Board of County Commissioners: Regular Meeting - 10.07.26

Welcome to the October 7, 2026 regular scheduled board meeting of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. Everyone please rise for the pledge and invocation. 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 Gracious Father, thank you for this beautiful day and for all the blessings you've bestowed upon us. Please guide and direct this board today so we may make the best decisions for the residents of Hillsborough County. We ask these blessings in all other in your heavenly name. Amen. Okay, this morning we have two very special awards to be presented and the first one will be given by Commissioner Cameron Cepeda. Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's my honor and pleasure for our Hillsborough County youth for their shining examples of how young people can lead the charge in addressing and eliminating bullying in our community. I would like to invite Ms. Rhonda Flowers, the co-chair of Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee, to join me at the podium and tell us more about the Anti-Bullying Recognition Awards. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Cepeda. And thank you to the Board of County Commissioners for your continued support of the Hillsborough County Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee and our work throughout the community. My name is Rhonda Flowers and I have the honor of serving as the vice chair of this committee. Bullying continues to affect young people in our schools and in our neighborhoods and increasingly in digital spaces where the impact can follow them long after the school day ends. But today, we also want to focus on something equally important, which is the power that young people have to change that story. Creating safer and more respectful communities cannot happen through policies and programs alone. It happens when young people choose to speak up, include someone who feels left out, support a peer who's struggling, challenge harmful behavior, and use their voices to create a different culture. That is why today's recognition is so meaningful. The students we are honoring are not simply being recognized for what they have accomplished. They are being recognized for the example that they are setting for others. They remind us that bullying prevention is not just about responding when something goes wrong. It's about intentionally creating environments where kindness, respect, belonging, and accountability become the expectation. On behalf of the Hillsborough County Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee and our chair, Dr. Oliver Massey, thank you to the board, to our educators, our families, community partners, and especially our young people for continuing to help build a better Hillsborough County where every young person knows that they have a voice, they have power, and they have support, and that they belong. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much, Ms. Flowers. And this year, we are recognizing a high school senior and a fourth grader as our 2026 Anti-Bullying Award winners. The Anti-Bullying Recognition Award goes to a young person or a group of young people up to the age of 19 to highlight their amazing efforts to eliminate bullying. This year's individual Anti-Bullying Recognition Award winner is Madden Moore. Madden was nominated by her English teacher, Ms. Natasha Walker. Would Madden and her parents please join us at the podium? Good morning. Good morning, and welcome to you all. Madden is 18 years old and a senior at Plant High School. She is being recognized for her outstanding commitment to creating a bully-free school community at Plant High School. After experiencing bullying in middle school, Madden chose not to let that experience define her. Instead, she turned it into a source of strength and purpose, committing herself to making sure other students feel connected and supported. As a junior, Madden founded Big and Little Panther, a program dedicated to inspiring leadership and promoting anti-bullying throughout the school. Incoming freshmen were paired with junior and seniors who shared similar interests. With over 200 Big and Little pairs signed up, students began attending events together. At football games, incoming freshmen now know they'll have someone to sit with and cheer the team together. Students are joining programs they were once hesitant to join. Madden's anti-bullying efforts gained momentum, and the program grew strong partnerships with the theater department, the orchestra department, the chorus department, athletic clubs, and the STEM department. What started as a simple idea for students to meet other like-minded students in hope of not feeling isolated became a school-wide movement to help support all students. Regardless of grade level or area of interest, at each event, Madden created bonding activities that promoted community and emphasized an anti-bullying atmosphere. Her vision continues to grow, including plans to partner with No Solo, a national nonprofit organization focused on mental health awareness, and to develop a blueprint that could bring the Big and Little Panther concept to schools throughout Hillsborough County. Madden's future goals include attending a Florida University before returning to Hillsborough County with hopes of anchoring the nightly news for the community she loves. Today, we recognize this exceptional young woman and could not be prouder of Madden for being a role model. We are also proud of her family and the leaders at Plant High School, who supported this young woman's vision as she leads by example and compassion. It is an honor to present her the 2026 Individual Anti-Bullying Recognition Award. Congratulations. And Madden, would you and your parents like to say a few words? I would. Thank you so much. First and foremost, I would like to thank the Hillsborough County Commission, the Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee, and Ms. Dyer for the work put into this morning's event. I am honored with this recognition of my Big and Little Panther program to combat bullying. I am so grateful that you are spotlighting and problem-solving such a universal issue in our school system. Recognizing the importance of cultivating inclusivity is what makes this coalition so special and its mission so important. After a rough three years of middle school, I was given the gift of instant belonging when I auditioned and made the all-girls acapella crew Pink Panthers at HB Plant High School my freshman year. Although I walked in the door scared of what was to come that first day, I was immediately taken in by these girls who would later become like sisters to me throughout the course of my high school career. This positive perception changed my mindset entirely and in doing so, changed the trajectory of my high school career. I immediately thought about building a program at plant that would embrace underclassmen and new students like how I was embraced. The goal was simple, to make every student feel welcome, to let them know that they belonged. By finding commonalities in one's character and not just their clubs, we bridged the gap from the performing arts to sports and to STEM. The more our program grew, so did the excitement surrounding our program. And thank you to our encouraging and supportive leadership, Mrs. Walker, who nominated me, and our principal, Ms. Holloway, who is here today. Our school motto, Strength Through Unity, is proudly displayed every day through our halls. We formed a connective culture that unites, not divides. The pride in being a plant panther is seen by the way we show up for school and the way we show up for one another. Kindness is now contagious at our school. We love going to school because it's the cool thing to do. Thank you all again. Awesome. So that's absolutely awesome. Beautiful, beautiful words. Thank you so much. Absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing. Now we're going to recognize this year's Anti-Bullying Emerging Leader Award winner, Naraya Rivera. Would Naraya and her guests please join us at the podium? Naraya Rivera is 10 years old and a fourth grader at Lamona Elementary School in Brandon. She was nominated by her Boys and Girls Club director, Ms. Natasha McKellar, and she has truly become an anti-bullying supergirl. Her journey is inspiring. Naraya began attending the Cary Family Boys and Girls Club as a very quiet child. But she has grown into a courageous young leader who uses her voice to stand up for others. She consistently speaks out when she sees bullying or unfair treatment. And she reminds her peers of the importance of treating one another with fairness and respect. Naraya developed an activity for the Smart Girls program, which is designed to help girls build friendships. This activity helps overcome barriers that prevent friendships from forming. And she encouraged the girls to see the importance of supporting one another. Her courage is evident in the way she responds when she sees others being mistreated. Once when students were planning to bully another child, Naraya sought help from an adult while also encouraging the students to think about how they would feel if someone treated them the same way. Rather than standing by, she chose to act. She demonstrated empathy, compassion, and leadership beyond her years. Naraya continues to find creative ways to promote kindness and prevent bullying. She has created child-friendly anti-bullying activities and worked with the club's art instructor to develop an anti-bullying art show that will educate others about bullying and ways to prevent it. She is also dedicated to complimenting and recognizing others every day, spreading genuine kindness and encouragement throughout her community. Naraya's future goals include becoming a police officer so she can, in her words, help people in the world to be safe. Today we recognize this remarkable young woman and could not be prouder of Naraya for serving as a role model and using her voice to help create a community where every student feels valued and included. We are also proud of her family and leaders at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Tampa Bay who supported this young woman's vision. It is no surprise that her hard work and efforts have led her to be the recipient of the 2026 Anti-Bullying Emerging Leader Award. Naraya, congratulations. Great job. Would you or your thanks like to say a few words? Bullying is not very nice and I stand up for people and bullying is bad for people to bully people. I draw this with myself, with my coach Q for me, for bullying. These four boys was bullying this girl. Beautiful. So beautiful. So I've had the honor of having Naraya at my club, at the Boys and Girls Club for several years. And when she started at the club, she has, until this day, has just been a light to every child, every person that walks in the door. She is the epitome of protecting people. And at her young age, she strives, whether she's doing it through art, cheering, or singing, to make sure everyone has a sense of belonging, that they know that they're included. So I'm very grateful to have a child like her at our club and just in our community. And I know she's going to continue to pour out to other kids so we can see it flourish and be more. Congratulations. Thank you. And everyone, please remain here. Now I would like to welcome Eliah Ewing from Windward Wealth Management, sponsor of the annual Anti-Bullying Award, who has special gifts to present. Mr. Ewing. Good morning, everyone. My name is Eliah Ewing. I'm a private wealth advisor and founding partner with Windward Wealth Management. It's an honor to be here again to support the Hillsborough County Anti-Bullying Recognition Award. Before I say anything else, I want to recognize one of my very best friends, Dr. Jeannie Woolsey, who introduced me to this program back in 2018. Anyone that knows Jeannie knows she's a tireless advocate for others. I'm grateful for her friendship and for bringing me into the cause. She's one of those people who makes every organization and environment she's part of just a little bit better. As a financial advisor, I spend most of my days helping people build plans for the future. We talk about things like goals, resilience, confidence, support systems, and overcoming obstacles when life doesn't go according to plan. What struck me about both of today's recipients is that they're already learned lessons that many adults spend years trying to master. Madden took a difficult experience and turned it into a community. She built connections, friendships, and a support system that now reaches hundreds of students. Naraya took something that was a challenge in her own life and turned it into a strength. She found her voice and now uses it to advocate for others to make sure people feel seen, heard, and included. Although the stories are different, the outcome is the same. Both recognize that people are stronger when they feel connected, supported, and valued. In my profession, we call that planning. The best outcomes happen when people have trusted relationships and someone in their corner before challenges arise. Madden and Naraya have done exactly that for the people around them, and our community is better because of it. Madden and Naraya, we're incredibly proud of you. Thank you for your leadership and your example. Keep building, keep leading, keep making a difference. Congratulations. Thank you, Mr. Ewing. And we're going to present these awards here. And this one is for Ms. Madden Moore. Congratulations. Pictures? Sure. And then we have... Thank you. Then we have Ms. Naraya Rivera. Oh, congratulations. You are so special, both of you. Awesome. And then we also have here, this is an appreciation to Eliah Ewing, Wealth Management. Amazing. Thank you for everything that you do. Thank you. It's my pleasure. And thank you for everything. Wow. Thank you. Thank you. So we're all, we're all, Mr. Ewing, we're all going to go over here and take some photos with him, with the commissioners. Okay. Three, two, one. And one more. Three, two, one. Just fun. Um. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations to our recipients. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Commissioner Cameron Cepeda. Now, Commissioner Bowles will present our next proclamation. I'll try to move it along. Good morning, everyone. How are you all today? Wet day today. One of the things that is a little different that we don't normally do is provide something to our staff. But this is the only appropriate person to provide this to and department. So can I have, um, Chief Doherty and any of your staff that you want to come up here with you to accept this? Let me give you just a moment. Don't be shy. We all love you. Come on. Come on up. Thank you all so much. You know, um, for many of you, you do know, but for those that don't, I've spent most of my working career in the fire service. And I know some of the most important work that is done happens before the call ever comes into the dispatch center. Fire prevention is about education. It's about awareness and helping people recognize risks before they become emergencies. This year, the focus for Fire Prevention Week on a national level is on the growing risk of lithium ion battery fires. It's an issue we've also been working to address here in Hillsborough County through our fire rescue, solid waste, and public awareness efforts. Those efforts that have educated residents about these risks and the safe use and disposal of these batteries has produced a campaign that has already produced measurable results. And I think we had a flyer not too long ago on that that came out that was presented to the public. Today's proclamation, though, also gives us another opportunity to reinforce a simple message. That message is sometimes preventing a fire comes down to the everyday choices we do make at home. Chief, thank you to the men and women of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue for the work they do every day and your leadership with that. Not only responding when someone calls 911, but also helping to prevent those calls from happening in the first place, which your staff here is instrumental in taking part of. So with that, I'm proud to present this year's Fire Prevention Week proclamation to Chief Doherty and his staff. And I'm going to read as such. It reads, whereas fire remains of serious public safety concern, both locally and nationally, in the presence of lithium ion batteries in many household devices introduces fire risks. And whereas most of the rechargeable electronics used in homes daily include smartphones, tablets, laptops, power tools, e-bikes, e-scooters, and toys, all being powered by lithium ion batteries, which, if misused, damaged, or improperly charged, can overheat and start a fire or explode. And whereas the National Fire Protection Association reports an increase in battery-related fires, underscoring the need for public education on the safe use of lithium ion batteries and devices. And whereas the way lithium ion battery devices are charged can make a difference in preventing home fires and residents are encouraged to understand that safe charging means making smart choices every time they plug in. And whereas safe charging includes the using the cord and charger that came with the device or when approved by the manufacturer, charging on hard, flat surfaces, watching for warning signs like devices that are very hard and starting to swell, unplugging when fully charged, and charging larger devices like e-bikes outside and away from exits. And whereas Hillsborough County is committed to ensuring that the safety and security of all residents and visitors, and Hillsborough County's first responders remain dedicated to reducing the occurrence of fires through prevention, safety education, and community outreach. So whereas the 2026 Fire Prevention Week theme, charge into fire safety, safe charging is a superpower, serves to remind all residents that safe charging can help reduce the risk of fires in homes and communities. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County, Florida does hereby declare October 4th to October 10th, 2026 as Fire Prevention Week in Hillsborough County and encourages all residents to learn more about practice, safe charging habits, and raising awareness on the importance of fire prevention executed the seventh day of October, 2026. So, Chief Doherty, thank you and your staff for everything you've done to take care of our residents and ensure that their safety is first and foremost on our minds. Would you like to say something for the Fire Marshal? Yeah, I'm going to say just a few words and I want the Fire Marshal to speak as well. But thank you for recognizing this week and thank you to all the Board. Fire prevention is just that. It's to prevent the fires and if we can do that in our community and make our citizens more safe on a daily basis, that's our goal. But this team does incredible work made up of just under 31 folks and they serve thousands of businesses in Hillsborough County and they enforce the Florida Fire Code. They investigate fires. They do public education. They do remarkable work under the leadership of Chief Zerola. So, thank them and their team so much for what they do for Hillsborough County and Chief Zerola if you say a few words. Good morning. On behalf of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and our Florida Fire Chief of the Year, Chief Doherty, and my amazing prevention staff that's behind me and back out in the streets working hard, I want to thank you Commissioner Bowles and thank you Administrator Wise and the entire Board. Without your support and commitment to us, we couldn't do what we do. We are very dedicated. We are very passionate, saving lives and property. That's our goal. So, Commissioner Bowles stole my thunder on all the tips and that makes me very happy. So, thank you all. Thank you Commissioner Bowles. Hi Bonnie. Want to review the change of the agenda? Yes. Good morning Commissioners. We have one item that has some revisions to the agenda item. This is item F4 by Commissioner Cohen. This is to request that the County Attorney's Office, in coordination with the appropriate county staff, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, review the current state laws relating to microability devices, which include e-bikes, bicycles and scooters, and to bring back an ordinance for the Board's consideration. We have several items that have been removed from consent for discussions by Commissioner Wastel. The first one is item A10, which is to adopt a resolution approving issuance by the Housing Finance Authority of Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds for Garrison Flass, which is for families of low and moderate income for 100 multifamily units. This project is in the city of Tampa and is a live local project. Item A11 is also by the Housing Finance Authority for the Mobley Shores project. This is for 159 units for families of moderate, middle or lesser income. This is a live local project. Item A12, also by the Housing Finance Authority for the Cortaro Heights project. 100 multifamily units for families of moderate, middle or lesser income, lower and moderate income. This is also a live local project. Item A39 is to authorize the staff to schedule and advertise a public hearing on October 21st, 2026 to modify the approved list of projects for the renewed community investment tax by adding two projects to the project list, the Tampa Bay Rays Ballpark and Zoo Tampa Capital Improvements. We have several items for time certain. The first one is at 10 a.m., item G1. This is related to items B1 and B2. This is to receive a dengue fever situational update. Then item B1, also at 10 o'clock, related to items B2 and G1, is to retroactively approve three non-declared emergency procurement purchases for urgent purchases for mosquito control products necessary to support mosquito control operations throughout the county. Item B2, also at 10 o'clock, related to items B1 and G1, is to provide retroactive approval to execute memorandum of understanding between the county and Lee County mosquito control district for mosquito control response for the current dengue outbreak. Item E1, at 10.15, is to receive a special appearance by Lannis Robinson, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, to present their activity report. And 11.45 is a recess for lunch. Those are the changes to the agenda. Cramer, motion to move the change. Move approval. Motion by Commissioner Wessel, approve the change of the agenda. Second Commissioner Miller, please record your vote. And I want to say that Commissioner Myers is participating virtually this morning. Commissioner Myers? Yes. Yes. Motion carried, seven to zero. All right, thank you. Okay, we'll go on to the public comment portion of the agenda. The board welcomes comments from citizens on any issue or concern, or your input is valued in terms of providing valuable input to board members. However, it is requested at the same time, you do not direct comments directly at staff or the board, but rather the issues. We have set aside 45 minutes for public comment. The chair will call on speakers in the order in which you signed up to speak. Please state your name and speak clearly into the microphone. The first three speakers. The first three speakers this morning are Jessica Scott, followed by Lorraine Gulliner, and then Laila Lailiquist. Jessica is trying to get on virtually, but we're not sure if she did. So do you want to check to see? I don't know how that works, but I'm her backup. Can I check to see if Jessica's online, please? Jessica did not check in today. Thank you very much. We'll move on to Lorraine Gulliner. I was going to speak in her place if that's okay. There was a problem her getting here. If you guys travel from where we do, it's obvious, but my name is Margaret Jamsky. I'm here with the Preserver of Lithia group. Jessica was supposed to be here. This is regards to agenda item F1. This item would make Lithia the pilot for a transportation investment corridor framework covering CR 39 and Lithia Pinecrest Road, as you are aware. The framework is designed for high growth and hiding corridors, and the proposal chose Lithia only because of its continued development. Residents have been clear and consistent. Fix the infrastructure. Slow down the growth. This proposal starts from a different assumption. That growth in Lithia is a given, and the job is to coordinate around it. It calls for aligning private development, right-of-way, and utilities along these corridors. In a rural area, coordinating utilities is exactly what makes more development possible. Most of Lithia sits outside the urban service area, and it isn't part of either urban service area study. So we have to ask this. Wouldn't a pilot for this program make more sense in an area where growth is already planned, like the urban service area or one of the study areas? Residents have also been working toward a Lithia community plan so that we have a real voice in how our area changes. Designating us as the pilot before that plan exists puts the county's vision ahead of ours. Our roads need help, but Lithia should not be a pilot for growth. We've asked that you not bring that to us. It's a rural area. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next up, we have Lorene Gulliner. Hello. Good morning. Actually before, well, I think today was a great day for my speech because it was about anti-bullying. And we have what I experienced in these courts is exactly that. Like we have government officials and attorneys bullying litigants. And that's what I'm here today as a domestic violence victim who has spent the last four and a half years navigating family court. When my divorce started, I never wanted years of litigation. We originally had an agreement and I was willing to settle and move forward. Instead, I spent four and a half years dealing with the litigation, financial strain, appeals, as well as additional mental and emotional abuse. And I know I'm not the only one. This same dynamic has been going on for many, many years, which is the most concerning part. I've spoken with other domestic violence victims who have told me they actually wish they would have stayed in their abusive relationships because of what happened to them after they left. That should alarm all of us. And my case is the perfect example of why domestic violence victims are scared to come forward. I felt basically the system told me that I should have stayed. Domestic violence does not necessarily end when someone leaves. It can continue through financial abuse, manipulation, intimidation, and prolonged litigation. I experienced that firsthand. I actually believe the courts use my domestic violence as a way to weaponize the courts against me. When I was self-represented litigant for the domestic violence injunction, I felt I was treated unfairly simply because I did not have an attorney. In my domestic violence injunction case, I experienced things involving evidence that I believe were deeply unethical and also what I believe is criminal. I also experienced statements and conduct that I believe encouraged my former husband to continue into divorce litigation when I was actively trying to settle. I have experienced amount of gaslighting manipulation and deception through this process that I've never experienced in my life. And that is why I want to talk about, you know, pro se litigants, because this is a systematic issue. And we do have very legal and other resources and I appreciate those resources, but they can be very limited and rushed. Most people don't qualify. And by the time they actually qualify, the damages have already been done. I believe we need something more hands on. Our libraries could offer classroom style family law workshops where people can learn how to organize evidence, understand court procedures, prepare filings and ask questions in a group setting. Nobody should ever. Thank you, ma'am. I am going to refer this over to the administration if they can pass this to the proper department. But if you could please state your name for the record. Laureen Golliner. All right. Thank you. Appreciate your comments. Kayla Lilliquist, followed by Chris Hansen, who's virtual and then Tony Rivera. Good morning. Good morning, county commissioners. Um, Lorraine has been a volunteer at my not for profit for the last five years while she's gone through this. I've gone with her to court hearings. They've been prolonged with more cha-ching money expected from her as a single parent, basically raising her two boys. And she's a wonderful person. And she's done everything by the books, including speaking to our, um, Mr. Donaldson at the, Donaldson, Donald's at the, um, forum, the leadership forum about this issue. It needs to be addressed. Our judicial system for women going through divorce and the abuse they go through during the, um, judgments. She's a very good person. She helped, um, chair our parades or she helped with the parades for the last three years in Brandon. But anyway, just as a person that knows her, she should not have had to go through that as a woman because she was a woman and because she's suffered from physical abuse from her husband. But I appreciate you. I love you. And you're going to be fine. Good morning, Hillsborough County commission. My name is Lela Lilliquist and I live in Brandon, Florida. I'm here to talk to you about the need to plant trees in Hillsborough County. In our school district, we have 250,000 students. I don't know if you guys knew that from kindergarten through high school by utilizing our students to grow trees and to be adoptive parents. As they go through their school year, we could build our tree canopy back to what it was. 100 trees raised per school would give us enough trees to plant on Earth Day 2027. Florida ranks 49th in volunteerism. You may have not known that. I put an editorial for you to read. And we need to change this immediately. We see the attached article. Having worked as a nonprofit for the past 18 years, I've worked with the bright future students the entire time. We need to inspire hope and civic responsibility in our school children. With the storms, we lost one third of our tree canopy in Hillsborough County. Tampa, Florida, the heat index study on August the 29th proclaims that Tampa, Florida will be the third spot for cities that have hit a combination of temperature and humidity that crosses the threshold of danger. How will we build a raised stadium when construction workers can't build due to the temperature and humidity? I know they're trying to push it forward and start construction by the end of this year, but it's a danger zone. The other article, is Florida really the best? 50th in teachers pay? I spoke at the school board meeting. I'd never attended a school board meeting before and I could not believe the reading of the things from the books there. I was shocked. But I did get my point across. We have 250,000 students. It's our 250th anniversary of America. We need trees. We need to build our tree canopy now. We're number 50th and teachers pay. I do believe that if our students in Hillsborough start the first leadership forum on planting trees, our teachers would get their pay raise and we would be able to plant the trees on Thursday. Is Chris Hansen on the line? Chris Hansen did not check in today. Okay. Tony Rivera. Tony here. Please come forward and followed by Tom Cobert and then Karen McGinnis Vaughn. Morning, sir. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Good morning. Hey, my name is Tony Rivera. I got another resident that was supposed to come out today too, Mr. Frank Wilkerman. He was not able to attend today to this meeting. He's a handicap because of his condition and his share and the weather condition. We're not able to allow him to be here today. But he did ask me to provide you guys some information due to his not able to be here today. The reason for my visit, guys, once again, is back in 2024, September 18, 24, we came in and we addressed the County Commissioner of our roads or the Plantation of Homewood Association, which I'm actually the president on the site. And back in 2024, we actually showed some videos, some photos of the sidewalks and our roads. And even Mr. Ken Hagen came out and assessed the condition of our roads and how bad they were. Due to that, we did not get any type of work done in our roads for almost 35 years. But Mr. Hagen actually came out and assessed the problem in which, you know, it was a blessing to this guy because when he came in, he actually saw it for his own self. With that said, after he came out two weeks later, we received a letter from County Commissioner Ken Hagen to the resident of the plantation stating that we're going to be getting our roads done in the boulevard, which, you know. It was a sense of a mixed feelings of all throughout the community because a lot of people were very happy. They were confused. Some of them were saying, you know what, we'll see it. We'll believe them when we see it. So a few months later, when we actually started seeing all these vehicles come pulling into our community, then people were like competing. They said, oh my God, it's actually, it's going to happen. Our voice was actually finally heard. I mean, they were so happy that people were actually feeding the employees throughout this whole process. They fed on food, that type of deal. And the sense of pride right now in our community is tremendous right now because we actually see the difference when people are coming in. But we have a problem still. We have villages. Our villages, like I said before, is being abandoned for the last 35 years. There's been a lot of patchwork jobs in our roads. And I got some photos. I think I sent out some photos, but I guess they weren't able to put them in. But I have a list here of some of the sidewalks and everything, a listing of all their, how bad they look. And we wanted to see if we could probably, once again, if you guys, through your leadership, you guys, because like I said, you guys made it happen for us. I'm asking to see if you guys could at least find it within your budget. And I got a suggestion, folks. You know, like I said, we want to beautify the whole community. We want to, we want to mention all the cities looking nice. So I'm asking, I know this, if I may. Mr. Rivera, you're saying so many nice things. I hate to cut you off, but I'm going to cut you off. Thank you for coming down. Gloria, my office, I know you speak frequently, will be in touch with you. If you have anything you want to give to the clerk, you can give it to her and we'll get it. Okay. But thank you. Thank you for coming down. I'm sorry to say so many, but. No, no. You said all the right things. And I want to let you go, but we've got a long agenda. Thank you. Thanks again. Everybody, thanks again for your leadership. Thank you all. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Tom Cobert. And then last speaker is Karen McGinnis Vaughan. Good morning. Good morning. Mr. Chairman, commissioners, staff and deputies. Good morning. My name is Tom Cobert. I'm fascinated with what's going on at the national level. I follow it closely. Can't change anything there. And Sun Tzu taught me, you know, don't sweat the small stuff. I did learn locally, you can make a difference. I was involved with the juvenile justice council before it came. Well, it started with the juvenile justice work group, grew into the council and I saw what people working together can do. The president has said he will take whatever action necessary to steal this election. In Hillsborough County, we need to take a stand. If ICE and the FBI show up at polling places to intimidate citizens, warn, trespass them. And if they don't leave, arrest them. You know, they'll claim, you know, federal, you can't do that. Well, they would be there violating federal law. And we have to protect our community. We can't have the citizens intimidated. There was one other point I wanted to make. Well, the thing is, they'll threaten, we're going to take your funding, blah, blah, blah. The federal government currently has lost every case in the courts. The Buccaneers in their first two seasons had a better record. And they were two and 28. I believe in America. I'm a Vietnam-era veteran Air Force. I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the people of America. And I will not bow down to an orange wannabe dictator. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Mr. Covert. Last speaker, Karen McGinnis Vaughn. Ms. Vaughn here? All right. If not, that closes. I'm here. Oh, you're virtual. I'm sorry. Yeah, please go ahead. I'm here. Please go ahead. Yes, ma'am. All right. Yep. Good morning. Just in the nick of time. Hi, my name is Karen McGinnis Vaughn. Good morning, Chair Hagan, Vice Chair and County Commissioners. I am the, I'm the Vice Chair of the Hillsborough Historic Resource Review Board. I'm the Chair of Preserving Brandon. I'm a trustee for the Moseley Homestead out in Brandon. And last night, it was brought to my attention that the school board was having an active meeting where they were approving and they did approve with the exception of Jessica Vaughn. She removed herself because she clearly said that she didn't have enough time or to even investigate the stipulations of this. But they're planning to put a 150 unit low income housing for Hillsborough County School employee unit on the original 40 acres of historic Brandon that was plotted in 1890. You know, there's a lot of concerns about this for many, many reasons. And just to name a few, I'll just go off a few bullets. First of all, it hasn't been brought to the historic resource review board. Yes, it's not a historical landmark. It is a resource and it still has rights as a historic resource. So that needs to happen. It's been, there was very, very little transparent. I mean, this was, there was no transparency on this at all. The community at large had no idea that this was coming down the pipeline so quickly. So there was no ability for community input last night. And I'm sorry to be so impromptu and forceful, but this was kind of all last minute. I didn't have a large amount of time to put together a good, a few topics to talk to us about this morning. But, so I just want to raise awareness. We need to, this is, this is not going to, I don't want to see this go down like this. The McClain School was built in 1910. It has rights on the historic area there of Brandon. So that needs to be addressed. The community at large needs to come to the table and talk about their concerns. The infrastructure is terrible over there. It's in the background of Brandon High School. You know, there's plenty of options. We've reached out to Michelle Orton. We've reached out to Chris Barkas. We've reached out to several individuals with very little response back about having a sit-down conversation. Let's talk about all the other vacant buildings or apartment complexes that this school could potentially partner with to offer low-income housing. There's just so much going on here for them to say, okay, let's pull the trigger on this. Let's do it. Let's test this pilot in Brandon, the redheaded stepchild. I'm not going to stand for it, and I would like to call another meeting with whoever needs to be at the table to start coming together as a community and advocate not only for our history. Let's do better, Hillsborough County. We haven't had a historical survey since 1998, and half of those structures aren't even there anymore. They've been demoed by neglect. You know, let's do better to preserve what little pieces we have left of our history to be able to tell the tell of why Brandon is what it is today. So I'm going to just end it there. I would like to thank you. Thank you, Miss McGinnis Vaughn. I very much appreciate your comments. I'm not sure what role the board has, but I will refer it over to the administration. All right, that closes the public comment. Can we have a motion to approve consent? So moved. Motion to Commissioner Whelstall. Second. Second. Cullen. Please record your vote on the consent agenda. Commissioner Myers. Commissioner Myers. Yes. Motion carries seven to zero. Moni, I'm going to introduce the first item. Yes, we have some time before 10 o'clock time certain, so we can go to the regular agenda. The first item is item B3. This is regarding the Lowry Park Zoo Logical Society agreement, and John Muller will take us through this item. Morning, John. Good morning, Chair. Good morning, Commissioners. John Muller, Director for Facilities Management and Real Estate Services. At the previous September 16th BOCC, staff was directed to finalize the funding partnership with ZooTampa and for the County Attorney's Office to make any legal changes and any errors in the draft documents. I'll walk you through just briefly through these final documents you have for your consideration and note any of the significant changes made. I'll also note that the agenda item includes both a resolution and the funding agreement, and this is on the regular agenda in accordance with Board Policy 0405-0000. So the documents affirm the renewed CIT as the funding source. As such in the documents, we have made them subject to the required steps which, with your approval, would occur today, such as setting a public hearing and also at the October 21st Board meeting proposed for a resolution and amendment to create the CIP project to be funded from the CIT. Along with the CIT funds comes the language in the agreements for compliance of the expenditures to be in accordance with the infrastructure surtax statute. I'll note that the Zoo provided us with a copy of their city operation and management agreement. All of the permanent and real property improvements become city property which would constitute infrastructure. That said, it is necessary for the Zoo to obtain an amendment of this agreement from the city for the South American portion of their proposal. They understand this and stand ready to do so in the future. I have included the area the Zoo proposes, which is currently used for maintenance and grass overflow parking on Lowry Park. Any language requiring in advance has been removed. The Zoo has provided proof of a $3 million line of credit and provided us with some information forecasting the increase of this to $5 million later this year. The Zoo went ahead and updated their 15-year plan to identify the 83 smaller to mid-range general capex projects. We did include some language to allow the county and Zoo some flexibility to account for changes in the future. However, changes must be in scope and in overall budget. Finally, should the Zoo be successful in obtaining from the City of Tampa additional dollars towards the capital projects, we included a provision that it reduce or offsets the county's overall $75 million funding. That concludes my presentation. Any questions? All right. Thank you, John. Board discussion or motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, colleagues, for your past support. Thank you, Mr. Moeller, for all of your work on this. I know some of it was a slog and a lot of back and forth, but this document is materially similar to the previous one, subject to the other changes, and I will move forward for approval. Thank you. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Wollstone, second by Commissioner Bowles, and I'm just going to essentially repeat what I did our last meeting. I fully support Zoo Tampa. However, in good conscience, I cannot approve $75 million when we only designated $50 million out of the CIT for all of our cultural institutions. I think we should be prudent and provide a much more modest amount to Zoo Tampa, which will allow us to partner with other cultural institutions, many of which have already requested capital funding. So with that, we've got a motion and a second. I don't see anyone else in the queue. Please record your vote. No. Motion carries four to three. Commissioner Cohen, Hagan, and Myers voted no. Thank you. Thanks, John. All right, Bonnie, next item. Next item is item B4. This is to approve a budget amendment resolution for the county's utility revenue bonds, and Kevin Brickey will take us through this item. Good morning, Kevin. Good morning, Commissioners. Kevin Brickey, Management and Budget. Item B4, request approval of an FY27 budget amendment resolution to properly account for and utilize $648.8 million of proceeds from the county's recent sale of its series 2026A utility revenue bonds. The budget amendment will make necessary line-item realignments related to the $1.8 billion One Water Project by financing a portion of project construction costs, refunding some related commercial paper and short-term notes, and pay issuance costs. The issuance of the bond was anticipated and included in the FY27 budget. This item makes those necessary alignments to reflect actual results, and the bottom line impact of the amendment on the project is zero. We also have to enter in the record that's just been passed out, a corrected project module, line-item detail, correcting project and fund number names, which has been given to the clerk. All right, thanks, Kevin. Commissioner Miller. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to note that this is an important investment in the infrastructure in South County, and I just wanted to thank staff for this very important step. All right, so we've got a motion. Commissioner Miller. Second. Second. Second, Commissioner Woelstel. Please record your vote on B4. Yes. Motion carried, seven to zero. Thanks, Kevin. And Kevin, while you're there, if you could do item B5 as well for the Greater Hillsborough Affair Association. Thank you. Commissioners, item B5 requests approval of a resolution and funding agreement providing up to $79,431 in funding to the Greater Hillsborough County Fair Association Inc., reimbursing the association for construction costs related to a new sidewalk at 215 Sidney Washer Road at the main entrance of the fair, thereby improving area safety. The agreement permits reimbursement of cost of the already completed sidewalk. This item is funded within the CIP. All right. Commissioner Miller. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This was an item brought forward by former commissioner, now state rep Mike Owen, and I'm happy to finally have this finalized, and I move for approval. Second. Motion, Commissioner Miller. Second, Commissioner Woelstel. Please record your vote on B5. Yes. Motion carried, seven to zero. We're fine. We still have a few minutes for maybe we can move to Commissioner Bowles' item. Item F1 regarding the transportation investment corridor framework. Commissioner Bowles. Thank you. First, I want to say, at least I'm not sure if our public speaker is still here, but you know, sometimes what we put in writing doesn't always come across what the intent per se is. That happens a lot with texts, you know, in this society that we live in, you know, you can start mean tweeting everybody. But I want to be clear about what this item does. I'm speaking directly to my colleagues here at the dais. This proposal does not designate lithia for additional growth. This proposal does not change zoning, land use, density, or the urban service area. It does not approve a development project or create a new mobility fee obligation at all. Today's action would, if adopted, create a transportation investment corridor framework. And what I'm asking is the staff to evaluate and develop this for the board's consideration. I know that several of us have probably received emails, at least I know I have since it was my item for sure, suggesting that the high growth term means that the county is planning for more development in Lithia. That is not what that means at all. That is not what I meant, or not what it means. High growth to high need describes conditions that may warrant additional transportation attention that does not determine future land use, zoning, or density. That area, as we both know, and I believe Commissioner Wistel at one point, it was the one that brought it forward, was the Lithia and County 30, the intersection there. We have hundreds of millions of dollars that are dedicated to that already, with right away that extend all the way down from 60 to 39. That intersection is being taken care of. We have a hundred million dollars that Commissioner Miller was able to secure from the state, as well as other investments in that area. So we have hundreds of millions of dollars that are being placed into that area. But what we don't have is that the mobility fee zone that it lies in as well, gets spread across the entire South of County. So we do have a lot of these transportation tools. The problem is those tools are often applied one project at a time. This framework asks whether we can coordinate them across a corridor to improve timing, transparency, and project delivery. We recently dealt with a similar concern in the Sun City, Waimama area, when we expanded the urban service area down there and put a quarter-mile buffer around those transportation dollars that were being collected in that particular area. The principle here is similar. Can we better connect transportation investment to the corridor, generating the need and the revenue? I suggested Lithia as a pilot because it has identified transportation needs, as I just said, planned improvements, development activity, not necessarily pre-approved activity, and existing county investments that make it a logical place to at least test whether this can produce meaningful results. My intention is not to focus from, I guess, as maybe suggested that from Lithia or Fishhawk Boulevard to 39. I'm thinking from 60 all the way to 39 that this corridor would be established. So if approved, staff would return within 90 days with recommendations on whether the concept is legally, financially, or operationally workable, and any necessary policy or ordinance changes would still come back to this board for approval later. Today is not a growth decision. It is a direction to have staff determine whether we can better coordinate the tools we already have in areas where those transportations already exist. And I'll leave it at that. All right, Commissioner Willstuhl. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a 74-page resolution I'd like to read in the record. I'm kidding, but I did want your reaction. I'm just going to read you a little snippet from it, though, Commissioner Bowles. First, just ignore the main tweets. I'll be joining the chair in removing all social media on November the 4th myself. So in 2012, there was a DRI, Resolution R12-007. The public, Preserve Rule Lithia, can go look this document up themselves on the hillsclerk.com public record search of the BOCC records. They can go to page 9 of 74, and they can read the words, changes to the required improvements are listed below. Removing the requirement for Newland Homes to four-lane Lithia Pinecrest Road from Bloomingdale Avenue to Lithia Ridge slash Adelaide. Reducing the requirement to four-lane the entire length of Fishhawk Boulevard from Bell Shoals Road to Lithia Pinecrest Road, et cetera, et cetera. An over $30 million reduction. This was done by a few parts. One was by the state's House bill that removed concurrency in 2011 in order to promote growth after the state got hit hard in the 2008-09 bubble burst of the housing market. And the other was done because the community advocated for the removal of the improvements to the road that was forecasted by staff 15 years ago in this area. That's the end of the whole story. That's why we are where we are today. It's poor planning, poor execution, advocacy of people like the Sierra Club who have taken the mindset that if you widen the road, if you prevent the roads from being widened, you'll prevent the growth. Well, it's never worked, and now you've got a disastrous safety hazard out there as your firm or department deals with today. I will support anything that controls these mobility fees to being restructured back into the areas that need, that will see the improvement from them. And I will support anything that promotes us focusing a more surgical approach to addressing these issues other than us hot spotting money all over the county. So I think it's a very thoughtful item, but the community, Preserve Rolithia, they need to go, they need to read these documents. They can get the transcripts if they can't find the transcripts. I will locate them for them and they can see the advocacy that that same area and the state's bill is what led to the board voting to remove that requirement from Newland Home. So I will digress. I just wanted to make that point until I'm blue in the face and pass out. Thank you. Before I recognize Commissioner Miller, I just want to say one thing, because unfortunately I lived through those days. And I recall, I haven't lost all my memory, but I do recall quite vividly and it really, it's how you define community because it wasn't the entire community, but it was select groups that clearly were anti-growth and for whatever reason, you know, did not want that road widened. I sat on the MPO back then when it was called the MPO and I think that's why I ended up getting off it because they lobbied the board and we took it off of the, our future funding list as a result of the lobbying efforts of these select groups. And so everything commissioner Wilson saying is 100% accurate. And unfortunately I had to live through it. Commissioner Miller. Commissioner Miller. You recognize it. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Absolutely. Commissioner Wistel. And it's many of the same people on that group. So I second your, your comments there. Chris, this is a very thoughtful item. I do have one question. I'm not sure if you can answer it, if staff can answer it. And it's related to how this will like coordinate with the Lithia Community Plan. If someone can address that, just, that was one of the comments that came to my office is how they would work together to make sure that they have input as well. To the best of this structure fits within our current policy and standards. This would basically group things together and prioritize funding that would be collected in those zones and maybe create a Chinese menu list, if you think, if you want to, and bosses that could come in that area as well. So if it's not directly related to a development right in front, maybe you move an intersection down a quarter mile or a half mile away. Traffic, transportation influences from these neighborhoods and these, these areas are all affecting this currently today. So as we know, when a development, whether it's commercial or residential, commercial, you get more dollars for the impact fees, still get spread. If they're collected on Bloomingdale, they could be typically or essentially could be used in Apollo Beach because they're all within that mobility fee zone number five down there. This would prioritize them as I see it in that area first, wherever that that line is drawn, however it's developed and then we expand outward. So it could very easily be folded in as I see it into any community plan that is developed out there. So it doesn't work against it. It works with it. Thank you. Did you have anything to add? Adam Gormley, Development Services. I think Commissioner Bowles said it extremely well and just echo that, you know, the idea with this is that we focus improvements in areas where growth is occurring or in transportation improvements would be beneficial. I think that's consistent with the theme behind community planning of looking at these as more discrete areas within the larger community. Thank you. I just want to restate for the community and those that are listening. This item is not about saying yes to more development. It's about addressing the growth. The majority of the community is saying let's plan for growth. Let's plan for our roads. We have to. This is exactly what you all have been asking us to do is to think forward. And that's what I believe this item does. I'm happy to support it today. Thank you for bringing it forward. Commissioner Bowles. Yes, ma'am. Commissioner Cohen. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but you're all absolutely right. And I just want to say, Commissioner Westall, I was on the MPO in 2012 as a member of the Tampa City Council. I remember this discussion very, very well as though it was yesterday and everything that you said is correct about what unfolded and led to it being removed from the list. And again, to just reiterate what Commissioner Miller just said, this is about planning. This is about making thoughtful decisions now as opposed to playing catch up in the future. So I'll be happy to support your item. Commissioner Bowles. And just to close on this item so we can get on to our time certifications. This again is not a battering ram to put development in there. This is one to try to plan for. The other thing is I see this being used in a very limited capacity from the perspective that could it be used in Van Dyke. Sure. But we've had so much happening in South County and we have had so much happening with that particular area that I think it's probably not a bad idea to look at it from that perspective. And again, if it's designated and I didn't know that Mr. Gormley was lurking in the audience and I'm sorry if I overspoke. But point is that I think we have a great way to use this as a tool and to move forward. with it. So I would move that. I don't have the my actual agenda item in front of me, but as it's written that we accept that I'll second it. All right. So we get a motion by Commissioner Bowles saying Commissioner Miller. Please record your vote on F1. I saw no stuff now. Yes. I saw no stuff now. Yes. I saw no stuff now. Yes. Even the Amazon stuff. I saw no stuff. I saw no stuff. I saw no stuff. I saw no stuff. I saw no stuff. I saw no stuff. Yes. Motion carried seven to zero. All right. Thanks, Commissioner Bowles. Okay. Bonnie, at a first time certain. Yes, we can go to our 10 o'clock time certain. These are three related items. I saw no additional update. And we have- I guess I'm planning to try to integrate- Can communications please silence whoever's online? And we have Josh Bilotti here, Dr. Karler Frye from the Department of Health, and Jerry Stickney with Emergency Management. Good morning. Thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. Josh Bilotti, Engineering and Operations Department. I just want to briefly start off here by mentioning, as Bonnie did, that we have three related items that we're going to be covering today. We're going to begin by discussing the staff report, which is item G1. We have several folks that are here to present and discuss on that item from Department of Health, as well as fire rescue, emergency management. In the presentation, we'll also address items B1 and B2. Of course, at the end, we'll take questions, and then we will be asking for the board to vote on items B1 and B2. Of course, with G1, it will be just via a vote to receive the report. So, at this point, we're going to start with the Department of Health. And so I'm going to hand it off to the DOH Administrator and Health Officer, Dr. Karler Frye. Thanks, Josh. I appreciate it. Good morning, Mr. Chair, Commissioners, Ms. Wise. Thank you very much for allowing us to brief you. I think we have some slides up there, so we can go ahead and- Should I advance them? Okay, perfect. So let's start out just quickly with what is dengue fever. This is not new. It's not novel. It's been around, arguably, for thousands of years. It's a viral mosquito-borne illness, right? And so, as far as the background goes, I won't go into too much, but to tell you that it is endemic. In other words, it's ever-present in over 100 countries. Central, South America, Mexico, Caribbean. Anytime you travel to one of those countries, it is ever-present there. And so, there are roughly about 40,000 deaths per year around the world, but there are tens of millions of people who get dengue. Now, in Florida, it's a little bit of a different story. We always have travel cases. So, somebody travels to a place for vacation, comes back a couple of days later, they get a high fever. They feel sick. That's a travel case. They contracted it somewhere else. What we have presently are locally-acquired cases. So, the differentiation is no travel has been involved. They've been bitten by a mosquito here locally that has contracted dengue from another person and has passed it along. So, that is what we're dealing with presently. Now, when it comes to the transmission, this is a complicated-looking slide, but suffice it to say, it is not transmitted from person to person. So, that's the important piece. You're not going to get it from your neighbor because you had dinner or you shook their hand. It's not that thing. It's going to be a mosquito that is your vector. That mosquito is infected because it bit someone who was infected. About seven days later or so, after it incubates that virus, it bites someone else, and it can bite repeatedly. It's not like a bee that it stings and it dies. A mosquito can bite over and over and over again. That's the transmission. So, if you think about a family of four that travels on their vacation, their dream vacation someplace, and they go and they trek around in the rainforest and they come back, they could all come back with dengue. They could all come back and be completely asymptomatic. That does not mean they're not passing the virus. If they go to their sporting events, if they go to their outdoor track event, whatever it happens to be, and they're bitten by a mosquito, that mosquito takes in that blood meal, and then after it incubates, it passes it to others. So, that is what we're up against here, what we're contending with now in Hillsborough County. Florida Department of Health's role, very different than what the county role in mosquito management is, is the surveillance, the case investigation aspect of things, making sure that our residents, our visitors are connected to care. So, when it comes to surveillance investigation, the hospitals, providers all throughout the county give us, they feed information on reportable illnesses to Department of Health through various means. When we get a report of a dengue case, however that report comes in, we begin an investigation. Did you travel? When did your symptoms start? What are the symptoms like? Have you been tested? And then, if they have not been tested, we connect them to testing just as quickly as we can to make sure that we can confirm that it is indeed dengue. Now, it's characterized by high fever. It's a little bit different than a lot of other illnesses because of that really high fever and because of the pain behind the eyes. It's a headache, but it's very concentrated behind the eyes. So, those characteristic symptoms, along with a rash that can be very severe, make it fairly easy to identify, but you do have to confirm that with testing. Those confirmations come from our Bureau of Public Health lab. So, while they may be drawn and tested here locally someplace or by a commercial lab, we, the Department of Health, do confirm all of those cases at our lab to make sure that we're counting them correctly. From there, our outreach and our education is key. We educate and advise. That's a big primary piece of what we do. We've done outreach, and I know Josh is going to talk about that, but to the tune of visiting 22,000 homes, over 500 businesses, all of the tire shops, to talk about, you know, what is going on in our community and what you can do to protect yourself. And so, that outreach is heavily focused on having people wear repellent, make sure that they're covering themselves, especially if they're working outside during the day, making sure that they're draining and covering any standing water because the Aedes aegypti mosquito will breed in the tiniest amount of nice and clean water. It does not need to be a stagnant lake, right? So, really important outreach. Those activities, I think, have been fairly effective, and our partners have assisted a great deal in getting the word out. So, I think by now we're achieving some saturation with our residents knowing a little bit about what's going on. And then the last piece up there is the coordination. It's key and crucial. Working very closely with Dr. Jiang in mosquito management, with all of the folks here at the county, including Ms. Wise, I so appreciate the responsivity and all the things that they've done. We feed the line lists, in other words, a list of clients who are infected, directly to mosquito management every day, all day, throughout the entire week, and even on the weekends, right? So, if we have somebody who we know has dengue and they live at a certain address in a certain part of the county, we provide that information directly to mosquito management so they can respond quickly to go out, to spray, to surveil, to make sure that they're addressing any standing water and all those sorts of things. So, that coordination piece is absolutely instrumental in stopping the spread. This is our current status, 223 confirmed cases. Those confirmed cases, again, are confirmed by the Bureau of Public Health Lab. I want to caution you, though, the number, the actual number, is much higher than that. What we have right now is multiple cases that we are in the process of confirming, and those PCR tests take some time, some that are still in transit. But Tampa General has been really great in helping us to do rapid testing. Some of those rapid tests come back within two hours. So, we have many, many more cases that are just in the queue awaiting our confirmation. That number is actually quite a bit higher. At this point, when people say, you know, where is it? Should I consider myself safe because I live in an urban region or I live out in the country? I would say, looking at the map up there, that yes, we do have it heavily concentrated, perhaps in our urban core, but it is spreading throughout the county and it has spread to neighboring counties as well. This is very much a commuter type of a situation, right? So, some people may live in Pinellas or Pasco. So, they're seeing cases as well. Not the numbers that we're seeing, but they are indeed seeing cases. So, that's where I'll stop and hand it off to Josh. All right. Thank you very much, Dr. Frye. So, I want to talk a little bit about mosquito management's role in this, in collaboration with the Department of Health. As Dr. Frye mentioned, we are working together hand in hand, and that partnership and collaboration has been absolutely critical. So, following the confirmation of the locally acquired dengue cases, our mosquito management's role was to deploy traps to monitor the vector populations, in this case specifically the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito, and collect samples for dengue virus testing. Our field inspectors canvas the area to identify potential breeding sites, evaluate the environmental conditions, identify transmission patterns, the likely source or ground zero area or areas, prioritize locations for intervention, and inform targeted response strategies, which include a multi-faceted approach, with coordinated applications from the ground and the air, targeting both adult mosquitoes as well as the larvae. And then, of course, as Dr. Frye mentioned, and as you'll continue to hear the recurring theme here, is the coordination is absolutely critical and crucial. Multi-agency coordination is really, has been a key to this. You know, one example is us coordinating with code enforcement and the sheriff's office responding to non-compliant tire shops that are super breeders of this and producers of this vector. Many more agencies and departments are involved and Office of Emergency Management will elaborate on that a little bit further in a moment. But staying with mosquito management services program specifically, that team is comprised of 30 staff with an annual budget of $7 million in countywide ad valorem. So our in-house resources and capabilities include truck-mounted sprayers to provide ground application of both larvicide and adulticide. We have a helicopter, as you see depicted there, that is equipped to provide aerial adulticide. And we have a second helicopter that is equipped for granular larvicide. And so we utilize this in our coastal salt marsh areas, which are producers of several species of mosquito that we're concerned with. But in this specific instance, this vector is the Aedes aegypti mosquito that doesn't live out in those coastal remote areas. This mosquito likes to be very close to humans. It thrives in densely populated urban and suburban areas. It's a container breeder, which is why we focus so much on emptying standing water. And so in an environment like that, what we really need to deploy is an aerial liquid larvicide, which is a capability that we don't currently have in-house. And so for that reason, we've relied on a lot of mutual aid from the surrounding county mosquito programs. This has been an unprecedented event. It brings me no joy to be up here again talking to you about an unprecedented event. But this truly is. We are fortunate and we're grateful to have an equally unprecedented amount of regional cooperation. We can't do this alone. And we're grateful that we're not having to go it alone. So this board has already approved two memorandums of understanding with local neighboring mosquito control districts, with Pasco and with Manatee, who have been providing excellent support to us. Pasco provided four weeks of aerial larvicide missions in September, and Manatee has provided additional aerial adulticide supplementing our in-house missions. They're back this week partnering with us for even more. On today's agenda, item B2 is a third MOU. This one is with Lee County mosquito control district. And so as with the previous MOUs, this provides retroactive approval, because we have already begun that partnership. Lee County has already mobilized a fleet of helicopters, begun flying missions for us last week. They had four helicopters flying aerial larvicide missions for us yesterday. So it has been really impressive to see the operations of these mosquito control districts as they come in with their equipment and their ground support and crews. And it's been really great to see, and we're grateful for it. I do want to emphasize again, as Dr. Fry mentioned, that this is not a localized concern with just one area. It really is the entire county and the entire region. So as the area of concern has expanded outward, our need to expand the treatment areas, particularly with that liquid aerial larvicide, even beyond what the mutual aid has provided. So the county has contracted with a private vendor that has a helicopter and equipment outfitted to provide this aerial liquid larvicide. And that effort has already started. That contractor has been spraying since last week, continuing this week, and we are already looking to expand their coverage to bring a second helicopter down here to continue to do that. As we're talking about that, I want to take a moment just to talk about the safety and efficacy of the products that we're spraying, because obviously with all of the activity overhead, people seeing the helicopter circling, there's questions and folks want to know about the safety. So we do want to assure and point out that these products are safe and EPA approved. They are applied in strict adherence with the labeling and standards. Our applicators are licensed applicators and so they maintain that ability. Our adulticide missions and that the product for adulticide is sprayed at a fraction of an ounce for an entire acre. And those missions are flown at night when there's less outside activity. The aerial liquid larvicide missions use a product that's actually a naturally occurring bacteria. So it's environmentally safe. It's safe to humans. It targets the mosquito larvae while they're in the water to prevent them from emerging and being able to fly and bite folks. So if there's questions about time of day, you know, we have that information on our website and we're working really hard to communicate all that information out with everybody. The aerial adulticide missions are occurring overnight and the daytime operations that folks are seeing the helicopter spraying during the day is that liquid larvicide. I will point out and we have included here that these products and these services are quite costly. So you'll see on this agenda, the other related item B1 is retroactive approval for emergency purchases made thus far. What made it onto this agenda is about $848,000 of emergency purchases. We've continued to need to acquire more products and services. And so that total is is increasing. And so you'll see further approval on upcoming board meetings to do that as well. Even the backup material that you have in your agenda shows a total cost of around 2.5 million. You can see here as of the latest update, it's 4.1. And I can tell you based on another purchase order that was made just this morning, it's going to go up to over 6 million. So these costs are continuing to rise. It's important that we're providing this service for our public health of our community. We're currently utilizing the county's disaster emergency reserve funds in order to do that. So like I said before, we can't do this alone. We can't fight this dengue outbreak alone. We can't spray our way out of it. We need the entire community working together, residents, businesses, doing what we're asking people to do to protect themselves, to drain standing water, prevent mosquito breeding and the transmission. So our mosquito management team has been working hand in hand with the communications department at the county. They're embedded with our staff. They have been since the start of it. We've participated in countless outreach efforts and educational events, hundreds, literally hundreds of media features and interviews by our staff. The media has been great helping to spread the word. They've been constantly out at our mosquito headquarters highlighting our operations. We've included here on the slide a QR code to the website, which is continually being updated with all of the latest information about what we're doing. The spray missions and activities, the call to action for residents and what they can do to help protect themselves and the community. So speaking of working together, the next part of this presentation is going to highlight the collaborative effort across the county departments and outside agency partners that's being led by our office of emergency. Management. So I'm going to first turn it over to Chief Doherty. Thank you, Josh. For the record, Jason Doherty, fire chief. So first, before I introduce Jerry Stickney, who's our acting emergency management director, I want to say a sincere thanks to a lot of folks that have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. I know we're talking about it today, but there's been so much going on, starting with our leadership with Mrs. Wise and Mr. Ordel. But I want to especially pay attention and recognize a few folks. Kim Byers and her team, Dr. Fry and Ryan Pettigo with Department of Health. Like I said, Kim Byers and Public Works with Josh Bellotti. Dr. J with Mosquito Control. Our code enforcement team, Joe Gross and his folks and his team, along with the city of Temple Terrace and the city of Tampa have been working with us as well in code enforcement. Also want to thank Sheriff Chronister and his team for everything they've been doing. Our homeless and community services folks led by Felicia Crosby Tucker and our local partners, as we mentioned Lee County, Pasco County, Manatee County. And I also want to thank Kevin Wagner and health care services. And also I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our communications team led by Leona Lopez and all the work they're doing. These collaborative efforts have been ongoing and highly coordinated throughout the interagency central awareness meetings that we're continually having and information sharing sessions. As we reflect on the past decade, it's important to remember what this community has navigated together. We've responded to a global pandemic with COVID. We've had widespread flooding events. We had the hurricanes a couple of years ago that we all remember too vividly. But through all of this, Hillsborough County has demonstrated what it means to work as a unified team, showing that we're resilient, prepared and unwavering in our commitment to protect our citizens. And I think that's what I'm really up here today to tell everybody from the public standpoint that Hillsborough County stands ready. And there's been a lot of work going on and we'll continue to do that under the leadership of the folks I mentioned. So today, as we acknowledge the challenge before us, I personally felt the need to commend the extraordinary collaborative efforts done by all of these folks. And we will continue to stand ready and take care of our citizens and our visitors. So with that, I want to introduce our acting emergency management director, Jerry Stickney, who has somewhat been thrown in the fire and has been doing a great job. So, Jerry, please share some of my folks. Good morning, commissioners. Good morning, Bonnie. Thank you for the introduction, Chief. And through this morning, you've heard about the response and what public health and what's going on in mosquito management doing the field. I want to highlight that broader partnership of what's going on. As you can see from the PowerPoint slide, there's multiple agencies that are working together, county departments, and we're all working toward one goal, right? We have different attributes, different things to bring to the table. And that goal is protecting our community and reducing opportunities for this to spread. And this is what a whole community approach looks like. You know, we can't do this alone. And coming together with our municipal partners, our regional agencies, community organizations, volunteers, residents coming together and protecting their community. And we're supporting one another. And that is powerful to see happen. And for emergency management, our role is that to support and coordinate, right? Connecting those needs and seeing what available resources are, bringing partners together, identifying where additional assistance can strengthen the response. And it is truly a pleasure for our team at emergency management to support this collective effort. On this slide, you'll see the scale of the work and what is being done. Mosquito management, they've reported over 350,000 acres from aerial and ground treatment. Alongside those efforts, they distributed over 6,500 mosquito dunks, canvassed over 400 reported cases, and 6,300 door-to-door contacts. And some of these numbers have even increased from this slide. Our outreach, they extend to hundreds of neighborhoods and partners that have distributed over 14,000 repellents and mosquito wipes as well. And flyers within partnership with the Department of Health. Over 10,000 have been distributed. And this gives residents an opportunity to ask questions, right? Providing additional information on potential breeding areas, meeting them face-to-face, and give them information that they can protect themselves and their community. And this work, as Josh mentioned, is extending beyond just the door-to-door aspects, working with our Sheriff's Office and Code Enforcement with these businesses and tire shops. And it's been reported over the last few weeks, over 3,000 identified tires and shops have been notified and distributed. And Code Enforcement reported that this same time last year, they almost doubled what's been distributed in removals from 3,000. prior September. And this reach also continues to grow through our communications. Our media team, they've news releases, have generated 236 media mentions. And with television and radio ads reaching what's exceeding over 20 million people. Those social media posts are gaining over 148,000 impressions, making sure we get the word out. And from our emergency management side with HCFL Alert, we're making sure that our citizens are aware of what's being targeted in the spray notifications, keeping them abreast of the schedule of what to expect. And we've reached over 41,000 contacts. And together, these efforts, they really give residents multiple opportunities to gain that information, whether through a news story, neighborhood messaging and alert, or even that conversation at their front door. And behind those numbers, there's staff that they're working those extended hours, partners contributing personnel, equipment, and teams that speak directly with residents. I think their combined efforts, it allows us to reach them where they are in the community, and allow them to ask the questions and help them take care of themselves and their community. And for me, it comes to no surprise that the willingness of our partners and staff, they step forward, and they help as the needs emerge, and they do it with passion and pride. And this is a whole community approach, and this is what that response looks like in action. And it's that shared commitment that really demonstrates what it means to be one team, one county, one community. And as I hand it back over to talk about what the next steps and what to expect, I encourage everyone to visit hcfl.gov forward slash stay safe. On that page, you can see some additional information. And you can also sign up for the HCFL alert as well to get those notifications within your areas. And it's really been an honor and a privilege for our team to support the collaboration and the coordination, and seeing the community come together has been powerful. And that's all I have, and we'll hand it back over and talk about what's to come next. Thank you. All right. Thank you again, Jerry. So this is, we're going to talk a little bit about the next steps, our ongoing efforts here. So we will continue, we mosquito management will continue expanding our treatment efforts in areas across the county and filling those service gaps with additional contracted support. And as I mentioned, that that is already happening. We need to provide additional support to our mosquito team. I want to give a special thanks to Dr. Peter Jang, our mosquito team manager, and the entire staff that has been working so hard out in the field every day canvassing, doing surveillance, setting and collecting traps, doing, supporting these treatment missions. So we are doing that. We are providing additional public works maintenance staff to help with that ground effort. And we're continuing the education and outreach, really putting an extra push towards getting the word out to the residents and to have everybody rallying together to help stop then gauge transmission. We're going to, of course, continue working hand in hand with Department of Health, Emergency Management, and all the agency and regional partners because it is going to take that level of sustained regional collaboration. And we will also continue the pursuit of additional resources. As I mentioned, we're utilizing emergency disaster reserve funds, and we're hoping through the continued extension of the local state of emergency that we'll be able to pursue and receive funding from the state to be able to help replenish those funds with reimbursement of some of those expenditures. And to wrap up, we're just going to ask Dr. Frye to come back and share some historical context that can help offer some perspective on what we can expect going forward. Okay, final slide, we promise. So this shows you some of the outbreaks in Florida and their duration. And while this may seem like a simple why is this here, it's really important to note a couple of things. Monroe County, where I lived for nine years, is in the tropics and it doesn't get cold. And it does get cold here, but it doesn't get cold enough. It's not going to freeze long enough to kill the Aedes aegypti mosquito and get it gone. So it's really important for us to know that. All of these other outbreaks, Miami-Dade was another large one. Miami-Dade had about 140 locally acquired cases. We're at 223, and again, I told you that number is much, much higher than that. So this is unprecedented. This is now the largest outbreak in Florida's modern history. So we definitely have some challenges here, but we also have some opportunities. I have been working very, very closely with the county, and a lot of the suggestions we've had back and forth have already been implemented, but we do have quite a few things that we want to do. Right now, I feel like we're in reactive mode. We need to get into proactive mode because we do not want to see this thing stick around. So it's the time right now to hit with everything we have so that we don't have the mosquito overwinter and become endemic in Hillsborough County and beyond here so that we're going to fight this every single year. We really need to knock it back at this time, not later. So with that, I think we're finished and we are open for questions. Yep. Thank you very much for that coordinated and very informative presentation. We'll go into board discussion. Commissioner Wistel, you're recognized. Thank you. I think she meant robust presentation, but I appreciate the thoroughness. And when my wife is disgusted that I call a mosquito bite a blood mill, I'm going to be blaming you there, Doc, for giving me that. But I do want to make sure that the public doesn't feel like a sense of panic. 224 people is one ten-thousandth percentage of the population of Hillsborough County. It's a very small number. I do appreciate that it's better for you to get on top of it before it becomes a problem. Josh brought up something that I was going to bring up. This is being paid for by the emergency disaster and recovery funds, of which we found out in April, were over-budgeted by over $100 million, and that money was redesignated to the Tampa Bay Rays, which means that we have more than enough money, I'm assuming, to pay for any of the needs that come from this very small outbreak, and also hopefully the hurricane that has now shown up in the Gulf. So I don't think that anybody should have a reason to panic. They should just be mindful. I think there's a good point about the tire shops that do collect water and provide that breeding environment. So I appreciate the invitation. I just don't want anybody to panic and start running to the hospital every single time they get a mosquito bite. Thank you. Commissioner Cameron-Cepeda, you recognize? Yes, thank you. So my concern also is with over spraying, you know, that would affect humans, you know, in a negative way. That's really concerning to me. And also I know that this can kill bees, which is very important to our agricultural industry. So that's very, very important that we, you know, keep a watch on that. And those are things that are really concerning me for the health issues for the humans. Also bees, which affect our agriculture industry. So I really would like to address that. Thank you. If you'd like me to speak to that. Yes, thank you. Understand those concerns and those are valid concerns. And so that's why we want to provide information to the public about how we're conducting our treatments. And so providing as much information that's publicly available on our website as we absolutely can. So as I mentioned, we apply all of these products. Our licensed applicators apply them in strict adherence to the product labeling and the guidelines from the EPA. And so that includes not just on a mission per mission basis, but on a cumulative basis over time. So we time and plan our missions so that we stay within those ranges and don't exceed them. Because protecting public health is the most important thing. We also have a close partnership with local beekeeping associations. And so our mosquito staff provides information to them about when we have missions scheduled and where. And proactive things that beekeepers can do to make sure that they protect their bees as well. So are they keeping on schedule, a pretty regular schedule? I mean, because the beekeepers, they do have to cover, you know, the bees. So that's very important. If they missed it, you know what I mean? That would not be good. So. Absolutely. That's why our partnership with the local beekeepers associations and we have, you know, contacts with the local beekeepers that we inform them directly about when we plan to do missions in their area. Mr. Cohen. First of all, thank you very much for a very thorough report. And I know we all appreciate all of the work that everyone is doing. A couple of questions. First of all, if you are a person who just saw this report on television and you want to check around your own house and do basically an inspection, what exactly should you be looking for in your yard? I think I can take that one. Dog dishes, child's toy, tires, anything that can hold even a little bit of water. They plant saucers and all of that. Yes. They like to lay their eggs around the perimeter and those larvae can survive. Even let's say it's a dog dish, right? And the water goes down, but the larvae are along the side. They can survive there for a little while until the water is filled and then back they go and they turn into a mosquito in seven days, right? So they are pretty hardy and it is really small amounts of water. And like we've been talking about, no, you can't spray your way out of this, nor do you really want to. We need our neighbors. We need our friends to all be aware of and make sure that they're draining and getting rid of any of that water. Is it enough just to dump the water out? It's enough to dump it out. Make sure you clean whatever the vessel is. If you think there may be larvae, you know, inside of it and you can see them, but it would really be best to just dump it. Yeah. Second question. Should people be applying more insect repellent and should children be wearing insect repellent? Yes and yes. I mean, in Florida, sunscreen is a way of life and really repellent at this time should be a way of life. So we really ought to be treating insect repellent the way that we treat sunscreen. We should. And your sunscreen goes on first. You let it dry, 10 minutes or so, then the repellent and you have to reapply as necessary. And if you're using some of the more organic products which are effective, you just have to apply, reapply a lot more often. Thank you. Thank you very much. Excellent. Thank you. I don't see anyone else. Do we have a motion to receive the report? So moved. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Cohen and a second by Commissioner Wistel. Please record your vote. Motion carried five to zero. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Motion carried six to zero. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll also just remind that we'll be asking for a vote on items B1 and B2 as well. Move B1. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Cohen, second by Commissioner Wistel on item B1. Please record your vote. Commissioner Myers. Commissioner Myers. Yes. Motion carried six to zero. Move B2. Second. We have a motion and a second on B2. Please record your vote. Yes. Yes. Motion carried six to zero. Next item Bonnie. Very good. We will now move to our 1015 time certain. This is item E1. This is to receive a special appearance by Lannis Robinson, who's the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. Lannis will present their activity report. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for having me back again. I would do my very best to try to get you back on schedule a little bit here. We are very excited for all the events that we were able to have since I last appeared before you. And then we're very excited for what we have coming in the future as well. So I'm going to run through these slides and just kind of make sure to hit the highlights. Obviously, we really appreciate being a partner with the Board of County Commission and Hillsborough County as a collective simply because we're able to produce a major event resume that you can see in front of you right now. That is quite an impressive list. But most importantly for us is if you look at the final four on the bottom right column, you can see what we have coming here in the near future. In March of 2027, we're going to be hosting the SEC Gymnastics Conference Championship, as well as the American Basketball Men's and Women's Conference Championships. And then in October of 2027, we're going to be hosting the famed Florida Georgia football game. And that's going to be great for our community. And then in January of 2029, we're really excited to be only the third city to host the CFP, the College Football Playoff National Championship for a second time. So very much looking forward to that. As an event recap, back in March, we were able to host the NCAA as a part of March Madness, the first and second rounds, and you can see some data there. We had 55, over 55,000 fans over the three sessions that we had. We were very fortunate to have University of South Florida serve as our host institution. They're great partners of ours. And so that event was well received. We were fortunate to have University of Florida participate, but we also had the teams from Iowa, Clemson, Alabama, Texas Tech, Hofstra, Akron, and Prairie View also join us here. That was a great event. And then we rolled into April with an event that many people had never heard of, and it was the Premier League Mornings live show, which is, for those that are not aware, that is a show that's similar to College Game Day, but for the English Premier Soccer League. We had over 15,000 people show up out at Armature Works to watch soccer be played in England. Think about that for a second. Showed up to Armature Works to watch soccer being played in England. The important thing here is 5.5 million viewers watching, highlighting our destination. That was a very important reason why our partners at Visit Tampa Bay with the Sports Commission thought this was a great event, and it was very productive for us. And we got lots of, our city got lots of accolades because of this event. Then in May, we had the next version of our partnership with the WWE with the Backlash event held at Benchmark International Arena. And just prior to the World Cup, we had a friendly, a game that didn't count, per se, between England and New Zealand. Why is that important? England went on to finish third in the World Cup this year, and we hosted their last game before playing, and they really appreciated their time here in our area. Then just prior to the 4th of July, we had something that was hosted for the first time in Tampa Bay, and it was the National Veteran Golden Age Games. If you think about what was going on in July with the 250th anniversary of our country, this was a great way for us to kind of join all of that together. Had over 1,200 participants and their families in town. And obviously, we really want to honor our veterans and our partnership with our military personnel. So this was a great event, and we look forward to hopefully getting them back soon. And then in July, later in July, we had an event. The SEC Football Media Days, which was an amazing event simply because of all of the attention that was put on Tampa. ESPN had over 50 hours of coverage, and every time they came in and out of a break, they showed Tampa. They showed parts of Tampa. They showed the waterfront. They showed downtown. They showed the airport. They showed, like, it was an amazing amount of, I would just say, exposure for our area. So really was a great event. We started the event on Sunday with the Fan Fest where SEC Nation, which is a local, I mean, I'm sorry, ESPN product. They brought their personnel, their game day personnel for SEC Nation. They did a live show. Well, just the amount of eyes that put that were put on Tampa can't be understated. And then we had the best of the best coaches as well as players from the SEC here talking about their upcoming season, but also along the way talking about how good it was to be in Tampa. Then as far as upcoming major events, I want to already mentioned that we have the SEC Gymnastics and American Basketball and as well as the Florida Georgia and then the CFP. These events are major events for us. College football playoff national championship will put probably close to 30 million eyes on Tampa. Just as an example, the Florida Georgia game will put somewhere between 8 to 10 million eyes on Tampa. So great opportunity for us to showcase our city upcoming. Also, we have the NCAA bid portal will be opening. We have been very fortunate to host several frozen fours, women's volleyball national championships, as well as we're going to go after some additional events like the FCS national championship and then some division two championships with our partnership with the University of Tampa. Obviously in the division one front, we generally partner with the University of South Florida. You know, oftentimes we get a lot of praise for our large events, our major events, but our youth and amateur events are the backbone of what we do. Last year we had between 80 and 90 events and I want to highlight a couple on this page here. The Florida Premier Super Cup with over 17,000 room nights with that just one event. And then if you look, there are a couple others. The UFL national championship with 22,000 room nights. The I flag world football world championship, which set a Guinness book world record for number of teams participating. We have 47,000 room nights and then varsity spirit. I bet you all saw a lot of cheerleaders when that weekend they were in town all over town, right? Here's the important part with those events. Not only are they generating room nights. This next slide shows they're all coming back. We judge our success on not just what we get, but what we can bring back. Repeat business is really, really important to us and is an economic driver in why we exist. Some of the other updates with the youth and amateur. Before I talk about outstanding bids, we had to submit this presentation weeks ago. Here is an update. At the end of the close of our fiscal year, which was September 30th, we're proud to announce that we produced over 250,000 room nights. The goal was just over 200,000 and we produced 250,000. So over 250,000. That is, that is why we exist. That's why we come to you and we sell the ideas that we sell on what we want to do. So thank you all for your support and we'll continue to try to do our part as well. Outstanding bids there at Savannah Bananas in 2027. I mentioned the NCAA BID portal. CONCACAF, which is a international soccer event for 2029. The Mexican national team is looking to potentially play a game here at some point in 2027. And then the indoor field house that you all have had conversations about. We are getting lots of inquiries about that. So we're very excited about where that could go. And then I'll conclude with facility updates. We're very happy with the facility updates that are coming. USF football stadium, their on campus stadium opens up a lot of different events that we could potentially go after. The field house will generate lots of business. We had, um, there was a conference here with event organizers. We had a small private event and the number of organizations that want to learn more. And honestly, we have some going, when can we start booking? They are ready to bring their events to that indoor field house. I know we still have some, some formalities to with that. So, but then the last thing is the Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. There are events that we can host and inside of that venue as well. So we're really, really excited for all three of these facilities as they, they come about. And with that, that is the end of my presentation. I'll open it up to questions. I tried to save a little bit of time, give it back to you. Excellent job. And I love how excited you are to talk about your job. It's, it's a very great update. Um, I don't see anyone in the queue. Move to receive the report. Second. Thank you. We have a first and a second on E1. Please record your vote. Commissioner Mayer. Yeah. Motion carried six to zero. Thank you. Great job. Thank you. Next item, please. Thank you. We can go back to our regular agenda and then go back to the commissioner section. Item F2. This is commissioner Cameron Cepeda's item regarding the department of juvenile justice. Thank you. We're going to receive a report right now on this item for the juvenile justice detention center. Thank you, John. Mr. Mueller. We had no report, just the motion and we're here if you have any questions on your motion. Okay. Thank you. So, um, it was already in the backup plan. I'm sure everybody's already read this information. So my motion would be to authorize staff to conduct the necessary community engagement meeting, identify the rezoning requirements, and clarify the proposed terms of an interlocal agreement and or lease to support the Department of Juvenile Justice requests for the potential use of the 40-acre county-owned Stark Road property previously leased to the DJJ from 1975 to 2004 for a detention facility and return to the BOCC with a report including next steps, costs, and responsibilities. I'll second it. I'm sorry. What'd you say? I said I'll second it. Okay. We have a motion and a second on F2. Commissioner Wilson, you're recognized. Is this something that, like, did the DJJ ask for this site or what's? For the record, John Moe, Director of Facilities Management and Real Estate Services. Yes, they're interested in this site. We do want to come back to you with a report. That's helpful. There is no report today. We just want you to know that it's been asked and authorize us to go ahead and gather the report. I've read all the back and forth, the email that it was, that they're being booted for the Gray Stadium unexpectedly, so yeah, whatever we can do to land, I'm good with. Thank you. I see no one else in the queue. We have a motion by Commissioner Cepeda, a second by Commissioner Wistel. Please record your vote on F2. Yes. Motion carries six to zero. Next item, please. And the next item is Commissioner Cameron Cepeda's item, item F3, regarding realigning some flag dollars. Yes, thank you. I would like to make a motion to approve the FY27 Budget Amendment Resolution to realign Ohio $100,000 of funding in CIP Project C-7795-1000 Highland Pines Outreach Center Capital Contribution to CIP Project C-7792-6000 Cuban Civic Club Capital Contribution. The Highland Pines Outreach Center contribution was an FY26 flag item for $100,000, and the funding remained unexpended, and the funding agreement has not been successfully negotiated. I'll second that. We have a motion and a second. A motion by Commissioner Cepeda, a second by Commissioner Bowles. On item F3, please record your vote. Yes. Motion carries six to zero. Thank you. The next item is Commissioner Cohen's item, item F4, regarding micromobility devices. Thank you very much, and I'll be brief. Many of you are aware that there are growing safety concerns related to the operation of micromobility devices, which really encompass e-bikes and other type of modes of transportation, I should say. You may know that Orange County recently adopted an ordinance to bring some structure to the use of these types of devices, and I've been working with the sheriff and the county attorney's office on an ordinance to do that here in Hillsborough County. And as usual with these ordinances, we're going to write it in such a way that the city of Tampa can opt in, and the other cities too, can opt into it if need be so they don't need to reinvent the wheel. So what I'm going to do is request that the county attorney's office, in coordination with the appropriate county staff and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, review the current state laws related to micromobility devices, which include e-bikes, bicycles, and scooters, determine what e-bikes, mobility, device regulations, restrictions, or rules governing their operation, public safety, and any enhanced enforcement mechanisms and educational opportunities may be adopted and implemented at the local level within areas under Hillsborough County's jurisdiction and control, and bring back a draft ordinance for the board's consideration at the next BOCC meeting. Second. Thank you. We have a motion by Commissioner Cohen, a second by Commissioner Wistel on the item F4. Seeing no one in the queue, please record your vote. Yes. Motion carries. Six to zero. The next item is? The next item is, Madam Vice Chair, your item F5 regarding an honorary roadway designation. Thank you very much. I'm very proud to bring forward this honorary roadway designation, recognizing Bill Norga and the Norga family, his incredible legacy, and the Brandon community. For 70 years, this family has served Brandon, and their story really reflects what community care is all about. Bill built this practice in a very difficult time when prescriptions might be paid for with chickens, eggs, and even bushels of peppers. It speaks to the relationships he built and the philosophy of simply taking care of your neighbors. The legacy didn't end with Bill. John, Mary, and now Basil have continued the family's commitment to serving the community across generations. As someone who represents Brandon, I felt it was important that we find a lasting way to recognize the history and the impact this family has had on our community. I'm also appreciative of my colleagues in this board for full support of their accompanying combination with this recognition. 70 years of service is an extraordinary legacy, and I'm honored to champion the designation of the Bill at Norga Avenue so that his contributions to Brandon will continue to be remembered. So moved. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Cohen. Thank you. And a second by Commissioner Whistle on item F5. Please record your vote. Yes. Thank you, sir. Motion carried. Six to zero. Thank you. And we can now move to the items that have been removed from consent. They're somewhat related. 8, 10, 11, and 12. Commissioner Whistle. Thank you. And I'm obviously not going to have discussion on all of them, but these are all live local projects of which zero have been approved in the unincorporated Hillsborough County. Especially since we unanimously filed a lawsuit because we disagree and we believe that this law is unconstitutional. I have no idea why we are proceeding forward in any mechanism to move live local project forward, whether if it's to do with the rezoning or not. But I will point out on the next item, although I'm only going to really comment on one of them, I'll comment on the next one briefly, that Commissioner Cohen and I should be most personally aggrieved because this is simply Miami developers that are trying to treat us like fools backdooring through these mechanisms. One of these sites, he and I personally shot down. His reasons were for the coastal high hazard area and mine were for that. They continue to try and put affordable housing where there will never be fixed transit routes that these people will almost desperately need. When it was originally brought forward, the applicant tried to say, well, there's a bus stop within a mile of there. And I said, where? And they pointed to a Pinellas bus stop that is there because that's the county line. I just found it highly inappropriate that we're moving forward in any way trying to facilitate live local projects moving forward. And I reject the arguments of, well, this is the city of Tampa. Six out of the seven of us represent the city of Tampa. And this board felt like that law is unconstitutional. And how would that look if we're voting yes on anything related to it while simultaneously suing the state over the same projects? So I really am going to bring a motion to deny item A-10 at this time. Second. Second. We have a motion and a second. Commissioner Cohen, you recognize? Yeah, I'd like to offer a substitute motion to defer this. It came up very recently. I want to have a chance to digest the arguments you've made. And that's what I'd like to make a substitution. I will rescind my motion and accept that as the motion. And I will second it. Thank you. Excellent. Okay. So we have a motion by Commissioner Cohen, a second by Commissioner Wustle to rescind A-10. Commissioner Bowles, you recognize? No, defer it. I'm sorry, defer it. To defer it. My apologies. To defer it. Commissioner Bowles, you recognize? My question is for the county attorney. Would this change our, or the other attorney, any one of the attorneys in the room, as far as it wouldn't affect our standing with either the current lawsuit or to the degree that you're able to say? I could probably speak better to the lawsuit piece of this. The lawsuit that we filed, which is ongoing up in Tallahassee, did not contain an injunctive relief action. So we can proceed forward under, we actually would be proceeding forward under the law as it stands, but whether or not that has an impact on these particular items, I would defer to Mary Helen on that. If it's just to defer these to the next meeting, that's fine. We'd be happy to provide whatever additional information to help you come to decision. So if we could postulate that we may vote not to support that, would that, in that scenario, would that change? No, I don't think so. Okay. We'll bring these back. Thank you, ma'am. Just one comment. I want clarity on the county attorney's office helped development services create language that's currently advertised to the public that if they choose to proceed forward with a live local project and we prevail in our lawsuit, we're going to go tear down their building. That is correct. Okay. Anybody who's proceeding forward in Hillsborough County under a live local project is proceeding forward at their own risk and we made that very clear as part of the application process. And these projects, the Hillsborough Financing Authority, yes, it's a state facility, but Hillsborough County government, many moons ago, delegated our power to them. We delegated our own, they're essentially an extension of us in this world. They're going to use a government bonding funding mechanism to fund these projects, correct? Correct. While we are all also simultaneously promising that if you proceed forward, we're going to bulldoze it. I just, I don't know even how we got to this point, but I'll, I'll leave it there. I got some smiles at least out of today. Thank you. We have a motion to defer a 10 by commissioner Cohen is second by commissioner. It's actually a 10, 11 and 12. 8, 10, 11 and 12. Thank you for making that easy. Please record your vote. Yes. Motion carried six to zero. And thank you. Now we can go to item 839. That was also pulled and Kevin Bricky is here for this item too. This is to advertise the public hearing. Thanks. I don't, I mean, you don't, we all know what the public hearing is, but there is many, many historical precedents that have been set throughout the history of Hillsborough County. That when we have highly provocative or of high public interest items, that we have held public hearings in a site more conducive for the public outside of county center and after 6 PM. The first thing I want to ask is that just as a favor from the board's parliamentarian, Rick, there's some confusion. I'm not going to call you a nerd. I'm a nerd, but I think that we might be the only two possible nerds that have read all of the Roberts rules. And if you could just provide to the commissioners, maybe in an email, if you'd like, after the board meeting about what a motion to divide the question is, which is in the lightnings deal that was perceived as some type of strategic move. But in reality, all that this board uses a motion to divide the question for is a courtesy to not force people when they might have agreed with part of it and not the other. We just heard the three opposition to the zoo voters again today. I don't want to force them to vote yes on that. And I don't want the two opposition for the raised voters. It's not a strategic play. It's simply a respectful courtesy. If you can just provide that information to them, I would appreciate it. But I have worked vigorously in the community. The unincorporated Hillsborough, when we receive the CIT funds, we do it by population. Our money is from the unincorporated voters, most of them which are centrically populated in the District 4 East Hillsborough community. And I have identified a location that has a capacity of up to 800 amphitheater style seating with 200 parking lots that has agreed to rent me that location for the cost of zero dollars and zero cents. When I made the call, I had no idea that Commissioner Bowles actually sits on this organization. I didn't know that any of us do. But the director in charge, or the manager in charge rather, I said that she has the authority to grant these as it is a matter of public interest and public benefit. So my motion is to direct the county administrator to advertise the CIT public hearing. Oh, and also, they have it available on the day that we were going to advertise it on October the 21st at 6.30 p.m. at the Regent located in Riverview, Florida. This is done in an effort to promote public transparency and, more importantly, public trust in the process. We heard just in today's public comment of individuals that had troubles joining remote and also troubles arriving to county center. That is my motion. I'll second that. We have a motion and a second on the floor. Commissioner Cohen. So, what you're saying is that you want to change it from in the morning to at night as well. And unfortunately, I just checked my calendar. I already have a conflict that night. I don't know about everybody else. But, you know, I just, I'm a little bit, I would like to try to accommodate what you're asking for. But the problem is, is that scheduling the proper date and time for it may be difficult. So, that's my difficulty with supporting that part of your motion. On the issue of splitting the question, I'm in support of that. If you would like to do that, I think that's fair. I'll call that when we get to the public hearing. I would say they did have other nights available that they would open up to the board to accommodate us for such an important item. So, if it doesn't need to be on October the 21st, I would accept that as a friendly amendment for, to direct the county administrator to work out the best date that works for all of us and then work with this location to identify their availability at that time and date. Does that work? Okay. The only thing I would like to be able to clarify, because that motion is going forward today, setting a time and a location, but we don't necessarily have a date whether or not that can be accommodated outside this motion. So, if I could just take one moment. Sure, sure, sure. I have one point of, can we separate the two now so that one can move forward? Like, so say we could move forward with the zoo if that is not what your issue is, or you're saying both of them need to be open? I'm not quite understanding what your end goal is here, sir. Oh, it's just to schedule the, it's just to schedule the public hearing to be in the evening at a remote location. For both items. Well that, yeah, I mean just what's advertised, but that is kind of a misnomer, I guess. Okay. Thank you. I think what we can accommodate as part of this action is directing us to go forward with a public hearing at night at a location, as you've suggested. Obviously, we have to coordinate with them through our own processes. The only question I think is going to be is finding a quorum and a date. And, you know, that's something that we're going to have, that's going to take some opportunity to work through. But in terms of your motion today, if we have a time and we have, I'm even a little reluctant to put the location, have a specific location just in case something comes up and we can't accommodate that, but that we have a, what I hear you saying is, is having a location that is outside of County Center, perhaps within District 4, that would accommodate a number of people at that location as well. So, that's the only reluctance I have, is just how being, us having that designated today, we're going to have to actually find out what will work in terms of a quorum and then we'll also work in terms of location, assuming this location works, and that seems, and technology. I mean, that's the only thing is, we're going to have to figure out if that location will even work. So, perhaps maybe the motion should say to find a location outside of County Center on a date that would accommodate the majority of the commissioners, to be able to constitute a quorum, and then also it would be at 6, I heard you say 6, 6 a.m., 6 p.m., not 6 a.m., 6.30. 6.30. Oh, 6.30, sorry. And that we would have a location that has correct technology and that will accommodate a meeting. I have one question, could we set that within a parameter? So, like, that feels very indefinite to me and I'd like to have an end. In other words, this item shouldn't be held up, right? And if we all, like, getting our calendars is tough. I agree, I definitely think it needs to happen, but I'm a little concerned that we may, you know, push out too far and it's clearly on our agenda for a reason today. I mean, that's part of the problem is we can accommodate all those things, but it's just the timing and location-wise. So that is something that we could think through. I mean, we have six of us here right now. And one we know of the two. I just think that it may be a very general motion that allows you to just work through this with them and figure out when it's going to be. That, to me, seems like the best. I would suggest that what you do in your motion is go ahead and delegate the authority to schedule after 6.30 at a location outside of County Center at a date that works in terms of finding a quorum. That works for me. I'll accept that. I do agree with the Vice Chair, though, that it's kind of open-ended. None of us want it to be drawn on. This is not a strategy move. This is simply a promoting public transparency move. I know that they had the 22nd available to them, and I think they said something like the 28th. They host a variety of events there with technology solutions available. But that's fine. I'll accept that as a friendly amendment to just direct you guys to find a suitable location outside of County Center at 6.30 p.m., centrally located as possible in the East Hillsboro. I say that, Commissioner Miller, because if they picked HC Trinkle, that's very far away from South County still, you know. Agreed. Commissioner Bowles. Quickly. Just for clarification, Commissioner Wistel, are we talking about both issues or can we bifurcate those today? I mean, I'm fine with the zoo, I think, is a net less contingent item. If that remains, if you want to do this for the Rays, I'm fine with that. I just, they happened to be, they were scheduled together by staff. So if you guys would like to split the zoo to proceed on the 21st at 10 a.m., then that's fine with me, and then schedule an alternative public hearing for the Tampa Bay Rays item and centrally located in the East Hillsboro area, that's fine with me as well. I'd like to actually bifurcate them. So, okay. So, then I will move to schedule a public hearing, an alternate public hearing for the Tampa Bay Rays item amendment to the CIT project list at 6.30 p.m. at an alternate location located in the East Hillsboro district, centrally located, and direct the county administrator to work with the Board of County Commissioners on a suitable date. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Wistel, a second by Commissioner Bowles. Please record your vote. No. Motion carried, 5 to 1, with Commissioner Myers voting no. I will move for approval of scheduling the original CIT public hearing on October the 21st at 10 a.m. Second. And now, Rick, you don't need to give the explanation of a motion to divide the question. All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Wistel, a second by Commissioner Bowles. Please record your vote. Yes. Motion carries, 6 to 0. We're on to future items. Future discussion items. Yes, ma'am. Commissioner Cohen, you recognize? Thank you. I have two. The first is I attended a town hall meeting recently with Councilman Vieira at Tampa City Hall discussing an epidemic of drowning among children with autism. And I wanted to bring it back here to ask the county administrator and our staff to look into things that we can do to educate the public about this problem. Specifically, I was told that the Department of Health has pool alarms that are available at no cost. These are alarms that tell people when something falls into the water. And I thought that it might be possible for us to coordinate with them to see if we can make those available through the county. And then the second was to work with our communications department to put out information to parents about resources that are available in the community to help to educate people about things that they can do to safeguard their homes and bodies of water that they may have responsibilities for. My second item has to do with the Warren Ellie media room at the Hillsborough County Courthouse. Recently, our community lost one of the best broadcast journalists who has graced us. And that was Mark Zewak, who was Warren Ellie's camera person for many, many years at the courthouse and who worked behind the scenes in broadcast journalism for many, many years, and was really the person that was behind the pictures that people saw. We received at my office a letter and a petition from a large number, not just of journalists in the community, but also our last two chief judges along with the current chief judge, asking that we rename the room to the Warren Ellie and Mark Zewak Media Center at the Hillsborough County Courthouse. So I would like to ask our county administrator to please put that on the agenda for our next meeting, and hopefully we can get that accomplished and have a nice ceremony commemorating both Mr. Ellie and Mr. Zewak and help them to work in their careers in the near future. Thank you, Commissioner Wistel. Thank you. Mine is more of just a moment of personal privilege to remind the community that today is the third anniversary of the attack of Hamas on Israel, and that many of our own community members were personally affected by that, and remind them that three years ago, two years ago now I believe it was, this board proudly stood with them on that attack, and I hope that they can do the same today, three years later. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Bowles, you recognize? Thank you, Commissioner Wistel, for saying that. It's come to my attention that our, I don't know what to call it, Sister County, one of our local counties, within the last few years, was able to identify over $300 million, and I was able to verify this, $300 million in outstanding liens put forth by code enforcement in that county, and they were able to collect a percentage of that, but that just goes to kind of highlight how maybe some dollars are available. I'd like to ask that the county administrator, and I know that we maintain and collect code enforcement liens, but I have not been personally be able to readily identify those specifically associated with corporate-owned properties, not necessarily residential. And I would like to request that the county administrator, along with the code enforcement staff, to report back to the board the total number, current dollar value of any outstanding code enforcement liens in Hillsborough County, of that amount, the number of properties and total current accrued lien value associated with properties owned by corporations, LLCs, or partnerships, or other business entities. The report should also identify the amount that staff believes is reasonably collectible, in a county's existing process for collecting or settling those liens, in conjunction with the county's attorney's office. Thank you. Got that? Yes? Good. All right, thank you. I have one item myself. This one's coming forward. I'm sure some of you have received the many emails related to constituents having issues around agritourism and ways that we can address it. We had a very productive community meeting recently, and this request is following that meeting with our citizens and other members of our leadership. The request is for the county attorney's office to work with county administration to review the agritourism Florida statute section 570.85 and other legal authority and provide a report regarding potential revisions to the Hillsborough County to regulate substantial off-site impacts, including noise, traffic, and public safety. In addition, request that the county attorney's office to review the enforcement process for such regulations and provide options. Seeing no one else in the queue, we are adjourned.