27th Board of County Commission meeting. We're going to start our meeting this morning with a moment of silence. If you would all please stand and that will be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Kevin Farrell. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Farrell, if you would join us up front. Good morning. I pledge of 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. Mr. Farrell, would you like to say a few words about your service? Thank you for inviting me. So my name is Major Kevin Patrick Farrell, retired U.S. Army. I've been a resident here for 22 years or so, raising my family here. Very proud to call, you know, a steward in Martin County my home and happy to be here. So just a little bit about my service. I served a little over 24 years. The last 15 years or so was with the Florida Army National Guard. I've served more hurricanes and operations than I can care to admit, but multiple tours in Iraqi freedom, noble ego and enduring freedom as well. And then probably, I don't know, probably 16 or 18 of the severe storms that hit over the last dozen or so years. So I'm really proud to call this my home, but also be able to serving the Florida residents and especially in Martin County. So I just want to say a short word about the veteran services team here. That's one of the reasons why I was invited this morning and I really appreciate it. I'm a service connected veteran for probably about 12 or so years. I've been managing that fairly well. I consider myself somebody pretty much in the know of the veteran services that are offered and boy was I wrong. So I sat down with Jeffrey and the team just a few short weeks ago. And even though I've moved into the county and had been a service connected disability and I figured I'd kind of knew, wow, they really steered me in the right direction. I cannot say enough the importance of our veterans. There's over 15,000 veterans here in the county and more growing all the time as they move in. And I can't stress enough for folks in your small spheres of influence. If you can just reach out to a veteran and your coworkers, if you have a neighbor, friend, family member, and they haven't contacted the team here, I highly recommend you do. It's making a significant difference in my life, my health, and the life of my family. And that includes family members of veterans as well as the surviving spouses as well. So just a little plug for the team. They do a great job. So thank you. Thank you. All right. As you can see, I'll be filling in for Commissioner Jenkins this morning who regrets he cannot be here. We have some agenda changes. And we have a request to withdraw from the agenda department number three, right line train station. Mr. Donaldson, you have the request to withdraw that. Yes, commissioners. I think it's important to have all five commissioners here for the discussion on where we are with Brightline. And it is a three-party agreement between Martin County and Brightline regarding a settlement agreement, also between the county and the city in terms of the exchange of property and how the station would be paid for. And I think in that situation, we need all five commissioners to hear the update. Also, there's been some movement with the city that we need to better understand before we come back and make a presentation. Okay. Thank you. There's no additional items, no consent agenda polls. And we have one proclamation this morning. And with that, I would entertain a motion to approve the agenda. Commissioner Smith. I'm sure I move approval of the agenda with the withdrawal of department three. Thank you. Second. Okay. We have a draw there. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Four to zero. And we are going to move on this morning to public comment. And we have an announcement. We do the proclamations first. Yeah. Okay. Okay. It's been a while since I've been up there. Okay. Our first proclamation will be presented by Laura Dupree. Hi. Good morning, commissioners. Our first proclamation is recognizing BAPS Day in Martin County, Florida. BAPS, forgive me, Somina Ryan Sansa, or BAPS, is a worldwide Hindu denomination dedicated to fostering faith, inspiring service, and promoting better living. 2024 marks 50 years of service in the United States. And over the last 50 years, BAPS has grown to over 100 mandirs or temples across the country. In recognition of the 50th anniversary, August 4th was recognized as BAPS Day in Martin County, and here to accept, we have Dr. Hardik Soni, BAPS Community Relations Director, if you'd like to come say a few words. Good morning. Hi. Myself, Dr. Hardik Soni. I'm a resident of Martin County, and I want to say a few words about the BAPS organization. BAPS is a volunteer-driven spiritual organization which is committed to fostering individual growth through Hindu values of faith, service, and harmony. It enriches the society with the devoted efforts of tens of thousands of volunteers with different social and professional backgrounds who are contributing millions of volunteer hours every year. Under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Man Swami Maharaj, BAPS nurtures Indian traditions in over more than 100 communities over the North America and more than 3,500 communities worldwide. This year marks the 50th anniversary of BAPS North America. Since its inception in 1974, BAPS North America has played a vital role in enriching the lives of countless individuals through the various initiatives, including educational program, humanitarian efforts, and cultural activities. The organization commitment to the peace, harmony, and social responsibility has made a significant impact, not only within our community, but also across the nation. One such center is located in South Florida in Boynton Beach, Florida. It was opened in 2001 to the South Florida community, and we have our services every Sunday. Along with the cultural and religious activities, there are also kids of activities which were attended by more than 150 kids every Sunday. I believe that by officially recognizing the 50th anniversary of the BAPS North America, we can inspire others to emulate an example of selfless service and community engagement. And I would like to thank you everyone for recognizing the 4th August for BAPS Day. Thank you. Step on the dog. Thank you very much. And now we'll move on to public comment. And for those of you that haven't made public comment, we have a three-minute time frame. You will see a signal right before 15 seconds. Before your time is up, and that will indicate that the three-minute time is approaching. And Mr. Donaldson, you have an announcement. Yes. Since we are in an election season, politicking is prohibited, which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for public office, either partisan or nonpartisan. This includes the use of words, dates, signs, props, and or wearing apparel that convey a message of support for a person or group of persons. Thank you. Okay. Our first speaker this morning will be David Nickerson. And on deck will be Megan Shirey. Acting chair, honorable commissioners, honorable staff, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is David Nickerson. I reside at 6687 Southeast Silverbell Avenue in Stewart, Florida. I've been a resident here since 1987. I'm also a member of the Martin County Orchid Society. And we're the group that puts that show on at the fairgrounds every March. How many have been at the show? Thank you. Native orchids are those orchids that our creator put here on the planet. 28 have been known to live in Martin County, but most of those have been lost. I'm sure you haven't heard of our Martin County Native Orchid Restoration Program, but I'm here today to tell you a little bit about it. Since 2021, our society has made the decision to spend a significant amount of money we raise at our show on restoring native orchids here in Martin County. Assisting us in that endeavor have been the Native Plant Society, Martin Chapter, the Master Gardeners Association, and Audubon of Martin County. But to achieve success, we need cooperation and facilitation of our local government. So I'm before you today to identify, give credit to, and thank a few very special Martin County staff that have been key to facilitating our orchid restoration program success with, so far, over 500 native orchids have been placed on our county properties to date. First, Carly Batts, staff horticulturist with Public Works. She is the match that lit the flame of native orchid conservation in our county. She also continues to propose related solutions for our program, always positively benefiting the environment and our citizens. Next up, Ken Brower. He is a native orchid finder beyond compare. He's a senior project leader in Public Works. Ken's orchid radar has saved hundreds of orchids new each year in new locations from our county mowing crews. Next up, Sean McCarthy, principal planner in our growth management department with an inherent conservation mindset, if you know Sean. He has facilitated our program through putting us in touch with unique and innovatively possible funding sources. And Administrator Gonderson doesn't involve county dollars a budget. Next up, Todd Warren, urban forestry manager and Public Works. Todd's out-of-the-box thinking has helped us out. Please recognize these folks as facilitating and leading in the Martin County native orchid conservation. Along with their teams, their support has made public properties even more naturally wonderful. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Our next speaker is Megan Shirey and Megan will be followed by Belinda Gillels. Gillels. Gillels. Megan Shirey is here. Hello. Good morning, commissioners. I am Megan Shirey, the director of marketing and external affairs for your Boys and Girls Club of Martin County. And I stand before you today filled with gratitude for your support and your partnership in our recent school supply drive with the county staff and MTM Transit. We appreciate the staff's involvement in helping us to collect supplies and share our mission. And I want to give a special thank you to Courtney's Eastman with the county for all of her help in organizing this. Being prepared for school isn't about just having supplies. It's about starting the year with confidence and dignity. Thanks to the generosity of the staff, countless students began the school year equipped with not just pencils and notebooks, but with the renewed sense of pride and readiness for school. Your dedication to ensuring that every child has the tools that they need to succeed is truly inspiring. On behalf of all of the students and families who benefited from this drive, thank you to your unwavering support for making a lasting impression on their lives. Together, we are not just preparing kids for school. We are empowering them for great futures. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Belinda Galel's and followed by Sandra Thomas. Hey, good morning, everyone. I would also just like to say what a wonderful organization the Boys and Girls Club is. And I also thank you for your support. I support them myself and I have for a number of years. They really, they're a wonderful asset that we have here in the community. I am disappointed. You're not talking about Brightline today. That was really the reason I came. And so you will not be discussing that until November, September, September 10th, our next meeting. But what if the commissioner is not here? We're, we're not going to do dialogue, but please go ahead and make your comment. Well, that was the reason I was coming today. But as you know, I always have that pet peeve about tractor supply. And where it was a swamp, now it's a jungle. And it's still unsightly. I think we're going on the third or fourth year now. And that's, that's my main concern around where I live. I see it every day. And I hope one day, someone, developer, some of you may demand from the developer that it be cleaned up because it's an eyesore and it attracts mosquitoes. And we shouldn't have such a thing in Palm City. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sandra Thomas. And Sandra will be followed by Tom Pine. Good morning, everyone. Morning. I've never done this before. Pull the mic down a little closer. Pull the mic down a little closer. Thank you. Okay. Good morning. I'm Sandra Thomas. I've never done this before. It's my first time. So I'm hoping that this will work because I've been fighting nonstop for speed bumps or sidewalks in Fisherman's Cove. I am profoundly deaf. I walk my dog. I ride my bike. I want to live a normal life. Walking my dog, I almost got hit twice. There are a lot of children in my neighborhood that ride their scooter, ride their bike. At least they try to. A majority of parents will go with their children. These cars drive by so fast. I'm asking, please, you guys, fix up Martin County, decorate it beautifully with bricks and sprinkler systems and grass or whatever. Try helping the citizens. I'm speaking not only for me, but the residents, people, families in Fisherman's Cove, Section 1, 2, 3, and Somerset. We need sidewalks. We need speed bumps. They said no. They declined speed bumps because of paramedics and firefighters, which is understandable. When you're doing CPR, whatever you're doing on cardiac arrest patient, it's hard to go with speed bumps and doing that. So anyway, sidewalks is permissible on my behalf. And for others, I have a petition here. We have also, three years ago, another petition done by a gentleman and his daughter was walking around the neighborhood getting signatures as well. So I hope that you take this in consideration, please. I know it's not the best area, but we have a lot of children. Please, I want to live there. I have no place else to go. It's too expensive. So I'm actually retired on disability. So I want to be safer by having sidewalks. I mean, the police department's been there several times and people slow down when they see the signs. They're going to ignore it. And we also do need signs saying children at play. There's one sign, 25 miles an hour, even for the deaf, like myself. They have it in St. Augustine. They have it in Jacksonville. So please, why not Martin County? Elderly do lose their hearing. That's the first thing you lose when you get older. So I would appreciate it if you guys would take all this into consideration, please. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Ms. Thomas, you are in District 2. And this is the first I've heard of that, but I will have, oh, miss, you're in my district and I will have my aide from Patricia contact you. Thank you. The first I've heard of that though. Thank you for calling me back. I appreciate it. Mr. Tom Pine and Tom will be followed by Bob Schott. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Tom Pine. I've been a resident of Martin County for over 50 years. There was a story in the Stuart News a week or so ago about our local metropolitan planning organization doing a study of traffic on US-1. It seems Martin County residents are very concerned about out of control speeders and red light runners from south side of the Roosevelt Bridge to the Martin County St. Lucie line. During this August primary season from August 10th through August 17th election day on August 20th, I held campaign signs at 10 different locations at 10 different intersections for about an hour and a half each day. Every single intersection had several red light runners during my time there. I'm not talking about cars and trucks still in the intersection, but when the light turns red, I'm talking about cars, trucks racing to beat the light and lose. But of course, they continue at a high rate of speed through the intersection. This is where that dangerous T-bone accident is born. A green light no longer means go. Go with caution. Technically, if you are still in the intersection and the light turns red, you could still get a ticket for running a red light. It's been more than a decade since the basic rules of the road have been enforced regularly, and now we are paying the price. Why is turnout and primary elections in August so low year after year with this year falling right in line with a whopping 27.78 turnout? Are some of the reasons our county commissioners use the consent agenda as a way to hide anything they don't want to talk about? Not just spending, but special deals too. Taxpayers feel it's just like going to a kangaroo court. It's hard to tell the difference. Today is no different. Today in the consent agenda, this commission will approve without any discussion $23,362,556.72, which was spent between July 22nd and August 11th, 2024, without identifying the payees or the purpose of the payments. The Schimberg Center for Housing Studies, an annual report will not be presented for the public explanation or discussion, as it too will be hidden in the consent agenda. The Schimberg Center for Housing Studies' annual report offers help with the affordable housing problem, but it appears our county commissioners like to talk about the problem and then talk about it some more. There was an article in the TC Palm this morning I didn't have time to read, but it seems two newly elected city commissioners and a sitting commissioner will be looking at the rental agreement with this bright line, quote, quote, I don't believe the taxpayers are benefiting from this, end quote. What you permit, you promote. What you allow, you encourage. What you condone, you own. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bob Schott, and Bob will be followed by Chuck Quinn. Is Bob here this morning? Bob? Yes. Bob. Yes. Good morning. It says you're speaking on departmental number three, but that has been withdrawn, sir, so you are welcome to speak this morning. Good morning. Good morning. I'm speaking this morning in opposition to the Bright Line. Essentially, Bright Line is asking Martin County to invest over $30 million in Bright Line's future, and I wonder if that's a prudent investment. Back in October of last year, Bright Line was tagged with a $1.15 million judgment in favor of Virgin. The first quarter of this year, Bright Line reduced its passenger projections by 21 percent. In the first quarter of this year, Bright Line lost over $116 million. In May, Fitch assigned a B credit rating to Bright Line. Other credit reporting agencies assigned similar ratings with a statement being made that Bright Line has a stable outlook, but it is subject to adverse business and economic conditions. So that means watch out for a recession or similar or any type similar catastrophe because Bright Line probably couldn't go through. Back in just recently, July of this year, they were forced, Bright Line was forced to refinance. I don't know the details about that. They haven't been very well publicized. I think that what we're looking at here for Bright Line is Bright Line has a win-win situation. If they are successful, they make money. If they're not successful, the Martin County taxpayers are out. It's sort of a heads I win, tails you lose. Sir, your time is up. I think the question the commissioners have to ask themselves is hearing issues. Sir, your time is up. Your time is up. Thank you, sir. Our next speaker is Mr. Chuck Nguyen, and Chuck will be followed by Tammy Mazzotta. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. For the record, my name is Chuck Nguyen. I live at 1520 Northwest Lakeside Trail in North River Shores, which abuts North Stewart. My comments this morning are directed at the postponed agenda items concerning the Bright Line station and amending and amending the 2018 settlement agreement, and I'm following a tough act. First, I urge that you reject any amendments to the original 2018 settlement agreement that relieves Bright Line of any financial commitments they made under it. These include their share of the costs of building the station, the costs for the pedestrian aerial bridge over the tracks, and costs for all safety fencing that they agree to pay under the hazard analysis. Second, residents of Martin County owe Mrs. Casey Ingram Mullen a debt of gratitude for her painstaking analysis and research that exposed all of the hidden aspects of this agreement. This is far more than a transit stop on a mass transport system. The location of this station in a mixed-use area reads like a template prepared by the Director of Sustainable Development of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Their model communities are heavily subsidized by grants from HUD and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Three parcels of land totaling two and a half acres far exceed parking requirements. Being in a mixed-use area, they would be ideal targets for development heavily subsidized by HUD affordable housing grants with long strings attached. This has all the features of the HUD-driven 750 plan that our county commission wisely voted to withdraw from in 2013. You may recall its heavy evidence on embedding affordable housing projects, but the decisive influence on the commission in its decision to withdraw is that these superficially attractive federal grants have strings attached that can gut local zoning powers and financially obligate the taxpayers. I urge you to start a new era of financial vigilance by the county. Demand that all federal grants and especially all private public sector partnership agreements be fully examined before the public. These would include key elements like the provisions for management and oversight controls. Any items like the hazardous hazard analysis for this station should also be fully examined as they were never made public. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you Mr. Nguyen. Our next speaker is Tammy Mazzotto and Tammy, is Tammy here? And Tammy will be followed by John Dial. Sorry, I also don't hear well. I am Tammy Mazzotta and this morning I have, I am addressing a question. I'm sorry for reading from my phone, it's for a friend. The staff had presented at the last NAC meeting in Port Salerno that they were going to apply for a grant for septic to sewer. So as the residents, when we went through that, we were under the impression that the grant was already made and submitted. So three weeks has passed the time for the grant. The question, the basic question is, is when we apply for grants for septic to sewers and things like that, is there a special time that we actually apply for them? What is the time limit before we find out if the grant is passed, if we're going to get the grant? And then the other one here is, how much is the NAC in Port Salerno paying for the sewers on Park Drive? So those are the two questions. I also have a concern about the bright line. I hope the next meeting is squashed, like everything else, like everyone else in the building. So, okay, that's it. Quick. Easy. All right. Thank you, Tammy. Our next speaker will be John Dial. And John will be followed by Michael Snyder, I think. Oh, Circus? Good morning. Sorry, that doesn't look like your normal writing, Michael. Good to see you all. My name is John Dial. I've got a company called At The Helm Training. We're a boating safety company. I came here originally for the, I'm going to call it Not So Bright Line Station, which saddles taxpayers with a lot of money. And I brought my tax bill because it kind of, you know, lets me understand that we all need to work on financial responsibility. And that financial responsibility goes from everything from the kind of trees you plant in the middle of the medians that require maintenance to parking, to creating these train stations. Because Bright Line's not brought one dime to the state of Florida. The marine industry, on the other hand, has brought $35.5 billion in. And we're hampered by Bright Line. I watch these trains go by every day, and they are empty. I mean, if there's more than 10%, I'll buy a train full of tickets for one of you. I absolutely booked one of those round trip to go and see Orlando for the day. It was $550. One of my friends goes to Miami on a regular basis, and he goes, oh, I'll go to Miami, you go in your car. I said, okay, we'll both leave. I live in Rocky Point. You live in Port St. Lucie. And we'll both go, and we'll meet in Vizcaya in Miami. And we'll do it on the same amount of money. You get your Uber. You pay for your parking. I said, I'll meet you there. And, oh, by the way, I'll bring three other people in the car with me, and I'll be waiting for you. The bottom line is that was built to haul freight, which we're all good with. But a station in Martin and Stewart, especially downtown Stewart, we've got enough traffic congestions, and that's going to come back on the taxpayers, every bit of that, because there's never been a train station ever made it down here. It made a profit, any train company for pasture. I would just like for the commission to really start looking at being financially responsible and spending our money wisely instead of running deficits so my bill doesn't go up every single year, and I sit there and watch the money get wasted. I run a company that's a for-profit, not a non-profit, but my competition is non-profit. So grants and all this federal funding, we all pay for sooner or later. And until we start running our government like a business, which is financially responsible, we're going to be keeping every single time, getting higher tax bills, people coming up complaining about it. And we're seeing a change in commission. We're seeing a change in attitude from the citizens about our government, and I hope all of you guys will just kind of pay attention and work with us to save money and not spend money. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dial. Michael Serkis. Sorry, that did not look like your handwriting, Michael. And Michael will be followed by Terry Kogel. For a guy that takes a lot of notes, my handwriting sucks. I understand. I'm not mad at you. But for the record, Mike Serkis, Palm City, I just wanted to voice my frustrations with what's going on with Brightline. This is now the second meeting in a row that we've kicked the can down the field. And I fully understand and appreciate, you know, Harold's not here to receive the presentation this morning. And I understand there were some monumental changes last night in the city of Stewart. So obviously your presentation item today would have been very different. So I'm just here to say that I sincerely hope that at your next meeting, we're not kicking the can down the field again. And it's very clear that all the chips are on the table. Brightline sent their message to everybody in March telling you guys that they want to renege on their 2018 agreement. You know, we got the numbers in April talking about how much it's going to cost to finance the station. Brightline's telling us we're taking away the parking spots in Stewart. Now we're having a headache regarding Dixie Highway throughout the Triangle District. I mean, we've talked about it so many times. Fiscal stability. We've talked about water quality. We've talked about the people, the place, the project. Brightline's made it very clear. They don't give a damn about the people in Martin County. I mean, I hate to say that. And they have hundreds of communities their train goes through, so I get it. We're not going to be the top of their priority list. I respect that. But the fact that now we're being told we need to pay for more than 50% of the station, if they can't even keep up their end of the agreement going back to a lawsuit settlement from five years ago, six years ago, why would we even entertain the idea of building a station for them? This is out of hand at this point. You guys have the ability to take the leadership role. You don't have to wait for the city's Stewart to stay their part. You don't need Brightline to wag the tail. You guys can simply stand up and say, here's the agreement. Take it or leave it. If you don't like it, Fort Pierce, enjoy your station. You guys have that position. Just got to do it. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. Our next speaker is Terry Hobart. How do you pronounce your last name? Kogel. Good morning, Commissioners. Yes, Terry Kogel. And again, it's about Brightline. Martin County is Brightline's ATM machine. Pull your mic down a little bit. Pardon me? Pull your mic down. Oh, sorry about that. Okay, Martin County is Brightline's ATM machine. Why is Martin County dishing out, and I say this, $80 million to support a privately owned, for-profit business? I say $80 million because down the road, the commissioners will be needing that parking garage and fencing for safety, and other projects will arise. For $80 million, do we get discounted tickets, free train fare? We get increased taxes. How many more commissioners do we have to vote out of office before this insanity stops? Thank you. Thank you. And our last public speaker this morning is Amber D'Angelo. If you have not had an opportunity to speak and you would like to speak, please submit a form, and you'll be up next. Amber, good morning. Hi there. Amber D'Angelo. I am a little sleep-deprived, so I did not prepare my statement beforehand. So forgive me for all the ums, but I'm just here to kind of voice my opinion about the Brightline station. I'm not for it. I've had good experiences where I've, you know, been on a nice, clean, bright train, and it was fun, but I've also had bad experiences where their shuttle for the train never came, and my family, 10-month-old and 3-year-old, were stuck in the Miami airport overnight after a 10-hour flight. So they didn't show up for us, but you all can. And I think that it would actually be better in Fort Pierce. I have a little bit of insight into how things are going up there, like the energy of that community and the leaders there that they really want to revitalize Fort Pierce, and I think that it would do really well up there. I think that it kind of fits right into what they want to do. So I would rather see, like, the money that we would be paying as taxpayers be put into more efforts for our economy, for our public housing, or not public housing, sorry, for our affordable housing, and just, you know, coming up with more creative solutions that I know you guys like to come up with. So, and what else? I saw a couple of Publix Works guys out there when I was trying to find parking. There's some signs that are missing along the side where the county people are parked. I assumed that I wasn't supposed to park there because there was a whole bunch of the cars there. And they said, so you guys could do some new signs there. And they said they also need pens, specifically black pens. Pens? Yes. I said, I'll mention it for you. So I'm just doing that for them. Get them the black pens. But, yeah, that's my two cents for the bright line. I'm not for it. And I hope that we can just hand it off to Fort Pierce if that's possible and be done with it. Thanks. Thank you, Amber. And our last public request to speak for them this morning is Denise Chesley. Good morning, everyone. I am not for a bright line. I was raised in Broward County, moved to Port St. Lucie and Martin County in 2005. And what my thinking is, is they have not followed through on what they said. So people need to be, if this is a company that is all about themselves, like someone said, they don't care about us. I think Fort Pierce would be a better place. Fort Pierce needs more revitalization. We don't. I think, you know, I think I even read where to buy a ticket now, it went up like 850% or something. Like the tickets, like a round-trip ticket, and for people who want to commute from, say, Miami to Fort Lauderdale, now they're having to drive because the prices have gone up, because we have no control over what a private company will do. And they're not allowing the grants anymore. What happened there? Now all of a sudden we, City of Stewart and Martin County, has to pay. I just think, you know, look at how busy we are here downtown. I know your wife has been my chiropractor after a car accident, and I know even finding a parking spot here took me 10 minutes. So I just think Fort Pierce would be better. I think they're trying to revitalize. I think here we have so much already going on. And I just think, you know, if you think about it, you're bringing people from Miami. Miami, I'm not trying to downgrade the area by any means, because I was raised in Fort Lauderdale, but have you driven down there? It is, it's just so much more traffic. And do we want to bring that to our nice, small, our town here? You go to Palm Beach County. I went to Palm Beach Atlantic University, graduated in 92. When I go down there, I don't even know where to go, because they have 20, 30-story high-rises. Do we want to make Martin County Boca Raton, Palm Beach County? No. We don't want all the traffic. That's all I have to say. I'm not for Brightline. And if you all would consider letting it go to Fort Pierce. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Hey, that's my last speaker comment form, so that will conclude our public comment this morning. And we will go to Commissioner Comet, Commissioner Smith. Okay. Commissioner Campy. On a different topic that won't necessarily come to us as county commissioners, but I just wanted to be clear. It's a very rapidly changing and fluid issue that popped up last Monday night. So I just wanted to be clear to say I am 100% opposed to golf courses or any other incompatible activities at Jonathan Dickinson State Park today, tomorrow, or forever. It won't be our decision, but I want anyone who's listening elsewhere in the state to understand, at least from my perspective, that is a terrible, terrible idea. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Hurton. Yeah, to echo that, I'm so proud of Martin County residents. When this proposal came out of the blue last week to put three golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, our residents let their feelings be known immediately, loudly, strongly, and let the proposers know, no uncertain terms, that the topography in Jonathan Dickinson State Park is some of the most unusual in Florida. The habitat there is among the most rare and threatened and endangered in the entire state. And it's a 10,500 acres of natural wonder, and our residents made sure that everyone knew that they wanted it to remain that way. And this is not the first time that this has been proposed, a proposed use in Jonathan Dickinson. A similar proposal happened about 12 years ago. So then residents opposed it and insisted upon protecting that valuable habitat, and this will not be the last time that there's going to be a proposal to change the use in Jonathan Dickinson. So I'm very, very proud of Martin County residents for standing up for protecting our natural habitats. Thanks. Don, Don, do you need, although they have somewhat withdrawn that for now, do you need authority from us to craft, while we're all sitting here in the room, to craft a letter? I do. In fact, you know, I provided you all a letter last Thursday that we recommended the board strongly oppose the amendment. And part of my comments, administrator comments, I do want to ask you all to take a formal motion. While we did a lot of activities without your formal action last week, I would like you to approve, one, the chair to sign letters to strongly oppose any amendments to Jonathan Dickinson State Park and also to allow staff to pursue this throughout its process until it is no longer being considered. Okay. So moved. Second. Mr. Smith, you have your light on. I'm sorry. You can. He had his light on. Oh, I'm sorry. He had his light on. Sorry about that. I was looking in the other direction. And who, Commissioner Hurd, was that? Okay. And Ed? Commissioner Smith had the second. Okay, so we will, we have a motion presented by Commissioner Hurd, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries four to zero or unanimously for today. Yes, I can say that Commissioner Jenkins, while he wasn't here, I did speak to him that I would be making this request, and he did say he strongly supported it as well. Thank you. Is that all for your comments this morning? That is all for my comments. Thank you. All right. Well, good. Thank you. We are going to venture into our first agenda item, which is board and committee appointments this morning, presented by Donna Gordon. You have the Neighborhood Advisory Committee appointments. Yes. Donna Gordon for administration. Several appointments. Golden Gate Neighborhood Advisory Committee. There's two terms, but only one applicant, Stephen Mark Capps. Old Palm City, two applicants, one position, and Jane Landrum received four votes. Skip down to Ryo, two positions, two applicants, Adam Guzzi and Susan Jones, and Port Salerno. Two positions, four applicants, and Mr. Leonard Lee received three votes, and Mr. Jim Peck received three votes. Move approval of, could you scroll up? Steven Marks Capps, Brian Dunman, I'm sorry, Jane Landrum, Leonard Lee, Jim Peck, Adam Guzzi, and Susan Jones. All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Hurd, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed? Opposed? Oh. Motion carries three to one with Commissioner Campy dissenting. Thank you. Okay. So, our next item is public hearing number one. Public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 1, Article 4, Code Enforcement Board, regarding reduction of code enforcement liens. Sebastian Propolsky and Jeff Daugherty. Morning. Commissioner Sebastian Propolsky, County Attorney's Office. We're here before you today for your consideration of amendment to Article 4, Section 1.98 General Ordinances concerning code enforcement violations. This is specifically what we were tasked by this board to codify the longstanding practice of reductions of these code enforcement liens to 10% of the value of the lien or 10% of the value of the offending property, whichever is less. So, we have made those revisions, and we are bringing that before you so that it is codified in our code. Okay. And I'm here for any questions that you may have. Commissioner Smith. Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, part of this reason why we're here is a conversation I guess we all have had relative to some issues lately. From what I seem to remember from a long time ago doing this, that it was always, I thought, it was always the cost incurred from the code violation itself, not a fixed number of 10%. So, if we spent $1,000, $10,000 doing over 10 years the course of a code enforcement violation and all the hearings and everything else, that was what we tried to recoup as long as the property was bought back into compliance. And if it wasn't, then it would proceed and blah, blah, blah. And somewhere along the line this 10% thing crept in, which I don't recall, I don't remember us doing. So, I'm just kind of curious, was that ever part of the process or, because I don't ever remember there being a fixed 10% number. I know that's where we are today, and I know that's what has been the practice apparently, but I always thought it was to recover the cost, whatever the cost would be, because, and I know Sarah's having, like, the hand over there, but so you have a code enforcement violation of a million dollars that's built up over years. Are we really going to, and somebody brings it into compliance, right? Are we going to really hit them with a $100,000 fee? Because it didn't cost us $100,000 to do that. Ms. Woods? Well, there's, oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that those, Sarah Woods County Attorney, Commissioner Smith, those were two different issues. Recovering the costs of the code enforcement action was one issue, and we assess that against everyone. The fine is the persuasion to try to get people to bring their property into compliance. And I've only been involved in this for now and then, but I think Jeff and also Sebastian can tell you the idea that we would have a million-dollar fine or a million-dollar property doesn't really happen. I mean, the properties are usually because we have both 10% of the property value or 10% of the fine, whatever's less. It's usually not a really large fine, and there's a cap on the amount of the fine. So you have to be, we had this recently, you have to be a property owner that allows their property to be in pretty bad shape for many, many years in order to accrue that kind of a fine. That million-dollar number I just referenced, it was not a fictitious number. There was a case we had years ago out in Palm City that had become that kind of a number, and it was reduced down because it was ridiculous as to what that resolution would really be. So it wasn't like I just picked a rabbit out of the hat and said, oh, what if it were a million dollars? We had one that had built up over 15 or 18 years to like a million dollars. And then there was an effort to clean up all of the old code enforcement violations that had been lingering for decades to clean them up and do away with, you know, to get rid of them. So there may not be any of that kind of capacity anymore. I just, like the gentleman that was in from Rio over the last couple of months talking about his enforcement or the value of his property, I just, I'm not a huge fan of the idea. The idea that there should be a fine accruing, I get it. That part I get. But if somebody brings their property into compliance and it costs the county $3,000 to manage that process over time and it's brought into compliance, did we not achieve what we were trying to achieve to get the property to come into compliance? And therefore, should we just recover the cost of doing that? Or do we still pile on top the 10% or the whatever the value of the property? I just, I'm not a huge supporter of that idea. But that's it. That's all I got. Jeff, I'm sorry, you started to. There's, as Sarah mentioned, there's two issues. The cost, which is a flat fee if you go before the magistrate. I think it's $585, whatever it is. They're given every opportunity to come in compliance, 30 days, 60 days, what have you. Eventually, they don't come in compliance. The magistrate sets a per diem, per day, $100 a fine or whatever it is. If they're repeat offenders, it can be doubled or tripled that. In a particular case, they can go on 15 up to almost 20 years, and that just continues to add. That's where the large number comes from when a person doesn't do it. After 20 years, the lien goes away. So we have some in the 17-, 18-year range that if they do hit 20, it goes away. So they strategically could be not bringing in compliance once they get to a point to get to 20 years. An alternative is if the county wanted to, we could actually take it to the judicial system and the courts to demand it. We don't do that. We wait until they bring it in compliance, and then as a practice, as opposed to a policy, it has been the lesser of 10% of the lien or the value of the property. That is just a practice that was established years ago. So the alternative, if the board decided at a certain point of a dollar figure to go through the judicial process, that would be another one, as opposed to wait it out when they come in compliance and come to the 10 or 10, whichever is less. But that person typically is waiting for 20 years for it to go away, and that's in the statute. So there is a strategic plan to it. Oftentimes, if they sell the house, they have to come in compliance, or if they try to finance the house, it comes into compliance because the bank will acquire it. So that's usually the driving force. Okay. Don? Yes, Commissioner. I was just going to say from the bigger picture that oftentimes staff tries to work with a property owner for quite some time to get them into compliance. So our first role is not to go to the hearing officer, the magistrate, and initially. So that's the number one goal. So by the time it gets to these large fines, the neighborhood is typically quite upset with their neighbor, not keeping up with their house. And there has been some back and forth for a long period of time. So by the time they get to this point of reduction, typically it's being sold, and a new customer is coming in to bring it in compliance, which kind of resets the clock. And this is an incentive to encourage that to happen. So the fining really plays also a role to remind them that the community really wants them to come in compliance. And by the time they get to this fine reduction, especially if there's a large accumulation, there has been a lot of struggle with their neighborhood over this for some time. And so I think the 10% reduction has been debated whether we should do it at all in the past. I think it's served us well to encourage the transfer of property to someone who's willing to keep it up to the community standards. Commissioner Smith? So if that, and I don't disagree with anything you just said, right, if that is the driving force, though, which it should be, the community, and when we were coming out of the recession and we had all sorts of foreclosures, we had all sorts of properties that were a mess that nobody wanted to touch, I get it. And if your neighborhood is dealing with a property that has been let go, then, Jeff, if there is a statute or an ability for us to go to court, do it in two years or do it in a year. If the idea is to protect the neighborhood and someone's not coming into compliance, you got a year or whatever after the magistrate or the magistrate, whatever timeline you want to do it, we'll put that into the order and say, if we want to clean up the property and we can't get it through a magistrate or someone paying their fine until somebody refinances, which could be 10 years, if they don't choose to do it, then force them into court. If that's the driving case, which it should be, to clean up or protect the neighborhood, then protect the neighborhood. I just don't know that the fine process, I don't agree with it, the way it's structured. I would much rather see us recover the cost. And if there's a timeline that we have said enough is enough, send it to a judge. Let it go that way. That's me. Thank you. Commissioner Campy. Thank you. I appreciate the differences of opinions being presented. I make a motion to accept staff's recommendation. Second. Okay. All right. We have a motion. No. On by Commissioner Campy and second by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. Motion carries three to one with Commissioner Smith dissenting and Commissioner Jenkins absent. Thank you very much. Thank you. I think there's a public comment. That could be. We still have time. Oh, we have to take. Okay. I don't have. Would anybody like to make public comment on this item? Seeing none. And we still have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? Aye. Thank you, everyone. The motion passes three to one with Commissioner Smith dissenting. Thank you. Okay. Our next item is a quasi-judicial public hearing to consider a request for zoning district change to plan unit development through a PUD zoning agreement, including a master plan, final site plan for the Pepperwood assemblage project. Presented by Brian Elam. This is a quasi-judicial. So we'll wait until everybody gets in. Let's take ex parte while everybody's getting settled. Commissioner Smith, do you have ex parte? Okay. I do when they're filed. Commissioner Campy? I did have some, and I filed them. Commissioner Hurd. If I have any, they've been filed. Okay. Very well. And anybody providing testimony, will you please stand and be sworn in by the clerk? Raise your right hands. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Okay. Has all of your work history and appropriate paperwork been turned in? Copy of my work history, and the agenda item has been filed for Exhibit 1. Okay. We have no interveners, right? All right. With that, we will start with staff's presentation. Thank you, commissioners. For the record, Brian Elam, principal planner with the Growth Management Department. This is a request by HJA Design Studio LLC on behalf of JAMC Properties Incorporated for approval of a planned unit development zoning agreement, including a master and final site plan for an approximate 29 and a quarter acre property located between Southeast Cove Road and Southeast Salerno Road, west of Legacy Cove and south of Fern Creek. Included with this application is a request for a certificate for public facilities reservation. The proposed development includes 43 single-family lots on approximately 29 and a quarter acres, resulting in a gross density of 1.47 units per acre. This proposal includes the dedication of approximately 2 and a half acres of right-of-way to Martin County along Southeast Martin Cove Place, Southeast Pepperwood Drive, and Southeast Cove Road. The proposed master final site plan includes a total open space of 76 percent and 6.95 acres of freshwater marsh wetlands, 4.41 acres of wetland buffer, and about 0.3 acres of upland habitat creation protected under a preserve area management plan that includes the removal of exotics and restoration of these areas with native plantings. The property consists of three undeveloped parcels lying within the primary urban services district, and will have access to the full complement of public services. The north side of the property fronts the public right-of-way, Southeast Martin Cove Place, which is only partially opened across the two northern parcels. North of Southeast Martin Cove Place is one single-family home and a portion of the Fern Creek PUD, which was established in the 80s. The east side of the property abuts the unopened Southeast Pepperwood Drive right-of-way, that this application proposes opening a distance sufficient to provide access to the east side lots. The Legacy Cove PUD lies on the east of Pepperwood Drive right-of-way. The property abuts a single-family lot to the southeast and, of course, Southeast Cove Road. The properties bordering this site to the west are undeveloped. The subject property has the estate density two units per acre future land use designation and RE-1-1-2-A residential estate district zoning. To the north and west is A-1-A agricultural district zoning and rural density underlying future land use, allowing one unit per two acres. To the north and east is PUD zoning with estate density two units per acre underlying future land use. And on the southeast side of the property is one single-family home with the RE-1-1-2-A residential estate district zoning and estate density two units per acre future land use. Access to the site is proposed from Southeast Cove Road and Southeast Martin Cove Place. The 22 lots located on the west side of the property will have access from Cove Road via proposed right and left turn lanes that will be constructed in the right-of-way. The traffic division of the Public Works Department reviewed the traffic statement for this application and found it satisfies the adequate public facility standard and it has de minimis impact. 21 lots on the northeast side of the property will have access from Southeast Martin Cove Place. Ten of the lots on the north side will have driveways on Southeast Martin Cove Place and 11 of the lots will access the site via an extension of Southeast Pepperwood Drive to the development's private roadway Southeast Mande Place. There is no connection between the east and west other than what activities are allowed by the Preserve Area Management Plan. Article 3, Division 5 of the Martin County Land Development Regulations defines the purpose and intent of the planned unit development or PUD. PUD zoning agreement allows flexibility in regard to standard zoning requirements found in the land development regulations but must be consistent with the requirements of the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. The Pepperwood Assemblage PUD proposal includes smaller lot sizes, setbacks, and increased height compared to the existing RE-1.5A zoning. The applicant is also using the right to transfer one-half of the wetland acreage density. In return, this proposal offers the following public benefits. A multimodal sidewalk within Pepperwood Road right-of-way and a 30-foot existing road easement from Martin Cove Place to Cove Road includes the removal of exotics and path lighting, construction of an 8-inch gravity sewer from Pepperwood Drive, up Pepperwood Drive, and down, I think, to the end of Southeast Martin Cove Place. This extension will provide the opportunity for future connections by surrounding residences to the north and requires the existing road be reconstructed entirely to install it. And the owner will purchase a traffic preemption device for $6,000 to benefit the fire department. This is an overview of the proposed 10-foot meandering multimodal sidewalk, which will provide a pedestrian path from Martin Cove Place to Cove Road and includes path lighting. It will meander through what can be saved of any native plantings and then cleared of all the exotics. This application was heard before the local planning agency on August 15, 2024. The LPA voted 3-1 against recommendation of the proposal. One member had to recuse themselves from participating in the vote. The development review staff have found the JAMS-E Properties Incorporated application to comply with all applicable regulations and the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, as detailed in the staff report. Staff recommends approval of this application, and we move the board receive and file the agenda item and all its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit 1. Move the board approve the request for zoning district change from RE-1-1-2-A Residential Estate District to the planned unit development through the Pepperwood Assemblage PUD zoning agreement, including master final site plan and preserve area management plan. And move that the board adopt a resolution approving and accepting a right-of-way deed from JAMS-E Properties Incorporated, a Florida profit corporation, to Martin County, 30 feet of the dedicated right-of-way along southeast Martin Cove Place, 30 feet of dedicated right-of-way along southeast Pepperwood Drive, and dedicated right-of-way of varying widths along southeast Cove Road as a condition of approval of the Pepperwood Assemblage PUD zoning agreement, master and final site plan, and authorize the chairman to sign any and all documents necessary to complete the transaction. And that concludes the presentation. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Brian. Commissioner Hurd. What was the LPA vote? Three to one. In favor? In opposition? Not to recommend it. In opposition. Okay. And the lots in the northeastern sector are generally what size? I believe it's 7,500 square feet. So 21,780 square feet is a half acre, and these are two units per acre. And instead, these lots are proposed to be somewhere between 7,200 and 7,500, which is a sixth of an acre. I believe it's 75 is the most. So it's a sixth of an acre, not it's six units per acre instead of two units per acre is essentially what we're getting. No. Sure. It's about a third, right? Good morning. State your name for the record, please. Good morning. Peter Walden, Deputy Growth Management Director. Yeah, the density has taken over the site overall, which is only 1.47 units per acre. So the fact that the lots are smaller is the subject of the PUD agreement. Yeah. So just so that I can understand the math of this parcel, it's approximately 29.2 acres, 6.35 acres of wetlands, 4.41 acres of wetland buffers, and an additional 2.5 acres dedicated to the county for right-of-way and stuff, which leaves 16 acres of usable upland. And that's not including roads, sidewalks, or anything else. That sounds correct. Yeah, that sounds correct. All right. So that's essentially 3 units per acre on the site overall. No. The density is taken according to the comprehensive plan rules. So you're allowed to have one half of the density of the wetlands and the density of the uplands. So a total allowed density on the site would be 50 units. So they're proposing 43, which is a little less than what the comprehensive plan allows. How many units could you get under straight zoning? Maybe 15. Yeah. 15. And instead, they were proposing 43. Yes. Okay. That's all I have for right now. Okay. Seeing another light, does the applicant have a presentation? Yes. Good morning. For the record, Bob Rains. I'm a land use attorney with the Gunster Law Firm. And I'm here this morning on behalf of the applicant, and we appreciate the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to start just by saying that we do agree with the staff report and the comments, the conclusions, and the recommendations in that staff report. I would like to point out in the staff report, I think it's important to note a couple of important things, and I would therefore like to ask Mr. Elam, with your permission, Commissioner, a couple of quick questions, if I could. Mr. Elam, you were responsible for Section F and Section G in the staff report. Is that correct, sir? Yes. And if I could, I'm going to read Section F. That's entitled Determination of Compliance with the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan Requirements in the Growth Management Department. Is that correct? Yes. And the findings of compliance in the staff report read that the staff has reviewed this application and finds that it complies with the LDRs as detailed within this report. Staff recommends approval of this development application as consistent with the guidelines and the standards of the applicable comprehensive plan, goals, objectives, policies as implemented in the LDRs. Is that correct? Yes, sir. And is that still, sir, in your professional opinion, correct? It is consistent, yes. And then, sir, Section G is entitled Determination of Compliance with the Land Use, Site Design Standards, Zoning, and Procedural Requirements. Is that correct? Yes. And the finding of compliance under that reads, staff has reviewed this application and finds that it complies with the LDRs detailed within the staff report. Staff recommends approval of this development application as consistent with the guidelines and the standards of applicable comprehensive plan, goals, objectives, policies as implemented in the LDRs. Is that a correct reading? Yes. And in your professional opinion, sir, is that still the case? Yes, that's the case. Okay. Thank you very much. So, Commissioners, this project does meet all the rules and regulations of the comprehensive plan. But what we're going to do, and quite honestly, what, you know, will fall on our sword here, fell to do maybe at the LPA was to present a good presentation as to how this project complies and the benefits of this project. So, we're certainly going to do that today. And with that, I'd like to begin by asking Erica Beitler to come up, and she'll make a portion of the presentation. Then we'll have our environmental consultant come up, and then also our engineer to do those. So, I'd like to begin with Ms. Beitler. And if I could, I have a few questions for her. Ms. Beitler, can you please state your name for the record? Yes. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Erica Beitler. And have you been sworn in? Yes, sir. And can you give us a little bit of your history, your educational history, and your work history, please? Yes, so I was raised in this community, and I've been a graduate of the University of Florida in 2016 for landscape architecture. I've been working under Michael Houston with HJA since an intern in 2014 and working full-time since 2016. And can you describe the document I'm handing to you? Yes, this is my resume. And is that a current, accurate resume? Yes, sir. Okay. It is. I'd like to submit this, if I could, Commissioner, to the clerk as an applicant's exhibit. Are we doing them one or A, one? Two. One. We'll just do one. So, with that, I'll let you go ahead and begin your presentation. Great. Thank you. Like I said, good morning, Commissioners. Thank you for your time. I'm Erica Beitler, for the record, with HJA Design Studio. I am the planner, the landscape designer, and the agent for the applicant of this project. I just want to say thank you for staff, for diligently working with our team for over two years to get us to this point. Erica, pull that a little closer. The mic, please. Okay. Sorry. I never either talk too loud or talk too quiet. And the applicant, Donald Barnes, has reached out to the budding community members and had one meeting so far. And our team is here to answer any questions that you may have, and we'll be happy to answer them. Like staff presentation, this site is located between Cove Road and Salerno Road, about .9 miles east of Canter, west of Legacy Cove, and south of Fern Creek, and north of Anderson Middle School. This land use, existing land use, is a state density, and the zoning is RE2 1 1⁄2, which has a by-ride of two units per acre. This site is 29.23 acres and consists of three undeveloped parcels that, approximately nine acres each. And the site is bifurcated by the upper reach of Fern Creek, which makes up about 11.65 of wetlands and wetland buffers. With that, the south is access off of Cove Road, and the north is access off of Salerno via Pepperwood Drive and Cove Place. The context of this site is surrounded by single-family residences, and to the south is the two schools, middle school and, I think, elementary to high school, as well as the Atlantic Ridge Park. So our site, based on existing zoning of a state density, two units per acre, this site is allowed 44 units by right, and the proposed PUD is utilizing half a density for the wetlands and can be up to 50 units, which is 1.7 units per acre, maximum density per minute. The proposed plan that you see here has 43 lots, which in turn is 1.47 units per acre, and the typical lot size you see here is 60 by 125, which is 7,500 square feet, give or take a quarter acre. Of this site, less the right-of-way dedications is 26.73 acres, and 9.7 acres of this property will be developed, or 36% of the land. With a total of 11.65 wetlands and wetland buffers, they're creating two neighborhood pods. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to go back, but it's okay. The west pod consists of 22 lots with access off of Cove Road, and the east pod has 21 lots with access off of Solano via Pepperwood Drive and Martin Cove Place. The proposed plan will have 100% native landscape, which is 25% more of code minimum. The Pepperwood Assemblage PUD is proposing several public benefits, as staff mentioned. Of that is establishing pedestrian connectivity to Cove Road, off-site utility extension, fire department contributions, and preservation of additional upland habitat. The site also offers additional features, wetland restoration enhancement to Fern Creek, stormwater attenuation and flow improvement, as well as right-of-way dedications, which approximately 8.4% of the site will be dedicated to the county. The off-site utility extension is 8-inch gravity sewer main that's going to be constructed along the southeast Martin Cove, which is north of the site highlighted in orange. This is an opportunity for residents of Fern Creek to the north to potentially connect to this and get off of Septic. The Pepperwood Drive creation of connectivity is pretty important, as right now you have to either go east or west on Canter or Alt Road. The construction of a 10-foot meandering path across the portion of our site along Pepperwood Drive and the existing road right-of-way will strengthen the pedestrian connectivity from the Fern Creek community to Cove Road. In addition, there will be – in addition, there will be – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to – how do you go back on this? There's no going back. It's okay. It's all right. With the construction of the 10-foot meandering sidewalk addition of exotic removal, and 26 native trees and sable palms will be lining the sidewalk, as well as a safe, lit pedestrian lighting for every user, night and day. As you can see the context here, the yellow arrow is where the path will be located, and surrounding to the north and to the east is residential single-family communities, and Anderson Middle Treasure Coast Classical Academy and Atlantic Ridge State Park really enhance the mid-block connection to also that trailhead, Atlantic Ridge State Park, which is an important feature for our community. Another public benefit is the purchase of traffic preemption equipment, which is always needed. The additional habitat – creation of additional habitat will be in between the existing wetland buffers to continue that connection, which will just help contribute to that preserving of over 26 percent, the minimum open space requirement, totaling 76 open space overall for this site. There are additional project features that our team will elaborate on. That I think contribute to this overall project. And as I mentioned before, 100 percent native landscape will be provided. This exceeds the code requirement of 25 percent. It's important with the environmental habitat on this site that we continue doing 100 percent native. All stormwater retention ponds that you see along the edges here and are planted with also, obviously, 100 percent native shrubs and trees, which will help to improve water quality in the dry retention areas. And also the use of native is always important to reduce the need of irrigation long-term and pesticides, which in turn improves local biodiversity. And with that said, I'm going to introduce Drew Gatewood, who's our environmental consultant, to speak upon the wetlands and habitat. But before you do that, let me ask Ms. Beitler a couple of quick questions. So, Ms. Beitler, you're familiar with the comprehensive plan? Yes, sir. And you're familiar with the Martin County Land Development Regulations? Certainly. And in your professional opinion, does this project meet both the comprehensive plan and land development regulations of Martin County? Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. Now, Mr. Gatewood can come up. Drew, if you could please introduce yourself for the record. My name is Drew Gatewood. And have you been sworn in? I have. And can you provide us with a brief summary of your education and work history, please? I've been doing environmental work since 2001. I've got three master's degrees and a host of licenses and certifications that are on the resume that he's about to. Okay, and I'll hand you that, and you can use, is that your resume? It is. And is it an accurate and up-to-date resume? Yes. I'd like to submit this as applicant's exhibit. I went with twos, right? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Please. All right. I've been working on these parcels since 2014, doing environmental assessments and JDs as projects come and go. So this is the first time we've been able to actually put a project together and do this. But I've watched the wetlands on site continually degrade with the density of the exotic vegetation. Our wetlands in the southwest corner aren't nearly as bad as what it is in the rest of Fern Creek. But one of the main things, our goal for the wetland restoration side of this, is to create a better flow through this water basin. We have a density of melaleuca and climbing fern, which choke the water out. They also prohibit a lot of our wildlife usage. I have very little observations of anything as far as wading birds. We haven't had any gopher tortoises. We really haven't had any wildlife that's out of hogs on site. I think going through our pant process with the restoration and the exotic removal will help benefit this area. The one thing that I am excited about this project, I don't know if you, can you see the screen? Yes. So where that cul-de-sac is, just due west of that, that density of gray is a stand of melaleuca. It's probably between 30, 40 foot tall. We're going to be removing some of those, but some of what we're proposing on doing is girdling them so they'll be left upright, which I think once we have the rest of this cleared out and start to have some open water, it'll create a wading bird habitat that we haven't had so far. The restoration plan that I've designed is to help facilitate that usage come in. And then with the Water Management District's guidelines and your PAMP guidelines, we will be doing annual maintenance and monitoring. It's perpetual. So once this gets cleaned up and actually is functional again, it's not going to be reverting back to what it looks like today. Mr. Gatewood, you're familiar with the Martin County Rules, Regulations, and Comprehensive Plan with respect to environmental issues? I am. And in your professional opinion, does this project meet those? It does. Goals and objectives? Thank you. Yep. And our final presenter is Mr. Rick Creech. Mr. Creech, you know the routine, sir, if you would. Yes, sir. Rick Creech, Creech Engineers. And have you been sworn? Yes, I have. And can you give us a brief summary of your history, work history, and educational history? I'm glad you qualified work history. I could stand up here all day. But Rick Creech, 40 years of experience in Martin County. Have a bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University in civil engineering. I have a master's degree from Creighton University in dispute resolution. And I've been working on projects, like I said, here in Martin County in engineering and surveying since I was roughly nine years old. So I've done a significant portion of the projects. And is that your current resume, sir, that I'm handing you? Yes, it is. Okay. And I'd like to submit that as applicants, Exhibit 3. Go right ahead, sir. You know, good morning. It's good to see everyone. First of all, I don't get an opportunity to speak that often. So I wanted to thank everyone here, the commission and staff, for the wonderful job you guys have done. I know, Commissioner Hurd, you're going on 22 years now. And I was sitting here thinking I've got to put my glasses on. And I can remember chuckling at Jack Carmody when I was, like, a young man doing my first presentation. And it's like now I've got to put them on to be able to see. And, you know, Commissioner Smith, thank you very much for your service going on 24 years. So thank you, Commissioners. I know it's a hard job and a heavy lift. So with that, you know, one of the things that I love about this project is having barefooted around and grew up down in this part of the world in Cove Road when it was dirt is Fern Creek back in the 70s used to be a flowing kind of, like, wetland system. I have to applaud Mike Grzelka. He went out with my staff, you know, several months ago to help determine the seasonal high water table. And it was like climbing through a jungle, and you could not get through it. It was a major ordeal just to get, you know, feet inside the wetlands. And so with what Drew had mentioned earlier, you know, the ability to, you know, take Fern Creek, which serves the area of Cove Road, and Cove Road's county project as an outfall will definitely, you know, help the area in providing flood protection for Cove Road and various other lots in and around the area. You know, with its outfall to basically, you know, St. Lucie River. You know, as you can see, this project, as I think as I was consulting with Haley Ward, which Dan Gruen is here with Haley Ward, one of the other project engineers on the site, in providing that local knowledge, there has been some concerns in Solorino Road about, you know, overtopping the road and flooding. So I encourage them to provide a system that reduced the amount of outfall and discharge to lower than what the pre-development discharge is. And so what I did is just had a little moment here to show that we're substantially, you know, considering probably about 20% to 30% less in our outfall discharge from the site as it currently does today. One of the other items that, you know, I like to mention is, you know, nowadays you have what you call impaired water bodies, and St. Lucie River is an impaired water body. As a result of that, you know, criteria now basically provides for enhanced water quality in those areas. So we're now providing, instead of what the standard would have been, 100% of water quality treatment, we're now providing 150% of water quality treatment prior to discharge. And we're doing that through a series of dry retention systems, filtration, and wet detention. So I think that will be a definitely bonus for the area, along with, you know, meeting Martin County's water quality treatment, which is roughly three inches, where the water management district requires only about two and a half. So we're well, you know, on our way with, you know, enhancing the water quality from Fern Creek, helping the county with some of its drainage systems out there. The other really critical path here, I think, that benefits the county and, you know, the project, obviously, is when we clean up the exotics, you know, it's going to allow for better flood protection for Cove Road, which is a historically, you know, arterial roadway and a historical evacuation route. So without, you know, Cove Road, Martin County would be severely, you know, impacted if it was not allowed, you know, if it was flooded during that time period. So, you know, that's the stormwater piece. As you can see, the dry retention areas are adjacent to, you know, the project and discharge into the wetland and discharge clean water. It kind of gives you an overall impact of Fern Creek in its entirety and what it serves. It serves Cove Road, which primary outfall is right there where that blue arrow is, and moves to the north underneath Lorna Road out to the St. Lucie River. So this is basically the headwaters of Fern Creek. One of the other items that has not been, in my opinion, as relayed or been performed lately on a lot of projects I've been involved in is right-of-way dedication. Here, you know, Martin County has requested that we give up roughly 0.6 acres to enhance Cove Road's right-of-way as an arterial roadway such that it now, instead of being disjointed right-of-ways in the county, possibly in the future during expansions, having to do due diligence and do eminent domain, now are receiving those right-of-ways in contribution as part of the project. So, you know, one of the things that I like to talk about is, you know, having been, you know, native of the area is what I think is what is a good project. And I think this is a good infill project. It's inside the urban service boundary. It's on an arterial roadway. It's thoughtfully designed. There's enhancements of historical wetlands that have been forgotten and are exotic infested. And it, you know, kind of, you know, with the schools being great schools in the area, it's going to be a desirable place to live. You've got David Anderson across the street. You've got South Fork and Porcelain Elementary and Crystal Lake. So it's going to be a desirable place. And I think it's going to be a very family-oriented aspect with respect to the multimodal path. If, you know, growing up in that area, if you were to notice, you know, back Commissioner Hercella, when she was on the board, had implemented the sidewalk program in Martin County. Martin County at that time had very little sidewalks or no sidewalks. And Mel, the little guy with the beard, was putting sidewalks in all across the county, all by himself and sometimes with a crew of one or two. So I think the internal continuity of a multimodal path is integral to connecting those Salerno Creek, you know, communities to David Anderson and, you know, and making it much more communal and providing continuity. So preserving open space, I mean, that's an obvious thing that we do nowadays. So, you know, open 76% is greater than what would be required. Enhancing the infrastructure and public services, I mentioned the right-of-way again and Cove Road. Eventually it will be expanded. And then secondly is, you know, providing that septic-to-sewer program that the county has tried to mandate for years to getting people off of septic tanks and improving the groundwater quality and surface water quality by going to public sewers. And then contribution to the emergency services, it's the right thing to do, obviously, you know, and to aid in the public safety for the community. And then, you know, maintaining the character of the surrounding areas. I talked about the schools and the single-family residential aspects of the project. I think it's an ideal spot for it. So thank you for your kind attention. And with that, Mr. Kreese, just a couple of questions for you again, sir. I assume you're familiar with the Martin County Comprehensive Plan and the land development regulations with respect to this project? Yes, I am. And in your professional opinion, does this project meet all those requirements and objectives? Yes, and then some. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner, that concludes our presentation. We appreciate your time. We believe we've got a great project here. We believe also we have a staff recommendation of approval, and I think we've shown that we do meet all the rules and regulations and the comprehensive plan. And we would respectfully request you to accept staff's recommendation and approve this project, and we'll be glad to answer any questions you might have. Okay. Ely Selder, Deputy County Attorney. Bob, can you just confirm that the affidavit of notice was provided? Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Yes. Thank you. The notices to the surrounding property owners was turned in at the LPA meeting for this meeting also. Thank you. Okay. Great. Commissioner Smith. Thank you, Madam Chair. When I met with the applicant and listened to their presentation, the only suggestion, it wasn't like you have to do this sort of an idea. The length of that multi-use path and the lighting that's going to be there, just as time moves on and as time moves on, we have found that in a lot of our parks we have put fiber optics in and we have put in security systems that we know where everybody is and what they're doing for obvious reasons. And I think with the connection to the school and the fact that there will be a lot of kids hopefully living in this neighborhood and wanting to be able to have access to those schools, it may not be a bad idea to install fiber optics for cameras for the future so that residents can have the complete knowledge and safety that if their kids are going to walk that long distance to the school through the neighborhood, that at least somebody could have an eye on them to make sure that everything was safe. I just think it's a great path. I love the idea that they designed it and put it in. I think it's fantastic. I just think for added security they might want to consider that. But it's not something that I say you have to do. It's just a consideration. That's all. All right. Yes, sir. Understood. Thank you. Thank you. I'm looking for public comment. I don't have any forms. Would anybody like to make public comment? Yes, sir. Could you please fill out a form when you're done and submit it to the bailiff? Yes. You have three minutes for public comment and you will hear a ding with 15 seconds remaining. Understood. My name is Derek. How are you all doing today? I'm the resident in the corner of the four lots there. And just some concerns that I had. I wasn't able to make it on the 17th. But the walkway, that is a great asset to the value. But from my front porch, I could see all these people every day. So they're going to set back another 10, 15 feet on me, which it is what it is. At 10 years old, I told myself I wanted to save up by five acres in Martin County. And now this dream's being abolished. Very nerve-wracking up here. Mr. Creech mentioned growing up in that area when he was a child. And my kids are doing that now. And to have that taken away, you know, that's substantial to me. The outflow from Cove Road that he mentioned as far as going through to Salerno, it's just going to be bottlenecked through my property. You know, they're not going to be able to... Are they going to come into my wetlands and, you know, clear that and remove the invasive species there? I've seen, what are they, rosate spoonbills. I've seen deer, hogs, coyotes, bobcats. Everything on my property due to Cove Royale. You know, everything's getting pushed out. They're losing their areas. And that's a constant, you know, you see dead animals on Cove Road all the time. Just wanted to be, you know, voiced and heard. So that's all I have. Thank you all. Thank you, sir. Amber, would you like to speak? Just fill out a form when you're done. It's nice to be here at these meetings because I get to learn about how it all goes. Just, like, a thought I was having watching this presentation, a question, really. When it comes to the exotics that are going to be removed, is that an ongoing process? Like, if more grow again, are we going to remove them? Or is it, like, we did it once and now they grow back? Like, and then, you know, because obviously thinking about what Mr. Creech, I think, just said, like, that he's got some on his property. So, like, if they just grow back, you know, might want to think about that. And as well as I like the path idea, like, that sounds very nice. I agree with Commissioner Smith about the, you know, ensuring safety for the kids that are walking that. I don't know how lighting affects the animals that are around there. So, if there's, like, some sort of specific type of lighting that can, you know, make sure. I don't know if it's, like, you know, red lights or blue lights. You know, if there's a certain type of lighting that's good for the environment. That's all. Thanks. Thank you for your comments. Commissioner Heard. Yeah. I'm sorry. Go ahead. I was just going to bring Drew up to answer. And I'm sorry, I didn't catch her last name, but Amber's question on that. Let's have Commissioner Heard, and then we'll answer all those comments at the end. Yeah. I was looking at the ownership, and the developer's name looks familiar. Is this the same developer who proposed the 90 units in Palm City? Yes, ma'am. Okay. And sold the property to the county. Right. Yeah. At the request of the county. Right. So, once again, I'm going back to development. Growth in this corridor is rampant, and it's ever-expanding, and the residents are just about ready to melt down, particularly those on Cove Road, because there is insufficient capacity on Cove Road in order to handle the volume of new residents moving into these new developments. If this project was straight zoning, there would be 15 homes that would be allowable, according to our staff on this parcel. Instead, there are 43 units proposed on this property, more than half of those will be approximately a sixth of an acre, even though the zoning allows two units per acre. Instead, it will be six, because it's a public PUD, and therefore density bonuses are given in return in exchange for public benefit. But the only public benefit that's being provided that's substantial at all is a sidewalk. I think that as a policy, we should not be allowing PUDs in this corridor. We should not be allowing density bonuses in this corridor, so I am not going to support this. I'm going to heed the LPA's recommendation for denial. I would only address just Commissioner Hurd's comments just on a couple of quick things. One, with respect to the public benefits, I respect her opinion on that. That's certainly a subjective and an opinion when it comes to public benefits. I appreciate that. I would just correct two statements. One, there is sufficient capacity on Cove Road. I don't want that to go said, because that's an inaccurate statement. The capacity even states in the staff report that there's capacity, and it's a level, I believe, maybe somebody from the staff can confirm it, but I believe it's a level C on Cove Road right now. So that, number one. Number two, it is not six units per acre. You know, you either believe in the comprehensive plan in its totality or you don't, and according to the comprehensive plan, calculation is based upon the way that Mr. Walden stated it in his presentation. So to say that it's six units per acre is inaccurate according to the comprehensive plan. So I wanted to get those on the record just to clear it up. Thank you, Mr. Raines. Commissioner Campy. Thank you very much. Um, interesting project to answer Amber's question. When a area is cleared of exotics, a PAMP preserve area management plan is put in place that the association would then have to follow forever. In regards to the public comment, the neighbor who's already there on a beautiful five acres right in the heart of town, good for you, um, I think maybe based on what his reasonable request would be that if you are in the process, and I'm not trying to put extra work on the, on the developer and the applicant, but maybe if you are there, most of the big expense is, is just organizing and, and getting the equipment to the location. If there's a way you could work to assist an existing neighbor so that he, you don't, in an effort to clear your spot, create an issue for him, if that could be worked out to, you know, collaborate with him to have a benefit for the fact that, you know, um, he will be a very affected neighbor. I did receive, I think all of us did receive a letter from the president of the property, property association, property owners association of Fern Creek. I thought that their requests, they were not opposed to the project based on what I read, but their, uh, requests I thought were reasonable. One was a four way stop sign at an intersection that would, uh, be created. And two, uh, similar to what our public speaker said about drainage issues, that there are already some existing drainage, drainage issues. I would like, uh, given the, um, opportunity for the project to move forward, that those issues be taken into consideration very seriously. Uh, let's have a benefit come from this. We have had other situations where development happening next to existing, and in this particular case, long time existing residents, uh, they should see no adverse impact. If anything, they should see a benefit to that. And I think that there's the possibility of doing that. In regards to my colleagues concerned that straight zoning would allow 15 units, uh, instead of the requested 43, um, we, as a community have been spending a lot of time and effort and energy talking about housing opportunities for everyone. If we were to continue to follow along with what would be straight zoning and using this property to create 15 homes, these would be million dollar homes, if not more. And then we're trying to figure out how do we keep our existing residents here? How do we allow young people that grew up here to have even the opportunity to live where they grew up, to work where they grew up? I respect my colleagues' opinion. 15 units sounds terrific. But if that's all we're going to do is build millionaire homes, and we are doing that at the very high level. If we do that on every parcel, every 10-acre parcel, 22-acre parcel, 40-acre parcel, we will literally, we will wipe out our young people from being able to live here. These homes, I would imagine, are not going to be 250, 350 houses. But if we don't create, at least think about that segment, the half a million to 650, which sadly is like the new norm, we're never going to allow people to come here. We will disrupt the flow of the market in such a way that we will never have people live here. And all we will create is tremendous traffic because the needs of a community for employees never goes away. If anything, it increases. If we force our employees to live elsewhere, and now the days of living just over the border north of us in Port St. Lucie in tradition, that's nearly not an option anymore either because it costs 650, 750, 850 to live in tradition. And they're also being taxed out of the ability to live there. We'll never have it. So I hear what Commissioner Hurd is saying. And in a perfect world, I like 15 units to the acre, and I like that we would never vary from a straight zoning strategy. But as commissioners, at least in my world, I think we need to continue to create all of the segments of the market where people that went from they bought their first home magically for maybe in the 350 to 400, and now they can step up into probably this neighborhood, then someone else can purchase their home, and the market continues to manage itself. The concept of too much traffic on Cove Road is something that every single time something comes up, whether it's a school or a business or a neighborhood, Cove Road is an issue. Now, I was not sitting up here during the four years that the Cove Road sort of blew up. It was long on the list, and anyone that's familiar with how the DOT operates, it was long on the list and finally working its way to the top of the list for years. And just as it got to the top, and Commissioner Smith was here, just as it got close to being, okay, it's the next project that will be worked on, the board at the time, the majority of the board at the time said, we're not interested. And it was taken off the list, removed. And then when the majority came back, I came back in 2016, and we asked FDOT, hey, can we put that back on? It went to the bottom of the list with really no fast pass, you know, fast tracking anymore because it had worked its way, and then it was knocked down. So it's on the list again, but imagine you're getting close to the front of the line, and you voluntarily say, I'm getting off the line. And then a couple of years later, you say, oh, I made a mistake. I want to get back on the line. You're on the line, but there's a lot of neighborhoods and communities and projects that moved in front of you. Eventually, Cove Road will get done. It would have been done by now, I believe. Staff can correct me if I'm wrong. It would have been done by now, but it's not. And so I don't know if we punish everyone that owns property along that area, including you, sir, that if you ever wanted to do anything with your property, which obviously it seems like you don't except raise your kids there, which is fantastic for you, I can't use that as a tipping point to say I won't allow any other projects there because that was sort of internal politics happening up here. And the last point is that 22 of the units will go to Cove, and the other northern portion will go that way. I do agree with my commission colleague that some of the public benefits is sort of a personal opinion. I get that those are benefits. The concept, and most people are not familiar with, if you enter into a PUD, you have to give some kind of public benefit. Sometimes it seems like a very obvious public benefit. Sometimes it seems like a benefit to the people that will live inside the project. But the right-of-way is an interesting advantage because as we do that Cove Road, when we finally do get to the point where we're going to do Cove Road, the most time-consuming and difficult and expensive portion of that will be trying to acquire the necessary right-of-way from every single owner along the corridor. And this group is already saying we're putting it in up front. So that will be one less thing, one less expense that we will have to work on. So I will count that as a thing. The sidewalk, when I first read about it, I was thinking that's not that big of a deal. But when I look at it, the map, and I see when it's presented today, if it is a connectivity way, considering that Treasure Coast Classical Academy is there, and Anderson Middle School, so you've got charter and public right there, and Treasure Coast Classical Academy is doing nothing but growing from elementary school, now middle school, now high school, a north-south pedestrian bike-riding path for parents to walk their kids to school versus getting in the car in Fern Creek and driving around and becoming more a part of the problem, I bet those families will definitely utilize that walkway to come down, not just the families that will live in the assemblage or the Pepperwood assemblage, so will all the Fern Creek families have that as an option. So I count that as a benefit. And so with that, I would move staff's recommendation after that very brief comment. Okay. Yeah, there are no affordable units that are promised in this PED, are there? I don't mean affordable, I just mean attainable. Are there any attainable houses promised in these public benefits? I didn't see any. I don't mean the, I'm sorry for interrupting, I'll wait until you're done. Elise Elder, Deputy County Attorney, there's nothing about pricing in the PED agreement. And that's not what I meant. I meant, obviously, you don't have to be a professional real estate agent to understand, if you're building 43 units on this property versus 15 units on the property, on much larger pieces of property, the market would tell you 43 homes will be less expensive per unit than 15 homes would be. It's just market rate. And the reason why Cove Road is overburdened is not because an additional road was not built. It's because over the last 22, 24 years, the development crazy board majorities have granted comp plan amendments to all the landowners along this corridor to increase their densities. When I became a commissioner, nobody had any land use other than rural, one unit per two acres. And now we know we've got five units per acre, we've got four units per acre, we've got six units per acre. That's why Cove Road is crowded. Thanks. If I might, and I definitely, thank you. I appreciate that. I haven't even said my comment yet. Commissioner Campy. Thank you. I definitely do not want to get into a back and forth with my colleague. No, we don't. I definitely, I don't. However, I would say that Trey Bell, one of the larger projects on the corridor, was a comp plan amendment change. And if I'm not mistaken, it was approved by Commissioner Hurd. It was. So let's not say that sometimes all of us might be crazy, because that's a very large neighborhood on Cove Road and requiring a comprehensive plan amendment change that my colleague did vote to do. So it just depends on what your interest level is, I assume. This is 43. And, you know, our development, our, I guess I'm one of the crazy ones. I see my friend is shaking his head, yes. So he would think I was as well. But if you look at the statistics, we grow at less than 2% nearly every single year. So I don't know where the spikes of crazy come from, whether we had the majority or the others had the majority. It's similar every year. It's not like it's not a Richter scale. And that's my final comment. Thank you. And we do have a motion on the floor by Commissioner Campy and a light on by Commissioner Smith. Two other just little historical factoids in that comprehensive plan amendment. Not only was that done, but 300 more acres were moved inside the urban service boundary, and water and sewer was added to what was outside the urban service boundary that was moved into the urban service boundary, of which I voted against on Cove Road. And Cove Road would have been four-laned by 2017. And with that, I will move a second. Commissioners. Thank you. And I just, two comments that I had written down during your presentation. One, Commissioner Campy addressed the Fern Creek Property Owners Association requesting a stop sign at Pepperwood Drive and Southeast Martin Cove stop sign. Four-way stop sign. And then secondly is, I hope the comments on the drainage, because this is, Code Rove widening is the number one priority. Actually, it might be the number two priority right now on the MPO. So they should, when they design that project, I think taking the concern, it has nothing to do with this project. I know you're getting nervous, but they should take into consideration the design, the drainage of Cove Road. So I think that's a conversation for the MPO, but while we're talking about Cove Road, it's imperative that they get that drainage right on the Cove Road widening. Nothing to do with this project. So with that, we have a motion on the floor by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner. Yes? I apologize. Do you have an additional comment? Yes. Just on the four-way stop sign, what I would ask if that's going to be a condition added to the PUD is that it is also based upon staff's review and concurrence that it is safe, it is the right thing to do for that location. Because I don't know that it is or isn't, and there are times where we have wanted to put four-way stop signs in, and they're not the right thing to do. It may seem like it in the neighborhood, but it may not be the safest, best condition. So the only thing I would add is if that is a conditional aspect, that it is with the review, the concurrence of staff to say yes or no. And thank you, Commissioner. We would agree with that condition specifically based upon what you were saying. And that was going to be my only concern is we were going to have a condition that wouldn't be it. So the way that Commissioner Smith stated it is fine with us. Agree. And a motion amended? Yes. And a seconder certainly agrees. So with that, we have a motion on the floor. And all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Opposed. Motion carries three to one with Commissioner Hurd dissenting. Thank you very much. And we are going to take now our overdue closed captioning break. For ten minutes. And we will be back at 11.10. Thank you. Yep. We're on. Here I am. Okay. Welcome back to our August 27th commission meeting. And we are starting back with departmental number one, Office of Management and Budget items which require board approval. Presented by Stephanie. 24 items. Yes. Good morning, Commissioner. Stephanie Murley, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, here to present to you the OMB item for today. Our first item is a permission to apply for the Tropical Farms Advanced Wastewater Treatment Pilot Grant. This grant is for $510,000 to evaluate the feasibility of achieving advanced treated water for potable reuse applications. The estimated project cost is $850,000, and the grant application includes a $340,000 match, which is budgeted within the Utilities and Solid Waste Capital Improvement Plan. Item number two is a permission to apply for the Water Quality Improvement Grant for Martin County's Windstone Evergreen Connect to Protect Septic to Sewer Grinder Project. Utilities and Solid Waste is requesting permission to apply for $698,000 to be used to construct small-diameter force mains and lateral lines for the Windstone and Evergreen neighborhoods. The project cost is approximately $1.7 million, and the grant application includes a $1.1 million match commitment, which is budgeted within the Utilities and Solid Waste Capital Improvement Plan. Item number three is a permission to apply for the Water Quality Improvement Grant for Martin County's Beau Ravage Connect to Protect Septic to Sewer Grinder Project. Utilities and Solid Waste is requesting $390,000 for the Septic to Sewer Project at Beau Ravage to construct small-diameter force mains and lateral lines. The project cost is approximately $975,000, and the application includes a $585,000 match commitment, which is budgeted within the Utilities and Solid Waste Capital Improvement Plan. Item number four is a permission to apply for the FY 2024-25 Trails Go Local Trail Management Grant. The Environmental Resource Division is requesting $200,000 for the installation of three new chicky shade structures and 10 new picnic tables at the Martin County Blue Way Paddling Trail. A $50,000 grant match is required, which is budgeted within the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Capital Improvement Plan sheet. You can stop me at any time if you have any questions. Number five is a permission to apply for the FY25-26 local government funding request from Florida Department of Environmental Protection, or FDEP, for beach management. Our Environmental Resource Division is requesting a grant award of $92,475 for design funds for the Bathtub Beach Sailfish Point Beach Renourishment Project. A grant match of $157,000 is required and budgeted within our Bathtub Beach Capital Improvement Plan budget. Item number six is a permission to apply for the FY25-26 local government funding request from FDEP for beach management again. This request is for $206,865 for monitoring funds for the Martin County Hutchison Island Shore Protection Project, or the Four Mile Beach Project. The budget match is $243,135, which is budgeted within the Hutchison Island Shore Protection CIP budget. Item number seven is another permission to apply for the FDEP Beach Management Grant Program. It's a requested grant award of $2.2 million for design construction and immediate post-construction monitoring funds for MacArthur Boulevard Dune Beach Project. There is a 50% match of $2.2 million, which is budgeted within the MacArthur Dune Project CIP in the coastal budget. Item number eight is a permission to apply for the FY24-25 DEP Water Quality Improvement Grant for Port Salerno-New Monrovia Vacuum Sewer Project. Utilities and Solid Waste Department is requesting $12.5 million for the construction costs for a vacuum-assisted gravity sewer collection system, a vacuum pump building, and construction engineering inspection services for Port Salerno-New Monrovia neighborhood. The total cost of the project is $22 million, and we've already received a $500,000 grant for this project. Stephanie, just pause one moment. Commissioner Campy. Ms. Murley, we had a public speaker this morning asking questions on the timing. Do you have any idea of the timing? Matt Graham is here to answer that question. Matt? Good afternoon, Commissioner. Matt Graham, Assistant County Administrator. We're looking towards the end of the year for when we would hear back from the state on that. Okay, so the paperwork's been filed? Yes. And by the end of the year, you'll hear back? Yes. And then how long would it take? Let's say we're positive and we get the money. Is there, like, another six, nine months, or is the money, like, is there another cycle then that the checks are written, or does it come soon afterwards? That I don't know. I can get it out, right? Once the award is done, it takes anywhere from three to six months to sometimes get the grant contract executed, and during that time you would go through the get ready to do the bidding process and also the special assessment process as well so that we could begin construction, award the contract after we have the contract for the grants in place. So just to clarify, simultaneously, as the check is going through its process, knowing that you've been rewarded, awarded, we are still working. We're not waiting to get the check and then start. We're simultaneously working. I hope that answers the person's question. And just to let you know that there was a submittal deadline a few weeks ago, which the staff did already submit, and once you pass this today, that affirms to the department that we were serious about this application. Okay. Sometimes we're not. Great. Great. Thank you, Stephanie. Go ahead. All right. Moving on. Number nine is a permission to apply for the FDEP Inlet Management Grant. The Environmental Resource Division is requesting $6.5 million for the St. Lucie Inlet Management Plan implementation project, which includes the construction costs for south bypassing to the town of Jupiter Island. There is a county match of $6.5 million, which is programmed within the coastal St. Lucie Inlet Management CIP budget. Item number 10 is a permission to accept the state financial assistance from Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE. State, this grant is an award of $500,000 to procure professional planning and design services to construct a mental health housing pod for the Martin County Sheriff's Office. This grant will also prepare a master plan for the Holt Correctional Medical Facility site and prepare preliminary plans for the new mental health housing pod, and there's no cash match required. Stephanie, can I stop? Yes. Yes. And just on this one, I think as we all remember from the presentation that Sheriff Snyder gave us, I don't know, six months ago or so on the cost of what the unit will look like, we are going to have to have a significant coordinated effort to get whatever funding from the state that's going to help us build that facility because it's a lot of money. And so just long term, we just all need to be thinking about what that strategy looks like and how our delegation, not that we don't have a great supportive delegation wanting to help us on that effort, but getting that kind of request through or a portion of that kind of request through the state is going to be a huge lift. So we should not give up that effort at any time soon, I think. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Item number 11 is a permission to accept the Housing and Urban Development HUD grant. This is for a grant award of $153,120 to provide permanent supportive housing rental assistance for individuals with disabilities who have experienced chronic homelessness and there is no match required. Item number 12 is a permission to accept amendment number one for the E-911 state grant. This is an amendment for an additional $7,694 for the COVA logging recorder upgrade. The additional funds will allow for the replacement of HP switches that are at end of life for the recording system at E-911 at the Martin County Sheriff's Office. There's no additional match required. Item number 13 is a permission to accept the Florida Department of Transportation, FDOT, transportation grant agreement amendment number one for the mill and overlay medium intensity taxiway light replacement and re-stripe for taxiway alpha construction. This is part one of two items for this item at the Martin County Airport. FDOT is awarding grant amendment number one for an additional $3,886 to complete the cost of taxiway alpha construction project. The remainder of the cost is covered by a local share match of 5% of $3,800 in the FAA portion, which is later in this item for an additional $69,000. Item number 14 is a permission to accept the FY 2425 state funded emergency preparedness and assistance grant or EMPA grant for our emergency management division. We're requesting funding in the amount of $28,700 for an accreditation program for the Martin County emergency management that is designed to establish and maintain quality standards by ensuring compliance with predefined criteria for emergency management in the state of Florida, and there is no cash match required. Item number 15 is a permission to accept amendment number two for the FDEP East Fork Creek stormwater treatment area phase two grant. We're accepting an additional $500,000 to provide funds for the construction of an STA in lake in accordance with the construction contract documents. This amendment does not require any change to the local contribution that has been budgeted and set aside for this grant. Item number 16 is a permission to accept the second part of the taxiway alpha change order for the FAA portion to increase funding of the taxiway alpha rehabilitation and lighting. This is for the $69,944 for the construction of taxiway alpha portion of the airport project. Item number 17 is a permission to accept the FAA grant for the reconstruction of taxi lane Bravo design. This is a grant award of $59,400 to reconstruct taxi lane Bravo. There's a local share of $19,260, which will be provided from the airport enterprise fund. Item number 18 is a permission to accept the mental health awareness training grant. The human services division is requesting the acceptance of grant year three of a grant award of $120,000 to promote and conduct mental health awareness training initiatives throughout Martin County, and there is no match required. Item number 19 is a budget resolution to appropriate the transportation disadvantage planning grant for the MPO. This is an annual allocation that we receive in the amount of $25,741 for the state transportation disadvantage funds, and OMB is just requesting an appropriation through budget resolution for those funds. Item number 20 is there's three parts. It's a request for funds from community broadband reserves. Martin County ITS is requesting the use of community broadband reserve funds to cover upfront costs of repairs while reimbursements are being recouped. There were three separate fiber incidents that everyone keeps hitting the fiber, I guess, for the amount of $26,221 as a result of the EF-1 tornado in Hope Sound back in June. On July 30th, repair costs of $17,580 to restore the community broadband network at the ground box on US-1 and Goldenrod Road. And then on August 1st, 2024, in the amount of $30,913 at North Citrus Boulevard. Item number 21 is a request for funds from general fund reserves for the sheriff's office. The Martin County Sheriff's Office is requesting funding to purchase five portable and five mobile radios due to the increase in budgeted positions in this fiscal year. The estimated cost of the radio purchase is approximately $81,500, which requires a budget transfer from general fund reserves. Item number two is a request to amend the Martin County Sheriff's Office firearm training facility project. The Martin County Sheriff's Office and the Martin County General Services Department is requesting the reallocation of funds in the amount of $459,000 from the current Logistics and Operations Center project to the Martin County Office firearms training project to complete this phase. This is including the replacement of an existing triple-wide modular building with two double-wide modular buildings, security enhancement, sidewalk adjustments, and utility adjustments for the new buildings. Stephanie, can you pause for a moment? Yes. Yeah, explain this to me. So we're appropriating $758,000 for two new trailers, and then we're appropriating $459,000 for designing a future facility at the same location? It's a reappropriation of funds from one project to another. I'll let staff explain. Get your name for the record. Good morning. Sean Donahue, General Services Director. Yes, we're solving a problem. The existing trailer that's on the site now was one of the old courthouse modulars from way back. So it's old. It's way beyond its useful life. So in order to make this safe, we need to bring in two new modulars while we're master planning the current site so we can enhance that site down the road. It was debated back and forth about whether we would move that range out to the western properties or stay on the same site. We decided to look at staying on the same site, see if we could fit everything the sheriff's office needs on this site, master planning it, and then coming back with costs. Okay. I haven't bought a triple-wide modular building ever, but $758,000 for two of them? There are two trailers, correct. They're about $200,000 each. Okay. That's $400,000. Where's the additional? The rest is site work to accommodate the trailers. And then we're just going to pick it up and spend $459,000 to design a new facility? We can use those trailers for as long as we need to while we're saving up some funds for the future facility. The purpose is to concentrate on the berming and the range safety at the existing locations. So what is the current CIP sheet for this future building? What's the budget? Off the top of my head, I don't have that in front of me. It's around $10 million, roughly. But that would be, again, this master plan would come back and see what we can do on this current site, what efficiencies we can find, how long we can use these modulars while making the site safe, and then so the sheriff's office can use it appropriately. I think we need to sharpen our pencils on this one. That's the plan. You're going to spend $1.3 million to sharpen your pencil, to spend $10 more million? For a firearm facility. Okay. Question? All right. Stephanie? Next item is a request to amend the Martin County Sheriff's Office Marine Operations Center at Sandsport Park. Increased cost for fiber technology and communications equipment has increased the total project cost by $689,750. There was law enforcement impact fee reserves available to recognize the carry-forward impact fees to continue this project and get it off the books. Mr. Hearn? Yeah, why don't we re-bid it? This project's been under construction for about a year, and we took the lowest bid with the, well, the second lowest bid. The first bidder was a... Yeah, but it was $235,000, and now it's $580,000 per square foot. You don't feel it's necessary to re-bid when you get a cost increase in that amount? When we bid it, we had four bidders come in, I believe, three or four, and they were right about the same range, cost per square foot. Okay, well, we're going to have to separate out $22,000 and $23,000 when we approve the items. And last but not least is a budget transfer from utilities fund reserves for sludge removal. Due to an increase in the volume of biosolids removal from the treatment plants, utilities is requesting a transfer from utility fund reserves in the amount of $400,000 to cover the cost of this necessary sludge removal. Okay. And that's it. All right, we have a light on by Commissioner Smith. Madam Chair, I move approval of all the agenda items, less item 22 and 23. Commissioner Hurd, I think that was what you said. Yeah, that's good. Thanks. Second. Okay, so all items except for 22 and 23, I have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor, aye. I'm sorry, wait. Sarah's raising her hand. Oh, do we need public comment? Any public comment on these 24 items? Okay. All right. She's on her toes. Okay, so I have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries four to zero. And now we have item 22 and 23. We'll make a motion to staff's recommendation for items 22 and 23 for the Sheriff's Department. Second. And we have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. Motion carries three to one with Commissioner Hurd dissenting. Thank you very much. Our next item is Christie, contracts that meet the threshold for board approval, a million dollars or greater. And before you start, I have two that I will be recusing myself from, A1 and A2. As a consultant of Ferreira Construction, we'll be separating those two out. I'll be recusing myself. I have filed Form 8B for both items, A1 and A2. Good? Okay. Go ahead. Thank you. Christie Brotherton, Chief Procurement Officer. The first item we have for your consideration is the contract for the East Fork Creek Stormwater Treatment Area, Phase 2. Staff is recommending that the board award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, which is Dickerson Infrastructure, doing business as Dickerson, Florida, in the amount of $1,826,461.50, a move that the board approve the amended CIP sheet for fiscal year 24, and move that the board authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. The next item is a contract for our 96th Street Artificial Reef Staging Area Bulkhead. Staff is recommending that the board award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, which is Ferreira Construction Company, in the amount of $1,012,835.85, and move that the board authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. If I can get a vote, please. Okay. Commissioner Smith. I'm sure I move approval of both items. Okay. I will second them. All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Campy. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? And I will be abstaining. So the motion carries 3 to 0 with Commissioner Hetherington abstaining. Thank you. Okay. So the next item is a change order for the Golden Gate Neighborhood Resurfacing Project. The purpose of this change order is that during construction of the Golden Gate Neighborhood Restoration Project, it was discovered that several of the existing roadways had deteriorated to a point where a standard milling and resurfacing maintenance operation would not suffice. Therefore, the county worked with a geotechnical engineering consultant to determine the most cost-effective and efficient method to properly reconstruct the existing roadways to bring it up to Martin County standards. And full-depth reclamation to the existing pavement section was the geotechnical engineering firm's recommended action. And this change order provides for full-depth reclamation of all roads that have not been milled and resurfaced to date as part of the Golden Gate Neighborhood Restoration Project. So with that, staff is recommending that the board approve change order number 4 to M&M Asphalt Maintenance, doing business as all-county paving in the amount of $2,218,533.71 And move that the board approve the amended CIP sheet for fiscal year 24. And finally, move that the board authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. And that concludes this item. Who's the funder for the additional $2.2 million? This is the FPL franchise fees. What is it displacing? What projects? George Zama, Martin County Public Works Deputy Director. This is, this, the funding is being utilized from our resurfacing program, our annual resurfacing and drainage and guardrail maintenance fund. So what projects is it displacing? So we have, we typically program miscellaneous projects that are, the bulk of our resurfacing program is either FDOT or Florida Department of Transportation grant funded project, which are our major collector and arterial roadways. And the rest are, have been over the past five to six years been accumulated with county funds in our local neighborhoods via the rest neighborhood restoration program. So we also have another program activity sheet for, we call them one-off resurfacing projects. So they're isolated resurfacing projects that are outside those two areas that we primarily resurface. So we accumulate funds for these types of projects, particularly to supplement neighborhood restoration projects, which in nature, any type of restoration, you open cans of worms and, you know, you, you, you have unforeseen conditions that we like to supplement funding. Thank you. Commissioner Smith. Hold light, thanks. Hold light, okay. All right, I'll entertain a motion. Move approval. Second. All right. Commissioner Smith with a motion for approval and Commissioner Campy with a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries four to zero. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Our next item this morning is departmental number four, approval of golf cart lease agreement and equipment rental agreement for Sailfish Sands golf course. Presented by Mike Saunders. You look very nice this morning, Mike. Thank you. Thank you. Very serious. Yeah, you do. Good morning, Commissioners. I just want to start off by saying the golf course is doing very well as a facility. As of this morning, we are up $674,000 in net revenue. So the purpose of this item is to seek approval from the board for our new golf cart and fleet lease agreement and equipment rental agreement. Our current lease will expire in November. And the selected vendor did undergo a competitive procurement process under an RFP. The total cost to the county would be $605,915.52, $429,000 will be for the golf cars and $176,000 will be for the GPSs. The staff recommends that the board approve the DLL finance golf cart fleet lease agreement and the club car equipment rental agreement and authorize the county administrator or a designee to execute all documents related to this request. Anybody have any questions? Yes, Commissioner Hurd. Good bid. Move staff's recommendation for approval. Okay. Motion by Commissioner Hurd, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries four to zero. Thank you. Very much. Okay. We have departmental number five now. We have Martin MPO, US1 Congestion Management Public Outreach Study, presented by Beth Boutrin and Company. Good morning. Or good afternoon now. Good morning. I'm Beth Beltran. I'm the MPO Administrator of the Martin MPO. For those watching, MPO stands for Metropolitan Planning Organization. We're the transportation planning agency for the county. We have a board made up of the county commissioners, as well as commissioners from the City of Stewart, Town of Sewell's Point, and Village of Indiantown. And the MPO board directed staff to develop a study for congestion, traffic congestion, along US1 between the Roosevelt Bridge north to the Martin St. Lucie County line. MPO has contracted with one of our general planning consultants, Kim Lee Horn, who is here today with their sub-consultant, Bonnie C. Landry and Associates. And they will give you all an update on our study. We are in the process of not only doing the technical analysis, but also doing the public involvement involved in this study. We presented to the City of Stewart Commission a couple of weeks ago, and now we're here with you this morning. So with that, I'll introduce Stewart Robertson from Kim Lee Horn to start the presentation. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Stewart Robertson with Kim Lee Horn. And as Beth mentioned, this is an MPO study to look at both congestion as well as safety on US1. And we are in our stage of both the technical analysis as well as the public engagement. We would love to hear any comments that you may have and also to address any questions that you may have about the study. So I'm going to go through some of the background and the technical information, and then I'm going to pass it over to Bonnie to go through what we have found out so far from the public engagement process and also to give more information about the types of public engagement that we're doing. So our study area is from Southwest Joan Jefferson Way to the St. Lucie County line. It's about five miles. The posted speed is 45 miles per hour, and this is the highest volume segment of US1 anywhere within the county. And the highest of the high is the segment from Jensen Beach Boulevard to Westmoreland Boulevard. That's where the average annual daily traffic peaks out in that area. I'll talk about corridor focus areas in more detail on a later slide. Some of the other objectives that were established for this project were to identify non-widening opportunities to achieve viable transportation options and enhanced efficiency. So these would be things like potentially signal timings, lane extensions for turn lanes, but also making new connections or potentially looking for ways to better connect the community together. There are some commercial parcels along the corridor that don't connect to adjacent commercial parcels, and this causes some people to have to make short trips on US1 when they really just want to go next door. We're also going to be looking for opportunities to further develop the multimodal network. In particular, I say further develop because there are bike lanes on US1. They don't get a whole lot of use. FDOT this year has come out with a new guidance on what are called sidewalk-level separated bike lanes or sidewalk-level SBLs in their FDOT design manual. So we're going to be looking at that very closely as evaluating that as a recommendation for this study in hopes of being able to increase the safety and comfort of people that either have to or choose to ride a bike or walk along US1 and also access to transit as well. We have bus stops along the corridor. So some of the challenges are, I mentioned earlier, we're looking for non-widening solutions because the roadway is deemed infeasible for widening. It's a constrained right-of-way, although it's already eight lanes. How much wider can we get? So we're going to be looking for non-widening options for US1. We are seeing continual growth in the corridor. It's a very vehicle-dependent environment, as you may imagine. The context classification is suburban-commercial, so that means many of the land uses along the corridor are developed with single driveways, sort of a, you hear that phrase, one-way-in, one-way-out development sometimes. So US1 serves as the major connection between Port St. Lucie and downtown Stewart, and this through traffic does create a lot of congestion during peak travel times. There's also frequent stopping and turning caused by the need to turn into driveways for accessing the land uses along the roadway. And oftentimes, as I mentioned, some of these trips are rather short because folks can't drive within the commercial areas, sometimes can't make a connection to the adjacent commercial area and have to do so in US1, which does add some slow-moving traffic to US1 and causes speed differentials, which is one of the leading contributors to the safety concerns on the corridor. So here's our project schedule. It's a 12-month process. It will be done in December. I'd like to highlight a few of the really key tasks here. One is the Project Advisory Committee. This committee meets throughout the study to advise the team on technical matters as well as provide local expertise. It is made up of county staff, including from public works, growth management, law enforcement. We've had great participation from law enforcement on this project. Also school board staff, City of Stewart staff, and staff from FDOT District 4 are participating in the Project Advisory Committee. We had a public open house in May that I'll allow Bonnie to speak in more detail about, and another one is coming up in October. So I believe we've got a date schedule that Bonnie will speak to for the second round of the public engagement. And we are presenting to boards such as this throughout the study as well for ongoing input. So I mentioned safety. Safety is definitely a concern from the data. We've looked at six years of crash data, and the crashes are somewhat distributed throughout the corridor, although the crash data peaks in that highest volume section of US-1 between Jensen Beach and Westmoreland. We've also noticed that the frequency of crashes has been increasing since 2020. So the corridor focus areas, this is something we work very closely with the Project Advisory Committee, as well as through our data analysis to identify. And the purpose of these focus areas is to collect more detailed traffic data. We are looking at the traffic volume supplied by county engineering. They count each segment throughout the county every year. But the purpose of the corridor focus areas is to supplement that data with more detailed information such as intersection traffic counts, where we count the number of people making each one of the available turning movements at an intersection. We also are intending to collect travel time and delay studies, which means we'll be able to see where the queues are and how they change throughout the day using these travel time and delay studies. Do you do those in peak season and off-peak season, or do you not consider peak season when you do those? We do consider peak season. In fact, we have factors that allow us to factor up counts taken in any week of the year to convert them to peak season data. We are going to be collecting our counts in September. We wanted to wait until school was back in session and after the Labor Day holiday. But we do have the ability to factor those counts to peak season. Okay. Thank you. So, yeah, I mentioned that the project advisory committee had a lot of good input in helping to select these focus areas, as well as the type of additional traffic data collection that we would be pursuing. One of the other things that we're looking at is connectivity between parcels, as well as connectivity between adjacent roadways. So there are lots of popular destinations within this portion of US-1, some of which are listed here. Unfortunately, there are a few pedestrian connections between adjacent streets or between the developments and US-1. So we're going to be looking at opportunities and evaluating those opportunities to make recommendations on some connections. There are two examples that are shown here. The top one is what we've observed related to pedestrian traffic that passed between Goldenrod and US-1. I believe that's the Dick's Sporting Goods for reference there. And then the bottom one is a potential for a motor vehicle connection between the Mall Loop Road, and that's, I believe, the target on the south end of that arrow. Those two developments, those buildings are very close together, but to get from one to the other, you have to get out onto you. I vote for that one. Me, too. One, Commissioner Smith. Stuart, can we pause here for a sec? Sure. Just because I've got a whole bunch of notes that these actually were kind of coming already into my notes. The top one we've been talking about for years because of the amount of kids that go from the high school through the drainage portion there to the west into the mall over there, which is great. The one to the north, I don't know that we've ever talked about that one before, but certainly that could make some sense. What should also be on that map, and we tried to do this years ago when there was construction going on between, I think it was for the In-N-Out Burger or whatever that location is up in the next mall. Checkers or not checkers, but Sonic. Sonic, Sonic, the connection between what I would call the Hobby Lobby Mall to the south to Dick's Sporting Good would significantly change some of the having to go back out into US-1 connections to go back up into that other mall. So I would add that one to that list. On your lower image, there is or was already in Target's master plan. And if you look at the parking lot, the Ballards or Ballards are still there. There's a connection further to the east of that blue line that you have to the back of Coles that was supposed to have gone through that didn't connect. As well, if you're going to look at that, something else that would significantly improve, and we have the same condition down on Indian Street, but is the consideration of maybe putting in a roundabout between Target and to the south because if you come out of Target and you want to go to the south, you have to go to the west, make a U-turn, and come back, and that poses all sorts of conflicts in there. And that intersection from there to US-1 is probably one of the more congested intersections we deal with at that point. Which intersection was that? It's really not. But if you were to literally go to the southeast corner of Target, keep going down, right there, and right there. Don't move the mouse. Go up with your hand right there. It's very sensitive. If you had a roundabout in there, you wouldn't force people that are going from Target to the south to what used to be Bed Bath & Beyond or Michael's or Sort of Liquor, Total Wine. It just causes a tremendous amount of conflict in there, and people are always racing to get to US-1 to make the light there. And so if you had that in there, you'd be able to traverse that traffic pattern in between those two without causing, I don't think, additional conflicts. And that's it for that slide. Okay. Got a bunch more up there, but that's not on the slide. So this is great input. This is exactly the type of input we were looking for here. Well, the one from the mall loop to Target, you can just go ahead and do. I agree. Yeah. You don't have to discuss it any further. Just go ahead. Get it under the sign. Really? Put it on the list. Done. Go ahead, Stuart. Unfortunately, we don't own the land. So there is the coordination aspect of it. But, yeah, I do think, in my professional opinion, that it would do a lot to enhance safety and alleviate some traffic on US-1. There is also, too, Stuart, along that line, I mean, if we're going to do like a little master plan in that world, in back of what used to be Calico Corners, which is the southern building east of Kohl's, there's like another 100-foot connection that you'd have that interconnect already between those commercial buildings and down to Target. Which is why, if where the old connection was to go into Kohl's were still used, those commercial properties as well, which are not tied to Kohl's Perimeter Road, could tie in. And, again, all those little trips that end up happening in there, you get all disjointed, and you've got to either go out to the Perimeter Road of the Treasure Coast Mall or come out onto US-1 and then back down into either Target or into where Michael's was or is. Calico Corner, is this the one right up on US-1? That's Southern Cotton. Yeah, Bonnie's talked to that business owner. She's going to talk a little bit about that. There's a new, it's not Calico Corner anymore. Southern Cotton. Southern Cotton, okay. Used to be for decades. Okay. All right. Then, moving on beyond the driveway connection portion, as I mentioned, we are looking at safety issues. The intersection of US-1 and Westmoreland, Southeast Westmoreland, has been identified as the most dangerous in the corridor. And I appreciated the comment. One of the gentlemen that was speaking during public comment mentioned red light running. And that is exactly what we have also observed and measured in this study. And of all the intersections that we've studied so far, Westmoreland is the worst for red light running. So a significant portion. One moment. Commissioner Smith. As long as you're looking at stuff, and this was talked about 20 years ago when Westmoreland improvements were being done by West Jensen because they funded all of those improvements up there that happened to US-1 and Westmoreland. You have the same condition of that U-turn between what is Walgreens on the northwest corner of Westmoreland and US-1 and the south side, which is BJ's, and how BJ's Perimeter Road connects to all of that. So if you're in BJ's or you're coming out of Walgreens or you're coming on to Westmoreland, you've got to do all these stupid U-turns and stuff, which causes additional conflicts in there. The other one I forgot about, and it's in my notes to why we're on these slides at the north end of all of this. I talked about this during the approval of the last phase of West Jensen for the apartments that are being, or condos that are being built up there on Goldenrod. They two-laned the south or eastbound lane up to their driveway entrance onto Goldenrod, the last phase, and at the time it wasn't even extended to the driveway. It was a single lane, and people coming now have been off of US-1 south onto Goldenrod and down to Jensen Beach Boulevard or crossing to continue to south on Goldenrod. The rest of Goldenrod is four-laned on the south side. There's now like a half-a-mile stretch between the new condo apartments to Jensen Beach Boulevard, and it is already a cluster mess. There were people racing to get into the through lane versus the turn lane into the development, which is what it dead ends at. And so the continuation, I think, is going to have to happen because of the volume of traffic that uses Goldenrod onto Jensen Beach Boulevard, just as another piece of the congestion of all this stuff. Okay. So I'll pass it over to Bonnie, who's going to go into our public engagement efforts. Thank you all. So familiar. I used to work here, I think. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm going to be talking about the public involvement portion of this project. In fact, who knows more about US-1 than the people that travel it every day? So that is the point of this component is to actually speak to the drivers and the bikers and the walkers along US-1 to see what their feelings are about this stretch of roadway. So we began the effort with a public meeting at Flagler Center in Stewart. And I don't know if this – this window here, we had it right at rush hour. So while we were meeting, you could see that the cars backed up on the Roosevelt Bridge. So what a perfect place to demonstrate some of the issues that they encounter. So we basically polled the people that were present to ask them questions about their experiences along the roadway and which ones they felt were in the worst shape. The bulk of people, 85 percent, felt that the section from Joan Jefferson Way to Britt Road was the most congested, followed by Britt Road and Jensen Beach Boulevard, which was ranked second. We are having – our next public meeting is scheduled for October 3rd from 430 to 630. And that's a perfect location because that's an intersection that some people were talking about, Jensen Beach Boulevard and US-1. And at that meeting, we will be talking about some options and asking people what they think about our options that we're going to recommend at that time. Bonnie, are you doing an online kind of survey? Because as many people are in that room, I see that many people commenting daily on online outlets. Yes, that – I'll be covering that at the next slide. Yes. Okay. Perfect. Clicker? It should be up there. Oh, just click it? Okay. So, I went the wrong way. That happened to a previous speaker. Okay. Back to where we were. So, as you were mentioning, Commissioner, there is an online survey. And we created these cards, and you'll see the card in the image to the right where it has a QR code. So, it allows people to take their cell phone, scan it. They'll have the same exact questions as what we asked at the meeting in May. So, it increases our participation because we only had maybe 25 or 30 people come to the live public meeting. And we've seen that as a trend. And people are – they're preferring the virtual option to coming to meetings in person. And this slide is outdated because now we're at 200 responses, which is fantastic. That was an effort from the Martin County, your staff, who pushed that poll out and had more people participate. So, it more than doubled just from that. And most of those responses are from August, from this month. So, we appreciate their effort to push that poll out. So far, the live polling that we did at Flagler is very similar to what we're seeing online, that they still believe that that portion of the study from Joan Jefferson Way to Britt Road is the most congested, in their opinion. Another fun part that we've enjoyed or I've enjoyed is the face-to-face interviews. So, we went to, I think, over 65 people and said, would you participate in a 15-minute interview with me to talk about your experiences? And some were videotaped, so we will have a video diary. Some were just photographed like this gentleman here from Wawa. But we did get a total of 20 people who we asked open-ended questions, and we're going to summarize that in a report. And these were businesses, and there was one HOA along that route. So, these are people who use this to go to work, people who use this to get home. In their opinion, they thought the most difficult intersection was US-1 at Jensen Beach Boulevard and US-1 at Joan Jefferson Way. One of the people we interviewed, well, two of the people we interviewed were at that intersection of Joan Jefferson Way. There's a law firm, Sean Plymel, we interviewed, and he said he sees accidents on a regular basis just looking out of his office window. And the same was said at, yeah, and on the other side, we interviewed the all-changing place. I think it's called QuickTime All-Change. He said the same thing. He can hear the noises. It's very scary to hear and see that. But overall, out of everybody that we interviewed, the common theme was, I don't feel safe. I don't feel safe in my car, and I really don't feel safe on a bicycle or walking along this section. So, I said, well, why do you feel unsafe? Aggressive drivers was the number one answer that we would get, and the red light runners. But the blind spot U-turns are an issue at many of the intersections along the route because when you get in that lane, it's hard to see over the larger vehicles. They just don't have the visibility. So, people like myself, I'm a very cautious driver. You're in the line, and I'm not comfortable driving, taking that turn, and so people start beeping and yelling at me and all that kind of stuff. So, the speeding and the running red lights, the blind U-turns. And then one of the questions we asked is, if we made improvements, would you consider riding your bike or walking? And they said yes. And they really would like some protected bike lanes. Well, it can only get better, but they want the protected bike lanes. One of the people we interviewed was Southern Cotton, so it's funny that y'all brought that up. When we were talking, and Lucene from the NPO staff was with me, she talked about wanting that connection. She talked about a pedestrian connection because her daughter comes to work with her sometimes and wants to run over to Target. It's a gift shop, so how easy would it be just to get the gift there and then buy the gift wrap and the card at Target? So, I do believe that that particular business owner, and she does own the property, is interested in talking about that. So, that was a really good outcome from that. And I did get her on videotape, so hopefully we can show you that clip. Hi? In case she changes her mind, yep. I have videotape evidence. I don't know if that would stand up. But anyway, it was, you know, I was thrilled to do this project because I think it really, it brings it to life to actually put real people saying these things that the traffic counts are saying. So, that's all I have unless y'all have some questions. Commissioner Smith. Bonnie, and it's not specific to you or Stuart. It's just general comments on the rest of the corridor and things I would look at. First and foremost, I met with Martin Drummond's two daughters about two weeks ago and had a long conversation with them about bike lanes and safety and what can we as a state, what can we as a county, what can we do to improve, make it safer, and so on. Because no one in their right mind is going to bike on you, us, one north of the bridge, no matter what we do, right? So, a couple thoughts have come from that. And these are some things we should absolutely think about, talk to FDOT about, and maybe some of them are even going to require legislation to happen. In our nation's capital, every bike lane that I've ever seen in the last 10 years in D.C. is green, entirely green. Ours are intermittent, and then where you cross into a mall property or something, it kind of stripes it. It isn't like solid green, the whole thing. They really do stand out. They really do make a difference. There are a lot of cities across the country that are doing it. I have no doubt there's a huge cost involved. But maybe what happens is when we go into a resurfacing project or an expansion project or something, that green bike lane is included into the restriping or the resurfacing part of the program. They also came up with a couple other ideas I thought were great. We didn't talk about this the other day, but I heard about it yesterday. That maybe also what we do is on the existing white lines that exist for bike lanes, the audible grinding that we're doing now, like we have out on 714 going way out west. Maybe we grind the audible grinding into that separation line between the bike lane and the traffic, so if you drift into that lane, you know it, like you can't not hear it, right? That's a possible idea. The other idea, an additional idea, was at least on our bridges, which is where Mr. Drummond lost his life, maybe we even consider, and I know this probably has professional cyclists at conflict with this idea, but maybe we start thinking about the bike lanes at least in those hazardous areas that have jersey barriers on them, like on the Roosevelt, maybe the jersey barrier gets moved to the outside of the bike lane marker so that you are physically separated from the driving traffic, and at least you might have a chance at not having conflict as an idea. You know, again, I'm sure there's all sorts of competing interests as to why that may not be a good idea, but it's certainly something to think about. So the other thing that I would add to the conversation, Stewart received some significant grants over the last couple years to landscape from the north end of the Roosevelt Bridge up to the city-county line, and that's where that project stopped. St. Lucie County in Port St. Lucie on the north side of the county line is now doing their landscaping enhancement, and so there's this area between Stewart's city line and county line that is this barren, awful-looking place that also should receive, I think, the same kind of landscaping treatment as Stewart has and what at least somehow ties into what Port St. Lucie has going on up at the north end. And then the other comments I made during the other slide are the remaining comments that I had. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. If we have any, so is that just a presentation and you have input from the board? Thank you. Okay. All right. Well, that completes our last agenda item for today, and we will take public comment end of the day. And I think I saw someone. Anybody have end of the day public comment? No? Okay. With that, Commissioner comment. Commissioner Smith. Thank you. Commissioner Campy. All set. I'm set. Don? I do have a couple items. Okay. Of course. First off, I wanted to thank Erica Sinclair and Russell Norville. On Tuesday during the election, Vicki Davis called around 6 o'clock, needing some help, and our RT staff. 6 a.m. 6 a.m., yes. Before opening to, with some IT help, our folks jumped on it and provided the assistance. And so I wanted to thank them for their quick action and helpfulness, which was also noted a little bit this morning on some of the staff working collaboratively on the ORCIDs, which was nice to hear. And for me, that was most important to hear, that you have multiple departments from different areas helping citizens accomplish good things. And the last thing, Narissa Okie brought back several awards for the tourism group, the Stevie Awards. They got a bronze Stevie Award for sustainability initiative of the year, another bronze Stevie Award for communications and PR campaign of the year. And then finally, they got a gold Stevie Award for the travel and tourism video, which was the category for Explore Natural Martin Ecosystem Promotional Video. This video effectively captured the essence of Martin County's natural beauty and amazing eco-attractions while highlighting the program and showcasing the destination's unique eco-tourism offerings to a global audience. As you know, that's been a local initiative that we created here that I think others are going to want to try to copy. But it was, again, just nice to highlight some of the good things our staff are doing. So that was all I have today. Well, and one more, the Golden Gate, Kylie received an award, and I forget the name of the award, for the landscaping in Golden Gate as well. Great. Ms. Woods. Thank you. Okay, with that, our next meeting will be September 10th, and we will adjourn at 12, 16 p.m. Have a good day.