Board of County Commissioners on 2024-08-27 9:00 AM

Good morning everyone and welcome to our AUGUST twenty-seventh Board of County commission meeting. We re going to start our meeting this morning with a moment of silence if you would all please stand, and that will be followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Kevin Farrell. Thank you. Thank you, MR. Farrell, if you would join us upfront. Good morning. What Our pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under GOD, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. MR. Ferrell, would you like to say a few words about your service? Thank you for inviting me. So my name is Major Kevin Patrick Farrell, retired us Army. Uh, I ve been a resident here for 22 years or so, uh, raising my family here, uh, very proud to, to call us, you know, uh, Stuart and Martin County, my home, and, uh, happy to be here. So, uh, just a little bit about my service. I served a little over 24 years on, the last, uh, 15 years or so was with the Florida Army National Guard. I ve served more hurricanes and operations. And I can care to admit that uh multiple tours and, uh, Iraqi Freedom, uh, Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom as well. Uh, and then probably, I don t know, probably 16 or 18 of the, uh, the severe storms that hit over the last dozen or so years. So, uh, i m very proud to call, uh, this is my home but also be able to serving, uh, the Florida residents and especially in Martin County. So, I just want to say a short word about the veteran services team here. That s one of the reasons why I was invited this morning and I really appreciate it. Service connected veteran, uh, for probably about 12 or so years I ve been managing that fairly well. Uh, I consider myself somebody pretty much in the know of the, of the veteran services that are offered, and boy was I wrong. So, uh, I sat down with Jeffrey and the team just a few short weeks ago and even though I ve, uh, I moved into the county and, and have been uh a service connected disability and I figured I kind of knew, wow, uh, that they really steered me in the right direction. I cannot say enough the importance of our veterans. There s over 15,000 veterans here, uh, in the county. In more growing all the time as they move in. And I can stress enough for, for folks in your small spheres of influence if you can just reach out to a veteran in your, uh, coworkers, if you have a neighbor, friend, family member, um, they haven t contacted the team here. I highly recommend you do. It s making a significant difference in my life, my health, and the life of my family, and that includes, uh, uh, family members of, uh, veterans as well as the surviving spouses as well. So just a little plug for the team. They do a great job, so. You, you, I appreciate that. Thanks. All right. As you can see, I ll be filling in for Commissioner Jenkins this morning, who regrets he cannot be here. Um, we have some agenda changes and, uh, we have, uh, request to withdraw from the agenda department number 3, bright line train station, um, MR. Donaldson, you have the request to withdraw that. Yes, commissioners, um, uh, I think it s important to have all 5 commissioners here for the discussion on where we are with the, uh, White Line and it is a 3 party agreement between Martin County and Brightline regarding a settlement agreement also between the county and the city in terms of of the uh exchange of property and how the station would be paid for and I think in that situation we need all 5 commissioners to He the the update. Also there s been some movement with the city that we need to better understand, um, before we come back and make a presentation. Ok, thank you. There s no additional items, no, uh, consent agenda polls, and we have one proclamation this morning with that I would entertain a emotion with the agenda. Kushner Smith approval of the agenda, um, with the withdrawal of Department 3. Thank you. 2. Ok, we have a draw there. Ok, we have, um, a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor. I opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. 4 to 0. And we are going to move on this morning to public comment and we haven t announced. We did the proclamations first, yeah. Ok. Ok. It s been a while since I ve been up there. Our first proclamation will be, uh, Um, presented by Laura Dupre. Hi, good morning, commissioners. Um, our first proclamation is recognizing ba s Day in Martin County, Florida. BAs. Forgive me. So Mina Ryan, Sansa, or baps is a worldwide Hindu denomination dedicated to fostering faith, inspiring service, and promoting better living. 2024 marks 50 years of service in the United States and over the last 50 years, BAPs has grown to over 100 mandirs or temples across the country in recognition of the 50th anniversary AUGUST 4th was recognized as Bapt Martin County, and here to accept we have Doctor Hardi Sony, bap s Community relations director. If you d like to come say a few words. Good morning. Good morning. I, myself, Doctor Hardi Sony, I m a resident of Martin County. And I want to say a few words about the bapa organization. Uh, bapa is a volunteer-driven spiritual organization which is committed to fostering individual growth through Hindu values of faith service, and harmony. It enriches the society with the devoted efforts of tens of thousands of volunteers with different social and professional backgrounds who are contributing millions of volunteer hours every year. Under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Manwami Maharaj, baps nurtures Indian traditions in over more than 100 communities over North America and more than 3500 communities worldwide. This year marks the 150th anniversary of baps North America. Since its inception in 1974, baps North America has played a vital role in enriching the lives of countless individuals through the various initiatives, including educational program, humanitarian efforts, and cultural activities. Organization commitment to the peace, harmony and social responsibility has made a significant impact not only within our community but also across the nation. One such center is located in South Florida in Boynton Beach, Florida. It was opened in 2001 to the South Florida community and we have our services every Sunday. Along with the cultural and religious activities that are also kids of activities, which were attended by more than 150 kids every Sunday. I believe that by officially recognizing the 50th anniversary of the baps North America, we can inspire others to emulate an example of selfless service and community engagement, and I would like to thank you, everyone, uh, for recognizing the 4th AUGUST for baps Day. Thank you Don t step on the dock. You want some belly rubs. 123. Yes. For the Thank you. Ok. Ok, thank you very much. And now we ll move on to public comment and for those of you that haven t made public comment, we have a 3 minute time frame, you will see a signal right before, uh, 15 seconds before your time is up, and that will indicate that the 3 minute time is approaching and MR. Donaldson, you have an announcement. Yes, since we are in an election season, politicking is prohibited, which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for public office. Of Either partisan or nonpartisan. This includes the use of words, dates, signs, props, and or wearing apparel that convey a message of support for a person or group of persons. Thank you. Ok, our first speaker this morning will be David Nickerson. And on deck will be Megan Cherie. Acting chair, honorable commissioners. Honorable staff, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is David Nickerson. I reside at 6687 Southeast Silver Bell Avenue in Stuart, Florida. I ve been a resident here since 1987. I m also a member of the Martin County Orchid Society, and we re the group that puts that show on at the fairgrounds every MARCH. How many have been at the show? Uh, thank you. Of that Native orchids are those orchids that are creator put here on the planet. 28 have been known to live in Martin County, but most of those have been lost. I m sure you haven t heard of our Martin County native orchid restoration program, but I m here today to tell you a little bit about it. Since 2021, our society has made the decision to spend a significant amount of the money we raise at our show on restoring native orchids here in Martin County. Assisting us in that endeavor have been The native Plant Society Martin chapter. The Uh, Master Gardeners Association. And Audubon of Martin County. But to achieve success we need cooperation and facilitation of our local government. So I before you today to identify Give credit to and thank a few very special Martin County staff. That have been key to facilitating our orchid restoration program success with So far, over 500 native orchids have been placed on our county properties. To date First, Carly Batts, staff horticulturist with Public Works. She is the match that lit the flame of native orchid conservation in our county. She also continues to propose related solutions for our program, always positively benefiting the environment. And our citizens. Next up, Ken Brower. He is a native orchid finder beyond compare. He s a senior project leader in public works. Ken s Orchid radar has saved Hundreds of orchids new each year and new locations from our county mowing crews. Next up, Sean McCarthy, principal planner in our growth management department with an inherent Con conservation mindset if you know Sean. He has facilitated our program through putting us in touch with unique and innovatively possible funding sources and Administrator Donaldson doesn t involve Coty dollars of budget. Next up, Todd Warren, urban forestry manager and public works. Todd s out of the box thinking has helped us out. Please recognize these folks as facilitating and leading in the Martin County native orchid conservation along with their teams, their support has made public properties even more naturally wonderful. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. Thank you. And our next speaker is Megan Shire, and Megan will be followed by Belinda Gillos Gal Gs. I can shower easier here. Hello, good morning, commissioners. I am Megan Shire, the director of marketing and external affairs for your Boys and Girls Club in Martin County, and I stand before you today filled with gratitude for your support and your partnership in our recent school supply drive with the county staff and mtm transit. With we appreciate the staff s involvement in helping us to collect supplies and share our mission and I want to give a special thank you to Courtney Eastman with the county for all of her help in organizing this. Being prepared for school isn t about just having supplies. It s about starting the year with confidence and dignity. Thanks to the generosity of the staff, countless students began the school year equipped with not just pencils and notebooks. But with the renewed sense of pride and readiness for school. Your dedication to ensuring that every child has the tools that they need to succeed is truly inspiring. On behalf of all of the students and families who benefited from this drive. Thank you to your unwavering support for making a lasting impression on their lives. Together, we are not just preparing kids for school. We are empowering them for great futures. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Belinda Jellel s Galel s and followed by Sandra Thomas. Sandra. Hey, good morning, everyone. I would also just like to say what a wonderful organization the Boys and Girls Club is, and I also thank you for your support. I support them myself and I have for a number of years, they really. They re wonderful asset that we have here in the community. I am disappointed you re not talking about Brightline today. That was really the reason i came and So you will not be discussing that until NOVEMBER, SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER 10th, our next meeting. But what if The commissioner is not here. We re not going to do dialogue, but please go ahead and make your comments. Well, that was the reason I was coming today, but as you know, I always have that pet peeve about tractor supply and Where it was a swamp, now it s a jungle. And it s still unsightly. I think we re going on. The 3rd or 4th year now and. That s, that s my main concern around where I live. I see it every day and I hope one day. Someone Developer Some of you MAY demand from the developer that it be cleaned up. Because it s an eyesore. And it attracts mosquitoes. And we shouldn t have such a thing in Palm City. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sandra Thomas, and Sandra will be followed by Tom Pyne. Good morning everyone. Morning. I ve never done this before, pull the mic down a little closer. Pulled the mic down a thank you. Ok, good morning. I m Sandra Thomas. I ve never done this before. It s my first time, so I m hoping that this will work because I ve been fighting nonstop for speed bumps or sidewalks and fishermen s Cove. I am profoundly deaf. I walk my dog. I ride my bike. I want to live a normal life. Walking my dog almost got hit twice. There are a lot of children in my neighborhood that ride their scooter, ride their bike, at least they try to, um, a majority of parents will go with their children these cars drive by so fast. I m asking, please, you guys fix up Martin County decorated it beautifully with bricks and sprinkler systems and grass or whatever, try helping the citizens. I m speaking not only for me but the residents, people, families, and Fishermen s Cove Section 123, and Somerset. We need sidewalks. We we need speed bumps. They said no, they declined speed bumps because of paramedics and firefighters, which is understandable when you re doing cpr. Or whatever you re doing on cardiac arrest patron, it s hard to go over speed bumps and doing that. So, um, anyway, sidewalks is permissible by my on my behalf and for others, I have a petition here. Um, we have also 3 years ago, another petition done by a gentleman and his daughter was walking around the neighborhood getting signatures as well, so I hope that you take this into consideration, please. I know it s not the best area, but we have a lot of children, please. I, I wanna live there. I have no place else to go. It s too expensive, so I m actually retired on disability. So I want to be safer by having sidewalks. I mean, the police department s been there several times. And people slow down when they see the signs. They re going to ignore it and we also do need signs saying children at play. There s one sign 25 miles an hour, um, even for the deaf like myself, they have it in Saint Augustine. They have it in Jacksonville. So please, why not Martin County. I do lose their hearing. That s the first thing you lose when you get older. So I would appreciate it if you guys would take all this into consideration, please. All right, that s it, thank you very much. Thank you, MS. Thomas, you are in district 2, and this is the first I ve heard of that, but I will have this. You re in my district and I will have my aid from uh Patricia contact you. So first I ve heard of that though calling me back. I appreciate it. MR. Tom Pine and Tom will be followed by Bob Shot. Good morning, commissioners. My name s Tom Pine. I ve been a resident of Martin County for over 50 years. There was a story in the Stuart News a week or so ago about our local metropolitan Planning organization doing this. Study of traffic on us One. It seems Martin County residents are very concerned about out of control speeders and red light runners from south side of the Roosevelt Bridge to the Martin County Saint Lucie line. During this AUGUST s primary season from AUGUST 10th through AUGUST 17th, election day on AUGUST 20th, I held campaign signs at 10 different locations. At 10 different intersections for about an hour and a half each day, every single Linux section had several, several red light runners during my time there. I m not talking about cars and trucks still in the intersection, but When the light turns red, I m talking about cars, trucks racing to beat the light and lose, but of course they continue at a high rate of speed through the intersection. This is where that dangerous t-bone accident is born a green light no longer means go, go with caution. Technically, if you are still in the intersection and the light turns red, you could still get a ticket for running a red light. It s been more than a decade since since the Baker s basic rules of the road have been enforced regularly and now we are paying the price. Why has turnout and primary elections in AUGUST solo year after year with this your falling right in line with a whopping 27.78 turnout. Or some of the reasons our county commissioners use the consent agenda as a way to hide anything they don t want to talk about. Not just spending but special deals too. Taxpayers fuel, it s just like going to a kangaroo court. It s hard to tell the difference. Today is no different. Today in the consent agenda, this commission will approve without any discussion $23,362,556.72 which was spent between JULY 22nd and AUGUST 11, 2024 without identifying the payees or the purpose of the payments. The Schimburg Center for Housing Studies, an annual report will not be presented for the public explanation or discussion as to as it too will be hidden in the consent agenda. The Chimburg Center for Housing Studies annual report offers help with affordable housing problem, but it appears our county commissioners like to talk about the problem and then talk about it some more. There was an article in the tc Palm this morning. I didn t have time to read, but it seems too newly elected city commissioners and Sitting commissioner. We ll be looking at the rental agreement with this bright line. Quote, i don t believe the taxpayers are benefiting from this, end quote. What you permit, you promote, what you allow you encourage what you condone you own. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bob Schott. And Bob will be followed by Chuck Quinn. Bob shot. Is Bob here this morning? Oh. There s a gentleman in the front Yes. Um, yes. Good morning. It says you re speaking on departmental number 3, but that has been withdrawn, sir, so you are welcome to speak this morning. Morning. Good morning. Good morning. I m speaking this morning. In opposition to the upright light. Essentially, a bright line is asking Martin County to invest over $30 million. In bright lines future. And I wonder if that s a prudent investment. Back in OCTOBER of last year. Bright line was tagged with a 1 point. $15 million judgment in favor of Virgin. The first quarter of this year. Bright line. Reduced its uh Passenger projections by 21%. In the 1st quarter. Of 20 of this year. Right la lost. Over $116 million. In MAY, Fitch assigned a Be be credit rating to bright line. Other Credit reporting agencies. Uh, a sign similar ratings. With a statement being made. That it just the bright line has a stable outlook. But it is subject to adverse business and economic conditions. So that means watch out for a recession. Or similar any type similar catastrophe because bright light probably couldn t uh go through. Back in just recently JULY of this year, they were forced bright line was forced to We refinance. I don t know the details about that. I have been very well publicized. And I think that what we re looking at here for a bright line is bright line has a win-win situation. If they are successful. They make money if they re not successful, the Martin County taxpayers are out. It s sort of uh. Heads I win. Tells you lose. Sir, your time is up the question, sir, the commissioners have to ask themselves hearing issues, sir. Your time is up. Your time is up. And Yeah. Thank Our next speaker is MR. Chuck Win and uh Chuck will be followed by Tammy Mazzoda. Good morning. Morning. For the record, my name is Chuck. I live at 1520 Northwest Lakeside Trail in North River Shores, which abutts North Stuart. My comments this morning are directed at the postponed agenda items concerning the bright line station and amending and amending the 2018 settlement agreement and uh, I m following a tough act. First, I urge that you reject any amendments to the original 2018 settlement agreement that relieves bright line of any financial commitments they made under it. These include their share of the cost of building the station, the cost for the pedestrian aerial bridge over the tracks in cost for all safety fencing that they agree to pay under the hazard analysis. Second, residents of Martin County, Ole MISS Is Casey Ingram Mullen, a debt of gratitude for her painstaking analysis and research that exposed all of the hidden aspects of this agreement. This is far more than a transit stop on a mass transport system. The location of this station in a mixed use area reads like a template prepared by the director of sustainable development of the us Department of Housing and Urban Development. Their model communities are heavily subsidized by grants from hud and the us Department of Transportation. Three parcels of land totaling 2.5 acres far exceed parking requirements. Being in a mixed used area, they would be ideal targets for development, heavily subsidized by hud Affordable housing grants with long strings attached. This has all the features of the hud-driven 750 Plan that our county commission wisely voted to withdraw from in 2013. You MAY recall it s heavy evidence on embedding affordable housing projects. But the decisive influence of on the commission. In its decision to withdraw is that these superficially attractive federal grants have strings attached that can gut local zoning powers and financially obligate the taxpayers. I urge you to start a new era of financial vigilance by the county. Demand that all federal grants and especially all private public sector partnership agreements be fully examined before the public. These would include key elements like the provisions for management and oversight controls. Any items like the hazardous hazard analysis for this station. Should also be fully examined as they were never made public. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, MR. Wen. Our next speaker is Tammy Mazzoto and Tammy. Stand me here. And Tammy will be followed by John Dyle. I m so sorry. I also don t hear well. I am Tammy Mazzoda. And this morning I have, I am addressing a question. I m sorry for reading from my phone. It s for a friend, um, the staff had presented at the last nac meeting in Port Port Salerno, that they were going to, um, apply for a grant for septic to sewer. So as the residents when we went through that, we were under the impression that the grant was already made and submitted, um. So 3 weeks has passed. The time for the grant. The question, the basic question is, is when we apply for grants for septics to sewers and things like that. Is there a special time that we actually apply for them? What is the time limit before we find out if the grant is passed, if we re going to get the grant. And um. Then the other one here is how much is the nac in Port Salerno paying for the sewers on Park Drive. So those are the two questions, um. I also have a concern about the bright line. I hope that. Next meeting it squashed like everything else, like everyone else in the in the building. So, um, ok, that s it. Quick, easy. All right, thank you, Tammy. Our next speaker will be John Doyle. And John will be followed by Michael Snyder. I think Oh, circus, morning. Sorry, that doesn t look like your normal writing, Michael. I ve got a company called At the Helm Training World Boating safety company. I came here originally for the, uh, I m gonna call it not so brightland Station, which saddles taxpayers with a lot of money. And I brought my tax bill because it kind of, you know, lets me understand that we all need to work on financial responsibility and that financial responsibility goes from everything from the kind of trees you plant in the middle of the medians that require maintenance to parking, to creating these train stations because Bright Lines not brought one dime to the state of Florida. The marine industry on the other hand, has brought 35.5 billion in and we re hampered by brightline. Uh, I watch these trains go by every day. And they are empty. I mean, if there s more than 10%, I ll buy a train full of tickets for one of you. I, uh, absolutely booked one of those round trip to go and see Orlando for the day. It was $550.. 1 of my friends goes to Miami on a regular basis and he goes, oh, I, I ll go to Miami, you go in your car. I said, ok, we ll both leave. I live in Rocky Point. You live, uh, in Port Saint Lucie, and we ll both go We meet Visaya in Miami. And we ll do it on the same amount of money. You get your Uber, you pay for your parking. I said, I ll meet you there and oh by the way, I ll bring 3 other people in the car with me and I ll be waiting for you. The bottom line is that was built to haul freight, which we re all good with, but a station in Martin and Stewart, especially downtown Stuart, we ve got enough traffic congestions and that s going to come back on the taxpayers, every bit of that, because there s never been a train station ever made it down here. They made a profit any train company for pasture. I would just like for the commission to really start looking being financially responsible and spending our money wisely instead of running deficits so my bill doesn t go up every single year. And I sit there and watch the money get wasted. I run a company. It s a for-profit, not a nonprofit, but my competition is nonprofit, so grants and all this federal funding, we all pay for sooner or later until we start running our our government like a business which is financially res responsible, we re gonna be keeping every single time getting higher tax bills, people coming up complaining about it and we re seeing a change in commission. We re seeing a change in attitude from the citizens about our government and I hope all of you guys will just kind of pay attention and and work with us to save money and not spend money. Thank you. You, MR. Day. Michael Circus. Sorry, that did not look like your handwriting, Michael, and Michael will be followed by Terry Cole. For a guy that takes a lot of notes, my handwriting sucks. I understand. I m not mad at you. Uh, for the record, Mike Circus Palm City. I, I just wanted to voice my, my frustrations with what s going on with Bright Line. This is now the 2nd meeting in a row that we ve kicked the can down the field, and I fully understand and appreciate, you know, Harold s not here to, to receive the presentation this morning, and I understand there is some monumental changes last night in the city of Stuart, so obviously you re, your presentation item today would have been very different. So I m just here to say that I sincerely hope that at your next meeting we re not kicking the Hand down the field again. Uh, it s very clear that all the chips are on the table. Brightlines sent their message to everybody in MARCH telling you guys that they want to renege on their 2018 agreement. You know, we got the numbers in APRIL talking about how much it s going to cost to finance the station. Bright Lines telling us we re taking away the parking spots and Stuart now we re having a headache regarding Dixie Highway throughout the Triangle District. I mean we ve talked about it so many times, fiscal stability we ve talked about water quality, we ve talked about the people, the place, the project, bright lines made it very clear. I don t give a damn about the people of Martin County. I mean, I, I hate to say that, and they have hundreds of communities their train goes through, so I get it. We re not going to be the top of their priority list. I respect that, but the fact that now we re being told we need to pay for more than 50% of the station if they can t even keep up their end of the agreement going back to a lawsuit settlement from 5 years ago, 6 years ago. Why we even entertain the idea of building a station for them. This is out of hand at this point. You guys have the ability to take the leadership role. You don t have to wait for the city steward to stay their part. You don t need bright line. The tail, you guys can simply stand up and say, here s the agreement, take it or leave it. If you don t like it, Fort Pierce, enjoy your station. You guys have that position. Just got to do it. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. Our next speaker is Terry Ho, how do you pronounce your last name? Kogel The morning commissioners. Yes, Terry Cole and again, it s about bright line. Martin County is Bright Lines atm machine. A little bit pardon me, pull your mic down. Oh, sorry about that. Ok, Martin County is Bright Lines atm machine. Why is Martin County dishing out, and I say this, 80 million to support a privately owned for-profit business. I say 80 million because down the road the commissioners will be needing that parking garage and fencing for safety and other projects will arise. For 80 million, do we get discounted tickets, free train fare, we get increased taxes. How many more commissioners do we have to vote out of office before this insanity stops. Thank you. Thank you and our Our last public speaker this morning is, um, Amber d Angelo. If you have not had an opportunity to speak and you would like to speak, please submit a form and you ll be up next. Amber, good morning. Hi there, uh, Amber d Angelo, um, I m a little sleep deprived, so I did not prepare my, my statement beforehand, so forgive me for all the ums, but, um, I m just here to kind of voice my opinion about the Bright Line station. I m not for it. I ve had good experiences where I ve, you know, been on a nice, clean, bright train and it was fun, but I ve also had bad experiences where they shuttle for the train never came and my family, 10 month old and 3 year old, were stuck in the Miami airport over. Night after a 10 hour flight. So, um, they didn t show up for us, but you all can. And um I think that it would actually be better in Fort Pierce. I have a little bit of insight into how things are going up there like the, the energy of that, um, Of that community and the, the leaders said that they really want to revitalize Fort Pierce and I think that it would do really well up there. I think that it kind of fits right into what they want to do. So, um, I would rather see like. The money that we would be paying as taxpayers be put into. Um, More efforts. For Our economy for our public house or not public housing, sorry, for our, um, affordable housing, um, And just, you know, coming up with more creative solutions that I know you guys like to come up with, so, um, and what else? The I saw the couple Publix works guys out there when I was trying to find parking. Um, there s some signs that are missing along the side where the. The, um, county people are parked. I assumed that I wasn t supposed to park there because. There s a whole bunch of the cars there. And they said, so you guys could do some new signs there and they said they also need pens specifically black pens. Hens. Yes, I said I ll mention it for you, so I m just doing that for them. Get them the black pins, um, but yeah, that s my two cents for the, the bright line. I m not for it, and I hope that we can just Handed off to Fort Pierce if that s possible and Be done with it. Thanks. Thank you, Amber, and our last public uh request to speak for him this morning is Denise Chesley. Good morning, everyone. I am not for bright line. I was raised in Broward County, moved to Port Saint Lucie and Martin County in 2005, um, and What my, my thinking is, is they have not followed through on what they said, right, ok, so people need to be if this is a company that is all about themselves, like someone said they don t care about us. I think Fort Pierce would be a better place. Fort Pierce needs more vital revitalization. We don t. I, I think, you know, I think I even read where to buy a ticket now, it went up like 8. 50% or something like the the tickets like a round trip ticket and for people who want to commute from say Miami to Fort Lauderdale. Now they re having to drive because the prices have gone up because we have no control over what a private company will do, and they re not. Allowing the grants anymore. What, what happened there? Now all of a sudden we city of Stuart and Martin County has to pay. I just think, you know, look at how busy we are here downtown. Um, I know your wife has been my chiropractor. Oh, after a car accident and I know even finding a parking spot here took me 10 minutes, so I just think Fort Pierce would be better. I think they re trying to revitalize. I think here we have so much already. Going on and I just think, you know, if you think about it, you re bringing people from Miami. I m not trying to downgrade the area by any means because I was raised in Fort Lauderdale, but have you driven down there? It is, it s just so much more traffic and do we want to bring that to our nice small town here. You go to Palm Beach County, I went to Palm Beach Atlantic University, graduated in 92. When I go down there, I don t even know where to go because. They have 2030 story high rises? Do we want to make Martin County Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, No, we don t want all the traffic. That s, that all I have to say. I m not for bright line and if you all would consider letting it go to Fort Pierce. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. That s my um last speaker comment form, so that will conclude our public comment this morning and we will go to Commissioner Comet, Commissioner Smith. Ok, Commissioner Campi. On a different topic that won t necessarily come to us as county commissioners, but I just wanted to be clear. It s a very rapidly changing and fluid issue that popped up last Monday night, so I just wanted to be clear to say I am 100% opposed. To golf courses or any other incompatible activities at Jonathan Dickinson State Park today, tomorrow, or forever. It won t be our decision, but I want anyone who s listening elsewhere in the state to understand, at least from my perspective, that is a terrible, terrible idea. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner He Yeah, to echo that, I m so proud of Martin County residents when this proposal came out of the blue last week to put 3 golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson s Dickinson State Park. Our residents let their feelings be known immediately, loudly, strongly, and let the proposers know in no uncertain terms that the topography in Jonathan Dickinson State Park is some of the most unusual in Florida, the, uh, habit There is among the most rare and threatened and endangered in the entire state. And it s a, it 10,500 acres of natural wonder and our residents made sure that everyone knew that they wanted it to remain that way, and this is not the first time that this has been proposed, a proposed use in Jonathan Dickinson. Uh, it s the same similar proposal happened about 12 years ago then residents opposed it and, and, and insisted upon protecting that valuable habitat and This will not be the last time that there s going to be a proposal to change the use in Jonathan Dickinson, so I m very, very proud of Martin County residents for standing up for protecting our natural habitats. Thanks. Don t. John, do you need, um, although they have somewhat withdrawn that for now. Do you need authority from us to craft while we re all sitting here in the room to craft a letter. I do. I, in fact, you know, I provided you all a letter last Thursday that we recommended the board um strongly oppose the amendment, um, and that part of my commissioner or I, um, my comments administrator comments I, I do want to ask you all. Um, to take a formal motion while we did a lot of activities, um, to, uh, without your formal action, yes, uh, last week, um, I would like you to approve, um, one, the chair to sign letters to strongly oppose any amendments to Jonathan Dickinson State Park and also to allow staff uh to pursue this through uh throughout its process until it is no longer being considered. Ok, so moved 2. MR. Smith, you have your light on. I m sorry. You can. He had his light on. Oh sorry, sorry about that. I was looking in the other direction, um, and who commissioner Hurd was that? Ok, and and. Commissioner Smith. Ok, so we will, um, We have a motion presented by Commissioner Hurd, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? I motion carries 40 or unanimously for today. Yes, I can say that MR. Jenkins, while he wasn t here, I did speak to him that I would be making this request, and he did say he strongly supported it as well. Thank you. That all your comments this morning. That is all for my comments. Thank you Woods. Ok. All right, well, good. Thank you. Well, we are going to venture into our first agenda item, which is uh board and committee appointments this morning presented by Donna Gordon. We have the neighborhood advisory Committee appointments. You re all. Mhm. Right. Donna Gordon for administration. Uh, several appointments, Golden Gate, Neighborhood Advisory Committee. There s 2 terms, but only 1 applicant, Stephen Mark Capps. Old Palm City. 2 applicants, one position, and Jane Landrum received 4 votes. Skip down to Rio, 2 positions, 2 applicants, Adam Goozi and Susan Jones and Port Salerno. Um, two positions, 4 applicants, and MR. Leonard Lee received 3 votes and MR. Jim Peck received 3 votes. Move approval of could you scroll up? Uh, Stephen Mark s caps, Brian Dunman. I m sorry, Jane Landrum, uh, Leonard Lee, Jim Peck, Adam Guzi, and Susan Jones. Right, we have a motion by Commissioner Hurd, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? I? Opposed? Motion. A motion carries 3 to 1 with uh Commissioner can t be dissenting. Thanks, thank you. Ok, so our next, Item is public hearing number one, public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 1, Article 4, Code Enforcement Board regarding reduction of code enforcement liens. For Sebastian Propolsky and Jeff Doherty. Morning. Commissioner Sebastrowski County Attorney s office. We re here before you today, um, for your consideration of amendment to Article 4 Section 1.98 general ordinances concerning code enforcement violations. This is specifically where we re tasked by um this board to codify the long-standing practice of reductions of these, uh, code enforcement liens to 10% of the value of the lien or 10%. Of the um value of the offending property, whichever is less, so, um, we have made those revisions and we re bringing that before you so that it is codified in our code. And I m here for any questions that you MAY have. MISS Smith, thank you, MADAM Chair. You know, Part of this reason we re here is a conversation I guess we all have had relative to some issues lately. From what I seem to remember from. Long time ago doing this that it was always. I thought it was always the cost incurred from the code violation itself, not a fixed number of 10%. So if we spent. $1000. $10,000 doing over 10 years the course of a code enforcement violation in all the hearings and everything else, that was what we tried to recoup as long as the property was bought back into compliance. If it wasn t, then it would proceed and blah blah, blah. And somewhere along the line this 10% thing crept in, which I don t recall. I don remember us doing, so I m just kind of curious, was that ever part of the process or? Because I don t ever remember there being a fixed 10% number. I know that s where we are today, and I know that s what has been the practice apparently. But I always thought it was to recover the cost, whatever the cost would be, because Yeah And I know Sarah s having like the hand over there but so you have a code enforcement violation of 1,000,000. That s built up over years. Are we really gonna, and somebody brings it into compliance, right? Are we gonna really. Hit him with $100,000 fee because it didn t cost us 100,000. To do that MS. Woods, well, there s, oh I m sorry. I just wanted to say that those, uh, Sarah Woods County Attorney, Commissioner Smith, those were two different issues recovering the costs of the, the, um, code enforcement action was one issue and we assessed that against everyone. The, um, the, the fine is the. The persuasion to try to get people to bring their property into compliance and I, I m. I, I ve only been involved in this for now and then, but I think Jeff and also Sebastian can tell you the idea that we would have a $1000 fine or a $1 million property doesn t really happen. I mean, there, the, the properties are usually because we have both the proper 10% of the property value or 10% of the fine, whatever s less, it s usually not a uh really large fine and there s a cap on the amount of the fine. So you have To be, we had this recently, you have to be a property owner that allows their property to be in pretty bad shape for many, many years in order to accrue that kind of a fine. $1 million number I just referenced it was not a fictitious number. There was a case we had years ago out in Palm City that had become that kind of a number. And it was reduced down because it was ridiculous as to what. That resolution would really be so it wasn t like I just picked a rabbit out of the hat and said, oh, what if it were $1000? We had one that had built up over 15 or 18 years. To like $1000. And then there was an effort. To clean up all of the old code enforcement violations that had been lingering for Decades To clean them up and do away with, you know, to. Get rid of them. So there MAY not be any of that kind of capacity anymore. I just like the gentleman that was in from Rio over the last couple of months talking about his enforcement. Or the value of his property. I just, I I m not a huge fan of the, the idea that there should be a fine accruing. I get it. That part I get. But if somebody brings their property into compliance, and it costs the county. $3000 to manage that process over time and it s brought into compliance. Did we not achieve what we were trying to achieve to get the property to come into compliance. And therefore, should we just recover the cost of doing that, or do we still pile on top the 10% or the whatever the value of the property. I just, I m not a huge supporter of that idea. But That s it. That s all I got. Jeff, I m sorry, you started too. Oh, and on. There s, as Sarah mentioned, uh, there s two issues, the cost, which is flat fee if you go before the magistrate. I think it s $585 whatever it is. Uh, they re given every opportunity to come with compliance 30 days, 60 days, what have you, eventually they don t come in compliance. The magistrate sets a per diem per day,, $100 a fine or whatever it is if the repeat offenders, it can be doubled or tripled that. Uh, and, uh, particular case, they can go on 15 up to almost 20 years. And that just continues to add. That s where the large number comes from when a person doesn t do it after 20 years, the lien goes away so we have some in the 1718 year range that if they do hit 20, it goes away. So they strategically could be not bringing in compliance once they get to a point to get to 20 years. An alternative is if the county wanted to we could actually take it to the judicial system and the courts to demand it. We don t do that. We wait until they bring it in compliance and then. As a practice as opposed to a policy, it has been the lesser of 10% of the, uh, lean or the value of the property that is just in a practice that was established years ago. So the, the alternative if, if the board decided at a certain point of a dollar figure to go through the judicial process, that d be another one as opposed to wait it out when they come in compliance and come to the 10 or 10, whichever is less, but that person typically is waiting for 20 years for it to go away and that s in the So there s a, a, Strategic plan to it oftentimes if they sell the house they have to come in compliance or if they try to finance the house, it comes in due compliance because the bank will acquire it, so that s usually the driving force. Ok, Don. Yes, Commissioner, I was just going to say from the bigger picture that oftentimes staff tries to work with a property owner for quite some time to get them into compliance. So our first role is not to go to the Hearing officer, the, the magistrate and initially, so, um, that s the number one goal. So by the time it gets to these large fines, the neighborhood is typically quite upset with their neighbor not keeping up with their house, um, and there has been some back and forth for a long period of time. So by the time they get to this point of reduction, typically it s being sold in a new customers coming in to bring it in compliance, which kind of resets the clock and this is an. Incentive to encourage that to happen, so the, the finding really plays also a role to remind them that the community really wants them to come in compliance and by the time they get to this fine reduction, especially if there s a large accumulation, um, There has been a lot of struggle with their neighborhood over this for some time, and so I think. My, you know, I think the 10% reduction has been debated whether we should do it at all in the past. I think it served us well to encourage the transfer of property to someone who s willing to keep it up to the community standards. Commissioner Smith. Um, so if that, and I don t disagree with anything you just said, right? If that is the driving force, though, which it should be, the community and when we were coming out of the recession and we had all sorts of foreclosures. We had all sorts of properties that were a mess that nobody wanted to touch. I get it. And if your neighborhood is dealing with a a property that has been let go. Then Jeff, if, if there is a statute or an ability for us to go to court. Do it in 2 years or do it in a year if the idea is to protect the neighborhood and someone s not coming into compliance. You got a year. Or whatever, after the magistrate or the magistrate, whatever timeline you want to do it. We put that into the order and say if we want to clean up the property. And we can t get it through a magistrate or someone paying their fine until somebody refinances, which could be 10 years. If they don t choose to do it. And force them into court. If that if that s the driving case, which it should be, to clean up or protect the neighborhood, then protect the neighborhood. I just don t know that the fine process. I don t agree with it the way it s structured. I would much rather see us recover the cost and if there s a timeline that we ve said enough is enough, send it to, to, to a judge. Let it go that way. That s me, for whatever it s worth. Thank you, Commissioner Campi. Thank you. I appreciate the differences of opinions being presented. I make a motion to accept staff s recommendations. Ok. All right. Uh, we have a motion. No, I didn t by Commissioner Campi and of second by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? I opposed? Motion carries 3 to 1 with Commissioner Smith dissenting. And Commissioner, um, Jenkins absent. Thank you very much. Thank you. I think there s a public comment that could be. Oh, we had to take, um, ok, um, I don t have. Would anybody like to make public comment on this item. Seeing none, we still have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? Hi. Thank you everyone. The motion passes 3 to 1 with Commissioner Smith dissenting. Thank you. Ok, our next item is, uh, Quasi-judicial public hearing to consider a request for zoning district change to plan unit development through a pud zoning agreement, including a master plan, final site plan for the Pepperwood assemblage project. Presented by Brian Elam. This is a quasi-judicial, so. I ll wait till everybody gets in. Let s let s take ex parte while everybody s getting settled, um, Commissioner Smith, do you have ex parte? Ok, I do when they re filed, Commissioner Campi. I did have some and I filed them, Commissioner Hurd. Uh, if I have any, they ve been filed. Ok, very well, and anybody uh providing testimony, will you please stand and be sworn in by the clerk. Raise your right hands. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you re about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Ok, has all your work history and Appropriate paperwork been turned out of my work history and the agenda item has been filed for exhibit one. Ok, we have no intervenors, right? All right, with that, we will start with staff s presentation. Thank you, commissioners for the record, Brian Em. Principal planner with the growth management. Department, this is a request by hja Design Studio llc. On behalf of gz Properties Incorporated for approval of a planned unit development zoning agreement, including a master and final site plan. For an approximate 29.25 acre property located between Southeast Cove Road and Southeast Salerna Road. West of Legacy Cove and south of Fern Creek. Included with this application is a request for a certificate for public facilities reservation. The proposed development includes 43 single family lots on approximately 29.25 acres resulting in a gross density of 1.47 units per acre. This proposal includes the dedication of approximately 2.5 acres of right away to Martin County along southeast Martin Cove Place, southeast Pepperwood Drive in Southeast Cove Road. The proposed master final site plan includes a total open space of 76%. And 6.95 acres of freshwater marsh wetlands, 4.41 acres of wetland buffer. And about 0.3 acres of upland habitat creation protected under a preserve area management plan. That includes the removal of exotics and restoration of these areas with native plantings. Property consists of three undeveloped parcels lying within the primary urban services district and we ll have an access, we have access to the full complement of public services. The north side of the property fronts the public right of way Southeast Martin Cove Place, which is only partially opened across the two northern parcels. North of southeast Martin Cove Place is one single family home and a portion of the Fern Creek pud which was established in the 80s. The east side of the property abuts the unopened southeast Pepperwood Drive right of way that this application proposes opening a distance sufficient. To provide access to the east side lots. The Legacy Cove pud lies on the. East of Pepperwood Drive right away. Propertybus a single family lot to the southeast. And of course Southeast Cove Road. The properties, uh, bordering this site to the west are undeveloped. Subject property has the estate density 2 units per acre of future land use designation and re1a residential estate district zoning. To the north and west is a1a Agricultural District zoning and rural density underlying future land use, allowing 1 unit per 2 acres. To the north and east is pud zoning with the state density 2 units breaker underlying future land use. And on the southeast side of the property is one single family home with the re15a. Residential state district zoning and a state density 2 units per acre or future land use. Access to the site is proposed from Southeast Cove Road. And Southeast Martin Cove Place. The 22 lots located on the west. Side of the property will have access from Cove Road via proposed right and left turn lanes that will be constructed in the right of way. The traffic division of the Public Works Department reviewed the traffic statement for this application and found it satisfies the adequate public facility standard, and it has de minimis impact. 21 lots on the northeast side of the property. We have access from Southeast Martin Cove Place. 10 of the lots on the north side will have driveways on Southeast Martin Cove Place. And 11 of the lots will access the site via an extension of Southeast Pepperwood Drive to the development s private roadway southeast Mandy Place. There is no connection between the east and west, other than what Activities are allowed by the preserve Area Management Plan. Article 3, Division 5 of the Martin County Land Development Regulations defines the purpose and intent of the planned unit development or pud. Uh, pud zoning agreement allows flexibility in regard to standard zoning requirements found in the Land Development regulations but must be consistent with the requirements of comprehensive growth management plan. The Pepperwood Assemblage pud proposal includes smaller lot sizes, setbacks, and increased height compared to the existing re 15a zoning. The applicant is also using the right to transfer one half of the wetland acreage density. And return this proposal offers the following public benefits a multimodal sidewalk within Pepperwood Road right of way. And a 30 ft existing road easement from Martin Cove Place to Cove Road. Includes the removal of exotics and path lighting. Construction of an 8 inch gravity sewer. Um, From Pepperwood Drive up Pepperwood Drive and down, I think, to the end of Southeast Martin Cove Place. This extension will provide the opportunity for future connections by surrounding residences to the north and requires the existing road be reconstructed entirely to install it. And the owner will purchase a traffic preemption device for $6000 to benefit the fire department. This is an overview of the proposed 10 ft meandering multimodal sidewalk which will provide a pedestrian path. From Martin Cove Place to Cove Road and includes path lighting will meander through. What can be saved if any um. Native plantings and then. Cleared of all the exotics. Uh This application was heard before the local planning agency on AUGUST 15, 2024, the lpa voted 3 to 1 against recommendation of the proposal. One member had to recuse themselves from participating in the vote. Development review staff have found the jmz Properties Incorporated application to comply with all applicable regulations. And the comprehensive growth managementlan as detailed in the staff report. Staff recommends approval of this application and we move the board receive, and file the agenda item and all its attachments, including the staff report is exhibit one. Move the board approved the request for zoning district change from re 1a residential state district to the Planned unit development through the Pepperwood Assemblage pud zoning agreement. Including master final site plan and preserve area management plan. And moved that the board adopt a resolution approving and accepting a right of way deed from Jamsey Properties Incorporated, a Florida profit corporation. To Martin County, 30 ft of the dedicated ride away along southeast Martin Cove Place. 30 ft of dedicated ride away along southeast Pepperwood Drive and dedicated ride away of varying widths along southeast Cove Road as a condition of approval of the Peppawood Assemblage pud zoning agreement. Master and final site plan and authorize the CHAIRMAN To sign any and all documents necessary to complete the transaction. And that concludes the presentation be having to Answer any questions. Thank you, Brian. Commissioner Hurd, what was the lpa vote? 3 to 1 in favor. In opposition not to recommend it in opposition. Ok, um. And that the uh the lots in the uh northeastern sector. Are Generally, what size? I believe it s 7500 square feet. So that s so um 21,780 square feet is a half acre, and these are 2 units per acre and instead, these are, these lots are proposed to be 70, somewhere between 7200 and 7500, which is 1/6 of an acre. I believe it s 75 is the it s a 6th of an acre, not. It s 6 units breaker instead of 2 units per acre is essentially what we re getting. About 13, right? Good morning. State your name for the record, please. Good morning, Peter Walden, deputy growth management director, yeah, the density has taken over the site overall, which is only 1.47 units per acre. So the fact that the lots are smaller is the subject of the pud agreement. Yeah, so just, just so that I can understand the math of this parcel, it s approximately 29.2 acres, 6.35 acres of wetlands, 4.41 of wet acres of wetland buffers and an additional 2.5 acres dedicated to the county for right of way and stuff, which leaves 16 acres of usable upland, and that s not including roads, sidewalks, or anything else. That sounds correct, yeah, that sounds correct. Alright, so that s essentially uh. 3 units per acre. On the site overall, the density has taken according to the comprehensive Plan rules, so you re allowed to have one half of the density of the wetlands and the density of the uplands. So a total allowed Dempsey on the site would be 50 units, so they re proposing 43, which is a little less than what the comprehensive plan allows. How many units could you get under street zoning? Maybe 15 Yeah. 15 and instead they were proposing 43. Yes, yeah. Ok, that s all I have for right now. Ok, I know seeing another lights, does the applicant have a presentation? Yes, good morning. For the record, Bob Raines. I m a land use attorney with the Gunster law firm, and I m here this morning on behalf of the applicant, and we appreciate the opportunity to be here this, this morning. Um, I would like to start, uh, just by saying that we do agree with the staff report, uh, and the, uh. Comments, the conclusions and the recommendations in that staff report. I would like to point out in the staff report I think it s important to note a couple of Uh, important things, and I would therefore like to ask. MR. Elam, with your permission, uh, Commissioner, a couple of quick questions if I could. Um, MR. Elam, you, you were responsible for Section f and Section g and the staff report, is that correct, sir? Yes. And, and if I could, I m going to read section f that s entitled Determination of Compliance with the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan requirements and the growth management department. Is that correct? And the findings of compliance in the staff report read that the staff has reviewed this application and finds that it complies with the LDRs as detailed within this report. Staff recommends approval of this development application as consistent with the guidelines and the standards of the applicable comprehensive plan, goals, objectives, policies as implemented in the LDRs is, is that correct? And is that still, sir, in your professional opinion, that, uh, correct? It is consistent, yes, and Section g is entitled Determination of Compliance with the Land use site design standard zoning and procedural requirements, is that correct? Yes. In the finding of compliance under that reads, staff has reviewed this application and finds that it complies with the ldr is detailed within the staff report. Staff recommends approval of this development application as consistent with the guidelines and the standards of applicable comprehensive Plan goals, objectives, policies is implemented in the LDRs, is that a correct reading? Yes, and in your professional opinion, sir, is that still the case? Yes, that s the case. Ok, thank you very much, um. So commissioners, this, this project does meet all the rules and regulations of the comprehensive Plan, uh, but what we re going to do and quite honestly, uh, what, you know, we ll, we ll fall on our sword here, felt to do maybe at the lpa was to present a good presentation as to how this project complies and the benefits of this project. So we re certainly going to do that today. And with that, I d like to begin by asking Eric Beitler to come up and she ll make a, a portion of the presentation. Then we ll have our environmental consultant come up and then also our engineer