Board of County Commissioners on 2024-11-12 9:00 AM - Nov 12, 2024

All right. Welcome to our November 12th, 2024 Board of County Commission meeting. Our invocation today will be a moment of silence followed by a Pledge of Allegiance led by David Yankwit, a U.S. Army veteran. All right. Please stand. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. Ladies and gentlemen, county commissioners, distinguished members, guests, fellow veterans, my name is David Yankwit, and I'm a proud husband and father of four sons. David, who's nine, Dean, who's seven, Dominic, who is four, and Dwight, who is two months. And I'm honored to be with you today. I joined the United States Army as an infantryman in August of 2007 and served until Christmas 2009. Back then, when the way the wars were in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army was handing out two years and four months contract and a $20,000 shipping bonus. I felt like I was the richest 19-year-old alive. I always knew I wanted to join the Army. It was definitely a calling. I don't come from a military family, but once 9-11 happened, I knew one day I would wear the uniform of this great country and, like all who served, carry the torch of freedom and pass it to the next generation. I also knew the Army was very excited for me to join, as I would periodically receive responses to the thank you for your interest letters from the recruiting office and reminding me that I was way too young. Apparently, there were requirements and being 14 wasn't one of them. When I was finally of age, I tried college for about a year to see if I wanted to become an officer. And at that point, where the war is in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, I thought I'd better enlist now before the war ends. I went through basic and infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and upon completion, I received orders to Fort Hood, Texas, where they were standing up a brigade to deploy. I was assigned to the recon platoon of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 1st Infantry Division, the Blue Spaders, in the same unit as Captain America. Joining the Army and going a few states west didn't seem like seeing the world, but nonetheless, I was excited to get to my unit. See, upon graduation of infantry school, the time from graduation to deployment was two weeks to a year. Either your unit was deployed or headed back, but you could expect to be in country within that timeline. It would be about seven, eight months past graduation before we deployed. During the train-up, I was fortunate to attend and graduate from aerosol school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where I learned how to jump out of helicopters, repel, carry different equipment, and sling-load operations. About two weeks before we were scheduled to ship to Sadr City, a portion of Baghdad, Iraq, our orders changed to go to the Kunar province of Afghanistan. I didn't know much about Afghanistan, as our focus was Iraq, but I will soon learn quickly about combat operations. When we deployed in July of 2008, it wasn't too long until we heard about the Battle of Warnat and how the sky soldiers of the 173rd Airborne got overrun and lost nine American heroes and close to two dozen wounded. Knowing we were replacing that unit and the gravity of the tragic event, we will only come to understand the true meaning of loss when it comes our turn in the fight. While in the recon unit, our battalion pulled half of the platoon and sent two squads to the personal security detail and the other two to remain in the mountains. I switched to the security detail and became the machine gunner for the battalion command sergeant major's vehicle. Our task was to escort the leadership to several meetings with village elders, meetings with company commanders, and other elements, air assault missions on the Afghan-Pakistan border to figure out enemy movement in and out of the region. During the deployment, our security platoon had completed hundreds of missions, numerous air assault missions, and defeated countless enemy engagements. While all that is important, nothing will replace those who we lost or wounded, either in our element or the Blue Spaders as a whole. Staff Sergeant Rogers, my squad leader, and Sergeant Dawson, a very dear friend who died on a helicopter that I was set to be on, will always be honored and remembered and serve as a reminder to live a life worthy of their sacrifice. We left Afghanistan in June of 2009, and I will tell you that it was an uneasy feeling, readjusting from sustained combat, seeing family, reuniting with guys who were wounded, and then the beginning of new chapters as people either re-enlisted and went to a new unit, were discharged, or stayed was a whirlwind of emotions. I decided not to re-enlist, as I had enough of war. It was time to see what else life had for me. Little did I know, I would meet my future wife within a few weeks of being home, and she was gracious enough to attend this meeting with us today. I started at Indian River State College and graduated my associate's degree and went on to FAU for my bachelor's in political science. I have two master's degrees from George Washington University and the other from University of Nebraska, both in the field of political science. I was a civics and U.S. history teacher in Martin County School District at Murray Middle and South Fork for eight years. I was also the director of youth and government, and I was the social studies teacher of the year. I am now in my third year at IRSC, teaching American government and international relations. I'm a Ph.D. applicant with hopes of acceptance in early 2025, and I'm most proud of starting a chapter called Salute. Salute is the only national honor society in the nation recognizing and honoring the service and the scholastic achievements of this generation's greatest veterans. Even though veterans like me are happy to stay in the shadows and out of the spotlight, we are also happy to shine the light on others who I'd like to thank, who do so much for our community. I would like to thank Martin County Veterans Services for the amazing and selfless work they do on behalf of our veteran community. The knowledge, expertise, compassion, and dedication to the mission, which is the veteran and their success, is second to none. And to Brindell, Jeff, and team, thank you. You make the difference, and Martin County and its veterans are better because of you, and thank you for what you have done for me and my family. Recognizing that Veterans Day was yesterday, and thank you to all those who have answered the call to serve, I appreciate the honor to share a little bit of my story, honor the lives of others, appreciate the service, and remember the sacrifice. It was my honor to speak with you all today. Thank you, and God bless. Thank you, sir. Okay. On tap today, we have, oh, my gosh. We have a 905 public comment at 11 a.m. We have a preset for presentations for Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Jenkins, 505 public comment. Additional items, proclamation number five, adoption and the presentation of a proclamation declaring hospice and palliative care month in Martin County, Florida. Consent number 13, request for approval, retainer agreement with Gima Torsiva. Torsivia. Torsivia. Okay. For special magistrate services. You're not planning to get out without a challenge. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Oh, just think what's going to happen here. We should have put a whole bunch of, like, interesting names in just for the help. Yeah, no doubt. Okay. Consent 14, request for approval of settlement agreement. Department number seven, update on review of analysis of past Western Lands Plan studies. Department number eight, request for bid award to Brightline Trains of Florida, LLC, approved for First Amendment to the November 25, 2018 settlement agreement, and permission to apply for federal grant. We have no consent polls. We are withdrawing public hearing number two, public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Article 12, Divisions 1 through 7, Community Development Code, Land Development Regulations, Martin County Code regarding architectural design standards. Staff must re-advertise. And with that, Commissioner Smith. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. I move of approval of the agenda with the additional items of Proclamation 5, Consent 13, Consent 14, Department 7, Department 8, and request to withdraw from the agenda, public hearing item number two. Second. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Campy. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. So, today we're going to do a little bit of a shuffle for some folks that are in the room. We are going to tell them what we're doing first. I didn't say anything. Okay. Micromanagement here. No, I'm not. Yeah. Number one, we're going to bring up first item would be Department number eight, the Brightline, since most of the room is here for that. Number two will be Department, I'm sorry, Public Hearing number six, Affordable Housing, which we have quite a few people here for. Number three is the High Point PUD, which we have to do because of number four, Camp Valor. So, High Point has to be done before we can do Camp Valor. Again, we have a lot of folks in the room for Camp Valor. And then Department number five, the Hope Sound train station, Antique, the Hope Sound historic train station, let's be clear on that, lease will be number five. And then the rest of the agenda will stay the same just to accommodate all the folks in the room. So, we're going to start with public comment. After I mispronounce your name, if you would come to the podium and actually pronounce it correctly for the record, that would be great. If you would like to speak at that item as it comes up on the agenda, please let me know, and I'll set your card aside for the item. And then, oh, we've got to do proclamations first. I'm sorry. I was going to go wait. You're the one that told me to do it. Today is your day, bro. You threw me off. Okay. We're going to do proclamations. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've got to go. Just getting into the green. Yeah. A couple more meetings. A couple more. I'll have this down, man. I'm sorry. Excuse me. Okay. Horrible. Now I'm joking. Good morning, commissioners. Our first proclamation is presenting a proclamation declaring Veterans Day in Martin County. For more than 200 years, individuals from all walks of life had taken up arms and sworn an oath to support and defend the principles upon which our country was founded. The contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who served in the armed forces have been vital in maintaining our freedom and the way of life enjoyed by the people of the United States. In recognition of Veterans Day, which was observed on November 12th, the board calls upon all citizens to honor the contributions of current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces. And here to accept, we have David M. Yankwit, Army Combat Veteran. Have everybody scoot this way a little bit. Okay. Thank you. Sorry about that. One, two, three. Hey, Harold. Hey, Harold. Before they leave, can I make a motion to adopt that proclamation? Second. Oh, yes. You just did. You have a second, too. Do we have a second? Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Our next proclamation is declaring National Apprenticeship Week in Martin County. The purpose of National Apprenticeship Week is to raise awareness of the vital role registered apprenticeships serve in creating opportunities by allowing participants to earn while they learn and preparing a pathway to quality jobs and well-paying careers in Martin County and across the nation. National Apprenticeship Week is November 17th through the 23rd, and the board recognizes the importance of this proven, industry-driven training model. And here to accept, we have Colleen Gill with the CareerSource Research Coast. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you so much for recognizing National Apprenticeship Week, and thank you so much for putting the proclamations before the public comments. My name is Colleen Gill. I am the Apprenticeship Navigator for CareerSource Research Coast. We are your local workforce development board for Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties. We provide free services to employers and job seekers. We do job fairs, job listings, recruitment, career developments, and a whole lot more. My role as Apprenticeship Navigator is to promote registered apprenticeship as a career development and workforce retention solution. This really is a very accessible training model, and it is available across diverse industries. Registered apprenticeship combines on-the-job training and related instruction. It's available for permanent full-time employees, and CareerSource actually provides grant funding to help offset the cost for employers. So this amounts to 50% of wage reimbursement for a portion of the apprenticeship, as well as free education for the apprentice. So I do encourage anybody who's interested in registered apprenticeship to contact me. You can email me at cgill at careersourcerc.com, or you can visit our CareerSource Research Coast website. Look under Apprenticeship, and there's a form on there where you can contact me. Thank you so much. Thank you. Three. I'm your backup, just in case that phone thing doesn't work out well for you. And we are going to need a motion for our next one, which is declaring Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month in Martin County. Move approval. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Campy. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. The next proclamation is declaring Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month in Martin County. In the United States, there are currently over 6.7 million reported cases of Alzheimer's disease, and in Florida, approximately 580,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease. It is critical that Alzheimer's families coping with the disease are safe with well-being, dignity, and quality of life preserved through services and resources available to all. The board urges all citizens of Martin County to learn more about Alzheimer's disease, attend educational events, and seek out help in local drug trials during Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. And here to accept, we have David E. Dangerfield, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors with Alzheimer's Community Care. Good morning. Good morning, sir. Thank you all for making awareness of Alzheimer's disease here in Martin County a priority. We certainly appreciate it. And just to share with you, we estimate that there's something over about 6,400 people in Martin County who right now are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. And in the next several years, we expect that to grow by 24 or 25 percent. It's an onset that's coming at us all. Alzheimer's Community Care continues to offer help and hope through Martin County with a specialized day center in North Stewart and caregiver navigation services for the families. We pledge that our families coping with the disease are safe with well-being, dignity, and quality of life preserved through a combination of services that are accessible to every person in Martin County. Your recognition of our cause in this November 24th Public Awareness Proclamation demonstrates your concern for the most vulnerable and the fragile population in our county, those Alzheimer's families. We want to say thank you for walking beside all of those folks who are dealing with this deadly disease. Thank you very much. Okay. I'm going to need a motion declaring hospice and palliative care month in Martin County, Florida. Second. Doug was first. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Campy. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Our final proclamation this morning, hospice and palliative care month in Martin County. As Medicare's first proven coordinated care model, hospice offers person-centered, compassionate care, ensuring people dignity, choice, and quality of life. Established in 1982, Treasure Coast Hospice is a non-profit community. Laura, can you speak up a little bit? They can't hear at the back of the room. Yes. Will do. I will just start right over. As Medicare's first proven coordinated care model, hospice offers person-centered, compassionate care, ensuring people dignity, choice, and quality of life. Established in 1982, Treasure Coast Hospice is a non-profit community organization of skilled professionals and dedicated volunteers whose mission is to provide access to compassionate, caring, expert, and professional hospice and grief support services to patients and families at the end of life. In recognition of November as Hospice and Palliative Care Month, the board encourages citizens to increase their understanding and awareness of care at the end of life. And here we have April Price, who is vice president of clinical operations for Treasure Coast Hospice. Thank you for having us today. I just want to, first of all, mention what an honor it is to be able to care for the patients and families in this community, to be part of the health care community. We're really, really proud of what we do, and I hope that anybody who's been touched by Treasure Coast Hospice at any point has had a good experience. I could talk about hospice all day long. I was told I only have three minutes, so I'll try to keep it short. But it is just an amazing offering that Medicare offers to anybody who is on Medicare. It's also covered by Medicaid and other payers. But we are there to hold the hand of the patient and the family as they go down the journey, through the journey of facing death. And while that's a really hard thing to talk about, we are experts at it. So, again, I want to thank everybody for this honor and for allowing us to come into the homes of the people in this community and take care of you. Thanks. I'm trying to run away. We're going to run away. I don't like this one. Let's do a couple. One, two, three. You got it? Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So now let's do the public comment thing. Please remember, even if I pronounce your name correctly, repeat it at the dais. You have three minutes. After two minutes and 45 seconds, you'll hear a tone. That only means you have 15 seconds to wrap up your comments. And we're past all that election stuff, so he doesn't need to talk. So if I call your name and you want to talk to the item specifically, please let me know and I will set your card aside. We're going to start with John Dial, followed by Mr. Mike Dooley. He wants you to set his card aside. Who? John Dial. Okay. I didn't see that. Oh, no. Now I guess he's... Oh. Good morning, commissioners. My name is John Dial. I'm a veteran, resident, and local business owner for 24 years in Martin County. For over the years, I've never attended many of these meetings, but have started doing so lately because I feel it's my civic duty to do so. I feel that the citizens of Martin County should be advised of every dollar that's spent in the county on our behalf, especially for new projects and for that fact, for projects in the past that either showed a return on the income or investment or didn't when it was sold to the commission and the constituents. Financial accountability and smart, sustainable growth is what I'm bringing to light. You see, I'm an American for Americans, and I'm a Martin County taxpayers for Martin County residents. My question is, is why would the county want to take on building a train station for a private company? If that's the case, I would like for you guys to pay for my marina slips down here and the hotels and the restaurants advertising. That sounds crazy, right? But so does spending $60 million for a train station that will ultimately fall on taxpayers yet again. Brightline has lost $420 million so far. Just the first quarter of this year, $116 million, $192 million in 2023, and another $201 million in 2022, let me put this into perspective for you. That's 2.1 million Uber rides you could do between Orlando and Stewart or Stewart and Miami at an average cost of $200 a ride. And I got that off of Uber's site last night. This is just what the cost in financial loss is up to date on Brightline. There'll be more in the future. Again, I'm not anti-Brightline. I'm just anti-Martin County paying for it. But Fort Pierce is a much better location, from what I understand, with a tie-in with IRSC, Director Shipyard, federal offices, not to mention Fort Pierce, has got a commercial airline airport there now. If we're truly talking about serving the good of society, it's a better choice and costs Martin County taxpayers nothing. We would not have that element that every train station in the entire world descends to. And those are all paid by taxpayer dollars. Everyone talks about grants, paying for that. Well, grants are just tax dollars disguised without spending or oversight or plan. I compete against grant-funded businesses all the time. And I can't compete against them because they're in a losing money proposition. I hope you'd consider this without presenting all the facts and a cost to us first. Just give us the cost and let us know up front what it is and let us decide. Thank you. Michael Dooley will be followed by Rose Rohaloff. My name is Michael Dooley, for the record. Good morning, Commissioners. I felt compelled to come up here today and publicly thank and acknowledge two Commissioners. I wanted to publicly thank Commissioner Smith. Commissioner Smith has given us 24 years of his time in service. His knowledge that's going to be leaving this dais is, I think, irreplaceable in a lot of ways. His connections in Tallahassee, his connections in Washington, D.C. are not going to go unnoticed. I know that there are folks here and probably listening and watching on TV that haven't always agreed with Commissioner's decision, Smith's decision. Though I would tell you that I believe it was always in his heart to do what he felt was best and right for Martin County. One issue comes to mind, that issue of the mooring fields in Jensen Beach and the big battle about that. But, you know, when you think about it, he's always been an advocate for water. And those mooring fields did the best for seagrasses, and seagrasses are a big part and element of the health of our Indian River Lagoon. So thank you, Commissioner Smith, for the time served. And I hope that you're not unselfish with respect to – or I hope you are unselfish with respect to the knowledge that you can pass on. And the other is Commissioner Jenkins. I think if you looked in the dictionary and you looked for a picture of a non-politician, I think Commissioner Jenkins' picture would be there. But Commissioner Jenkins has brought such a passion. He never really said much, but when he talked, people listened. And I know for a fact – I've known Commissioner Jenkins for 35, 40-plus years now. I know that in his heart he did what he thought was absolutely best for the county. And so I want to thank you, Commissioner Jenkins, for your service. And then I'm going to segue into the historical train station. I hope you folks listened to that presentation and give it a positive thought and help it get to where it needs to be. And one final comment. I want to thank the staff of Martin County. I don't think people realize how hard they work. You know, the commissioner set policy, but the staff is committed to fulfill that policy. And sometimes their job is tough. I know they've been tough on me, but I will tell you they've been fair, and they listen, and they do the best they can for the people. So I want to just give a big shout-out for the staff as well. Thank you very much. Have a great day. Thanks, Mike. Rose, which we're about to find out her last name, is followed by Susie Werter. Good morning. My name is Rose Roloff, and I come to you today as a 40-plus-year health care veteran in the industry in all avenues. I wanted to give a shout-out about the hospice and palliative care. I'm actually giving a presentation today in Palm City at 7 o'clock tonight at New Hope Fellowship because the majority of people don't know a lot about the health care industry, and one of the topics I do cover is the difference between hospice and palliative care. So I wanted to throw that in. It is my birthday today, and I'm taking the time out of my birthday because this is such an important issue. I sent an e-mail with this information in March of 2023 to this commission. I received the receipt from Donna that it was received by all of you. We keep throwing around that if we don't learn from history, we keep repeating from it. I have a long list here, which I'm not going to go through, of all of the lessons that we didn't learn from. But I'll begin with the spread of DDT, thalidomide, and now just recently it finally came to a Supreme Court case about the hazardous of fluoride in our water. Now we are rolling out 5G, and we are not learning from history. I sent to you a complete put-together PDF document that, for those in the public, they can find the full document on drpetechambers.com. It's d-r-p-e-t-e-c-h-a-m-b-e-r-s.com. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel Green Beret physician, flight surgeon, and bioweapons expert. So, again, I am not an expert, but the experts from around the world, including in 2018 in the U.N. Assembly in Vienna, they are shouting out about the problems with the health risks with 5G. And, again, I only have three minutes, so I can't go through it all. This is an hour-long presentation if I did. But I am going to read to you guys something. This is a 2017 public school liability policy, and it says, Exclusions this insurance does not apply to bodily injury, personal injury, advertising injury, or property damage arising directly or indirectly out of resulting from caused or contributed to by electromagnetic radiation. These are in insurance policies. This was provided to you, and I'm submitting this to you. And what I would like to do is each individual representative individually respond. What independent, not government, safety studies have you individually reviewed? Ma'am, your time is up. Thank you. Thank you. But I would like that on the record. Susie Worter is followed by Amy Janigan. So, I'm actually, I'm Amy Janigan, and this is Susie Worter. And I'm speaking for both of us and for our families. June 20th, 2024 was the most tragic day of my life. My sister and Susie's son, Brian, drowned at the Hutchinson Beach Marriott Resort. I'm sure you all remember that day. It is absolutely ridiculous that there are no flags or signage at these resorts. So, I've been working with Martin County Ocean Rescue, and I actually want to publicly thank them because they have been absolutely amazing. And everyone that I've met, and I've came down here to thank, I live in Maryland. I was a Florida resident for like three and a half years, so I know Florida well, and I know the beaches. And we grew up in Maryland. And in Maryland, we only have like a small set, I mean a small piece of the state is beaches, but every single inch is guarded. Now, the lifeguards pull in at 530, and then, you know, everybody knows that you're at your own risk. But I think I was shocked to find out that Martin County has 22 miles of beaches and only one mile is guarded. And I was researching and trying to figure out, like, this doesn't make any sense. But then I found out, well, if the Marriott has a lifeguard at their beach, then they're liable if someone drowns. And if not, then they just say, okay, forget it, you know. My sister and Brian were two of the nicest people you could ever meet in your life. My sister was a special education teacher, and she dedicated her life to helping autistic children and keep kids that were kind of left behind, you know. And Brian was just so smart and kind, and the two of them were together for like three and a half years. And Erica didn't make it out of the water when the rest of the family did. And Brian ran in to save her and lost his life trying to save her. And then some of the kids decided they were going to try to go and get her. There were six children ranging of age from 12 to 20. And I also want to publicly thank Kaylee, a lifeguard who I haven't got a chance to meet yet, because just timing-wise, but I'm going to meet her hopefully today and thank her because she was the first on the scene and she pulled my sister's body out of the ocean. And then that way the kids didn't go in. I'm sorry. I want to give out because I'm running out of time, I know, but I'd like to work with you guys. I'm actually meeting. I met Congressman Mast earlier a couple days ago, and I live in Maryland like an hour from D.C. And so I'm meeting with him next Thursday to talk about legislation reform for why these resorts are not putting signage up. You know, the ocean rescue team, I talked to them. They said, you know, they have these signs that say, okay, rip current. And it's not just, you can't just put a picture of a rip current and say, this is what you have to avoid. We need signage to say, what are today's conditions? My sister was not a risk taker. She would never have let her children or herself in that ocean if she knew that there was a rip current. And they had no idea because there was no flags. So I want to work with you guys. Ma'am, your time is up. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, next up is Susan Mayle, followed by Erin Fogerty. Good morning. I've been here, but it's been a long time. As a retired marketing executive, one of the earliest documents I read from the All Aboard Florida Fortress Investment Group was their ridership and revenue study of 2013. And I quote from it. In the southeast Florida market, a decrease of 10% in run time, seven minutes, would result in a 5% increase in ridership. Should the running time need to be increased, a similar magnitude of decrease in ridership could be expected. Bottom line, bright line management does not want to slow down or stop any more than necessary. And when they do, they want to do it in a location that already requires them to slow down. If they must have a stop on the Treasure Coast, it will be best if it's in a place where they have to slow down anyway. There are only two locations north of Palm Beach that necessitate a slowdown. Stewart's Tight Town Center at Confusion Corner, heading to the single-track St. Lucie River Bridge at this point. And at Coco, where they have to slow down to make a turn west to Orlando. Based on Brightline's terrible ridership numbers and hemorrhaging operating cash, as we heard earlier, they would rather not stop at all on the Treasure Coast. That's also why they do not want to pay a cent for a station here. So you understand their position completely. The sad fact must be understood. This is neither a high-speed, European-style slick railway nor a local commuter. It was a hybrid with cheaper regulations and an excuse to use taxpayer money to double freight capacity, period. Has anyone done a marketing study on the potential for business increases with two or four stops one direction a day? There will be no benefit to residents for commuting south to jobs. And businesses should not expect hundreds of passengers to get off at Stewart and spend money. You can't fit dinner in the theater or any other major event, assuming you have the events and shops that will attract folks from Miami or Boca. Five years ago this month, Brightline Fortress Investment Group wanted one thing to get out of the Martin County lawsuit. They weren't handing out gifts. And you are crazy if you continue to spend other people's money when they have no intention of fulfilling their agreements or becoming a transportation system that any of us dream of. Thank you. Aaron Fogarty is followed by Steve Adams. Good morning. Sorry. My name is Aaron Fogarty. I'm a Stewart resident. Thank you, Chairman Jenkins and commissioners, for allowing me to speak today. Wanted to thank you for taking up the initiative for a Brightline station for the county. As a former government employee, I look at the function of government to help the citizenry and to make our lives better, quality of life better. And that doesn't always mean looking at the bottom line. A Brightline station would benefit the citizens here in Martin County. Jupiter, Fort Pierce would come down and use it, go to Miami. Additionally, this is short and sweet, after attending many recent City of Stewart commission meetings, I really appreciate the decorum in this chamber. So, thank you again, and go Brightline. Steve Adams is followed by Kelly. Good morning, everyone. So, up until last meeting, I always try to keep an open mind with Brightline, and I spoke about our government here spending money in a smart way. But after coming up and speaking, and everybody was speaking, the commission voted to continue to explore negotiations with Brightline and open up a second station. So, up until that point, Brightline was looked at as a silver bullet to save Stewart for some reason. And I don't understand how opening up the second location for a train station outside of the downtown Stewart area helps out Stewart. It just didn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense. The other thing that doesn't make sense is the negotiation process with Brightline. You have to make a deal with them, then apply for a grant, and everybody's in some fantasy land like this grant is given. And this commission and the supporters of Brightline behind me are all about damning the torpedoes, full speed ahead, and there's all kinds of torpedoes in the water. As said before, the financial situation of Brightline itself, the city of Stewart has shot it down because it was financially not beneficial. Two grants have been not allowed. COCO lost their grant. And the weakest link in the train line, the Stewart Bridge, railway bridge, has now lost their grant. That bridge needs to be replaced. And yet we still continue on this fantasy land that Brightline is going to save Stewart. And if we don't get a grant, then it's going to fall on the taxpayers. Is there some sort of stipulation in this agreement that you're looking to make with Brightline that if you don't get the grant, it's not going to fall on us taxpayers. I think there's a lot of foolishness throughout this thing. People are putting too much faith in Brightline, and it's not a good company. So I'm fully against it at this point. Thank you very much. Kelly Chalmo, it looks like. Chalmo. Okay. Followed by Matthew Chalmo. Good morning, county commissioners. My name is Kelly Chalmo, and I'm a Parkwood resident of five years. It has been three weeks exactly since the AT&T 5G cell tower was constructed on the sidewalk right beside my house. It is not yet completed, but I find myself looking out my window all throughout the day, specifically at the new tower, fearful of the workers returning to complete the project. Thankfully, that has not happened yet, but it creates such anxiety within me. Every time I look out my window, I see it, and my mind immediately starts racing. As much as I try to ignore it, accept it, and move on, I'm still tormented with the same question. Will my family be safe here? I can't even express how many times over the past few weeks I have heard, you're not going to stay there, are you? You have to protect your babies, which only creates more doubt and more fear. Our home, our sanctuary of peace, has now become quite the opposite. I've read countless articles that say there's no danger at all from cell towers, but I have also read countless articles stating alarming dangers, as well as personal story after personal story, reporting headaches, vomiting, dizziness, and insomnia, just to name a few. Because it's still so new, there's just not enough research out there yet to put my mind at ease. We had absolutely no say in this beforehand, and now we're stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Do we stay and risk it, or do we move and take a financial hit? Because we all know that now having a cell tower in your yard immediately decreases the property value, as well as makes it difficult to sell. Of all the land in our county, why must it be in between two houses, in a residential HOA neighborhood, specifically between my house and our sweet neighbors Jenny and Ray? Is it because of all the new developments being built off of Cove and Salerno Roads? Is it to service them, but we're an old, convenient place to put it on, not to disturb the beauty of the new communities? Or perhaps it was just simply random. But whatever was the deciding factor, I'm pleading with you to stop this process and have the company relocate it, and not in another residential area, putting other innocent families in the same position. Thank you for your time. Matthew will be followed by. William Corbin. That was my beautiful wife. Thank you, commissioners, for allowing me the opportunity to speak. My name is Matthew Salmo. I live on Satin Leaf Place. I'm here as a resident of Parkwood and a neighbor to many who are deeply impacted by the recent installation of the 5G cell tower directly in front of my home. This decision made by county employees, probably unknown to you guys, gave permission to AT&T to install a massive, in the permit says, 155-foot cell tower in my cul-de-sac. This has led to serious concerns about transparency, regulatory compliance, and risks it poses to my property's value, health, and quality of life. To begin, the tower's placement may have violated Florida's 2023 statutes on public transportation title, XXVI Chapter 337. This statute requires a public meeting before an application for such an installation, as well as direct notification to affected residents regarding right-of-way placements. Additionally, it restricts utility pole height to 50 feet if there are no other utility poles in the vicinity. This statute mandates ADA compliance for pedestrian pathways. In our case, these requirements were neglected. The community was not informed, and the pole now blocks a sidewalk. It's literally in the sidewalk, and it clearly interferes safety. As neighbors, we bring the following points to emphasize our position. One, failure in community transparency and due process. Two, impacts on property values and investments. The research is clear. Cell towers have documented impact on home values. Studies from reputable organizations show that homes near cell towers see a drop in property value up to 15%. For many of us, our homes are our largest investment, and financial losses due to proximity to this tower threatens our long-term stability and community's overall appeal. To new buyers. You'll see the sources I've cited. I gave packets in front of you that talk about home values impacted by 5G towers. You'll also see pictures in there from this packet. Number three, health and safety concerns for family and young children. We're particularly concerned about potential health risks from prolonged exposure to RF emissions. And at a risk we don't want to impose on my family and my neighbors, the American Cancer Society and other health experts urge caution as studies continue. For us, the well-being of our children and neighbors cannot be compromised without consideration. In closing, we respectfully require and request the board to halt further construction and reassess this tower's location. We invite Commissioner Hurd and other board members willing to visit our neighborhood and see it firsthand. And we want to thank you for considering this. You're the only ones who can look out for us. The buck stops with you guys. And you represent us, not corporations or a team. Your time is up. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Camping. Normally don't jump in in the middle of public comment, but after those two comments and the information that we have received via email, you were right, sir, when you mentioned it did not come to us. And I asked, excuse me, I asked our county administrator why not, and he said it's a state issue. But that being said, I'm requesting that we have an agenda item. Our director of public works is here, but it's a busy day today, so I'm requesting an agenda item that we will go through and figure out why this happened. And I don't know if we have the authority, but I would ask that our staff speak to the contractor and tell them to potentially hold off from continuing to do work on that poll. This packet is excellent. I don't want to give you a sense of false hope, but at least should have a vetting of what's happening. Whoever put this together did an excellent job. It seems like sort of against what would be appropriate and normal, but the state does have the ability to override us. But at the very least, let's hear about it and let's see if we can't get to the bottom of it. Now, in terms of the debate between our cell phone towers, dangerous or not, I don't think we're going to solve that specific issue like you said, ma'am. There's as much information saying they're not as there is that says they are. But at least let's figure out what the situation was with this. And I'd make that a motion. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Campby. What? For an agenda item to come back. Seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? That motion carries unanimously. All right. Mr. William Corbin is followed by Mr. maybe and Mr. Patel, apparently. Good morning, Commissioners. Hope you all had a wonderful and reflective Veterans Day. My name is William Corbin. I'm the new Executive Director for the Business Development Board of Martin County. And my comments today will focus on agenda items relating to three separate projects in Martin County. Number one, the Mattamy Newfield Development. Number two, Martin Commerce Park. And number three, Brightline. I'll begin with Mattamy's Newfield, the workplace district specifically. In addition to residential units, the development includes nearly 35,000 square feet of commercial, office, and retail space. And more than a million square feet programmed for light industrial uses. From an economic development perspective, this is an excellent mix, one that's ideal for job creation and higher wage opportunities for employment. It's also one of several prime sites that the BDB highlights when companies talk to us about expanding. The request concerns a reconfiguration of the site to create more connectivity among the parcels available green space, which will benefit future residents and employees. Like some of you, I had the opportunity to visit Newfield last Friday and see the progress taking place on site. We appreciate that the master developer, Mattamy Homes, has prioritized important aspects, even before focusing exclusively on the residential side. Aspects such as the workplace district, as well as the Kiplinger Conservancy, which contains more than 1,000 acres of natural land and a network of trails. The workplace district's proximity to a variety of housing styles, sizes, and prices will make it an especially attractive location for any business looking to expand. The workplace component is an essential element, and I respectfully request your support for this item. The second project that I'd like to speak in support of is Martin Commerce Park by Ashley Capital. There are a few agenda items relating to this project. Among those items is a request for a zoning district change from agricultural to limited industrial on 167 acres of the property in question. When finished, the park will feature nearly two dozen buildings, totaling approximately 1 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. This development will continue to help fill a void for existing Martin County businesses and prospective businesses outside of the county who are interested in expanding locally. It will also help to build the tax base and increase tax revenues that the county will collect. And finally, as you may recall, seeing after a unanimous vote, the BDB board directed staff to draft a letter of support that recognized and applauded you all for your unanimous commitment to bringing a station to the community, thereby helping to maintain a pro-business environment. The letter also highlighted the importance of the county's commitment to pursuing federal grants to minimize construction costs. Thank you for your time this morning. I appreciate it. Thank you. Mr. Patel, which is going to pronounce his first name, is followed by Michael Serkis. Hi. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Raj Patel, Martin County taxpayer for decades. That's not even close, by the way. Raj Patel, that's as close. Yes, thank you. No, that's not Raj. That's Anu. Okay, that's my wife, so we'll switch it. Okay. So, first and foremost, it's very refreshing to see a county official feeling strong to come up and voice their support for projects within the county. I don't think that can happen in the city of Stewart. I think people would be scared to voice their opinion, as the gentleman just did right before me. So, thank you very much for creating that environment of openness and inclusion. So, I just want to let you gentlemen and ladies know that I hope that you choose the downtown location for the train station. I know there was a lot of contention and a lot of issues that are behind us, hopefully. I just want to let you know that if you do, I think you should call it the Martin County train station. And if you do, I would like you to acknowledge Dr. Richard Olson, who's in the seating behind me, as the founder of that name. But that's it. Thank you very much. I don't think I have anything else to say, because we've gone through it for so many years. All the details are done. And for anybody to say Brightline doesn't have skin in the game is just, it's nonsense. Thank you. Mr. Serkis will be followed by Mrs. Patel. Let's do that. Good morning. Mike Serkis, I'm a resident of Palm City. I think you guys have heard me say multiple times over that, you know, the way we do things is more important than decisions we come to. You know, the ends do not justify the means. And in this case, taking a look at Brightline, no matter how much we may be in support or against Brightline, doing something shady in the process to make it happen is still doing something shady in the process to make it happen. In this particular case, I'm going to highlight how we're circumventing state law. Chapter 125, verse 66. We do not notice this 10 days in advance as is required by the state. Any ordinance or resolution with a binding, in fact, has to be noticed 10 days in advance. This is backed up by the Attorney General's office that goes so far as to say that any issue that is reasonably considered controversial should be noticed 10 days in advance. I would go out on a limb and say the volume of push notifications we've gotten on our phones and the fact that there's a room full of people, including cameras, would probably suggest this is somewhat controversial. Moreover, Martin County Code, Chapter 71 in tax and finance, gives you a very specific limit of how much money you are allowed to borrow to make government action happen. And this $15 million is far in excess of that. So you're not even in compliance with that. If we were to get out of the actual ordinances and get out of the actual state statutes itself, get into policy and procedure, you'll see that RFPs require a minimum of two respondents. You might recall back when we had the golf course issue, we had one respondent. We ended up holding the bag on the golf course because we had only one qualified respondent. Again, one qualified respondent looking at holding the bag. But it came to mind, today's the 12th. So exactly 11 months ago today is when you guys had your first discussion on the RFP. So I pulled a couple quotes from that meeting. The first one here, the Assistant County Administrator, 50-50 per our settlement. That statement was said many, many times over, 50-50. Per our settlement agreement, we'll be split between the county and Brightline. This was reaffirmed by the county attorney as well per our settlement, 50-50 agreements, as well as the grant money. The grants will be split 50-50, ensuring that if we're going to put 50-50 costs into it, that we should get 50-50 benefit on the grants themselves. Apparently, that's dissipated in the last 11 months. We also have no follow-up about the Rays and Chrissy grants that we were told were already in process 11 months ago. So I'd love to know where that's coming from or what's up with that. But most importantly, this is the one that really gets me. I'm going to pull from your words. Commissioner Hurd, you made the statement that you're not opposed to this in theory, but you don't want to write an open-ended check. You want a cap. $3 million was something you were willing to do. $10 million you thought was a bit excessive. Today, your cap's $15 million. So that's a substantial limit, more than $3 million. And then, Commissioner Smith, you had made statements about how it was absolutely imperative. Please do not refer to a specific commissioner. Refer to us as a group, please. One of the outgoing commissioners, who was a gentleman, had made a statement that the City of Stewart, their agreement with us was imperative to make this successful. This was even reaffirmed by the county minister. The City of Stewart pulled out. So how was it imperative 11 months ago to have the city's assistance? And now the assistance is gone. There's no reason for us to take on this risk. Time is up. Thank you. Mrs. Patel is followed by Mr. Carmine DiPaolo, Mayor Carmine DiPaolo. Hold the mic down a little bit. Hello, everyone. Good morning. And thank you for being leaders in the true sense and considering us taxpayers as important people as well. And we as taxpayers want our tax money to go in the right direction, bring the train station to our county for our benefit, for us to take the train elsewhere and back to our town. This is our tax money as well. We want to be spent at the right place. It will be better that if you put this train station in Stewart downtown because it's ready, it's there, it's your property, it's Martin County's property, and nobody has a say to oppose it but you beautiful, amazing people. So you should consider downtown Stewart as a good train station stop. It's just that this decision is very prudent for the citizens of county. Please consider it and give us a train station as just the way you have done good things in the future. Please do this one, too. Thank you. Thank you. The mayor would like me to set his card aside, so we're going to go with Monica Nafurlowski. Nafurlowski. Okay. First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking the 5G motion, and that's why I'm here. So it's pretty much a repeat of Matthew, but I'll do my best. To the Board of County Commissioners, invited guests, and concerned citizens, thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Monica Nafurlowski, and I live in Parkwood neighborhood. I stand before you today because recently a 5G tower was erected not more than 200 feet from my house. My top priority today is to learn how something like this can happen without, literally overnight, and how this can be done without any notification to any resident that now have this eyesore in our face daily. Due to the lack of transparency, I question the motivation and leadership of this commission, but I take that back because it's not you. Anyway, who has the final approval in this? Does it lie with the commission or with the building department? I wouldn't be surprised but disappointed if the final say lies with the building department or permitting, while approval will be issued merely because all the correct boxes were checked. I'm sure the cellular companies allowed to follow the letter of the law to get permission. However, for something like this, it should require more than a rubber stamp for approval, like getting approval from me and my neighbors. If you would allow me, I'd like to ask each of you how you would feel if this happened outside your front door. Don't do that. My guess is, if a request were made and you knew about it, it would be scrutinized more closely because you knew it was happening and could stop it. We were not afforded that opportunity. We got to witness a covert act that required police escort to be completed. I'm curious, why did you need the police to be involved? I highly doubt it was for traffic control since it's a cul-de-sac road, the last road in our community. Perhaps for security due to unhappy neighbors being ambushed with the erection of this object that just crushed our property value by 15 to 20 percent. I'm a realtor. It is my respectful request that you do this. Sorry, let's start again. It is my respectful request that you do what is within your powers to have this tower relocated as soon as possible. If you would like, I can assist in finding a location anywhere that isn't directly in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The commission needs to play a bigger role in the location selection. Nobody should have to deal with this. While I'm not optimistic my words will make a difference, I do appreciate the opportunity to voice them. Thank you for your time. Next up is Casey Inger-Mullen, followed by Mr. Harry MacArthur. Good morning. April 6, 2024, $50 million Brightline funding denied. It's privately funded. I mean, we are not going to be on the hook as the state with taxpayers for doing trains. Governor DeSantis. November 8, Federal Agency Nix's $47 million grant for Brightline Cocoa Station. October 30, another $42 million grant denied for the St. Lucie River Bridge. Until today's vote to amend the settlement agreement, taxpayers and Brightline were split to split the station cost 50-50. But now you intend to have us, the taxpayers, foot the entire bill. Why? Brightline is clear. They only want to be in Martin County, so there is no need to give away the house. Brightline says they won't pay a dime for a Stewart station, yet they donated over $6 million in land for Cocoa and $30 million for Bocaa. You are not giving them, you are giving them our land and taxpayers foot 100% of the bill. The initial Miami to Orlando build-out projection was of $1.5 billion, has now ballooned to over $6 billion and growing. Yet you are committing your constituents hard-earned tax dollars on a gamble that a New York City hedge fund is the first company in our history to figure out the magic formula to make passenger rail profitable. Sadly, many of your residents footing the bill that you are about to voice on us can't afford the $55 average ticket price with the top 25% at $129. But ticket prices will need to continue to rise. At $129 a ticket, they will have to sell around 50 million tickets just to pay off their debt today. They have a lot of tickets to sell with ridership averaging just $226,000 per month. Remember, their initial estimate for annual ridership was $7 million, far from the reality of around $2.7 million this year. We need our money to pay for schools, groceries, housing, and soaring insurance costs, not to subsidize an unproven and risky venture for a luxury train ride. We already have plenty of skin in the game for nearly a century. Martin County has 27 railroad crossings we pay to lease and maintain. We can't put out bids. We just pay whatever bill they hand us. In 2015, our rail maintenance costs alone were $200,000, and with the addition of the second track and bright line, your staff projected our cost to hit $31 million by 2041. I recognize you negotiated bright line to pay for half the cost for the first 14 years, but we are on the hook for 100% of the cost for eternity. This time, you've kept the county's share at $15 million, but I don't buy it. You're already reneging on your 2018 commitment you promised to us that bright line would cover half, we'd cover half, and we'd split any grant proceeds evenly. This very board made that agreement without much support in this room. Now, here we are, six years later, watching you backtrack. I fear we'll be left with the entire tab after your next, quote, amendment. More concerning, you never once formally asked for all residents' input on such an expensive and divisive issue. You've had six years to have a workshop, survey, or put this on a ballot. In those six years, we never were told as taxpayers that we would be forced to pay for everything. If bright line genuinely believes in the success of this station and their company, why aren't they contributing to its development? Again, what's the issue with the initial 50-50 agreement? How are you guys going to pay for it? Thank you. Harry MacArthur is followed by Gail Goldie. Good morning, everyone. Thank you. Harry MacArthur, Hope Sound. I just want to thank everyone, you commissioners and staff, for always doing a great job and doing what's right for Martin County. I came up here today for one reason, two reasons. One is, Commissioner Smith, thank you for your service, for not always agreeing with us, but doing what was right. And you probably never get the respect you deserve for being an environmentalist, because, you know, so many times you take that in consideration and never got the credit. You always do what you think is right. You always give your explanation on your side of it. We have agreed and disagreed many times over 24 years. I love the conversations we have. It's just that good. Not many people you can do that with. Thank you so much. You didn't want just your service. Thank you. Thank you. All your trips to Tallahassee, to Washington. Appreciate it. You know. Now, Commissioner Jenkins, I apologize. I got you into this. I know. I know. You might get them out of it. I don't know how you can even look at me and smile, but thank you for eight wonderful years. Appreciate you. Thank you for all you've done. Thank you both for being great commissioners, and thank you. Thank you. So, I had Harry standing on one side of me, my wife standing on the other. Our previous commissioner was doing something that none of us were very happy with, and both of them simultaneously said, we're tired of listening to you bitch about it. Either step up or shut up. So, here I am, and it's been a wonderful thing. And I beat the odds. Harry had an odd thing going on as long as it would, how long it would take me to drop the F-bomb behind the dais, and I beat it. The day's not over. The day's not over, but I beat it. But anyway, so anyway, thank you, Harry. We've been best friends for a very, very, very long time. So, anyway. Love you. Good morning, commissioners. I'm Gail Goldie, and I've been following the Brightline saga since its inception. I'm hopeful that each of you have done the same. I have a few comments regarding the proposed Brightline train station, but first, I'd like to thank the city of Stewart for exercising such great common sense and restraint on a want, not a need. I also would like to thank Mr. Dial, because everything that Mr. Dial said was right on target. First, I'm dismayed at the current, too soon to be gone, commissioners that feel the need to rush their decision without proper research and common sense. Fiscally responsible. Let me repeat that. Fiscally responsible. Each of you are responsible to us taxpayers to ensure that our needs don't drain us of all of our funds on wants. Needs versus wants. Seems to me each of you that have children will understand this. If a child comes to you at any age and asks you to buy them something that you can't afford, nor can they afford, you go into debt, and that debt can't be repaid. No, you are being a parent and fiscally responsible to decline their request, explaining that they will have to wait and earn the money to pay for it. Till then, it's a no. So if we are going to be going into a public-private partnership with a private business, Brightline, why are we using our money to pay for the Brightline station? We do not need to be draining our funds on something that is based on the word grants. Every time I turn around, all I hear is, don't worry, there's grants. There'll be grants. There'll be grants. Well, we all know that grants are given and grants are taken. Recently, grants have been denied. They have been taken back, which was the exact thing that happened to the train bridge over the St. Lucie there. And we just don't need to be taking all of our taxpayer dollars and using it on something that is not a proven entity to be a moneymaker. Brightline is $8 billion in debt. $8 billion in debt. How much will our county be in debt when Brightline doesn't have a train going across those tracks? Thank you. Channing, Channing Philebaum, I hope, is going to be followed by Richard Olson. And if, please repeat your name correctly. Hello and good morning, Board of County Commissioners. My name is Channing Philebaum, and I'm a resident of Parkwood. I come today before you to ask you to please reconsider the location of the AT&T 5G Tower. At its current location, it's not only an eyesore, but a potential health hazard to our young and elderly residents. The effects of 5G have not been studied long term, but we know that they emit harmful electromagnetic frequencies, or EMFs, that do cause headaches, disrupt sleep, and enhance chronic diseases. I don't know about you, but if you've ever had a small child, sleep heals all. The same with our chronic diseases. We need sleep to heal. I've been told by a person who makes a living studying radiation and 5G towers that this tower is just like having a large cell phone in your front yard. Well, I don't know about you, but I try every moment of every day to keep my cell phone away from me. I don't sleep next to it. Excuse me. I lost my spot. I try to keep my phone on speaker phones, so not to keep my phone next to my head. But unfortunately, we don't have that luxury of just walking away from a cell phone tower when it's in our front yard. No one in our neighborhood was notified prior to this installation, nor does anyone want it there. The 5G tower is not helping any of our residents, and it's only hurting our health and our property values. In addition, this causes an obstacle for wheelchair-bound residents. It's in a public right-of-way blocking a sidewalk. This tower would be better suited in a business parkway, industrial park, or along a highway, not in someone's front yard or residential neighborhood. There's already a 5G tower directly across the street on Federal Highway. I kindly urge that you do not use our neighborhood as a science experiment. We are not guinea pigs. This is where we live, sleep, and raise our children. Thank you for your time. Mr. Olson will be followed by Terry Kogel. Okay, Richard Olson, county resident. Brightline is our future. Stewart was a train town many years ago, and we must be one again. This is our only opportunity. I don't think we should require grants to move forward. They're too risky. The alternative is a bus station. We don't want a bus station. A train station is a great idea. A few points. The number of stops in Stewart will increase with time. Just look at Boca. They started with a few. Now they have a lot of train stations. People worried about the ridership. Right now, Brightline is increasing the number of cars per car, per train. It used to be four. Now it could be up to eight in the future. They will be making money. They're not dumb. We will be paying for the station. That's a given. But Brightline will maintain the station. That's a big cost. A lot of times, communities get a train or some other transportation system, and then they have to pay both for the item and for the maintenance. For Brightline, there's no maintenance requirement by the city or the county or the taxpayers. None. We just have to get it here, and then they maintain it forever. It's about our community. It's our future. We must invest real money to get a station or lose the future. All great future events require investment and money. I think people forget that. Investments, good things in the future, require money. We can't just say we can only do it by grants. Please be the grown-ups, the gang of a few city commissioners throughout the train station, the kids. Please act responsible for the future of our rail station. Be the parents. It's a great investment, period. Thank you very much. Terry Kogel, followed by Steve Vitale. Vitale. Vitale. Thank you. You did pronounce it correctly. Good morning, commissioners. Last week, the American people spoke up and voted out people who thought they were infallible and untouchable. They were wrong. They disregarded the will of the people. They called us garbage, Nazis. They thought that they were better than the people they were hired to represent, and they were wrong. The dynamics of Martin County have radically changed. We have mortified from the county of primary retired people to a county of hardworking people. People who work hard to support their families. People who have a strong interest in what happens in this county, but are denied the right to attend this county's meetings. We have requested evening meetings. However, it's quite apparent you have no regard for your constituents by refusing to have open meetings at a time when the working people in this county can attend. We need late afternoon or evening meetings. People are unable to attend morning meetings due to their work schedules. Brightline supporters that attend morning meetings are mostly business owners who can take the time off to attend the morning meetings. Only Brightline can win county land for their station. No citizen input. No public notices of their decisions on the agenda. There is no transparency, no accountability, just put their Brightline, cell towers, comp plans, et cetera. You just push everything through before the new commissioners come in because you are afraid you might be getting too honest, commissioners. Something just doesn't resonate honesty with this present board. Thank you. Steve Vitale, followed by Robin Cartwright. Good morning, commissioners. I'm Steven Vitale, Martin County resident. I'm the owner of the Old Colorado Inn in downtown Stewart. I'd like to start by thanking Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Jenkins for your longstanding dedicated service to our county. I appreciate what both of you have done over the years very much. I'd like to speak to you tonight as a family man. I am a proud father of seven children, many of whom live here in Martin County. My grandson, Judah, who is one year old, is outside right now. My second grandchild, Rosemary, was just born five days ago. My daughter, Julia, is getting married. She lives in Virginia, and she's going to be raising a family, and she will be coming to visit us in the future. So just paint the picture. This is a lifestyle decision for many of us. And if I have to go pick up Julia's family at the airport, I have to drive to Orlando, there's going to be traffic, there's going to be hassles. I get there, the flight's delayed, I'm circling around for another hour, then they get in the car, we have to drive back an hour and a half, we go to my house. Versus they get on the train, they come here, I drive down there, meet them there. It takes me five minutes, we go to a leisurely dinner in downtown Stewart. This is a lifestyle decision. Secondly, this will benefit businesses in downtown Stewart. And I'm advocating for the Martin County train station in downtown Stewart. The reason is this is an investment. And whenever you do a real estate investment, the three words we all know, the one word you repeat three times, location, location, location. Downtown Stewart has been voted the best town in America over and over again over the past five years. This will be the icing on the cake. The fairgrounds, there's nothing there. It doesn't make sense to me. There's nothing there. We have this amazing downtown. This is where it makes sense. It also is a great investment for you as county commissioners to increase the tax base, because we know the other stations that have been built around the railroad in South Florida, their property values have significantly increased. That is going to do wonders for your tax base. You're going to be able to do more great things in the future. This is a win-win for everybody. I know you're going to exercise great leadership and make a wonderful decision by passing the Martin County Brightline Station in downtown Stewart. Thank you, and God bless you. Ms. Cartwright will be followed by Sam Hay. Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak, as I cannot stay for the meeting. But have I got a business proposal for you. Like Brightline, the issue is not my business. It's how you're going to pay for it. So picture Brightline with as many flaws in the plan. I would like to rent four parcels for $1 a year each for 40 years guaranteed with a 40-year option to extend it. But don't offer that to any other businesses, and especially not any local businesses. I need these parcels to be in prime locations, nothing on the outside of the county. I want prime real estate on a street that's currently rated D by the Florida Department of Transportation. I want you to pay for my build-out, the whole thing, and I am not going to contribute a penny. I won't give you an anticipated budget for my build, but that's okay. Just promise me a blank check anywhere between $45 million and $60 million. Hell, we'll adjust it to half of that like you're suggesting today. So from $60 million to $30 million, what do I care? It's not my company's money. It's taxpayers' money. FYI, my company has been losing money every year, but don't pay attention to that either. I will also not provide any economic feasibility studies to show you any valid reason to do this for me. Just trust me when I say it is the best idea ever. And I know if I had honored our previous court-assigned agreement, I would pay for half, but I'm reneging on what was promised. Doesn't matter what my business plan is. It is rock solid because I said so, even though it's not. Oh, and if you were to publicly deride and chastise three of the city commissioners for caring about fiscal responsibility and reviewing the contracts, that would be great. Again, I'm not paying for jack squat. Fun fact, in a public records request find, on August 27, 2024, there was a text from city commissioner or city mayor, Campbell Rich, to everyone's friend and neighbor, Tom Campenny, quote, without a FOIA request, Boca received a 16.6 grant, Brightline kicked in 30, and Boca had to pay 9.9, half of which they got from other grants. I assume those are millions of dollars. So it appears Brightline does chip in when they really want a station to happen, yet that fun fact is never acknowledged, nor does it make any of the pro-Brightline rhetoric. Another fun fact, also in Boca, Boca runs the parking garage, so they get the revenue from that. But here in Martin County, we are letting Brightline keep all of those profits, even though there may be people parking who are visiting downtown Stewart and not taking the train. Makes you wonder why this county commission is so hard-pressed to push through this in a manner with no financial buy-in from Brightline. How is this remotely, mutually beneficial to our community? So consider this my official submission for my business. I hope you'll give me the same deal as you would Brightline, so basically everything that I'm asking for with no feasibility studies and totally at the expense of taxpayers. And like I said, similar to Brightline, the issue is not my business, it's how you're going to pay for it. I'll remind you that the comp plan does not say that taxpayers are responsible for the cost of my private business. So I hope you'll approve my proposal with the same due diligence, concern for the budget, and thoughtfulness that you're going to use to approve Brightline, leaving this in the hand of the new commission. Thank you. Sam Hay is followed by Walter Lloyd. Good morning. I'm Sam Hay. I live in Port Salerno. It's my understanding that you have on your agenda for today's meeting several proposals for substantial changes to our comprehensive plan. I urge you once again not to make major changes to further emasculate the comp plan. It is abundantly clear that an overwhelming majority of Martin County residents want to live in a location unspoiled by nerve-wracking traffic, increased levels of crime, and rampant development. If you continue to punch big holes in the comprehensive plan, ultimately there will be nothing left of it to protect us from all the ills of overdevelopment, which is so despoiled most of South Florida. Again, arises the obvious question of just who benefits from weakening the comp plan, and the obvious answer is developers who seek to maximize their profits at the expense of our environment and our quality of life. Let's put a halt to this disastrous trend now. You commissioners were elected to represent the will of the county's citizens. If you vote to approve developer-friendly changes to weaken our comp plan, you are certainly not representing the will of the people. The voters of Martin County have spoken. Please respect our voice. What's the rush to make changes in the comp plan anyway? Is it just to satisfy the wishes of often unscrupulous developers before a new commission can be seated? As for the issue of a Brightline station here in our county, I have mixed feelings, but I certainly do not think that we taxpayers should have to foot the bill. Brightline is a private company in the business of generating profits for itself. Obviously, they're not very successful at it so far. The public should not be expected to subsidize this company. Please do not allow this to become yet another giveaway to those in well-placed positions at the expense of the rest of us. Walter Lloyd is followed by Sherry Lee. Commissioners, I'm Walter Lloyd. I'm here to plead with you, similar to Mr. Serkis' comments, in that I'm more about how we're doing things and the lack of transparency. So I'm asking you to consider the will of the people as demonstrated so clearly in the last election. This pushed to ram through important and controversial issues like comprehensive plan amendments and Brightliner, more of the same actions that drove those election results. The lack of transparency to your constituents is glaring, and you have the gall to tell us that you take transparency and sunshine very seriously. While in the very same meeting, where there was no agenda or public notice for Brightline, you make a motion and approve it. Interestingly, also, that same day, the room was filled with yellow shirts, so somehow they got the notice, but the rest of us didn't. I'd also like to call out WPTV as I watch them make announcements for this Brightline issue. I would implore them to be a little more objective in their questionable reporting and journalism. It's clear that the taxpayers of Martin County want a say in this and a fair deal, but if you watch the biased reporting from that channel, you wouldn't know it. Responsible journalism is one of the major tenets in our democracy, and if we can't get that from our local media outlets, then we have leaders and media working together against the will of the people. I'm asking that you put off any motion or vote on Brightline until the new commission can bring new perspective with public representation. Thank you. Sherry Lee will be followed by Belinda Giles. Good morning. Hi, everybody. Sherry Lee. I'm a Martin County resident. I'm a Stewart business owner. I've been following the train station ordeal since it was rescinded. I think a lot of us were shocked and perplexed. I think this body has done a very good job running this county. I think this whole process has been transparent. We're not getting, like, magic notices about what's going on. Everybody knows to show up. I just want to make a couple comments more to the people that are talking about all these fear-mongering things. You know, we're not going to get the money, the grants. We're paying taxes to get the station. If we get the grants, that's great. I think we just need this amenity. Is it an amenity? Is it a utility? I think it's both. Nobody wants a utility pole, but they want the electricity. Nobody wants to pay for parks. They don't make a profit, but we need the parks. We don't want the airport. We don't want to pay for airports and hear the noise, but we all want to get on a plane and fly somewhere. And the ticket prices aren't my problem. If I can afford it, I'm going to go. So all this hand-wringing about the station and the cost and who owns the company, well, it could be a different provider ten years from now. I don't care if it's Brightline. I just want a station in Martin County. I want it for young people to be able to go to college and come home, go to work and come home, go on trips. I want it for old people to go on trips and not have to drive on our roads. I could go on and on, but you guys have researched this. I know you've worked very, very hard on this. Whether it's you or the incoming commission, they also know this is an amenity. This is a utility. This is something we need. Thank you for your hard work on it, and I appreciate your vote today to get it done. And Belinda Galiles, I'm sorry, followed by Jim Fithian. Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. I have to agree with the gentleman that spoke about the comprehensive plan. At one time in this county, when I moved here years and years ago, the comprehensive plan was sacrosanct. It was very, very important that few changes were made to it. And unfortunately, I have to agree with him that I see many changes being made to that. I'm going to thank one of the commissioners here who sends me a monthly newsletter. That person is not my commissioner, but I glanced at the newsletter this last time. Everybody knows we had tons of email. Normally, I take a look and delete, but this time, some things caught my eye. So I'm just going to read right from this newsletter. And the bright light thing, I don't have a dog in that hunt, but I think when we're here making comments, that the people in the room should be, the people in the audience should be polite and not say derogatory things if they disagree with those people. I think we'd have a much better audience if that happened. That aside, a couple of things that I got, PH9, a request to consider Transmittal of Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Martin Commerce Park, a future land use map amendment. This was a request to amend the future land use map to change the designation of 167 acres of land from agricultural and agricultural ranchette to industrial. There are four criteria to consider when changing the future land use designation of a parcel. At least one must be met in order to recommend approval of the change. Past changes in land use designations in the general area make the proposed use logical and consistent with those uses. Growth in the area has altered the character of the area, such that the proposal is now reasonable. The proposed change would correct what would otherwise appear to be an inappropriately assigned land use designation, or the proposed change would fulfill a public service that enhances the health, safety, or general welfare of the county residents. And I think this is a catch-all phrase that you all are using for many of your proposed things that you say, okay, we're going to do this. We have one commissioner that generally does not abide by that, and that's the commissioner that sent me the newsletter. I did send this to my commissioner, and I have not yet received a response or an appointment, which I would really like. Thank you. Okay. Jim Fithian, followed by Mr. Tadastoffi. Hard to hear in the back. Hi, my name is Jim Fithian. I live in Palm City, and I'm a concerned resident about the Bright Line. First, I wish that all decisions at this point regarding Bright Line were made after the two new commissioners were put into place. I think that's really important to hear what they have to say as well. I just wrote down six or seven things. I don't think any of them at this point are original to what's been said today, but one of the things I did investigate, I was involved in risk analysis in my career. And when I look at this organization that we're going to be partnering with, I was flabbergasted. This organization is in financial difficulties. Whether you like it or not, they are. They're billions of dollars in debt, and guess what they're paying in interest on their debt? Between 7% and 12%. Who would do that? I mean, it's crazy. This is not something that looks very favorable as far as the future goes, and I hope you give that consideration. And I know you will. I really do believe that this commission works really hard to do what's right for our citizens. And I really hope that you'll consider that again when you look at this Bright Line situation. My wife and I live in Palm City, like I mentioned, and we drive to Orlando. It takes two hours to Disney, door to door. From our door to Disney is two hours. The same with the business areas in Orlando and also for Universal. It's two hours. I'm 70 years old. I don't mind getting in my car and taking a drive like that. Miami is about two and a half hours. I have not once since this train's been in thought, oh, boy, it would be a great idea to get on Bright Line. Not at the cost that they charge to get on the train. And so I just don't get it. I mean, it would almost be cheaper not to fly, but if you're thinking about taking the train, it just doesn't make sense. I think there's also people are thinking that, oh, all kinds of people from Miami or Orlando are going to stop in Stewart. Guess what? We're dreaming, okay? You might have a few people that will stop, but they're going to Orlando, okay, or they're going to Miami. They're not thinking Stewart when they get on that train. They're just not. So a couple of the things that I wrote. The ridership is low. We already know that. You would think that they would, if things were great, that they'd have high ridership. They don't. And they're financially unsustainable. They're in a bad financial situation no matter how you cut it. But the original deal with the city of Stewart made the right decision. They said, hey, you know what? We're out of this. And one of the reasons that they made the right decision was because Brightline changed the deal, okay? Not in the city. Is that it already? Okay. So bottom line is there's a lot of reasons in my mind not to go ahead with this. Okay. Mr. Stoffe will be followed by Tammy Mazota. And that's my last speaker form. Good morning, Commissioners. I'm Ted Estoffe here with the Economic Council of Martin County. I have an 11 o'clock, so I had to come for a public comment. So thank you for getting to me. I just wanted to come because I can't be here at 11 o'clock to thank Commissioner Jenkins and Commissioner Smith. I've worked with both of you for your entire careers. Going to New Hampshire to look at Pease Air Force Base, your commitment to economic development, Commissioner, has been unwavering. Your commitment to the environment, which I don't think people have recognized, and your impact at both the state and federal level with our legislators has been amazing. The financial gain we've gotten as a result of your work has been amazing. Thank you very much for your 24 years of service. And Commissioner Jenkins, it's been a fun ride for eight years. We met often. We had some interesting conversations. But, again, you have also done yeoman's work up here as a true citizen commissioner, as a working man that came up here to represent the citizens and the working people of Martin County. So I just wanted to say on behalf of myself personally and my organization, thank you for all of your support and everything you've done for this to make Martin County a better place and truly make it a sustainable, quality community. Thank you both. Have a good day. Tammy Mazota. Hi, Commissioners. Tammy Mazota here. You said it right. I don't wonder why. Thank you. So, anyway, I had a whole book that I wrote for you I wanted to talk to you about today. But, basically, that's just me being sarcastic. It's been covered by so many people already. I know you don't have to hear it again because you're all smart enough to remember what's been said and to know what's been said. I am concerned with the transparency. I understand that you're not the only people in this room that are responsible for the transparency. But you're the ones who get beat up for it. And my suggestion is to make sure that your staff is on board with transparency. As far as the meeting last two weeks ago when you had your last board meeting sneaking in the bright line, it was not very cool to put that in as a vote for today. As a retired person, I'm concerned with my taxes. I'm not against the station at all. It would be great to have a station, but as you've heard, it's not fair for us to pay for the station. For our taxes to go up, some people that are retired are on set incomes. And as other people said, it puts other people in the spot. It causes a financial strain on a lot of people. I'm not going to stand here and insult you or say anything derogatory towards you, but Stuart Commission didn't pass this for a reason. And I really wish that you would look into their reasonings and listen to the people on both sides. I understand people want this train. I would benefit from having a train, but not for the cost that it's going to cost me. Please think about this very seriously. I'm disappointed that it's come this far and it popped up like this. I would have been here last week or last meeting, but don't let us down, okay? And for our two leaving commissioners, thank you for your services. And I wish you well in your futures, okay? Everyone else, thank you for your time. Thank you. All right. And with that, that was the last speaker forum I had that wasn't specific to an item. And we will move on to Department 8. No. You want to just keep trudging through and get this done? Okay. Let's take a five-minute break so we can get. You're on. All right. We're back. We are going to begin with Department 8, Request for Bid Award for Brightline Trains Florida LLC, Approved First Amendment to the November 25, 2018 Settlement Agreement, and Permission to Apply for Federal Grant. Mr. George Stokas, take it away. Good morning, Mr. Chair. George Stokas, Assistant County Administrator. Before we get into this, I just want to thank all the departments that assisted legal, Office of Management, Budget, Purchasing, and Communications. A very heavy lift to get all this put together. George, you might want to. I don't know. It's hard to hear you. Oh, let me scoot in a little more then. Okay. So, Mr. Chair, first we want to just kind of start off with the timeline of where we were at, how we've progressed to where we've come. The big date really is the settlement agreement was entered into in 2018. As you can see, these are various milestones. I won't go through each exact one, but you can see the various milestones of where we're at to 2024. And then in 2024, September 10th of 2024, with the action where the City of Stewart rescinds the agreement. These are all the actions that occurred and when they occurred. I just want to highlight on October 24th, we did publicly advertise an RFB, both on the county website, in two locations, including a Hot Topics bar, as well as on the Demand Star, and purchasing was available for any inquiries. On November 1st, we held a public meeting in this very room to receive potential bids, and I just want to point out that the county did reach out to four rail carriers in the state of Florida. Brightline was selected by the RFB Selection Committee in this very room, and another public meeting on 1130 at November 4th. And then we are here today at, I think it's about 11, 1105, for you to consider the response to the amendment. I wanted to do a brief overview of what is in the amended settlement agreement. If there are specific questions, I'm sure myself or legal can assist in answering those questions. The first big item in the amended settlement agreement is Brightline will construct an additional 6.6 miles of fencing for safety. If you recall back in 2018, the initial settlement agreement focused very heavily on safety. This is a further enhancement to the safety along the corridor in Martin County. This also makes Brightline responsible for liability and maintenance costs associated with all that fencing, and it removes the county's responsibility for us to pay the FEC right-of-way lease fees, which currently average $23,000 per year until the fence ceases to exist in the right-of-way. That is being taken on by Brightline. The amended settlement agreement also removes Brightline's obligation for the 50-50 cost of construction for the aerial bridge, but must allow for future construction, slant consideration of a pedestrian bridge and station site. It's memorialized by, in the design, Brightline will make sure there's an area where we can either put a post or some type of support structure that would allow for the height to go over the railroad. The reason that came to bow is because we were unable to ascertain from the City of Stewart if and where they would like a pedestrian bridge. Martin County's payment of up to $15 million maximum and the conveyance of land satisfies the 2018 agreement requiring Martin County to pay up to 50% of the station cost. So what essentially happens in the amended settlement agreement is your maximum out-of-pocket is $15 million. Something new that wasn't in the previous items was upon completion of the station of at least eight northbound and southbound trains will stop in Stewart during the first quarter of service. From future thereon, it's based on demand. And then I think there was some confusion in the public. Each party has an opt-out provision after two grant cycles. I didn't write down the exact specific date. I believe it's June 30th of 2027, but it's approximately two and a half years. So after the amended settlement agreement, staff looked at where would be the financials for the cost of the station. Currently, today, we estimate the station cost to cost $45 million at today's dollars. But due to the fact that we're going after grants and we're looking at construction not occurring for another, let's say, two years, those costs can change due to labor, goods, and construction start date and cost of services. However, the $15 million cap is still imposed regardless of the date. So your cost is capped at $15 million. Based on work with Office of Management and Budget, we estimated an $11.8 million estimated loan instrument. However, based on time of award of the grant and depending on whether the grants there issued are through a trickle or one big lump sum, we anticipate that we will have approximately $3.2 million in capital transportation funding dollars available to work against the $15 million capped debt service. At an $11.8 estimated loan, at the current interest rates, which are dropping, our estimated annual loan payment is at $1.05 million. That's an estimated interest of 3.8% for 15 years if the loan is needed. Based on the way that the interest rates are going from the feds and the potential for a competitive bid process for a loan instrument, we could see interest lower than $3.8 million and these numbers would change. The big takeaway is that staff has identified a way for there would be the no increase to your county budget through debt service as well as no ad valorem or the property taxpayer tax impact to their ad valorem tax bill. Those funds would come from capital transportation funding that we receive from the state for this purpose. Grants. There's been a lot of talk about grants. I'll try to simplify as much as possible. Grant staff has identified with the assistance of our grant consultant, a Federal Rail Administration Federal Estate Partnership for Inter-City Passenger Rail Grant Program. The grant program sets a, well, basically the largest grant you can apply for is an 80-20 grant. At a cap cost of $15 million, you would then be receiving up to $60 million in federal, which would equal a total of $75 million. However, because right now we're anticipating the cost of the station to be approximately $45 million, your $15 million could be used by a higher percentage for the grant, or it could be utilized at a lower rate. So you could actually pay less than $15 million, depending on how we work on the benefit-cost analysis with the professional grant administrator that we have on contract. We also have identified, our grants consultant has also identified a couple other grants, FRA, Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements, or CRISI, as well as there's other opportunities through Florida Department of Transportation, as well as Florida, the state of Florida Appropriations. And we'll need to work with that carefully to make sure that we're not stepping on other toes when it comes to grants versus appropriations. And those grants were identified by our consultant. Again, still utilizing the dollars that have no increase to your county budget, as well as no ad valorem tax impact. So that basically ends my presentation. I'm more than happy to take any questions, but here are the recommended actions. I do want to point out one error I made in the first bullet. The award request for bid to Brightline Trains and Authorized Staff to begin lease negotiations. Brightline did say that they wanted to select the downtown Stewart location that is located in the RFB pamphlet. And at this time, Mr. Chair, I'm more than happy to answer any questions or receive any comments. Commissioner Hetherington. Yeah, George, in the agenda item, it talks about the pedestrian bridge. And in your bullet point, you pointed out, and I watched the city of Stewart, it says it removes the $47,600 maximum for an aerial easement fee with the FECR, as well as the requirement that Brightline equally share the construction costs of the pedestrian bridge. So explain to me the pedestrian bridge and how we got to this. And I would like to say, too, and I'll say to the county administrator that as of Wednesday, I had spoken to a member of the public, and I said this item was not going to be on the agenda because I had not heard from anyone until the agenda item came out Thursday afternoon. So I found that to be hard because now I have to get all my questions answered. That Thursday comes out, Friday we're gone, Monday's a holiday. Now I have to get all the questions answered today. So I was disappointed in that. But, George, the pedestrian, so tell me how that came in and how that is going out. So the pedestrian bridge is out because at the time the city of Stewart did not want a pedestrian bridge for a couple reasons. One, when you build a pedestrian bridge in that type of location, you have to have two elevators, which for Americans with disability access, as well as the pedestrian bridge is located, the station in the downtown location is located in close proximity to surface crossings. The other consideration is that location is located in a qualified census tract area. So if, based on the settlement agreement, if we were to apply for grants, the federal grants cover 100% of those costs. They don't cover the operations and maintenance, but they cover the capital costs for those stations. And at the time, without the city wanting to take on the O&M of a $14 to $20 million pedestrian bridge with no plans as to where the pedestrian bridge would land in Stewart, the parties at that time decided that it would be best to just reserve a spot on the downtown site and then address the pedestrian bridge as need came about and then where the exact locations would land, where it would basically leave from the station, as well as land on the city of Stewart. The other big change happened when there was the possibility of not having a parking garage. So at this point, I don't even know if you would be able to build an aerial pedestrian bridge over the right-of-way without there being a parking garage and whether you'd have enough property on the site to get over into Stewart because you have to get over, I know the train cars are like 14 or 18 feet, so you have to have at least an elevation of 20 feet to get over those rail cars. So if the downtown area is selected, then there's no plan for a pedestrian bridge? The pedestrian bridge is put on pause. We're not saying there's no pedestrian bridge. It would have to, I would like to think that the city of Stewart and the county would get together to best determine the site of both the takeoff and landing of the bridge and where it begins, where it ends, where it's starting and going. But in that area, it's in a qualified census tract, so there's no, it's 100% funding. So there's no, and based on the settlement agreement, we both share 50-50, and if the match is zero, then I think staff was under the position of there's zero match on either side, so we would allow us to take the time to plan that. So we can get a grant basically for a pedestrian bridge in the future. Is that what I heard? Yes, absolutely. Is there a pedestrian bridge planned anywhere else in the county? No, Commissioner, there is not. So the original bridge concept was that there was a, the concept was if there was a parking garage on the west side of the tracks, it would enable you to connect across. For instance, at one time the city was talking about some parking garages near the Triangle and other areas, and so the point was is that the original concept of a pedestrian bridge would link across the tracks, whether there was a station there or not, and maybe get to the downtown section of the city of Stewart. When we were negotiating initially on this project and discussed the pedestrian bridge, the city, as Mr. Stokas pointed out, didn't find that as a critical need in their original discussion. So at this point in time we thought that until we actually know where exactly you need a pedestrian bridge, it needs, you need to have two points, a good destination to get to and a place for people to use it. Otherwise, as we've seen in the past, you build a pedestrian bridge and nobody uses it. They still walk across the tracks, et cetera. So I think our thought is that given Mr. Stokas is a consultant on grants, that we would have a good chance of getting grants to help us with a pedestrian bridge in the future. We first need to know where we need to put it, and since there's no plans anywhere to put a pedestrian bridge, it wasn't worth talking about right now, especially given the propensity to fund it if you have a good location. We haven't applied for any grants for any pedestrian bridges. We have not because we don't have a location for one. I think Sarah wants to say something. I just was going to reiterate what Mr. Donaldson said, Sarah Woods, sorry, county attorney, that in 2018 we were really dealing in really abstractions, and so the pedestrian bridge that's in the original settlement agreement didn't actually have any particular location. We were just trying to project what could be needed. So it's a different situation under the current circumstances. Thank you. And then as for the $15 million, when we were originally talking about this back in December, and I certainly support the RFP and us moving forward with the Bright Line Station. However, it's very unclear, the $15 million, when we discussed this several months ago, we are going to apply for grants for our $15 million, correct? We are applying for grants. Our $15 million. Our up to $15 million. We're applying for a grant up to, at this time, $45 million, of which, depending on how we would do it, your maximum amount of pocket is $15 million. Now, if the match for a $45 million would lower your $15 million, plus if you include other grants and you start to layer, we would apply those, well, since it would go to lower your match contribution of the $15 million. We're still aiming for the $8 million to $10 million. However, what had changed was at one point when we first came up here with the RFP, we thought we had time to do grants. That timeline got expedited, and it created a different way of funding mechanism. Now that Bright Line has agreed to let us go after grants, we can still work to layer grants to lower that maximum exposure below the $15 million. I can't sit here and guarantee you that we'll be successful, but we can layer both probably state and some other federal grants to work to whittle down some of our match so that we still have a $45 million project with maybe an $8 to $10 million match. But I can't sit here and tell you that is absolutely going to happen. Because are we going to, is that going to come back to us in the future if we have a $15 million, up to $50 million cap we apply for grants, then what, because if not, you have to apply for a loan? Yes. So what will come back to you is you will, you'll, you'll have a permission to accept the grant, as well as part of the recommended motion. At some point, we will have to come back with the lease agreement to this body, as well as any other grants that we receive, you would come back for permission to accept. What if we're not successful at getting grants? Is there a cap? I think somebody mentioned earlier, we spoke about having, at least earlier in the year, that we would, a maximum of us being on the hook would be X percent. And if we weren't eligible to get the grants, then we would have some kind of escape clause. Yes. So the, the settlement agreement says that your cap is $15 million, as well as it allows the county to grant cycles to apply with an opt-out provision for both parties. So if we don't get the grant, either Brightline or the county can say, we're out. They can, it's an opt-out. Okay. I, I, Sarah Woods, again, I just wanted to point out the interlocal agreement that we entered into with the city of Stewart about a year ago did say that we committed up to $15 million of our own money, not from grants or anything. We, we committed in that interlocal agreement up to $15 million. City of Stewart, their share in that interlocal agreement was $30 million. But they're all, back a year ago in that original interlocal agreement, there was a commitment by this board for $15 million in the interlocal. So that was the interlocal that didn't get a dollar? Correct. Well, no, that we, we entered, we approved that interlocal, both the city and the county. And, and we base that interlocal in our bid to Brightline back a year ago. And that was the interlocal was part of the bid package that we submitted to Brightline last December. So, I guess it's a simple question. If we enter into this agreement and we are not successful getting grants, do we have a clause to exit the agreement? Yeah. Okay. Yes, ma'am. Maybe it would help. That was a, that was a simple question. Okay. Okay. You, uh, Mr. Campy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Ms. Woods, this morning there was a public comment saying that we had broken a couple of different, at least the accusation was that we had broken a couple of different laws in the process. I had asked our staff earlier, if that were the case, can you share with us, you, you're an attorney, correct? Yes, sir. Okay. Can you share with us your legal opinion on, uh, would you have advised us to do anything that you felt we were doing something illegal? Absolutely not. I, I will tell you, um, if, as, uh, and we can go through the actual narrative of the award of the RFB, um, the purchasing manual has a specific exemption in it for railroad leases. Um, so while we did not follow the purchasing manual because it had exempt, we followed all the applicable Florida laws for this. Um, and I, I, I would rather not get into a debate about what people think is true or not about getting more than one, but we often only get one bid for things and occasionally have to go forward. So that, that is not a, uh, death knell to a request for bids if you only get one bid. Um, I want to come back to you, but based on that, Mr. Stokas, you had said in your presentation that you had put that out to all of the potential rail carriers, uh, operators in the state. Can you explain who? So we, we had notified Amtrak, Sunrail, which is the, the commuter rail up in Orlando, Tri-Rail, which is the commuter railroad in southeast Florida, and Brightline. And we, if you look at the packet, we had five, five individuals pull the, the RFB, and we had one respondent, and that respondent was Brightline. Do you get to the five individuals that pulled to, to further study the, the bid? I know, I, I didn't bring who, who it was. Were there individuals when, do you mean companies or people? Companies, and there is, I believe, a person, but I don't know if they're pulling it because they want to be a subcontractor. I just know Brightline was one of the, one of the companies that did pull it off of DemandStar. Okay, and now, Ms. Woods, back to you. There was also some talk that at the last meeting, somehow we had done something inappropriate in even discussing it or making a motion. Can you share that with us? Um, I, I think the easiest, first of all, in my legal opinion, no, you didn't do anything wrong. Um, what I would point to for everybody that's here is to notice what happened a little while earlier, which was the folks in Parkwood came unannounced or unagended and asked the board, expressed a concern, and asked the board for some assistance. And you all made a motion to bring something back as an agenda item. Two weeks ago, that is precisely what happened with Brightline. Brightline supporters showed up. They made a request of the board of county commissioners. You all, in the full sunshine, made a deliberation and then made a motion for us to prepare these documents and to bring them back. And that's what happened. And there isn't anything illegal about that. It happens pretty often. Thank you. Um, I happened to be here, uh, when the original, uh, agreement, the settlement agreement was made in 2018. And in regards to the pedestrian crossover, I was part of that conversation. And Mr. Donaldson touched upon it where we, at the time, and again, what Ms. Woods said is correct. We were dealing in the abstract. We were finalizing and settling a long disputed lawsuit, not so much about a station, about the service itself, about continuing. The original battle was to try to stop the service from coming through the county. And a valiant effort was made by grassroots efforts at the time. But the writing was on the wall. And, uh, in regards to Indian River County, if I remember correctly, and Ms. Woods can correct me if I'm not accurate, the day that we did to do settlement with Brightline, Indian River County's commissioners were going to also settle it on the exact same day, later that day, as a matter of fact. And for whatever reason, their board, later in the day, after we did agree, had changed their minds and did not settle that day. So that was that. In regards to the pedestrian bridge, back then there was a conversation of, and remember, it was before those high-end apartments were built in the triangle. There has long been conversation that the city of Stewart, and I'm a firm believer, it needs a parking garage. It needs to alleviate, as the city's businesses and downtown becomes more, um, of a place where people are interested, either Martin County residents or visitors, uh, the biggest issue down there is a parking garage. There was talk of a parking garage on the triangle, on the western side there, by the sailfish fountain, if people are not familiar with the triangle. You'll imagine across the tracks from the Lyric Theater. Well, that made sense to have a pedestrian walkover, not necessarily to the station, just so that there would be a walkover from a parking garage to downtown. And when that property was redeveloped into something else, all of a sudden, the need for a pedestrian walkover at that location was no longer needed. Now, there is still some talk, and it's within the city of Stewart, so it's not our purview, but there is still some talk of redeveloping that area. The reason I know is that the MPO that we sit on, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, has talked about sort of reworking that roadway, roadway structure there. And there has been also some talk that that cat, that the church and the school there is potentially in play. Maybe a parking garage would find its way there in the future, and then the conversation about a walkover becomes again an issue. I don't believe it would be necessary to have a pedestrian bridge if we go forward and utilize the space that was originally discussed by the lumberyard across from the courthouse, because you'd be taking a pedestrian bridge over by Kiwanis Park, and I don't know if that's really for what it would need. And then Mr. Mortel had mentioned at some point that it's not like a ramped kind of, you know, sawtooth ramp, what they call a switchback ramp up to an inexpensive pedestrian. It would require elevators. It would require quite a bit of extensive maintenance. And so I'm not opposed to having that be put on the back burner. The two locations, I get that the original location in the city of Stewart there in that parking lot is obviously within walking distance of downtown. If that is the will of Brightline and the community, especially the downtown, then I'm okay with that. My original concern was that if it was a three-partner deal and now it's a two-partner deal, you know, the city of Stewart has decided to step away from the conversation but still would reap all of the benefits of that. And I get that the city of Stewart is in Martin County, so I don't have an issue with the location if it were to go there. The final thing that I would say in terms of grants and who's paying, the grant, you know, we've heard this morning and I've heard it elsewhere that, well, look, you were denied your grant, a portion of the grant for the bridge. Now, to refresh people's memory, the bridge replacement, now that bridge is 100 years old. So if Brightline never existed, that bridge is going to be an issue for Martin County, boaters, marine, the transportation of freight. It's an issue no matter what. It's 100-year-old. If, God forbid, there were some kind of catastrophic issue there, most people would say, why did you wait until you had a 100-year-old bridge? So that makes perfect sense. We've gotten $160 million of the $200 million price tag already granted. This, from what I was told from high-up sources in the government, that it was a, I'm using round numbers, a billion dollars were available for this grant cycle and a couple billion dollars of requests were put in. Well, they issued the billion dollars that they had and the other people that were on the list didn't get it. It didn't mean that they looked at the project and said, rejected. It said, sorry, we don't have enough money for everyone to get the first cycle of cash, so you'll need to reapply. If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Donaldson, that happens quite often, that you don't automatically get your money on the first request and that it might take another request or two. So I don't see that as like, look, that's indicative of the fact that we're not going to get a grant elsewhere. If you're following national politics, which I'm assuming everybody is, both sides are interested in infrastructure improvements, national-level infrastructure improvements. I've been studying and listening whenever I hear of anything about train stations or train systems in other states, other countries. I personally believe it has to be the wave of the future as our infrastructure and the cost of continuing to maintain the turnpike and 95 and all of our infrastructure. As more and more people move to Florida, whether we like it or not, we're going to have to look at something other than get in your car and drive there. The county has been working very diligently with, sadly, not much success on a surface bus system to allow our residents to have some other option other than get in your car by yourself and drive all over. So this morning some people were speaking about how upset they were with the potential of traffic but stopping the opportunity to potentially eliminate some traffic. So that's what I use in my decision-making process. The other thing that's been really ringing in my head for quite a bit is we're trying to discuss something in real time as though the benefit is immediate or if you don't believe in the train, then you see no benefit, and you're speaking about today. Well, I believe it's the five-of-hour responsibility and your government's response. We should be looking decades into the future. So if we're not doing it at this particular moment, I'm not saying that Brightline is going to turn a profit. And, like, I thought someone made a positive point. Maybe it's not Brightline. Sorry, gentlemen, maybe it's something else in the future, but we don't know what that is. I don't think that mass transit and train system travel is a dying industry. I don't believe it is. Now, people might struggle with how to get it to work or not, but I think it's going to be necessary into decades into the future. When we sit on the MPO and we're talking about creating new roads or enhancing new roadway systems, we're out to, like, 2040, 2050, your current board members need to be focusing our attention, your attention, on 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50 years into the future. So that's the rationale. Now, I feel for the folks that are sad and disappointed. Some of them have made very compelling arguments, and I've taken them into consideration. Some of them have not. I don't believe that the Brightline passengers, the system will be a conduit for unscrupulous characters to come from the south or the north, to come here and somehow start robbing us. I don't think that that will be the case. So I would make a motion to accept staff's presentation and request that they have presented today. Commissioner Hurd. I'll pass except to second the motion. Okay. Okay. Do we have any public comment that hasn't already public commented? Seeing none, we have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. What I'd like to do before lunch is squeeze in our affordable housing, PH6. Mr. Ranieri, I hope he's still here. Nope. He's not? Yes, he is. Yeah, he's still here. And then do our 11 o'clock preset. What's the number of the first name? PH6. PH6, yeah. And I'm sorry, guys. I thought this was going to go a little faster than it did. But you see how I went from the thing and then just went right to the motion? Yeah. After 20 minutes of just, I wanted to kill myself. I actually had my, I was cocked. I was cocked and ready. I was cocked and ready. I'm creating a record. Oh, we're on. That's fine. That's fine. Everyone knows you're trying to stab me all the time. Okay. Did you run? Are we already introduced? We actually are still online here, so. Okay. This request is pursuant. Oh, Carla Segura, real property manager. This request is pursuant to board's direction for discussion and direction concerning two recently vacated county-owned properties that have facilities on them that were prior long-term leases and one vacant parcel located on Southeast Lake Drive and Banner Lake to potentially be for affordable housing. This public hearing, this was posted as a public hearing due to the potential of revising the resolution for the affordable housing, and it was advertised pursuant to Florida statutes on November 3rd, and the possibility of also revising the surplus property resolution. The two parcels that had the long-term leases on them were recently terminated. General Services collected the keys and inspected both properties and determined that both buildings for safety sake needed some standardized renovations, so they ordered a, they requested a proposal. The Palm City property proposal came in at $13,608, and the Indiantown property came in at $10,804. These proposals would include things such as building assessments, ADA compliance, moisture evaluation, and some other associated tasks. The Boys and Girls Club facility in Palm City is located on the corner of Southwest Martin Downs and Southwest Map Road and is within the old Palm City CRA. The parcel is about one acre and includes two structures, a concrete block building with over 6,000 square feet that was built in 1961 and a small 900-plus square foot that was built in 1984. The property appraiser site shows that the land value, I mean the total market value of this property is $721,100, and the parcel is on PS1 and Old Palm City CRA. Some of the potential uses are to place it on the surplus list with a revised surplus resolution and either auction it off to the highest bidder or prepare an RFP or something of that sort for sale or lease of the property. The county could also lease to a nonprofit or retain the property for future county purposes or any recommendation that the board sees fit. The IRSC property was within the village of Indiantown and prior to the IRSC lease was the location of the Indiantown fire station. Indian River State College modified and made significant changes. They terminated their lease due to their new location that they built on Citrus Boulevard. This facility that is now vacant is at the corner of Southwest Osceola Street and Southwest Indian Avenue. The site is approximately three-quarters of an acre and includes a 4,000-plus square foot building. The property appraiser shows the total market value of $665,150. This property is a valuable county asset to which several not-for-profits and government groups have expressed interest. These include Martin County Tax Collector, the Village of Indiantown, and the YMCA of Indiantown. This property also could be placed on the surplus resolution and or auctioned off for highest bid, sold in an auction, sold to one of the not-for-profits or government entities, or retained by the county for future county use. It could also be leased to a not-for-profit or to prepare an RFP or any other direction by the board. This property is zoned Indiantown with no future land use shown. The final parcel is in Banner Lake, and it's a 2.9-acre county-owned parcel located on Southeast Lake Drive. The property appraiser shows the land value of $76,000. The county obtained the parcel in 2007 as part of an exchange with the Pine School, as the county vacated approximately 1.95 acres of right-of-way for their development. In 2022, a public request came in asking the county to designate the parcel as a historical site. The board directed staff to investigate, and we looked through the state of Florida and found that in 1995, the northern portion had a designation with a historical significance. So an archaeological assessment survey of the property defined two separate sites. The first site, which is the northern portion of the property, represents a large black earth-midden portion that would need to have a 25-foot buffer around it or could potentially relocate by any proposed development. This second site had no significant history or was uneligible for nomination. Should the board determine to place this property on a revised resolution for affordable housing, the board would also need to determine how we would handle the findings on the archaeological assessment. As previously discussed, the Community Land Trust is very interested in developing the property for future affordable housing. If there's any questions, I'll be happy to answer. Commissioner Campy. Thank you very much, Ms. Segura. I think that we have to, at least in my mind, I'm thinking about these properties very individually. And I can speak to the property in Palm City most specifically. It was originally a Martin County fire station that many years ago Commissioner Dieter-Lizzi and probably Commissioner Smith at the time and Commissioner Weberman and a couple others, I don't know if Commissioner Hurd was, she was on the board at the time, made a deal with the Boys and Girls Club to make it a Boys and Girls Club. And the Heisinger family put up the money, as they have done many, many times throughout the county, donated, contributed money to turn it into a Boys and Girls Club. I do remember, either as an early commissioner or as a resident, going to the ribbon-cutting for that location. Now that they have moved on to their beautiful facility in Martin Luther King Boulevard in Stewart, that property became, you know, they didn't need it. I know that there's also a corner lot there that's a small insurance company. And then if you turned on to Map Road heading south on the eastern side, there's a vacant lot that's sort of in play, if you will. So I don't necessarily see, and I'm a big proponent of affordable housing, I don't know if that small parcel, because what bisects the small building that was called the Club, it's a little yellow house to the east, is a sort of a storm retention pond or something that can't be moved. So that sort of, you know, decreases the concept of a full rectangle. But in my opinion, I don't see putting apartments directly on the sidewalk within Martin Downs Boulevard is great for affordable housing as, like, a good location for that, as well as the best use for us. Now, in terms of turning it back into a property that we would lease to a not-for-profit, I'm a big proponent of not-for-profits, that, again, would not be an ideal strategy, in my opinion, for the future of that site. I think it should be classified as surplus and then put up for auction to allow it to be part of sort of the Palm City business, not district, we don't call it that, but as MapRoad, through the efforts of our CRA, has, and anyone that has driven recently down MapRoad, has seen there is exactly what we've always wanted from our CRAs. If you build it, they will come. They're coming. There's been rejuvenation of existing businesses. There's new businesses. There's a lot of very positive activity happening on our Main Street, if you will. And I think that the site of the former Boys and Girls Club and sort of that corner now, if you will, that's the southeastern corner of Martin Downs and Map, could also work and highlight and move us forward in that regard. So that would be, can we break this item? Can we break these into separate items? I would make a motion that we add the Palm City site as a surplus piece of property to be auctioned off back to the private sector. And what happens to the proceeds? Well, the proceeds, then, I'm open to suggestions. How about we put the proceeds into the Martin County Community Land Trust? Fine. Okay. Love it. Is that the motion? Yes. Okay. Second. Wow. And then before I yield my time, I would say, in terms of the Indiantown portion, I think since we have the Indiantown's first mayor and current mayor, we need to hear from them on what we need to do. And then behind them, I see the father, like, I guess the stepfather of the, what's your little baby's name? Community? Martin County Community Land Trust. Martin County Community Land Trust. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. Okay. All right. So we have a motion by Commissioner Campy still. Seconded by Commissioner Hurd. Commissioner Smith, did you have something to add to that? Okay. Are you good with that? Yeah. Okay. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. And my light was on because I think that I'm okay with the recommendation for Banner Lake, but I also think that I'd be in favor of, in Indiantown, of selling that and taking the proceeds and putting it into the land trust also. Okay. Well, I don't know that the, at this site, like the Palm City site, it just doesn't seem like it's suitable for affordable housing. But I'd like to hear what they have to say. Okay. That's why they're here. Commissioner Smith? No. Oh. We're done. Okay. All right. With that, let's bring up Mr. Ranieri, since I promised him I would get this done before noon because he has to go. Plenty of time. So Rob is the current president of the Martin County Community Land Trust. And anyway, take it away. Thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. Rob Ranieri, current chair, board chair for the Martin County Community Land Trust. We appreciate your consideration for that parcel in Banner Lake. We're a little pamphlet going through now that further explains the land trust for your own information. The trust basically is designed as a vehicle to create more affordable housing in Martin County and keep it affordable for the long term. In the model that we have, the trust maintains ownership of land, and then individual families would be able to build on that land. So, and then further down the line, if the resident wants to sell, because the trust has ownership in the land, it's a vehicle to keep that housing affordable. So the residents get a 99-year lease, so they have security, they can get a mortgage, all that good stuff. But again, the longer-range thinking is to be able to keep the parcels affordable for the long haul. Martin County, as you all know, affordable housing is truly a challenge. So this trust was designed to create another tool in the toolbox to be able to deal with the issue of affordable housing. Our current board of directors, I had sent you all a letter last week, so hopefully you had the chance to see it. But our current board of directors are all people that certainly you know quite well. Elizabeth Barbella from the Community Foundation, Martin St. Lucie, Carol Howard-Dietz from the United Way, Mike Redling from Habitat for Humanity. So funders and nonprofits in the space are all really working together to create this and develop it into a solution for our community. Another option, again, to create, develop, and keep more units in the affordable range for the residents of Martin County. Okay. I have passed the gavel because I would like to make a motion. It's so beautiful. Do we have any more public speakers? I thought you had two. One hope sound. This is just the hope sound. Okay. So I would like to make a motion and help me craft this motion that the staff, legal staff, prepare whatever documents are necessary to transfer the ownership of this property to the Martin County Community Land Trust with all of the proper reverter clause and performance measures that we have discussed for years, actually, on this, and what would be appropriate for this. I mean, this property we've been talking about even before we actually got the land trust put together, was this was the literal stepping stone for the Martin County Land Trust to actually get off the ground. Second. Okay. Okay. Wow. All right. Well-crafted motion. So we have a motion by Commissioner Jenkins, second by Commissioner Campy. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. All right. Congratulations. So now let's talk about Ingentown. And with that, let's kick it off with having the mayor or the past mayor come up and speak to us. This is Mayor Carmine DiPaolo. Good morning. The property on Osceola Street, I heard, Commissioner Hurd, they put it up for auction. We're growing government out there, and we're really struggling to make everything work. I know the county commission has been good with us. Commissioner Jenkins has been, you've been there since day one. You know all of the ups and downs that the village has gone through. We can utilize this property if it's turned over to the village, as a bunch of other properties were turned over when we incorporated. As we grow, we're going to need more space. We don't have the money to add on any space to our current building that we have. We're trying to get it renovated, and that's been a challenge. So I know that the village of Ingentown, the residents of Ingentown, and I would really appreciate the county giving us that building so that we could utilize it and put it to good use. And I appreciate your consideration for it. I really do. So speaking for the citizens, I know they appreciate it too. So I know there's a lot of things that we can work on together, and that's been my mission from day one, that the village and the county form a bond, and we have. I just want to continue that, and this would be, I think, a good gesture to the good citizens of Ingentown. So I appreciate your consideration. Thank you. Thank you, Carmine. The mayor. Mr. Campy. Thank you, sir. I was completely opposed, but after the mayor's request, a passionate, heartfelt request, I really feel that he's really, he turned me. No, all kidding aside, I agree. When we had originally, and Commissioner Smith was the, like, really unbelievable in terms of incorporation for Ingentown, and we called it back then, we would say it was Ingentown's turn. And I know that we did go through a process of, you know, the parks and roadways and different things, and, of course, Commissioner Hurd's suggestion that we auction it is a fiscally responsible one. But I think in this particular case, it does send a terrific message to the residents and our friends in Ingentown that we are a collaboration, as well as the facts that the people that live in Ingentown are Martin County residents. So it's not like we're taking it from St. Lucie County and giving it to Ingentown. The Ingentown residents are Martin County residents, so I would make a motion after Ms. Gibbs-Thomas speaks that we do just that, that we transfer it from one portion of our county government to our friends and neighbors and residents in Ingentown's government. Second. And Susan's comments. Yes. Come on. Come on down. Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Commissioners, and staff. My name is Susan Gibbs-Thomas. I'm a resident of Martin County, and I live in Ingentown. I've had the opportunity to go on this ride with everyone that is sitting on this commission, and we appreciate your support through these past seven years of Ingentown. And as it has been cited by Commissioner Campy, physically responsible, you would think that, yes, let's sell it. However, in its current state, it is an asset to the residents in Ingentown. And if you auction it off, you know, right now, what would go there? Yeah, I don't know that it would be as big of a benefit to then put that money into a land trust that that's not necessarily guaranteed to come back to Ingentown. And I just verified that, yes, you know, that land trust will go anywhere in the county, just not in the unincorporated areas. However, there is no guarantee that that will be benefiting back in Ingentown at this time. So, any consideration that this commission would continue to give Ingentown would be appreciated. Thank you. Thank you. All right. With that, we have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Now, we have seven minutes till lunch, and I have four of my dearest friends sitting in the audience. Carla, don't go anywhere. And I would like to, if possible, this Hope Sound historic train station can't take that long, right? No. And if it does, we're still doing it. Okay. All right. Let's do that. That was, I've lost my way. Department 5. Okay. Department 5, yes. This request is for the approval of an option to lease and proposed public purpose lease agreement between Martin County and the Hope Sound Historical Society for restoration and maintenance of a public facility to support space for artifacts, preserving documents, and other memorabilia. The building's located on Southwest, will be located on Southwest Dixie Highway and Southeast Athena Street on the north side. The building, which will now be referred to as the historical Hope Sound train station, is being relocated to county-owned property and is within the Hope Sound CRA. Due to the recent hurricane, some of FPL's coordination efforts have caused a little bit of delay, but it will be done as soon as possible. The option provides a space for the historical and community purposes with a termination date on the option of December 31, 1st, 2029, but before December 31, 2025, the historical society will submit a county review of a design development and scheduling, which will also state the renovations and will be completed one year from the date the lease is executed. By December 31, 2028, the certification of assets will be submitted of no less than the full amount of the development cost. The lease will be, has to be exercised before, by January 1, 2030, and will provide a 25-year term with two 10-year renewal period. Recommendation is that the board approve the option and adopt a resolution approving the lease agreement upon satisfaction of all requirements with final approval by the county attorney's office. If there's any questions, I think Pat Martin was supposed to be. Pat was going to prepare this very elaborate PowerPoint thing and song and dance, and we've had this conversation about what we've been trying to do with the train station for many years now, and I really told Pat that we just need a brief description of what our community goals and objectives are with this and has been for many years, and maybe one of these days it will actually get moved, so we can put our plans into play. I'm Pat Martin. I'm the treasurer of the Hope Sound Historical Society. We've got our president, Paula MacArthur Cooper, and our media specialist, Elizabeth Martin, in the audience, as well as a neighbor, Bob Steiner. Just to be clear, this is about an old train station. This is not about the Brightline train station, so don't come at me when I walk out of here. We started the Historical Society in 2017. We're a 501c3. You can go to our website, hopesoundhistoricalsociety.org. We have an email, hopesoundhistoricalsociety at gmail.com. We're legit. We've been working on a project with the vintage streetlights in Hope Sound. We raised the $15,000 that it's going to take to restore the 10 streetlights in about two weeks, so we're pretty good at raising money. Our problem now is we can't do that until the train station's in place and the county finishes doing what they're going to do, so we can come up with the budget. Those dates in that option I put in place to give us as much time as possible. We hope to have that done in a lot quicker time, but right now, you know, this plate thing hasn't even been moved, and it was supposed to be here in June, so we can't really start until it's in place, so we've got to give ourselves a little leeway. Other than that, I do have some personal interest in it since I signed away my right-of-way for my house to the county so that they could put it here, and my wife did too. Other than that, just to put some faces to what we're talking about. Thank you. And that goes to show you how serious the community is about this project. It's been something that's gone on for a long time. And with that, I have once again passed the gavel, and I would like to make a motion to accept staff's recommendation on the lease to the Hope Sound Historic Society for the Hope Sound Historic Train Station. Very good. All right. We have a motion for the Hope Sound Historical Society train station by Commissioner Jenkins, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Well, you said you'd get it done before you left. You're just checking boxes today. I know. I know. What else do you have on your Christmas list? I hope Marshall Critchfield was watching so he could get us the train station. That is what the holdup is right now. It's Marshall Critchfield's fault? It's all his fault. Please email marshallcritchfield.fpl. Exactly. So anyway, with that, can we do our 11 o'clock preset now? Today is your day, bro. You can do whatever you want. All right. So I do know that some people have to leave, and that is... 11 o'clock, exactly. Okay. Got a big group over there. Get me nervous. Yeah? A lot of suits. For presentation to Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Jenkins, Mr. Donaldson, I kind of feel weird of announcing that, but... The news media left for all of the exciting, good stuff, all the positive news. You know, I think I should move to the podium. We'll make it... Oh. Slow it down. Well, it is... Commissioner Smith has to take a quick break, but we're going to keep moving slowly, and so let me make my way to the podium. It'll be good. Look at my stuff. There are a lot of people hiding. I didn't see someone. I didn't expect. I thought we were going to get away with slipping away into the... I've lost two. I hear him. I hear him coming. Okay. Well, the first, we want to... It was a part of our tradition, and it's for Commissioner Jenkins in service as a chairman. And so this is a plaque I want to present to you, an appreciation for your dynamic leadership and representation during your tenure as board chairman this past year, 23 to 24. So if you can come down, I can give you this. And Commissioner Smith, you might as well stay here for a second. Commissioner Smith, you can come on down, too. So knowing how Commissioner Smith loves plaques, and so we decided, you know, plaques are not in order. Good. Thank you. But we got a couple of things for both of you, for your many years of service. And certainly, Commissioner Smith, one of your great passions over the years was Indian Riverside Park, and I think it certainly represents a lot of what you've done over the years in both dedication to creating parks that are destinations and experiences, as Kevin Abate has talked to me. We're about creating experiences for our public, and you've done that in so many ways. And so we do have a token for you to remind you of both your beginning and your continuation. And, of course, I appreciate all the time Commissioner Smith. Beaches has also been a big part of us. And when I started in Martin County, the inlet had been closed up, and it was quite a hot topic of the day and how we manage our beaches. And today, we've had a successful partnership with the Corps of Engineers on both our beaches and our inlet, and with Jupiter Island on so many things that most people don't know it was a major issue at one time. And so, anyway, we do have this appreciation for service, and it says, Commissioner Doug Smith, thanks for 20 years, four years of service and dedication to Martin County. It's a nice image. And it's only fitting that today what we just talked about was the train station. And so we couldn't think of a better image for you, Commissioner, and all that. And, of course, we love the fact that you're a straight shooter. And I also appreciate the fact that, you know, when you get angry, it happens instantaneously. You threatened to kill me at this meeting. But I really appreciate your forgiveness, you know. You know, work it out. You know, your Irish temper comes back to a great solution and continue work figuring it out. So for that, we have no more fitting than an image of the train station for eight years of service and dedication to Martin County. Thank you. Are we going to take a picture with your photos? I think we have to. Well, you know, yes. There's also probably a little bit of roasting that's going to happen here. So let's do the photos first, then you can go and hide for the roasting. It's always a roast. I'm not participating in the roasting. Other way. So, Mr. Chairman, you get to decide who gets to come up and talk. If those in the audience would like to say a few words. Or up here. Yes. Or up here. How are we going to do that? Do the public first. It's always the public first. Okay. Do we have any public comment on this current situation? Seeing none. Perfect. Anyway. Oh, Carmine. We do have one from Carmine here. I'm sorry. And Julie. Oh, and Julie. Yeah, that's right. Oh, I'm sorry. I got a whole... I'll get it right one of these days. Oh. Today. Harold, we're going to miss you. You've been a friend to the village of Indiantown. You've been a friend to me. We've known each other for quite some time. I wish you all the best in the world. And your new life. And I appreciate everything you've done. Commissioner Smith, same thing. You've done a lot for Indiantown. You were there for the incorporation. All your years of service. Back when the sheriff was putting the budget in, when I was wearing a green uniform, you always backed us. You always backed the green. It made a difference. And we were just the guys on the streets taking care of business. But you took care of us. And I appreciate that. It's been a long time. We've known each other for a long time. I don't know if anybody knows it, but we had a proclamation naming Harold Jenkins, a citizen of Indiantown. And today, I want to present him with the key to the village. So if you would come down, and you can use this key anytime. And let me just add, as one of our residents in Indiantown says always when she makes comments, she says, it's my two cents. So I'm going to add my two cents. And thank everybody on this commission for what you have done for Martin County by supporting Indiantown, because Indiantown's part of Martin County. And even though you may be going a different way, and you're not going to be sitting on this commission, just keep your eye open on Indiantown, because Indiantown is up and coming. We are adding hundreds of quality jobs out there. Indiantown is the next big thing in Martin County. And this commission is the start of it. Besides the incorporators in Indiantown, it was this commission that supported that initiative. And it has changed the face of not only Indiantown, but Martin County forever. Not just generational, but forever. And we have you guys to thank for it. For your commitment to this county and to its residents, no matter how acrimonious it is, I thank you for what you have done and what you continue to do. Because you do it, not for personal gain, because I really honestly, after sitting in that seat, I don't know if there's any personal gain to it whatsoever. Your name gets drug through the mud. You get called absolutely everything except nice. But you do it because of your commitment to doing what's right, listening to everybody and trying to do what's right. So thank you, everybody. And, Harold, let me tell you what. Whoever attempts to fill your shoes is going to have a long way to go because you were at our meetings in order to make sure that the county's perspective was very well aware to us and help us as we move forward. And when you weren't there, you sent very, very good representation in your stead and in your aid and calling. So we appreciate everything that you have done. And, Doug Smith, you too. The face of our environment is changed for the better because of your seat that you have sat in. So thank you very much, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. It probably goes to that building we just turned over. All right, Mr. Campy. That's it for the public? What about Julie Priest? Oh, I'm sorry. Julie. Again, I get it right. Ms. Julie Priest. Actually, that's my last form. Thank you. Julie Priest representing the Ryo Civic Club that is celebrating its 75th anniversary in a few months, along with Martin County's centennial. The purpose for the creation of the Ryo Civic Club was to improve conditions in Ryo. When the opportunity for a Martin County Community Development Program was raised, the Ryo Civic Club strongly advocated to be one of the first neighborhoods for consideration. That was approximately 26 years ago. Both Commissioner Smith and Jenkins have supported the CRA program for their years on this board. Thanks to that unwavering support, improvement projects broke ground that have led to enhancing CRA neighborhoods. Improved roads and other infrastructure have turned our six CRA neighborhoods around and moving in a positive direction where there is so much less risk for private investors. Public investment in those six neighborhoods has proved worthwhile on so many levels, and our CRA communities are no longer neglected and are contributing value to all of Martin County. Commissioners Smith and Jenkins leave behind an unmatched legacy. Sincere thanks for your service as you move on to your next chapters. Thank you. Thank you, Julie. Oh, wait a minute. Mr. Powers. Thank you. Thank you. I apologize. I didn't fill out a card, but I just couldn't sit in the audience without coming up, Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Jenkins, and saying thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanks for your leadership. Thanks for your commitment. Echoing what's been said, there's never been a doubt that you never put the best interest of Martin County at the forefront of any decision that you were going to make, whether we agreed or we didn't. As a stakeholder in Indian town, thank you. It hasn't always been pretty, but you've been steadfast, and you never let it get outside, out of bounds, so to speak. Commissioner Smith, your work in water policy and in the environment, it just is remarkable. It was remarkable for my eight years on the Water Management Board. The halls of Tallahassee, the halls of Washington, Martin County was right at the forefront, and for me as one of nine governing board members, I would always challenge my colleagues, like, you guys don't have commissioners like that that show up for everything and really help move the needle and get the ball over the finish line? And, Commissioner Jenkins, again, just your friendship, but your ability to stand with Indian town when times were tough, we're grateful. Thanks again. Mr. Lanahan. Thank you. Tom Lanahan, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. I'll be brief because there's a lot to say, but we don't have all that time. So I want to thank both Chairman Jenkins and Commissioner Smith for your service to the county, and also I want to specifically thank the commission for letting us have so much of Doug's time on the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. I've been there eight years, and I've learned a lot from Doug. I've learned a lot from Martin County as a whole, but, you know, thank you so much. Thank you both for your service. Thank you specifically, Doug, for your service on the Regional Planning Council. Whenever we have needed somebody to speak about our regional issues, to bring them forward to the state or to the federal government, Doug was there. Anytime we asked, he said, yes, what can I do? And so whoever's going to take the county seat there now on the Regional Planning Council, buckle up. We're going to need you. But anyway, thank you so much, and I'm glad to see so many people here today. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Campy. My turn? I think so. Okay. I'm going to separate my two colleagues. I'll start with the person that I had came to this board to be on with Commissioner Smith. I don't believe I have ever sat up here in a meeting that Commissioner Smith wasn't at the meeting. I figured out that he has probably attended over 800 commission meetings in his nearly quarter century of service to our community. Like many people have said, when you're up here, whenever you're making decisions, even husbands and wives, they don't get along every minute. They don't agree on every single thing. But one thing about Commissioner Doug Smith is that even when he and I did not agree, he was always gentlemanly. He was always classy. I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice. Maybe others have. But I have never. He's a class act, and we like to kid each other about, you know, Jensen Beach versus Palm City and things like that. But he, during this campaign especially, you know, and he's done it many times, there are people that will throw barbs and criticisms and insults, and a lot of them are unfounded. Because if people really took a moment to think about what he has done for our community, he, there's a, I was going to get you a plaque. It's a famous, and then I knew you didn't like plaques. There's a famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt that's called The Man in the Arena. And I've read it several times. I actually read it again last night, and it really, do yourselves a favor, Google it, just take a minute to read The Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt. And it really, to me, is speaking of Doug Smith. It talks about the person who gets in there and gets muddied and bloodied and fights on behalf of what they believe in, even when people outside of the arena constantly throw barbs and criticisms and insults. I have had a first-hand, a front-row seat, and I've been a first-hand witness to how important Commissioner Smith has been to the Florida Association of Counties, all the way through becoming its president, how he has taken that same passion for leadership and for policy to the federal level at NACO. And he is, when you see Commissioner Smith walking around at a FACT annual meeting, he is held in the highest regard of commissioners back who are a long time out of office to the newest commissioners. They know Doug Smith, and because of Doug, they know Martin County. He has done more to protect public land, specifically in Martin County, but elsewhere in the state because he works regionally and statewide. He is probably the biggest proponent and cheerleader for public water projects, some of the ones that we have gotten to go, the C-44 reservoir and canal work and to little projects. He has done remarkably well and is not looking for spotlight and limelight and accolades. I'm sure he's not even appreciating this kind of spotlight. And I know that he and Lisa and Amelia will have a beautiful future, and he's well-deserved it. And the last thing I will say about Commissioner Smith is that it is striking when people either here in this chamber or in public or in letters to the editor say, we moved here because Martin County is different. Martin County is special. It's different from other places in the state, and, you know, shame on the current commissioners for destroying it and ruining it. Commissioner Smith has been sitting up here for nearly a quarter of a century, and many of the things that people bash him on because they are so appreciative of how wonderful Martin County is, it's because Commissioner Smith did the heavy lifting, had the foresight and the knowledge and the stick-to-it-ness to make Martin County this special. So it has always been frustrating to me, and I'm sure to him, when people remind him of what it used to be like. I moved here three years ago from down south, and Commissioner Smith even before he was in office. He is dedicated. Look, all of us are working people. We're raising families. We're working our jobs. He, obviously, this job is you're not getting rich being a county commissioner. And he, more than any of the rest of us, current or past, has taken more grief for his passionate positions on issues. He could have spent the last 25 years building an unbelievable professional career. He comes from very successful families. He could have easily chosen a different path for himself, but he didn't. And as some of the speakers have said, Martin County and those of us that live in it are better because of you. You can't catch my breath. Harold, I actually wrote it down because here's why. To honor Harold, I will endeavor to follow his example by public speaking that less is more. Be sure and mispronounce a bunch of words. Harold, how do you pronounce it? Junkins? Is it Junkins? When you come up, if you could just pronounce your name correctly, please. Jenkins. For anyone who aspires to leadership, he is a role model. Humble, modest, approachable, reasonable, and honest. Harold is one of the most impressive men I have ever met. He is known both for his conviction and his kindness. He is quietly generous and publicly a cheerleader for others' success. There are no boundaries to his friendship. It is an honor to know you. It is an honor to have shared this dais with you. And it is an honor to call you my friend. May God bless you, Susan, and your family as you enter this next chapter of your life. Now, with that, so thank you, sir. Holy moly. Now, as you're departing, I have some presents for you. And we can hear you getting all of us out of the shopping bag while Don was speaking. I was getting it out of the car. I missed it. We're right here. Oh, well, I apologize. I thought we were doing this after lunch. The first thing I have for both of you is, while you have now a lot of extra free time, I purchased you a book of Florida State Parks because I know how important they are to both of you. Pass that down. Great. And I know that Commissioner Smith has made, I mean, here's a guy that has gone to Tallahassee for a meeting, had the meeting, and then gotten back in the car and drove home in the same afternoon. And I know how much Harold likes cars and things like that, so I've got you both a book called The Backroads of Florida and all the different trips that you can take traveling throughout the state of Florida. All right. That's cool. And then I'm very excited to announce and to share with you two of the original copies of our friend Sandy Thurlow and her daughter Jackie Thurlow Lippish have just published a brand-new book, hot off the presses, The Pictorial History of Palm City, Florida. Of course. It just never ends. If it keeps on giving. And not just that, I had her autograph them to you both, and with an inscription from Sandy, our history lady. And I've had a chance, and she's having an event soon in Palm City, so I have one for you, Commissioner Jenkins, and one for you, Commissioner Smith, from Sandy and I. And then lastly, I had one special thing for Commissioner Jenkins. When he first came on the board, we came, I came back, and he came in 2016 together. And I didn't actually know him that well when we first got up here. As a matter of fact, he was a big proponent of the person who I replaced. Campaigned strongly for him, donated a lot of money to him. But that being said, we quickly, he said two things to me. No, I wanted to, because it shows the next part is so important. We all come up here with an opinion. We all have a sort of perspective of what we think should happen. Now, all of you in this room and those watching know we're not allowed to speak to each other outside the meeting, so we can't lobby each other ahead of time, in private, to speak about, hey, this is your opinion, this is mine. The only time I get to hear my colleagues' opinion on things is right here in this room on television. And that does not necessarily always make for an easy process of hearing and sharing ideas. We try as hard as we can to get along. And I think, especially as the years have progressed, all five of us have done a very good job of getting along and being respectful of each other's opinions. But back then, I was taken very, I was struck by the fact that Commissioner Jenkins would have an opinion, but he was so open to hearing other people give theirs and so willing to be generous in saying, you know something, I didn't think of it that way, but you've changed my mind. And I agree with what you're saying. Your perspective makes sense. And I had been at the time reading a book about George Washington, and I was struck by the similarities between George Washington and Commissioner Harold Jenkins. George Washington could have been the king of the United States of America if he wanted to. That's how popular he was. He could have been president for life. And he constantly put himself in the background and pushed other founding fathers forward and listened to their options and their ideas and really relished them. So back then, in an effort to show my appreciation, I bought him, if you remember, a statue of George Washington. And I know that I looked in his office the other day because if it wasn't there, I wasn't going to say this, but it was. So eight years later, it was still... With the bottle of Coke, which says Jenkins. That's true. That's a separate thing. So because of that, a friend of mine, and I know that you are looking at some property north of here, correct? To have as an... You're never going to leave Martin County. Yeah. What state is it in? It's in the state of Virginia. You know who else is from Virginia, right? George Washington. So I had a friend of mine had a great idea, and I have gotten you two estate guest tickets to George Washington's Mount Vernon. So when you are in Virginia, you and Susan can go and tour the person who I think you most remind me of, George Washington. I yield the remainder of my time. Commissioner Hurd. Yeah. Ed really underestimated the number of meetings that Doug has attended because Doug, in the first eight or ten years that we were commissioners, we had meetings every single week unless there were five Tuesdays in a month. Or make it a thousand. Every week. And they were not short meetings just because we had them every week either. For both of you, over the years, I acknowledge that we have locked horns more than is necessary or healthy. But at the same time, we have been close allies on a number of different issues. And those are the things that I will choose to remember. I also have to acknowledge that you are both so dedicated to your jobs. And that's a message for existing commissioners and for incoming commissioners is be dedicated and be responsible to your job as a county commissioner. That's your most important job in Martin County. And you've both taken that very, very seriously. Doug, your advocacy for the protection of the reef tract, your advocacy for getting rid of spreading biosolids, those are things that are not going to happen without a champion because they're not real popular. But those were two issues that were so important to you. You dedicated so much time to them. And also, Commissioner Jenkins, Harold, there hasn't been a better advocate for Indiantown since Timer Powers. They're very lucky to have you. So best wishes to both of you and thank you. Commissioner Hetherington. Well, I'll say all that was absolutely impossible to follow. But, Doug, I've known you for 20-some-odd years. I remember my son was an infant when I was campaigning for you at one point. And I agree with both Ed and Sarah. Sometimes we agree or disagree. But you're one of the most cordial people and talented. And any time I've ever been to Tallahassee, FAC, they've always recognized all the hard work that you put into Martin County. So Martin County certainly appreciates you. I appreciated you before I was a commissioner. I appreciate you as a colleague, and I will appreciate you long after for your contributions in Martin County. And, Harold, I have not known you until I sat on the dais with you, but it has been my honor and pleasure. I respect that you are true, genuine. You are a worker. And I appreciate everything you've done for Martin County. And it's really been a pleasure to get to know you. So I know for both of you that we'll have an opportunity to continue to work for Martin County. And for the three of us up here, we have a lot of work to do. I've been dreading this for a while. I didn't prepare anything because when I do that, I screw it up. Anyway, not a lot of people get the honor of what I got to experience, the life experience that I've got to over the last eight years and actually serving the public and trying to be selfless and having the honor of dealing on a daily basis with the most professional people I have ever, even in my own business world, dealt with. The relationships that I've built is what I'm going to miss. When somebody says, what are you going to miss about it? It's the relationships. Surely I'm not going to miss the screaming and the mean-spirited, just-to-be-relevant nonsense that we endure. But that comes with it, right? And you've got to be tough. What? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed doing what I did or have done. And I truly believe that I did make a difference, which, you know, when you put your heart into something and you have that feeling, that's the most, one of the most rewarding feelings you could possibly have. I'm going to say something that is, it's not that hard, people. It's not that hard to be a nice person. It's not that hard to listen to other people's opinion. It's not hard to change your opinion when you know that you've been proven that you're an idiot, which happens a lot with me, right? And to build the respect of your fellow coworkers like I have with these two, and especially Taryn right off the bat, she would tell me I'm an idiot, right, like day one, right, is people that you surround people that have no problem telling you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear, right? And I've built those relationships in this with Jim and Paul. I mean, everybody. I don't even want to because I'm everybody in this building. I feel that I honestly have had a good working relationship and friendship. The one person I want to call out is Colleen. I love her. I'll probably get a call from HR for saying that. Nothing they can do about it. Yeah, no doubt. She has been amazing and has helped me be successful. I have watched her on numerous occasions take the most hostile, crazy person's phone call. In about three seconds, she's got to meet now the palm of her hand, right? And it takes a special kind of person to do that. You know, and 80% of issues that come to our office, our little cubicle, are resolved before I even know about it because she's got relationships with, because that's the kind of person she is with everybody in this building. You know, and so I, you know, again, if I could take her with me, unfortunately I'm retiring. I don't know how I could have an assistant to retire. But anyway, I really am going to miss the relationships that I've built. And I'm sorry for crying like a little girl, but anyway, that's just the way it is. And I appreciate the privilege of what I've had, what I've been able to experience over the last eight years. And with that, I'm going to stop. Holy mackerel. I think that's one of your longer speeches. Yeah. You better cut it out. So where to start? I started working on a list of people to thank a couple months ago. And I figured, no, if I do that, I'm sure to leave somebody out. I had an incredible list. There was a lot of people who helped me get to where I got. To all of those people, thank you. You all know who you are. I would share this with you, and I've said this to some groups before, and some commissioners have heard this before, but it's worth saying because of how hopefully I'll end it. I had the opportunity, or I've had the opportunity, to work in two really large family businesses. One was a glass company, and one was a gate valve company up in the northeast. Both family businesses, generational. The glass company was, when I went to work there, about 4,500 people. My dad's company was about 500 people. Both multi, multi-generational businesses. Incredibly gifted, talented people working for our companies that would do anything that was asked of them, could create anything, could do anything. What's interesting to my family, if you were to go back and sort of understand where I came from, Kathy Fitzpatrick, you'll probably appreciate this because you used to tell me this all the time. Both sets of grandparents gave me a set of DNA that said or taught me that no wasn't acceptable, that everything was possible. And in this job, if you really want to work at it, everything is possible. You can make anything you want happen. You have to work at it, but anything is possible. And so, to that end, with those companies, I thought I had worked with some of the coolest, best people in the world, and certainly grandparents that were amazing, that pulled off what they pulled off in their own respective fields. Until I came to this place, and I've said this before at different junctions of time here. How many do we have? 900? Oh, it is 1,200. Huh? 1,100. As good as that talent was with those two businesses, it'll never match the talent that's in this building or works for this building. I have watched people that we have had the opportunity to work with pull off absolute miracles. In times where you never thought it was humanly possible to pull something off, they did. And probably when we're at our worst of times during hurricanes, that's when they always rose to the highest occasion. And people selflessly put themselves out there in front of the storm, during the storm, after the storm, to put us as a community back together. It was always amazing to watch. The hundreds, thousands of decisions that we've got to make up here together, they make happen. And 99 and 9 tenths percent of the time, without an argument. As a matter of fact, I can't remember too many times where they said, no, we're not going to do that, because that never happened. Kathy Fitzpatrick always used to tell me it was a train wreck in reverse. If so, if she's watching, that was for you, Kathy. Kathy, because I would go to Kathy and I would say, Kathy, we're going to do this. And she'd look at me and she'd say, no, we're not. And 20 minutes later, she'd come back and say, okay, this is how we're going to do it. Lisa Wicks was another one of them. Lisa was, Lisa, and if you're listening, Lisa, I'm sorry. She would come in and say, no, we can't do that. 20 minutes later, she'd come back and she'd have an answer. She'd have a way. And that's our employee base. Everybody in this building, everybody that's ancillary to this building, always found a way to make it happen. And I know I called out, too, and there's hundreds, which is why I didn't want to do a list. But to the point that I want everybody to understand in the public, and even this morning, you know, listening to some of the public criticism of this building and whether we're transparent, whether we're not, there is no other local government that I know anywhere in the state of Florida, and I know most of them very well, that is as transparent, as honest, as clean as this building is. And a lot of it is due to the two individuals that sit over in those two chairs or their predecessors. But there is a culture in this building that wants to be legitimate, wants to be right, wants to be honest, because you are public, expect it, and demand it of us. And that's the truth. It really is. It is a culture of Martin County that we are expected to be better than everybody else, no matter how big or no matter how small we are. A couple of organizations I'd like to call out, just because it played a big role in my life. Florida Association of Counties, absolutely remarkable institution. They have the most incredible leadership. They have the most incredible staff. The things we were able to accomplish by policy from this board, that you all gave me the ability to go to FAC and do the things we did, we were able to change a ton of policy relative to Florida, but also specifically to Martin County because we made it Florida's business. NACO, National Association of Counties, took me a while to figure out how to work that institution. Not dissimilar to FAC, very similar. Incredible staff on a national level. Great lobbyists, great people to work with, great leadership. Gave us, Martin County, the ability to be at the table in a major way and do some major policy issues for us here that were fun to work on, fun to get done. Sarah, thank you for that. The biosolids issue, which isn't a really sexy issue one way or the other, Indian Town is about to become the recipient of probably the most world-class engineering and ability to deal with human waste that exists, bar none, and it's about to land in Indian Town. I don't see, did he leave? Yes, he did. Oh, no. That's okay. Charter Coast Regional Planning Council. Oh, John, you are there. Oh, I'm sorry. Again, another amazing institution that exists. They happen to be in our community, in our town, in Stewart. Amazing staff that do some of the most amazing work, the best presentations in the world, the most thorough, caring type work you could possibly imagine. And not to take advantage of them is such a waste because they're a gift to all of us for all the things that we deal with on a planning level. So, Tom, thank you for your staff, for you, for Busha before you. I know it's hard to thank Busha, but what the heck, why not? But Busha was really, really a great, a great super leader. And he found Tom and put Tom in place, and we have continued on the tradition of that organization. Like Harold, Kathy, thank you for sending me places that were always the wrong place. Showing up to something that I wasn't supposed to be at. It didn't matter if it was a six-hour drive. It was okay. We just turned around and came back. It's the hardest job in this building. Those aides upstairs are the front lines. To everything that comes in on the phone. And it's ruthless some days. And some days it's across the board. Sometimes it's district by district. But our aides really are the best asset this county could ever have. And thank you very much, Kathy, for everything you did to me and for me, did to me, sent me off to police I didn't need to go. Anna, before you, if you're listening, thank you for all of your years. Anna Colgan was a great aide as well and kept me straight and kept me going where I was supposed to go at all times. Commissioners, Commissioner Hurd, thank you. No, we didn't always agree on a lot of things. Mostly. But, see, he can't help it. You know? But he's right. If you were to go back and probably look at most of our votes, there were a lot of 5-0 votes. Lots and lots of 5-0 votes. And even during meetings where you could probably say we could kill each other during that meeting, we still found a way to find five votes on a lot of issues. And one of the most important things to Martin County is our water policy. And Commissioner Hurd has always been steadfast on that. So has the rest of our board. But for our differences, the things that mean the most to Martin County, we're always on the same page. Ed, you're a terrific advocate for Palm City. It's a hard district to manage. There's a lot of moving parts out in Palm City. You do a great job. You've been a fantastic leader on the board. I'm glad you're back and continuing on. Harold, I can't tell you how many times Harold came to me and said, Doug, I want to run for county commissioner. I'm like, oh, Harold, don't do it. But we had a lot of fun conversations leading up to him running. And that is one of the unfortunate things about being a commissioner, when you like people that you wish you could spend more time with them and you wish you could talk about issues with them, and you can't, which makes it really hard. But, Harold, thank you for all that you've done for the county and Hope Sound specifically. It's another hard district to work in. You've got a lot of moving dynamics down there, and you've handled them incredibly well. Which is not easy to do. Stacey, you're right. I can remember you standing out in the street corner for me when you were a little girl. I think you were 12, 13, something like that. With a baby. Just a baby. Well, I left that part out. That might have been the second election. We'll go with it that way. Not a 12-year-old with a baby. No. But you know what makes Stacey special? How many generations are you? Four. Four. That's what's cool. You stack sometimes. That's what's cool about this board. You've got a couple of us not from Florida, not from Martin County. You've got multi-generational commissioners. You've got females. You've got males. You've got all sorts of different backgrounds. And that makes for a very interesting debate on how do you get to three? How do you count to three? And it's not easy on a lot of days. And like Ed said, if you watch us and you listen to us, you're like, did they not have this figured out before they showed up? No, we don't. We can't. We don't do it. But Stacey, I do so much appreciate how much you bring to the board. Having generational input, having family generational input is super important. And Martin County appreciates it very, very, very much. Lastly, my wife, Lisa, thank you for coming today. It was supposed to happen at 11, honey. I know. I appreciate that. And here we are at quarter to one. It's not my fault. Well, it sort of is. But thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for supporting me. It's hard. It beats up a family doing what we do. But you're the best wifey in the world, and I really appreciate it. Thanks for coming. And with that, commissioners, I'm done. I guess I should. And everything he told me before I decided to ran did come different ways. And I better thank my wife. Yeah, she's put up with a lot of stuff. But she's enjoyed me being out of the house. She's not looking. She's a distraction for a year. She's concerned about retirement dramatically. But anyway. Okay. With that, can we break for lunch? All right. 15 minutes. We'll see you when? It was an hour. Huh? 2.15. 2.15. You're on. All right. Welcome back to our November 12th Board of County Commissioner meeting. We are still out of order. And we will be doing public hearing quasi-addition number 4, High Point PUD. And you would think that I would have already been on that page, but I'm not. A request for approval for the Third Amendment to the High Point Plan Unit Development PUD Zoning Agreement, including a revised Master Site Plan C-148-016. Mr. Elam. Excuse me, Commissioner Jenkins. This is a quasi-judicial. This is a quasi-judicial. You just want to say that for all times. Yeah. One last time. All right. One more time. So, do we have any interveners? No interveners. Okay. Would everybody stand and be sworn in? 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? Proper paperwork been turned in, notices and all that. Doug won't miss that. Notices were turned in at the LPA and a copy of my agenda item and the agenda item in my work history has been turned in. Okay. Do we have any quasi-judicial, I mean, ex parte? If I do, they're filed. If any, they've been filed. If any of them have been filed for me? I'm not at liberty to say. I don't have any. They've been filed. I don't have any. Okay. Thank God. All right. You're on. Thank you, Chairman. Good afternoon, Commissioners. For the record, Brian Elam, Principal Planner with the Growth Management Department. This is a request by Kotler and Hearing on behalf of Pulte Home Company, LLC, for approval of the Third Amendment to the High Point Planned Unit Development PUD Zoning Agreement to remove an approximate 19.54-acre Camp Valor, also known as Operation 300 site, from the High Point PUD and add six single-family lots to the development, bringing the total to 290 lots on an approximate 301.46-acre property with a resulting gross density of one unit per acre. Included with this application is a request for deferral of public facilities reservation. The subject property is located at 10205 Pratt-Whitney Road in Stewart. The existing zoning district on the property is PUD by way of the High Point PUD Zoning District. I mean, sorry, High Point PUD Zoning Agreement, which is consistent with the estate density one unit per acre future land use designation. The Third Amendment to the High Point PUD Zoning Agreement will remove the Operation 300 parcel from the PUD and revise the master site plan to show the new boundaries between the institutional use and residential use areas, resulting from an additional approximate 5.7 acres of land acquired by Pulte from Christ Fellowship Church. Six lots have been added to an open space tract in the Phase 2 development. They're right down there. Here's the first sheet of the revised master site plan. The total site area has been reduced to be consistent with the removal of the Operation 300 parcel, and the institutional area has been reduced to be consistent with the acquired 5.7 acres, or reduced to be consistent with the acreage which was acquired by Pulte from Christ Fellowship Church. The site now consists of 290 units on approximately 301.46 acres. Other site data has been adjusted to be consistent with the removal of the Operation 300 parcel. This application was heard before the local planning agency on October 17, 2024. The LPA voted 3 to 0 in favor of approving the High Point PUD Third Amendment. Development review staff have found the Pulte Group application to comply with all applicable regulations, and the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan is detailed in the staff report, and staff recommends approval of this application. We move the board receive and file the agenda item and all of its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit 1. We move that the board approve the third amendment to the High Point PUD zoning agreement, including revised master site plan. That concludes the presentation. We'll be happy to answer any questions. Commissioner Hurd. Yes. Regarding the six additional lots, it says in the Camp Valor application that all of the gross land area of the Camp Valor PUD parcel was included and utilized for the calculation of the residential density for the High Point PUD development. That's true. And yet they're, so they received additional units, six additional units, and yet the residential components of Camp Valor have not been removed. No, they've acquired an additional acreage, not from Camp Valor. That's not what the agreements say. Did you? So, Elise Elder, Deputy County Attorney. So, all of the density from the Camp Valor lot has been given to Pulte. That was done before. They recently just acquired six, I believe, about six acres from Christ Fellowship, which enabled them to the additional land that they are, the additional units they are seeking today. The Camp Valor stuff was already given to High Point previously in the old PUD agreement. It says that the Camp Valor units, the Camp Valor property no longer has residential capacity. That's true. That's right. It has room for 40 to 50 kids and their counselors. They're not allowed to have any residents on there. They have six cabins, seven cabins, and six bunk houses. It's temporary housing for people to come a week at a time. I don't think you can have it both ways. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. No. You're double dipping. How on earth are you having additional density on the one parcel and additional density on the other parcel, on the donor parcel? There's no single-family homes that will be sold. This is all a rustic campground. It's temporary. People camp there. The original PUD for High Point included the 20 acres from the Camp Valor property, and that's how they got to the density that they have. In doing so, they stripped all the residential density from the camp. Any facilities at the camp there are just for the campgrounds themselves. There may be a caretaker residence needed at some point, but that doesn't count towards density, and there is no residential density allowed on that property. Camp Valor talks about detached one- and two-family residences on the property. I don't think. What's in the special conditions? They're just temporary. It doesn't say anything about temporary. Excuse me, Commissioner. What page are you on? It's in the staff report for Camp Valor. This is the High Point hearing, so... I know. I'm wondering how High Point is able to get density that was stripped from Camp Valor when it appears that the density was not stripped from Camp Valor because they're single- and two-story residences there. There are bunk houses. There are cabins. There are seven cabins. There are six bunk houses. There's a caretaker house that's also proposed. How can all that stuff exist? If you've stripped the density from it, it... Give me a chance. I guess I'll pull up the Camp Valor PUD staff report. You say that's in the staff report. What page is that? Don't know. It's on the... It's in the PUD. Okay. And information... I mean, we have findings of compliance throughout the staff report, so I don't think it talks about that. I mean, in the description... I think it's specifically on the drawing and in the PUD agreement that there's no density allowed. Right. Yeah. You got us confused. Only the caretaker... There's a caretaker's quarters, but it's not a residence. It's just for somebody to take care of the camp, I think, when campers are in session. There are modular homes, I believe, or temporary housing for children to come and camp for a week or a weekend. There's nobody living there, and therefore there's no density being applied to the Camp Valor property. All of the density has been stripped. They can't have someone go and live in these temporary facilities. It's really for the campers. It's a rustic camp. Yeah. I don't see any language at all that says that it can only be used for campers for one or two weeks a year. There is language in the... I don't have the... I can pull up the other PUD agreement, but there is language in the Camp Valor PUD agreement that says there is no residential density on the Camp Valor property. There is. So it says roads, streets, right away, landscape areas, recreational facilities, and other common facilities of the PUD. It would really help if I knew where you're seeing where it's talking about residences. For one, on page 2085, it says all structures other than detached one- and two-family residences which exceed 5,000 square feet or are more than one-story in height shall be equipped with a sprinkler system. So why is it talking about one- and two-story residences that are larger than 5,000 square feet that they have to have sprinkler systems if one- and two-story residences don't exist on the parcel? That sounds like a standard fire department information that they put in there. That is language from our fire code that we put in all PUD agreements. It's standard PUD language. Well, this is not a standard PUD in that case because, according to you, all the density has been stripped off of this property. Correct. That's a good point. We'd like to change our recommendation to allow us to revise number three of special conditions to make sure that there's no language in there that could cause any issues in the future. We can change that language, but that's in the next public hearing. Right. Okay. Yes. Thank you. Fire marshal getting this. Are you going to go? Yes. Commissioner Smith. I don't know who the right person is that wants to answer this, but what is the difference between how density is applied to a residential unit versus something that is temporary in nature? Yes. Residential density goes along with the land use and the zoning. And this is the actual area of the PUD that talks about the density and the use. And Camp Valor should only be used for charitable uses. Uses and development shall be consistent with Martin County Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. Let's see. Operation 300 shall remain the sole owner and manager of Camp Valor LLC. And Operation 300 shall maintain its nonprofit designation throughout the duration of Camp Valor's ownership of the property. Any other conveyance of Camp Valor parcel must be to a 501C3. But if you were to assign residential use and somehow that would relate to density, what would you have to have? Would you have to have a plat? Would you have to have a site plan? Would you have to have? First, you would have to have the zoning in place, which this does not because the last paragraph, which I was trying to get to, basically strips it of its residential density. Then what do you have to have? You have to have homes that people live in. Oh, no, no. I understand. I'm getting there. Just for the public's purpose, listening to this. So the zoning agreement does not allow any residential development on the property. It was given to High Point, as it states in number seven. To have residential density, you would have to plan for it. You would have to, you know, eventually plat. So you'd have a plat? Yeah. That would be so that you could sell lots because you can't sell something that doesn't have a plat, and you can't build on something that's not platted? Correct. Yep. Anything else? Like you'd have to have a master plan or a minor site plan and a final site plan? That shows those residential units and shows how they'd be platted and all of that. Yeah. Kind of similar to what High Point has done. Right. So none of this, none of those, none of those criteria exist on this property. It would be unlawful. So the last paragraph does explain that the residential density was stripped from the property. Yeah, no, I understand. I'm just trying to clarify for anybody that may be listening to the conversation. So to show density, it would be on a master plan or final site plan. You don't always have to have a plat because the multifamily rentals would also be density. So you would have a master plan and a final site plan. And when we get to Camp Valor, you'll see the master plan for the Camp Valor PUD agreement, which is attached, shows a rustic camp. So in order to change that, Camp Valor would have to come back before this board for a new approval of a master plan. So as it stands today, there's no density. And if they ever wanted to try to get density, they would have to come back to the board. And the PUD agreement would not allow them to do that. Thank you. Change of use. Yeah, exactly. Yes. Just hopefully this will be a point of clarification. Before this project was created, Camp Valor was an accessory use of the church. They were using it as it was not a formalized area at the time. Part of the PUD was the public benefits was the memorializing of Camp Valor, which included the anticipation of this camping and the public service that they do. This particular project then separates Camp Valor is the public benefit by which the PUD was created, and it does not have any sellable residential units within it. So the layout of the facility was essentially memorialized at this point. I mean, it's been ongoing for some time, and so that, as we see it, is the public benefit that has no density, and it is because of the PUD zoning, it would be very difficult to unwind after today what has been created. So it is designed to be a – its public purpose is Camp Valor from now into the future, which is to provide a 501c3's ability to provide the service that they're doing to the families from fallen soldiers. Okay. Are we ready for the applicant? Yes, please. Good afternoon, commissioners. Brian, do you have the slide of answer? Yes. The affidavit for the mailers to notice this public meeting were turned in at the LPA meeting that we had late last month. So thank you, staff and Mr. Donaldson, for the presentation. My name is Dan Sorrow with the land planning firm of Kotler & Hearing, representing both the church and Pulte Homes. We do have members from both of those organizations in the council chambers, if you have any specific questions for them after the meeting. But this partnership between Pulte and the church has been successful for many years. It's not a new project. The church received site plan approval back in 2012 and has been operating as a campus there. I think some of the county might have even been to the ribbon cutting that happened back in 2012 or shortly thereafter after the church was constructed. Pulte Homes is sold. Almost all of the phase one homes are under development with the phase two platted lots that are currently being developed now. And it's been a wonderful relationship. And with that approval that was given for the PUD to be created, the High Point PUD, which actually gave Operation 300, the 20-acre parcel as part of the overall PUD, has been operating beautifully since then. The request before you this afternoon is to remove Operation 300 from the High Point PUD so that they could be autonomous and operate on their own kind of create and have their own destiny, not be beholden to the High Point HOA. And then as part of that transition, because the High Point community has been successful, they've also agreed to buy six additional acres from the church to provide for the six additional lots. This has been reviewed by the Growth Management Department and the Local Planning Agency, recommended unanimous approval, and we're happy to be bringing it before you this afternoon. Most of you are familiar with where the church property is located off of Pratt & Whitney. This yellow rectangle shows about 320 acres of the overall High Point site. 20 of that is Operation 300 currently. And the church owns about 28 acres out of those 321 acres, right next to South Fork High School. We think one of the reasons that Pulte has been successful is because of the proximity. To the church and to South Fork High School, but really, really a great community. This is the church campus. I'm sure that many people in the audience and perhaps some of the members here have been there, attended a service before. And the High Point community, this is one of the only elements of the High Point community that you can see from Pratt & Whitney. Most of all, the residential development is tucked back behind buffers and preserve areas in every way. So it's really a nice kind of community that's surrounded by the natural beauty of Martin County. But this is the entry. This is the amenity center under construction now. If you go out to the site, you'll see that the walls are up, the frame is up, so it's getting completed. The six additional lots are going right across the street from the amenity center. This is the master plan for the High Point PUD. You see the church surrounded within 28 acres by the residential development. That kind of that northwest parcel of 28, 20 acres is where Operation 300 is currently holding camps and is being removed from the overall PUD. This slide shows where the additional six lots are going. You can see the yellow highlighted area, which really is the ring road of Christ Fellowship Church, providing for the six additional acres for the Pulte lots right across from the amenity center. I did want to just bring up and just answer a couple questions that were brought up previously. This is the High Point PUD. And within the High Point PUD, we do have specific language which addresses the density issue that I think was brought up earlier. And it's on page 32 of the High Point PUD. And it says, pursuant to section 3.13.c.3, land development regs, Martin County Code, all of the gross land area of the Operation 300 parcel was included and utilized for the calculation of the density for the High Point development. All residential units included in this maximum allowed density are allocated on land designated as residential areas. No residential units may be developed on the institutional areas, including the Operation 300 site, as legally defined in Exhibit A4. So that's already a provision in the zoning code. I think the attorney's office brought up earlier that if we were or if anyone was to come back and request zoning on any parcel, they'd have to come back before this commission, include it in a PUD, or change the zoning to allow for that. That's not what's being requested before you this afternoon. And on the next application, which is the High Point application, we can get into specifics of the site plan and show how that's being allocated out. But thank you for your time. Be happy to answer any questions you may have. Any questions for the applicant? Seeing none. Any public comment? Seeing none. Commissioner Campy. I remember when Mr. Donaldson and I went out to Christ Fellowship to have a meeting with the folks out there about a project. The history, the brief history of the project is Christ Fellowship bought this large parcel with the assumption of building like a mega campus operation there. I happened to be invited. It was a big tent they set up in the middle of the woods, practically. And I have plenty of friends, lots of us do, Martin County residents, that back in the day went to Christ Fellowship by watching it on a video screen at Martin County High School or on a video screen at South Fork High School. Until I guess they built enough of a base here to build a facility. Then the sort of times changed, I think, from what I remember hearing from the folks at Christ Fellowship. The concept of a mega campus where everyone would come from further away to this one facility didn't really work. So they started thinking of a different approach, like maybe we need something up in tradition so that the folks north of tradition and then the tradition area could go to a much more localized campus facility. Thus making the tremendous amount of acreage that they had in Stewart not necessary. So I would be happy if I was a member of that church that my leadership said, well, we're not just going to own all of this property. What can we do with it? They made a deal with Pulte for the back portion of the property. And then my relationship with Billy and Karen Vaughn and Tara and Adam Baldwin, the family of Aaron Vaughn, who was a naval SEAL that was killed with many others in the tragic situation, they started this concept of, hey, we notice that children of fallen soldiers won't get the opportunity to have all of those life lessons that their sadly dead father or mother would have taught them. So they said, we're going to do this a couple times a year. But it was so powerful and so sadly popular that there were so many children that were affected by this. They needed more camps. They could have done it much more frequently. And back then, I remember helping them out, going to clean up after the camps. And what this camp is, and I'm sure we can hear from Tara, we're hearing Camp Valor, Operation 300. For people that don't know, they invite for a weekend children of fallen heroes and also the wives. The wives get to come together and they have a weekend of being with other wives. And the children get a chance to be together, like I said. And the whole entire community, they go to the sailing center. People take them on their boats. They go, they learn archery and horseback riding. It's a beautiful thing. But they were forced to constantly pack up the entire camp after each camp because they never had a real home. So I remember Mr. Donaldson and I were at this meeting and we had, there was talk of, hey, you know, how do we find them? They had a couple of false starts. I remember talking with Billy. People would offer property or the county might have had a piece, but it never really worked. And so smart brains got together and said, hey, what if we did a thing that community benefit of this project could be a parcel to Operation 300? And that's what it's been. They have been, the family, Pulte, Dan Sorrow, John Layton, have been here many times to discuss as it's sort of evolved down the road. To Commissioner Hurd's point, I'm just assuming since you're not sure of how the layout and what the structure of the camp is, I think it would be important for you to take a look. I think a lot of your concerns would be alleviated based on the fact that it's literally, originally it was repurposed FEMA trailers. The kids originally camped, like outside. And then they did some RVs and then they did some FEMA trailers and then they made a deal with Project Lyft to get some of their constructed tiny homes. And it's been a remarkable evolution, all in the desire to allow these kids to get a chance to just be normal for a weekend with other kids that are inflicted with the same catastrophe that they have. There's no possibility of living in the FEMA trailers. There's no possibility of living permanently in the tiny homes that they got through Project Lyft. There's no possibility of living in, if there is even still any RVs on the property. It's purely designed as a specific camp to give these kids some type of normalcy, even if it's just for a weekend. Then you get involved, and that's the mission for the Vaughns and Baldwins and Operation 300 and Camp Ballard. They don't want to be involved in PUDs and drainage and zoning and all of the rest of it. They just want to stick with their mission. So I'm very pleased today that, one, we are finally separating them out so that the Pulte Christ Fellowship can move on with all of the stuff that they do, because that's their business, and that Operation 300, Camp Ballard, can move on with their mission. So I can't wait until we get to the next one. In terms of this one, so that's what Camp Ballard is. So there's no possibility of them building residential units on the property. And if you spotted something, good for you to call out, and we'll have our staff sort of tweak that language to tighten it up, because it was never my intention to allow that to be. Now, in terms of the six extra units, that's good management. It's not like you're starting a brand-new neighborhood. It's not like you're putting these houses across the street from the entrance. They're tucked in there. You found six acres to build six more houses. As far as I'm concerned, six more families are going to get the blessing of being able to move into a beautiful project. I would make a motion after public comment. I would make a motion to accept staff's recommendation with the adjusted language that Commissioner Hurd had pointed out to tighten it up. That's in the next hearing. That's in the next hearing for what, the six houses? No. Oh, for the language. I'm sorry. So the language will be for the next motion, but in this particular one, I'll accept staff's recommendation to add the six houses. Commissioner Schmidt. Just a little bit to add to Ed's historical overview. If anybody remembers where we started out with this property and where it has come to today and where we are today, I remember the environmental consultant that came in when we first started working with Bolte moving in that direction and how the environmental cleaning up of the site from exotics was an enormous, almost hand-driven exercise. The site planning that went into it, the thought that went into the entire site, and then the whole Project 300 idea that came along with it is really a good reason why PUDs can work and why you can see how the benefits of doing something like this would way outweigh anything that might have been a negative somewhere along somebody's thought process. The ability for the applicant, Operation 300, the county, to end up with a site that we have today out there is really something remarkable. I mean, what has transpired over all these years is the very coolest thing, and that wouldn't have happened if all those other steps hadn't happened along the way. Even the water and sewer that we ended up doing originally in one of the first applications of dealing with what that site was, and trying to fix South Fork's water problems that we had. There was contamination in their water system that we ended up fixing or working with them to clean up. So good for you guys. It's remarkable what you have accomplished all these years, and it's another one of those just amazing little things in Martin County that maybe a lot of people don't even know exists, but for those that have been involved, it's very, very special. And I'll second Ed's motion pending public comment. Mr. Hiddick. Doug, you just touched on something. Not only is Operation 300 just an amazing organization, the mission, but I have been to the camp, and the environmental management of it is absolutely amazing. If every one of our properties could be managed like that, and I know that the Vaughns, the Baldwins, have taken an extreme amount of time, care, and hand-managed that property. If you could just see and imagine that environmental benefit far and beyond what Operation 300 does for our community, it's a wonderful, wonderful thing to have in our community. So I would definitely support this. Okay. I already called public. So we have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Opposed. Motion carries four to one with Commissioner Hurd dissenting. Moving on to public hearing quasi-judicial number five, public hearing to consider a request of rezoning approval to planned unit development PUD through a PUD zoning agreement for the Camp Valor project, including a master final site plan, Mr. Elam. Before we do that, is there any interveners? There are no interveners. Would everybody stand that is going to be testifying and be swearing? 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? Do you have any exparte? Commissioner Smith? I do. They're filed. If any, they've been filed. If any, they've been filed. If I have any, they've been filed. I don't have any, and they've been filed. Okay, and all the proper paperwork has been turned in to the proper person. And with that, Mr. Elam. Thank you, Chairman. Commissioners, for the record, Brian Elam, Principal Planner with the Growth Management Department. A copy of this agenda item and my work history has been turned in as Exhibit 1. This is a request by Kotler and Hearing on behalf of Camp Valor LLC for approval of a zoning district change from the current High Point PUD zoning agreement to the planned unit development PUD, including a request for approval of the Camp Valor PUD agreement with a master final site plan. The project consists of an existing rustic campground on an approximately 19.54-acre property. Included with this application is a request for a certificate of public facilities reservation. The property is located at 9405 Southwest Kansas Avenue, approximately a quarter mile northeast of the intersection of Southwest Pratt-Winney Road and Southwest High Point Drive in Stewart, Florida. The existing zoning district on the property is PUD by way of the High Point PUD zoning agreement, which is consistent with the estate density one unit per acre future land use designation. Camp Valor is the name of the Operation 300 Incorporated rustic campground site, established as a public benefit per the High Point PUD zoning agreement on April 27, 2021. Operation 300 is a Florida not-for-profit organization providing support to Gold Star family members. To ensure Camp Valor has the flexibility to create the best camp for their programs, they are being removed from the High Point PUD and require a valid zoning designation, which this application seeks to provide through the approval of the Camp Valor PUD zoning agreement with master final site plan. Here is the proposed Camp Valor PUD master final site plan, documenting the existing developments on the property and some proposed future structures. Access to the site is from Southwest Kansas Avenue, and this proposal includes over 81% open space. This application was heard before the local planning agency on October 17, 2024. The LPA recommended approval 3 to 0. Development review staff have found the Camp Valor LLC application to comply with all applicable regulations, and the comprehensive growth management plan is detailed in our staff report, and staff recommends approval of this application. We move that the board receive and file the agenda item and all its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit 1, and move that the board approve the request for zoning district change from High Point PUD zoning agreement to the Camp Valor PUD zoning agreement, including master and final site plan. That includes the presentation. Any questions for staff? Commissioner Hurt. Yeah. Is this binding, or is this just illustrative? It's binding. Okay. It's a contract. Okay. Even though there are things in it that don't exist? I don't understand. Like the? Oh, you mean the proposed? I guess. I mean, they're noted on here, but they don't exist. That's right. They can develop them, or they can choose not to. And that would require an amendment to the final site plan? That's a master final, so anything on that plan can be built if it's approved. But if they wanted to add something, they would have to come in and amend it. So there's a master plan that has to come in after this? No, that's the master final. That's the only plan you're going to see on this, and if they want to change what's on that plan, they would have to come back for a PUD amendment with a new master final site plan. Yes, that's correct. The master final was set up so that they could do the future improvements through a building permit. So it's shown on there graphically, so they would not have to amend the master to come back and do those improvements. Okay. I'm on page 2069, 4.1, owner. That's Camp Valor. The roads, streets, rights-of-way, preserve areas, landscape areas, recreational facilities, and other common facilities of the PUD shall be shown on any approved master plan, final site plan, and subdivision plats. And there are no subdivision plats. Yes, that would not apply. So, yes, it would just be shown on the master plan. So why is the phrase subdivision plat included in the? That's canned PUD language that's, you know. Want to do it in the future? Yeah, in the future, if something happens where it is subdivided, it doesn't have to be residentially subdivided. They can parcel off and do a final site plan revision and want to do some subdivision of the lots. Well, there aren't lots. Of the parcel. So it's a 20-acre parcel. If somehow it got broken up in the future, it would require a plat. But it's not likely to happen, and the master plan doesn't show that. So the master plan would have to be revised to show that if that was indeed the case. And could the master plan be revised administratively? No, not to show a division, no. Under any circumstances, could it be revised? Any additional lots. That's why High Point had to come back before the board to add their six lots. They had to go back to the LPA and the board because they added lots. Thank you. Okay. Applicant. Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the commission. I did turn in the affidavit noticing today's meeting at the LPA meeting that we had last month, so those should be part of the record for the clerk's office. Happy to be presenting this agenda item before you. Thank you for your support on the last agenda item. And this project this afternoon is really a great cause. We're going to hear from Ms. Baldwin in a second, if that's okay, Chairman. But just by way of introduction, my name is Dan Sorrow with the land planning firm of Kotler & Hearing. We do have the applicant and the property owner, Operation 300, and Camp Valor in attendance, should you have some specific questions from them, as well as other members of the consultant team and other interested parties. The request before you this afternoon is really to create a separate zoning district for Camp Valor. So as you just approved the removal of the high point PUD from Operation 300, now we've got to assign a zoning district to Operation 300. It's a little bit less than a 20-acre site. And to approve the final master plan. So that's really the proposal before you this afternoon. This has been through each of the departments in growth management and also received a favorable recommendation from a local planning agency last month. I just wanted to point that out. This road network, you've seen this map before, but the 20-acre parcel outlined in yellow is shown on the screen. Access to this parcel is off of Old Kansas. So you come down Kanner and then go down Old Kansas for access. You don't access this site through Pratt & Whitney. It is existing today. They are holding monthly camps there on site today. The Operation 300 event is really wonderful. And I'd like Ms. Tara Baldwin to come up and kind of explain some of the wonderful things that they do for these children. Hi, Tara Baldwin, president of Operation 300. I do just want to say quickly, this is a really big day for us, hopefully. Fingers crossed. It's been a long time coming. And I want to say thank you, Dan, to you and to Kristen Spake with McCarthy Summers that have really guided us for several years now, mostly pro bono, which I think everyone should know when people do good things, if not completely. And I'm also very grateful to all the county administration. You guys have been amazing to work with. To Pulte Homes, obviously, and Christ Fellowship for making this dream even a possibility. When we were talking about this in our living room, you know, 13 years ago, we never dreamed that we would have the opportunity to own a piece of property in Martin County, you know, that is easily accessible. It's close to the hospital. It's close to the fire station. And we just never thought it would happen. So thank you to Pulte and to Christ Fellowship for including us in your plan and getting us to where we are today. And I also want to say a very special thank you to all the commissioners because, again, we've been operating in Martin County for over 12 years now, and you guys have been nothing but supportive in every endeavor that we've taken on in the community and even guiding us through this process, which seems like it's been forever. We just want to say our sincere thank you for your support. As many have explained to you today, Operation 300 is obviously a 501c3 that was founded in honor of my brother, Aaron Vaughn, who was killed in action in 2011 in Afghanistan, and the heart behind it was just to stand in the gap that was left when these men and women go off and serve our country and who's going to teach their kids what they would have taught them and who's going to remind them of who their parents were and who's going to honor their sacrifice. And I'm so proud that we have been able to create this organization, and by we, I mean our entire community, and it's right here in Martin County, and I think it truly is something that Martin County should be very proud of. As Dan said, we host six camps per year currently, about 40 to 45 kids per camp, and you should know, we just put our camp dates out for next year, for 2025 in August. They were full within a week, and we have 94 kids on a waiting list. So us getting this autonomy of being separated out is really important so that we can continue to grow to meet the need, unfortunately, that is out there. We're currently at capacity. When you see the site plan, everything we have is temporary. Even though we do have some things that are kind of stationary there, we are still setting up and tearing down, you know, for all of these events. And we are at capacity. When we have our families there for our family dinner on a Friday night of camp, we don't have enough space under our very small pole barn that we currently have. And so we just have some plans to make a more permanent home. Also, I know you've heard me say, because this is not the first time I've been up here, when we were given this amazing gift, Dad and I talked about it so much that we felt like it was too much for just our cause. And we really want the community at large to benefit from it. And I can tell you just this last weekend, we had 80 men use those bunk houses and our shower trailer and our portable restrooms for a Christian men's retreat for the weekend. And we hope that in the future, we can continue to partner with more organizations like that. And I'm sure they would really appreciate getting to stay in the really nice tiny houses that Project Lift built for us instead of the bunk houses that we have currently. And I don't want to be remiss in also thanking my dad and John Layton and Stacey, as you were so kind, your words about how beautiful the property is and the care that's taken in it. I can tell you that's 100% him. And it's just been his hand in that all the way through doing the right things, doing them slowly, doing them conservatively so that we really do preserve what is a beautiful, beautiful piece of property that's a great representation of South Florida and of Martin County. So we would ask that you do consider removing us so that we can continue to move forward, as you'll see in our site plan, and make a permanent home and a legacy for all of these kids and everyone who has served our country. Thank you. Commissioner Campy. No, not here. And they're done. Okay. Don't leave. Really, Operation 300 needs to control their own destiny. And with this PUD, they can be allowed to do that and operate autonomously. This is the slide showing where the 20 acres is being removed from, from the high point PUD. It was shown on the last agenda item. And this is a conceptual rendering of the site plan that was in your agenda packet. And really, the funding's in place. But we can't pull any building permits until we have an approved site plan. So that's why this drawing before you is important. It allows us to be able to generate some more support and get some donations and be able to put in some of the more permanent facilities and make improvements on the site that really is going to help the success of the full operation. So thank you for your time this afternoon. And I really appreciate all the commissioners and their leadership of this county over the last few years. And happy to answer any questions. Commissioner Hurd. Yeah, I think this question is for you, Mr. Sorrow. So you took the initiative to be the applicant for the PUD for Camp Baller? My firm does represent Camp Baller, yes, ma'am. So are you also going to be the applicant to do a land use amendment? We're not processing a land use amendment with this application, Commissioner. Why not? The land use is already in place. It's a state density residential. It's the same land use that is part of the High Point PUD. So it's overall the same land use. So I'm not sure what the question is. I'm saying that I think that the underlying land use is inappropriate for the use of the property. Shouldn't it be institutional? No, it could be institutional, but the existing land use is fine because it's being instituted by a PUD. So it's comparable. I just think it's curious that the PUD is there's a PUD application and not a comp plan amendment application since it's the same parcel. Thanks. Mr. Campy. I wish that there was no reason for you to have this camp. I wish that the Baldwin and the Vaughns never needed to do this. But I'm pleased that you did. You've heard me say this in the past. You've taken a tragedy and turned it into a beautiful thing. And I know that when you hear questions about, well, you haven't built everything yet, one, you couldn't legally because there was some of the things that we're correcting today or at least finalizing today. And, two, you're a not-for-profit. You are not multimillionaire families that are writing your own checks. You have to raise every dollar for everything that you're doing. And that requires a tremendous amount of effort. And so, to Commissioner Hurd's question about why isn't this, land uses are expensive. And I appreciate that you've had professionals willing to donate their services. But I'm sure at some point that ends. And I wouldn't want you, if our staff is telling you that a PUD is enough to get you to where you need to be, then you're not a large corporation that can just continue to have consultants sitting here and go through the process that would be tens and tens of thousands of dollars that will then be siphoned off from the other things that you could be doing. And having been out there since the beginning, it is remarkable. And like you said, Ms. Baldwin, what your dad, you know, out there by himself, probably overdoing it on many days. But it's obviously, it's a labor of love for him. And so, I think it's remarkable. And like you said, I'm so appreciative that it's here in Martin County because I have seen a lot of other not-for-profits, Project Lift as one of them, the Sailing Center, all sorts of other organizations. And you have brought in so many volunteers to participate. I know that your dad also runs a camp for the fathers of the fallen. I don't think you've missed a thing. I mean, it's so valuable to have it here. And so, I wish nobody had to go. But since it is, I am honored to make the motion for you to move forward. Okay. We have any public comment? Seeing none, we have a motion by Commissioner Campion. Be seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Since we have been doing the big shuffle today, and since we have Martin Commerce Park in the back of the room, let's take them. Public hearing number four. Samantha? Public hearing number four is a legislative public hearing to consider the adoption of a comprehensive plan amendment, CPA 23-09, Martin Commerce Park. Text, Ms. Samantha Lovelady. Good afternoon, Commissioners. My name is Samantha Lovelady with Martin County Growth Management, and this is CPA 23-09, Martin Commerce Park, and this is text amendment. This is a request by Martin Commerce Park, LLC, to add the property to the list of exceptions for water and sewer services and to create a freestanding urban service district on 167 acres. It's also a request to change figures in the comprehensive growth management plan, figure 4-2, urban services district, figure 11-1, areas currently served by regional utilities, and figure 11-2, potential service areas. There are several policy changes that are also being requested, and I will go through those with you. The first one is policy 4.1B2, and this applies restrictions to the property. And so the first one is number A, or letter A, residential uses shall be prohibited by this policy and deed restriction recorded in OR book and page. And I just wanted to point out that residential will not be allowed on this property. And the maximum non-residential building square footage is 1.1 million square feet for the cumulative total, and all future applications for development will be processed as a planned unit development. And prior to the issuance of the first certificate of occupancy, the owner of Martin Commerce Park shall construct a traffic signal at the intersection of Martin Highway and Stewart West Boulevard. And letter E, the owner-developer shall plan and appropriately fund public facilities consistent with policy 4.1B2, which requires that future development pay the full cost of capital facilities needed to address the impacts of such development. And that shall include an amendment to the capital improvement element, if needed, and a PUD agreement that addresses public facilities, infrastructure, and the timing of development. And policy 4.7A.3.1, and this is the all future development of user intensity that requires public urban facilities, including water and sewer, will be permitted only within the primary urban service district except for the following facilities. And this would be number 4.7A.4.4, it's a list of allowable development outside the urban service district and another list of exceptions. And this would be number 12 on that list. And, of course, the ordinance number would be filled in upon adoption. Policy 10.1A.8, again, the tract of real property in the Smart and Commerce Park, designated as industrial on the future land use map, and that would be number 8 under that policy. Policy 10.1A.12, and this was originally an exception for package treatment plants, but since water and sewer will be available to the property, we are now just saying package treatment plants shall be prohibited, because this was an exception for 7Js and Martingale Commons. Figure 4-2, this is the existing figure, and this is the proposed figure 4-2, and if you will, let me... We have Clyde Doolin for the record. Ms. Lovelady is bringing up a correction on figure 4-2. It's a correction for the map shown in your package. Go ahead. So, the request is for the urban service, the freestanding industrial service areas are all being placed on the map. This is the AgTech freestanding urban service district. This is 7Js. The one in your packet included the landfill in this area, and the landfill is not a freestanding urban service district. So, we included... So, we took that out, and then this would show the Martin Commerce Park, and of course, you have gateway down here. So, this is a corrected version of what's in the packet. Donna, can you get that back to full screen? Thank you. And this is the freestanding, the northern freestanding urban service districts in relationship to the primary and secondary urban service district. Again, you have AgTech here, 7Js, and the proposed Martin Commerce in relation to the secondary urban service district and the primary over here. This is the existing 11-1, which is areas currently served by regional utilities, and this is a revised that shows the freestanding urban service districts. This one does include the landfill because that is part of the Martin County service area. The existing 11-2, which is the potential service areas, and that's the proposed with the other three areas just shown on the map. And with that, the state had... The state provided comments, but they were technical assistance in nature, and the technical assistance, number one, was concurred adoption of the flume application and then the availability of public facilities. And what they're calling out with the availability of public services, they're basically saying we would need to add this project to the CIP when development comes forward. And with that, I will take any questions. Any questions for staff? Commissioner Hurd. Yeah. So if we transmitted this on September 24th, it took several days to transmit it, I would think. And yet we heard back from the state on October 3rd? We had them trickle in from the state. Well, the letter that you just showed us was dated October 3rd. Right. And then we subsequently had comments from the Department of Transportation and Florida Fish and Wildlife. And so they did come in a little at a time. Was this fast-tracked? And I'm trying to understand why this comment came back so quickly. Clyde Doolin, for the record, we can't really speak for Department of Commerce. It may have been they had the available staffing. Thank you. You see who it's sent to. That's why it came back so fast. Okay. Any other questions for staff? Seeing none, Mr. Crady? It's definitely known for the record. Morris Crady, senior partner with Lacedon Associates. I do have the proof of notice to surrounding property owners within 2,500 feet. And, yes, we did give a lengthy presentation back in September, provided a lot of data analysis, a lot of supporting economic policies and the comprehensive plan that this project furthers along. But this kind of all started when the Business Development Board, on April 19, 2022, gave a presentation before the County Commission and identified areas that they felt were appropriate for economic development. And on June 7, 2022, the County Commission or the Assistant County Administrator sent a letter to the Business Development Board. And I'll just quote one sentence, while economic development throughout the entire county is necessary, the Board of County Commissioners believe that the following six areas are the most viable areas in the county. And the first one on that list was 7Js, Martin Commerce Park, Sunrise Grove Commerce Park. And we're very fortunate that Ashley Capital has stepped up to the plate. They are furthering that direction that was given by the Board of County Commissioners. They are furthering the policies and the comprehensive plan, both in Chapter 4, the future land use element, and also Chapter 15, the economic element. We had business leaders at the September hearing talk about those goals and objectives. And this project furthers those goals and objectives. We have obtained all the comments from the other agencies, the state agencies. We've reviewed and addressed all the agencies' comments. And this project, this application, was in fact approved by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council on October 18th. So with that understanding, we certainly agree with staff recommendation. I do have one comment, though, on Figure 4-2, if you can put that revision up. I think it omitted the Martindale Commons site. I think that needs to be, see, at the 32 acres in front, I think that needs to be included, or not. Martindale Commons is not included? No, it's actually in an expressway oriented. Oh, okay, that's why it's not included. That's why we didn't put that on the map. I'm going to agree with that revision to the map. Okay. We'll be glad to answer any questions. Okay, any questions for the applicant? Seeing none, Mr. Campy. Didn't have to push it. We have had this applicant here recently to discuss this, and I had made some statistical comments about the value of these types of operations. And so I asked Ted Estolfi from the Economic Council to just verify some of the things that I had said because I had heard little bits and pieces of the value to all Martin County residents by approving things like that. And I'd like to share just a couple of points. Only 4% of Martin County land use is non-residential, meaning obviously that 96% of Martin County's land use is residential, which produces the non-residential produces approximately $52 million in property and tangible personal property tax, or TPP. By increasing non-residential land use, like hopefully we're going to be doing today, by only 6% to go to a total of 10%, we would generate an additional nearly $80 million in additional ad valorem in TPP. Non-residential taxes reflect fair market value and are typically capped at 10% versus the 3%, which is homesteaded residences. Non-residential property historically has generated more revenue into the county services than it receives. It pays into a system it hardly uses. Non-residential property also generates additional tax revenue through sales tax, gas tax, and other industry-specific taxes and fees. So essentially you're getting four or five different revenue streams beyond the ad valorem and the TPP. I think most residents, when I speak to them and I tell them how lopsided our tax base is and how heavily reliant it is on residential taxes to pay for the services that our residents expect, demand, and deserve, they don't want to hear about decreases in level of service. They don't want to hear about additional taxes that they would have to pay. This is a perfect opportunity for us to balance out our tax base. It also, that these facts don't mention, is the opportunity for locals to have employment right here where they live. So they're not constantly either living in another county driving in to work here or living in Martin County and having to drive out of the county. And so, if not along the thoroughfare of 95 and Martin Highway, then where? So I think that it's very important, and for Ashley Capital to choose Martin County, which has a, believe it or not, has a reputation of being difficult to deal with in terms of bringing economic development and projects of this caliber to our community. I am thrilled that the folks that own it and work there would be willing to stick with us and give us this opportunity. Today is the first, hopefully, and many steps forward that will allow our Martin County residents to breathe a bit of sigh of relief as the tax burden is shifted away from them onto other operations and projects such as this. So, although I've been selfish in making motions, I would classify this another historic motion and a step in the right direction. The final thing I would say is that when we had this last time, there were members of the community that lived across the street initially concerned that how would this be a neighbor. And after hearing what Ashley Capital was willing to invest in the community with the traffic signal that that neighborhood had wanted forever and knew that it would be a long time before they would get one on their own, the three folks that spoke emailed me or called me to say that they had changed their mind on their opposition and were now endorsing the fact that you were going to be across the street from them. So I give those gentlemen credit for seeing this as a golden opportunity, which I do. I'd make a motion to accept staff's recommendation. Okay. And thanks for doing it in Palm City. Commissioner Hurd. Yeah, I'm not going to be supporting the motion. Why not? The comprehensive plan states over and over and over again that urban facilities are only allowed in the primary urban service boundary, and that's for a very good reason. Those urban facilities are extremely expensive to provide in a small geographic area. At the distances that we're talking about, particularly for this project, they're ridiculously expensive. They're leapfrogging over the primary urban service boundary. They're leapfrogging through agricultural lands. These land uses are incompatible with all the surrounding uses, water. I couldn't live in a more urban environment, urban neighborhood, and I don't have sewer, and a lot of my neighbors don't have water either. And yet we're going to provide it 10 miles west of town for one project. Also, the comprehensive plan wisely prohibits freestanding urban service districts for very, very good reasons. We don't want those to be isolated. We want them to be in the midst of our primary urban service boundary. That's why they're prohibited outside of that. And yet we have – this will be the fourth freestanding urban service boundary. One of them, ag tech, was passed as – it was absolutely essential that it be passed, passed by a majority in 2010. And to this day, it remains undeveloped, just to show you how unnecessary and how harmful these kinds of decisions are. So I am not going to be supporting this. I don't know – I don't know – our comprehensive plan could not be more clear about the prohibitions of these services. And yet exceptions are made, rendering the comprehensive plan completely inadequate. Why are we ignoring our comprehensive plan? Why are we fast-tracking these developments that are incompatible with any other developments in Martin County? Why are we abandoning our differences? Thank you. Mr. Campy. I agree with my colleague that these services are very, very expensive to supply. Can I ask staff who's going to be responsible for paying for those expensive services? The applicant. Say it again. The applicant. Okay. So the taxpayers are not going to be paying for these expensive services to be run out there. The applicant is going to be paying for these services. In terms of putting this closer to the core or within the urban service boundary, this is a project that's going to be potentially hundreds of thousands of square – hopefully hundreds of thousands of square feet of space. Ms. Lovelady, how many total square feet is this project eligible to go to? I know the answer. I just want you to say it. 1.1 million square feet. 1.1 million. And that's cumulative. That's not per building. I understand. All 100,000, 50,000, 25,000, potentially a million square feet of services. To my colleague's point, we should be putting this in where people live, inside the urban service boundary, so that it could be your next-door neighbor. This room would be filled with people tearing their hair out if this was a project that was going to be proposed where I'm hearing it should be. It would also be nearly financially impossible or literally impossible to find property large enough to squeeze in a million square feet and all of the other things. And you would have to put it right on people's neighborhoods. Where it is now, it is across the street, as I mentioned in my initial comments from Stuart West and Cobblestone. They will barely see it, but can you imagine if this was your next-door neighbor? So I get my colleague, and I appreciate what she's saying. Hopefully, she can appreciate what I'm saying. But if not, that's okay. I think that this is the appropriate location, as well as the fact that when you put it next to 95, if it does generate truck traffic, would all of those trucks that are going to be probably participating in this site, would you want them going up and down every other road in Martin County? Would you want them driving through on Cove and Salerno and into meeting these areas where the comprehensive plan that was written in the 80s would say was appropriate? I think the comprehensive plan, in all of its magnificence, is meant to be a living, breathing document that would have to take into consideration new economic changes and challenges. And this, to me, I mean, there are points when Commissioner Hurd and I completely agree. There are points when we sometimes, like, slightly disagree. And in cases like this where we're obviously completely in disagreement, I think this is a great idea. Hence, I made the motion. Commissioner Smith. Two other thoughts that come to mind with this application. Years ago, there was an applicant that came forward and wanted to deal with the entire sort of interchange issue. They applied. They were turned down. They sued us and we lost, which cost the county a fair amount of money to go through that battle. A remedy to that, which then brings in the second piece of that, had that application gone through, a package plant would have been built at that interchange that would have been of the scale, at least from what I remember, the requirements back then would have been to satisfy all four quadrants of the I-95, 70s, 710, yeah, 710, canner. No, not canner. 714. I always get all those jumbled up, 714 intersection. So we would have had a fairly significant package plant sitting on the southeast quadrant because they were the first ones in. And as I recall, at least what used to exist was the first one in, had to provide for everyone. Privately operated. Privately operated. So we lost the litigation. We spent money. We ended up with a settlement agreement or a settlement to agree to bring water and sewer to the site. We only included in that agreement what made sense with the landfill, the sheriff's department, 7Js, which was an existing industrial PUD that had been there for decades, right, that was kind of floundering because it didn't have water and sewer. And to put in either a package plant or to put in septic tanks would have significantly or did significantly limit the capacity of what 7Js could do. And that was all at a time when we as a community were trying to figure out how to come out of the recession and what could we do to move us forward and get us back on track. And so here we are today with a developer-funded piece of infrastructure that will provide, help provide, at least to those other sites as well. And they are participating as well. 7Js is paying, correct, for their hookup or their capacity. And that's what it's limited to, at least at this time. So I think it was a good move. It was unfortunate that we had to go through litigation to get there. But we are there. Ed, did you make a motion? I did. Yep. Can you second that? I did second it? Okay. Thank you. Okay. And I probably asked or didn't. Was there any public comment on this agenda item? Seeing none, we have a motion by Commissioner Campy, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Opposed. Motion carries four to one. Commissioner Hurd dissenting. Public hearing number five. I have a public hearing to consider adoption of comprehensive plan amendment CPA 23-10 Martin Commerce Park future land use map amendment. Ms. Lovelady. Good afternoon, Commissioner. Samantha Lovelady for the record, Growth Management Department. This is CPA 23-10 Martin Commerce Park future land use map amendment. It's a request by Martin Commerce Park to 167 acres from agricultural and agricultural ranch yet to industrial. And it is located south of Martin Highway at the corner, just south of the corner of I-95. This is the future, existing future land use map. You have agricultural and you have ag ranch yet. This is the proposed map outlined in turquoise. And, again, this is located east of I-95 in Martin Highway. It is accompanied by the text amendment that you just had. And in Section 2.1 of the staff report, two out of the four criteria for the future land use map amendments that need to be met, there's four criteria that need to be met, and two of those criteria have been met. In Section 2.2, urban sprawl, eight out of 13 criteria have been met. That means eight, there's 13 criteria that need to be met, and eight of those have been. Section 2.2.1, proliferation of sprawl, four out of eight criteria have been met that shows that it discourages the proliferation of sprawl. And with that, staff recommendation is for a motion to recommend approval of CPA 23-10, Martin Commerce Park. I do want to make note of, we did receive comments from the Florida Department of Transportation, and they provided several technical assistance comments. They weren't objections, but they were comments that we addressed. The traffic analysis impact statement that was issued last March had several things that the Department of Transportation had issue with. So they redid their traffic impact analysis, which adjusts the traffic distribution to more accurately reflect the property's proximity to 95 and updates the anticipated traffic volumes in the long-range plan. And it identifies the net increases in the traffic volumes that would be generated by the land use of industrial. After staff's review of the updated technical traffic impact analysis, Public Works has provided comments that staff can now provide a positive evaluation, meaning there is a sufficient roadway capacity planned in the adopted long-range capital facility plans of the comprehensive plan. So with that, staff recommends approval. Okay. Any questions for staff? Applicant. Again, for the record, Morris Crady, senior partner with the CEDO and Associates here on behalf of the applicant. And this is the companion application to the text amendment that was just approved. It sets out the land use on the property and gives us the ability to go to the next step, which will be a PUD application in the future after we get the zoning change to LI in the next agenda item. So we're in agreement with staff recommendation. We'll be glad to answer any questions. Oh, I'm sorry. The notice that I turned in was for the text amendment and for this land use map amendment. Any questions for the applicant? Seeing none, any public? Seeing none. Back to the board. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Hurd. Yeah, I'm not going to support the motion. The comprehensive plan requires that there be four criteria for future land use amendment that must be met in order to qualify for a recommendation of approval. There are four of them. None of them have been met, not even close. The first is past changes in land use designations in the general area make the proposed use logical and consistent with these uses and adequate public services are available. That certainly does not, is not met. First, B, growth in the area in terms of the development of vacant land redevelopment and availability of public services has altered the character of the area such that the proposed request is now reasonable and consistent with area land use characteristics. That certainly has not been met. The third, the proposed change would correct what would otherwise appear to be an inappropriately assigned land use designation. That one has not been met. And the proposed change would fulfill a public service need that enhances the health, safety, or general welfare of county residents. That one hasn't been met. I have no idea how staff can recommend approval when it is so clear that none of the criteria necessary to make a recommendation for approval has been met. Not even close. There's not even a whisper of agreement. It's clearly, it represents all of the 13 criteria for urban sprawl. It proliferates urban sprawl. It's incompatible with all the neighboring land uses. It's inconsistent with the comprehensive plan. There was a commercial and industrial land analysis done in Martin County. It was completed in 2023. And it concluded that the industrial development database query indicates approximately 90 acres of vacant industrial development has taken place in Martin County since 2011, or nine acres per year on average. Nine acres per year. They conclude that there's sufficient industrial land within the unincorporated areas for the present and the future. And yet, one of the parcels that's included in this is AgTech. It was formerly 1,735 acres of industrial. 1,735, maybe 100 has been sold to the water management district. So that has been available and vacant since 2010. And it's still vacant. So, obviously, we don't need any of these changes. They are harmful for us. They're inconsistent with the comprehensive plan. They're incompatible with the character of Martin County. And staff should make recommendations of no when you find these criteria. That's it. Commissioner Campy, we do have a motion. I understand that there is a motion in a second. I just need to make sure that I clear the air on some of the things that I hear just for people that are paying attention. AgTech, I was here for AgTech. It was originally a King Ranch project, one of the largest private landowners in Martin County at the time. So it was not like a fly-by-night company that had showed up to do it. And basically hamstrung them by saying that they could have that there, but there would be no water and sewer because this was well before what we're talking about today. So they were going to have to bring water and sewer down from Port St. Lucie, which is a Herculean effort involving multiple counties and multiple government municipalities. And also there was recession, difficult times doing business in Martin County, pandemic, some other things that hampered that. The good news is, is that they've sold that property to someone else who hopefully in the future, if this doesn't dissuade them, hopefully in the future will come forward with some other exciting opportunities as well that they'll continue to have to bring the services down from another county, another municipality. So that's the reason that AgTech has not really gotten off the ground. There were a couple of opportunities. There were some projects that could have happened there. I had the opportunity of meeting with some folks that were very, very interested in going there, but when they realized how difficult it was to navigate through the process here. And, you know, most communities, when businesses come to town and look to hire hundreds of employees and invest millions of dollars, they're welcomed. And there's, you know, there's a whole, you know, recruiting opportunity. And we don't have that here. So it really takes quite thick skin and brave people to participate. I agree. It's, I like that process. It really is a vetting process to make sure the ones that can make it all the way to the finish line are exactly what we want. And in terms of that report that said we've had nine acres of development over the last several years per year, I think that's a terrible statistic. And it goes back to the point that I said that our residential taxpayers are forced to pay for all of the things that they deserve because we don't have those industrial opportunities here for them. So in case you weren't sure, I'm for it. Yeah, that screaming match in 2015 over Ag-Ted is one of the reasons why I'm sitting at this dais. So we have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Opposed. Motion carries four to one. Commissioner Hurd dissenting. Now we must go to public hearing quasi-dedicial number three. Let's do this one more time. Yeah, which is a public hearing to consider an amendment to the Martin County Zoning Atlas to change the zoning district classifications for comprehensive plan amendment CPA 23-10, Martin Commerce Park rezoning, Ms. Samantha Lovelady. And this is quasi-judicial, so we must ask, is there any intervenors? No. No. Would everybody like to stand? It is going to justify. 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? I do. Has the paperwork been chopped down to satisfy the... Okay. And please take it. Okay. Do we have any... If I do, they're filed. If any, they've been filed. If any, they've been filed. I don't have any. That's been filed. I don't have any, and that's been filed. Take it away. All right. Again, my name is Samantha Lovelady with Growth Management. This is CPA 23-10, Martin Commerce Park rezoning. Again, this is a request by Martin Commerce Park, LLC, to change the zoning on 167 acres from A2, AG20A, and AR5A to limited industrial. This is the subject parcel. This is the existing zoning of AR5A here, AG20A here, and A2 here. And this is the proposed zoning, which would be limited industrial. And this is... Staff recommends a motion to adopt the proposed zoning district. Change from A2, AG20A, and AR5A to limited industrial. And I'll be happy to take any questions. Any questions for staff? Seeing none, applicant, Mr. Crady. For the record, again, Morris Crady here on behalf of the applicant. And the notice, the proof of notice I provided included this zoning change as well. So that's been done to the surrounding property owners. And really, the LI zoning district is just to make the zoning consistent with the land use. But the text that we propose requires a PUD application. So that will come back before the county commission as a rezoning request from LI to PUD. So with that understanding, I'll be glad to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Crady? Seeing none. Any public comment? Seeing none. Staff recommendation? Second. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. Oh. Yeah, I'm not going to support the motion. It's completely incompatible with all the surrounding zoning. It's out of character for Martin County to put a 1.1 million square foot warehouse that's visible from I-95. Ag tech lack of development proves that there is no need for industrial in western Martin County. The commercial and industrial capacity study analysis that was just completed in 2023 clearly demonstrated that there was sufficient industrial land necessary for development in the present and the future. And therefore, it's incompatible, unnecessary. And also, there's no labor force nearby. Everyone who works at this site will have to commute there. So it's a bad fit. Okay. We're, we're, we're. I'm for it. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in, and I ask for public comment. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries 4 to 1. Commissioner Hurd dissenting. Thank you, members of the board. Now we're going to go back to, I kind of missed, public hearing number 3. Public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Article 11, Planned Mixed-Use Village Land Development Regulations, Martin County Code, Peter Walden. Good afternoon. Pete Walden, Deputy Growth Management Director. This is a request by Matt and me, Holmes, for a revision to Article 11. It is, Article 11 is the Planned Mixed-Use Village, which is, pertains to the new field development. Little history and discussion about the mixed-use village land use and the mixed-use village LDRs. All of the residential dwellings, commercial, retail, and non-residential uses are already entitled in the land use. It has 4,200 units, 290,000 square feet of commercial and office, and 2 million square feet of other non-residential, possibly industrial, workspace. None of the entitlements for the project or the code is being discussed today. It's all just minor housekeeping things. And this is basically the regulating plan for the new field development, and none of this is changing today either. You'll see that these wide-open spaces are protected by conservation easements and PAMPs. And the next slide shows the same entitlements that are reflected in the land use, the 4,200 units, 290,000 square feet of space. None of that, again, is being touched today. We're just talking about some clarity in the zoning code, which the applicant will go over. There's also a development agreement that is attached to the project, which goes through those same entitlements and encompasses a level of service, things that the applicant has to attain to be consistent with the code and the land use. So none of those things are changing today. We're basically talking about some housekeeping in the code. Newfield has been under development now for about a year. It's been in the planning stages for about six years. And now that we've actually applied some of the code, we found a few things that need to be clarified, a few things for consistency in the code because it's very specific. And we want to make sure that going forward, since we're starting to get the ball rolling out there, that things are appropriately done. And I want to say that this was before the local planning agency in October, and the local LPA voted unanimously to approve the changes. And this is a copy of the first master plan that was approved. It's the Crossroads Neighborhood. And you can see there's over 30 blocks of development inside of this master plan. And it contains residential and commercial uses. And as you might expect in doing a 1,200-unit development, that there might be some tweaks needed as you go through the final site plan stages. And that's exactly what we did a couple months ago. I brought a revised master plan because at that time the code required us, even if you made minor changes to it, that we'd have to make those changes before the board in a master plan. So we're adding a little bit of flexibility to the code, which the applicant will go into. But it's basically just to be able to tweak block sizes, the appropriation of transects by 10%, just minor changes that we could do administratively, just so that everything fits when it gets done with the infrastructure and the final site planning. So with that, I will turn it over to, if you don't have any questions for me, I can turn it over to the applicant who will actually go through the code changes, and we'll go from there. Any questions for staff? Yes, no, yes, no. Is it this one? I have questions for staff first. Okay. No, that's not my thing. That's Martin Kermes. We've got quite a few in here. East fund, this one. Yes. No, up there. The date. Just put your power up here. You have your. Oh. Okay, hold on. I have the ordinance. Mr. Gerhard has a question for you, or two. First question is on page 665. I'm looking at the Table 3-2 transect standards, and SDW, which is included in the changes today, is included, and it says residential density is not applicable. What does that mean? Does that mean that residences are not allowed in SDW workplace? I'm sorry. Can you ask that again? I apologize. I'm on the table on page 665, and I'm looking at SDW workplace, which is the subject of this staff report, and it says that residential densities are not applicable in SDW workplace. Right. There's no minimum density required. What density is allowable? They can make up the 4,200 units if they're outside of the other neighborhoods in the workplace. It does allow density, but it's flexible in the LDRs as to how much that is. Do you know what SDW allows? It allows the appropriate amount of residential to go with the 2 million square feet of workspace that's allocated for the SDW. And minimum, let's see, minimum residential density for T5 mixed-use center is 32 units per acre? Yes, that's a net density, yes. It's minimum. Yes, it is. Okay. I'm on page 683. All right, first one. Development outside the urban service boundary shall require a final site plan. Yes, that's because there are a few trailheads that we're site planning to access the preserve areas. There's the main preserve area, PAMP 1, and then PAMP 2 is all the public open space. And part of their requirement for level of services is to provide access to those public open spaces. We didn't want to not include the actual Article 11 development review requires all site planning to follow a master plan. Well, we're not master planning outside of these neighborhoods, so that's why we said any of these areas require a final site plan, and it's just for small things like the trailheads. On the next page, 684, if the applicant fails to meet the resubmittal deadline, the applicant may be terminated instead of shall be terminated. I thought the deadline requirements were requirements. No, we actually made that flexibility in Article 10 for the rest of the application process as well. That gives them a little flexibility. Again, they only have 30 working days to turn these things around, so that sometimes gets arduous. So we don't have to terminate anything. For a plat approval process, they don't have to have public notice? That's correct. And this language has been stricken. No lot site plan shall be approved by the building department unless a plat consistent with the approved final site plan has been recorded. Page 686. Yes, there's been changes in state law regarding plats, and we can no longer require that. They are allowed to actually start development of lots without the plat being recorded because of the preliminary plats that are now subject to state statute. Thank you. That's it. Okay. I will look for the PDF of the applicants. It'll just be one second, and we'll get that up, and she can do her presentation. Oh, you did put it on the desktop right here? Thank you, Liz. The one that says Newfield. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, commissioners, and staff. Marcella Camblor, for the record, I am here as the Office of the Settlement Architect. The Office of the Settlement Architect is a group of professionals that essentially review all the work that is done by the applicant, ensure that that work is consistent with the code and the founder's vision, and once the Office of the Settlement Architect signs off, then that works, goes into staff for review and approval of a board or whatever the process may be. Can I have a full screen on this? Let me see. Yes. If you go down to the, you go. Can I do full screen? No. All right. Okay. So my apologies, and this is a PDF, so it's not going to have all the fun. It's not a PowerPoint. It's not a PowerPoint anymore. Full screen. My bad. Marcella. I'm sorry. I wanted to do full screen, but I. Go do where you just were. Go back. There you go. Did you do it? Donna did. Magic. She knows what she's doing. I knew where you were supposed to go with it, but magic of Donna. So I also want to say that this, these edits, this amendment to the code was mostly initiated by the Office of the Settlement Architect, by Dover Coal and Partners, who were the original designers for the new field master plan, working in conjunction with staff. And then we worked with the applicant, and most of this started because as we were reviewing some of the plans that were coming forward, we started noticing typos and some errors in the code. And then we also started noticing, I'll get to it in a second, some of the design elements that were not coming out the way they were originally intended. You know, when we do codes, the joke in the profession is as we turn it in or it gets approved, when are we scheduling the glitch bill? Interestingly enough, this code was approved together with the overall vision plan for new field, and this was back in 2018. So it's pretty interesting, a pretty good record that for six years we haven't had to come in with any sort of amendment or glitch bill. Just as a little bit of background, back in 2018, this commission approved the plan for new field. We always said it was a new vision, one where the human environment and the natural environment were connected like no time before in development, at least in this county. It was a time where 70% of the land was slated to be preserved as green and open and accessible to the public in perpetuity. And at the time, the applicant, Mr. Kiplinger, had the choice to do a PUD that could change with every person that comes in to do development or create the necessary predictability for this process, take a longer path, and create a new element of the comprehensive plan and its corresponding code, which is what you all know as the PMUV or the Planned Mixed-Use Village, which lives in Article 11 of the LDRs. We are here today to make some amendments to that PMUV. Now, also approved, I think it was during the pandemic, 2021, 2020, the first master plan, which is the one you see in red here, which is known as the Crossroads District, was approved by the five of you. That is the downtown. That is currently under construction. That has a mix of recreation areas and farmland, retail, office, and a significant component of different types of residential buildings. What's interesting is rather than approving as a second phase another residential neighborhood, Mattamy, who is the master plan, the master developer that was selected by Mr. Kiplinger, rather than trying to approve neighborhood number two or number five or number four that you see here in this regulating plan, they thought that the plan would be more complete if they instead approved first one of the workplace districts, Commissioner, you were asking about SDW, one of the workplace district areas, to not just only have retail and entertainment and residential, but to start to bring jobs to the area and really start to contain and create a sustainable and walkable environment in that area. Since the approval of this first master plan, as you well know, a PAMP 1 was established and a PAMP 2 was established, and they are currently being preserved and managed, that pretty much takes care of that roughly 2,400 acres of open space that were promised to remain open, accessible, and public in perpetuity. It was an important thing for Mr. Kiplinger to make sure that that got taken out of the table and preserved for the community from the get-go. Since then, also the Kiplinger Conservancy has been established. There are several layers to make sure that this land is open, public, and not developable in the future. The first few Kiplinger Conservancy trails have been built and are already accessible to the public. The new field farm was also completed. And as you can see, unlike most residential development projects, this started with the development of the green and the public areas. After that, Mattamy moved on to implementing the horizontal infrastructure of that first downtown neighborhood. Some of you have already been out there. There was a soft opening. All of you have been out there. Okay. Well, staff too, maybe. People in the audience haven't. If not, you should. And so horizontal construction is in progress. Some of the vertical construction is in progress. Newfield Parkway is under construction. And like I said, then we moved on to approval of the first workplace district to attract the jobs. Just a few images from the air of the construction of Newfield Parkway as this boulevard section through town. You can see the farm. This is one of my favorite places in this neighborhood because if you're standing at the end of the farm, as you can see when you visit there, if you do a 360 turn, you will see agriculture, you will see development, residential, mixed use, and then you will see pristine, untouched, natural areas. I don't know of another area where you can just turn around 360 and see all of those components from a single spot. You can see the trailheads with very natural parking and access to some of the most pristine trails in the region. Again, some more areas of the barn. These are a little earlier than what you've seen on that soft opening. And the first few residential units. They're diverse in style. They're diverse in size. They're, again, one and two stories intended for different incomes and different compositions of families just as it was intended to be diverse by Mr. Kiplinger. You've seen there in the first phase, there's townhouses and duplexes and single family homes from small cottages to large estate homes. We worked hard to make sure that the architecture is consistent with historical precedent in the region. So, that was just a little bit of an intro. I know you don't need a very long presentation given the day you've had. The extent of this request can be sort of grouped into four categories. There's update and some glossary terms. We had some terms in the code that weren't really defined. So, we're going in there and defining those and clarifying those. There's clarifications. We have some graphics that show certain things and then it's not totally clear with the text what is pointing to what so we're clarifying those. There's a series of spelling mistakes but also when this got translated into Mooney Code, Mooney Code completely repeated an entire paragraph for two different frontage elements and so we had to correct that. And number four, there are some changes to the code. There's some changes to transit standards, to open-spaced types and to some street types. I want to start with number four because that is the substantive change that we are requesting that you consider today and then I am prepared to go in as much detail on all the other Scrivener's errors and clarifications as is the pleasure of the board. The first of the changes, if you look at this chart, has to do with this area crossed out here that is lot coverage in the workplace district. So what this means is when we prepared this table, we established how much of each parcel of each lot a building and its parking could cover for each parcel that you're trying to develop. And so the maximum we said when you count your parking and your sidewalks and your building is 60%. The remainder needed to remain open. Now keep in mind we've already set aside 70% of the entire site as open space. This is an addition of that 70%. What we started noticing was that as plans were coming in for workplace areas, for offices, for flex space in this workplace district, we were ending up with blocks. If you can imagine these yellow areas as blocks that have a small green belt because every parcel has a 20-foot, 20- to 30-foot setback that has to be green and landscaped. And then in addition to that, it had an additional percentage, about 20%, that had to remain green. And so in these flex buildings, we were ending up with these little private green yards coverage that nobody was really using. It was maybe a piece of green in the middle of a private parking lot in the back of a warehouse. And so it wasn't really amounting to much. There was a 5% requirement in the workplace district of public open space, again, in addition to the 70%, and then a 60% lot coverage with 40% pervious. What we did is we suggested, okay, we're not going to change that 40% requirement. However, leave that 20%, we're going to increase the lot coverage on the blocks to 80%, and instead, we're going to require that those chunks of green that were remaining in the parking lots all be consolidated and moved onto the public realm. So the math is the same. The amount of space that in the entire district needs to be left as open is the same. It's just that now there's more of it that is public instead of private. You can see, again, the two diagrams. It's the same amount of green, but in the proposed change, that green is a park or a plaza as opposed to somebody's backyard, which wouldn't have been a problem in residential, but it is a problem in industrial because who's going to take care of that and what is that space really amounting to. What's interesting about this strategy, too, is that in the required strategy, you weren't getting those small percentages of green until each parcel got developed. In the proposed, as the infrastructure for the workplace district gets built, this green needs to come in. So it's not like as people come in, they can try to do an amendment and not build their green. These greens get built from the get-go. So unfortunately, you can't see what the proposal was before because it's a PDF, so it flattened it. But the master plan that you're going to see in the next agenda item will show that once we take all those 20% and make them from private to public, we end up with this green necklace that is going to connect the entire workplace district onto the Martin County baseball fields and school and then as this moves forward into the parking lot, the other neighborhoods. Before this, 5% was this amount down here. Right now, with this change, this entire district will have a much larger green space. Other changes or corrections or clarifications include, if you look at this same chart, it did say that the first floor height, the floor to ceiling height had to be 9 feet, 9 feet, and T3, T4, and then T5 only said, only referenced what that floor to ceiling height was as 14 feet. That's because this is the category that anticipates having retail on the ground floor, except we had not said, well, if you do have residential on the ground floor, you still have that 9 foot floor to ceiling. You don't have to do the 14. Another change in this chart has to do with the fact that townhomes are allowed a lot coverage of 90%. This was a mistake on our part. We had drawn townhomes the way normally we put townhomes, and then we realized that we had kept single-family detached home lot coverage percentages on townhomes. So we could not build the townhome to fit the lot. And again, I have to emphasize over and over again, this is not affecting the 70% open space that was left. This is, in addition to that 70% internal to the lots. another small, at least small, I think, from the planning perspective, is as you develop each neighborhood, there's a requirement to mix transit zones, to go from the densest to the least dense in every single neighborhood. We really have five transit categories, three of which, T5, T4, and T3, are the ones that hold development. T3 is the least dense, T5 is the most dense. T4 was split into two different categories, T4R, which means T4 mostly residential, and T4O, which is a mid-dense category that allows for commercial uses. They have different densities, and they were split as far as the percentage that you had to have of each. It was really complicated to hit those percentages. It is pretty much the same building types. There's a difference of use between one and the other, and there is a difference of density between one and the other. We're just saying you can count it combined, but you're still going to apply the density depending on the percentage you used. Now, one could say, oh, well, this is going to benefit the developer because they're going to pick T4R and use the 20 units to the acre instead of the 12 units to the acre of the T4O. It doesn't really matter in Newfield because unlike the rest of your comprehensive plan, this is entitled for a fixed number of units. That was the predictability. You can't go over the total amount that was entitled. If you want to take more in one neighborhood than in the other, so long as you meet your minimums, it's okay. The remainder of this is incorporating building types that we failed to put in initially that just made sense. For example, we were allowing a hotel, but we didn't allow the inn, which was smaller, and it just made sense in the workplace district. In some cases, we forgot to allow playgrounds or parks in a couple of the districts. It was clear in our calculations of open space that wetlands are not to be counted into the calculation of transit zones. If we did that, the minimum net densities will become horrendous. They will become really high. We're just clarifying that we don't have to include calculation of wetlands. Those are already part of either PAMP 1 or PAMP 2 or PAMP 3. They're not to be used to calculate transit zones. and artificially increased densities inside the neighborhoods. That was a clarification. We clarified the definition of blocks. As you can see in the master plan, we have a couple of blocks that are neighboring the Turnpike and neighboring Citrus, but there's a county parcel or some of them are neighboring wetlands. Because the Newfield plan requires that blocks be of a certain dimension, and we drew them that way. We were saying, okay, if you're neighboring the Turnpike, we will count that as one of the edges of your block just as we drew it. And if you're neighboring a wetland, yes, that is the edge of your block. We're not bringing the wetland into your block. Again, to make sure we keep those areas in check as they were intended. And at this point, like I said, pleasure of the board, I can go over the other small edits or clarifications. Like for this one, for example, if you look really close, you can see the finished floor inside just a little bit higher than the finished floor on the porch. That's a difference of four inches. We were clarifying where you're measuring the 24-inch elevation that your finished floor needs to occur from the porch or from the inside. And so, like I said, I can keep going or if you have specific questions, I can go into the specific items you may have questions of. Do we have any specific questions? I'm looking. While you look, the last section of the changes are procedural changes. Most of these were proposed by staff partly because some of the sections we were originally referencing were now had changed in other portions of the code. Some of it was to, as Pete said, there's a lot of leeway in this code that allows the applicant to ask staff for administrative approvals. And so staff went in and specifically stated what are the things that can be considered in administrative approval and when does a plan have to come to the board. and it's really limiting what those are. But like I said, I'm happy to answer any questions. Actually, in this one, while you look, Commissioner Hurd, I know you're going to have a lot of questions. I'm happy to clarify them. As you can see right here, that is what the 5% was required. This is the plan as we designed it for Mr. Kiplinger. And the plan that you're going to see shortly from that little square in Sted Now has all of this. that's because we moved that percentage from private to public. Commissioner Smith. It's more of a general comment. The brilliance of what was envisioned from the very beginning of all this I think is starting to pay off. I don't know, certainly in Martin County there's nothing that comes close to the level of detail and the level of importance in how this thing was done. Most importantly, and I would say this to Mattamy if they were in my office I would say it to them in the room. The importance of having this settlement architect keeps everybody in check. It keeps all the vision, should keep all the vision in check that what Knight envisioned for his family, for the legacy of his name continues on. What Marcella just went through which is probably why there aren't all sorts of lights on is incredibly complicated and incredibly detailed. And there's a reason for all that because our idea of creating its own chapter, creating all of its own details was to make sure that this didn't get bogged down in a lot of other stuff that makes up the comprehensive plan. That all the specificity that everybody worked so hard to get to is embodied in all this. And so I wish Mattamy the very best in your efforts to do this. So far, so good. Stay the course. There's always the challenge to mess with things. I wouldn't, I would really resist as much as possible the ability to mess. That doesn't say that everybody didn't get everything 100% right the first go around. Probably not. But just try really hard to stick to what the vision was. And good luck with it all. Commissioner Hurd, we have not done our closed captioning break. You want to maybe take 10 minutes before? Doesn't matter. I'm prepared to vote. Oh, okay. Okay. Do we have any public comment on this agenda item? Seeing none. I thought you were studying to ask a question, huh? I'm seconded. Okay. What? I was just going to say that I was, when this got presented, I was not on the board, but I was cautiously optimistic. And I was there the other day for the soft opening or grand opening. and I also, it was, my family grew up in the area and I was adamantly against when you changed the name to Citrus Boulevard, but I'm very, very pleasantly surprised. I like what you're doing. I think it's going to be an addition to the community at whole, so I will second Commissioner Smith's motion. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith. I'm not familiar. Where is the project being built again? West of Palm City. Citrus Boulevard. Palm City. Seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Opposed. Motion carries four to one with Commissioner Hurd dissenting. And we are going to take a... You're on. All right. Welcome back to our commission meeting. We are now going to move to Department Quasi-Judicial No. 1, request approval of the new field SD-W East Planning Mixed-Use Village PMUV Master and Phasing Plan P172-009. Elizabeth Nagel is going to tell us what all that means. Commissioner, this is a quasi-judicial. Oh. Okay. Is there any interveners? Okay. Would everybody stand and be sworn in that is going to testify? Raise your right hands. Everybody. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Has the upper amount of trees been cut down and turned into the right people? No mailers were required for this application. Okay. How about your resume? What's this agenda number? Department Quasi-Judicial No. 1. It's on page 5 of 6. Copy my work history and agenda. Has turned in as Exhibit 1. Perfect. Okay. Is there any ex parte communications, Commissioner Smith? I do. They're filed. If any, they've been filed. If any, they've been filed? I have none. If any, they've been filed. Okay. And with that, now you're going to tell us what all I meant. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Elizabeth Nagel, Development Review Administrator, here to talk about Newfield SDW East Master Plan. The subject master plan is west of the Florida Turnpike, north of Southwest Newfield Parkway, formerly known as Southwest Citrus Boulevard, approximately 0.36 miles east of Southwest Boat Ramp Avenue in Palm City. This is east of the previously approved Crossroads Neighborhood. Crossroads Neighborhood is circled here in yellow, and the subject master plan circled in blue, just to give some context. I'm not going to go over the Newfield history. Marcella did a very, obviously, great job going over everything in the last presentation. Happy to answer any questions on the slide, but I don't want to repeat what was already presented. So going into the subject neighborhood, the SDW East neighborhood is approximately 193 acres, included as a mix of uses, including 436 units, which is 10.4% of the total permitted residential in the entire Newfield development agreement, 34,070 square feet of commercial office retail, which is 11.75% of the total, 1,100,000 square feet of other non-residential, which is 55% of the total other non-residential permitted in the Newfield development agreement. Approximately 48 acres of wetlands will be included in PAMP 3 at time of the first final site plan within the master plan area, as no development is actually approved with this master plan. That will come into play with future final site plans within this East neighborhood. The illustrative plan before you was shown during the previous presentation. It just gives an illustration of the master plan area and the conceptual plan, including the residential and non-residential areas. And this is the part of the site plan, which allocates the transect zones, which gives the development standards for these blocks. And it also shows the layout of the streets. And I know the applicant will go into more detail about these items. Review of this application is not required by the local planning agency. And with that, staff does recommend approval and move that the board receive and file the agenda item and its attachments, including the staff report as exhibit one, and move that the board approve the master site plan and phasing plan for new field SDW East contingent upon the approval of the concurrent revisions to Article 11, as you just heard before this presentation. That concludes my presentation. Okay. Any questions for staff? Seeing none, applicant. Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioners. My name is Rob Dinsmore. I'm with Urban Design Studio here on behalf of Matt Ami Holmes, the master developer. In the audience tonight it is our members of the Matt Ami team as well as other professional consultants that were part of the design team if any questions should arise this evening. Now, one of the things that stood out to me in the final comments of Marcello's presentation or Ms. Campbell's presentation that Commissioner Smith said about the vision and kind of bringing that to life. While Mr. Kiplinger could not be here this evening, he did provide a letter of support of our application this evening. And before I submit this for the record, I'd like to read just a couple little blurbs out of this. When I first proposed the concept for Newfield, Pineland Prairie, back in 2017, this was a critical part of the overall plan. Employment space where businesses large and small could create jobs for citizens of our county. My design team and I plan this district with the same care and creativity as all of Newfield, creating an attractive mixed-use zone that can even include retail and residential. Rather than a sprawling, faceless mass of huge warehouses, the Newfield Workplace District will have its own retail, green spaces, wetlands, and attractive landscaping. It will be an employment space worthy of Martin County. So I thought that was very telling. And he even recognizes at the end his coordination with Mattamy Holmes, who is now the master developer, and his appreciation of their efforts to continue his vision. So as Ms. Noggle stated, Ms. Campbell's presentation touched on a lot of the history. I'll try not to repeat a whole lot of information, understanding we've all been here a little bit. So I'll kind of run through some of the code-related elements that the master plan applies. This, again, is a location map. You've seen this on a couple presentations this evening. The particular neighborhood boundary for the workplace district is the easternmost neighborhood right along the Florida Turnpike. As that relates to the overall neighborhood plan for the Newfield, PMUV as a whole, it is the easternmost of the 11 neighborhood plans that will come before you for master plan approval. Crossroads, as I mentioned, has already come before you and been improved. This is the transect allocation map or how we have taken that conceptual illustrative plan you've seen and applied the transects as it relates to the PMUV code. Within the workplace district, there are a certain percentage of those transects that have to be applied throughout the development. As you can see in this table, we are meeting all of those minimum requirements within the transect allocation. Similarly, one of the design criteria has to do with block perimeter. There is an average requirement of a 3,000 foot maximum block length within the workplace district. Our average within this plan is 1,675 linear feet, so well within the average that's required. It's also been touched on how we designed and applied this civic space within this master plan. What you can see in this graphic is that we are really trying to prevent that faceless warehouse aspect that Mr. Kipliger kind of touched on in his letter. And what we have applied here is over 50 acres worth of area that is going to be set aside in preserve area or applied a T1, which is a natural area transect, or provided within public, civic open spaces. And so that's more than a quarter of the total developable space within this master plan. This is our street network plan, and what we tried to do or what I think we did do with this is develop a street network that is operationally functional for all the potential uses within this development while also still providing street cross sections that really focus on providing that pedestrian environment that is consistent with the initial vision of what Newfield was meant to be, that walkable new urbanist type of development. This is our proposed phasing plan. Phase one, as you can see in the heavy dash outline, which we are currently in design for, will be the first section of the residential and a good portion of what ultimately will be that civic space green belt that is going to, as Marcella stated in her presentation, connect not only this workplace district master plan, but also the western workplace district master plan and create a consistent civic space shared between all of those spaces. The overall development intensity, which Liz has touched on, is 436 total units, 1,100,000 square feet of non-residential square footage, which is 55% of the total allotted in the original Newfield approval, and 34,000 square feet of additional commercial space. Again, touching on that vision and how we are applying that to our pedestrian environments, this is conceptual imagery provided by Dover Coal, illustrating that pedestrian environment, that walkability within the actual workplace district, or SDW, transects within the parcel. This is a visioning image reflective of our anticipated street sections within the residential aspects of this neighborhood, and that will conclude our presentation. We are happy to answer any questions you may have related to this information. Any questions for the applicant? Commissioner Hurd. Yeah, once again, I'm going back to T5, and the minimum density, residential density, is 32 units per acre? Yes, ma'am. What's the maximum? There is no maximum applied within the PMUV code. But you are going to require that all of the T5 residential parcels have over 32 units per acre? Yes, ma'am. So the way that table is applied, we have to meet certain percentages of the transects within the overall neighborhood development, and as you correctly pointed out in one of the earlier presentations, the SDW transect itself does not have a minimum density, but there is a requirement for residential units to be provided within that transect zone. I actually have, and if I go back to... Do you have maximum densities anywhere? I don't know that there's a maximum density, but there's a maximum approved amount of units within the entire new field development. But no maximum densities? No, ma'am, not that I'm aware of. So if you look down at the residential unit count below, 436 tonal units are proposed within the SDW east neighborhood within transect T5, 230 units, and given the amount of T5 area that we're providing, that actually comes up to 32.3 dwelling units per acre, so just barely clipping that minimum density. So we're not even overreaching on that. T4 transect, 116 units. We are applying a T4R transect within this neighborhood. That's a 12 dwelling unit minimum, and we are proposing 14.4, and then the 90 dwelling units that fall within our workplace area, which is the SDW transect 90, calculates out to 1.03. So overall, the development is, this neighborhood is 2.2 units per acre, meeting the minimums that are outlined in the code. Okay, also a suggestion for future quadrants or whatever they're called, transect allocations. The coloring on the T4 and T5 are so similar that it's hard to distinguish them. Similarly, the greens on Civic and T1 are hard to distinguish. So can you, for the future, it would be very helpful to make the changes so that the colors are more distinctive? We certainly can graphically modify those. Yeah, particularly the T4 and T5, they're so similar. It's hard to tell what's what. Thanks. I understand. Okay. Yeah, can you tell which is which? I can, but I understand your comments. I have younger eyes. Nice. It's the facts. It's the facts. It's just facts. It's just birthdates. I love her. Okay. Well, with that, is there any other questions for staff? Okay. Is there any public comment? Seeing none, back to the board. Commissioner Hurd before regarding the minimum densities and we both clarified that regardless of the maximum density, you can't go over the approved number of units, but it's important to point out two things. Net density is not the same as gross. In this case, net is measuring the parcel of land without the parking, without the open space, without the stormwater. It's just the pad where you're putting the building. An example of this type of density in downtown Stewart, the corner of West Ocean and Camden, there is a two-story building. It has five units. That's called the Sunrise Building. That is 41 units to the acre net. Newfield limits the size of your lots, so you could never end up with a very large project. The widest lot you can have is 100 feet. So, yes, it is. So, it's important to understand what this is being measured on. If we spread the number of units over the amount of land the way you do it in the rest of the county, Newfield has a density of 1.48 units to the acre. Just clarifying that. She knows those off, that's crazy. Okay. Where were we? Okay. Back to the board, Commissioner Hetherington. I will make a motion for staff's recommendation for approval. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Hetherington, seconded by Commissioner Smith. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Look at that. All right. What's next? One and two. Oh, you want to do it is 505. You want to let her do her public comment? Yes. That's quasi-judicial number two? Okay. Let's do that. Is Barbara the counselor here? Oh, she's back. 505 public comment. She's on her way. In the meantime, while we're waiting, we're going to do our 505 public comment at 505 for a change. So, Miss Amy, if you would like to... There we go. You have three minutes, remember? I do. Okay. I know this well. I don't know if you guys recognize me, but I was here this morning and I was wearing a different outfit and I had a different approach. And I don't know how, if you know how hard it was for Brian's mom and I to show up here today. And we walked away feeling dismissed and rejected and unheard. And it was like, I came in here ready to partner with you guys and I want to make some change and I'm going to. And not one of you even said to me, or Mrs. Warder, I'm sorry for your loss. But you spoke about 5G towers and Brightline, like, it was like, that's the most important thing in the world, really? I lost my big sister. And not one of you even said, I'm sorry for your loss. Like, I want to partner with you. Let me help you. And then Ed, I was ready to like, thank you, Ed, for coming and speaking to me outside because you recognize me. And I'm ready to make some reform and some change. And I either, you guys could be my best friends or my worst enemy. I give you my, like, contact from me. I handed you, like, my cards and stuff. I was hoping you handed it out. I don't know if you did or you got a chance to. I know you guys have been busy. I understand this, too, because, okay, thank you. I was a page in the Maryland General Assembly. I ran for office in my county in 2018. I didn't win because they don't know how to handle young women up in Maryland right now. But I want to make some change. And I want to partner with you guys. And I want you to help me. So I'm hoping that we can leave this in a better way than we started it this morning because we were both, like, really, really hurt by the way, by the lack of empathy we felt. You know? I don't know if you have anything to say. Yes? We're waiting for you to finish. We don't do the back and forth thing. But I will. So in some places in Maryland we do that and some of us we don't. And it depends on, like, you know, municipalities. Okay. Well, I am not done. I'm not going to be done until there's reform. But I will turn the floor over to you to share a thought or two. Mr. Donaldson, she's giving up the remainder of her time. Thank you. A couple of things. One, I watched, I could see you and your sister's boyfriend's mom. And obviously we could see that you're hurting and we could hear your voice breaking. And when I had an opportunity to speak to you outside earlier, recently, I explained to you that our policy is traditionally not to engage during public comment. I agree with you that it sounds very weird whether it's you with a heartbreaking situation, a tragedy, or people that just come up with something that they find important. It could be a fence. We try not to engage every person because if there's, like this morning, we probably had 30 public speakers three minutes at a time. So what happens is if you engage now, the difference between what you were saying and the two things, as I mentioned, the 5G tower was something that all five of us have been receiving emails and notifications and public comments for several weeks or a couple of weeks. So we're very familiar with that. The Brightline situation was an agended item, so that was specifically going to be discussed today. Yours, we were hearing for the first time. You were very smart to give us your contact information, and I believe all of us kept it. I put mine in my pocket. Your first one was a foundation, a memorial fund for your sister, so I was thinking in my own head, I'm going to participate in that. And then the second one with the rotary, because what you said, I can't speak for them, because in Florida, we're not allowed to speak to each other on things that we could potentially be voting on, and we will potentially be voting on your situation. We all remember that day. We were locals. I remember the horrific situation, and my daughter's boyfriend is an ocean lifeguard, not in Martin County, but we discussed it, and the tragedy of rip currents, it was a big deal here what happened, but for you, it's personal. So when you mention that, that the beaches, that the hotels on our beaches don't put out the same public warnings, your comments this morning were very impactful. I'm pretty sure I could speak for everybody, very impactful, and we will absolutely take your suggestion. Hutchinson Shores, I don't think that the hotels will push back. I think that they will think it's a terrific idea based on a tragedy, but it'll be a terrific idea because they want to keep their people safe. Now, you said, well, if they put a sign out, it could, you know, create litigation for them. So that's what they said. That's what they said. I'm sorry. Yeah, so that's why we just don't get in, but you're the only one here, and you're under very, as far as I'm concerned, you're under a very tragic set of circumstances that if somebody else said, well, why did you let her speak? Well, I think it's pretty obvious why we had a back and forth. So we will absolutely take that up. We will speak to our staff. Ocean Rescue lifeguards are in the building because they're having an additional agenda item later, and you and I talked about it. It's not a hard thing what you're asking for. We can easily make sure that real-time rip current ocean conditions are posted at all of our, you said there could be an Airbnb or, like, not necessarily a hotel, but some other access point. Correct. We do it for us. We'll make sure that we do it for everything else. I always find the only thing that could potentially add a little bit of ease to your horrible burden is that at least something positive came from the tragedy, and in Martin County, we will definitely make sure that's the case. I told you outside, I promised you. I don't throw that around lightly, but I think my colleagues and our staff and I will want to honor your sister and her boyfriend by doing that so that, like you said, God forbid it happens again. At least if someone says, wait a second, I see a warning that says there's a rip current out here, I'm not going to go in the water, or I'm going to go in the water up to my knees, I'm not going to be out frolicking in the ocean. It's dangerous. Correct. And the tragedy of the kids being there in front of the parents, it must have been horrific. Oh, I mean, you don't even know. So we will absolutely honor your sister and handle that for you. And you'll be hearing from us because when we do it, we'll have to have you come down. Commissioner Smith. Just before, just don't want to, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, before you go, come back. There's five of us. I thought you were like cutting me off. I'm sorry. Good. No, I, so what Ed says is correct. What I don't want you to leave with is also a, a false sense of what may or can happen. There are, I can imagine, I don't know for sure, which is why we also don't comment on the fly because legal hasn't looked at it. There are state statutes that start getting involved of what we can do, what we can't. understand. But, but we just didn't talk about that. We just talked about what Ed said and what you said this morning. And what I do want you to understand or anybody that's watching this is to understand that things like this can get very complicated. It's not that we didn't listen this morning. All of us have your cards sitting right here. None of them got thrown away. I wrote your name on the card so we have your name. I have your name. I won't be here much longer but you, you know, you are in my district or that occurred in my district. I can assure you that the hotel that was referenced this morning are amazing people. They're amazing family people. They're not dismissive of anything that would have could have gone wrong but I can imagine there are tremendous amounts of liability involved in the conversation. I understand completely. But everybody else may not. You may, okay, but I don't want you to leave here or I don't want the public to leave thinking, oh, there's a quick fix. This will get fixed. There are lots of times where things like this come to us that seem on the surface that's an easy fix. I don't know. I don't know what the fix is and I don't know how easy it is. I do, but. Well, but you've got a Harvard Law on or something. Maybe you're an attorney. I don't know in the state of Florida. I don't know. But there are a lot of hoops and bales that we, as a commission, our attorney, our administrator, our staff have to go through. And they heard you this morning and our administrator takes notes. And I apologize this morning, at least on my behalf, that none of us said anything publicly relative to the issue. But do understand that generally speaking, this board doesn't react to public comment because if you get into this debate pro and con and then all of a sudden opinions start getting thrown out and promises get thrown out, then it makes it much more difficult to try to formulate the right direction to go in. I have no doubt that this will involve the legislature because I have no doubt that beaches have a lot of regulations relative to the state, what we can and cannot do. If there's something we can do, I have no doubt that the commissioners that will stay up here will help you get there and our staff will help you get where you've got to get. I just didn't want you to leave thinking that it's a done deal and something's going to happen because I don't know. Okay, thank you. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Okay, public hearing quasi-judicial number two, public hearing to consider a request for a zoning district change to plan unit development PUD through a PUD zoning agreement including a master final site plan for the preserves at Loblolly North Project L089-001. Ms. Barbara Councilor? Councilor. Okay. Excuse me, Commissioner. This is a quasi-judicial person. Oh, it is, yes. She's going to call you at home just for the old time's sake. Hi, Commissioner Jenkins. Would everybody stand that's going to testify and be sworn in? 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? Is there any interveners? There are no interveners. Has the proper amount of paperwork been turned in to the proper person, apparently. And do we have any export tag? Commissioner Smith. I don't, but if I do, they're filed. I don't have any. I don't have any, I don't think, but they've been filed. I don't have any and they've been filed. Okay. Well, it's been a secret. Do you have any? I don't. So, it's all you. Okay. Thank you, Chairman. For the record, a copy of my work history and agenda item are being turned in as Exhibit 1. Proof of public notice was turned in at the LPA meeting. Good day, members of the board. My name is Barbara Counselor, Senior Planner for Growth Management Department. I am presenting a request for the Preserve at Loblawly North Plan Unit Development with a Master and Final Site Plan. The approximately 51 acres undeveloped subject property was part of a land swap in 2022 between Florida Inland Navigation District Fine and Loblawly LCSC. A future land use map amendment was adopted on October 18th of 2022 for the site that changed the existing conservation land use to the estate density 2 UPA units per acre. The land swap allowed the subject parcel to adjoin with the existing Loblawly Bay development to the south which has an estate density land use and gave a contiguous ownership of property to fine to the north which has a conservation land use. The subject property takes advantage of the area previously impacted by fine which planned to use the site as a spoiled site for a dredge materials. The balance of the site is composed primarily of wetlands that extend east of the intracoastal waterway. The designated mean high water line runs along Pex Lake also known as Indian River Lagoon. Outlined in yellow northern parcel 51.79 acres previously owned by Lolly was transferred to fine. Checkered area small middle parcel 11.78 acres remained under ownership with fine. Outlined in red southern parcel 51.2 acres previously owned by fine was transferred to Lolly. This is the summary of the proposed PUD. 51.20 acres 13 single family homes accessed from southeast Lolly Bay Drive. density of 0.25 units per acre. 92% open space is provided. Preserved area management plan protecting and restoring 1.97 acres of wetland buffer, 0.27 acres of pine flatlands, and 0.83, sorry, 5.3 acres of scrub reserve. The site is located east of southeast Gomez Avenue, west of the Indian River Lagoon, approximately 0.6 miles north of southeast Osprey Street, directly north of the existing Lolly Bay PUD in Hope Sound. Access to the site is proposed off of southeast Lolly Bay Drive within the Lolly Bay PUD. The existing zoning district is RE 1.5A residential estate density. The land use density designation is estate density 2 units per acre. Here we have a 2024 aerial showing the location of the subject parcel that was previously impacted by fine with the proposed development of the 13 single-family lots within the impacted footprint. The proposed site plan shows the wetland buffer located preserving majority of the parcel with a stormwater track having 10-foot wide littorial planting area surrounding the retention area. This also includes upland preserve track areas running along southeast Gomez Roadway and Lolly Bay Drive. The total wetland preserve is 35.17 acres. Uplands are 15.83 acres which is made up of a unique rare scrub common pine flat woods. Wetland connections and man-made wetland is only 0.20 acres part of the development site. The north gate onto southeast Gomez Road will only be used as an exit only and for an emergency access use only. The main entrance is located through the private road in the Loplolly Bay which is located to the south. As part of the PUD agreement the benefits to the developer are as follow. Smaller lot sizes, smaller setbacks, increased height and for this PUD the wetland density transfer was not necessary. Proposed by the developer are the PUD public benefits. A crosswalk will be constructed on southeast Gomez Road in the north of the property. Owner will purchase a traffic pre-exemption device of $6,000, contribute to the upgrades needed at the intersection of southeast Osprey Street and southeast Dixie Highway of $10,000, and contribute to Martin County Community Land Trust of $13,000. This matter was heard before the LPA on November 7th of 2027. The local planning agency voted 5-0 to recommend approval. Development review staff have found the preserve of Laudle North application to comply with all applicable regulations and comprehensive growth management plan as detailed in the staff report. Staff recommends approval of this application which includes first, move that the board receive and file the agenda item and all its attachments including the staff report as exhibit one. Second, move that the board approve the request for zoning district change from RE 1-2-A residential estate district to the planned unit development through the preserve at Laudle North PUD zoning agreement including the master final site plan and preserve area management plan and this concludes my presentation. I would be glad to answer any of your questions. Any questions for staff? Seeing none, does the applicant have anything to add? I do not just want to reiterate that we did turn in the notice to the surrounding property owners at the LPA meeting and we're in agreement with staff. We were last year two years ago. We've been going through the process and accomplished the goal of the land swap, the land use swap and now we're adding this community to the rest of Laudle Bay and we're very happy to answer any questions. I do have representatives from Laudle Bay here and our civil engineer if you have any questions. Any questions for the applicant? Seeing none, do we have any public comment? Seeing none, back to the board. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Heard. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Okay, about quasi-judicial, public hearing quasi-judicial number one, would that be okay? Public hearing to consider the request for right-of-way with variants for southeast Botstruck Avenue and accept the road into the county's inventory. It looks more like a stoic. Quasi-judicial. Bostoic. Oh. Quasi-judicial, sorry. Okay, please stand to be sworn in. And it's the last one. Oh, man. I even screwed that way up. Raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Any interveners? Has the right amount of paperwork been turned into the right people? There's no work history. There's no nothing. Okay, good. He doesn't have the work. No interveners, and so do we have any, um... If I do, they're filed. If any, they've been filed. If I do, they've been filed. I have none. I have none and they've been filed. Okay. Take it away. All right. Good afternoon or good evening, wherever we are right now. I'm Matt Hammond, and I have the privilege of serving as our assistant county engineer. I'm here to present a request by Habitat for Humanity of Martin County for a right-of-way width variance and road opening request for approximately 460 feet of southeast Bostowick Avenue off of Cove Road, just behind the Wawa and Seacoast Bank. This road segment was constructed to Martin County construction standards, by the developer for the Wawa property, who is also responsible for the ongoing maintenance of that roadway through a right-of-way maintenance agreement. Habitat for Humanity wishes to construct affordable housing on seven lots on the east side of the right-of-way, which requires direct frontage to an open road. Southeast Bostowick Avenue was recorded as a 30-foot wide right-of-way in the 1914 Washington Park Platte. Ten additional feet was dedicated on the west side as part of the Wawa Cove Road project. Section 4843B of the Land Development Code requires local curb and gutter streets to be a minimum of 50-foot wide right-of-way. That same section of code also allows the board to grant variances to right-of-ways within plats recorded prior to 1972, which this road section would apply to. This public hearing was properly advertised on October 28th in the Stewart News. Staff recommends that the board accept this agenda item as an exhibit to the public hearing, adopt a resolution granting the variants for Habitat for Humanity and accept the segment of Southeast Bostowick Avenue into the county open road inventory. Mr. Riedling from Habitat for Humanity is here and available to briefly explain their plans for the project and what they do in the community should the board wish. And with that, we're happy to answer any questions that you have. Okay. Any questions for staff? Commissioner Smith? I know we need to ask for public and there's no need to drag it out any longer. Okay. Do we have any public unless you would like to speak? Okay. Good. Second. Okay. We have any public comment seeing none. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Get to go home, Mike. Okay. Now we are Department 1. Excuse me, Commissioner. We did skip public hearing number one. Oh, we did. I'm sorry. You're right. You're right. Let's go back to that. Public hearing number one proposed Martin County Trico Settlement, Phyllis Ann Fisher versus Brian Gregory West, Barry Michael Lepolis, Patrick Thomas Villacente, Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois, and Martin County Board of County Commissioners. Boy, that was a mouthful. All right. Good evening, Commissioners. Tangie Grimm for the record, Deputy H.R. Risk Director. This is a public hearing regarding a proposed Trico Settlement in the case of Phyllis Ann Fisher versus Brian Gregory West, Barry Michael Lepolis, Patrick Thomas Villacente, Safe Co-Insurance Company of Illinois, and the Martin County Board of County Commissioners. Please note that this is a public hearing only and no motions are required. In accordance with the procedure established by the Board of County Commissioners for Trico Settlements, this hearing serves as an opportunity for any member of the public or the Board to provide comments on the proposed settlement. To provide some context, Martin County Self-Insured and Trico, our insurance pool, assign legal counsel to this matter. The case stems from a motor vehicle accident involving three cars and a median owned and maintained by Martin County and Mapp Road in Palm City. The plaintiff, Ms. Fisher, alleged that Martin County failed to properly maintain the median, thereby contributing to the accident and claim negligence on the part of all involved parties. Settlement discussions were held during a court order mediation, which includes all parties involved. A negotiated settlement of Ms. Fisher's claim against Martin County was reached, with Trico agreeing to pay $10,000 on behalf of the county. The plaintiff has resolved her claims against all other parties except for a property damage claim against Brian West, who is insured by State Farm. Attorney Garrison M. Dundas was assigned to represent Martin County during these settlement discussions. Both Trico and Mr. Dundas have recommended that this settlement is in the best interest of the county. This concludes my presentation. No actions required. But we just need public comment. Oh, is there anybody from the public that would like to comment on this? I don't see any, so we can close the hearing and thank you very much. Thank you. Have a good evening. Nice job. Commissioner Campy likes your glasses. She missed it. You're a mouse. I'm a mouse. Okay. Department number one, Office of Management and Budget items which require board approval. Ms. Stephanie Murley. Yes, it is. Good evening, Commissioner. Stephanie Murley, Director of OMB, here to present to you 14 items on my OMB item today. Our first item is permission to apply for the Clean Vessel Act grant funding. Our Utilities and Solid Waste Department is requesting 75% of the $121,000 or $91,200 for the county's boat pump out program, and there is no match required. Not for a new boat? Donna, there's no mouse, so I can't scroll. The second item is a permission to apply for the fiscal year 2024-25 Sand and Grit Removal Grant Program. This is a requested grant award in the amount of $59,437 to remove accumulated sand and grit from the oxidation ditch to ensure the proper and efficient operation of equipment. A 50% grant match is required, and that is already budgeted within the Utilities and Solid Waste Division budget. Item number three is a permission to apply for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan for the Old Palm City Septic to Sewer Conversion Project. This is a requested award in the amount of $15,989,253, and this is to connect over 10,000 parcels to the Martin County's Utilities Sewer Service in addition to potable water service for the communities that are selected. There is no match required, and this loan will be repaid by the assessments in that community. Item number four is a permission to apply for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan for the Old Palm City Water Main Extension Project. This is a requested award in the amount of $7,488,558, and this is additionally for our 10-year Connect to Protect Septic to Sewer Program, and this loan will be repaid by assessments collections in that area as well. Item number five is a permission to apply for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan for Coral Garden Septic to Sewer Conversion Project. The county is requesting $8.6 million for this Neighborhoods Connect to Protect Septic to Sewer Program, and this loan will also be repaid by the assessment collections in that community. Item number six is a permission to apply for the fiscal year 24, Supporting Healthy Aging through Parks and Recreation, or the SHAPR grant. This is a requested grant award for $5,000 for our Parks and Recreation Department for senior programming and instructor training and start-up costs for evidence-based intervention programming for seniors. There's no grant match required on that. Item number seven is our annual permission to accept the after-school, out-of-school program grant from the Children's Services Council of Martin County. The Parks and Recreation Department is requesting the acceptance of $387,949, which pays for the staff maintenance supplies of various after-school programming in our Parks and Recreation Department. There is a grant match required of $534,000, which is already budgeted within our existing Parks and Recreation budget. Item number eight is a permission to accept the Florida Inland Navigation District Waterways Assistance Program grant for Charlie Leighton Boat Ramp renovation. This is for improvements and renovations of the Charlie Leighton Boat Ramp in the amount of $585,000 for the grant, and we have a match of $815,000 for the remaining construction costs, which is budgeted within our Parks Boat Ramp CIP. Item number nine is a permission to accept the Florida Inland Navigation District for the Port Salerno Commercial Fishing Docks Phase 2 project. This grant agreement will fund the replacement of commercial fishing docks located in Port Salerno Manatee Pocket. This is a grant in the amount of $60,000, which requires a $60,000 grant match, which is coming from the Port Salerno Commercial Fishing Docks Authority. Can you pause on that? Commissioner Hurd. Yeah, we've already approved this morning under the consent agenda an agreement with the dock authority for 39 slips, and that's what our contract with them states is 39 slips, not 45. We don't have an agreement for 45 slips. Yes, we do. Jessica Garland, Coastal Program Manager, for the record. So when we applied for this, there was an understanding that we were going to be modifying the lease with them for 45, and then it was reduced to 39, so they are only going to be building 39 slips. So the contract says 39 slips, but we will be modifying it to reduce it down to 39. Well, why does the application for the grant say 45? Because that's what it was a year ago, when we submitted the application. It was 45 slips. That's what they originally were applying for. How do I know that it's going to be 39? Because we have not completed the final construction bid documents, and when the bid documents are done, there will only be 39 slips that will be built and bid for. Well, you said there's agreement already for 39. Correct. You guys agreed, approved that this morning in the consent agenda. So we cannot, they cannot build more than 39 slips per the lease with the county. It's also important to note that the county is actually the recipient of the grant. Correct. And we are managing the construction, and the dock authority is paying for our services as a joint agreement. So we control how many slips can be built and the documents that do it. So that's what's, it's 39. Correct. I'd like to see the document. Do you want to separate this out, or what do you want? I just, there just has been so much stuff that's inconsistent on this agenda today that I'm very unhappy with the agenda today, with the inconsistency of the items. It seems like they were rushed, and I don't think there's any excuse for there to be this big a discrepancy between the number of slips. On one page and the same agenda on a different page, it's six more slips. I think we can do a better job of making these documents consistent. But what we heard from staff is that this is a year-old grant request that at the time was for 45 slips. Correct. So she's just explaining exactly what it was. If she had made it 39, it would not have been accurate to what it was applied for. Correct. In this particular case. Yes. Okay. Next item is a permission to accept the FDOT public transportation grant agreement formula funds for rural areas to provide operating assistance for public transportation. This is a grant award in the amount of $176,811 to provide the operating assistance to Martin County for rural area public transportation route that serves the village of Indiantown. There's a grant match of $176,811 that is required, which is already budgeted within the transit budget. Item number 11 is a permission to accept the small county outreach program for the Southwest Fox Brown Road project. This is a grant agreement in the amount of $2,097,190 for the roadway construction and the CEI services for the project. There is a grant match required of approximately $2,486,000, which is already budgeted within our road CIP to complete this project. Item number 12 is a permission to accept the Bureau of Justice Assistance grant and Mental Health Collaboration Program grant. This is a grant award in the amount of $450,000 for our human services divisions to support Martin County mental health court services and staff. The cost to Martin County are matches $180,000 in in-kind match dollars utilizing existing staff who run the program. Item number 13 is a permission to accept the FY24 Community Oriented Policing Services or the COPS grant for technology and equipment program offered by the Department of Justice. This is a collaboration between our Martin County General Services Department and the Martin County Sheriff's Office for funding the purchase of new audio and visual computer equipment to replace obsolete equipment at the 911 dispatch center at the public safety complex. We are being awarded $750,000 and there's no match required. And last but not least is my annual 2025 fiscal policy update. This is a document that we bring to the board every year. And the only change that is being requested is coming from our clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller's Office, which addresses the method of depreciation of capital assets to remain consistent with governmental accounting standards board, which is, if you're wondering, straight line depreciation of all of our assets, except land. We do not depreciate those. Good. And that's all I have. Commissioner Smith has a motion for us. Move Stephanie's agenda item. Second. All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Department number two, contracts that will meet the threshold for board approval, $1 million or greater. And there's only one item. Christy Brotherton. Thank you. Good afternoon. Christy Brotherton, Chief Procurement Officer. Commissioner. Yes. I have to abstain from this item as a consultant for Ferreira Construction. And I have turned in my Form 8B and provided notice. Check everything. Yes. Okay. So we have one item today for your consideration. It's our contract for the Indian Riverside Park Living Shoreline. Staff is recommending that the board award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, which is custom-built marine construction, in the amount of $2,748,044.21. And move that the board authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. And that concludes this item. All the irony to this approval. Second. The rest of them. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Campy. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries four to zero with Commissioner Hetherington abstaining. Wow. Thank you. Thank you. Good job. She can say whatever she wants to, you know. What are you going to do about it? He's got a couple more days. Department number three, request for approval of settlement, land exchange, and purchase agreement concerning the case of be a man, buy land, LLC versus South Florida Water Management District, ETA, case number 203-CA-000052. Sebastian, where are you pointing at? Let me see that. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Sebastian Poprowski, senior assistant county attorney. I'm here to speak to you about the litigation with be a man, buy land against the county, along with our co-defendants, South Florida Water Management District, FWC, and the board of trustees of the eternal trust fund. Along with our co-defendants, we reached a proposed settlement agreement that we are asking you as the board to approve, which we believe is in the best interest of the county. That settlement agreement would include a land swap. We've discussed this in the past where the county would gain two acres of land, of wetlands, sensitive wetlands, for one acre in the chimney to be transferred to be a man. As you know, the county owns land jointly with the South Florida Water Management District. So the Water Management District and the county would thereafter purchase approximately 990 acres of land, be a man owns outside of the North Chimney at $19,000 per acre. The Water Management District has agreed to pay in excess of $12.5 million towards the $18.8 million purchase of this jointly owned land. The land is in the Florida Forever footprint, and therefore, numerous grants are available for its purchase. The land also qualifies for the half-cent sales tax that just recently passed. Martin County's liability, although I cannot tell you the number exactly sitting here, because it depends on the availability of grants, how many grants we can get, the amount of those grants, water management input, but it can be anywhere from $0 to $6.3 million. This prevents any transaction and business by be a man in the South, Middle, or East Palomar areas. It allows vehicular access through the gate on Pratt-Whitney over South Florida Water Management land. It ends the litigation regarding the legality of various easements and places additional sunset of land into government ownership. With that, I'm here to answer any questions the board may have. Yes. But no. Any questions for staff? Move approval. Second. Comment. Comment. Commissioner. Campy. This is a difficult one for me, and I'm sure for my colleagues. I know that we've had plenty of conversations about Palomar and all the ups and downs and the things that have been happening there. I appreciate our staff working so diligently to try to, you know, wrangle some kind of a settlement. I know that it's not the perfect settlement. I think we've each heard from people that live down there, especially the folks that live in Trailside. I know that this is a, I personally believe this is a step in the right direction. It's not the solution to the woes and the ills and the difficult time that the folks are having down there, but that being said, it's a large step in the right direction. What I would personally like to say to the folks that are down there that are affected by the negative behavior that during our conversations that we are legally allowed to have, we did discuss that we will be doubling down on now that we have, you know, more control over a lot of these parcels, even though there's still, what, approximately 350 other different landowners involved? That's correct. So with that in mind, as a board and as an administration, we're going to double down with our staff, our state partners, but specifically the sheriff's office, to let this settlement and this tremendous outlay of cash and maneuvering of property, let the sheriff realize that, you know, it has to be an enforcement issue. I don't want those residents to think that we have somehow collectively abandoned them and that we've, you know, we've worked this deal out and that they, you know, that we're not going to pay attention any longer. I think we have just narrowed the problem down dramatically to, in hopefully, a handleable scope that the sheriff's department and any other law enforcement partners that are involved, FWC or whoever else is in this area, just because we are going to approve this deal today doesn't mean that we are not paying attention. And I will tell you that, especially since Commissioner Hurd's been on the Palmar board, Commissioner Jenkins been on the Palmar board, Commissioner Smith, were you on that at any point? So our Southern commissioners, we're not just going to forget about it. We will expect results and law enforcement to continue, not continue, to really enhance their enforcement to stop the, you know, the behavior that's 100% inappropriate. That's the only reason I would vote today to do this if we didn't continue to feel that we could somehow stop it. Nobody wants to live with what they're having to live with. Thank you. Mr. Donaldson. I'll just be very brief. This is just one of many steps that we're continuing to take on Malpar. Please don't. We concur with you, Commissioner, that Palmar, that both the environmental significance and the other activities that we're engaged with there, we plan to continue to work with our partners, the Water Management District, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund to manage the lands that we own appropriately and to continue to work with the private property owners to ensure that the activities are consistent with all of our goals. Thank you. Good. I would assume you need a motion. Do we have one? Oh, we have one. I second. Heard and Hetherington. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Heard, seconded by Commissioner Hetherington. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Apologize. Okay. Department number four, presentation by Ocean Rescue on Hope Sound Beach, Jupiter Island Improvements. Christian Montoya and Sean and Ian and a whole bunch of groups. Good evening. Thank you for having us here today for this presentation. For the record, my name is Christian Montoya, Division Chief, Martin County Fire Rescue, and we're here today to present to you the Hope Sound Beach Ocean Rescue Facility in Hope Sound. This project, we started about three years ago working to this point. Recently, we've collaborated with Hope Sound Chamber of Commerce along with the town of Jupiter Island as we presented to them last week. We have some significant changes we need to make to facility, to the facade. However, we just want to present to you today where we're at as of right now. And without further ado, I'm going to start by showing you some statistics from the Hope Sound Beach from last year. So last year in 2023, we welcomed just over 150,000 visitors to Hope Sound Beach. And of these 150,000 visitors, our primary focus as lifeguards on this beach is public education and prevention. We want to make sure that we give every opportunity to our beachgoers to keep them safe as possible. Last year alone, we've seen just over 5,629 public education and preventions. These can be anything from something as simple as when they ask a question as what is going on with the flags, what does the flags mean, rip currents, anything to that extent. We want to make sure that we educate them and give them all the information that they need. One example would be a good indication of an intervention would be if we had a parent who had left her child under tenant in the water line. We would then exit that tower. We would go speak with that parent and educate them on to the emergencies and the dangers of being in that water. So again, the public education prevention is the most important thing that we can do as lifeguards out on that beach. Despite those public education preventions, we've still seen 450 medical calls. And that could be anything from a marine life injury, such as a minor sea life injury to a sting, something to that nature, all the way to something serious is difficulty breathing or cardiac where we need to have fire rescue respond to that location so we can further treat and transport them. And of those 450, we've seen six water rescues. A water rescue is nothing more than when somebody's in the tower, we have to physically go into the water, locate that victim, bring them back to the shore, initiate care, again, turn them over to fire rescue and treat them accordingly. This is something that we don't want to do. This is, again, it goes back to that public education and prevention. We want that number of water rescues to be a zero. We are trending that way. This year we have three, so the numbers are ticking down. But again, at the end of the day, through public education prevention, we want to make that number a zero. So again, why are we here today? So when we embarked on this about three years ago, we realized that this facility that we're working out of is not ADA compliant. It has many shortcomings of an ocean rescue facility and what we expect for our staff. It's not a safe refuge for employees. This last year we had a tornado that came through straight down Bridge Road. We have no way for them to seek shelter or safe refuge from that. They have to seek shelter in their cars. And when you see the facility, you understand why if we have a male or female working in that situation, we can't put them in the same environment due to the bathroom situation. And more importantly, it's a sanitary and health concern. This is located between the bathrooms. And anytime we have any type of backup in those bathrooms, we have had septic waste come up through there and we have to get rid of some of that. So I just want to paint a picture before I go to the next slide. So this is you looking into this facility from the doorway. So as you look and stand in front of this doorway, you're looking to your left and to your right. So again, this is an eight by 10 structure, 80 square feet. And if you look to your left, you can see it's just what you see. It's a bathroom. There is no way to seclude that bathroom from anybody else. So again, if you have a male, female in that environment, someone's going to have to leave. So you have a toilet, a sink, and a shower. And immediately across from that, the area you see there that serves as our primary triage area if we have to bring a patient from the beach to treat. It is a food prep area. It is our kitchen. It is medical storage. It's medical waste storage, as well as you can see some radios and other things in there. So again, it's trying to give you an idea of this eight by 10 structure that we have there. One of the other shortcomings we have at this facility, this is looking underneath the tower at Hope Sound Beach. So what you don't see in that picture in that middle spot is where our ATV or our side-by-side would be located. For those of you who may not know what a side-by-side is, it is just where two people ride on it. We have our equipment on it. We can go to the beach because, again, we do respond outside of the guarded area. And as you can just see from the picture, it is a little bit of a distance to get all the way down to the shoreline if we have to bring someone back in to bring that medical equipment, then get them on that cart, and then get them back to the facility so, again, we can transport them to turn them over to fire rescue. But more importantly, when we do put that equipment inside that tower, it really shortens the lifespan of that equipment. We put that equipment out there, and due to the wind-driven conditions, it's going to deteriorate that very rapidly. We usually see about one year to a year and a half before things start breaking until we have to take that back out of service. It's just not fiscally responsible. So moving to our next slide, as you can see, this is our aerial overview of our current facility that we have out there. So if you notice, outside of that black box, above that is our current facility where the bathrooms are located. Inside of that black box is the current pavilion that we have there now. What we're aiming to do is we're going to take the current facility of the bathrooms as well as the ocean rescue facility, condense the pavilion, and put it all inside of that black box. Currently, the pavilion is just over 1,700 square feet. And in the new rendering, you'll see in the next slide, it's just over 900 square feet. So as you come off the bridge, this is what you will see. Again, we were presented this to Jupiter Island. They had some design changes they wanted to make, but I believe it's a significant upgrade from our current facility, and it meets the needs of both Jupiter Island as well as Martin County residents. As you can see, the pavilion's intact still, so you still have an unimpeded view to the waterway with the ocean rescue facility on the right as well as the bathrooms on the left. And again, with these enhanced security features in this location, we'll have the appropriate cameras, and we'll have a PA system and those types of things that we're able to speak to the public on the beach in such situations. In the next slide, this is the other view, the rear view of the structure, looking from the water to the parking lot. And as you can see, the windows with the ocean rescue facility on the left side. Again, we'll have that PA system so we can notify the public if there's any such situation that they need to seek shelter. We can do that very quickly, whereas now we have to make it through a bullhorn or try to get off the beach and speak to everybody. If you notice to the right of that, there's going to be green space. So where that current facility is for the bathrooms, that's going to be removed. That will become green space, and no additional parking will be added to this facility. And just to wrap up, to give you our key features, again, we believe we've met all the needs to an expanded facility. As you can see, we have the storage so we can keep a facility or equipment inside there out of the elements. And I want to bring to your attention the restroom of the new proposed facility. It is 90 square feet. That is 10 square feet larger than the entire facility that we have now as just the restroom. So I just wanted to point that out to you, the dire need of the situation we're in. And, again, you can see we have a kitchen area, lockable medical storage, an office, a safe area for refuge for our employees. It's obviously we meet all the health and safety concerns that we've had before. We have a triage area located inside there, so if we bring them off the beach, we can treat them appropriately as needed. That concludes my presentation. I have staff here with me along with Sean Donnie from General Services, if you have any questions. Mr. Donaldson. As Chief Montoya mentioned, he did make a presentation to the town of Jupiter Island last week. There was quite a bit of discussion on the layout and the visual impact that it has on the view of the commissioners of Jupiter Island. They did not like the architecture in terms of its fitting in with Jupiter Island. However, I think we did get at least positive impact that the layout of the building was something that was agreeable to them. So just letting you know the next steps that staff was going to do is meet with Mr. Garlow and some of the commissioners on some of the architectural changes that we could make to the building to perhaps get their buy-in on the final design of the facility. So that's just wanted to give you a heads up that it was we did have quite a bit of discussion, but I think in the end getting the buildings in the covered area was at least conceptually some positive feedback, but the modern design was not well received. Mr. Smith. I know it's your district, but just my two cents worth. Can you go back to the black outline, the physical outline of the site? That one, right? No, that one. No. So from what I remember of that, there are probably four picnic tables or tables that face the water on the east side with that current structure, something like that. The only critique I would have is that the breezeway idea is great, having the restrooms one side and the quarters on the other. I would try to stretch out the breezeway to a more north-south orientation so that instead of, and now if you just go to your, you're showing what it looks like, the next slide, that one. Right now you get three tables, if that's exactly how it fits. I don't, you know, how it fits, but you've got three tables deep, right? So there's like nine tables or something. I believe so. And, again, this is just a render. I'm not sure what you're talking about. Yeah. My only thought would be people come to the beach to be able to see the beach. You're only going to get three table tops that are going to necessarily be on the eastern edge that look directly at the beach without somebody sitting in front of them. And so I would, if there was a way to spread it out more linear, that you could get six tables or so so that people had more of an option to sit at the beach and see. One thing we did with Seaside was to try to make sure that however possible, whatever possible, the maximum amount that we could get sitting on the edge to be able to be at the beach and see the ocean would be accomplished if you could do it. And so architecturally, if they don't like the architecture, fine. I'm just on the physical layout. I would try to stretch it out if there was a way to stretch it out more linear so that more people had a view if they were sitting there. And then the other thing, and not that you wouldn't remember this, but, you know, we certainly learned this at Seaside and others. When it blows in the wintertime, you know, as much overhang as you can have that gives you coverage because it's just, it's wet and people won't use it as much as they would if it were dry and if it were covered more. So whatever that means architecturally, from a roof line design and structure design, I'm sure the architects can figure that out. Thank you. When we first started this process, we were trying to keep the footage within a, this is beyond the coastal control line, so we have to deal with DP and all the others. So, but I do agree with you that that would make it a better product. Commissioner Campy. Thank you. I appreciate that you guys have taken on this responsibility. I agree with everything that you've said in terms of logistically what you need with your people and what the department wants to have. The bathroom situation, the original one, was ridiculous, and then you're also sitting right and eating right where the, it's almost like a prison cell where your toilet and your sink would be right where you're basically living. So I get that. And a couple of points. One, there was an art exhibit that I had participated in the ribbon cutting. What was her name? Doggett? Jane Doggett. Jane Doggett had done something. I think it would be important that that be relocated somewhere and not just, you know, bulldozed over. I don't think it's true. Well, but where the, I get that this is just a rendering, but it would basically be, that's a redone bathroom setup, right? The original one would have been over to the left and it's gone, so that little art installation was adjacent to the original bathroom. So you'd have to at least keep that in your minds, probably more of a Sean question. I did have an opportunity to speak to a couple of elected officials in Jupiter Island that reached out to me. And they were very appreciative that this is going to be done. As Mr. Donaldson said, they just had expectation of a different design. And, you know, you all being fire rescue, I don't think you necessarily, as long as from a facility point of view, you get what you need. I don't think you fell in love with the look of the facade of the building. So since they are dramatic stakeholders, they're, you know, for people that are listening that are not familiar with this, their office, their town hall is within very brief walking distance from here. This would also be the straight shot that you would see if you came down Bridge Road before you made the left to go to a majority of their homes. I would say, let's collaborate. If, as you know, I would love to hear from them and say, we love what we came up with. I didn't hear that so far. They did say that you were moving in the right direction. I think they were nervous that today we were going to say, do this. I think that, as I have always felt, even with the fire stations, it's no different on the beach. You should be, you know, professionally housed in a situation that is safe and appropriate and clean and terrific. I think it bodes well for all Martin County residents that we give you that. But if Jupiter Island's commissioners and their residents through their town manager, my ultimate goal is you get what you want, but Jupiter Island says we love the look of it. Because they don't care if you're parking your 4x4 inside or what the triage and the kitchen and the bath is. Inside is your call. Outside, let it be theirs. The triage is actually requested by them. Yeah, I think that makes sense instead of having someone on the sidewalk for your guys to have to be doing something on the right outside. Can you flip it to the opposite of this view? I agree with what Commissioner Smith said, and he's the beach amenity expert. This, the bathroom side, so the part to the right where the couple is with the stroller, you could also maybe put some benches or some seating. I know we're getting into the weird details now, but if I don't, we might never have this conversation again. I would give, I know you don't want it outside your windows because you've got to have the view out, but on the left side or even in the front there, the ability to put more people in. Because Commissioner Smith's right, if you're not sitting in those first three potential tables, the midsection and the parking lot section could be anywhere. You're not at the beach anymore. Other than that, what's the timing? When would this be done? Is this like a crazy 10 years from now thing, or is this like an 18 months from now? I think it's, I think 2026, 20 is where we're looking to kind of go through with that. This is Sean Donahue. Don't say seven. So, so the, can you keep in mind that there's also a construction window that the town prefers things constructed in the summer so that it doesn't disrupt their winter. So we want to, we have either this coming winter, which would be, I mean, summer, or the following summer. So I think obviously for, from my perspective, getting our staff out of that would be a priority as soon as possible. But obviously the, the window of opportunity is having a set of construction plans that are able to be bid in time that a contractor can mobilize the day after Easter. I think you could do. Well, this one or the next one. Well, it's a big difference 2025 and 2026. Yes. Agreed. Sean Donahue, general services director for the record. Yeah. I think we'll spend the rest of the, of the coming year working with the town, getting them the architecture that they need, developing the plans, getting the permitting done. We still have to go through coastal construction and everything else. And when we get, get all that, we can advertise for the contractor and that'll be ready for the following summer. So our guys have to be, go another year, two years. I'm not in favor of that. I would try to expedite this because now that you've shown it to us, I don't like it. I don't, I'm sure you don't either. I think that, you know, our people are very, you know, reasonable and have dealt with a lot of nonsense for a long time. But once that, you know, I'll leave that to you all. That's not my realm of expertise. My only request is that Jupiter Island agree with what it looks like. We haven't talked about the public restrooms. They're disgusting. I had seen those a while ago. Anyway, Commissioner Hurd. Yeah, I think that there are, the town's concerns are valid. Your concerns are valid. I'm absolutely confident that we can find several architectural vernaculars that will be appealing to the town. And quickly, they know the styles that are compatible with the homes there. You know what your needs are. I'm sure that we can find something that's aesthetically pleasing and practical, too. And it seems to me that this is way overdue. I'm with Commissioner Campy. I would say that this is a priority. I think that you need, I think you need decent facilities, safe facilities now. And I'm absolutely certain that a decent architectural artist can put together some drawings in a week and give you some really pretty options that you can use as your basis. It's not a tremendous amount of square footage, right? What's the whole project? 900 on either side, right? Yeah, I believe it's just over rough 700 on both sides for the bathrooms, 700, and the facilities, 700, and 960 for the pavilion. Labor Day 2025, done. Yeah. All right, no, you don't have to just do it that. You can go until, like, October, right? You can go until November. Yeah. So it'll be done by this time next year. You've done heavy lifting. There's quite a few diverse ideas of architectural style when we were going through this. But as I say, a decent artist can gen up some good, lovely drawings. We even had a local architect that lives on the island involved with it. So anyway, I completely agree. It's far overdue. South County deserves it. And so. Nicer than the facility we have at the beaches in Palm City. Yeah. Good direction, Commissioners. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for your direction. Thank you. And in closing, I just want to say one last thing. Commissioner Jenkins, Commissioner Smith, on behalf of Fire Rescue, we thank you for your support all these past years. And we really do thank you for your support. Thank you. As well as everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Have a great day. Can we try to steal a little bit of our thunder here? Shoot us now. Imagine you get shot on your last day. Yeah. You ready to duck down? Yeah. No, I have. I think she's up. Does Sharon want to talk now? Do you want to get it? It's concluded. Thank you. I said let her talk now so she doesn't have to listen to the next two presentations. Yeah. Why don't you do a 611 public comment? She was going to public comment. What? She wanted to public comment on that item. Yeah. Who? Oh. And McGinnis. Okay. We're going to do a 611 public comment with Ms. Sharon McGinnis before we started talking about tree canopies. Mm-hmm. I appreciate you letting me talk. So when I arrived here, because I'm not able to come when you guys start. I'm at the Oceanographic Center cleaning their tanks every Tuesday morning. Nobody else wants Tuesday, so I'll be there. And I asked the bright-lying people with the yellow shirt, what have I missed? They said, just a bunch of proclamations. So I've been here all day. Nice to be with you guys. But just a short thing. You all want to go home. Be in the bonnet. I am from the Northeast. Don't hold that against me. But I am the hugest proponent of public transportation you will ever find. I will never get behind a car if I've got another option, right? But my concerns about Brightline is it falls so short. You give us Brightline. You give us a station. What does that give us? It gives us a lot as far as access to the south, because Lord knows we need to get to the south to get good health care. We can't get it here in Martin County as far as I'm concerned. They have much more premier locations down there. But we have the – and I don't know what the whole thing is, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, what they do. But if we really want to do something, we really want to make an impact to Martin County. We want to make an impact to the Treasure Coast. I don't know why. Their stations, their times are so much better. I don't know why we're not touting Tri-Rail. I know that we don't own the tracks. FEC does. But just envision Stewart, Jensen Beach, Fort Pierce, the Vero Beach Airport. Open up the whole Treasure Coast. Make it easy for us to go everywhere along there. We divert from here and head to Orlando. What is that? The south is great. There's nothing to the north. But if we really want to make an economic impact on the Treasure Coast and make people want to visit us here and enjoy Jensen Beach, because Lord knows traveling north and south through Martin County, through St. Lucie County, is a disaster, right? We're all kind of squeezed in over the Roosevelt Bridge. We have many – we have very limited north and south ways to go. If we had a rail station that we could go to Jensen Beach and have dinner, we could go to Fort Pierce and enjoy the many things that are there, and we could get to the Vero Beach Airport where some people here, I guess they have service to, like, Connecticut and New York, which a lot of people here are from there in the wintertime, just think what that would do for our area. So I'm just putting a bee in someone's bonnet. I've been here all day waiting patiently. I would like you to think outside the box for once and not turn that station over completely to Brightline. No, it's not going to be a possibility. But let's just put this on the back burner. Let's open up the Treasure Coast to ways to transport us north to south and get us off the roadways and enjoy our oceanfronts. Thank you. And have a good night, everybody. Thank you. Can you – can I go for it? So you mentioned the Regional Planning Council. I would absolutely encourage you to contact them. We have been working for 40 years on exactly what you're talking about. There was an agreement 10, 12 years ago for TriRail to come as far as Jupiter. That is in the works. This is just the first step of many to incorporate exactly what you're talking about. The biggest impediment to north of Jupiter was dual track. I know. So TriRail never – the state never would have afforded to have done what got done by Brightline. And so I give it some time. If you've watched what has transpired from Palm Beach South with all the different agreements between TriRail, Brightline, FEC, CSX, where they are today was not where they were seven, eight years ago. So there is an awful lot that's inconceptual thinking. The Jacksonville route is still not off the table at all, getting to Jacksonville, which was where we started with this thing many, many years ago. The west to east coast connection from Tampa to Orlando is well underway. So I guess what I would encourage you is to reach out to them and look at their presentations that they have. I will do that. Thank you for that information. They are. They are. They have – if there's a central location for information on what exists today, what is in the works, what's coming in the future, they are the best depository of that information. Thank you. You're welcome. Kim Delaney. Ask for Kim. I will. You guys have a good evening. You too. Thank you. Good night. Good night. We have more items. You can stay. You can stay. You should stay. Okay. Mr. Todd Warren. Department number six, urban tree canopy assessment update. And you're not the last agenda item. No, you're not. I was hoping. I got so out of order with how the – I didn't know who was going when, but I thought maybe. The chairman didn't either, so that's okay. Good. I wasn't alone. Well, good evening, commissioners. My name is Todd Warren. I'm the urban forestry manager here in Martin County. I'm joined by – can you hear me? You look familiar. Yeah, you've seen me once or twice. I'm joined with Rick Harmon and Nicole Doherty. I'm going to butcher your name. I said it a thousand times a day, so I wouldn't mess it up. Doherty. Nicole Doherty with WGI. Rick is the environmental lead for WGI, our consultant who did the tree canopy assessment. And Nicole is the GIS guru for WGI, and she did all the GIS work and number crunching and data analysis for us. So – What about Carly? Yeah. I'm getting there. Okay. Our superstar, as you would proclaim her to be, Carly Batts is here. She's our county horticulturist, certainly integral to our urban forestry program moving forward. Absolutely. So I'm glad she was able to get her. She had another presentation. That was earlier today, but that ended at 3 o'clock, right? So we have – It was good timing. Yeah, it was good timing. So it worked out well so she could be here. So you may or may not remember a few years ago or a couple years ago, Public Works, specifically field operations, asked for a budget request for this tree canopy assessment. You graciously approved that years ago, and we finally have gotten to the point where we contracted with WGI and had that canopy assessment completed. So I guess I should probably go ahead and define what the urban tree canopy is. So it's basically the layer or essentially the layer of branches and stems and trees that cover the ground surface when viewed from above. Okay. So the – well, I guess I should go back a little bit. The format of this presentation is I'm going to do a few slides regarding the importance of the tree canopy, the benefits of the urban tree canopy, how the study was conducted. WGI will go over that portion of it, the results, and then a few slides on where we want to go from here. So I got a little out of order, but the urban tree canopy, like I said, is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems and trees that cover the ground surface. Some of our notable tree canopies, as you all know, the Martin Grade, Bridge Road, and then St. Lucie Boulevard. But the urban tree canopy isn't relegated just those road canopy roads. So it's the entire tree canopy in rights of way for this study in the urban services boundary is what we did. So why is the canopy coverage important? So urban tree canopies ranks among the most important valuable natural resource assets. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida's existing canopy provides over $456 million annually in avoided infrastructure costs and ecosystem benefits. Those benefits, excuse me, the financial benefits essentially come from mitigating stormwater runoff, reducing flood risks, stabilizing soils, reduction of sedimentation of ditches and creeks and riparian lands. There are the environmental enhancement or the environmental benefits, expanding wildlife habitat, connecting some of those habitats that are fractured throughout the county. Improving public health, walkability, mental health, just being around green spaces under canopy and shade when it's hot out. Reducing air pollution helps reduce that heat island effect, which is essentially the urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures due to lack of greening or lack of coverage over those, essentially one to seven degrees higher in temperature than those outlying areas that are covered in canopy. An additional benefit is potentially reducing speeds on roads that can provide and provide potentially a barrier between pedestrian and vehicular traffic. And one of the most important things that I think is that it provides Martin County the character that's something different about Martin County. I was having this discussion with my wife, who has a real estate team in town, and she said marketability. So when I say character, she said marketability. And I said, you're right, it is a marketing thing, a marketing aspect to Martin County to have beautiful roads, beautiful access points into our community development areas and such. So the tree canopy coverage was evaluated by the National Agriculture Imagery Program in 2021. Essentially what they did is they did a statewide assessment of coverage just in general. They broke Florida down into 10 regions. Martin County is in the Treasure Coast region, as you can see on the slide, which is maybe a little hard to read, but Treasure Coast has 24.4% coverage, tree canopy. As a sake of comparison to our north, the east central region has a little bit of greater canopy coverage with about 32.5%. And to the south and the southeast region, still a little bit more is 25.9% coverage. As a state, there's an average of about 36% of urban tree coverage with an additional 35% of possible planting area statewide. So this slide is very much a broad brushstroke of, like, coverage in the state. The county needed a more detailed analysis for specifically Martin County so we can make better planning choices and understand where our needs are. And that's when we contracted with WGI. So I'm going to turn the presentation over to Nicole Doherty. God, I was going to say it four more times until I get it right. Doherty. I'm doing that as an honor for Commissioner Jenkins. Yes. So I'm going to turn it over to Nicole. She's going to go through some of the details on how the data was collected and how it was crunched. I'm not even going to try to understand exactly how this is done. This is why we hire consultants, smart consultants that can do this work. So I'll turn it over to you, and you let me know when you want me to click the slide forward. Thanks, Todd. Thank you guys for having me. Again, I work with – can you hear me? Well, you can pull it a little closer. Is this better? Yeah. Okay. So, again, I'm Nicole from WGI. How we went about this canopy study is we took USDA's NAEP imagery, which is their national agriculture imagery project, and they provide this for the public. And we also used USGS's 3-DEP LIDAR, which is also available for the public. We used the most recent data to create an imagery-based map that we could use for LIDAR coverage to compare the LIDAR. We then used the LIDAR, which is, again, 3D elevation model. So we classified the vegetation into low, medium, and high vegetation, and we took the medium and high veg and extracted that out and created polygons to overlay the county right-of-ways that Todd and Carly provided for us. So these right-of-ways are what the county takes care of. And then we clipped all the data to those. We imported the commission districts so that we could break those out even further to separate into districts. And what we did, I know locals here, Carly and Rick, went out and QC'd, so we made sure that the coverage that we provided, y'all, is as accurate as we can with the data that we were given. And then I used that to report tree canopy. So it's just the difference between the right-of-ways and the canopy coverage. And this, you can see here, our data sources that we used, which was a 2023 county-wide ortho imagery, so pretty recent. And then, again, the county-provided right-of-way layer, which is polygons of the right-of-ways. And then our USGS LIDAR data, which is the 3D elevation models. And then for the districts, we broke them down into the five districts. District 1 had 13.4 percent canopy coverage in the right-of-ways. District 2 had 15.5. District 3, 18.5. District 4, 21.4. And District 5, 18.2. And, again, this is just strictly right-of-ways. So just to break it down a little further, we provided y'all some statistics and graphics to show kind of what we're looking at. So in the small graphic, you can see where it's zoomed in. You can see the orange right-of-way with the green canopy coverage. And we played around with some numbers. So we started with 30, 25, and 20 percent coverage, 20 percent being the easiest thing to first get to. So for District 1, to get to 20 percent right-of-way coverage, you would need 2.4 million square feet of coverage, which is about 450 trees planted over 10 years. This is based on a medium coverage tree, which is about 550 square feet. So some trees are much larger than that. This will cut your numbers down a lot. But based on just an average, we used 550 square feet. So for D2, for 20 percent, you would need 1.4 million square feet of more tree canopy coverage, which is 262 trees planted every year for 10 years. For District 3, a little better, 570,815 square feet, and 104 trees planted every year. For District 4, you're already there. You're at 21.4 percent, District 4. I want to be at 30. You want to be at 30. Okay, so for 30, you would need 4.9 million square feet, and that's 908 trees planted a year. Again, it could be less given your size of trees. D5, 1 million square feet, and 183 trees. And also, Todd and Carly do have... Could you pause for just a second? Yeah. Can you go back a slide, please? Of course. When we had our conversation on the telephone, I had been having an idea in my head, and then you guys really sort of pepped me up to do it. So I'll challenge my colleagues what we're going to be doing in District 5, and hopefully in the others, in a step in the right direction, is for the county's 100th anniversary, we're going to plant 100 trees, one tree for each year. I didn't realize I had to plant 183 trees every year for 10 years. But as a way to get started, and I think your segue, your timing is perfect. So in District 5, for the 100th anniversary of Martin County, I'll get stakeholders involved. We're going to plant 100 trees based on what you guys tell us. All of ours don't have to necessarily be in the right-of-way. I know some people get panicky when you start talking about trees in the right-of-way. But that being said, just something to celebrate our 100th anniversary. Did we plant already early? 120. There. Already done. You kept it a secret. We didn't know. So we will plant 125 trees. Yeah, and you only needed 104, Commissioner. Whatever. Yeah. Oh, yeah. See? Yeah. Overachiever. Overachiever. Yeah. Now we've got to keep it up for every year for the next. We like competitive spirit. Yeah. We thought we maybe could stoke some competitive discussion between commissioners. So now that we have this data and we understand where the need is. Now, we aren't presenting street-by-street level need with this presentation. It would just take forever. Certainly something we could come back to the board with or meet with you individually about your specific districts to talk about where the highest need is, the biggest deficiency. So now that we understand that, we're poised to make, you know, some educated decisions and take advantage of the knowledge that we have and opportunity. So while statewide there's about 35% of planting area, Martin County has a higher average available planting area of about 43% in the right-of-ways. So we have that potential there. The tree effort or tree planting efforts that have already been completed and future canopy enhancements allow us the opportunity to conduct potentially some tree protection in right-of-way, which I know has been an interest for a particular couple of commissioners and probably all the commissioners. So it may be a good place to start for tree protection, perhaps some ordinances or regulations regarding protection in rights-of-way. We in public works, field operations specifically, manage those rights-of-way, so it seems like a logical nexus for us to protect those trees in some way, which we do as much as we can, but not particularly through ordinances and regulations. So that's a discussion probably for another day. But there are opportunities on private property. Could you stop for a minute? Absolutely. Commissioner Hetherington. I'm certain that you probably have all had this discussion. I just don't know the answer. Are there opportunities for certain trees in a right-of-way, for instance, like I'll just give an example, like Martin Grade, to be designated like a historical or Bridge Road, to have a historical designation to protect it? Yeah, Martin Grade is. Can you protect the tree canopy itself by designating it? It's a scenic highway, and it's protected. I think she's referring to other roadways. So what we've done with the canopy roadway designation was to allow the road to stay in that configuration where you didn't meet all of the current FDOT requirements for clear zone, and Martin Grade would be one of them. In terms of, you know, regulating the trees that can be removed or cut due to private people needing to put in a driveway or how, we don't have that. So the regulation that's on the Martin Grade and the others is really about protecting the county and the commission from not being required to eliminate the trees for safety requirements. So that was, you know, if you look at Tallahassee, they have various tree roads as well. You often don't have enough room for a bike lane and other things. And so if you haven't designated those appropriately, you are required to upgrade those roads to the current standards. That would be for pavement width and shoulders and other things. So that's what we currently have in place, actually regulating the tree itself. What's that? Because it's designated a scenic highway, it is protected? No, we designated it ourselves as a canopy roadway. Making it a scenic highway just makes it available for grants to have pull-offs and overlooks, which would be more of a tourist kind of development piece. So a scenic highway doesn't do anything to actually ever prevent the road from being changed. It just gives you the ability to get grants for amenities. We've done that. You know, I know there's a lot of the public that thinks that a scenic highway somehow prevents it from being changed. It does not. Commissioner Smith. When we did 714 and that became a scenic highway with the state, the reasoning behind it was to limit the ability of the state or anybody else to come in and widen 714 and protect the tree canopy that was there. The designation you did before that was the one that protected it, creating it a scenic highway, which did they actually ever approve that? Yeah, they did, yeah. It was really all it does to provide you the ability to get grants for overlooks. But if there was ever a capacity improvement that a future board really wanted to take on, it's still, it's under the jurisdiction of the county at this time. It's your road. You're regulating. It's your desire whether you, but the issue for us was if you resurface it, if you repave it, you rebuild it, and you have tree roots within inches of the pavement, there is an obligation to make it safer. But under your current land development regulations, you're not obligated to make it safer because you've designated it as a canopy road. So my assumption is there's more that could be done if we chose to want to do it. I would also just caution the idea of the coverage by way of personal example. I have some canopy trees that maybe hang a tad over the right-of-way, and we want to trim them back. So I don't know if we're achieving the canopy coolness zone that we want to accomplish. I mean, I think you need to really think about if one to seven degrees as part of the presentation is important and canopy coverage is important, then we shouldn't be cutting them back because that's reducing the coverage somehow. Staff was very pleasant to me when they came by. It just happened to be the wrong day for them to show up at my house and tell me they were going to cut my trees back. And I said, I really wish you wouldn't do that. So as you are formulating your strategy on all this moving into the future, I just hope that there's a compromise between what that really means or are we just kind of saying it feels good and we're going to plant some trees? Because if we really want shaded roads and sidewalks, there's going to be coverage into the right-of-way that we shouldn't be trimming back. Right. That speaks to the strategic planning aspect of this is where we put those new trees, how we maintain them, what are they going to look like when they're mature, and are we going to be reducing their canopy for safety reasons or DOT reasons? So certainly the existing trees, we're sort of stuck. But really force this conversation to say what it is we really want to do. If we want those spectacular canopy roads that they have in Vero Beach, if you want to have what they have in Tallahassee, those rules are going to have to go out the door because you won't ever get them if you, not you, if we don't say no, shade is more important, canopy is more important, and those 140 trees a year we need to plant, there's a purpose for doing it. But if we're going to whack them back every year and we're going to lollipop them every year, don't do it because it doesn't achieve what you want to do. I mean, I wished what happened on Jensen Beach Boulevard 30 years ago, I wish we could roll that all back and do it much differently because, unfortunately, the oaks on the sidewalk side, every other year some private contractor for a major utility company comes through and just chops the hell out of everything, and they look horrible. And so there goes the shade. Anyway, just. So I think it just speaks to right tree in the right place and just making sure we make good decisions on what types of trees we put where and that we maintain sight distance when we do it. Well, sight distance is one thing. Canopy is another. I mean, I would argue that a 30-foot-high canopy is a different discussion than a tree in the middle of the road or on the edge of the sidewalk that is blocking somebody's ability to make a left-hand turn or right-hand turn because you can't see around the tree. Or a power box up the corner of Skyline and Jensen Beach Boulevard and a pole that has streetlights on it that you cannot see coming up the hill. Sight distance. But this is the last minute I ever get to talk about that stuff, so. Take as much time as you want. No, I'm done. I just, I'd love to see this move forward. I'd love to see there be a programmatic idea. I think Ed's idea is fantastic. Say that, I didn't, I missed it. Huh? You want me to say that again? I just, there's, when it comes to what's really being wanted, I think we have to separate line-of-sight issues versus canopy issues because I think in my mind they're two very different issues. Bridge Road is spectacular because you have a canopy. Today we probably wouldn't ever allow that to be planted that way. But should we? Because it's spectacular. You know, that's the kind of thing. Anyway, I digressed. Okay. I'll awkwardly jump back into the presentation now. Or hurry up and finish. Yeah, well, yeah. So, do you want me to go to the next slide? Just go skip right over this one. So, along with those opportunities, as you mentioned, we have those threats to the urban tree canopy. It's, you know, the widening of the roads, the development pressures, natural disasters, invasive species impacts, threats. The urban forestry program is already working on some of those goals, or some goals, but in order to bolster our canopy coverage, additional goals are needed for future. So, I'm not going to read through the slide, but you probably have seen some of those. And the next slide is kind of a laundry list of potential urban canopy goals. A few I want to highlight that we're already working on is this idea of no net loss. So, whenever we have accidents, traffic accidents, which shockingly happens all the time, natural disasters, or much like what we just had, the tornadoes that ripped through our area, natural attrition just due to age, we're replanting those trees. So, we hopefully are trying to get to zero. So, if we had to cut a tree down, we'd find a place for a new tree. And the board has approved a tree canopy replacement fund. It's not really a fund, but a budget for us to work within. That certainly gets us there. Yes, Commissioner. Just when you said about replacement, and this may be a tremendous amount of work to go through, but maybe now that you've mapped all that exists, I can't tell you how many commercial developments don't have the trees that they originally planted on their site plans. That's the whole other discussion. And they just don't exist. Right. And so, we had one on Savannah Road a few years ago decide to cut down all the oak trees that were in front, and then they got replaced with something much smaller. There's some stuff on Jensen Beach Boulevard that has cut down all the trees that were in front of the commercial properties. They never were forced to put anything back. And so, again, on the replacement side of this thing, we should. Try that in Jupiter and see what happens to it. Yeah. They have a serious enforcement things. If you don't trim them properly, as per an arborist, you get fined. They take it very seriously. I don't know why we can't have some of that here. I've been asking for it for eight years, but, yeah. I'm raising it. And you bring up a good point. The problem that I have working in public works is I have no control over private property. So, as an urban forester, it's a little bit of a disconnect. There's not much I can do on private properties from a regulatory standpoint. I'm working in the rights of way and county-owned properties. We would certainly need to reengage growth management in this discussion if we're talking about changes to the landscaping code, ordinances, land development regulations for this type of protection. And I'm not expecting you to have the answer for this, but I guess what I'm saying is what's interesting about the conversation is if someone were to fill in their wetland on their commercial property, it wouldn't matter whose department it would be. We would be all over them. They cut down a tree, nothing. I don't get the fact, and I don't mean to interrupt you, is that they were approved. Let's say a used car lot was approved that they had to have 12, 14-foot trees, blah, blah, blah, blah. And those trees are expected to grow to maturity, right? And then that's part of their deal. That's how they got their approval. And then 10 years from now, they cut them all down, and nobody does nothing. That is part of this discussion. That's what Jupiter's point is. They have full right to come and dictate because you agreed to it in the beginning. That's what I've not been able to wrap my head around with our current situation. I don't want to speak for the staffing needs that growth management potentially would need for that, but there's certainly a need there. Well, if you put value in it, that's what it is. And that's why we're in front of you today, you know, is the board direction essentially for how we want to move forward with this urban canopy effort and the urban forestry program in Martin County. I'm not going to speak about growth management. Okay. We'll not interrupt you anymore. No. You promise? No. It's quarter to seven. It's fine. You can interrupt. Again, I'll talk all night about trees. Yeah. I mean, I love trees, but you're pushing my thing. Oh, yeah. I can. Okay. We don't care that much. Okay. Let's see. Where was I in the present? When I tell you, you're making me mad. Then you've got to worry about it. Okay. Okay. So now that we have the data, we can identify where we're relatively deficient, and we have the opportunity to strategically plant those trees in areas that we don't have to trim them, like Commissioner Smith mentioned. They're not impacts to the infrastructure, the stormwater infrastructure, utility infrastructure. We have the opportunity to engage private residential neighborhoods and residences in a similar program. The city of St. Pete has a fantastic urban forestry program, and I've talked to the urban forester there, Carly and I did. Super nice guy, willing to offer any kind of assistance that he can. But they have a fantastic program, like a citizen scientist program, that helps inventory their private neighborhoods. They purchased a program through a company called Planet Geo that is available, like, in an app situation, and private residents or citizens can go out and inventory trees in their neighborhoods. So that's another opportunity we have for private, not rights-of-way that I necessarily have control over, but as an urban forestry program goal, I think that's an exciting opportunity to get a lot more eyes, a lot more trees inventory in the county to see where we really are in those private areas that this study didn't really focus on. That data is there. We just didn't focus on it because it's not where we have control in public works, essentially. Another really important goal would be to do this study again in X number of years. I'm not sure what that number is. Maybe five years after we have a little more direction and we can start implementing whatever goals we have for the urban forestry program just to see if we're gaining those actual percent coverage increases that we thought we were or think we are. Succession planning to replace those lost storms, those impacted by invasive species like the grade, and you brought up Martin grade, while not in an urban services boundary, it just speaks to one of the goals of an urban forestry program is to plan for succession just through if we value this and we want this to persist, we can't just keep cutting out the dead stuff and treating some exotics. We need to replant in these areas. So just an example of, you know, storms that have knocked trees down and a tree on the right that's just died from natural causes as far as we can tell. Look at me blazing through these slides now. It probably makes you happy, right? So as referenced by Commissioner Jenkins, 120 trees that were planted in Gomez, this is an example of a grant or a tree planting effort that happened in Urban Services Boundary within the Urban Services Boundary in Hobes Sound. So this was done through a cooperative grant through the Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Grant and gracious matched contributions from Commissioner Jenkins. 120 native trees were planted along the sidewalk. The photo on the left shows where there were no trees. And the picture on the right, I wish we had just a little bit of a better perspective on this, but there are 14 trees planted there. You can see them because of the tree bags on the ground. I wish we were shifted a little bit to the right, but hindsight being 20-20. But in a few short years, we're going to get some coverage over the sidewalk already here. The trees that were planted are natives, and that's what our goal would be, is to only plant native trees, certainly, or Florida-friendly trees, but I think native trees would be the goal. These trees were planted 25-foot on centers. Consideration was given to the underground utilities, the overhead utilities. We didn't plant anything under power lines, so we don't run into the situation where our utility company has to do protective trimming, safety trimming for the power lines. And Carly canvassed the neighborhood, the neighbors that would be directly impacted by these trees that their properties were directly adjacent to. And while there were some dissenting opinions, overwhelming consensus was positive here. In fact, we ran out of trees, people asking for more trees. Oh, can you plant trees in my front yard? We only had 120, and we certainly could have planted 300 or 400. I don't know how many trees we could have planted there, but it was a successful project, and we still are getting requests to plant more trees there. So not only was tree planting part of this grant, it was this education component, which we met with NACs, CRAs, meetings. We had educational, I guess, classes or little seminars for Hope Sound Elementary and Hope Sound Early Learning Center. Those are so fun. Those are kind of the icing on the cake in some of these. But this is certainly a very important tenet of any urban forestry program is education. So here we are, almost to the end. This is the point at which we ask for a recommendation or recommendations from the board on how to move forward with the urban canopy, urban forestry program. So what I have on the screen is a potential recommendation for a canopy goal and a timeline to achieve that, which is, like I said, a foundation of not only education, but a foundation of any urban forestry program is a percent goal and a timeline to achieve that in. So if you would like me to scroll back and forth through any of the presentation slides, let me know. If you need to look back at the goals or where your district is, let me know. But that basically concludes our presentation. Happy to answer any questions. Did I miss anything? Anybody wants to jump in? I would like to add that we can provide the districts with the right-of-way shape files and the canopy shape files so that if you have a GIS team, they can certainly take a look at it and provide you with more information and more analysis on your districts. Yeah, for that street-by-street level, if, you know, Commissioner Jenkins says, I want to know what streets are really deficient, what little areas. You might have an idea, but graphically you can see it through a study that actually this is exactly where it is. Cool. Commissioner Smith. I think the next step that would be super important would be to do cross-sections. First of all, identify the roads that you want to focus on. When I met with you all, you asked me what I thought, where I thought. I would memorialize that. I would pick your A-level streets, your B-level streets, and your C-level streets. Your A-level streets are the first and the most important, whether they're deficient, whether they're not deficient, whether they need replanting, whether they need relocation, whatever it may be. And I would get the commission to adopt that master plan strategy for all the districts so that regardless of whether Ed's funding 100th Anniversary Party or someone else has a great idea, it would be no different than what we did with our resurfacing program 18 years ago where it used to be hit or miss depending upon what the district commissioner wanted to fund for resurfacing. And we finally said, that's ridiculous. There needs to be a standard by which we resurface, and then that gets applied to every single road. And so then there's not a debate over why this road gets done versus that road. When it has a PCR rating of above 30 or whatever the number is, it gets resurfaced. So if your A-level streets are the first ones to go and District 1 has 25 A-level streets, District 3 or 4 or 5 has 30 or 40 or 20, they get put into the A category and so on and so on. And the cool thing about that is that you could, through either matching programs, you know, should the kids, an elementary school could adopt a section of Savannah Road, for instance, that even though that's how Jensen Beach Boulevard was done, it could have had a lot more thought put into how it was done, and unfortunately it didn't. So I would do that, number one. I would adopt, you've already got the GIS data, roll in one more layer that identifies A-level, A-B-C-D-level streets, right, your priority streets. The next thing I would do, I would focus on site plans, as Harold was talking about, and those are easy fixes. We go back and we pick out the bad behavior ones and get them to replace their trees. You'd pick up a lot of coverage relatively quickly for that if someone was in noncompliance with their site plan approval. I know there was a time limitation on how long somebody had to keep up their site plan approval stuff, wasn't there, or is it forever? I don't really know. I thought it was two years or something that they were required. If it's on the site plan, it needs to be on the site. Okay. Anyway, that's just something to another layer that could be looked at relatively easy. And then the other thing, which was on, if you go back one or two screens, you're, keep going, keep going, keep going, that one. This was a priority of mine over the last couple of years, and we never got to it. I encouraged Harold about six months ago that we ought to get on this because time is passing, and it passed time, I think this has probably one of the most important layers of anything else you do on here is to find those champion trees, to find the specific trees, come up with an incentive program for the property owner or the developer or whoever you want to talk about to save those trees because they're the hardest ones to get back. So with that, I realized that our growth management department was buried with our ear thing, so I did not pester them. But at the same time, I have a very good feeling that at least two people sitting there, Carly and Todd and Peter and Paul and Mary, are going to do exactly what we have been trying to do. Well, how about this, gentlemen, since I'll still be here for a little bit. I will take that mantle and make sure that the names that you mentioned, the rest of the commission that's up here, we will follow through with that. The new lifeguard station in Hope Sound, you're all set. Life is good. You good? I agree with his concept of identifying and creating a standard. I think so. The staff can go back and put together for consideration in next year's budget sort of a program and a CIP if that's what the board wants to do that, and then the board can approve a program with funding. It may make sense, excuse me, once we identify the ABC level streets, whatever that criteria is, it may make sense to come back to the board and present that for your consideration on whether or not that is the actual guidance that you want to go with, if there's some adjustment to that. Is it those streets that are just deficient? Is it the streets that lead to some of our community downtown areas? I think we'll just get with each district commissioner, and the district can make priorities based upon your goals, and if funding is divided by district as a countywide program, then you all have input based upon staff's recommendation. But there's a lot to this, and I think our best successes are in the incentives, and that would be a funded program that is goal-oriented, incentive-oriented. It's more than regulatory would be my recommendation. Maybe our new District 3 commissioner is listening, and I will be more than happy if you delegated that task to me. But anyway, in the effort to move things along, I think we got your direction, and we've got another presentation to make that is equally complicated. So thank you, staff. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay, Department. I don't like what we said. Thank you for coming. Department 7, at 7. This is a very simple topic, Commissioner. Western land studies that you wanted an update on. Probably, yeah. Update on review and analysis of past Western lands planning studies. Mr. Paul Schilling. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Paul Schilling, Growth Management Director for the record. So this is, in essence, just an update. I tried to keep it quite brief, as you can imagine, but also given the time of the evening, I will do my best to answer any of your questions, but I have some basic information. So this board entered an interlocal agreement back in July of 24 to analyze past studies and options identified within those studies. So in lieu of commencing on a new study, the thinking was that we have several that have been done in the past within the last couple decades, and we would take pieces and parts of those and determine perhaps areas that we could concentrate in for preserves, other areas, and any guidance that was part of those presentations. I have some of those listed here. So, for example, the 2020 vision study, that was done in the 90s. So that study engaged as part of it in the 1990s was done as part of a sustainable communities planning effort supported by the state land planning agency. The Gladding-Jackson firm guided that creation of that plan, and it's cited today, in fact, at times, as supporting analysis for the comprehensive plan amendments. Additional studies throughout time, which are listed here, touched on that study as well as different components of that. So the last major study, as I found in our efforts, was 2007 that was a development pattern study. Some of these studies, as you may imagine, and these are not inclusive. These are plans that the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council is, in fact, studying today. They are in the first work program, and I'll get back to these slides in just a moment. But task one is the compendium of these previous studies, which we anticipate delivery of those deliverables in December, and potential strategies to consider in February with completion and presentations in the spring of 25. Those presentations, as indicated in the interlocal, involve presentations before the local planning agency and, of course, the Board of County Commissioners, identifying that report and those strategies and taking citizen participation as part of those. So these are a couple of graphic images. This is the 2020 vision for a sustainable Martin County. And a lot of these studies concentrate on areas of preserving large areas, maintaining large areas of open space, minimum densities, meaning 20 acres, one unit per 20 acres, and, in fact, some are maybe one per five. But they are remarkably consistent or in line with things that we have done in the last few years, namely the rural lifestyle. So this is a graphic image of the agricultural land and private ownership, the large acreages. As you can imagine and remember in maybe some of the presentations previously, the areas identified in pink here are publicly owned land. The areas in green are agricultural. The areas in blue and outlined in red are the municipalities, Indiantown to the left of the screen, and then the urban areas to the right. And those areas also from Palmar, you'll notice the checkerboard pattern in there, and then J.D. State Park, the Atlanta Ridge Preserve. So there is, in fact, an area between the areas to the west of public land and then easterly agricultural areas. And with the exception of a few large acreages in that area, the areas in yellow are also agricultural large lot subdivisions. So Martingale Commons. The one escapes me now. It's adjacent to Palmar. A trail side. Port Mayaka Polo Club out by the lake. There's dressage. Those are areas with 20-acre lots that were platted with the necessary infrastructure to serve those lots. They have preserve areas on the lots that require constant attention and enforcement actions at times. So those are the large lot subdivisions that were kind of apropos in the mid-2000s with the movement of the polo clubs and equestrian communities to the north from Wellington. Well, those areas didn't necessarily develop as planned. They have remained for the large part undeveloped with the exception of estate homes and some ancillary equestrian activities. We have Box Ranch down to the south here as well, adjacent to Palmar and 96, rather, Canter Highway. So I'm just trying to give you, this is a very complicated map, but in essence, that's the story it's telling. And I'll be happy to answer any questions, but my objective today was just to give you a brief update. Any questions? Well, I thought we were going to be here to midnight with that one. Oh, that's next time. Yeah, thank you. Any questions? Wow. I think we've actually reached the end of our agenda here. Thank you very much. Thank you. Oh, you'll be the last agenda. You were the last agenda item with me. Yeah. Well, and Commissioner Jenkins and Commissioner Smith, I echo all of the accolades today. It's been a pleasure working with you both. I consider your close acquaintances, so don't hesitate to call me if you wish or if I can help. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Okay. Well, we've already had our 505 twice. What about the 707? It's 705. We'll wait two minutes. Okay. So any additional commissioner comments, Commissioner Smith? I just want to wish the two of you well and the best of luck in your next chapters. And if you want to come and give me some guidance on trees, I'd be happy to take it. I will. I'm told every day by my lovely wife that I'm going to need plenty to do because she doesn't want me around the house. So anyway, I'd be more than happy to. And, again, I just want to reiterate, I have thoroughly enjoyed my last eight years working with everybody here and appreciate the opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. I have one more piece of business I'd like to hopefully achieve. I'd like to make a motion to move the position of chairman for our 100-year anniversary committee from a commissioner to a private citizen, if that private citizen would be interested in maintaining that position. I think the continuity, the history, the person's history buff, I would like to make that where it wasn't just that we picked the commissioner because the commissioner that we picked to do it really had his heart in it, really has a history of what's happening in Martin County and I think would still be the appropriate person to lead that effort and celebration considering 25 years of it, he sat up here. So if that person would be interested, I would like to. Well, he can vote against it. Yeah, if he doesn't. So I'd make a motion that we move that chairman of the anniversary. Second. It just kind of dawned on me what you were talking about. I appreciate the offer. But who should do it? It would be awkward. To be the chairman? It's a county-wide event. It's not a commission event. All right. I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I just wanted to. It would be awkward to be in the building. You don't have to be in the building. Well, even if we're not. All right. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. George Stokas will do a perfectly good job. And if he put you up to it to get him out. He didn't. He didn't. Where is he? Let me go, George. Sorry about your... He had no idea I was going to do that. I just wanted to keep you in the mix. I appreciate that. It was our selfish reasons to have you do it. Okay. I echo Commissioner Hetherington. I wish the two of you all the best. Happy trails. All right. Yes, ma'am. I've been quiet, so you should appreciate it. I just want to tell Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Jenkins, it's been an honor. Thank you to both of you. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you around, and I know both of your service is not over, so thank you. We'll be around, for sure. That's the next meeting. All right. Our next meeting, or, well, your next meeting, is November 19th, next Tuesday. I'll have, I might actually watch a commission meeting for you. How many pages is the agenda? I don't, I don't care. So, anyway. And with that. And with that. We are adjourned. We are adjourned.