Board of County Commissioners on 2024-03-05 9:00 AM

All, right. Welcome to our MARCH 5th 2024 Board of County Commission meeting. Mr Donaldson, Uh, puts a dollar in the jar for that attorney. Leave the room, ok? All, right? We re gonna start with an invocation by Hank In Breton Cam. And followed by the pledge. Uh, Alan hurt, so please stand Good Morning morning. It s a wonderful day to be alive in Martin County, Florida usa. A great place to make home to do business to vacation at to return home to to brag about and to continue to make even better things happen. And so That is this commission s intent at this meeting this fine morning. Is simply continue to make good things happen for Martin County. MAY. Each Commission member be blessed with prudence. Diligence and tenacity in preparation respect. Patients with and understanding for others. Wisdom to discern fidelity to mission, ethical integrity and the joy and honor of service and vision. We. The. People Place our confidence in this honorable commission for this noble endeavor. We say this in the name of every good thing, peace, harmony and kindness to name a few all the best for Martin County, Florida usa on this fine day. Amen. Mr Kirk. 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. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Yes, sir. Um My name is Alan Hurt? I was 22 years in the us Army. 13 of it Overseas. I ve lived in Germany, Greece and Turkey as well as the United States, uh, during my overseas time, I picked up a couple of languages. I picked up a wife. Uh, And. Quite. Frankly. It was an amazing experience. It was my honor to serve in the military. I will tell you the one thing that has remained with me after all these years. More than all of the memories and I have amazing memories of everything I did and everything I ve seen and done. Was the type and the level of the soldiers and the sailors and the airmen that we have in the military. I don t believe the average American knows how good our armed forces are. And. It s because of the level of the young men and women that serve they are disciplined. They are educated. They are motivated. And. They do just an amazing job and to serve with them for 22 years was was truly my honor. It was something that I will never forget more than anything, And. I tell everybody you want a good employee. Hire a veteran, these guys, even the people who only served for one term two years, three years, four years. They know what it means to get up. They know what it means to go to work? They know what it means to be responsible from the day one. We put tremendous responsibility on these young men and women. We hold them accountable and they respond. All I m responding. No. There s not 100% anywhere. You Know What 95 98% of the people that serve in the military come out. They say the experience was good, and it was so Basically. That s My story. In a nutshell. It was a great opportunity. I loved it. Do it again if I could we re lucky to have you Hey with that, Um, our presets. Very first thing. Um, before we do anything, MISS Jenny fields, Our property appraiser will be giving us a a brief, Uh, discussion about Homestead exemption and potability portability. Um, we have 905 comment at 1030. We have a presentation of the draft evaluation and appraisal report on the comprehensive, uh, growth management plan. And 505. We have public comment. We have no con, uh, consent polls. So with that we can take a commissioner Smith approval of the agenda with the presets as listed by the CHAIRMAN And no consent for Second ok we have a motion by Commissioner Smith seconded by commissioner Kamie of the line is for no. Ok, Um all in favor. I all opposed Motion passes unanimously, Commissioner Campy. Thank you, Uh, thank you, Mr Chair, MS. Fields. Thank you so much. I had the opportunity to host our property appraiser MISS Fields at an event in Palm city, and she shared such important information. That. Many of us in the crowd was not necessarily completely aware of the opportunities as they were. And so I asked her if she would be willing to come and share some of that information with not just all of us here, but the folks that are sitting behind her, but also hopefully watching and then I also wanted to, uh, as she said, I could offer the invitation for any homeowners Association any, uh, associations groups to have MISS Fields, our property appraiser, Come and speak to your associations Because there is you think you know how it all works out. But. There are opportunities that might be left on the table. Uh, that are timely and so I m so appreciative that you came this morning because even with just the information that she especially if you ve moved recently downsized Upsized. Ms Fields has information that it s very valuable. So good morning and welcome. Thank you Good. Morning Commissioners. Thank you so much for having me here today I m thrilled anyone who s actually come and listened to me talk. They know I love to talk, so especially if it s a topic that I m passionate about which is my office and really, it comes down to educating buyers and sellers because you know they buy the biggest asset they re ever gonna own, And. It s just remarkable how little they know about the property tax system. So any chance any opportunity I can get back? Get out and talk to you and and talk to homeowners. Station and Realtors and, uh are are outreach is just very broad and and the whole key comes down to education. So with that I m really gonna focus this morning on buyers and sellers. Um, of all the topics I discussed. This is my favorite one. But before I kind of dive into buyers and sellers. I really think everyone needs to understand what a date of assessment is. Department of revenue says that all Florida property appraisers have a date of assessment. They have to value property by ok and that date of assessment. Is JANUARY 1. Well. What does that mean to me a lot of times we get the question? Well. How s the market looking Jenny, What s happening today and things like that. Well if you knew our date of assessment was JANUARY 1. We. Don t even look at anything that happens after JANUARY 1. We re always looking backwards and what I mean by that is our date of assessment means the valuation whether you qualify for exemptions, anything that has to do with that taxes is based on a snapshot on JANUARY 1st. So the bill The tax bill that goes out 11 months later is based on 11 months prior. So the bill, you re going to be paying in NOVEMBER of 2024 is based on a snapshot or a picture of what that property looked like on JANUARY 1st two months ago, so it s hard to kind of wrap your head around that so and that goes for value and exemption. So if you re gonna qualify for any exemptions for 2024, you would have to qualify on JANUARY 1. So with that I would I like to talk about all the buyers that occurred last year. So any anybody who purchased a home in 2023. It s important to understand at your closing That closing agents and the mortgage payment and everything that you that was derived at that closing was not based on the 2023 tax bill because they didn t even have it yet. You know if you close in the middle of the year, the tax bill wasn t even issued until NOVEMBER. So at all closings. It s based on the prior year taxes so anyone who purchased in 23 they would have used the 2022 taxes a lot of times that s hard to to understand, too. So now. That s. The reason for that is because when you purchase the property in the middle of 2023, you were not an owner on JANUARY 1st, which is the date of assessment of 23. So in AUGUST of 23 last year, when the new buyer got the trim notice or the tax bill, it didn t probably look very different from what the closing was based on which was the 2022 and mainly, it s because you are buying it from a seller who did qualify on JANUARY 1 so typically In a normal scenario all the buyers last year inherited whatever was there on JANUARY 1, which is the seller s exemptions. It s the seller, Save Our Homes benefit everything that the seller had. You got the benefit of it. And. So in NOVEMBER 2023 a couple months ago when you got your tax bill, it probably didn look a whole lot different than what you were surfing for on Zillow when you were looking to buy that house, ok, and it didn t look any different in AUGUST when you got the trim notice, however, Now JANUARY 124. It s your Year. Now. You qualify because you owned it on JANUARY 1. So now. Last Friday MARCH, 1st was your deadline to file for your homestead exemption Because. Now. The seller has taken all their benefits with them, and they ve ported it to the to the Panhandle, where they re now have retired. Ok, so What happens is even though the deadline was last Friday, please if you qualified if you purchased last year still come into the office, we can do a late file application so we don t want you to MISS The opportunity of claiming your homestead. But just know this is going to be your year in AUGUST when you get your trim notice you might have owned that property now a year and a half and in AUGUST in a few months, you re going to get the trim notice that is going to be your first glimpse. First glimpse of what your taxes are. Be and that is going to be based on your sale price. A lot of times we get that phone call. You cannot possibly raise me 60%. Well. We didn t it s because you purchased from somebody who had the save Our homes benefit for 30 years and they they had to save our homes benefit that was $500,000, which resets to market value because they ve taken that port now to the Panhandle. That s a hard thing to explain when everyone gets their trim notice in AUGUST. Now. The second thing I Wanna communic Is for anyone who purchased today. Anyone, who s purchasing right now in 2024 remember the date of assessment. You don t qualify because you re purchasing after JANUARY 1, So. I know you re probably thinking at the closing the real turn the title company. They re all telling you get in and file for your homestead. Well. Yeah, you would be pre fling for 25 because you don t even qualify for 24. So. Come in a couple of months. You re a new buyer When. You, get that trim notice know that the proposed taxes you see on Trim notice. They re not yours. You re inheriting them. And. The best thing I can tell you right now is so crucial Pull up the tax estimator on our website estimate your own taxes put in your sale price. It won t be exact, but it s gonna be a heck of a lot better than you using the 2023 taxes, which is based on an owner who had a save our homes benefit that is actually coming off this year next year when you file so estimate estimate estimate. And. Then again. Your deadline to file for Homestead. You can obviously pre file you can do it online on our website or come into our office. But. Um your deadline will not be until next MARCH MARCH 1st 2025 if you purchase in 24, So estimate your taxes and the last thing I d love to just really stress to anyone looking to buy a home number one do not go by any tax you see displayed anywhere on a website because they are not going to be your taxes, Not because we re trying to Value. It s, because if you don t realize who you re buying it from, they could be a total and permanent disability veteran who doesn t even pay taxes and you re going to be thinking well, this is great. All I have is non ad valorem. No because he s taken that with him, so number one estimate. Just don t go by any online and actually, there s legislation right now, that s actually rushing very quickly through the House and the Senate and that it s going to prevent Zillow realty.Com any online websites will no longer be allowed to list prior Taxes, and instead it s going to link them to the Department of revenue Tax calculator and then you will be basing your taxes off of your sale price. So just know that s and that s the main reason because it s so misguided when people look at that and assume that s what their escrow payment is gonna be. And, then the next thing do not go by taxes in prior years again, they re they re They not correct. They are not correct. They were correct for the seller, not for you. And then. Lastly, just estimate your own taxes. Our website is www dot p a dot martin dot fl.Us and it s right under quick links if you have if you need help, we have a live chat. You can just ask us we have 20 operators on that live chat all day every day, or you can just give us a call. We re happy to walk you through it, But. Um those are just I hope I didn go over my 10 minutes. I know I talk fast, But so thank you. I got some lights. We got some lights. Commissioner Smith. Great job. Um I don t think, I. I know I couldn t do all that, Um, in that quick time. So. Jenny. We had a We had a speaker a couple weeks that I had called you a couple weeks ago that had come up and talked about his taxes being increased like by 100%. And. You and I talked about that and I. I think that he had purchased the home maybe seven years prior or some timeline like that. And he never homesteaded. And. So. What happens to someone s tax bill when you don t homestead and How. How. Does. The appraisal process happen. And. How does someone go? From what the value I think was in the low two hundreds. And what? Maybe to like 500 or 450? How? Does that happen? Ok so in the state of Florida pretty much every property is capped. You have an assessment limitation that you re gonna benefit benefit from if you re homesteaded, your assessed value can t increase any more than 3%. If you re not homesteaded Say. You re a vacant land or a commercial shopping center. You re capped at 10%, meaning your assess value can t go any more than 10%, however, that 10% cap does not apply to school levies. So any taxable value that goes to your school levies listed on your tax bill that will be full market value. But with that being said, even though you have a property and let s say you don t have homestead exemption. You re still benefiting from a cap. And. So what happens often is people will come in because they re like they hear Homestead exemption. It s gonna save you money. Get in there and file. Well. This has been their summer home. They ve been Michigan residents for 20 years and now they re going to come in and they re going to file Exemption is only a $50,000 exemption. And if you re coming from out of state, your market and your assessed gonna match in that first year and in the first year you file for homestead that 10% 10% limitation gets restored. It has to reset to full market value. So if you re sitting on a a summer home that was always your second home and your 10% cap benefit is $400,000 because it s been your summer home. It s been your second home that s been subject to that 10% cap. You come in to file for Homestead is now your base year for Homestead. It doesn t continue with the 10% cap. Whatever you have not been paying taxes on in that 10% gets restored to market value, and that s where you re starting, so they re seeing an increase going. Wait a second. I thought this was supposed to be a reduction. Well, yeah, it but you have. We ve actually had people resend their their homestead application, which you can do you have to do it in writing if you get your trim notice, But mainly, it s because they don t realize it is a reset. That is Their legislation Bill that s looking to kind of go through right now. We don t know it might be in a property tax package. But. Basically, it ll say that from the time for your summer home that you file for Homestead, it might be that cap is where you start with your homestead. They re trying to get that pass. But. As of right now it s not and it will reset if you ve had that home for a while. And the last quick question and I. I think you touched on a little bit, but the portability issue so effectively if you are capped And. You sell your home. And. Let s say the value of it is 800,000. But. You ve had it homesteaded for 20 years. You. Take that difference with you right to wherever you re going anywhere in the state, all 67 counties, it applies to your example is the Panhandle. I think, um, what happens to the house after that? Ok. So when you you can pour that nugget of savings that you re sitting on that you ve had and you re not paying taxes. It s just floating around out there and you go to move when you go and file for your new homestead exemption. That property appraiser and our office would look at the values What is the last market value that was placed on your property here in Martin County. And. What is the market value they re applying in that county in the Panhandle. If, you re going to a higher valued home. You are going to be able to take the entire nugget of savings with you. If you downsizing to a lower valued home valued home, then it s a proportionate amount. But. What happens is if that seller goes and takes their their save our homes benefit the buyer who bought that. In their first year that they filed for Homestead, their market and their assessed is going to equal each other and it will be based off the sale price that they paid. Not. What was there in the prior year, it will reset and and by law, like Right, now we re studying the 23 market because that s what we re gonna use to put the 2024 values out there, so everything that s occurring the values we place on the property, the market values we place in 2024 will be based on all the sales that occurred in 23. So the sale prices all of that will be will reflect that so again if you purchased in 23 that guy who moved to the Panhandle he took With him and in 24, you are starting over. You re marketing. Your assessed are gonna match and they re gonna be based on your sale Price, and hence, I. Think why some people come in and say my taxes went off the chart. Well, they did, but they reset the majority 99% of the time. It s because they re a new homeowner, and they didn t realize that that they were looking at the prior year taxes and that person now that cap came off, and now they re starting over and they don t realize it s based off your Price because 99% of the time they ll call and go. How could you increase my value? You know 60%? Well, we didn t It was the cap came off. You re looking at taxes and and it s not that and and you know, we we have that conversation a lot a lot. So. I have a question before I get to commissioner. How long do you have let s say you re gonna sell a house and you re gonna build another house. Let s say that house is gonna take over a year to build. How long do you have to? You only have three years ok and three years from the time? Yeah you don t want you don t wanna be not deciding and then wait two years and then decide to build a home. You re going to MISS Your window. So if you are going to build a home, I would say Get on it right after you leave, you know or r. Somewhere, but get get on it because it s three years from the From the year you Sell or move, Mr Hetherington. Mm. Thank you, Jenny? I ever heard this before? It s great information, I would add, Uh, some of the things I ve heard before. If. You are widowed or divorced. What should you do to check on your homestead? Because there are a lot of people that MISS That opportunity or they haven t filed it in the right name or ok So two different widow and widower. Uh, there is an exemption for both widows and widowers. It s a $5000 exemption, so it equates to about $100 a year if you are a widow or widower on JANUARY 1st. So, if you are, please come in. It s so easy to file and you know, if you remarry, you have to let us know because then the exemption out comes off. Divorce is a whole different animal. And lately we re hearing a lot more or we re seeing a lot more in marriage settlement agreements where they re actually listing the Our homes benefit as an asset, because think about that if you re the one staying in the home and you save our homes, nugget of savings is $400,000. That s a huge benefit for whoever is going to stay in the home. Are. You both gonna leave but just know in order to you can designate that save our homes where it goes 5050, but there is a form that has to be filed. It has to be filed by both parties and both parties have to agree to abandon the home. For example, let s say I don t like to use me. I love my husband but anyway, so let s just say, you know Mary stayed in the home and John left ok and John moved to another county and he wants to file for Homestead. If Mary stays in the house. She didn t abandon the home so technically, he gets nothing so you really have to know the timeline and what what s happening, and you have to have that conversation. The only way he can get 50% is if she willingly comes into our office and relinquish Is abandons the homestead, which means now she has to start over. She will file a brand new homestead application, admitting that she s abandoned it, and now we can split it and take 5050. We just had this last week, and a gentleman was very upset because I you know, I said, You re gonna need to talk to your ex-wife and you Nobody wants to have that conversation. So again. It s just one of those things where it s kind of tricky on, but it is a huge savings right now and who gets it and where you re going and so be be in contact with us. And and we Walk you through that process? I don know if that answered your question. Ok? Mr Smith and sars. I forgot to ask us in the sequence. Oh, Sorry you wanna go first? I m ok. So Um Sewell s point and I m. I Sure there s other parts of town that are kind of experiencing this, um, is gone through a series of tear downs and rebuilds. So. Whether it s the same. Well. Maybe. It s a different answer, whether it s the same family or a new purchaser, and I m guessing. In. Most cases. It s a new purchaser that s tearing down and building new What happens with homestead on that. Well. It depends if they re buying it, and let s say they bought it right now. It s gonna reset to market anyway. And if they re if they re remodeling, and it s an extensive remodel, it would probably go on as a capital improvement. They re not protected by the cap, So let say they re going through the remodel, but it s not co. It is they don t have their final until next year. Ok, then it wouldn t go on until the prior year. But any new construction any capital improvements Major, and I m not talking windows or doors or roof That s typical maintenance that s covered by your cap. But. If you re doing anything extensive. Like what you re saying where you got it and tear it. It s gonna be a capital improvement, and that s not subject to the cap. It will go on at full market value in the first year. Ok. So there have been a few homes in Seoul point, So. Let s just I m not hypothetically. Literally. They have so somebody tears all the way down to the foundation down to the or down to the floor level. There s no walls. No. Nothing left, and they build new Does the portability or does it d? Do? You Get to take that old value with you? And? Let s say So. Let s say you had a million dollar home. You tear the Million dollar home down and you build a new million dollar home. What happens? Well any time the statute say any time you remove property, you re supposed to recognize that in the assessed value, so let s say you are moving temporarily. That s still your primary home. You. Let us know you file an affidavit. That s My intent is to stay here, but you re gonna go rent somewhere while you re rebuilding in that year that that house is demoed, we re gonna We re gonna take that off. You know it s gonna come down off your assessed value, so only the proportionate amount of assessed value That s attributable to your land would remain And. So then you build a new house. It would go on as new and it resets at whatever the value of the new house is right. Whatever whatever additional value attributable to that new construction would be added to the value above the cap. But that proportionate amount for the land and whatever was left the dock or pool or whatever that would still have the cap proportionate to that amount of the market value. That s typically how it would work. Mr h. Terrific presentation. As as always, commissioners. We need to do this every year. Um, because every time I hear, Um MISS Fields talk. It s It s, uh, it s so informative. It terrific, so I m sure that people also would like to visit you in person. And where do they do that? Our office is at 3473 Southeast Willoughby Boulevard, where suite 101. You can contact I on my on my website. Anytime that you say contact Jenny or schedule schedule a speaker. It always comes to me. I m Be there, Return any phone call? Um Yeah, My. My Direct line is 7722885618. You can call me every reason I presentation. I. Do they get my direct line, So. Um, but we have a great team of professionals at the office that are, uh, you know, willing to sit down and kind of go through this whole process. Anybody who wants us to come talk If, you click schedule a speaker. There s a whole list of topics. This was just one topic. Believe it or not, We have all kinds of topics to discuss, but it affects everyone from, uh, you know, so really, it s kind of how do we Gauge our outreach and and, uh, right now, we re actually reaching out to churches because it wasn t until I was sitting in my church going. I could really have information for all these people sitting here. So, uh, that was just another outreach initiative. We re trying to reach people to kind of get them before they sign on the dotted line. How to, you know Teach them everything they need to know as an owner or a potential owner. Thank you? Um and let s follow on to s. Um So when we do re Oregon NOVEMBER that would give people time before JANUARY 1st to figure out what they need to do and get time When you say what? In NOVEMBER when we do reorganization when our board does reorg, would that be a good time for you to come in every year? I kind of just depends. NOVEMBER. It s kind of a the tax bills have gone out. I can come in and talk. It really doesn t matter. I can you know it s gonna apply every year? I just wonder if there was a set time like Sarah said. If. You came in every single year and be in jail. Well. You know there s the numbers come out, I think. Well, I was just gonna say we have everything we do is repetitive over the years, so certain times of the year. I, really? We really hammer the outreach on tangible personal property because as a business owner, you need to know that s coming up APRIL 1st right now It s Homestead exemption come It s going to be the mill right? And how to understand your trim notice which I m all about, So. It s gonna be that and then come NOVEMBER. It s gonna be the taxes due or va b and explaining So really? It kind of just depends when you want us to come that we re going to have a a an important topic for that time of year five times a year. I know I ll do it. Well, MISS Fields. I just wanted to say so much. I. Appreciate your time and, um, excellent job. Ok. And with that we re gonna move on to proclamations. We have three today. We have Irish American Heritage Month Irish, uh, procurement, professional day and food. Our Flood Awareness week. Good morning commissioners. The Irish first came to Spanish La, Florida in the 15 hundreds first as missionaries and mercenary soldiers and then his as planters, traders, businessmen, doctors and administrators and three of the Spanish governors of La Florida were actually Irish military officers. Irish Americans, since America s inception, have provided leadership and service to Florida and our nation MARCH is recognized as Irish American Heritage month and all are encouraged to celebrate this cultural heritage and many valuable There are many valuable contributions and here to That. We have Ray Lynch, who is the national secretary and immediate past Florida State, PRESIDENT Of the ancient Order of Hibernians. Morning getting somewhere in the world. I d like to just take a second to thank the Martin County commissioners for joining The governor in 73 other municipalities across the state. Uh, in claiming MARCH 24th is Irish American Heritage Month. Um, like the the lovely lady said. My Name is Ray Lynch. I m, the national secretary of the ancient Order of Hibernians. We have Hibernians in every state. Um, across the state of Florida. We have 15 divisions. With just a little less than 800 Hibernians across the state. So. Um I, I thank you for for all Hibernians, but especially the ones in Florida. Thank you very much. Looks like dick crazy. He does. I know. Those kids like Who s Dick Trace, you know. To a Good to see you, buddy. Next. We have a proclamation declaring procurement month and procurement professionals day in Martin County. The public procurement profession plays a significant role in the efficiency and effectiveness of both government and business. Martin County s procurement professionals are committed to providing high caliber strategic, logistical and operational supports for all departments within the organization. In recognition of MARCH as procurement Month and MARCH 13th 2024 as procurement professionals Day the board recognizes the role of the purchasing and materials management profession within business industry and government and here to accept along with a lot of folks we have Christie Brotherton who s our chief procurement officer. The. Bring the team up. Uh, good morning. My Name is Christy Brotherton. I am your chief procurement officer. Um, I prepared a few words so please bear with me. Um it s with immense gratitude that I accept this proclamation on behalf of the purchasing division of Martin County declaring MARCH as procurement Month and MARCH 13th as procurement professionals day Um, this recognition not only honors our tireless efforts but acknowledges the vital role procurement plays in the success of our county. Uh, while you see me every other Tuesday, um We have a lot of very important individuals acting behind the scenes I would like to introduce them. Um, we ve got Seth McConaughey. Tasha s app. Autumn Bryan, Deborah, Gerwin, Morgan, Brigham and Katie folks. Um we also are under the leadership of Assistant County Administrator Matthew Graham hiding in the corner. You can come out There. There he is, um each member of our purchasing division embodies professionalism, expertise and dedication. It is their commitment to excellence that drives our division forward. Um, for those of you that don t know what purchasing does, Uh, we shoulder a significant responsibility processing approximately 100 formal solicitations annually overseeing selection committee meetings and coordinating pre bid meetings. Additionally we diligently administer over 400 contracts annually monitoring. Exp Teachers and administer the Prec program on behalf of the boc processing approximately 650 transactions each month. The oversight extends the approval of around 700 purchase orders monthly fixed asset inventory control and the management of surplus auctions. And. Furthermore, They conduct invaluable in house training throughout the year, ensuring that the county staff are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for procurement functions. I m proud to share that all of our purchasing staff hold professional procurement certifications and design. Demonstrating their commitment to ongoing professional development and education. This ensures that we stay abreast of the latest best practices and standards and procurement. I want to extend a special thanks to county Attorney Woods and her staff for unwavering support and ensuring that the procurement process is comply with the law in every aspect. Their guidance and expertise are invaluable in navigating complex legal matters, which feel like they change every day. Um, Furthermore I express my gratitude to Assistant County Administrator Matt Graham. His leadership not only sets a high standard for our team but also motivates us to exceed expectations in every task. We undertake his unwavering support. There s a culture of collaboration and innovation within our division, driving us to achieve our goals and serve Martin County with distinction and thank you to county Administrator Donaldson and Assistant county administrator Stokus for their continued support of our division and last, but not least, I want to thank the commission for their trust in our division to uphold fair, open and competitive procurement practices. It s an honor to serve our community in this capacity, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and transparency. So in closing, I extend my deepest appreciation to the board for this proclamation and let us continue working together to ensure the prosperity and well being of Martin County. Thank you That was a beautiful speech. I feel like we should give you an award or something. All. Right. Let s Have everybody scoot together. She s more organizer. I was very nice. Sign up very nice. Council squeeze right? Right. Everybody smile. We re gonna do a few 12. And. Our Final Proclamation Today is designating MARCH 4th through 10th 2024 as flood awareness Week in Martin County, Florida. Martin County has experienced severe weather in the past in the form of extreme rainfall and 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 during flood awareness Week again MARCH 4th through the 10th. The board encourages residents to increase their knowledge of how to protect themselves and their property from flooding and here to accept. We have Christine Madsen, who is the engineering per Manager with our public Works department. Thank you. Good Morning, commissioner. Good morning. The Martin County Public Works Department is joining a statewide effort to educate residents about the importance of flood awareness and the benefits of flood insurance. Flooding is one of the most common and expensive natural disasters that occur in the United States. Just one inch of flood water can cause up to $25,000 in damages. We encourage residents to become flood ready by being prepared and understanding the risks of flooding in our community. We asked residents to have an emergency plan and a disaster supply kit ready in case of an evacuation and to obtain flood insurance to protect their homes and property. During flood awareness Week. Residents can learn about the different flood related topics features on the county social media pages or by visiting the county s website. We also have flood awareness display set up here in the administrative center lobby at the Blake Library and the building department, so please stop by and take a look. Thank you. Thank you. I welcome back. Ok Now we are going to move on to public comment. Um Please limit your comments to three minutes at two minutes 45 seconds. You will hear a tone and that only means to wrap up your comments and, um there s a good chance I m going to mispronounce your name. So. When, you get to the podium. Uh, please, Uh, state your name and, uh And that s it. Oh, I m sorry. And don is going to do his thing first. Which I was prepared even on their way up. So since we are in election season politicking is prohibited, which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for public office, either partisan or nonpartisan. This includes the worst use of words, dates, signs, props and or wearing a pair apparel that convey a message of support for a person or a group of persons. Thank you. Ok, our first, um Person is Peter. And that will be followed by Ted Gilbert. Good morning. Good. Morning. Thank you for allowing me to speak today? My name is Peter York and I am the PRESIDENT Of the Mooring Safety Harbor Homeowners Association. Of 162 households. Our neighborhood located at Southeast, Saje River Road and Island Way and South Martin County consists of many seasoned citizens as well as young families with small Children. I am here to present to you a petition. With 186 signatures with a couple more while I was in travel today, uh, at my house and more to come from surrounding neighborhoods that was signed to express deep concern regarding a young man s recovery center, located directly on the west side of our neighborhood. 18890 South East jupiter Road appears to be a large and beautiful single family home. Located on 2.5 Acres with all upscale amenities. This is a one lane about 20 ft. Wide, Dead End privately maintained road located about 3.5 miles north of indiantown Road in jupiter, many of the moorings residents walk along jupiter Road walkers were impressed to see the year and a half long construction improvements. Little did We know that the home was To be sold to a business that houses young men with drug and alcohol issues. The nearest Martin County fire Rescue station is in Tsla in response times are limited. This subject property is on a dead end street with no turnabout for a fire truck. Just last week there was a car accident in the mornings. It took 20 minutes for emergency vehicles to arrive. Martin County code number 3.75 d states a recovery facility shall not be located within 10 miles of another such facility. The same company runs a home at 1808 3 southeast Federal Highway into Quest, a six point one miles away via county line road. Boring Safety harbor residents are not opposed to young men receiving treatment at a rehab facility. However We believe this type of business would have greater impact and better serve Martin County if located in a more of a business district. This would allow family members undisturbed access to loved ones located at the facility, while not disturbing the quiet enjoyment of the Mooring s safety harbor neighborhood. I believe it is wrong to unfair voyage to try to convince this board to enact zoning changes favorable to its business model. We, the homeowners of the moorings and surrounding communities respectfully request that Martin County deny the voyages request for reasonable accommodation. Thank you very much. I Dropped off a packet with the sheriff. That has the great thank you. Questions, do I? No. We can t do that. Can do that. Hang in there. Don t leave. I shall thank you. Gilbert is followed by Barbara Eric. Eric, I m sorry. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Ladies and gentlemen of the Martin County Board of county commissioners today I stand before you to address the topic of utmost importance. The placement of a drug rehabilitation facility at 18 8 90 southeast jupiter River Road. This matter has garnered significant attention in the moorings and adjacent developments as we grapple with the challenge of providing crucial support to individuals battling addiction while also being a community of victims still healing ourselves following the tragic 2016 double murder of our neighbors, just seven houses away from this business that that has moved in. This shook our community to its core as we strive to provide essential support to those battling addiction. We must also prioritize the safety and mental well being of our residents. Drug Addiction knows no boundaries, its effect. It affects individuals from all walks of life, tearing apart families and devastating communities while rehabilitation facilities offer hope for those seeking recovery. Their location demands careful consideration the disastrous outcome that presents itself when gaps in our current laws allow private for profit businesses to decide to locate a treatment facility in a residential neighborhood that itself is still recovering, is on full display. We must balance the rights of individuals seeking treatment with the unique and legitimate concerns of our neighborhood. For example. The community surrounding the proposed location or located in a distinctly underserved portion of Martin County. It s Martin County, with the Jupiter address severed from the rest of the county by 11,500 acres of Jonathan Dickinson State Park. The proposed location of the rehabilitation facilities in such a unique location raises critical questions that must be explored. Given, the location our emergency services equipped to handle a high risk population that resides in a sheltered area away from emergency and medical, Uh, emergency medical and police infrastructure that would be required to ensure everyone safety. Other questions that need to be answered. Why. Are, these businesses not required to obtain to obtain licenses through our county. Or to go through a vetting process at a local level. What about the workers and patients themselves that work at these facilities. Is there any screening for a history of violent or sexual crimes that takes place psychological issues that might lead to either? The lack of regulations only puts well intentioned facilities at a disadvantage and also breeds uncertainty and conflict within our communities. We must demand clarity and accountability from our governing bodies. How are these locations are these facilities determined Do Current laws Consider proximity to schools, parks pass sites of of tragedies that have scarred our community. What safeguards are in place to protect both our current residents and those on their healing journey. In closing. I urge this esteem board to consider any means possible to stop the approval of the reasonable assessment and work to institute common sense laws and regulations that prioritize the well being of our residents while upholding the principles of compassion and dignity for all individuals seeking rehabilitation. Thank you for your time. Thank you. You understand that? And when they re done And. Eric will be followed by Peter z. Coli. Good morning. My name is Barbara Yurick and I live in the moorings. I m here this morning to speak about concerns regarding the voyage. Recovery for substance abuse is application for reasonable accommodation. The ad, a and the fh a aim to ensure disabled people can live in housing by making reasonable modifications such as wheelchair ramps or handrails or potty park for your service Animal nowhere can I find that increasing the number of residents from 5 to 14 to be considered a reasonable modification. Request must be necessary to afford the recovering substance abuser an equal opportunity to enjoy and use the home. The application submitted does not discuss this at all perfect timing on an article in The Palm Beach post just last week. Hopefully You read it. The Article States Studies find that out of state vitters visitors who come to Florida for a addiction treatment have the highest risk of overdose deaths. The article also sta states stop sending your Children and your loved ones to South Florida because we re sending them back to you and in body bags, now, a study by Pennsylvania State University shows the chances of dying from drug overdose are 63% higher for out of state visitors in Florida than they are visitors from any other state at this recovery home. The patients are not incarcerated, which means they are free free to leave any time they want to the application states that the patients aren t allow. Cell phones, no vehicles. There s no therapy provided at the recovery home and the young men s are an active recovery. They re not recovered. They inactive recovery. It also states that frequently four out of six patients will experience emotional fallout after hours of therapy and not uncommon to be emotionally distraught and vulnerable. Wow, that s 66.6% now increase that number to 10 patients, and now we have six or seven distraught patients that Free to leave their property and wander through our quaint little community on a 3.5 mile hike while he attempts to calm down and not relapse. I hope one of those 6 to 7, distraught patients doesn t walk past my garage like Austin, Herr did. The Voyage website states that every Sunday our they encourage all the residents to have a family feast. Great now we have 10 patients inviting their whole family to come commute into our tiny little neighborhood if each patient only invites two family members Now, we have a dinner party of 34 or more every Sunday in our little neighborhood. Martin County can deny a reasonable accommodation request where the increased density of the patient census poses a direct threat to the safety or the Health of others or poses a direct threat of physical damage to the property of others, which treatment cannot be reduced or eliminated by other reasonable accommodations. They do not disclose, disclose any scientific studies, legal cases or present no meaningful evidence to support the request for the accommodation, reasonable accommodation. Just 14 is better than five. We re the homeowners of the warring and surrounding communities respectfully request that Martin County deny the voyages requested. Multi combination from 5 to 14. Based on the state. Your time is up. Thank you. Uh, Peter. Truly is followed by Diane Meyer. Good morning commissioners. My name is Peter Sokoli. I m, a Palm city business owner, Homeowner and PRESIDENT Elect of the Palm City Chamber. I m here today to request your support for the new field Parks Master plan. Like many things related to new field. This is an exciting plan. As you re aware MADAM E Holmes is building Newfield and they ve proven themselves to be a great corporate citizen investing in and supporting our community so much. In fact they were named the Palm City Chamber of Commerce 2023 business of the year. More than 70% of new Fields. 303,400 Acres will be open space conservation. The Park s master plan will protect and conserve more than 2400 acres. This will include playing fields as well as natural lands, a trail network totaling more than 50 Miles. All of this will be open and available for the public to use whether you plan to be a future resident of Newfield or not. The Trail Network that MADAM Me homes is creating is uniquely designed to accommodate hiking, biking and horseback riding. Newfield is a great example of what s possible when you combine sound planning principles with a commitment to conservation and community. Please support this excellent addition to our community. Thank you for your time. Dianne Meyer, followed by Kayla Shay. Hello. Commissioner. I admire. Um I Wanna make two technical considerations on two agenda items, which would be Most appreciative for transparency and closing some loopholes. Uh, first is r and p one text amendments to the comp Plan. With respect to the draft of the evaluation and appraisal review the ear conducted by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, where the commission is being asked to change the Comprehensive Growth management plan. This resolution must describe in specifically identify all amendments to the comp Plan and link each of these changes to the modified state statues or requirements. Otherwise a Martin County commissioners are essentially writing a blank check to the comp Plan that allows Staff and their developers to make changes as they see fit. The. Second one is agenda item cnst eight. Um I m not sure if this is conservation or recreation, it s Palmar East Subdivision future land Use map change. I recommend voting against this until the agenda language proposed and the resolution language proposes corrected to read public conservation only. With explicit definitions of what outdoor recreation means and what enforcement means. The agenda item is to start the process to change the comprehensive plan to designate the property public conservation only I m told by administrative aid that no off road vehicles are allowed on public conservation land. However, the agenda language states that the future land use map states land use consistent with open space and recreation. The problem is what s the meaning of outdoor recreation target shooting. Practice of shooting the gun, alligator hunting and any animal that moves being shot at driving quads, all terrain vehicles driving swamp buggies, automatic gunfire, bombs, unpermitted structures, motorcycles. Bulldozers heavy equipment, Earth moving vehicles. All these activities, destroying the fragile and sensitive conservation area must be specifically delineated and defined as not permitted. The county is too familiar with the destruction of sensitive, pristine lands in Palmar west, the unincorporated drainage of uplands and wetlands by not defining outdoor recreation is leaving the door open for unscrupulous attorneys who Say. All of the above are permitted outdoor recreation since the Sheriff s department is not patrolling Palmar West because it s onerous, what mechanism and safeguard will there be for enforcement? I urge you to tighten the language and make it consistent and specific spell out what is permitted and not permitted. And. Is there any enforcement Thanks. Kayla will be followed by Megan Shirley. Morning morning. My Name s Kyla Shea. I m the longtime PRESIDENT Of Trailside Homeowners Association. Let s talk about Paul. I see that Palmar East is addressed The nine gems property. Like with Diane. We re concerned with the wording, the description says open space and recreation. We experience The version of Recreation daily. We experience that sheriff s department public works aren t patrolling otherwise you d know about the bombed out Barot car with windows that are shot out. That s been on Pratt Whitney for the last eight days. It s a wonderful reminder of what we get to endure daily. That s great You re gonna do something about Palmer Yeast. What about Palmar North? Our most recent home sale and Trailside was for four point 3 million. Mrs fields went through and described how property taxes are assessed. The most recent lot that sold was for 675,000. Were still abandoned. We re still alone. We re still waiting and trail size as a whole demands a private meeting again to be updated on the status of pal Mar. Thank you for your time. Ms Shirley will be followed by Cherie Chie. Excuse me. I told you, I do it. We will be followed by Mr Tom Pine Pine Pine. I got that. Good morning. My name is Megan shy. I am the director of marketing and external affairs for the Boys and Girls Club of Martin County. And I m, also the vice PRESIDENT Of the Palm City Chamber of commerce. I m here today to speak in support of the new field Parks Master plan. We ve had the opportunity to team with MADAM E Holmes, which is making night Kiplinger s vision for new field of reality on several initiatives. We appreciate the company s commitment to our community. That commitment is reflected at Newfield Farm where our club member Took part in planting and growing vegetables. It was a fun educational experience for our kids taking part in agricultural activities upholds the emphasis that we place on the club s nutrition and healthy choices. The experience at Newfield Farm also complements the gardening work that our members are already doing at our hope Sound and Indian Town clubs. Hopefully. You ve had the chance to enjoy the meals that our members create and cater through our food truck known as fork in the road. You MAY have even tasted these meals from fork in the road at the monthly Newfield Farm green market where we have been featured. The food Our members create is delicious and often incorporates vegetables that they have grown themselves. As we often say the fork in the road team Does everything grow the vegetables, create the menu, Cook and soothe the food. Except for drive the truck. They re not old enough to drive the truck just yet. Most relevant to today s agenda. Items are the thousands of acres of conservation land being protected at Newfield. We have been looking forward to the official opening of the trail Network that made me is creating a new field ever since we attended the dedication of the Kiplinger Conservancy last year. This will be an amazing benefit to the entire public. Please vote in support of this item. Thank you. No. MR. Fine. Uh, pine will be followed by Mr Paul Owens. Morning commissioners. My name s Tom Pine. I ve been a resident of Martin County for over 50 years in today s consent agenda, this county commission will approve 15,000,319 $958.60 spent between FEBRUARY 5th and FEBRUARY 12th of 2024 well, then identifying the names of the payees or the purpose of the payments. This is the same consent agenda that this county commission used to hide from We. The taxpayers millions of dollars in cost overruns at of our county. Golf course what is being hidden today in the consent of that, in the consented that might be of interest to the taxpayers of Martin County. At, the last county commission meeting, this board approved the proposal to add a half sent To the sales tax to buy conservation land. Because. There is so much distrust of our mountain of our county government if this tax increases For land conservation passes in the NOVEMBER general election, there ll be an oversight community conspire cons. Rising of the Martin County Taxpayers Association, the Martin County Rs Association, the Tourist Development board. At the same meeting Our Covenant our county government gave us another loud and clear example. Why. We. Don t trust our local government. It was the slimy way that senior staff gave our county government an easy out to prove a land designation change at the park on Park Drive in Port Solo Cerno senior staff had a seawall erected at that location prior to the land even being approved for MAY Marine Waterfront commercial. Which made it impossible for any alternative to even be considered. What. Did you expect senior staff don t work for the taxpayers of Martin County. They work for the big spenders of our commanding commission. As we as a county go into more and more business ventures. Is that why more local residents are being kicked to the curb. Because. Now. It s all about making money instead of serving the community. Sad. Another Tree car accident on Indian River drive in the Jensen Beach area. I believe it s at least the fourth. Three car accidents since the Beau beautification project was completed. Just like to be doing a Dixie highway on the port Salerno area after the beautification accidents go up. That s scary because Jensen Beach Boulevard is slated for beautification real soon. It seems beautification is more important than safety in Martin County. What. You permit. You promote what you allow you encourage. What you condone you own. Thank you. MISTER. Owens will be followed by Barry Kerber. Mr chair. There s an opportunity to speak during the year presentation. Oh, absolutely. I ll put this aside. Mr Barry Sher. So. Uh, they re gonna have an evaluation of the, uh, comprehensive growth management plan. Uh, I. So far I ve evaluated it in my time and most of what you have approved hasn t even come to fruition. I mean it s just ideas, but already I can tell you that as uh, Quality of life in Martin County, who was, uh, who s benefiting? From all these, uh, additional amendments that you all are are passing My quality of life hasn t gotten any better. From it. I know this When. I go to park downtown. I know that I have to go so far, I need an uber to get back downtown. That s not That s not helping me and you And. What about what we re gonna have parking meters downtown. That s not in in helping my way of life or anybody else s way of life. That s a citizen of this area. Traffic is worse. Drivers are worse. We don t need to import more bad drivers. We got plenty of our own. I hear people talking about accidents. I cannot believe the amount of accidents that I ve seen in the last two months. Ridiculous accidents like these people have no clue about which end of a car even to get into the drive. It s crazy, waiting. Doctors shortage of doctors, Uh, police, firemen. Crossing guards. They re short of crossing guards, so Schools are overcrowded. They re going to get worse. Not better. These kids deserve a good education. They don t need to be stuffed into classrooms with a shortage of teachers. We don t need more building. We need a better quality of life here and having all this new, uh, building is not really gonna help. So. That s all I have to say, and, uh I think with all the amendments you all are making and, uh, pretty soon. Uh, we can take the word management out of, uh, comprehensive planning. Thank you. We have Linda Smith, followed by Belinda Giles. Hm? Well gels. Good morning. Linda Smith jupiter, Florida, representing the Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group. Including members and supporters of Martin County. I ve given you a copy of these comments as well. I wasn t sure if I d stay long enough to be able to read them, but I appreciate your time. Speaking on the nrp one draft evaluation and appraisal report on the Comprehensive Growth Management plan. I. Hope you ve all read the 341 pages of Treasure Coast regional councils evaluation and, more importantly, digested the information from quite frankly a fairly poorly advertised to workshops and one survey of residents participation in these workshops and surveys was something around. What zero point 0 1%, or is that anyway? You can do the math. Um None of the surveyed were under the age of 18, yet they will be the ones that will have to live with your decisions. 91% say redevelopment, not new development on vacant lands There should tell you not to approve any amendments on vacant lands. 73% say redevelopment needs to take place along the commercial corridors. This should tell you there should be no development outside of the urban boundary. 87% said the development to develop living shorelines and just as an aside um you need to procure and guarantee funding for the Indian River, c 23 and c 24 reservoir projects Currently. The Florida. Senate budget is considering defunding these everyone should be writing letters to their senators right now. Um, staff. I know you re underpaid and overworked, And. I know you must do what your bosses tell you to do. But, you know, from your education and experience that sometimes this council is asking you to do something that is not in good planning. You don t need to tell them what they wanna hear. You need to tell them what they need to hear. Don t propose blank checks the ceo of a company is only as good as the information they receive from their staff. Each amendment needs to describe the purpose. What are the good and what are the bad take off the glossy, rosy glasses that the developers often provide. Commissioner should not be initiating amendments without disclosure of specific subjects and specific language words matter. As far as Palmyra Palm needs help. It is being destroyed. Please tighten this language and provide enforcement provide funding for enforcement because without funding, there will be no enforcement. And I. Thank you for your time. Uh, Belinda gels is my last speaker for him. So if anybody s Else would like to speak. Good morning, Belinda gels I live in Palm City 35 years now. It s not my first time up here. I did want to thank you for your service all these years, but I like all the people that have spoken so far are concerned about what is happening in this county. I m concerned about the apartments, the condos, the townhouses everywhere, and there seems to be No regard for leaving. Oh. Here s a pasture. What, could we put here? Everyone has expressed frustration with traffic. If, You look at the sheriff s Facebook page, which I m looking at every day now. And there have been 100 and 40 accidents already this year. And. We are just on the fifth of MARCH. Look at these consequences. And realize at some point they re going to affect you or