Board of County Commissioners

Polk County Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final June 04, 2024 Regular BoCC meeting In accordance with the American with Disabilities Act, persons with disabilities needing special accommodations to participate in this proceeding should contact the Communications Office not later than 48 hours prior to the proceeding. Their office is located in the County Administration Building, 330 West Church Street in Bartow. Telephone (863) 534-6090 or TTY (863) 534-7777. If hearing impaired dial 7-1-1 for Florida Relay services or call (800) 955-8771 (TTY); dial (800) 955-1339 if you are using a computer. Any invocation that may be offered before the official start of the Commission meeting shall be the voluntary offering of a private citizen, to and for the benefit of the Commission. The views or beliefs expressed by the invocation speaker have not been previously reviewed or approved by the Commission, and the Commission is not allowed by law to endorse the religious beliefs or views of this, or any other speaker. If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the board with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing, he or she will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, he or she may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. CALL TO ORDER - 9:00 a.m. (BILL BRASWELL, CHAIR) Commissioner George Lindsey Commissioner Bill Braswell Commissioner Neil Combee Commissioner Martha Santiago Commissioner Rick Wilson Present: INVOCATION Minutes: A moment of silence was held for former County Commissioner Paul Senft. Murphy Hanley, Polk County Fire Rescue, gave the invocation. C. REQUEST FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC/AUDIENCE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD C.1. Comments. Minutes: Calvin Newberry addressed the board concerning the 5/31 meeting and the code enforcement issues at River Ranch. He said he did a public records search and said he ran across a letter dated May 22. He read the letter. He said that he wanted to make them aware that they wish to resolve the lawsuit. County Randy Mink questioned Mr. Newberry about where the letter was from. Mr. Newberry stated that the letter is from Hardin and Ball, P.A. Mr. Mink said they represent the plaintiffs in this case. Mr. Newberry said he found this online through recorded records. He said he cannot Page 1 of 8 remember where he found it but he thinks the Clerk of Courts. Mr. Mink said that letter was sent from opposing counsel to himself and now they are having it read here to the commissioners. D. APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA D.1. Approve Consent Agenda. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: George Lindsey SECONDER: Rick Wilson AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson E. COUNTY COMPTROLLER (STACY M. BUTTERFIELD, CPA) E.1. Disbursements. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee SECONDER: Martha Santiago AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson E.2. Minutes of Regular Board meeting held on May 21, 2024. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Rick Wilson SECONDER: Martha Santiago AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson H. COUNTY MANAGER (BILL BEASLEY) H.1. Request Board approve (1) Construction contract with CenState Contractors, Inc. for the Lakeland - Bartow - Polk County potable water interconnect project ($2,193,765.00 one-time expense), and (2) CIP amendment to the FY 23/24 Utilities Community Investment Program (CIP) Expansion budget from reserves in the amount of $600,000.00. This project is partially funded through the American Rescue Plan through the United States Department of Treasury. Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the construction contract with CenState Contractors, Inc., for the Lakeland-Bartow-Polk County potable water interconnect project and a CIP amendment to the FY 23/24 Utilities Community Investment Program expansion budget from reserves in the amount of $600,000. He said this project is partially funded through the American Rescue Plan through the United States Department of Treasury. He recommended approval. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Rick Wilson Page 2 of 8 SECONDER: George Lindsey AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson H.2. Approve Consultant Services Authorization 2024-006-01 with Black and Veatch Corp. for the Polk County Utilities Division Solar Power Design project ($406,139 not-to-exceed, one-time expense) Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the agreement with Black and Veatch Corp., for the Polk County Utilities Division Solar Power Design project. He recommended approval. Commissioner Combee said he does not want people to think we are putting solar panels up and operating our utility systems. Upon question, Utilities Director Tamara Richardson said the Cherry Hill facility will be 30% to 50% because it is a land based array. She said the Utilities Administration Building can be up to 100% and can be available to sell back power. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Rick Wilson SECONDER: Neil Combee AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson H.3. Request Board approve 1) Construction contract with Whitehead Construction, Inc. for the Polk County Emergency Operation Center Warehouse project ($1,438,446.00 one-time expense), and 2) CIP amendment and budget transfer from the General Capital Improvement Fund Reserves in the amount of $75,035.00 to fully fund the project. Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the construction contract with Whitehead Construction Inc., for the Polk County Emergency Operation Center Warehouse project, a CIP amendment, and budget transfer from the General Capital Improvement Fund Reserves. He recommended approval. Upon question, Mr. Beasley said the contractor will mobilize within 30 days from today and the contractor has 250 days to complete. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee SECONDER: Martha Santiago AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson H.4. Accept and execute grant agreement with the State of Florida, Division of Emergency Management from funds in specific appropriation 2710, $220,000 in nonrecurring capital outlay funds provided to the Polk County Board of County Commissioners for the Polk County Utilities Administration Building Generator Replacement Project. Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley reviewed the grant agreement with the State of Florida, Division of Emergency Management from funds in specific appropriation 2710, Page 3 of 8 $220,000 in nonrecurring capital outlay funds provided for the Polk County Utilities Administration Building generator replacement project. Upon question, Mr. Beasley said there are 400 kilowatts there today and the plan is to replace it with a 400 kilowatt generator. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee SECONDER: Martha Santiago AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson H.5. Approve Infrastructure Agreement between Polk County and Trident-Davenport, LLC for the Sand Mine Road intersection improvement project (Estimated $238,672.00 one-time expense) Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley reviewed the Infrastructure Agreement between Polk County and Trident-Davenport, LLC, for the Sand Mine Road intersection improvement project. He recommended approval. Upon question, Roads and Drainage Director Jay Jarvis said it comes down to the future projections of what the intersection would look like based on estimated traffic amounts. He said there are certain improvements that the developer will have to make and we are expanding on those to do the ultimate. He said as development comes we will not continuously have to do improvements at this intersection. He said there is a formula for the proportionate share and he said it is what their contribution is as far as the volume to the improvement. He said based on the estimates they had around $800,000 for the improvements. He confirmed that the improvements are on Sand Mine Road and not 27. He said it is mostly signal adjustments to accommodate the turning lane movements. He said there is a signal there already. He said we are paying them for the design and the permits. He said Sand Mine Road is connected to Osceola County. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Rick Wilson SECONDER: George Lindsey AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson H.6. Approve construction contract with Insituform Technologies, LLC. for the Lake Victoria outfalls project - ARP ($214,329.59 one-time expense from American Rescue Plan Funds) Minutes: County Manger Bill Beasley discussed the construction contract with Insituform Technologies, LLC., for the Lake Victoria outfalls project with ARP funds. He recommended approval. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee SECONDER: Rick Wilson AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson Page 4 of 8 I. COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 1 (GEORGE LINDSEY) I.1. Commissioner Lindsey Comments. Minutes: Commissioner Lindsey had no comments. J. COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 2 (RICK WILSON) J.1. Commissioner Wilson Comments. Minutes: Commissioner Wilson had no comments. K. COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 4 (MARTHA SANTIAGO) K.1. Commissioner Santiago Comments. Minutes: Commissioner Santiago had no comments. L. COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 5 (NEIL COMBEE) L.1. Commissioner Combee Comments. Minutes: Commissioner Combee discussed the letter that was read during the public comments. He asked how this could get into the public records. County Attorney Randy Mink said Mr. Newberry was reading a letter that was from the counsel of the plaintiff to himself and Mr. Trohn. He said he is not aware of a public records request. He said you have an attorney who wrote it to another attorney and now you have individuals coming in and reading it to the Board without him having an opportunity to present it to the Board. He said he had updated them privately and that irritates him having other counsel having individuals reading letters to his clients. He said he will look into the code of conduct and the Florida Bar for an ethics violation. M. COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 3 (BILL BRASWELL, CHAIR) M.1. Chair Braswell Comments. Minutes: Chair Braswell had no comments. O. EXPEDITED HEARINGS PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 2022-089 Minutes: County Attorney Randy Mink reminded the audience of the procedures for public hearings. He swore in those who plan to speak. P.2. Public Hearing to Consider Adoption of a Resolution Allowing for the Installation of Five Traffic Calming Devices (Speed Humps) on Dossey Road South, Near Lakeland. (estimated $25,000.00 one-time expense) Minutes: Amy Gregory, Traffic Manager, discussed the adoption of a Resolution allowing for the installation of five traffic calming devices on Dossey Road South, near Lakeland. She said this met all of the Board Traffic calming policy requirements. She Page 5 of 8 said staff recommends approval. Upon question, Ms. Gregory said the perpendicular roads have to have 50% approval and the main road has to have 80% approval. Commissioner Lindsey said he will recuse on this item. The Chair opened a public hearing. Ken Houston discussed where his home is located on Dossey Road. He said he came here with a lot of questions that have already been answered. He said his problem is that a non-response vote is an automatic yes vote. He said they would not have the required votes on the main artery and side streets without this policy. He said he is opposed to the street humps. He said to reduce the speed limit and to enforce the speed limit. He said that area has a lot of rentals and their input is not being considered. He said this seems like it was a request from one person. Lindsey Franson discussed where her house is located on Dossey Road and said she would be going over all five of the speed humps. She said she agrees with the previous speaker. She discussed the wear and tear that speed humps causes for cars. She discussed the elderly people who walk with their walkers on Dossey Road. She said they will not be able to walk on this road because there is not a sidewalk. Chair Braswell said the whole speed hump issue started because of safety. He said he does not see anything wrong with our policy. The Chair closed the public hearing. Commissioner Santiago said she agrees with the safety part. She said she does have an issue with the non-response being counted as a yes vote and she said they need to look into this. She said they need to consider those who are living in the area instead of saying you do not respond it is a yes. Commissioner Wilson discussed the non-response counted as a yes and he asked what made that criteria. Commissioner Lindsey gave the history on the non-response policy and said there were areas where there were absentee owners. He said the residents even though they did not have ownership they were making the request. He said the ballot goes to the property owner and not the tenants. He said the ballots make it clear to the property owners that if they do not vote it will be counted as a yes vote. Chair Braswell discussed Inwood and said many people who own the property do not live there. He said the concept was if they do not care enough to say no then it is a yes. Commissioner Lindsey said he is probably the oldest one in this room and he could probably navigate a speed hump with a walker. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee Page 6 of 8 SECONDER: Rick Wilson AYE: Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson Recused: Lindsey O.1. Public Hearing (LDCPAS-2023-34 Florinda Farms CPA Map and Text Amendment) (Adoption Hearing) to consider a change to the Future Land Use designation from Agricultural/Residential-Rural (A/RR) to Leisure/Recreation (L/R) and change the text of Section 2.135 of the Comprehensive Plan to limit the intensity of the L/R activity on the site. This case is related to LDCT-2024-1. Minutes: County Attorney Randy Mink reminded the audience of the procedures for expedited public hearings. Land Development Director Ben Ziskal discussed the proposed text and map amendments. He said the Planning Commission and staff recommend approval. Upon question, Mr. Ziskal said that Canopy Oaks is to the right of this. The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: George Lindsey SECONDER: Martha Santiago AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson O.2. Public Hearing (LDCT-2024-1 Florinda Farms LDC Text Amendment) (Adoption Hearing) to consider an amendment to the text of the Land Development Code Appendix E, Section E105, to limit the intensity of the proposed Leisure/Recreation (L/R) activity of the site that is part of LDCPAS-2023-34 Minutes: Land Development Director Ben Ziskal discussed the proposed text amendment. He said the Planning Commission and staff recommend approval. The Chair opened a public hearing; no on spoke. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee SECONDER: Martha Santiago AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson P. PUBLIC HEARINGS P.1. Public Hearing to consider adoption of an amendment to Ordinance 08-015 sections four (4) and seven (7) for the fire chief or fire chief’s designee to declare and repeal a “burn ban.” Minutes: County Attorney Randy Mink reviewed an amendment to Ordinance 08-015 sections 4 and 7 for the fire chief or fire chief's designee to declare and repeal a burn ban. He said the effective date is now effective when signed and filed with the Clerk's office. Page 7 of 8 The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke. RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Neil Combee SECONDER: George Lindsey AYE: Lindsey, Braswell, Combee, Santiago, and Wilson ANNOUNCEMENTS Minutes: Meeting adjourned at 9:44 a.m. Page 8 of 8