Board of County Commissioners on 2026-03-10 9:00 AM

this morning. Please join us by with the invocation provided by Pastor Jim. Arp, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance from Sherilyn Straders. Won t you join me in prayer this morning Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this beautiful, gorgeous day you ve given us, a day to, uh, once again see your hand of goodness and faithfulness upon us. Lord, as I ve, uh, been contemplating this moment. Lord, you ve drawn me to your word and the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus is teaching his people, uh what we call a sermon on the Mount, and he s teaching them about what it s like going to be like to uh live in this new kingdom that he s about to establish a faith and trust and belief. And I m reminded as he s talking in Matthew chapter 6. He s telling them, why be anxious? About the things of this world, what you re going to eat, what you re gonna wear, what you going to uh do different things, he said, and it sums it up by saying seek first GOD s kingdom and God s righteousness and all these other things that we worry about that we labor over will be added to us. Lord, I just like that this morning, Lord, that we would just seek first you and your kingdom, and you take care of these things Oh GOD, I once again I thank you for these that you ve placed in leadership over Martin County. Lord, that you have given them the privilege and opportunity and responsibility and blessing of providing leadership and direction and guidance in making decisions for those of us who live here to Lord experience the the best that it can be. So Lord, I pray for wisdom, direction, guidance for them. I pray for divine wisdom, Lord, that they would seek what you would have for each of us, Lord, I ask your blessing upon them and their families, their children, uh, all of, all of their families, GOD, that you would watch over them, watch over them and protect them. And give them grace, give them mercy. We all need it. And Lord, I thank you for it. So bless this meeting today and all that s on the agenda and those that will uh speak and uh receive uh. Acknowledgement today, Lord bless them too, and we thank you for all these things this morning in Christ s name. Amen. And thank you of allegiance to of allegiance to the flag of allegiance to of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands, one nation under GOD, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you Um, is there a motion to approve the agenda. I ll move approval of the agenda. There s a motion in a second. Any opposition? That motion passes unanimously, uh, we ll now move on to, uh, proclamations and special presentations. We have a very special, uh, employee recognition, uh, this morning. Mr.On. Son Employee recognition. Yes. So we have a couple of, um Get this on here, yes. So, we do have a couple of employees to recognize this morning. Uh, we re very proud of this. Today we are recognizing two employees, uh, part of our employee recognition program. This program highlights the everyday actions that striked in our workplace, especially those that promote safety and support among our co-workers. Through this program, we recognize employees who lead by example and those who peers value their positive impact that they make on their team, the organization and the public we serve. So it s important to note that all these uh the staff that are being recognized today were amongst a number of staff that were, uh, submitted by their fellow employees for recognition and out of that pool of uh numerous staff that were recognized by their peers throughout the year. The leadership team selected the two, highest step for this year that we, uh, we ve selected and, and the first one, for our 2025 safety on the spot, uh, Employee of the Year is Kevin Moore. Or is uh District Chief of Emergency Medical Services with our fire rescue department. Some of you MAY have seen him on video during our state of the County Tru. Uh, he is a, uh, a leader truly committed to safety, leading by example through mentoring others, strengthening communication implementing preventative measures to keep safety front and center and supporting more than 400 personnel across 3 shifts. He has strength and safety communication and helped advance a culture of shared responsibility to those who, those who protect our community, return home safely after every shift. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I d like to say a few words. Um, first, I d like to thank my Lord and Savior, um, oh sorry, see if that s on. That s it s on. Uh, first, I d like to like to thank my Lord and Savior, uh, County administration and fire administration for believing in me and providing me with the opportunity to be a part of such an organization as so forward thinking, um, as well as filled with a staff of individuals that are so dedicated to their job. I m, I m truly amazed to be a part of this, um, as well as them kind of coming together to operate in this county that is, uh, making it function so seamlessly, um, I d also like to thank my beautiful wife and my family for their hard work and their support and it s truly, um, um, a blessing for me to have such a foundational balance, um, growing up as a child, my family always told me that every time I step out the house or walk out the door that my last name doesn t just only belong to me, um, so they told me to carry that with responsibility and I do my best to work walk with that and understand that and the values of hard work as well as dedication, having a sense of responsibility at a young age was instilled to instilled in me and uh. I carry that to this day, so I really appreciate it and thank you. I was Yeah 23 Thank you No, Yeah put mine See mine? Yeah in. And so for our second award recipient our 2025 spot on spot on employee of the Year is Tony Woinar. Tony is a survey field supervisor with our public works department. Uh, Tony demonstrated integrity and dedication advancing our survey capabilities during the topographic survey, a Boy Scout Island. He designed to build a wheeled system that allowed the survey division s equipment to move steadily across the terrain. Uh, I should say it crosses the bathymetry because I was working in the water, enabling automated data collection in the field. He his creative approach improved both the efficiency and accuracy of the survey work, the data collected will support an important stabilization project to address erosion on the island. Tony s creativity and problem solving made meaningful impact on this effort and his forward-thinking approach reflects a strong commitment to excellence. Thank you, Tony. Come on up. Seat said a few words, yeah, I ll have you go ahead. You don t get the award until the speech Exactly. Um, first off, I d like to thank the commissioners for your this opportunity and your time. Um, thank you, Don, for presenting me with this award and being a wonderful boss for 28 years, um. next, I d like to thank my old boss Tom Walker for originally uh. Putting me in for this award And then finally, final thanks to Human resources and risk team for creating this program Um, it s very rewarding being acknowledged by your co-workers and uh bosses. And I feel this program should and will inspire co-workers to work their hardest while being safe. So, thank you very much. Thank you. You can have the award. Thank you. 3 ok. Next up are proclamations. The first proclamation is a proclamation designating MARCH 2026 as Irish-American Heritage Month in Martin County. Good morning, commissioners. The Irish first came to Spanish La Florida in the 1500s, first as missionaries and mercenary soldiers, and then as planters, traders, businessmen, doctors, and administrators, and 3 of the Spanish governors were actually Irish military officers. Irish Americans since America s inception, have provided leadership and service to Florida and our nation, and marches recognized as Irish American Heritage Month. All are encouraged to celebrate their cultural heritage and many valuable contributions. And here to accept we have pj Morgan, who is the state treasurer for the Ancient Order of Hibernians. What s happened in the morning One of, uh, MADAM Commissioner, and, uh, all the commissioners, thank you, uh, for this, uh, great honor. Uh, and in particular for recognizing MARCH as uh a center of Irish American culture here in Martin County and beyond. Uh, as an officer of the, uh, ancient Roy of Hibernians. We had the largest, uh, Irish organization within the United States and it encourage those that would like to seek our uh culture, uh, especially someone like myself that is two generations in as far as being an American of uh of Irish roots that uh aoh.Com would be a nice resource in order to kind of discover what uh what our ancestors, uh, have, uh, come through and where we are here to be. Uh we have many divisions, uh, throughout our state and including uh those in the treasure Coast, including in uh Port Saint Lucie where I m a member of that as well again, uh, thank you so much. Lift it Yeah you do Irish Yeah. 23 It s like a promptage right. Even if I wasn t, I still have that. Thanks so much. Right It said there our cap I t feeling well cat wasn t feeling well, so of course in the middle of that we got to bring to the. 800. Our next proclamation is a proclamation designating MARCH 9th through 15th, 2026 as flood awareness week in Martin County. Martin County has experienced severe weather in the past in the form of extreme rainfall or tropical events, resulting in flooding in both coastal and riverine areas. This flooding has caused damage and flood losses to homes and buildings in all areas, whether they are high risk, special flood hazard areas, or low to moderate risk flood zones. Flood Awareness Week is recognized MARCH 9th through the 15th, and the boarding carriages residents to increase their knowledge of how to protect themselves and their property from flooding, and here to except we have Christine Madsen, engineering permit manager with Public Works Good morning, commissioners How s your team? Um, this week, the Martin County Public Works Department is participating in flood Awareness Week. We re joining a statewide effort to raise awareness about flood risks and the importance of being prepared and the value of flood insurance. Flooding is one of the most common and expensive natural disasters in the country. We encourage our residents to become flood ready by understanding their flood risks and taking steps to prepare. This includes having an emergency plan and disaster supply kit ready in case soon evacuation and obtaining flood insurance to protect homes and property. Throughout the week we re sharing flood-related information on the county s website and social media pages. We ve also set up flood awareness displays here in the administrative center, the Blake Library, and the building department. So we invite everyone to stop by and take a look. And thank you for helping us spread the word. Thank you. Yeah. The right the side the the right side 123 yeah the the right side 123 yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn t know it was a thing. Maybe? Yeah, I didn t know that it was a thing, but it is. Wait, there s one more And our next proclamation is a proclamation declaring surveyors and Mappers Week in Martin County, Florida. Surveyors and mappers are counted among the founding leaders of our country and were instrumental in the formation of the layout of property boundaries in the United States that provide citizens the enjoyment of property ownership. In recognition of MARCH 15th through the 21st as surveyors and mappers Week, the board would like to acknowledge the men and women, a lot of whom are here, of this profession for their diligence in meeting the continuing needs of our communities. And here to accept we have Michael Grisellka, who s our county engineer with Public Works. Good morning, commissioners. I m Michael Gruzeucker, your County engineer. I am acting on behalf of Jett Martel, who is your acting County surveyor who has, um, taken ill and has gone to the hospital. So, um, I d like to say that on behalf of the surveying community, I am deeply honored to accept this proclamation recognizing Surveyors Week. This acknowledgment is more than a ceremonial gesture. He is a celebration of a profession that has quietly shaped the world around us. It is particularly fitting that we received this proclamation during the 250th anniversary of our nation since the days of Washington and Jefferson, surveyors have been the foundational leaders in community development mapping the path for American progress. This proclamation on not only honors the dedication of licensed surveyors, technicians, and students in the field. But also shines a light on the importance of inspiring the next generation to join our ranks. The tools MAY have evolved from change and compasses to satellites and drones, but our mission remains the same to measure with precision to serve with integrity and to safeguard the land for future generations. As we look toward the next 250 years, this designation recognizes that the surveyors of today are still measuring America, building the infrastructure, securing our land rights and driving innovation with modern technology. We accept this not just for ourselves but for all the professionals working to build a safe and sustainable future for our communities. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Martin County Board of County commissioners for recognizing the vital role surveyors play in the growth and safety of our communities and to my fellow surveyors, past, present, and future. This week is for you. Let us continue to chart this course for progress. One measurement at a time, and I d like to invite all the rest of the surveyors that are here to come forward to uh some of them are award winning Congratulations Paul They re all tanned Hard to survey inside, right? Is it balanced out? Is it measured properly there? Is it even? Will is not a. All right, Bill reminds me of. George Custard, General Custard. Doesn t he look like? General occurrence ok. The last down I don t It s like general customer Fisherman look like it the same. Person for there That s what I thought. You don t appreciate surveyors until they re in your neighborhood and then you think, oh man, some progress is going to happen here. This is great. You don t appreciate surveyors until your neighbor puts a fence on your property Oh, now we are going to uh begin um public comment. If you would like to speak to us, please fill out a request to speak for, handed to the bailiff, and the bailiff will get it to me. The, uh, first request to speak form I have is from Susan Hargreaves. Followed by Jim Porter and you will have first is Susan Hargreaves and you re next, MISTER Porter. Go ahead if you have to go to work. No, no. You ll have 3 minutes to address us. Thank you so much. Thank you. 5 ok, terrific. What does the 15 2nd warning come in? Is that? Blake Blake, thank you so much I m Susan Hargreaves, and I the founder of Be Animal Hero, and I m here this morning as a uh resident of Martin County. Uh, petrified that a 26 acre slaughterhouse which is 50,000 square feet, which dumps 14,000. It s actually the same raw sewage for humans as 14,000 people per day. And I was gonna come here this morning and ask you how much sewage, how much fat, how much ammonia, how much blood is gonna be going into Lake Okeechobee, but I thought you MAY not know the answer to that. So I m here giving you that answer and your responsibility is to protect residents of Martin County. Apart from the extreme animal cruelty that a slaughterhouse holds It s the damage to the water table, the pollution, and there s actually a movie called The Smell of Money that is all about that, the cancers, the water pollution, the poisoning. And I really think you should watch it. The smell of money, and you say it s private property, but here you are You re here to protect the citizens, and it is Martin County property. And it is Martin County people that will be affected. So you do have the power to stop this harm and this danger. And I really, really hope you use that power. And not, not put everyone in danger. We ve already seen the results now of the green algae. Can you imagine what else is in store, and you will be responsible for it. If you allow this to go forward. So thank you very much for listening, but I really hope you use your power. For the people of Martin County. Which is why you re here, sitting here today. Thank you Pardon me Yeah, the Florida Department of Agriculture and and uh consumer services has told us that we are preempted from regulating the slaughterhouse that there is actually other counties that have ban that have stopped slaughterhouses in their county in the state of Florida, and that it s also being Jacksonville, Gainesville that have stopped that they re telling you that because they, it s in their interest to do so because it really is all about money. But you do have the power because it does affect your jurisdiction. This directly affects your people, your water table, your pollution, your wildlife, so you do have the power. So don t let them tell you that. Look at the other instances in the state of Florida where they have stopped these before because they re going all over the state of Florida trying to open more slaughterhouses, and they re getting turned away and now they re here. Thank you. Jim Porter is next, followed by Janine Baxter. Good morning I m here for the public hearing about the Bridge road. Self storage My name is James Porter. I live at Jensen Beach. I m here today to state my full support for this application. But the local small business owner, I have often told myself that extra storage space would be great off of that area down there off of Bridge Road, Alpha 95, it s perfect for the West Pal people who travel to West Palm Beach with needing suppliers or whatnot from Jensen Beach, ie any place east of 95. This leads me to believe that not enough has been built. And I believe the project is appropriate, low impact for you of this location. I urge that the boards approved the request so that our taxes don t need to go up. That s it. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, Janine Baxter is next, followed by Samuel Alcock. Good morning. Hi. So that was my brother. I am a new resident, um, to Martin County. He s in Jensen Beach. I m in Southern Stuart and having just moved here with all of our boxes and extra things from New Jersey. There really is not a plethora of storage facilities to choose from. Therefore, causing pretty high prices down here. Can t put our cars in the garage yet. We still have all this stuff, hoping that you would approve this storage facility down by us in southern, um, I guess it s Southern Martin County or southern, I call it Southern Stuart, close to Hope Sound. Again, these facilities seem so well hidden off the road, you don t really know that they re there until you look for it. Um, I implore Sarah Hurd. I do believe that you are my representative in that corner of the county. To please approve. Thank you. Thank you. Samuel Alcock is next, and MR. Alcock is the last request to speak for him I have. Good morning. I m Samuel Alcock and uh pull that mic up a little bit. You re tall. Sorry. Good morning. I m Sammy Alcock. Um, I just wanted to bring, uh, something to the table about my property on commerce and Salerno Road. Um, I ve leased the property from my landlord, and I started parking my trucks on it and the county has been getting on me about the trucks being on my commercial property. They said that um because there s no building on the property that I can t have my trucks there and there is a building connected to the property, but it s a different address and when I look around at all the other properties around me like um Casco s rentals and the building, the uh, the roof in place. They have their vehicles across the street on the fcc railroad parked, and there are a lot of them all around me are doing the exact same thing. I m actually the only one that would be closer to in compliance than anybody around me, and the county s now making me take all my trucks off and move them to somewhere else and I don t really know where I m gonna move them to or what I m gonna do if that goes through. So I m just wondering if today we could um just hear it out and maybe see some sort of resolution so I don t have to move all my stuff. Thank you. Thank you. Ok, we ll check into it. Yes. Nicole Watson is next, and that s the last request to speak for that I have. Today Good morning, guys. How are you? Nicole Watson, um, longtime Ports Salerno resident, live in the house my husband was born and raised in. Here in um support of Saint Samuel, you know, I feel that the target on his back. And all of the code enforcement complaints are due to um a very, very few people who truly are against his landlord and not against Samuel himself. If I can tell you I really do support him. He s done a great job cleaning it up and um yeah, I m behind Samuel. Also, I d like to urge you to approve the dock authority request to use the uh upland facilities cause I m quite frankly positive that that was supposed to be part of the deal to begin with. So there we have it. That s it. Have a good day. Thank you. Would anyone else like to address us? MR. Crowley. He s the landlord He is. That t he did James Crowley for the record Can you hear me? Is this working? I think so. I ll pick it up. Um, I m the landlord in question for that property for Sam. So you can understand why that there s uh some problems. But, um, the issue with the slaughterhouse is actually uh good timing because at the last meeting you guys were saying at since you were preempted that, hey, let s send some flowers and let s go see what the owner s gonna do. Maybe he ll let us in and have a conversation and a walk around, which is a great thing to do once you have no power at all. And, and, and the owner s not gonna let you in. Because he knows that you re just gonna go there trying to look for ways to shut it down because you re trying to support the people. What I ve been asking for for 3 years is we start that way. Is we start off saying, hey, what do you want? That you know, the, the, the growth Man office should have coffee and donuts for people coming in who are, who are looking to build instead of it being um did I cut it off? Instead of it being uh you guys pass rules here and then you let it, the growth management choose in the pieces. Uh, you have a, a, a lawsuit that s gonna have a, a summary judgment on APRIL 11th, and you re gonna lose that on density. And it never should have gone to the courts in the first place because the rules are very clear, but the interpretation is horrible. And so the developers and the slaughterhouses just go and get preempted, which the state of Florida has done with sb 180 and now the slaughterhouses and so forth. And so when I ve been begging for, and which I think is timely, is let s have a different approach. Let s reach out to the people who are doing things. Let s shake our hands, give us a big hug, say thank you for coming to the county. I know that some of the community is not going to like the development, but you guys passed the rules, not me. I m not asking for anything from you that is, is political. I m just asking for fair treatment and to stop spending legal dollars you know, harassing Sam, who s, Sam s a, a genuine Salerno native. Casey Cass and I are not. You know, you got two carpetbaggerss fighting it out, and Sam s getting chewed up in the middle. Sam s, you know, here, he, he s roots here. He got support here. We need, we need to get off of the, of the kicking our butts in growth management and how policy be be debated here in the, in the commission chamber and then have it be interpreted in the favor of us, not against us, like you guys have been doing for 30 years. So let s please, hopefully the slaughterhouse is a, a watershed moment where we can all cooperate and hopefully, Sam s uh code case can be resolved amicably. We re not trying to uh destroy things, we re trying to build things. Thank you. Don Tetrault is next. My name s Dawn Tait. Um, I ve been in this area for probably 25 years. Uh, my family used to own Treasure Coast, Harley Davidson for a long, long time prior to the, the current owner and um I m a local real estate agent and is all the years and the time that I ve driven through Salerno and pass that road. I ve never seen it look better. And being a local, I m not a local local, but I ve been here a long time. Samuel s a local. And to see him, how he s grown over the years and building his business and for himself and his family and then making that corner look like I was proud to see it and I told him that when I first saw stuff there, it looked nice. It was pretty. You know what I mean? It s somebody who s growing. It s part of our community and why he s being harassed and all that s going on, I don t know, but I would hope that you guys can, you know, work with him so he can stay there and we can support, right? And it, it s, it to me it s an example too of somebody who s building himself and creating something good in our community. So, Thank you Would anyone else like to address us? If not, we will close public comment and move on to commissioner comments, uh, Commissioner Vargas, yes, uh, I, I ve heard all the comments and uh MR. Donaldson, uh, who can look into this matter that was just discussed by these 3 individuals. Resolve this resolve, I can provide a memo to the board on the status of, uh, code enforcement issue, and I and uh MISS Elder will look into the current status of it. I appreciate that. I think we all appreciate that. So, uh, this weekend in Jensen Beach, I did go out in a boat, sailboat, excuse me, power boat, watching the sailboats. It was the Optimus sunshine State Championship. There were 346 youth from around the country and uh this is supporting you sailing. It s a wholesome environment and activity and also bolsters our local tourism and our dollars too, and this is under the guidance and the visionary proactive, innovative ideas of executive director Adam g and Beth, uh, Whitmeyer. She s a senior director of operations. I encourage you to go out to the sailing center. I think it s uh something that is uh noteworthy and what s being developed there, and these are 7 to 17 year olds so it was really exciting. The other thing is this coming Saturday, um Little levity, we are opening and having the groundbreaking a ribbon cutting for our gazebo that is at the Hoke Library, and that s a Judson Beach Boulevard right at Jack Williams Way, just north of Judson Beach High School, and that ll start at 100 A.M. Till about 11 and then City of Stuart, they have the ribbon cutting ceremony with their amphitheater, and they re going to be at Memorial Park. They ll be there from 10:30 in the morning till about 6, and they ll have live music, they ll have 5 bands, it s free, food trucks, bring your chair, stay for an hour, stay for the day. So we d like you to maybe have a little uh pleasure this weekend, um, exploring the outdoors. Thank you. Thank you, MR. Capps. This past Saturday I attended the Martin County Employee picnic at Hal Pataoki Park. And I left the event with a strong awareness that I have every day when I walk into this building, which is that staff is very helpful and kind, and that morale is high and Martin County and uh and our local government. I want to thank each of you on the staff. Uh, for all that you do for me and for all that you do for our residents, we appreciate you very much. Thank you and um I would also just like to, to, uh, to echo some of the comments this morning about the, uh, code enforcement action in Port Salerno. If we can just put a pause on that. I do not want to start civil war in Port Salerno, um, so let s avoid that at all costs. Um, commissioners, we ve had a request from New Horizons of the Treasure Coast. They are wonderful mental health facility, uh, on the Treasure Coast. They would like our support for, uh, requesting funding for uh to opt to establish and operate a central receiving facility for the Treasure Coast and also they would like to have our state help in putting a new roof on their facility. If we could write two letters of support for these funding requests from New Horizon of the Treasure Coast. Everybody nodding. That s good. Uh, and also MISS Gordon, did you, can you put up, I, I received these, um, videos and uh photographs in Palmar and we ve received lots of information about Palmar ongoing abuses. Palmar is one of the most beautiful, uh, remnants of Everglades, um, that exists in the Everglades and it s being destroyed by people there. I don t have any idea whether they re landowners, uh, 20 years ago there were no vehicles in Palomar. Now, as you can see, it s, they ve taken over and they re destroying the wetlands, uh in p Pallmar there are campers there That was a wonderful pristine wetland, not that long, not that long ago a missile. Look at this. D That s the answer Hm. Zoom in on their faces. Like I stuck Yeah, he is. He knows me That was you s all you need What s that weird circle there? Fire Yeah, you can see there s a gate on the right hand side that s not working as well. There are no roads in there, you know, and yet they, they ve made roads, they re destroying a, a, a beautiful, beautiful habitat that Martin County taxpayers have spent considerable funds acquiring, uh, we desperately need some more enforcement, uh, in Palmar and hopefully this will be, uh an impetus for us to do more. Enforcement there and stop the destruction of this marvelous habitat. So, MADAM Chair, what s the next step then? I, I agree we do need enforcement. Well, we, there s also, um, a lot of uh armed conflict there. We ve heard from trailside people about, uh, guns, uh, being used there, target practice, uh, bullets hitting barns and fences and trailside and so we need armed enforcement, so we need to encourage our sheriff to accompany, uh, us with code enforcement people so that they can go safely in and we can get this under control. This is something that we requesting now of MR. Donaldson to attend to, I thought we hired an outside firm that was going to do security. We, we have this is in Martin County. So I would, I would also like the sheriff to participate in code enforcement. Opposed this has been going on for quite a while. I ve spoken with the folks at Trailside. I mean, they have their animals there and they can t even allow their grandchildren to walk from the home to the paddock. It s a dangerous situation as well as destructive. So let s, let s see if we can get the sheriff to, uh, to accompany us to do some serious code enforcement there. Thank you MR. Campi That brings up a point that, uh, several years ago there was a group called ohb Off-highway Vehicles that was trying, we were trying to work out in western Martin County in District 5 on a couple 100 acres to create a much more author regulated spot where folks that own 4x4s and dirt bikes and things like that. They have them throughout the state. There s one that everyone that I remember was telling Chrome. It s up in uh north of here. And it s designed and regulated and has rules so that folks that do own these, uh, this recreational equipment that had a place that they could legally go because part of the problem is enforcement, but the other problem is, is that if people genuinely want to do this and you don t create an opportunity to, uh, give them a space where it can be a little more authorized, they will find places to do it. I know in the back of Pointiana Gardens, which we re going to discuss today That s been a big issue there. There are people that have snuck onto the outskirts of Hal Paoki to do it. Um, if you have a small retention pond in your neighborhood, it s quite often you ll hear the revving of engines because kids and and grownups too. It s not just kids. Uh, are, are utilizing these things if you just drive around on the streets in Martin County it s not that uncommon to see a pickup truck pulling a trailer of dirt bikes or 4x4s side by sides because that s the kind of, you know, the um community that we have, they want to do some off-roading. They like to get out there. Now we don t want them to tear up environmentally sensitive areas, but perhaps part of the solution is, is enforcement and the other part of the solution is where can we tell these folks that they can legally go and, and it can t be 150 miles away because that s not going to be a realistic answer. So perhaps we think of some space that we can work on that, uh, when you talk about recreation, there s people that fish, boat, golf place. Sports, run, hike, but there s also a lot of people that are into, uh, off-road motor sports, and it can t be um ignored because it is a very legitimate large industry. People spend thousands of dollars to participate and they don t want to be 200 miles away from home to do it, so I would make that a suggestion as well that we can have uh real property or parks and rec or somebody look into some property that is not environmentally sensitive, uh, that we can create something to say, look, we don t want you to do it here, but you can do it here. Thank you. Uh, my next two quick points are, uh, up and positive. On MARCH 21st, which I, it s not this coming weekend, it s the following, but we won meet again before then. On MARCH 21st, which is a Saturday evening, we re going to have, uh, music in the park, part of our patio playlist. It s gonna be MR. Tony Solomon. A lot of people know Tony. He s quite an entertainer. He s a dj. He plays multiple instruments, he sings. We were supposed to have him in FEBRUARY, but sadly we got completely swamped out with rain Um, he ll be there from on map Road at the patio at Palm City Place from 6:30 to 8:30. It is just north of Station 21. Uh, we ll have food trucks and ice cream trucks and adult beverage trucks and you can bring food, you can order food from a lot of the local restaurants. You can picnic, uh, you can bring a chair. It s for all ages. The only thing that we ask is that for parents that come with very young children, to be mindful of those children so that they, they run around and we don t want anyone to get hurt And then finally I d like to compliment and thank our staff. This, uh, very recently we just closed on the property that if many of you remember it was a multi-year story with many chapters, uh, there was a plan to build 90 apartments on Martin Highway. Uh, very close to Palm City Elementary School. It was gonna be 3, 3-story buildings directly on the sidewalk within the cra boundary and uh myself and many others felt that that was really very out of character for that area and for Palm City in general. It would have been the 1st 3 story multifamily multi units in Palm City. The only thing that we could do because they were legally allowed to do it is, uh, we put a plan together with some staff brainstorming to purchase the property. Then the concern was is that we used taxpayer dollars to purchase private property and what are you going to do about it? Well, we kept some of the property for public works because we had no actual access to Danforth Creek. Uh, so we Public works, uh, purchased a portion of it to maintain the environmental sensitivity there and also give us access to Danforth Creek for maintenance. And then the rest of it was um sold and recently closed uh for the exact same amount that we paid for it, so it was no loss of taxpayer dollars for the property. It will obviously be developed into something, but we also prior to that sale, uh, worked with growth management staff, our legal staff, public works, engineering, real property. It was a much a collaborative effort of multiple departments to uh put some limitations on the property in terms of development that were not there beforehand and then we put it out for bids, making sure that all of the people that bid on the property or at least reviewed the bids. Understood that it wasn t going to be do whatever you want there. And so we have a local family that purchased the property. And um raised, you know, went to Palm City Elementary School, Hidden Oaks Middle School, Martin County High School. They purchased the property. And they re going to be much more sensitive to what the community is looking to have as part of its overall vision. So I m very, very pleased and happy to announce that we ve actually closed on the property. We did not lose any money and staff did a remarkable job in collaborating, so I think there ll be some folks that want nothing to ever happen there, and the only way that can be is you have to purchase that property. Uh, I think we ve met a nice middle ground. So thank you to our staff. Thank you Commissioner Hetherington. Yep, I would just like to echo the comments on the Port Salerno property that we look in and see what we can do to ease that code of enforcement issue, um, for the resident. And uh we yesterday we had our ribbon cutting at the um Golden Gate Cassidy Center Garden, and I want to thank House of Hope for helping with our support of district funds. We have a beautiful new garden in the Lamar Howard Park at the Cassidy Center and um I do not personally have a green thumb, but it, it is amazing. All my family members do, and I know that Commissioner Hurd has one and her district as well, and I, I think I took for granted that, you know, I grew up in Indiantown where we had um lots of land to garden and my grandmother and my mother gardened and so um I think it s a great opportunity for an urban area and for those that have the opportunity to experience that grow healthy food, um, learn to, you know, kind of, um, to, to learn about nutrition and have a community garden field. So thank you to House of Hope, and it was my pleasure to support that project and I look forward to participating and learning more as you grow. Thank you, MR. Donaldson. Yes, uh, in front of each of you, there s a letter from, uh, the city of Stuart Mayor, Christopher Collins, regarding the interlocal agreement, um, with our fire rescue. Um, I had sent there, uh, manager a letter a while back about some issues we had with the interlocal agreement. Their response is a request to have um uh a commissioner, uh, along with myself and staff to meet in a public setting, and I m just asking for your direction on that. My recommendation is that our chair, Commissioner Hurd, and I would, uh, accept this meeting and at least have one meeting to see if there are a means to resolve um um uh some of our differences related to um um our interlocal agreement and how some of the services are provided to um uh rescue, especially our we have um the you know, the hospitals are not necessarily providing uh care for, uh, women that are, are pregnant or having children, and it s especially acute when you have a, uh, a woman who s at risk, uh, at risk pregnancy, showing up to the hospital and they re not able, they need to be transported out of county and there s been some incidences when that hasn t happened efficiently, so I think it s important that we at least attempt to resolve that. I ll I ll make that motion. MR. Campi Is this, uh, I don t understand the gist of the meeting. To me, it seems like it has a different uh mission Um, I don t understand where you and Commissioner Hurd and the mayor and their acting manager, you re going to address maternity issues at the Cleveland Clinic. In a public meeting I don t get that. And then in terms of the um interlocal agreement with fire rescue I think is this a timely thing? It, it to me it has sounds like it has a different meaning and uh mission than us getting together to discuss these things. I think the timing is interesting. I m not in favor of that meeting. No, that s fine. I just want to be clear that what s happened is that the um uh women have been uh uh delivered to the, um, Cleveland Clinic or uh Hospital North, uh, and rather than the city of Stuart transporting them to a hospital out of the county. Uh, they ve called Martin County Fire Rescue to come in, and that s, we believe caused unnecessary delays and so there is the city refused to transport them out. So that s just one issue, I think I think there is at least we will continue to have conversations whether uh we have it in the, in the formal setting that that they ve requested that s really ultimately today it s just this request from the city to have a a, uh, publicly advertised meaning to have our first discussion on this, um, and I m just seeking direction today on how you would like us to proceed. Commissioner Hetherington. Yeah, I think it s premature because I, I would like to hear from both administration and our fire administration, some of the ila issues as well as I m glad you clarified that the only issue I have heard of it it s not Martin County Fire Rescue that s dropping off um mother and delivery labor patients is City of Stuart, so that can be unilaterally resolved by the city of Stuart, having a policy that they will transport mothers to where they need to be transported. The other ila issues I would like to meet with fire rescue and admin um first before we schedule any meetings. So I think it s premature. I m I m persuaded by that argument, and I ll withdraw my motion. So what s I make a motion that we have an agenda item at our next meeting to hear with us and our staff and fire rescue, uh, and then also reach out to Cleveland Clinic so we can have someone come from Cleveland Clinic to explain it to us. I m just hearing about this. I, I watched the City of Stuart meetings, uh, I had a moment to speak to MR. Donaldson before this meeting started. Let s have our own conversation here before we send our even though Commissioner Hurd is, I have full confidence in her representing us. I d just like to discuss it here first before we have a discussion with the city of Stuart. That most of us are not included in. Thank you. So, so the urgency of this matter is that uh endangered mothers to be are being picked up uh, from a 9/11 call taken to to Cleveland Clinic and then they re not able to care for them there. And the city of Stuart has refused to take them to a hospital where they can receive the care that they need. So you, you, you think it s ok to wait 2 weeks or a month in order to resolve this. So I do know that our fire rescue and conversations with Cleveland Clinic is on standby to take transport anybody as quickly as possible, so they are doing it within the parameters that it is occurring so that they re not delayed, but they re not being So if, if someone is delivered to the Martin North and they re unable to deal with them. Martin Hort North is now calling us immediately as opposed to making the continued request. So it is, they have tried to um keeping the patient in mind, but it is um um. Highlighted the issue with the um interlocal agreement that it was a city of Stuart uh patient that was picked up and, and then it s a Martin County Fire rescue that s transporting him out of the county. Well, I would say that obviously none of us are interested in putting a patient in jeopardy. Uh, but considering that we can have this conversation on MARCH 24th and the fact that if something happened today, they would be contacting Martin County anyway. Uh, I have the utmost confidence in our ability to render the appropriate care. Um, my motion is that we meet first here on the 24th to have this conversation, um also including Cleveland Clinic and that if something happens in the next 2 weeks that, uh, we do authorize Martin County Fire Rescue to transport, which it seems like they had been doing if this has been an issue, an actual, you know, had to happen. Let s continue to do what we re doing and if City of Stuart Fire Rescue, and I don t know, I don t want to say I, I like the city of Stuart Fire Rescue department and their personnel very much. I don t think they would ever put anybody in jeopardy either, but um this seems bigger than that. Uh, so if it s that specific issue, let s address it and the rest of it we can work on, but to have it thrown that they ve decided that we ll have a public meeting, uh, with just a couple of representatives, which is fine because i m comfortable with it being you, MR. Donaldson, our legal department, Commissioner Hurd and representatives, but if it s a Cleveland Clinic delivery issue. Let s address that. And I would also tell you that when the maternity services were pulled from, uh, Martin County Hospitals. I do remember speaking to Doctor Rishi Singh, who was in charge of the hospitals in Martin County at the time. And if you re there and you are having a really catastrophic delivery, um. They re still delivering your baby, even if it has to be in the emergency room. It s not like they cannot deliver a baby there. Uh, that is my recollection of a conversation that I had, uh, but again, we re hearing about this. We have no opportunity to do any research individually, so that would be my motion that we do that first before we launch into a a big meeting, a public meeting with the mayor of Stuart and his team, um, because it seems like it s bigger than that. Thank you. I ll second the motion. I, I also spoke with, uh, Doctor Rici uh, at length. About maternity services and um he assured me that yes, every mother would be taken care of. Every baby would be taken care of. At Cleveland North. So, uh, there is service. There are facilities, there are teams there, there are specialists to handle, uh, something that could be a crisis situation, but I think we do need to address this matter. Any further comment? There s a motion in a second to all those in favor. I oppose that motion carries unanimously and anything else, MR. Donaldson? No, nothing else. Thank you, MISS Elder. Ok, let s move on to the consent agenda. There are no polls. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda. Move approval. Second, there s a motion in a second. Any opposition? That motion passes unanimously. Commissioners, have you filled out your voting sheet for affordable housing advisory. MADAM Chair, MAY I just ask, uh, one thing? Sure. I know that I, I think all of us received a letter from polymath law that was stating that an agenda item that we had on the schedule is looking, is making a request that the public hearing, ph1 scheduled for today be continued. Open it up. Yeah. So, can we do that next then? I see they re here and they ll only be, it only take a minute. Yeah. Thank you. Ok or not? Yes. Yeah. Ok. Cause that only takes a minute too. Yeah. I don t think. It s not on this. She s the, she just yell You re pushing it too many times. That s a classic mistake. Already Uh oh. It s it comes sit there. Oh for the record I m asking that you to Nick now and you ci Appoint Justin d Angelo. Point James Moyer. And then, uh, one of 3 citizen appointments. Oh, I came on. And, um, your voting sheets, MR. John, b. Received 4 votes. MR. Mark Mart chi s an I received one vote. Ok. Is there a motion to reappoint Nick Blunt and appoint Lucille Schilling and Justin d Angelo and Jim Moyer and John Policchondritis. Second, there s a motion in the 2nd any opposition. That motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Now we will take a public hearing number one. There is a request to continue this item, uh, to MAY 19th, would anyone from the public like to address us? Morning. Good morning. Not really a member of the public I represent uh the applicants and we appreciate your, um, consideration of the request to continue the meeting. The public hearing to MAY 19th. And you are? Oh, I m sorry, Krista s St story. She s new to this. Apologize. Yeah, I m an attorney with polymeth law. Would anyone from the public like to address us seeing none, we ll come back to the board. Make a motion to continue to MAY 19th, please. MAY 19th. I second that motion. There s a motion in a second. Any opposition? That motion passes unanimously. We will see you on MAY 19th. Thank you very much. One clarification for the record, I did see an email from our growth management department that said. That the applicant would be responsible for the for the cost of re-advertising. However, knowing that we did pick a date certain that s not going to be the case anymore, correct? That s what I understand. And thank you to MR. Sennett for, you know, clarifying that. Yes, I appreciate that as well, MR. Sennett, um, wouldn t want to have to make that just for a. Administrative decision. So it s on the record that you won t have to do that again. Thank you. Thank you for mentioning that. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks. Ok, thank you. Any other legal obligations to continue this item? No, I think we re all set. Thank you. Ok, we ll go on to public hearing quasi-judicial number one, which is a public hearing to request approval of the Sixth Amendment to the Island crossings, commercial Planned unit development zoning agreement, including a revised master site Plan and out parcel a final site Plan. Uh, this is quasi-judicial. Any ex parte disclosures, Commissioner Vargas, if I have any, they ve been filed. Commissioner Caps, if I have any, they have been filed. I have them, and they ve been filed. Commissioner Campi, I have some, and they ve been filed as well. MISS Hetherington, and they ve been filed. Uh, MR. Sennott, have you, uh, sent all your, uh, materials to the clerk. Yes, I m turning a copy of my work history and the agenda item to be filed as Exhibit one. Excellent. Anyone who s going to be providing sworn testimony in this. Please stand up and raise your right hands and be sworn in. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you re about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. MISTER Senna, please proceed. Thank you, MADAM Chair. Good morning, commissioners. I John Senate, principal Planner with Growth Management. The applicant has turned in their notice of mailers at the lpa hearing this past Thursday. There are no interveners for this application. This is a request by McCarty and Associates Land Planning and Design on behalf of Buell Land South for approval of the Sixth Amendment to the island crossings, commercial pud agreement, including a revised master site Plan and final site plan for out Parcel a. The proposed development about Parcel a consists of a two-story, 99,922 square foot residential storage facility and associated infrastructure. At parcel a consists of approximately 6.83 acres located at 11,850 Southeast Federal Highway in Hope Sound. Included is a request for a certificate of public facilities reservation. Here you can see the boundaries of the island crossing its commercial pud in red. It s just over 25 acres. Located west of the intersection of Federal Highway and Bridge Road. Uh, at the intersection of Federal Highway and Bridge Road and Hope Sound. It s anchored by a public plaza. There uh, out parcels that have been developed with a gas station at Wells Fargo Bank, Wendy s, as well as the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Center. Out parcel a is located in the southern portion of the pud with frontage along Bridge Road. Out parcel a contains a portion of Southeast Florida Avenue. Southeast Florida Avenue is an easement which provides access to the adjacent Bridgetown residential development. There is an existing, uh, detention area in the northeast portion of El Parsoa. And there is also an existing 2.3 acre preserve area, subject to an existing preserve area management Plan. And to the east of the to the east of El Parcel a, you can see the old Barnett Bank building right at the corner. The Bridgetown development to the northwest is subject to a separate pud agreement. In the light green, you can see the rm 5 zoning district. That s the Hobe Sound Golf Club and the blue areas to the west, south and east or within the Hobe Sound redevelopment zoning district. The future land use designation of the property is general commercial. The Bridgetown development to the northwest is in the commercial office residential future land use designation. The Hobestown Golf Club properties within the low density Future land use designation. The brown property to the west about Parcel a is in the cra neighborhood Future land use. And the pink areas to the south and west are the cra Center for Future Land Use. The Island crossings commercial pud s formerly known as the Ross Common Square commercial. Pud was adopted in AUGUST 1989 and was most recently modified via the Fifth Amendment in AUGUST 2007. It consists of seven parcels totaling approximately 25.6 acres. This proposed 6 pud amendment adds residential storage facility as a permitted use for Al Parcel a. The amendment clarifies that smru shall provide the water and wastewater service for the project? The amendment removes the 0.23 acre out parcel g, which is currently within the Hope Sound Community redevelopment Area. The amendment includes a revised master site Plan to reflect an increase in the maximum allowable square footage. And the removal of out parcelg. The amendment also includes a revised timetable of development for out parcel a. The development of outparcel a consists of a two-story, 99,922 square foot residential storage facility, also known as Bridge Road Self-storage, and associated infrastructure. The Al Parcel a owner will construct turn lanes, including a turn lane in the South East Bridge Road right of way. As well as left and right egress lanes in the existing internal drive connecting to Southeast Bridge Road. There s no new connection proposed to Bridge Road. No change. There s no change to the existing 2.3 acre preserve area on o Parcel a. Exotic vegetation, removal, uh, will be conducted during development activities in accordance with the existing preserve area management Plan. A parking rate adjustment is requested pursuant to Section 4.625, Martin County Land Development Regulations, 10 parking spaces are proposed as part of the final site plan. The applicants proposed pud public benefits include a pedestrian plaza with benches. In the southeast corner of Al Parcel a. The applicant will also preserve an additional 0.52 acres of native upland vegetation in landscape buffers on out parcel a. The applicant is also proposing a $25,000 contribution to the Hobe Sound Historical Society to be used for the restoration and maintenance of the Hobe Sound railroad station. This is the site Plan You can see in the western portion of the site in the hatching is the existing uh preserve area. You d see Southeast Florida Avenue traverses the site and adjacent to Southeast Florida Avenue, there s also an existing uh 50 ft wide preserve area. The building is situated in the east portion of the site. Here s a closer look at the building The hatched areas shown in green are the additional native vegetation areas that will be preserved within landscape buffers of the site. And in the southeast corner adjacent to the intersection you can see the pedestrian Plaza. The applicant is requesting alternative compliance from the primary facade transparency criteria of Article 4 Division 20. Staff recommend approval The Board of County commissioners is the final decision maker for this application. Here the proposed architectural elevations, and I know the applicant also has some color renderings in their presentation as well. This top elevation, this is the south elevation. This would be the view, uh, directly adjacent to, to Bridge Road. This matter was heard before the local planning agency this past Thursday, MARCH 5th, 2026. The lpa voted 3 to 0, uh, approving staff s recommendation of approval, and there were two absences. Development review staff have found the Buell La South application to comply with all applicable regulations and the comprehensive growth Management Plan as detailed in the staff report. Staff recommendation is to move that the board receive and file the agenda item and its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit one. Move that the board approve the Sixth Amendment to the Island crossings, commercial pud zoning agreement, including the revised master site Plan and move that the board adopt the resolution. Approving the final site plan for the island crossings pud out Parcel a project, also known as Bridge Road Self-storage. That concludes my presentation Questions for MISTER Sennott. MISTER Capps Yes, MISTER Senate, um, this proposed 6th Amendment. To the pud agreement adds residential storage facility. As a permitted use for out parcel a. Uh, did the original pud allow for storage? So the existing permitted uses for the uh previously appro approved third pud amendment, um, dictate that permitted uses within the pud shall be those uses authorized within the pudc zoning district uh section of the Land Development regulations at that time. Um. Those regulations did contemplate uh a use such as a residential storage facility. Um, which would have been consistent with the uses permitted within the gc zoning District. So at the time the pudc zoning District regulations did contemplate a variety of uses. Uh, consistent with the, the general commercial future land use designation. Then, then why, why does the Sixth Amendment need to add residential storage facility as a permitted use if you re interpreting it to mean that the original pud agreement already allowed the This is to, to memorialize that it is a a permitted use for, for clarity. Ok. So regarding square footage, that s another way in which we re the applicant is looking to amend the pud. And the proposal here is to build 99,922 square feet. Yes, sir. So how many, how many square feet of construction could have been built under the original pud. So the existing master plan that was approved as part of the 3rd pud amendment in 1995, I believe it was, um, laid out permitted building square footages for, for out parcel d as well as the the remaining out parcels and then the total for the project. The existing master plan uh it had totals, total building square footage. And then it also had a total gross leasable floor area. Um. So using that total gross leasable floor area term, um. You know, the the allowable square footage under the existing master site plan would be in the neighborhood of about 34,000 square feet. So the original pud was about 34,000 square feet, and this one is 99,000 plus, right at 100,000. And that would be 50,000 on the first floor and 50,000 on the second floor, basically. About that. Ok Thank you. Further questions for staff. Applicant, would you like to make a presentation, MISS Creech. Good morning, Ara Creech with McCarthy Summers, uh, land use and zoning attorney. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Um, to clarify a couple of the uh items identified by staff. In the Third Amendment to the pud use is permitted. Permitted uses shall be those uses authorized in the planned unit development commercial zoning district provisions of the codes of laws and ordinances of Martin County. So that is in the Third Amendment. That is the exact language. So if it s allowed in the Plan unit development commercial zoning District as of 1995, it is considered the permitted use. That has not changed since 1995 in any other pud. So given that language, it is our position and the staff s position that it is indeed a permitted use because it was already a part of that commercial zoning district back in 1995, and that language has not been changed. So that s one item The another clarifying item which um Mike McCarty of McCarty Associates will come up and speak more about, but that i should identify here is that the master development Plan that is uh dated APRIL 1