Board of County Commissioners on 2025-05-20 9:00 AM - May 20, 2025

Instead of an invocation, we will have a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. And the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Sean Lissowey. Excellent. Please join us for a moment of silence. Thank you. Mr. Lissowey, would you like to lead us from here? And after the pledge, would you please tell us about your career? Yes, ma'am. 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. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Sean Lissowey. I'm Bureau Chief in Operations for Fire Rescue. I had the privilege and honor of serving in the United States Army just out of high school. I enlisted in the delayed entry program, so six months after graduation. I was sent off to Fort Benning, where I went to infantry school and airborne school. After completing my education, I took a spot in the 82nd Airborne of Fort Bragg and did my time there. So I was an 11 Bravo infantryman as well as a hotel, which they no longer have that class, but I had the opportunity to be a tow missile, shoot the tow missile, which was off a turret of a Humvee as well as a tripod. And so it was a great time, and I had the privilege of it and loved it. It helped me with discipline and who I am today. So thank you. Terrific. Thank you. We have a number of presets today. At 9.05, we'll have public comment. At 9.30, we're going to have a presentation on the one-room schoolhouse in New Monrovia facilities use agreement. At 1.30, we're going to have a road transfer agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation. At 5.05, or at the conclusion of our meeting, we'll have public comment again. There are several additional items today. Proclamation adopting and presenting a proclamation declaring emergency medical services week in Martin County. Consent 12 is adopt proclamations commending Bennett Scott and Davis Scott upon the achievements of Eagle Scout. Consent 13 is approval of an interlocal agreement between Martin County and the village of Indiantown for the use of Timer Powers Park. Department 5 is a discussion of recruitment for the county attorney position update. Commissioners, in deference to Don Donaldson, who is at the Town of Jupiter Island Commission meeting this morning, presenting our plans for the beach building. He would like to participate in this agenda item, so I'm going to hold that back until he arrives. Department 6 is to consider facilities use agreement with Martin County Black Heritage Initiatives for the use of the one-room schoolhouse in New Monrovia. Is there a motion to approve? Madam Chair, I will move approval of the agenda with the additional items. Proclamation No. 2, Consent 12, 13, Departmental No. 5, and 6. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Do we have to make a motion to adopt the proclamation, or did we just do that? You just did it. Okay. All right. So we will go on to public comment. The first, we could certainly do the proclamations first. I mean, we normally do, but you can, you're the boss. The first proclamation is a proclamation declaring Memorial Day in Martin County. Good morning, Commissioners. Since our nation's earliest days, America has been blessed with an unbroken chain of patriots who have served our country with honor and distinction. From Concord to Kandahar, generations of brave warriors have fought for freedom across sand and snow, over mud and mountains, into lonely deserts, and through crowded streets. The board recognizes May 26, 2025, as Memorial Day, and calls upon all citizens to take the time to remember those who served and sacrificed to be sure this nation remains the bastion of freedom we have all been privileged to enjoy. And here to accept, once again, we have Sean Lissoway, who is a U.S. Army veteran, and Mike Drost, who is a U.S. Marine veteran. Okay. Depending on how the words go, we decide if you get the picture. Well, holidays are special, and Memorial Day coming this weekend is a great opportunity for us to slow down and reflect for those that had made the ultimate sacrifice. The men and women that have served this great country to give us the freedom and the security that we have now today. So, at this time, I'd just like to thank you, families and veterans, for all that you've done. So, thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Man, no Navy guys up there, but what are you going to do? Our next proclamation is a proclamation recognizing Family Abduction Awareness Day in Martin County. The month of May serves as a pivotal time to combat family abductions, reunite missing children with their families, and recognize those dedicated to protecting society's most vulnerable. A family abduction occurs when a child is taken, wrongfully retained, or concealed by a parent or other family member, denying another individual their right to custody or visitation, even in cases with unclear or absent court orders. Such abductions are often driven by the perpetrator's frustration with the left-behind parent, the legal system, or personal circumstances. In recognition of May 25, 2025 as Family Abduction Awareness Day, the Board encourages all citizens to join in the efforts to prevent future family abductions across the Treasure Coast. And is Kelly Lightbourne here? Did she make it in? Yes. I'm not going to be ready, but I will. Please state your name, sir. My name is Sean Lettenauer, and I'm going to be accepting this on behalf of my wife, but she's been working very hard with different statutes. I can't tell you exactly what the numbers are, but we've dealt with child abduction from another family member in our family that took our son, and she's, you know, working steadfast, helping bring awareness to the state and to the people to help making sure that people are held accountable for their actions and that it's not, you know, it's against the law. It's not, even though it's a family member, I mean, they should be held accountable and charged for the crime. So, thank you. Sure. Our next proclamation is a proclamation recognizing Public Works Week in Martin County, Florida. And here to accept that is Peter Lorcan. Public Works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities, and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities and to the public health, high quality of life, and well-being of the people of Martin County. This year marks the 65th annual National Public Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association, and the board recognizes May 18th through 24th as Public Works Week and commends the public works professionals, engineers, managers, and employees, and the substantial contributions they make to protecting our health, safety, and advancing quality of life for all. I'm here to accept Jim Gorton. Thank you, commissioners, for this proclamation recognizing National Public Works Week and for honoring our employees who work so diligently behind the scenes to serve our community. This year's theme, People, Purpose, Presence, perfectly captures what drives public works professionals. It speaks to the individuals who dedicate themselves to service, the mission that guides their daily efforts, and the vital presence they maintain in every corner of our community. In Martin County, our public works staff is truly exceptional. Not only do we oversee the typical responsibilities like infrastructure maintenance, real property, storm waters, surveying, roadway planning, and construction, and permitting. We also have the unique and critical role of maintaining our natural lands and protecting our water quality. That stewardship is especially important in a county like ours, where the environment is deeply tied to our identity, our economy, and our quality of life. We are proud of the work we do in serving Martin County. On behalf of our entire department, thank you for prioritizing infrastructure maintenance and for recognizing the critical work that public works professionals do. Have them stand up. There they are, everybody. Our next proclamation is a proclamation declaring National Safe Boating Week in Martin County, Florida. Flotilla 59 of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, based in Martin County, Sandsprit Park, participates in the annual National Safe Boating Week campaign to promote boating safety and encourages the boating public to wear life jackets when enjoying the region's waterways. The board commends the auxiliary for their efforts in furthering the goals of the National Safe Boating Week campaign, observed May 17th through the 23rd this year, and their year-round efforts to promote safe boating. And please, following comments and photos, they would like to take a photo of everyone in the well possibly wearing a life jacket. And here to accept, yes, we have Robert Hess, Flotilla 59 commander, and the rest of his crew. We have life jackets for us. I hope to have your size and my size. Hi, I'm Dr. Robert Hess. I'm the commander of the Flotilla 59. Honorable commissioners, on behalf of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 59, I want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for your proclamation recognizing National Safe Boating Week in Martin County. Your support highlights the critical importance of promoting boating safety, especially in our boating community, where boating season lasts all year round in our local waterways. The recognition from the Martin County Commission not only honors the efforts of our volunteers, but helps raise public awareness about life jacket usage, vessel preparedness, and the value of boater education, all key factors in reducing accidents and saving lives. These practices are reflected in this year's short but meaningful theme about life jacket, wear it, and I might add, wear it, wear them, before you hit the water. We're proud to serve this community through vessel safety checks, public education courses, community engagement, and operational support, and your proclamation reinforces our shared mission to ensure everyone who takes to the water returns home safely. And please remember that we provide a boating safety course every third Saturday of the month that's free for any youths 12 to 21, plus a parent with the same day free boating safety card as well. Thank you again for your leadership and commitment to the safety of Martin County residents and visitors alike. Semper Paratus, always ready, and this year's theme, wear it. Thank you. Here it comes. Yes, yes, you, yes, all of you. Oh, it's nice, it's great. Yes, you've got the phone calls. There we go. Intimidating. Okay, we need more love jackets. Come on in. First. First. Candy. Good work. Thank you, everybody. And our next proclamation is a proclamation declaring emergency medical services week in Martin County, Florida. Oh, you need to do it now. I make a motion to accept to adopt that proclamation. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? First, that motion passes unanimously. Emergency medical services teams consist of emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, emergency physicians, emergency nurses, lifeguards, educators, first responders, administrators, telecommunicators, law enforcement, and others. And they undergo thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. The week of May 18th through 24th, 2025, is Emergency Medical Services Week in Martin County with the theme, We Care for Everyone. The board commends the men and women of Martin County Fire Rescue for their continuing service to the citizens of Martin County. And here to accept, we have Chief Kevin Moore with Martin County Fire Rescue. Thank you all for having us. EMS Week is dedicated to honoring not only the EMS professionals, but also raising public awareness about the things that we do and the vital role we play within the community. If you want to take pictures, you can come up here. Yeah. You're on the team. So this week marks the 51st year of EMS Week's inception, and we are thankful and honored to accept this proclamation today. Just to give you some insight, Martin County Fire Rescue runs about 20,000 calls annually throughout the year, mixed between fire as well as EMS calls, meaning that our crews are trained, cross-trained, to be able to handle any emergency situation within the community. This is important because as the development of Martin County Fire Rescue grows, so does the call volume, and so does the stress levels that are placed upon our EMS professionals. So we try to encourage our individuals to be confident, not only just confident, but also have the physical wherewithal and the mental fortitude to be able to push through stressful situations so they are able to better serve the citizens of Martin County as best as possible. And we just want to thank you all for the appreciation that you've given us, the unwavering support from the county commissioners to the local businesses, as well as the residents of Martin County to entrust in us to provide you the best level of service possible that this county deserves. So thank you very much, and I appreciate this opportunity. Thank you. Now we'll go to public comment. If you would like to address us, please fill out a request to speak form and get it to the bailiff who will get it to us. The first request to speak form I have is from Chris Hamilton, followed by Michael Circus. Oh, no. Mr. Circus, you want to talk at the 930th preset? Okay. Next is Tom Pine. Is Chris Hamilton here? No. Here first. Okay. Sorry. Sorry. Got it. Got it. Tom Pine. Good morning, commissioners. Good morning. My name is Tom Pine. I've been a resident of Martin County for over 50 years. Today in the consent agenda, this county commission will approve $15,364,475.69 that was spent between April 20th and May 4th of 2025 without identifying the payees or the purpose of the payments. The definition of consent agenda, a tool used to streamline meeting procedures by collecting routine, non-controversial items into a group whereby all are passed in a single motion and vote. The key word here is routine, non-controversial, like the millions and millions of cost overruns at our county golf course, all hidden in the consent agenda. Our last county commission meeting was like a dream when senior staff and county commissioners spoke about hurricane preparedness and FEMA. Staff showed that the various ways money is raised on the local basis if necessary, talked about long reimbursements, how long reimbursements can take, and the cost of some of our past storms. The reason I said the meeting was like a dream, March 14th, 2025, 42 people die in eight states because of tornado outbreak. FEMA denies all claims. The governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, files an appeal. It was approved May 13th, 2025. I could not verify any other states getting FEMA assistance for the March 14th, 2025 tornadoes. The New York Times, May 9th, 2025, President Trump calls for the elimination of FEMA. Homeland Security Secretary, Christy Newman calls for the elimination of FEMA. Acting FEMA director Cameron Hamilton fired a day after he told members of Congress that FEMA was vital to communities and their greatest needs of time and should not be eliminated. I see more and more questions on social media about when the fire rescue station is coming to Western Martin County. As I recall, there are three fire stations slated to be built in Western Martin County. Does the county have any money for these fire stations? Is there a timeline at all? Thank you for your time. Have a great day. Thank you. Loretta Bradley, would you like to speak a public comment or would you like to speak at a preset? Okay. The one at 930? Got it. And I assume that Pastor Miller, Lloyd-Jones, and Alfred Miller all want to speak. Okay. Well, then we will go to the preset at 930, which is the one-room schoolhouse in New Monrovia facilities use agree. Good morning, Madam Chair. George Stoke, Assistant County Administrator. This was an item that I got the pleasure to work on. Not to belabor the point, but before you today is an agreement between Martin County and the Black Heritage Initiative. The use is to convey the use of the one-room schoolhouse in New Monrovia. This is a new use, excuse me, this is a new agreement. The duration is one year with automatic one-year renewals, and there are clauses for termination as are in the attachment. The benefits to Martin County is this is the expanded public use and cultural enrichment for the facility, which there is quite a bit of cultural enrichment in history that goes along with this facility. The costs to Martin County are really just staff time for coordination, and so the other costs are already incurred. As you may remember, this was this actually this building goes all the way goes all the way back to the 30s. However, the county purchased this building via August of 1998. It was on school district grounds, and not to belabor, I'm sure some of our speakers will probably mention more about this. However, I do want to just take the time as staff to thank our Martin County legal staff, Martin County, BHI, Mr. Lloyd-Jones specifically, the Martin County School District, and the Parks and Recreation District, because this agreement, I want to say because of the complexity of all the different players, took us about two years to complete. And with that, I'd like to invite Mr. Jones, if you're okay with that, Madam Chair, to begin speaking from the Black Heritage Initiative. Mr. Jones, if you want to come on up. Good morning. Welcome. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning to everyone. Truly, this is a great day to be here. As Mr. Stokes pointed out earlier, it's been a good journey. And, of course, I'm sure that with your support, we have a great payoff for the community. You know, I just want to say I thank each of you for giving Martin County Black Heritage Initiative the opportunity to share our proposal to use the Salerno Color Schoolhouse as a museum and cultural center. I felt on Saturday morning, the spirit and the charge I felt on Saturday morning, that all of us shared the same interest in preserving the schoolhouse and educating our children about Martin County's rich history. With your assistance, as your assistance, we hope one day soon to celebrate the schoolhouse as a member of the National Registry. We have formed a small group of volunteers from across the county and from different backgrounds based upon the quote, that a rising tide lifts all boats. With that said, we believe when people work together intelligently, work together professionally, and plan together cooperatively, a transformation can take place. It's with this thought that we believe we can achieve more when we work together with you, visioning, creating, sharing, and sustaining the schoolhouse. George Prince, one of the master of creative thinking of our time, says that for creativity to take place, we need to be optimistic, assume valuable implications, protect vulnerable beginnings, give early support, shield the risk, deal as an equal, temporarily suspend disbelief, shield the burden of proof, focus on what is going forth as an idea, and assume it can be done. It is in this spirit that we ask you to support Martin County Black Heritage Initiative's proposal to use the schoolhouse as a resource to illuminate our local history and to create our communities' diverse cultures. I want to end by thanking you for considering granting Martin County Black Heritage Initiative this opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. Do you have any questions? Any questions for Mr. Jones? I do. Mr. Jones, most everybody in Martin County knows who you are. Yes, sir. But there might be just a few who don't. So tell us a little bit about your career and where you were born and raised. Sure, I'd be glad to. I'm a native Martin Countian. I was born here in Stewart in 1954. That's not saying I'm 71 years old right now. I grew up in Hope Sound in the Gomez subdivision. I grew up there. And I also attended Martin County High School where I graduated in 1972. From there I went on. I spent 37 years in the Martin County Sheriff's Office where I retired as a rank of captain. And from there I got involved. I wanted to give back to my community. I was retired and I wanted to give back to my community. So I got involved in the history book bit me. And I got involved with the restoration of the Gomez Pounder Cemetery with some of the folks in this room here. And we began to hope, restore the Gomez Pounder Cemetery, which is still an ongoing project. You know, when I walked through that cemetery a few times, I looked at the dates and times of the people who were interred there. And their times of death and birth went back to a time where after the Civil War. And I said to myself, oh, my God, I'm walking through a museum, you know. And with that, I spawned on and I went forward and I met some people in Tallahassee who were involved in museums and restoring museums and placing museums in the communities. I thought it was so important that Martin County have a place, too, that we can showcase everybody's history and be included on the map in the State of Florida Heritage Trail. So that's who I am. That's what I've been doing. And I love my community. It's my home. I tell people all the time, I sleep in Portland, Lucid, but I live here in Portland with Martin County still. It's my home. And I'm glad to be here. And I'm honored that you allowed me to speak to you today. And we wouldn't be here were it not for Lord Jones' dedication. Our community loves you. Our next speaker is a student from the Port Salerno Colored School. That's Loretta Bradley. Ms. Bradley? We should have brought the bell. We need to ring the bell that school is in session. My name is Loretta Mackey Bradley, a second-generation Martin County resident, retired letter carrier, and proud alumni of the one-room schoolhouse that we knew only at school. During a time when so much history is being rewritten, otherwise interpreted, or sadly erased, I am grateful to the Martin County Black Heritage Initiative. Martin County School District and you, our representative, to not only preserve our history, but also provide the opportunity for today's generations to learn from our history, not from generation removed, but firsthand shared story from those who sat in the classrooms. I'm honored to know that my grandchildren, two of which are school-aged children, will have the opportunity to learn about my educational history, aside from what I shared with them now with their peers. I'm overjoyed that my oldest granddaughter, an educator in Martin County, will have an opportunity to have her students receive the reality through her grandmother's age classmates, that we are not far removed, but we are moving forward. I am hopeful that as the branches of the community become diverse, the roots that anchor the blossoms to come are appreciated and not forgotten. I am fully hopeful and supportive of the facility use agreement presented. Thank you. Thank you. Alfred Miller is next, followed by Pastor Uma Miller. Good morning. My name is Alfred Miller, and I grew up in the Hope Sound, Banner Lake area. I'm here this morning to support the initiative with Mr. Jones' group so that we can use the Port Salerno College School for a lot of various venues. I attended Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach. I was basically a history major with a minor in sociology. I completed 37 years of employment as an employee of the state of Florida in criminal justice. But history has always been important to me. I'm aware that I do sit on a committee under Mr. Stokas here with the centennial book that we're going to be bringing for the benefit of the entire county. I did work on a project that had the Banner Lake Club to be placed on the local register. And I'd just like to say that there is an extreme amount of history here in Martin County that really needs to be told. And that's from the pineapple fields of Jensen Beach to a beautiful, wonderful island that we all refer to now, Jupiter Island, and the work that the early day African-Americans had to do to bring it to what it is today. Again, I thank you. Have a good day. Thank you. Pastor Miller is next, followed by Michael Serkis. Good morning, good morning, good morning. I am Bishop Euma Miller, senior pastor of the Port Salerno Church of God, third generation Martin County resident. My father and his siblings were students of the one-room schoolhouse, and I am honored to be a recipient, direct recipient, of the disciplines taught and experienced and the impressions passed down that made me want to be better, do better, respectfully represent my family and my community, and be a part of this continuity of the school's influence and not the reservoir where it stops. I am grateful to this board of commissioners, more particular to Commissioner Hurd, for partnering for Martin County School District, for the restoration of the building that is a living example that our community's history is worth saving. I am especially appreciative to the Martin County Black Heritage Initiative for their dedicated service as representatives of the inclusion of our heritage as an important part of Martin County's history. The Port Salerno Church of God fully supported the one-room schoolhouse. The students were our church members. We were one community, one family. Now, under my leadership, we fully support the one-room schoolhouse. Many of the school descendants are our current members, and we are still one community and one family. I and my congregation wholeheartedly believe this facilities use agreement will be a positive inclusion to our community. Thank you all so much. Thank you. Michael Serkis is next, followed by Joette Lorien-Rice. Good morning. Good morning. Mike Serkis from Palm City. I wanted to come today to encourage you guys to go forward with this agreement with the Black Heritage Initiatives. I'm sure a lot of you guys know, following the reconstruction of the schoolhouse in 2013, the schoolhouse has been a fairly underutilized county asset. If you guys go through the 28 provisions of this agreement, you'll see that there's a lot of restrictions, which makes it very difficult to find an organization that is willing, capable, and more importantly, able to go forward with utilizing this structure in a dignified manner, something that's productive to the county. I know a lot of people are going to talk about history in a few minutes, but I just want to say from a pragmatic perspective that this is an underutilized asset that you guys are now going to be able to benefit off of with essentially no cost or no issue to the county. On top of that, the Black Heritage Initiatives over the last four years, between the Moses Project Lloyd just talked about, also through Digital History Building Bridges, they are registered with both Martin County as well as University of Florida, Samuel Proctor. This is a very legitimate organization that over four years has put blood, sweat, and tears into bringing the 34 schoolhouse onto both the state registrar and eventually the national registrar. I mean, it's not often you guys are presented with a win-win, but partnering with the BHI is a slam dunk. Be foolish not to do this. Thank you. Following Ms. Rice is Julie Priest. Good morning, Commissioners. So good to see you. Happy to be here during Preservation Month. Historic preservation protects the places that matter in our history because they tell the stories of our past. This little schoolhouse has many stories to tell and holds timeless lessons for us all. It is a vital part of Martin County's history, especially its African-American history. It was the first built during the era of segregation. It was the first school built in Martin County to educate African-American students. It was here from 1943 to 1960 that Robert Murray, its first teacher, and Mrs. Costello Williams, its predominant teacher, educated future teachers, principals, sheriff's office people, school board members, and more. So I'm happy to be here today, not on behalf of the board, because we didn't know this was coming up. So because we don't meet in May during Historic Preservation Month, we couldn't vote on this. But I'm here speaking from my perspective, having researched the history of the schoolhouse for the past 12 years, I guess it is. When I first got on the board in 2006, students, former students of the schoolhouse would come before us and ask us to save the storm ravaged school. They'd been hit by hurricanes. It had mold. It had a lot of problems. I would go to county administration and ask, can't we save this school? And they'd say, well, no. You know, they've recommended that it be condemned and torn down. And it was horrifying. And then I think some of the students went to meet with Commissioner Hurd, and Commissioner Hurd got involved. And in any event, the schoolhouse was saved. And with Harold Markey and General Services' help, they did a beautiful restoration. I know many of you saw it this Saturday when we had the Florida Marker celebration. So these students wouldn't quit. They just kept coming and coming to the meetings, and they wore us all down. But we're glad they did, because without it, we would no longer have this what is a landmark, which is probably the only remaining one-room schoolhouse on the Treasure Coast. So we couldn't get it on the National Register because it had been moved, but we found there's another option we can apply under where, for cultural purposes, we may be able to do this. So in 2013, our board did put it on the Martin County Historic Register. So it is on that. And it got the State of Florida Historic Marker mainly because the Black Heritage Initiatives, Inc. came to our meeting and asked us, can we apply for this? And so our board approved it, and we said, sure. I mean, this is great. Somebody else wants to do something. So they applied for the marker, and with Julie Priest, and I worked on it also, the marker's just magnificent. It was just unveiled this Saturday, and we had a wonderful celebration. So I'm here today to say these students had a dream. Let's take the dream the next step. I mean, Black Heritage Initiatives, including our dream at the county, I think, was that it was going to be some type of facility where we could teach history or as a museum or as a cultural center. So that was always kind of what people hoped for, but we never thought it would be realized. So this is, as the prior gentleman said, this is truly a win-win situation for the county. And I encourage you to please say yes. Thank you. And if you have any questions, thank you. Thank you. Julie Priest is next, followed by Chandler Josie. Good morning, everyone. This is quite a day for us. I met Lloyd-Jones at an event by Keep Martin Beautiful, as a matter of fact. And I was introduced to him by Rob Ranieri, who's in the audience here, House of Hope. So that was a good start. And ever since then, which has been several years now, I have been working on the history, on compiling the history, the real history of the school. And as it turns out, I found out more history. For instance, no fewer than two previous times in the history of this county and the history of the city of Stewart, there were two other attempts by two other groups to do something like this in East Stewart. And that fizzled out. So this is truly exciting because now our county is taking this on. So thank you very much for that. And then in the intro by Mr. Stokas, I need to correct. I don't have my records with me. But the transfer of the building went through in 1986. Excuse me. So it's been a while since the county has owned the facility. And then the wonderful discovery, which was started by Joette as far as doing the history for the Historic Preservation Board in order to put it on our local register. In my review, the Pittsburgh Courier, no less. Pittsburgh Courier in 1934 had a very small article that said that the school had opened. It was going to be dedicated on Washington's birthday. And it was a civil works project, civil works administration project, which to me is quite prestigious that we have a civil works administration project because the civil works administration was only in effect for less than a year. And then the other alphabet soup, they called them from the New Deal, took over with all those responsibilities of relief and jobs for those during the Great Depression. So we are very happy now to have the complete history. And therefore, I ask you in the paragraph where it starts with whereas and says the schoolhouse was built circa 1930. And I used to be a typesetter out of high school that I suggest you change that to. The schoolhouse was built in 1934, a project of the Civil Works Administration. And, George, I know you'll have room in there because you have room at the bottom of that paragraph to fit those words in. Of course, all the people with heart spoke before me. I'm more of the record keeper. I urge you to please move forward with this. Thank you very much. And Mr. Josie is the last request to speak form I have. If you would like to address us, please fill out a request to speak form and get it to the bailiff who will get it to me. Thanks. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Chandler Josie, third generation Martin County resident and proud veteran of the United States Army. Thank you for the opportunity to address this honorable group. I love my community, and I've proudly served in various voluntary positions. I've served in positions from member to vice president with the New Monrovia Community Development Corporation for 10 years, most recently the Porcelain and Neighborhood Advisory Committee as committee member, vice chair, and chair for eight years, and the Martin County Black Heritage Initiative since its inception in 2020. All that I have been empowered to do and encouraged to continue are directly credited to the generation that preceded me in my neighborhood that were students of the one-room schoolhouse and the almighty God. Interestingly enough, I am only one generation removed from those that were educated there. I'm in constant awe, as I've learned from my mom, who was a student and spoke earlier, and others from my New Monrovia neighborhood that were students that share with me incredible, life-changing stories. Stories not of injustice, not of the downtrodden, but triumphant testimonials of determined students and dedicated educators who were and are countless positive contributors to our community and society in general. I love this history. I love my history. And that which I love that empowers and encourages, I believe others can gain those attributes as well if given the opportunity. I visited the Little Red Schoolhouse on the island of Palm Beach with Martin County Black Heritage Initiatives and Martin County School District Representatives in January. And as impressive as that historic program was, I felt incredibly excited and blessed that the students of the Martin County School District would have the rare opportunity to not only learn local history from the schoolhouse experience, but also hear firsthand accounts from those that were a part of the history. I fully support the facilities use agreement presented. I am prayerful that the history that is shared with our school district through this initiative will be viewed as a treasured learning experience and not a missed opportunity of growth. Thank you. Thank you. Nancy Terrell is next. Good morning, Commissioners. I just have a brief statement of support for the project that's before you with the use facilities use agreement for the Port Salerno Color School. I think as you look at Chapter 16, the history, arts, well, arts, culture, and historic preservation element of a comprehensive plan. I think it speaks beautifully to making sure that our community has access to these facilities and the education and the history that's a deep part of this community. So I encourage your support. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Hetherington. Yes. I would just say, number one, thanks so many people for coming here in support of this project today. I had the honor of attending the unveiling of the historic marker on Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony. Entertaining with Eula Clark as the mistress of ceremonies for sure. Loved, absolutely loved hearing the former students speaking at the ceremony. And thank you to Commissioner Hurd for what you've done to contribute to that. It was just a wonderful day of community and people, and I think that's what Martin County is all about. And a couple of you speakers said it was extremely important to celebrate our history, and I'm a generational native as well of Martin County. Grew up in Indian Town and absolutely loved Martin County. I love that so many of you came because, to me, this was sort of a no-brainer, slam-dunk, easy, you know, no decision to be made. So I wholeheartedly support you. Look forward to you being able to pass this form of history on to several more generations, and I would be happy to move staff's recommendation for approval. Second. With the changes suggested by Julie Priest? Yes, adding in the dates, and George, you've noted Ms. Priest's comment. Madam Chair, that's where my light is. It's just a change with those. Commissioner Campy. Thank you. Like many of my colleagues, I had the opportunity Saturday to be there, and I agree with Commissioner Hetherington. Eula Clark really brings a whole different flavor to an event that probably... There are so many honorary degrees. Yeah, a lot of people got doctorates that day. A lot of people were taken out of their comfort zones, whether they liked it or not. But it made for an exciting time. But even if Ms. Clark wasn't there, I felt honored to be part of it. You know, there's a lot of things that elected officials get to do. Some of them are difficult. Some of them are exciting. But we really have to protect our history. If we don't, we really do a disservice to those that came before us. Because not only are we celebrating it, we have to protect it. You know, when you heard about the building potentially being torn down, because the easy thing to do is to tear it down and to move on. But the hard thing, and the group that's formed in this grassroots group that then got involved with our historic preservation group and the collaboration, Commissioner Hetherington is right, you had us at hello. This literally could have been on the consent agenda because none of us would have not participated. I thank our staff. I'm surprised it had to take two years. It could have been. But I get that there's a lot of moving parts. But if we didn't do this, then we're not teaching and sharing our history with the future. And I think that's going to become harder and harder, especially with real things. You know, it's easy to put an app on the phone or to do something. But I know that school board member Marsha Powers is here and assistant superintendent Dr. Tracy Miller is here. The thing that really struck me as most important from Saturday's presentation was the collaboration that the school district will have by bringing, like they did with the Environmental Study Center, because I remember when my kids were little, everybody went to the Environmental Study Center. It was something, as the years progressed, you look forward to. And now I know that every student will have a chance to go through this school building. And we had a chance to go in it. And I'll tell you, you know, before I had stepped in, I think it was going to be nice in there. But when you step through the doorway, it literally is like going back in time. You can really get a sense that you cannot get seeing it online, watching a video, playing a game. Physically being in there, I think, will be very valuable for our students. So it's easy for us to support your decision. I want to thank Commissioner Hurd, because with district discretionary funds, there's a lot of draws and pulls on those limited dollars. But for her to get on board, I think, was obviously part of really saving it. And then it was interesting to have Harold Markey come down. I know he's moved out of the area for him to come down, because I do remember this. You know, I was here when they talked about protecting it and saving it. You need champions like that on the government side to do it, because the passion of the neighborhood, I mean, I was thinking as you were all speaking, what's the next project we're going to work on? Because you've had a success now, you know, this group of folks that know how to get things done, you're a real asset and a benefit to our community. So I think you'll get a unanimous decision today, and it was rightly earned. So thank you very much. Look forward to your future work. And for those who aren't as familiar with the College Schoolhouse as we are, it's remarkable in that it was built in the height of the Depression. It was completed in 1934 for and by a community who were denied access to public education. And they had the astonishingly good fortune to hire Costello Williams to teach most of those students for most of those years. And by all accounts, she was a marvelous teacher. It sounds a lot like she taught Bible school as much as she taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Those kids all became extraordinary orators, and I think that they were probably reciting scripture. She instilled character and honesty and a love of learning. And those kids were, those students were so proud of that school. They loved their school. They loved their teacher. They loved their flag. They loved their books. They loved that school and were all so enthusiastic about praising the school and their educations there. So the school was open for just over three decades, and then it was shuttered, and then it was pretty much neglected for or underutilized for the next four decades, and then it was destroyed in 2004 by Hurricanes Francis and Jean. And the school board had control of it at that time, and the community came to the school board and asked them for help in restoring it, and the school board hired a consultant who evaluated it and said it should be condemned. And the community came to see me, and they asked me if I would help restore it, and we hired a consultant, and the consultant evaluated it, and the consultant said it should be condemned. And I talked to Harold Markey, who was our general services director at the time, and he also thought that it should be condemned, but he believed in that project. And so we said, sure, of course we'll restore it. And I get to take the bows because I provided the resources for the restoration, but Harold Markey did all the work. His commitment, his dedication to that project made it possible. And then it's been underutilized for the last 12 years, and then along comes Lloyd-Jones. And don't bother saying no to Lloyd-Jones. You're wasting your breath because that man has dedication like no man I've ever met in my life. He just is, he was relentless, tenacious in a wonderful, wonderful way. So now this school is going to be an institute of learning again because just as we, as every public school child in Martin County passes through the Environmental Studies Center, they now will be passing through the Salerno Colored Schoolhouse learning about the history there. So this is terrific. Thank you, Lloyd, for staying with this. Thank you. Mr. Capps. Yes, I attended the historic preservation event on Saturday, and my heart was very warmed by all of the stories from all the former students and all the people who have helped bring this project to where it is today. Again, as others have said, thank you, Commissioner Hurd, for your lead on this. And I would encourage all Martin County residents to make your way there to view this little school. It's very, very inspiring. A couple of things that stood out to me by some of the speakers that Commissioner Hurd alluded to was the devotions in the morning, which included the reading of the psalms and a special prayer that they recited every day that was very, very heartwarming. Also, the stories about the flag. The kids would have, like, this competition to go out and who gets to put the flag up every day. And the flag could not touch the ground, and it could never get wet. So those were really touching stories. And this initiative underscores the very important work of historic preservation. As we all know, this is Historic Preservation Month, and I was just really glad that I got to this on Saturday. So congratulations to all of you. Thank you all. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Do we have any more public comment? What? I think we ended public comment. We haven't done the consent. No. Commissioners, now we need to move to the consent agenda. In addition to approving the consent agenda, we are also asked to withdraw consent 5, consent 6, consent 7, consent 8, and consent 9. Thank you, Diane. I'll move approval of the consent agenda with the withdrawal of consent 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. We are ready for, that's a preset, a public hearing quasi-judicial 1. Commissioner comments. Commissioner comments. I'm sorry, Commissioner comments. Commissioner Hetherington. Yes. Oh, in advance here of Memorial Day, we've been working on a project in my district to, if you've walked the Veterans Memorial Bridge or driven by on Cantor Highway, the southeast corner, there's a large utility box, I've seen them in other areas, they've been wrapped and they look beautiful and blend in. This particular utility box on that corner, and many people walk that bridge and they park at Kiplinger Park and walk by it, will be wrapped with featuring a number of Martin County veterans in celebration of their service to Martin County. It will also have a QR code if you're walking, don't do it if you're driving, you could scan the QR code and you'll get a little bit of history about the different veterans that are featured. So, in honor of, and I've been looking for something to do with this box for some time, to celebrate veterans and their contributions, or specifically Martin County veterans. So, it'll be up by the end of the week, so I hope you'll take a drive over to Kaeple Engineer Park and walk over the Veterans Bridge and check it out. And that's all I have today. Commissioner Campy. I'm all set. Commissioner Capps. Yes, I would like to thank county staff and the Army Corps of Engineers for having me tour the C-23, C-24 reservoir and stormwater treatment areas in western St. Lucie County just several days ago. And this is where they pump water out of the C-23 with these big pumps into these two large reservoirs, and that's kind of like the first step. And then the water is gravity-fed into five stormwater treatment areas, which are like these gigantic fields where the water will be one to two feet tall with lots of vegetation to clean the water and to serve as habitat for wildlife, like wading birds and that kind of thing. And then after the water filters through these five STAs, as they're called, the water goes into a canal where they monitor how much nitrogen and phosphorus was taken out by the stormwater treatment areas. And then the water goes into this canal that leads into Ten Mile Creek and then into the North Fork of the St. Lucie River, where that clean water filters down through our river and under the Roosevelt Bridge. So it was very inspiring to see this. It was an engineering marvel, and I can't wait to see it become functional and to see the results that we're all going to benefit from. So thank you for the tour. Anything else? Commissioner Vargas. I'm fine. As am I. Mr. Stokas. Yes, Madam Chair. I just have two brief comments. I wanted to take a moment to recognize our Parks and Rec staff. We have some pictures on the screen for you. Two of our staff won Advancing Afterschool Awards, which is an award recognized for their commitment to quality standards, dedication to the children, and contributions of the afterschool field. The first one is Mr. Jorge Peseta. He won the Out of School Time Legacy Award. And then the next one would be Lauren Mihalik. I apologize. I'm probably butchering your name. Quality leadership in the Out of School Time Award for her leadership quality. So I just wanted to highlight some of the great work that our staff's doing, especially in Parks and Rec. Terrific. Ms. Woods. Yes, I just wanted to briefly welcome back a new senior assistant county attorney, Sebastian Fox. He served a number of years in my office with distinction, and we're so pleased to welcome him back. Yay. Anything else? And we'll take, we will take up public hearing quasi-judicial number one, which is a public hearing to consider adoption of an amendment to the Martin County Zoning Atlas to change the zoning district classification for Jensen Beach. Jensen Beach, MHP, LLC. This is quasi-judicial commissioners. Commissioner Vargas, any ex parte disclosures? If I have any, they've been filed. Mr. Capps. If I have any, they have been filed. I have some, and they've been filed. Commissioner Campy. I have some, and they've been filed. And Commissioner Hetherington. I have them, and they've been filed. Mr. Elam, have you passed on all of your important information to the clerk? Yes, a copy of the agenda item, and my work history have been turned in. And anyone who's going to be providing sworn testimony, please stand up and be sworn. 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? Thank you, Madam Chair. For the record, Brian Elam, Principal Planner with the Growth Management Department. This is a request by Quazzo Planning Solutions, incorporated on behalf of Jensen Beach, MHP, LLC, for a proposed amendment to the county zoning atlas. The proposed amendment is to change the existing zoning district classification from planned unit development to LC, Limited Commercial District, and RS-5, Low Density Residential District, or the most appropriate zoning districts. This request to rezone is considered non-mandatory. Included with this application is a request for a certificate of public facilities exemption. The approximate 17.27 acres property consists of 10 parcels located east of Northeast Skyline Drive. The property is bisected by Northeast Indian River Drive and the Florida East Coast Railroad, and includes land east of Northeast Indian River Drive. The property is generally located at the intersection of Northeast Indian River Drive and Northeast First Street, approximately 100 feet north of Northeast Pineapple Avenue or Northeast Causeway Boulevard, at 3830 Northeast Indian River Drive and Jensen Beach. This is an aerial site. All the areas within the red outlines are part of the existing Pitchford's Landing PUD. The existing future land use on the property is low-density and commercial-limited. Oh, I'm sorry. The existing zoning, outlined in red, is the Pitchford's Landing PUD, and the future land use is low-density and commercial-limited. This slide shows the proposed zoning districts with the RS-5 low-density residential district over the land with low-density future land use and with LC, Limited Commercial, over the land with commercial-limited underlying future land use. There's one Category A zoning district available to implement the commercial-limited land use policies of the comp plan, and that's LC, Limited Commercial. PUD zoning is also an option. And there are six Category A straight zoning districts available to implement the low-density comp plan future land use. That's RS-3, 4, and 5, which are single-family homes, and the RM-3, 4, and 5, which allow multifamily. PUD zoning is also an option. It's the development standards and structure setbacks for the LC, and the same for the low-density zoning districts. The one being proposed, RS-5, is 7,500 minimum lot area. Five units per acre is the maximum density, and the setbacks are identical. This application was heard before the local planning agency on May 15th. It was voted 3 to 1 in favor of staff's recommendation. Development review staff have found the Jensen Beach MHP LLC rezoning application to be consistent with the existing land uses as detailed in the staff report. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning quest by Jensen Beach MHP LLC. We move that the board receive and file the agenda item, and all its attachments, including the staff report, is Exhibit 1. We move that the board adopt a resolution approving the rezoning from planned unit development to LC Limited Commercial District and RS-5 Low-Density Residential District. And that concludes the presentation. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Commissioner Vargas. I have looked at this property. I'm very familiar with it. I've spoken with staff. I've spoken with the applicant also. And my understanding, even if we were to grant this change zoning, it still would not comply with what exists on the property. Is that correct? The uses on the property are considered nonconforming. It's because their existence back to the 30s. It predates all our code. Right, exactly. However, I have some concerns about this. To have the number of units per acre is approximately five units, which falls in with the character of Jensen Beach single-family homes, which is fine. However, what about something extremely important? We're talking about the water and the sewer. My understanding is this is septic tank, primarily, the developed portion. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. And I think there's a comprehensive plan policy 10.2A4, which requires multifamily nonresidential properties to connect to a regional sewage system within 365 days of receiving notice that a gravity sewer or wastewater force main with capacity is adjacent to the property. Is that correct? Is that correct? Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Okay. I think that this is really an important policy for the protection of waterways in Martin County, especially those waterways that have been impaired. There are state initiatives to encourage hookup for the water and the sewer. And also, this can be financed through Martin County, and also, they can have the option, the property owner, to finance outside also, which might be more cost effective. I think I'm concerned also for the health and safety of the community. You know, we have elderly, we have children, and who could possibly get sick? I did mention the waterways. When this process is implemented of the hookup to the water and the sewer, everyone would be able to remain in their homes. Nobody would be displaced. So you continue your business. And that's going to encourage, of course, more foot traffic. So I know that there is a neighbor that suggested, a neighboring property owner suggested walkways, crosswalks, flashing lights to protect those that now are using this area. I think that it's important that we, as a board, proactively enforce this plan policy, and I don't quite understand why it has not been enforced up to date. Ms. Elder, would you like to weigh in or? I'll take it. Good morning, Peter Walden, Deputy Growth Management Director. Before us this morning is a rezoning, and we can't really address the utilities or the hookup of it, but staff would be glad to come back at a later date with an evaluation of the water and sewer systems along the rivers and possibly work with utilities to recommend some incentives or methods to get more people to hookup, if that would be the board's decision. Well, I think that this definitely is the way we need to go with this because we are now changing the zoning to allow these property owners to eventually sell the property to the west. And there are five parcels there that I see that could be developed for a good quantity of homes. And then eventually, if that's what the direction you want to go in, if we grant this zoning, then certainly more single-family residential could be developed there. I know that there's some parcels right along the river, which might be more difficult on the east side of northeast Indian River Drive to put something different, although I think there's a restaurant there, a German restaurant, that my understanding with the footprint, so it could be more vertical, could be changed. Something else that might be more difficult on the west side of Indian River Drive, again, you have the opportunities to develop into single-family eventually. But I think the water and sewer is not something to be discounted. And I would propose, again, to direct staff to develop a plan to begin enforcing this comprehensive plan provision. That's why it's there. And come back to this board for further discussion before we follow through with this zoning change. Again, this should be hinged on connecting to sewer and water hookup. There's plenty of time that this park has been in existence for that. And we have to protect the safety and welfare of our community and do what's best for the citizens of Martin County and Jensen Beach in particular. Any further questions for staff? Applicant, would you like to make a presentation? Terry McCarthy, representing the property owner, thank you for allowing us to speak today. This may come as a surprise to you all, but we're completely in agreement with the staff on this issue. Regarding water and sewer, I think that's a separate issue. If you want a table list to address it, okay, I'd have to speak to my client. I would caution you, though, especially in this instance, about the unintended consequences of your actions. You know, oftentimes we don't realize the unintended consequences. I can tell you significant consequences would be present here because the folks that live here, they're elderly, a lot of them. You know, they're in the lower rung of society. If they had the wherewithal, they wouldn't be living here. If you come in and put in the water and sewer, you're going to disrupt their lives. The rent will go up. You know, it'll be an expense that will be passed on. What will the impact be on those residents? It'll be disastrous. I mean, it'll kill some of them. In others, they'll drive them away. And, frankly, to what end? I mean, if you're going to do this, I'm not opposed to the concept of water and sewer, but I think you have to temper that with the unintended consequences of where you're dictating that be applied. Certainly on Skyline, I believe there's a water line over there. I don't think there's sewer over there. Anyone putting in a single family is going to have to tie in. That goes without saying. And the commercial properties on the east, they're really not big enough to do much of anything other than what's there. So if you want to tie that to this zoning, frankly, I don't think that's kosher in terms of rezonings. They have to be taken on their own. I'll get with my client and see what their response is. But I would urge you that in this particular instance, and there will be other instances similar to this, that you remember the unintended consequences of what will happen to the folks that are living there. Those septic tanks and the wells and whatever, I mean, they've been there a long time. Maybe they need to be upgraded. But if you went in there and said, look, we're going to come in and lay lines in here, water and sewer lines in here, to those folks, I think they'd say, do you really have to disrupt their lives like this? And as I said, I think it'll kill some of them, and others, they'll be forced to move away. That's the goal. I don't think that's the goal. I think the goal is to get water and sewer there, which I think you can do on a global issue for Martin County to go to those areas where it should be done, because you do have a policy to that in that respect. Now, with respect to the actual application for rezoning, I'm happy to have Dina Freeman come up. Dina's our expert. You've already heard from your experts. I think you're going to hear the same thing from Dina that you just heard from your experts, which is in favor of the zoning change. So I'll leave it up to the board and the chair to how you want to head with this. Commissioner Vargas, do you have questions for Mr. McCarthy? Yes. It's my understanding there's no disruption to those that are living there. I did speak with engineering about this. When the lines are installed? I'm sorry? When the lines are installed? Yeah. I mean, it's not that they have to move, that they can stay there. Is there already, Ms. Elder, is there already a requirement that the state is enforcing failed septic systems? It cannot be upgraded. They can't be upgraded. There is a statute that requires regular septic. If there's a failed septic, it can be upgraded, but it's a more extensive wastewater system, so it's more expensive, and they are encouraging the conversion from septic to sewer, but it is a more expensive process now with the recent changes. Let me add, too. I think we are also missing an opportunity here today in that your action today to rezone the property will take away the specter of Pitchford's PUD, multifamily, multistory, 80 or 90 units. It's single-family now. That goes away. So if you rezone it today, you can still enforce your tie-in requirements in the county. There's nothing that would stop you from doing that. And I defer to counsel, but I believe that's correct. If the property is rezoned, we can still look at the comprehensive plan and bring back an agenda item to the board to come up with a plan to encourage or promote connection for those properties that are by the impaired waterways, certainly. That is an option. Or we can table it for today and have another discussion about this so that we're all in agreement because we're doing bit by bit then. Commissioner Capps. Ms. Woods or Ms. Elder, it seems to me that what is being asked here is to condition a zoning approval on public utilities. And I'm not sure that's legal. Can you want to weigh in on that? Like, you know, this thing about how, like when we're doing a comp plan amendment, we can't talk about what's going to be built there or a zoning thing. I don't think this is the time to be bringing this up. This is more of a site plan kind of issue, right? Yes, I know. So right now there is a PUD in place that did require hookup to water and sewer. There was a wastewater agreement. It's PUD zoning. It's already expired. So today the board is looking to rezone that. You base that decision on the competent substantial evidence that's presented during this hearing. If the rezoning is in compliance with the comprehensive plan, and the board wants to keep the existing zoning, the standard under the law is to show, based on the evidence, there's a legitimate public purpose to keep the existing zoning. So that would be the standard that we would have to establish if the board decides to keep the existing zoning. It would have to be based on the evidence presented at the hearing. So that's the legal standard. The catch in this one is that we have an expired PUD agreement, so that agreement would need to be renegotiated. So it's a little bit more complex than just the standard zoning, but that's the legal standard that we would have to follow. Thank you, Vargas. So the mandate that the water and the sewer had to be hooked up has expired. Is that correct? So the PUD agreement expired, and all the development tables have expired. So, yes, that mandate has expired. So it's expired. And, Sonia, you're coming to us to ask for another zoning, but we're saying, well, yeah, but we already have a comp plan policy in place, and that hasn't been followed through by the owner of the property. We're here to, Dina Freeman, for the record, on behalf of Quazzo Planning Incorporated. We are here today for a rezoning. It's a color change on a map. We have an expired PUD. It was approved in 2007. I believe it's 88 units were approved, multi-family and single-family, for the Pitchfields Landing PUD. We had a room full of green shirts. It was an eight-hour meeting. Today, I believe we may have maybe one representative from the community objecting. So the site plan and the land use that was changed from mobile home to low-density residential and retained the limited commercial did include a concurrent PUD zoning agreement. That PUD zoning agreement was approved in 2007, and 2011, 2015, there were amendments to the PUD. The PUD did expire, and in the language, I believe it's on page 7 or 8, there is language that requires staff to bring it forward to look at the rezoning and go to the zoning that was prior to or that's consistent with the comprehensive plan. So we're here today consistent with the language on that page in the PUD that says we have to do something. The PUD, we submitted a rezoning back in 2021, and staff did ask that we just rezone the parcels that our applicant and client is looking to sell water on the water in those single-family lots. We've been in the system for four years trying. They said everything met the rezoning, but we'd rather extend and renew the PUD. We've been trying to do that since 2021. At the last meeting in February of 2025 with a joint workshop and additional new comments were provided in that staff report that were basically impossible to meet for a legal non-conforming RV park and mobile home park that dates back from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. The first codes came in in 77 and 82 with a comp plan. This project is one of those historic, attainable, affordable housing projects in Martin County. It's full, and the people that own the property now bought it after the PUD had expired with the intent of continuing the RV park, mobile home park use, and also own the property to the south and the intent to develop that for an RV park. I think that the hookup with water and sewer is more amenable and timely when they come in for a site plan approval for the property to the south that they own. They're not averse to hookup to water and sewer. That is just something that's not on the table for today because we couldn't get there with the standards and the development that was trying to be applied to a 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s project. It was impossible. We went and met with staff February of 2025. It was a unanimous coming out of that meeting. The best way forward was to rezone to the RS5 and the LC, and so we resubmitted in March for a rezoning for the entire property rather than those single parcels and amending the PED in the middle. What happened next is staff reviewed that, and they basically came to the same conclusions and recommendations, and were on the same page regarding moving forward on the colors on the map to RS5 and LC consistent with the land use and zoning. In the comp plan, a PUD is an option, but it's an option. It's not mandated, and you must do that. It has to be negotiated, and we have to meet and reach an agreement on that. Unfortunately, because the RV standards that are in the standards for specific use are trying to be applied to this PUD master amendment, it can't be done because this project, and another thing just to say, when it comes to regulation and health and self-safety and well-being, Martin County Health Department has to regulate and the applicant has to provide and submit to the state and to the county regarding any management of any utilities and also of how they run the actual RV park, and that's something that's been doing, and they've provided information on that in previous application packets. So we have a historic project that predates all of your codes. It's an attainable, affordable housing. The rezoning, unfortunately, the PUD, we couldn't get there, and the best way forward in order to be able to release the overall unified control, sell off some of these lots, and still retain an attainable, affordable RV and mobile home park is to go forward the RS5 and the LC. What I would say is that the applicant owner will welcome communication with staff, including the county engineer and any of the public works and utilities departments. in order to look at and ascertain whether there are any improvements, including hook-up to water and sewer, that may be required as part of the overall management of the actual property. And the good news is there is an opportunity. They are going to come in with a site plan consistent with a mobile home to the south and look to develop the same type of use, which will likely involve a rezoning to a PUD and not just your straight zoning, and that is an opportunity to not only hook up to water and sewer there, but also to look at negotiating and hooking up to water and sewer on the existing Pitchford's landing property. So I do really appreciate this opportunity. I do agree that legally what we're here to discuss today is purely a color on a map, and anything else is something that is site plan and development standard appropriate. So I really request that you approve the project for the rezoning. It is consistent with the land use and zoning. The policy that Commissioner Vargas identified is something that staff would need to work with the property owner separate to this application process. Thank you. Commissioner Vargas? Okay. In speaking with the attorney, he said they don't plan on doing anything with the mobile home park, just leaving it as it is, even if we were to grant the zoning. So you're talking, and then the other, the five parcels that are off of Skyline, they may or may not sell them. Of course, they would have to obviously tie into water and sewer. Yes. But my understanding is that there is water and sewer that's pulled up to the property. They just haven't connected. Is that correct? I believe there is water and sewer lines running down Indian River Drive. Right. Exactly. But that's a separate element. It may be a separate element, but I feel very strongly about this, and I know the people in Jensen Beach. I know how they feel also. I know how the people in Martin County feel about this, about their waterways and protecting themselves too. I mean, the property owner, she doesn't have to do anything. Obviously, if we gave this zoning as it is, but I think we have to have further discussion about this. This is quite a large piece of property, quite a large piece of property. And we welcome that discussion separate to the rezoning. That's fine, but, you know, why don't we table this and have another meeting and talk about this and see what the property owner is willing to do? Because if we're going to keep the septic system there as it is and we grant this zoning, then what's protecting? But what I'm trying to say is that the applicant and the owner can still come and meet with you guys, but that's a separate matter to a rezoning on a color on a map. It may be. That's a very distinct difference in process. So there are no conditions and no requirements to hook up to water and sewer in a rezoning situation like this. So we'd rather, if we can, we could like to move forward on the application. Commissioner Capps? It seems like I remember that there is a policy in the comp plan that has to do with mobile homes and like a no-not-loss type of thing that's sort of like working waterfront, where we have a no-net-loss policy for working waterfront. Don't we have something like that, too, about mobile homes? Yes. When the land use was changed from mobile home to low density, it was part of the PUD provision that some affordable housing was available through the project. Right. So, you know, that's a valued thing in our comp plan. And I tend to agree with Ms. Friedman that we'll have an opportunity to address this issue with a site plan matter at a later time. So I think the timing of this is a little off. So I would move approval. Commissioners, there is a request to speak from the public. Do you want to take that before we take Commissioner comments? Mr. Hamilton. Yes, good morning. Thank you, Commissioners and Madam Chair. My name is Chris Hamilton. I'm the Senior Vice President of Operations and Deputy General Counsel for Sharpie Holdings. We own all of the real estate around the roundabout there at Northeast Indian River, Causeway, and Pineapple Avenue that all converge there. Just to be clear, we are not opposed to development. We just think it needs to be done, to Commissioner Vargas' point, smartly, and that things come current with the current code, and so we can update our county appropriately. There's three issues, or excuse me, four issues that we want to just raise. We submitted them in a letter to the Commission, I think, as you all have it. And those are, I'm going to go in kind of reverse order, I think, because we address the environmental concern with the septic system. We believe that if there's going to be any development, redevelopment, change of zoning there, they need to become current and tie into the septic system. There's been ongoing issues with groundwater runoff there. We've experienced that our properties, we can smell it from the septic systems. It's an ongoing issue. To the points that were just raised, if you approve the zoning, they may not come back with a site plan for five years, eight years. There's no requirement that they come back with a site plan. So we would argue that it needs to be something that's addressed now when it is before the Commission. Secondly, the Hoffman property that's along the water of the German restaurant, there's no setbacks. I believe it's currently a historic grandfathered building. It's largely dilapidated. There's no parking. Cars are already parking on the right-of-way. There's no sidewalks. So we would argue that any rezoning and redevelopment of that property would need to require it to become current with the code. So there are setbacks. There's, you know, frankly, we're shocked there hasn't been pedestrian issues. It's one of the things we raised with the vehicular traffic. Just last Sunday night, a vehicle went through the roundabout and hit our tech center on the front steps and caused substantial damage to the building at 1030 at night. So if there's going to be an increase or change in zoning, increase in traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular in that area, we need to address the roundabout, the crosswalks, the sidewalks. And it's something that needs to be done, whether that's through a site plan amendment or this rezoning. And finally, you know, the code compliance. Again, any rezoning, redevelopment of these properties needs to come current with the current code. That includes setbacks, height requirements, and we'd ask that there be no variances allowed in the future with these properties if that were to occur. I'm happy to answer any questions. But again, we feel that this is, you know, this matter is before the commission right now for rezoning. It is time that you can address some of these concerns. Again, we're not against development. We just think it needs to be done smartly. Thank you. Ms. Elder or Mr. Walden? Yes, Elise Elder. I just want to confirm with the applicant that your affidavit of notice has been turned in on the record. Okay. Commissioner Hetherington. Oh, I was just going to reiterate before I heard this comment that I have a question for staff. But we are looking at, to me, a rezoning. And while I think the value, you know, where there's value to the conversation on enforcing and encouraging our septic-to-sewer provisions, I believe this to be a rezoning. I believe it to be the most compatible request. I also was not on the commission, but I do remember when the multifamily and some of that was approved, that there was a lot of resistance to that. Let me ask you, Elise, on the limited commercial, whatever was to be moved forward in the future on that, they would come in with some kind of site plan to be presented in front of this board, correct? Correct, and that's when the setbacks and the site, all of that would come into play. I understand it's a very small parcel, and what they can do is limited because of parking and just filling the spot. But, yeah, all of that would come back in the site plan. Hookup would come back, setbacks, pedestrian walkways, all of that. We'll have an opportunity to consider, you know, your concerns that you raised when something is brought back for a site plan. So with that, I think we're talking about a simple request of a rezoning, and I'm inclined to support based on the evidence I've heard. Commissioner Campy. I think it's interesting. There's two valid conversations being had. When I had the opportunity to meet with staff and we talked about the concept of bringing water and sewer, my comment was that most people are very, very interested in having water and sewer. In Palm City, Palm City Farms and other areas, we have folks that are desperate for it. But when I'm thinking, you know, having sat up here for quite a while, we're confusing two separate conversations. The agenda item is for a rezoning. And to Commissioner Capp's point, I remember quite well when Krista Story, who was with the attorney's office, she would sit where Ms. Elder is sitting. And when the commission would start to stray off the topic, off the meat and potatoes of the agenda item, she would rightfully say, oh, oh, not allowed to be discussing that portion. That's not part of this. We're discussing exclusively this. And so to me, I'm not a lawyer, but we have lawyers. And actually now, for one of the first times ever, we have a commissioner who's also a lawyer. And so my concern, my radar, my spidey sense is telling me that we need to focus on specifically what this agenda item is. Commissioner Vargas' point about bringing water and sewer is valid. But I am not interested in sort of threatening or holding my approval based on something that's not part of the agenda item for today. I am not a lawyer, but I don't see, that causes me concern that we'd be making decisions or requesting of an applicant a situation that's not part of what's been advertised and promoted and is on the agenda. And to me, as a layperson, that is not something I'm interested in doing. I would like to see, and I think all of the smaller parcels and commercial projects that are going to potentially change their use or what's happening to them currently, as Ms. Elder said, would have to come back through a site plan, through everything else. That's our opportunity fairly to say this is what we're expecting. You're this close to the river, but it's, I don't feel comfortable trying to layer that on top of, hey, we're not going to give you your approval for what you've been asking for for several years and our staff has agreed to and you had agreed to, but wait a second, at the item, at the meeting, I'm going to put this other thing. I don't want to conduct myself as a government representative in that way, and I will second the motion by Commissioner Capps for the rezoning as it's been presented to us today in this agenda item. Commissioner Vargas. Okay, I'm not an attorney either. My sister is, all right, so she's the law and the family here, but I understood from our council comprehensive plan policy 10.28.4 requires gravity sewer wastewater force main hookup. Am I correct, Ms. Elder? I mean, this expires, so this property owner did nothing all these years, nothing at all, and it's more than just a color-coding difference on a map. This affects people's lives. I mean, if you have backup of wastewater or sewer, I mean, who is going to, the property owner's not going to come and say, gee, I think we really need to do this. This is what we're doing up here, and I think anything different, if there's a different vote, then I think we really need to think this very clearly. The state is leaning in a direction that they are requiring water and sewer hookup, especially, especially the sewer hookup, and there are the pipes there already there. It's not like we have to do this. It doesn't disrupt anybody's living quarters whatsoever. I did ask that several times, but we haven't enforced this policy, and I don't quite understand that, why so many years, and I've only just come on five months ago, so I have to look to the others that have been here longer, why it hasn't been enforced, especially as a very delicate area that is right on the river, that has been talked about, that people have protested, that, you know, this is the community of Martin County, whether you're Western Palm City or Eastern Hope Sound or Jensen Beach. So it's not a matter of bringing something else in. I'm asking to table this and to have further discussion with the property owner, of which the council has said that he'd be willing to do. I mean, I think this is the most legitimate thing to do for our community. Commissioner, regardless of what happens with respect to the rezoning, I'll commit to you that we will get together with you and the staff to deal with the issue, but it's a separate issue, and if there is a component in your code that says you've got to hook up, tell staff to enforce it, but I will commit to you that we will get with you and with the staff to address that issue, but it's a separate issue. Ms. Elder. I want to answer Commissioner Vargas' question. The only reason why the water and sewer is relevant in this rezoning is because the current PUD requires it. It has expired, so it's a very complicated issue. We do have that comprehensive plan provision that requires hookup. The county, as far as I know, hasn't taken proactive steps to enforce it, so in this rezoning, the standard is to look at the competent substantial evidence presented by staff and the applicant, and if it meets the standards to rezone the property, we can certainly look at this comprehensive plan and, like Mr. Walden said, come back with an agenda item to encourage hookup, to enforce it, whatever the board would like, but if the rezoning meets competent substantial evidence, the board should look at that and rezone it. The existing PUD is expired, so it's a gray area on this one. Commissioner Capps. I think another reason for not making sewer water and hookup a part of this hearing for rezoning, but to deal with it at a later time, is that most city water and sewer hookups are funded by grants, and if you think about the ones that have been done thus far, they're grant funded, and that's a big process, and if anybody should get it done with a grant, it's probably these folks because they're on the lower end of the financial spectrum and would probably need the help the most. So this is not the time to be dealing with that issue. I think they would probably want to pursue a grant to make that conversion if and when that ends up happening. There's a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4-1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Commissioner, I'll follow up on this. We will now take a 10-minute break. No. Welcome back. We are taking up Department 1, which is Office of Management and Budget Items, which require board approval. Ms. Murley. Good morning, Commissioner. Stephanie Murley here to present today's OMB item. Our first item is permission to apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program through FDEM for the Bessie Creek Retrofit Project. Our Public Works Department is requesting permission to apply for $5,625,000 for retrofit modifications to existing four roadway drainage crossings to address flooding and erosion concerns in the Palm City Farms watershed. There is a match of $1,875,000, which is programmed within the Stormwater Capital Improvement Plan budget. Our second item is permission to apply for the FY25 Safe Streets and Roads for All Implementation Grant for a Southeast Dixie Highway Complete Streets Project. Our Public Works Department is requesting permission to apply for $5,632,000 for safety improvements to control speed to separate users and improve visibility along Southeast Dixie Highway. There is a grant match required in the amount of $1,408,000, which is programmed within the roads capital improvement plan budget. Item number three is a permission to accept the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Urban Forestry Grant for the Sailfish Sands Golf Course Tree Planning. Our Parks and Recreation Department and Ecosystem is requesting a grant award in the amount of $37,398.25 to enhance the native tree canopy habitat, reduce invasive exotic growth, and reduce erosion along Willoughby Creek and support stormwater management at Sailfish Sands Golf Course. There is a grant match required in the amount of $37,398.25, which is partially local funds budgeted in the Sailfish Sands CIP, as well as in-kind grant match from county staff. And the last item is adjustments to the fiscal year 2025 budget. There are four items where we have received funds and we are needing to appropriate them through budget resolutions. The first one is a budget resolution to allocate the contribution from the Chansey Bay Ranch PUD. We are in receipt of $6,000 for one fire preemption device and we need a budget resolution to allocate that contribution into the budget. The second item is to allocate a contribution from the Town of Jupiter Island for the East Fork Creek Phase 2 project. Town of Jupiter Island has given us a check in the amount of $194,910 for East Fork Creek for the relocation of the South Martin Regional Utility Force main. We are installing a weir in that project to enhance flood attenuation and we need a budget resolution to appropriate that contribution as well. The third item is a budget resolution to recognize insurance proceeds for the building department. A vehicle was involved in an accident and sustained some body damage and $5,321.65 has been received for the repairs of that vehicle. And the last item is a budget resolution to accept insurance proceeds for a drone that sustained damage during use in the amount of $6,192.60. It's going to be allocated toward the purchase of a new drone and we need a budget resolution to appropriate that contribution as well. And that's all I have today. Any questions? Mr. Capps. I would just like to mention that 4B, budget resolution to allocate contribution from the town of Jupiter Island for East Fork Creek Phase 2 project. I'd just like to mention to anybody who might be listening what that actually is. Some people have asked what's going on just to the south of Mariner Sands on US-1. And that is the project, I believe, called East Fork Creek 2. And just for informational purposes, I wonder if somebody could just tell us a little bit about it and what it's for. George Zama, Public Works Deputy Director. So this project is Phase 2 of the East Fork Creek project, which is the linear stormwater treatment area cell of the entire project that was permitted. And SMRU, South Martin Regional Utility, has utilities. There was an unopened right-of-way through this area just south of Mariner Sands, actually between Mariner Sands and Heritage Ridge. And the construction, which involves excavation of that linear STA lake, would have exposed the force main. So it was required that the force main be relocated. In our partnership with the Town of Jupiter Island and South Martin Regional Utility, we entered into an interlocal agreement for them to relocate the sewer with the project. Good, thank you. Commissioner Capps, you should ask for a field trip. It's really a nice project. Dickerson is the contractor, and they were the ones who did, and it's the same project manager who did the Twin Rivers Park project, and they did a bang-up job. So I'm sure they're doing a good job on this project, too. Yeah, I'd love to see it. We'll be happy to bring you on a visit. Good. Commissioner Hetherington. I'll move staff's recommendation. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Next is Department 2. Contracts that meet the threshold for board approval of $1 million or greater. Good morning. Good morning, Commissioners. Tasha Sapp, Procurement Supervisor for you. I have two items for your consideration today. I will do them separately. Charlie Layton Park, Boat Ramp Renovations and Park Improvements. Recommended action is moved that the board award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, custom-built Marine Construction Inc. in the amount of $4,520,177.15. That is the base bid plus alternate one and plus alternate three. Move that the board award, I'm sorry, authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. Yes, I will be abstaining from item A-1 on departmental number two due to the fact of my employee relationship with Ferreira Construction. So I have turned in my form 8B and I will abstain from this item. Okay. Mr. Campy. Since we're separating it out, I would very happily make a motion to accept that agenda item. It is something that the community, the NAC, the CRA, the Parks and Rec Board, the Parks and Rec Advisory Board, the District Commissioner have been working on for a long, long time. And this is really putting us through the finish line, I believe, of at least getting it going. And I wanted to thank Parks and Rec staff and the CRA, the Office of Community Development staff. We've been collaborating on this for a long time. As well as the fact that the boat ramps is just the next in a phase boat ramp rehabilitation that we're doing countywide. That will be in conjunction with this. Second. Any further discussion? There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes 4-0 with 4-1 with Commissioner Hetherington abstaining. Sorry. Thank you. My second item is for Southwest Fox Brown Road resurfacing. This is from State Road 710 Warfield Boulevard to County Road 714 Martin Highway. Recommended action. Move that the board award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder who is J.W. Cheatham LLC in the amount of $2,696,329. Move that the board authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. Any questions for staff? Is there a motion to approve? Move approval. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. We'll take up Department 3 which is consideration to adopt an official Martin County flag. Yes. Good afternoon. Excuse me. Good morning, Madam Chair. George Stoke, Assistant County Administrator. At your previous BOCC meeting you had directed staff to research the creation of a Martin County official flag to... There is it. What? There is it. You know what? With your input I'm sure we'll be able to go from there. This is one of those wonderful times I've actually learned something that I think I could use in trivia for the rest of my life. Upon research my staff and I have discovered that there is a group of experts who design flags and they have an association and they are called the North American Vexillogical Association. Staff did reach out to them and basically what we have is three different models in which a flag can be designed. We've identified one as a basic model which is with a seal or a logo on a solid field for the flag. However, the North American Vexillogical Association for several reasons says that that's probably something we should not do. The North American Vexillogical Association does recommend either utilizing an intermediate model which the vexologist in which I spoke to has graciously volunteered to help us in the design of a flag if that's the way that the board would like to move forward and we can come back to this body with two or three examples and they've volunteered at no cost for that or they do recommend you could do a complex model very similar to the city of Boca Raton where there's public workshops, public input and there is some costs that are associated with that. Basically, what the North American Vexillogical Association looks at is they tell you to keep your flag simple, use meaningful symbolism, keep it to two to three basic colors, no letters or seals and then be distinctive or be relatable or be related to some similarities or connections with your community. So what, of course, some of the issues that do, of course, occur is the design selection process costs. If the board goes with the intermediate model, the cost would be negligible pretty much staff time and perhaps there might be some costs that would be included for creating a couple of templates or conceptual designs. If you were to go with the more complex design standard, it would be, of course, some costs for public workshops and probably other incurred costs for the meetings. As far as initial capital and maintenance costs, depending on where this board wanted to go and if you wanted to have a conversation at a future date, there are 36 flagpoles at county facilities and staff's initial recommendation is if you were going to put a flag in a flagpole at every single facility, you're probably looking at costs in around $500,000 because most of the flagpoles, there will need to be the installation of another flagpole or swap out of the hardware. However, if you wanted to just consider it keeping in one place, you're probably looking, according to our general services, the average cost to install a flagpole is approximately $10,000 to $15,000. A lot of that cost is both the pole, the electric, as well as the concrete. There is cost, of course, with manufacturing the flags as well as we'll need to come back to you if you do decide to do a flag because we will need this body to decide some policy discussions as well as First Amendment issues, government speech, as well as legal and copyright considerations, whether the flag will be an open for public use or whether it will be just for the use of the county. With that, I'm looking for any type of comments or recommendations as it relates to, I'm going to try and bring it up to, if you want to move forward with a flag and then if you do want to move forward with the design of a flag, do you prefer the basic, intermediate, or complex model? And with that, Madam Chair, that's my presentation and I'm more than happy to take any comments and or concerns. Mr. Campy. Mr. Stokas, thank you very much for that. When Ms. Gail Goldie had come here a couple of meetings ago to recommend that, I thought it was a good suggestion. I know that the City of Stewart had a local artist work on a flag that I had seen a version of I thought looked very nice. A couple of things. One, I like the version where they volunteer their services to create a couple of options. If we wanted to have some community input, we could have the community input based on the three options that a professional flag designer from NAVA was to create for us. Two, I don't, I definitely don't think we need to put it up in front of every building. It's not, I mean, it's more of a, in my mind, it's a nice thing to have. It's our 100th anniversary. It'd be nice to start a flag for the second 100 years. It could be a flag that, you know, departments can have. It could go on a flagpole in the building. I wouldn't put it, I wouldn't install a single flagpole anywhere specifically for the county flag. I had a question, though. You said that they recommended not having any letters or a seal? Yes. NAVA gave a couple reasons, Mr. Vice Chair. Yes. Thank you. Pretty much what the NAVA professionals represented was that seals represent the government and not necessarily a broader community symbol, as well as seals often contain intricate details that are not easily visible on a flag and it wouldn't, in their opinion, wouldn't look good. We can obviously, if you want, we can throw one together and have you guys look at that, more than happy to do that, as well as the other options that the NAVA vexologists put together if that's where this board would like to go. My personal opinion is I think it has to have the seal or some letters because otherwise you have no idea whose flag it is. And I, you know, having really been involved in looking at state flags, 99% of them have the seal of the state or the name of the state. I can't imagine. Otherwise it's just a piece of art which is nice. But, and I think our seal is simplistic enough that it would duplicate on a flag. So I don't know what my colleagues are thinking but I think it would have to have the seal so that at least when people saw it they would know that it was our flag. And then your other question was about whether or not it would be exclusively the use of the government side. Like I remember several years ago we had an agenda item on who could and could not use the seal, our official seal. I think a seal is different because people could then like try to elevate up their items or their organizations by putting our seal on it. It had, like it gave it a sense of authority. so I know that we request that people can't use our seal without permission. I think if people wanted to have the flag they could have it but if they were going to reproduce it in information websites or printed I think we should follow the same policy for the flag that we would follow with the seal. But if someone wanted to have a flag like a chamber of commerce or school or something that they should have the ability to use it or if someone wanted to fly it in front of their home I guess the question would be who gets to retail it who gets to merchandise it. Commissioner Vargas. I tend to lean towards the intermediate model with NAVA offering to design the flag complimentary bring it before the board again see what we think of it or several designs and then go forward with it. It doesn't have to hang on a flagpole in multiple locations it could be hanging in here outside the lobby also and then later on we can decide if we're going to allow merchandising of it as they did with the state of Florida you know with the shirts when they used to have the toll collectors that type of thing. Commissioner Capps. I like the intermediate option because of the word expert consultation like seems like it would really be good to lean heavily toward people that know how to make these look good because of the permanence of it you know mistakes could be made you know things that are just not the best choices and I think I like the expert side of things to give us guidance. Mr. Hetherington. I agree I would lean towards the intermediate model and I kind of like the seal on a flag but I'll leave that to the design consultationists to present a couple options. And also one of the NAVA's recommendations is using two or three basic colors and if we're I'm looking at the seal I'm not wedded to the seal I think that's kind of busy for a flag but I do like the colors on our seal which are kind of gold and royal and white what do you think about those colors? I like them right? Those are good right? I do we're going to be redecorating in those colors too so yeah well it also is consistent yeah okay thank you very much that all you need? yes I think that is all I need I just want to make sure I don't have a recommendation price the flag what? price the flag is what it calls to produce oh absolutely we'll be coming back to you yes that's all I needed was just direction thank you very much thank you nice job this morning thank you are we going to do our legislative update now? Ms. Powers are you going back to Tallahassee? not planning on it at this time nobody plans on it yeah exactly so I do just want to preface we are going to come back with a more in depth update with our lobbyist team to kind of go over session it's not completed yet we'll get into that in a second so regular session dates are 60 days March 4th to May 2nd this year was a little different towards the end it was became apparent that they're they were not going to agree on a budget that is the goal of session is at the end of the 60 days the House and the Senate come together on a unified budget one budget for the whole state and that did not happen so they extended session originally to June 6th the Senate the House extended to June 30th and keep in mind July 1 begins a fiscal year so they need to have the budget presented by July 1 which is it needs 72 hours before July 1 they call it a cooling off period they'll review it and then it'll sit and then it'll go pretty much I mean essentially the governor would have to sign it it would go into effect immediately so that's kind of what we're waiting on right now they have committed that policy is done so bills are not going to be passed however there is some caveats and there can be like language in the budget that is mimics a bill so there are a few things still floating around and then just the general budget is still looming there's been I could tell you all the rumors I've heard you know they're going to pass a bare bones budget no appropriations this session we didn't file any appropriations so that aspect we're kind of in the clear so we'll see that's kind of the status of session just waiting they said they're going to go back next week after the holiday and come together and I think just pass it back and forth until they come to some kind of agreement on a budget and then back to policy so overall there were 1900 bills filed 255 of those passed both chambers that's about 13% which has been the standard over the last couple sessions some higher some lower but about 13.6% so next with those bills they all get they go into another holding period and they basically in batches get presented to the governor and he has two weeks to sign them or veto them or if he doesn't sign it approve it it just becomes law so right now it says on here 29 bills that was yesterday when I left here was 29 bills have been signed just before I came down here 41 bills have been signed by the governor so yeah he is he is busy so I think there's another 40 sitting on his desk right now so I wouldn't be not yet so I wouldn't be but I wouldn't be surprised if I went up to my office right now and that number's already changed one of those bills obviously you guys know much about our local bill it did pass unanimously out of three committees in the house off the full senate house and senate floor and now we're in that we're still waiting to go to his desk but we are working with their office to make sure that there's no hiccups and that that gets signed into law and will go into effect yes yeah that was that was our final committee stop and then we were there for the full house and senate floor votes as well representative snyder really helped us out in this one there was some concerns by some of the health care industry at one point and senator gail harrow was also instrumental in getting this one and of course sarah did an excellent job in our team as well so it was not as it went well but it wasn't smooth the entire route it was a very interesting experience my first time running a local bill so learning and now we can do it again whenever I think we got the process down so it's definitely learning experience like Don said there were some hiccups but we figured it out and obviously we're able to get a unanimous bill you know a lot of the comments that were made by other members were why is this not a general bill why is the whole state you know not getting this deal all counties getting this deal we didn't want to take on that this year but we will have that for us and going forward hopefully we can support and other representatives efforts to get it across the finish line for the rest of the 66 counties or 64 counties in the state and that is all I have today like I said we will be coming back with a more comprehensive update if there is any legislation you'd like to talk about I can try my best to answer on the fly but with session not being done I didn't want to go too into depth because everything like I said it just changed overnight so if he vetoes certain bills or they become law so with that being said that's all I have today but if you do see any of our delegation members make sure you thank them they really helped us this session especially Rep Snyder with our local bill he really did fight hard for us to get that across the finish line tell us what the procedure is for so the bill there will be a reconciled budget and it's sent to the governor and the governor vetoes that budget then what happens I'm not sure what happens well essentially if it's to the last hour the state government would shut down they don't have a budget so does the house have the ability to override the governor's veto yes on the budget too or just on bills do you know I brought my support here on all state so the senate would have the ability to override a veto and they do seem to have an override majority or super majority and they exercise that this year in a special session to override some of his vetoes from last year so there's some expectation that that lever is out there and could be pulled okay and another one and I don't know if I have the number right SB 80 we analyze that 180 yeah at least elder deputy county attorney so SB 180 is an emergency management bill but in that bill it had some hidden provisions and in section 18 there's a provision that would impact the county potentially in the future so if there is a hurricane and you are in the federal disaster if you're in 100 miles of the cone and the hurricane hits and you're in that declaration then for one year the county could not implement any more restrictive comprehensive plan amendments or land development regulations so that's section 18 of the bill there's also section 28 of the bill and that mentions just three hurricanes and one is Milton so if you're in the federal emergency declaration for Milton which Martin County is you cannot enact any more restrictive comp plan amendments or LDR provisions and that's retroactive to August 1st 2024 so that if the governor signs this would impact Martin County and some of the efforts that the board has been doing we look back there aren't a lot of efforts that would be undone because the bill provides it's void ab initio which means it's void from the get go so if that does then there would be maybe a couple things like the rural lifestyle text amendment and maybe the urban service district some of those more restrictive provisions that might that might actually we wouldn't be able to probably move forward if it's signed and that's on the governor's desk it hasn't been on presented to him yet but it's in that holding pattern of bills that have passed so both the House and the Senate have passed the bill it just hasn't it's a long bill it's actually like 48 pages John Mayle and by my resource administrator sorry I should have said that last time I would add that the governor cannot line item veto a policy bill and so his options would be to veto the entire it's a massive bill it does a lot of other things and I guess I would also say that I think some non-lawyer but I think that reach back element could be challenged in fact there's a similar bill that was passed in 23 for Hurricane Ian and Manatee County is weighing out challenging it because it's changing some of the comp plan amendments that they made or that they're proposing to make that have nothing to do with the storm or storm recovery so I think there's more to come on that and some of it might happen in courts have they filed a challenge they have not yet in fact they it's they can this is fairly fresh they were going to pass a wetland buffer I guess they voted on it last week and they got letters from several state agencies saying that that legislation would prohibit them from changing that until next November and they're figuring out how to respond to that who are they filing the challenge to the legislature well I think what they're planning to do is taking litigation to challenge the constitutionality of that legislation it would be a case in federal court probably in Tallahassee well interesting any further questions thank you I look forward to getting our summary of the bills when we know more all right let's see shall we take up department five commissioners this item is subject is county attorney Sarah Woods as we spoke before has is retiring effective July she is going to weather our budget process with us so which I most appreciate and so with that the next order of business would be to discuss the process by which you all would like to select the next county attorney and for the public at large the board of county commissioners hire two employees the county administrator myself and the county attorney and so again this will be the board's process and what I've outlined is a suggested of process that you may want to consider and that is we would use our internal human resources department to advertise for a county attorney throughout the area in the state of Florida through organizations such as the Florida Association of County Attorneys and other bar related avenues throughout the state and with that advertisement we would receive those applicants after the requisite advertising period at least 30 days and my suggestion is that we would have the board would have a committee to kind of at least review and vet the number of applicants that we could forward on to you the top five or seven or depending upon how many applications you get for your consideration for interviews or further analysis and my suggestion was to have a committee that would be made up of myself two constitutional officers Sheriff John Budenseek has agreed to participate if you all would accept and Carolyn Timmon our clerk of court and one department head and then perhaps one county one private attorney for a committee of five that would not be selected until we have the applicants because we wouldn't obviously want to select somebody that might be wanting to apply for the job so that would be we would meet and then review with our HR department the qualifications and then forward on to you all those top candidates and then in a public meeting decide how you wanted to proceed with those top candidates whether we have some interview process that we could organize and help with you all before you do your final selection so then once the board has ultimately selected a county attorney then it would be my job to work on behalf of the board to help with either a member of the board or myself individually negotiate a contract with that future attorney in the interim while we're doing this process it's also our recommendation that we appoint a lease elder as the acting attorney and that would come with the normal county practice of a 10% salary increase for the duration that she would be the acting county attorney and so this is an opportunity for you all to provide me feedback on both the process and the interim county attorney selection so with that I'll open it up to any comments or suggestions Mr. Capps I think the recommendations are well thought out and I move approval I didn't disagree with anything that you mentioned my only question the application process how would you promote or advertise that the position is open is like using indeed or is there you announce it through does like you mentioned the Florida Association of County Attorneys do they have a yeah so all of those avenues yes yes and Matt Graham is here who's my HR expert so we were planning to use all of our customary all the what we know county attorney organizations belong to there's Florida Association of County Attorneys which is part of your FAC group and there are also other local bar organizations and Florida bar organizations that we can advertise to and so those were the immediate recommendations that HR had already targeted and of course if there's any others out there that you all have suggestions we would use all the electronic forms of advertising that most candidates are using today along with any others that but principally we were looking at those of which the county attorneys organizations and county and municipal attorneys Florida city attorneys also would be included in that list second the agenda item commissioner hetherington i agree with all of it's well thought out thinking comprehensive and would just for my clarification so would this advertisement go out after this board item or you anticipating that we're waiting till july that that is a good question i think we could start the advertisement actually within the next couple of weeks to get it organized in that way the selection process because it'll take a couple of months to go through this process so we could start the advertisement process as soon as staff has organized all of the description and make sure we get it described properly my only concern is that the list of the composition of the panel favors internal succession if I'm so if I'm a qualified candidate who isn't a Martin County employee I'm thinking oh well every entire panel consists of county employees why bother applying well you consider clerk of the court and the sheriff county employees yes yes absolutely I don't disagree with that you can you'd have one outside attorney but you could have others you could ask for someone to come from the outside of the county from the Florida bars Florida Association of County Attorneys or a regional member of the Florida bar from outside of the county to participate yeah I would want the process to be as transparent and as fair as possible so if you I don't disagree with what you're saying if you don't want to make it look like it's all locals then we can layer in someone assistant county attorney that's not interested from Palm Beach or St. Lucie or Okeechobee or judges maybe you could pick a couple of judges I also think that the one outside local attorney as a development attorney I don't have any interest in I just put a criteria that it's not someone that's in land planning side of the business it's someone who's you know state you know what do they call it state plan you know estate planning it could be someone that's in corporate law but not in growth management you made good suggestions you know I like I like the idea of an agency like the Florida Association of Counties or you know those I think it should be somebody who is in experience planning because that's a huge part of our job that's a huge part of the county attorney's job I just don't want it to be somebody local well and I think we could also layer in a judge so we could replace if you think it is too county centric the department had position with a FAC representative and that way the only county employee would be myself and then you have your two constitutionals I get it and the reason why I included them is because the county attorney's office works with those two constitutionals the most of the constitutionals that's why they would favor internal succession so anyway we could replace the department head with a FAC representative we have an outside attorney representative that would not be development related attorney in the community and do you have another if we're going to keep it to five we can go more than five if you'd like more can we also we're one of 67 counties I mean there are counties up to the north that may not be just surrounding us I mean you could zoom them in when they're on the this panel talking about other representatives for this panel well I mean you give me a suggestion so I think if you have a specific entity involved it would be helpful what about a site also to consider that may be geared towards attorneys that you don't pay do you know what I'm saying like if you're a teacher and you want to go overseas there are sites for that to be able to submit information that we're looking for an attorney for this position so assistant county administrator Mac Graham so just to go back to the job posting when we posted on our website indeed automatically picks it up we have we've worked out arrangements with them it is the largest job posting website there is so the other one that Don had suggested was the Florida Association of County Attorneys but we can certainly look at other websites geared for attorney job postings as well I'm sure there are websites geared towards that so we'll do our due diligence and look into that LinkedIn yes LinkedIn as well commissioners we're not going to be selecting this review committee before we before the requests for responses go out anyway so we've got some time to reflect upon if we want to add one or two more members to this selection committee right no that's good so that we have a base level to start with if I understand it and then you all can provide some additional feedback and before we get all the applications in we can have another public discussion on any additional members may I make one more suggestion potentially I'm not sure if he has any interest but former county attorney Steve Fry would have a history of the job been removed from the process for a long time doesn't even know some of the younger people that work in the department I think he would be an interesting advisor to the process I think he's an insider too he's gone 15 years we need to have people that are totally removed from Martin County I would have seven but sometimes when you go so far removed you give up some of what people would need to know specifically what this job is about I don't agree with that at all that's why there's five of us I think that we need to have some another person or two or three that are totally removed from Martin County as I say we're one of 67 counties I'm certain other county administrators would be very happy to recommend if you picked up the phone to call them yes I think this might be a good person let's reflect in the upcoming month about whom we might draw into this pool of committee members okay okay this is just us picking the committee to pick the person wait until we get to picking the person well we'll cross that at that time ultimately I have confidence in the selection any further comments nope so you had a motion and a second to at least give or you just want to use I can just accept this as direction to move forward and then we can move forward with the advertising and the final committee will come back is that the we should approve and that's that we approve the appointment of a lease elder as acting county attorney with a 10% salary increase effective upon Sarah Woods leaving off so we're going to use that motion yes there's a motion and a second all those okay and now we are going to break for lunch and then we can make it much easier I'll just make a motion to deny Ms. Woods retirement are we going to lunch now yeah because we have a preset at 1.30 so we don't we have a we have a 1.30 all right this guy we'll see you at 1.30 you're on we are back and taking up our final agenda item public hearing number one which is a public hearing to consider adopting a resolution authorizing execution of a road transfer agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for Southwest Martin Highway Southeast Indian Street Northeast Jensen Beach Boulevard and Northeast Causeway Boulevard Good afternoon Good afternoon Jim Gorton Public Works Director This is a public hearing to consider adopting a resolution authorizing execution of a road transfer agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for Southwest Martin Highway Indian Street Jensen Beach Boulevard and Causeway Boulevard Donna can you pull up the slides please thank you so so for this roadway transfer agreement for background DOT is always looking for roadways that connect their state highway system together and in this instance there is the opportunity to transfer county road 714 between the turnpike and canter highway over to DOT which would connect obviously the turnpike and canter highway which are both state roads so it would be proposed to transfer 714 from martindowns boulevard to canter highway onto the state highway system the second piece is Indian street from where that road terminated at canter highway over to US1 and that would be transferred over to the state highway system from county maintenance and in return the state would transfer Jensen Beach Boulevard from US1 between US1 to Savannah Road Martin County already maintains the section east from Savannah Road to Indian River Drive and then Causeway Boulevard from Indian River Drive over to State Road A1A with the exclusion of the bridges so the state would take on the Veterans Memorial Bridge but they would not give us the bridges on Causeway Boulevard they would retain maintenance responsibility for those structures the next steps would be that the chair of our board with the FDOT secretary would both execute the agreement Martin Highway would be transferred on to the state highway system Jensen Beach Boulevard would be transferred off of the state highway system Indian Street would be transferred on to the system upon completion of the county's ongoing resurfacing project we're in the punchless phase right now so we should be done within the next month or so and then Causeway Boulevard would be transferred off of the state highway system over to county maintenance with the exception of the bridges upon completion of their ongoing mobility improvements that they're working on right now I do have three folks from DOT we've got Chris Carries the operations engineer for Treasure Coast Operations we've got John Spivey and then their consultant Andrew Dietz who worked with our staff to put together this transfer agreement so if we have any questions are available questions for our staff Commissioner Campy I think Commissioner Vargas put your light on again Commissioner Vargas yes so the bridges over to the islands are under DOT yeah they're currently maintained by DOT and the intent is for them to continue to maintain them okay all right and A1A on Hutchinson Island that is a DOT roadway as well so okay Commissioner Campy thank you a couple of questions some just for background why are we doing this I'm not saying that in an accusatory I'm saying I'm just asking like generally why so in general the DOT in particular is looking to connect their roadway network and this provides better connectivity between their roadways it connects the Turnpike 95 and US1 and Canter Highway all together with one stretch of roadway from the county standpoint Jensen Beach Boulevard used to be a county road actually it was our road and when we wanted to do the CRA improvements on Dixie Highway through Ryo we transferred Jensen Beach Boulevard over to them in exchange for Dixie Highway we built the Dixie Highway project now and now Jensen Beach Boulevard is something that we could maintain and it's something that I think the county has an interest in continuing to look at mobility improvements in that corridor we've got some parks in there we've got some schools in there so there's opportunity in the future to potentially do some projects that would make it easier to do them if it's a county roadway the biggest change is the major bridge spans we do we do we do replace bridges but the veterans memorial bridge right now is in great shape we maintain it very well but there is going to be maintenance in the future that will be rather costly and we Martin County frankly doesn't have a ton of experience maintaining large spans like that so for DOT to take over the maintenance of that span and to retain the span on the Jensen Beach Causeway really it allows them to do what they have experience and what they're good at and allows us to focus on the roadways and the smaller bridges that really is more of our bailiwick I appreciate that I don't disagree with what you're saying especially with the bridge spans I think it's very generous of them and I'm wondering is there something I'm missing because that's a lot of work and effort and money that up in Tallahassee the transportation big brother is willing to do that I'm very pleased I'm just concerned I have a couple of questions for you currently the bridge the Veterans Memorial Bridge I think on the original cleaning like program it was like monthly and we are one cycle more correct what do you do it once a month or twice a month we do it it's programmed once a month but it's on an as needed basis so bridges especially the higher the span they get the more debris you end up on the roads a lot of it I don't think it's people rolling down their window and throwing trash out more often than it could be more often than not it's people with pickup trucks or flatbed trucks and material that's in the back of the vehicle fly out when you're going over the bridge so it's programmed once a month we do it more than once a month will our friends from FDOT do the same thing we still have the ability we've written into the maintenance agreements we still will maintain the landscaping on the bridge so any enhancements that have been put in such as the flagpoles that's my next question being able to put up and down the flags for events we still have the ability to do that the benches the garbage cans those all are retained at the county level they just have the structural elements of the bridge not coming like if I see for whatever reason a lot of sod I guess people take pallets of sod they put them in a pickup truck they do not secure them there's always pieces of sod or like you but that is one of the things I get the most constituent feedback on is the bridge is dirty not that it is because we have really stepped it up but as soon as something happens I hear very quickly from the folks that just don't like it to be that so we're going to maintain the just the general cleaning maintenance of the span itself correct we'll still have the ability to put the flags up and down as we want to the landscaping from the bridge west all the way to the turnpike is maintained now by them or by us it's currently maintained by Martin County as will the landscaping on Indian Street out to US 1 so those enhancements have been written into the agreement that Martin County will continue to maintain so they're taking over like the ownership and the long term or really specific construction maintenance of the span the infrastructure maintenance of the bridge the roadway surface the sidewalks the curbs the drainage system underneath the road not emptying the garbages so all the structural elements all of the enhancements those still are retained by the county okay and then the long linear drainage you know they almost look like parks but on both sides of martin highway obviously in palm city where all the landscaping is and it's designed I guess when the roads flood it goes into that that's them that's us that will be retained with martin county okay so that's that's the it has a dual function it was created as a buffer to reduce the impact of that roadway on the residents on the north and south side of the bridge so it was densely vegetated and but it also provides water quality and flood good job of because if it rains hard like a couple of weeks ago it hadn't rained forever but then it really rained and that was probably 18 inches deep which is perfect okay and then the last part which is a road construction thing I've had some people if you're riding I think it's in both directions but imagine you're coming over the Veterans Memorial Bridge you just cross over into touchdown in Palm City and you're riding to map that road which is a relatively young road in terms as roads go is really getting beat up you know I've had I know we've patched it a handful of times but there's a lot of like after that strong rain is it just like last lift seems to be loose or something and it's falling apart quickie maintenance and patching jobs that's FDOT that's us going forward once the road is transferred it'll be that DOT when are you looking to transfer it that roadway will be transferred after it's signed by both so like in a week that one could be rather quick the other two are waiting on projects to finish the Indian Street section and the Causeway Boulevard but the other two Jensen Beach Boulevard and 714 will be transferred once the agreement is signed if we can or if you can have a conversation with our best friends from FDOT that needs a little work maybe just some patching or whatever but it feels like it's you know what happens if you leave it alone it's just going to continue to get a little bit worse sure it's an indication of the use that the roadway gets so it's it's you know if it's a residential road we like to see those last about 25 years but because this is an arterial I get it I get it I told the person that asked me I said look it gets a lot of wear and tear a lot of trucks going over a lot of activity but it feels like you know as lay people everyone's an engineer you know because they stayed at a holiday inn but it feels like it's peeling up faster than it should have and so you know trying not to be suspicious of some kind of portion of this that we missed I appreciate it very much I think it's a good plan and I would make a motion to accept staff's recommendation I think you covered some of my questions but just to clarify and reiterate so the veterans memorial sign on either side east or west of veterans and the flagpoles will be maintained by us if someone were to run it over we can put it back and we will be permitted same thing with utility boxes we were going to have to get permission to wrap the utility box we worked through that but that's still in the purview of the county and as far as maintenance I remember having this dialogue and perhaps about Jensen Beach Causeway so much and they wanted it maintained more was that more on the span of the bridge or the causeway and is that going to be the county's responsibility because there was a lot of conversation about that so the maintenance of the structural elements of those spans is DOT's responsibility handling the residents who fish on it and leave debris on the sidewalk that would shift over to the county so we are already you haven't heard about problems out there recently at least not to the frequency you used to because we're working with keep Martin beautiful and we did an education campaign and met with a lot of the local bait shops and just talked through what we were seeing what the problem is and it's gotten a lot better so we're already doing that even though it's not our bridge the fishermen or the fish no the really it was people were catching things that they weren't targeting and you know junk fish type things and instead of throwing them they would let them die on the bridge because they didn't want to have to catch them again who maintains the Roosevelt bridge DOT that one needs a little help that that's another way as I was saying earlier the higher you get up the more wind you're dealing with and the more debris blows off vehicles and that's when that frequently gets up there they have a contractor that maintains that bridge and then one last between east from Indian street from US1 to Canter that's not a city of Stewart road currently it's a county road that's the one we just paved okay all right I agree so what bridges do we maintain we have about 60 bridges otherwise so one bridge that we're replacing this year is the county line bridge on south county line road the next bridge after that is the island way bridge also in south county the one after that is the pine lake drive bridge in north river shores so you interested in any of those so buy one get one today BOGO but they're usually a couple hundred feet max and they're local roads yeah yeah the two really other big ones is the the Arundel shop bridge which goes over the Okeechobee waterway and then of course the hope that's ours and the other significant bridge that we maintain and operate is the Hope Sound Bascule Bridge which we just did some repairs to but that was a used bridge when we got it so eventually that replacement will be a significant event in Martin County how about the Jupiter Island lighthouse bridge is that us that's a job that was a DOT job and that's yeah it looks really good it's not quite done but it's getting close railings very decorative railings it's fancy Jupiter Island lighthouse bridge it's the US one bridge south that was a project why was it ever it looks like an apartment is that the bridge tender gets to stay in that that's fantastic that's the nicest apartment in all of Florida got the best views thing is gigantic it's beautiful all right so remember district 5 commissioner made the motion for you guys I second it did you second it yeah oh okay any further comment FTOT you want to tell us anything you want to comment any comments from you you made a big effort to drive up here yeah we appreciate it now I can tell you about all that the million dollar transfer there's a motion and a second all those in favor aye opposed that motion passes unanimously thank you thank you now come up and tell us what we just signed up for commissioner said it is the end of our meeting we'll take commissioner comments commissioner Vargas fine thank you commissioner Capps I'm good today I am too commissioner Campy I'm fine thank you and commissioner we don't meet again we're not having the June 10th meeting right no we're not so we're not coming back until June 17th okay when's father's day before then oh it is we won't be back before father's day which I believe is June 15th so I would wish my father and all other fathers and men who or women who have to play the role of a dad in someone's life I wish you a happy healthy father's day and bless you thank you commissioner Hetherington oh I'm all set thank you mr. Donaldson you weren't here for comments this morning so yeah just well I was at the town of Jupiter Island and had a good meeting with them regarding our ocean rescue facility and their next meeting was going to be a time when we were planning to go to D.C. so it was important to get that done and they certainly sent back words of appreciation to the county working with them and Mayor Penelope Townsend wanted to express Ms. Woods that happy retirement and thanked her for her service and wished the board good luck in finding her replacement so that's really all I had to say so it was a good exchange and hopefully we'll have some other partnership with them in the future on maybe some septic to sewer so anyway it was a good meeting thank you and I appreciate George filling in and I hope you all didn't mind that I hope to in the efforts to continue having depth of staff to perhaps do that more often thank you you did great Ms. Woods would anyone from the public like to address us seeing none FDOT would you like to address us going going we're adjourned alright