Board of County Commissioners: Regular Meeting - 09.16.26

Welcome to a meeting of your Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. Representing District 1, Harry Cohen. Representing District 2, Ken Hagan. Representing District 3, Gwen Myers. Representing District 4, Christine Miller. Representing District 5, Donna Cameron Cepeda. Representing District 6, Chris Bowles. Representing District 7, Joshua Wostel. The county administrator is Bonnie Wise. The county attorney is Julia Mandel. Time is set aside at the beginning of each meeting for citizens to speak on any issue. So we have time for everyone. Speakers are asked to limit their comments to three minutes. Today's meeting is brought to you with closed captioning by Hillsborough Television. Good morning and welcome to the September 16, 2026 regularly scheduled board meeting of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. Would everyone please rise for the pledge and invocation given by our chaplain, Commissioner Gwen Myers. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Heavenly Father, I come to you again just to thank you for all that you have allowed this county to do. Thank you. Thank you for our first responders. Thank you for allowing the two organizations that are going to receive proclamations today. Lord, I ask that you will continue to bless our administration and this board as we continue to do your will and your work for the people of this county. And lastly, Lord, I ask a special blessing for one of our employees who's getting ready to retire. He's given a total of 43 years of service as a public servant, but 20 years here in our county helping our citizens. And that is Carl Hannes. He's getting ready to close a chapter and you will open up a new one in his life. Give him the strength, the fortitude to continue to do your will, your way, and we truly thank you for his service to the residents, to the county, to the county administration, and that he can have a successful retirement. In your holy name, I pray. Amen. Thank you, Commissioner Myers. I appreciate you also recognizing Carl Harness. He's been an outstanding public servant for over four decades, including over 20 in Hillsborough County. He's been just a great public servant and proud D2 resident. I know Carl didn't want to be recognized, but Carl, Godspeed, brother. And would you like to say a few words? No pressure, but no. I think it's not your first rodeo. Come on. I'd rather not have my back to the board, but Mr. Chair and Honorable Board, thank you for recognizing me. It's been a true honor working for you and the previous commissions before then. I would say it's been, you know, my grateful honor to work under the leadership of Bonnie Wise and to the rest of the county family, all the folks that I've worked with over the years. Just particularly, I'd like to throw a shout out to my human services team for just their dedication and their steadfast. They're steadfast. They're steadfast. Oh, God, I'm missing words. Just their dedication towards serving the underserved. I think a lot of times people, we feel that, you know, our, our, our, you caught me off guard with the speaking thing. We feel that our, that our, that our, that our, that we're underappreciated sometimes. And I always tell my crew every night that you can go home and look at the mirror, look in the mirror and say that you've touched someone that day. You've done a good job and not too many opportunities, not too many career paths and opportunities give us the, you know, give us the wherewithal to be able to say that on a family basis. So my 20 years here have been great. Thank you for the recognition. I always say it's all, it's always about the people and not the place. And, you know, I will miss you. And, and again, thank you. Thank you, Carl, for that, those heartfelt words. I've, I've always said that the most gratifying part of this job is when you can meaningfully impact someone's life. And it's not the sexy things that might get in the press and, and people, you know, talked about, but it's when you can positively and meaningfully impact someone's life. That's what makes the job worthwhile, whether it's from a, from a staff perspective or an elective perspective. So, again, we thank you for all your service and we wish you well and Godspeed. Okay. So with that, we've got two special proclamations to present this morning. First one will be given by Commissioner Willstall. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And good morning, everyone. Another rare proclamation given by me from my office and one that I'm proud to give because it's from the industry that I actually came from, the manufacturing industry. So who do we have here today to receive it? Thank you so much for coming. I'll call you up here in a little bit to award it to you and take a picture. But I will read it now into the record. Whereas October is nationally recognized as manufacturing month and manufacturing day is observed on the first day of October. And throughout the month, manufacturers across the county host students, teachers, parents, job seekers, and other local community members at open houses, plant tours, and presentations designed to showcase advanced manufacturing technology and high wage career opportunities. And modern manufacturing is a dynamic, innovative, and technology-driven industry that utilizes advanced technologies, including automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, digital manufacturing, and other emerging technologies to design and produce the products that strengthen our communities and nation. And Florida is taking steps to diversify its economy and strengthen its workforce by establishing a plan to invest in skills-based education, striving in its endeavor to be in the top five for manufacturing employment in the nation by 2030. And Hillsborough County is fortunate to be home to many great manufacturing businesses, some of which are world leaders in their respective fields, along with the Bay Area Manufacturers Association. I'm not going to call you Bama as a Gator, I'm sorry, whose mission is to advance Tampa Bay manufacturers through workforce development, networking, education, advocacy, and innovation, and AM skills, AM skills, whose mission is transforming lives and strengthening communities through technical training and apprenticeships. And by working with educational institutions, the Board of County Commissioners and local manufacturers will continue to collaborate to connect with future generations, build the next generation of skilled manufacturing employees, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the entire sector. And manufacturing month and manufacturing day serve as opportunities to recognize all professionals, agencies, and organizations who bring value to Hillsborough County's manufacturing sector and economy. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County, Florida, does hereby declare October the 2nd, 2026, as Florida Manufacturing Day in Hillsborough County. Come on up. Come on up. Thank you so much. I'm pretty sure whoever wrote that was trying to tongue-twist me with the most syllable words they could find, but I think that I got through it. Would you like to say a couple of words? Sure. All right. Much of what I wrote was already covered. I think you covered it, so I'm going to edit this just a little bit. Well, good morning. Thank you, Commissioner Walsall, for this important recognition. On behalf of Tritronics and manufacturers throughout Hillsborough County and the Tampa Bay region, I am honored to accept this proclamation, recognizing October 2026, Manufacturing Month. We sincerely appreciate Commissioner Rootsall and Hillsborough County for recognizing the importance of manufacturing, and most importantly, people who make our industry successful every day. Manufacturing today is not the manufacturing of generations ago. It's highly technical, innovative, and driven by advanced technology. That is why introducing students to manufacturing is so important. Here in the Tampa Bay area, Manufacturing Month gives students the chance to tour manufacturing facilities, see how our companies operate, meet the people behind the products, and explore career paths in manufacturing. For a student, that experience can be powerful. It can take the idea of manufacturing from something that you've only heard about and turn it into something that they can see themselves doing. At Tritronics, we are very proud to be a part of this story. This year, we were awarded the Manufacturing of the Year Award by Bama. Thank you to that. We were very proud to receive that award. It was a wonderful event. Tritronics, I'll give you a little history. Tritronics moved from Illinois to Tampa in the 80s and has been manufacturing here in Tampa for over four decades. We design and manufacture photoelectric sensors, rotary encoders, fiber optic products, and elevator door protection devices, all assembled here in our Tampa facility. For more than seven decades, Tritronics has demonstrated the strength of American manufacturing through innovation, technological expertise, quality, and commitment to our customers and employees. We are proud to manufacture in Tampa and contribute to the strength of Hulisboro County and the Tampa Bay region. Bama plays a big part of that, bringing manufacturers together, supporting workforce development, and creating opportunities for the industry to connect with the next generation. So, on behalf of Tritronics and the manufacturing and my manufacturing colleagues all throughout this region, thank you, Commissioner Woltzel and Hillsboro County for recognizing Manufacturing Month 2026. We are proud to accept this proclamation, proud to be manufacturers, and proud to help build the next generation of manufacturing talent in Tampa. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Woltzel. Now, Commissioner Miller will present our second proclamation. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Before we begin, I would like to recognize the representatives from the offices of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Ashley Moody, Congresswoman Kathy Castor, Congresswoman Laurel Lee, Representative Danny Alvarez, and Representative Michael Owens, and also from the State Attorney's Office, along with so many other friends and dignitaries who have joined us to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Thank you all for being here and your continued partnership with our community. I want to take a brief moment to acknowledge last year's special speaker, Sandra Ateles-Tyro, who was meant to join us today. Sandra is currently undergoing surgery as she continues her fight against cancer, and while she isn't with us here this morning, she's here in spirit, and her many accomplishments remain very much present in this room. Our thoughts are with her as we look forward to celebrating with her again soon. Would Rosanna Rivera and Ricardo Castro please join me at the podium? Good morning. Welcome. Watch yourself back here. Hillsborough County is an exceptional place. Whether you've lived here all your life or you are a newer resident, I don't think the incredible vibrancy of this region ever dims. We have such a distinctive and rich tapestry of people and cultures that is one of our community's greatest strengths. Woven into the core of the fabric is our dynamic Hispanic community. Since 1988, Hispanic Heritage Month has been celebrated across the nation and especially here in Hillsborough County. Hispanic people are a vital part of our neighborhoods, businesses, educational institutions, and overall way of life. It is my honor to present this proclamation declaring September 15th to October 15th as Hispanic Heritage Month to two talented entrepreneurs, both chefs who co-own their restaurant, Chef and the Baker. It reads, whereas one of the greatest treasures of the United States is the variety of its people and cultures, and Hispanic Americans are an integral part of the nation. And whereas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 70 million Hispanic Americans live in the United States, making them the nation's largest minority group, with more than 6.8 million residing in Florida and more than 500,000 in Hillsborough County, representing over 32% of the county's population. And whereas, Hillsborough County is home to a vibrant Hispanic community with roots in Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Honduras, Gualamata, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Panama, and other nations. And whereas, the rich Hispanic influence is evident in all aspects of American life and culture, including the arts, sciences, business, academia, the U.S. Armed Forces, athletics, and government. And whereas, Hispanic entrepreneurs and business leaders embody a spirit of innovation, determination, and opportunity, creating jobs, building thriving businesses, strengthening our economy, and contributing to the prosperity and vitality of communities throughout Hillsborough County and the nation. And whereas, the contributions of Hispanic Americans continue to enrich the nation's heritage and strengthen the U.S. as a beacon of freedom and opportunity. And whereas, Hispanic Heritage Week was first celebrated in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson to honor Hispanic Americans and was later expanded in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan to cover a 30-day period observed annually from September 15th through October 15th. And whereas, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the achievements of Hispanic Americans and recognizes the contributions of local Hispanic leaders who have positively impacted Hillsborough County. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County, Florida does hereby declare September 15th through October 15th, 2026 as Hispanic Heritage Month in Hillsborough County and encourages all residents and visitors to join in celebrating the the numerous contributions of Hispanic Americans to the numerous contributions of Hispanic Americans to the nation, the state of Florida and Hillsborough County, executed the 16th day of September, 2026. Congratulations to you both. Thank you. Buenos dias. I'm Chef Rosana. I'm Chef Ricardo. And we're known as Chef. I'm the baker. So, first of all, thank you, Commissioner Miller. And thank you to the entire Board of County Commissioners. This is an incredible honor. We've been both in Tampa and Hillsborough County for over 20 years. And one of the things that I will always say and proclaim about Hillsborough County is that it is extremely friendly to business owners. This is a very tight-knit community. And representing our heritage is incredibly humbling. You know, I fell in love with Hillsborough County and moving from our country. I know Ricardo has, too. It has given us the wings to open, operate, and give opportunities to not only from our own heritage and Hispanic workers, but also across the community abroad. I will say, you know, to me, the word hospitality means in the service of others. And that service of others in our vehicle is pastries, bread, empanadas, all the things that we love. And we're extremely grateful that our craft is something that we can do and thrive here in Hillsborough County. I want to give thanks to everybody, the commissioners as well, please, Ms. Miller. And I just want to say that we proudly represent the Latino community, but at the same time, the Tampa community. And we're here to stay for a long time. Yes, we're opening another location. So that's our contribution to our community and to our Hispanic heritage. It keeps spreading the love of bread, pastries, and good food. That's fantastic. Watch this right here. We're going to get a picture. Congratulations. Thank you, Commissioner Miller. Bonnie, want to review, change the agenda? Yes. Good morning, commissioners. We have one item that has been deferred to October 7th. This is item A31, which is to award and execute an agreement with the overall lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the Thona to Sassa Park expansion and library replacement project. We have one item that is now a time certain, item G2. It's a revision to the agenda. It is now to be heard at 11 o'clock. This is to receive a staff report on the new Tampa capital funding proposal, along with updated information regarding other capital funding requests received. We have one item removed from consent for discussion or questions by Commissioner Wuestel. It's item A6. This is to approve an interlocal agreement for owner's representative services with the Tampa Sports Authority, designating TSA as the county's representative under the previously approved development and funding agreement for the new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. We have several items for time certain. The first one is item D1 at 10 o'clock. This is related to item B1 is to conduct a public hearing to receive public input and discuss modifying the approved list of projects for phase four of the community investment tax. Item B1, related to item D1, also at 10 o'clock, is to approve an interlocal agreement with the University of South Florida for mobility, transportation, public safety, and infrastructure improvements associated with the USF's Fletcher district development. Item F2 by Commissioner Miller is at 10.15. This is to receive an update to the Riverview Committee Plan and the Thea Selman Expressway Extension from the Planning Commission in coordination with the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority. Item B2 at 10.30 is to approve the 2027 Annual Audit Plan report performed by the County Internal Auditor's Office. Item B3 is related to item B4 at 10.45. This is to approve submission of the annual report for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office red light camera program. And item B4, related to item B3, also at 10.45, is to approve submission of the annual report for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office for school speed zone camera program. Item G2 at 11 o'clock is to receive a staff report on the Sioux Tampa capital funding proposal, along with updated information regarding other capital funding requests received. And item F3 at 11 o'clock by Commissioner Wastel is to finalize the public-private partnership with Sioux Tampa. Previously discussed at the BOCC April 1st meeting, with the execution of the 15-year agreement and the agenda backup. 11.45 is a recess for lunch. Those are the changes to the agenda. Coming motion to approve the changes. Move to approve the changes. Second. Motion to Commissioner Meyer. Second to Commissioner Wastel. Please record your vote. Changes to the agenda. Motion carried 7 to 0. Okay, the Board will go on to the public comment portion of the agenda. The Board welcomes comments from citizens about any issue or concern. Your opinions are valued in terms of providing valuable input to Board members. However, at the same time, it is requested that comments are not made directly at staff or the Board, but rather the issues. We set aside 45 minutes for public comment this morning. The Chair will call on, will call your name in the order in which the requests have come in. Please state your name. Speak clearly in the microphone. Each person will be given three minutes. The first three speakers, Tom Cobert, followed by Sir Gretz, and then John Green. Good morning, sir. Good morning. Mr. Chairman, Commissioner, staff, and deputies. Good morning. My name is Tom Cobert. I'm here in support of the B-1 agenda item. I fully support any CIT program involving USF and the local area. I moved into this area in 2019 to be close to the VA hospital for treatment of my bipolar disorder and any other medical issues that may come up. The USF Medical College depends on the VA hospital as a partner being a teaching hospital for its students. I graduated from USF in 1984, and I've seen a lot of growth at USF and the surrounding area since then. I am seeing much more now. Anytime I take 50th Street from Ballard to Fletcher, I can see the framework for the new stadium going up. Driving down Fletcher, I can see what used to be the golf course being developed for even more projects. The $24 million being proposed will help with laying the groundwork for everything proposed in Agenda Item D-1. Involvement in the proposed projects involving USF and the surrounding community is exactly what the CIT was intended to be used for. As a USF graduate, I am looking forward to watching the future developments that are being proposed. And I didn't know the Zoo Tampa item was on the agenda, but I'm a member of the zoo, and I'm all for anything you guys are going to do for it. Anyway, thank you for listening. Thank you, Mr. Covert. Next speaker, Surgett Doss, followed by John Green and then Bishop Michelle Patti. Good morning, sir. Good morning. I'm Surgett Doss, an honorary discharge and service-connected veteran who's been a party in this county and this country's court since 2004 or so. Item B-2 is your 2027 audit plan, and I wanted you all to add a line before you approve it. It's that county-funded, court-related functions section, that 29.008. Nobody audits whether that money buys the same process for a pro se or a veteran self-represented litigants that it buys for an attorney for a state agency. And I gave you a document that shows it on September 1st. The Department of Revenue filed a motion against me. Now, 11 minutes later, his attorney emailed the judge's division's mailbox, not the portal as required by the rules, and offered a hearing if the judge would allow it, but no hearing was held. And they actually divested me of a right that I had earned within the order that you all are seeing. I'm going to get away from my notes. I don't need them. I'm not asking you or telling you what I think they intended. I'm just telling you that I was denied the same fundamental due process that I could have got my brains blown out and many other 7% have had happen, fighting for rights that the people over here have denied me for years. All I wanted was the proper notice and the right to be heard. That's fundamental due process. We've got attorneys here. I know which one of you, all our attorneys, I know which ones are veterans. So I'm really irritated, but I promised somebody I wasn't going to cuss today. It's very difficult when I know I'm being screwed over. And by people who are supposed to be honorable, they're not honorable. And don't take my word for it. I tell everybody, my name is Chagrette Urania-Doss, Queenie's firstborn child. My brother's a professor. I have a daughter who's a doctor. I have a son on the way to grad school. And I have to tell my children that this country is better than what you all have showed. And I use some pretty choice words when I describe people from those Calkinus Mountains from time to time. And I'm trying not to do it today. And I'm not going to say it's race-based, but I'm going to say one thing I do know, that there's a segment of the nation that hates when somebody can show that I'm actually smarter than you. And I just want you to leave me alone, like my hat says. Just leave me the F alone. Do what you said you wanted to do. It was 876 of Section 5 is the oath that all of us took if you have a state position of authority, right? I didn't make it up. I didn't even ask you all to take it. I'm just saying do what you promised you would do, which is uphold and defend the Constitution, the state of Florida, and the United States as well. That being said, shout out to the greatest institution of higher learning in the county, the University of Thomas Jefferson High School. Thank you, sir. John Green, followed by Bishop Michelle Patti, and then Hannah Lamport, who's virtual. Good morning, sir. Continue. You're on the clock, sir. Good morning. I'm John Green, and I'm here to oppose A-8 about giving the NAACP the $26,000 to hold workshops on the school property. The first page you have is from the school, from attorney warning the NAACP about a violation of denying people on the property. The second page that you're looking at is from your agreement with the NAACP about not engaging participants, intervening in any forms that they give during the election process. I just want to remind you that they cannot do any or participate in any forms. The third page is that we're asking for a level two full background check on all the executive board members because of this page, right? So that's that. Article 12 from your agreement, the agency shall comply with the requirements of all applicable federal, state, and local laws. So we want to make sure that they do not violate any of the laws while they're on the school property. However, you list here on the next page where they have the school property listed on your agreement, right? The following page is from the school bylaws and policies, which states that the NAACP really can't use their address as a business address. The following page will show you that if you Google right now in real time, you will see that the NAACP lists their address in the times of operation. Now, in the agreement, it said that it will operate during business hours, right? So that's a violation in itself. The next page is just something you can read on political action. The final page, the next page is where they have signed, notarized, and sealed the deal with the county, right? Don't forget this is taxpayers' money that you are spending, and we want to make sure that it's being properly distributed to those who earn it, right? And this NAACP has violated the school property-owned agreement, and now it's about to possibly violate this contract or something else. And the last page is the same thing, and the very last copy is an extension of the charge that I just presented to you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Green. Bishop Michelle Patti, followed by Hannah Lamport, and then Daryl Henderson. Good morning. My name is Bishop Michelle B. Patti. I'm a lifelong resident of Hillsborough County, 73 years to be exact. I am a registered voter and a taxpayer. I'm also here to speak on A8 about concerning the NAACP receiving $26,297. According to the national bylaws, it states clearly that there is supposed to be an audit yearly done by the NAACP. They are also supposed to be the president should be bonded, the secretary, and the treasurer. So I'm asking on the public request that you all provide this, the community, with information showing that you have done your due diligence by auditing them, by making sure that they're in compliance, because this is taxpayers' money. We're having to tighten out our belts, yet here we see y'all are just giving the money away. We need to know what performance they have performed, what businesses they, through the skills center, they're supposed to be having businesses, help them to navigate through things. So who are, what's the name of the businesses? When it was performed, the dates and time, and the people that performed it, what are their credentials? We want to see all of that to make sure that the proper people are being paid and proper things are done. As we see on page 36 of the NAACP, it states very clearly about them being bonded. It states on 30 about being audited. So due as the city of Tampa has done, there was $100,000 that was set aside for the NAACP last year. They never collected a dime because they did not fulfill the contract. They produced no paperwork. They produced nothing to show that they had done the work to earn the money. Who walks away and leave $100,000? Now they're over here trying to get $26,000. I don't know how many years you all have been giving this money, just giving it away, but it's time for accountability of the taxpayer's fund. And therefore, we're asking that you look at these documents, that you take them seriously. It's not about friendship. It's not about being afraid of the NAACP. This should be done for any and every organization that you are just going to give our money away to. We're talking about there was a hoopla fuss about giving money here and there. So why are you all just apt to give away the monies of the taxpayers to this group who's getting free rent, who's receiving thousands of dollars, but doing no work in this community? Thank you. That's Hannah Lamport, followed by Daryl Henderson, and then Anat Mansoor. Is Hannah on the line? Yes. Yes, I'm here. Good morning. So thank you. Thank you. First, I just want to say that I support your work and I support FIBA funding. I'm here because of what happened during a recent public comment at this hearing. I listened. The speaker stood at that podium over there and accused Israel, and by extension, the Jewish community here of genocide, of putting people in tents and shooting them, of killing babies. These are really not policy criticisms. They are grotesque, dehumanizing accusation. They're leveled in a room where none of us have any control, and they were aimed directly and personally at people sitting in this chamber. So that is not what public comment is for. Free speech protects the right to disagree, to criticize, to protest. It does not protect threats. And what we've heard definitely crossed that line of threatening members of this council, saying their pictures would be placed somewhere. That is a statement meant to intimidate, not to persuade. And when rhetoric moves from I disagree with your position to I know where you live, it stops being speech and becomes intimidation. I just want to be direct about the effect this has. Jewish residents who came here to talk about a budget or other issues, they sat there and listened to themselves compared to murderers in plea for existing. That is frightening, and it should not be something this council tolerates at the cost of an open comment period. So I'm asking you to draw a clear line. Criticism of budget and county policy is welcome here. Threats against commissioners and rhetoric that demonizes an entire community rather than debates an issue, that's not. Please protect this forum, and please protect the people who show up to use it in good faith. Thank you. Daryl Henderson, followed by Anat Mansoor and Tamir Ben-David, both virtual. Good morning, sir. Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Daryl Henderson, and I'm here on behalf of the Hillsborough Recovery Coalition, a community-driven network of peers, treatment providers, families, and partner organizations working together to strengthen recovery across our county. The Hillsborough Recovery Coalition was formed to bring unity and coordination to the people and organizations who support recovery every day. Our mission is to make Hillsborough County a recovery-friendly community, one where individuals and families affected by substance use have access to support, dignity, and opportunity at every stage of their journey. We focus on three priorities. First, expanding access to recovery supports, including peer services, treatment navigation, and community-based resources that help people stabilize and rebuild their lives. Second, reducing stigma by elevating lived experience and ensuring that people in recovery have a seat at the table in policy and community planning. And third, strengthening collaboration across behavioral health, public safety, education, housing, and workforce systems. Recovery succeeds when systems work together. The need for this work is clear. Hillsborough County experiences higher-than-average rates of illicit drug use, marijuana use, alcohol use, and co-occurring mental health conditions. More than 7% of residents live with substance use disorder, and nearly the same proportion need treatment but are not receiving it. These numbers represent real people, our neighbors, co-workers, and family. The economic impact is equally significant. Using conservative modeling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Florida Department of Health, the estimated annual cost of substance use in Hillsborough County is between $1.25 and $1.9 billion. That includes justice involvement, lost productivity, health care costs, employer burden, and premature death. Every dollar invested in prevention, treatment, and recovery saves more dollars downstream. That is why partnership with county leadership is so important. Hillsborough County has already taken meaningful steps to support behavioral health and community safety, and Recovery Coalition is eager to collaborate with you to strengthen these efforts. Together, we can build a county where recovery is visible, supported, and celebrated. As part of that work, I want to invite each of you to join us at the Recovery Town Hall on Monday, September 21st from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Children's Board. This nonpartisan event brings together community members, people in recovery, treatment professionals, and the candidates on the 2026 ballot for an open conversation about the issues shaping recovery in Hillsborough County. Thank you, Mr. Henderson. Appreciate the comments, sir. The next five speakers are virtual. Anat Mansour, followed by Tamir Ben-David, Idit, Little Ringer. Is Anat on the line? Yes. Can you hear me? Yes. Good morning. Hello? Hi. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Anat, and I'm a Hillsborough County resident, a wife, a mother, and someone who cares deeply about our community. First, I want to thank you for your time and for the work you do for our county. I know that the decisions you make are not always easy, and I appreciate you taking the time to listen to your residents just like me. I'm here today because I watched the last Commission meeting, and honestly, I left with some serious questions and concerns. What is the purpose of a public comment at a county commission meeting? So I assume it's to hear your constituents' concerns and opinions about issues affecting our county. But shouldn't it also be a place where we can disagree even passionately while still treating one another as part of the same community? Over the past several months, I've heard very serious accusations about Israel and genocide directed at a local organization and the people connected to it. I've also heard comments directed at elected officials about posting their quote-unquote smiling faces alongside their votes, references to the Nuremberg trial, and even a comment about a coming day of reckoning. I absolutely believe people have the right to express opinions, and I disagree with them. But that, and of course, it's part of the democracy, but when this political expression crossed the line into intimidation or threats, and what tools do we have to address it? And what concerns me most is that there were teenagers sitting in that room listening to all of this. I'm not asking you to silence anyone. I'm asking that we remember that there are standards that apply to everyone, and that when speech crosses the line, it should be addressed appropriately. What kind of civic culture do we want Pilgrim County to have? I know that I want to live in a county where people can disagree, speak up, and still recognize that we are all part of the same community. Thank you again for your service and for giving me the opportunity to be heard. Thank you. Tamir Ben-David, and last name Latringer, and then Don Shimmer. Is Tamir on the line? Yes. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Tamir. I'm a Hebrew resident. Over the last few months, individuals from a certain group with anti-Israel agenda have hijacked this public comment to attack FIBA, an organization that's bringing innovative companies, job goals, and capital investment directly to Hillsborough County. Their explicit goal is to discriminate against Israeli businesses and slip local funding. I sat in the audience last Thursday, and I was appalled by the false statement and accusation. There was a young crowd, and I'm here to set the record straight. We heard several speakers throw around the possession of genocide. I want to say that just a few days ago, our nation marked the anniversary of 9-11, where 2,977 instant Americans were murdered in a single tragic day. We must be clear. Hamas operates under the same exact radical extremist ideology as Al-Qaeda. On October 7th, Hamas murders 1,200 Israelis in a single day, a massacre on a scale that mirrors 9-11 for Israel. When Israel targets this terrorist, Hamas loans directly from local population, deliberately uses its own communities and families as a human shield. Youth leaders across the political aisle, including Kenneth or Chuck Schumer, Ted Cruz, Jack Rose, and many others, have all public condemned Hamas standards of practice of embedding weapons and terrorists among civilization. Vladimir, Israeli giving humanitarian aid to Gaza. Youth Ambassador to Israeli Mike Huckabee said a couple days ago, highlighted that Israel has facilitated up to 700 aid trucks a day into Gaza. The real bottleneck is Hamas looting and diverting those supplies. This false accusation of genocide can't be allowed to stand unchallenged in these chambers, allowing a fabricated narrative to go unanswered, undermines truth, justice, and the integrity of public discourse. Pittsburgh County should remain a place that welcome businesses, foster global partnership, and reject discrimination. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your commitment to truth. Okay, next three speakers. Last name, Lutringer, and Don Schumer, and then Ilan Giovanni. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you again for a round of speech. Lutringer, the regional director of the Israeli-American Council in Central Florida. I would like to, first of all, thank you to all the commissioners of all your heart and listening to us for the important things that we have to say, and we appreciate and respect you all. I thought it was important to come back and speak today, because after listening to many of the conversations in these meetings, we have become concerned, really concerned, about something that goes beyond any one issue. We can disagree. We can ask questions. We can have different opinions. That is part of living in diverse and democratic communities. But disagreement should never come at a cost-effect, respect of our ability to live together. When people are giving incomplete or incorrect information, when entire groups of people are described through generalization, it doesn't not create understanding. It creates division, and division can quickly lead to hate. This is why investing in our young people is so important. At the IEC, we believe that building the next generation is not only about teaching identity. It's about helping young people become confident, responsible, and curious. We want them to know how they understand where they come from and learn how to talk and connect with people who may be different from them. Our FEBA Teen Program is one example of this work. The FEBA Teens Build Connections. Learn about Israeli and Jewish culture and identity and develop leadership skills. They also learn about entrepreneurship, innovation, and startups. They learn that that idea can become something real and meaningful that can make a difference. But most importantly, they learn what it means to be part of a community. Community is not about everyone thinking the same way. It's about creating a place where people can belong, contribute, listen, learn, and grow together. And I believe this is something that can benefit every young person, no matter where they come from. If we want a stronger Hillsborough County tomorrow, we need to invest in the young people who have built it. We need to give them the tools to think for themselves, look for facts, have difficult conversations with respect, and reject hate and division. Because our goal is not only to raise successful students and professionals. Our goal is to raise good neighbors, leaders, entrepreneurs, parents, volunteers, Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate the comments. And people who care about the community. Next three speakers, Dawn Shimmer on virtual, followed by Elan Giovanni virtual, and then Katherine Vickers. Is Dawn on the line? Yes, good morning. Good morning. My name is Dawn Shimmer. I'd like to start by thanking you for an excellent demonstration of democracy in last week's meeting. Vampires of all ages advocated for the pet resources, animal shelter, and we shared encouraging news about additional funding. I believe that that's what these meetings are all about. Residents engaging with their elected officials to create a better community for everyone. But then, as we've heard in the last few speakers, but then the meeting took a very different turn. We heard several speakers discussing a country on the other side of the world, shouting accusations of murder and genocide and threatening elected officials. One of many quotes said, vote how you will and will make sure that your smiling faces are posted right next to your position. Another speaker graphically described the horrific atrocities unrelated to Hillsborough while young teenagers were sitting right there in the room. To me, such violent and threatening commentary felt deeply within bidding. As an American, I strongly support freedom of speech, including views that I do not agree with. But where do we draw the line between free speech and hate speech? I'm concerned that when this kind of language repeatedly takes center stage in a public forum, it poses a risk of normalizing intimidation of members of our community. What I heard at that meeting sent a chill through me. And I'm here to ask you, are you as concerned as I am that boundaries are being crossed? Are you as concerned as I am that your council meetings are being hijacked to promote a political agenda that has nothing to do with Hillsborough County? And are you as concerned as I am that allowing these inflammatory messages to escalate within a county form may ultimately spill into the streets of Tampa and result in members of our community being targeted? I am. I wasn't afraid before listening to these recent meetings, but I am now. And I urge you, as our elected leader, to take that concern seriously. Thank you very much for your time. And best of luck, Mr. Paul Hunter in your retirement. Thanks for everything you've done. I thank you, Ms. Schimmer. We have Alain Giovanni virtual and then Catherine Vickers and Betsy Koval. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Alain. I'm a resident of Hillsborough County. First, thank you for the work each one of you does on behalf of Hillsborough County. Budget decisions, which is the topic we're talking about, are difficult. I appreciate the time, preparation, and responsibility involved in deciding on how taxpayer dollars should be spent. I also regret that so much of your time is being pulled into international political debate that this commission neither controls nor has the ability to resolve. People absolutely have the right to express their views, but this is a county budget process and I believe the discussion should remain focused on Hillsborough County and its residents. For perspective, the allocations for non-profits being discussed are only one very small part of fiscal year 2027 budget. County budget documents place non-profit organization funding at roughly $45 to $50 million if my math is right, compared with a total county budget of roughly $14 billion. well under one half of 1% of the total budget. Within the new profit community request under review, funding spans human and family services, youth and education, veterans, arts and cultural programs, economic and workforce development and other community needs. These organizations are very different missions and very, very different constituents. This is precisely why its standard must be consistent. Your own policy calls for fact-based decision-making. Your non-profit funding policy asks whether an expenditure serves as a public purpose, produces measurable community benefits, demonstrate fiscal accountability and provides value to county residents. Those should be the test. Instead, we heard last budget meeting commissioners have heard references to the Nuremberg trials in Germany, a future day of reckoning, possible legal charges, names being recorded in history and promises to publicize commissioners' phrases and votes. Those speakers have the right to express those views, don't get me wrong. But political pressure from any side is not an evidence of whether a county expenditure benefits Hillsborough County. So I simply ask that you continue doing what taxpayers should expect from you. Evaluate every organization by the same standards, public purpose, measurable results, accountability and value to Hillsborough County residents. Thank you for your service, your time and keeping Hillsborough County decisions focused on Hillsborough County. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next speaker is Catherine Vickers in person, followed by Betsy Covell. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Catherine Vickers and I'm here to seek your approval and your support for some safety issues that we have. I just moved to a neighborhood, Park Creek in Riverview and once you come into the neighborhood, there is a speed sign that says 25, the speed limit is 25 miles an hour and my concern is the combination of the amount of traffic that drive through into another neighborhood and the amount of pedestrian activity that we have because we have the pool right there and a lot, a lot of cars are driving through there. Back in 2017, there was already a tragedy where a little girl was lost her life due to an accident and I am surprised that I talked to the neighbors and I'm surprised that nothing has been done yet and I understand from speaking with the commissioner's office that the traditional speed bumps may no longer be installed because of the impact of emergency vehicles and I do respect that. I am not asking the county to install something that the engineers believe it would interfere with emergency response but what I am asking is what can we do? Could speed tables work or as you can see, I have a little kid and I'm very worried that he runs out and something will happen there or maybe we can reduce the speed limit to 20 miles an hour or put a sign in there, kids at play. I am not a traffic engineer but I do work for the Department of Transportation and I'm a little bit familiar with what can be done and I'm asking, all I'm asking is we can evaluate it and your approval and support and it's just a small stretch from the beginning of the speed sign until it goes into the other neighborhood. So it's Legacy Bright Street. So it's not the whole neighborhood that I'm asking to put some safety improvements and with this, I'm asking, seeking approval and Lucas does too. Yeah. And say thank you and thank you for listening. All right. Thank you, Ms. Vickers. I'm going to refer this over to you and if you can have someone get there. Okay. Awesome. Ma'am, this young man here will chat with you. Next three speakers, Dr. Betsy Koval followed by John Marinello and then Ann Malone. Good morning. Good morning. I have to say before I talk about PRC, my mother was a Holocaust survivor and as a Jew, at the very, I was very uncomfortable during that last meeting. I literally took my Jewish star and put it under my shirt. That should not happen here. To make this perfectly clear, it's not political. There's no red. There's no blue. Just a universal love for their pets. They assume the county animals are treated as their own. You owe it to your voters to give them a better quality of life. They are entrusting you to treat them with a compassion they rightly deserve. Our population has doubled since 1986. From 152 schools to 305. 18 fire stations to 46. 212,000 dogs to 430,000. 183,000 cats to 370,000. How can we care for an escalating population with our aging shelter? Per resident, county funding for animal services in Pinellas gets $6.43. Brevard gets $1.60. Hillsborough gets $0.56. Out of the 80 billion county budget, PRC gets 0.013%. Now the BLCC is pledging $75 million for expansion of Lowry Park Zoo. Our shelter should come first. The Orange County shelter coming in 2027 has a $49 million budget. Marion County just opened a shelter for $20 million. Both have fewer animals. The outside kennels are cruel. Dogs cannot sweat. Only by panting can they even try to release heat while wearing a fur coat. I dare you to spend a day in the 95 degree heat with our dogs. We are talking about living, breathing, feeling beings which for no fault of their own become homeless. They deserve better. I believe shelters are unique to other county departments. We have an obligation to keep them safe in our care. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Cole. John Marinello followed by Ann Malone. Good morning. Good morning. Let me start by saying I'm glad to hear that the building a new shelter is now back on the budget, but may not be completed until five or ten years from now. That is not acceptable. What we all know is that in 2024, 30 million was initially designated for the animal shelter project. And in the last two years, I'm sure many locations have been explored and architectural design firms with expertise in building new animal shelters have been considered, which begs the question, why is it if that work was done in the last two years, why do we not need to start this process all over again? So the question is why? Why are we starting all over again and possibly adding five or ten years to the project? I'd like to read you a quote from one of our commissioners that clearly explains the reason. Concerning the Pet Resource Center news, I did my best to warn everyone in the April, May and August surprise race stadium meetings that funding the stadium would almost certainly compromise our ability to fund the much needed animal shelter. End of quote. Bottom line, we all know the reason we're giving 80 million, 800 million dollars to the Tampa Bay Rays to build a new stadium and frankly, don't have the money anymore to build an animal shelter. It's not acceptable. I've read the statements by the deputy county administrator that we will be finding new funding for the shelter, either as part of a larger bond issue, a pay go allocation over two to five years, or some other mechanism. That's interesting. Not sure what any of that means, but I hope it means funding to build a new shelter starts now. I'd also like to make a comment about something I just read. It appears that the new Tampa Bay Rays owners and associates have just donated $411,000 to Bob Buchholz run for governor. I don't know how we can be giving them 800 million, yet they can take 411,000 and give it away. Seems to me we should be lowering the amount we are giving them by that 411,000. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Ann Malone and then followed by Amy Summers. Good morning. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Ann Malone. I'm a resident of Hillsborough County District 1. I don't care. And I'm also an admin with Rescuing Tampa Shelter Dogs. I want to thank you for your service to Hillsborough County and for allowing me to speak this morning regarding the 2027 budget. Oh, sorry. I'm asking for clarity and commitment regarding that budget. My question is very simple. Is a new pet resource center included in the fiscal year 2027 budget? If so, how much is being funded? And what specifically is that money funding funding? And what is the timeline for land, design and construction? Because the animals at PRC cannot wait another three to five years. They need relief now. I spend a lot of time in this shelter every week, and I see these conditions firsthand. There are piles upon piles of dirty laundry every single day. Laundry that can carry disease, contaminants, with one washing machine, trying to keep up with the needs of more than 450 animals. Think about that. One washing machine, more than 450 animals every single day. And we have four major dog kennels, each housing approximately 54 dogs, more than 200 dogs with no air conditioning. These are aging kennels areas where we also deal with flooding and drainage problems. And here's another example of why temporary fixes are not enough. Ice machines were recently purchased by this committee to help provide relief for these four kennel areas. But the electrical infrastructure is so outdated that the ice machines overloaded it. Portable air conditioning units created the same problem. So even when we try to bring a temporary relief to these animals, the aging infrastructure itself limits what we can do. This is Florida. During extreme heat, those dogs don't get to go home at the end of the day. This community has stepped up in so many ways with cooling mats, ice treats. I mean, I could go on and on. How can we, as taxpayers, and how can you, as people who care deeply about animal welfare, allow a new professional sports stadium to be built before Hillsborough County provides a modern, humane, climate-controlled, taxpayer-funded shelter for the animals in need? I'm not saying that it has to come to the expense of another. I'm saying Hillsborough County should be able to do both. Hillsborough County is the leader in this state. And we should be the county other counties look at as an example for modern, humane animal sheltering. Instead, we have dogs living in kennels without air conditioning, aging electrical systems that can't support temporary cooling solutions, flooding and drainage. Thank you, Ms. Malone. Appreciate the comments. Last speaker this morning, Amy Summers. Good morning. Good morning. I'm here to ask you to fully fund the new modern pet resource center with central heat and air. 40 years is long enough to wait. But before you make a final decision, I'm respectfully asking all of you to please go volunteer one full day at PRC. Not for a photo op, but do laundry and clean kennels without AC so you can experience what the animals, employees, and volunteers go through daily. The building is very outdated and it even floods when it rains. PRC is always pleading through the media, begging the community for help during extreme heat and overcrowding. One incident was July 29, 25. The heat index was 115 degrees. No AC. PRC was begging anyone in the community to take dogs even for a day to get them in AC and asking for frozen broth blocks and frozen blankets to help cool them off. Another recent plea was July 20, 2026. This time for laundry, extreme heat, 90 degrees with 105 heat index and no AC. It made it impossible for staff to keep up. The lack of space, air conditioning and washing machines, a local rescue McNeely firmly rented a U-Haul and several of us volunteers went to three separate laundry mats that had AC and we were dying. It was hot. It was expensive and overwhelming. We worked to after 2 AM and we didn't even get it caught up. It was, it was unbelievable. PRC needs a new facility. Now I'm a lifetime resident and independent trapper from district four. I appreciate and utilize PRC's TNR program, but now due to overcrowding and needing funding, it's only 10 TNR cats total per day for all of Hillsborough County. Over a million residents and 200,000 feral cats with only 10 spots. It isn't enough. I spend my own money on traps, food supplies, my time, et cetera. It's very hard showing up at 7 AM at PRC to be the first in line for one of 10 spots at 10 AM when they open. If I'm not lucky, which is a lot, I'm turned away to rush to another vet to pay $110 out of my own pocket because you will not retrap those cats again. And kittens end up on the 4 PM euthanasia list simply due to no space. Please fully fund PRC. When you drive home today, roll your windows down and turn off the air for a few minutes and think about the animals with no AC or PRC. They can't get air. They can't turn it on. See how it makes you feel and then think of them again. Please do the right thing, the ethical thing, and fully fund PRC now, not later. Healthy animals should not die due to the lack of space. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Are there a close of public comment? Can we have a motion to approve the consent? Move to approve. Motion, Commissioner Myers. Do we have a second? Second. Second, Commissioner Cullen. Commissioner Bowles, do we have a comment? Real quickly, on item A8 that was brought up for us and we got all this documentation here, I'm assuming that our directors are doing all the things they need to do to ensure that the nonprofits are meeting the requirements that are put before them. And this is on a reimbursement basis, correct? Right. I think that one is, and they are supposed to be monitoring the contracts accordingly. Okay. Because we've got a lot of information. It's worth looking into, however, just in case we missed something. Okay. Thank you. Okay. We've got a motion and a second. Please record your vote. Motion carried, seven to zero. Okay. Bonnie, we've got a 10 o'clock time certain. Yes, sir. It's item D1. This is to conduct a public hearing to receive public input and discuss modifying the approved list of projects for the Phase 4 of the Community Investment Tax. And Kevin Brickey will take us through this item. This is a public hearing and someone has signed up. Good morning, Kevin. Good morning, Commissioners. Kevin Brickey, Management and Budget. This item is a public hearing to receive input and to discuss additions to the approved eligible list of projects to the CIT Phase 4 of the current CIT. The resolution that you are being requested to adopt would add three projects to the approved CIT 4 list. Fletcher District Transportation Improvement, Sheriff's Infrastructure Maintenance, and Sheriff's IT and Communications Equipment. I would recommend you take public comment. All right. Thank you, Kevin. We've got one individual that signed up to speak. Tom Covert. My name is Tom Covert. The proposed projects being discussed this morning are necessary to support the developments that are in progress at USF. The university is growing in leaps and bounds, and the BOCC needs to keep up with what is currently being done on campus and along Fletcher Avenue. USF has always been an important part of the community in Hillsborough County, and that part is growing. Hillsborough County will always need to provide the support needed for such an important part of our community. When my family moved to Such Mile Creek when I was 13, I learned about the Klan. As I got older, I learned that the Sheriff's Department was much more qualified to deal with the Klan than the Tampa Police Department. I'm not going to get into why they were so good at it, but they kept the peace dealing with a bunch of sociopaths and psychopaths. Any interaction I've had with the deputies over the years has just increased the respect I have for the department. The two projects proposed for the department and the one for Fletcher are necessary for the growth that is happening in this part of the county, and this proposal needs to be approved. Thank you for listening. Thank you, sir. All right, that closes public comment. Board members, I brought the USF Fletcher District Partnership to the board back in March, I believe it was, where we unanimously approved 24 million for key infrastructure and public safety improvements associated with the Fletcher District Development Project. Last week, Commissioner Bowles, Commissioner Cohen and I attended USF's outstanding groundbreaking event that was well attended, and you could really feel the energy and excitement about this project and regarding USF's overall transformation. Well, that's where Uptown Landing USF was unveiled as the official name of the development. We've already approved the funding, and today is the required public hearing, and the next item is the interlocal. So I'm not going to repeat everything I said during our last discussion, but two things that I do think bear repeating is that this partnership is the latest in a long history of partnering with USF on infrastructure. Also with the Institute of Applied Engineering and on job creation efforts focused on entrepreneurship and USF's technology incubator. From a safety and mobility perspective, we should be working with our partners to create a seamless corridor where students, residents, and visitors can easily and safely traverse between Uptown Landing, the on-campus stadium, and then with our Mosey redevelopment project. This item, we'll address that on the northern end, and then I know that staff's working alongside USF and FDOT on the southern end of Fowler to, again, ensure that we have a seamless corridor where we can easily, you know, move from, it's less than a mile, so whether you're on car or on foot. So I'm excited about the project, and if we can have a motion. Move approval. Second. Motion Commissioner Woelstel, second Commissioner Cohen. Please record your vote on D1. Motion carried seven to zero. Awesome. Everybody. And the next item is B1. As Mr. Chair, you related to, this is related to the D1 public hearing. This is to approve an interlocal agreement with the University of South Florida for those improvements. And I want to give Julia and the county attorney's office a lot of thanks and a lot of credit for, you know, working on this over the last several months, and a lot of work went into it. And we certainly benefited once again from our county attorney's experience working with USF and her relationships with the legal team over there. So good work, Julia. Very much appreciated. Thank you. We have a motion. Move approval. Second. Motion Commissioner Woelstel, second Commissioner Myers. Please record your vote on B1. Motion carried seven to zero. All right. Thank you, board members. Thank you. That brings us to our 1015 time certain. This is item F2. This is by Commissioner Miller to receive an update to the Riverview Community Plan and that the Selman Expressway Extension. And so we have Melissa Zornita from the Planning Commission and Greg Slater from the Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority to present this item. Good morning, commissioners. Thank you so much for the opportunity to give you an update on these projects we've been working on together. As a bit of background, the Riverview Community Plan, which is our piece of this presentation, was adopted back in 2005. It includes 13 goals and strategies. And not only was it needed of an update based on changes in the community, but the emergence of the Expressway Authority looking at expansion of the Selman down 301 in that corridor into South County presented an opportunity to update that community plan. And that was this board's request back in February of 2024. We provided an update last year and are happy to be back providing you an update again. We've spent the time doing work in the community. We've done numerous community meetings, four online surveys, and have developed draft goals and a vision for the community plan. We've had over 225 participants in our nine community meetings that were held in 2025 and 2026. We've had over 1,300 survey responses over the four surveys. And we've interacted with over 250 people at community events that we've gone out to and talked to people about what are their priorities for their community. Many of those have been done in conjunction with Thea. The top three priorities that we're hearing from folks probably won't come as a huge surprise to you all. But the first priority is transportation and connectivity. The second being infrastructure and other public services like community facilities. The third being recreation and environmental protection. Many of the themes that we've heard from the community include concerns around traffic, connectivity, safety along their roadways, infrastructure and gaps and continued maintenance in things like sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, opportunities for future community facilities within the Riverview community. A lot of the feedback has been related to the rapid growth that's occurred in South Hillsborough County and the need to have infrastructure be balanced with that growth. Additionally, we've heard about a loss of community character and green space and wanting to preserve those areas of the Riverview community that still retain either that historic fabric or the open space and environmental areas. There are a number of ELAP properties in that area. There's the Ala Fire River and there's a desire to continue to preserve those and connect them as the opportunities present themselves. And lastly, a desire for more community focused investment. Identifying opportunities and places where people could gather and create spaces for community events to occur. Supporting local businesses and opportunities for jobs closer to where people work. Some of the next steps that we're looking at are continuing to work with Thea on collaborating on their project and ours. We see a lot of great synergy on this, particularly given that the Riverview community's top priority is transportation and infrastructure. There's a lot of opportunity in working with Thea to see how their project can align with the community's goals, help further some of them. We've seen how Thea has made really great improvements along their other facilities in terms of providing trails and other amenities underneath the crosstown. And so we're eager to look and see how we can make some of the strategies in the community plan align and inform their work and their work inform our work. It's sort of an iterative process there. So we'll be continuing to align our timeline with theirs. Typically, a community plan or a community plan update, we aim for having that done in about 12 to 18 months. So this is taking longer than that. But I think it is important to continue the work in alignment with Thea in the way that we have been with them and really appreciate their partnership on that. And with that, I'll turn it over to Greg Slater. Good morning, sir. Good morning, Chair Hagen, Vice Chair Miller, members of the Commission. Great to see you all. Thank you for having us here this morning. You're going to see a lot of consistent themes between what I'm going to share with you today and what Melissa has shared with you. So we have extended the project from the original concept. The original concept went down to Big Ben Road and really at the request of the public when we were out in the community and at the request of the Thea board, we extended that down into the Sun City area around 674 as kind of a fourth phase because of the growth that's happening down in that region. When we were out in the community, what we've done is we've created this in-depth engagement plan. You're going to start to see more of that coming in the fall. We've completed all of the early traffic analysis. We've done everything in English and Spanish to make sure we're reaching all of the residents. We've launched a project website where our citizens and the people that live in that region can kind of sign up and get updates to the project. And then we've created these project fact sheets where we're out at community events and continuing to collect data from the community on what they are really experiencing down there. We went through and did a series of presentations, not only public workshops, but presentations to the HOAs. I just spoke to the Riverview Branding Chamber of Commerce yesterday and gave them an update on the project very similar to this presentation. So I think they were my practice for this one, but really, really well received. Several HOAs. We had some public workshops down in the region and we're going to do another set. And we've been working very closely with Melissa and her team. A little bit of what we've heard, you know, hurry up and build it, deeply concerned about traffic, a lot of support for it. But we also hear concerns about, hey, this will change the character of the community a little bit. This is a structure down here. What is that going to do? What if what if this section is kind of a main street? So we want to make sure that we really work with the community to understand exactly what those concerns are so that we can provide some relief, but also provide it in the context of that community that we're serving down there. To date, we've continued to see a lot of support for the project. I want to say that, you know, I take this with a little bit of a grain of salt. That's going to change a little bit. The people that we've been reaching are right along the corridor, people that are driving it every day. This next round is going to have a much wider base of community engagement. And that'll give us a little bit more of an insight of what the region feels in that. But certainly a lot of support for a solution, whatever the solution is down there that we are continuing to hear. We've been examining the right of way down there. There's a tremendous amount of room along that corridor to provide a solution. The right of way for the most part is around 200 feet with the exception of that Alifaya River area around Lake Charles Boulevard and Baum River. It squeezes into about 107 to 120 feet there. So we're looking at solutions because our goal is strategically to do everything within the existing right of way, working closely with FDOT. It also had 35 signalized intersections and 40 median openings. So there's a lot of action and friction in that corridor that are causing some of the congestion. So we want to alleviate that as well. You know, just a little bit of what we're seeing in the traffic. Let me explain this. So VC ratio, if you're not familiar with this, is essentially the traffic that the roadway is seeing versus the traffic that it was designed for. So if it's seeing the exact amount of traffic that it was designed for, that's around a one. So we're starting to see that traffic is handling a lot more. The roadway is handling a lot more than it was designed to handle today, which in is going to be no surprise that that is going to continue to deteriorate. It's going to go from an F to a lower F for the most part if we don't have a solution there. The important thing to note on that southern section, which is that big bend to Sun City. That's an area that has the least amount of volume of traffic today, but it's also the area that we're seeing with the highest amount of growth between now and 2050. So, you know, as we start to think about implementation from north to south, we start to alleviate those bottlenecks in the north. That'll get better as we kind of work our way south. But, you know, so don't don't look at that last section and think there's not a traffic issue down there. That has a lot of growth that's coming. You know, when you look at planning time index and travel times and things like that, that's what people feel today. Planning time index, you know, essentially a planning time index of 1.5 is if you've got a 15 minute trip, it's going to take you 50% longer to drive that trip in those peak conditions. And so we start to see that deteriorate. One of the things that we find with congestion in particular is there's a point where it doesn't get worse. It just gets longer. And so your peak hour becomes two hours and starts to kind of linger into the rest of it. And that's what we're seeing down there. You know, that that southbound kind of Sun City area in the PM is really going to see some tremendous growth. And it's going to be a long trip if we don't find some sort of a solution down there. You know, you're looking at the access to the system, which I think is going to be some of the most critical decisions that we make. Where can you get on this limited access facility? We're looking at sections between Sun City and Big Bend, between Big Bend and Simons Road, around Gibsington, right around that Isle of Fire River, kind of on either side of the Isle of Fire River around Bloomingdale. But also as you get up towards Causeway Boulevard, the characteristics are very different in each of those sections. You know, I'll give you a great example of one of the solutions that the team is looking at around that Coca-Cola plant area. You know, there's not a lot of media in there. So we looked at the ability to push comes from a structure to the side there, actually provide the structure over the hiker biker trail because there's no business accesses that you're dealing with there. And just thinking differently about how you fit it within the corridor as long as, as well as the right of way. You know, from a segmentation standpoint, we're looking at four separate segments. Really that first section, which is probably the most complicated between the Selman today and Bloomingdale. That's where you're weaving through those structures around 75. Then it does get a little bit simpler to implement as you get further down in the corridor with different opportunities. That section around the Isle of Fire River with the tighter right of ways is the exception to that. We're working on some different solutions there from a timeline perspective. This is there's some critical dates that we really have to talk about here. We are, you know, approaching the end. These are fiscal years. And so we are in fiscal year 27 today. The development of the six year program for the FY 29 six year program is the critical date for us. So some of the commissioners may have just seen that we were just upgraded in the financial system. And that's because we do things very carefully financially within our program because we're a self funded agency. Why that FY 29 program development date is so important is that's the date where we have enough information to add the revenue into our financial model. So we can add, you know, several billion dollars of expenditure into the financial model unless there's revenue available to cover it or it turns the metrics kind of upside down. So the FY 29 program is the critical date for that. We'll have a much better handle on what it could cost, a much better handle on the cost of the capital and much better handle on what that revenue projection looks like. Because we are essentially modeling a toll model very similar to the existing Selman today rates around the existing Selman today to try and understand that. Because part of what we do and why we keep things so responsible on the financial side is so that we can keep our toll rates lower and more reasonable. We're going to be out there in the fall with another round of community engagement. We're kind of laying those out for community open houses, public meetings, but also trying to get into HOA meetings, community events, those types of things. I would just talk to the Brandon parade of lights group yesterday and trying to provide them some information on how we can help get the word out there. Summer of 27 so next summer you'll be out there with you'll start to see that preview of this is what the alternatives could look like and how we could do it getting to those details. And then summer of 28 and then that real that public hearing which is critical for us in the summer of 29 as we're starting to develop that FY 29 program. So with that I'll just say thank you for having us here today I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Appreciate the presentation Mr. Slater, Commissioner Miller. Thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you both for your presentation. I appreciate it and I appreciate most that you've taken a lot of time to engage the community. I'm interested if you get the same when you're out, when you're out speaking to them if you get the same feedback that we get just the time frames are just, they're a little overwhelming. So the reason we asked for this is so that we can have full transparency. We all want that for our constituents and obviously this is a highly trafficked area and it's growing faster than the infrastructure is. And can you talk to the time frame and just help us get a better understanding of that? Because I mean even before I was in public service I had no idea how slow things are moving that there was this much planning that went into when I finally saw construction on a road. Yes and so there's a couple of kind of pieces to address there. One is because we're a self-funded agency you know the cost of capital and the cost of the infrastructure has to be self-funded for us. The only thing that could really advance that is if we had some grants on the federal front or if we had a partnership with the state or something like that that could help advance that. We are using the federal process which is taking a little bit longer for us and the reason we're using the federal process is because that will allow us to get into infrastructure banks and funding programs like TIFIA which have a much lower cost of capital which will allow us to keep our toll rates lower as we implement. And so I argue a little bit on that timeline where sometimes it's about going slow so you can go faster on the implementation front. I've seen projects over the years big infrastructure projects that move really really fast through the planning process. And then you miss engagement with the community you miss engagement with the business process or the business community. And then you run into issues when you're ready to go to construction and they're much more expensive and much more impactful to address. So you know I do understand the process is taking a little bit longer. We're constantly looking for ways to accelerate or find partnerships but I want to make sure that we don't miss any steps. We don't miss any community members or businesses to engage to make sure that we get their feedback as we're going through that process. Thank you for that clarification. I know you were a highly coveted leader to take on this role a few years back and you're doing a fabulous job. And I appreciate you putting those extra details in and especially working with our planning commission to make sure that our constituents issues are addressed all along the way. So thank you for the report to both of you. Thank you. Commissioner Wilson. Very brief. One thing that I think is often overlooked and it's why the expansion down to 674 is so important is the South County has the same issue that the veterans has that took me an hour and 20 minutes to get here from Westchase this morning which is that we really haven't grown that much. It's that the surrounding counties have pounded those borders and this is something that could catch a lot of that northbound traffic in the morning and southbound in the evenings. Which will alleviate the lower level roads for the locals and I think that that's just a benefit. Your quotes really said it better than I did which is you know build it now and I really appreciate you going to meet the church for me by the way. You know they are going to be impacted possibly and I really appreciated that. So I'm sure you're going to do well. Thank you. All right. Once again thank you. I appreciate the update. Do you have any motion to receive the report? Second. Do we need a motion on that? Okay. Okay. Bonnie. Thank you. Next item is item B2. This is to approve the 2026 annual audit plan and Melinda is here to present this item. Thank you Bonnie. Good morning commissioners. Good morning. I'm Melinda Denzarle, the county internal auditor and I'm here today to request the board's approval of the 2027 annual audit plan. And I do have a brief presentation for you this morning. Can you show that? Perfect. So to develop the plan, a risk-based planning process was performed to identify and prioritize resources to prioritize those areas for the calendar year 2027. The process was conducted in conformance with the global internal audit standards and the recommended plan directs the office's resources to those areas where our services can really provide great value to the county. It is dynamic and it is subject to change as the audible environment changes. Amendments to the plan will be handled in accordance with the resolution R20-011. On August 25th, the county internal audit committee reviewed the planning process that we performed and they determined that we considered input from senior management, the commissioners and other assurance providers. The committee also determined that the plan's resource requirements aligns with the required resource budget. Therefore, pursuant to resolution R20-011, the audit committee recommends that the board of county commissioners approve the 2027 annual audit plan. Okay. Thank you very much. Oh, and just I do have one more slide. Um, so this slide represents the 2027 annual audit plan that was discussed with each commissioner before today's meeting. Um, it's a combination of assurance and advisory services that are designed to really strengthen governance, risk management and control processes. Um, I'm happy to take any questions that you may have before requesting the board to approve the 2027 annual audit plan. All right. I don't see you on in the queue. Move to approve. Do we have a motion? Second. Motion to approve the audit plan by commissioner Meyer, second commissioner Cohen. Please record your vote on B2. Motion carried 7-0. Thanks, Melinda. Thank you, commissioner. Thank you, Melinda. Thank you, Melinda. And it looks like the sheriff's office is here for items B3 and B4. If you would like to waive your rules to hear this item early. Yeah. Committee on motion. Moved. Motion to waive the rules. Motion, uh, commissioner Willstall, second commissioner Bowles. Please record your vote. Motion carried 7-0. And thank you. Colonel David Arthur is here to present item B3, first on red light cameras and then B4, school speed zone cameras. Good morning, commissioners. And thank you for having me this morning. Uh, first item up is going to be the red light camera program. Uh, during the reporting period of July 1, 2025 to July 30, 2026, Hillsborough County issued a total of 22,097 notices of violation NOVs related to the red light camera enforcement. Of these, 13,799 NOVs were paid while 121 were contestant. 33 of which remained pending. Three were dismissed. And 58 were upheld. In addition, 6,932 NOVs resulted in the issuance of uniform traffic citations, UTCs, with another 37 NOVs still pending conversion to UTCs. The total revenue collected from paid violations amounted to $2,180,002.15. From this amount, $1,140,254 was remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue and $1,030,199.90 was retained by Hillsborough County. And can we just have your name for the record? Oh, I apologize. I got a little ahead of myself. Uh, David Arthur, Colonel, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Thank you, sir. Uh, Commissioner Bowles. The, uh, revenue that we collected, that went towards the Sheriff's Office or is that good towards general fund? Do you, do you know? I, I, I do. That's retained by Hillsborough County. That's just Hillsborough County generally speaking? Yes. Yes, sir. Not the Sheriff's Office. Would that kind of, where, where do we, where does that money go to? Ultimately to the Sheriff's budget. Big kind of rolls back. Yes, sir. So is that through the countywide or county, it's not unincorporated, it's countywide funds then, right? It is unincorporated. Oh, it's unincorporated. Okay. Thank you. All right. Motion. Move to approve. Motion, Commissioner Walstall. Second, Commissioner Bowles. Please record your vote on B3. Motion carried to seven to zero. Second, B4. B4 is a school speed camera program. During the reporting period of July 1, 2025 to July 30, 2026, Hillsborough County School Zone Camera Enforcement Program issued a total of 154,262 notices of violation NOVs. Of these, 103,338 NOVs were paid. A total of 788 hearings were scheduled for contested violations, with 169 cases dismissed and 619 cases upheld. Additionally, 41,040 uniform traffic citations UTCs were issued. The total collected revenue from the program amounted to $10,334,600, which were distributed as follows. The Public Safety Initiative, $4,030,900, correction, 494. The Florida Department of Revenue, $2,066,290. FDLD Training, $310,038. County School District, $1,240,152. The Crossing Guard Program, $516,730. And then Red Speed, which is our vendor, $2,170,266. Thank you, sir. Can we have a motion? Move to approve. Second. Commissioner Meyer, seconded Commissioner Willstall. Please record your vote on B4. Motion carried 7-0. Thank you, Colonel. Appreciate it. Thank you for your time. Have a great day. Thank you. It looks like we have some time to go to some regular agenda items before 11 o'clock. So, Commissioner Bowles, the next item is item F1 regarding the interlocal agreement with the Hillsborough County Soil and Water Conservation District. Commissioner Bowles. Thank you. Thank you. This is really just a follow-up. And is Attorney Hademotor here? Just in case there's a question you might want to come up. To the item that was brought up earlier this, during this year that we had a few months ago regarding the Soil and Water Conservation District. We had some discussion on that and some things came to light that I thought were kind of interesting. There was a motion made by Commissioner Myers, I believe, that kind of wanted to align our processes that would kind of go along with the nonprofit policies that we have. However, and I kind of had some thoughts that in consultation with the Attorney's Office that maybe we needed to go with an ILA since it is an actual government agency and not an NGO or an NPO. So we had these conversations and to that point, I've been working with the County Attorney's Office on some of the things that were brought up during that meeting. And one of the interesting things that I came to find out was that the money that we budgeted for that in the past doesn't truly capture every dollar that we spend on that. And to me, this is not so much a matter of budgetary fiscal conservatism or anything along those lines, but how we address our problem or addressing a problem that's been recognized. So for example, we have I've asked the staff for at least the last year or so to go back and capture dollars that weren't spent or budgeted for within the $650,000 that was and we've come up with $30,000 in supported costs supported costs through technology, fleet, $99,000 in maintenance, land care services, there's also fleet. And then additionally, and I don't have the numbers in front of those numbers in front of me, but I know there's been tens of thousands of dollars in legal services as well that are not captured in that $650,000. So we are truly spending more money through to another governmental agency than we are being shown on the dollars that are being sent here or being presented to us in our budget. I certainly know that I wouldn't want to give City of Tampa a whole bunch of money outside of what we're showing on our books. And for me, this is essentially the same case. So to that extent, we are looking to come up with an ILA with them. The Soil and Water Conservation seem to be very eager to enter into that so that they are in compliance with what we would do with any other government agency. And I would defer to Rudy at the very least to maybe expound a little bit or whatever you guys may have a question on. Absolutely, Commissioners. Rudy Hader, Senior Assistant Attorney County Attorney's Office. With respect to what Commissioner Bowles has mentioned, we've had an opportunity to speak with Tom Gonzalez who represents the Soil and Water Conservation District about entering into an interlocal agreement which establishes performance standards. They're willing to do so. They're willing to have those discussions with us where we establish measurables, deliverables, and performance standards. Okay. Commissioner Miller. I'm not sure if you're going to put in the form of a motion, but I would like to be considered in there to have a look back. So he talked about capturing the finances around attorney's fees and other expenses that we may not be aware of. If those can be included whenever something's brought back for us to make a decision or whatever that looks like if it comes to us in the form of a letter to our offices, I'd be interested in that information because as Commissioner Bowles stated, I don't think the full picture of the cost of this agency is clear to even those of us that are kind of engaged in it. So if you can do that because how do we know where we're going if we don't know where they've been? I guess that's sort of where I'm at with it. The other thing that I would like to be included is where is the state on this? Because I don't know if maybe Commissioner Wilstle can speak to this, but I think that there's been several times that the state's tried to do away with it, that they're downsizing on it. I don't know all of the background on it, but I know there's been a lot of discussion around this particular agency at the state level too, and I would like that included in the report so that we have full knowledge. We can certainly provide that information as well. Okay. Thank you. Commissioner Wilstle. Thanks. Can you give me an idea? There's no backup. So can you give me an idea of like what deliverables you're going to seek from them, especially since they're a state agency and they are, most people forget, but they are elected officials. That's correct. So they're an independent special district, Commissioner, and part of the process is to have the Soil and Water District establish performance measures and deliverables that we can kind of look at, and that would be part of the negotiations process. Do they, is that they report to Soil and Water not to FDACs directly? So it's, I believe the, it's an independent special district. And so their reporting structure is in fact, as an agency, a separate independent agency without any other reporting. But their, but their, their oversight is from FDACs, right? I believe there is some level of oversight because of funding, but that I'm not sure I can get back to you on that. Yeah, I mean, the, the, the look back is, I mean, that's been kicked around so much. I mean, there was new requirements put in a couple of years ago that said, you know, the people on the Soil and Water District Supervisor boards, that they had a requirement to meet eligibility, such as actually being in agriculture. And then basically none of them that were on the board at one point had anything to do with agriculture. It just, that office at one point was used for many years as a political stepping stone. And so most of our supervisors actually had to resign themselves from the board because they didn't meet the qualifications. So I do know that FDACs has talked many times, Commissioner Miller is correct about doing away with it. I would suggest that you look at dependent and independent districts. When you're creating this, that's already a thing. You don't have to recreate the world, the will here. There are independent districts that stay and fund independently. And then there are certain counties that have them as a dependent district, where they are assumed under that local counties scope. So that's already an existing model in the state of Florida, if you didn't know that. Well, Commissioner Wilson, we've looked at the issue. We believe that they are independent special districts where the funding from the county is absolutely voluntary. Yeah, no, no, no. I understand that. I'm just saying that certain counties do run on a different model. That's correct. And make them dependent. So, you know, and if you look at the, I don't know, I don't know what it's going to produce in terms of positivity, but, you know, the former executive director, there was a lot of challenges that existed within that agency. A lot of expenditure questions. The maintenance of county vehicles was simply dumped to the floor. And all of that has now been turned around semi-recently, and they're trying to reestablish. And they have actual agricultural producers on that board now. But I would just like to see what those deliverables are going to be. I'm very interested for a myriad of reasons. I know that the tech, the technicians that they have are there, you know, their job is to help the farmers, traditionally, the smaller farmers navigate the federal world of getting grants. So I'm just curious what you could even produce on the deliverable side. But I'll just wait for the actual document to show up. Thank you. Okay. Commissioner Bowles. I'll end on this. I think that, and I share the same concerns across the board that both Commissioner Miller and Commissioner Wistel just pointed out. But I think that certainly from what we heard from the executive director that was here a few months ago, that the liberals have been pretty weak and nonexistent for our farmers here. You know, that we have five visits over a year and ten phone calls, and we're giving them the $650,000, I think, is a pretty sad state of affairs. Beyond that, though, what I'd like to see, and I think if we go back in history, even beyond the current board that exists today, we could go back to 2009 where there were some human resource issues and legal issues that continue to carry forth by previous boards that basically enacted policy through and weren't captured, that legal services were being provided to tens of thousands of dollars over these years. So the idea that we're capturing every dollar that we're spending is not necessarily or allocating is not necessarily the case where there's these hidden dollars. In fact, Tom Gonzalez, who is representing the board, is being captured under the other category in the county attorney's office. And I think to the tune of $40,000 last year, maybe $20,000, $30,000 in previous years. So to say that, you know, we're capturing it all is a bunch of nonsense. Beyond that, we're now looking for, you know, as far as the vehicles and all, we have dollars that are being put in for a new F-1 for Ford 150 that the county is supposed to be providing. The district doesn't use their own website. They have hcfl.gov email addresses because they're getting an IO. Everyone thinks that this is part of... They're an independent district, which we have no control over there. Any other district, any other entity would be put under greater scrutiny than what we're doing over here. So at the very least, we should be entering into an ILA with this that produces deliverables, because I'd rather give that $650,000 to 10 farmers at $65,000 apiece or 65 farmers at $10,000 apiece, then give it to three people who are basically doing nothing by their own words, sitting right at that podium for the last two years. Bingo. Nothing. That being said, at the very least, I don't want to eliminate or get people fired or have to find another job. In fact, those technicians could be easily transferred over to IFAS. We can give that money over there and they could work there today. I've talked to the director there. They would gladly take them. The point, though, is that we don't need to have another layer of bureaucracy stuck in county services here and make people believe that that independent district of elected officials that we have no control of is somehow associated with us outside of the fact that we're giving them budgetary dollars. That being said, this ILA is extremely important that we continue to do so. So, the motion is that we would allow the county's attorney's office to continue to negotiate with the board of soil and water and at some point in the future that they bring that back to us that we can then vote on that. I yield. Second. Okay, we got a motion. Commissioner Bowles. Second, Commissioner Miller. I don't see anyone else in the queue, so please record your vote on F1. Motion carried seven to zero. Thanks, Rudy. Thank you. We can move to the first staff report. This is item G1 to receive a report regarding options for removing school impact fee assessments for farm worker housing projects. Adam Gormley will present this item. Good morning, Adam. Good morning, Commissioners. Adam Gormley, Hillsborough County Development Services. This report is related to a request made by Commissioner Mostel to provide options for eliminating school impact fees for farm worker housing projects. Farm worker housing projects are used specifically regulated by the county's Land Development Code. The purpose of them is to provide housing for farm workers on agricultural properties and it allows higher density, different types of dwellings, and different development standards based on this being essentially a temporary housing to support agricultural operations. The requirement for farm worker housing is to be occupied either by a farm worker or a family with a housing farm worker that allows an employer seasonal or temporary farm visa here for the limited purposes of providing that farm worker service. The requirement of the farm worker housing H-2A visa program is that the employer provide housing for those visa program is that the employer provide housing for those employees. That's a specific requirement of the H-2A visa program that was not typically required for traditional farm worker housing. Supported by a study that is done in conjunction with the school district and typically those, typically those, in general, and then leave the housing. Based on the new dynamic of H-2A farm worker housing projects, these projects, again, don't have children, therefore they don't have impact on the school system that children would create. So with that background, there's a couple of options that are identified in the report. The first would be to not assess H-2A only farm worker housing projects school impact fees based on there being no school age children and therefore no impact on the school system. Another option is to conduct a study of existing H-2A farm worker housing projects to identify the student generation rate. I do believe that that would show that the student generation rate is zero, again, based on there being no school age children at these H-2A farm worker housing projects. I'm available for any questions. I'm sorry. Yes, thank you. Part of Commissioner Woestel's motion was, or direction, was to run this idea past the Agricultural Economic Development Council. I did meet with their executive committee, ran this proposal by them, and they endorsed this with no questions or issues or any contrary comments. Sorry. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Adam. Commissioner Wilson. And this one won't have serious question on whether it helps farmers or not, like the past one. I was surprised. Can you estimate like how much the school impact fee per unit on farm worker housing is? So it's assessed based on the unit type and the size of it. You know, typical mobile homes can be up to $10,000 school impact fees per mobile home, more if it's a dormitory type dwelling. Yeah, it's a lot of money. And some of our berry farmers, particularly the ranchers, don't really utilize this mechanism. But, you know, they have tens of thousands a year of H-2A visa workers on their Hillsborough County farms. And this is going to be a huge and long, long time known, I would add, and needed relief that should not have been impacting them. I'm really grateful for all of your work on this. I'm still yet to find one that can provide me an H-4 visa, which is the required accompany dependent visa. The school's revenue consultant claimed that they did find one. I said, please provide me the H-4 visa. And I'm also still waiting on that H-4 visa. I don't think that it's going to be provided. But I will move for approval of what the AEDC recommended, which is option one to approve the non-assessment of school impact fees for farm worker housing projects occupied exclusively by farm workers working under the H-2A visa program, which would not include any school age children and therefore would not have a capacity impact on the public school system. Second. I got a motion by Commissioner Walstall. Second. Commissioner Bowles and Miller. Don't see anyone in the queue. Please record your vote. Commissioner Miller. Sorry. I was on to the next one already. Motion carried seven to zero. Thank you. Thanks, Adam. Great, Bonnie. Thank you. We can now move to our 11 o'clock time certain item. These are two items. Item G-2 is first receiver staff report on Zoo Tampa capital funding proposal, along with updated information that's been received. John Muller will begin the presentation. Greg will complete and Tom Fessler is also here if you have questions. Good morning, John. Good morning, Chair. Good morning, Board. John Muller, Director for Facilities Management and Real Estate Services. As Bonnie mentioned, Greg and Tom are both available here. So today's report is on Zoo Tampa's proposal as part of the board motion for staff to negotiate a partnership that strives to meet a one-for-one dollar match. The zoo's proposal is a total of $75 million. And Greg will be providing some updated information on other capital funding requests received. Okay, so some background is shown in the zoo. I know that we've probably all visited in our times here. But for the general public, I'll just note that they provided to us not just their attendance, but also listed their achievements there in education and conservation. So you can see those bullets on the right side. Operating revenues for the zoo are about $34 million less donations contributions, but pure operating revenues. Please note the smaller diagram on the left of that slide. So the zoo has grown to their limits of the 68-acre site. They are in active talks with the City of Tampa to obtain 13 acres of the adjacent 38-acre Lowry Park site for an expansion for a South American habitat. Okay, there's a lot on this slide, but let me cover it, walk you through it. So here you see Zoo Tampa's proposal, as I mentioned, for $75 million of county funding. They would match it, a total of $150 million spend. At the bottom, let's go straight to where it says annual total. So you can see the 15-year totals across the bottom by year for calendar years 27 through 41. I'll note that the spend varies with the majority of it occurring in years 7 to 15. The zoo's proposal is that the county allocate $5 million a year from funding to a CIP project. However, in terms of the release of funds, the zoo requests, one, that each year up to $2 million be advanced, and then the remainder of funds for that year would be on a reimbursement basis. So they would essentially true up on an annual basis, and you can see that amount going across. So for example, calendar year 30, $9 million, $2 million advance. By the end of that year, they've trued up the $9 million spend with their match. In terms of the zoo's proposed funding sources for their match, they do have $1 million annually from their endowment that comes in. They proposed, we'll just give it a range of $1 to $2 million annually from net operating incomes, and the remainder would be from a new capital campaign. In terms of scope of projects, please note the list on the left of the chart there, where it starts out with general capital improvements, planning, design, and so on. The zoo proposes that $120 million of the $150 million proposed spend goes towards, first reinventing three of their major areas, Australia, Asia, and Africa, and also towards a two-phased expansion, as I mentioned in the proposed 13-acre Lowry Park area, for the new South American habitat. I do want to note that there is another proposed $30 million of combined funds, which they proposed towards general CapEx projects. I put an example of one year of their proposal off to the right of the slide there for 2028. The scope they provided was a five-year outlook. It was admittedly a little hard for them to go out 15 years on general CapEx. We note this because the general CapEx did have a mix of smaller projects, planning, and events in them. Not all of these are truly considered strictly capital improvements, so we note that the general CapEx portion of any funding really needs an annual review and approval by the county on each year of that list. So funding sources. The report identified specifically to look at the 2024 CIT Renewal Line Community Facilities Others. There was some discussion on that item in terms of potential use of TDT. Staff notes that the CIT funding source projects such as this is really where we headed for the zoos for the zoos and other similar cultural attractions is where we focused. As a reminder on that slide, I just wanted to include the category total for public facilities, which was presented to the BOCC by Mr. Bricky. That total was 597 million. 52 of that was listed in that proposed project list for parks and conservations. And then the remaining 545 million was identified for community facilities, sports venues, pet resource center, and community facilities other. At this point, let me let Greg come up here for the next slide. Thanks, John. For the record, Greg Horwadale, Deputy County Administrator. As the board may recall, on the April 1 meeting there was some discussion about other entities then submitting requests, and that has happened. So this is presented for information and awareness only. We're not asking for any action. Staff has not had any guidance or provided any recommendation to these organizations on how to proceed. Once the board considers and acts on the Zoo Tampa proposal, and I know that Commissioner Woestel has a follow-on item, then we, as staff, would appreciate some direction on how you want us to handle these other requests. And I'll walk through them very, very quickly so that you can hear them. It's about $90 million. The Florida Aquarium has $30 million over 10 years. Glazer Children's Museum, $8 million over 3 years. The Strath Center for Performing Arts has requested $40 million over 8 years. The Tampa Bay History Center has requested $10 million over an unspecified number of years. And we have actually pointed out to all these folks that the 15-year CIT means that ultimately they could receive funding if the board so chose in later years. So just want to make that clear as well. Tampa Theater has requested a $2 million lump sum. And as I noted, this is for information purposes only. We would appreciate your guidance on how to proceed with these requests. That leads to the next slide. What we have done with prior requests on capital projects, we've done through really an evaluation and consideration process. That has been more formalized and we are not, we haven't gone through that yet because we are not authorized to do that with those other requests that I just mentioned. We typically would ask them what's the percentage of public funding that's part of their proposal. We would want to know what other public funds have been committed to a project. We would ask them how their project is going to benefit any of our revenue streams, whether that's sales tax, hotel tax, commonly referred to as TDT, and how is it going to enhance the visitor experience to Hillsborough County. We have used that process before. One that you may be familiar with is the historic preservation grant program. The other would be the cultural asset program that the board allocates a million dollars a year from the sixth set. There are options for us to essentially supersize that potential. Tom is available to address how that might be done if we wanted to do that on a going forward basis, allocating annual dollars to organizations that would apply. Again, we need your direction on how you want us to handle the other requests that have come in. We would suggest if that is something that the board wants to pursue, that there be minimum standards that we bring back to the board and say, if this is okay with you, then we would contact those organizations, provide them the list of requirements and the eligibility criteria, and then have them essentially resubmit based upon that. Zoo Tampa has provided a lot of information. Again, that will be handled separately with Commissioner Wilson's follow on item. We would suggest if the board wishes to pursue that process that we talked about earlier, that we can have that criteria back to you really quickly within the next meeting or two sometime in October. I will point out, though, a formal process is absolutely not required. The board has discretion, ultimate discretion on how you want to award these dollars. So you could choose to do anything you want. You could award money at this meeting. You could tell us to come back with a proposal, process anything that the board wishes to see happen. We will effectuate. And with that, we go to questions. John and Tom and I are available. Okay. Thank you. I don't see any cues. I'll say from my perspective, and Greg was essentially asking for it, there needs to be a process. And I think I made similar comments during the last discussion that I felt that we needed to review all of the cultural institutions collectively and have some type of, Greg said, minimum standards. I would say metrics and then just collectively review all of them. I don't think we should cherry pick one over the other or essentially have a first come first serve basis plus really one and a half times the amount that we set aside for the entire, all the cultural institutions. Because we had set aside what 50 million, I think, in the CIT. The zoo is asking for 75. So that would be my recommendation. I know whenever we decide to move forward on any of these, we have to schedule the CIT public hearing. So no, any action we take today isn't, isn't final. So that would be my recommendation. I don't have a particular process in mind. We've used a couple that Greg's used before. I know we also had the gaming compact model that we used years ago. So I don't have a dog in the fight. I support all the institutions and I feel a little bit like a prophet because I said last meeting there's going to be other requests. And sure enough, we got 90 million in requests and probably more coming, frankly, from what I'm told. So with that, Commissioner Cohen. Thank you. I agree with you wholeheartedly on that. And I also would mention that at least I know of one institution, the Tampa Museum of Art, that I think would also like to be at least considered as part of whatever process we come up with. I agree that we I'm agnostic in the sense that I want to I want to help all these organizations. I just think that they need to be considered as a group with us looking at whatever the total amount of money we have available as. And then figuring out almost maybe in a pro rata type way how to accommodate everyone to to the ability that we have to do so. So I would be in favor of any process that would set something up like that thrilled to help the zoo as part of it. But the same with with a lot of the other really worthy institutions that have made proposals. All of this is is are things that I think are appropriate for us to support. And I think it would be good to do it holistically. Commissioner Myers. Thank you, Mr. Chair. If you go ahead and make a motion, I'll go ahead and second. You made a recommendation. So is that your motion? Well, I would I would before making a motion, I would ask Greg or John for their suggestions as far as is it simply to come back with a process or what would you recommend? Based upon board discussion and direction, we could come back with something that you all wanted to see. Right now I'm hearing that it's I've heard a couple of things mentioned. One is using the existing processes that we have. We would ask again if there's desire to do that after you dispose of the zoo one way or the other, then we can come back with that recommendation on how we do that, whether it's an annual allocation or whether you want to as a board distribute funds in one meeting or a series of meetings. Really, those are the two issues I think that are primary for us. Do you want it to be a 15 year program or would you prefer to make the allocations within the next year, say? All right. So essentially. We can present options. Yeah. An appropriate motion would be to request process to come back to the board for us to consider with options on the best way to provide funding to the cultural institutions. Is that a fair characterization? Yes. Yes, sir. Okay. So moved. So moved. Motion. Commissioner Cohen. Second. Commissioner Myers. Commissioner Wilstle. Thank you. And just be prepared for a substitute motion, Mr. Chair. All of the agencies that were shown on your spreadsheet today, and I will handle staffs and what, in my opinion, is disobedience in this matter. The motion in April was for you to enter into a negotiation of a public-private partnership with the zoo. And we won't get into that today because today is a positive meeting about the Board of County Commissioners partnering with at least a three year project and ask from Zoo Tampa to not only the administration, but to the board members. I brought the item inevitably because after about three years I said, well, hey, who's bringing this? You've been talking about it. And they said, no one. So I volunteered for it. But all of those agencies that were listed that came in with a surprise ask, and we'll get into the comparison of the Tampa Bay Rays versus the other stadiums that were actually lined already approved as projects on the CIT project list. And then they got a surprise ask with no process. The USF Fletcher district that we approved earlier had no process and staff made no recommendation of an alternative for that. You just found the money and then, voila, we approved the projects. We can have that debate if you'd like. I'd prefer not to. But all of the CRA, all of those listed are in CRA districts. Is that correct? We would have to verify that. But if that is the case, then we would absolutely look for that entity to also support a capital project request. Well, I have already verified it for the board. And I actually have some numbers for you. Specifically, the Tampa Museum of Art was mentioned earlier. They received $24 million of the CRA in a three year period, much more per year on schedule and pace for what the zoo is asking for. Can somebody confirm? Most people don't understand the CRAs, but that's actually the county contributing their countywide funds to those districts, correct? So it depends which CRA, but it's the countywide millage? Not the one that you got us removed from. None of those are in there. The point is that the Board of County Commissioners is already substantially partnering financially in all of those other cultural assets. The interesting thing about the zoo is that they are uniquely left out, Commissioner Cepeda, of all of the CRAs. They don't have access to those additional funding sources. They're the ones that kind of get left behind. We partner pretty heavily with some of the organizations that asked for money as well through tourist development taxes pretty substantially. Actually, one of the agencies that asked for money, Commissioner Cepeda, you might not have known this because you weren't on the board yet either. I only happened to watch that board meeting, but we actually used our general operating fund during COVID to pay their employees to stay at home while other regular family businesses were suffering. That is how deeply and extensively we have partnered with these other agencies to make sure that they are kept as vital community assets. So as is in nature of all of the reports, just like we had before with the Thea report where there wasn't even a motion required to proceed to it. I would like to and also, by the way, these concerns should have been brought up in April when the board approved unanimously in a past five month negotiation. Thank you so much, by the way, all of your efforts on that, John. I know it was a lot and we'll get into we'll get into the actual long contract that's on the next item after we get to that, which breaks down what all of that investment would be. But I believe that it's germane to proceed with how we have done even as earlier in this meeting for a motion to just receive the report and proceed to the next scheduled item. That is my motion, Commissioner Cepeda. Second. All right. So we have a substitute motion to receive the receive staff's report. Second by Commissioner Cameron Cepeda. Commissioner Bowles. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So to I want to say that Commissioner Wüstel took some of my talking points, but he did actually. Some of the things that I brought up with certainly staff and on this was about people coming after the fact and to some degree you alluded to it, like with the bucks coming saying, hey, what about us in a way? Totally get it. There's only limited amount of funds that are coming in. We have to kind of allocate those as we see fit. We've found the way to make it work. You guys did a fantastic job of making, you know, lemonade out of lemons, I guess, you know, from the money that we have allocated with the CIT dollars for the raised project. But along with that, we did also extend part of the negotiations with the city was to extend the CRAs for these districts. History Museum, all of these exist in the downtown CRA. So they have these these these these sources of revenues that will be available to them for another 30 years. And I don't think that that's something that we should not consider into this process. Notwithstanding, as Commissioner Wüstel pointed out, that they have already received significant amount of dollars that we have contributed through countywide funds and through our percentage allocations. One of the things that I find interesting is that the zoo sits in one of the I would say one of the heartbeats of Tampa. They attract over one million visitors per year. About half of those are from out of town. We get TDT. We get sales tax dollars from that. This is something that is a shining star for not even just Hillsborough County, but the state of Florida doing what we can to invest into that project and do what we can for something that I don't believe the city has ever provided outside of this land. That's coming before them or the maybe the there's like a stadium or something there, a little arena there, whatever that it we need to have the allocation. Again, this brings up my thoughts on what we contribute to what the city contributes. They're given 2 million. We're given 75 million that we're looking to do. I think we should need to do it. I think the city should try to find another way to provide some more funds towards us as well. We're getting a dollar for dollar match. So we're talking about 150 million from this from the zoo as well. We committed to doing this in April now that we've had all these things that have happened in between. Now we're kind of rolling it back and going, oops, we don't have the money now. I think that we need to stand with our commitments, do what we got to do, find the ways to find other partnerships for these other fantastic shining venues that we have here in our community. And I think that the CRA is certainly one of those opportunities to do so. Commissioner Cohen. I actually agree with you, Commissioner Wastel, that I think that when we evaluate all of these organizations, part of the evaluation should include not just the CRA support that they get, but any other public support that they get, perhaps from the state or other funding. So we have a holistic view of how everybody is funding their operations. But I still think it's better to do it all at once when we have everybody in front of us and can sort of evaluate them based on the same criteria. So I don't object at all to the CRA contributions being considered absolutely as part of the discussion. But I think the key is that there's a discussion and that all of the organizations get evaluated. Commissioner Myers. Thank you. I'm going to add, Commissioner Cohen, what you just said, the city of Tampa and the state. I also would like to see the federal government, whether they're contributing to any of our cultural centers. And when I look at our public facilities and what we discussed back in July, we only had $597 million. We only had 9% of the funding for parks and conservation. And Jew Tampa was not a part of that. And so when this come back, if so, we have to see if we're going to add this to the CIT list because this project is not listed if however we decide to come back. But I do agree that we need a process that would benefit all of our cultural centers that we can vote on at one time or in segments based on the need of their funding. Because in meeting with zoo Tampa this week, they did not have their dollars there depending on the county funds upfront. Just as we have requested in the past from I think it was the performing arts that we was getting ready to fund that organization. We said, hey, the city of Tampa has not put in the funding into that organization. And sure, right now when we look at that, the city of Tampa maintenance facilities on that site. So then we need to look at what additional dollars could the city provide toward this project. And that's what I'm looking to see, the additional dollars, because the 2 million is for the land. You have the maintenance. Whatever happened is going to be moved. That is city staff that is on that site right now. Okay, Commissioner Wolstel. Thanks. I would just close in saying thank you, Commissioner Cepeda for seconding the motion and Commissioner Bowles for your exact points. You stole some of my future talking points about their visitors. And look, commissioners champion items of their priorities all the time, including cultural centers that are randomly getting money that is having money depreciating for like five years right now of people's taxpayers' money. And those commissioners bring their items and they fight for their priority. And this is one that I felt like is just going to be such a community enhancement and asset. And I'll get into the socioeconomic benefits of it, much less the economic benefits on the next item, assuming that we pass. And I thank you so much for your unanimous vote in April. And I look forward to hopefully discussing the final contract right afterwards. Thank you. Okay, final comments and then we'll vote on the substitute motion. I want to be very clear. I fully support Zoo Tampa. As I said last meeting and I went back and found the minutes. I think in 05, I championed 3.76 million. And then in 08, 3.8 million. This isn't about the zoo. This is about not cherry picking one institution over another. I mean, it's pretty simple, really. We've always had the, I'll call it county city rub on what's the city's commitment or what's their level of funding on our partnerships, particularly when the institutions and the city. We've always had that. And we've always pushed for the city to contribute more, whether it was for cultural institutions or whether when we partnered with Moffitt on various initiatives. There's always been that, again, I'll call it rub between county and city commitments and level of funding. So this isn't anything unique. And I, I welcome any additional avenues that the city has to increase their level of commitment. I don't know about other commissioners, but I'm hearing about not keeping commitment. It was never my intent last meeting that we were approving $75 million. We were approving staff negotiating with the zoo on 75 million. I made my feelings crystal clear the last time. So I guess other commissioners intent, you know, was, it was different than mine, but by voting not to have a process and just receive the report, just so we're clear. We're saying there should not be a process and we're going to cherry pick one culture institution over all the others. When we set aside 50 million of CIT for all of them, they're asking for 75 million. I mean, it's laughable, honestly. And then we have, we know we have another 90 million in, and we're just saying first come, first serve. I got to tell you, I got the same supporters and friends that have spoken to everybody here. That's just not rational. That's all I'm going to say. So we have the substitute motion on the floor by Commissioner Wostel, second Commissioner Cameron Cepeda to receive the report. Please record your vote. Motion carried five to two. Chair Hagen and Commissioner Cohen voted no. Okay. Next item. So the next item is Commissioner Wostel's item, item F3, regarding finalizing the public private partnership with Zoo Tampa. Thank you very much. And John, I don't know if you were intending or needed to speak to any, any of the portions of the contract. If you do, I'm happy to afford you that opportunity. I would point out to my colleagues that there's various members of Zoo Tampa here, including their CFO. If you had any financial questions. Speaking of the financials, I will tell you that not even the zoo got everything they wanted. There was scheduling pro forma kind of challenges with the bigger ticket items that we had to rearrange in the funding schedule. There is a clause that was intentionally item itemized in there. I believe it's 4.6, which allows for a future vote of flexibility if they were able to achieve certain fundraising goals. There was a comment said that they don't have their money. That's, I don't believe that that's true at all. We're, we're, this is a, and I want to make sure actually, John, if you could just verify this. This contract, which I understand might have some clauses that will authorize staff to, to change legalese as needed through attorney Mandel's office. But this contract provides crystal clear and ultimate accountability of the taxpayers dollars. I just want to verify that, correct? Yeah. Yeah. So if I could expound just a little bit. Yes. So commissioners, what you have here is we were asked to prepare a, a draft contract, which was what we gave. It was done as we do with other outside capital funding requests in accordance with the board policy. Um, the zoo did, uh, we did ask for a financial review and, uh, you know, in fairness to zoo, they have very good financial standing. We all know that. Um, so this, this is very similar. I'll call it substantially similar, Julia, if I can use those terms. Thank you. Um, to what you would have received. The real question for us as staff was the funding amount. The contract was structured. As I explained to commissioner, we'll still in a way with the scope. I told him, uh, we have the scope as slated for 75 million. Should the funding amount differ or be otherwise this contract, if staff were authorized, could be, um, change scope could be changed. But the terms and conditions are essentially what we would present, uh, in the final form. And of course, what was mentioned also as the county attorney advised us is, and as mentioned here, is the requirement if it uses the CIT funding for the public hearing process. Correct. Which I, I was aware that we would need to, and, and I'll, I'll discuss that later. But, um, um, um, as I said earlier in the previous discussion, this is not a hasty appeal. Um, I know that I've been hearing about this item almost since the time that I arrived here on the board, um, in the end of 2022, probably started hearing about it in 2023. Um, this is an exciting enhancement to the community. As I said in April, this is not about the zoo. This is about the many endangered species that the zoo provides, um, not only a safe haven, but in many cases, another unique aspect of our zoo is the rehabilitation efforts that they offer. Um, it's a countywide public asset, but it's understated in the access that it gives to the community. As I said in April, it is without a doubt the most affordable cultural asset in our community. It provides education, not only from the school that they offer that I believe has like a three year waiting period. I might need to sign my daughter up now, I guess. Um, that's five months old to make it in in time, but it, it offers them an eyes wide open approach to what the world is around them. That's what this item means to me. Um, there is, I saw, um, I don't know that if it was provided to you, you guys know how I feel about economic impact statements. Um, but there is an economic impact statement that they provided to staff that, um, um, is available for the record. But as commissioner Bowles pointed out earlier, um, they are the most attended, and I'm happy to be corrected on this note, cultural asset, not in a Hillsborough County, but in the entire state of Florida. And I think that that alone is a testament to how wonderful of an attraction they are estimated over 50% of those 1.2 million annual visitors are from out of the area. Um, so there is a quantifiable number. If you want to go down the economic impact route, not one, um, that I'm, that I'm particularly a fan of, but that's okay. Um, this is our way to partner with them and provide them the level of resources that I said earlier that they are left out of because they are not in one of those CRA districts. I do agree, um, that we need to, I try not to get into the, um, the, the, the city needs to do more. I mean, I would say that the zoo and the other cultural assets are more important than that fricking river walk. That seems like an interest money drain, but, um, you know what, that's the elected officials in the city of Tampa. And, um, that's, that's what they believe is, is their priority. And they keep continue to champion, um, that river walk. And that river walk, but this is a true one-to-one match over the entire 15 year period, $5 million a year, very manageable, um, as we go forward. And it does provide the contract that's attached total accountability. Um, if you did want to skip over the legalese of that contract, it's pages 18, I believe yes to 22. And that's where you can get a much more detailed breakout, um, of the different things that they're going to enhance, such as, um, they're going to cohabitate, um, elephants. I haven't, I haven't got a, maybe one of them wants to, to, to tell us what is going to cohabitate with the elephants. But I, I believe that that's a unique thing when you go into a zoo, instead of seeing that one animal in a, in a, in its own pen, where they're actually living among other wildlife. They're going to expand their Australia habitat. And then of course, um, the biggest thing down the road is the South America habitat, which is going to, um, expand their ability to protect, um, critically endangered chimpanzees. So, um, I'm so excited for this program and this public private partnership. I don't see anybody cued. Okay. Um, so I will make a motion to direct staff to approve the finalized public private partnership shown before us today and authorized final signing. And additionally, um, direct staff for, or Julia, what do you need to be notified of, of scheduling? I know that you have a schedule to amend the CIT projects on your books for the raise. So I would just need a motion from you to schedule that public hearing and, um, from a, and advertise that, um, as part of the process. And I don't have a date right now for that. Okay. Um, is that going to be, I'm going to ask Sam to come up cause he's scheduled more of these and I have, but do I need to have a date as part of the motion? Um, Hamilton County attorney's office. Typically. Yes. You would just for the board that set a date for the hearing because the board hearings are not set administratively or set by the board. That's fine. John, um, can you tell me about how much time you'll need to, to finalize the contract then? Or I guess we could technically, I don't know. Do you want the, the public hearing like we, we approved commissioner Hagen's Fletcher district and the funding prior to the CIT project list. We just did that today. Um, so like what's the timeline that you'd need? So I, again, I'll, I'll agree with Julia here. I think, I think it would be appropriate whatever the board agrees is to, to at least give us till another meeting. Yeah. Conduct the, to keep it in order commissioner. Cause there is a resolution. I want you to be aware there's a resolution as well, which is not something staff executes. Um, and you have of course the public hearing process. I think that would be appropriate. Why don't we go ahead and have that come back to you at the next meeting in terms of one, scheduling a specific public hearing for the CIT and then dealing with any of the other issues that need to be done in order to proceed forward on the contract. So bring, so you want me to motion to proceed forward with finalizing the contract with Zoo Tampa and bring back the item to the next regularly scheduled board of county commissioners meeting, which is October 7th. How could I forget? Unfortunately. Um, and is that good? I think that that will be sufficient for us to proceed for. Okay. Then that is my motion. We got a motion by commissioner. We'll still do have a second. I'll second. Second commissioner Miller. Uh, before we vote one question, Bonnie, the, I'm not gonna say contract, but the proposal in front of us, the staff have an opinion on that or do you recommend it? Or what are your thoughts? I appreciate the work that John has done with the county attorney's office to bring this draft contract. This contract, it's not our recommendation at this time. It, the contract does still need some work. Um, that is why it's a commissioner item and not a staff recommendation. So we still have some work to do on that contract. Okay. Commissioner Walstool. Yeah. This, this is empowering and authorize the county attorney's office to finalize the contract agreement. I, we, John and I talked about this, that they would need to be empowered to make any, um, legalese changes, um, or scriveners errors that may or may not exist throughout the document. So we're aware of, we're aware of that. Okay. So we've got a motion in a second. Uh, and I just want to say that my no vote today is not against the zoo. It's, um, standing with all the other cultural institutions that we're giving the shaft to today. And I don't want them contacting me when they're looking for money. They can contact the rest of the board. So you got a motion, uh, commissioner Walstool, second commissioner Cameron Cepeda. Please record your vote. Motion carried four to three. Chairs Hagen and commissioners Cohen and Myers voted no. Okay. Bonnie, next item. The next item is item G3. This is a staff report to receive a report regarding the feasibility of reinstating the prior cone of silence framework. Morning, Scott. Good morning. Scott Stromer, procurement services. Uh, this item is a response to commissioner Myers' request for a report regarding the feasibility of reinstating the prior cone of silence framework. Uh, just to remind the board, the cone of silence, uh, restricts communications during an active procurement. The old framework, uh, the cone would start once the bid was issued and it would end when it's awarded. In two, in 2023, the board amended that ordinance and it changed the framework slightly. So it still goes into effect when we issue the bid. It now ends five days after we publish the notice of intent to award. And unless somebody protests, it ends there. If they do protest, it continues on until that protest is, uh, resolved. As part of this, I did take a look at, uh, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach. They're kind of our contemporaries. I just want to see what they were doing. Uh, generally cones of silence are, begin when you issue it and then when it's awarded. That's fairly typical. Uh, Palm Beach does begin. There's a little bit different. Um, they do it when they receive the bids. They'll start the cone then rather than when it's actually advertised or issued. Miami-Dade, theirs ends when they have a recommendation, which would be similar to ours when we post our notice of intent to award. So we have a few options. I want to give you some basic options. So there's some, just, just five basic options. Uh, I've tried to keep it very simple. So the first one obviously is to keep it the way it is, which it begins when the solicitation is issued. It ends at five days after. And it also exempted the cone of silence, uh, from being from the, for the, uh, being within the cone of silence. The second option is to reinstate the prior, which is the issuance all the way to award. And not exempt, uh, sole source from the cone of silence. Let me go back here. There we go. Uh, but the third option is reinstate the previous one. Again, issuance to award and include the sole source exemption. And the fourth one is you could modify when it starts, when it ends. Again, Miami or, uh, Broward and, and Palm, they do something a little bit different, Miami. So you could change that to actually when it starts and when it ends. And the last one is you could just eliminate the cone of silence altogether and leave the ordinance the way it is. So I'll leave that for the board's discussion and stand ready to implement whatever the board chooses. All right. Thanks, Scott. Commissioner Myers. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you so much, Scott. We've been working on this and I certainly appreciate it. Board members. My concern is that, um, throughout my tenure that I, as a board member, we've had several of the contractors just come directly to the board, bypass staff, no protest and all. And come directly to us to make a decision that because they did not win the contract. And we look at the integrity of the process. I'm going to make a recommendation that we reinstate the prior year 2023 cone of silence framework. Okay. That is my motion. Second. Okay. There's a motion. Commissioner Meyer. Second. Commissioner Cullen. Commissioner Willstall. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I see you queued up, Mr. Commissioner Bowles. Um, so you, you can go ahead and then. Thank you. I presumed since you made the previous motion to change this. Uh, in my short time on the board here so far, um, at least that I'm just going to use numbers from 2025. Uh, we've had roughly 452 procurement items under the procurement tab. Out of the 452 items from 2025 to this agenda. I think, at least that I can recall, we've had less than a handful of items that are being referred to that we've had to come before the board and make an adjustment to or make a change that may be different than what happened during the process. And with that kind of mindset, I think that this is kind of a solution looking for a problem. I've heard that kind of mentioned before. And at the very least, I think that, um, because of that few occasions that that's happened, I don't think that we should, uh, necessarily, you know, throw the baby out with the bathwater on this one. I absolutely believe we should protect the procurement from improper influence. I think that absolutely the connoisseurs remaining in place from when it starts the bid process. There, there's advertisement, what we have right now. Um, but it doesn't mean that we should not consider or protect the recommendation from, you know, uninformed or informed oversight afterwards. So from that perspective, I think that leaving what we have in place is working, uh, in the, for the rare occasion that we make changes, you know, three or four or five out of 452, we're talking less than 5%, maybe, or less than 1%, um, that we make this change. I think it's just, again, we're looking for something that doesn't exist. I yield. Commissioner Cohen. Um, my main interest here is clarity, and I just want to make sure that whatever the rules are, they're clear. Um, that's to me the most important thing. In terms of, of the details of it, as far as I'm concerned, I like the stricter rules better. It's easier to, to know exactly where the lines are, and I would prefer not to be lobbied on any of these issues at all, and to simply have it out here in the boardroom without having all these meetings going on. So for that reason, I'm inclined to want to go back to the more stringent requirements. But either way, however it turns out, what I really want is clarity. Clarity, not just for us, but clarity for the bidders as well, so that everybody knows what the rules are, and everyone is, is following the same set of understandings. Commissioner Wolstal. Commissioner Wolstal. Commissioner Wolstal. Thank you. Um, all that the change really did was the old rules required the duly elected officials to vote on something without them ever getting to engage with the people involved. And you, um, um, you and I have thought a lot of light today in each of these items. You stole my point is that there's so many, um, RF, RFPs that are out there. Um, one thing that particularly, um, other than one comment that former commissioner Kemp made, that was just grossly inappropriate to, um, commissioner Owen at the time. I've never really wanted to say anything to another commissioner until this was brought up where an inference was made of, um, directed at you about this item, which I thought was wholly inappropriate, um, when this came back. This just simply allows you, which I want the cone of silence in place, and I want them to have a protest period, a formal protest period with you. And I think that you do an excellent job, and I've discussed that with you. But this does give us the opportunity, um, I, we, we missed out on a huge opportunity with the pipeline that I can't get back solely because the procurement process didn't consider something that made a lot of common sense for that project. And because we were under the cone, the bidder couldn't come and like, be like, hey, you guys need to have him change this. Um, that presents a risk to our elected officials. So the current model protects the process and then lets people come and express their First Amendment right like everyone else. And that's really all that the change did is it allowed them the protest period, but then at the, after the notice of intent to award, rather than after we vote on it, not knowing that these, um, um, inefficiencies or deficiencies potentially in the program work. So, um, I won't be making a substitute motion because the substitute motion would simply be to keep it how it is. Um, so a no vote would get to that same conclusion. So through Robert's rules, I can't make that substitute motion because it would have the same outcome. So I would just encourage the board that the, the rules are very clear that goes into protest. You can't talk to us. Um, they can talk to us once you, once you, um, advertise it though, right? They just can't once it starts, correct? Right. So yeah, when we post post the notice of intent to award, they have five business days. That's when they file their protests. If they don't file a protest at that point, they can talk to whoever. Yes, sir. And I would just say that the CDBGDR program would be nowhere as award winning, whatever efficient compliment staff's getting. If, if we weren't able to engage, um, with those subject matter experts, because I don't know anything about CDBGR program. So I will be a no vote on this. I believe that the current one protects the process and also equally protects our constituency. Commissioner Myers, put your mic on. I'm sorry. In some of the cases, um, they did not come to you, your office of protest. They just came directly here to the board. Am I correct? Yeah. It has happened where we don't have any idea. Nothing's been brought to us. We weren't made aware of any issues. And we didn't learn until we came to the board meeting. That has been my concern. Okay. We got a motion. Second, Commissioner Meyer. Second, Commissioner Cohen. Please record your vote. Motion failed three to four. Commissioners Bowles. Cameron Cepeda. Miller and Wollstall voted no. All right. Can I, can we have a motion just to receive the report? So moved. Motion, Commissioner Wollstall. Second, Commissioner Cohen. Please record your vote. Motion carried seven to zero. Bonnie. Thank you. Last item. This has been removed from consent by Commissioner Wollstall's item A6. So this is to approve an interlocal agreement for owner's representative services with the Tampa Sports Authority. And Julia will present this item. Thank you. The intent of this interlocal agreement is to institute the process for an owner's representative pursuant to the development and funding agreement, which was approved by this board for the stadium. This would allow the Tampa Sports Authority as the expert in this area to manage that process as well as also provide them the opportunity to serve as our designee in that process. Okay. I'm available for questions. I just, my questions are very basic. What source of money is being used to pay for this? I'm going to allow others to pay the source of money. Sure, sure, sure. I did want to indicate to you that as part of the development and funding agreement, any costs associated with the owner's representative would come out of the project budget. So this would be advancing that and then would be reimbursed through that process. So you're going to advance the development and funding agreement? It's advancing the monies for the owner's representative as part of ultimately receiving that money out of the project budget. That helps me get to my point. Which funding source is it? Good morning. Good morning. Here's Tom Fessler, Chief Financial Administrator. The funding for this is currently would come out of the countywide general funds reserves. Right. So general fund property taxes is what's going to be used for this. And we're going to advance it. When do these money start getting spent? I'm not exactly sure. That would maybe be a question for- Are you going to expend it before the myriad of other agreements still have to cross the finish line? Let me answer that to the extent that what this agreement does is it provides for the first phase, which is approximately $300,000. And so that portion, it won't be the entire 3.5 million, which is allocated. The 300,000 would over the next few months be utilized for the design phase of the project, because that is ongoing now. And so that would allow us, because the risk of not allowing us to do this is that we don't have an owner's rep as part of the design process. Sure. So you're going to start expending it now. There's a myriad of other legal documents that the board has to approve. They approved the first one. That's fine. But the licensing user and fee agreement, you, at the last meeting, you said that the raise were still stuck at 100% of revenue from all sources. We are still in the process of discussing that agreement with the intent to bring that back to you. But that has to do with, once you've got past the construction of the ballpark, then that would be the licensing user. Sure. But you're not speaking to my point, which is that, do you have a clawback mechanism for all of these monies? If the board says, hey, they won't budge off the 100%, and then they don't get their votes, is the taxpayers' property taxes just gone? I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're saying. You have a myriad of legal documents remaining. I do. Okay. If they don't budge from all of their huge asks that they still have 100% revenue from all sources, and the board says, you know what, you're being too greedy, and we've already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of property taxes, is there a clause mechanism for us to claw back our property taxes, or is that money just gone if those other votes fell? In terms of a clawback, there's not necessarily a clawback. So the money's gone? Well, the money would be spent. That is accurate. Thank you. But I will also indicate to you that other monies have been spent in this process, and this is a situation where it is, in my opinion, in my recommendation to proceed forward now, is to allow us to proceed forward so that we are involved in the design process. Oh, I have no idea that they're going to get their votes. I'm just making those board members aware, since it was buried under consent with no conversation, and the public aware that you're about to expend hundreds of thousands of dollars of property taxes for a stadium that isn't even finalized, and if it falls through, all of that money goes away, which, off-topic, vote yes on Amendment 3 to increase your homestead exemptions, since we obviously have ample money. I think that that's a real risk, and it's abusive to the taxpayers that you're going to proceed with expenditures prior to having substantial legal documents completed on the project way cart before the horse. This is a CIT project, correct? Do you mean the ballpark? The ballpark? The ballpark does come out of CIT as well as tourist development. It's a CIT project that has a legal requirement to be advertised and added to the CIT project list, correct? That is correct. Has that been done yet? That's in process. And we're going to start spending money before that's done? Under this agreement, that process would proceed forward to fund the initial phases of an owner's rep. Prior to the legal requirement of posting a public hearing and changing the project list. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. All right, Commissioner Cohen. Yeah, I would like to move this item, and I would like to just point out, in doing so, that this is what is going to give the county the ability to value engineer the project and actually achieve some cost savings if they are available to us. It would be very penny wise and pound foolish not to approve this. A hundred percent. Second. Commissioner Cohen. And I will tell you, Julia, Bonnie, and our team fought extremely hard to ensure that we would have a seat at the table, so we could be involved in the design process with the goal of value engineering the project costs down. So, okay, I've got a motion, Commissioner Cohen. Second, Commissioner Myers. Please record your vote. Motion carried five to two. Commissioners Cameron Cepeda and Walstle voted no. All right, Bonnie. Just future issue items. All right, any future issues? Commissioner Miller. Thank you, Mr. Chair. In light of the many guests we've had regarding the pet resources, and I have two items and then I have a third. The first is, I would like to request that staff provide the board with quarterly updates on the status of the county's pet resource center facility improvement project, including current planning and evaluation efforts, funding identified or programmed, anticipated scope, major milestones and timelines, and any decisions or actions needed from the board. Updates should also flag any significant changes to the approach, funding, schedule, or scope, so that the board and the public have consistent transparent information as the project progresses. The first update should establish current status and a path forward with quarterly updates thereafter. I can give you these if you'd like. The second one, it has come to my attention that there may be some unallocated funds remaining in the county's HOPE affordable housing account. I would like to request that staff evaluate the current unallocated balance, any restrictions or legal requirements attached to these funds, and whether reallocation to the pet resource facility improvement project is permissible. Staff should report back with their findings and any recommendations on feasibility process and timeline so that the board may consider appropriate action. Oh, I second that. It's just not a motion. The second, my final request, a future item please would be, I would like to request that staff provide the board with quarterly updates on the status and progression of the Lithia Pine Crest Road widening and corridor improvement efforts, including the current phase schedule funding status design and right of way activities and any significant milestones, challenges or changes affecting delivery. Updates should specifically address progression toward the Lithia Pine Crest Road widening and the Lithia Pine Crest Road County Road 39 intersection so that the board and the public have clear understanding of how the corridor is moving forward. The first update should establish baseline status and next steps with quarterly reports thereafter. Anything else? You good? Okay. All right, Bonnie, you get all that? That was a mouthful. Okay. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hopefully someone did. All right. Thank you. We're adjourned.