Board of County Commissioners on 2024-05-21 9:00 AM

You know? All right. Welcome to our MAY 21st 2024 Board of county Commissioner meeting Uh, please stand for invocation by Pastor Blaine Albrighton of Christ Fellowship in Stuart. Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Stanley. Oh, Hopi junior retired Navy Morning morning. Let s pray together. Uh, Father. Thank you for this day? Thank you for the blessings in all of our lives. We recognize that there are many in this world who don t enjoy, uh, the same blessings that we do of freedom and safety and community And. So, uh, we praise you for what we do have but we also seek you and ask you for your will knowing that our blessings aren t meant to be kept to ourselves. And, So. I pray for wisdom for our leaders both here locally and beyond so that they can make decisions that will promote righteousness and reflect your love. For all people. And I m thankful for the patience that you ve had with me. Um, so I asked that you d give us all patience and grace to work together to see. Um, how we can best serve those around us. I. Pray for your comfort for the families and individuals in our community who are hurting bring your peace to their lives. Um, bring that through your presence through your people. In a time when most of our headlines are pointing to a lack of peace and a lack of trust GOD. We want to be different. We want to shine your light? We want to be a beacon of hope? And. So. I pray that you d increase our hearts for generosity for compassion. Uh, give us vision to see and to do your will all around us. We know you re pleased when we seek you. We seek you first and we submit to your authority. So. Let us. Be mindful of that for every moment and I ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Your name. Good morning. Morning. And over your heart. I pledge 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. You d like to, uh, tell us a little bit about yourself. Certainly, Uh How much time. Do I have all that you all that you want. Um I served 22 years in the submarine service. Now, I m gonna go backtrack. 1959 graduated from high school. Decided to go to college. I lasted one year. Came back. In, New Jersey and worked for my father for six months that did not work. I was walking down the street in Asbury Park, New Jersey Pass a recruiting station. I saw a photo of a submarine and a mock up. Staring in the window and the recruiter came running out of the door. You d, just drooling. So. Do you think you can do that? I said. I. Don t know, he said, Follow me. So. I took some tests. Next thing I know he invited me for a nice trip to New York City. To fill out some paperwork. Take. Some tests see a doctor and a psychiatrist. I said, Wow, But. This is too much for me all I wanted to do was go to the rodeo. So. I passed all that, and next thing I knew I had a ticket to Great Lakes, Illinois for a wonderful winter it It was horrible. After that I graduated. They sent me to Key, west Florida to torpedo school. Which another story After. I was there for two weeks. They woke me up in the middle of the night and said, This is not good. This is the Bay of Pigs. This is this is real. So. They gave me a loader m one rifle. I said. I want my mother I enjoyed for this, So. I survived that graduated from torpedo school. And, the Navy and its, uh, system They sent me to to Scotland to a submarine tender before they sent me to submarines. I graduated from submarine school. Fortunately. I had the honor of having lunch aboard the Nautilus in 1961 in a torpedo room. That s where I lived for many years, I served on two diesel submarines, two nuclear fast attack submarines and my last year I recruited a nuclear engineers from the various universities in California. After that I retired. And. Uh, well, you don t wanna hear all about that. But it was a It was a wonderful life and I love the navy. Uh, so if I were 18, I would do it again. Thank you. No Navy. Ok? You wanna do? We wanna do what you wanna do? Let s let s go through the agenda. Um Presets 905 public comment. Um, 10 o clock, Uh, the l Local Act presentation. 505 Public comment additional items. Consent number nine confirmation of Erica Sinclair is chief financial information officer Martin County. Consent, huh? Chief information in what I say Financial did I Well, you throw it in there, ok. I gave her permission anyway. Uh, Consent 10 an option of proclamation declaring World Oceans month in Martin County, Florida. Consent 11 acceptance and approval of the First amendment to the lease between Martin County and Florida Community health centers incorporated located At, the Martin County Health department on Willoughby Boulevard in Stuart. Consent. Poor consent. Uh, number nine confirmation of Erica Sinclair as chief information officer of Martin County. Pulled by Commissioner Hurd. Um yes. Move approval of the agenda with the additional items of consent number nine consent number 10 consent. Item 11 with polling consent item number nine with Commissioner Hurd Second ok. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith Seconded by commissioner Uh Hetherington. All in favor, All right. Ok? Motion passes unanimously. Now, We have proclamations. Mary Ann will be handling that and we re going to begin with Mr Hoy Accepting the Memorial Day, Um, proclamation and I will step down there and Martha will handle it for me. Um Yep. You guys can come up. I ll read the proclamation and ok since our nation s earliest days, America has been blessed with an unbroken chain of patriots who have served our country with honor and distinction from Concord to Kandahar. Generations of Brave warriors have fought for freedom across sand and snow over mud and mountains into lonely deserts and through crowd crowded streets. The board recognizes MAY 27 2024 as Memorial Day and calls upon all citizens to take the time to remember those who served and sacrificed to be sure this nation remains the bastion of freedom. We all have been privileged to enjoy. Keep You want to speak or either one of you Sure. I. Just wanna say thank you very much for this opportunity. Uh, commissions. Uh And. I. Just Wanna reiterate that Memorial Day is not Veterans Day Memorial Day is a time for memory. Memorizing these these fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines that didn t make it home. I know when I went to Afghanistan, I did not come home with my entire company. So again. It s not Veterans day We were not thanking veterans for their service. We re just remembering the ones that have fallen in the line of duty. Thank you. Martha Ann, who wrote that one that proclamation. I I will find out. I don t know It was excellent. I did. It was it was very well done. You knew that was gonna happen. Thank you. Ok, ready. Are we ok? Next up. We have a We re presenting a proclamation honoring Ms Ruth Gran on her 102nd birthday in Martin County, Florida. Ruth Grand was born on MAY, 11th 1922 in Framingham, Massachusetts. She married her husband Ray the day before he was deployed to India in World War I serving in the Army Air Corps, and they were married for over 60 years. Ruth worked for the Army paymasters during the war and then worked for the National Park service in Saint Augustine and later after retirement in Georgia. Ruth has one son. Three grandchildren, three great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. The board congratulates Ruth Gran upon the occasion of her 102nd birthday and extends their best wishes for her many more happy and healthy years. Happy birthday, MISS Grand birthday. Mhm. Grant that I. I just want to add that MRS. Graham s father, uh, was in World war one her husband served in World war I I, her brother served in Korea. Her son served in Vietnam and Mrs Grant also was an army paymaster in World War two, So, a family of of, uh, veterans. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And. MS. Grant if you can hear me, um I grew up in Westboro, which is just a town and a half away from Framingham. And used to spend a lot of time in Framingham because Ken s steakhouse was there. And for those of you who go to Publix and see Kens original salad dressing. That s where it s from, Not that that s the most famous thing from Framingham. But nonetheless Was, a great town in Florida than she did in Massachusetts. That s ok, we won t hold it against her. Happy birthday. Happy birthday birthday. Yeah. There you go. Thank you. Ok? About gardeners. Oh. What Do you wanna do? Ok. Oh never. I lied, not gardeners. Safe boating week. Mhm. Ok? Yep. They coming? Oh, no, ok. Flotilla 59 of the United States Coast Guard auxiliary, based in Martin County Sans Sprit Park participates in the annual National Safe Boating Week campaign to promote boating safety and encourages the voting public to wear life jackets when enjoying the region s waterways, the board commends the auxiliary for their efforts in furthering the goals of the National safe Boating week observed MAY 18th through the 24 of this year and their year round efforts to promote safe boating. MISS O Neill. Commander. O. Morning. I m Cheryl o Neill. I am the Commander, the mic. There we go. I m Cheryl o Neill. I m, The, Commander of Flotilla 59 In Stuart. We are located at Sbd Park and on behalf of our 71 members auxiliaries. Thank you very much for supporting us for 50. No. I m Sorry 82 years within Martin County And that is consecutive 82 years of servicing the community boating. Uh pe, uh, The voting community. Sorry, Um One of the things that we are excited about this year is I m not sure if many of you know of the Austin Blue Foundation, and it is the two young men who were lost at sea out of, um, jupiter. We have been awarded a grant that provides the, um fees and covers the cost of Children and students and young adults from 12 to 21 for all their boding education. And. This has to do with the, um both America course it is a required course by the state of New of New jersey. You can tell I m formally in New jersey. That was a long time ago. Um, also is required by New Jersey. But in Florida. Anybody. Born after JANUARY 1st 1988 is required to have a boating safety id card in Florida. A couple things that other than that that are coming up. One is, um Don t bout while you are Impaired. In, DECEMBER or JANUARY? No. I m Sorry JUNE 7th and fourth. I m Sorry I m bubbling JULY 4th. Thank you, Everybody. JULY 4th through the sixth is, uh, Operation Drive. Water, and it is actually a full year program but focused in that weekend of JULY 4th weekend. You re gonna see a lot of, um Law enforcement out checking voters. Because one of our largest problems that we have in this area is boating while in, um impaired and that is not just alcohol. Just other Products also So the um thing more closely is JUNE 8th. And, That is everybody is being invited to station Fort Pierce, the Coast guard station up there and that they are having an open house from 10 A.M. To two in the afternoon and we would encourage everybody to be there on that note. Just take care boat safely and get home. That is our biggest thing. Get home, Wear your life jackets and get home. Thank you and I think we have a whole bunch of people that are gonna be putting on some life jackets, so it going to be a little bit of levity down here, ok? I guess you want us down there? Come on down. Step into the alcove of the while they get dressed. I think Yeah. Morning. Got Here. There you go. One. Um And Yeah. Any chance you could zip them up. Gonna watch. Come on. Come on by and, um Already have one. Over here. I know you don t want the it looks like it s yours to put on, Sir. We want everybody? Oh I have to read. I Think maybe the birthday girl should do it. I m in trouble now, and, um you guys don t wanna get in it, too. I ll get her. Hey, gentlemen. Yeah, all of you in we want everybody our nature. I m Fine right here. No, you re not. That s an order. Remember? I m the commander, ok? He can deny my right and well, I crossed her off. Yeah. Oh, boy. A big group here today. Thank you and I do have to commend you. Sentences. Because the city commissioners I did not know all know how to put their jackets on. Um You two arms. I m sure Thank you. You know? Yeah. Please do Also Thank you. And, um Was that all right? You. You sort of I sort of reading of the edit that out a large, bud. I. Guess you can come back in. We ll do a voiceover. But Next. We re going to present a proclamation declaring National Garden Week. Ok? Gardeners. Add beauty, fragrance and nutrition to our lives by growing herbs, vegetables, foliage and flowers. Gardeners work to preserve our country s traditional spirit of independence and initiative through innovation and hard work. During National Garden Week JUNE 2nd through the eighth. The board acknowledges the importance of gardening and the numerous contributions of gardeners. Um m, Rosita Aristo. Watch you do the board. Was a lot Good morning as PRESIDENT Of the Garden Club ou I am honored to receive the National Garden Week proclamation on behalf of the Garden Club of stewards. The Garden Club Restore is the month as many as 5000 Garden clubs across America. Affiliated with the National Garden clubs, all of which will soon be celebrating National Garden Week on JUNE 2nd to JUNE 8th. It is an opportunity for us to work with other like minded minded groups involved in the areas of Florida friendly plantings, native plantings, floor design and ensuring knowledge about gardening. For Garden week we will again place floral arrangements at Martin County s public libraries. Other activities leading up to that week include an extensive cleanup of the old old courthouse gardens, as well as at least 60 new plantings at the Sherman School of Seamanship. And, the refreshing refreshing of our Blue Star Memorial marker at Memorial Park. So on behalf of the Garden Club of his tour. I. Thank, the board of county commissioners for recognizing our efforts to beautify the community in closing, I would like to say that gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm, holding up. Until you re back gets used to it, and CHAIRMAN Jenkins knows all about that because he is the card. Thank you so much. Next up. We re presenting a proclamation declaring Public works week in Martin County, Florida. Uh Jim Gorton, Public Works director is here to receive the proclamation. Public works professionals focus on infrastructure facilities and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities into the public health quality of life and well being of the people of Martin County. This Year marks the 64th annual National Public Works week sponsored by the American Public Works Association. The board recognizes MAY 19 through 25 as public works week. I m Jim Gordon, a public works director. I just wanted to take a moment to thank the board for the support that you give to the Public Works department. As. We celebrate this national public works week. Um, our department consists of 12 visions with 170 employees and I wanna thank the hard working public works staff for their dedication towards planning building, managing and operating to help improve the quality of life for Martin County residents. If you re not familiar with public works. We do a lot of things from transit to managing traffic flow to building bridges, transportation planning, uh, to improving water quality, restoring ecosystems and controlling mosquitoes. We are public works at work. Thank you. Bring the team up into the world for a picture into the well. We ll stay here. You go down there. Harold. You re a big shot. You know how much you love the spotlight. Come on. Let s Go back. Let s go. In the picture the county Halt. Yeah, it is. Elk is here. We got the heavy hitter 170 folks. It s all in the back. Georges got that powerhouse. Sorry you can t be in the back, not as tall in the front. He s taller than I am even standing down there. With eel tall. Yeah get some of the a little bit on the side. Here it is wishing luck. You All. Right. Ready, 12. Perfect. I have one. Look, I need some no parking signs. Do you have any with you? In your car. I judge ok and saving the best for the last. We re presenting a proclamation declaring travel and Tourism week in Martin County, Florida Marissa ok, a bocc tourism director is here to accept along with her staff. Uh, National, tra Travel and Tourism Week provides an opportunity to celebrate distinctive character of our area, promote the benefits of exploring our own backyard and recognize the hard working individuals who make our local tourism industry thrive. The board recognizes MAY 19th 25th as travel and tourism week in Martin County and urges all residents to explore the wonders of our community, support our local businesses and share the warmth and hospitality that make our area truly unique. Marissa Good. Uh, good morning, commissioners. Uh, c Woods. Don Donaldson. Thank you for having us here. We re very excited to accept this award. Uh, National Travel and Tourism Week is an annual celebration. It was established in 1983, and it recognizes the essential role in stimulating the economic growth, cultivating vibrant communities and creating quality of job quality of life and job opportunities for Americans every day, Uh, national Travel and Tourism week celebrates the industry s critical role in empowering our nation s economy and connections. The travel and Tourism Week or travel and tourism industry as you MAY not be aware, is a $2.8 billion industry that supports nearly 15 million jobs and generates $89 million in generated state and local tax revenue. It supports essential services like education, emergency response, public safety and more here in Martin County. Our numbers aren t quite that large, but they re still very impressive Tourism spending is about 730 million it supports over 10,000 jobs, and it generates 85.2 million in state and local taxes for every dollar spent by a Martin County visitor. 69 Cent stays local, so it really does support our local economy. This year to celebrate national travel and Tourism Week. We try to do something a little different every year, but we re very excited to announce our first destination Distinction awards brought to you by the Martin County Tourist Development Council. These awards Aim to honor individuals, teams, businesses and organizations that surpass expectations to serve tourism and service as tourism ambassadors by exceeding their typical duties through their outstanding performance and actions. These individuals create experiences that leave visitors delighted and eager to return to Martin County. These nominees go above and beyond. In their typical duties to make our tourism related businesses more efficient, friendly and enjoyable. So. We re hoping that everybody will nominate their favorite hospitality worker. We have five categories. Uh, Guest happiness Ambassador is for our hotel staff. Uh, attraction and venue superstar is for any of our, uh, attractions and venues or performing venues. Uh, dining experience guru. So if there is any waiter or wait, staff that really make your experience truly exceptional, please nominate them. And. Then. We have a destination expert for those individuals who just really know everything there is to know about Martin County. And. Finally. We re very excited because of our sustainability initiative. We have a leave no Trace Champion award that we are awarding to either a business or an individual and leave. No Trace organization is going to actually help judge that award. So I would like to thank you again for having us I have Ian and Sally here with me. I could not do anything without them not quite as big as public works but were mighty, uh, Emily is on vacation at Anna Grace is actually a program. So. Thank you so much for having us. Thank you. And while they re taking photos. Um I would encourage all of you to tune in to when Marissa does her update on what she does for tourism and what her team does. It is absolutely amazing with that Mighty little team pulls off. The numbers are staggering of what they accomplish. And, if you could just listen to the last 10 minutes of our meeting when we do our t dc meeting. It is a whirlwind tour of what s going on out there. And, So. Thank you all very much for what you do. It s incredible. Thanks. Ok? With that we will move into. Um our public comment portion of the meeting. And Mr Donaldson, I m sure has something to say you re on Yes. Uh, since we are in in an election season politicking is prohibited, which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or public for public office, either partisan or nonpartisan. This includes the use of words dates, signs props and are wearing apparel that convey a message of support for a person or a group of persons. Ok and, uh, as usual, you have three minutes, you ll hear a tone at two minutes and 45 seconds. That means, uh, wrap your comments up. And. Uh, we re gonna start with Mr Tom Pine, followed by William Ball. Good morning commissioners. My name is Tom. Pyne. I ve been a resident of Martin County for over 50 years today in the consent agenda, $7,010,828.73 was spent between APRIL 29th and MAY 5th 2024 without identifying the payees or the purpose of the payments. Congratulations on moving forward with the use of micro transit plan for the Martin County to use instead of buses or maybe with buses, But. At least we re moving towards 21st century. There is, of course challenges to any new system. But. There are several communities in and around Florida that use various types of Mitro micro transit systems for some time now. It was exciting to watch when the vote was approved to move forward to start buying defibrillators. As soon as possible for our county parks. The five or so people from Palm spit from Palm city that spoke before this commission this past SEPTEMBER pleading for help getting defibrillators at Pickleball courts after one of their own, had a heart attack. Because, the Park department had told them no Three times. Even after they bought defibrillators with their own money. So thanks again. I m going to talk about a shopping experience I had recently a couple of weeks ago, I had a price for a leather chair recovered, it was higher than expected. But. After a couple of weeks I gave in and brought the chair to the shop. The, owner of what Bey with another customer, So. I waited. My turn came and the owner gushing over the previous customer. She s telling me how beautiful the boat they live on. Full. Time is just goes on about it. And. Then She turns to me. She gets her paperwork out calculator and tells me the sales tax will be $113.75 if I pray with a credit card she goes on to then tell me That. If I pay with a check made out to her. I wouldn t have to pay the sales tax. I can only guess what my the expression on my face must have told her. The. The scheme wasn t for me. So she came up with a better one. You can write a check to our Christmas de Decoration fund. I called her a thief. Her answer. No. No. I have this form from the county that the Christmas decoration front is legal. My answer was loud and clear. You re a thief. You I left with my chair. One has to wonder how many good Martin County residents take advantage of this scheme. Many I suspect Thank you. Thank you, Uh Mr ball will be followed by Doctor John. Hips. Morning morning. Did you all receive the beach bucket. Foundation packet. Yes, yes. Appreciate it. Good morning commissioners. My name is William Ball, and I m a volunteer with the Beach Bucket Foundation. I m here today to talk about a very crucial issue. That affects all of us. The cleanliness of our beaches and parks in Martin County as well as we know our beautiful coastline. Is a treasured resource that brings joy to residences. And visitors alike. However. The, increasing amount of trash and debris is not only an eyesore But a serious threat to our environment and wildlife. Beach Bucket Foundation is a simple Yet effective solution. It provides public cleanup stations throughout our parks and beaches. By doing so we can empower our community. To take ownership and to make a positive impact. Presently. There are 75 stations throughout Palm Beach County and Brevard, which is Cocoa Beach area. And. They ve had exceptional, exceptional results. I m submitting to you support letters from our local agencies that I contacted along with support letters from Palm Beach County. Town of Jupiter. Parks and recreation. Town of Palm Beach. Boynton Beach and Cocoa Beach. These stations will cost nothing to the county. But an additional trash can next to the station for them for parks and recreation or whomever is emptying it. By working together, We can make a significant difference. One. Protect Marina, Marine, wildlife and their habitats. Number two enhance the beauty and safety of our public areas and spaces. Three foster a sense of community and responsibility. Among residents and visitors. We can get quite a few communities. Uh, Martin County schools for community service. I mean it s endless it Barton County sheriff. It just goes to local churches. It goes on and on. Is this a win win situation for all It promotes environmental education and awareness. Like I said So on behalf of the initiative initiative aligned with Values of Martin County, as we all are trying to provide everyone I urge you all to consider and supporting this proposal. Let work together to keep our beaches and parks clean. And ensure Healthier and more beautiful environmental generations to come. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir, I. Think. Hold on just a minute, commissioner. Question for you, Mr Ball. When. You said. No cost Do you give the plan. I saw it in your photographs. Do you give the plans and groups like us or individuals make them. No. Sir These these these stations have are patented. Ok, and they are all going to be the same on every location, depending on a single double quadruple buckets. Ok for people, obviously, uh, location will be assessed. Accordingly. That s through Our assistance with your help. As. You approve this, ok? The buckets and stations will be are all coming from donations. People can sponsor a bucket if they like. But get their groups to come out. We are involved with Surfrider foundations. Uh, surfing for autism. The endless summer our license plate through Cocoa Beach. And quite a few more foundations that were involved with that are all in conjunction of Cleaning our environment here. Thank you? I. Appreciate it. I ll get in contact with you. Doctor John Hips. And. That is my last Speaker Forum. If. Anybody else would like to speak. Good. Morning. Commissioners want to thank you for your service to our community. I m here to ask for a withdrawal of consent Item number six today from the consent agenda, and that s the curve of hope down. I d like to have it suggest that we resubmitted for a further study so that we can have questions and maybe have a public. Uh, be able to to have this more fully vetted. I. I just received this agenda last night, um, and a a re reviewed the packet. It looks on the surface to be a routine. Request. But. When. I. Look in this carefully I see some number of questions that I think I d like to have answered, and it MAY require even answers from the wildlife biologist that did this study. So. That is my question. Just Respectfully requesting that we, um just resubmit it. Maybe at the next meeting for public discussion. Thank you. Well. I explained to him that we ve already done it that unfortunately has already sailed. We ve already accepted the consent agenda. So, um Commissioners. Yes. It has been approved. This also and staff can verify. This allows the amendment to the preserve area management plan but does not give final approval to the project. Right if I understand it, it is still moving through the process, so it s simply allowed the adjustment to the preserve area management plan that was approved prior actually made it larger. So. Um there will be opportunities for the public to talk about the actual Itself. This simply allowed them to move forward with aaa modified project that increased the preserve area management so it will be coming back under a different form. Ok. And with that, Uh, Commissioner c Commissioner Smith. Uh, yes, MR. Um Uh, On Donaldson through the chair or about a week and a half ago. If we could break today early, uh, for a service for one of our Probably, uh, More wonderful community leaders, community involvement persons, Um MISS, Evelyn Degler passed away about a week and a half ago. Uh, the dg family has been a mainstay of Martin County for generations. Um And have provided a level of entertainment and participation in our fair. Uh, that has been really something very, very special. And quite honestly, the the the Degler name is known all up and down the east coast of the United states because they traveled with their carnival, um, to all points of the southeast portion of our country, or you know of our of our country. And. So, uh, Her Service today is at 11 and so I ll be leaving to go to that service but a very special lady, Uh, Inc. Family, uh, and just really great storyline for, um, a business that s been here in Martin County for a very, very long time and a family. That has, uh, been a very much involved in in participating in our community. So with that I appreciate your time. So. What Our plan is is we re going to break. Uh, we re gonna extend our close captioning to 1045. And. At that point we were gonna break until one and then, uh, And trying to get we have a pretty short, manageable agenda today, so that shouldn t be an issue. Commissioner Hetherington. I will just wish all the, uh, the kids that will be out for school for summer. Um most of them are getting out this week and congratulations to all the graduates. I think we had the last graduation? Maybe yesterday at Jensen Beach High school, So. Congratulations to the graduate, and I Wish Everybody a safe summer And just on the note of the agenda. I have a pre op appointment for my son in Royal Palm, so I probably will not be back after one, so we ll I just we ll just work. However we can from there do the best we can. Ok, Mr Campy. Thank you very much. Um, I m happy to announce, uh, after quite a while of working on the project, Uh, for those excuse me for those folks in Palm City or are individuals that have been driving by on map road? We ve had a fence up between our station 21 firehouse and rents Veterinary clinic for quite some time while we worked behind the fence on something that we re calling the patio at Palm City Place. Uh, I d like to, um, thank and compliment, MISS, Susan Chorus and Jordan Pistorius. They worked tirelessly, uh and really gave their heart and souls. Helping us create this. It is in green open space. It is attached or adjacent to a stormwater retention pond that was really very attractive and did not need to be fenced off and kept from the public. In the back. We. Ha. We have a a tea fishing pier where, even as recently as this weekend, kids were pulling, you know bass out of that water as big as your arm. We did a walking path around the whole entire, uh, area and then in the front Close to map road. We added a Bandstand, uh concrete, ping pong, concrete, cornhole and concrete, Uh, table and benches that have the checkerboard motif so you could just sit there. We re going to do a concert. Uh, series of concerts throughout the year at that location. And, um, it s just there s a beautiful fountain in the lake, and, uh, I think it s just a highlight and a compliment to Palm City, but Obviously, welcome to all and we re going to kick it off with a ribbon cutting and sort of a day s worth of festivities on JUNE 1st. It starts at 11. Goes till the afternoon. There ll be food trucks and vendors. Um and I know they have a tremendously great following in Martin County, the first musical act who ever perform at the patio at Palm City Place will be the nouveau honky So. Please come out and, uh and join us and, uh, again for our staff that has worked tirelessly on this. There was a lot of complications. Uh, we kept it really environmentally sensitive. And. It s another and parks and rec will take it over and maintain it. So. I just wanted to say thank you for the folks that were involved in doing it. And. Uh, it s just another, uh, addition to map roads Renaissance and so thank you and I look forward to seeing you all there on JUNE 1st. Between 11 and into the afternoon. Thank you so much. Sure I m set. And I We re all set. How about we do. Um, our consent poll. Uh, Commissioner hurt, Um, confirmation of Erica Sinclair as chief information officer of Martin County. I put, I pulled it because it s this is an important pro promotion, and Erica has been a staff member for a very long time for Martin County. She s had a a number of positions. She has a wonderful resume, and I just wanted the public to get an opportunity to be introduced to know Erica. Congratulations. If I could just take a moment to say Thank you so much, uh, as I did have done some reflecting myself being with the county for 18 years. Um, I stand here really filled with humility and gratitude for this opportunity to continue to serve the taxpayers and all the staff of Martin County as an it department. We serve everyone, Um, so we re thankful for that opportunity, and I also want to thank administration for entrusting me with this responsibility. It is a huge responsibility. And. I. Don take it lightly. And. Um I also wanna thank I have an amazing it staff that support you all on a daily basis Some you don t see or hear about, but they re working so hard and they have really stepped up during this transition, And I am very thankful for them and I hope we continue to, um, tackle any obstacles and celebrate successes with all of you. So. Thank you for your support. Thank you, Mr Smith. Old All light but new light. Congratulations. Thank you It s been fun to watch you all these years and and see where you started and where you are today. Uh, really remarkable. Fantastic. Thank you. You can be It is a tremendously large job, and we gave it to the absolute perfect person to do it. I agree. Thank you so much. Thanks here. All right. For a second, I would make a motion. I make a motion to accept staffs recommendation to, uh, promote Ms Erica Sinclair to our chief information officer of Martin County. Everybody wants to ok motion by Commissioner Kampi seconded by Commissioner Smith all in favor. I all opposed motion carries an nfl Commissioner Smith. I did have one other thing I apologize for not doing it in my update, but I was Going through my notes of things I was going to share with you all. Um, last week we had an individual come before us with a code enforcement discussion. Um, I ve had a lot of conversations with MISS Woods over the last couple of days about our code enforcement policy or lack thereof, or are, um it s not even a policy. It more of a An ordinance right? Um, I would like to just check with the board to see if we can bring that back and firm up some things that MAY not be crystal clear or that we never did adopt. Maybe way back when when we thought we did just so that there s a better understanding. For us, as well as to what really happens with code enforcement. What. The. Fines are how that is done. Who does what in what part of that process? Um, just so the public is a lot clearer on that if I m completely supportive of that, so if you could bring back her, don is you bring back an agenda outlines all that, though. Yeah, we ll update the ordinance on Code enforcement. Thank you. Ok? Well. If we re gonna go by the agenda. The. Next in line is, uh, Public hearing number one. Public hearing to consider changes to Article 10 Development Review Procedures Land Development regulations Martin County code regarding the threshold. For review of solar energy facilities and Mr Peter Waldon will be Thank you, sir. Good morning members of the board. Um I m Peter Walden. I m, the deputy growth management director. Just a second. Um, This is a request for an amendment to Article 10 development review procedures regarding solar energy facilities. It s requested by Lucido and Associates on the behalf of Florida Power and light. Little background article 10 Development procedures was created in 1996. It was totally restructured in 2019. There was an ordinance 1067 adopted in 2018 that made the development standards and guidelines for solar facilities. The request Today is pretty simple. It s to change the threshold for review for solar facilities or solar farms from a major to a minor application. Uh, this is in line with targeted industries Staff feels that the, uh solar farms are green energy source they add to the resilience of the infrastructure for the county. There is no noise or environmental issues with the solar farms. And. There s no traffic associated with them. So the impacts to the community are very minimal. And, uh, this the review process for staff stays exactly the same. All the wetland protections and environmental review and public works staff. Everybody still does the same review. It just gives them an opportunity to move through the process a little bit quicker by not having to do the public hearing process. Uh, there have been four solar farms already approved. There has been no opposition whatsoever to any of them. Uh fpl seems to be a good steward of the land. And, uh uh, The staff to work with. So with that Um oh, it did go to the lpa. A. The vote was 22. There was no real recommendation from the lpa on the matter, but, uh, staff recommends approval and move that to board adopt the proposed ordinance amending. Article 10 Development Review Procedures Land Development regulations Martin County code. I to answer any questions. Make sure you can t be. Thank you, Mr Walden, Um, the solar fields as owned by a private entity stay on the tax rolls Correct. Yes. So based on No. There are certain statutory exemptions for solar fields in terms of your Um, tp. Um, um Exemptions Tpp. I get it s a solar field, but it s another opportunity for large, Uh, acreage of land. To be utilized in such a way that has a very low impact at all on the residents and the environment and traffic like you mentioned, uh but then also taking hundreds, if not thousands of acres. And, turning them into solar fields We ve done In a partnership has done it with a partnership with us, uh, very successfully in the past, and I think by creating this streamlined version, even though it will still meet all of the requirements. It has to meet all of the requirements and review but I think if if you an fpl and have the opportunity to place these anywhere in the state or in their Area. Uh, I think it sends the right message to p that we want to do business with them. Uh, and then it also takes you know hundreds to thousands of acres, uh, that could been purchased to do something, you know that it would have a much greater impact on the nearby residents or all residents. I, uh, make a motion to accept your recommendation. Mr Hetherington. I want to say? I think pnl has done an exceptional job. I think they re the only ones that have done to her fields so far in Martin County, but I think one of the very first votes I took up here was to put a solar field directly behind my family home. P and o has done what they have said they re going to do. I think the public hearing process gives them an opportunity to, um, highlight all the great things they re doing, So I, I d prefer to streamline it but still have the public hearing process because I think it gives a wonderful opportunity for fpnl to let the public know what they re doing. And. They re doing some magnificent things. Sure heard. Yeah. I agree with Commissioner He Hetherington. I think that they should be proud to to spotlight these worthy projects, and they do enjoy popular support. Uh so I, don t Don t, Uh and I also don t like the expansion of administrative approvals. Uh, we are going away from giving this board the opportunity to have public hearings and instead allowing the administration to make those determinations and I don think that s good public policy, so I m not going to support To, uh Change the the approval to an administrative one. Ok so move to deny. Mr Smith. I ll. Second Ed s motion and and Here s. Why I, You Know. If if in the planning process or in the the idea of how Something has gone from a to b to c. Um, there s a lot of time. There a lot of energy, and there s a lot of money spent on doing that. The solar fields and and from the first one that we did with fp, which was the hybrid version out at the plant, uh, to the subsequent, uh, more current technology of what they re moving forward to. Um, is really remarkable. The investment that they re making in our community is remarkable. I would even go much further to say. Not only their commitment to Martin County, but their commitment to the state of Florida to be a much more resilient lead directly. Energy. Seen company. Is again nothing short of remarkable. And I, think anything we can do to encourage them to do more of it, Uh, is a good thing, And I think if streamlining that process. To something that we would vote for. And that we would gladly want to have here in Martin County, I think is something that we can absolutely be proud of to do, and I support the idea. 100%. Your camping. I just wanted to respond to my colleagues. I don t disagree with what Commissioner Hetherington or commissioner, Hurd said. I think that? Yes the concept of just allowing staff. To make administration administrative approvals is something we need to be leery of. And when I hear Commissioner Hetherington say that she s really you know, in favor of these projects, and I. Remember that it was the one being built behind her. Family home. But that being said, did we come up with this idea? Or? Was this a suggestion or a request from fp? This is a request from the applicant fbo. Yes Now I m Not sure How many I know they re not in every county, but they re in many, and, um, if it s if it something that we are very happy about, and you had mentioned that we ve done four of these in the past, and I ve been here for those four, I believe, or at least three No one comes to make a public comment or to participate, and If. We re going to say that they should go through a long, expensive process just so that we could congratulate them here in the chambers. I bet there ll be fewer projects that they ll be coming forward with. There s no specific rationale that it would need to be in Martin County versus Okeechobee county, Indian River county Saint Lucie County just right here in our region. And if those other counties say Look, we re going to help you streamline a process that you ve asked us to help you with. If I m at fpl. Why, would I do it here instead of in the other counties that have made it easier for us if it was something, you know very few projects in my mind. Would I give up the ability to have a say in Not just to say for myself personally, but to save for a county commissioner to review this. This is one of those In my opinion. One of those types of projects. That if we can, you know, enhance our our Opportunity to have fp look favorably upon the county to bring this here. And I don know if there is an fp, Uh, representative here that would be interested in sharing some of this with us. I m not interested in giving away my authority as a as a commissioner to review projects. And the concept that we would have them go through the entire process so that we could congratulate them as we went along, I think will backfire on us. That s the only reason I would be interested in participating in this Mr Lington. It s my understanding the way you described it, It s basically a public hearing, so I don t know if it s an lpa a and, uh and And it. I feel like you. We could expedite that and have the public hearing and and still be able to get a you know, in and out of here. Well. It would take a public hearing process, which is the lpa a and Board of county commissioners and it it is a by right, uh, application, so it s It s not like a pud where there s a lot of Uh, there s an agreement or anything like that. So They are straightforward in their application. Uh and, um, like I said the review process stays the same. Ok? With that we have a motion of a comment We have no, I have no public comment for so Yeah. Yes, sir. Thank you. You and him. Mhm. Thank you, Commissioner. My name is Gary earler. I m, a resident of port Salerno. As far as I m concerned, we need to leave the process the way it is and allow for public comment. Streamlining only takes care of transparency on one offer being as transparent as possible. It posted everywhere possible yellow signs We already know yellow signs go up. The process has already been started before that, so anything to to increase transparency I m all about so I would only hope that the process stays the way it is. Thank you. Ok well that do we have any other public comment? Where a motion by commissioner Campy seconded by Commissioner Smith all in favor. I all opposed. Opposed motion carries 3 to 2. The Commissioner Hetherington and her dissenting ok, um, Next item public hearing, quasi judicial. To consider adoption of an amendment to the Martin County zoning atlas to change the zoning classifications for Mr and Mrs Ban. Sana. Reeves. Um and this will be by John Sennett. Mission or sell their deputy county attorney. This is quasi Jud judicial. So. Do. We have any ex parte Commissioner Smith? Uh, if I do their file If any might have been file. I don t think I do but if they do they ve been filed. Commissioner. I don t have any That s been filed. I don t have any and they ve been filed. Could. Everybody stand and be sworn in that are going to be 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. Are there any interveners? There are no interveners. In the proof of public notice was turned in at the lpa a hearing ok, that covers it. Thank you, sir? A copy of my work. History is being turned in as exhibit one. Thank you, Mr CHAIRMAN. Good. Morning Commissioners I m John Sennett senior planner with growth management. I m, presenting the rezoning application on behalf of Mr and Mrs, Brian and Roxana Reeves they are proposing to rezone from the current a one, a agricultural district to the re one half a residential state district. Their property is located northwest of Salerno Road and southwest of Highland Avenue in Stuart. It s currently undeveloped is approximately two point four acres. They wish to develop a, uh, single family residence with customary accessory structures. The future land use designation of the property and the surrounding properties to the North West and South is the estate density two units per acre designation. The rural density. Future land use designation is present to the east of the property. The property and the surrounding properties to the West, South and east are currently zoned a one a agricultural district, the a one a district is a category c zoning district. To the north of the property is the uh the Southwood pud, which consists of single family residences. Because the a one. A Zoning district is a category c zoning district. This application is being processed as a mandatory rezoning to a category a district which implements the policies of the estate density to epa, a future land use designation. There is one standard category. A zoning district, which implements that land use, and that is the re one have a residential state district. New. Pud zoning is also an additional option for applicants. These are the development standards for the one half a zoning district. Minimum 50% open space maximum 30 ft of height. Front setback of 25 ft side and rear setback of 15 ft. These are the conditions supporting the applicant s request. The existing future land use designation of a state density to up a for the property and surrounding areas is compatible with the re one half a district The existing single family, residential and institutional uses in the area of the property is compatible with the re one fa district. In, the existing Southwood single family residential pud to the north of the property has an overall density in lot sizes, which are compatible with the re one half a zoning district. This matter was heard before the lpa on MAY 16th. They approved the application 4 to 0 with one absence. Development Review staff have found the Reeves rezoning application to comply with all applicable regulations and the Comprehensive growth management plan as detailed in staff report. We recommend moving to the board receive and file the agenda and its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit one. And move to the board adopt a resolution amending the Martin County zoning atlas to change the zoning district designation on the subject site from a one a agricultural district to already one half a residential state district. I m here for any questions. MISTER Smith. Thank you, uh And and not that I don t want to ask you the question, but I ll ask Paul, um, just for the historical piece of all this back when we we, we as a state adopted comprehensive planning and land use, um every piece of land in the state of Florida was given a future land use correct. Good morning commissioners. Paul Shelling Growth Management Director. Yes, uh, the comprehensive plan? Yes, sir. And. In theory. What was supposed to have happened back then, is not only was there a land use assigned, but there was to be an accompanying zoning that would have bundled with that. That s My understanding. Yes. We never did that. No, he did not. And. So for the public. That wonders why we would do a rezoning like this and to bring it into compliance. It s because We have Land use. That wasn t matched up with a zoning. When. We should have and now an applicant has to come forward to do what they re doing today to make it Right with what the comp Plan asked for. That s correct. So. The a one a is a category c district established in 1967 in the county s original zoning code. So then, um, further along the comprehensive plan was adopted and the two are not consistent. So that necessitates um Rezoning at the applicant s request of individual parcels from time to time when you see us here today, And so you know, part of this is sort of an apology to the applicants that I wished that this had been done decades ago. Um so that you wouldn t have to be here today doing this and going through the expense of doing it. Uh, but just for the general public s knowledge or understanding of why we re having a hearing like this, And, why would we be doing this? Because? Historically we didn t and should have. But. Here. We are today and with that pending public comment, I would move staff s recommendation. Ok with that. Do. We have any public comment? Do. We have any comment from the applicant? The state your name and tell us that you ve been sworn in morning commissioners. My name is Brian Reese. I m, the property owner for the, uh uh, application in question here. Thank you, MISTER Smith for, uh, I couldn t have said that better myself. It s been quite a challenge. Horrible and I apologize, but But. Thank you I believe John and his staff have done a wonderful job in explaining the situation and as we proceed forward with this, thank you. If it passes. We Wish you the best. Thank you? Thank you all. All right? We have a motion by Commissioner Smith seconded by Commissioner Hetherington all in favor. I All Opposed motion carries unanimously Thank you commissioners Now we will move on to our, uh, 10 o clock. Preset, Uh, live local act presentation by Mr Tom l Lanahan. Uh, good morning commissioners again. Tom Lanahan, executive director of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Um, by the way, Thank you for inviting me to come and speak with you about, uh, this item today? Um, as a I said last time I was here, Uh, regional Planning Council didn t write this. Well, we re here to help. Uh, help you try and interpret what it means. Um, this is, uh um Uh, the the recent focus of today will be the recent changes from this past session, uh, which were adopted through, um Senate, Bill 328 and then the presentation here. Some of this will look similar to last time. Uh, but, um, uh, focus your eyes on the red text in there. That s the either additions or changes that have been made. Um So. Uh, I like, uh, like last time I like to start off with the, uh um Of legislative intent, which they did not make any changes to Um and, uh, basically, the the purpose of all this is to, um, articulate a state housing strategy that will carry the state towards the goal of ensuring that each Floridian has safe, decent and affordable housing. Uh and then they re looking to involve state and local governments working in partnership with communities and the private sector. Uh, on, uh regarding financial, regulatory, uh, and commitment aspects of that that goal, So let me see if this will advance for me. Yes, Perfect, ok? So starting off with, um Everyone s favorite topic, which is preemptions of local government authority. Um they, uh, the existing provision, which has been in the books for a few years now, uh as an optional program, uh, whereby the county could approve affordable housing on existing commercial or industrial zoned lands. Uh, if at least 10% of those units are affordable and you do not need to change the land, us or zoning in order to do that. Um, the next area is, um This is an actual, uh, preemption. You must authorize, uh, multifamily and mixed use residential and commercial, industrial or mixed use zoning if at least 40% of the units are affordable, um, and of interest here, a a adjustment that they made is that the affordable units must be rentals. But the rest of the units, Uh, residential units can be rental or ownership. Um, the previous version, last year s version of the law. That everything be rental the way that it was written, so this actually provides a little bit more flexibility for a project. Um, and then, uh, we ll talk about some exemptions. Uh, men, um, rent control, uh, and those sorts of things. As. We go through here. So, um, again on that, Um, uh, optional program. Um, Here s the, uh uh, The stipulations there. Um, and also give you an idea of some of the dollar amounts that we re talking about. And. I did update these, uh from last year s numbers. So, um, for Martin County. Uh, our 2024 ami is $87,800 that s uh um uh uh. Area. Median income. Uh and, uh uh, so that the range of affordability, um runs from the annual income of 31,200 to 100 and 5360 for a family of four. Um 80% of that ami is 73,350 for a family of four just to give you some of the, uh uh, parameters that we re working with. Um, so again, that affordability is a 30% to 120% of Ami. Those are those numbers that I just gave you? And again. Like. I said before this is not a preemption. It s a flexibility program. Uh, for local governments, Um and, uh, you don t need to change zoning, or, uh uh, comprehensive plan. Uh, kind of like you just had to do here for this. That little project. Um So. Uh, the next, uh, moving into the preemption category. Um, this is where you must act. Um, the county must authorize multifamily and mixed use residential in commercial, industrial or mixed use sounding, uh, if at least 40% of those units are affordable and again, that s in that 30% to 120% of a I, uh, range that s rent plus utilities plus taxes at, uh, 30% of the income maximum. So again. That range is $31,200 a year to 105,360. A year for an income for a family of four. Um, like I said. The. Affordable units have to be rentals. But the rest of the units can be, um, uh, any type of ownership Um so Couple of different features here. So. Um, the you you would not be allowed to require ls or zoning change. Uh Or, uh, comprehensive plan amendments or special exceptions. Variances. There s a whole list of processes that you re not allowed to require for this kind of development. Um, you re also not allowed to restrict the density below the highest allowed density on any unincorporated land in the county, where residential development is allowed. Um and so there s some some confusion. Uh, about, um, what? That term actually meant. Some communities have optional programs where if you meet certain stipulations, you can get additional density. Uh, so they were disputes happening as to whether what the actual you know what what is highest allowed? Density mean is it the Right density is that the density with all of the, um, options laid in so Legislature clarified that it is, um and these are my words They didn actually use these, uh, these words but the buy right density, So. It s your basic density, your basic highest allowable density in the county. Um, doesn t include bonus programs. Um, but interestingly enough if the project qualifies under the terms of that program, then you have to grant the bonus. So. Some of those programs are affordable housing. Bonus programs, and so there is a way to get higher than what that, um that basic highest allowed density is Um, you also MAY not restrict the height below the highest currently allowed height for commercial or residential development within the unincorporated area of the county within one mile of the proposed development or three stories, whichever is higher Now. This area got a lot of extra clarification. You can see. I ve got an almost entire paragraph of red text there. Um and, uh, there s there There s some, uh, what you might say are are good or good, clarifying provisions. Uh, in inside this thing, Um, the first is Is that that one mile radius does not reset when a, um live Local act project gets approved, So, Um it s not a process, which was a concern of some folks that, um, you basically set a set a live local act project, you know, point nine miles from, uh, the, uh uh, pretty tall building, uh, allowed in the county and then you go another mile from that and then another mile and another mile and so on. And. Next thing, you know, um, e, everything is like that. It s basically what was that highest allowed height at the time of this all starting, So. Um that s a kind of a, um, a scaling back if you will, Um and then we get into something. Um, that s a little bit complicated. Um, but this basically brings context to bear. Uh, on what is the highest allowable height on a project. So. Um, if you have a, um, a site that is ad On two or more sides to parcels that are zoned for single family residential and developed as single family residential two keys there. Um, and they have at least 25 lots, so it s not like one single house. That d be a 25 watt subdivision. Um, the height MAY be restricted to 150% of the tallest building on any property adjacent to the site. Uh, that s 11 potential height, the highest by right height for the site based on its existing zoning. Or three stories. Whichever those three things is higher. Um and then adjacent, also does not mean across the street. So. You re basically looking at. Um uh, those those three sides for a typical site that fronts on, um, on a road. Um, so that really does bring context to bear on, Um, what you would allow for a maximum height and I think it s a recognition by the Legislature. That, um Maybe there a re good things that happen in, an in an approval process where you actually look at those different factors. Um And. Then. This is a, uh, this next one item for here. This is a a provision to address something that, um some, um Clever or tricky, depending o