Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome to, it is March 10th to the Alaska County Board of County Commissioners. Thank you all for being here. Before we get started, we're going to do our invocation by the Reverend Arthur Lee from Holy Trendy Episcopal Church. If everyone could please stand, and then after the invocation, join me for the pledge. Reverend, welcome. Thank you. Let us pray. Gracious God, we give you thanks for the gift of community and for the responsibilities entrusted to those who serve the public good. Be present with these commissioners as they deliberate and decide. Grant them wisdom to seek what is just, courage to do what is right, and humility to listen carefully to the needs of all those whom they serve. Bless this county and all who live and work here. May the work done in this place promote fairness, peace, and the well-being of every neighbor, especially those whose voices are seldom heard. Guide these proceedings in a spirit of mutual respect and goodwill, that the decisions made here today may contribute to the common good and strengthen the bonds of our shared life. All this, we ask in your most holy name. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America for one nation. Okay. Thank you. So before we get started, Manager Lieberman, is there any changes to the agenda? Mr. Chair, no specific changes to the items listed on the agenda. I will give an update regarding animal resources if necessary during manager comment. Okay. Great. Um, I know we had some press on that and so I'm happy to hear we'll get an update on that and certainly if we need to address it sooner we'll try to do that. Um, commissioners, is there any changes? If not, I'll look for a motion. Move approval of the agenda and regular and consent agenda. Second. Got a motion and a second to approve the agenda and the consent agenda. Is there any discussion? Anyone from the public which should speak to the motion on the floor? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the board. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. That motion is unanimous. All right. Mr. Clerk, first item. Mr. Chair, that brings us to the announcements. Communications Director Mark Sexton is here to present those. Thank you, Steve. Welcome. Good morning, Mr. Chair. Good morning. Mr. Chair, you can see on our screen someone that we're very proud of this morning. I want to take a moment and recognize the next outstanding member of Alachua County Animal Resources, Michael Lauderer, who has recently been named a finalist for the Florida Animal Protection and Advocacy Association's Employee of the Year. Michael is our lead veterinary tech and this recognition really speaks to his dedication and leadership that he brings to the job every day. During a critical staffing transition, he has stepped up in a major way to help keep our veterinary services running smoothly. He has supported the team and he makes sure that our animals continue to receive the care they need. In addition to handling major administrative and operational responsibilities, Michael also continues to provide hands-on medical care, respond to emergency cases and help animals towards staying healthy and adoptable. Just as important, he's known for his professionalism, fairness and positive attitude. He is a trusted leader of your department and we honor him today. And Mr. Chair, he was a finalist, but at the awards ceremony the other night, he was the one selected. So he did win a statewide award and he was voted on by members of the organization from throughout the state to win that award. So we're very proud of him. So that's two applause. See, you're making news today, Mark. You didn't even know. Thank you, manager, for that late-breaking story. I appreciate that. And also, Mr. Chair, we wanted to share that every once in a while we take stock in our accessibility, particularly from an ADA point of view. And I wanted to remind folks that are here and folks that come to our meetings that we do have electronic hearing assist devices. You can go over and see Steve if you need one. They're very simple to use. All you do is put it over your ear and it increases the volume of the meeting. Also, we've got a kind of a temporary situation here, but we are working with Jackie Chung's office and we are ordering a table that is built specifically to accommodate wheelchairs. We are also putting in a wired mic there. So in future, if you come to our meetings with a wheelchair, you won't have to navigate as much as you've had to do in the past. It will be very easy to pull right up to the chair and have a mic there available. And we are making those same upgrades to the Grace Knight conference room as well. Excellent. So we want to let our residents know we've got closed captioning in the room, hearing assist devices, and we are very, very wheelchair accessible and getting more so in the near future. And, Mr. Chair, those are the announcements. Okay. Thank you, Mark. All right. Next up, we've got the approval of the recognitions. If I could get a motion to approve the three, and then we'll go ahead and present them. So moved. Second. Motion and a second to approve the three recognitions. Any discussion? Anyone from the public wish to speak to the motion? Seeing none back to the board. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion is unanimous. All right, Mr. Clerk, what's the first one? Mr. Chair, that's the presentation of a proclamation recognizing March 15th through March 21st as National Safe Place Week in Alachua County, Florida. I think we've got Commissioner Alford that's going to give that presentation. Yes. I will make sure we... Good morning. I have a proclamation today declaring March 15th through the 21st as National Safe Space Week in Alachua County, Florida. Whereas the youth of Alachua County, Florida will determine the future and strength of our country and be the bearers of democracy. And whereas youth need a safe haven from various negative influences such as child abuse, substance abuse, depression, and crime. And youth need readily available resources to assist them when faced with circumstances that compromise their safety. And whereas the Safe Place program is committed to protecting the youth of Gainesville by offering access to immediate help and safety for young people seeking assistance and guidance. And whereas there are community organizations such as Operate Safe Space programs in the county with the support of numerous local businesses and volunteers who make their facilities available to assist in providing a safe environment for those in need. And whereas increased awareness will encourage more communities to establish safe space locations where youth can readily access the help they need. Now, therefore, through the authority vested in me by the Board of County Commissioners of Alachua County, Florida, I do hereby proclaim the week of March 15th through March 21st as National Safe Place Week in Alachua County, Florida. Duly proclaimed this 10th day of March 2026. And we are getting you the official signed version, but we had a little mess this morning. So we have the unsigned version right here. Thank you. And I know a lot of you have probably seen those stickers on doors that say safe space. And that's what this is about. And, you know, as the mother of four kids growing up, I appreciated spaces like that when they were out and about to know that they had a safe place that they could turn to if they felt threatened. So I'll give you a chance to introduce yourself and your colleague and talk a little bit about the organization. Thank you, Commissioners and Chair Cornell. My name is Bill Kabler, and I am still the President and CEO of CDS Family and Behavioral Health Services, at least through the end of this month. I'll introduce my successor in just a minute. I'm retiring. Safe Place is a very important program for CDS and nationally. You've seen the signs, as Commissioner Alford just said. And what that means is any youth, for any reason, who feels in danger in any way, can just walk into that site. And they will contact us. They will contact locally the Interface Youth Shelter. And they will take the youth off the hands. The people who operate those, they don't need to do any counseling. They don't need to do any interview. They just need to make the child feel comfortable, pick up the phone, and call us. And we operate this, in addition to Alachua County, in all 11 counties that CDS serves. And has served for 55 years and about to serve 56 in two weeks. Having said that, with your permission, I would like to introduce my successor as President and CEO, PJ Minzy, who has come to us from Hillsborough County. Please, PJ, welcome. Thank you. Good morning. I appreciate, you know, having the time to speak. As Phil mentioned, I will be taking over as of April 1. Super excited to be back. I am coming from Hillsborough. But I grew up right here in Gainesville. I graduated from PK Young. And so, excited to be back here. And excited to work with you all. So, thank you, Commissioner. Yeah. A wave. All right. Thank you. All right. Mr. Clerk, next item. I think it's Commissioner Wheeler. Mr. Chair, the next item is the presentation of a proclamation recognizing March 23rd as the World Periodic Paralysis Day in Alachua County, Florida. You can introduce yourself, too, if you don't mind. Thank you. All right. No, no. I need to. All right. Alachua County, Florida, a proclamation declaring March 23rd as World Periodic Paralysis Day in Alachua County, Florida, whereas periodic paralysis is a rare genetic condition that affects the muscles and is part of a larger group of disorders called skeletal muscle channelopathies, which impact how muscle cells send and control the electrical signals needed for movement, and where skeletal muscle channelopathies include periodic paralysis as well as related conditions such as non-dystrophic myontonias. Come here. This is why they gave this to me. They thought that I would be able to pronounce this. I so appreciate you. Could you read that one for me? Um, whereas skeletal muscle channelopathies include periodic paralysis as well as related conditions such as non-dystrophic myotonias and myotonia congenita, which can cause muscle stiffness, weakness, and difficulty moving. And whereas people living with skeletal muscle channelopathies often face unpredictable episodes of muscle weakness, stiffness, pain, and fatigue that can greatly affect daily life, work, and overall well-being. Without, whereas, sorry. Whereas, without proper management, periodic paralysis leads to permanent muscle weakness, PMW, which may result in the loss of the ability to walk and can occur even outside of attacks. And whereas raising awareness of periodic paralysis and other skeletal muscle channelopathies can lead to earlier diagnosis, better treatment, and stronger support for individuals and families affected by these conditions. And whereas March 23rd is World Periodic Paralysis Day, a global day that brings the periodic paralysis community together to educate others about this rare condition, raise awareness, and inspire hope. Now, therefore, through the authority vested in me by the Board of County Commissioners of Alachua County, Florida, I do hereby proclaim March 23rd as World Periodic Paralysis Day in Alachua County, Florida, duly proclaimed this 10th day of March A.D. 2026, Board of County Commissioners of Alachua County, Florida, signed by Ken Cornell, our chair, who's standing right here beside you, along with all the rest of us, and attested to by Jess Hervey, clerk of the court. Now, if you would like to talk, you may. If you would not. I would. I have something. You could get a pass. Bear with me. This is emotional. This is the second annual one. I'm used to public speaking, I promise. I've done it all over the country for years. But this is really emotional for me today. My name is Leslie Wingler. And I just wanted to thank you all so much for taking the time to do this. It is an honor. I wanted to say a society is judged not by how it treats the majority, but by how it cares for those facing the rarest challenges. Thank you to Alachua County for recognizing World Periodic Paralysis Day and helping shine a light on rare diseases. Periodic paralysis is a genetic condition that affects the muscles in the body's ability to regulate potassium within the cells. During attacks, individuals can suddenly lose the ability to move their arms, legs, speak clearly, swallow, or even breathe normally. These episodes can last for hours or days, and for many patients, they occur without warning. They can also be extremely painful and destructive to everyday life. Because the condition is rare, many patients spend years searching for a diagnosis and often encounter health care providers who have never seen the disorder before. Increased awareness can lead to earlier recognition, better emergency care, and improved treatment options for patients and families living with this disease. I live with periodic paralysis, and like many patients, I know firsthand how unpredictable and challenging it can be. Awareness is not just symbolic. It leads to earlier diagnosis, better treatment, and hope for the future. I'm deeply grateful for the gratitude of the extraordinary physicians, especially Dr. Sue Maroney, who has endless wisdom, knowledge, knowledge, and dedication has been instrumental in my life's care over the past 14 years and the lives of so many patients. My advocacy is also deeply personal. Over a decade ago, I lost my favorite cousin to a rare disease. He was just 24 years old, and his face would light up every room he entered. His memory reminds me why this work matters so much. Rare diseases affect 1 in 10 out of every person in America, yet they remain often invisible. Greater awareness leads to research, better treatment, and hope for the future. Because while each of us may be uniquely rare, together we are strong, courageous, and resilient. And together, we will turn awareness into action. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Chair, next up is a presentation of a proclamation declaring March 24th as National Agriculture Day in Alachia County, Florida. All right. Hello, everyone. It's my pleasure and privilege to get to present this one today. As many of you know, agriculture and the work around food systems has been a past of mine for over a decade, and I'm really excited about all the work that our team has done, that our board is committed to, and that our economic development team and many others have done to help further our agricultural ecosystem. We have a lot of great people here today that I'm sure will share more words about that work. But before they do, I will read this proclamation declaring March 24th as National Agriculture Day in Alachia County, Florida. Whereas agriculture and the food system are essential to Alachia County's economy, providing jobs, local businesses, and contributing to the resilience and well-being of communities across the county. And whereas Alachia County is home to a diverse network of more than 1,700 farms, all of which play a vital role in strengthening the connections between our local farmers and residents, expanding access to fresh, regionally grown food, and promoting nutritious eating and healthy lifestyles. And whereas a strong framework of food access organizations, farmers markets, and community-supported agriculture programs, and agritourism experiences connect our Alachia County residents and visitors with local food, celebrate agricultural traditions, and preserve our rural character. And whereas Alachia County's agricultural community serves as stewards of the land and exemplifies an enduring commitment to nourishing current and future generations with locally grown food and fostering food literacy by providing education, mentorship, and hands-on experiences that connect people to agricultural practices, the honor and traditions and flavors that define our county's food culture. And whereas National Agriculture Day is an opportunity to recognize the hard work, innovation, and perseverance of Alachia County's farmers, ranchers, and food producers, whose contributions feed our community, strengthen our food system, and sustain the economic, cultural, and social fabric of our county. Now, therefore, through the authority vested in me by the Board of County Commissioners, I do hereby proclaim March 24th as National Agriculture Day in Alachia County, Florida. Thank you all so much. Again, I'm so proud of what our county has done in this regard. I could go on and on about it, but I won't because I know we have a lot more to get to. But I do want to turn it over to Bailey so she can introduce some of the folks here and tell you a little bit more about what we're up to. And I'll start. I'll turn it over and direct our attention to the screens. We've had fabulous work with some wonderful farmers who graciously invited us. All right, you guys might want to step forward so you don't get hit by the screen. So, I'll let the video speak for itself. My name is Rebecca Fox and I, together with my family, I'm running River and Root Farm. In addition to wanting to live our values through becoming farmers, we really searched for where in Florida we wanted to be. We love Florida. We wanted to represent and maintain and promote old Florida. And at the same time, really, we're looking for an area where we could have space and connect with nature and really get the support of the local area. And really kind of fell in love with the messaging of supporting small farmers, supporting agritourism, and not just supporting but really putting that at the forefront of their mission that we heard from Alachua County and through the county commission. We're Shannon and Jeff. This is Three Oak Farm. We operate about a hundred head cattle operation. In addition to that, we have some specialty crops. We've done cut flowers for local florists and wholesalers. And we also grow custom seeds for seed producers. So, when you go into the store and buy a packet of seeds, it's made by a farmer like us. This land isn't farmed by us for the first time. It has generations of farming. We're first-generation farmers, and we have a lot to thank from the generations that came before us. You know, our sons, they see us working hard. They see us serving the land, being stewards of these animals, working with our neighbors. I think it sets a good example. Thank you. My name is Bailey McClellan. I am the Agricultural Economic Development Coordinator for Alachua County. And I am just so grateful for the opportunity today to recognize Alachua County's agriculture and food systems community. This recognition today, I think, feels especially meaningful coming off the heels of last month's severe freeze, where farms across the state of Florida experienced significant crop losses. What I think stands out the most is the resilience of the people behind those farms. And their ability to adapt and respond to challenges is truly inspiring. And it reminds me of why sharing stories like the video we just watched is so important to connecting Alachua County residents and visitors to our local food producers. And I'm also so glad today for the incredible people who joined us. We have Rebecca Fox and David Tuttle from River and Root Farm. And we also are joined by Jeff Padinko over here with Three Oak Farm, who were just incredible to go out on property and share the story of local agriculture in Alachua County. We're also joined today with the incredible Mr. Don Nix. Thank you so much. And my wonderful colleague Tatiana with UF IFAS. So thank you all so much. I want to just say thank you to the Alachua County Commissioners. You've always been a partner to agriculture. I'm a fourth generation farmer. I'm on the east side of Gainesville in a little community called Rochelle, Florida. That's where my grandfather and my uncles started our cattle farm. It's just not an economical thing. It's a way of life for us. And as farmers, especially generational farmers, we are hitting, we fight a lot of battles, but we love it. And because we love it, it's not a job for us. It's, as I said, it's a way of life. And again, we thank you so much. Mr. Chair, while they're taking a picture. Oh, no. Come ahead, because I have something for you, too. Good morning. Thank you. Thank you for recognizing National Agriculture Day and for supporting the farmers in our community. My name is Rebecca Fox. I'm my partner, David, and I steward River and Root Farm, as you saw, northeast of Gainesville along the Santa Fe River. We grow blueberries and bamboo and are currently working towards organic certification while supporting healthy soil, biodiversity, and clean water. Because our farm sits along the Santa Fe River, we also think deeply about how agriculture and watershed stewardship go hand in hand. For us, farming is about more than producing food. It's about caring for the land in a way that allows it to remain healthy and productive for generations to come. We feel a responsibility to be good stewards of this land for the people of Alachua County today and for those who will call this place home in the future. We're grateful to be part of the agricultural community here and to share the farm with neighbors through U-Pix, farm visits, and local food. So if any of you would ever like to visit the farm and see the work firsthand, you are always welcome. Everybody is welcome. Thank you so much again for supporting local agriculture and land stewardship in Alachua County. Thank you, Rebecca. All right. Let's get a picture. And Commissioner Wheeler, go ahead. Yes, I did. I just wanted to say I'm real excited to see the youth involved in all of these things, too. It's nice to know that their hope does spring eternal because we really need you all out there. But I did also want to say, Mr. Nix, all of you guys, there are a couple of Anatolian Pyrenees shepherds out at our shelter, male and female, who need a job. So if any of you all are interested in herding animals, they're out there. Their owner died, and so they're ready to go. If you know of anybody who could use a good working dog, two good working dogs, you know, check it out. Good job, Mary Helen. Okay. So, Mr. Clerk, I think we are at high noon. Let's go ahead and pause for public comment. And if you all will just come on up, introduce yourself. We've got a light system. Green means go. Yellow means 30 seconds. Red means wrap up your comments, and we'll let the next person speak. So, Mr. Connish, welcome. And we also have two, before you start the timer, we also have two podiums if there are several people who wish to speak. Yeah, we've got two places where you can queue up if you'd like to be over here as well. Go ahead, Mr. Connish, recognize. Yes, Mr. Chair, Jim Connish, if I have the overhead. Overhead, please. This had become the new normal slightly up string from Post Springs where I have a .2 acre lot. This is what I saw yesterday, sir. So, when everyone gets psyched up about going out to the river and going to the springs, at this rate, I think the springs will stop flowing again like in 2012 and be toxic to any kind of human occupation. There is no access to Post Springs from up or down river. The river is simply too low. In 1994, having never voted, after acquiring a 36-acre parcel next to Post Springs Park, Bobby Summers decided it would be a good idea to put an RV park with a dump station adjacent to the park right here. I had never voted up until that time. So, I sued the county and the water management district, stopped the surface water permit, found an archaeological site, and stopped the project, supported Hutch and Newport all in. And that's when the paradigm of the Alachua County Commission changed. And that's when my life changed, because I realized I need to get involved. I have brought to your attention a Chinese gentleman, and I sold him the land. I'm not a racist. He came in, and with your permission, built a 6,000-square-foot structure with no stormwater, wiped out 2.1 acres of a rare natural hardwood hammock, and dug a big hole. He went in front of codes. Here he is, pretending not to speak English. The man's English is better than mine. He's highly intelligent. He's very wealthy. He was ordered to take corrective action. Well, the corrective action is to go to the Development Review Committee. And at this point, he has not been cited for this at all. And the dirt he dug out is under a 6,000-square-foot sap. The county needs to take action against someone that attacks the floodplain, and he's not the only one. With the river so low, any kind of pollution is concentrated, because the volume of the river at this point is 10% of what it was in the 80s when I first went out there. Now, while this dereliction of your duties occur, my farm is under systematic attack, and Missy knows all about it, on stuff that's not even there. Like, I have longleaf pine wire grass. We're not polluting the land. We don't have campers. We don't poop on the ground. All the things that are being applied in the land are completely false. I urge you to protect this crown jewel of your park system from terrible abuse. Thank you, Mr. Collins. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, next speaker. Welcome. All right. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Patricia Antonucci. I'm appearing again regarding ongoing concerns at Alachua County Animal Resources. Everyone, I think, is aware of a letter submitted by Anthony, the former ACAR outreach coordinator. Of course, we understand that the allegations within Anthony's letter are subject to investigation, but they certainly seem to corroborate what we've been saying all along. If this board waits to act until the investigation concludes, we fear that conditions for the animals will continue to plummet and the public trust will continue to erode. We really need the BOCC's oversight. We, as constituents, are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of meaningful response to our advocacy. As a recap, we began attending BOCC meetings in January of 2026. In February of 2026, three quarters of the outreach team resigned after being told they must be available to sign off on euthanasia seven days per week. In the immediate wake of these resignations, I emailed the board asking for a moratorium on euthanasia. I attended the next BOCC meeting via phone and spoke of my fear that staff had experienced retaliation. I also spoke of my concern for 10 plus dogs, including 50 Cent and Lily, who are on our shirts today, who were mysteriously transferred to a rescue which refuses to be identified. Advocates were assured that the shelter had everything under control and that the resignations were all on the up and up. We just didn't have the in-depth knowledge to comprehend the inner workings of the shelter. Respectfully, that response was erroneous and also dismissive of the extensive knowledge and efforts of volunteers who do know better. At every step of this process, ACAR leadership and county management have been defensive and dismissive of our efforts. The BOCC has been misled by shelter leadership and must now recognize that ACAR does not have the best interest of our county's animals or citizens at heart. Shelter management has obfuscated on statistics, selectively excluded staff and forced euthanasia, all while actively attempting to limit public and volunteer involvement and dismissing our efforts to help their supposed admission. On the other hand, they've been quick to pat themselves on the back via social media and engage in performative displays for members who visit the shelter. That we have been categorized as lynching ladies and gas lit for our advocacy is indicative of ACAR's attitude towards the public they serve. We have been civil, factual, unreasonable, but have been met with hostility, retaliation and inaction. The public, inclusive of animal welfare experts, have recently responded with support and strong suggestions to suspend those accused of wrongdoing, yet those individuals remain at the shelter. The BOCC just approved a multi-million dollar lease for a new shelter building and has extolled exciting plans for a new welcoming adoption center. But none of that will matter if the inequity amongst staff, the abuse, neglect of animals and decisions to ignore public outcry continue. ACAR is closed tomorrow so that staff can meet with candidates for the director position. We would like the BOCC's word that you will be directly involved in that selection process and wonder if a volunteer representative should sit in on the interviews. The issues of concern mentioned in Anthony's letter can and will change under proper leadership. When our county gets that opportunity, it depends largely on choices made in the next few weeks. We've done our part and we welcome the county's cooperation moving forward. Thank you all. Thank you, Patricia. Next speaker. Good afternoon. My name is Lynn Moore. Several weeks ago, myself and others attended two BOCC meetings regarding issues at the Alasio County Animal Shelter. We were concerned with the direction the shelter was headed under the interim management and at the alarming increase in euthanasia of several seemingly healthy dogs. More recently, the sudden resignation of three key staff members was a huge blow to the shelter. At the meetings, we got sympathetic nods from the commissioners and looks of concern, comments that they would follow up on our grievances, et cetera. Our concerns did not seem to be taken very seriously, but they should have been. A whistleblower recently submitted an email to the BOCC and the allegations are horrific and unacceptable to the members of our community. The deceitful and disgusting actions of the current interim administrative staff should result in their immediate removal. The county shelter is supposed to be a place to keep animals safe and secure. Instead, it has become a place of abuse and suffering. There is a total lack of compassion for the animals by the interim director and current shelter supervisor. Images were shared of dogs wallowing in their own feces, others in puddles of blood, still others found dead in their kennels in the morning when techs made their rounds. This is completely unacceptable, and we as a dog-loving community cannot stand for it. These actions are egregious and have no place in our shelter. There is a lack of respect for staff as well, with name-calling, targeting, and microaggression. Some volunteers are labeled lynching ladies, which is highly inappropriate and unprofessional, and shows a total lack of appreciation for the free labor supplied by volunteers. Calling certain breeds a bunch of little cujos and cheerfully celebrating their demise is evil. Our community expects better, and we are here to demand that this happens. We need a qualified shelter director who is experienced in running a no-kill shelter. Brittany Dazzo is not this person and should not even be in the running, especially since she is a huge part of the upcoming investigation into allegations of cruelty and abuse. Gina Peebles should no longer be allowed to manage our shelter. It is an outrage that a person with so little compassion for animals is allowed to continue to be a part of the county shelter. We are not lynching ladies. We are educated, mature, compassionate women who care about the welfare of the animals in the shelter that our tax dollars help support. We need transparency and truth and must re-partner with the rescues in our community to be able to achieve no-kill status again. Many valid suggestions were made at the end of the whistleblower's email, and we as a community need to help ensure that these are carried out. This is our shelter, our community animals, and we are advocates for them, not activists. We must be the voice of those who cannot speak. We will not let this go, and we will continue to show up, share, speak out, and fight for our animals. Make no mistake, we are not going away, and we are counting on the BOCC to help oversee the rebirth of our shelter. Please make the right decision and hiring of our new director. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Moore. Next speaker, please. Good afternoon, Commissioners. My name is Chris Stoich. I am here to add my voice to the alarm raised in an email sent to the commission by a former staff member of the Alaska County Animal Shelter concerning the cruel and disturbing conditions there. These allegations are horrifying. If even half of them can be sustained in a true independent investigation, criminal charges should be mandatory for those responsible. At the very least now, management at the shelter should be immediately suspended. With the few precious moments I have before you, I have two specific asks. One, I demand the identity of the secret rescue that 10-plus dogs were sent on February 22nd or 23rd. Find out their current status and give the community answers. This incident has created a very deep distrust in the management of the shelter that will be difficult to get past. There are so many red flags pertaining to their removal, from requesting dogs back that were in foster care to kennel cards placed that said the dogs were not available for adoption. The official ACAR Facebook page placed a taunting post regarding the statute that said the shelter administration didn't have to tell the community where the dogs were and they weren't going to. There were over 60 citizen comments to that post. If you haven't read them, you should. We are heart sick, wondering their fate, and we are tired of being told that we don't know the whole story. Tell us. The second ask is to protect volunteers from retaliation from the shelter leadership for simply speaking up when major red flags are flying. Create a policy that volunteers cannot be dismissed for presenting issues of concern. No one is trying to make mountains out of molehills here. We've all seen less than ideal conditions at the shelter for as long as we've been there. We haven't come to you for those. But the work that volunteers do is incredibly important, and we don't want to get that stopped. A few studies have shown that volunteer interactions have improved adoption rates five to ten times over animals that don't get that attention. Obviously getting them socialized, extra exercise, enrichment outings, fostering, rescue partners, helping at adoption events, all help to rehome these animals. We also have one incredibly talented volunteer that takes absolutely beautiful portraits of these animals. Those pictures capture the true nature of the cats and dogs, making a second chance more possible. But all of this is certainly in danger. Those of us speaking out have been labeled with a racist moniker and staff told to ignore us. We are led to believe we can be terminated from the shelter and that volunteers really aren't even needed. The ability to volunteer has already been impacted by new policies that are creating accessibility concerns. It begs the question, is banning volunteers really worth the price simply to prevent possible oversight? I hope the answer is an emphatic no. In any event, we are not going away. Thank you, Chris. Next speaker, please. Welcome. Hi, my name is Melissa Wilkosh. I'm a resident of Alachua County and an ACAR volunteer. Given the allegations and supporting evidence presented to the board, I struggle to understand how Gina Peebles continues to serve as interim leader. I also do not understand how someone named multiple times in those allegations can still be considered a candidate for the permanent director position while an investigation that we're told is going to take a lot of time is ongoing. If someone who is the subject of that investigation were to assume the director role before it is complete, it would raise the impression that the outcome ultimately does not matter. I'm deeply concerned about the welfare and safety of the animals currently in the county's care. Can you reassure the community that these animals are being treated humanely while the investigation is underway? What measures are being put in place to ensure their well-being during this time? And also, what measures are being taken to protect the current staff who will undoubtedly be interviewed as part of the investigation from retaliation if they were to come forward to substantiate the very serious allegations at the heart of this investigation? There's a human element here that also demands immediate attention. I'm concerned about retaliation against employees who resigned and were not allowed to serve out their two weeks' notice. I'm concerned that someone who allegedly used a racist nickname to refer to volunteers is still acting as interim director. And I'm concerned that calls for an emergency meeting of the Animal Welfare Committee have gone unanswered. The community is begging for reassurance and we're being shut out. Volunteers, fosters, and the community care deeply about the work being done at the shelter. We don't claim to understand every decision that's made, what goes into it, but we see the results. We show up at the shelter. We see the filthy kennels. We see that dogs haven't been out for four or five days. We see that. And it's only when these concerns become overwhelming to us that we come to you. And it's hard to do this. It's hard to be up here speaking to you. I've emailed you all multiple times. I haven't gotten a response. I understand. It's hard also to show up at the shelter knowing that the person who is in charge of the shelter doesn't want me there. I go anyway. And I'm going to keep going. But this is hard. And I really hope that you can hear our perspective and take it seriously. Because we've been coming to you for a couple of months and this is what's happened. And it's horrifying. It keeps us up at night. And we just really want you to take this seriously and provide oversight. Because it seems right now the only oversight from the county at the shelter is Gina Peebles. And there are serious, serious concerns about her ability to do that job effectively. That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next speaker, please. Hello. Pamela Blasetti. I'm going to also speak about the shelter. For over four years, I've been coming to these meetings. I've been involved on and off with the shelter. And I watch you guys struggle. I watch you struggle with this. And I get the struggle. It's like a hamster wheel. You can't seem to get off of it. It never seems to get any better. I have a theory that it could be handled very easily. You just have to hire the right people. We are not hiring the right people. We do not need high-kill shelter employees. Julie Johnson, Bakersville, California, 73% euthanasia rate. She was not appropriate for us. She did not even know when she got to the shelter that dogs need to get out of their kennels. Did not know we had to go and fight. We, the volunteers, the lynching ladies, we had to go fight so that those dogs could get time out of their kennels. Gina Desari or whatever her name is. She, and this survey was done by UF. That shelter under her leadership had the highest number, not rate, not rate, number of euthanasias since in 2024 and 2025. And she was in charge. The highest number. Those are not shelters. Those are death camps. There are no programs to save those dogs. There is no county involvement. Brittany's shelter, they shut all the volunteers out, didn't allow phones in. What does that say to you? Do we want that at our shelter? We do not want this at our shelter. These are not the appropriate people. I don't know how we got 33 applicants and only one person out of that whole group is making it to the finals. I don't know how that happened. But I personally am going to do a PRR. I want to see their resumes. I don't care if they redact the names. I want to know. So please, wake up. I'm not trying to be rude, but wake up. This is not good. And let me tell you something. There's more coming down the pike that you guys don't even know about. And it's not going to be good. And it's going to involve legislation. It's going to involve going to court. It's not good. Please trust us. We're not up here. We have better things to do. I'm not up here because I want to ruin somebody's career. But we cannot have these people in our shelter anymore. Don't protect them. Do not listen to them. They are not protecting you. Look what they're exposing you to. They're going to ruin your reputations. They are. And you're going to be complicit if you allow these people to continue on. My suggestion? Gina, thank you very much for stepping in. You may go back to your position now. Brittany, thank you very much for your management. But you do not have the management style we are looking for. Thank you very much. I have the name of somebody who could probably step right in and just right the ship while you restaff. And if you need to stop that staffing process because you don't have the right people, then feel free to do so. We would totally back that up. But we cannot. If you want to get off that hamster wheel, you've got to fix this. You're never going to get off of it. Thank you. Thank you, Pamela. Next speaker, please. Good morning. My name is Melissa Jenkins. I'm the Operations Director at Operation Catnip. And I'm a member of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. I am just here to say that I am very happy to be summoned by the county in regards to this issue. I think that the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee has a lot of expertise and knowledge that can be brought into your ability to make a decision. And I really appreciate all the work that you guys are doing to listen to the public on this matter. Thank you. Thank you, Melissa. Next speaker, please. Nancy Darin. Nancy Darin. I'm so grateful I had time to come this morning for the proclamation about agriculture. And I just want to applaud, acknowledge, and say keep going to this commission for the systemic approach that you're taking to this incredibly important aspect of our community at all levels. Long distance food distribution, the industrial food distribution system now takes 13 to 14 calories of energy for one calorie food. Local food is much, much lower. And what we're seeing today with what's going on in the world, there are multiple reasons why what you are doing and how you are, from the food bank to the institution, putting a whole system together and the importance it will have to our community, our environmental care, our water, etc. Because food has a low value per unit weight, it's disproportionately vulnerable to rising energy prices and energy taxes on the way over. We saw diesel is now over $5, and the world industrial and trucking runs on diesel. So local food initiatives have gained a lot of momentum and seeks to accomplish interrelated goals, shorten the distance of the trip where food travels between farm and table, capture more value-added activities associated with growing, sorting, processing, packaging, distribution, selling, and serving, and maximizing local ownership of all enterprises. Stronger community economics is a big part we maybe don't look at because we see the water. We see how you're putting conservation and agriculture together. But local food is a critical economic driver of local economies. Local ownership matters because locally owned business spends more of their money regionally and have local relationships. Numerous studies have documented that a dollar spent on local business yields two to four times the economic multiplier. And there's growing body of evidence that local businesses are particularly good at attracting tourists, future entrepreneurs, creative economics, and charitable contributions. Ecological sustainability, better nutrition, health, and more civic engagement are other benefits. And you are addressing, I mean, our efforts here are addressing all of them at an incredibly worrisome and critical time between dealing with weather wilding and geopolitical insanity. I just say, you guys have got it. Keep it going. Thank you, Ms. Daron. Next speaker, please. Anyone else in the chambers? Come on up. Yeah, come on up. And then we're going to move to our phones after this last speaker. Hello. Thank you. Go ahead. Thank you. Hi, my name is Felicia Patron. And I'm just here as an animal volunteer for the animals here in Alachua County and anywhere I'm needed. I wanted to second the thank you for your listening to us and bringing this up and having this special meeting last time. I also wanted to call out Mary Helen. She actually went out to ACAR and volunteered to see what it was like there. But that was like that meant so much to me. I encourage each of you to go out and get a tour and not get a tour and see what it's like. You know, maybe not even just wait for them, you know, just go in and see. And please pay attention while people are talking about things and not be organizing things while people are talking. But I appreciate all of you. Thank you so much. Thanks, Felicia. Anyone else in the chambers? Okay, let's go ahead and move to the phones. Thank you, Mr. Sexton. Mr. Chair, we have a number of callers with their hands up. Those of you who want to speak, if you have not hit star nine on your phone, this would be a good time to do that. And, Mr. Chair, the first caller, we're not seeing a phone number, but Jacqueline, you're in the room. If you would state your full name and make your comment. Good morning. My name is Jacqueline Himes. I'm a resident of Alachua County. I want to begin by thanking the board for committing to an investigation into the concerns that have been raised about the Alachua County animal resources. I appreciate the county taking those concerns seriously and recognizing that the community deserves clear answers. The whistleblower letter that has circulated raised a number of troubling allegations about conditions, operations and record keeping at the shelter. While these are allegations and should be investigated carefully, they have understandably caused concern among residents who deeply care about the welfare of animals in our community. Because of that, I hope that the investigation will be thorough, transparent and independent. The public will want to know that it examines key issues such as animal care standards, disease management, euthanasia procedures and the accuracy of shelter outcome records. Transparency during this process will be important. The community should have confidence that the investigation is comprehensive and that its findings will be shared publicly when it is complete. Many dedicated staff members, volunteers and community members work hard to support the animals at Alachua County Animal Resources, and they deserve clarity just as much as the public does. Ultimately, this process should help ensure that the shelter is operating in a way that reflects the values of our community, compassion for the animals, accountability in government and transparency with the public. Thank you for your time. I appreciate the board's commitment to addressing these concerns. Thank you, Jacqueline. Next caller. Okay, Mr. Chair, the caller ending in 7598. Mark, can you raise the volume on those calls just a tad? Yes, folks in the booth, would you increase the volume, please? Just a tad. And caller, you are in the room. Go ahead. Hi, my name is Kelsey Adair. Alachua County is experiencing a serious and ongoing failure in animal welfare. Abuse is widespread in our community and according to recent reports is also occurring within our own animal shelter. Policies and practices that discourage meaningful intervention have worsened conditions on our streets, leaving private citizens to act as the county's unpaid and unsupported safety net. It is long past time for the board to step in. I see these failures firsthand. In my neighborhood, animals are beaten, confined to sheds in small cages in extreme Florida heat, illegally tethered or left roaming without protection. Repeated reports to animal resources have resulted in little to no response. Two dogs near me were confined in small crates inside a metal shed, crying in distress day and night with no human contact for a year. When the crying stopped, I feared the only intervention offered to them was the death trap known as our county animal shelter. They never knew love, they never knew companionship, and they never had a chance. Because the system is failing, residents are being forced to fill the gap. Since moving here, I have rescued multiple animals. A German Shepherd suffering from hookworms and heartworms found with a rope on his neck. An emaciated pit bull with wounds consistent with use as a bait dog. And an abandoned kitten in a tree. These rescues come at enormous emotional and financial costs. Heartworm treatment alone is expensive, dangerous, and carries no guarantee of survival. Yet I intervened because the alternative was almost certainly suffering and death. I also adopted a kitten from the county shelter who was sent home with severe worm infestation. This is something that should have been identified during routine intake. This reflects the breakdown in even the most basic standards of medical care and sanitation in a taxpayer funded facility. The recent allegations of abuse and neglect go beyond administrative failure. They are criminal. Animals must be guaranteed humane treatment in a public shelter. As a community, we need to do better. I'm asking this board to remove the leadership immediately and to pursue all applicable criminal charges that this investigation reveals. To prevent this from ever happening again, I strongly urge the board to follow through with the guidance and recommendation of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. This community needs an animal shelter that is a place of refuge, not a taxpayer funded extension of the neglect these animals already endure. Thank you. Thank you. Next caller. Okay. Caller whose number ends in two eight two zero. Please state your name and you're in the room. Hi. Hi, guys. Good afternoon. My name is Autumn Payne and I've actually spoke here before about a car. So I'm very grateful to be able to do it over Zoom. I didn't know this was an option. So this is really cool. First, I just really want to express how I am grateful that an investigation is going on. But I do want to be transparent that I would like the community to be involved in that every step of the way and being aware on how it's moving forward instead of being in a situation once again where we are communicating to you guys on what's happening. You say that there will be change. And then here we are once again. It feels like it's a constant loop at this point because I feel like morally we are all we can all agree right sitting here that we want the best for the animals. I mean, if you think to yourself that you don't, then I think you need to reevaluate yourself, especially the commissioners today. I feel like I've talked to you before and I don't think I've ever seen you at the shelter volunteering because if you have, then you could understand our concerns. I actually went recently because I had a broken heart over my recently lost cat and there was a cat named Tahin that was there that was so sick that he couldn't breathe through his nose. Recently, I went back since the whistleblower blew that whistle and the people at the front desk told me he was adopted. Come to find out, because I'm nosy as hell, he was in an unauthorized area to visitors, stuffed in a kennel, along with many other animals who aren't even posted on the website. To get a cat out of the shelter, you have to adopt. There's no proper fostering system at all. And it just blows my mind because like if you walk through the door and walk through the kennels, you can see neglected animals since you guys fired the vet and the director and had no plan. It blows my mind and I'm pissed off right now. And I'm not going to butter it up by saying thank you, because what's going on right now is that you guys would rather stay on your butt and roll your eyes at us than protect animals who can't speak for themselves. And guess what? I graduated. So now I have my eyes on you and I'm ready to raise some help. So if things don't make change, things are going to happen. You better. Thank you. Thank you, Autumn. And Mr. Chair, we have one more caller and the number is ending in 8451. Please state your name and we can hear you. Hi there. My name is Catherine McGuire. I'm also going to piggyback here a little bit on the situation going on with Alaska County Animal Resources and the shelter. I'm going to pivot just a little bit from that last call. So that is a very widespread feeling. There is a lot of stress and frustration and confusion and just general displeasure with the lack of transparency and honesty in everything going on. But I think it's extremely important to note that while we are angry, we are hurting for these animals. We are very grateful. Okay. We appreciate that things are being looked into and things are being done, but I think it's extremely important that we acknowledge that nothing that the volunteers. I mean, you see how many faces, how many people have come forward. This isn't just one or two people making a complaint. These are very legitimate issues. And you have an entire community, the community who is helping to keep programs like this afloat. We are all very concerned and we are all bringing our concerns forward. And there is a significant fear of retaliation of volunteers being either just turned away or just made to feel like they're not welcome. And I think it needs to be said that just back in January when the vote was going on for the new shelter location, one of the biggest things, one of the biggest points that the board brought forward in debating the location of the shelter was that it was so important that volunteers have access to the shelter. It was so important in deciding on a location that it was on the bus route to some of the board members or that it was closer to students who want to volunteer. And I think that that notion needs to be brought forth and remembered because it was so important to the decisions in the location that volunteers be included and have access to our shelter. And currently it is being made to where volunteers either don't have access or don't want to. So I think it needs to just be extremely present. And I hope and I pray that it is present in all of the board members' minds that, you know, we're not here to start fights. We're not here to make people angry. We're not here to, you know, point fingers and cause, you know, undue stress. We're here for the animals. That's what we're here for. Some of these ladies who have spoken out today have been volunteering at this shelter longer than I've even been back in the area. These are ladies who dedicate all of their time and love and attention to the animals in the shelter because that's what we're here for. And I just want to make sure that it is always at the forefront of the board members' minds and anybody in any of these decision-making capacities that these are legitimate, substantial claims. But the volunteers, the community, the fosters, the people who are coming in to help, we're here to help. We're not here to make things harder. And I just want to make sure that that stays in the front of your minds when deciding things and investigating because, you know, it's supposed to be about the animals at the end of the day. And that's what we're trying to push here. We're just trying to make sure that that stays the case. So I want to thank you guys for the time. But, yes, I just want to make sure that that stays kind of in the front of everyone's mind. Thank you, Catherine. Thank you for your comments. And, Mr. Chair, that was the last caller. Okay. Anyone else in the chamber that wanted to speak before we close public comment? Come forward. Yep. I want to make sure everyone has an opportunity. What's that? Thank you for being here. Hi there. My name is Ashley Hahn. And this is the first meeting that I've actually ever come to since moving to Gainesville in 2017. And I'm pretty disappointed that I have to be here today. I'm disappointed in every single one of you because every single one of you should have been in this and speaking to these people and knowing what's going on in your community. A lot longer than it took to get to this point here. I also wanted to second something that one of the callers said about how this is forcing the community to not only like try and take over the shelter to make sure the animals are being taken care of, but doing the same thing in the community. I live in the Stephen Foster neighborhood, which is a very well loved community in Gainesville. And last year in 2025, I spent a total of three months chasing around two pit bulls that lived in one yard that I could not get anybody to come out for GPD or any Alachua County animal services. These dogs were chasing and killing cats. One cat was killed in my driveway. There are two little girls that live down the street from me and they were being chased by these dogs. The fact that it took three months for people to come out and get these dogs, they did not take them both at the same time. They also came out multiple times and talked to the owners of said dogs, looked at the yard that these dogs were consistently getting out of and at no point in time did anything for three months. This is disappointing and this needs to be taken care of. I mean, a long time ago, the fact that this has taken this long, these concerns have been around for a very long time. Thank you. Thank you, Ashley. Okay. Anyone else? All right. We'll go ahead and close public comment. I know we had scheduled the manager to address this, a manager comment, but I think it's appropriate for us to, with the commissioners, for you to go ahead and address it right now and then we'll see. Each of us will probably have some comments. So, Ms. Lieberman, can we go ahead and give us an update on the shelter? Sure. I guess I'd like to start by just giving an update. I know this email was sent out to you all at the end of last week on Friday due to some requests from you all, but not everybody sees that. So, just for the public's knowledge, we do have an independent investigation. We have retained an independent third-party firm to conduct the formal investigation into the allegations. It is being managed by the county attorney's office, not by my side of the house, so I will let her speak to that if you want to hear about that. And we were finalizing the scope last week, but I believe that has now been done and I will, again, leave that to the county attorney since that is being managed by her office. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Why don't we do that? Okay. Ms. Torres, do you want to go ahead and give an update on that? Sure, Mr. Chair. So, I was trying to contextualize this for people who don't know about the issue, who might be watching or who are in the audience. I know you all know some of these things, but I'm just trying to contextualize it. There have been mentions, a number of mentions, of a whistleblower investigation. On March 2nd, the board received an email from a former employee which triggered our whistleblower ordinance. That is Chapter 3, Article 2 of this board's code of ordinances. The county manager and I consulted about this disclosure the following day and agreed that an investigation should take place. This is the third time the county has initiated an investigation under the whistleblower ordinance since this board adopted that ordinance in 2020. The purpose of this ordinance is to encourage disclosure of potential violations of law, rule, regulation, or suspected actions of malfeasance or misfeasance and to protect employees from retaliation. The ordinance gives an option of internal investigation or an external investigation. The county manager and I chose the external investigation option to ensure that this board, the county manager, and the public receives information that it needs from a credible disinterested source. The investigation must be completed within 90 days following the disclosure unless extenuating circumstances exist. 90 days per my calculation is May 31st, which is a Sunday. So due to that date, it will be coming in on a Sunday, June 1st would be the deadline as it stands. This report will be a public record and will be available through public records requests and will probably be out in the community before then. And this, do you want to address the scope or it's essentially the four corners, the entirety of the, of the complaint. We haven't put a limit on that. We have received basic inquiries from your constituents. I know you have as well, and you all have responded to them. When we're getting them through administration, we're referring them to our HR office who is letting them know that we do have an active and ongoing investigation. We did also reach out to the members of the animal welfare advisory board and notify them that an investigation was underway. We have done in the past operational audits. I know there have been some questions regarding that. The last ones we have 2012, the University of Florida did in 2019 with the assistance of some of the veterinarians at University of Florida. We were able to bring in some folks from the Hillsborough County area who have experience in animal shelters, and we had an audit at that time. What I have determined is that once this investigation comes back, since we have made it basically the entirety of the complaint, if there is anything that comes back after that that they feel should be more done in like an operational audit, it's a policy that exists. If there is the right policy, we will move forward with that. Also, remember that we are in the process of hiring a new director, so that, you know, there may be other experience and information that comes in with that as well to be part of any additional operational audit. As far as recruitment for veterinarian and director, I made the decision when the veterinarian left employment, she was, you know, left the employment to go to other employment. When the director was no longer in our employment to use a national recruitment process, which, of course, takes time and uses that third party. We used MGT, which formerly known as GovHR, and they were part of that process. The selected veterinarian candidate has accepted our offer and is set to begin on May the 4th. She is in the final process of the hiring process, the, you know, phases of the hiring process. The director, I will be located out there. Yeah. Yeah. It's a full time position. She'll be on site full time. Yes. It's a full time position. Did you say May 4th? May 4th. Yes. And the director position, I will be interviewing three finalists tomorrow. Those finalists were vetted through, first through MGT and their process, and then secondarily through a panel to come up who interviewed them. I also had the opportunity to review all, and it was my determination to go along with that recommendation for those three. I will be interviewing them tomorrow along with the gentleman from MGT who was part of our process, so I will be doing that along with him. And then the new shelter site, we did get the signed lease back by the president of the Board of Trustees. Very exciting that we are moving forward with that. We have already, the board had already selected the architectural firm, had already selected the construction manager at risk. So the architectural firm has already, we've already told them go now that we have a site to design around. And with regard to the construction management firm, we have reached terms with them, and you will see their contract, their finalized contract in the very near future. But we are already marching forward with the new shelter. So that is, oh, and the sheriff's office transition, which you all approved, that was effective actually two days ago, March 8th, where the four FTEs to do the investigations were transferred over to them. We're maintaining some, they're maintaining some. And so that has taken place, although we're continuing to do it for a couple weeks as part of the transition while they get their feet under them over there. So that is an update on the status. And if I could, I just wanted to make a statement for the public and for the board. You're aware about the independent review regarding the concerns that have been raised. So because that process is underway, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to discuss the specific allegations or the details about those allegations at this time. I want that review to proceed fairly and objectively and in accordance with the policies and procedures. We have a statute or an ordinance that we have adopted for that reason. What I can say is that our shelter does not operate in a vacuum. It is a public facility. Members of the community visit regularly. Staff from other departments interact with the facility. We have licensed veterinarians that are on site multiple times a week. So there are many, many points of interaction as part of normal daily operations. Like every department and office and program and service that the county has, there is always room for improvement. And we take concerns seriously. Hold on. Let's let her speak, please. Thank you. At the same time, it's important to recognize that the shelter has made significant improvements over the years and continues to evolve as we work better to serve animals in our community. I am responsible for the operation of Alachua County. Guys. Hold on, Michelle. Hold on one second. So, well, let me, but let me just speak for a minute. So, it's really important that we give you all the opportunity to speak freely without responding back to you so that you can tell us what you want to say. Because we want to hear it. I want to hear it. But all I would ask is that when we're speaking that you give us that same respect. That's all. That's all. That way she can finish her thoughts. Ma'am, I'm sorry. I know. It's just going back and forth. It's just, it's not going to work. Let us, let us respond to you all. Okay. I am responsible for the operations of Alachua County and our more than 1,000 employees. I want to be clear that I have confidence in the operations of the shelter and in the staff who work there. They are hardworking public servants doing difficult work every day with dedication and compassion and that work matters. To the volunteers who dedicate their time, I want to say thank you because without our volunteers, we couldn't do as much as we do for the animals that are in our care. To the staff, I want to say publicly that I recognize the challenges of the work that you do and appreciate the commitment that you bring to it every day. We have one employee I got to speak with actually this morning that has been there for more than, or going on 28 years, 28 years this year. Another that has been there for more than 20. My door has always been open to employees. They know that. I have always made myself available for members of the community and it will remain that way. So, myself and our administration and I know the board as well, we will continue to support our staff while ensuring that any concerns are reviewed through the appropriate process. So, I want to say thank you to you all for indulging me and letting me speak to that because I think it's important that our staff know that we are here supporting them. Okay. Thank you for the update. I've got some lights here. I will do Commissioner Wheeler, Commissioner Prizia, and then Commissioner Alford. Commissioner Wheeler, are you recognized? Yes. Thank you very much. For those of you who all don't know me, my name is Mary Helen Wheeler. I've been involved with this shelter before I came on the board eight years ago. I'm the one who is responsible for getting the canopies put over that. I'm responsible for having the mural put there and the landscaping done. Additional pins that were put in place on the larger run areas. I'm responsible for having that addressed. The support staff that I've done at Christmas holidays or any time that we needed to celebrate. The hardworking staff that's out there. The young people who go out there to work. Commissioners, last Tuesday I went after I saw the email. I went unannounced. When I got there, there were 30 O'Call students there doing volunteer work. Two DOJ community service people. One that I worked to help clean the cat cages with. And I got to tell you guys, in the mornings when you go in at eight o'clock, the cages look kind of rough. They've been there all night. The food bowls look a little crusty because they're empty. There's pee and poop everywhere because they've been there overnight in the caged area. And even after you clean one, five minutes later, there's pee and poop again. So I'm just saying that we never know. The pictures that they've been showing us, I feel like I would like to know the time of day. And I grew up in an area at a time where you said if you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean. You've got time to take pictures, then you can get in there and help clean those cages too. Excuse me. I know what I'm talking about because do you know me? Have you seen me out there? Raise your hand if you've seen me out there. Ms. Blasetti, you have me in your phone. We talk regularly. And I'm telling you, I give my phone number to everybody who is out there, all the staff, and they know they can call me confidentially. To say that nobody from this board has been involved out there is wrong. It's wrong. It means you're not paying attention. This board has also allocated monies to help with whatever we need to do out there going forward until we get the new shelter. And I will be out there with the paint, with the spray, water sprays, whatever we need to do. You heard me. At the youth fair, I talked about these two dogs that need a job. At the youth fair, where there are farmers and ranchers who could use dogs like that. I have three dogs that I've adopted from the shelter. Two of them have three legs. To say that this board has not been involved out there is saying to me that I don't matter as your commissioner and that the work that I'm doing out there is not important. Ma'am, I'm going to ask you all to please not respond. I'm sorry. If you have to respond, if you could go watch on TV and just yell at the TV, that would be better because I don't want to continue to disrupt the meeting. See, I'm as emotionally as you all are about this. I've watched the play days that they've had where they've gotten animals together out there. I've seen you all out there. And I've been at the meetings that you all have had. There's not anybody up here, maybe, who has spent as much time and energy. But I have been the spokesperson and they will tell you that I bug them regularly to get out there and see what's going on. The young people that are doing the tech work out there, the scooping of the poop, they never complain. I just feel like that somehow you all have not gotten the right information about the involvement in this board and how we are watching what's going on there. We've been trying to locate for three years a place to put this place. That's where the focus has been. Are you? Excuse me. Speak to us. Okay. I just want you all to know that I have been watching and there's been three directors that have come out there. We have had the same kind of complaints and issues. I don't know a new shelter will take care of. I don't know. I don't know. I know that there are people that have been out there for years. And there are people out there right now that are good folks who are saying, I will be here till I retire. So, you know, whatever we need to do as a group to make sure that the monies that are being spent on this new shelter and the monies that are being put into our staff is adequate to keep good staff there. And that we are watching because it's really important to this community. It's important to me. And I want to make sure that we don't get so wrapped up in other issues. You know, this is kind of my lane. Everybody's got a lane, you know, and this has been mine along with, of course, public education. But, and I'll be coming off this board soon. And I've told you all, and I've told everybody that I've talked to at the shelter, we have to work fast because I'm coming off this board soon. The next person in my lane may not care as much as I do. So, you know, the manager will tell you I poke at her regularly. As you all have seen, I've brought this up several times. Let's talk about where we're going to put this thing and let's get it done. And I know that the manager is hoping that we can get ground broken before I leave, and I appreciate that commitment. But at the same time, I'd rather slow it down and make sure it's done right. And it doesn't have to be on my watch because I will be out there at that shelter long after I'm off of this board. And I don't mind, I don't mind scooping pooping. I don't mind being out in the community promoting our animals from the shelter. I'm also the one who is able to get Chief Theus to put dogs in the stations. And I'm not through yet. I've got other places that we need to get dogs. And I'm still advocating to the community as to how they can actually interact and take some of these dogs and get them working again. So let me get some other comments and we'll come back to you. Is that okay? Yes, sir. No, I just wanted to introduce myself to the folks that had not met me yet. Okay. Thank you. I guess what I want to say first and foremost is that we do care. We care really deeply and we've been working on this for a really long time. We had complaints from the last director. We ended up getting a new director. That new director wasn't a good fit. That new director is gone and now we're working on another director. We had animal control not doing like all of the things we felt like it should. So we engaged the sheriff and we now have the sheriff coming in to help with animal control. We've also have a new person in charge of animal control who is taking a different stance and working harder to make sure that we're addressing and getting out to calls like loose dogs. Whenever we get the complaints, whenever we see what's happening in the community, we are responding. So this allegation that we don't care that we're not responding is not true. Like it's just not. I mean, we do care. We care very deeply. We've been going to the shelter. Mary Helen goes out there. She comes in. We need more cages. We need more shelter. We need more screening. We need more outdoor time. We need all the things we're like, whatever is needed. And we have told our manager again and again, whatever is needed, whatever money is needed for renovations in the meantime, whatever money is needed for staff support for volunteers, like we're all in. So I just want you all to understand that the challenges that we're having are not without us caring. They are a result of perhaps individuals who have different mindsets or perspectives or behaviors than would be ideal. We will find out in this investigation a lot of information, which I think we'll be telling. I don't believe that an investigation is going to solve all of our problems. I don't have any delusion that tomorrow the shelter or in 90 days, we're suddenly going to have all of our answers and the shelter is going to be better because one, the shelter was built as a kill shelter. It was built as an extermination space. Like it was never built to be the kind of shelter that Alachua County should have, number one. Number two, it's old and it's in, you know, it's not in great condition. And we're that's why we're working on a new one. Number three, we, I think, have had real challenges finding good leadership, not for lack of trying. But it's been very difficult to find good leadership. It's a hard job. You know, it's not an easy job. It's not something that a lot of people want to do, especially in a shelter that's not, not up to snuff and not a beautiful place. I hope with the new shelter coming that we'll be able to attract better talent and that this new director will have a vision and the options, the ideas, I mean, and the vision to be able to move something really meaningful forward. I will say I am confused about why we're not having an AWAC meeting. I do feel like the reason we called an animal welfare committee and put one together was for specifically these kind of purposes and them understanding the scope of what we're doing with the investigation and making recommendations on operational SOPs or reviewing our operational SOPs to provide information to hear the volunteers like makes a lot of sense to me. I don't know why we're not hosting an AWAC meeting and I would like to ask that we do host an AWAC meeting. I think that, in my opinion, and I already expressed this opinion to Michelle and so I'm going to express it publicly, I do not think that Gina Peoples should be managing the shelter while this investigation is going on. She's a part of the investigation and I just don't feel like it's appropriate for her to be managing the shelter while we're waiting on that to come forward. I am frustrated by this as well as you are and I know that we all are and I know that our staff that work really, really hard are also frustrated. They are hard workers and they are doing the best they can. They really are and so I, you know, do I think that things are as bad as people are making them out to be? Some people? No, I don't. I think that our shelter is being run as best it can by people who care very deeply including all of you volunteers who show up every day and put your time and effort and energy into it and we appreciate you. But I do feel like we're also not looking at the big picture, we as a community, and I think that when you look at the arc of time and you look at what we've done and you look at what we're trying to do, you can see a pattern of us investing in and paying attention to our shelter and a continual pattern of challenges with staff and with turnover and with those new staff implementing SOPs and so on. And so on and so forth. So I just want to say to all of you that it isn't that we don't care and it isn't that we aren't paying attention and it isn't that we aren't making investments. And to my colleagues, I want to say I know that our staff are doing the investigation. They're doing the best they can to get an external opinion and I have absolute and utmost trust in the external counsel we've hired to do that work. And I think we'll get a really good result like information that's objective and clear. But in the meantime, I do feel like we're stuck in a very difficult situation having the existing leadership continuing to operate the shelter and I do not think that that's a good idea. Okay, if we want to get some direction, please prepare a motion for me. Commissioner Alford, and then Chuck, did you? Yes. And then Commissioner Chestnut. Thank you. I, too, have a house full of animals that are rescues from some pretty awful circumstances. I appreciate the volunteers that work out there and I want to make sure that as part of this investigation that we're not just talking to staff, that we're also talking to the volunteers. I feel like having done those kinds of investigations myself, anyone involved should be, you know, should be questioned if they are available to do that. That's an ask that I have. I am curious if there's a legal reason why we can't share where animals go when they are sent to rescue facilities. Is there, I mean, typically when you send animals to a rescue facility, they're taken out into the public for adoption. So that's what they do. So, you know, the fact that 10 dogs went out and we don't know where they went, I understand why the volunteers would be concerned about that. Is that, I don't know if that's an allegation in the letter that we can't talk about, but is that something that there is a legal reason why we can't do that? Right. So, Mr. Chair, this is a separate issue, separate related issue. We have a public records request that has been reopened that is related to a number of animals that were transferred on a specific date. I don't have it in front of me. I have seen the record. We reviewed it this morning with staff. We went over the public records exemption that they were thinking about. I went all the way back to the legislative history to figure out what the legislature was trying to do with this new exemption. And I expect the document to be released with a bit of redaction of personal identifying information. I think there was a misunderstanding between staff and our office. Okay. Okay. So that's being addressed. So, great. Thank you. Mr. Chair, it is a new public records exemption. Okay. In the last couple years. Twenty-four, I think. Twenty-three or twenty-four. And so, about identifying information of those who adopt animals. So, we're working through that. Okay. Yeah. Because that's different than a rescue facility, in my mind, than an adoptive facility. Because they're not adopting. They're just our agents, right? So, Mr. Chair, my understanding is that, and I don't have the contract in front of me, but that we transfer the animals to them and the ownership is theirs. Okay. So, they are theoretically adopting them so they can re-adopt them. They are marked in the system as transferred, not adopted. Adopted has a different reference in the statute. Okay. All right. That somewhat clarifies that for me. I'm not sure I agree, but. So, you're saying that transfers are not adoptions and therefore we can release the records on where transfers go? I think it's the opposite. So, Mr. Chair, we received last Friday a pre-suit notice from an attorney who is threatening to sue the county on this issue. And I'm going to ask that we don't get into the details on this. Like I said, I expect it to be released. Okay. While we're doing this investigation, I'm hoping that we can also work on a policy that regarding volunteer retribution just to make volunteers feel more comfortable in bringing forth concerns. I think that any volunteer or any employee should be able to bring forth concerns without feeling like they might be dismissed. Volunteers to the whistleblower? Yeah. I think we need to address that. And I appreciate you bringing up the Animal Welfare Committee meeting because I have that on my list. And I also agree that it's not appropriate to have someone accused working still in that position. I mean, I was just in a meeting with a sheriff yesterday and, you know, there were allegations about an employee and that employee is put on, you know, removed from their duties until they figure out what's going on. You know, I think it's appropriate in the same situation that we do the same thing. I just don't understand why we wouldn't do that. So those are, those are my comments and I will support a motion that addresses those things. Okay. Commissioner Chessa? And then I'll have some comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And then back to you, Mary Helen. I just want to state that, you know, I think we all care in terms of what's going on at the shelter and that we're trying to do the best that we can to address those. I think that my question was going to be also about the 10 dogs for that has been addressed. I guess my next one is that what I heard today from the audience is that make sure we hire the right people. And I think that that's has to be stressed to make sure we hire the right people. Uh, and that way we don't keep having this transition with directors. I just hire the right people to make sure they are great fit for Lachua County. Uh, the, uh, other thing I think, uh, I heard was protect the volunteers. And I think that we got to make that known as a board that we do protect volunteers because we support your work that you're doing to the shelter. So, uh, please don't take that the wrong way, but we do care, but it's just difficult times right now. Let's, let's put it that way. And hopefully they'll be addressed and we can move forward in the future and always please feel free to come talk to us. That's our doors are always open. So I just want to let you say that. Thank you. Thank you, commissioner. Um, so I've got a couple of comments. First of all, volunteers from my perspective are literally the lifeblood of this organization. They have been, they will continue to be. Um, and I appreciate them expressing the concerns. I supported the whistleblower ordinance because it's makes us better when we find out things that are happening that we don't know about. We want people to be able to shed light, but sunshine on that so that we can fix it. It probably doesn't get fixed in the speed at which we want it to get fixed because we are government. Um, we, this board, I think attempts to move as quickly as possible and it's never fast enough. And that's just not animal shelter. That's roads. That's jail. That's community support. That's housing. That's the job that we have, which is, uh, extremely frustrating at times, but also gratifying when ultimately systemic problems can get fixed. Um, to miss Han, Ashley Han, I share your concerns, uh, with regards to dogs that are essentially terrorizing neighborhoods. Um, it is why we have attempted to move, uh, which starting, I guess yesterday to a different model. Uh, we'll see if that works. I'm hopeful it works, uh, because, and as we talked about when the sheriff shows up in a bad situation, it's a different level of seriousness. Um, and so I'm hopeful that that works to, uh, the caller, Catherine McGuire that, that called in, you know, a lot of great, great comments. And, and I, I, I hear all of you and I, I, I want you to know that I appreciate your comments and, and your input, your input is what's going to drive effective change. I think Chuck really nailed it on the head when he said, if you got to hire the right person, I am, uh, I want the manager to hear me that of the three folks, I want someone with experience in adoption and care. Um, not experience in euthanasia and, and kill shelters. You know, you had mentioned this was never built for an adoption shelter. We've been addressing this for as long as I've been on this board, not fast enough. Um, uh, but, but that's what I want you to hear is that I, I want a person that is engaging in the adoption process and the care of the facility and of the animals that don't have a voice. That brings the volunteers, which Mary Helen, there's no better one from my perspective as a commissioner, uh, and says, how can you help us? You know, like, how can you help us? And that we have that type of leadership. Um, I, I hear you with Ms. Peoples, Ms. Peoples didn't ask for this job. She was asked to do this job. She is our chief of staff and to the public, while we may or may not like Ms. Peoples, many people love Ms. Peoples. Um, she was, this is not what she was hired for. She's our chief of staff. It shows the commitment of the county to put one of our top folks in this department, maybe not the right person. I don't know. Um, but when we have, um, what's going on, a change is probably a good thing. And I think she'll probably welcome it. And, and, uh, that's what I, that's what I would say. And I appreciate the work that she's done so far. The vet starting on May 4th, again, not soon enough. Um, I know they're going to be housed there, but I wanted to ask that question so the public would hear. They will be there. And then being there will change the culture. What we're, it'll change everything. When you have a vet that's literally on site, I think it's, um, it's going to be important. I don't want to wait 90 days to start making whatever changes. And so I came into today feeling like, you know, we, we, as a county commission, as a board, you know, we manage emergencies very, very well when we have hurricanes, when we have, you know, state of emergencies. I'm not saying this is one, but for some of those animals, it probably is. And so what I would ask is that, um, in the motion that we direct our staff to give them the ability to bring in temporary resources. So maybe Mary Helen, maybe we have a temporary person that comes in early in the morning and helps those volunteers clean, you know, like, like, like, let's, let's treat this like it's all hands on deck. I really appreciate the fact that we've got community support staff from around the county, other departments coming in to help. I want the manager to hear from this commissioner's perspective. Let's make those resources available to help our animal services department, because those employees are some of the finance that we have, and they have some of the biggest hearts in our community. And let's give them that help like we do in other situations where we come together until we can get leadership hired, stabilized. Um, and, and I'm all for, uh, total transparency, total sunshine, and having the expertise of the Alachua Welfare Advisory Committee leaning in. This isn't about a gotcha. This isn't about catching people. This is about figuring out what's going on, putting the resources to fix what's going on, and improving the system systemically so that we can get to a new facility that wasn't built as a kill shelter. And by then we can work on changing this culture, um, and engaging more and more volunteers. I mean, Catherine really hit it for me when she said, y'all are putting it at the University of Florida because you talked about the need and the benefit of having volunteers. Like, like our systems should be putting volunteers in the center because we want more volunteers. More hands makes for heavy work lighter. And so those are my thoughts. Uh, I, I hate the fact that it's, I feel like a annual speech. Um, uh, so it's frustrating. Um, but it's, but I'm, but we take these things seriously and let's, let's give some direction. And I want comments back when you hear the motion because you're dealing with this on a daily basis. If you need more or have a problem with something that you're hearing, let's chat, let's chat about this and figure it out so that we can move on to our agenda. Uh, and once we have a motion on the floor, we'll have an opportunity for the public to speak to the motion. I have a couple of questions before I make the motion. That's fine. Um, is the, is the reason that that is coming May 1st because of their moving here and they need, okay, so it's May 4th. Employment. They're here, but they also have, uh, are part of a, you know, they have other, it's not like they're not working. Right. They have a job, they have things. So that is the date we were provided and we're going through the process and that's when the vet can start. Okay. I just wanted to be sure. I'll just say this. Yeah. It's not because we said wait till May 4th. Yeah. Okay. I'll just know that our hiring processes are really long, like really too long. Like genuinely, I'm just giving you that feedback too long, way too long. Like it took me two months to hire an intern, two months to hire an intern. We've talked about that. So no, it's, it's not because we've said you can't start before you get the motion. Yes. May 4th. I just have, I have, can I can finish my questions. Okay. My second question is, is the animal welfare advisory committee involved in providing input on the shelter design once we've gotten the architectural and engineering drawings back? We will bring that to them. But to the extent that the design has a lot to do with the operational or functioning, we've brought in experts, you know, designed for that. So we, we will take that to them to the extent that it's making changes that they determine, that they're recommending. Obviously you all, we will let you know that. But the final design is your choice. Right. I mean, that's what I'm saying, I guess, is that I want their input. Like, obviously we have experts that are going to be building, that are experts in shelter design designing it. Then there might be some like, well, we have this experience having been in the shelter or having been in the community and been in other shelters. Could we add this or that and being able to bring that back to us as well? Yes. But ultimately, the board will make the final design determinations. Okay. Okay. Commissioner Wheeler and then we'll go back to Commissioner. I don't, I don't have any more words. I just wanted to say then when we're talking about right people, it's really hard to know if you've got the right person and to see that person under fire. And there's a lot of emotional, psychological stuff that goes along in addition to the actual physical work in terms of dealing with the community. And I have a degree in behavior disorders. I've worked with special ed kids in middle school for a long time. I have a tolerance for that kind of turmoil. Most people don't handle that for very long periods of time in addition to being concerned about animals or having to be concerned about the public as well. So we don't always know that we've got the right person until they're actually in the line of fire. And so, you know, I would just say that, you know, and a lot of our agencies here in the community I've learned are competitive and territorial. You know, some people feel like that they've got the better answer for the way things should be done than the next agency. So it's not only going to take somebody who can work with the animal shelter and with our community, but with other agencies who may have contradictory ways of doing things. And that's what I'm saying. Yes, we can do the best we can to try to hire the best we can, but it's hard to find people willing to do this work. I'm hopeful with 31 applications that we have someone that's got the experience and shares the values of Alachua County that we find the right person. I hear you loud and clear. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm done. And then let's get the motion on the floor. Feel free to chime in on this motion, but I guess my motion has multiple parts. The first is that we have an animal welfare advisory committee meeting as soon as possible to provide input on operational SOPs that could be revised and or like sort of responses to some of the challenges that the shelter is facing and so that they can know the scope of the investigation. We can't necessarily talk about the scope of the investigation while the investigation is going on, but so they can share that. Second part of the motion is that volunteers be allowed to be a part of the investigation if that is warranted by the investigating firm. The third is that we explore whistleblower policy for volunteers. And in particular, I think I brought this up before and I'm just going to put this out there. It's like I asked about ways in which we could have the animal welfare advisory committee review complaints. And I know that that is a complicated thing because there are certain complaints that fall under statute. There are things that are whistleblower and HR related. There are things and we have to be very careful about that. But the reason that we have the animal welfare advisory committee is so that they can review issues. So as I put that out there of this idea of a whistleblower for volunteer whistleblower policy or some way for volunteers to file complaints officially, I would just ask that we consider how the animal welfare advisory committee could be a part of that process. And then the third is that we provide any resources or temporary help necessary to support our animal resources staff in the interim while we're waiting on the director and other hires to be made permanently. And I think that's all. Oh, and that the animal welfare advisory committee be allowed to weigh in on the design of the shelter once we have architecture and engineering. Anything you want to add? No, I just, no. I worry about confidentiality. I worry about, I don't know if we're in sunshine. I mean, I just want to make sure that the discussions that happen at this board don't end up on public media. Well, there's the Sunshine Board. I mean, it's part of the. It's got to be. That's part of, I mean, they are a Sunshine Board that advises this board. We actually, I actually want them to have those discussions and work through those issues. Whatever those issues are, it's better that they vet them so that when they make recommendations, they've been vetting, you know? And again, I don't, they can't weigh in on like HR issues or whistleblower issues that have to be dealt with by our operations folks because that's our job and that's, you know. It's an oversight board. It's an oversight board. But it's an oversight board for the welfare side of things. So if there is an operational complaint about only cleaning the cages once a day or something and needing more, then they could make the recommendation that we hire temporary staff to clean the cages twice a day. I don't know. I'm just throwing an idea out there. This is like random, you know. But I think there are things, there are a lot of knowledgeable people. We developed this board for a reason. We named it the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee for a reason. And I, you know, I feel like right now it's just this sort of, like we're not using that board to its fullest capacity, right? I mean, if we were, ideally we wouldn't have these issues to begin with, right? Because they would be weighing in in advance. We're always going to have them until we have a good director that's leading the organization and we have a good facility. And until then, we're going to muddle through this and we need to welcome the muddling because we've got to take care of the welfare of the animals that are in there until they have a better home. Yeah. True. I mean, they just, that's just what we have to do. So, okay. We've got a five part motion. Did I hear a second? I'll second it with one question. Okay. I noticed that you didn't suggest a change in the interim leadership of the, of the. The only staff that I control is Michelle. Right. That's true. Can you refer to Michelle that she look at alternatives to. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Refer to Michelle to look at alternatives for interim management of the shelter. Okay. That's, that's what I was hoping to hear. And I will second the motion. Do you have that written down somewhere where you could go through it again? Yeah. I have it right here. AWAC. Go ahead. That we have a meeting of the animal welfare advisory committee as soon as possible. That they look at any operating procedures or recommendations based on current operational challenges. And that they also be allowed to weigh in on the design of the shelter once we have architecture and engineering. Um, that we, um, allow volunteers to be part of the investigation if our external counsel deems that important. That we develop a policy, a whistleblower policy or a complaint policy to allow for volunteers to file formal complaints. And that we explore involving the animal welfare advisory committee in whatever process is developed. That we, um, refer to Michelle to look at alternative interim management for the shelter. And to provide temporary help and any resources necessary to support interim management of the shelter. Would you read the second one again, please? That we allow for volunteers in the investigation? No, is that the, no, I'm talking about the committee in terms of policies at the shelter. That they get an opportunity to look at how we're currently, our current operating policies to provide any input and any suggestions. Okay. Yeah, because their, uh, volunteers were feeling like there might be retribution if they were to bring concerns to management. So we don't want there to ever be. This is essentially, this motion would essentially open up the advisory welfare board to start doing some of the detailed work that we're hearing. Yeah. And bring us recommendations. And my, my only comment was, is that you, you said, uh, volunteers in the investigation if our counsel thinks they might be, um. Yeah, I mean, we're, we're hiring external counsel to manage that investigation. Right. I trust them to manage it. But if they want access to our volunteers, I don't want. Right. I, I, I guess my point that I just wanted to make was, is that if you're doing an investigation, you often don't know if a person has something to bring to that investigation until you talk to them. So I just. Mr. Chair, may I speak to that one? Please go ahead. Yeah. So the outside counsel may or may not choose to speak with people who are not part of our organization or who are volunteers. We can only direct our employees to speak to the outside counsel and cooperate. Um, we certainly cannot direct volunteers. What I would, I, we're already in that position where the, where volunteers could be included if the investigator believes they should be. I would suggest, since it's not really changing anything, that we leave it out so that this board doesn't have its fingerprints on the investigation and the investigator can appear to be more independent. So the investigator already has the ability to engage with volunteers if they so choose. Okay. Yes. And, and again, we cannot compel it. And, and I understand that we can't compel a volunteer to do anything, but I feel like. They just heard, they just heard that. Yeah. So I think the fact that the. I just want to make sure that. And their information is. I'm sure there are many that may make themselves available. Yeah. Their information. And the investigation. Yeah. Taking that out of the motion. Yeah. Sure. Okay. All right. So we have now. We'll hear about it if it. We have a five part motion. So if, um, any further discussion before I open it up, what I'm. Go ahead. Mr. Chair, regarding the complaint process, um, we already developed a complaint form. It's somewhat generic because it applies. Anybody can make a complaint that goes to a department. It could go to AWAC. It could go to another advisory board, but we already created that process. It exists. You can go, um, online and. On the whistleblower policy for volunteers. No, no, no. On the. What? Um, number. Uh. Nope. Number four. The process for something to go to AWAC. That's a complaint. There's already a complaint form that we created per that for, um, not specifically for animals in general. And it will. It can go. If it's about the shelter, it would go to AWAC. So we did that. All right. Well, I still want us to look into a whistleblower. Yeah. And that's just. We, we kind of. Yeah. Yeah. Talk about that. I don't think six. Okay. So it's one 30. We'll go ahead and open it back up to public comment for the motion. Um, if you have comments on the motion, we'd love to hear them. Certainly, uh, don't feel like you need to come up, but we're happy to hear any thoughts you have. Thank you again. Excuse me. My name again is Patricia Antonucci. First of all, I want to apologize for our outbursts. Um, as you can tell, this is very emotional for us. Um, I hopefully, I hope that nobody took what we said as a personal attack on you as individuals. We're just frustrated with the bureaucratic process in general. Um, we certainly understand what it's like to feel attacked. I don't think there's any worse attack perhaps than being called a lynching lady. Um, I, I don't know if anybody noticed, but I was, I was shaking when I was talking to you. Um, I did an interview with TV 20 and I'm, I'm, I'm actually afraid that there will be some type of retribution for that. So I, I, I share your concern and I share your frustration when you do volunteer. Um, I did want to point out though, however, that I think most of us did not speak about the dirty kennels. I think we all know that a shelter is going to have dirty kennels at some point of the day. What we're concerned about is poor decisions made by leadership. And that's why we are so concerned about the hiring process moving forward. With that in mind, I would like to ask if the board would consider adding a motion, adding to the motion that Brittany Diazio, I believe her name is, be removed from consideration for the director position. AWOC has withdrawn their nomination of her and a veterinarian and a vet tech have written into the board expressing their concern. I don't know if you have the authority to do that, but maybe you can make a recommendation to Miss Lieberman that that be considered. Um, let me see. And also I did submit some questions that I was, maybe a month ago or so for the interview, uh, interviewees to consider when doing the director position. I don't know if those are being used tomorrow, but I would really appreciate if there was some push for those to be included. Because again, what's important is that we get a director who has the experience in a low kill high live release rate shelter. And that is not Miss Diazio with all due respect to her. Um, I also want to emphasize that staff, most staff at the shelter are not the problem. We, we know that kennel techs do their job. We know that, um, most of the medical texts do their job. The problem is leadership and the top down decisions that are being made and the people that are in fear if they don't implement those decisions that they will either be pushed out and have to resign or they may lose their job. Um, sorry, I'm still a little bit shaky. You're doing good job. Thank you. Um, and the last thing I think that I wanted to mention was that, um, we're all so passionate because right now these animals belong to no one. And by default that means that they belong to all of us. And we have to do what we can to keep them safe, to give them their best chance. I think we've all probably had some things in life that we'd like to redo. And we probably got a second chance somewhere along the line. These animals deserve the same and they deserve a shelter leadership that is going to fight for them. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Anyone else? Yeah, come on. I just want to speak to the issue of a formal process for complaint by volunteers. Um, I think that's really important. I think that it should also be like, like she mentioned something, Ms. Lieberman mentioned something about like a complaint form that anyone can fill out. I didn't know that was there. I'm on the VOCC website all the time. I didn't know that that was there. Um, I also want to say, I saw you on Saturday. I was stuck in a yard with a, um, with a Velcro dog. But I, I, I did, I did, I didn't see you there. I tried to get you to you, but like, sweetie was just not letting me go. Um, yeah, that's, that, that's it. Just that the, the process is like, people are aware of it. Like existing is great, but it's not going to do anything if some random kid who comes in one hour a week and isn't connected, doesn't know, know how to do that. So that's it. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? Yeah, come on. Yeah. Anyone else? If you could just queue up, cause we're going to try to get. I'll be real short. I promise. I just wanted to say thank you again for listening to us. And for, I know, yeah, we're all getting real passionate because we do care. Um, but I want to speak again as a volunteer. Um, I volunteered for maybe the last 15 years for various animal, um, uh, like for fostering. And, and I volunteered for, um, the humane society over here that does a great job with their volunteers. Operation catnip that does an amazing job with everything they do, but especially their volunteers too. I feel so welcome there. Um, but, um, and I wanted to say that I've had a very hard time trying to volunteer for ACAR. Like even just being able to say like right now I'm retired. I have time to be doing stuff and I have time to be helping with this. And it frustrates me so much because I try to reach out and I don't get anything back. I, I have time that I could be doing this to help with this. Like I help them and I help them, but I want to help with this. Okay. Thank you. Just what I have to say. So thank you very much. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. I want to start again very, very quickly. I didn't hear from, um, Commissioner Pizzio's, um, motion about specifically not getting retribution for volunteers who bring things up. I know we talked about whistleblower, but actually entering the, this shelter and having nobody speak to you or, or telling you to leave. I mean, that's an act. That's a little bit more, um, uh, you know, we can feel that more than just, you know, a whistleblower thing that happens at the, at the time. So if it's known ahead of time, don't do that. Maybe that would be more precise for the motion. Thank you so much. Okay. Thank you. All right. Uh, oh, go ahead. I'm still here. Oh, sorry. Just very quickly. I do want to encourage you to change the interim team. You know, there's a lot coming down the pike that hasn't even happened yet. I think there's going to be some legal stuff going on that you guys don't really know about and it's coming. And I think that when this is all reviewed, you're going to want to stand up and say, hey, we made the change when it was proper to make it and this is the time right now. And if you are not happy with the people that you have as candidates, please don't just move forward. Wait until you get the right people. There's 33 applicants out there. I swear there must be more than one that's appropriate for us. So, thank you. Thank you. All right. Anyone else? Okay. Mr. Chair, may I speak to the amendment of the ordinance? Yes. You do have some language in your whistleblower ordinance that could include volunteers. I can read it to you and see if this is adequate. It says any person, any employee or other person who discloses information on their own initiative in a manner prescribed in the section that we were talking about is protected from retaliation based on such disclosure. That does it for me. There's more. It talks about the investigation. Well, it says and or other. Right. Or other persons. And then it goes on to say that if they participate in an investigation or hearing related to it or if they refuse to participate in an investigation, that they shall not be subject to retaliation. I guess I'm okay with that, but I guess I would feel better if we actually added the word volunteers. Or other, including volunteer. Yeah. Because I feel like it's other kind of like. So, this is actually an example of how government works really, really fast. We have a motion and our attorney says we've already done that. So, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. So, Mr. Chair, I don't think I need an authorization to advertise. It's two words. I can bring you the ordinance. Yeah. That'd be great. Okay. Thank you. All right. We've got. All right. Back to the board for discussion on the motion. And then we will get to the rest of the agenda. We've got Commissioner Wheeler, Prizia, and Alfred. Yeah. I did want to, I guess that to their point, like I, that you heard that whistleblower includes retaliation. You all are already subject to that. So, I'm not going to add that to the motion, but I do want you to know that if you face any retaliation, we would like to know that immediately. Yes, please. Okay. Commissioner Wheeler. I would just have a quick question. Pam, you were just talking about legal things that we don't know about. Why do we not know about them? I guess one thing I will say is this. I think that there needs to be some understanding that the board does not hire employees. The manager hires employees. Our only two employees are sitting at the end of this dais. They are the only two employees that we have. Everybody else are their employees. And they have the hiring responsibilities and the management authority to do those hirings. And we don't direct those hirings. We don't direct those firings. We can make recommendations and they can follow those or not follow those. And then we can decide if that's appropriate or not appropriate with regards to their performance. But that's our level of input. And if we suggested that a person or multiple people wouldn't be part of a hiring process, we could actually taint that entire hiring process and it would have to start all over again, which we don't want to do either, right? So we want everyone that was reviewed and recommended to have a fair chance of being interviewed and have a fair chance of getting that job. And our job is to make sure that we trust our HR and our management to make good decisions for our county. So I just want to be clear about that. Like, we don't weigh in on hiring decisions about individual people within the county beyond our manager and our attorney. Mr. Chair, I just wanted to say that, you know, a lot of times that what I'm hearing on Facebook, and I don't do Facebook anymore or our emails that we're getting here, that people, you all know stuff that we should know but you're not telling us because it's somehow secret, you know, or it's, I don't know why that information is not being shared here when we're the ones actually going to be dealing with the issue. I mean, I'm just saying that because, you know, like this thing, well, there's just things that are going, there's an undercurrent out in the community that is not always getting to us. That's, and I'm done. Thank you. Okay. Do you have anything else? Anna? No. Commissioner Alford? No. No, we have any members of the legal litigation but it's, we can't talk about it because it's a thing. So that's the problem. Well, does our legal know about it? Yes, they do. Okay. That's, do you? So, Mr. Chair, the only thing I'm aware of is the pre-suit notice that's required by statute before a person can file a public records case. That's the only one that I'm aware of. And that's the only one I'm aware of. There's more. We'll deal with them when they're in front of us. Okay. Okay. So we've got a motion on the floor. Before we vote on motion, I want to. Oh, I did want to say one more thing. Go ahead. And I know we're ready to be done with this. But I want to echo what Commissioner Prizzi has said. If you feel there is retribution as a volunteer in any way, I really, really, really think it's important that you let us know about that right away. That is not appropriate. We expect volunteers and employees to be treated with respect. You know, no matter what they're doing, assuming they're doing their job correctly and well, then, yes, everyone should be treated with respect and with thanks for what they're doing, whether you're getting paid or not. So please let us know if that continues to happen. And I guess to your point, I just want to echo that. That also goes for our employees. I know they have a really hard job. And I know that you all are very frustrated about this. But, you know, they feel this way more. Even, you know, we feel this. We're here. We feel responsible. Somebody said those dogs are owned by no one. That's not actually true. They're owned by us. Like, we are their owners right now, right? And we have a responsibility of care and stewardship for them. And I feel as deeply and as importantly for those animals as I do for the people that we have incarcerated or a jail. And I wish that in both instances we didn't have to have animals or people locked in cages. But that's where we're at right now. And we have the care and custody of those individuals, rather they're animals or people. And it's our responsibility. And so we feel that. But I know that our employees feel it even more deeply and have a responsibility to care for them and try really hard every day and show up every day to do really, really hard jobs under really difficult circumstances. So I would just ask that that same thing we're asking them not to have retribution, that that grace be given to our staff and a recognition that they're doing the best that they can. And just ask that same idea of retribution and retaliation and attitude be shared amongst everybody, that we all just try to get along while we're going through this difficult time. Manager Lieberman? Yes. I just wanted to echo that staff knows I have an open-door policy. I always have. And I have met with different staff throughout the years who contact me and want to sit down and talk with me, and I will continue to do so. I also set meetings with citizens who have wanted to come and talk to me and sit down with them or talk to them on the phone, and that also will not change. So I have also made sure to make myself available, as I know you all have. Sometimes you all have come with me for some of those meetings when the public wants to speak with us. So I'm still available for that as well. Okay, and I will conclude by just, again, I want to thank you all. Again, you know, when you are up there and you're not used to speaking and you're shaking, it takes courage. So I think Patricia and Commissioner Prizzi just said it. The animals belong to all of us. So thank you for making this important again today, and we will do our best to address many, if not all, of the concerns that have been alleged as well as informed by you all to us. So with that, all those in favor of the motion, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, that motion is unanimous. Thank you all. Okay, so we are going to take a five-minute recess and reconvene back at 146, and we'll get to our agenda. Is that okay? Five minutes. We'll even touch it. Go ahead and reconvene. I want to do a little bit of management comment. So we've got Meridian up next. If we could, Commissioners, if it's okay, we've got a guest here on the J2 public hearing for vacating a portion of Southeast 243rd. Do you mind if we do Meridian first and then do the vacation? Yes. Can we do the vacation first? Let's do the vacation. All right, so if we could, Mr. Clerk, do the vacation, which is item, if you could go ahead and announce item J2, and then we'll get back to Meridian. This one won't take long. Mr. Chair, this takes to item J under the public hearings. This is a public hearing for the board to consider the vacation of a portion of Southeast 243rd Street in Alachua County, Florida. Okay, so we probably just screwed up growth management, who's not here. I think they're in grace night. They're running over. You're welcome. All right. They're in grace night. Ramon, thank you for being ready to go. Do you mind go ahead and presenting this item? I don't mind. Okay. Get back to his office. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Ramon Gavarretti, the Polyworks Director. Is it on? It is on, right? Well, Commissioners, in front of you today is a petition to vacate a portion of Southeast 243rd Street. A little history. On October 8, 2025, it was called an Island Grove LLC file an application with us to vacate this portion of Southeast 243rd Street. In the past, there was another vacation related to the same properties, which was Southeast 193rd Avenue. This property is part of a rural family land protection program, so they're, you know, to create a conservation easement. The map you see in front right now on the screen shows the portion that is being vacated is the, I'm going to call the south section here. I don't know if my mouth, oh, yeah, it does move on the screen. This is the portion that is being requested to be vacated right now. There is currently already no continuation of this street going down, so there is no real impact to anybody. The Island Grove LLC owns all the property around it. Section 336-09 Florida statute is what gives the board also the authority to perform this act today. And then the Alachua County Code, Section 324-01, also speaks to the authority that the board has to vacate portions of right-of-ways. So we receive no objections from anybody. So the recommendation from staff is to adopt the resolution to vacate a portion of Southeast 243rd Street as requested in the application from Island Grove LLC. I just want to move staff's recommendation. I have a motion and a second to approve staff's recommendation. Is there any discussion? Anyone from the public wish to speak to the board? Back to the board. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show that motion as unanimous with Commissioner Wheeler out of the room. Before we move on to the next item, I would like to just tell my colleagues we've got an honorable guest with us in the chambers today. Mr. Jared Gross, if you could just stand up and give us a wave. This is a fellow county commissioner from DeSoto County. You want to come up and just introduce yourself? Yeah, we'd love to just thank you for being here. Mr. Chairman, board, thank you for adjusting your agenda to get this vacation done. We are a large family farm. Been in Island Grove area since 99, growing blueberries. What a great presentation on the National Ag Day. So thank you guys for supporting agriculture. We're a large organic grower, nursery, farming, operation, winery that have been in Alachua and Putnam counties. So we're spread out. We've got a little over 5,500 acres. And, you know, 200 of it is blueberries. And then we've got cow, calf, timber, all the other stuff. Are you all the ones that make that blueberry wine? We are. I like the one that's sort of dry. Okay, kind of dry, kind of dry, yes. Kind of, sort of. But I thank you guys for your time. And, you know, this job, as Mr. Ken said, is sometimes not an easy job. You have a lot of folks that beat you up. And sometimes it's hard. But whenever you have those rewarding wins, it's worth every minute to sit up there. So thank you. Have a great day. Thank you. I just want to say real quick, we do have our own agricultural easement program in Alachua County. And we've been looking at trying to do partnerships with NRCS and Rural and Family Land. So we're excited to hear another farm in our area trying to protect their land with an easement. And just want to say thank you for continuing to protect our ag land so we can keep having food in this community. It's disappearing fast. Yep, I know. And so we have to protect what we have. So thank you all. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you for being here and for what you do. Okay, Mr. Clerk, back on to our agenda. Meridian, you are angels for your patience. We appreciate you. So, Mr. Clerk, next item. Mr. Chair, the next item is the Meridian Health Care presentation on the Central Receiving Facility. Mary Helen, you are out of the room. Did you want to be an aye for that? Aye, absolutely. Okay, so if you'll just show Mary Helen there's an aye. I think Meridian now knows why we might need mental health support. Ms. Tuck, good afternoon. Chair, Commissioners, Claudia Tuck, Director of Alachua County Community Support Services. You had requested a presentation from Meridian Healthcare on their Central Receiving Facility. So today you have with you Lauren Cohn, the President and CEO of Meridian, to provide that. Okay. Ms. Cohn, welcome. Thank you for being here. Okay. Hi. If you want to go ahead and pull that microphone. There you go. Hello. Yeah. Hi. Thank you so much for having us here today. As Claudia said, I'm Lauren Cohn, the President and CEO of Meridian Healthcare. I also have with me today, I'm sure Richard needs no introduction, but Richard Anderson, our Chief Clinical Officer, as well as Jennifer Barber, who is the Director of Central Receiving Services. Reverend Cohn, uncle. I really want to, first of all, start off by saying how incredibly grateful we are for your support and partnership in making Central Receiving a reality. We're really excited to be here today to tell you about what has happened in the first year as we celebrate and mark, a little over a year now, the anniversary of our opening. We want to also acknowledge our law enforcement partners and community partners whose collaboration really made this possible and a success. This model, as you know, is built to support individuals in crisis while also strengthening coordination across the system. So that collaboration and partnership is key. So today, I want to share a little bit of the highlights from the first year and the impact we've had in the community. So first, I want to start off by just highlighting some of the features of the model, the Central Receiving model. I know some of you don't need this information, but just for context, because we've had so many advocates from all of you in support of this model. But as we open January 2025, to serve as a single coordinated entry point for behavioral health crisis in the community, bringing together law enforcement drop-offs, voluntary referrals, and Baker Act referrals into one streamlined location. We operate 24-7, providing consistent access to care and reliability for individuals in need and community partners, dedicated law enforcement and emergency transport entrance, supports efficiency, and helps reduce officer wait times. At the core of this model is a person-centered assessment. Individuals are evaluated based on clinical need and connected to the most appropriate level of care, ensuring responsible use of resources while also improving outcomes. Overall, this facility strengthens system coordination, supports public safety, and improves access to timely behavioral health. From January 2025 through December 2025, for one year of opening, Central Receiving provided services to over 2,500 individuals. Unique individuals, or did some people come back? Some people came back. Some people came back. I want to highlight the demographics and just some data to provide you on who it is we've served. The demographics of individuals served by Central Receiving during the first year reflects a broad range of ages, genders, and racial backgrounds. Overall, our data is showing that the facility is functioning as a true county-wide access point for individuals experiencing behavioral health crisis. This slide shows where individuals served by Central Receiving reside. As expected, the majority of residents are Alachua County at almost 60 percent, with additional individuals coming from our surrounding communities. This reflects the facility's primary role in serving Alachua County while also functioning as a regional access point for neighboring communities in need. Excuse me, Mr. Chair, what is other? What would be other? Other is all of surrounding communities, visitors to the area, from any and everywhere. There's such a small percentage that you've got one or two people from a community in the Panhandle, one or two people from down south. That's the representation here. We have that unique data, though. We could send afterwards if you'd like to see those counties. Some of them were very hard to see because they're negligible, you know, to keep them. I'm just curious. If they're unhoused individual, how do they get Clough County or whatever they identify? Jennifer, it's whatever they identify. If they're unhoused individual, how are they determined? How is the residents determined? They report. It's whatever they report. So if they say they're from, that they got here, but they're really from Pinellas County, then they would be reflected as Pinellas County. That makes sense. That's one of the other. Probably the other. Okay. Thank you. Chuck, did you have something? Okay. Another question. This slide reflects the legal status of individuals served in Central Receiving. Individuals arrive through a mix of voluntary presentations and involuntary commitments, including Baker Act and Marchman Act referrals. The distribution reflects the dual role. So we're supporting people who voluntarily seek help while also serving as a safe, efficient intake point for individuals brought in under some type of statutory authority. Overall, the data demonstrates how Central Receiving is both supporting the clinical care needs and safety responsibilities within a single coordinated system. I will say I think the voluntary percentage is a good thing to see in this because we're seeing that individuals feel comfortable and safe to enter through that voluntary entrance. And those of you who were at our previous facility, you can understand why the voluntary percentage was not that in the previous design. That Central Receiving now in its current model and current form is really supporting individuals who aren't thankfully yet in a Baker Act or Marchman involuntary situation but are recognizing voluntarily that there's a need for some type of additional supportive services. Commissioner Alford? Regarding the Marchman Act, that requires, you know, paperwork and the court and stuff like that's different from the Baker Act, which is after the fact. Do you work with families to help them in a Marchman Act situation or the Marchman Act folks that you've brought in, you know, just because some family knew how to do that and went through that process? Is there assistance for the Marchman Act process, I guess is what I'm asking. Yes, through our outpatient programs, there is support and information that we provide of supported families and individuals, not so much through Central Receiving unless someone comes in and calls. But for the most part, that support and resource is done through our outpatient division. When you've got family members and individuals who are in a level of care or may not be recognizing yet that they need help, our access center also provides education and information on that. Good. I just want the public to hear that because it's such a struggle for some family members to deal with that because not often do people meet the criteria for Baker Acting. Absolutely. This slide shows how individuals are referred to Central Receiving. Nearly half of the referrals come from law enforcement with the remaining individuals arriving through walk-in and other community resources. Again, we're highlighting the dual role of the safety for individuals who are presenting with a law enforcement-involved need, but also an accessible point for individuals who are being referred through other community partnerships and voluntarily aware of the fact that they need assistance and come in. When you talk about law enforcement, is that primarily the co-responder teams? It's a variety. So we've got co-responder teams. We also have other local law enforcement partners who bring individuals in, as well as law enforcement of the surrounding communities as well, where we're serving as an intake point. Do those get counted as voluntary? They do if they're not arriving on a big, so this is kind of a distinction. They do if they're not arriving on a Baker Act and they're willing to access services. So you've got some individuals who call. They don't have any means to get there. They're in a crisis. They're not sure, but they're willing to seek help. Law enforcement will sometimes provide transportation to our facility. They're not under any civil commitment order, and they're willing to seek help. That would be voluntary. Sometimes they're not willing, and they're dropped off their secure entrance, and that's not counted as voluntary. The next thing I want to highlight is our screening disposition. This is basically the outcome of that individual unique assessment and evaluation that's done with everyone who comes through the door at central receiving. Most individuals were connected to an appropriate next level of care, including admission to a crisis stabilization or other treatment setting, while others were safely released with resources and community supports. Overall, the data demonstrates how the screening process is directing individuals to the right level of care based on their clinical need, supporting effective treatment and responsible use of higher-level services, but also serving everyone in the least restrictive environment. If someone doesn't need inpatient care, we don't want to put someone in inpatient care. We want to make sure that they have the right supports and resources to continue on in a lower level of care, following up with care coordination and individuals who can help support them through those other appointments, but not admitting someone to a high level of care that does not need to be placed there. Do you have the percentage of people that come in under a potential Baker Act and then are released with additional resources? Well, I think everyone comes in on a potential Baker Act, right? They're coming in in some type of presentation of crisis. Right, but I guess that's true, but I mean, you know, law enforcement might bring them in with the intention of them being Baker Acted, but then they're released as, you see what I'm saying? Yes, yes. I don't think we have that unique data. I don't think we're tracking it that way. We can certainly try to maybe look at how we're capturing that for future data, but I don't think we're tracking it in that exact way. Yeah, and I ask because, you know, some people when confronted with you, you know, your facility, you know, can get themselves out of a crisis, but they still need a high degree of help. So I've seen that situation. So I was curious if that, because some of the, those are the same people that might be released with resources, but aren't going to take advantage of those. Yes, I completely see where you're coming from and agree. I think the difference in central receiving is that there's also a care coordination support built into it, where previous inpatient screening didn't really have that. So you're right, if someone is presenting well, here are the resources, unless, you know, they were able to be referred and then tried to locate. We've got care coordinators built in that program who are establishing that connection and rapport and following up with individuals post-release from central receiving to help support them in connecting them with those services. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you. Good, thanks. The next item is showing our law enforcement processing times throughout the year. So our processing times have remained consistently low at six minutes or less. But over, once we, once the first couple months in processes and new facility and entry points got worked out, we've stabilized that at three minutes or under. We actually just heard some feedback from co-responders how happy they were with the new setup. Again, for those of you who had previously been in our tiny screening area, it really couldn't accommodate more than one person, so we saw a backup. Now, we're able to get officers in and out, individuals where they need to be, and to get the officers back in the community, assisting with the various and century things that our law enforcement partners are assisting with, and not getting held up in our facility. So we're really, really proud of this and working to keep this very low. At this point, I would like to turn it over to Jennifer Barber, our Director of Central Receiving Services. Since I got to handle the data part, Jennifer gets to tell you about some of the wonderful success stories and things that they've seen in central receivings. So, Jennifer? Welcome. Good afternoon. Yeah, with over 2,500 people coming through in the past year, it was hard to highlight just two success stories, but we were able to pull out two. So I will share a couple of those with you and then move on to the next slide. One of the success stories was from a grateful client. We had a woman brought into the central receiving facility in acute crisis for both substance use and mental health challenges. She was in a highly escalated emotional and behavioral state. The central receiving staff helped her to calm down, expediting the screening process to get her admitted to the inpatient care swiftly and begin her treatment. Three days later, when she was discharged, she came back through the central receiving facility for transportation. She was stabilized on medication and connected with aftercare services. She expressed a heartfelt gratitude for the care that she received and was excited to return back to her retail job and engage with her friends and family. Another success story is from a mother and son in crisis. An adolescent boy was brought to the central receiving facility by his mother who was overwhelmed and desperate for help. An emergency screener met with her in the room, provided support and guidance, and determined at that time that the child did not need to be admitted for inpatient care. And this was distressing for the mother at first, but through an empathetic and compassionate meeting, the screener set the family up with outpatient services, and the mother expressed gratitude for the time, compassion, and assistance, but most of all for the helpful path forward. Wonderful. And if I could clarify for the public, I'm sure these are stock photos and not pictures of your client. Correct. Thank you. Thank you. Good clarification. What's that? Good clarification. Thank you. Sorry, I made it. The central receiving facility is comprised of an advisory council as well, and that membership includes representation from community partners, including the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, the Gainesville Police Department, Alachua County Fire and Rescue, Gainesville Fire and Rescue, Alachua County Crisis Center, HCA Florida and North Florida Hospital, UF Health Shan Psychiatric Hospital, along with our CCO, Richard Anderson, and myself, Jennifer Barber. Some of the meeting highlights for the year. We convened three times in 2025 to review program performance and strengthen cross-agency coordination. Each meeting included a review of data, discussions and opportunities, procedure refinement, and enhancement of communication pathways. Can I ask a quick question about that? Yeah, go ahead. I got one. I guess two questions. One is, yay, I'm glad to see all the right groups at the table collaborating on advisory. But two questions. One is, with regards to UF Health, Shands, and HCA, I know early on we were hoping that they would also be a stronger stakeholder in this process. Has that materialized in terms of their participation in the central receiving facilities? I think so. I think the relationship is very collaborative. They do come to our meetings. We have ongoing discussions regularly, me and the other directors. Can I ask directly? So, we had asked that they actually work out an agreement whereby certain folks were placed in a rotational basis and they would ultimately become a funding partner. That's what you're asking, right? Yeah. Have any of those discussions occurred? Do you want me to ask? We do have a rotating system where we rotate with both of those partner hospitals within the central receiving facility. I think those discussions are ongoing. There are still, you know, barriers to getting folks in on that rotation occasionally, some capacity referral timing kinds of things. But that is something that we continue to discuss at the Advisory Council, which I will say that oh, I'm sorry. You can't hear you on mute. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Those discussions are ongoing and while Jennifer's indicating we do have that rotation, I think there are still some barriers to getting folks in and transferred to other facilities. Some are referral timing. We don't want folks waiting, you know, too long. We want to get them moving through central receiving capacity, those types of things. But those conversations are being had consistently at the Advisory Council, and I will say that Shands and HCA are both very active members in the Advisory Council and routinely attend the meetings and participate in those discussions. Okay. I think you just answered my second question, but that was this sort of procedure refinement enhancement of communication pathways that's done through, like, case management or active discussion of, like, this is a situation and you kind of work through it as a team to see how it could happen better in the future. Absolutely. This is the forum to bring those items. So, now, we try to talk real time. I know Jennifer talks with both partners regularly. So, if there is a concern, they are addressing it. But if there is the need for more procedural discussions, if it was a one-off, if not, this is the forum to do that where they're having those conversations about any barriers or what could be done to sort of make the process a little smoother. Thank you. Following up on that, the previous slide, or three slides back, where you showed, one more. Yeah. So, are HCA and Shands the CSU? No. CSU is our program, our Crisis Stabilization Unit. The transfer to another facility includes both Shands and HCA. So, 2,500, 11 percent, about 250 people, approximately. Thank you. Included me, so I'll turn it back over to you. So, I wanted to give you an idea of what to expect in year two, in 2026, building the next chapter of central receiving. We're obviously going to continue our quarterly advisory council meetings to optimize those partnerships, continue to work through that to identify refinements to our workflows, our workflows that involve community partners, and our internal workflows, maintain low processing times for law enforcement officers to support their return to the community, and then focus on capturing and enhancing the client experience. The first year, there were a constant evaluation of the procedures, the process, the workflows. Year two is making sure we're supporting the individuals and families who are coming through and continuing to make that a positive experience, whether that involves transition to inpatient care, that's supporting individuals with information on what that looks like and helping them during that transition. As we know, that can be an incredibly stressful time for family members who are involved in treatment care, or supporting them additionally through transition to a lower level. Information on what the next steps are, follow up by care coordination, and support through the continual treatment process. Commissioner Wheeler, is your light on? It is. It is. You want to wait? I can wait until after we have the presentation. Absolutely. That's really it. I wanted to include our contact information directly, so if anyone has any questions on central receiving or any follow-up information, this is the information for both myself, or all myself, and Jennifer and Richard. Okay. Thank you so much. We've got a couple questions. Okay. Commissioner Wheeler, Commissioner Frizi, and then Commissioner Alford. Yes. Thank you very much. What have you learned this year? I mean, what kind of change? What have you learned as you were doing all of this this year? Goodness. Well, we've learned a lot about, you know, we set up central receiving, if I can, and then I'd love to hear from Jennifer, because I don't want to purport that I'm working in the program and in the trenches day-to-day here, right? But we set up central receiving based on, you know, the model itself, but also what did we know that wasn't working, right? What did we know we didn't want to do? That really informed a lot about the facility layout, so we've learned a lot about that. We've learned a lot about how to support individuals comfortably in a space and balance the comfort and safety of individuals. Sometimes those things seem at odds in a secure facility, so we've learned quite a bit about how to support both of those things simultaneously, so I'm really, really proud of that. How to support individuals and their family members, what information are they looking for? There's a lot of myths about the Baker Act. There's a lot of information that family members don't know that we, as professionals in the behavioral health field, tend to take for granted. So we have some information we've created to support individuals and their families by providing them that information to hopefully make that incredibly stressful time a little bit easier. Jennifer? I would love to, you know, add. Yeah, and if there's something that we should know moving forward that we can help improve or to, you know, to rearrange if we need to in terms of services or a way to supplement what you're doing from the community. I mean, honestly, we've learned a lot about the richness of the partnerships, I will say. So this model has helped strengthen those partnerships, bringing people together through the advisory council that, I will say previously, we're only communicating when there was a problem a lot of times. If I, and I mean, we're real guilty of that, too, so that's not a statement or a critique. It just tends to be how we work is we're communicating and calling when there's a problem. We've learned a lot about how to partner and collaborate ahead of those and examine those types of partnerships. Um, so that's, that's been really great. Um, the, you know, like I said, the facility plant, the law enforcement getting, we've learned the power of getting individuals in and out and what that can look like and the benefit we've seen to our law enforcement partners, the, the taxing situation we previously had and the toll that was taking on, on our law enforcement partners. Uh, we've seen a lot of that ameliorated so much this year. So, um, that's been, that's been really great. We've gotten a lot of community support for the, for the, so we're, you're headed in the right direction is what you're saying. Yes, absolutely. What about children and adolescents? I didn't see a breakdown or did I miss it? That is, I will go back. That is in the beginning. Okay. Um, and one of the things you see and why we included one of these success stories is that, um, there's a lot of, uh, highlights in the news and in the media about the, the need for behavioral health services. Sorry, I went too far. Uh, the behavioral health services for youth. Um, one is that we want to make sure we're supporting youth and families in the lowest level of care possible. We do not want to be bringing kids into inpatient services that don't need that. That's one of the things that, that why we highlighted that success story because oftentimes we're looking at what supports and resources can we provide these families to avoid an inpatient stay for, for our youth and adolescents. Are we still sending kids to Lake City? We have a children's unit here in Gainesville. Oh, good. We do. So any adolescent that does need to be admitted for inpatient care, we have a facility in Gainesville so their family stays involved. We make sure that every child has a family session with their guardian, parents, whoever is, um, residing in the home. That way we can make sure that the whole family is being supported as well as provided resources. If we only treat the child and return them to, to their home without those supports and resources, we know that the success rate is going to be less. Do any of them go up north? Do we send any kids up to Lake City? We have a children's unit there. Um, but the only time we would is if we really had no capacity here, if our unit was, was completely full and there was capacity. But we do everything we can to prioritize keeping individuals in their home community or closest, uh, crisis stabilization unit just for that reason. So we can keep family involved. We can make discharge planning and transition back to the home easier. Okay. I'm through, Mr. Chair, but I can't read that. My glass, I need new glasses really badly. So 6 to 11 is 2.5%. 12 to 17 is 11.7%. Okay. 18 to 39 is 43%. 40 to 64 is 38%. Over 65 is 4%. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Must be nice to have good eyes. I don't know about that. Commissioner Frissey and then Commissioner Harper. Um, thank you. Um, I guess a quick, I guess 18 to 39 is like a really giant window of people. Yeah. I'm wondering if there's any way we could cut that down. 18 to 30 and 30 to, I don't know. It just feels like a very big group. It'd be useful to know because I feel like that 18 to 25 is like a really critical time over. Yeah. Absolutely. A lot of great challenges for our youth. So we've got that. That's the most common age of, of schizophrenia to be diagnosed. I would agree. Yep. Also, um, I, it would be great to have a breakdown of, um, both the total number and your unique users. Like, so we could see sort of where we're seeing readmissions and repeat visits. Um, that would be helpful information to have, um, for the future. Um, I wanted to ask how, um, with regards to sort of, um, two things. One is how you're interfacing with our mobile integrated health team, um, that's been doing a lot of work on the substance abuse side of things in our community. Is that something that's, you all are, I mean, I know that Alachua County Fire Rescue is on your advisory board. So I'm imagining some connection, but I didn't know. Absolutely. And I think the, the MIH team is also interfacing closely with our medication assisted treatment program, um, and, uh, getting individuals in same day, next day access for that. So that's probably a large part of the collaboration. Okay, great. Um, the second thing I wanted to ask about is, um, how you all deal with referrals to other social service needs beyond mental health. Are you all working with resource centers or find help or other support services referrals to be able to get people to housing resources, food resources, employment resources? Absolutely, and I'm happy to answer that, Jennifer. Do you want to provide a little bit of information on our care? I know, you got to use the mic. Your coordinators in real time are providing as many resources as they can in the visit. Okay. I just, okay. I guess I just wanted to encourage slash, like, bring up the fact that, like, we really are, uh, like, in an ideal role, I'm, I'm trying to push that we all use kind of a coordinated effort with regards to referrals to social services so that we can, you know, one, have warm referrals and start seeing how they're doing and sort of tracking that in real time in the long run, but in the short run also that, you know, as many of those organizations as possible that are providing those services, recognize, find help, and 2-1-1 is, like, the places to go to get that information so that we can keep those databases as robust as possible and as accurate as possible. So I don't know if those are the databases that you all currently use or if you're keeping up your own, but I would just encourage you to chat with our team at CSS and, um, our Safety Net Collaborative, which I, I think you all come to, um, meeting to sort of think about those two resources as a, like, core resource for social services referrals. Absolutely. One, one thing I want to say, too, is that, um, you know, we, we also lean on our subject matter experts within our organization, and so we've got the, um, Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Grant, where we partner with, um, several of the individuals already aforementioned today, but, um, and we lean on them as well to do in-program consultations when we have someone who is experiencing homelessness or on the verge of and needs those resources. We'll call on our own internal experts to have them come do a consultation and offer some additional support and resources as well. Thank you. I guess my, my final question is, um, I saw sort of the law enforcement bringing them in. Do you count all of those as diversions, or are some of those just voluntary transports? Like, how, how would we be able to calculate sort of diversions from jail or, um, you know, the, the efforts to have this be a place that would be an alternative so that we don't have so many people experiencing crisis ending up in jail instead of where they belong? You know, we've, we've been thinking a lot about this and talking about it, especially in follow-up to the Public Safety Coordinating Council, um, and, and right now we don't have a unique data field that allows us to sort of say this many of these law enforcement drop-offs could have been taken to jail. Um, so we're currently looking at how to maybe refine our data collection process, uh, as we talked about for 2026 and what that would look like. Um, so right now we know that, you know, 46% were brought in by law enforcement. We have the, the voluntary statistics. So we're sort of looking at it in, in piecemeal. So we do know that it is a place that's being utilized certainly as an alternative and we want folks to be in the environment that's going to support treatment and not, um, you know, an environment that's, that's not, um, and our law enforcement officers and partners have been incredibly supportive of that. Sorry. So I do know. We're just a lot of the bottom of the table. Oh, well, that's our, our, our, uh, commission poltergeist. Yeah. That's the proverbial cue the music for. And thank you. Um, but yeah, so we do know that, that they are really utilizing our, uh, central receiving facility as a place that folks can safely, uh, receive the care and support and treatment that they need as an alternative when, um, behavioral health needs are the primary driver. Certainly. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that answer. I will follow up with you. I want to chat with you a little bit more about mental health with our jail and medic, medically assisted care, medic, sorry, like assisted treatment programs that you're doing with the jail. You don't need to talk about it today, but I will follow up with you on it. Okay, great. Yeah. I'd love to. We're really excited. Almost 40% of our, our incarcerated individuals or people awaiting trial in our jail currently are reporting as mental health, having mental health challenges. So it's definitely a major issue. Yeah. That's, that's the number that have diagnosis. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I will say, if I can't be, um, the, the, the Electro County jail, the sheriff and major Keith have been incredibly supportive and excited about expanding services offered in the jail. Um, so I, I'm, we're, we're so excited to be partnering with them on some of our new medication assisted treatment initiatives thank you that was a great lead-in to to my questions i i um i i met with sheriff yesterday and we had a discussion about jail population and about the number of folks in the our jail system that have been experiencing calmlessness and so i was curious do you guys track the number of folks that come in to the central receiving facility that are experiencing homelessness is that something that you do track we do we we do through their address and through demographics correct and so and and the reason why i ask is that um in my conversation we were talking about um about issues with respect to to housing and how that's contributing to our jail population and we talked about it would be great if we had a housing facility where a judge could um sentence someone to a housing facility that was non-secure it was just basically housing with support services and um i mentioned my relationship with new horizons which is not you guys but related and so i um i i talked about perhaps having a meeting with richard anderson and you and the sheriff about you know perhaps uh you know how we might move forward with the next plan after the central receiving facility because i believe that you know if i were to ask that you guys would tell me that lack of housing gets in the way of treatment on a pretty regular basis and that those folks still end up in our criminal justice system and you know it's it's an ongoing crisis you know i've got to call it a crisis because i believe that it is and the cost that we are expending as as a county and as you know and and that the sheriff is expending on those things i think would very much justify spending you know money on that because there would be i believe ultimately a cost savings and um you know given the cost it takes to put keep a person in the criminal justice system and to process them and all of that so i you know that's a conversation that i wanted to have in the future but i i i feel like having those numbers about the number of folks that come through the facility that are experiencing homelessness is critical to making that that um that argument absolutely and we'll we'll pull that information and i um am excited by the potential of that conversation um i love uh that it's being talked about already and um that's one of the great things about about you all in alachua county is um looking at what's next and and what's uh on the horizon we've successfully implemented this model and we're really happy to be here to share that but the work continues and what's what's next in supporting the residents and you talk about the cost to to us but there's also a cost to those individuals too absolutely that's the the um i don't i never want to lose sight of that right and so if there's a way to to better support individuals in need and and make sure that they can access the care and treatment and supports that that are needed we would love to be a part of any discussion i i know that you would but i i just i want to make sure that we we have the numbers that we need need to do the analysis hey richard wave at everybody oh okay i missed it because you were behind who i was seeing in the podium okay well thank y'all thank you for being here and thank you for the work you're doing and i really really appreciate you guys moving deeper into the jail and having that continuity of care when somebody uh leaves our criminal justice system and tries to reintegrate back into the community so that they have that support and they have access to the medication and and the support that they need so thank you absolutely thank you okay you conclude i do thank you so much i just have a very quick question too about lodge the lodge are you all using the lodge to accommodate some of these folks too we are absolutely um we are using the lodge in a number of different scenarios uh some individuals that uh may be homeless and are not needing inpatient care we work with uh the lodge and getting folks admitted so we can get them connected to outpatient uh we use it for individuals who are involved in our uh criminal justice mental health substance abuse investment grant um but it's not nearly big enough no it is not we are we are maxed out though all of the rooms are full um we are but um but you're right there's if we could we could fill up a second one i'm sure um but yes we are using using the lodge thank you thank you okay let's go and thank you for your presentation uh we appreciate it very very much yep richard thank you for being here jennifer thank you okay mr clerk let's move on to our action items that takes us to the safe streets and roads for all action plan okay and the recommended action is to adopt the alachua county safe streets and roads for all action plan as presented uh and with that allison welcome good to see you in this room instead of the other room yeah good afternoon chair members of the board allison moss transportation planning manager for the county and i am pleased today to be presenting the complete um safe streets and roads for all action plan for the county a brief overview of what we're going to do um an overview of what a safety action plan is um talk about some of the strategies identified we will look at prioritized studies um we'll discuss the evaluation component of this effort and then also hit on next steps so the safe systems approach i know i've presented on this somewhat recently but for anyone from the public um who may be viewing so it's really an interdisciplinary approach we are looking at safe people so sort of behavior user behavior safe vehicles um safer speeds is a very big one safe roads so the idea that street design um influences safety outcomes a lot and can be modified to improve safety outcomes and then even looking at post crash care so how can um when a crash does occur how can we sort of uh minimize delays and um just amplify safety response on on the scene key tasks of the safety action plan have included analyzing crash data thoroughly developing what is called high injury networks so those networks where we're seeing um more crashes even normalized by the amount of you know travel we have on them uh we've done a lot of community engagement um we convened a task force and are just interdisciplinary task force um to work on this project we reviewed existing policies that the county has and also have developed new policies for consideration um we have developed projects and strategies prioritize projects and lastly sort of in a neat package is the safety action plan um this project before i proceed with this slide um is funded by a federal highway administration grant um part of the bipartisan infrastructure law um and with a match from the county as well so community engagement um by the numbers we've had four different task force meetings we had over 2 000 survey responses from the community over 5 500 visits to the project website um and a hundred thousand um engagements on social media this project also um used uh sort of special social media tactics to especially target historically disadvantaged communities so um not the sort of usual suspects who always come to meetings and board meetings and express their concerns so that was a success as well um and then we've had three of the more sort of conventional public workshops um at hard museum to start and then at the thomas center and then lastly at the swick house and city of alachua the community engagement um generated a lot of feedback we decided which i think was a smart choice to combine some of the community engagement with the bicycle pedestrian master plan effort um a lot of you know bicycle and pedestrians bicyclists and pedestrians are more sort of vulnerable and adversely impacted if we have roadway safety issues they also are vocal and tend to come out to meetings and are interested in transportation safety um so themes that we heard through the online survey includes included um an interest in reducing driver speed a desire for safety improvements a desire for increased crossings especially near schools and then also concern for roadway maintenance and safety so yeah they somehow the consultant distilled all of these bubbles and all of the data on the back end um to help identify patterns so this is just a flow chart showing what the process has been like so again the county was awarded a grant um from federal highway administration for 262 thousand dollars um the county put up a local match um the project was initiated um task force was engaged we did two different rounds of public outreach um the board adopted division zero resolution um committing to both zero fatalities and serious injuries and then a reduction of 50 percent as well um we developed our high injury network safety metrics and then um continued on outreach and have moved on with development of the project so the crash analysis at a high level um we had over 36 000 total crashes looked at 953 serious injury and 281 fatal crashes um the pie chart shows 64 of the crashes being motor vehicle which um and 12 percent pedestrian and six percent bicyclists and so again that sort of speaks to the increased vulnerability of people walking and biking not um surrounded by a motor vehicle the high injury network um is displayed here and we included we did separate high injury networks for pedestrians for bicyclists for motorcycle users and also for um drivers vehicle high injury network and they're all overlaid on this map here um you see a high concentration of intersection within the city of gainesville and the county's urban cluster that's just where we have signals um and then at the periphery you see more of the segments being picked up and that's where we have higher speed roadways um some of them have some curvature to them um and you know not a lot of signals out um in the unincorporated county i will just pause really quick and say there's been you know the task force that was mentioned um city of gainesville of course participated but there's been sort of an above and beyond coordination with the city of gainesville's vision zero effort because they were further along in this process and we wanted to make sure there was you know decent amount of concurrency between the findings so that is included there strategies um so the strategies are multi-pronged you may have seen this slide before um but you know we're looking at strategies that are appropriate for urban um and then rural roadways we're looking at what sorts of things work at a signalized intersection things that are known to be proven countermeasures for vulnerable road users or people walking and biking um education strategies enforcement including automated enforcement and then also evaluation so systemic findings at a high level um these were the sort of buckets when we looked at the crash data at a high sort of spreadsheet tabular level we saw some trends pop out so there are a lot of lane departure crashes this is consistent with the county's local road safety plan which has found a lot of run off the road crashes out on the county roads in the unincorporated area we saw a lot of fatal and serious left injury left turn crashes sorry at signals and that's consistent with research that i did on county intersections as well aside from the study and then a lot of bicycle pedestrian crashes the 84 that are associated with high speed i think speed is probably hard to pin down i think speed is the number one factor in all of our fatal and serious crashes um but those are ones where it was really mentioned in the data or whether where we have you know roads where the posted speed is very high um and then lastly just signalized intersections um so signals can make an intersection safer than if it were not signalized but it carries its own risks as well what was the time frame for these statistics again this was um starting 2019 i believe this is 2024 yeah yeah through and so we took like a partial year the grant stipulated that we had to do five years but we took a little partially a partial year of age yeah i just wanted to make that clear for the public but that's because that's a really high numbers but they're a really high number for five years as yeah yeah i mean that's a lot sorry for the interruption that's okay so from those high level systemic um observations we came up with study categories so some of them are directly related to the things we found so we looked at rural lane departure we looked at um roadways with posted speeds greater than 40 miles an hour um which you know some may say well that's not particularly high but that is um so 35 is sort of the highest speed at which pedestrians are known to withstand vehicle crashes and likely um survive them signalized left turn crashes red light running crashes was something we looked at um and then bicycle pedestrian crashes lastly there's one that is not sort of systemic but rather location specific so corridors with just the most fatal and serious when we looked at all of the the i don't think i have a curse yeah when we looked at all five of the first factors those covered most of our high injury network um there were just a few you know i don't know exactly the percentage but a very small percentage that were not captured in those categories and those were just looked at specifically so systemic countermeasures um for rural lane departures um there are a few sample countermeasures included advanced curve signage um audible and vibratory treatment um and you know layperson uh rumble strips um widen widen paved roadway shoulder so or safety edge so the treatments at the edge of the roadway um to allow vehicles to recover if they do leave the lane um red light running um we evaluated red light running cameras and also red light running detection so that um if there is a red light it can potentially extend um sort of the red light in the opposite direction so that a crash could be avoided um signalized left turn crashes we looked at opportunities to protect the left turn so that means that people could only turn on a green arrow instead of the flashing yellow um or a green ball where it's the onus is on the driver to determine if it's safe to make a left turn um and then for bicycle pedestrian crashes we look largely at separated facilities separated from traffic and then additional crossings um where either there's long distances between the crossings or we're seeing some demand or we're seeing a safety issue for location specific it really was always very context sensitive um so in some cases um perhaps there's a signal and the signals could be coordinated to lower the operating speed of the corridor in some cases adding medians can help with the access management issue um in other cases maybe um yes median is important and then also opportunities for bicyclist pedestrians to cross so to prioritize the projects um so we had these like five buckets of different projects um the consultant looked at fatal and serious injury crashes and projects were scored for a maximum of three points planning level costs um at our request they looked at sort of short term maybe more quick build type of solutions which can be pursued through subsequent safe streets and roads for all grants um and then long-term capital projects um we looked at crash mitigation reduction so there are um you know some countermeasures are just known to be more effective at mitigating crashes and it'll have a bigger impact so those receive more points and then lastly we looked at underserved communities um as defined by usdot so i don't want to overwhelm you all with um the right hand column is going to have a lot of details and i don't think we need to hit on every single thing um before i get into these i'll mention so these are all of the projects no matter what bucket they fall into um organized by rank so however they scored um we separated them between segments and signalized intersections and so the first project is southwest 20th avenue um which is good to see this one high up on the list it includes um the segment that the county has applied for and actually been awarded a raise grant um to rebuild the bridge including a complete streets design the county is still working with fhwa to try to get that grant executed um so hopefully we'll be back to you within i don't know the next month or less um with the grant agreement to execute uh the consultant proposed an interim solution which would be flex posts or something to physically separate um what is effectively a at-grade sidewalk um presently um and they also looked at uh adding a crosswalk at six or a high visibility crosswalk at 62nd what does a high visibility crosswalk mean does that mean signal it's just it's different striping um so like the lowest visibility would just be the the two lines the transverse lines and then a higher visibility or high emphasis is the ladder stress type of crosswalk um can i ask a question about that what were uh raised pedestrian crosswalks looked at in any location there are some yeah and i can hit on that i can go slowly and i can go through each one of these in detail i do want to mention also so this is how they all the projects fell this is just the first nine segments in the first i think six intersections we have many more projects than that um and this plan is largely unfunded i think that was mentioned in the agenda item um so it is funded to the extent that we have seen things that are already in the tcip um or that we have you know for instance if we get a grant um then it's partially funded but it's largely not funded so the next step is that the consultant is going to be looking at our highest priorities and seeing which ones may be your opportunities to bundle and which ones may be really competitive for a grant um so this is in order of how they scored it may not be exactly what the county and of course in conjunction with public works decides to apply for grants on um the project that scored the second highest for segments is a segment of southwest 20th avenue near 34th street and um the the way that came into the safe streets for and roads for all action plan was as a higher speed roadway but when we look at the existing conditions and the crash data there are opportunities to install sidewalk as is planned to do more analysis through a complete street study and probably to add a crossing southwest 75th or tower road there were a lot of lane departure crashes there kind of near the public's in the wee hours area and so um this one was on the higher speed limit category and we looked at um replacing this sort of painted bike lane that's out um between a dedicated long right turn lane um doing a shared use path kind of bringing the road section a little bit narrower if possible um and then adding another crossing at uh southwest i'm sorry southeast um 27th ave part of the kincaid loop um a segment was identified in this plan um they know that we have the shared use path for kincaid loop in our tcip um had also identified a crossing at that location um northeast 16th ave this is a proposal that includes a raised crossing um and retrofitting um an existing like flashing beacon to a race crossing 235 i'm sorry 325 um was identified as a rural lane departure crash and auditory vibratory uh treatment is warranted there um main north main street and millhopper road um both fall into the category of the higher speed roadway or greater than 40 miles an hour um on north main access management appears to be the warranted countermeasure based on the crash data and on millhopper road there was um lane departure and road departure as well 53rd in the north um there are pedestrian and bicycle crashes and the proposal is to add a shared use path path um and also a crossing and 122nd parker road um this is an area where the crash data indicated an issue at that intersection itself fortunately we have the cip already in the works to do the signal but there's development happening in the area as you all are well aware and some additional crossings in that segment of parker road are supported by the study moving on to intersections so we have um the two first i think it's the first four actually intersections identified the issue was uh permitted left turn and so the proposal there is to protect the left turn um so that it would be a green arrow instead of a yellow flashing arrow so for ones like that where there's not necessarily cost it's just a modification of the light timing or changing the color is that just something we apply to dot for work if it's their road or um i would say it could not be said definitively that there's not a cost associated with it until we look very specifically because the the main um so a signal modification itself would not be a very expensive thing um if a turn lane needs to be lengthened because there's queuing that wasn't there before when people were just allowed to turn freely that is you know more significant road work um but there would definitely be um coordination with dot on these issues especially if it's a physical change to the environment um 170th and stay route 26 um protecting the left turn lane and then at 16th avenue and waldo road the um existing signal equipment doesn't support protecting a left turn but we have spoken with dft fdot about maybe doing an interim measure that would at least try to mitigate that impact so um basically i don't want to get too wonky um but allowing the left turns to happen at the end um instead of at the beginning right when everyone's trying the through movements trying to go at the same time um southwest 20th and 34th and east university and 15th we saw red light running um and the proposal there is to look at detecting red light running so that maybe the signal length could be extended slightly to avoid a severe fatal crash evaluation um you'll be pleased to see we have a very fabulous dashboard for this project um i believe that it is already um fully ready to be shared with the public but it's not yet on our website um so that'll be a near term next step um it includes a lot of ways for the public to slice and dice the data so you can look at crash type you can look by year severity roadway jurisdiction um and it's got different bar charts and and yeah ways to look at it where will that live i believe that it's already in the county's center point gis um hub that the new gis manager working through growth management um is has developed um and then for the the to the extent that we maintain the safe streets and roads for all action plan website that is part of um growth management's website it could be there as well as like an iframe within the website but i think it needs to be somewhere more central so yeah i mean i'm hoping we haven't had that conversation but i am hoping that like as we start developing all these dashboards climate action plan and safe streets and bicycle ped and yeah and even our growth management you know dashboard that has all the projects that are coming up and that we would have a centralized place people can go yeah that has links to all of these so that it's easy for people you don't have to know what you're looking for right you don't have to right exactly yeah um so next steps um the near-term step is to adopt the safe streets and roads for all action plan as presented it provides prioritized lists of both studies and strategies and it positions the county to apply for future grant opportunities including the safe streets and roads for all action plan and other safety related grants um so for the consultants that we've hired to work on this plan um the notice of funding opportunity for the implementation grants should be dropping any day um and so this is well timed uh for us to try to take advantage of that and the consultant is like i said going to be looking at the list of highest ranking projects and not necessarily just um skimming from the top but looking which one is very fundable which one can we provide a match for at the county because we're aware that you know the budget is constrained right now and we need to have actual um cash or reasonable match that we can put forth um so can we leverage existing um you know investments for the county um or what additional funds can we put forth that concludes my presentation happy to answer any questions thank you all so we got a couple lights commissioner alford and then commissioner prisio i have some questions um first uh you know we went to that state thing and there was this big presentation on public engagement and it seems like you did everything those people did for like a million dollars i don't know can you do you have an estimate on what uh how much your all this cost us um i have i actually have a contract with a consultant so i could um look that up i don't don't know off the top of my this is the kind of public engagement i'm hoping our tpo does right and so i feel like um there's lessons that i want to carry over into that organization um i i have uh some other just general questions um on any of the intersections uh i know this is a very expensive change but i'm a fan were roundabouts considered as an option um i guess so we looked a sort of um basic criterion we screened for intersections using the criterion of is it signalized because the types of counter measures for a signalized intersection are different than for an always stop or a two-way stop so the answer is no um because we were specifically trying to leverage sort of the existing condition to be safer right and i and i understand that but you know sometimes it's good to just start from scratch um were was there any information provided about crashes that were related to like lane departures for instance that were related to road conditions or road construction um so like poor pavement quality poor pavement avoiding a pothole would send you into the other lane i hear this a lot from my constituents so i was curious if you know we have evidence that that actually causes crashes so the the way that the consultants sort of drilled down so they started at this very tabular you know gis level and then they looked deeper and deeper as they developed so not until we came up with um really the candidate projects did they start looking at individual crash reports and i didn't hear from them um that that was say noted as a significant factor in the narratives so each crash report has the basic details of the crash a narrative of what happened and that's very um highly subjective and very dependent on which officer did it and then a crash diagram which can often be the most helpful thing is because you can see what happened even if the narrative is weak um i didn't hear about that um being a major factor and that's fine and it's probably not data though that the you know officers would necessarily think it would be important to collect um on the recovery space for correction is would it be standard practice to put avt on those recovery spaces or would they be being dual used as bicycle trails so we wouldn't want to do that you know what i'm saying it's like and i don't know how much does avt cost is it is that an expensive modification or um yeah i mean i i think um to the first question i think it's a standard application it's not um necessarily antagonistic to shared bicycle use as well some people who ride bikes on such a quarter might like that if somebody hits that line that the driver's actually aware that they've crossed over um i think we wouldn't recommend it anywhere where there is insufficient width to place it and then as far as cost i don't know off the top of my head but if mr gavarate is in here yeah i was just curious because it seems i i see dot putting it in more and more both center lane and on the um on the uh shoulder so i i and i like it i think yeah i think it's really good put it in on 234 yeah i and so i i you know if that's uh something that isn't crazy expensive if we just yeah and he's going to tell me it's crazy expensive actually it's not oh do we have about the audible vibratory with the striping um it depends what you use if you use like in grinding the asphalt like dot use usually use it that's slightly more that's more expensive than just thermoplastic striping we actually are going to be doing that on 53rd with this project we're going on right now now i believe 14 the other one 234 got it also right now yep so we are doing it also on our own projects because it's actually a florida green book requirement depending on the speeds and all that yeah oh good they've they've added that's great yeah that's excellent okay good to know good to know all right thank you and then i just asked to speak about safety edge um safety edge is actually something that we started doing quite a few years ago but it's been tough selling it to the contracting industry uh but we are also doing that also on our roadways right now um every time that we again and the florida green book has speeds and you know where you want to do it like you know you don't want to do it when a when the prevailing speed like 30 miles per hour what is it where safety edge is basically it's a chamfer so that when people go off the road they don't go boom and go for a ride they just can ease also back in uh so it's it's something that is being done also on our roadways as we do these projects right now in the faster speeds uh roadways out there and to answer your question also about unfortunate police reports do not address whether the roads are pothole or not they address 99 other things but not that part yeah yeah i didn't think they did but i i didn't know if maybe they noted it anyway you know okay good to know good to know and i i asked the question already about raised pedestrian crosswalks which i saw that you put in there i know they're not they're not popular but i think they are effective um that's all my questions thank you christian christian i just want to say thank you as you know this is a lot of work and a long time coming and i'm glad to hear we have a high degree of coordination with the city's vision zero plan as well and uh i guess i am interested the only other question i have is i'm interested to understand how this rolls up to the tpo and how it will work with a notch in the work that she's doing to try to prioritize projects will that be something the consultant's looking at too like things that are on that plan and could dovetail as match at the tpo level or how how does that work i'd say um with my other hat on um the tpos budget for capital projects using su funding is so constrained i it might be more helpful to think about which projects does the county think it wants to leverage tcip funding and apply for grants for so the avenue would be to suggest that projects be added to the list of priority projects which can certainly be done but the tpo currently has funds committed out to i think 32 yeah um so and then there's you know the very big lighting project for university avenue that the tpo has been wanting to see actualized for a very long time so um i think it you know should be communicated up that way and see any and all opportunities that we can find um but it's not very flush at the moment so thank you i would move staff's recommendation to adopt the safe streets and roads for all action plan as presented second motion a couple seconds to move forward with sas recommendation which started three years ago so allison thank you for and your staff and the consultant for all the hard hard work really appreciate it all right is there anyone from the public which speak to the motion uh seeing none back to the board all those in favor say aye aye aye any opposed that motion is unanimous okay thank you so much all right mr clerk next item mr chair that takes us to the 2020 c capital improvement revenue bond project list amendment and the recommendation was to approve the amendment of the 2020 c capital improvement revenue bond list of the projects to include the animal services complex and the purchase of the chamber building okay thank you mr clerk mr crosby you recognized uh yes sir thank you mr chair um as we're doing our due diligence with the clerk's office we have some excess borrowed funds that were at less than one and a half percent interest rate we have a couple 2.6 million approximately left over when we've completed the ag equestrian center so we're asking to amend the project list to be able to use those funds and the quicker we can use the funds the better that will be from an arbitrage situation okay thank you uh commissioner frizia and then commissioner alford yeah so i'm all for us using the money it's low interest great let's use it let's not give it back um but i am not in favor of us purchasing the chamber building uh property i don't think we need to own any more property downtown we already are the largest landowner downtown i don't think we need to take any more property off the tax rules um i we're trying to consolidate offices and do-si-do our offices to reorganize things um i was also told that it's for office of management and budget which you guys primarily work from home as far as i know i mean that's what i was told that's what i was told to me during a gender review it was told to me it was omb um and which isn't a forward-facing office and i don't think they a lot of them work from home so i was confused by that but regardless i i i don't i don't know why we need to buy more office space period and i definitely don't think we should be buying more space downtown i think we need more businesses moving into town that downtown that are forward-facing that are bringing lots of staff that are you know helping to move the needle on downtown redevelopment and so i am i'm in favor of us keeping the money and spending it kincaid loop needs some money um to make that project go we've got a lot of things on our um cip that you know cost us more than we thought they were going to cost due to construction costs i am sure we can find a way to spend that money but i am not in favor of us buying another space downtown okay thank you i don't necessarily agree but i'll get to speak in a minute commissioner alford um i i actually disagree with that because i think this is an excellent investment and i think that um we don't just because we have buy property downtown doesn't mean we have to keep it forever um like we do everything else but um uh my question was um shoot what was my question i know oh i know what my question was so this was money that was left over from the ag and equestrian center correct from the loan this is excess the loan the excess loan right and so um being at the ag and equestrian center this past weekend can we just pull a little bit of that back out and install some more ceiling fans travis travis has been out to address that situation i don't know that this is the money we want to use for that but yes ma'am we okay and there's a concern okay good all right and in that case i support the motion tommy what is this or i support the motion that's going to be made what's the square footage of the chamber building it's about uh hey mr chair uh todd hutchinson finance director for the clerk's office um it's probably not fair for tommy to stand up here and uh answer some of these questions solo because i think i'm the one that uh generated this idea back in december when i saw the chambers article and their downsizing etc uh the square footage of that of the space over there is a little over 7400 square feet uh it's a few hundred square feet uh greater than the office space uh that we have up on the fourth floor uh so the current proposal would be that the clerks finance and accounting staff if if that were if this were to move forward would relocate there uh and the fourth floor would become free for fiscal services county management uh i've even heard mtpo potentially staffing being moved up there uh those this all came about very fast right so i don't want to get lost on the action item today on that issue though because the main goal today is you you can add multiple projects to the action item today to make sure we can spend this money down this fiscal year so that's that's the main goal today is to make the list as broad as you want so if uh and we have animal services and the potential purchase of that property on here if that were to come to fruition there we're in the very early stages right i'm not even sure if if if they've even negotiated or any of that so though there's lots of documents that would come back uh if you move forward uh with acquiring that space but today i want to make sure we give us the i've already had to make a yield restriction payment to the treasury service because we borrowed this money at 1.5 percent we've been earning close to five percent on it right the irs has certain arbitrage rules and yield restrictions so i've already had to remit uh close to 180 000 yield restriction payment to the irs so i definitely want the county to have the flexibility to spend these funds uh on eligible capital projects has to be spent on capital we can't we can't spend it on operating needs but i definitely want to broaden the list so that we can get the funds uh dispersed prior to the end of the fiscal year okay thank you um i mean i'll just give my comments so so i since i've been on the board i know the clerk has been looking to relocate out of the upstairs space um we didn't have a need once covid because folks work from home but i know a lot of folks have been coming back and i think we do have needs um upstairs to consolidate some operations i think ultimately i agree with you as far as the downtown space but the we're talking 29 years uh 2029 i think before we are looking at realistically us occupying the civil courthouse when an opportunity arises downtown for type a space at under 200 bucks a square foot and it fills a huge need for our constitutional officer i am in favor of that um and it gives us more flexibility so i actually like that coming for us i also like the million for the animal services it's a good use of those funds i think we could add additional if we wanted to add the kincaid loop or whatever other projects the staff recommended to make sure that we handled the bond issue that's one thing but i also support the purchase i think it's good for the chamber it's good for downtown and it's certainly good for our clerk because it's literally right across the street from where the clerk currently is the clerk serves the library governing board the clerk serves the other constitutionals and um they need space where folks can come and park and um that's good space it's not directly downtown but it's close enough to downtown i see todd walking a lot around downtown which i appreciate but i also would like for that space to be open forward facing to the public and um i think if we have an opportunity to grab it at that price that i've been told i think it's a really good real estate transaction if we decide in five years that we don't need that space anymore i think it's grade a space and we will be able to sell it for more than we buy it for and so i don't think there's a lot of risk i think it's more of an opportunity that we're that we're exercising um so those are my thoughts uh madam manager yes i just wanted to apologize if there was a misunderstanding this space has always been intended for the clerk the expansion of um the office of management and budget um under tommy shop the need is to expand theirs because with his reorganization they have others that are currently in offices in other county buildings that also need to be brought back but the space isn't there so this um and i know that todd shop has been cramped on the fourth floor for quite some time it's smaller than what they they have needed and um i i have not yet had a chance to talk to the mtpo director i'm having our kind of our first kind of meeting greet officially i think tomorrow or the next day um but when i heard about this item uh that was my initial thing is let's get her up there let's get her hiring staff she can use our grace night facility if the city agrees to this obviously we're just five of 14 votes but that gets her immediately kind of embedded into this building which i absolutely also quite like as i understand that space it's been a while since i've been up there but i think it could be separated into mtpo area omb area and so not to kick the clerk out of the clerk here but i know that that space would be better for y'all um and so i i support i support management kind of or our county kind of moving with this opportunity to help help uh our constitution okay uh do i yeah but if you want to make a motion that you know we'll put it on the floor and we'll see what we get i just i guess i just feel like we're in the middle of a do-si-do plan that's all about consolidating our office space and what we own downtown and trying to like re-envision the spaces that we own so it just seems really odd to me that at this stage when we're getting ready to move everybody out of this building in a couple years and move to the civil courthouse and renovate that and we have the property across the street that we own we'll have this property like we have so much coming you know to to then buy more property downtown just seems odd to me at this juncture also i guess my understanding at the time was that it's omb and i was like that's not forward-facing at all um parts of the clerk's office are very forward-facing and so um depending on which parts of the clerk's office end up over there if it's the whole entire in the entirety of the clerk's office that's a definitely a different story but i still i guess i still have a hard time with us purchasing more of the office space downtown and but either way i just i would like to have it be open up to more project opportunities and make sure that we're have an opportunity to have that discussion that's what we're looking is a public hearing right so where is this the public hearing no ma'am the public hearing this is the action item the budget amendment is not on that item is not on this public hearing it will be on april's the uh but that's what we're voting is to conduct be done then we discussed in april no i i move that we conduct a public hearing to adopt the resolution and approve the no no no no we're on we're on item i2 which is the 2020 oh amending the bond resolution sorry guys i'm still stuck in the morning's discussion so we're on i2 the recommendation action is to approve the amendment to the bond resolution of the 2020 c capital improvement revenue bond list of projects to include the animal service complex and the purchase of the chamber building and direct staff to add other qualifying projects that could qualify for this amendment that that way that way we could we could add it um but i think we need to get direction on do we want to buy the chamber building so that's all right let me clarify mr chair so my concern with that we can add projects okay right now we're trying to add projects that are going to be spent pretty quickly here to get to spend this money down so we can quit writing checks to the irs that's kind of why we've added the animal services because we already have the architect on board so we're already spending those dollars we've got the ground links we're going to pay for at uf we can use those dollars pretty quickly and then if we if we did approve the chamber purchase that would be something that would happen in the near future so we can add any projects you want just those that are going to take a while to spend are not the ones we're targeting for these dollars understood understood okay so do i hear uh mr chair one more clarification i know in uh it has resolution in the in the verbiage there you don't need we don't need to amend the resolution we checked with bond council the original loan agreement just says the board has to pass a motion that authorizes additional projects so you just need to name the projects in the theme up from a minutes guy over there i don't want him expecting a resolution later on we don't have to actually sign a resolution okay i don't have it on my that's why i'm you have the wrong agenda that one got printed incorrectly it's probably on consent on that agenda yeah yeah yeah okay then i y'all excuse me then okay i still move staff recommendation you move south recommendations eliminating the part about amending the bond resolution okay do i hear a second second a motion and a second do i hear a substitute motion okay all right uh is there any public discussion let's bring it back to the board all those in favor say aye aye all right any opposed aye we have uh motion passes for one commissioner presia in december okay thank you commissioner thank you um it's not that i don't want the clerk to be clear it's not because i don't want them to have space i'm just in park let the record reflect mr presia loves exactly and i will be in the one vote lots of times i mean that happens that happens a lot sometimes there's nothing wrong with being a one vote so okay public hearings uh mr clerk next time sorry about that that's okay we're on uh item number one of the public hearings it's the fiscal year 2026 budget amendment all right and the recommended action is to conduct a public hearing to adopt the resolution and approve the budget amendment which was the motion that commissioner wheeler was trying to express prior to that budget item you want to go and do it now yes absolutely i i yes a motion by commissioner wheeler do i have a second second yes second uh all right time did you want to go over anything for us yes sir briefly um so we want to take the opportunity um we had discussed early or earlier late last year actually about spending a little more time talking about the budget making sure that the public was aware of what's going on just from a standpoint of everything going on with property tax relief and everything else so as we do these amendments we're going to bring them forward as public hearings and actually try to do some information the april one um i think we're going to dive a little bit more into fund balance and have some fun balance discussions it's been a while since we've had those and in those but this particular and can i ask you to just pause for a minute because i see travis over there and i i i don't know if he was enduring last night's um meeting but i i wanted to just bring up mr priscia and commissioner eastman brought up this idea that we actually just talked about which is um long range kind of planning for this downtown uh we are the largest property owner you know and and also this long range planning for cra and so um it's not a discussion to be had you know tomorrow but it is on kind of all of our minds and and what are we what are we thinking long term um commissioner eastman also brought up uh the fact that which i really appreciate i always appreciate when other electives watch our meetings and we watch theirs it just helps with everything that he had watched that meeting where you talked about the doze report and under and helped him really understand not only what this county is facing depending on what happens in the special session to legislature but what all counties and cities are also going to be um challenging and so when i saw that sense of sensibility that's something that many folks are looking at the presentation that you all did as a real model for what commissions are looking at um but it doesn't take away what commissioner just brought up which is we have a lot of property and and how we um think about how the community ultimately uses that property for our community is something that we're all kind of thinking about not from a standpoint of we look at our budgets every year operational budgets but capital is one of those tougher ones because it's five to ten years out and it's you know it lasts forever and so just to kind of frame where what you're about to say commissioner president you want to add to that well i mean it's in my actually it was in my commission comment but you you sort of beat me to the punch which is great and that's that i think i think that sometime in the near very near future we need to begin a process of having that strategic conversation about what do we see as our role in economic development and redevelopment in downtown gainesville with the properties that we're going to be shifting around and you know and what does the public see as the highest and best use of those and what do we see as the highest best use of those properties so that we can continue to see downtown grow and thrive um and so that i hope that you know my plan was to sort of like push that forward as a motion that we begin that process because it's been kind of sitting there and i think it's travis yes but it's also economic development and it's also office of management and budget because it's a big capital it would be big capital expenditures so i think it's it's a all hands on debt kind of conversation yeah right after we did our initial strategic plan when you and mary came on the board you know we put out that unsolicited rfp for this building and we got a couple of proposals but one of them was a pretty extensive one we didn't move forward with it but that's another data point of all the things that were discussed in that one so all right tommy sorry sorry to sidetrack you but i'm glad you set the groundwork because you are both very correct in that there are substantial value in the properties and there are so many things we're going to have to consider when we have that conversation from age of properties is a big concern condition of properties is a big concern right now where we are and the reason we haven't pushed that agenda forwarded the manager and travis and myself and a team of folks a lot of people in omb and facilities have been talking about you know what is that how do you lay that out and really how do you lay it out for the board to consider and to make sure you're covering everything so you're not making a decision like i don't know what this how this impacts this this or this you know this move does this so we have you know a lot of very aged facilities that are and some of them are in very much disrepair and that we're having a lot of issues with um at the same time we knew we had time as we get work on the current courthouse project that is a we haven't even brought you a gmp back yet and when we do that we're going to be two plus years after that opening the doors so we do have some time to have the discussion but yes that is a discussion this board definitely desperately needs to have is okay how are these pieces going to move we kind of joke about the do-si-do plan from dan's days but the fact is you know phase one will be over with and what does phase two include and we really need to have that discussion so we can long term prep with the city of gainesville other stakeholders as economic development as well as what do you want county facilities to look like downtown and it may be we want to get rid of some county properties we want to do something else with them it may be housing it may be there's a lot of things to do so that's coming i agree and i'm glad you laid that groundwork so we we it is on our radar and we are talking about it quite a bit because we know that's something those are big those are big rocks we talk about moving big rocks those are big rocks and those are going to have to take some time so we can't do that at this dais this type of meeting we need to do that we sit around the table and have those conversations yeah and what came out of last line is we want to engage our partners across the street yes and and other partners that are that are impacted by that um no different than we want the school board to engage us this the budget member we have in front of you today is a is a very routine amendment it is the beginning fund balance is simply adjusting for prior year ending fund balance as todd completes the financial statements to get closer to a number um that 3.6 million is just changing the beginning fund balance increasing it actually so that's a good thing the revenues are just new grants that we needed to book into the system about a million dollars worth almost the reduced fund transfers the reserve decrease and the reduced fund transfers on the other side the left side are revenue sides the right side are expenditure sides those are all interconnected transfers so what that is actually um and you know y'all accuse me of stashing money a lot so this is this is this is us asking money so this is uh the uh tourist development um the bond we the bond we issued has a bullet in it or a put in it in uh 20 year 2036 of 17 million dollars so a 17 million debt payment is going to come due in 2036 is a one-time lump sum that will either have to be refinanced or we need to start saving money to pay that so we have been setting aside money of extra tourist revenue coming in in the debt service fund that's causing constant consternation on the arbitrage calculations because it's officially in a debt fund so we're actually moving it to the tourist development fund we're still setting it aside in a reserve so that when we get to that year we can make the payment that's a 7.552 number yeah right so that's 7.55 of the 7.6 the um so then the next page are just the two grants they're cdbg and then another special revenue which is also a housing grant of some nature um or the revenue that we just want to identify and then this is the general fund expenditures the board approved 120 000 to cover some of the paratransit project that we have going on um animal services new facility 672 000 we've added in the budget to cover some of those expenses to help us with the a and e finish some a and e work and that may shift around to what we just passed a minute ago we'll see in april 1.9 million all of the national attention that started we were fortunate not to have a hurricane but started before that was about what's going to happen with fema at the federal level um a lot of sword rattling of we're not going to fund things you're not going to get things so we believe it's appropriate that then we're in a high burn band there now that probably would be covered by so we we felt like we should set aside a couple million dollars since we have this additional fund balance is the one time set aside to give us some protection so that's what that's for 1.9 million over into a fema fund or a recovery fund just in case of a disaster that we're not prepared for so we just don't feel confident that we can rely on those fema dollars like we have in the past so that's what it's sitting there for and that's its own account fund that's that that 3.2 million that balance money that's part of that yes ma'am um it's one time source so we use it for one time purpose um i just mean it has its own account number like it's a little bucket of its own it's actually going to another fund to set aside um property appraisers budget adjusted they received some permission from the department of revenue to increase their budget they do that sometimes during the year for different reasons we didn't have any concerns with it so we need to cover that the two fund balance adjustments are strictly that those are inner fund action 08 is your unincorporated general fund 052 is the revenue recovery money so it's just adjusting for beginning fund balances that's all that is and then the last one is the um additional funds sent to the sheriff for animal control investigations uh that the board has taken action on to do that so we need to set aside money um to transfer to the sheriff so that's what that's can i ask a question about that yes when i when i when we like had the meeting with the sheriff like don't get me wrong i'm as i i voted for it i pushed for it i'm supportive of it i just i i'm just confused because it seemed like we're still keeping we are civil and they're still holding criminals there hasn't been a lot of change in terms of no they're doing great um but we transferred four ftes and so we have to shift the funds from us our side of the ledger to their side of the ledger okay okay thank you okay all right so we've got a motion and a second uh any discussion further any public discussion let's bring it back to the board all those in favor of the motion say aye aye any opposed that motion is unanimous thank you mr chair okay thank you tommy um all right commissioners that moves us to closing comments we're going to go ahead and open up the public comment we're two hours early not 5 30 it's 3 30. is there anyone that wants to speak to this board i want to come twice close public comment all right let's move to our county attorney comment sure i do not have anything today okay thank you ms torres i know we handled the animal service did you have anything that popped up between this morning and now i do not okay congratulations thank you that's good thank you uh let's go to commissioner comment mary helen you got anything i i do just a couple of things um i i received information or questions regarding south point uh northwest 13th avenue moving northbound there was a lot of vegetation that was removed at foliage removal of the foliage it was adjacent to the homes in and they were trying to figure out um i think we got an email on that yeah right you know road email so i didn't know 121 residents on 121 are direct are directly impacted and so i didn't know if missy or as ramon can you do you know what you know what i'm talking about yes that's the parker road extension where we're extending um parker across newberry um and so yes there was vegetation and trees that were moved um unfortunately we couldn't adjust the roads um where the road is being placed because there is a gru easement that took us many many many years okay to now i'm with you now to uh work out so unfortunately the placement is the placement but i believe we've met with some property owners out there um and try to you know explain the situation and and work with them yeah what i said um to one of the property owners who um was represented was that it was my hope that lacy and our staff would be engaged with them when we go to do the replanting process once we get past the building the building the road process and i you know that's one of those where i i just hate it uh but it just right we're going to try to mitigate it as best we can yeah if someone was trying to sell their house until they saw that up you know had a buyer i spoke to that you did okay good who was um doing that closing for that person okay yeah and she and she lost the sale yeah lost the sale okay okay okay well thank you that's everybody knows about it then i i just hadn't been following that closely but um was grabbed up um and another one other thing quickly the naturalization ceremony um that happens here downtown it would be really nice i think if somebody from the county was there to welcome new folks in and maybe offer the citizens academy you know for the new new folks being sworn in to the amount of managers we're talking about when folks get um i i have a list i got from the supervisor of elections there's one i think next week i i do have the the um calendar for upcoming events so i know the supervisor of elections has somebody there to make sure that people are registered to vote but i i know before i came on this board as part of a group i was there to uh welcome folks in you've never been the one it's one of those amazing things i i've been to one and it's it is amazing it is incredibly incredibly emotional so much more than you would think so can we refer that to staff to see if there's someone from the county that we can yeah i'd be happy to go yeah it is it's a really lovely thing to do to sit up in the box and then welcome the group the uh my intern was just just got his citizenship there it was germ from germany that's neat and a couple of weeks ago okay so yeah that and then the artwork i don't know if you all i didn't i ran into we got so good so no it's amazing i didn't even i was so intent on on the meeting this morning that i didn't really pay attention to it but the display case downstairs is really a welcoming thing too so thank you to the arts committee here who was able to bring in the crafts people yeah really to um to celebrate as well and and that's all i have mr chair thank you all right that's in chuck um mary do you have anything yeah i actually don't okay yeah um my only thing is that you only have one thing i do let the record reflect and only has one one thing because you already brought up my other thing which is downtown um so is um national good neighbor day is on september 28th and i wanted to move that we refer to staff to explore how we might celebrate national good neighbor day um there's really great information about how other communities do it there's a little package of information um that you can use for social media and examples of things that have happened so they have a whole little kit for communities that want to do this but you know given how much divisiveness and challenging situations i feel like highlighting neighborliness and um the resources that we have to support being a good neighbor um would be really great for that and that's september 28th so i just wanted to refer that to staff to explore and bring back ways we might celebrate national good neighbor day on september 28th okay do we have a motion we have a second second a couple seconds uh any public comment back to the board all those in favor say aye aye opposed it's unanimous that we want to be good neighbors we want to celebrate it and we want to refer that to staff so thank you for that commissioner alford you got i i did there was something i needed to bring up so um a gentleman came to our meeting yesterday with the city with a really quick presentation that he wanted to make during public comment i believe he spoke with mark he looked at the city's agenda he talked to the city he looked at our agenda he talked to talk to mark he was really um he really wanted to to make public comment well he waited hours and then ended up having to leave i think before that could happen but he was there over five hours and um but i i guess my question is is can we clarify at future public meetings uh with the city or with who any of our joint meetings what the process is for public comment so they're not stonewalled by having to fill out paperwork or whatever so they can just prop work under the county's public comment so the mayor brought that up to me yesterday and he said we don't do public comment for these joint meetings i said we do and we are going to have we'll have it but we would normally do it after our agenda items because we have long meetings lots of people and i didn't want 30 minutes of public comment on the front end that's why i didn't have to move it i didn't realize that it was going to be that long yeah none of us did but i i just you know i just feel like you know if he had known up front a little bit more information i think he would have made different decisions mr chair if i may if if the senate if we could gently persuade the city to add it to their agenda because the issue is if a citizen only looks at their agenda and not ours it appears there is no public comment yeah so it would i think be a great benefit to our citizens to have our agendas citizens who have our agendas match in that way okay i will bring it up the next time i talk to the yeah okay and i do want to apologize to that gentleman he was talking about our tree ordinance and he had a presentation he wanted to make about it and he has it loaded into the city's system to do but he just couldn't do it any longer and i might put you in touch with him so you can talk about trees some more but he's yeah i mean you could send that into the county and we could all look at it and he could certainly make that presentation to us on our public comment yeah yeah back to you yeah i guess on that note i guess so just regarding city meetings i i feel like a lot of times we put a lot on those agendas and i know that we need do need to talk about all of those things and so i guess i don't have an answer to the question but i'm interested in people thinking about like is there a like do we need to have a meeting more often or do we need to pick some of those things as workshops that we have more more like a special meeting workshop where it's just that topic and only that topic and i to that end i really do feel like we should have a workshop on a conversation about the cra i not about the future and the exact structure and how it all works but you know there's a lot of remaining money that's still there and it's put in the buckets for eighth and waldo and for cornerstone and but even in speaking with you know their staff and um and um commissioners there there there is a lot to still be determined about how that money gets spent in those specific areas and i think um we've expressed that we wish that they would include us in those conversations more so finding a way to do that um and having a workshop with them about that um and or meeting more regularly with the cra staff all of us meeting more regularly with serious stuff i think is a really important thing so um i would just ask that you all think about that a little bit and i'm going to think about it some and talk with our fellow commissioners on the other side of the street and probably we'll bring back something to our next meeting but i want y'all's input as well so um yeah i just want to make a make a comment that when we gave that 70 something million dollars uh to the city that money was supposed to be spent on the eastern portion of the county and the city and i'll be honest with you i haven't seen much somebody help me i think they're getting there i really do i really do i know i hear you it's always presentations presentations no action and and then people are frustrated in that area because nothing is happening yeah i just i'm just saying i mean yeah you know i know government is slow but my gosh does it take that long i think what we talked about we're almost at our 10 years and nothing has happened what we talked about last night is really picking an area and if that area is ehead eheartwood legacy project area focusing on that area um and then what's maybe downtown's an area workshop each of those and yeah and um so that's what we did this we had this session at the end of the meeting chuck it was 7 15 last night we're pretty late we're all kind of tired but so that's the thought i have no problem talking about specific things i'm trying to not talk about governance and add and add valorem until after november yeah no that's that's all um yeah yeah and then i want to have that discussion because it'll be 2027 and it'll be time to have that discussion so but i don't object to the workshopping areas and what they're doing and having them have the opportunity to inform us so we can ask questions and maybe give them expertise that perhaps they hadn't thought about which is what i heard you say and i heard them say they want it so i think that's good and i to your point i think you know i i will not to completely defend their their situation because i i agree with you it's been frustrating but i do think you know they had to rearrange the the chairs on the deck when it became a non a non-statutory cra and then covet hit and there was a huge delay and being able to do anything and then project prices doubled so they had to rearrange their budgets and get new estimates and so i do think that there's legitimate reasons for a lot of the stalling if you will but what i saw from the presentation so far is that at least 40 million by my calculations is planned to be spent in directly in the cornerstone and eighth and waldo like real money um and real projects and so but i think these workshops would really help us better understand what those projects are and potentially put some input into how they're being done with feedback from our constituents so i i really would well i mean what i would ask is that each of us take the cra presentation that we got last night which has all the projects yep let's dig into that and then let's come up with our next meeting or our next policy meeting about which ones do we have an interest in and then we'll put that on the agenda okay at least they're using do-si-do in their terms too they are right yeah you've changed the whole the whole conversation with all future development using do-si-do and and speaking of that the east side clinic are we going to have an update on that anytime soon do you know where we are with the east side clinic because i still i understand they're still having staffing issues there these people are coming in but they don't have the staffing yes mr chair that was one of the items that was supposed to be on the meeting and then after i know that you yourself and the mayor consulted um we shifted that agenda a bit because of your desire collectively your all's desire to hear from the school board together yeah so that's kind of the next meeting yeah yes so i so we kept it on the list that's next heady or or cornerstone whatever they're calling it is the next workshop that could be part of that yeah it was kind of that whole area of um related items yeah yeah they want they want to have input into the legacy projects in 15th street and complete streets and the kinkade loop and that whole update so i think we can actually staff that that can be our next one if you all agree i just have one item um missy did you find out anything on the letter so um i was asked by ron hall who's the director of our alachua county housing authority to write a letter of support for um not spending money on 16 units in the linton oaks department development and move it to a pud that they're working on i would really like for our housing advisory committee to kind of put their eyes on that if they haven't do you know if they have uh mr chair no they have not yet but they're going to get it on their agenda so they can look at that okay perfect so if that gets that on their agenda and if they like what he tells them if that can just come for us for just an approval and i'll get a chair letter out a letter of support with that yeah okay and and and the idea on that missy is we so we support our housing um our alachua county housing authority uh in the past it's usually been one or two units like chuck you did one last year right this is 16 units i still i still agree with what he wants to do but housing units are a lot so if we can just run it by the housing authority okay super thank you for that um commissioner i don't have anything else is there anything we have we have the um renewals thing that we were given and that's gonna is that does that get agendated for the april meeting or do we just have to we have to bring our questions at the april meeting or how does that what are you talking about work contracts that are automatically being renewed or not automatically that are being renewed by um county manager approval unless we have questions i have some questions about it i don't have them prepared for today but i just have a few questions i can send most of them to staff in an email but i didn't know what the process was so mr chair the um there's a specific meeting in april that it's supposed to come back on and i'm thinking it's the first one i'll let you know but it says in the code that that's the meeting when you can bring up so we we need to bring up the issues at that meeting or it will be agendated at that meeting if we are not aware of any issues we wouldn't agenda an item that had nothing with it so i think letting staff i'll just write my questions in an email and then yeah okay because otherwise if we hadn't heard anything we wouldn't put an item just to say hi we're here oh boy and we've had no comment okay i'll i'll just write my emails and then if there's things i'll follow up okay and then we can put that i don't bring that it'll probably get answered but thank you anything else commissioners nope we're good all right we stand adjourned