traded his offshore, man overboard search and rescue system to place on the back of cruise ships, it is a heavy weather drone with an IP rating of 67 and it goes on the back of cruise ships and it drops off life rafts to people that fall overboard while telemetry and VTOL and some security measures aside, if that can be something used for lifeguards where the County uses drones under 60gg,1511 no longer can be used, but US-based drones for government agencies, he tried to contact Central Purchasing Services, Brevard County Fire Rescue (BCFR), and the Police Department, yet going through the proper channels as Central Purchasing Services; that would be something where it would save costs, there is a lifeguard pay per hour; if the County were able to have a drone for a year or a piece of equipment that could not only measure the security aspects of it, but be the